Obits - Bed & Bugs

One of the appeals of garage rock in general is the ability to transcend the performer’s actual ability. Someone forgot to let Brooklyn’s Obits of that requirement as Bed & Bugs showcases tons of vintage guitar interplay that goes beyond most basement dweller’s technical ability.

Of course, when you’re in your mid-50’s like frontman Rick Froberg, you can’t actually limit your own abilities after a while, particularly when the Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes member delivers the Obits third l.p. with such underhanded authority that you don’t even notice the precision until you focus on what’s taking place underneath that wonderful racket.

That’s key with a genre that calls for more attitude than actual prowess  and Bed & Bugs abounds in it. Opener “Taste The Diff” starts with Froberg’s hearty laugh while “Spun Out”-the record’s highwater mark-features him sounding disgusted after hitting a bum note on the first chorus. Smartly, he leaves it in, adding to the feeling of spontaneity and accuracy of intent.

Recorded in an apartment, Bed & Bugs is a welcomed stand against 21^st Century perfection and hard-drive edits. While Froberg is clearly intending to channel from the source, novice rock historians will find comparisons to White Stripes and The Strokes within easy reach, even though Rick was already well underway when both of those acts were still watching Saturday morning cartoons.

The blast begins to peter out by the second-half, including a misguided acoustic and organ saturated “Machines” which sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the rave ups present.

Aside from this minor quibble, Bed & Bugs still ranks high for its attempts to knock some sense into today’s uncalloused hands though sheer execution.  It provides somewhat of a progression from the band’s previous efforts while barely straying from American garage rocks already healthy past. And while this may seem a revelation to some younger listeners, Froberg is old enough to know exactly what he is doing and why such documents like Bed & Bugs are still important, regardless of when they’re released.

Saxon Live In Waterloo

Saxon

Live At Spicoli's, Waterloo, Iowa

September 24, 2013

“Who’s up next?” I asked the twenty-something gentleman at the door of the Spicoli’s, a fairly innocuous club off of the main drag in Waterloo. My friend and I had rolled into town about quarter hour before, preparing for the show by hanging out in the parking lot of the venue. The crowd looked pretty good for a Tuesday night judging by the number of cars outside, but it also looked like people were leaving at a rapid rate, compared to the ones who were staying.

The line-up included a pair of local openers as well as Fozzy, a metal band fronted by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho. I’ve never heard the band before, but I had heard of them.

I just never felt the need to explore a band that was fronted by a WWE wrestler, aside from the Honky Tonk Man’s entrance theme from Piledriver: The Wrestling Album 2.

The news about Jericho was interesting to my son, who is currently grounded from watching WWE wrestling because he liked to emulate the wrestlers, trying out moves on his 6 year old sister.

At first, the boy pretended that he wasn’t all that interested in the fact that I would be checking out Jericho’s band, explaining that he wasn’t a fan of the wrestler. Evidently, Jericho is a heel in his latest WWE incarnation, and my son takes such matters seriously. He hasn’t yet developed an appreciation for wrestling heels and he follows pretty close to what the script writers have laid out for him. 

As a result, when I attempted to rub in the fact that I was seeing a show featuring Fozzy was met with his ambivalence. That is, until it was time for my friend and I to leave for the show, then he went upstairs to look for things that he could get me to have Jericho sign. He didn’t completely understand how things like this work, wrongly assuming that I’d be in a position to bring in a shitload of stuff into a rock club, corner the lead singer of the band that was performing at the club so that he could sign my son’s garbage.

He also wrongly assumed that I would even devote a modicum of time to do such bidding.

I was there in Waterloo on a Tuesday night to see Saxton, one of the bands of the original New Wave of British Heavy Metal that’s still going at it, albeit in a somewhat different line-up than the one responsible for their most notable records.

It wasn’t a situation where my friend and I were opposed to seeing Fozzy or any other of the opening acts. We just weren’t concerned with making sure we arrived in time to see them.

But I knew that others would be.

Spicoli’s website was a confusing riddle, suggesting that the doors for the show would open to all ages at 7:00pm with only 21-and-older being allowed in after 10:00pm. My theory was that there would be enough underage wrestling fans like my son willing to spend $20 to be in the same room with a WWE superstar while having no interest in staying late to see Saxon.

When we arrived in Waterloo, I thought that we allowed for enough time to see Fozzy, even though I nearly blew by the place because the venue doesn’t seem to believe in signage. I triggered the anti-lock brakes when my friend yelled “There it is!” as he spotted Spicoli’s in a non-descript location and quickly made the turn into the entrance. It was in a strip mall. At the other end was a rental place. On the side facing the street advertised “For Lease” instead of something that screamed “Metal. In Here”

It was clear that we were in between bands when we parked. The doors to Spicoli’s were open and you could hear the sound of the p.a. music as you walked up. I wanted to see if we made it in time to hear Fozzy, so I asked the young man who took my twenty dollar bill.

“Saxton.” he replied, not knowing-or possibly not caring-that the “t” was silent for the dedicated group of fifty patrons that remained inside.

I didn’t bother to correct him.

Spicoli’s is a nice joint. Good layout. Plenty of space for a rock club in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area, but it looked a bit small for someone of Saxon’s caliber, a band that still regularly performs in front of large crowds in Europe.

"We'd like to thank Fozzy Bear and Dr. Tongue for opening tonight..."

The small stage was literally covered in guitar cabinets while a tidy trap set with double kick drums was nestled in between the amplification. The heads of the bass drums featured the Saxon logo prominently in front with a smaller Fozzy logo directly underneath it. It seemed the drummers for both bands shared one kit, or at least with this date they did, an efficient decision given the small working space.

Our arrival was almost perfectly timed as a quick drink order and a jaunt around the club was all the time needed before Saxon arrived to the stage.

Only two original members remain: vocalist Biff Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn. Both men are in their early 60’s and both men continue to put in grueling schedules, the kind that includes a long list of one-nighters.

The kind that gets them into places like Waterloo, Iowa on a Tuesday night.

The other members of Saxon are by no means spring chickens, nor are they wet behind the ears. Drummer Nigel Glockler has been playing with Saxon off-and-on since the early 80’s.

Bassist Nibbs Carter has been with the band for the past 25 years and second guitarist Doug Scarratt has been on board since ’96. In other words, they may not be the original members of Saxon, but they’ve all certainly cut their teeth with the band for quite some time.

It didn’t take long before Byford acknowledged the close proximity. “Looks like we’re having an intimate gig tonight.” He observed. It was unclear if his words referenced the size of the club, or the size of the audience.

A crowd of 50 people on a Tuesday night would be a very honorable achievement for some bands, but it may have been a bit too small for Saxon’s liking. Byford again tried to play it off a bit by declaring “It doesn’t matter if we play to 100,000 people or 100…As long as we have an audience, we’ll keep playing.”

For my own selfish reasons, this was exactly the size of crowd that I was hoping for. “It’s like having Saxon play in your living room!” as my friend compared it to. Indeed, there is something appealing about having a line of Marshall amps in such a small area, but the real benefit is when the band in front of them is one of Saxon’s caliber.

It seemed that my own joy of the intimacy was shared equally by the other four dozen faithful that remained. I saw men of my age and older, including one gentlemen who obviously had issues in simply getting to the gig. His wife was there to help him to his seat, which he pulled as close to the stage as he could. Unfortunately for him, the small crowd stood directly in front of him, but by the end of the show, I noticed that he was on his feet, fist pumping in time with the rhythm while his wife helped steady him while he was upright.

There were others like him and the vast majority of them much more able-bodied and able to rock under their own power.

The only people I noticed under the age of 30 were staff, allowing those of us who were older to have the night completely to ourselves without worrying about how silly we all must have looked to the bar staff.

Whatever. It's not like they had anything of substance. I caught one bartender gleefully explaining to two patrons how his roommate likes to pee while standing down.

Back in front of the stage, a middle-aged man with long hair and glasses was a fist-pumping machine, requiring him at one point to grab hold of his glasses because he was rocking with a bit too much enthusiasm. He looked like a cross between Garth from Wayne’s World and metal filmmaker Sam Dunn and I can say without any hesitation or sarcasm that this man was my hero throughout the entire 90 minute set.

Another gentlemen in the middle of the crowd established enough space around him to air guitar for the duration. His grin was a mile wide at certain points, and his eyes were glued shut as he shredded on his make-believe Gibson. 

About a dozen or so members of the most faithful audience comprised the entire front row and sang along to every song. Not once did they leave their positions for the entire night, not even for a bathroom break for the new material.

Saxon did not disappoint. They hit every single classic song they were supposed to including the evening’s anthem “This Town Rocks” from 1983’s Power and the Glory and the title track to Denim & Leather was brought out early.

The band was chugging along by this point as the track was noticeably faster than the album version, which speaks nicely for a bunch of old farts.

By the time the band had tackled three or four songs from the setlist, Byford opened it up for requests and received an earful back. Midway through the set, Biff tore up the actual setlist from the floor, admitting “Well, looks like we won’t be needing this anymore.”

He then put the torn pieces into his mouth and pretended to eat them.

In fact, if we were to believe Byford, “This Town Rocks” hadn’t been played live in 4 years, but the band delivered the proto-thrash cliché with enough conviction to fool anybody.

The newer material sounds better live than the studio counterparts, even the songs that featured an inexplicable pre-recorded introduction. I’m sure that such decisions are pretty seamless in larger venues, but for a Tuesday night in Waterloo, Iowa, such pauses seemed silly, considering how the band had nowhere to go when the lights were cut for maximum effect.

At one point, guitarist Quinn mocked the canned introduction by acting as the crowd’s conductor during a recorded choir, pretending it was the audience singing the bit. The band would have been better served by truly leaving the script entirely and focusing on the way things were originally done back in ’76 when the band hit every small joint possible to get their name out, keeping each tune loud and uncluttered.

For the most part, that is exactly what they did.

Early in the set, Byford turned his back to the crowd and faced the drummer, shaking his now-silver mane while Doug Scarratt soloed. When the shredding was over, Biff quickly turned back to face the crowd and looked a bit startled when he faced Scarratt’s back side directly in front of him, evidently forgetting that the other musicians didn’t have far to go during their moments in the spotlight.

"We choo-choo choose you, Waterloo! Here's a song about a train!"

Bassist Carter remained a constant source of joy and enthusiasm throughout the entire performance. As the band’s youngest member at 46 years old, Nibbs wore a smile at every chance, looking like there was nowhere on Earth that he’d rather be than in Waterloo, Iowa playing with Saxon.

All band members seemed to genuinely appreciate the obvious dedication shown by the small crowd, performing a set that hinted at its spontaneity while still remaining tight and professional. What makes this point so impressive to me is, again, the fact that there’s barely an off day in their current tour schedule. They’re hitting nearly every venue that will host them regardless of size with the goal to make this jaunt as profitable as they can. And, let’s not mince words here, they’re old. I don’t think I could handle a schedule as grueling at my age, but here is a group of guys that have even a few decades on me and they’re still bashing out some pretty gnarly speed without a hint of pretention or self-pity.

They are a blue-collar band from England who understand that their line of work still requires a bit of heavy lifting, while still having enough pride to make every gig count. It was an example of self-preservation, but with a notion that they still have a few years left to correct their misguided attempts at a more commercial sound beginning with ‘85’s Innocence Is No Excuse.

From that moment on, Saxon witnessed their fan base diminish and they have been working hard ever since to regain some of those lost numbers by focusing on only the basic elements that brought them notoriety to begin with.

It must be clear to them that they’ve never reach the same levels of popularity like a few of their peers were able to achieve, but Saxon’s salt-of-the-Earth persona is a breath of fresh air in a club filled with cigarette smoke.

“There’s nowhere for us to go, so if you don’t mind, we’re just going to keep playing through.” Byford explained towards the end. “Besides, what are we supposed to do? Hide behind the amps for a few minutes and then come back on stage?”

It was a logical explanation, along the same lines as his earlier comment to everyone who kept screaming for “Princess Of The Night” to be patient. They had the song tucked in at the very end.

For those of you not familiar with the Saxon song, “Princess Of The Night,” it is not your typical heavy metal song. Its pace is quick and its riff is memorable, but what makes the song such required listening is its content.

“Princess Of The Night” is a song about a train.

Let me be blunt and say that while “Princess Of The Night” is sheer perfection in terms of heavy metal’s worth, Saxon was also capable of everything that is wrong about the genre. The band’s entire oeuvre is realistically hit or miss, but for a brief window of time, say 1980 to 1983, Saxon worked a lather-rinse-repeat formula of blue collar horsepower that endures to this day.

They spent an inordinate time gazing outside the van windows and writing about nearly every conceivable amount of transportation. So while every other metal band found solace in a lady’s bosom, bands like Saxon, Motorhead, and Maiden made records about other items of interest in a working man’s life.

For Saxon, that passion seems to lie in the manner in which we get from one place to another.

The next place for the band, by the way, was in Texas, so if anything the Waterloo date served as the gas money needed to get to Dallas with a stop at a Residence Inn along the way. They must have wanted to leave in a hurry, as the band quickly left via the “beer garden” leaving a pair of beefy bouncers to shoo away potential fans who wanted to get close to them.

Still, it was strange that the band didn’t hang for a while after the show, taking advantage of the dedicated crowd. They were loyal to the genre, sporting t-shirts for bands like Accept and Y&T-two outfits also still working the circuit-and they would have easily dug out the wallet for an autographed cd or poster. Why the band left the ‘Loo so quickly while leaving real money on the table is curious.

Again, this is hardly a complaint and I don’t feel guilty that probably the majority of patrons from that Tuesday night had come and gone before “Saxton” hit the stage. Their loss (maybe their age too, all things considered) turned out to make a more ideal setting for old farts at play. Saxon certainly deserved a larger crowd than what they received on a weeknight, but those that did make it will probably count it as a memorable encounter with a still potent old member of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Bob Forrest Documentary Out Today

So what if he did?

This should be good, Courtney Love crocodile tears an all.

Thelonious Monster were a criminally undervalued band, but it would be disingenuous to suggest that Bob Forrest didn't have more than just a little to do with the band's downward spiral. Like I mentioned before, it took years for me to figure out that the guy in the silly looking hat on Dr. Drew's exploitive shows about addiction was the same dude that teeter on the edge for years as the frontman to Thelonious Monster.

I think it was Strange Weather that got me interested, but when the band failed to produce a meaningful follow up for some years afterwards, I forgot about 'em.

As you will see from the clip at the bottom, it's a wonder that Forrest ever made it out alive. It's incredible footage because it's like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. And the man that was completely off the rails had more talent that he knew what to do with. Here's the press release and trailer, but stay tuned for the self-destruction at the bottom.

Bob And The Monster is a documentary chronicling the life of charismatic singer/songwriter Bob Forrest, from his days as front man of the indie rock band Thelonious Monster, through his life-threatening struggle with addiction, to his triumph and transformation into one of the most influential addiction counselors in the US today.

The film crafts contemporary footage, animation and compelling interviews with rare archival performances and exclusive personal videos from Bobʼs past to reveal the complex layers of this troubled, but optimistic soul. Testimony from his peers, including Courtney Love, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, members of Janeʼs Addiction, Fishbone and Guns nʼ Roses add texture, but itʼs the depth of Bobʼs music, interwoven throughout the film, that illuminates this unforgettable and truly inspirational story.

Director Keirda Bahruth has spent six years filming Bob Forrest and depicts a fascinating portrait of an intrepid soul whose passion for living and self-discovery is evident in both his failures and successes. The film traces his extraordinary life, from a traumatic childhood event through decades of poverty and drug addiction; numerous menial jobs and an unlikely rise to stardom with his band Thelonious Monster; then back again through homelessness, 22 drug rehabs and jail; to his unexpected transformation into an acclaimed drug and alcohol counselor who now dedicates his life to helping fellow musicians recover from addiction.

The Soundtrack / Score (available on October 1st) for this award wining documentary is composed by Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. It also includes tracks from Thelonious Monster, The Bicycle Thief and Bob Forrest.

Bob And The Monster transcends the stereotype of heroin addicted rock star and reveals a more personal message. Bobʼs story is a living testament to the heights of human courage and the ability to shape your own destiny.

The Edie Adams Television Collection Gets Release Date

Ernie Kovacs was the man.

But then again, his wife Edie Adams had a big-ass pair of trousers too.

Kovacs tirelessly wooed Adams until she finally relented and said yet.

She was quite a catch, and he knew it.

He died in a car wreck on the way home from Adams' baby shower. The two took separate vehicles.

After his passing, she continued to produce television specials, which have now been compiled in a very detailed box set.

Press:

More than 50 years after it premiered on the ABC network, the variety shows Here's Edie and The Edie Adams Show are set for release on DVD and digital formats. This is the first time either television show has been seen in any format since its original broadcast more than a half a century ago.

Produced and Distributed via MVD Entertainment Group in association with Ediad Productions, Here's Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection is set for release in stores across North America and Internationally on November 19, 2013.

The 'wow' factor of this box set resides in the eclectic guest stars Edie Adams was personally able to secure for the show. Jazz fans will be able to see, rare performance footage of giants, such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman and Al Hirt, among others. Popular vocalists include Sammy Davis Jr., Bobby Darin and Johnny Mathis and more.

Comedians include Bob Hope, Rowan & Martin, Soupy Sales along with Buddy Hackett, Dick Shawn and Terry-Thomas who co-starred with Adams in the classic motion-picture It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

Classical music fans can look forward to performances of Andrew Previn, Lauritz Melchoir and Laurindo Almeida. Additional guests include Allan Sherman, Spike Jones, Peter Falk, Sir Michael Redgrave, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Buddy Hackett and more.

Unlike any variety show before or since, Here's Edie The Edie Adams Television Collection is a tour-de-force for a female entertainer in the early-1960's. After the sudden passing of her husband Ernie Kovacs in January 1962, Adams forged ahead with her own headlining show, showcasing her many talents.

Adams hosts, sings, dances, acts, does comedy, takes an uncredited role of costumer Enke and also produces her own show. While much has been said of Adams' preservation efforts of the Ernie Kovacs archive, she also left behind a stunning body of her own work that survives due only to her indefatigable preservation efforts.

This 12-hour, four DVD set features a new digital transfer from original 2-inch videotapes of the entire 1962-64 run of 21 episodes (with her famed Muriel Cigar commercials intact) plus extensive bonus footage.

This material includes rarely seen Adams musical numbers from numerous Ernie Kovacs shows of the 1950's with introductions from Kovacs himself. Other bonus features include a set of commercial promos by Adams and another Mad World co-star Sid Caesar (whose The Sid Caesar Show alternated weeks with Edie's shows), a Muriel Cigars promotional film and more.

Also included is a lush 16-page booklet packed with rare photos from the family archive, an essay from Edie's son Joshua Mills and a show-by-show rundown from Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams curator and DVD co-Producer Ben Model.

Directors for Adams shows included Barry Shear and Joe Behar (who also directed many episodes of Ernie Kovacs's shows) as well as Steve Binder (The T.A.M.I Show, Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special), which helped forge each episode as a unique program unto itself. Conceptualized by Adams, her shows were not only themed but also taped in-studio as well as on location. This includes entire episodes shot in a Las Vegas hotel/casino nightclub, another on the streets of London, one shot entirely in the sparse Nevada desert and another in New York City to accommodate her busy schedule.


Here's Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection

DISC ONE 

*Here's Edie Pilot Airdates: April 9, 1962, May 26, 1963 (as Special #7)
Guests: Dick Shawn, André Previn
*Special #1-"New York" Airdate: October 23, 1962
Guests: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Peter Falk, the Claremont String Quartet
*Special #2-"London" Airdate: December 13, 1962
Guests: Sir Michael Redgrave, the Piccadilly Buskers, the Grenadier Guards, the Third Air Force Band, and the children of London. 
*Special #3-"Bossa Nova" Airdate: January 20, 1963
Guests: Stan Getz, Laurindo Almeida, the Roger Wagner Chorale, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra (plus cameos by Don Rickles and Cesar Romero)
 *Special #4-"Las Vegas" Airdate: February 26, 1963
Guests: Charlie Barnet, The Eligibles, the Earl Barton Dancers, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra, Eddie Fisher
*Special #5 -"Western" Airdate: March 16, 1963
Guests: Hoagy Carmichael, Rowan & Martin, Hank Henry, the Homer Garrett Dancers, The Eligibles, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra.

DISC TWO 

 Here's Edie (contd.)

*Special #6-"Love" Airdate: April 19, 1963
 Guests: Buddy Hackett, The United Nations Children's Choir, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra
*Special #8 -"Bob Hope" Airdate: June 18, 1963
  Guests: Bob Hope, Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra, The United Nations Children's Choir, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra The Edie Adams Show (After the show returned from a summer break, it was given a new title.)

*Special #1 Airdate: September 26, 1963
  Guests: Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eddie Sauter, Stan Getz 
*Special #2 Airdate: October 10, 1963
  Guests: Louis Nye, Maury Wills
*Special #3 Airdate: October 24, 1963
  Guests: Al Hirt, Nancy Wilson

EXTRA -
Sid Caesar and Edie Adams promos
Song performances from Ernie Kovacs shows:
"Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)"- Ernie in Kovacsland, July 6, 1951
"My Funny Valentine" - Ernie in Kovacsland, August 23, 1951
" 'S Wonderful" - Kovacs on the Corner, January 1952
"I Feel a Song Coming On" - Kovacs Unlimited, May 28, 1952
"Mississippi Mud" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, January 4, 1956
Marilyn sings "Ballad of Davy Crockett" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, January 4, 1956
"Paradise" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, January 23, 1956
"Get Happy" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, January 26, 1956
"A Sunday Kind of Love" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, January 30, 1956

DISC THREE

The Edie Adams Show (contd.)

*Special #4 Airdate: November 7, 1963
Guests: Allan Sherman, The United Nations Children's Choir; plus regulars George Furth, Don Chastain, Peter Hanley
*Special #5 Airdate: November 21, 1963
Guests: Don Chastain, John Hendricks, Lauritz Melchior, Count Basie and His Band; plus George Furth *Special #6 Airdate: December 5, 1963
Guests: Sammy Davis Jr., Mitzi McCall & Charlie Brill; plus Don Chastain, Peter Hanley 
*Special #7 Airdate: December 19, 1963
 Guests: Rowan & Martin, André Previn; plus Don Chastain, Peter Hanley
*Special #8 Airdate: January 2, 1964 
Guests: Pete Fountain, Cliff Norton; plus Don Chastain, Peter Hanley

EXTRAS -

Song performances from Ernie Kovacs shows:
"Everything I Have Is Yours" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, April 12, 1956
"Dancing on the Ceiling" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, April 17, 1956
"Chicago" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, April 20, 1956
"I Could Have Danced All Night" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, April 26, 1956
"Moritat" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, May 8, 1956 
"Honey Bun" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, May 17, 1956
"Summertime" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, June 12, 1956

DISC FOUR

The Edie Adams Show (contd.)

*Special #9 Airdate: January 16, 1964
Guests: Terry-Thomas, Spike Jones,
*Special #10 Airdate: February 6, 1964
Guest: Bobby Darin
*Special #11 Airdate: February 20, 1964
Guests: Woody Herman and His Band, Jack Sheldon, Mitzi McCall & Charlie Brill
*Special #12 Airdate: March 5, 1964
Guests: John Raitt, Louis Nye, Charlie Byrd, Mitzi McCall & Charlie Brill
*Special #13 Airdate: March 18, 1964
Guests: Johnny Mathis, Soupy Sales, Alan Sues 

EXTRAS -

Song performances from Ernie Kovacs shows:
"To Keep My Love Alive" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, June 27, 1956
"Take Me in Your Arms" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, July 24, 1956
Medley: "Lullaby of Broadway" & "42nd Street" - The Ernie Kovacs Show, August 27, 1956
Muriel promotional film (1965)

The OCD Chronicles: Death Cab For Cutie - "Photobooth"

Death Cab For Cutie takes the Shoe Leather Express

You might be able to tell through my words, thoughts, and endless reminiscing that my heart is full of flawed romanticism. Certain actions from years ago still haunt me and I’m very aware that I cannot change things that I’ve done to others, or choices that I may have made.

This includes a list of women that I could not communicate effectively with or provide the type of relationship that they may (or may not) have been trying to achieve. And while my choices-those flawed and those that were correct-have led me to the place that I am at today, I cannot help but wish the path to my current happiness was a bit more honest, efficient, and completely aware of how love may be life’s only true fulfilling thing. These feelings of regret are brought to light through songs.

After all, it’s the soundtrack to our lives, right?

And there’s probably one band in particular that is led by another man with a full heart, who’s catalog is filled with glances in life’s rear view mirror, constantly re-evaluating scenes in his head and roads he could have taken instead.

Christ, even their name is stuck in a reference from yesterday: Death Cab For Cutie.

I’m tired of talking about this band’s rise and fall in my own playlist, but I cannot ignore how there are songs in their catalog that serve as triggers. Because, let’s face it, part of becoming completely enamored with a band’s music often depends on how closely it relates to your own life. There may be themes or topics that appear in their songs that are so close to a personal experience or event that you’re almost certain that the lyricist has been snooping around in your journal, emails, or even worse-your mind, to come up with a few lines of prose for a fucking pop song.

And you love them all the more for it.

Like I said, I’ve fallen out of love with Ben Gibbard, but admittedly this may having more to do with no longer being such a fanboy that I don’t have a proper reference to his most recent work. All I have is the moment where our relationship ended, and the fond memories that he created with Death Cab For Cutie before our falling out.

One snapshot is the appropriately titled “Photobooth” from their 2000 e.p. Forbidden Love.

 The extended play is for completists only. Casual fans can stay away because short of half the songs on the five track e.p. are mere alternate takes or acoustic versions of songs that already appeared in their much better full length offerings. Two other songs are leftovers and they sound it.

That leaves one truly good track, which stands out in my mind as “great” because of the aforementioned connotations to my own memories which also seem to reflect Gibbard’s.

“Photobooth”

“I remember when the days were long” Gibbard begins “And our nights when the living room was on the lawn.” Usually, as we get older and more responsible, we tend to forget those times when our vehicles were the ticket to freedom. It was a time when an act like being able to simply hang out with a member of the opposite sex required traveling a short distance, and often the grass of a park, or cemetery, or beach, or whatever, became our refuge and our furniture. After all, how can you discover each other through thought or touch when your parents or roomates are within earshot in another part of the house?

“Constant quarreling, the childish fits/And our clothes in a pile on the ottoman” It must have been the hormones, because when the fuck did so little turn into so much drama? It is moments like this when I look back and realize how much time was wasted on trivial things, preventing us from enjoying what Queen referred to as this “crazy little thing called love.”

Those moments are precious, and to squander them now seems wasteful, but during your younger years, I’m willing to bet that most relationships are spent creating and dealing with petty bullshit instead of enjoying the moments you have with someone else to the fullest. Particularly in the summer.

Did you ever find love at the beginning of the season, work like hell to get them in the sack and then realize when it was all over that there was no chance of the relationship ever moving beyond that one moment? By the time the leaves on the trees begin to change, so does your attraction.

 Gibbard’s next line is where “Photobooth” really stands next to copyright infringement for me:

“Well I lost track and those words were said
You took the wheel and you steered us into my bed
Soon we woke and I walked you home
And it was pretty clear that it was hardly love”

When you finally get “permission” to advance, when it becomes clear that everything you have worked for the entire season to achieve is finally becoming a reality, it’s only afterwards that you figure out how maybe the other person isn’t the complete package that you’d hoped for. Maybe the sex wasn’t that good. Maybe you’re plagued with the guilt of saying things you didn’t actually mean and now you’re faced with the reality of having to distance yourself away. Maybe it’s the regret of opening the present before Christmas morning. 

The temperature in Iowa at this moment has literally dropped over twenty degrees in the course of one or two days. The hint of fall is approaching, and the memories of all of the things that didn’t get done are clearly in front of me.

Yet, my mind wanders as it often does, to a time when the only honey do list was to change direction with the season, on that seemingly endless quest to connect with someone. To finally get it right. To build a more permanent memory than some immediate snapshot taken in the photobooth of some dingy bar of a relationship that was extinct before the machine dished out the evidence of another example of wasted time.

Not necessarily wasted on the other person, but maybe the time spent with that person was riddled with pointless exercises that prevented you from taking the next step, or stepping away to look for a connection in a different direction.

May the cool air push your hard heart forward.

Former Genesis Guitarist Kicks Off Genesis Revisited Tour II

The most interesting thing to note about Steve Hackett's upcoming tour of old Genesis material is that he's got Phil Collins' son with him.

Initially, I was worried that old Phil himself would weasel his way out of retirement and join him. But then I remembered how Collins' last "retirement" tour with his old bandmates was a complete failure and how Collins is old and decrepit now, unable to hear anything out of his left ear and unable to hold a drum stick after an injury to his vertebrae after watching long-time touring percussionist Chester Thompson play all of his drum parts for him.

It should be noted that Thompson is actually about three years older than Collins, but then again, age ain't nothin' but a number.

Just ask Aaliyah.

Oh wait...

I suppose I shouldn't be so snarky towards Collins. After all, the most recent news from his camp was that he was suicidal and suffering from a severe case of low self esteem. Maybe a nice, relaxing evening watching Brother Bear in his tax-haven compound in Switzerland is in order.

Or perhaps he could go online and check his bank statement.

That should cheer him up.

But seriously folks, Steve Hackett is still out there trying to earn a buck playing smaller venues and I bet that it ranks above any Phil Collins/Genesis tour anyway, while still far behind any stage offering by Peter Gabriel.

A little bit of advice, Steve: I would hide any evidence of your involvement with the "supergroup" GTR from any future publicity. Trust me, don't let your heart rule the mind on that one.

The press release of Hackett's tour follows:

World-renowned guitarist/composer Steve Hackett is set to tour North America in support of his latest album, Genesis Revisited II with the Steve Hackett Genesis Revisited Tour 2013. The dates will kick off in St. Charles, IL on Friday, September 20th, will run through mid-October and will boast a set list of all Genesis material including such fan favorites as "Musical Box," "Firth Of Fifth" and "Supper's Ready". The performances will also include a specially-designed light show.

Selling England by the pound and charging $50 a seat here in the states.

The Steve Hackett Genesis Revisited Tour has already broken box office records in the UK, Europe and Japan. Please see below for the full North American itinerary. Steve Hackett's recent double disc Genesis Revisited II (InsideOut Music) features reinterpreted Genesis classics from the period dearest to Hackett, the "golden era" 1971-1977, with a stellar array of guest performers; Hackett enlisted the help of 35 special guests to provide the songs with a new unique edge. The star-studded line-up includes respected vocalists Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Simon Collins (Phil Collins' son), Amanda Lehmann, Conrad Keely, Francis Dunnery, Neal Morse, John Wetton, Nad Sylvan and Nik Kershaw. Steve Rothery of Marillion and Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings and Transatlantic joined in to share guitar duties, while Jeremy Stacey and Gary O'Toole are amongst the chosen drummers.

In 2010, Steve Hackett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame at The 25th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony alongside his Genesis bandmates from the classic line-up: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. For more than three decades, Steve Hackett has been known for his innovative tone and extraordinary versatility as a guitarist and composer. He helped define Genesis' sound as lead guitarist in the classic line-up and went on to have a highly-successful career as a solo artist, and also as part of 80s supergroup GTR with Steve Howe.

Steve Hackett North American tour dates:

SEPTEMBER

20 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
21 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
22 Milwaukee, WI The Pabst Theatre
23 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
25 New York, NY Best Buy Theater
26 Lakewood, NJ The Strand Theater
27 Westbury, NY NYCB Theatre At Westbury
28 Ridgefield, CT The Ridgefield Playhouse
29 Albany, NY The Egg Center For The Performing Arts

OCTOBER

3 Montreal, QC Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier Place Des Arts
4 Quebec City, QC Grand Theatre De Quebec
5 Gatineau, QC Le Casino Du Lac Leamy
6 Belleville, ON Empire Theater
8 Oakville, ON Oakville Centre For Performing Arts
9 Oakville, ON Oakville Centre For Performing Arts
10 Munhall, PA Carnegie Music Hall Of Homestead
11 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
12 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
13 Collingswood, NJ Scottish Rite Auditorium

KISS - Lick It Up

Thirty years ago today, KISS did the impossible and made a correction to their downward trajectory by releasing an album where the members appeared without their makeup.

Hard to believe, but the record buying public was swindled once again by viewing such an event as an important artistic endeavor, rather than rightly hearing that Lick It Up was anything more than par-for-the-course bullshit, this time featuring “newest” member, guitarist Vinnie Vincent.

I’m already getting mad at the band again by writing this, and I haven’t even gotten to the actual review of the record yet.

You see, Vincent had already contributed to their last album, Creatures Of The Night, a surprisingly decent effort that continued to feature original guitarist Ace Frehley on the cover (and subsequent video for the lead-off single, “I Love It Loud”) even when he was nowhere on the recording.

Vincent was hired to be a reliable songwriter and contributor after Ace became disillusioned with the band’s nonsense, while the remaining creative core of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley refused to provide Frehley’s replacement with any contract, naming him as an official member.

Now, you would think that such an arrangement would have caused Vincent to balk at any additional work with Simmons and Stanley, but the dumbass continued along with them, including a stint as a full-fledged makeup-wearing member going by the name of “The Ankh Warrior.”

The makeup thing clearly wasn’t working for them any longer, so Simmons and Stanley pressed on sans makeup, and they suckered Vincent into working with them again for Lick It Up.

Here’s the thing, the idea of KISS doing a record without their makeup was still a huge deal thirty years ago, even though they had released an album entitled Unmasked three years before Lick It Up. As fans discovered, Unmasked was a ruse to sell more records; none of the members actually ditched their makeup as the title suggested.

Lick It Up was different as KISS actually swindled MTV into giving them airtime for the big “reveal,” although they let the second least popular VJ, JJ Jackson (Nina Blackwood was first because they gave her the graveyard shift while “Triple J” got evenings) host the event. Jackson did a good job of hyping the proceedings, but if you were like me (yes, I watched it), the moment you saw the member’s true faces, you screamed at the television screen for them to put it back on.

The members of KISS are not the most visually stunning specimens in rock music.

Thirty years later, nobody gives a shit about what the members of KISS look like, and all we have left is the recorded evidence of Lick It Up, 10 songs of frustratingly mediocre arrangements and an endless parade of embarrassing sexuality that goes beyond the norms of traditional rock and roll juvenilia.

The title track was everywhere, or at least it seemed. Despite having MTV on board and placing the post-apocalyptic video which featured thralls of women thrusting themselves at the makeup-free band members, the actual single never made it into the Top 40 Billboard charts, leaving “Beth” as the lone hit single (at that time) for these pathetic creatures of the night.

Again, the 10 songs featured on Lick It Up were the direct result of Vinnie Vincent’s involvement with the band, and while he fought tooth and nail to suggest that his contributions were the reason for the band’s resurgence-adding to his suggestion that he should become a full, card-carrying member of the band-there is nothing on this album to warrant any amount of pride or credit.

If anything, Vinnie Vincent would have done better to hide his involvement, telling anyone who feigned interest on his career that he was a session player for Happy Days or the tambourine player for Dan Hartman.

“Lick It Up” is essentially two chords and a suggestive lyric, which doubles as a sexual innuendo for eating sperm and is remarkably not even close to the most patently offensive article on the album.

For that, you have to (once again) rely on Gene Simmons, who pens an ode to anal sex (“Fits Like A Glove”) as well as one to skull fucking (“Dance All Over Your Face”). Simmons dwells on the opposite sex and the act of intercourse with such a notable amount of disdain that you wonder if all of his conquests were mentally challenged enough to legally consent.

And after viewing his face on the cover, you also tend to wonder if he was still “masked” for the acts themselves.

All of this sounds like sour grapes, I realize, but when you hear Lick It Up you immediately ponder “What’s the big deal?” and “Why was this even notable?” These are the musical equivalents of conversations in the locker room after 8^th grade football practice or the musings of some schmuck who has never seen the female form outside of his dad’s Playboy collection. To understand that this was the work of men past the age of 30 is an embarrassment, and the lack of creative musicality on Lick It Up is a slight to the rock and roll genre.

Ironically, Paul Stanley later nailed it on when he declared that Lick It Up was a sub-par effort, one in which fans purchased it because “people were listening with their eyes and not their ears.” Had they been using both of their senses, it be should have been clear that KISS were a very ugly band with very ugly intentions.

Mickey Thomas Revamps Starship Moniker For A New 10-Year Tour Of County Fairs

Starship post-Jefferson announced recently that they will be releasing their first album in over 20 years, insuring that we will see frontman Mickey Thomas' promotional photo for the next half decade in various county fair posters across the country.

Evidently, they have exhausted all of their greatest hits options (what, no live recordings of their most notable songs or re-recordings of the hits?) and not gotten the memo that nobody gives a shit about hearing anything coming out of Thomas' mouth besides hearing "We Milked This Titty For All Its Worth" "We Built This City" for the millionth time.

This is in addition for the hundreds of thirty and forty-somethings across the country named "Sara" who can be found mouthing the line "storms are brewin' in your eyes" right along with Mickey.

Perhaps Thomas should pay closer attention to another line from the same song:

"Move on, it's no good to go back in time"

In other Starship news...This time of the Jefferson variety (try to keep up), Paul Katner (the only remaining original member) continues to peddle his latest version of the band.

While I haven't spend a ton of time researching what Katner's band is up to, the Jefferson Starship website is filled with curious announcements like "Jefferson Starship Saves The Universe" and a wide array of photoshopped Richard Nixon photos.

Sounds like someones is still way upset about Nixon's backroom authorization of the bombing of Cambodia!

The aforementioned new promotional shot of Mickey Thomas and press release of Starship's newest record are found below.

Classic rockers Starship featuring Mickey Thomas have signed to Loud & Proud Records; the band's first new studio album in more than 20 years, Loveless Fascination, will be released worldwide on September 17th. Of the signing, Loud & Proud President Tom Lipsky commented, "Mickey Thomas is one of the most gifted singers in rock music history. His voice is pure, and without boundaries. Loveless Fascination stands with pride next to the most impressive work of Mickey's entire career."

Frontman Mickey Thomas added, ""It's been a long time coming. With each passing year, the bar was raised higher and higher for this album. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you the expectations caused me a few sleepless nights. Finally I just said - let's play it like we used to play it but play it like it's today! Then everything fell into place. The right management came along, the right songs appeared, the perfect producer and finally the label I hoped for. Now the wait is over. Please PLAY IT LOUD!!"

Find your way back...to the stage next to the funnel cake stand!

Produced by musician/producer Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Foreigner, Dio), Loveless Fascination finds Starship featuring Mickey Thomas in reinvigorated form with their classic arena rock sound enhanced by modern elements and a harder edge. Starship will play select tour dates around the world in advance of the album's release; please see below for the itinerary.

Starship featuring Mickey Thomas is one of the most iconic rock band from the '80s, with several platinum- and gold-certified albums to their name, recording several of the decade's biggest anthems, including "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," "Sara" and "We Built This City." "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and "Sara" each reached #1 on the singles chart and were also each nominated for Grammy Awards; additionally, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" also received an Oscar nomination. "We Built This City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" were more recently featured prominently in the smash hit musical and film, Rock Of Ages, introducing the band to a whole new generation of fans.

While the band's history goes back to the '60s, this incarnation of the band was started in 1979 when Mickey Thomas joined Paul Kanter to resurrect Jefferson Starship. To date, Starship featuring Mickey Thomas has sold millions of albums worldwide and continues to tour the globe, taking their powerful live rock show to the masses. Starship featuring Mickey Thomas is Mickey Thomas (vocals), John Roth (guitar, background vocals), Jeff Adams (bass, background vocals), Darrell Verdusco (drums), Stephanie Calvert (vocals) and Phil Bennett (keyboards, background vocals).

Pretenders - Break Up The Concrete

To give you an idea of how great the Pretenders’ debut was/is, Chrissie Hynde has made a thirty-year career of it. Not to discount everything she’s released since then—I love II, Learning To Crawl, and parts of Last Of The Independents—but let’s be honest and acknowledge that it’s next to impossible to recreate the stars that aligned so perfectly on that first album.

It is a testament to Hynde’s strength and talent that we’re still referring to her latest incarnation of the Pretenders. And it is quite possible that we wouldn’t be speaking of her longevity had the original version of the Pretenders stayed alive and stayed the course.

Thanks to unnecessary tragedy, they didn’t, but Hynde has tinkered with that original formula just enough to remain relevant and just enough to keep us from entirely writing her off. One area of the Pretenders’ musical canon that, surprisingly, hasn’t been examined is Hynde underneath an Americana backdrop.

The ninth Pretenders album, Break Up The Concrete, provides us with an example of this window-dressing. The results are a curious blend of well-worn comfort and strange unease. While the real rockers are changin’ tires upstairs, bro, Hynde has made an album that’s as unthreatening as the music in the garage shop’s waiting room.

Hynde’s remained as one of rock’s most notorious lefties, but even the political diatribes are uncharacteristically tame. The rootsy instrumentation renders them as little more than as boomer hypocrisy, their themes deadened with the nostalgia of the arrangements instead of bearing real teeth. Even the ballads, which make up the bulk of Break Up The Concrete, sound lethargic and grown up.

These are songs that should work well under the new direction, and to some extent, they do, but only when you forget how well Chrissie could command a ballad without the aid of accordions, pedal steels, and Eisenhower-era recording strategies.

Make no mistake; this is by no means a bad record or one of the worst albums you’ll hear this year. It is, however, a very unsettling listen to a hear a woman who’s built her career on sass suddenly turn so cordial. With Hynde now staring down 60, Break Up The Concrete is the first album where she truly sounds her age.

This review originally appeared in Glorious Noise.

Pretenders - II

When it was originally released in 1981, The Pretenders’ II was almost universally panned by critics as reticent follow-up to their stunning debut. When bassist Pete Farndon and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died after II‘s release, Chrissie Hynde regrouped with both grace and a creative spark that led to another acknowledged highpoint, Learning To Crawl.

Twenty-five years later, Rhino Records has re-issued the first two Pretenders efforts, with an additional disc for each that contain the obligatory bonus tracks. The debut really should need no introduction, but perhaps a re-introduction is needed for II, particularly since it would be the last album that featured the original line-up, back when The Pretenders were truly a band instead of a nomenclature for Chrissie Hynde. Of course, these past twenty-five years have featured a lot of disappointments from Ms. Hynde, which makes II stand as one of her better moments and one that ultimately didn’t deserve the critic’s knee-jerk vitriol.

When placed side by side, II does contain some prominent shortcomings over Pretenders: there’s some obvious filler (“Pack It Up,” “Jealous Dogs”), a few blatant attempts at re-writing the formula of the first, and yet another Kinks cover. While Pretenders jumps off the needle with energy and excitement, II sounds like a set from a band still reeling from the success of their initial offering while becoming comfortable with each other.

At the same time, II provides a big handful of songs that either match or exceed the expectations previously laid out. “Message Of Love” quotes Wilde before Chrissie re-writes it (“Life is unkind / We fall but we keep getting up / Over and over and over”) in terms that even an Akron high school dropout could relate to and “Talk Of The Town,” in a perfect world, should have been just as big of a chart hit as “Brass In Pocket.”

Thanks to some incessant touring to capitalize on the success of the debut, themes of the road pop up on a few standouts: “Birds Of Paradise” is a heartbreakingly beautiful song about a relationship being torn apart by distance, while “Day After Day” seems to suggest that, regardless of the difference in time zones, things will work out (“We’ll meet again / And pick up where we left off”).

The discovery in this expanded edition is with disc two, prominently featuring a live performance from the tour that features the band in top form.

The material from II is given a great kick in the ass thanks to Martin Chambers‘ kit work and James Honeyman-Scott’s subtle guitar flourishes. Both musicians are frequently overlooked by their contemporaries and the live disc demonstrates how criminal these oversights are and how fortunate Hynde was at discovering them and giving them an outlet for expression.

Seven months after the tour had ended, both Farndon and Honeyman-Scott died from overdoses which, by turn, ended the original intent that The Pretenders were “them” instead of “her.” Hynde had spent years trying to find this right balance only to have half of her musical equilibrium become another rock and roll footnote.

The upside is that the first two Pretenders albums established her own talents enough that she was allowed to continue, sometimes faltering a little beneath her original glory, but never embarrassing it. The tragedy is that the original quartet didn’t have additional recordings to examine, but the two that we do have are wonderful offerings. Chrissie puts it best in “Talk Of The Town” when she sings: “You arrived like the day / And passed like a cloud” but as the expanded edition of II demonstrates, there’s plenty of fair skies to enjoy in The Pretenders’ second album.

This review originally appeared in Glorious Noise.

Velvet Underground - Squeeze

In 2001, Velvet Underground guitarist Doug Yule offered this explanation for the unthinkable decision to carry on the band’s moniker without Lou Reed: “Bands were- and occasionally are today-one of the few truly democratic institutions. You can’t fire someone from a band…In a band, everyone’s equal. If they’re not, it’s not a band. When band’s need to change, to lose one or two people, they break apart and reform. The majority keep the name.”

This explanation may have held some weight with the Velvet’s immediately after Reed departed; Yule and Mo Tucker continued to perform as the band (augmented with two other players) and they were arguably entitled to do so.

But after a few gigs and the glaring reality that nobody gave a shit about the Velvet Underground without Reed at the helm, the point should have been very clear to Yule that it was time to leave the convenience of his quasi-notorious moniker and seek out creative fulfillment on his own.

Squeeze is a Doug Yule solo album, plain and simple. And the argument of whether the blame of allowing the Velvet Underground name grace the cover rests on him or manager Steve Sesnick is irrelevant.

Both should have known better.

It’s painfully obvious with the cover art-which is hugely indebted to the look of Loaded-that both were intending to draw some kind of consistency with the last proper Velvets release.

Unfortunately, within moments of Squeeze’s first track, “Little Jack,” you notice that this has nothing in common with its predecessor. Spend a little more time with it and you almost get the sense that Squeeze is the only dud in the Velvet’s otherwise perfect catalog and could have caused even more damage to their legacy if it wasn’t for the fact that it never received a proper release in the band’s native country.

It’s lighthearted, breezy and completely lacking in the Velvet’s reality-caked character studies. While Reed’s subject matters often represent the wrong side of the tracks, “Little Jack” attempts to do the same by lamenting how “mother dear” left him alone to let the streets raise him. Yule even admits that Jack’s “life was lily white,” which further illustrates the divide between him and Reed’s songwriting prowess.

Musically, everything on Squeeze is incredibly pedestrian. Yule is a decent enough guitarist, but there’s barely a hint of character in his playing, and he appears to be doing double duty on bass throughout the record.

The female vocalists who pop up now and then are uncredited and the drummer is none other than Deep Purple’s Ian Paice. Paice is a remarkable drummer, but if there was ever an example of how Maureen Tucker’s primitive abilities trump his technical prowess, it is glaringly obvious on this set. His rapid-fire fills and quick precision stick out like a sore thumb, further adding to the glaringly obvious notion that Squeeze is a Velvet Underground album in name alone, and not even a worthy springboard to Doug Yule’s post-Velvet career.

Surprisingly, its quick departure from the musical landscape (after being out of print for almost 40 years, you can now get Squeeze on an unauthorized compact disc-mastered directly from vinyl-if you've got some pressing need to be ridiculed) made sure that it didn’t drag the Velvet’s name down with it. 

Meanwhile, the poor performance of Squeeze’s overall execution also ensured that Yule himself was quickly downgraded to an afterthought, never once again being offered an opportunity to relish in the critical glow that the Velvet’s originally afforded him.

Jerry Garcia Band - Garcia Live, Volume 2: August 5, 1990 Greek Theatre

After an incredible run by the Grateful Dead in the spring of 1990, Jerry Garcia traveled on well into the summer with a series of shows with the renewed Jerry Garcia Band moniker.  His band provided him with an even more laid-back approach to the material selected-heavy on the Dylan covers and even a few tunes from the Dead’s catalog-with Garcia’s well-worn voice providing a nice cover for the unit’s easy-going interpretation.

And above it all is Jerry’s picking, which is simply in top form with this selection from an afternoon performance at Berkley’s Greek Theatre. This is the second part of a series of live sets from Garcia’s side project and the quality of this latest edition is high enough to understand why it was selected for release.

GarciaLive, Volume 2 repeats a half-dozen tracks from the eponymous double disc album from 1991, also recorded during this same tour. The first and second set close with the very same selections, as a  matter of fact, which would be a bigger issue if Jerry wasn’t in such fine shape for both shows.

The redundancies of those tracks are also overlooked thanks to an appearance of Bela Fleck on banjo for “Midnight Moonlight” and Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come.” These two tracks practically make GarciaLive, Volume 2 required listening for any Dead aficionado or anyone who enjoyed ‘91’s Jerry Garcia Band, but who might be afraid of double-dipping into their wallet for a similar performance.

Admittedly, there isn’t much of a difference in terms of style, but there’s ten more tracks presented that weren’t on that aforementioned title. Another feature of this release is how backing vocalists Gloria Jones and Jackie LaBranch both sound like they’re having a blast. Throughout the set you can hear them offering shouts of praise and joy mid-song, like Garcia is channeling some higher power in his fingertips while the rest of the band follow like worthy disciples.

GarciaLive, Volume 2 is a perfect Sunday afternoon-type of release, with its subtle deliverance and excellent reminder of how 1990 might have been Jerry’s last real hurrah. It presents him in a more accessible light while providing enough spontaneity to please any fan of Garcia’s historic tone and legacy within the jam community.

Shearwater Parts The Waters For Upcoming Covers Album

Here's some late-but-not-breaking news from the Shearwater camp.

Evidently, it's an album of covers and I questioned the need to cover a Coldplay song (who wouldn't?) but then I read the press release again and noted that the cover choices were based on the band's that Shearwater have traveled with or slept with throughout their career.

Actually, I'm not sure about the "slept with" part, but it certainly sounded more juicy than just another collection of cover songs.

I like the Swans reference too, as the drummer who played with Shearwater when I saw them, now pounds the shit out of his drums for the Swans currently so, you know, six degrees of Michael Gira.

Press:

We are pleased to offer details on behalf of Shearwater’s Fellow Travelers, a new collection of reinventions and collaborations, available on CD, LP and digital on November 26th via Sub Pop. The album was produced, mixed, and engineered by Danny Reisch at Good Danny’s and Public Hi-Fi studios in Austin, Texas. You can now listen to the lead-off track, a cover of Xiu Xiu’s “I Luv The Valley OH!!”. Please find a tracklisting below.

Shearwater bandleader Jonathan Meiburg says of “I Luv The Valley OH!!”:

“Xiu Xiu’s deeply anxious song always seemed like it wanted to be a big rock anthem to me, so we decided to go for it and and blow it out. I played a white 3-pickup SG (like Sister Rosetta Tharpe!) through a Marshall stack (like AC/DC!) for the opening guitar riff – not a sound that’s ever appeared on a SW rec before – and Cully Symington whacked the drums with mallets as hard as he could, sounding more like the Swans’ orchestral-percussion approach than a regular drum set. I love how this song – about imploring a partner to take Mifeprex, I’m pretty sure - seems to explode and implode at the same time, a state of ecstatic terror that Jamie’s music often inhabits and that lurks in a lot of my songs, too. (For more info, including a Fellow Travelers track by track breakdown by JM, click here).

About Shearwater’s Fellow Travelers:

JM: Fellow Travelers wasn’t supposed to be a full-length record, so I’m a little surprised to admit that it’s my favorite Shearwater album so far. Somehow it slipped under the door. It was meant to be a small thing, maybe a home-recorded EP, to release between Animal Joy and the next full-length (for which we’re in the studio right now). But it took on a life of its own. Re-imagining and renovating songs by the bands we’ve traveled with—with assistance from the bands themselves—was like leafing through a scrapbook, and brought back the highs and lows of a decade of touring, from dives in Oklahoma and squats in Slovenia to the Fillmore West, the Bataclán, and the MGM Grand...(read more at Sub Pop).

Fellow Travelers Track Listing:

1) “Our Only Sun” – a fragment of the song “Deeper Devastation,” by Jesca Hoop
2) “I Luv the Valley OH!!” – Xiu Xiu
3) “Hurts Like Heaven” – Coldplay
4) “To Be of Use” – Smog
5) “Natural One” – Folk Implosion
6) “Ambiguity” – David Thomas Broughton
7) “Cheerleader” – St. Vincent
8) “Tomorrow” – Clinic
9) “A Wake for the Minotaur” – Shearwater & Sharon Van Etten
10) “Mary is Mary” – Wye Oak
11) “Fucked Up Life” - The Baptist Generals

Bigfoot Sighting On New Release By Former Parliament-Funkadelic Legend Jerome Brailey

Former Parliament-Funkadelic drummer Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey has continued to remain active even after he left the Mothership, announcing the arrival of the latest album from his band Mutiny.

It appears to be another offering from the P-Funk family that continues a legacy of consistent funkiness and quality grooves.

Details follow in Bigfoot's press release and teaser video that appears to be of the same quality as the Patterson film itself.




Funk Road, the latest album by Mutiny now available on the Catbone Music label. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, was drummer during the peak of Parliament-Funkadelic's fame and co-writer of such classic hits as "Tear the Roof Off" until he split from "The Mothership" to form his own band, Mutiny.

Funk Road is an amazing, eclectic album of funk, soul, electro, rap, jazz and more. The genre jumping Bigfoot has also done session work with Keith Richards, Snoop Dogg, Pharoah Sanders, Jah Wobble, James Blood Ulmer, Bill Laswell and more! The Funk Road CD contains a single disc with 15 songs.

Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey is an American drummer, best known for his work with Parliament Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic and has earned numerous Gold and Platinum records with the P-Funk Organization.

Brailey has performed with iconic Classic Soul R&B groups; The Unific's (Court of Love, Beginning of My End), The Five Stairsteps (Ooh Child) and the Chambers Brothers, (Time Has Come Today). He joined George Clinton's P-Funk collective and appeared on many of their most popular recordings. He co-wrote one of Parliament's biggest hits, "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)." Samples from that body of work have since appeared on hundreds of hip hop and contemporary R&B songs.

After leaving P-Funk, Brailey formed his own band, MUTINY. They released their debut album "Mutiny on the Mamaship", followed by "Funk Plus the One". Mutiny also released on Brailey's own label, five other records and Aftershock 2005 on Bill Laswell's "Black Arc" Label. The Mutiny Album's are still heavy on the Funk of Braileys roots, but it's delivered in a way that's even more stripped down and almost with less cliché than before (a sound that's heavy on the bass and guitar in the instrumentation, and which has a decidedly darker feel), the guitar is produced with a cool compressed quality that often makes it sound quite sinister-and the vocals are locked tightly into the mix.

Brailey has appeared as a session drummer with a diverse group of artists, including Jah Wobble, Bill Laswell, James Blood Ulmer, Lucky Peterson, Dave Stewart and Buckethead. Therefore, under the leadership of Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, Mutiny is one of the few acts with roots originating from the P-Funk Empire to establish an identity and sound independent of George Clinton. Who can doubt Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey's amazing talent? Considered one of the world's foremost drummers, Jerome is in a unique class: Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame Member, Former Drummer and Songwriter for Parliament/Funkadelic, and Founder, Producer and Songwriter for Mutiny.

Pre order here.

Welcome To The Machine Explores The 12 Commandments Of The Music Industry

So you want to be a rock and roll star?

Your best bet is just to stay in school.

I'm reminded of high school peers who left for L.A. immediately after graduating (and a few who didn't even wait for that) only to return a year or two later with a few depressing stories and a new career as a line cook. At the time, it was the only gig they could secure with a scary skull tattoo on their forearm.

Nowdays, I work with people with full sleeves in a business casual environment.

Evidently, it's no longer something that a recruiting manager has a concern with, so your options are now more wide open than ever, kids.

If you must indulge in the quickly diminishing dream of becoming a rock star, a new documentary presents an informative and comedic look into the behind the scenes world of the music business.

A glimpse of the film's contributors is found below, and this is probably the only place you will find Uriah Heep, Lydia Lunch and Kool & the Gang in the same package.

It also appears that the EDM/D.J. dreamers would find some interest in the flick too, with the inclusion of some of that genre's stars.

Speaking of: when did we get to a point where becoming a successful d.j. sounds more enticing than becoming a lead guitarist?

But seriously: be cool, stay in school.

Welcome to the Machine is a documentary analysis of the functionality in music business. This automatically makes the film a 100% documentary with comedy and drama, as well as 100% semi-investigative. In 12 chapters we're trying to answer the question what the every day work life of a music star looks like. What do you have to consider when starting a band? What is a manager actually doing? How do music media, band contests and other promotion strategies work? But most of all: Is there a formula for success?

The film gives a clear answer to that, although that is to say that there are as many formulas for success as there are artists/bands. This is clearly shown in all the interviews, which have been taken with national and international stars during the production of Welcome to the Machine.

Interviews with artists: Adam Green (US), A.F.I. (US), The Album Leaf (US), Amorphis (FL), Asaf Avidan & The Mojos (IL), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (US), Bloodhound Gang (US), Blood Red Shoes (UK), Blumentopf (DE), Buckcherry (US), Bullet For My Valentine (UK), Bunny Lake (AT), Chilly Gonzalez (CA), Coldcut (UK), Combichrist (NO), Gabriella Cilmi (AU), Cypress Hill (US), Dälek (US), Danko Jones (CA), Disturbed (US), Donots (DE), Eight Legs (UK), Fatboy Slim (UK), Fehlfarben (DE), Fettes Brot (DE), Gentleman (DE), Die Goldenen Zitronen (DE), Halestorm (US), The Heavy (UK), Helloween (DE), The Hidden Cameras (CA), HIM (FL), Infected Mushrooms (IL), Jan Vogler (DE), Japanese Popstars (IE), Kim Wilde (UK), Kool And The Gang (US), Lacuna Coil (IT), Lordi (FI), Lydia Lunch (US), Marina and the Diamonds (UK), Maximilian Hecker (DE), Megadeth (US), Melissa auf der Maur (CA), Morcheeba (UK), Nada Surf (US), Natalia Ushakova (AT), Nazareth (UK), New Model Army (UK), New Young Pony Club (UK), One Republic (US), Oomph! (DE), Papa Roach (US), Paradise Lost (UK), The Parlotones (ZA), Peaches (CA), Helen Feng (CN), Das Pop (BE), Otis Taylor (US), Shantel (DE), Die Sterne (DE), Steve Aoki (US), Sunrise Avenue (FI), Suzie Quatro (US), Texas Terri Bomb (US), Thomas Anders (DE), Timid Tiger (DE), The Reverend Peyton´s´ Big Damn Band (US), TV Buddhas (IL), Uriah Heep (UK), You Love Her Coz She´s Dead (UK), Xiu Xiu (US), Yaron Herman (IL), The New Vitamin (AT) etc etc ...

Interviews with music business professionals: Anton Corbijn (Director), Ray Cokes (MTV Legend), Marie Clausen (Senior Product Manager K7 Records NY), Rupert Hine (Producer), Thorsten Schliesche (Napster Vice President Sales & Marketing Europe), Jim Mahoney (Vice President American Association of Independent Music), Prof. Felix Oberholzer-Gee (Harvard Business School), Hannes Eder (General Manager Universal Music Austria), Joachim Hentschel (Rolling Stone), Mag. Thomas Böhm (Amadeus Awards), Prof. Stan J. Liebowitz (School of Management University of Texas), Georg Spatt (Head Of Radio Station Ö3), Jörg Timp (Manager Starkult Promotion Berlin), Sasha Saedi (Senior A&R Manager, Universal), Klaus Totzler (Musicjournalist, ORF), Thomas Rabitsch (Produzent), Walter Gröbchen (Monkey Music), Josef Schartner (PR), Anna Katzdobler (PR), Michael Gaissmeier (PR)