The Great Beyond

Old Crow Medicine Show on Tour

2008-05-24T09:09:00.002-06:00

One of TGB's favorites, The Old Crow Medicine Show, are hitting the road this summer. Among the highlights are Marty Stuart's Late Night Jam in Nashville, TN, on June 4th (along with Gretchen Wilson, Charlie Daniels Band, and Kathy Mattea), Webster Hall in NYC on September 12th, and two night at Ryman Auditorium, a/k/a The Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, TN, in October, and two nights at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA.

For a complete list of tour dates, CLICK HERE.

In other Crow news, the band's 2001 release, EUTAW, is being made available to Indie Record stores across the country.

GDP vs Dirty Money

2008-05-23T21:32:00.000-06:00

There is no doubt that in order for music to survive, genres are going to have cross paths and link together. GDP and Dirty Money are doing just that. First, they are releasing a four song split 7inch on Division East/Thunderstruck Records. To promote their vinyl, both acts have hit the road.

First, the vinyl. You can stream the entire four song effort by logging on to Pure Volume. Each act has contributed two songs. Florida punk rockers Dirty Money have thrown down "Not Alone" and "Weary Nights" while GDP, along with DJ Prime, have contributed "Succumb" and "Decades."

Check out GDP's "Succumb" video:

The tour will focus mainly on the eastern half of the US with the lone exception being shops in Santa Fe, NM, and Oklahoma City.

For more information, click on the name of the band below:
GDP
Dirty Money

or log on to Division East Records' website.

STS9

2008-05-22T11:19:00.000-06:00

For those uninformed, that stands for Sound Tribe Sector 9. Remember that name because I can almost guarantee that you will hear it frequently over this coming summer.

XLR8R Magazine have dubbed STS9 "...unique collection of artists and musicians" while proclaiming the band "...one of the country's most intriguing, innovative outfits around." To say that STS9 are hard working would actually be a gross understatement. To start, the band has digitally released "Shock Doctrine," the first single off their forthcoming Peaceblaster release. You can download the single by going over the band's website, which happen to be their own label, 1320 Records.

Beginning in July, following the release of Peaceblaster, STS9 will take to the road with Chicago's Umphrey's McGee for a US tour which will take them from coast to coast. Both bands have also slotted after party shows along the way. The tour is scheduled to end with two shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.

Check out the band's website, www.sts9.com, and go to their COMMUNITY PAGE, where you will find organizations that the band is either personally involved in and/or supports.

Clouds New Album Out June 17

2008-05-22T10:26:00.000-06:00

Hydrahead Records will be releasing the new album, We Are Above You, by Clouds on June 17. The band will then hit the road with Torche and Boris beginning June 24th in San Diego, CA.

"We Are Above You" is the follow-up to the acclaimed Legendary Demo release.

Clouds includes Adam McGrath, Q, Jimmy, and Johnny.

For further information, CLICK HERE.

Or log-on to Hydrahead Records.

John Vanderslice

2007-07-29T00:35:00.000-06:00

The name of his latest release is Emerald City, and while you may not find any men behind curtains, John Vanderslice does once again perform musical wizardry. Paste Magazine proclaims, "Emerald City is vividly imagined yet subtle in tone, with conflicted character sketches unfolding around somber synth melodies, creaky electronic effects, and fuzzy acoustic guitar strums. Vanderslice is a master storyteller."

Barsuk Records is also releasing a vinyl version of Emerald City. In the meantime, Vanderslice is hitting the road from August to October. Check out the Barsuk website for his "time To Go" video.

mp3: White Dove

Barsuk Records
www.johnvanderslice.com
myspace page

Photo by Autumn DeWilde

Rocky Votolato

2007-07-29T00:02:00.000-06:00

The fifth release from Rocky Votolato, the brag and cuss, is out now on Barsuk Records. this time, Votolato comes with a full band that features James McAllister (Sufjan Stevens) on drums, Bill Herzog (Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter) on bass, Casey Foubert (Pedro the Lion) on electric guitar, banjo, mandolin and percussion, and Rick Steff (Catpower, Hank Williams, Jr.) on Hammond b3, piano, and accordion.

Magnet Magazines writes, "Votolato has a gift for making the bleakest misery sound inviting, with just enough sweetness to go down smooth and melodies so pretty they can almost make the pain go away."

A vinyl version is also available.

Barsuk Records
www.rockyvotolato.com

mp3: Postcard From Kentucky

photo by Alicia J. Rose

The Cult

2007-07-28T23:26:00.000-06:00

Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy will be releasing their first full length disc in more than six years. The release, titled Born Into This, will be unleashed by their new label, Roadrunner Records. The Cult recently completed a series of arena rock dates, opening for The Who. A US tour will follow in the fall.

Finally, Canada's Fontana North will release the HD DVD The Cult New York City on August 28th. According to the band's website, www.thecult.us, "The performance was recorded at The Filmore in New York City at the end of the band's 2006 US tour, and includes the following tracklisting: 'Lil' Devil', 'Sweet Soul Sister', 'Electric Ocean', 'The Witch', 'Spiritwalker', 'Revolution', 'Rain', 'The Phoenix', 'Edie (Ciao Baby)', 'Fire Woman', 'Wonderland', 'Peace Dog', 'Rise', 'Wildflower', 'Love Removal Machine', 'Nirvana', 'She Sells Sanctuary'.

www.myspace.com/cultmusic

Gaudi & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

2007-07-27T16:08:00.000-06:00

London based producer and artist, Gaudi, has reinterpreted the music of Pakistan's Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in a new CD entitled Dub Qawwali. The title comes from the style of music Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan performed, Qawwali, and the dub style Gaudi used to reinterpret his music.

Here's how the Six Degrees Records website describes this unique collaboration:

"Gaudi has taken an entirely new approach to re-interpreting the work of this great artist. He has created a collection of new compositions in which the original vocals are seamlessly fused with a full spectrum of dub & reggae styles and musical themes & flavors from other cultures, genres and environments. A universal theme of peace and love, very much evident in both Khan's work and at the heart of reggae music, is the unifying element."

The CD is slated for release this coming Tuesday, July 31st, on Six Degrees Records. Gaudi is also working on a solo release for 2008.

www.sixdegreesrecords.com

www.gaudimusic.com

www.myspace.com/gaudimusic

Parts & Labor Seek New Drummer

2007-07-26T01:03:00.000-06:00

After dazzling fans and critics with their latest full length, Mapmaker (Jagjaguwar, May 2007), and slaying audiences across the U.S. on their recent headlining tour, Parts & Labor bid a fond farewell to Chris Weingarten and issued an open letter to the world in search of a new drummer:

"After nearly three years of bashing, we're sad to report that our drummer, Christopher Weingarten, is leaving Parts & Labor. Chris is moving on to more rigorously pursue his work as a music editor and writer. He's the editor in chief at PaperThinWalls.com, and will soon be penning a book about Public Enemy's "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" for the esteemed Thirty Three And A Third book series."

The band is currently searching for a new drummer. They must be able to tour a minimum of four months out of the year, starting this fall with trips in the UK/Europe as well as the U.S.

For further information, email Parts & Labor at partsandlabordrummer@gmail.com.

Damien Jurado

2007-07-25T16:31:00.000-06:00

Mr. Jurado is going to be one busy beaver over the next several months. First, he will embark on a five week US tour with Okkervil River beginning in September. In the meantime, Jurado and his bandmates, Eric Fisher and Jenna Conrad, will enter the studio with Casey Foubert to knock out the follow-up to last year's And Now That I'm in Your Shadow.

mp3: What Were the Chances

Here's a video from a May 31st performance at Seattle's Tractor Tavern on YouTube.

Secretly Canadian Records

www.damienjurado.com

myspace page

Obituary: Sekou Sundiata

2007-07-20T10:31:00.000-06:00

Obituary:

Gifted Poet Sekou Sundiata

(August 22, 1948 -- July 18, 2007)

by Louis Reyes Rivera

On Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at 5:47a.m. (ET), poet Sekou Sundiata passed away. A highly esteemed performing poet, Mr. Sundiata wrote for print, performance, music and theater. Born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem, on August 22, 1948, Sundiata came of age as an artist during the Black Arts/Black Aesthetic movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

While attending the City College of New York (CCNY), where he began reciting poetry publicly, Sundiata converged with several other student activists, including once-mayoral candidate of Pittsburgh and longtime friend, Leroy Hodge, to form the basis for what soon became known as the Black and Puerto Rican Student Community of City College (BPRSC). This phalanx of 400 students soon made their own history, closing the 21,000-student campus during the Spring of 1969, to demand, among other things, that CCNY be renamed Harlem University. The net effect of the student takeover culminated in both an Open Admissions Policy that took effect in September 1970, the full legitimization of ethnic studies departments throughout the nation, as well as the requirement that all education majors within the City University take courses in African American History and to have Spanish as a Second Language.

Among his acknowledged mentors at City were Toni Cade Bambara, June Jordan, and fellow student Louis Reyes Rivera, with whom Sundiata helped to establish the first Black student newspaper in the City University, CCNY's The Paper. Their association would span close to forty years of mutual respect and admiration.

Upon completing his Bachelor's Degree (circa 1974), Sundiata enrolled and completed his Master's in Creative Writing while regularly producing community-based poetry readings that were known to draw SRO crowds. In 1976, his creative sensibilities, his innate organizing skills, and his associations with a convergent generation of excellent poets, musicians and dancers immediately led to a collaborative project he directed that would commemorate 100 years of Black struggle for freedom and Human Rights. Titled The Sounds of the Memory of Many Living People (1863-1876/ 1963-1976) , this production, which included upcoming novelist Arthur Flowers and such poets as Safiya Henderson-Holmes, BJ Ashanti, Tom Mitchelson, Louis Reyes Rivera, et al, was staged in Harlem over a period of two days, signaling much of what was to come from Sekou's sense of vision, steadily breaking ground for what was then a new literary genre, Performance Poetry, fully anticipating elements of both Hip Hop Culture and Spoken Word Art.

In 1977, the aforementioned poets, along with Zizwe Ngafua, Rashidah Ismaili, Fatisha (Hutson), Sandra Maria Esteves, Akua Lezli Hope, Mervyn Taylor, and Sekou, among others, formed the Calabash Poets Workshop, which group signaled the arrival of a new literary heat in New York, regularly producing soirees and forums (1977-1983) that included all of the arts and culminated in a three-year attempt (1979-1982) to establish an independent Black Writers Union.

His first book of poetry, FREE! (Shamal Books) was published in 1977, and was soon followed by his first vinyl album (circa 1980), Are & Be,. Immediately, Sekou was dubbed by Amiri Baraka as "the State of the Art." Since then, Mr. Sundiata established a longtime relationship with CCNY's Aaron Davis Performing Arts Center, through which venue he intermittently produced new material for the stage, consistently collaborating with musicians, dancers and actors. He was eventually selected for a number of earned fellowships, including a Sundance Institute Screenwriting Fellow, a Columbia University Revson Fellow, a Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (Florida), and as the first Writer-in-Residence at the New School University in New York, in which university's Eugene Lang College he remained a professor.

He was, as well, among those featured in the Bill Moyers' PBS series on poetry, The Language of Life, and in Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO.

Among several highly acclaimed performance theater works in which he served as both author and performer are: The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop, which toured nationally and received three AUDELCO Awards and a BESSIE Award; The Mystery of Love, commissioned and produced by New Voices/ New Visions at Aaron Davis Hall in New York City and the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia; and Udu, a music theater work produced by 651 ARTS in Brooklyn and presented by the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, the Walker Art Center and Penumbra Theater in Minneapolis, Flynn Center in Burlington, VT, the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and Miami-Dade Community College in Florida. Throughout this period and since 1985, he developed a close association with co-collaborator and legendary trombonist Craig S. Harris.

blessing the boats, Sundiata's first solo theater piece, an exploration into his own personal battles with kidney failure, opened in November 2002 at Aaron Davis Hall, NYC. It has since been presented in more than 30 cities and continued to tour nationally. In March 2005, Sundiata produced The Gift of Life Concert, an organ donation public awareness event at the Apollo Theater that kicked off a three-week run of blessing the boats at the Apollo's SoundStage. in partnership with the Apollo Theater Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation and the New York Organ Donor Network with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Since 2006, his the 51st (dream) state has been presented throughout the U.S. and in Australia. Both blessing the boats and the 51st (dream) state were produced in collaboration with MultiArts Projects and Productions (MAPP). In addition to working within community engagement activities at Harlem Stages/Aaron Davis Hall, the University of Michigan and University Musical Society (Ann Arbor, MI), the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC), the University of Texas Austin (Austin, TX), in Miami Dade College (Miami, FL), and the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, Sundiata has appeared as a featured speaker and artist at the Imagining America Conference (Ann Arbor, MI), at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA), and at the Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed Conference (Minneapolis, MN), among others. Prior to his demise, he was engaged in producing a DVD documenting the America Project for use by universities and presenters as a model for art and civic engagement.

In addition to the 1979 Are & Be album, Sundiata's other releases include a second album, The Sounds of the Memory of Many Living People, and two CDs, The Blue Oneness of Dreams, nominated for a Grammy Award, and longstoryshort. Each of these works are rich with the sounds of blues, funk, jazz and African and Afro-Caribbean percussion, with the latter two featuring Craig Harris.

He is survived by his mother, Virginia Myrle Feaster, his wife, Maurine Knighton, daughter Myisha Gomez, stepdaughter Aida Riddle, grandson Amman, brothers William Walter and Ronald Eugene, sister Devona, as well as a host of relatives, admirers, students and friends.

A private funeral service of family and friends is scheduled for Saturday, July 21, and a commemorative celebration of his life and work is scheduled to take place on August 22, his birthday. Details to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Sekou Sundiata to the New York Organ Donor Network or to the National Kidney Foundation.

Louis Reyes Rivera, aka the Janitor of History, is a highly respected underground poet who has assisted in the publication of over 200 books, including John Oliver Killens' Great Black Russian, and Bum Rush The Page: A Def Poetry Jam. He has taught courses on Pan-African, Caribbean and Puerto Rican literature and history. Among his own works is the award-winning Scattered Scripture, a translation of history into poetry. He can be heard Thursdays, at 2pm, on WBAI, 99.5FM (streamed at www.wbai.org) hosting Perspective, and may be reached at Louisreyesrivera@aol.com.

One Little Indian

2007-06-03T00:13:00.000-06:00

The OLI-US imprint has been busy with signings and tour dates. The label is the European home of Bjork. She will continue to tour Europe highlighted by a performance at Denmark's Roskilde Festival. She will then return on North America beginning with a show at the Virgen Festival in Toronto, Canada. OLI-UK will digitally release Earth Intruders Club Remixes, a five track EP featuring remixes of "Earth Intruders."

The label also announced the signing of Michael McDermott. His careers highlights include his critically acclaimed Gethesmane release in 1994, and two tracks featured in the Vin Diesel flick Knockaround Guys. His latest release is entitled Noise From Words. McDermott can currently be seen performing throughout the Midwest. He will also sing the National Anthem at Wrigley Field on June 26th.

Finally, OLI will issue the latest from Sweden's Surrounded entitled the nautilus years on June 5th in digital format only. The band has been described as being influenced by Pink Floyd's Meddle, along with The Flaming Lips and Built to Spill.

Old Crow Medicine Show

2007-06-02T23:37:00.001-06:00

Another of my favorites is Old Crow Medicine Show. They will be taping a segment for Austin City Limits on June 9th before heading back out on the road for headlining gigs as well as a few festivals, including Bonnaroo. The tour is highlighted by appearances at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, In August, and Ryman Auditorium (formerly the home of the Grand Ole Opry) in Nashville, TN, on October 27th. Also, check out the band's collaboration with Marty Stuart on his new duets CD entitled Compadres: An Anthology of Duets, out June 5th. Together they put a fresh spin on The Who's "I Can See For Miles."

Enter The Haggis

2007-06-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of entries about some of my favorite bands. The first is Toronto, Canada's Enter The Haggis. This band boasts a mix of 18 different musical genres from rock to agitpop to traditional Celtic beats. Throughout their almost ten year history, this band has risen from local favorites to cult following to bona fide musical visionaries. Their most recent release, Soap Box Heroes, came out in late 2006, but the band has been on the road ever since. You can catch them in the States from now until November. In March, 2008, ETH will be taking their show overseas where they will tour Ireland with Kansas City-based Irish band, The Elders. In the meantime, you can also pick up their new live CD, Northampton, at all the shows.

Maria Maldaur

2007-05-31T23:29:00.000-06:00

Naughty, Bawdy and Blue

Stony Plain Records

How many of you remember "Midnight At The Oasis"? Here's Dr. Blues's review of her latest.

The title says it all. This disk is loaded with innuendo, coded sex and just plain steaming lust. Maria D'Amato Muldaur is a master of the entendre and you know what I mean. Backed by a stellar 20s style jazz band, Muldaur recreates the era of Storyville, the Harlem renaissance, speakeasies, ragtime and hot women blues. This release is the final in a trilogy exploring classic women blues from the 20s to the 40s. Maria recapitulates the flavor, attitude and sounds of Ma Rainey, Mamie Smith, Sippie Wallace, Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, et al. Even from her earliest days performing, Victoria Spivey knew Maria Muldaur had the real stuff and now, some 40 years later, Muldaur continues to pour out the jam. James Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band honks and staggers and jags with the old time jizz time. They were there for some of the original recordings of these songs and they continue to sound as if they have just stepped out of New Orleans' Preservation Hall. They add the right touch to help Maria recreate the sophisticated, urban blues style of the day and the aura of those mighty women who were free, proud and bawdy! Altogether, the honors and tributes are bestowed with unique brilliance and down to the red light district fun. Maria covers the canon with the depth and heat and her band is the right there.

Using The Great Beyond planetary scale, Dr. Blues says this one causes a great impact as it crashes into Mercury.

VHS OR BETA

2007-05-31T23:24:00.000-06:00

While one format already has, and the other seems to be heading in that direction, VHS OR BETA are not in danger of being tossed in the same scrap heap as the 8-track, the 78 rpm vinyl disc, and the pet rock. In fact, this Louisville, Kentucky outfit is on the verge of releasing its latest opus, Bring On The Comets. The band will also embark on a summer tour to promote the disc, which will be available for public consumption on August 28, 2007.

VHS OR BETA plans to do select Midwest dates in July before embarking on a full-fledged tour following the release of Bring On The Comets. Craig Pfunder (guitar/vocals), Mark Palgy (bass) and Mark Guidry (drums) will be joined by new guitarist Mike Mcgill. Drummer Mark Guidry will also be using a full live drum kit as well his usual electronic equipment.

Bring On The Comets was recorded with up-and-coming producer Brandon Mason (Secret Machines, David Bowie) in Asheville, NC, and Nashville, TN. It will be released on the Astralwerks label.v

Magnolia Electric Co.

2007-05-31T22:58:00.000-06:00

Talk about a band with ambition. Magnolia Electric Co. is not only touring Europe and the United States, but will release a box set of new and previously released material.

The first leg of the tour, which begins in mid-June, will see the band trek across Europe with stops in Spain, Germany, Austria, Norway and the United Kingdom. They then return for dates in North America between late August and early October.

All these dates are in support of a brand new box set entitled Sojourner. To be releases on August 7th, it will feature four CD's, and a DVD using thirteen musicians, five locations, four recording engineers, three filmmakers, two designers, and one songwriter. The CDs are:

Nashville Moon was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago, IL. It features the band's most frequent line-up.
Black Ram was recorded by David Lowery at this Sound of Music studios in Richmond, VA. This one features an entirely different set of musicians.
Sun Sessions was recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, TN.
Shohola features Jason Molina's solo work using only a microphone and a guitar.

The DVD is a film called The Road Becomes What You Leave which was produced by Todd Chandler and Tim Sutton. It follows the band as they tour across the prairie provinces of Canada. The movie demonstrates the loneliness and isolation a band can experience even when traveling in a pack.

For a complete listing of everyone involved in this project as well as the music featured on each CD, log on the Secretly Canadian website at www.secretlycanadian.com.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You

2007-05-29T14:18:00.000-06:00

If you haven't been to your local Hot Topic recently, here is a reason to mosey on down. For $1.99, you can pick up a copy of an exclusive EP from The Number Twelve Looks Like You. It features two unreleased demo tracks plus one from their forthcoming Eyeball Records release, Mongrel.

There are those who say this band might have formed in 2001, but, hell, the band members can't even agree on how they met. what we do know is that Mongrel hits stores on June 19th. In the meantime, grab that EP for a taste.

Yep Roc Records & The Golden Dogs

2007-05-25T01:54:00.000-06:00

Yep Roc Records has been keeping rather busy lately. Kaleidoscopic country rockers The Gourds will jettison their latest entitled Noble Creatures on July 10th. The band features the songwriting skills of Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith.

Nick Lowe and John Doe (X) will drop new discs in June, while Los Straitjackets continue to tour in support of Rock En Espanol, Vol. 1.

But the band that has me most intrigued is from the Great White North; Toronto to be exact. The Golden Dogs (pictured above) have been honing their chops for almost ten years. The band was first conceptualized in 1998 by future husband and wife , Dave Azzolino and Jessica Grassia. after years of shuffling band members, the Golden Dogs have finally settled and reaping the rewards. The band recently inked a U.S. deal with Yep Roc, where they will release Big Eye Little Eye on August 21st. If this matches their live shows, look out.

For more information about the Golden Dogs, click HERE.

Amiina

2007-05-21T23:23:00.000-06:00

The Sugarcubes, Sigur Ros, and, of course, Bjork, would be three of the names you might think of when discussing the music of Iceland. Now, you can add the name of Amiina, four ladies making music who owe their very livelihood to a farmer who gave them a tow up the steep mountains of Iceland.

The story goes that Slrn, Mara, Edda, and Hildur decided to make music back in 2004. They packed their instruments and all the food their car could carry. Unfortunately, they did such a great job of packing that they weighed down the car to the point that it could not trek up the hills. A farmer came by and gave the girls a lift and thus began the history of Amiina.

On June 18th, Ever Records will release the band's debut album, Kurr. You can hear more by going to the bands website.

An Essay by Tara Betts

2007-05-20T13:59:00.001-06:00

In September 2006, I felt honored to join the ranks of writers that have been challenged in an attempt to be banned. At a panel with a fellow writer and hometown girl Kalisha Buckhanon in Brooklyn’s Brownstone Books, we found ourselves talking to a teacher from the area who had mentioned that many students at her school were reading Kalisha’s novel Upstate. She also told us that some adults in the district attempted to ban the novel.

This conversation led to other banned and censored books. One of them could have been The Spoken Word Revolution, a collection featuring 50 poets, including myself. The collection had been considered as a potential “banned book” on the West Coast in Sequim, WA only four months before this conversation. On the other side of the country in May 2006, Tim Richards spotted The Spoken Word Revolution among his son’s homework. His son had been the only student to check the book out of the school’s library. Fortunately, the Sequim School District’s Materials Committee reviewed the book and they decided to keep the book on its shelves. The book, circulating in the local North Olympic Peninsula public library as well, was challenged again in July 2006 by Richards, but other local citizens chose to speak up in favor of keeping the book available.

Richards deemed the writing in Spoken Word Revolution as a use of “vulgar language” with “obscene imagery” in a Peninsula Daily News article. Richards argued that “the lives of these artists are known for their violence, antisocial behavior and demeaning treatment of women.” Apparently, he was unaware of how many women are represented in the book and how many of them are involved in helping people across the country and from other parts of the world. He continued with his suggestion that there should be “a broader examination of obscenity standards in our library.”

As a writer who has seen the transformative power of making words accessible to people in the academic arena, I found this laughable. This unkempt blanket of a generalization that assumes familiarity with the work of writers in the book can easily be discerned as an attempt to protect his children from the political terrain that he opposes.

This choice of people to speak up and demand information and multiple venues of expression is an imperative, whether it be spoken word or otherwise. One reason is no one can nor should limit the parameters of education and creativity. Everyone has a choice of what they might want to listen to, read or watch, especially if they can afford it. Poetry is still one of the most affordable art forms in the world. If you have pen, paper and an eager mind, then it’s open. If an aspiring poet broadens his or her scope by reading, listening to music, observing the world and building their vocabulary, even better. Poetry can be a lifetime apprenticeship without studio time, television spots or a publicity team, and it still impacts people’s lives. Many poets in The Spoken Word Revolution receive letters from young writers, people who have been homeless, formerly incarcerated people, people who grew up in similar situations and those who relate to the unfolding of the human condition revealed in such poems. Like many poets before them, some of them publish and some of them work in schools, colleges, universities, homeless shelters, churches, prisons, museums, libraries, factories and in many more places that poets might not even be assumed to appear. So, it must be asked whether or not parents like Richards have been exposed to such people or are understanding of lifestyles unlike their own. One may even ask this parent how they might react to a lifestyle that their own children may adopt.

Although most banned books in the United States are by prose writers, notable poems and poets like Allen Ginsburg’s “Howl” and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass have been banned. Other poets who have been challenged and banned for work in other genres have held Maya Angelou, Luis Rodriguez, Alice Walker and Gertrude Stein within their ranks. Most of this work, however, has not been their poetry. So, on this rare occasion, a poetry book in America was being attacked.

Poets must continue to speak and defend other poets. Why? Censorship is an attempt to wield power and silence the voices of others. In fact, the Privacy Act and the Patriot Act embody legislation that has censored music and monitored “potentially dangerous” reading habits. Book burning and even the murder and torture of poets all over the world has been an attempt to erase particular voices and differing points of view. Frederico Garcia Lorca, Anna Akmatova and often-exiled Pablo Neruda were such examples of international political casualties.

Such policy leads many creative people who create their livelihood to wonder if they can weather the barrage of challenged speech. Some live in fear their messages will be unheard, obliterated into obscurity by an oversimplified sense of politics that says poems need to be for people who will invite you to colleges or put you on television until you say something that challenges powerful people. These dilemmas are concerns that should not only perplex poets. What if you lost the ability to say whatever you wanted tomorrow? Trying to picture such a scenario seems unfathomable to some, but censorship always sets a precedent for a situation like this.

Controversy for artists of all kinds seems to be the spark that expands into flames of a growing fan base, especially since some artists believe “all press is good press.” There is always the threat that language recognizes the outcasts, reveals secrets and affirms whatever is discarded by mainstream culture that tend to homogenize everyone like strip malls. The counter-threat of omitting and silencing such voices is destroying what makes creative spirits unique and destroying perspectives that could inevitably alter our views of history, literature and how each person influences the world in their own way. Sometimes people create influence with a poem.

When we look at the irrevocable damage of verbal abuse, racial epithets, hate crimes and homophobia, can we talk about censoring “vulgar language” and “religious viewpoints?” Can we really say what’s inappropriate for a certain age group when writers can describe real relationships and commercials can sell sexual fantasies on prime time television? Who will be the poets and the emcees to reverse these spells? Who will try to speak a blueprint that affirms the lives of many that are not privileged? Many poets who make their words available in books, in performance, through sound and video are looking for new ways to conjure and that may be what some parents and those who purport to speak with authority are trying to censor. For these reasons, a saying noted by Zora Neale Hurston still holds true—Speak, so you can speak again.

For more information about Tara Betts or to sample her poetry, click here.

Please be sure to check out the follow-up to Spoken Word Revolution, aptly entitled, Spoken Word Revolution Redux. Click here to learn more.

A New Direction

2007-05-20T06:52:00.000-06:00

After doing this for more than a year, I decided that it was time to put together another blog. I started "Psychobabble," dedicated to slam poetry. It featured interviews, news, reviews, and other items. Unfortunately, it became too much to handle. "Psychobabble" has been silenced, but the material covered will be moved to this blog.

I have decided to expand the scope of "The Great Beyond." This blog will now attempt to cover material beyond the world of music. On this blog, you will find poetry, art, etc., and, of course, music. To that effect, I am proud to feature an essay written by poet Tara Betts.

Enjoy.

Peter, Bjorn & John

2007-05-15T22:05:00.000-06:00

Peter, Bjorn & John are quite busy these days. The band recently completed a 19 city in 19 day tour, and are currently preparing for a guest appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. PB&J are currently supporting their Almost Gold Records release, Writer's Block. The disc was recently released as a 180 gram double LP, gate fold, which features the full studio album plus two sides of previously unreleased sketches from the making of the album. The band is also featured on Yahoo's Who's Next.

2006-10-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

They're back!!!!

The radio gods have shined their brightest lights down upon those of us who have grown weary of corporate radio....

WOXY.com began once again broadcasting just after 10am this morning.

Welcome back. You were sorely missed!!!

Goodbye woxy.com...I'll Miss You.

2006-09-10T00:51:00.000-06:00

Recently, woxy.com announced that it would be going off the air after two years. I found this station about six months ago, and it has been a joy listening to music that would otherwise not be heard. I'd spread the word to all my friends and they became loyal listeners and/or supporters. But now, we must find other places to turn to for great, eclectic music. I am saddened by this turn of events, but completely understand why such a decision must be made.

Goodbye woxy.com. You will be sorely missed.

Below is a letter printed on their website to all their listeners and supporters.

Listeners, fans, and friends:

This sucks.

This is the moment all of us hoped would never come. After plugging away at this for the past two years, it’s become pretty clear that operating woxy.com as a stand-alone Internet "radio station" is not going to cut it. Our operating costs are higher than you might think, and the revenue we were able to generate from advertising isn’t close to supporting what we’re doing. Even membership revenue wasn’t enough to get us there. When your business doesn’t make money, you eventually go out of business.

With this in mind, we’ve been looking for either a significant partner – someone with a larger plan into which woxy.com could be plugged – or an outright buyer. That search hasn’t been fruitful. We’re still willing to entertain offers and explore possibilities (email bryan@woxy.com), but our time is short. We thought it was time to share our situation with you ... to give you a heads-up.

You might be saying, "What can I do to help?" Unfortunately, unless you have significant investment capital and a way to profit from the wonderful programming we create, you can’t. As of today, we will no longer be selling or renewing memberships or accepting contributions. Please don’t send us money ... it will just mean we have to send it back to you.

Now is a good time to say THANK YOU to our incredibly patient, generous and kind angel investors. Without them ... well, we wouldn’t have had the chance to even be in the game. They’ve enabled everything we’ve accomplished over the past two years, and for that, they are saints to indie rock lovers everywhere.

We did investigate an alternative: stripping our operations to the absolute bare minimum by cutting back to one staffer, no more DJs, no more Lounge Acts, etc. We decided it wasn’t worth it. It wouldn’t have been true to what woxy.com is, and it wouldn’t have honored the legacy of 97X.

While woxy.com may have failed in a business sense, we’re pretty proud that we managed to put out some of the most passionate, unique and interesting programming on the Internet and elsewhere. We showered love and airplay on countless bands who otherwise would have received none, garnered national press attention and hosted nearly 200 live Lounge Act performances. Not too bad for a little, four-person Internet radio station from Cincinnati.

A radio station is only as big as its listeners make it. We’re not BS-ing when we say that you guys, our supporters, are the most amazing people on the planet. THANK YOU. The dedication and enthusiasm you’ve shown for what we do is staggering and inspiring. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to become a member, generously made a contribution, emailed (spammed) your friends, spread the gospel of woxy.com and – most of all – listened.

Barring something exceptional happening in the next two weeks, we will silence our broadcasts on Friday, September 15th.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try and how special the thing you do, it simply isn’t enough to beat the odds. It’s the cold reality of business that not even we could escape. When September 15th comes, we’ll meet it proudly with heads held high and celebrate the past two years of woxy.com and the spirit of 97X. For those lucky enough to have been part of it, The Future of Rock and Roll will forever be in our minds and hearts.

So enjoy these last two weeks with us. Shall we rock?

Eternally yours,

News From The Great Beyond: Marshall Watson, Mandelbrot Set, Los Straitjackets, This Providence contest, The Kooks

2006-09-03T21:13:00.000-06:00

Marshall Watson is not only moving music, but he is moving all of his possessions. Watson will be releasing Math and Other Word Problems on the Highpoint Lowlife label. According to his website, Watson find himself "carelessly weaving strands of cologne style dub techno, minimal house, avant-pop and shoegaze sensibilities. The end result is a refined and rich development in the maturation of Marshall Watson's style and sound." Watson also recently packed up and moved back to the northwest (Seattle, specifically) from Brooklyn, NY, and is DJ'ing at various clubs.

Also from Highpoint Lowlife comes the Mandelbrot Set's All Our Actions Are Constantly Repeated. Frans De Waard of vital Weekly wrote, "Mandelbrot Set is a drone rock band, playing walls of sound, employing all the pedals required (mainly live sampling and overdubbing the guitars) and furious drums banging beneath. Whatever Melisa adds is around this: her sounds become the pictures on this wall of sound. Stoner rock? Shoegazing? It's all there, but Mandelbrot Set gets away with it. Of course because they do something entirely different than 90% of the acts usually to be found on this label, but also because they play a dam fine tune, not caring about any hype or trend, they do their own thing, and at such perhaps not so new under the sun, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, just because it was so different. Great, furious one."

Being an educator, I had to write about this one. Los Straitjackets are releasing Twist Party! on the Yep Roc imprint. The album is accompanied by a DVD which instructs viewers on the fine art of the twist. Chubby Checker is loving this!! The album was recorded with The World Famous Pontani Sisters and Kaiser George. Los Straitjackets will be playing shows in various cities and kids are welcome.

Congratulations to Touch and Go Records on their 25th Anniversary.

Ever felt your artowkr might be good enough to grace an album cover? Fueled By Ramen is holding a contest to design the cover for the forthcoming This Providence release. The grand prize is two VIP passes to the 2007 Coachella Valley Music Festival. Other prizes include a personal phone call from the band, autographed CDs, t-shirts, and posters. For more information or to enter the contest, log on to www.brickfish.com.

Finally, I first caught The Kooks on woxy.com. This band already has several top 40 hits in the UK and now they are aiming for America. Their debut release, Inside in/Inside Out, will hit stores on October 3, 2006, on the Astralwerks imprint. "Eddie's Gun" is a song that woxy.com has bestowed major airplay upon, and the video looks to be a winner as well.

News From The Great Beyond: Oakley Hall

2006-08-31T22:30:00.000-06:00

Daytrotter describes Oakley Hall as "a six-piece with a backwoods mentality and a bluegrassy clutch on male-female harmonies—lacquered with psychedelia and campfire smoke, smothered in barbeque sauce and smelling like the freshness of the outdoors..."

Their second full-length CD is entitled Gypsum Strings, available on the Brah Records label, and now the band is preparing to head off on the road with Calexico and M. Ward. The tour starts Wednesday, Spetember 6th, in Pittsburgh, PA, with M. Ward and then shifts to opening dates for Calexico later in the month.

Courtney Harding of Bust Magazine wrote that Oakley Hall is "a true rarity... neither too cool for school nor too weird to be enjoyed." Meanwhile, David Fricke of Rolling Stone Magazine, commenting on the track "Cod-ine" wrote that Oakley Hall "...revive the song – and dose their own – with a purple-prairie flair both vintage and modern, country and urban, as if Wilco now had John Cale on viola and Lucinda Williams in the lineup."

Enough said. Check this band out.

News From The Great Beyond: The Hush Sound

2006-06-09T08:29:00.000-06:00

He had been in rock bands for several years. She was a classically trained pianist who began playing at the age of 3. They begin playing together when a mutual passion for music is kindled. She has tremendous stage fright, but he, recognizing talent, will not allow her to give up her passion. Eventually, they start writing original music.

Today, Bob Morris and Greta Salpeter, along with Darren Wilson and Chris Faller, comprise The Hush Sound. This Chicago based outfit has recently released Like Vines on the Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen imprint. The band will also be headed out on the road with Panic! At The Disco. The band writes on their website, "We're really excited to be playing with those guys and feel very lucky to be part of such an amazing tour. We've got some new songs we'll be playing for everyone as well and can't wait to see you all!"

Check out the band's Pure Volume site for mp3's.

News From The Great Beyond: Six Degrees Records

2006-06-08T09:29:00.000-06:00

Six Degrees Records has an eclectic mix of world music. They also feature one of TGB's favorites: Los Mocosos. The months of June and July will be rather at this San Francisco-based label.

Nigerian born Cheb I Sabbah has elected a group of remixers to create new sounds based on his 2005 release, La Kahena. Temple of Sound, Bill Laswell, Fnaïre, Bassnectar, The Chakadoons and Yossi Fine all have contributed their talents to the forthcoming release of remixes aptly entitled La Ghriba: La Kahena Remixed. This release hits stores on June 13th.

The 4th of July brings Farewell Ferengistan from Banco De Gaia. According to the Six Degrees website, "Toby Marks, under the pseudonym Banco de Gaia, has spent most of his career focusing on issues that he finds bewildering by expressing his thoughts and observations through music. He wrote his critically acclaimed 1995 album Last Train To Lhasa to highlight the plight of the Tibetan people and successfully mixed electronica with a braver vision. Farewell Ferengistan, his upcoming release from Six Degrees, captures the spirit and mood of Last Train To Lhasa but this time Banco de Gaia's concerns are much closer to home: what are we doing to ourselves? Where is our materialism taking us, would it not be wise to consider our position?"

Recife-born Lenine is well known to music fans all over the world. He combines original music with the rhythms of Northeast Brazil over a base of rock, pop and electronica. Now, Lenine will bring his music to American ears when Six Degrees releases his self-titled, full-length, American release on July 25th. FYI: Lenine's website is in Portugese.

For more information, go to www.sixdegreesrecords.com.

News From The Great Beyond: Gym Class Heroes

2006-06-07T10:21:00.000-06:00

While the idea of using live instruments as opposed to samples is not new, the members of Gym Class Heroes have taken their brand of hip hop to a new level. The band's Pure Volume website has two tracks ("Taxi-Driver" & "Papercuts") available for download. "Taxi Driver" is two minutes name dropping daftly put together in bedtime story form. Bands such as My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eats World, The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional, and Sunny Day Real Estate are all lyricized. To quote the lyrics, "This is the story of the year."

Check out the band's forthcoming release, As Cruel As School Children, on July 25th, on the Fueled By Ramen imprint.

Billy Preston 1946-2006

2006-06-06T07:51:00.000-06:00

Billy Preston, the man known as "The Fifth Beatle" passed away recently at the age of 59. Preston wrote and recorded such hits as "Will It Go Around In A Circle," "Nothing From Nothing," and "With You I'm Born Again," the latter a duet with Syreeta, penned "You Are So Beautiful," an international megahit for Joe Cocker, and had roles in the remake of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Blues Brothers. Preston played keyboards on The Beatles Let It Be, The White Album, Abbey Road, and was also featured in the band's rooftop performance. Most recently, Preston is heard on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium.

The online edition of the BBC News quoted Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. "Billy was an incredible musician and an incredible man who will be missed. As Billy said, that's the way God planned it."

Fans are asked to make donation in the name of Billy Preston to the American Kidney Foundation or Musicares.

For more information about Billy Preston, log on to www.billypreston.net.

News From The Great Beyond: Michael Franti & Spearhead

2006-06-05T11:29:00.000-06:00

To say that Michael Franti is a busy man would be a gross understatement. How the man has time to brush his teeth in the morning is beyond me.

The journey began back in 2004 when Michael Franti took an unsponsored camera crew to the Middle East to learn for himself the "human cost" of war. From this trip comes the documentary I Know I'm Not Alone, a film born from Franti's desire to "...hear about the war by people affected by it most: doctors, nurses, poets, artists, soldiers, and, my personal favorite, musicians." Franti and his entourage visited Iraq, Israel, and the occupied territories of Palestine. While many may perceive this as political, Franti stops short of calling this a political movie.

"I wanted to make a film about people, and the things they do to overcome the stresses of war and occupation: chief among these being friendship, humour, art and music," says Franti on the Spearhead website.

From this journey also comes the music for his forthcoming release, Yell Fire!. The album captures the stories of images of war through songs such as "Yell Fire!," "Time To Go Home," "I Know I'm Not Alone," "One Step Closer To You," which features backing vocal by Pink, and "Is Love Enough," featuring reggae star Gentleman. At the urging of Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell, Franti, along with spearhead members Carl Young (bass) and Dave Shul (guitar) made his way to Kingston, Jamaica, and recorded with the legendary duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.

Of the trip to the Middle East, Franti comments on his website that "The thing that I found when I was in war zones was that nobody wants to hear songs about war. They want to hear songs about connection to people, and songs about love and life, songs that make them dance." Of the new material, Franti says, "I feel this is our best record yet."

Franti also had a chance to make a statement in front of members of the World Health Organization at the United Nations Complex in Geneva, Switzerland. Franti spent two days meeting with WHO staffers as well as members of the United Nations and was part of a panel on "The Human Face of Conflict and Health: Impact on Health Care Systems."

Finally, as if this weren't enough, Michael Franti and Spearhead are off to tour and spread his truth to audiences around the globe. The tour begins in the U.S. with a stop in my backyard on Saturday, June 24th, as part of the Taos Solar Music Festival in pristine Taos, New Mexico. In August, the tour makes its way to Europe for a round of festival dates before returning to the states for a date in San Francisco at the Power To The Peaceful Festival on September 9th in Franti's hometown of San Francisco, CA.

For more information, log on to www.spearheadvibrations.com

Vince Welnick 1955-2006

2006-06-03T00:07:00.000-06:00

Grateful Dead keyboardist, Vince Welnick, died on Friday, June 2nd, at a hospital in Northern California. The cause of death was unknown, but, although unconfirmed, but according to published reports, it is believed he may have taken his own life.

Welnick began his career as keyboardist for The Tubes, performing on their hits "Talk To Ya Later" and "She's A Beauty." Welnick took over as keyboardist for the Dead in 1990. He was the fourth person to hold that position. Original member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan died in 1973, Keith Codchaux in 1980, and Brent Mydland passed on 1990. Of course, band leader Jerry Garcia died in 1995.

Welnick continued to play for several bands, including Mickey Hart's band, plus his own outfit, the Missing Man Foundation.

Welnick is survived by his wife, Lori.

Go to www.vincewelnick.com for further information.

Dead Heart Bloom Interview

2006-05-31T19:21:00.000-06:00

Boris Skalsky is a man who prefers to go at it alone. "Being in bands for most of my life, it's the first time I am able to call all the shots myself. Initially, this is very liberating. Maybe my tastes will change, but, for now, I like having that freedom."

Skalsky is Dead Heart Bloom, the name he chose after his previous outfit, Phaser, called it a career. It didn't take long for critics to notice. One publication called DHB "a new artist to keep an eye on in 2006. Armed with twelve new tracks, critical acclaim, and a will to succeed, Boris Skalsky is set to make it break it, but on his own terms.

Here is an interview conducted recently with Boris Skalsky. Enjoy.

Is it comforting to know that it's all in your hands?

Yes. On the other hand, there is no one to blame for any mistakes or mis-steps but yourself. So, although it's comforting, it's also a little unnerving. There are also times I miss being able to bounce ideas off another musician immediately. Now, it's me and the studio and my own instincts.

You've said that anger is a great motivator. How does the anger manifest for you?

I think I've actually burned through that anger. It was only a flash to begin with. But when it was there, it was the usual childish, schoolyard mentality of "I'll show them."

What song on your CD most represents the manifestation of anger?

"Sodom."

If you could play "Folsom Prison Blues" to/for Johnny Cash, speculate on what his reaction might be.

I think he might respect a transformation of his song because it's what he did so well to other's songs on his last three or four records. Of course, that's being presumptuous that he would even hear this version,or care.

"Listen as I find you a song
Listen as I find you a poem
Listen as the wind bring you down
Every cobbled graveyard in town."

I love these lyrics. Who are you singing them to?

Mainly the listener. The song, taken literally, sets up the rest of the record. Sort of a prelude. "Listen...".

Do you enjoy ambiguity?

I enjoy the record being a little hard to pin down. My favorite records are exactly like that. The White Album is the best example. Stylistically, that record is all over the place. Yet it hangs together and is a work of art. It doesn't bother me that people say my record is stylistically "ambiguous." Although the songs are different from one another, I think the style is cohesive.

I was reading recently where Jason Lytle of Grandaddy said he was a huge fan of Electric Light Orchestra. I'm sensing you might be fan as well, esp. with some of the orchestration you utilize. Would I be correct?

I recently re-discovered them. I knew some of the more popular songs for a long time and disregarded them. Then a friend played me a whole record, and some of the deep tracks were great. It helps that they are very Beatles influenced.

Much of what I've read describe either you or your music as dark. What brings you happiness and joy?

The same things, I think, as everyone else. It's just that these things are not as interesting to sing about.

Control is a word you seem to place great value in. Explain why?

If you mean control of your musical destiny, yes, I place a high value in that. But not in the negative sense of a "control freak." There's nothing wrong with working with others, collaborating, etc., if it's someone you respect. I just want to see my vision on each song through to the end. If it's the wrong path, then at least I will have followed it and failed with some integrity.

Having been born and raised in New York, I know how easy it is to get lost in the shuffle. How will you keep that from happening to DHB?

Ultimately, I think you can't keep that from happening or not happening because it is somewhat out of your control. And if you worry about it, then that becomes the focus of your obsessions, instead of obsessing about music. The best method I know of is to keep pounding at the door and not be ashamed of the pounding.

Find out more about Dead Heart Bloom at www.deadheartbloom.com. In fact, you can download DHB's debut in its entirety.

News From The Great Beyond: Kill Rock Stars, Three Widows, Page France, An Albatross, Liquid Soul

2006-05-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

We open with two new releases from the Kill Rock Stars imprint. Both CDs are hitting the stores on June 6th (a/k/a 06/06/06). The Paper Chase's (left) Now You Are One of Us features what KRS describes as "strangled guitars, bombastic percussion, terror-stricken strings, bizarre samples and crashing pianos." Enough said.

Meanwhile, something off-the-beaten-path has yet to discover, The Robot Ate Me will issue Good World, featuring 17 tracks clocking in at 23 minutes. Ryland Bouchard (below, right) presents the listener with a imaginative world that presents mythical characters like Djien (a monster spider the size of a man whose heart is buried in the ground causing it to survive the most critical attacks), the Stone Giants (who are invulnerable except on the soles of their feet) and She Owl (the wife of Bloody Knife).

The former members of Breather Resist have been reincarnated under the name Three Widows. Evan Patterson (Black Cross, The National Acrobat), Nick Thieneman, and Geoff Paton will release a new CD entitled Settle Down City, containing 11 songs of hypnotic, heavy, noise-rock anthems. Street date is September 12, 2006.

Seattle based label, Suicide Squeeze, has inked Baltimore's Page France to a recording contract. The label will re-released Hello, Dear Wind on September 12th. The disc offers a spirited mix of campfire sing-a-longs, whimsical pop classics, and a delicate dash of folk innocence. While Hello, Dear Wind features previously released material, front man Michael Nau and his band mates will set out to record new material for a proper label debut.

Psych-grind masters of the spiritual and physical revolution, An Albatross, are currently completing a European trek in support of their forthcoming debut full-length Blessphemy (of the Peace-Beast Feastgiver and the Bear-Warp Kumite), out June 27th on Ace Fu. Pitchfork Media calls this "The trippiest record in the history of the world."

Telarc Records will release One-Two Punch from Liquid Soul, the Grammy-nominated combo that has built its reputation on a compelling mix of jazz, hip-hop, funk and hard-bop. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Liquid Soul "...the tightest and funkiest outfit in America." Also coming from Telarc will be Cold As Ice, the new release from John Lee Hooker, Jr.. It scheduled for a June release.

Twin Atlas Interview

2006-05-21T21:55:00.000-06:00

Sean Byrne and Lucas Zaleski began playing together in the 90's, and their backgrounds includes such independent stalwarts as Mazarin, Lenola, Matt Pond PA, and Audible. Together, they are known as Twin Atlas, a duo based in both Philadelphia, PA, and New York City. Their most recent release is entitled Sun Township, but, as you will find out, they have new material in the can.

One thing is for certain, Byrne and Zaleski get along like two brothers. Byrne conjures a picture that might explain the bond. "Maybe we could try writing & recording on stage. I’m sure that’d go over real well. People could pay to come watch me and Luke drinking beer and bickering and eating snacks and recording tunes." I'm there.

As you will read, getting on each other's nerves is part of what makes this duo who they are. Enjoy the conversation.

I understand that you are working on a new release. Any details you'd like to share?

SB: It's going to be a collection of songs from the same era that produced our last album (Sun Township). We purposely kept Sun Township brief, but the recording sessions from that era yielded the usual high number of songs. I feel like a lot of them are worthy of release, so I’ll be revisiting the recordings this summer and finishing things up on them. It’ll be called ‘Magic Car Wash,’ (note: Luke hates the title, like most titles I come up with) but ,at this point, I don’t know if it will be a ‘proper’ CD release or something more low-profile like just for download or a website-only CDR exclusive thing. I’m looking forward to working on it though.

Tell me how you two became The Twin Atlas.

LZ: Sean is talented. Luke is friends with Sean.

SB: We met in college back in the early 90’s. We both learned guitar around the same time from the same mutual friend.

When you bring people from different bands together, you, in my opinion, generally want to get away from the sounds created in your previous bands. But what drives your "new" sound? Is it something that happens or is it manufactured?

SB: I do think that, early on, I was definitely doing quieter & folkier stuff in reaction to some of the louder rock bands I had drummed with, but over time I actually now hear so much influence from those bands (Lenola, Mazarin) in Twin Atlas music just on a mellower level. In regards to any “new” sound, I just think the more recent songs have a higher fidelity and are a bit more developed than earlier songs that were just quick sketches.

LZ: We're pretty good at “manufacturing” creativity in the sense that we know that if we get together, add coffee, beer and guitars, we'll probably get something to work with. The approach stays the same, but we've never consciously tried to do anything. It's about leaving ourselves open to the possibility that something might happen. If that something is upbeat or mid-tempo, so be it. So long as it works.

With regards to the Sun Township release, what are you most proud of?

SB: It’s consistency of mood. I think there is a common thread to the album’s “feel” from start to end, which we never had on earlier releases so much.

Thirty minutes isn't a long record. Was that a conscious decision?

LZ: For this release I think Sean had a certain discipline about keeping the record consistent and very concise, maybe as a reaction to some of our longer, earlier records.

SB: For once, I actually agree with something Lucas has said.

Your bio calls the music on Sun Township "atmospheric." Define atmospheric.

SB: Ummm, I guess I’d rate atmosphere on how well the music conjures up a visual scene in your mind. If the music can somehow give the listener the feeling of a certain time of day, maybe during a particular time of the year, if the music stirs up a scenery or environment in your mind, I guess that’s atmospheric. It’s the exact opposite of something heavy-handed lyrically or when a song is about a person or politics. Effective atmosphere in music is much more subtle.

My guess is that you are not one for touring. Why?

LZ: Sean has a baby. And is one.

SB: Lucas also has a lovely daughter, and he is also really, really lame. That being said, the logistics are tough as we don’t live too close. But the true reason is that the essence of what we do is in the creative and recording process, not the reproduction of the songs live. We play a proper live show every once in a while and I’m usually left feeling mildly discouraged, or, at best, marginally satisfied. It's just not what the Twin Atlas is about.

I'm not sure which of you moved, but how is the new house coming along?

LZ: Sean moved into his retirement Mecca a few months back. He has since lost all his teeth, and his will to live.

SB: It's true, at least the part about the teeth.

For more on The Twin Atlas, go to www.thetwinatlas.com.

Autonervous

2006-05-12T22:14:00.000-06:00

Okay, tell me if you've heard this one: What do you get when you cross a German and a San Franciscan?

Give up?

They call themselves Autonervous, and what you get is a sound that's sexy and catchy. The story begins in 2004 when Jessie Evans moved to Berlin with her bandmate known collectively as The Vanishing. It wasn't long before the two decided to call it quits and move their separate ways. "Both of us were sort of over it at that point," explains Evans. Eventually, she and, fellow sax player, Bettina Koster (ex-Malaria) hooked up and realized they shared a similar vision.

"We've taught each other a lot and stretched each other as far as we could in this process. Sometimes we drive each other crazy because we both act like we know everything."

The self-titled debut from Autonervous (available on Cochon Records) hits stores on June 6th. The Great Beyond caught up with Jessie Evans to discuss her past, present, and future.

What happened to the Vanishing?

Vanishing formed in 2002 in San Francisco. We put out three albums, about six singles and went through much evolution during that time. We toured Europe and Brain and I decided to move here to Berlin. We came here September, 2004, toured quite a bit, tried it out as a two-piece, but both of us were...needing to do our own things. So we called it a day. "Vanished" so to speak.

Is there a piece that stays with your former band when a situation like breaking-up occurs, or do you simply gather the pieces and move on?

Respect for each other is what stays, and respect for yourself is what allows you to move on. For a moment, I was having a hard time with the idea of breaking up because we had been doing it for a few years and were finally starting to have a bit of success with it. Bettina (Autonervous) gave me the best advice. She was like "Jessie, to have success with something you've got to stick with it your whole life." That gave me such courage, and it was a huge relief to hear it put like that; if your working for yourself then you have all the time you allow yourself.

What do you regret most about The Vanishing's break-up?

Nothing. Why should I regret? I really don't believe in the concept. I believe in everything I've done in my life. Even if I sometimes look back on things and see that I was a bit young and naive, it's all part of the process. If I was to stay put in situations where I wasn't allowed to grow and continue exploring, then that would be something to regret.

Is there a chance you and Brian will make music again someday?

Yeah, sure.

How do a California native and a German get together to form a band?

I moved to Berlin last year. I met Bettina, literally, directly after arriving here. We were picked up at the airport by this Spanish rock star and driven to an interview which she was taking part in also. It seemed fated that we would make music. I mean, we had so much in common: both singers/sax players and doing the same kind of music inspite being from different eras and generations. She is from the 80s Berlin scene and I'm from San Francisco. I think Malaria (Koster's former band) was pretty ahead for their time. They made an album also in the 90s which sounds more futuristic than all this electro stuff that's coming out now.

In my opinion, Autonervous is a visual band. Assuming I'm correct, is the focus the music or the visual?

At the moment, the music has been the focus. We've just completed our album and are working on taking it live. I find the visual thing very important too, but, right now, being on stage is just about being in the moment and feeling your blood..

Tell me about your photography. When did you become addicted? Any upcoming photography shows?

I've always loved to photograph people cos I see it as making your reality how you want it. You're creating something you can hold and take with you. You can also choose to see what you want and throw out the rest, which can be really healing. It helps me to understand relationships between people and human emotion. No shows planned, but I'm excited to have taken the cover photos for my friend Namosh 's debut album, which comes out June 16th on Bungalow Records in Berlin ..

Do you try to combine your work as a photographer with your music?

Yeah, I used to try to take pictures while I was on stage and I ended up ruining so many cameras!

The Autonervous debut hits stores in June. What is the feeling in the band as the date approaches?

Uh, nervous. (laughs) Just kidding. We're excited. I'm really proud of the album. I played drums (machines ) for the first time, and I think it's really beautiful. We both come across really clear in it. It's as though we both made our first solo album - together.

Describe the music. I've heard it referred to as "dance punk," and, while I did find it danceable, I'm not sure about punk. Gothic. The closest I can come is Sisters of Mercy meets Siouxsie meets Vince Clarke and Yaz.

The music is sexy. It feels very light to me, but I think anything either of us do would turn out a bit dark because it's in both of our natures. My main influences are rock steady, wave, and disco. Bettina's seem to be krautrock and wave. She's also like a chanson singer at times.

Log on to www.autonervous.com or Cochon Records for more information.

News From The Great Beyond

2006-05-10T20:41:00.000-06:00

In 1981, Brian Eno and David Byrne collaborated on an album entitled, My Life In The Bush of Ghosts. The album has recently been re-issued in a new package, with extensive liner notes and photos. The new CD features seven previously unreleased tracks from the original album and a film by influential artist Bruce Conner. In keeping with the spirit of the original album, Brian and David are offering for download all the multitracks on two of the songs. And, you are free to edit, remix, and sample these tracks in any way you'd like. Visitors are welcome to post their mixes on the site for others to hear and rate. Check out the website at www.bush-of-ghosts.com.

They have become one of my favorites bands, and I'm sure their new CD will rank in my ten top for 2006. Detroit's The Come Ons have just released their fourth full-length disc, twelve dance pop songs, on their Mo Pop Music imprint. The album was recorded by Jim Kissling at Tempermill studios. You can find samples on the band's myspace page. To my surprise, when I received my CD, there was a picture of former Cub and Red Sox first baseman, Bill Buckner. I'm still trying to figure out how singer, bassist, Deanne Iovan, knew I was a baseball fan, a first baseman on may a baseball and softball team, and a New Yorker who watched Buckner misplay a ground ball that led to the Mets winning their first World Series in 1986. Love the photo, Deanne. The band also features guitarist Bryan Foreman and drummer Patrick Pantano.

It's official. Pedro the Lion's Dave Bazan is roaring back into action. The beloved songwriter has been buried in his home studio crafting a follow up to Achilles Heel. Now sans the PTL moniker, Bazan has redrafted a tour/internet only EP that he will sell on the road and via his site. The EP, entitled Fewer Moving Parts, finds Bazan going back to his musical roots, performing and recording all the music by himself. The EP will have two different versions of five new Bazan songs. One version will be stripped down acoustic and another version will have full-instrumentation. Acclaimed graphic novel artist Zak Sally [Low] is creating the artwork for the EP. Bazan will also tour on the eastern half of the country in June. Meanwhile Pedro the Lion's 2004 tour EP is available through digital outlets. The EP deatures PTL originals as well as three covers.

On the heels of their critically acclaimed More Deep Cuts, San Francisco's Thee More Shallows have released a seven song EP entitled Monkey vs. Shark. The EP includes a smashing cover of Al Green's "I Can't Get Next To You," as well as a new version of "Freshman Thesis" (originally appearing on More Deep Cuts) remixed by Odd Nodsam and Why? (Anticon). Look for the new EP on Turn Records.

Finally, Roadrunner Records has been busy with signings and new releases. First, the New York Dolls, as TGB reported several months ago, will be releasing their first disc in 30 years on July 26th. It's entitled One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This and produced by the equally legendary Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, John Lennon, etc.). The album includes tracks such as "Dance Like a Monkey" and "Take a Good Look at My Good Looks." Also coming are albums from Kentucky's Black Stone Cherry (July), Stone Sour (Come What[ever] May) on August 22nd, Opeth's Ghost Reveries on August 30th, and a special edition of Trivium's Ascendancy, featuring a cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets." The label also announced the signing of Hatebreed, who can be seen on this year's Ozzfest caravan.

Go-Betweens' McLennan Dead At Age 47

2006-05-07T18:46:00.000-06:00

Grant McLennan, singer-songwriter for Australia's legendary The Go-Betweens, died in his sleep on May 6th. The cause of his death is unknown. The Go-Betweens were experiencing a resurgence due to the recent release of Oceans Apart.

To read a statement about McLennan's death, go to www.go-betweens.net.

News From The Great Beyond

2006-05-03T20:30:00.000-06:00

Stuart A. Staples releases his second solo album, Leaving Songs, June 6, 2006, on the Beggars Banquet imprint. The disc will be a double CD that will include Staples debut solo release from 2004, Lucky Dog Recordings '03-'04. Leaving Songs is a collection of songs written over the last year, recorded at Mark Nevers' studio in Nashville, with Dave Boulter, Neil Fraser and drummer Thomas Belhom. Further sessions at Lucky Dog studio featured Tindersticks' stalwart Terry Edwards and longtime collaborator, Gina Foster. This album also features duets with Maria McKee ('This Road Is Long') of Cowboy Junkies fame, and Lhasa de Sela ('That Leaving Feeling').

From Oakland, California, by way of Level Plane Records, comes The Saviours to save the day. The band hellbent on "saving heavy metal from its current state of lackluster purgatory" (that's what their website says) will be releasing Crucifire on May 16th. The band consists of Austin Barber (vocals, guitar), Scott Batiste (drums), Mag Delana (guitar), Cyrus Comiskey (bass) and D. Tyler Morris (guitar). Fans of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Saviours' sound takes on a deeper, darker tone that will remind fans of death metal stalewarts Venom and Bathory.

Bouncing Souls are a name that should be familiar to many. They've been around for 15 years perfecting their sound and entertaining fans through constant touring. Now, Epitaph Records is set to release Gold Record, on June 6th. To celebrate, the band will play six soldout performances at the Knitting Factory in NYC.

Count Jonah Smith as another artist who has benefited from being featured at SXSW. Smith, who has been called the future of music, landed both a management and booking agent deal in the week following the convention. Now, Smith is preparing to release his self-titled debut on June 27th for the Relix Records imprint. Look for a tour this summer.

Bouncing Souls photo by Zak Kaplan

News From The Great Beyond

2006-05-01T21:40:00.000-06:00

MEASLES MUMPS RUBELLA will be releasing a remixed single for "Dynamic Disaster" this summer. Contributing to the project will be Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys. Other producers lending a hand will include DJ John Selway (Asphodel / Serotonin), Jonathan Kreinik (engineer of the band's debut Fantastic Success) and renowned sound artist Toshio Kashiwara (collaborator with Christian Marclay, DJ Olive, Tim Barnes). Measles Mumps Rubella are currently on tour supporting Fantastic Success, available on the Doubling Cube Records imprint.

It appears Ambulette have hits some hard times. Here's a press release via the band's publicist:

In an increasingly common occurance, Ambulette awoke this week, midst their tour opening for Dredg, only to find their gear had been stolen. The band offered the following statement on their Myspace page:

"We stayed at the Extended Stay Hotel near the airport in Philly on Sunday night. Sometime between 1am and sunrise, our van was broken in to (popped the lock on the driver's side door) and the majority of our equipment was taken. Between 9:45 and 10:45 a.m., Matt was guilt-tripped by the two Philly beat cops on the scene for being "too damn optimistic" to leave anything valuable in the van overnight (it's worth noting that neither of the same two officers there to make the OFFICIAL POLICE REPORT thought that it was neccessary to get out of their squad car to investigate, not even once, despite the loss of $15,000 to $20000 worth of equipment; I love everybody, including the police, no kidding, but come on...). No one was hurt, and we have insurance that should help cover most or all of the loss, though much of the stuff ('59 Jazzmaster, anyone?) is irreplaceable.

So, if you're our friend, here's a partial list of things that were stolen from us Monday morning in Philadelphia:

guitars:
- 1959 Fender Jazzmaster - white w/ white headstock, tortoise shell pick guard
- 1974 (?) Gibson SG - brown/natural finish
- 2003 Fender "deluxe american" Telecaster - sunburst w/ white binding, pick guard
- 1977 Fender Precision Bass - black w/ black pickguard, maple neck

keyboard:
- new Clavia Nord Electro - 72 keys, in SKB hard case

amplifiers:
- 1969 (?) Matamp ("Orange") OR100 Head - in flight case, with modified power jack-newer Dr. Z "Presciption" (***not "Prescription - note the misspelling; the amp was made that way) white, in flight case
- newer Dr. Z 2x12" speaker cabinet - red
- 1960's Fender Champ - Tweed
- Traynor YBA1 Bassmaster Head

drums:
- 16" Ludwig Vista Lite - Clear, in SKB case

effects/pedals:
- Fulltone Tube Tape Echo (in Pelican case w/ Champ Amp)

effects together in a pedal board/flight case:
- Demeter Compulator
- Chicago Iron works Parachute wah wah
- Fulltone Fulldrive
- Electro Harmonix Big Muff
- Demeter Tremolo
- Z Vex Lo Fi Loop Junky
- Ernie Ball Volume Pedal-Keeley Katana
- Peterson Strobe Tuner

If you're on the east coast (Philly, NYC, D.C., Delaware, etc.), and you see these things anywhere, please let us know. If you're a wacko super-fan and know our equipment better than we do ourselves, and are POSITIVE that what you're trying out at the pawn shop in Stroudsburg or Wilkes-Barre or Rochester or Secacus (etc...) used to belong to us, feel free to call the police before getting in touch with us.

In the mean time, thanks to Dredg and Ours and their crews for being kind enough to let us use their equipment every night so that we might finish this portion of the tour. We fully intend to play every night, so to answer a commonly asked question: YES, we will be playing all of the Rainer Maria dates, as planned. And if you're a gear thief, please let us know where you put our stuff."

CD Review: JW Jones Blues band

2006-04-24T18:31:00.000-06:00

Kissing In 29 Days
Northern Blues

JW Jones is one of Canada's superhot blues axeslingers. His groove is jumpy and swinging with non-stop drive and power. From his vocal tone to the Lone Star heat, the shadow of the Fab T-birds looms large. 11 out of 14 of these smokers of juicy sauce slathered BBQ are works of their own design to which Jones' twangy axe and a slow cooked rhythm section are added for a truly tasty aural menu.

The brisket, ribs and chix are pulled out of the trusty cooker starting with titler "Kissing In 29 Days." The joints are really succulent with the flavors of Memphis' Stax and west coast. Jones' axe echoes with the influences of T-Bone, Gatemouth and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, while the sax of guest and, ex-Ray Charles tenorist, Fathead Newman add some spice to the flavor. "All My Money" oozes the axe, the sax and Piazza knack, too.

The whole 40's and 50's thing with big voiced men shouting in front of a large numbers of supercharged horn blowers is reprised herewithin as the Wind Chill Factor Horns do it big. If anyone took a breath during the swooping speed of "Parasomnia", I couldn't hear it. Think Mingus meets Johnny Otis on Los Angeles' Central Ave back when!

KC blues oozes out of "Fly To You" like the juice from a Missouri fatback rib and "Way Too Late" is soft, smooth blue caramel weeping desserts of sorrow. "Pretty Little Sweet Thing" juices it up again with some fine Memphis power.

Nearing the end of this repast, "No Love" gives a kickback of guitar pepper that stings and sates with greasy sax creme brulee ladled over a chili brownie. From da funk of "Games" to a chilling good cover of 'The Genius' Ray Charles' "Hallelujah I Love Her So" featuring a Fathead solo, it is inside this box of takeout and adds up to quite a tasty meal.

BBQ, cool suds, sweet licks and hot pepper pain ecstasy-oooowwweeee.

On TGB planetary scale, this one ends sizzling up on saucy Venus.

This review submitted by Dr. Blues. Log on to his website at www.liblues.org.

Tab Benoit

2006-04-15T21:58:00.000-06:00

Brother To The Blues
Telarc

Reviewed by Dr. Blues

Brother To The Blues finds my favorite bayou bluesman, Tab Benoit, in the fine company of compadres with a similar roots slant. Backed by a passel of Louisiana LeRoux members, Jim Lauderdale, Waylon Thibodeaux and Billy Joe Shaver, the roots are in for a work-out.

The profound power of early country (Hank, George Jones) and the soulful gut wrenching of blues are cemented by the cult classic sound of Louisiana LeRoux. Waylon Thibodeaux fiddles true cajun while Shaver rasps through hard lives and times. Lauderdale was rocking roots when few knew what it was. Tab calls him the "new guy from the old school." Together, they divulge and develop Benoit's earliest musical influences.

Opening with a 4WD swamper called "Pack It Up," Tab trims the wick on a soul burning cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me." Yearning flows out of the axe like honey. "Brother To The Blues" has crying pedal steel and the soft tears of good ol' country. The heat cranks up on a Creedence styled "Why Are People Like That," first penned by Robert Guidry, which explores inter-personal relationships in a unique fashion while Tab sears with his R&R axework.

LeRoux members provide understatedly beautiful vocal harmonies throughout the disk including the Hank Williams/Jimmy Davis prison song, "I Heard The Lonesome Whistle." Tab wonders what's happening in her pretty head as warbling Hammond and pounding guitar orchestrate "If You Love Me." Shaver articulates "Comin' On Strong" backed by Benoit on pedal steel and Thib's fiddle. Closing with "Can't Do One More Two-Step," Tab and Waylon trade licks while bemoaning the working musician's plight.

She wraps up tight and Tab's done what he does for 55:07 of swamp blues, country and soulful pain and joy. On The Great Beyond planetary scale, Tab Benoit comes in hovering between Venus and Earth.

Review used by permission. Check out Dr. Blues' website at www.liblues.org.

Lee Rocker

2006-03-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Racin' the Devil
Alligator Records

Written by Dr. Blues. Check out www.liblues.org.

The bottom feline from the legendary Stray Cats opens his latest solo creation with spread claws. "The Girl From Hell" blends ZZ Top boogie with AC/DC insouciance, resulting in a cranker fully capable of Racin' The Devil. Doing a fine rumble on "Rock This Town," the pompadour is sweaty and the red edged black stand up bass is pumping. Brophy Dale and Buzz Campbell tear up the 6's. The pace is frantic and driving yet it swiftly shifts to smooth crooning country rock on "The River Runs" with some classic Bakersfield guitar work. Massapequa, Long Island's Leon Drucker has a roots pilgrimage down on wax. The rockabilly lives in Carl Perkins' "Say When" or Rocker's "Race Track Blues." Slapping bass underpins throughout and Rocker delivers the goods vocally as well. Resurrecting material from Phantom, Rocker and Slick, "Runnin' from the Hounds" echoes the frenetic new wave anthem "GGGGet Out of London" but the freshest stuff is Rocker's work. As 16 to the bar 248 beats per minute mayhem pours out of the speakers in an Americana tour de force.

Link Wray, Moon Mullins and James Burton are channeled, the Stones' attitude is grabbed and the soul of Joe Ely meets Johnny Cash meets Elvis Costello. Wow, slick your doo, polish the fenders of your ride, pour on the juice, pump up the tunes and cruise. Hey, American Burger is just a short time up the road ride along the highway.

On TGB planetary scale, this one land between Venus and Mars.

Mark Lemhouse

2006-02-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Great American Yard Sale
Yellow Dog

Review written by Dr. Blues

Lemhouse hold forth with Johnny Cash-like baritone tones and hard driving American jackhammer power. Many vistas flow by the windows of this iron from primitive delta to bluegrassy old time and film noire a la Tom Waits. Parts are very similar in flavor to early Otis Taylor or even Othar Turner's fife and drum bands, albeit with a banjo.

Mark easily rocks with giant rhythmic pulses and twangy, jangly guitar. He says "it's okay to look back as long as you don't stare." The echoes go on deep and prominent in a platter filled with darkness and scintillating patches of light.

Rooted in Oregon, Lemhouse restlessly roams from here to there. From the Hill Country to Texas juking to the north woods or the Great Plains of Greg Brown, ridiculous hilarity, raw bones bitterness and more are fueled by six, slide, pedal and banjo fret artistry. This is sweet, on the balls of the feet American music with honest dark depth, wit and brilliance.

On The Great Beyond planetary scale, this one burns up solidly on Mars.

Printed here with author's permission. Check out Dr. Blues website at www.liblues.org.

Sybris

2006-02-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Music fans love to see bands come to their town and kick ass. Fans gather around the band's vehicle hoping to catch a glimpse of the members, and, possibly, enjoy a brief, but often, inspiring conversation. Yet, when was the last time "groupies" every attended a concert to gaze at the band's van? It's unheard of! Sports fans have their version of the sacred vehicle in Monday Night Football color commentator, John Madden's "Madden Cruiser." Yet the only time I've heard of people "wanting" to see a band's vehicle was with regards to the inside.

Sybris' van has logged enough miles that it will have earned bronze status. In fact, Angela Mullenhour and the band is thinking one step ahead. "The next van we're going to get is bronze. We're into shortcuts and mysticism so the only thing we'll have to do is buy some incense and perform some miracles."
TGB recently caught up with Angela Mullenhour to find out the latest on the band. Maybe we'll get to drive the van someday, but, for now, let's join in.

The way you met is well documented, but do you believe it was luck or fate?

I think those two things are one in the same. Luck, fate, drunkenness. I believe that it was a combination of all of those things. I suppose our lives would be drastically different if we never all met -- so I suppose it was a fateful night. And we love one another and what we do, so we were and are very lucky.

If I were in a record store and spotted your album, what would compel me to put my money down and purchase a Sybris cd?
Maybe you've heard of us. Maybe you found a bag of money. I really don't know.

Many bands will inevitably draw comparisons of themselves to other bands, but your band seems to steer clear. To what do you owe your uniqueness?

We steer clear of making comparisons, I think, because none of us agree on what we sound like and in the same breath I believe that's where our uniqueness comes from. Maybe all of us are playing different songs individually.

I sense that there is a poet inside the lyricist. Are your lyrics just such or are they poems put to music?

I am a scholar of poetry. I read it and I write it and I talk about it. My lyrics, on the other hand, are a lot different than my poetry. A lot of my favorite, most visceral words are unsingable. Like the word visceral, for example. But, I'm reconciling that on the new stuff we're working on -- concentrating on making the lyrics more poetically satisfying. I think.

Is Sybris where the band members expected to be or have the events of the last few months (album sales, tours, press, etc.) far exceeded any expectations?

I think we're pretty spot on. The press has been particularly surprising in the sense that it is a lot more positive than I thought it would be. Of course, we would love to be on the road more, but someday I think we will be.

Two words that you have describe the direction of the band is "danceable" and "discoey". Would you elaborate?

Yes. Since that was said, we've also gone in about 18,000 different directions -- I think I was talking about the drums as being discoey because at the time we were writing a couple of songs that had that feel, like, a lot of high hat trilly stuff. We are still playing around with that, but integrating it with anything from waltzy stuff to hawaiian stuff.

You've toured consistentely since the release of your self-titled album on Flameshovel. Is touring fun or a necessary evil?

I think it's different for different bands -- I mean, you're all in a van seeing the amazing vastness of this place and playing music every night and meeting hilarious people, and being with your dawgs, laughing your asses off. If you're not friends with your bandmates or if you have a hard time being away from your house or your girlfriend or a shower and you act like a whiny bitch, then you can make it miserable for the rest of the band. It's a necessary awesomeness with the right folk. I wouldnt trade it for anything; a shower or a boyfriend.

Check out Sybris at www.sybrismusic.com or log-on to Flameshovel Records for more information.

Tom Hunter

2006-01-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tom Hunter is one of those voices that only comes along once in a blue moon. Honed by years of experience, Hunter brings a passion to his music that started as a child in church. Eventually, Tom Hunter would travel to various destinations in order to find his sound. He settled in Minneapolis, MN, in 1997, and has not looked back.

Here I Go Again features songs covering a musical spetrum that stretches from smoky jazz to gut-bucket Chicago blues. Hunter recently took time to answer some questions via email. Enjoy the conversation.

What type of music was heard in the Hunter household growing up?

There wasn't a lot of music in the house. I'd get most of it from church and school, but two of my sisters took piano lessons, so I'd here that. My parents watched a lot of PBS, so I'd see performances when I was growing up, and had a great appreciation for some of the jazz I would see, i.e. Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie. My parents would play music on our old stereo at Christmas time. Loved Bing, still do. He was the best. My great grandmother, Margaret Cerussi, could play anything, and would play a lot of ragtime and period stuff when she came over.

Did any one musician or band stick out as you were growing up?

In addition to the artists mentioned above, I also listened to my grandfather's Chet Atkins albums, Billy Joel, and anything else coming off of FM radio in New York.

Gospel played an integral in your youth. Elaborate on the influence gospel music had on your life growing up as well as in your fledgling music career.

All of the organized music I participated in was thru the local church in Cornwall, NY. I was taught to play the blues by the preacher's son. He showed me the blues progression on the church he would sing while I played.

Tell me about the first gig you ever played. How vividly do you remember the details?

The first gig I ever played was at The F&J Tavern in Cornwall, NY. It was filled with all our friends and we had a ball. They didn't normally have music there and I don't think they were ready for the crowd. We were all very drunk, so I don't remember if we played well or not. It didn't seem to matter.

What life lessons did you learn in the navy that have transferred over to your music career?

I learned how to show up on time in the navy. They were into that whole prompt, punctual thing!

Why choose to do an album of covers?

I wanted to do an album to record the band. They're a great band, and it's a privilege, and a lot of fun working with them. I didn't have enough original material, so we recorded some of the tunes we perform regularly that truly speak to me.

Let's talk about the songs and artists that you have chosen to cover. The one who stands out the most is Doc Pomus. I'm guessing he is/was a profound influence on your music.

It's not so much Doc Pomus, but Johnny Adams turning me on to Doc Pomus. I met Johnny Adams in Mountain View, CA at a place called JJ's Blue Cafe. He was on a double bill with Nappy Brown and it was great. I would go out there on business trips when I worked for IBM, and check out bands. Johnny was the greatest singer I had ever seen. It blew me away, and I was an instant fan. I went out the next day and bought Room With A View, and kept going back for more. When he did an album of DocÂs work, I heard it. That was probably Johnny's best record, which shows the emotional content of the tunes. I do "The Night is a Hunter" because of one line in particular: "I played the honkytonks, and the upholstered sewers, and all the square sets in between, do up/ Every kind of high, legit, and otherwise, and make every unknown scene..." That one really got me.

Ray Charles - "Drown In My Tears"

I love Ray Charles, that's natural, but I really love this song. We've been doing it for a long time, and it felt right.

Tom Waits - "New Coat of Paint" - I'm guess Waits is not the easiest person to interpret.

I'm a fan of Tom Waits, and this is one of the tunes of his that speaks to me, which made it easy to interpret.

Billy Joel - "New York State of Mind" - I loved how you took his pop song, and turned into more of a jazz number. What makes New York a special place for you?

I'm from a town, about 50 miles north of New York City, called Cornwall, NY. It was also the first actual song I ever learned. So I guess I've been playing it for almost 30 years. It's kind of grown into something after all these years. My ex-wife just told me she liked the way I used to do it...what did she mean?

Sonny Rollinterestingor Madness" - Intersting choice.

I learned this song because Rick O'Dell, a friend who passed away, wanted me to learn it. He played a great tenor sax, and is missed. I'm sorry he's gone from us now. This song swings, and I really like what Gunner does with it.

300 SHOWS A YEAR. That's a massive load. I take it you have a bit of the Energizer Bunny in you. What keeps you going?

Well, I started slowing down, so I had to clean up my life and start working out. It keeps me on top of my game.

Tom, you've had the privilege of playing with, and/or opening for, some amazing musicians. Give me two or three life or musical lessons you've gleaned.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that you have to stay positive. Every great artist I've had the privilege of working with or near taught me that you really have to love your audience. It's really them that you're there for. It doesn't matter if your black or white, it's really what's inside that counts. A man's got to say what's on his mind, and what better way than a song.

Finally, what plans are in store for 2006?

I hope to find an agent, or agents to work with so I can go out and promote this recording. And I'd also like to be in the studio by the year's end to do an album with Jon Gunvaldson.

Check out Tom Hunter's website at www.tomhunterblues.com.

Trespassers William

2006-01-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

I've never been a fan of overnight sensations. As quickly as many become sensations, they just as quickly become has-beens. Experience shows that cultivating a sound is much more prudent and long lasting. Unfortunately, labels today cannot afford bands the opportunity to develop. "Artist Development" has become one of the biggest misnomer in corporate music. When a band does afford itself the opportunity to work at its craft, the music reveals itself to be superior.

trespassers william was born over ten years ago. The group cut its teeth in the dog-eat-dog world of Los Angeles playing small clubs and cafes while perfecting a sound that they would consistently tweak. In 1999, the band dropped Anchor, its debut, and immediately garnered critical acclaim. Amazon.com called it, "a poetic blend of introspective pop." The centerpiece of the band was singer Anna-Lynne Williams. The band's website quotes Rock Sound, "...her voice is immediately lovable and her inconsolable world-weariness completely convincing. Moving, even. Each song unfolds through a swathe of reverb and allows Anna-Lynne acres of space to express her woes with quiet dignity."

The band continued to earn rave reviews on the 2002 follow-up, different star. After landing with Nettwerk Music, that collection was reissued in 2004. Now comes having, a collection of new material aready being hailed as one of 2006's best new releases.

TGB recently had an opportunity to exchange emails with Anna-Lynne Williams and Ross Simonini to discuss the new CD.

Is the anticipation of a new release difficult?

Anna-Lynne Williams: I suppose the best thing about waiting for an album to be released is that so much time seems to pass that you can start listening to the songs from a detached perspective. Once we start writing new material and creating new sounds, the completed albums seem like capsules of something slightly foreign. There is plenty of time for wishing that we had changed a bit of this or that on the record, but this is the happiest I've been with anything we've recorded. The most serious part of the process for me is the writing of the songs, and the recording is the most fun and creative part. I'm thinking of Kate Bush's "Woman's Work," about being the father of a child, creating the baby and then just waiting around to meet him without having any power to change or effect the whole process. That is the stage we're in now. I'm getting lots of reading done.

What gets you most excited: people buying your record or great press?

A-L: It's hard to know who's buying the record. That is the whole point of putting one out; that's the most important thing. But you never really know until someone writes you that it is reaching people. Press is concrete and immediate and has tended to be good to us. When we first released different stars on our own, I personally mailed out all of the copies we sold, so it was fun going to the post office each morning. Now everything is indirect and hard to comprehend, but sites like myspace help to keep us linked to some of the listeners.

I have read Ryan Adams claim that he has stopped reading press and blogs, etc., about himself. So many people can be cruel or dishonest. We haven't run across that too many times, but enough to become wary and consider not reading it anymore. I suppose a way to look at it is that press is not created to be read by the band, but it is tempting to peek.

Subsequently, what worries you most: people not buying it or bad press?

A-L: Bad press seems like a much more negative act than simply not buying the record. Plus, I imagine that half of the people familiar with us get our stuff off of burned CDs and downloads and mp3s and soundtracks. So, while I would love for people to buy the actual CD, as I am crazy about collecting CDs myself, singles and all, the most important thing is just that they listen and hopefully like it. Bad press is certain to happen, but so long as there is nothing particularly malicious or misquotes, etc., that comes with the territory. I also feel - and the band has discussed this concept before - that it is better to be hated by some and loved by some than to have everyone think that you're alright background music. I hope at least press and listeners alike will feel that this album offers something different from its predecessors.

Awhile back, one magazine wrote of the "stigma" of Lilith Fair. Is it difficult fronting a band with all men? Do you find women fronting bands are not taken seriously?

A-L: I don't personally see a need to emphasize one's gender when making music or writing. If I had to select artists that I most identify with, or who I feel my melodies are most similar too, they would be primarily male artists, coincidentally perhaps. It's a rare ocassion that a female artist is ever compared to a man.

I do understand the significance of a movement like the one that accompanied Lilith Fair. When someone says "female singer," I suppose one would envision a performer/dancer before a writer/producer. It is worthy to enforce the fact that women like Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, and Bjork have created new types of music, broken people's hearts with music, taken risks, etc.. I think Lilith Fair reminded people that there are women who take music seriously.

I feel I have educated myself enough about the recording process that I am able to communicate and be respected (most of the time, albeit, in my own made-up language) as a female artist. As far as playing with boys, maybe they gang up on me sometimes or think my gender is an excuse to not understand what I'm saying, but somehow I think it's easier than being in a hotel room full of girls on tour.

Tell me about the title of your new release, "having." Any significance/meaning?

ROSS SIMONINI: We wanted to find some sort of connective tissue between all the lyrics on the album. I went through all of the songs in search of something that might work as a linguistic connection (not necessarily a thematic connection). Eventually, I realized that there were a lot of present participles (words ending in "ing") on the album. We listed all of the occurences of these words and decided, eventually, that the word "having" represented something about the album that the other words did not - the idea of possession, the need to do something (having to do something) and so forth. The ambiguity of the word is also appealing. It's not a word you often see written alone, without being surrounded by other words. In that sense, the word has a lot of power when written on its own. I imagine that everyone who sees this title thinks of different words to surround it.

How has the sound of the band evolved on the new record?

A-L: As three or four years have passed since we started writing different stars, and the line-up of band members has evolved, the whole state of music has changed a bit. New influences have seeped in: the beautiful experimental music of the Scandinavian countries, the resurgence of some glam sensibilities of the 80's, the new avant garde folk singer/songwriters.
It has certainly added even more ingredients to what is possible in music.

We were able to work with a better budget and work with Dave Fridmann, who is a mastermind and makes gorgeous and challenging sounds. We spent more time crafting the arrangements of the songs before going in the studio. We took turns sitting with each song in the studio, adding and taking away elements. The themes of the record have expanded beyond just the romantic. Some of the sounds are not beautiful, but rather interesting. Our approach was quite different. We are all familiar enough with recording now that we can record ourselves and be given the freedom of being all alone when you track a performance, which leads to more improvising and brilliant mistakes.

Do you consider the lyrics to your songs poetry, or it is, perhaps, words that happen to fit a certain musical style?

A-L: Writing poetry is also important to me, but I feel it has to be more narrative since it doesn't have a blanket of sound to support it. When I write poetry it never rhymes. I am pleased with the way the lyrics read for having, though I think they are a little less obtuse than the lyrics on previous records. I always know what precise experiences the songs are about and the huge differences in tone for myself between each one, but I understand if they all seem to be cut from the same cloth to other people. The language I tend to write in is a bit soft and lush, so even a song like "I Don't Mind," which has nothing to do with love, will probably be mistaken as a love song. Melody comes first for me though. The lyrics generally rush out to fit the shapes of the melody.

What happened to Jamie Williams? Will a replacement be sought or will you go on as a three piece?

RS: Right now we're concerned with existing as a three-person band. We're dealing with all the new limitations and parameters that a three-person-band deals with. A few of the songs on having were already just the three of us, working in a studio environment, creating texture-based music, and that process was really interesting to us. So I suppose we're continuing to make music in that vein. We are also open to the addition of a fourth (or fifth or sixth) member, but we only want someone who will creatively develop the sound of the group. At this point, we have not found that person, but we are always looking.

Musically, what are three goals you hope to achieve with "having"?

A-L: I think that the goals were already achieved in the studio. We worked very well as a team for the first time, each member having a really strong voice, and I think you can hear all of those voices; more taking turns and space. It is a balanced sound, and I think Fridmann helped us to acheive that even more. Having someone outside the band tell us what our place is in each song, what is important and what is background, was key for these songs because there were so many tracks that needed to be balanced. Secondly, we have familiarized ourselves with the ins and outs of recording and can, therefore, control our own sound much better. Third, personally for myself, I was able to address some new issues like creative conflict and death in the lyrics and we have integrated more keys and found sounds into our music. I am pleased.

CLICK HERE for the band's website.

Winechuggers

2006-01-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

The simplest way for me to describe Winechuggers is to quote the band's bio:

"Winechuggers is the project headed up by William Cameron, a songwriter who catalogs various human foibles -- from obsessive love to angst to the inability to settle down in one place very long -- and then chisels out an unusual melody to sing along with."

In 2001, Cameron recorded Grand Rapids. As you will read below, circumstances kept him from releasing the CD until recently. Hop on board, grab a glass, and enjoy the events that have brought the band to the present.

What intrigues you most about emotions?

I guess the most intriguing aspect of human emotions to me is the bizarre behaviors they often lead to. People often do really weird and unexpected things as a result of their emotions, particularly when they try to suppress or ignore them. You can't say that person X feeling emotion Y will necessarily exhibit behavior Z, you know? The unpredictability and occasional chaos that sometimes follows can be good fodder for songs.

What was behind the choice to pack Grand Rapids in 2001?

I moved from the midwest to San Francisco in 2001, right after recording a bunch of songs that ended up on the album. I packed up all my stuff (including the album, so to speak) and didn't unpack everything until I was settled in my new home. Once I was settled, I decided to try to find a home for the record.

What made 2005 the perfect time to see it released?

Really, it just took that long to get it done and ready for release. The first year in SF was taken up with finding an apartment, a job, moving all my stuff west, learning my new job once I got it, etc., etc. It was a very hectic period for me. While I was busy with all of that, my friends Carl and Jeb back in the midwest were working on the album -- finishing mixes, trying out sequencing ideas, mastering the record, etc. Once that stuff was done I burned a bunch of CDs and sent them to labels I liked who accepted unsolicited demos. Then there was the whole process of coming to terms with Arena Rock, putting artwork together, scheduling the release, et cetera. All of which typically takes less than four years, but we followed the Paul Masson ethos - to "sell no wine(chuggers records) before it's time." I would have loved to put it out back in 2001 but it just wasn't ready, and I had too much going on at the time. The time feels right now.

That's quite a piece of artwork on the cover of GR. What were you looking to convey? Who did the artwork? Are you happy with it?

I didn't have a specific idea I wanted to convey; the selection of the artwork was more like "I'll know it when I see it." I came across the painting that adorns the front and back covers of the record on the website of Jason Oberbeck. He's a Bay Area artist who does some nice paintings and drawings. He's also a really nice guy. I like the cover image a lot. I don't know why exactly, but it seems to fit the mood of the record. It's kind of dream-like and weird, with the snakes and the half-horse and the girl on the tightrope. I like that and thought it fit with the mood of a lot of the songs. Oddly, the face on the cover looks a lot like one of my old bosses. I suppose that that's the only thing I don't like about it -- that it makes me think of my old boss whenever I see the CD.

Speculate for a moment, if you will, what Arena Rock heard in your music that others may not have?

Greg (Arena Rock head honcho) and I are about the same age, so we've lived thru the same trends and bands. We both grew up in mid-sized burgs (he in Birmingham, I in Indianapolis) and moved to teeming megalopolises (he to New York, I to Chicago), and both grew dissatisfied and moved to smaller West Coast cities (he to Portland, I to San Francisco). We seem to have a lot in common. The first time I spoke to him on the phone, our conversation touched on a surprising bunch of bands -- Wishbone Ash, old Genesis, The Replacements, Lilys, Superdrag, Uriah Heep, Beach Boys -- and it occurred to me that he is a huge music nerd like I am, and he likes a wide variety of bands and music for that reason. I think that was a factor in our hitting it off and making a connection. I liked the fact that he was well-versed in a variety of music and interested in music history, as opposed to being an indie snob whose musical vocabulary only went back to Built To Spill or whatever. As for what he may have responded to in the record, I'm not sure. Musically, the album is a little bit all over the map, so to speak, and that might have appealed to someone like Greg who seems to have broad tastes.

Your bio mentions that Winechuggers is a "project." The connotation, in my opinion, of "project" is that it's something to do while the "real" band takes a break. In fact, that same bio used "side gig" as a descriptor. Where do you stand with Winechuggers?

I guess I think "project" is interchangeable with "band," at least for the purposes of a bio. Winechuggers is my main musical endeavor, but I still play music in other situations from time to time for fun. I play piano once in a while in a country band. I have a monster-themed heavy metal duo with Michael from Winechuggers that I want to keep working on. When I go back to Chicago, I work on music with Carl from Emperor Penguin, and I would like to release more music with him. And I also play on recordings by my friends from time to time as well. But I don't think of Winechuggers as a side band, or an in-between sort of thing. If bands were relationships, Winechuggers would my main squeeze, with an old flame or two in the background and the occasional fling.

Write about the other members of the band. How did you meet them? What made them the right fit for this band?

Michael Cormier plays guitar and pedal steel, Ashley Adams plays the double bass, and Charlie Knote plays the drums. I met Michael at work and hit it off with him right away. I soon met Ashley, his wife, and found out she is a terrific bassist. The three of us began jamming together here and there, just for fun. I had been friends with Charlie's brother Andy for about ten years, and, when I moved to San Francisco, Andy mentioned that his little brother lived in San Francisco and played the drums. We eventually all got together and worked out a set and started doing little gigs. While that was all happening I was working out the particulars of the contract with Arena Rock for the album to come out. The timing was very good. I've always said that, when it comes to band members, it's not worth it if a musician has great talent but a lousy personality. Luckily, these guys are all swell people in addition to being talented musicians. We're friends in addition to being in the band together, which I think is vastly preferable to having antagonistic relationships with fellow band members.

Finally, let's talk future? What is in store for The Winechuggers? New material? tour? etc.

I have a lot of songs, and we've been working them out and arranging them. The sound of the band now is quite different from the sound of the record, which is only natural given that I made Grand Rapids before I'd met any of the people now in the band. So the next record will probably sound quite different, with a "band" sound and feel rather than the "schizophonic one-man-band" approach in which the sounds are really different from track to track. That said, I like to experiment as well, so there likely be more in the way of sound effects, synthesizers, layers, backup vocals, percussion, etc., than either on Grand Rapids or in our live shows. We'll be recording soon, so we shall see!

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Winechuggers.

News From The Great Beyond

2006-01-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

Let's start this post with news on Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. Prescriptions are being readied for a U.S. tour that begins in March and will cover the eastern half of the states with Texas and Arkansas also getting in on the action. For information on tickets, CLICK HERE.

Criteria (Saddle Creek Records) recently embarked on a month long tour that will afford them one day off between now and February 1st. The band will also embark on a major U.S. tour in March and April. The band will support its 2005 release, When We Break. CLICK HERE for more information on Criteria.

Speaking of Saddle Creek, two other bands have releases due later this year. Cursive are preparing to head into the studio in February. The band's website explains that, "we will be heading into the studio this month to demo the new record. Following the demos, we will begin 'officially' recording the new record in the middle of February with a projected completion date of May 1st." Expect a new disc by fall. CLICK HERE for Cursive's website.

The second band hails from the land of R.E.M. and the B-52's, Athens, GA. Now It's Overhead are currently in the studio recording a new batch of songs scheduled for release in the spring. CLICK HERE to learn more about NIO.

On January 24th, theatres across the country will be showing a sneak preview of Coachella, a new movie featuring two-hours of highlights from the previous six years of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. To find out where the movie will be showing CLICK HERE. The movie features performances by, among others, Bright Eyes, Iggy & The Stooges, Morrissey, Oasis, The Pixies, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Spearhead, and The White Stripes.

If world music is more your cup of tea, Six Degrees Records, the home of Los Mocosos, has two scintillating platters hitting stores in the next few weeks. The first is entitled The Now Sound of Brazil 2 and it features tracks from the legendary Bebel Gilberto, Zuco 103, Bossacucanova, Celso Fonseca, Cibelle and others. The release date is January 17. The second is from Shrift, a new collaboration between former Smoke City vocalist Nina Miranda and multi- texturalist/producer Dennis Wheatley. Their debut CD, Lost in a Moment, hits stores on February 7. Anglo-Brazilian Nina Miranda is a charter member of the celebrated group Smoke City and has recorded with such luminaries as Bebel Gilberto, Nitin Sawhney and Da Lata. Dennis Wheatley is best known for his work with the British electronic band Atlas.

Finally, Park The Van Records acts, The Teeth, are recording their first full-length album in four years. The album is being recorded in North East Philadelphia. Nick Krill from the Spinto Band is engineering and co-producing the album. He is also lending vocals and guitar work. CLICK HERE for more information. Also from Park The Van is the forthcoming disc from National Eye, Roomful of Lions. It hits stores on Valentine's Day.

Thermal and a Quarter - Part 3

2006-01-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, part three of my conversation with India's Thermal and a Quarter. For this final installment, I asked the band to interview each other. Thermal and a Quarter are Rajeev Rajagopal (drums), Sunil Chandy (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Rzhude David (bass, vocals, acoustic guitars), and Bruce Lee Mani (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars).

For continuity purposes, I have reposted parts 1 and 2 of the interview.

Chandy to Rajeev: What do you think is the relationship between inspiration and perspiration when it comes to making music?

Rajeev: Very strong. I doubt if many ordinary people can achieve a reasonably decent standard of musical abilities without sufficient quotients of both. By musical abilities, I mean an all-round ability to consistently produce good tracks. You could be good at coming up with licks, or grooves, or good with chops and technique or good with arrangements or lyrics; there are so many components to making music. You could get lucky and make the odd bubblegum track that makes you your first million dollars, but keeping it going like the Rolling Stones takes a lot of sweating it out. I believe that nothing comes easy, there's always a tradeoff. When you are good at one thing there will be others that you suck at. And so being inspired alone won't do the trick. Luckily for me I never run out of inspiration. I admire the abilities of smart creative people, people who bubble with energy even at the age of 60. Now that's the easy part for me. The tough part is emulating what you've been inspired by and getting as good in whatever you want to do.

Rajeev to Chandy: You've been playing various musical instruments from the age of five. Which was the hardest instrument to get the hang of and why?

Chandy: Violin. I gave up after three months of squeaking and squealing. Reason: because it requires a huge amount of patience just to produce one good note. The angle of the bow has to be right; and when you move the angle shouldn't change. The note has to be quite perfect on the fingerboard, and so on.

Chandy to Bruce: Do you feel that the order in which a song is written, i.e. music first lyrics second, lyrics first music second, gives the song a distinct difference? Does one feel more right than the other?

Bruce: I've always insisted that there are NO rules for songwriting. Things happen every which way and sometimes they feel right or 'righter' and sometimes they don't. But most songwriters are usually perceptive enough to know when the winged horse beneath them has caught a good updraft...and also when they're thrown off into a pile of horse manure. And manure, of course, is good... things grow out of manure.

Bruce to Rajeev: You were very much a hard-rockin' listener before. When, and how, did the transition to the music you listen to now happen?

Rajeev: True, I don't have the inclination to go through four Megadeth albums back to back anymore. It was daily bread and butter for a few years, and great years they were. That has definitely changed.

My change in musical choice was a market-driven thing, I think. There was no real great metal album out for many years. Megadeth's Youthanesia, Metallica's black album and GNR's Use Your Illusion I and II saw the end of any decent hard rock and heavy metal albums for me. Those three albums themselves were pretty commercial for my liking but still had some remnants of genuineness. So, I didn't have anything much to listen to. I then started picking up some great names in jazz. The problem was that all of them were supposed to be great, so I started off with compilations and soon started developing a taste for certain forms of jazz.

I've never let what I'm listening to affect my playing. 'Develop your own style' was what I heard in most instruction tapes, and from a few good drummers who I personally know, so I try my best not to associate what I'm currently listening to what I play in the band. Actually I wouldn't be able to do it even if I wanted to, because the stuff Mr. Dave Weckl does with Chick Corea is quite unreachable at this stage in my playing.

Bruce to Rajeev: How has it affected your playing?

Rajeev: Guess it's made me a lot more open to playing different styles these days.

Rajeev to Rzhude: You have great groove. Do you believe that some people (not just musicians, all people) don't have groove/feel? If yes, is there any way for such people to get groovy?

Rzhude: All people respond to music rhythmically (tapping feet at least), so the answer for me is no. I believe all people have groove, some just don't know it. The way to get groove is to relax and let the body react to rhythm rather than intellectualize the process.

If anyone were to feel the need to understand groove then an attempt to understand the science of music will be necessary - from music lessons.

Rzhude to Rajeev: Is there any such thing as original music (as opposed to inspired music)? How does music gain an identity for itself?

Rajeev: There definitely is something called original music. It's almost like a culture or sub-culture. A group of people, working together for a period in time, knowingly or unknowingly create an identity for themselves. This definitely comes through in the music. Each person's inspiration comes from different things, so there is no one single inspiration that can label your music as inspired music as opposed to original music. Maybe for a solo musician that could hold true, but in a band scenario originality has more chances of coming through. The music gains its identity through the combined energies of the members who make music using their musical expertise, influenced by their current life situation at that point and inspired by a dream to make a difference as a band.

Rzhude to Rajeev: How does a band gain or lose identity when musicians within the group collaborate or indulge in side projects?

Rajeev: A band's identity is closely linked with its musicians. A band wouldn't have a strong identity if the musicians are seen or heard playing together or separately under different band names. The band's identity gets diluted and confused.

Rajeev to Bruce: When you hear a song for the first time, what is the most important thing about that song that differentiates it from being ordinary to being something that means a lot?

Bruce: There was a time when the answer to this was simply "Wow, what an interesting 9/8!" I think it was you who pulled me up once for not liking Nirvana, and gave me a lecture on 'feel', etc., but that apart. I guess when I listen to music now, I think I'm able to tell very quickly if there is some honesty, some genuine-ness to what's coming out of the speakers. I find myself drawn to that quality. To mean a lot to me, though, a song has to work harder, get me interested from various angles, and I guess here I'm still drawn to fine musicianship, the really exciting juggle between self-indulgence and accessibility.

Rzhude to Bruce: In the context of the Lennon-McCartney v/s McCartney-Lennon debate, do you believe that any of the music written in the collaboration would have been possible under different circumstances? What do you see as the solution to musical ownership in collaboration? (Who really owns all that music - Michael J or the people who still believe in the music?)

Bruce: This is a very grey area for me. I think the Lennon-McCartney thing is silly, especially after all these years. 'Lennon-McCartney' even sounds better, is alphabetically correct, and, aw shucks. If songwriters work together and something really magical happens, the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. The muse works in all of us, and I don't know if we really write all the songs we claim to write or are they written through us and so on. This can't be sorted out legally. You bring lawyers and 'mine, mine, mine' into it, and the magic is gone. Gone.

Rzhude to Bruce: Should circumstances and situations be credited for a musical creation rather than an individual's creativity/ego? Would the world be a better place if there were no such thing as copyright law?

Bruce: The musician for me is the lens, through which the 'circumstance/situation' can be focused, its raw material bent, and if the final light hits the right spot, there is greatness. Some lenses are clearer, some are foggy, and everything is possible. Copyright law, like all the laws around civilization, is probably a necessary part of keeping the same civilization out of chaos, though even that is a moot point.

Bruce to Rzhude: What is your songwriting process? You've been writing music for commercials for sometime now - how is that process different?

Rzhude: For me the song writing process has to start with an idea. One that is strong enough to go on to become an entity on its own. The idea itself can be musical or lyrical. Musical ideas show up in the form of a chord progression or a set of notes that are interesting enough to stick in my head and then see itself to completion. I do believe that I am just the instrument, a sort of receiver, if you will, that has the ability to 'hear' these ideas and 'receive' them and transform them into complete 'songs'.
The more emotional the idea is, i.e. personal and involved within the sentiments that move me, the greater the chance of a song that I will remember and feel like working on more. There are those that just fade away and that is the benchmark for a song that 'has it'. Songwriting here is an inspired process with the luxury of time, experimentation with instrumentation and arrangements, and finally the live situation to see if it really works. If it doesn't work on stage, first from me and then the audience, it will fast fade away.

As for commercial songwriting, I look at it as a set of restrictions or conditions given as limits that have to be pushed - 30 seconds, a marketing brief with a specific target audience, words written by a stressed-out copywriter, or worse, by a client (or his wife), are just some of the conditions apart from a deadline that make the end result appear. The fact that I've been conditioned by some 15 years in the biz experience to do this gives me the confidence to do it over again. Sound design and sonic identity (audio logos) is as big a field as graphic and advertising design. The parallels exist both in the creative challenges it presents and the commercial aspect. Digital workstations make the jingle-writing process a lot easier, given that deadlines are always tight. The process is oriented toward creating memorable hooks that stick right away which is not the case at all with song writing for one's pleasure. Writing songs for a pop chart is something I've not done...yet!

Bruce to Chandy: Do you believe in 'confessional' songwriting, or do you think that the songwriter must always distance himself from his art?

'Confessional' has various connotations to it. If we are meaning the core beliefs that we hold, then yes. Not that the songs are essentially creedal statements but more that your core beliefs are part of the context of the songs written. A songwriter might be distant if it's his or her job to write a song. But I think that lacks some integrity in the songwriting context at least. But feeding stomachs wise, it makes total sense! The other concept of distance could be just plain ignorance. I can't write a song about the Native American peoples because I don't really know about them and their struggles. So I would veer towards 'confessional,' but again with honesty and love being the two core values attached to it

Chandy to Rzhude: Some people say that music is a window to our soul. Do you believe that to be true in any sense?

Rzhude: Music can be defined as man's conscious development of a natural phenomenon (sound) into an art and science. Soul can be defined as the spirit, the force that enables life itself and that part of a person that houses emotion.

I believe it is possible that a window exists between the two. When I create music, the material is drawn from this emotional well. When I listen to music, if it has to touch me, then it has to reach the same emotional source for it to mean anything to me.
In a word - yes.

Rzhude to Sunil: How do you relate music with spirituality? How does one distinguish between music for God and music for the self? If music is God's gift, then how can we justify a living by selling it?

Sunil: Relating music with spirituality would have its own nuances according to the type of spirituality that one talks about. Washing plates is a spiritual exercise for me. It teaches patience and forces you to accept the joy of the small things that God has given. It's still quite a hard lesson to learn. So, I would say from the spirituality I love and follow, that it encompasses every part of life, whether it's changing nappies (diapers) or making beautiful music. They are part of the tapestry of life God has given. I don't see a 'special' connect as such. I see that music does have various effects that aren't easily explained but I see music as a human activity. All humans do it. I don't go with the philosophy of music being divine as such. I think it's God's gift to humans.

I don't see any distinguishing factor between music for God and self as long as it is done with honesty, integrity and most importantly love. Examples are the Psalms, of which many are songs of introspection, complaint, curses and other very personal emotions. These songs of the 'self' were meant to be sung by the whole community as part of their spiritual expression. So I see my contribution in TAAQ, in whatever small amounts that is, as my music for God.

Everyone makes money out of God's gifts! Because I would see intelligence, smartness and other things in life and life itself as God's gift. But the issue, I guess, is: what place does money have in one's life?

Click here for Thermal and a Quarter's website.
Click here for TAAQ's Yahoo group.
Click here to check out TAAQ on NPR.

Thermal and a Quarter - Part 2

2006-01-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in comments from part one of the Thermal and a Quarter interview, the boys are okay. That's great to hear. Now, let's refocus on the music.

In part one, TAAQ discussed the political situation in India, the war with Pakistan, and it's effects on the music. The boys also discussed traditional Indian music and their place within that dynamic.

In part two, TAAQ continue their thoughts on the music as well as their progression a a band.

I hear much improvisation in your music. This leads me to think of bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead. I also hear technical prowess. I think of Rush in this instance. Would I be in the right neighborhood?

Bruce:
Oh yes, I think you would be. Phish was not one of the bands that influenced our work as we probably found their music well into our fifth or sixth year of existence. TAAQ is quite a mix-up. I've always been a jazz buff, and still a big fan of bands like Blood, Sweat & Tears. Rajeev started with a lot of hard rock, like AC/DC, Rzhude's been an acoustic fan - JamesTaylor, Joni Mitchell... Sunil is perhaps the only one of us with any serious classical training, but also digs jazz/progressive. I guess the influences where things meet are Steely Dan, Dave Matthews, etc.

Rajeev:
Our songs rarely come out of jams. There's always an effort that's put into creating parts and transitions and grooves. So in that sense we're not a true jam band. Rush is again a very common comparison due to the odd time signatures we play. We've never forced ourselves to make progressive rock music -- odd time progressions happen very naturally to us. It's actually a bigger effort for us to keep it straight. It's painful to categorize TAAQ's music really, the neighborhood we'd like to be in would be more with early Dave Matthews, some Queen, Steely Dan, Yes, etc.

Rzhude:
I have listened to these bands with passing interest, so I can't give you accurate directions to our sound from that neighborhood. People have found us to stray as far away as Led Zep, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and even Steely Dan. While I am aware that others in the band have followed the work of bands like these, I can't put down how much of an influence they have had on the sound we've arrived at in our studio efforts to date. Personally I can state the Beatles, Sting, James Taylor and Steely Dan as inspiration, apart from a great number of Indian artists like Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, T. H. (Vikku) Vinayakram, Kumar Gandharva, among others - though the influence is not upfront in our sound.

You've chosen to make Plan B available for free over the Internet. Explain that strategy.

Rajeev:
The most important thing for any band would be to 'be heard'. That's the primary payment. Plan B was made and recorded with no plan in mind as to how we were going to market the album. We didn't want to get into CD production and marketing it ourselves, like what we had done with our second album, Jupiter Cafe. So when we knew that there was an opportunity of being on air on one of America's biggest radio networks, NPR, we decided to take a gamble and give the music away for free on our web site. A staggered launch of all the Plan B songs over a four to five week period got us really popular on the Internet and we now have more people from across the world listening to our music than ever before. I don't think any record company could have worked this out better for us.

Rzhude:
We put in a good deal of effort (and spend) in recording what we consider an international effort. It wasn't doing us any good to have that effort cooling in the can. Besides the record companies weren't exactly breaking down our doors to get at it. The Internet has exposed several gaping holes in copyright laws and the way record companies and lawyers make their bushels in the West. Bands like The Grateful Dead and Phish have shown by example how it is possible to create a following by allowing and encouraging fans to record and spread their music through personal networks and recordings of live gigs. I believe that if the music is bigger than the sum total of the creators' egos, then it will get around and get heard. And that's the way to go. The Net and the 'free'dom it brings with it asked our good offices to figure what we had to lose (or gain) by doing what we did. We wouldn't be having this discussion otherwise.

Bruce:
As an unsigned band in a country with an industry that isn't really signing bands that make music (per se?!) like ours, the Internet is one heck of a powerful way to get the music where it belongs - in people's ears. We still treat the free download of Plan B as a promotional experiment. And someday soon there will be a CD available.

You've been at this for almost ten years. Do you feel you have the respect you deserve? If not, what will it take to earn that respect?

Bruce:
I personally don't think we're being heard as much as we should be. It'll probably take a few international tours before that happens.

Rzhude:
We always get what we deserve. Maybe not what we expect, but definitely what we deserve - that's about as open-ended as I can leave it for now!

Rajeev:
It's just as Rzu said - we only get what we deserve. I believe in that. We have a long way to go and a lot of hard work to do before getting everything we want out of playing in TAAQ.

Your website claims that Album #4 is in the can. What can you reveal about the music, sound, etc.?

Bruce:
Album 4 is definitely a lot slicker, and more eclectic in some respects. It probably has more sticky tunes, and it isn't as 'heavy' as Plan B.

Rajeev:
The compositions are a lot more mature - some of the songs are more accessible than earlier TAAQ songs.

Rzhude:
We did record 20 songs, which were divided up into what we thought were the ten best and the rest. We had the funds to mix down only ten and chose to leave the best for last. Plan B (as the name suggests) evolved and launched itself as the concept that you know it as. We are just happy to be a part of it! Now we have to see if we can get anyone interested enough in the real thing to pay for it!

You have yet to secure a deal in the United States. Why do you believe a deal has not happened?

Bruce:
We're over here. You're over there. Connections are hard to make, and sustain.

Rajeev:
We have not really tried very hard. We need to get networked soon. I don't see any other reasons...

Rzhude:
We are not Americans. Our music, though it conforms to what the general public in America listen to, is still pretty much open to interpretation anywhere in the world. The way to make money out of it is to do it the old fashioned way - with hard-working performance. We are not yet ready to tour the US for a variety of reasons, the least of them being having a record deal, an agent and a following there to justify such an exercise. We haven't even toured our own country for the most part! The deal has not happened because we are not ready for it.

Two down, one to go. I hope you have enjoyed meeting Thermal and a Quarter. In part three, the band will interviewing each other. We'll bring you the results soon. Stay in touch.

Thermal and a Quarter - Part 1

2006-01-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard Thermal and a Quarter was a report on NPR. The sound was fresh and exhilarating. I knew this was a band I wanted to feature. What followed was a write-up back in February, 2005. At the time, I proclaimed that this was a band who would give Phish a run for their money. I still believe it.

I recently had a chance to exchange emails with four members of the band. They are: Sunil Chandy (guitar and keyboards), Bruce Lee Mani (vocals, guitar), Rzhude (vocals, bass) and Rajeev Rajagopal (drums). Until recently, the group was a five piece, but Rajesh Mehar is no longer with the group.

Tell me about the music scene in India. Many people know raga, but what else should we know about?

Rzhude:
They should know that India is about as diverse and vibrant a musical spectrum as it can get. Apart from a couple of thousand years of musical evolution, you can experience the very latest music in the world here as well (read A.R. Rehman for one). The land itself, though divided by arbitrary boundaries into states and towns, has cultural and musical borders that have amalgamated over time. There are traditional musical systems like Carnatic (from the south of India) and Hindustani (from northern India), which have rigid rules that define the music. At the same time you have folk music, which has tribal roots and can be traced back to primitive times. In today's music you can experience all of it mixed (and re-mixed) with electronic/digital sound-scapes in hi-tech studios (or in home studios) to create something totally new.

You can devote a lifetime to any aspect of Indian music and still be left wanting.

Bruce Lee Mani:
If you're a musician in India, you could be:

a) An Indian classical musician - Hindustani or Carnatic (as Rzhude explained). A big scene, with a pot-boiling circuit. Some doyens from this arena are quite a trip — T.H. 'Vikku' Vinayakaram, (who plays the Ghatam, a South Indian percussion instrument, basically a specially made clay pot) for example, has been known to comfortably play a gig in Chennai at a small festival one night, and play the next with John McLaughlin in New York or wherever;

b) A Western classical musician – playing either with small chamber orchestras at select snooty gigs, or absorbed into the regional language film industry (now known by its once derogatory moniker, Bollywood);

c) A rock musician – growing your hair, looking untidy, and generally quite dispirited at the lack of a real 'scene'. Basically not much money, but lots of spirit. Often make a living doing the day job thing;

d) A jazz musician – not a lot of these around, but a few are really good, really underrated, and largely unheard; or

e) A commercial musician – your jack of all, writing ad jingles, film music, playing sessions, whatever. Good chops, versatile. Often someone who has been part of a, b, c, or d, and has figured how the bread really gets buttered.

Sunil Chandy:
Music in India is a vast subject – it’s similar to asking about music in Europe. The biggest music industry in India is, of course, the film music industry. That dwarfs almost everything other than the two main streams of classical music in India. There are countless types of folk music and urban music as well but they are untapped in their potential.

Rajeev Rajagopal:
As Rzhude said, you could actually spend an entire lifetime in India trying to experience all the forms of music from each region. Every state has its own style of music, which has been around for hundreds of years.

For example in Kerala, the southern Indian state where I come from, a separate caste of people called the Marars specialize in playing temple drums. It’s a Hindu family tradition and only people from this caste are allowed to play during the daily temple pujas, or worship rituals.

A lot of these traditional forms of Indian music are fading away for various reasons. Even in rural India, it's likely that you will hear more Bollywood music than the traditional music of that place.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being from a country that doesn't traditionally dominate the music charts outside its own territory?

Sunil Chandy:
The advantage and disadvantage is that we're a fresh unknown quantity...

Bruce Lee Mani:
I can only speak from the rock musician angle here. Even if you make music that is distinctly Indian in flavor, context, etc., but sing in English, you're mostly perceived as 'aping the West.' And the West, when it wants musicians from here, mostly looks for ones that are 'culturally unique' – your type "A" musician. The pluses? I guess you have more time to hone your art before it has to be beaten into a mass-global-market shape...

Rzhude:
The music charts, as I see it, are just the opinion of individuals (record companies and music mags) who define the parameters and use the same to influence others who don't have their own opinion. Indian artists like the singers Lata Mangeshkar and K. J.Yesudas (to name just two) have recorded songs by the thousand, not to mention in different languages. These have been selling by the million both via the record companies that produce them and the unaccounted bootleg market as well. Nobody has bothered to record these numbers on a chart. Given the size of the Asian market it's easy to see why an A. R. Rehman track would sell more in India alone as compared to the rest of the world put together.

Our music as a band is considered niche here — that’s a disadvantage when it comes to trying to sell it to a record label. We are competing directly with the 'hot' Bollywood track (of the week) without the advantage of being in a box office hit movie and the support of exclusive attention of the pop TV channels.

We have to get across that hurdle to get across to the West where the rite of passage for a band is the live pub circuit, moving to the festivals and then hoping to be picked up by an agent to get our foot in the door of a record company and then be left to the mercy of some A&R sort.

The Internet has changed all that. Territories as we knew them ten years back don't exist any more.

Your music is not what one might call “traditional.” Was it hard to find acceptance in your native country?

Sunil Chandy:
Generally, yes. Western music is — or you can say was— populated with bands doing only cover versions. When we first started doing originals, it was a bit odd for our audiences and the commercial market still hasn't come to grips with it. To find acceptance in what is perceived as a 'foreign' art form in a 'foreign' language is near impossible. We write based on our influences, our experiences, and the particular chemistry that the band has. Not because the CIA pays us.

Rajeev Rajagopal:
Being born and brought up in a city like Bangalore, there's not very much about us that is traditional. The way live, work, think and generally are, is not very traditional. We haven’t really played our music to a very traditional regional Indian audience. We've played in cities and towns that have a majority of the audience plugged into the Western music scene.

There was this one time that we played in Cochin at a small local festival called the Tree Festival. We were supporting the cause, which was to protect some large and beautiful rain trees from being cut down by property developers. So the crowd was very native and our music was completely alien to them. But the gig totally rocked like any gig in town — so I guess if the music has some raga and tala (rhythm) and everything is in tune, etc., then you have a pretty good chance of being accepted anywhere.

Bruce Lee Mani:
Finding acceptance as a 'musician' per se is, I guess, the same anywhere. For our music? It isn't really difficult to find an audience for 'covers' – basically your ‘greatest hits’ kind of band. What is difficult is building a fan base for your own music without support from the industry. This mostly means playing hundreds of gigs, till your audience knows and learns your music, if it's good enough. It's taken TAAQ nine years to have the front rows sing every song.

Rzhude:
The fact that we speak and think in English and play the kind of music we do suggests some kind of cross-border evolution that we haven't accounted for. We find acceptance on a day-to-day basis with every gig we play. We define success by that yardstick. 'Traditional' music itself is struggling to keep its place here, which has been taken over large scale by the pop scene.

Has the political situation in India, especially any conflicts with Pakistan, had any effect on your music or the music of India in general?

Sunil Chandy:
I don't think so. The conflict with Pakistan is a complex matrix, a legacy of a callous pre-1947 British administration, and naive, selfish politicians both sides of the border. To write music on that, we would either have to be directly involved or have family who are directly involved. We don't have either and geographically too, we are removed by over a thousand miles. Pakistanis and Indians are equal humans and to say anything else is bigotry.

Bruce Lee Mani:
Politics in India is quite the grand soap opera in itself, and I'm sure many songs have been inspired by the antics of our leaders. (TAAQ's "Humpty Dumpty," from our first album, is dedicated to the portly Ms. J. Jayalalithaa, chief minister of our neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, a former actress, owner of a thousand shoes, thrower of 100-million-rupee parties…).

The music of India in general – well, you will find the occasional breast-beating 'patriotic' Bollywood film, dramatizing conflict with our hostile neighbors, with songs to match. Anti-war songs from the rock quadrant are few.

Rzhude:
In the last few years we have seen some of the bigger 'acts' like Junoon from Pakistan and Euphoria from India do these Indo-Pakistan integration songs and concerts that have been in the media. But apart from the mileage they got from being in the media glare of those events there hasn't been much to talk about in terms of what the music really meant to us as Indians (I speak for myself!).

That apart, Bollywood music and the stars that act in the movies have more clout than all the politicians put together — since the movies (and the music thereof) integrate the people of both regions like nothing else.

We as a band haven't consciously written music to promote or provoke the nationalist spirit (or lack of it!) or even use the idea to draw media attention. Down here in Bangalore we seem quite far removed from what’s happening on the Line-of-Control and Kashmir. Personally the topic hasn't inspired any music in me thus far.

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It was not long after this interview that the earthquake in India, and surrounding nations, occurred. I had emailed a second set of questions, but have not heard back. I am hoping and praying that all is well with the four members of Thermal and a Quarter and their families.

www.thermalandaquarter.com

Spearmint

2006-01-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

Is it me, or are there fewer English bands invading our CD players and radios? If so, why haven't we noticed? TGB has uncovered a few gems, and I am certain we have uncovered another one in Spearmint.

The band is comprised of original members Shirley Lee (lead vocals), Ronan Larvor (drums) and Simon Calnan (keyboards). Within months, James Parsons signs on as bassist. This core was joined by bassist Andy Lewis in 2000. Parsons would move to guitar.

In 2005, Spearmint celebrated their 10th anniversary. Recently, TGB caught up with lead singer Shirley Lee and discussed those ten year as well as the next ten. Enjoy this conversation with one of Britain's hidden treasures, Spearmint.

As you complete the 10th anniversary of Spearmint, what would you say are the highlights and lowlights of the past ten years?

Highlights: getting our debut album out (I mean A Week Away), the tours we have done particularly in Japan, Germany & Sweden, doing the acoustic tour this year as it stretched us, and making the new album as we love it!
Lowlights: Martin, our first bass player dying in 1998, falling for lots of promises from music industry types in the early days, and a few miserable British gigs...

I can't help but compare your band to, let's say, Status Quo. Both have huge followings in countries outside of America, but have made very little impact in America. Would this be a fair assessment?

No that's not a fair assessment! Status Quo are considered a bit of a joke here and they have been going for nearly 40 years! Though I guess without them there would be no Spinal Tap. Our records have never been released in America. We have always thought that one day we would come over there and play and find someone to put our stuff out. I'm sure that will happen! We kind of potter along at our own pace, and are happy as long as we are making the albums.

With an album of new material a few months away, why put out another release so close?

The Boy and The Girl That Got Away is a limited edition acoustic album only available via our website, so in a way it's a good trailer for the new album. We did an acoustic tour earlier this year and wrote these nine songs especially for it. It seemed like a cool idea to record them and do it as a really limited thing. I like the idea that it will be gone once we sell out.

The songs on The Boy and The Girl That Got Away are new, and meant to be played acoustically. How do you determine whether a song is material that's to be interpreted acoustically or should be plugged in?

I suddenly got very excited about the idea of writing songs for an acoustic tour rather than for an album; it brought the whole project alive for me. These songs were just written with playing acoustic in mind. I guess some of them would have been written for the whole band and come out differently if we hadn't done the acoustic thing...

Are there plans to re-record these songs with full instrumentation?

No, we won't re-record any of them, but we may play band versions of one or two of them live.

What can you reveal about the forthcoming release? Any song titles? How about a title for the CD?

Mmm, it is just slightly early for me to reveal that. I think in about one month we will be ready to let people know what it is called. I can tell you that it is a kind of cross between A Week Away and A Different Lifetime in that it has an ambitious concept, but is full of pop songs!

I was noticing that your pattern early on was to release singles, but that you have gone away from that. Could you explain that?

In the early days we were learning how to make records and how to release them and we didn't have any money, so we put out quite a few singles before we finished our debut album. By the time we made My Missing Days, we were confident of how to make an album, so we did that rather than singles. Having said that there will be four singles off the new album - different coloured vinyl and some cool b-sides.

Are there plans to come to America? When? Will this new record be released in America?

I think a few copies will find their way to America on export, but as yet it will have no official release. We are open to offers; we would LOVE to come and play in America!

What does 2006 have in store for Spearmint?

Get the album finished, get it out, get the singles out, do a lot of gigs!

Click here to check out Spearmint's website.

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of New Year's Resolutions from friends of TGB. Feel free to add yours.

Steven Morricone - Scaramanga Six: To not be so late all the time, to become a bit more like Tom & Barbara Good (a la 'The Good Life'), to get some earplugs and loads of boring label/band-related things you really don't want to know about.

Paul Lewis: To be an even better musician/artist; to be the best husband, father, friend I can be; and to never stop learning!

Shirley Lee - Spearmint: Me personally: to do more exercise and eat more dried fruit. For the band, I don't know yet. We meet up each January and make our "Pop Wishes", which are the things we want to happen or the things we want to do that year. We then seal them up and hide them in a copy of Burt Bacharach's Hit Maker album. We get them out the following January and see if Burt has been good to us!

William Cameron - Winechuggers:
Travel
Take more walks
Play more shows
Read more books
Watch more movies
Record a new album
Get off my fat lazy ass and guzzle the sweet sweet nectar of life

Edie Sedgwick:
Fewer Manhattan's.
More time with Kitty Kats.
Complete that African safari.
Write a tell-all exposing love affair with Martha Stewart.
Update blog more frequently at http://www.ediesedgwick.biz/
Love life!

Cynthia Conrad - Blood Ruby: This New Year is an important event for me. Six months ago, after being diagnosed with Stage IV Ovarian Cancer and undergoing a grueling chemo regimen and major surgery that left me weak and terminally ill, I was sent to Hospice with a prognosis of 4-6 weeks left to live. Somehow I survived.

In previous years, I always viewed resolutions as taking something away from myself: eat less, spend less money, watch less tv, get up earlier,break old habits, make time for housekeeping and exercise, and so forth.

This year is different. This year I resolve instead to *give* myself something: better nutrition, more secure wealth, more knowledge and imagination, more energy, better habits, better organization, better fitness, and so forth. This year I resolve to do the things I love andlove the things I do. This year I resolve to live.

Thermal and a Quarter:
Bruce: Shut up and play my guitar
Rajeev: Start playing one new instrument (piano if possible)
Rzhude: To live this year like it's the last one I have.
Sunil Chandy: To crack a joke at a gig that people would actually laugh at

Anna-Lynne Williams - Trespassers William: My personal desire has been to compose a song for a film. Whether this time (it) pans out, that is a goal for this year. And the next record will be even better, I already know that. Beware.

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First, it's been a great year. Thanks to everyone who contributed, gave time to be interviewed, and, of course, the readers. Second, my resolution is to lose weight (cliche), to publish my first chapbook of poetry, and to see the fruition of TGB as a radio show. There are too many bands being neglected, yet in our corporate radio conglomerate world, there are many people who choose to have their music spoon fed to them. TGB is about education, educating music lovers. Look, true music fans know that there is more oratory pleasure than what is heard on corporate radio. The popularity of college stations across this country is evidence of that. With satellite radio helping to bring more of a variety of sounds to our world, it may not be long before any band across this globe will be able to hide. Yet, if this small blog can a play a part in turning someone's ears onto cool sounds, that's good enough for me.

Keep checking back in. Spread the word. Support the bands you read about on this blog. There's more to music than a top 200 list of albums. Pick from those obscure vines. Enjoy the fruits. You may find them the sweetest you have ever tasted.

Thank you,
Sal Treppiedi
Living in "The Great Beyond"and presumed having fun!

Paul Lewis

2005-12-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

Imagine not being able to do the things you enjoy most. Hiking, biking, yoga and/or climbing are endeavors you no longer are able to participate in. Of course, one mustn't forget the saying, "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Paul Lewis is a testament to strong will, determination, and the love and support of friends. His second solo release, Trading Horror Stories, on Realize Records, chronicles much of what he endured over the last several years. In fact, the CD recently garnered six first round Grammy nominations for the Recording Academy's Grammy Awards. Lewis is being considered in the categories of Album of the Year, Song of the Year for "Sometimes," Best New Artist, Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Original Sin" and "Teardrop," and Best Recording Packaging.

Considering what Paul Lewis has has to endure and how he has come out of it, this coud nothave happened to a more deserving person. Find out more abut Paul Lewis in this interview conducting a few weeks ago.

Considering all you went through in the years prior to putting Trading Horror Stories on a tape, do you believe it is luck and good fortune or fate that you are where you are today?

Maybe all the above. Thanks to my wonderful wife, my daughter and my close friends, I was able to "pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again!" I am a stronger person because of all of this.

A person in your situation could go one of several ways: depression, blessed, etc. What kept you going throughout that three year period?

I believe it is attributed to perseverance. Plain and simple, although it was the toughest time in my life. I mean, I had a drummer and compadre of 10+ years die suddenly while I was in the process of making this record. I wanted him on the new record, but it did not turn out that way. Just two months after that a close friend was diagnosed with cancer. 47 days later he died. I was there in the hospital when his vitals dropped off the map. Just when you thought it could get no worse, a kid who had been drinking ran a red light and T-boned me. Put me in the hospital and I was unable to play for the first time in my life. Very disheartening to say the least. I was a mess. I was on major pain medication and was feeling worthless. I have a wife and a child and was unable to support them ,or at least that's how I felt. The recording was halted for a indefinite period of time. I lost gigs. I was feeling very sorry for myself.

Did you, at any time, truly feel you would never record again? Describe that feeling or explain why you didn't feel that way.

No, I never felt I was never going to do this again. Instead, I felt, at one point, how could I possible take any more? Like I said, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and wasn't seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Then just as all of this devastated my life I woke up and pushed myself to continue on with a little help from the special people in my life.

I was born and raised in NY. After 27 years, I found I had to get out. You, on the other hand, felt the need/urge to return. What is the lure of the east coast?

Oh, I get the "had to get out" comment for sure. I felt like I was spinning my wheels. My own father said "Your going nowhere fast. Get out and go learn something," and so I did. I learned more in seven years in Los Angeles than I did the nine years prior when I was touring the east coast and recording with a very successful act (Y-NOT). After recording my first solo record (Get On With It), I wanted to record on the east coast for my second solo endeavor, and I wanted all the guys from my past to be on this record. I also had come to a realization about my life and I wanted to have some stability, i.e., own a house, life insurance, health insurance, watch my daughter grow into a woman, take care of my family, etc.. This would be more possible back east than it would in LA. For one, my daughter lives with her mother (my ex-wife) on the east coast and my family, as well as my wife's family, are from here. I think 9/11 had somewhat of an impact on all of this as well. What I mean by that is life is short and you never know when your time is up!

I understand that this is generally a difficult question for a songwriter, but are there one or two tracks on Trading Horror Stories that tug at your heart strings? Explain why?

This entire record was the most emotional recording experience to date. Two tracks in particular would have to be "Sometimes" & "Hailey Rose." "Sometimes" deals with passion; an overwhelming passion that rules your life. This song is obviously about my wife, Michelle, and I. I feel even more love and passion for her this very moment than I did when we met and I never thought that was possible. "Hailey Rose" was written about a little girl that almost wasn't. Her parents are friends of ours and they found out early in the pregnancy that she was going to have Downs Syndrome. They knew early enough to not have the child and decide to have her. I told them I would write a song for her. The song was written from a father-daughter perspective. I thought this out and what better way to achieve it's full meaning than to have a father and daughter sing it. It was an incredible experience. It was my daughter's first studio recording experience. She was 11 years old. She had been in a studio with me before, but this time she was singing, and she was singing a duet with her daddy. I was so proud of her that day and the recording speaks for itself.

I get the impression that you have seen and done more than the average bear. What goals are there left to accomplish?

Oh, have I! You are right though I am far from doing what I want to do. I want to be a successful producer. Realize Records and I are about to release a tribute to The Police titled SOS - A Tribute to the Police to raise money and awareness for cancer research. I am producing the record. I had the fortune to work with many different acts from many genres, from Jazz to Techno, Funk, Blues, Hard Rock, etc. It has been a long process, but when everyone hears the record it will be worth it. I would like to tour the world. It's a big beautiful and, sometimes, scary place and I want to see it all, and I want the world to hear what I've got to say. To be honest though, if my life was to end tomorrow I would feel I have done some great things career wise and personally with it. I have made seven great recordings, all of which I am proud of, and my wife and my daughter are so special to me and I could not ask for more.

You were recently nominated for six Grammy Awards. Congratulations!

Yeah, WOW! That was crazy! I thought everyone was making this up! There is no way I made the "any" list for the Grammy's. Then I saw the actual entry list and sure enough I did make it. It's crazy! I knew that the record company had sent it out, but I never thought I'd make it pass the first 150 judges in L.A.. To be acknowledged by the panel was one of the greatest career moments of my life so far.

Tell me about your band. I sense you are someone who is very loyal what with three members of a former band playing with you now. True? Also, Matthew Porcaro? Any relation to either Porcaro brother (Toto)? I know Jeff had three sons and a nephew who all played drums.

Yes, I am a very loyal person. Playing with these guys again has been something I can't even begin to express how it makes me feel. I never thought we would be coming full circle like this. I thought it only happened in books and movies. I am truly blessed. This line up is so incredibly strong. I feel relaxed and very comfortable on stage, and that allows me to perform and play to my fullest ability. They make me a better musician and that is all I can ask for.

As far as Matthew Porcaro...it's funny you mention this. He uses that to help people spell his name correctly, but he swears he is not related. He could not be telling the truth ya know, but I guess we will never know. LOL!

Is this the beginning, or the end, of a chapter?

This is just the beginning for me and for the record company. Oh...Yeah!!!!...and I have some interest from an agency that can put me in front of the right people and in the right venues, so it's just the beginning for me. I am just getting started!!!!

Visit Paul Lewis' website by clicking here.

News From The Great Beyond

2005-12-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Doubling Cube Records, the home of Robbers on High Street and I Am The World Trade Center, will be releasing the debut full-length disc, entitled Fantastic Success, from NYC's Measles Mumps Rubella on February 21, 2006. Recorded and mixed by Jonathan Kreinik (Apes, Hot Snakes, Trans Am) at Trans Am’s National Recording Studios, Fantastic Success features the first recordings with Chuck Bettis on vocals.

Gossip is a punk band from Portland, OR with a hip danceable sound. After recruiting a new drummer (Hannah, a.k.a. "Stangela Handsbury," from Shoplifting), suffering through a lost tooth and a lost gall bladder, Gossip has completed their forthcoming release entitled Standing in the Way of Control. The CD will be released on January 24th on the Kill Rock Stars label. The band also released their first dance 12", backed with a Le Tigre remix and art by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth fame! This disc is also available on the KRS imprint. Gossip will be touring the states in January before venturing to Australia in support of Pretty Girls Make Graves.

The Hot Topic Presents The Sub City Take Action! Tour 2006 will begin March 1, 2006. Hopeless/Sub City Records acts Amber Pacific, Paramore, I Am Ghost, and Hit The Lights join Silverstein, The Early November, and headliner Matchbook Romance for the nationwide tour. Take Action! raises funds and awareness for The Kristin Brooks Hope Center to prevent teen suicide. The Take Action! Compilation Volume 5 will be available February 21, 2006. The CD contains 45 tracks on two discs, including Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, Sugarcult, Panic! At The Disco, Amber Pacific, Against Me!, As I Lay Dying, and many more. www.takeactiontour.com

Hopeless Records continues to stay busy with the announcement of the signing of New Jersey natives Royden. The five-piece band draws on many influences, most notably Life, Injury, Post-Punk, and Metal, as well as from bands like At The Drive In, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Talking Heads. Royden is currently writing and preparing to record their upcoming Hopeless Records debut to be released in summer of 2006.

Also, Hopeless has announced the track listing for the Ever We Fall upcoming album We Are But Human, which will be available on February 21, 2006. It will be:
1. Youth Like Tigers
2. Late Night Dance Party
3. School Yard Crush
4. No Sleep For Dreaming
5. Bring Em’ In Billy
6. G
7. State Bird The Mosquito
8. No Words To Describe
9. Great Day For An Air Strike
10. Evacuate!
11. My Dog The Senator
12. Welcome To Floston Paradise

Alligator Records Signs Lee Rocker

2005-12-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

NEW CD DUE IN JANUARY, 2006

Alligator Records has signed bassist/vocalist/songwriter (and ex-Stray Cat) Lee Rocker. His roots-rocking Alligator debut, Racin’ The Devil, will be released on January 31, 2006, followed by a major national tour.

Rocker, with The Stray Cats, helped reintroduce rockabilly to a mass audience. Now he’s igniting the roots music fire. The new CD is a solid slice of Americana, filled with powerful, original songs and amazing musicianship. And when the band performs live, they leave audiences begging for more.

According to Alligator Records president, Bruce Iglauer, the signing is a perfect fit and an excellent direction for the label.

“Alligator has devoted itself to deeply rooted, unpretentious American music that tells down to earth, emotional stories of real life. “Racin’ The Devil” is full of terrific songwriting, great playing and super-energized performances. Anyone who loves raw, rocking music, be it blues, rockabilly, or straight ahead rock 'n' roll has got to love this album.”

And Rocker couldn’t agree more. “For me, getting to work with Alligator Records is just fantastic. Alligator has always been THE label for honest, real, American music. It’s a natural fit. I’ve always been a renegade with my music, from The Stray Cats to my solo records, I’ve always done my own thing, and so has Alligator.”

Rocker's band includes guitarists Brophy Dale and Buzz Campbell, and drummer Jimmy Sage. The CD features twelve songs of scorching rockabilly, roadhouse romps and straight-ahead, old-school rock ‘n’ roll, highlighted by nine originals that are by far the strongest of his career. And his reinventions of The Stray Cats mega-hit “Rock This Town” and his first post-Cats band Phantom, Rocker & Slick’s “Running From The Hounds” are foot-stomping and ecstatic statements of pure joy.

“This is the best record I’ve ever made,” says Rocker. “I worked harder on this record than any other I have done. I took my time with it and squeezed and twisted all I could out of the band and myself. There were days of wanting to give up and quit and other days I left the studio as happy as a kid. Now that I can sit back and just listen, I can say this is the record I’ve always wanted to make.”

Rocker’s solo career took off in 1994 with the release of Big Blue, and in 1995 with Atomic Boogie Hour, both on Black Top Records. Four more releases followed, including 2003's Bulletproof.

Rocker spent over a year making this record, more time than he’s ever devoted to any other album, and he couldn’t be prouder. “I like to do something different on each album I do,” he says, “and this is by far the most diverse CD I’ve ever done.”

A full tour calendar will bring Rocker’s high-energy live shows to fans across the country.

Lee Rocker's website: www.leerocker.com
Alligator Records

News From The Great Beyond

2005-12-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Bluesman Tom Hunter's third CD (first for FS Music), Here I Go Again, will be released January 31, 2006. The CD features two originals and 10 standards. Hunter, singer/songwriter/pianist, and his band cover the musical spectrum from slow jazz to raucous Chicago blues. Until recently, Tom was best known as the piano player for Bernard Allison, Bill Perry, Murali Coryell and Little Sammy Davis. Check out Tom Hunter at www.tomhunterblues.com & www.fsmusiclabel.com.

Wrath Records is releasing a few 7" discs sure to land in stockings this holiday season. First, Sarandon will release The Feminist Third, including the tracks "Don't Say No," "Prove It," and "Health." This pressing will be limited to 300 copies. No song is over a minute and a half long. The cover features a nice picture of a lady in a bra. Also released are two more disc in the Super Seven series. Number 11includess tracks by The Scaramanga Six ("I Wear My Heart On My Sleeve") and Me Against Them ("Bad Judgement"). Number 12 includes The Playmates, Instant Species, Farming Incident, and The Terminals.

Catfish Haven are currently putting the finishing touches on their Secretly Canadian debut CDEP entitled Please Come Back. The release will drop on January 24th, 2006.

Flameshovel Records will be releasing We, The Vehicles, the new album from Maritime, on April 4th. We, The Vehicles, the second album from the collective of Davey von Bohlen, Dan Didier and Eric Axelson, is a triumphant realization of Maritime's unlabored goal and an occasional turn toward the darker, denser corners of years past. Also from Flameshovel comes the second LP from Low Skies, All the Love I Could Find, on February 21st. This album is firmly rooted in gothic Americana, but with a contemporary aim that gives a sturdy pulse to the songs, which are intertwined creating an oddly cohesive personal study in loss, loneliness, and heartbreak.

Hydra Head Industries will release Cusp from Everlovely Lightningheart on January 24, 2006. The band/collaborative is described as "an entity capable of producing, perverting, destroying, distributing, stealing, and selling a vast and sprawling array of existing as well as currently unheard of forms of cultural products and concepts."

Scaramanga Six

2005-12-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

They may remind you of the Addams Family, quirky yet playful, and, oh yeah, stubborn. But in a good sense. The Six have been at this for more than ten years, and not much has changed in that time.

"It's all down to what you class as achievement, says Paul Morricone, guitarist and one-half of the founding Morricone brothers. "Some bands think that they have to become a commercial success in order to achieve anything. That's why they chop and change their style and name in order to fit into what is current. Our motives are utterly different - every new recording, every gig and even every run through in a practice room gives us all a massive sense of achievement."

England's venerable Kerrang! Magazine once described the Scaramanga Six's music as "wilfull weirdness peppered with retro-riffing, parping saxophones and mad-genius keyboard special effects; B-movie chic combined with real musical muscle."

Along with brothers Paul and Steven, the current line-up includes Julia Arnez, Chris Catalyst, Anthony Sargeant, and Harry, the European Eagle Owl. The brothers Morricone also run Wrath Records on which they release the band's albums and singles.
Here now an interview conducted with Paul Morricone via email.

Which is harder: being a record label exec or playing in a band?

Definitely the record label side of things.

Why?

Creating and performing music is something that comes as second nature to us. It is what we were put here for. We revel being able to spew our noise into the ears of the unwitting audience - at every available opportunity. The music industry is different. Being devious, underhanded and conniving are not qualities that we are naturally gifted with. Some people have these skills though - they are called 'managers'.

Many times, one will find that a band's personality and sound reflect the personality and sound of the members. How is this manifested in S6?

The Scaramanga Six are an amalgum of each member's daily frustrations. Our music is full of violent twists and turns and extremes in dynamics as we thrash from rampant desperation to deep heartfelt joy in the space of a minute. The very same could be said for a typical day in my life - whilst sitting in a traffic jam I will trudge along in total despair then suddenly remember the power of our music and feel like taking off into the sky.

I've noticed a number of EPs and 7" singles and singles, in general. Is the point to simply put out music or is money the major factor behind your pattern of releases?

Could you describe 'random' as a pattern? I suppose 'sporadic' would be a better word. We release new records as, and when, we are good and ready to do so. If that means two albums in quick succession then so be it. The money side of things will take care of itself as long as we keep coming up with the goods and you all support us by buying.

I get the sense that each member would make a great superhero. What powers would each member, starting with yourself, possess? What would be your weakness?

I would have the power to walk unnoticed through people's houses so I could have a really good look at their decor. I'd also have the power to know in advance whether someone is going to have the common courtesy to thank me if I let them pull out in their car. I'm certain that Steve would, given the chance, develop an 'enemy incontinence ray' that renders all foes inconvenienced. Julia has often wanted the power to alter the terrible mindless r'n'b music that blares out of car speaker systems as people cruise along looking cool. Imagine how cool they looked if the music suddenly turned into 'Achy Breaky Heart' by Billy Ray Cyrus (that probably actually happens in the US though?). Chris is the only person in the band who has actual super powers - his instrument juggling ability is truly amazing and he can play the organ with his nose whilst beating out rhythms on the drums.

There has been a revolving door of members in the S6. How has that effected the sound over the years?

We've had to operate a revolving door policy as you just can't get the staff these days. Each member provides a slightly different musical slant which will always affect the overall sound. But that's the good bit - why would we not want to evolve. We'd die out if we didn't. I'd have to say though that everyone who has played in The Six have always given 100% - it's merely personal circumstance that has led people to move on. We're not ogres!

I imagine that having brothers in the same band can have its advantages and disadvantages. What are they for S6?

Well I suppose the greatest advantage of rocking with my sibling is that we are very strong allies - we are a united force. Having grown up together we naturally share many of the same tastes and have a common outlook on where we are going musically. There are no disadvantages for us at all - only for our adversaries. You mess with my brother and you'll get me on the case as well.

Are there plans to record in the near future? What will those recordings consist of?

We are already in the midst of recording our fourth album. We've got ten new tracks totally finished though they need mixing. But we don't want to stop there - we have a veritable plethora of new material just sitting there screaming out to be exorcised. This next album may well be a double album and it will be our best and most extravogant yet. Lots of people have advised us against doing a double album which is exactly why we will probably do it - and that's why we'll probably call it The Kiss Of Death.

http://www.thescaramangasix.co.uk/
Wrath Records

Two Legends in the Studio

2005-11-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

New York Dolls
What started with a reunion show at the Meltdown Festival in June of 2004 at the request of Smiths legend, Morrissey, will culminate with the summer release of the first new New York Dolls material in over 30 years. Next month, original Dolls David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain will enter an undisclosed New York studio with legendary producer Jack Douglas to record their first album since 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Completing the Dolls lineup will be Steve Conte (Crown Jewels), ex-Hanoi Rocks bassist Sami Yaffa, Brian Delaney and Brian Koonin. According to the Roadrunner Records website, new tracks include "Punishing World," "Plenty of Music," and "Rainbow Store."

Since 2004, the Dolls have been touring steadily, playing festivals around the world including two dates in Ireland as special guests of fans the White Stripes. The band has also been headlining shows around the US including Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival on Randalls Island, NY, shows at both SXSW and NXNE and most recently the Across the Narrows concert on Staten Island.

The BusBoys
Brian O'Neal and the BusBoys are preparing a new menu of delectable treats to be served sometime in early 2006. Yes, the band that hit the big time after appearing in the Eddie Murphy/Nick Nolte romp, 48 Hrs., is returning with its first new material in more than 10 years. According to the band's website, "The BusBoys took rhythm and blues roots and fireballed them into a blazing, amazing multi-dimensional rock and roll career trail. Under the creative and musical leadership of founder Brian O'Neal, they lit up the big and small screen, full-tilted the concert stage and collected multitudes of fans."

Little is known about the new material or its exact release date, but you can bet that when the boys back, there ain't a thing you can do.

News From The Great Beyond

2005-11-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

San Francisco's Two Gallants have released a 7" single, entitled "Las Cruces Jail," on the Saddle Creek Records imprint. This release will also include an exclusive b-side. Two Gallants was formed in 2002 by Adam Stephens (vocals, harmonica, guitar) and Tyson Vogel (drums, vocals). The duo released their first album, The Throes, in 2004. "Las Cruces Jail" is also a track from Two Gallants' debut Saddle Creek full-length, what the toll tells.

Speaking of Saddle Creek, the label will be releasing a compilation CD to benefit survivors of the recent natural disasters in the Gulf Coast. Lagniappe - A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina Relief features new tracks by many of their artists, including Maria Taylor, Cursive, Bright Eyes, The Faint and Broken Spindles. All proceeds from sales will go to the Red Cross.

On The Rise Records' The Post Office Gals will be embarking on a two week tour with The Great Redneck Hope. Many of the dates will be in the eastern half of the U.S. TPOG, from New Jersey, are also preparing for the release the band’s first record to be distributed nationwide, Esbeohdes, on February 21st, 2006!

Ace Fu Records will be releasing Six Demon Bag from Philadelphia's MAN MAN on February 21, 2006. This follows their critically acclaimed debut, The Man In The Blue Turbin With A Face. The band will also be embarking on a tour as well as releasing a CD-EP in 2006.

Pink Mountaintops have released a new 7-inch on Jagjaguwar, featuring the song, "The Ones I Love," backed with the song, "Erected." It is a prelude to the new PM full-length release, entitled Axis of Evol, set to hit the stores on February 7 in both the CD and LP formats.

Finally, the 4th annual Langerado Music Festival will be held at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida on March 11th and 12th, 2006. The line-up includes Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, The Black Crowes, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, The Meters, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Keller Williams, Burning Spear, G. Love & Special Sauce, Steel Pulse, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Drive-By Truckers, The Secret Machines, Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, MOFRO, Slightly Stoopid, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Brazilian Girls, Kid Koala, Lyrics Born, RJD2, Kinky, Rose Hill Drive, Brothers Past, Pnuma Trio, Lotus, and Mike Relm. The event will feature multiple stages, food and crafts vendors including an extensive selection of micro-brewed beers, a children's play area, and limited on-site camping. Click on the link above for further information.

The Come-Ons

2005-11-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

TGB recently had an opportunity to exchange emails with one of the hardest working bands in Detroit, MI. Please enjoy the conversation with Deanne Iovan of The Come Ons.

Tell me about It Came From Detroit. How did your band become involved in this project?

James Petix, the creator of It Came From Detroit, has been a big fan of local music for years. I'm sure we met at a show, although I can't remember specifically where. He taped and edited The ComeOns only music video. He's filmed probably hundreds of live performances from Detroit bands. I have a bit of trouble speaking to a camera, so my involvement will hopefully be limited. But he's interviewed a lot of people for his documentary and he's put a lot of time into the process and what I've seen so far looks great. I don't know how much interest the rest of the world has in the Detroit music scene.

From Motown to MC5 to Iggy Pop to Mitch Ryder to the White Stripes, Detroit has a rich musical legacy. If you were writing the chapter on the current scene, what would be included? How would you describe what is happening in Detroit today?

The current scene is a bit fragmented. If I was writing a chapter about today, I would want to talk about the White Stripes. I saw their show a few weeks ago and I thought it was great - as good as any I've seen from them. They continue to inspire musicians everywhere. The Dirtbombs write great songs and play exciting shows. They just played a Baht Mitzvah, which is a pretty funny thing. You know, I guess I would write about anyone here that was working hard and loving what they do.

On your four song vinyl disc, you covered Donna Summer's "I Feel Love." Describe how that came about. Is there a closet disco diva hiding inside your body?

The Donna Summer cover came about when our friend, Chris Sutton, was in town last year. He's played guitar for us on and off. He played with us in Spain, recorded the "Higher" 12" with us. We were just sitting around listening to records and Chris suggested it. I really like the bassline and singing was a stretch for me, a challenge. So, I'm not a closet disco diva. The band has always played dance music and disco does fall into that category. I'm not glamorous enough to be a diva.

What's the scoop on your new material. Title? How is/has your sound evolving/evolved? Where are you in the recording process?

We just finished mixing the new record with Jim Kissling at the Tempermill. No title yet. We're still arm wrestling over that. The material is a bit broader than past recordings. Still, some dance songs and love songs like "Hipcheck." All originals this time.

You've done several tribute songs. Are there any bands you've longed to pay tribute to on disc that you haven't yet? What song(s), in particular, would you record?

We did a cover of Velvet Underground's "Who Loves The Sun" for a German b-side. That was one that Patrick always wanted us to cover. Tribute songs just sort of happen. I don't usually set out to cover any specific song or band. I'd rather they seeped into our subconscious and stewed in our brains for a while until they come out sounding like a new song. I love to do new arrangements of other people's recordings. That's probably my favorite thing to do musically. We just finished mixing a Christmas single that has a fun version of a Peggy Lee song called "Don't Forget to Feed the Reindeer" and it's completely new. It sounds like it could have been a Come Ons original.

There is a long history of Detroit acts fronted by women. The majority came from the Motown days. Is that something that has ever crossed your mind, and how, if at all, do you honor such a history?

I love almost everything that comes out of Motown. The women of Motown were all wonderful singers, glamorous performers, definitely DIVAS!!! But they didn't front their own band or write songs so much as sing and put a personality on the songs. They had a lot of guts getting on a bus with a bunch of crazy musicians, touring and enduring heaps of obstacles. And that is respectable and deserving of a bow or two. That's not exactly where my head is at. I have to compensate for my diva-less-ness by writing better songs and playing an instrument. I don't know if I would ever be able to just rely on my singing and sparkling personality. I could maybe be a back-up for the Vandellas, but I can't touch Martha Reeves.

What are the top three things on your long term "to-do-list." Have you set a time table for achieving these goals?

I have a loose to-do list as long as I am working toward something. It's okay if I get derailed now and again. If you try too hard setting an agenda for your life, you'll end up disappointed.

When will the new material see the light of day?

The new record should be out in a few months. We have a Francoise Hardy single to be released on Larsen soon. I also mentioned early on about the German single and a 45 (RPM) of holiday favorites that should be out in a month or so.

www.thecomeons.com

Review & Interview: Pilotdrift

2005-11-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

Water Sphere
Good Records Recordings

If the Electric Light Orchestra courted Queen, each deciding to combine their talents and expertise to create a Broadway musical, the resulting soundtrack would be Pilotdrift's Water Sphere, released on the Good Records Recordings imprint owned by Tim deLaughter and Julie Doyle of The Polyphonic Spree.

From the opening notes of "Caught In My Trap," one can conjure images apropos for each song. This climaxes with the epic "Jekyll and Hyde Suite," and concludes with the quirky, yet infectious and dramatic "So Long." When the curtain falls, one cannot help but search for a lighter, raise it to the sky, and flick away.

Kelly Carr (lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, and chief songwriter) has crafted the ultimate escape from the daily grind. Water Sphere, while not a concept album per se, has an introduction, body, and conclusion, which would make for a literary masterpiece. Combined with a musical proclivity that harkens bands such as Styx, of course, Sgt. Pepper Beatles, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Carr and Pilotdrift have shaped an opus that will have one screaming both "Bravo!" and "Encore!"

On TGB scale, Water Sphere earns an encore from the Sun!!!

TGB recently spoke with drummer Ben Rice of Pilotdrift.

Describe the band's relationship with Tim DeLaughter and Julie Doyle.

Well, oddly enough, our relationship has been more than the usual label/client relationship in the sense that they have taken us under their wing in a sort of way, and our relationship with them has far surpassed any business level, and has wonderfully enough become a relationship with similarities often found in that of a parent and child. And as strange as that may sound, I'm specifically drawing from specific instances to where they have been as supportive and encouraging to us as a parent would be. With eyes glazed over with tears, and a smile from ear to ear, we have seen from both Tim and Julie after many a show upon its conclusion. And having that sort of belief from a label is worth as much and more than promotional dollars and priceless connections.

Let's talk about Kelly's musical vision. Do you, as drummer, have tobe ablee to get inside his head to interpret that vision? Or is it simply, 'Okay, Ben, here's the song. Now do this.'?

I would say that as a drummer, I definitely try to get in his head to get a peak at the picture he's painting, and from there, I try to collaboratively shape the piece of the puzzle that is my own to the shape best-fitted for the picture that the song should create. So yes, it is more than just playing some beats here and there that sound cool. Ha. I definitely want to add my contribution that will musically give character and structure to the vision Kelly has.

'Water Sphere' is such a grand piece of work. Kelly Carr called it "a little movie rental store." What movies do you see when listening to the album?

I see bits of Pulp Fiction, bits of the X-files, bits of Vanilla Sky, and maybe a few scenes from The Simpsons.

When the band put these songs on tape, did it require each musician to see the piece as well as hear it?

Yes, most definitely. And that is due most in part that we write and record simultaneously. And if each of our contributions were nothing more than just blind, default, musical notes and rhythms, then the vision would never be captured in any adequate fashion whatsoever.

CMJ wrote, "Small towns sure have a funny way of causing little boys to think big." Would you agree?

I could definitely agree to that. I guess in any environment, especially those small in nature, one would have two choices: 1. Live in comfort, without any desire to grow beyond your boundaries, be it musically, mentally, literally, or spiritually; or 2. to have a certain drive that leads you toward all that this world, in a literal sense, has to offer, and what we as individuals can offer back to it. We've always chosen the latter.

I'm having a difficult time seeing this music transferred to the stage.
a. Can you replicate it?
b. Do you try to replicate it exactly? and;
c. What, if anything, do you have to lose to get a pure sound?

Yes, we can and do replicate it. And yes, we do try to replicate it exactly, and we do so successfully with the exception of two things that we sample, those of which being the electronic beat found in 'Passenger Seat,' and the children's choir found in 'So Long.' And if we could have that choir perform with us at every show, we would definitely do so! And as far as losing something so that a pure sound is not sacrificed, I'm not quite sure what inhibitions would be present towards a pure sound in our successful pursuits of replicating what has been laid down on tape.

Obviously, a band has to have confidence in what they do, but was this album a roll of the dice?

I wouldn't say that it was a roll of the dice necessarily, but despite our confidence both together and in Kelly's leadership, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that we were slightly worried, or better described, anxiously curious towards the response we would get.

Did it help that you are from a small town? Do you think you would have been lost in the myriad of sounds in the big city?

Honestly, it's hard to say for sure, but I could definitely see the advantages of being in a small town, for there is a certain obscure quality of location that makes a band's music and story very interesting. So to answer your question, yes, maybe.

The album is a tremendous accomplishment, and I wish you nothing but success. What are the plans for the coming months?

Our plans consist of hardly anything more than overwhelming feelings of exploding anxiety as we await the opportunities to tour and perform. But in this waiting period we're in, we're going to make the most of our idle time, and start working on recording some new material for a release in the distant future.

www.pilotdrift.com
Good Records: www.goodrecordsrecordings.com

Giant Drag

2005-11-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

She plays guitar, she sings, and she claims to have been a weird youngster. "I think I hung a few (dolls) from a noose with some red nail polish "blood" on them when I was 13."

Weird or not, Annie Hardy of Giant Drag is unique. Come up with all the comparisons you can, but you will never be able to pin down Annie Hardy. As one half of the Los Angeles-based two piece, Annie Hardy, along with Micah Calabrese, have forged a sound that Spin Magazine described as "Fuzzy, haunting melodies that combine the Beach Boys with Mazzy Star and Nirvana."

(By the way, Giant Drag officially consider themselves a three-piece with Calabrese's left-hand playing keyboards.)

High praise, indeed, but one listen to Giant Drag's latest, Hearts and Unicorns, will undoubtedly assure you that they got it right. At the least, Hardy will brag about Giant Drag's album outselling the Spin Doctors in the first week of its release.

Here now, Annie Hardy of Giant Drag.

What music did you listen to growing up? Do you count yourself among the legions fortunate enough to have parents/older siblings with a passion for music?

I listened to a lot of what my dad listened to. He was pretty much the only person around me that had good taste in music. I don't have any brothers or sisters that I grew up with, so I was pretty much on my own. I started out with the Beatles, lots of classic rock and 'oldies' and then Guns 'n' Roses and then my dad got into grunge and stuff. Well, we got into it together, I guess. Meanwhile, my mom was listening to Barbara Streisand.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having only two musicians/members in the band?

The biggest advantage is when we write songs, I come to Micah with a new song or idea and it's finished within half an hour. The down side is not being able to do everything we want to, but usually we don't want to do anything else.

In listening to 'Hearts & Unicorns,' the boundaries in the music are limitless. Was that a goal or circumstance? Explain.

I don't really know. We don't think about stuff very much, we just do. Stuff pops into our heads and we orchestrate it.

Assuming you are familiar with Sylvia Plath, it sounds like she would have made a great friend?

I don't know. She might have been a bum-out. I like to hang around with funny people.

Who is Kevin?

A friend who hacked onto our website once and wrote some silly (stuff) in our news section. In my reply, I wrote "Thanks to Kevin for writing that stupid (stuff) on our site. Come see us play tonight as we'll be debuting our new song 'Kevin is Gay'"

Pitchfork claimed that "Hardy could be a far more interesting frontperson than 'Hearts and Unicorns' lets on." So, Annie, what are you holding back?

Nothing. That dude needs to come to a show, I guess.

Finally, I loved the interview between Micah and yourself on your website. Anything you would have wanted to ask him that didn't end up on the interview? Any you wish he would have asked you?

No, that is our version of a bio because bio's are so stupid. I guess it could use an update since it's pretty dated and a lot has happened since then.

www.giantdrag.com

Anna Wolfe

2005-10-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

What is success? A definition could be "good fortune." In the music industry, one could summise that success is equated with a hit record and/or, simply, a hit song. But for Anna Wolfe, hits are not the bottom line.

"Music is Spirit and it makes me feel sick and angry these days when all people think is worthwhile about music is a hit song or being a mega star. It seems most people think anyone who doesn't reach these heights is a failure. That means they didn't 'make it.' 'Make it' to where? To the moon? What about making it back home to themselves?! What ever happened to the joy of simply learning to be a better musician?"

One listen to Wolfe's newest CD, My Treasure, and the proof is self-evident. Anna Wolfe loves making music, and, as her bio aptly put it, "Anna Wolfe is unforgetable." Furthermore, hits are not the ultimate goal for her. "There are a lot of people here who are obsessed with getting a hit song," explains Wolfe. "I have been pursuing my own writing and performing, which is safely out of the main stream."

TGB recently spoke to this charismatic singer/songwriter about her most recent release. We delved into the various relationships and friendships that are dearest to her. Finally, Ms. Wolfe breaks down the music and lyrics on My Treasure.

Tell us about your relationship with Wendy Waldman. What do you think Wendy saw in you?

Well, here is a quote: "Anna Wolfe is a gifted poet and singer whose work has tremendous courage and insight. Her songs are completely fresh and unique. She is without a doubt one of the most original artists I have met in many years." WW

Wendy and I grew to be good friends through the production of My Treasure. Our experience working together was wonderful and supportive. Her studio is in her home in California and it is very cozy and comfortable. We used to knit while listening back to tracks. This helped relax my mind so I could hear the music without anxiety warping my ears. Wendy taught me how to crochet. I think Wendy is a very old world, old soul. I could see her living in a stone cabin by the sea with her weaving and her spinning. I think maybe we came from the same village in Heaven and she is my sister. We tended our sheep together and wore peasant clothes.

With regards to "My Treasure," what are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the string arrangements. Wendy, a composer named Seth Osborn and I, arranged the strings together. I have yet to be able to master writing down the notes to music. Seth did that part. I played what I heard in my head on the piano and he wrote the parts on the staff. Wendy helped with her ideas as well. Seth added some of his complexities. But it was the first time I was able to get the classical arrangements out of my head and on to paper. And the best part was, Wendy had a quartet come out from the LA Symphony and they recorded the tracks. I couldn't be more pleased with how the strings turned out. I must say, I am very proud of the strings on this record.

Your lyrics have a sense of spirituality to them. Is that am important of your life?

Everything is some form of Spirit. Music is the vibration of Spirit that can move through you completely and has the power to heal or harm. I always want my music to come from a place of Spirit. The Spirit in all reality. I try to write only from my heart, so that about covers it, as the heart is the doorway to God. Through my heart, God plays me as an instrument. I am trying my best to fulfill my purpose on this planet, which I believe is to be a healing musician. But I hope an atheist could listen to my songs and still enjoy them and receive benefit.

Who was "Close Call" written for? Please explain that story, if you will.

"Close Call" was written for a friend of mine who was in two near fatal car wrecks as a result of driving under the influence. Occasionally, I will ask the audience during my show if anyone has an idea for a song. One night I asked this question. This friend, who happened to be in the audience, came up to me afterwards and told me to write a song about the feeling of waking up in a hospital bed for the second time after another car crash. That's how the song came to be.

I sense there are some stories from childhood weaved into the lyrics of this album. Correct?

Yep. I am a product of my childhood and of my struggles to get through it. My past gave me the invaluable box of paints I get to use today. Now I can paint as richly and deeply as I want, because I've got materials rooted in rich soil.

What went into your decision to move to Nashville?

Anywhere I go, I follow my heart. I was pulled to Albuquerque. Then after 7 wonderful years, I felt pulled to Virginia, then pulled to Nashville. All of these places have felt right at the time, and there has been a reason for me to live there. But my husband and I just bought our first house here in Nashville, so, I feel like I'm finally putting my roots down.

You write about wanting to be a mother. Describe that feeling. You also spoke of a psychic's prediction. Do you think the prediction will come true?

I do long to be a mother. But I really don't think that now is the time. Unless God has a big surprise for me and Philip! I would be ecstatic but it would mean a lot of change.

I doubt the psychic's prediction will come true. But I've already got some twins names picked out just in case. It is fun to think of names for twins! Ever tried it? Like Amos and Andy or Bert and Ernie!

You credit your husband with "Overall Support." How much has he meant to your success?

Good grief! What a question! I can't say. It's just too deep and too much to express. But to the bottom of the ocean runs my gratitude for him and all he has done for me.

What brings you the most satisfaction: writing a song or hearing the completed version for the first time?

The process of writing the song and singing it for the first time as I write it. This brings me so much joy.

Tell us what the next few months has in store?

The next few months I plan on staying at home except for this trip out to Albuquerque and a trip out to Seattle for the RockRGirl Convention. I'm going to get to listen to one of my all time favorite artists, Patti Smith, speak and perform at the conference. I have some performances here in Nashville. I imagine I'll be unpacking the rest of the boxes from moving and hanging up some artwork on the walls. As usual, I'll be playing frisbee with my dog Artemis. I am also working on being much more disciplined in many areas of my life, such as, rehearsing and working in my office. And of course, the holidays are fast approaching. Christmas being my favorite!

Anna Wolfe: www.annawolfe.com

SFTS: Love of Diagrams

2005-10-27T21:09:00.000-06:00

Allow me to show my ignorance. When I think of Australia and the music emanating from down under, bands such as INXS, Midnight Oil, AC/DC, the Little River Band, and (ready for this one!) Olivia Newton-John come to mind. Very limited I would say.

"There's a lot happening in Australia these days!" says bassist Antonia Sellbach of Love of Diagrams. "But I don’t know how much the rest of the world knows about it."

The threesome of Sellbach, Monika Fikerle (drums) and Luke Horton (guitar) came together in 2001. After playing house parties, the band decided that with such positive crowd response they should consider making the act a serious venture. In 2003, The Target is You was released and followed by international touring. Still, building an audience in their native Australia did not come without a plethora of elbow grease.

"I think that the difference between Australia and, for instance, the UK or America is that down here you have to be really mainstream to become famous. With a few exclusions, the small indie rock bands don’t get enough support and there aren’t enough independent labels to give that either. But in a way that makes the music scene down here very interesting."

Sellbach sees the Australian market as DIY. "You have all these great bands that pretty much have to do everything for themselves instead of relying on corporations or bigger record labels. It’s very pro active, and it means we have a healthy underground. Bands don’t just get big and sell out. It's not that easy to do."

When asked which bands deserve attention, Sellbach named Architecture in Helsinki, Bird Blobs, The Drones, Fabulous Diamonds and Witch Hats. Of course, Love of Diagrams gets added to this list.

TGB recently received communiques from Antonia Sellbach of Love of Diagrams. Check it out.

Tell me about those house parties you first played together at. Can you remember when you began to know that playing together professionally was worth pursuing?

When we started playing together, as in jamming together I should say, it was more about getting together and playing music. Finding that we could do it and enjoying working together, enjoying the physicality, the rush of improvising together made it something we started to do a lot. We played a few house parties at first because it was ‘informal’ and I think that was all we felt like doing at the time. Following that, we got asked to play some gigs and we were all extremely nervous at first. Getting up on stage in front of an audience was confronting and we all faced that fear early on. It was probably a combination of the response we got from the audience (which was very favourable), and the fact that playing live shows started to become addictive that propelled us to keep going. I think we are really lucky in that respect.

From what I read, it sounds like you had a great time playing the USA. Are there any noticeable differences between audiences in the states and those from other countries?

Well one great thing about the states was that everywhere we went there seemed to be really healthy band scenes. So many more places to travel too. You can REALLY tour in the states, and there are lots of young bands playing interesting music, cooperative D.I.Y venues, and we found that everywhere we went. Audiences seemed to really like us over there and it felt like we fit in. In Australia, if you do a tour, there are only seven main cities, if that.

Audiences in the states were very similar to audiences back home in Australia. It was, though, a stark contrast to some of the other shows we have played in the past. When we toured Europe we played a lot throughout the Baltic States, Eastern Europe etc., and the crowds there went ballistic! It was a big deal for them that a band had traveled all the way from Australia to play to them. The crowds over there went wild and I think that is because not that many bands bother to travel through there. One thing that kind of surprised me at first was how many people there were that were into our kind of music, and also who were interested in D.I.Y culture, zines, etc. We played lots of shows in squats but they were some of the best shows for us. The energy in the crowd was absolutely palpable!

What juicy tidbits can you give us about your new material? When can we expect a new disc?

We are about to go to Chicago to record with Bob Weston (Mission of Burma, Shellac). So our next album should be out early next year. It is an exciting time for us. We have all these new songs which we are on the brink of recording! With the new material, we have tried to achieve a balance between the instrumental parts and those parts with vocals. When we started out as a band we were instrumental, and with our last EP we started singing. I think there are some instrumental purists out there who would have preferred us to stay instrumental, but we have all found it really exciting and challenging to try and incorporate vocals into our music. With this new material the aim has been, at times, to treat the vocals more like another instrument, not let them take over too much, or overly explain the music. We wanted them to be playful and experimental, and, to some extent, for the listener to be able to come to their own conclusions as to what the songs may be about. We also have a couple more ‘laid back’ songs which will be on the album. A change for us as we are usually quite frenetic, but I think they will work well in the context of all the other songs we have written for it.

Tell me how Bob Weston became involved in the forthcoming project?

We had heard a lot about Bob’s studio (Electrical Audio), which he shares with Steve Albini in Chicago. Electrelane, a band we have recently toured with, had recorded their last two albums there. The Breeders have also recorded there recently, I think. We emailed the studios and were lucky enough to get a reply within 15 minutes! Bob listened to our stuff and said he like it and wanted to work with us. It was a bit of a dream come true for us actually, and it just so happened that we had some money saved that meant we could cover most of the costs as well.

What goes into the decision of choosing a producer?

We had a bit of a shortlist, I suppose. Guy Picciotto from Fugazi was another producer we wanted to work with, but it also came down to who was available at the time we had planned to go over and record.. We listened to A LOT of albums by different producers and we had lengthy conversations over the pros and cons of it all! In the end it wasn’t really a hard choice to make.

Your sound has gone through quite an evolution. Should we expect that continue with your new music?

Yes, I think that will continue to happen. We have never been a band that likes to change ourselves for anyone else. We are dedicated to playing but we are also dedicated to creating music which excites us and that we feel is unique. Whenever something starts to feel too easy its because you haven’t taken the next step, and I think we are all pretty keen on maintaining that feeling of being constantly challenged.

Website: http://www.shootthevariable.com/loveofdiagrams/

Silver Sunshine

2005-10-24T21:12:00.000-06:00

There is no denying that the music business is all about cycles. What was hot and en vogue yesterday is sure to return to tomorrow. Simply give it time and watch. The current trend seems to indicate the 60's have made a full fledged return. Many musicians have begun to incorporate that sounds and ideals of the 60's and incorporate them into their music.

One such outfit is San Diego, CA's, Silver Sunshine. Spin Magazine astutely commented, "In the spirit of peace, love and la la la-ing, this San Diego quartet mines the pop (and poppies) of the psychedelic-rock 60's and 70's, uncovering wonderfully bright, singsong John and Paul melodies."

Silver Sunshine is comprised of Richard Vaughan (guitar, vocals), Conor Riley (guitar, vocals), and Stuart Sclater (bass). Former Dwarves' drummer Chris Fields had all but signed on the dotted line to join the band, but decided against the idea several days after accepting the gig. Still, Silver Sunshine continues to roll on; scheduling several west coast dates in support of Winter Flowers.

Silver Sunshine is currently working on new material for areleasee that should see the light of day in early 2006. In the meantime, the band has released a CD EP entitled A Small Pocket of Pure Spirit. The logic behind this EP, according to Richard Vaughan, "...was to use it as a transition into our next album. A sort of bridge. Also, we wanted to give our fans some new material that had evolved since the first album."

TGBrecentlyy exchanged emails with Richard Vaughan.

Three main songwriters is quite a luxury, but I would also guess that it can be difficult weaving three distinct personalities. Therefore, how does your band mold three songwriters, three personalities, and come out with Silver Sunshine's sound?

Musically, there is a broad spectrum of inspiration that we all share. We're all on the same page and each of us know in which direction we want our sound to go. I think we're fortunate in that way. When someone writes something new, we can all feel the songwriter's vision and we end up adding little pieces of our own ideas. The end result always comes out sounding like Silver Sunshine because we all contribute in some way.

What (or Who) fuels your love of the 60's?

Analog, progressive & creative songwriting, good hooks, cryptic lyrics, live/studio effect wizardry, organic sounds. This is what fuels our love for music in general, not just the 60's. It just so happens that many late 60's and early 70's groups captured all of these elements so perfectly.

I'm going to guess that one or all of the band members are avid readers. What are you currently sinking your teeth into? What was it that attracted you to this (these) book(s)?

To be honest, between commuting to and from my day job and writing and rehearsing, I haven't had much time for reading as of late. I did just pick up a couple of books from the swap meet - mostly for the illustrations: Aubrey Beardsly - Selected Drawings and Faust by Goethe, illustrated by Harry Clarke. Beardsley and Clarke produced some of the most beautiful, disturbing, surreal and psychedelic drawings I've ever seen.

Describe these darker and heavier territories that you find yourselves being pulled into?

Since our last album was released, we've been digging on heavier freak rock, progressive and wyrd folk sounds and it's definitely coming out in our current songwriting, both instrumentally and lyrically. That and with the approaching winter months, it was inevitable.

Your bio quoted a magazine that proclaimed SS as something akin to the voice of a new generation. What sort of pressures does a statement like that place on you as a band and as musicians? Consequently, what pressures do you place on yourselves?

We don't feel any pressure at all by that statement. That was just something positive and complimentary that a music reviewer said about our album. It was flattering but we don'tnecessarilyy feel that we're the voice of a new generation. We're just writing music that we love.

Congratulations on your SDMA nomination. What does that type of recognition mean to you personally, and as a band?

Thanks. Of course it was nice to be nominated and it did help us to get our name more recognized locally, which turned on some new people to our music - that's all that mattered to me. I'm not surprised that we didn't win though. I think we're a bit too underground compared to our competition.

What can you divulge about your new material and/or forthcoming album?

Our new material is getting more progressive. Our next album will reflect that along with more organic, woodsy sounds. We feel it's the best stuff we've ever written and we're all really excited about it. New inspiration. Change is good.

www.silversunshine.com
Empyrean Records: www.empyreanrecords.com

SFTS: Hi-Fi Sky/Alexandra Scott

2005-10-14T22:16:00.000-06:00

Hi-Fi Sky's Alexandra Scott has her priorities straight. "Find an apartment. Get my dog up to New York. Go to New Orleans and pack. Play a gig here in New York this Thursday. Make my life a bit more regular so I can start writing every day again, and cooking, and eating green vegetables. Get a winter coat. Emerge from the seemingly inevitable self-absorption of sadness and take care of the people in my life again, and do some volunteer work. Read Proust. Catch up on sleep."

Scott and her Hi-Fi partner, Tim Sommer, survived the tragedy and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Fortunately, they have found the reserve to continue. That includes a solo effort entitled Spring, touring, and simply living life.
Back in the 70s, Batman aired as a television series starring Adam West. Joan Collins played a villain known as The Siren. She could put men under her spell simply with her voice, not to mention her sheer beauty. Consider Alexandra Scott a siren for our times, except that she doesn't lure listeners to their destruction, but to splendor. Her ability to sing in French suggests the lure Morticia had on Gomez Adams. I wonder if she has ever had men kiss her up and down her arm?

Hi-Fi Sky's recent effort is entitled Music For Synchronized Swimming in Space. Neufutur magazine recently wrote: "Simply put, Hi-Fi Sky has put out a disc that brings the listeners into swaddling and warm chests; nothing is lacking as each string plucked provides a vital step to the discÂs inevitable end." While Kyndmusic summed up the effect of listening to the music by saying, "All the while a reviewer slips silently off of his chair and disintegrates into the carpet, leaving only a headphone which sprouts magnolia blossoms and melts into white noise."

TGB recently exchanged emails with Alexandra Scott and asked questions about both HI-FI SKY and her solo career, as well as her literary endeavors.

First, and foremost, how are the members of the band personally getting along after the destruction?

I guess we're all okay. Everyone I know right now is measuring themselves against the people who are worse off - so my friend who lost his whole house, all his instruments, and so on, still feels guilty because his family is okay and they're not in a shelter. Tim, Sam and I are okay, but, speaking purely for myself, that doesn't mean there isn't a level of shock and pain and fear in our lives that is really staggering. It's interesting to see what animals we humans truly are; there's a terror that comes simply from having been driven out of your den, with winter coming - or at least there was for me, and I had options the whole time. We're not going to live in the same place anymore, and that's really hard to contemplate. Tim and his wife have moved to North Carolina. Sam and his whole family are in Tennessee, and I think they want to go back to New Orleans when they can, but for now Sam and his brother are in college, and his little sisters are in school. I'm in New York City, playing lots of gigs, writing songs, starting some new musical projects, writing my book and working. As much as we can say that we'll continue the band remotely, that's pretty hard to do unless you're already quite rich and successful. A lot of things that we all loved are just gone. Some of them are just farther away than they used to be, and some of them are truly gone. Our little musical community in New Orleans, which was pretty tight and worked together well, has been blasted apart, and even though maybe it'll be better for everyone individually in the long run, it's still a sad fact. But the fact that we are all alive and healthy and can even talk about how we might go about making music means that we are, indeed, okay. I hate it when people dwell on their sufferings. We'll be fine. We're all pretty tough people. Which is not to say I personally don't still feel really sad, on a level I'd never touched before.

You hear bands constantly talk about music first. Several performer have said things akin to "Music first, sanity second." Where do ones priorities go after an event such as a hurricane? How does one recover?

Um, well, I actually think that only a person who's never dealt with any kind of serious mental disorder -depression or bipolarity or schizophrenia - either firsthand or secondhand, would make such a jackass comment. All you have to do is look at Syd Barrett to see that losing your sanity doesn't help you make music. However, to get off my high horse and answer your question, music can be first when you have a place to sleep and food to eat and clothes to wear, but when you're busy trying to arrange for all those matters for yourself and the ones you love, I think it takes a backseat. That said, whenever there's been a moment of peace, I've written. I've gotten great comfort from singing and playing my guitar, or from getting to play someone's piano, because that to me is a home-like state - it's familiar, it's beloved, and so no matter where I am and how lost I'm feeling, playing makes me feel better. I have noticed one strange change in myself. I'm normally frightfully shy and self-conscious about playing, and won't ever play for my friends because it's almost painful for me, but a lot of people have asked me to sing or play for them since the storm, and every time, I've found that I've actually really enjoyed it, and found it rather uplifting. And I think that's really what music should be - a gift from the singer or the instrumentalists to the listener.

And the truth is that every single person with music in their blood will start thinking about how and when and where he or she is going to make music again, just as soon as it's possible to think those thoughts. If music weren't a compulsion, people would stop making it once they realized what a hard life being a musician really is.

Considering the traditions of New Orleans music, where does Hi-Fi Sky fit in?

Well, in many ways it doesn't, but obviously we draw on a lot of Cajun music, melodically, and in some cases with whole songs. And if you've ever lived in New Orleans, I think you can hear it in the music in an abstract way that I'm not sure I can articulate, but it feels like, it sounds like, New Orleans. (At least Tim and I think so, and that's what people have told us.) And Hi-fi Sky is linked to a lot of great bands from New Orleans that nobody's ever heard of, because nobody ever thinks that there's music in New Orleans besides brass bands and jazz and funk. But there are bands like Chef Menteur - a brilliant and almost unknown band - and Mexico 1910, that we share influences andfavoritess with; and that community of abstract musicians is a real part of New Orleans, in the same way that the huge Vietnamese settlement -which nobody but New Orleanians knew about, really - was a part of New Orleans. One of the downsides of the tourist industry is that it simplifies the image of the city into a parody of itself. We live in New Orleans - or did - and we love it - and always will -and therefore this is New Orleans music. It was made there, it was written there, it was recorded there, our last show was the day before we allevacuatedd, on a beautiful hot day by Bayou St. John - oh, it was so hot, I almost fainted - so Hi-fi Sky is super-saturated with New Orleans. We grew out of the soil of New Orleans and became what we are, and what will be next. It was New Orleans' gift to us.

If you were teaching a cooking class, and Hi-FiSky _________ (fill in the blank) was on the menu, what ingredients would it contain?

Oh, god. I want to say we'd be Key Lime Pie. Or something sweet & sour. Maybe a good coconut green curry with kaffir lime leaves. Since I'm writing this, I'll say for sure that it's a vegetarian dish. It would be something that you could eat a lot of without feeling really sleepy and sick. One review once said we were like red beans and rice eaten with a Tylenol P.M. Does that work for you?

It sure does. Define your fan base. Who are the people who listen to your music?

Aside from the ones I know, I think we might have the world's weirdest fan base. There are regular oddball music kids who come to our shows, and then there are grown-up families who bring their little kids to dance to the music. A lot of massage therapists I know play the cd all the time. Modern dancers. My mom. A friend of my mom's stole it while she was recovering from surgery because it made her feel better. Our friend Peter puts his two-year old and his twelve-year old to sleep with it. Another friend calls it his get-some-nookie music, which is nice for everyone, though I kind of wish he'd left the details out when he told me that. I really hope that we can always be a band that is excited to see at our shows both indie-record-nerds and also the kind of people who love music but feel like they could never come to a 'show' - shy people, people over fifty, and so on. As Tim says, "It's a drone. Drones are good. Everyone loves a drone."

Describe the book you are writing?

Well, the Hi-fi Sky book, alas, got shelved. A woman who really likes Tim (but really dislikes me) offered to introduce him to her book agent but only if he would submit something I wasn't involved in, so after some pretty heated discussion, we just threw the HFS book away. So he's working on a novel that he's been writing for about five years, which I won't describe,as that's his prerogative, but it's quite good (I can say that much because I think I've read more of it than anyone), and I am writing a novel also (What a pair of eggheads we are, really!). Mine is a ghost story, and it's set in New Orleans - by which I mean my New Orleans, the way I lived in it until the day I left for the storm - I haven't been back and seen it otherwise yet - and though I've just written and deleted three sentences describing it further, it would appear that that is as much as I can say until the work is ready to speak for itself.

What crime are you currently working toward solving? Where are you in the investigation?

The only crime that I care about right now is the criminal neglect of the black citizens of New Orleans by the government that sought election in order to take oath to protect all citizens, of every colour, of this country.

Your solo is (obviously) a departure from Hi-Fi Sky. Was it important that the two be as distinct as possible?

I suppose it is important, but we didn't set out to make them distinct projects. They just are. My solo work, with Tim producing, came first; that's how we got to know each other; that's how I found Sam. I can't say how it is for the others, but for me, it's all music, it's all my music, it's all dear to my heart, so I don't draw lines between it or even let myself think much about whether other people do so. I think of all things in the world, music, especially, shouldn't have boundaries and distinctions, and, while obviously not many people agree with that, in terms of my own thinking about my own music, I just don't allow it. They're certainly different, in every way, and for sure in my own experience of them. Hi-Fi Sky is a kind of rapturous experience for me, and I think also for Tim and Sam, and because of our own delight in it, I feel pretty hopeful that we'll find a way to keep doing it.
What are your plans for near future?

Remember to be grateful and to be happy that I have my life, even if it seems unrecognizable or daunting nowadays, at times.

Hi-Fi Sky: www.hi-fisky.com
Alexandra Scott: www.alexandrascott.com

SFTS: The A-Sides

2005-10-09T18:15:00.000-06:00

"I feel like we're getting closer to a time where actualpopular music can be brilliant again," explains Jon Barthmus of Philadelphia's The A-Sides, "and that's really exciting." But will "pop music" ever be clearly defined?

"Fairly early in the pop life cycle something got lost. Now it doesn't have the same currency that it used to. For me it implies an invisible force. Something that just connects with people on some kind of bizarre level and on a massive scale."

Barthmus goes on to say that while his interpretation may have nothing to do with the actual definition, he strongy believes it comes down to one thing. "People are crafting melodies all the time but for some reason some just hit you more than others. Its all just combinations of notes and words."

While there may be no clear definition for pop music, the A-Sides seem to have hit on a formula that works for them. Regarding their latest release, Hello,Hello, the Philadelphia Weekly wrote, "Jangly and crisp, the album recalls a Shins record in its mining of familiar '60s influences for a lush, bright-hued sound that feels brand-new. It's stronger and sweeter than nearly every record that came during the "Psychedelphia" phase of Philadelphia's indie rock scene."

TGB spoke to Jon Barthmus of The A-Sides, a band who consider themselves the quintessential free pizza.

Your lyrics are very optimistic. Are you a "glass is half-full" person? band?

I would say that we are a glass half-full type band. I don't know if some of the lyrics are really all that optimistic. A lot of them are more indifferent than anything. The newer material has a much wider range of emotion. Less about love, more about death, and life.

Magnet Magazine wrote that you were wanting "to escape from this dazzling hall of mirrors..." Where would like to escape to?

First off, the hall of mirrors bit was the Magnet writer's deal, not ours. For us, it's not really escapism, just progression. If you follow the life of our band from demo, to 7" record, to this full length, it's been quite a transformation already. Most of it was just testing the waters, trying to write great pop music. We were studying the people that have done it best and those influences were huge. It seems like now we're ready to really do it in our own way. The future for us will take these melodies, and harmonies and put them in a different context. It won't sound 60s, although the remnants will be there. So if we're trying to escape anything, it's our own preconceptions about music and sound.

I sense that your sound is akin to picking fruit from a variety of trees in a single grove. If another band were to go through the A-Sides grove of trees, what would they be picking?

If another band were picking from our grove I would hope that they would dig a little bit and pick the seeds. So far I think the essence of our music has been more interesting than the superficial product. The sound quality and the melodies, the ideas and the fascination. It's a pretty good blueprint I think.

How has Hello, Hello surpassed your expectations? Where has it fallen short?

When we went in to record the album we had never put in any significant studio time. Especially not in such a great studio with such amazing people. Brian McTear had a huge influence on the sound of that record because of his knowledge regarding the recording process and his understanding of sound. It sounded exponentially better than any of us could have imagined and that's the most important part.

We would have liked to have seen better distribution but working with such a small label (Prison Jazz, who are amazing!) has its limitations. The record does seem to be continuing making its way around. New things keep popping up so it still has some life in it. It has been over a year since we recorded it though so more than anything we're ready for another round. Hello, Hello will always have a place for us, but we're too excited about our newer songs to dwell on it.

Label: Prison Jazz - www.prisonjazz.com
Also available: Seeing Suzy/Going Gone (7")

Celebration Time!!!

2005-10-08T22:43:00.000-06:00

The Great Beyond Marks Its First Anniversary

It was one year ago that The Great Beyond made its debut. This endeavor started as a labor of love, and it continues to be so. My love of music dates back many years (my first album was Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic), but the expansion of musical tastes has taken place over the last ten years. Working on The Great Beyond has given me the good fortune of discovering new sounds from around the world.

There are many people to thank. First, my family. To my beautiful wife, Debbie, for providing me unconditional love and for having the patience so that I may have the opportunity to pursue this creative outlet. You are a treasure. To my daughter, Calle, who I'm hoping is learning to appreciate the immense musical talent that exists on our planet. Your love has meant so much to me, and I cannot begin to thank you enough.

To all the musicians, labels, and publicists who have shared their talents, gifts, and words. Without you having the courage and faith to sit down and write a few words, this blog would be a mere shell of itself. I am honored to be able to help, and appreciate the talents that you bring to the musical spectrum of our world.

In year two, I hope to take The Great Beyond to new heights. My goal is to have a radio show, and, possibly, a syndicated column. In the meantime, I hope you find this blog insightful, and are able to expand your knowledge of music.

Respectfully,

Sal Treppiedi

Here are a few congratulatory messages:

Sal - Congratulations on the anniversary of the first year of the existence of The Great Beyond. Your intelligence and sincerity, and the zine's relevance to modern music as art and literature, makes it unique, as well as sorely needed in the world of independent music. Your own efforts as an English teacher, a carrier of the continued vitality of the language, has even greater relevance to we members of DJ Monkey, who base our art on a very intricate marriage between poetry and music. As you know, though our music is quite involved, it is our poetry, lyrics and raps which make up the purpose of our existence, therefore we could not ask for a better vehicle for us to have been spotlighted in this past year than The Great Beyond.

It is our prayer that in the years to come, The Great Beyond survive and receive the attention it deserves.

Joey Alkes - DJ Monkey

Congrats on your 1st Anniversary! I would like to thank you for taking the time to write about 3 Kisses on The Great Beyond. I've used your review in our newsletter and in press kits. It is very important for new artists to have people like you out there who are willing to take the time to listen to our music and jot a few lines about it. 3 Kisses greatly appreciates your support and we wish you many more successful years!

All the Best,
Tish Meeks
3 Kisses

SFTS: Innaway

2005-10-06T16:49:00.000-06:00

It takes more than luck to get noticed. Being in a band is like being single and trying to get notice through the hundreds of profiles. That could not be more true than for bands in Southern California. Yet, according to Innaway keyboardist Reid Black, all it took was fundamentals.

"Our approach is to play the best music we can. That way might not get us noticed as fast as we like but it is an honest approach and when people do notice, they notice for the right reasons. Silly stage antics and ironic posturing are not our thing."

Beginning in November, Innaway head out on the road with the legendary Echo & The Bunnymen. Before taking off, TGB had a chance to exchange pleasantries with Reid Black.

Tell me how this tour with Echo & The Bunnymen came about.

The tour came about through our booking agent. Unless the headliner hand picks the opening act, a booking agent will have to submit a band for a tour. So we were submitted and Echo & the Bunnymen's management thought we could bring something different to the tour.

Is it ever intimidating opening for such a high profile act?

For me, it can be a little intimidating at first. We just finished a tour with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, which was great by the way, and by the end of that tour our playing had stepped up a couple notches in part to playing with them and playing to crowds that were bigger than we were used to at home. With the Bunnymen tour, I hope the same will happen. This is an even higher profile tour than before, so hopefully we can learn a thing or two from them and rise to the challenge. I guess it's kind of like playing tennis or something with someone who is a lot better than you. At first it is intimidating but after a while you learn more and get better by playing with someone who is above your skill level.

Two acts consistently mentioned when reading about Innaway are Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. What emotions did you experience seeing Roger Waters perform with Pink Floyd at the recent Live 8 concert?

I'm usually not one for reunions but I thought they sounded great that night and it was good to see him playing with the rest of Pink Floyd again after so many years of acrimony. I didn't know what to expect from them at all but I for sure wasn't disappointed by their set. However, Waters and Gilmour never once looked at each other onstage. It was kind of like they were in two different worlds and could put their bitterness aside for one night only.

It must take an incredible amount of self-confidence to self-produce a DEBUT. Where does that confidence come from?

I guess that confidence comes from all of us knowing what we like and being able to think things through using all of our ears as well as two members of the band being well versed in studio engineering. I think a downside to that approach was that we would take a long time and sit on ideas too long when an outside producer would have already gotten over that hump.

I found myself experiencing a gamut of thoughts and emotions as I listened to several tracks. What exactly do you want a listener to experience from your album? from your concert?

We tried to fit the songs together to create a musical flow that invites the listener to play the entire album. I know it's cliched but we want the listener to experience the changes and dynamics of the album in whatever setting is most comfortable to them. It sounds good during a late night drive.

As for the live show, the experience should be the album experience plus a little more. There's more energy in the live show since the songs are more raw and since we change the songs around a little here and there and jam out some parts. It's a bit more unpredictable.

What is most important to you: playing music or creating music?

Both are important. I like creating new music with myself and with the band. Rehearsing new material with the band is fun for me and so is playing guitar lazily while watching TV or something until a interesting sound perks up my ears. Playing live is also important in a different way. It's a good way to reach new people and the most fun way, especially if the band is playing good.

Innaway is singer Jim Schwartz, guitarist Barry Fader, drummer Gabe Palmer, bassist Darrick Rasmussen, and keyboardist Reid Black. Their latest release is a self-titled CD on Some Records. Also available is an EP entitled Rise.

Review: Angela Strehli

2005-10-02T21:51:00.000-06:00

Blue Highway
M.C. Records - www.m-crecords.com
www.angelastrehli.com

Austin singer-songbird Angela Strehli has joined the stable of Long Island blues label MC Records with excellent Texas boogie-blues and ballads. Strehli was a vital part of the trio of "Austex" bluesmamas that included Louann Barton and Marcia Ball. They helped to create the scene that resulted in Stevie Ray Vaughn, Antones Records and Austin's fame as a music city. Those ladies had high octane, good timing, two timing and hard living deep in their souls.

Angela opens her new one with all 8 firing in a tribute to club owner, scene creator Clifford Antone that chronicles his ups and downs in "Austin's Home of the Blues." Shifting into low and blue, Ms. Ball and Maria Muldaur augment the vocals on "Blue Highway" with a slow shuffle dedicated to a lifetime of blues.

This CD is a joyous celebration of life's uncertainties and pains as well as of life, lust and good times. Angela's 60 years have given her a warm leather and whiskey vocal sound that is wrapped around the knowledge of how to deliver the emotion in a song. Blue Highway is augmented by a bucket of Austin session stars including John Lee Sander's piano, Paul Thorn's vocals and Tom Duarte's acoustic 6.

Most of the cuts were written by Angela, although she covers Ernie Ka-doe's "Hello My Lover" and Ann Peebles' "Slipped, Tripped and Fell In Love." Strehli does a cooking gospel version of "Lord, Don't Move the Mountain," while "Headed South" makes you want to see the land where manzanillas grow and tequila flows. The disk rolls out with a cut that Strehli recorded during her appearance with SRV at Carnegie Hall in 1985, Albert King's "C.O.D.", which is delivered strong and fierce.

For a helping of Texas BBQ boogie and shuffle, Angela's keeping the smoker stoked, defending the Alamo and laying it down nice and hot. On TGB ratings scale, Blue Highway steers between Earth and Venus.

Review submitted by Dr. Blues.

News From The Great Beyond

2005-09-30T20:32:00.000-06:00

Heavy Blinkers in the Studio

"I recently saw a documentary about Roswell and it renewed my faith in the fact that something dodgy is going on. I am not sure if the government is reverse-engineering spaceships or anything, but why the hell not?"

Such is the theory of The Heavy Blinkers' Jason MacIsaac. The Nova Scotia based band is in the midst of recording new material for a CD entitled Health, but music wasn't all that was on his mind. In fact, as he is writing an email to this writer, he checks Area 51 on a few remote satellites. After 10 minutes he returns and reports. "I couldn't make much out, but I didn't not see aliens. I don't know, I have so many bits and pieces of Roswell info as mental furniture in my brain, I can't separate fact from the Dwight Yoakam/Kyle McLaughlin movie."

After this bit of journalistic and scientific insight, the conversation turns to music.

Having lived in both NY and LA, the competition to be noticed is fierce. Being tucked away in your corner of the world, does making music, and honing your craft, become easier?

I am not sure if it makes it any easier, but there aren't as many distractions, to be sure. I live in a city of about 300,000, and it's very much a tourist town. I spend most of my time at my piano in the dark, in my living room, with a cat on my lap. I am a firm believer that Nova Scotia's four VERY distinct seasons inform my writing and perhaps the overall mood of our city. Out of the corner of our eye, we see things being born, growing, and dying, year after year. I think that subconsciously it has an effect on a person. When I look back at lyrics that I have written, many of them seem to be preoccupied with the weather and the life cycle. On a more practical level, it is often too cold to go outside, so I will default to tea and my piano quite a bit in the winter. I get more writing done in the winter than the other three seasons combined.

What can you reveal about the "Health"?

Health is a song cycle about martyred saints, people who are lost and who have lost, and ultimately death, I suppose. It's a really upbeat album. There are many female characters that occupy the Health songs, and in many ways they are related. Most of the characters are amalgams of historical figures and women who had an impact on my childhood. It's a pretty depressing, sparse set of songs. That being said, there are two or three songs that lyrically have nothing to do with the rest of the album, but they were written at the same time and I was in the same head-space, so to me, they warrant inclusion.

I read on your blog (The Heavy Blinkers Album #5 Blog) that 'Health' was going to be a double album. That is quite an ambitious undertaking. When did you decide to go that route and what factors entered into making the decision?

Everyone, and I mean everyone, I know is telling me that it should be a single album. Perhaps two albums of material will fit on one disc as with our self-titled album, so I can cheat that way. It's just awfully hard to divorce songs from an album when there is an overarching narrative that must be told. Getting rid of a particular song might be tantamount to getting rid of the conclusion, or the body, or the intro etc. I consciously decided to make a double concept album and I am not looking back and imposing "concept album" status on it. It was written that way. For better or worse, I have a plan.

You have been debuting various tracks from 'Health.' What are the advantages and disadvantages of that strategy.

I'm just trying to suss out how they will be received. I already have the order of the songs figured out, so it's weird playing them out of context. It's even more weird playing them alongside older material, but it is thrilling to play them nevertheless. Most of the songs are a bit austere, and, lyrically, a bit (and I hesitate to use this word..) poetic. Historically, Heavy Blinkers gigs have consisted largely of the upbeat danceable material out of respect for those who want to shake a tail-feather. These new shows are more for people who come in from the rain and who would rather just listen to music, hopefully some pretty music that will inspire them.

Are you a type A or type B personality? What effect does that have on the day-to-day operations of the band?

I guess in some very specific way, I'm type A. When it comes to the music, I am a driven workaholic, always busy, impatient, etc. However, when dealing with people, I am definitely type B. I am a very laid back person, but my music is precious to me and I can get cranky. Everyone in the band is good friends and there have been very few fights over the past seven or so years. I'm a pretty lousy communicator when it comes to trying to express the music in my head to other people, and I am sure that it is frustrating for the band at times.

I noticed you did some shows with Jenn Grant. Is Ruth Minnikin still a member of the HB?

Ruth is still a member of the Heavy Blinkers. Recently, Ruth has been on tour with her psych-country outfit and then immediately back on the road with her "Traveling Wilburys" style super-songwriter group. Working with Jenn was born out of necessity., but she is a gem! Her spirit is infectious and she understands the importance of nuance. We have been very careful to do totally different material, and to present it as a trio. It's a totally different animal. We flew to Toronto to do the Toronto Film Festival and we leave at the end of November for a two week tour of the U.K.. Jenn is wonderful.

Finally, when will the new material be released?

I am hoping that all the tracking will be done by the summer and that it will be out this time next year, but we may see Roswellian aliens before we see Health. I will keep you posted.

STFS: Bloody Tears

2005-09-28T20:31:00.000-06:00

One might say that The Bloody Tears are hotter than a honeymoon hotel. Of course, the old cliche that everything in Texas is big could apply as well. But cliches would not do this Austin outfit justice. According to vocalist/guitarist Eric "Solid Gold" Makowski, what makes them a product of Texas is their blend of sounds and influences.

"In a lot of Texas music, like Western swing or Texas blues, I think there's an influence of various southern styles. In our sound, too, you can hear a wide range of influences. Some of the best soul singers ever were cats that blended southern gospel, country, and blues to make their own form of R-n-B: Solomon Burke, Arthur Alexander, James Carr, Otis Redding, Ray Charles."

I recently spoke to Makowski to find out more about this "hip-shakin', heart -breakin', earth-quakin', love makin' boogaloo funk machine." Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bloody Tears: The Pharoahs of Nouveau Soul.

How would you define "garage rock," and how does that definition fit The Bloody Tears?

The core of the BT's (Casino, Billy Steve, Kory and I) is made up of cats who really did start bands and spent years in their basements and garages back in their hometowns. Sure "garage" is a label to help define a certain sound, but it also means something else to guys who have played too long for too few tips.

Ear Candy Magazine wrote about 'Downhanded': "This is a party album, plain and simple." Is that an accurate assessment?

Probably. The band formed with Billy Steve and Casino and I starting a new project just for our own edification. Play just the style of music we wanted. It didn't matter if anyone else would like it, so long as we were having fun and learning some new things creatively along the way. Sounds a little selfish, but in trying to appeal to every moron who flashes the "Rock On" sign, I think a lot of bands forget that it's supposed to be about fun and creativity, not purely marketing. If I have to hear one more Austin musician describe their "career," I think I'll puke all over their press kit.

What factors went into deciding to work with Jim Diamond?

This was an easy pick. Di-guy and I go back to our college band in the 80's at Michigan State. He's always had a great ear for arranging and producing, and he's an easy going guy too. Jack ****ing White will never allow his ego to admit it, but Diamond had a lot to to with the Stripes' breakout record. Listen to the MP3's on the Ghetto Recorders web site. That stuff jumps out at you, cuts through the crap. We hope to record the next batch of tunes in Detroit.

There are at least three covers on 'Downhanded.' What criteria goes into choosing one cover over another?

Well, we try to pick the originals that will give people an idea of the place that the originals are coming from. Reference points. Guide posts to better rock understanding.

What am I going to witness at a Bloody Tears show?

Sweating, dancing, screaming, drinking. Pretty much in that order.

Tell me about this legendary "energy" your band possesses. What do you attribute that to?

Fear of being laughed at.

Finally, what are your tour plans? Any new recordings on the horizon?

We have already received a couple crummy offers to tour overseas and spend our own money all along the way. And we're considering a tour of the midwest and northeast next year. That's where we're getting lots of college radio play. Plus, I have a 7-month-old at home now, so my priorities have shifted to say the least. It's a freakin' blast, too!

We just started writing new stuff. There's a little more subtlety to some of the newer stuff we're writing. We can be sensitive little bastards if we wanna be.

SFTS - The Patsys

2005-09-23T21:32:00.000-06:00

"Columbus seems to produce a lot of bands that almost make it." This might explain why in a city noted mostly for Big Ten football (Ohio State Buckeyes), the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets, and one of the best zoos in the country (Columbus Zoo), trying to make it in the music business can be a daunting task.

"Look back to the mid-eighties," explains Jeff Regensburger, drummer of The Patsys, "and you'll see Columbus' own Great Plains sharing a label (Homestead) with Dinosaur Jr. and Big Black. Around that same time Scrawl was on Rough Trade and blazing a trail that all manner of riot grrls would follow. If you dig deep enough into the Blues Explosion lore, you'll find that much of the trashblues Mr. Spencer favors came from time well spent with our very own Gibson Brothers and '68 Comeback."

While the 90's produced outfits such as New Bomb Turks and Gaunt, the leader of the pack became Tim Easton who, according to Regensburger, "was making a name for himself in the 'mostly unknown but critically acclaimed singer/songwriter' genre." He adds that "Today there are a few bands that seem poised to move beyond the confines of Columbus. The Whiles, The Feelers (ferocious lo-fi pummeled about the head and shoulders punk rock), The Evil Queens (ferocious lo-fi pummeled about the head and shoulders hard rock), and El Jesus De Magico (avant-hate rock) are on the list of bands from Columbus to watch."

The Patsys formed in 2002 from the remains of several notable Columbus bands including the aforementioned Gaunt. The band includes Tutti Jackson on vocals and bass, Regensburger on drums, John Stickley on vocals and guitar, and, recently added guitarist, Jim Weber. Jackson's credits also include backing vocals for "Soap Star Joe" on Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville. Their most recent effort is entitled On The 13th Kick, a compilation of single plus three new tracks.

TGB recently emailed Regensburger to find out the latest. Here is his correspondence.

What are some of the more interesting tidbits around Jim Weber?

Jim joined The Patsys in March of '05 when guitarist Stewart Nicol moved to Florida. Jim and I had played together in one of the early versions of Gaunt ('91-'92), so he seemed like the logical choice when we began looking for Stew's replacement. We invited him to join The Patsys, he accepted, and it's been a great fit. We've hit the ground running, already recording some new material and taking the live show out east for a few shows.

Many people are surprised to find out that Jim Weber is a high school English teacher and an excellent defensive first baseman. While generally a dead pull hitter he can go the opposite way if you try to cheat on him.

Fill me in on the recordings you undertook at Ghetto Recorders.

One of the things that's always interested us has been working with different engineers in different studios. There's a studio here in Columbus that generally meets our needs (Workbook Studio), but when he have the chance we like to try and get out and work with new people. Our full-length is really a compilation of a number of different sessions we recorded over a two year period. In that time we worked with Paul Mahern (Superchunk, John Mellencamp) at Echo Park, Steve Albini (everyone) at Electrical Audio, and Neal Schmitt at Workbook.

The Jim Diamond session in Detroit was just an extension of that philosophy. Jim Weber had done an album at Ghetto Recorders with the New Bomb Turks and suggested that it might be a good place for us to record our next batch of songs. It turns out he was right. Jim Diamond is great to work with. He's got great ideas in terms of tones and arrangements. Everyone was really pleased with the session. We did ten songs and we'll probably try to get up there soon and do a few more. I expect our next full-length will come out of those combined sessions.

I sense some Sonic Youth, some MC5, and maybe some early Blondie. Would I be in the right zip code?

I think so, though the Sonic Youth reference is a bit surprising and certainly nothing we've tried to consciously develop. Ultimately, a lot of what we sound like is the result of trying mash the square peg that is our influences into the round hole that is our abilities. I think much of our material points back to '67, but in a kind of garbled way. It's like there's hints of all these '60s garage bands, but the style isn't reproduced so authentically that it sounds derivative.

I've never considered Columbus a hotbed for music. Is that image on the verge of changing?

I doubt it. I think one of the things that's made it hard for Columbus to push its music to a more national audience is the fact that the bands are so eclectic. There's no "sound" that defines the music or the scene. I don't know if it's willful or not, but it's almost like no one really pays that much attention to what anyone else is playing.

Fill in the blank and explain your answer: The Patsys are the quintessential ______________.

The Patsys are the quintessential model rocket club of rock. Behind the righteous tunes are one librarian, one teacher, one historical society intern, three subscriptions to Harper's, onsubscriptionon to the New York Review of Books, Charlie Rose five nights a week, and a better than average chance of finishing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.

News From The Great Beyond

2005-09-20T20:22:00.000-06:00

Tara Key & Antietam

If you google Tara Key's name, you will find biographies on VH1, CMT, and a few other outlets. Considering how prolific a songwriter she is, this should come as no surprise. She is one of the busiest women in music, and she is still able to hold down a 9 to 5 job.

It's been fifteen since since Antietam debuted the current lineup, and, according to Tara, the fire is still burning. She also keeps busy with several side projects. Let's not forget that she and her husband, Tim Harris, are also bandmates. Through all of this activity, Tara Key was able to sit down and drop TGB an email to give us the lowdown on Antietam and herself.

TGB: What is the status of Antietam?

TK: I always feel a little like a defensive willow mock-shouting in the forest with my fist in my mouth when I protest "Antietam never broke up!"--as was postulated widely on the occasion of our last release---despite the fact that it took a few years to make Victory Park. We were always practicing (jamming, beering, playing darts) as regularly as ever and playing shows around New York, even though we didn't do a full scale tour for almost 8 years. In a stretch slightly prior to that we had released 4 records in 4 years in one form or another (a live record, 2 TK solo records and Rope-A-Dope). Concurrent to the time we were writing for Victory Park, Tim and I made an instrumental record with Rick Rizzo.

It's interesting being in a creative partnership for this long (15 years since Josh joined Tim and I), because what starts out as a juggernaut of us (small guerrilla unit) against the world (brass ring) simply evolves into family. So we do what we do when we do it, but we always get around to it!

We all have other outlets too, musical, visual and scriberly. More activity breeds activity and I believe you bring good things back to the band when you stretch in other ways. I am working on another Rizzo/Key record with Rick and Tim. Josh is playing and writing with Tralala as well as Antietam and it's been fun to have new girls and guys to hang out with and listen to.

We had such a great time doing the touring around Victory Park last year. And we will do more when a new record is out. It was so great to play with some old friends (Barbara Manning, Chris Brokaw, Tara Jane O'Neil, the Ass Ponys, Eleventh Dream Day) and to have the time of my life going out with Yo La Tengo for 3 weeks of living the jamming life as intensely as the taste of a perfect reduction sauce--I'm thinking one of red wine and raspberry atop Valrhona mousse topped with fresh whipped cream infused with vanilla.....that's what that tour was like.

Since we can't be on tour as often as I would have it, I struggle with how to make folks younger than us know we exist (because there is primal timeless rocking at hand) and at the same time get our peers to take note--I know they still like to rock, but they don't necessarily go to record stores to browse that often, read music rags or take a chance on going to see something live they don't know about already--(I guess that's where The Great Beyond comes in, ehhh?!)

It was a long layoff prior to the release of "Victory Park." Is there new material in the works, and, if so, when can we expect it?

We will be in the studio this fall starting in 3 weeks, I hope, to catch the current pop screeds while they are not dry on the wall yet. It will be a combo of tracking on site in the studio and off site DIY this time. I'm not sure when it will come out, but next year sometime. We sure are lucky to have the support of Patrick and Julia at Carrot Top. It feels like a big laden ripe mulberry tree at the moment because there are, classic-band/trio wise, things we wrote last week, things we wrote this summer--nothing more than 9 months old. And, in addition, there is also a collection of sonics and recombinant pieces that we all play on , but that are not Antietam trad. Without saying more yet, let me just say I am very excited about what shape this is all going to take. More later.

From all indication, it's been about 10 years since you've released a solo album. Do you plan to record solo in the future?

Those two solo records were important for me in the sense that each of them presented a direct challenge from myself to myself. When Tim and I started out in the Babylon Dance Band in Louisville, I could imagine nothing further afield than my insular punk rock unit--because it was a strange miracle that we all had the nerve to say we were musicians when we could barely play and we were fueled by this bizarre calling that we had to drop everything that was "planned" for us and just rock. And be loyal.

The idea of having a band was remarkable in the first place and tended to create a life raft mentality in the band, especially when under attack by "real" musicians, not to mention the controversy implicit in trying to convince Louisville circa 1979 that they didn't need to listen to Aerosmith alone and that the Clash were awesome.

So, of course, the longer we were musicians and met others we respected---not always of the same background and tunage as us---it made sense to grow and jam outside of the auspices of the main unit. Bourbon County was me trying to do that, as well as presenting a forum for me to use to play with a lot of the folks I loved---and that were now part of the family I refer to above.

Ear and Echo was a challenge to me to go a little further in busting out of the electric, aggressive, cocksure chaos that had become my pigeonhole, because it rested on a bed of acoustic guitar and melancholy and vulnerability. The idea of the records being trademarked as "me" never was the point and, honestly, ended up making me feel a little uncomfortable, since I was drafting my friends for one and my band plus a couple of guests for most of the other. So I could care less about a solo career, since we all participated in both of those records and they just ended up making Antietam the band grow. We folded the different sounds we made under those conditions back into the cake batter. I am more comfortable as part of a crew and now Antietam is the catcher's mitt for many different impulses....

Several publications have highly praised your guitar abilities. Does acclaim like that tend to scare you, humble you, or a combination of both?

Well, 25 years ago, since I started out being a shy oddball looking for a tool to make a noise in the universe with, good press was pretty important to me. I was a painter when I joined the Dance Band and the idea of making a splash in the "ART WORLD" was (and is) more terrifying (oddly) than doing so in the music world. The guitar was the thing I always turned to back then for relief from accomplishment anxieties. I had no expectations from it; I just knew I loved it and the way it felt against me and that it seemed to say things I could not verbalize.

I was lucky pretty much right out of the gate to get reinforcement press wise and fan wise that I was onto something, so the press saying the things they did when I first started playing, if anything, gave me confidence to go a little further, especially in the sense of forging my style. I got a few important early nods that said, yes, my style was weird, but it was unique and it resonated. That was empowering. I, sadly, have always craved pats on the head.

Being the overanxious student I have always been, when the teacher gave me props early on I got a big shove to ignore the way things are done on guitar and follow my heart. I never felt like I had to sound like anything that had happened before...yes, I am a collagist and grew up a bona fide fan and you can separate out the Ronson and Neil and Bowie and Allman and Monkees and Raiders from my DNA and ID it, but I also folded sirens and jackhammers and regret and the way it would sound if I were stabbed in the heart into my guitar playing too.

When folks started writing about me it actually made me bolder, because, although I am a ham and like to wear the metaphorical 10-league boots and hop around onstage like a cartoon character version of myself on confidence steroids , the fact that most writers didn't say I looked like an idiot doing it was important back in the day. These days, I'm glad they still care! But I can't say it's ever scared OR humbled me....just assured me that I was getting through.

Plus, the Guitar Player and Guitar World profiles were way fun to flash at the boys at the guitar shops for a cheap thrill for a while!

Review: Zuco 103

2005-09-18T20:26:00.000-06:00

Whaa!
Six Degrees Records

Lead singer Lilian Vieira is originally from Brazil, while the Stefans (Kruger and Schmid) are based in Holland. When one combines their individual talents, ethnocentric tastes and worldly wiles, you end up with the spice rack know as Zuco 103. On their latest release, Whaa!, Zuco 103 continue their musical journey into places both familiar and foreign.

In bringing back elements from previous releases, the trio holds on to the past while moving into the future. Vieira's voice is sparkling with the effervescence of a fine champagne. "Mayfly" and "Na Mangueira" are but two examples. A contribution by reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry adds a reggae flavor.

Whaa! is everything Zuco 103 has delivered in the past, but etched in a new fabric that is both alluring and comfortable.

On The Great Beyond scale, Whaa! projects itself toward Venus.

SFTS: The Whiles

2005-09-15T13:08:00.000-06:00

Harrison Ford once said, "We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance." According to bassist Chris Bolognese of The Whiles, that second chance almost never happened. "After losing our lead guitarist (Liam Carey), we were very close to calling it quits, but decided to push on with a new batch of great songs brought to us by Joe (chief songwriter Joe Peppercorn).

Those songs became the highly acclaimed Colors of the Year, a CD Amplifier Magazine called "Heavily influenced by both the orchestral delicacy of Nick Drake and Odyssey and Oracle and the proto-alt-country of Gram Parsons' solo albums...Colors of the Year is an entirely satisfying bit of country-fried chamber pop."

Around the release of Colors of the Year, the band changed its name from Mrs. Children to The Whiles. "Mrs. Children was the name of the group for about 4 years or so," said Bolognese. "There were various lineup changes and the sound of the band evolved along the way. We slowly transitioned from a quirky yet melodic rock sound to a more mellow, folk-inspired sound while still continuing our dedication to interesting melodies and changes."

The current lineup also includes brother Joe and Matt Peppercorn, and drummer Paul Headley.

I had an opportunity to exchange emails with Chris Bolognese and her is what he had to say about the state of the band and the current recording sessions.

TGB: Do you find that there is more pressure making these recordings yourselves?

CB: We did COTY (Colors of the Year) almost exclusively in a studio. Although I really like recording in a studio space since you have access to all the cool studio toys, I feel more comfortable doing the recording on our own, especially since you don't have to constantly think about how much it's going to cost! By recording on your own, you have the luxury to spend as much or as little time on an idea as you want. Plus, I think all of us feel more dedicated to being there since it is more natural of an environment. Thus, for this next album, we're recording everything on our own.

TGB: What do you find are the major differences between recording on your own as opposed to having another ear in the studio?

CB: I guess one large downside is the lack of professional tools when recording on your own. This goes both for recording equipment as well as musical equipment. Also, sometimes you can become pretty biased towards a part or an idea and it helps to have a neutral person to veto or applaud something. Also, I think there is more accountability for recording on your own. Each person's role is suddenly increased as there is no one you can rely on to set up the mics, check levels, etc. I think this makes the process much more collaborative.

TGB: Have you replaced your lead singer?

CB: After much deliberation, we made an amicable decision that Zack, our old singer, would leave the band. Although Zack has an absolutely amazing voice, he felt a calling to go into education, which he is now pursuing. Joe, the lead songwriter in the group, has taken the reins for being the front man now. Although Zack's departure had its cons, one benefit is that Joe has such a deep understanding of the songs, since he sketches the melody, lyrics, and the chords. This understanding definitely translates in the vocal delivery.

TGB: Has a date been set for the release of your new music? Is there a working title?

CB: We have been working on the next record for a while now. We went into the studio last October (I think this is the right date, but Joe or the other guys would know better) and started laying down new songs. We canned all of those recordings and started anew on our own terms. After buying a new digital recorder, we demoed the songs two or three times either in a local Church, Paul's basement, or in Joe's attic. For the past few months, we have been putting in a lot of hours working on the new songs and have 19 songs started in some capacity. No date has been pinpointed, but we hope to have the 19 songs recorded in the next month or so. The next step is to mix and master. We have yet to discuss a title, but Joe seems to be a proponent of Mrs. Children and the Captain Battle William Butler Yeats' and the Bitter Mystery Brigade: Chapter II, We All Love Fried Snickers Candy Bars (just kidding). You can check out more discussion about the recording process on our message board at:http://mrschildren.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=204

TGB: Finally, what are your expectation and/or goals for your next release?

CB: One personal goal of mine was to really develop the arrangements of the songs. One thing that irks me about COTY is how "live" it sounds. That is, it is too easy for us to perform the recorded songs in a live setting. I would rather us have interesting sounds on the record that are hard for us to reproduce live. Thus, on this record we really have been trying to capture interesting and unique sounds. Some instruments that have been used that were not on the COTY record are lap steel, upright bass, piano, conga drums, and church organ. I hope to put some orchestral work on the record as well. Another goal that has transferred over from COTY is continuing to work on vocal harmonies. We also want to try to get more band members singing lead on the record, so expect multiple voices (a la The Beatles, or The New Pornographers).

I'm really excited about the new album and I think others will be as well. Although it still captures the melodicism and tenderness of COTY, it seems to be more exploratory and explosive in certain parts.

LABEL: Anyway Records www.anyway-records.com

SFTS - Riverboat Gamblers

2005-09-12T21:31:00.000-06:00

The Riverboat Gamblers are scorching, and it is not because they are from Texas. They recently completed a stint on the Vans Warped Tour, and are now in the process of recording their next release. TGB recently caught up with Gamblers' rookie sensation, Mike Wiebe, to talk about the recording sessions.

TGB: Tell me about this new album. Is there a working title? Will the sound be evolving?

MW: No working title, yet that will probably come last after we figure out some secret link to all the songs. I think the sound is de-volving.....like Devo No...ughh..Something is going on. We are going into this record with a lot more songs to choose from and trying to take some chances with sounds. We dont wanna write the same record, but we want it to be the Riverboat Gamblers. I hope to have an unexpected "good surprise" song or two on the record.

TGB: Why record in L.A.? Is there something about the studio you will be recording in that fits your sound?

MW: The main reason is time. We got hooked up with Andrew Murdock and his studio and he offered us a lot of time for our money. It will be the first record we have recorded that will allow us to really take our time and experiment a bit and make sure that things are right. We won't have to constantly be looking at our watches and feeling like we are taking too long on something little. Hanging out in a foreign location should allow us to focus with less distractions...."Should".....we may end up stalking our favorite actors from the "O.C"

TGB: When can we expect the release of this forthcoming disc?

MW: I'm hoping around March or April. but I'm not sure. There is a possibility of a split e.p. coming out out a a few months early and then the record coming out in May or June. It is very up in the air and I don't want to say who the split is with, because it might jinx it.

SFTS: The Epoxies

2005-09-10T18:20:00.000-06:00

I guess I'm not as up-to-date as I should be, for when I asked The Epoxies' keyboardist, FM Static, about the northwest, he emphatically replied, "You are missing something. The Pacific NW is really, really good rock wise these days." One of those bands I'm missing is The Epoxies. This Portland, OR, outfit consists of Roxy Epoxy (vocals), Shock Diode (bass), FM Static (keyboards, vocals), Viz Spectrum (guitar), and Ray Cathode (drums).

The easiest way to describe The Epoxies is to pull your 80's new wave records out of storage. It's all the synthesizers you could ask for, plus the colorful fashions, and high energy live shows. It's little Devo, a little Missing Persons, some New York Dolls, a little Motels, a little Blondie, some Nina Hagen, and lots of gusto.

The Epoxies are hitting the road in support of "Stop The Future." Released in May, the album has received excellent reviews and garnered brisk sales. The band is hoping this tour will kick those sales into a higher gear.

Speaking of the tour, officially titled the "U.S. Fat Wreck Tour with Against Me, Soviettes. and Smoke or Fire," it rolls into Albuquerque on November 2nd. We hope to get more from The Epoxies at that time. In the meantime, purchase Epoxies merchandise and a portion goes to the survivors or Hurricane Katrina.

Label: Fat Wreck Chords - www.fatwreck.com

R.L. Burnside (1926-2005)

2005-09-02T16:12:00.000-06:00

Blues great R.L. Burnside died on September 1st at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Burnside, who is survived by his wife, Alice Mae, 12 children, and numerous grandchildren, was 78.

It was in January that TGB reported that Burnside had suffered a heart attack, but was expected to make a recovery.

For more information on the death of R.L. Burnside, go to Yahoo News! or log on to Fat Possum Records, his record company

If you are interested in making a donation to R.L. Burnside memorial, please send donations to:
Freeland & Freeland Trust Account
Burnside Memorial
P.O. Box 269
Oxford, MS 38655
(662) 234-3414

News From The Great Beyond

2005-08-27T21:13:00.000-06:00

Is Runner Dead?

One of our favorite bands is Runner & the Thermodynamics. Recently, I contacted Marc Pinansky, guitarist and vocalist, to catch up on the latest from the band. Rather than have me paraphrase, hear the latest from Marc himself:

The Runner and the Thermodynamics saga has grown quite bumpy. Due to pressures within and outside of the band, in mid-May I officially put the band on the dreaded "hiatus." It became increasingly clear over the past year that the band attitude was suffering greatly. Although I am confident that much of this was never apparent to the audience, it was something we struggled with everyday.

Tell-tale signs included going through 3 bass players in less than a year (although all of them were great!), injuries, living distances, misused funds, and a rift between management and the band concerning direction. We enjoyed many of our best achievements during the final few months - another tour with Drive-By Truckers, sold-out shows, lots of recording, and a tour with Louis XIV, but the band morale was very low.

We were confused. We were turning into a full-fledged rock band and those who were supporting us didn't know what to do with that. Ultimately, I feel that my songwriting began to suffer and some of the performances were becoming too "by the book" - probably due to my increasing paranoia that everyone could see that I was heart-broken when they wanted a rock n' roll good time.

As opposed to shutting the door completely on the band, we welcomed our old bass player, Mike, back into the fold to record the rock opera we had all worked on together since the beginning. Deemed too ambitious then AND now, we figured that we'd record it as best we can and give it to the fans for free as a thank you. It was basically us as a band closing some doors. But, as new bootlegs still trickle in and people continue to e-mail, who knows what the future holds.

Although our site hasn't been updated in awhile, we are keeping it alive and will post new bootlegs, photos, and videos when they arrive. I have been playing solo steadily since the demise of the band and have been working on a new project with a friend of mine whom I've been making music with since I was fifteen. Having a partner has really opened up my eyes again and I have been on a writing binge for months now. We completed a demo that sounds pretty damn good - considering he lives in San Diego at the moment. We're taking it slow to get all the things in place before we jump in. This feels really good, and will not disappoint Runner fans.

Roger has teamed up with his brother and Jimmy Jaxx (past two Runner bassists), and have their first string of shows coming up this month. Roger and Randy playing together is a sight to be seen and no one should miss this. Mike plays in the Snow Leopards with his girlfriend, Heidi Sapperstein, and they have been steadily gigging in Boston and NYC for almost a year now. Always a duo, they're are beginning to put a full-fledged band together and are working on a new record.

So, I have real trouble saying that Runner is over. When the three of us get together and the stars are aligned, it is everything I could have ever hoped for - energetic, unique, fun, and at times ridiculous. We're still getting air-play on a few internet radio stations, and most people are still unaware that we have even broken up for the time being. I don't have a nice conclusion for this piece, other than thanks to everyone who rocked with us, and we may or may not see you again in this band???.....???

For my money, I have enjoyed this band, and if is their last hurrah, good luck to al involved. Yet, I have a gut feeling that we have not seen the last of Runner and the Thermodynamics. In the meantime, go to www.runnerrock.com, and download the tracks to the rock opera, The Dude.

SFTS - Clearlake

2005-08-24T15:07:00.000-06:00

It's been more than two years since Cedars, their last release, but Clearlake are on the verge of releasing the follow-up entitled Amber. "We've been very busy finishing the new album," said singer, piano and guitar player Jason Pegg. "The recordings are all done and we're pretty proud of it. We know it's our best album yet."

Clearlake was formed in the UK in 2000. From the beginning, the four piece unit consisting of Pegg (voice, piano, guitar), Sam Hewitt (keyboards, devices), Woody Woodward (bass, omnichord) and Toby May (drums, percussion), who replaced orginal drummer James Butcher, have been hailed by critics for their sound. In a review of Cedars, Pitchfork Media wrote, "Throughout Cedars, Clearlake continually find beauty in melancholy and melancholy behind beauty, while raising your hairs in reverence with occasional guitar squalls."

About the forthcoming release, Pegg adds, "It has a harder, more rock, feel to it than previous albums." As for plans following the release, "It should be out in early January 2006. Soon after that, we'll be in the states touring."

Pegg and his mates are obviously not a band that rests on its laurels. "We're a little frustrated that it's taken so long to complete Amber, but we've been working on stuff for the next album which will hopefully be a much quicker process to make."

Label: Domino Recording Company (USA) or Domino Recording Company (UK)
Band Website: www.clearlake.uk.com

SFTS (Sounds From The Superhighway) - Smoosh

2005-08-22T19:01:00.000-06:00

Smoosh - Consider this: They have been featured on NBC's Today Show, NPR's All Things Considered, received stellar reviews from the NME, Boston Globe, Seattle Weekly, and Alternative Press, garnered airplay from the likes of KROQ (Los Angeles) and KCRW, been featured in showcases at SXSW and CMJ and opened for Jimmy Eat World, Rilo Kiley, Pearl Jam, Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, The Presidents of the United States of America and Cat Power. Now consider that they are only 13- and 11-years-old. Chloe and Asya make up Seattle-based Smoosh, two talented young adies making music for the sake of music. Despite their physical age, Smoosh make music that transcends age. With the aide of Death Cab's Jason McGerr, Smoosh have made their mark and should continue to do so for many years to come. Absolutely check out the NBC and NPR features on the bands website.

Smoosh's debut album is entitled She Like Electric and can be purchased through the Pattern 25 imprint's website. For those on the east coast, Smoosh will perform on September 16th as part of the CMJ Music Marathon.

I was gone, but now I'm back!!!

2005-08-20T17:16:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone:

Some (and I mean "some") may have been wondering what happened to me. As a school teacher, the summer should have the time for me to put this blog into high gear. Unfortunately, that was not the case, but with good reason. In fact, I consider it the best of reasons.

I got married. On July 23rd, my fiance and I made it official in front of 175 of our closest friends. The day was gorgeous and the ceremony, as well as the subsequent BBQ/picnic/reception, were equally as spectacular. My wife's name is Deborah and she makes my life complete. I am extremely blessed to have this woman in my life. I have, and will, cherish every moment.

So as you can imagine, my life was a whirlwind of planning, spending and celebrating. Now, that part is over, and we can get back to the business of music. Thank you to everyone for your patience. I hope you will continue to enjoy reading "The Great Beyond" as well as posting you comments.

Respectfully,

Sal Treppiedi

Dinosaur Jr. Reunite

2005-04-15T14:54:00.000-06:00

Praise the Guitar Gods, Dinosaur Jr. is back - in their original lineup!

For a certain strain of alternative rock fan, Dinosaur Jr. is and always will be the power trio of J Mascis, Emmett Jefferson "Murph" Murphy III and Lou Barlow. They blew the minds and ears of anyone who ever saw them play between 1984 and 1989 and before splintering apart, they etched the grooves of three classic noise albums: Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me and Bug (now available on Merge with bonus videos).

Whether they intended to or not, J, Lou, and Murph forever changed the face of rock & roll music. Their sonic wall of melodic bass, furious drums and stunning guitar wizardry, coupled with an almost laissez faire vocal delivery, became the sonic blueprint for what has become known as "alternative rock."

Today, after 15 years since their last performance together, the three will reunite for U.S. and Europe summer tour dates. Confirmed dates are as follows:

U.S Tour Dates
Thur July 7 House of Blues Orlando, FL
Fri July 8 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
Sat July 9 The Norva Norfolk, VA
Sun July 10 Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC
Mon July 11 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Wed July 13 Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA
Thur July 14 Central Park SummerStage New York, NY
Fri July 15 Avalon Boston, MA
Tue July 19 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
Wed July 20 Clutch Cargo's Pontiac, MI
Thur July 21 The Madison Theater Covington, KY
Fri July 22 The Eagles Club Milwaukee, WI
Sat July 23 The Quest Minneapolis, MN
Sun July 24 Lollapalooza Chicago, IL

Europe Tour Dates
Wed June 8 The Forum London U.K.
Thur June 9 The Forum London U.K.
Fri June 10 Download Festival Donnington U.K.
Fri - Sun July 29-31 Fuji Rock Fest Naeba Ski Resort, Japan

More shows to be announced. Tickets for U.S. shows on sale April 26 at www.dinosaurjr.com
* All Ages Welcome
*** on-sale info for SummerStage and Lollapalooza TBA
** 7/24 The Quest 18 and over welcome

Look for Dinosaur Jr.'s reunion debut to be aired on CBS' Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Friday, April 15. A day later, at Hollywood's Spaceland, J Mascis + the Fog with VERY special guests will perform a full show to 300 lucky fans. The show is sold out. A handful of additional tickets will be released at the Spaceland box office day of show.

About the Reissues:
Originally released on two of the most influential independent labels of the times - Homestead and SST - Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me and Bug will now be available on Merge to an entirely new generation of music fans. If there is any justice these recordings will be just as influential the second time around...

All three CDs have been remastered and will be reissued with original cover artwork but the new booklets will contain never-before seen images that are sure to electrify longtime fans. Bonus materials include a rare live track - "Does It Float" - which captures the power and sheer chaos of early Dinosaur shows, as well as videos for classic tracks "Little Fury Things", "Just Like Heaven", "Freak Scene" and a recently-discovered, never before seen video for "No Bones". Also included are extensive new liner notes for all three albums compiled by music writer/gadfly Byron Coley featuring interviews/commentary from Thurston Moore, Mike Watt and Robert Pollard. Acclaimed filmmaker Allison Anders also contributed liner notes for Bug.

But really, who needs extra bells and whistles? These albums contain so much raw power and melodic tension that they speak well enough for themselves, as seminal pieces of American rock and roll history.

Tea Leaf Green

2005-04-10T15:18:00.000-06:00

Stella Blue - Albuquerque, NM
Saturday, April 9, 2005

Picture walking into a venue where you are about to witness a performance by a band you have heard much about, explored their website, and been told by a friend or two to go to the show. Imagine yourself sitting in this venue and smelling an intense aroma coming from the stage. The band are sitting in the audience enjoying a pre-concert meal, the crowd is sparse, but the fragrance is quite overpowering. Finally, it hits you.

You are about to see greatness. You will have the pleasure of telling people that you witnessed genius. You will be in awe of the talent you are laying eyes on. That's the feeling I got from watching Tea Leaf Green and, needless to say, I was not disappointed.

First, a little background. TLG was born in the mid-to-late 90s. The personnel includes Josh Clark, lead guitarist who should already be classified as one of the greats, keyboardist Trevor Garrod, the owner of a smooth set of vocal chords, bassist The Weed, who did not stop bobbing for two and a half hours, and drummer Scott Rager, who keeps the music in check. These four talented musicians make a sound that is easy to listen to, yet complex in nature.

From the opening chords of "Can You Guess It," I realized that it wasn't going to take a Ken Jennings mind to enjoy the music, but that things weren't simply going to be handed to me. Not being completely familiar with TLG's music, "Garden III," Garden II," and Garden I" would prove my theory. I had no idea where one song ended and the other began, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The rest of the set found TLG taking me from one dimension to another, and it all flowed like a Looney Tunes fuse. They did snuff the fuse momentarily to toast the crowd during their final number of the first set "Tequila." For the second, though, the band blow up the joint.

Like Wagner's "Valkyre," they started slow - giving the audience a chance to get reaquainted with the band and its music. It didn't take them long to crank up the aptly titled "Warm Up," one of the highlights of the evening. From that point, TLG soared and, it appeared, never wanted to come back down. The audience was right there, willing and able to go on the ride.

They rambled through "Professor's Blues," which featured a rap by The Weed, "Georgie P," and "Rapture," before finishing with an incredible instrumental entitled "Gasoholic." A fitting number as the band prepared to venture out in the RV and conquer the next town.

If music is to grow, it will need adventurous acts like Tea Leaf Green to lead the way. If all we're left with is what we hear on the radio, we are truly in dire straits. Let's hope that people will discover this band, expand their tastes, and realize that there is more to music than what we hear on the radio.

On TGB ratings scale, take this show to the sun - A PERFECT 10.