On my article about friends' projects I really wanted to include something from Miles Marsico, but I didn't have anything. Now here is something! For months he had been working on things here and there at Super River's home studio and here, as New Technology is a video for a synthesizer cover of "Youth of America." What more could you want?
Oh, and here's a download if you want to keep it around, I know I will for my next party mix!
Showing posts with label 10s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10s. Show all posts
Monday, September 9, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
A Tribute to Will Stratton
A little late on this but, last Friday was a pretty exciting event. It was the tribute to Will Stratton coupled with the release of the album available for purchase that also goes to his Medical fund.
It was a pretty fantastic sow held at Spin in Manhattan - a large basement ping-pong club. I wish I wrote this earlier so I could remember it better.
First there was Beat Radio. That was a two-man group. Not usually into that kind of thing, but it was cool. Next you had Kid in the Attic who I had previously seen at a rooftop show with pow wow! and Crazy Pills on Andrea's birthday. It's just one woman in a red hat and this was certainly a better venue for her than a drunken Bushwick party. Both artists are on the tribute album and make pretty cool contributions.
Aaron Roche was the next to perform, an older guy and collaborator of R. Stevie Moore's. Naturally that piqued my interest and his set, though long awaited from the set-up time was pretty awesome. It started really quiet and then got louder as he had two young female vocalists with him for harmonies that reminded me of a more successful version of what the Dirty Projectors try to do. With mostly pre-recorded backing and high intensity, his set reminded the most of John Maus.
The Next two sets were more personal by New York friends Jesse Rifkin and Trevor Wilson. Both of them are on the tribute album as well, and by then things got so emotionally taxing that I couldn't even pay much attention to Wilson's set, though it was clearly a continuation of Rifkin's with a lot of delicate beauty. You should look into both artists.
Will closed the set himself which was an unexpected treat, up to some point, and though he was underrehearsed, I doubt I've seen him play better. It was overwhelming. There were only three songs in his set but it was the highlight despite some great competition. He is looking surprisingly healthy and in good spirits, so we all have a lot more to look forward to from Will. His next album is entitled Gray Lodge Wisdom and will be quite a change of pace, and I personally have very high hopes for it. A demo of its title track (sure to change a lot) is included in yesterday's article's package.
Well, there goes my policy of not reviewing friend's shows, but I have to push the BENEFIT ALBUM and how you should buy it. I was asked to include a couple tracks and I chose Jesse Rifkin and David Garland's. The former because it is quite a radical reinterpretation of an old favorite differing from either artist's usual sound, and the latter because of that artist's connection to Connie Converse and the Documentary my wonderful girlfriend Andrea is making about her.
Well, here are those TWO TRACKS, but you really should just buy the album, probably several times.
Anyway, my mind has stopped functioning, rather it's malfunctioning and I should probably stop.
It was a pretty fantastic sow held at Spin in Manhattan - a large basement ping-pong club. I wish I wrote this earlier so I could remember it better.
First there was Beat Radio. That was a two-man group. Not usually into that kind of thing, but it was cool. Next you had Kid in the Attic who I had previously seen at a rooftop show with pow wow! and Crazy Pills on Andrea's birthday. It's just one woman in a red hat and this was certainly a better venue for her than a drunken Bushwick party. Both artists are on the tribute album and make pretty cool contributions.
Aaron Roche was the next to perform, an older guy and collaborator of R. Stevie Moore's. Naturally that piqued my interest and his set, though long awaited from the set-up time was pretty awesome. It started really quiet and then got louder as he had two young female vocalists with him for harmonies that reminded me of a more successful version of what the Dirty Projectors try to do. With mostly pre-recorded backing and high intensity, his set reminded the most of John Maus.
The Next two sets were more personal by New York friends Jesse Rifkin and Trevor Wilson. Both of them are on the tribute album as well, and by then things got so emotionally taxing that I couldn't even pay much attention to Wilson's set, though it was clearly a continuation of Rifkin's with a lot of delicate beauty. You should look into both artists.
Will closed the set himself which was an unexpected treat, up to some point, and though he was underrehearsed, I doubt I've seen him play better. It was overwhelming. There were only three songs in his set but it was the highlight despite some great competition. He is looking surprisingly healthy and in good spirits, so we all have a lot more to look forward to from Will. His next album is entitled Gray Lodge Wisdom and will be quite a change of pace, and I personally have very high hopes for it. A demo of its title track (sure to change a lot) is included in yesterday's article's package.
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| Photo by Mike Raynes |
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| Photo by Jeff Nasareno |
Well, here are those TWO TRACKS, but you really should just buy the album, probably several times.
Anyway, my mind has stopped functioning, rather it's malfunctioning and I should probably stop.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Friends
So the last series was really self-centered, but this whole time it was all with the intention of putting out a collection of songs by my friends. Most of the are the fascinating characters mentioned in my previous articles. I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by geniuses my whole life, most of them musicians, and many of them collaborators. Though some may be over or under-represented in this set, I tried not to have any favorites, I merely wanted all the major projects represented. Alameda and Basking Ridge probably make up the majority of the lot, but people I know from college (the bridge to all, I suppose) and LA are in there too. Now for the long explanation int eh only order that makes any sense: Alphabetical...
Colin O'Brien-Lux is a Maryland-bred performance artist in Los Angeles who has been active in many communities in the city and is perhaps best-known for his Winter 2012 clown show Everybody Nose Nothing Means Anything And I'm Very Worried, which unfortunately coincided with Super River's debut. Not to discuss my own band too much, but the connection is a major one as Jesse Johnstone did the engineering on the EP Angel Will You Marry Me? from which both these tracks are taken and played drums on one song. Other drums were played by Miles Marsico and bass came from Andrew Lewis, who played in Skin Rat. Last I know he was performing as Grandma in a very atmospheric and intimate way that should not be missed. "Scarf" is one of the most powerful tracks I have heard in a while.
The Darflers is a project led by Alex "Flash Gilmore" Hatatsis that has also featured fromer Funbeatles/Sunfighter Marty Skeels and local legend (and portrayer of Nagatoku in "Gundam Driver") Chris Arnold. The band had an emphasis on power-pop with green musician Halatsis skillfully pulling off both bass and vocals. Not much has been heard since, but Halatsis is now in a band with Big/Ewox member Alyssa Polizzi before her move to LA. "Best Boy" comes from the Spencer's Girl EP, and "Another Lonely Girl" is a demo with lyrics penned by yours truly. One of my two appearances in this set.
Flash Gilmore & the Funbeatles was Alameda's greatest band, band certainly the greatest live act of 2012. With firm roots in The Comfy Men, they were comprised of frontman Flash Gilmore, drummer Jerry Ramone, bassist Mick James and guitarists Hazel James and The Glove. Their uniformed and choreographed shows were a rare spectacle featuring both phenomenal originals and classic covers. They released the record Debauchery Playground, named after their closing track - the first composed for the project shortly before disbanding in late Spring of 2011. Unfortunately, the album was recorded months before and the band's playing and songs had improved much in that time, but that's only an issue if you were lucky enough to witness these later shows. It still stands as one of the best rock records of its time and "The Top" and "Here It Comes" are hardly enough to hear by this unbelievable combo.
Kidz was a project led by Sam Deutsch (who will be explained in more detail shortly) with a collaborator named Mike. "Move Yo' Body" is a fantastic piece of 90s dance music that shows just how much the artist who cut his teeth in Hurtu/the Shears/Love Athena can do.
The Last Nights was the brief reunification of Funbeatles Alex Halatsis, Paul Igaz, and Arran Rogerson who made a worthy (even by their standards) debut with an improvised set in May 2012. Before the Hawaii exodus they played a few shows and recorded Dig This from which these two tracks come. "Dany James" is about the inspirational Oakland artist. Sadly other classic tracks "Virtual Tibet" and "Guided by C-Mac" remain unrecorded to my knowledge.
Love Warrior was a solo project from Arran Rogerson after the disbanding of the Funbeatles and recorded the album DMZ, a power-pop album mostly about masturbation.
Also from Alameda is One Tribe, the project of Hawaii native Tony O'Toole. A spiritual figure in the Alameda scene, Tony was the subject of one of the Funbeatles' earliest songs and has been catalyst to much musical growth (in both directions) with most of the Alameda musicians. Music For My Friends was an ambitious project for him, but turned out to be a success. It is the source of the atmospheric instrumental "John" and the cover of "30 Century Man," with guest vocals from Alex Halatsis. "What a Strange Day" is a demo I rather like as well.
pow wow! is the project of Basking Ridge originals Jeff and Eddie Nazareno with roots going back arguably about ten years, or 26, depending on the perspective. Last year they released the refreshing Don't Stop To Look with a five-member lineup providing big arrangements, tons of hooks, and beautiful harmonies. The first two tracks are here, but the whole thing is about as good. The band has had varying levels of notoriety throughout it its career, and their album, one of the finest of 2012 still needs its due. Unfortunately their future is a bit uncertain, but there is no doubt its members will go onto creating more great music.
Sunfighter is the primary band of former Funbeatles Arran and Sam Rogerson. They both play guitar and sing and split songwriting duties. Sweet Machine was another great and overlooked album of 2012 full of catchy guitar rock that evokes all the best stuff and is quite creative in its songcraft. They toured the West Coast last summer with rhythm section Fed Martinez (drummer in Rogerson's past groups Life on Mars? and others) and Eamon O'Conner, playing with Super River in two instances. Here are two of my favorites from that record.
SWade is the former alias of Sam Deutsch, one of the most talented and unpredictable artists I know in any regard. That made selecting tracks from him very difficult. He can write great classic pop songs, experimental pieces, piano ballads and just about everything in between. Lately his focus has been on Dark R&B, though with plenty of breaks in between. He is currently using the name 50 Grand Sam and working on an EP, but just released the song "Hollywood" yesterday which you can purchase on iTunes, and I implore that you do. These two are different though - "Could This Mean Space?" is an experimental synth pop that is as edgy as it is catchy, and "A Best Friend's Love" is a funny folk-rock demo. Just two of my favorites among a whole lot.
Volcano Divers is Liam Carroll, from Liberty Corner, not Basking Ridge if you can believe that. First appearing in this blog as Batwolf's butler Dr. Alphonzo Vengeance (yes, we had a doctor for a Butler), he has recorded a lot of noise-pop in this form and here are a couple of my faves.
Will Stratton is another old friend from Basking Ridge. His real name is Will Lulofs and he was a member of Batwolf, the Tangles, and previously Time Well Spent. He is recovering from Testicular Cancer and planning to return u-time to New York in October. There will will be more about that in an upcoming article. Last Friday was his benefit show, featuring a closing performance by the man himself in accompaniment of the BENEFIT ALBUM which I will also discuss in more detail. Having the most professional career of all (four albums released on real labels) it was also hard to choose material from him, especially considering how much of it has Basking Ridge references. However I chose one from his first, another from his second, and a demo of the title track for the next. I am sure it will change a lot before the album is released, but I like this version. I also used to like the demo version of "You're a Real Thing" more, but that has changed.
As mentioned before, Zero the Astronaut is Alex Adler's solo project after Ways ceased to be. With so much material he started narrowing it down and went into the studio to record a debut single of "Solitude" and "Misery City." He played all the instruments except the bass on "Solitude" which, not surprisingly was me. The songs show both his sides - heavy and complex and soft and stoney, but both have a great deal of raw emotion. Adler is an excellent songwriter who is firmly in the tradition of the best American rock of the 80s and 90s who has a lot of potential, particularly in his ability to not fear the obvious.
DOWNLOAD: THE BEST OF FRIENDS
I hope you enjoy all these tracks and artists as much as I do.
Colin O'Brien-Lux is a Maryland-bred performance artist in Los Angeles who has been active in many communities in the city and is perhaps best-known for his Winter 2012 clown show Everybody Nose Nothing Means Anything And I'm Very Worried, which unfortunately coincided with Super River's debut. Not to discuss my own band too much, but the connection is a major one as Jesse Johnstone did the engineering on the EP Angel Will You Marry Me? from which both these tracks are taken and played drums on one song. Other drums were played by Miles Marsico and bass came from Andrew Lewis, who played in Skin Rat. Last I know he was performing as Grandma in a very atmospheric and intimate way that should not be missed. "Scarf" is one of the most powerful tracks I have heard in a while.
The Darflers is a project led by Alex "Flash Gilmore" Hatatsis that has also featured fromer Funbeatles/Sunfighter Marty Skeels and local legend (and portrayer of Nagatoku in "Gundam Driver") Chris Arnold. The band had an emphasis on power-pop with green musician Halatsis skillfully pulling off both bass and vocals. Not much has been heard since, but Halatsis is now in a band with Big/Ewox member Alyssa Polizzi before her move to LA. "Best Boy" comes from the Spencer's Girl EP, and "Another Lonely Girl" is a demo with lyrics penned by yours truly. One of my two appearances in this set.
Flash Gilmore & the Funbeatles was Alameda's greatest band, band certainly the greatest live act of 2012. With firm roots in The Comfy Men, they were comprised of frontman Flash Gilmore, drummer Jerry Ramone, bassist Mick James and guitarists Hazel James and The Glove. Their uniformed and choreographed shows were a rare spectacle featuring both phenomenal originals and classic covers. They released the record Debauchery Playground, named after their closing track - the first composed for the project shortly before disbanding in late Spring of 2011. Unfortunately, the album was recorded months before and the band's playing and songs had improved much in that time, but that's only an issue if you were lucky enough to witness these later shows. It still stands as one of the best rock records of its time and "The Top" and "Here It Comes" are hardly enough to hear by this unbelievable combo.
Kidz was a project led by Sam Deutsch (who will be explained in more detail shortly) with a collaborator named Mike. "Move Yo' Body" is a fantastic piece of 90s dance music that shows just how much the artist who cut his teeth in Hurtu/the Shears/Love Athena can do.
The Last Nights was the brief reunification of Funbeatles Alex Halatsis, Paul Igaz, and Arran Rogerson who made a worthy (even by their standards) debut with an improvised set in May 2012. Before the Hawaii exodus they played a few shows and recorded Dig This from which these two tracks come. "Dany James" is about the inspirational Oakland artist. Sadly other classic tracks "Virtual Tibet" and "Guided by C-Mac" remain unrecorded to my knowledge.
Love Warrior was a solo project from Arran Rogerson after the disbanding of the Funbeatles and recorded the album DMZ, a power-pop album mostly about masturbation.
Also from Alameda is One Tribe, the project of Hawaii native Tony O'Toole. A spiritual figure in the Alameda scene, Tony was the subject of one of the Funbeatles' earliest songs and has been catalyst to much musical growth (in both directions) with most of the Alameda musicians. Music For My Friends was an ambitious project for him, but turned out to be a success. It is the source of the atmospheric instrumental "John" and the cover of "30 Century Man," with guest vocals from Alex Halatsis. "What a Strange Day" is a demo I rather like as well.
pow wow! is the project of Basking Ridge originals Jeff and Eddie Nazareno with roots going back arguably about ten years, or 26, depending on the perspective. Last year they released the refreshing Don't Stop To Look with a five-member lineup providing big arrangements, tons of hooks, and beautiful harmonies. The first two tracks are here, but the whole thing is about as good. The band has had varying levels of notoriety throughout it its career, and their album, one of the finest of 2012 still needs its due. Unfortunately their future is a bit uncertain, but there is no doubt its members will go onto creating more great music.
Sunfighter is the primary band of former Funbeatles Arran and Sam Rogerson. They both play guitar and sing and split songwriting duties. Sweet Machine was another great and overlooked album of 2012 full of catchy guitar rock that evokes all the best stuff and is quite creative in its songcraft. They toured the West Coast last summer with rhythm section Fed Martinez (drummer in Rogerson's past groups Life on Mars? and others) and Eamon O'Conner, playing with Super River in two instances. Here are two of my favorites from that record.
SWade is the former alias of Sam Deutsch, one of the most talented and unpredictable artists I know in any regard. That made selecting tracks from him very difficult. He can write great classic pop songs, experimental pieces, piano ballads and just about everything in between. Lately his focus has been on Dark R&B, though with plenty of breaks in between. He is currently using the name 50 Grand Sam and working on an EP, but just released the song "Hollywood" yesterday which you can purchase on iTunes, and I implore that you do. These two are different though - "Could This Mean Space?" is an experimental synth pop that is as edgy as it is catchy, and "A Best Friend's Love" is a funny folk-rock demo. Just two of my favorites among a whole lot.
Volcano Divers is Liam Carroll, from Liberty Corner, not Basking Ridge if you can believe that. First appearing in this blog as Batwolf's butler Dr. Alphonzo Vengeance (yes, we had a doctor for a Butler), he has recorded a lot of noise-pop in this form and here are a couple of my faves.
Will Stratton is another old friend from Basking Ridge. His real name is Will Lulofs and he was a member of Batwolf, the Tangles, and previously Time Well Spent. He is recovering from Testicular Cancer and planning to return u-time to New York in October. There will will be more about that in an upcoming article. Last Friday was his benefit show, featuring a closing performance by the man himself in accompaniment of the BENEFIT ALBUM which I will also discuss in more detail. Having the most professional career of all (four albums released on real labels) it was also hard to choose material from him, especially considering how much of it has Basking Ridge references. However I chose one from his first, another from his second, and a demo of the title track for the next. I am sure it will change a lot before the album is released, but I like this version. I also used to like the demo version of "You're a Real Thing" more, but that has changed.
As mentioned before, Zero the Astronaut is Alex Adler's solo project after Ways ceased to be. With so much material he started narrowing it down and went into the studio to record a debut single of "Solitude" and "Misery City." He played all the instruments except the bass on "Solitude" which, not surprisingly was me. The songs show both his sides - heavy and complex and soft and stoney, but both have a great deal of raw emotion. Adler is an excellent songwriter who is firmly in the tradition of the best American rock of the 80s and 90s who has a lot of potential, particularly in his ability to not fear the obvious.
DOWNLOAD: THE BEST OF FRIENDS
I hope you enjoy all these tracks and artists as much as I do.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Roots, pt. 8: Skin Rat
I must admit I forgot about this one. That's because it began after the inception of Super River, but before leaving California. It is the first of many Super River side bands, but without a doubt the best-defined. Almost all of these groups have names and I cannot keep track of them. Maybe Jesse can, but those are just the ones that he is in! Every different configuration of the members of Super River has a different name, though the recorded material is usually just lumped in as "Super River." When others are concerned it's different. There are countless bands made up of any number of the five of us and our usual collaborators like Miles Marsico, Max Dameron, Colin O'Brien-Lux, Arran Rogerson, David Boe, Michael Solan, Paul Igaz, and many more. A few I can recall include God Particle, which I believe is the four male members of Super River, Silk & Flowers which is Super River (or at least most of us) plus Max Dameron (and possibly Miles) and of course Kathryne and Miles' project Fake date.
So then onto Skin Rat.
Thanksgiving week 2011 was a trying period for Super River with Jason's schedule changing (or so we thought), Jesse's visit to New Mexico, and Kathryne and Alex's long trips away to Portland and Atlanta, respectively. We feared they may never come back, but luckily that was not the case and the band continued. Jesse took this opportunity to test out some new recording ideas in our space at ABC studios, in Glassel Park with the help of me and our friend Andrew Lewis. These tests were successful as anyone who knows the improvement in sound quality in our recordings from late November/December 2011. Upon Kathryne's return we recorded the first versions of classics like "It's Dancing Time" and "The Liberty Science Center."
It all began with Skin Rat. Jesse, Andrew and myself decided to jam for two nights and we had a great time. We tried a few different configurations instrument-wise, but found the greatest success with myself on guitar and vocals, Andrew on bass, and Jesse on drums. Unfortunately the bass is pretty low on these recordings but the power of the trio is still apparent on these dark, heavy, and angular songs - all improvised in the usual tradition. Worth a listen if you were curious about my guitar playing.
"Blood on the Ground" is a noisy and angular goth/no wave track, "DryWings" is is a quick bit somewhat meandering track that would work well in a psychedelic Western shootout. Pretty cinematic. "Fly Climate" with its eeire vocals is also atmospheric, naturally of jungle nightmare.
DOWNLOAD: Skin Rat - Mom's Worst Nightmare (2011)
So then onto Skin Rat.
Thanksgiving week 2011 was a trying period for Super River with Jason's schedule changing (or so we thought), Jesse's visit to New Mexico, and Kathryne and Alex's long trips away to Portland and Atlanta, respectively. We feared they may never come back, but luckily that was not the case and the band continued. Jesse took this opportunity to test out some new recording ideas in our space at ABC studios, in Glassel Park with the help of me and our friend Andrew Lewis. These tests were successful as anyone who knows the improvement in sound quality in our recordings from late November/December 2011. Upon Kathryne's return we recorded the first versions of classics like "It's Dancing Time" and "The Liberty Science Center."
It all began with Skin Rat. Jesse, Andrew and myself decided to jam for two nights and we had a great time. We tried a few different configurations instrument-wise, but found the greatest success with myself on guitar and vocals, Andrew on bass, and Jesse on drums. Unfortunately the bass is pretty low on these recordings but the power of the trio is still apparent on these dark, heavy, and angular songs - all improvised in the usual tradition. Worth a listen if you were curious about my guitar playing.
"Blood on the Ground" is a noisy and angular goth/no wave track, "DryWings" is is a quick bit somewhat meandering track that would work well in a psychedelic Western shootout. Pretty cinematic. "Fly Climate" with its eeire vocals is also atmospheric, naturally of jungle nightmare.
DOWNLOAD: Skin Rat - Mom's Worst Nightmare (2011)
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Roots, Part 6: (Winding) Ways
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| Alex Adler, George McTernan, C-Mac |
That band was Ways, also known as Winding Ways and sometimes The Ways. It was led by my college friend Alex Adler who had amassed a large quantity of songs, ideas, and titles, all of which impressed me, such as "Inner Moon," "Alive In Well," "(Oh) Family," "Ocean Vision" and many more. Just looking forward to playing again, we began and all too quickly found drummer and recent transplant from New England George McTernan.
We began weekly sessions at Echo Park's ultra-hip rehearsal space Bedrock (where less than a year later Super River would be) and got to work on this wide body of songs. Some of the first were "Zero The Astronaut," "On Pleasure Pier," "Discipline" and "Vice/Versa." The band's influences were mostly of the 80s and 90s rock type like grunge, shoegaze, and American Underground, though with some space-rock in there too. Some more specific inspirations were the Wipers, Meat Puppets, and Bobb Trimble, with Adler's dominant guitar style evoking a lot of John Frusciante, Curt Kirkwood, and Trimble. Those four early songs were recorded in early May by Paul Igaz in his legendary basement with him on drums. I unfortunately do not have these demos at the moment which is tragic as they may be the best recordings and Igaz' drum style is quite different from McTernan's which offers a very different interpretation of these songs.
Brady Nelson played with us a few times on synth, but we were unsure how needed that was and schedules were not ideal. Through that Summer we kept playing and our setlist grew and grew into an exciting little show. That show was finally put on display at the embarrassing Highland Park venue Mr. T's Bowl with current Los Angeles buzz band Spaceships and a "punk" band called Dog Teeth or something, who I guess has a cassette or something. I found them unpleasant, but Spaceships was great. We got that show through their bassist Schuyler Stone, also of Benefit Friends (who departed that November for New York) who also, through them got Super River a nice show at Silver Lake Lounge a year later. It went well for the most part, other than my amp being a bit too loud and my mic being way too loud as the sound guy was not expecting my screams on "Pheonix" which on a good night like that were pretty ear-piercing.
We recorded nearly every rehearsal to varying success. The vocals were often far too low. We used some kind of good machine I've seen before, but an iPhone probably would have worked better as it did for Super River. There were also some really great videos made with the help of Adler's room mate Hee-Jae Park, but those have been taken down. These are probably the rawest recordings I will share. Not our best performances nor best sound quality and I think I may even be out of tune on "Vice/Versa," but this is the best I have of the band in its original form.
"Misery City" is probably the most pop-oriented song, with a dark beachy vibe. Keeping with the nautical theme, common in Adler's work is the ballad "On Pleasure Pier," which was always a lot of fun to play, even at its slower tempo. "Phoenix" was maybe our heaviest songs and definitely the heaviest here. It has a rare complexity and was more complicated than most, which made it a lot of fun to play, in addition to the screams. "Vice/Versa" is another emotional rocker, one where it's hard to find a point of reference, though.
The first song we did together "Zero The Astronaut," is obviously pretty spacy and at its best was a hypnotic piece that we would jam on for a while live despite its radical shifts. Also a lot of fun on bass. "Discipine" was a loud fast punk track, sort of like a stiffer Wipers. "Greener Paper" was also fun and one of our shortest songs that always reminded me of Nirvana for some reason, though I really can't hear it.
The band folded in late 2011 as Adler and McTernan's inability to agree on drum parts worsened and the early days of Super River made me unable to focus on any other projects - I even wrote a song partially inspired by this, also included here. It is one of the few Super River tracks with me on lead vocals.
I think all these songs have a lot of potential and just needed some fine-tuned dynamics to be classics. Luckily, Adler has stuck with most of them on his own as Zero the Astronaut - available here. So far he has recorded "Misery City" and "Solitude" which I have also included. I was lucky enough to lend my bass to "Solitude," though to see it live, and on the old video was ideal with vocal harmonies provided by George and me. It was truly something exciting and I have a lot to look forward to from Alex Adler.
THE ORIGINAL WAYS +related
Next: The lost bands, the future, and the best of friends.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
New Jersey
So, I have said a lot about New Jersey in this time and for good reason. Some of the best music of all time has come out of there. Music from the future, and the really strange thing is that as much as people talk about Maxwell's, Hoboken, Bruce Springsteen, the Misfits, etc., it was oddly enough the small town of Haledon which has the most significance. Everyone knows the Feelies and many know that's where they come from, they just played Hoboken a lot.
Additionally, many other great bands came out of that Feelies spectrum. Bands as great and influential on the right artists. All you need to do is listen to Ridgewood's Real Estate to know that. So as I have been absorbing such groups lately, both on record and in person I needed to assemble a little playlist for the uninitiated. I only have what I have so its far from complete and I tried to make it short enough to fit on one CD. So Here are some flaws: Nothing from Wake Ooloo, who I have not even heard yet, and this song by Speed the Plough, which may be the greatest song of all time. I also left out Crazy Rhythms because if you're reading this we can assume you are already familiar with this.
So, these bands...
It starts with the Feelies led by Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. After the end of their time with Stiff records they were left unoccupied but with a wonderful home studio where they encountered the Trypes (and Yo La Tengo). The Trypes were John Baumgartner, Toni Peruta, Marc Francia, and Elbrus Kelemet. Mercer then joined on production. Eventually so did Dave Weckermen, Brenda Sauter, and Stanley Demeski. When the Feelies reunited they took those three with them and the remaining members formed Speed the Plough. Sauter (and I believe Demeski) came back though. Sauter also joined Wild Carnation with husband Richard Barnes and drummer Chris O' Donovan - both of whom would be members of Speed the Plough.
Then there is Yung Wu, which was essentially the Feelies plus John Baumgartner, but with Weckerman on vocals/songwriting. These songs cover about 25 years and all but one is original. If you ask me this is how music is supposed to sound. Here is the order I planned if anyone wants it that way...
1. The Trypes - (From the) Morning Glories
2. Speed the Plough - River Street
3. Wild Carnation - The Road to Bielefeld
4. The Feelies - Waiting
5. Wild Carnation - The State You're In
6. Speed the Plough - Love Song
7. The Feelies - Too Far Gone
8. Yung Wu - Big Day
9. Speed the Plough - Cardinal Rules
10. The Trypes - Belmont Girl Is Mad At Me
11. The Feelies - On the Roof
12. Wild Carnation - The Rising Tide
13. Speed the Plough - The Roof Is Off (The Stars Are There And It's Mighty Cold)
14. Yung Wu - Aspiration
15. The Feelies - The Undertow
16. Wild Carnation - Acid Rain and 'The Big One'
17. Speed the Plough - Big Bus
18. The Feelies - Invitation
The Trypes - A Plan, Revised (Demo)
This should increase interest in my dream project which I forgot to mention to John and Toni (nee Peruta) Baumgartner to write the long-overdue story of this music scene tentatively titled We All Live on the Western Side: The Overlooked Story of New Jersey Indie rock with The Feelies Speed the Plough and Yo La Tengo. Dreams...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The Hipster Handbook turns 10.
Dig out your old copy and enjoy!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Mallard with Thee Oh Sees and Sic Alps 9/9/12
Wow, it's been a real long time since I posted, but it takes a lot to motivate me away from my own band Super River which has occupied most of my time for the past year.
So I went to this show with three of my band mates Sunday night. We missed the first band that played. I heard they were good, but that came from someone whose taste I question. We were planning to miss the second band as well, but thank god that didn't happen.
The curtain went up at the El Rey and the four-piece was lined up in a row. Apparently they don't do that all the time which is disappointing but immediately my eyes were locked on their drummer despite him being flanked by two beautiful women slinging guitars. His beats and motion were unlike anything else I've seen, innovative, clean, yet painful. It helped that everything else about this band was great. They had a cohesive noisy sound with by far the best energy and songwriting I saw all night. While performing they were such a single unit it was impossible to tell if they even had a single leader. I found out later it's frontwoman/guitarist/songwriter/engineer Greer McGettrick, but what can you do? The rest of the band was no less talented, especially evident after lead guitarist and bassist switched instruments and revealed themselves to be better in the latter role. We seemed to be the only people in the audience who got it, sadly, despite for the relatives of one member standing near us. Well with that crowd what could you expect...
The Sic Alps were revealed and their hippie-ish lead guitarist stuck out the most. His playing was one of the best parts, but who cares? The singer and drummer were both wearing baseball caps which begged the comparison to the Beastie Boys. It was embarrassing, especially after I heard that the band used to just be the two of them. So apparently they used to not have a bass player. More on that later... Bottom line they lacked any essence, I couldn't even tell what they were going for. None of us could! I may have thought they were okay apart from the aesthetic if I hadn't just seen the Mallard, but I was the lucky one, not them.
Then there was Thee Oh Sees. For years this band had never connected with me. I had just been waiting them to be my next Deerhunter and finally catch up and hear what I'd been missing. Turns out I wasn't missing a thing. Judging by the crowd's reaction, the band's energy and enthusiasm, and the tightness of the songs I am certain this was not just an "off night."
If I hadn't already known that this "band" was a product of the god-awful New England hardcore scene of yore I would have known it instantly. It's like ska, even if you move to SF and drop a lot of acid that's still what you are. Then I see there's no bass player, just some skinhead with a guitar and an octave pedal playing repeated bass lines like a machine. Wow. This review should end there. It's almost always the worst choice to not have a bass player (local newcomers Spaceships suggest otherwise), but if you're gonna cut it at least CUT IT. So I stood there for hours of this hardcore kid soloing while his backing band did a job that could be done more easily with Fruity Loops. This band I from now on will describe as "The Olive Garden of Psychedelia" was actually more boring live than on their rushed, spotty records.
So basically buy the below record and forget the other two bands exist. If you're reading this I'm sure you don't have time for them.
So I went to this show with three of my band mates Sunday night. We missed the first band that played. I heard they were good, but that came from someone whose taste I question. We were planning to miss the second band as well, but thank god that didn't happen.
The curtain went up at the El Rey and the four-piece was lined up in a row. Apparently they don't do that all the time which is disappointing but immediately my eyes were locked on their drummer despite him being flanked by two beautiful women slinging guitars. His beats and motion were unlike anything else I've seen, innovative, clean, yet painful. It helped that everything else about this band was great. They had a cohesive noisy sound with by far the best energy and songwriting I saw all night. While performing they were such a single unit it was impossible to tell if they even had a single leader. I found out later it's frontwoman/guitarist/songwriter/engineer Greer McGettrick, but what can you do? The rest of the band was no less talented, especially evident after lead guitarist and bassist switched instruments and revealed themselves to be better in the latter role. We seemed to be the only people in the audience who got it, sadly, despite for the relatives of one member standing near us. Well with that crowd what could you expect...
The Sic Alps were revealed and their hippie-ish lead guitarist stuck out the most. His playing was one of the best parts, but who cares? The singer and drummer were both wearing baseball caps which begged the comparison to the Beastie Boys. It was embarrassing, especially after I heard that the band used to just be the two of them. So apparently they used to not have a bass player. More on that later... Bottom line they lacked any essence, I couldn't even tell what they were going for. None of us could! I may have thought they were okay apart from the aesthetic if I hadn't just seen the Mallard, but I was the lucky one, not them.
Then there was Thee Oh Sees. For years this band had never connected with me. I had just been waiting them to be my next Deerhunter and finally catch up and hear what I'd been missing. Turns out I wasn't missing a thing. Judging by the crowd's reaction, the band's energy and enthusiasm, and the tightness of the songs I am certain this was not just an "off night."
If I hadn't already known that this "band" was a product of the god-awful New England hardcore scene of yore I would have known it instantly. It's like ska, even if you move to SF and drop a lot of acid that's still what you are. Then I see there's no bass player, just some skinhead with a guitar and an octave pedal playing repeated bass lines like a machine. Wow. This review should end there. It's almost always the worst choice to not have a bass player (local newcomers Spaceships suggest otherwise), but if you're gonna cut it at least CUT IT. So I stood there for hours of this hardcore kid soloing while his backing band did a job that could be done more easily with Fruity Loops. This band I from now on will describe as "The Olive Garden of Psychedelia" was actually more boring live than on their rushed, spotty records.
So basically buy the below record and forget the other two bands exist. If you're reading this I'm sure you don't have time for them.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
New Hope on Earth
Well, I just got back from another show at 5011 in Mid-City. A week and a half I went to see my friend Benefit Friends, but had to leave before he played. However it was still a good time thanks to Tubby Boots and the San Francisco band that preceded them. That band sounded like Ratatat with the guitarist from Tortoise if that rings any bells.
Tonight was an even better show, though. The first band - Furcast was amazing. They were like an epic goth-inspired Black Moth Super Rainbow... but no, that would be playing them off as a little bit more derivative, but shit, they were really great. Corridor may have been even better. Merely a heavily-affected acoustic guitar and drummer they had a very full sound.
Both bands I genuinely liked and fully endorse. I am sure they all have myspaces, but I don't really keep up with that kind of thing. Either way I think despite Jay Reatard's death we have a lot to look forward to again.
Tonight was an even better show, though. The first band - Furcast was amazing. They were like an epic goth-inspired Black Moth Super Rainbow... but no, that would be playing them off as a little bit more derivative, but shit, they were really great. Corridor may have been even better. Merely a heavily-affected acoustic guitar and drummer they had a very full sound.
Both bands I genuinely liked and fully endorse. I am sure they all have myspaces, but I don't really keep up with that kind of thing. Either way I think despite Jay Reatard's death we have a lot to look forward to again.
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