Okay people, consider me back from my summer vacay/hiatus and bigger than ever. I want to take some time out to personally invite you all to the Echoes West Fest that's a happening this Saturday, September 8th, especially if you (like me) didn't make it to FYF Fest 'cause it wasn't in the budget/ out of town/etc. As you will see from the video, this is a can't-miss lineup, including neo-psych legends of today such as Spindrift, the Silver Chords, Dead Meadow, Strangers Family Band, Daniel Aquarian, as well as super-psych/drone stars like Sterling Roswell of THE Spacemen 3 and the Strawberry Alarm Clock (yup, Z Man's house band from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls!). Also, there's gonna be amazing food trucks and a special event at Stories Books and Cafe', plus may I add, unlike FYF, you'll get to partake in this whole trip without frying in a big open space or dealing with pesky job johnnies and luxuriate in the fabulous Echo/Echoplex space in Echo Park. There are still choice tickets available here: http://www.theecho.com/event/140104/ (half the price of the FYF day passes!). I expect you all to come out to LA and show what powerful co-creators we all are. Let's make this the biggest post-summer bash ever!
I just discovered this wonderful little gem of a video while I was watching the trailer for (of all things) the experimental No-Wave Early 80s film "Liquid Sky". Mind you, Stereo Total is a French Pop duo that has
been around since the early 2000s and are famed for their cover of Salt 'N Pepa's "Push It". They're also
major fave raves of Le Tigre and it's easy to see why. This video is a living piece of Pop Art in motion and just so vibrant and sunny it could have come straight outta my turf in East L.A. Now just before you guys get all jaded and say, "yeah, yeah, but that ditz Katy Perry has SO played out the whole neon colored wig thang already. ENOUGH!". However, in this case, it so works, like all those rad pictures of Debbie Harry in technicolor wigs that I have on my Pininterest boards, so yeah, I'm obviously SO L.A. now. Can't you tell?
I just found out today via Dangerous Minds Blog that Jack White will be streaming in debut solo show at Webster Hall in NYC which will be directed by Gary Oldman, as indicated in the deets from the video above. Since I really do love everyone who reads my blog, I'd thought I'd let you guys (yes, I'm originally from the East Coast, so I can never really pull off calling anybody "Y'all" or "Y'alls") who live well outside the vicinity of of NYC in the US, and especially my international readers to know. I've been following Jack's career since the fledgling White Stripes days from day one, so not only will I be superpumped to see this concert, but his new album, "Blunderbuss", will not only be released in a mere five days, it's also projected to be No. 1 with a bullet!
Not to be missed!
I figured it's been awhile since I've done a video of the week feature, so I've included this track by the Magic Wands that I've just been really stuck on lately. Every time I hear this, I can't help but wonder and say to myself, "How can one song be just so perfect?!" It's like remembering that feeling of the first time you ever fell in love and just reliving the rush of that over and over again. Simple as that. They also just posted the new song "Black Magic", which you can check out at http://wevegotyoucovered.buzznet.com (which will also be featured on the show, Gossip Girl), also, Nylon Magazine is streaming their new album, Aloha Moon in it's entirety at www.nylonmag.com
Last but not least, they will be doing a record release party at the Satellite in beautiful Silverlake Tuesday, April 24th. Believe me, if I can tell you that one song of theirs alone is perfect, seeing them live is totally epic.
I would like to take some time to share this new EP by my friend, Jeff Gilotti, and his Psychedelic Space-Rock project from back home in Scranton, Marshmellow Staircase. I've known Jeff for close to 10 years. Back in my radio daze, I was I got to know him and his work through him being a fan of my show, where I invited him to discuss and share his musical projects. We found we shared a similar fondness for the likes of Iron Butterfly, Suicide, the Silver Apples, Acid Mothers Temple, as well as many of the intense comps that were put out on Erik Lindgren's Arf! Arf! label. I've very happily seen Jeff work his way from putting out handmade music on his own, to his more recent recordings with the close cooperation of my friends' Eric and Cassie Schlitter's Summersteps label. I can say with tremendous pride that this is EP is Jeff's best work. Both the title track and "That's Why You're Not My Girl" have a really awesome edge the way the music by Suicide, the Lyres, and (especially most recently in my new adopted city of LA) the Warlocks. The first track will, of course, be from the upcoming album, "Gunslingers" (which has an awesome picture of one of my childhood heroes, Annie Oakley), and the second is a previously unreleased gem, so I can't wait to hear more of the same. I would also highly recommend that you check out more music from the Summersteps roster at: http://summerstepsrecords.bandcamp.com/
My apologies if you haven't heard from me lately. I took a two week breather, first to celebrate my birthday two weeks ago and to celebrate St. Patrick's Day last weekend (yes, I'm legit Irish-American and then some). However, during my two week break, I got to treat myself to one of the best birthday presents I've ever enjoyed since I got to see DEVO for free at Club Nokia last year, I got to go see Sabrosa Purr, Gliss, and the Magic Wands play a show at the Satellite (formerly Spaceland) in Silverlake on the day after my B-Day. This was my first experience seeing a show at this venue, which is awesome and reminds me of a somewhat larger and more glamorous version of the Barbary in Philly. Also, the best part is that all three of these bands were especially good, plus I'm gonna make up for being behind in posting my weekly video clips by including breakdowns of all three of the bands' performances.
First band was Sabrosa Purr, which had some really sweet and mean, slinky grooves, and sounded (plus resembled) an awful lot like Boss Hog/Royal Trux. The only bummer was that the lead singer in the beginning of the set had a nasty habit of sounding a little like Billy Corgan, but he eventually got over it and they just got better and better into the set. Their new video above for "Fashion Kills" looks especially great and it's really bonus that I got to hear this track live.
The second band to go on was the Danish/Los Angeles-based Gliss, of whom I was especially excited to see, because the last time I had seen them perform was two years ago when I still lived in the Scranton area of Pennsylvania at an "Arts Center" (read: some skeevy autobody garage right next to the Susquahanna River that was BYOB (I brought I huge-ass bottle of Manuschevitz wine when all the other bros and homies brought six packs of PBR and Bud Light), whose concept of "art gallery" was a bunch of buzzsaws painted with tattoo art hung on wood paneled walls that was located in some odd NEPA patchtown). Who knows, perhaps that first show when I saw 'em was a sign that I really would be living in LA like I am now, so it was very special to see Gliss again. Before they went into their set, I saw the band hold shakers of Bac'n Bits, which I initially thought was a joke, but they ended up using them like maracas and the rest of their sent us all blissfully over the cosmos. Gliss has not only has their beautiful new video for "Weight of Love", but they have a new album coming out, they just got to play at SXSW, plus they have their own Youtube channel called GLISSmusic, so they've got lots going on for them. So happy to see these guys again and love that they're doing awesome!
The last band to go on was the incredible Magic Wands, who, like Gliss, got to play SXSW and also have a new album coming out, Aloha Moon. Not only have I met the magical Dexy and Chris, but I first got to see them perform an all-too-brief set at Harvard & Stone in Hollywood in December, but I was very richly rewarded at this show, along with the rest of the audience. Seeing them live was such an amazing rush of energy that I can't even describe and their above video for "Space" is fabulous. In all, it was an amazing night and it was so good to see all my friends who enjoyed this show with me.
For this week's Video of the Week, I decided to go back, since I recently stumbled upon this obscure 60s track on Youtube that totally blew me away (and not just for the amazing, rainbow-colored, Fruit Stripe Gum-like label art). When I first listened to it, I was immediately stunned by how much this sounds like early-80s New Wave, very similar to foofy New Romantic/New Wave act Visage's 1981 club thumper "Fade to Grey" or even most of the Synth-Pop that Ministry did (quite honestly, due to the contractual obligations) when they were on Arista. More recently, it reminds me of a lot of the material that the Chromatics are doing now on Italians Do It Better/Echo Park Records.
Before I discovered this, I thought for the most part, the only 60s Proto-New Wave track I've ever heard was the Balloon Farm's "A Question of Temperature" or most of the synth stuff on many a Moog album, but the production values of this are more unique than that, especially the arpeggiated vocals in the chorus and the tinny, off-track sound of the orchestration at the end. After hearing this track, I tried to seek out as much information as possible on this act, being that they're obviously rather obscure. There seems to be little-to-no information online about them, what we do know according to the Fuzz, Acid, & Flowers blogspot, is that they only put out two 45s in 1969, particularly this one on the legendary Tower label (home of the Standells, the Chocolate Watchband, and especially Pink Floyd's very first album, the legendary "Piper At the Gates of Dawn"), that's obviously the most notable and can be found on the comps Slowly Growing Insane and Psychedelic Unknowns Vol. 11. However, I discovered that somebody mentioned in one of the comments on Youtube for the B-side, the rather standard, Monkees-like "Poor Old Organ Grinder", mentions that vocalist Billy Elder was an engineer at Hollywood Sound Recorders at the time and that this was pretty much his studio creation. Singer Tommy Flanders of the Blues Project (of "No Time Like the Right Time" fame from the first Nuggets comp), was supposed to sing this, but found he couldn't reach certain notes, so Elder sang this track. Interestingly enough, I've found in most cases, some of the more experimental 60s tracks, such as this, were usually the work of studio musicians/engineers/producers, so this doesn't really surprise me. It would also be worth noting that this was probably one of the last singles on Tower(a more youth-oriented subsidiary of Capitol), since the label folded the same year this was released, but overall, this is an amazing track. If you have more information, please feel free to comment and let me know.
This week's video is probably going to be the easiest review I've ever done, which is for Jack White's newest single "Love Interruption", from his upcoming solo album. Considering the recent bogie he pulled by producing the Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumbasses of Nu Rock (I'm amazed that any of these people are still around) Insane Clown Posse, Jack decided to go into major damage control by an easy-does-it approach to this new single. Not only is there a great Tom Petty approach to this track, but using the opening piano lick from Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" is a very nice touch. I also really appreciate the visual homage to old Ed Sullivan Show/Hollywood Palace for the setting of this video. There's lots to like here, but the only thing that baffles me is how all the female musicians in white flowing gowns look like the Master's Wives (not to mention how Jack resembles the Master with his perpetually ashen appearance) in that bizarro 60s cult movie "Manos: Hands of Fate" (hopefully, you've all only seen it its MST3K incarnation). Even so, good save Master Jack!
This week's video is not quite a music video per-se, but it's an audio-only clip I've stumbled upon of the Heads doing a cover of an obscure Seeds song (and if you really know me, I'm ALL about the Seeds), "You Took Me By Surprise", that the Seeds did in the early-70s. I don't know much about the Heads except that a couple of my friends like 'em and that they're a Stoner/Post-Psych band from Bristol, England that has been active since the 90s. This track is actually from a Drag City records comp from 2005, and while I like the sludge-y guitar work, the only thing that keeps me from really liking the Heads is how the singer sings like "Mellow Gold"-Era Beck (at best) or more like Luna-Era Dean Wareham (at worst). Needless to say, I really do appreciate that a somewhat subversive band went out of their way to cover a lesser-known Seeds track that the Seeds did when most people (which was the case for many a 60s Garage Punk band) would have considered them washed-up at the time. In fact, I own a copy of the "Rare Sky Saxon Vol. 1: Old Fruit From New Seeds" that the Voxx label put out on vinyl in 1983 (interestingly enough, the same year I was born), which where I first discovered this track and I especially love the Marc Bolan/T Rex-ness of it. I've included a video of the original for a reference point. I'll let you all be the judge of which version you prefer as well. (FYI: I find it really cool how Sky looks just like Joe from the Icarus Line in the picture!)
This week's video isn't all that new-ish(it came out in december), but I just love it. It's beauteous! This is Glass Candy's newest video from their new album of the same name, "Warm In the Winter", of which they extol all their love and kisses to L.A., (exactly where I'm at, and yes bitches, it sure is warm in the winter 24/7 out here!)especially with the shots of Los Globos and a Whole Foods present. I've been a huge fan of theirs for 9 years, and honestly, they never disappoint. Check out their extra special message to the Universe at 3:01. Party on!
This week's new video is courtesy of one of my fav bands that I discovered last year, Nashville's JEFF the Brotherhood. They just came out with this video 2 weeks ago and it was shot during a stop in their tour itinerary in Hawaii (lucky dudes!). In case you don't know, these guys put out the best album of 2011, We Are the Champions, as well as the video of 2011, the sexy-ass Wastoid Girl (which I've also shared below).
These guys always rock the fuck out and never take themselves too seriously. DIG IT!
This video just came out this week and was seemingly (to me, at least) so hard to find on YouTube or Vimeo unless you knew the title. Thanks to being featured on Buddyhead, it was then much easier for me to track down and I was just able to finally find this on YouTube. La Sera, is of course, the new venture for Katy Goodman, formerly of the Slumber Party-esque Vivian Girls. Not only did I get the chance to catch her guest DJing at Cha Cha Lounge in Silverlake, but I also got to see her perform at a Buddyhead showcase at Harvard & Stone in Hollywood recently. Although the girl-group sensibilities from the Vivian Girls are still there, I especially love how her voice has such a crystal clear resonance, in quite the same way as Debbie Harry had on Blondie songs like "Sunday Girl' and "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear" (Katy, like me is a natural-born Jersey girl/LA Transplant), but yet, it's very unique, which I'm happy to say, I'm hearing more people in music sounding less and less derivative. Also, Katy and La Sera are awesome live ta boot. I especially loved how they seem to have a mutual admiration for Lou Christie, since they did a live cover of "The Gypsy Cried", so Katy is certainly a girl after my own heart!
While you're at it, check out Buddyhead's link for this video: http://www.buddyhead.com/2012/01/24/new-la-sera-video/
A couple of days ago, my friend Chris Beyond, who is the Co-Producer of Peepshow Menagerie, as well as the Editor/Founder of No-Fi Magazine,gave his commentary on and repost this article by Dave Goldberg from Scribd, about the challenges Musicians/Performers face in the current LA club scene, although many of the things Chris and Dave say hold true in just about any scene in the world and have always been an issue on how musicians/performers are paid/represented properly. Before my journey to my current home of Los Angeles, I was very much active in the subversive Scranton music scene from 2004-2010, of which I championed sonic working-class heroes of the East Coast, such as the Swims, An Albatross, Kid Icarus, And The Moneynotes, Okay Paddy, Marshmellow Staircase, Das Black Milk, etc. It was not unlike Olympia, Washington in the K Records era and they had their own unique venues they could call home to (Cafe Metropolis, Test Patterns, the Bog, etc.), yet I know the population differences between Scranton, PA and Los Angeles, CA (the epicenter of the recording industry), still there is very little difference in how musicians/performers have to be persistent in building a loyal fanbase, investing time and money in their self-promotion sensibly, finding reliable venues, juggling their passions with a day job, and most importantly, making sure they being treated (and compensated fairly) by venues that should do their talent justice.
Some of you have already seen this on my Facebook page, but these views cannot be addressed enough, because I means so much to me that every musician/performer I have ever known, and will know needs to know that they deserve to live a good life whilst they share their talents with the world at large. Repost this, Share this, Comment on this, Plaster fliers of this around your hometown! Know what your rights are. For what it's worth, I've included Chris Beyond's commentary below, in addition to a link for Dave Goldberg's article:
Chris Beyond:
This is a great article about the inherent problems with being a musician in L.A. (and most other big cities, I imagine).
I've always run any of the shows I've done (Music or Burlesque) on the socialist model in that we all share in the profits, because without the talent being brought in to those shows, we wouldn't have a show. I've also had to deal with bands who couldn't bring a crowd and my answer to that (to this day) is a band minimum - -which in itself is pretty minimum...but then adds up after the split. The band we just booked for this last show I did, for example, did pretty well because the show itself did really well. Now while I'm certainly not a communist, if everyone works together towards a common goal, everyone wins out in the end. This includes clubs themselves because I too have seen them come and go. The clubs that didn't get it (cough - Martini Lounge -cough) seemed to always go away.
It makes me more and more thankful that I've always had a great relationship with the clubs I've worked with either as a promoter or being in a band.
But this goes both ways. Bands need to be understanding of the situation they are getting themselves in. It is important to try to bring people in because A) it shows the club that you are willing to work hard to get our names out there and B) you are in business together with the club. Unless they are playing you a flat fee you have to understand that they are also taking a chance on you and you'll have to understand that if they don't see any growth, they have the right to not book you again - even if they are in the wrong. And it's something I hate to say because I love music from all over the spectrum from amazing to amazingly weird and strange, but just because you are a musician, it doesn't mean that you are a GOOD musician. Also working with a jazz band isn't the same as being in a punk rock band. The gigs are totally different. They just are. It doesn't mean that one deserves more money than the other, but the venues tend to have very different money situations going on.
In any case, if you are still reading this, PLEASE check out this very thoughtful article. It has lots of great points and definitely food for thought for everyone.
Last Thursday, I got a chance to check out Spindrift at Harvard & Stone in Hollywood. One of my old PA pals, Sara Minsavage, is a big fan of these guys, plus I got an invite from West Coast party-maestro Anthony Giancola, so this piqued my interest. After attending a Peepshow Menagerie show in Koreatown, (I'm part of the Burlesque, as well as the Rock and Roll worlds) I made a point of zipping over to Harvard and Stone just so I could make it in time perfectly to see them perform. During the first couple of songs, I thought they were just gonna be a rehash of that old "Rawride" riff or Ennio Morricone epic Spaghetti Western soundtracks. However, as the show went on, the drums started chugging along and I started fancy dancing like crazy. I had come to realize that if I were stranded in the desert on a vision quest, they'd be the kind of people I'd like to find on my journey and I had fallen for their cosmic appeal.
I've included a way-cool video for their track "Drifter's Pass", as well as a link to their offical site. Turns out, the band goes as far back as 1992 and they're from Delaware, of all places (insert the Wayne's World "Hi, I'm in Delaware" joke here), although the Spinto Band are from there too, so maybe that's not much of a surprise. Anyways, sit back and enjoy the magic! http://spindriftwest.com/wp/bio-2/
Just discovered recently how rad Uschi Obermaier was and still is. Not only was she a smokin' hot model in the 60s & 70s, but she was also a member of Amon Duul I, was a revolutionary in then still-uptight 60s Germany, and not only got down with Mick and Keef, but Jimi Hendrix too. Not to mention she's now a jewelry designer who now lives not too far away from me in Topanga Canyon. Here's a great article that showcases her life, especially her Commune 1 period.https://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/the-brooding-bavarian-bombshell-starfcker-uschi-obermaier/
One of my favorite things is finding some killer brootal/weird track from some hithero unknown Garage Punk band and then seeing a picture of said band where they don't look like your garden variety steakhead frat-boy/suburban dork Garage band, but turn out looking like total badass motherfuckers. Such is the case with this clip from one of my much-loved Garage comps, What A Way To Die, of the Chicago band, the Knaves (though it would have been radder if they called themselves "the Knives"), infamous track, "Leave Me Alone", a track so overtly violent, if I recall, the liner notes of What A Way To Die quips that this "may have scared away any potential fans."
