Channuka is coming up next week, and I’ve decided what I want. If someone could figure out a way to get me an awesome singing voice, I would certainly reply with an excellent gift, like the new cd from Dem Franchize Boyz, or a really nice multi speed blender. I saw Sondre Lerche and Dan Wilson last night, and it made me come to this conclusion.
First off, they’re both phenomenal songwriters. And seeing someone in the context of 1 guitar, 1 vocal, is just the perfect way to experience someone’s music. I had seen Sondre once for about 3 minutes, when he was the guest on the folk themed radio show before mine at our college station, but I didn’t pay much attention. I was more there to see The Wilson. But as it often goes, I was pleasantly surprised by his music. Call me an elitist music hipster if you will, but I live for being proven wrong and caught off guard by new things…just deal with it, ok? yeah, take that. He was very reminiscent of The Costello in his structure and lyrics, then he pulled out an actual Costello Cover, which put a nice bonus on the set. He kind of sounds like a Norwegian Frank Sinatra, mixed with Costello and just a little bit of Joe Strummer.
Wilson also lived up to expectations, although some songs sounded oddly political- which I’ve never been into. I don’t know why, but they always seem to fall short to me. His straight pop material remained stellar though. And yes, he did “Closing Time”. He gave the back story, which amused all- it was about his daughter when she was born, but too often a songwriter uses this as the excuses to write his “junior song” a tribute to themselves in the form of a new child….so he disguised it, and then i guess it kind of made his career…so theres something to be learned from that.
One thing missing from both was a great Angry Love song. Maybe I was just in the Costello mood, and really wanted to hear “No Action” or something like that. I feel like if a songwriter can hit you with maybe 40% sarcasm in a song, but still keep things upbeat, they will stand the test of time. You know, i was just trying to think of examples, and maybe its a british thing? Costello, Nick Lowe, Dylan (he counts as half), Joe Strummer….hmmm, maybe i can get some funding for a research project on this.
Well, anyway, back to my original point. Its a little known fact that I was the Co-Lead Vocalist in my first 2 bands, yes, the Twisted Pretzels was one of them. I was not ashamed of it, I belted out the hits. But then, somewhere around the end of high school, I was mentally unable to sing. Maybe it was my move to the percussion world, and I’m no Phil Collins. Maybe I can sacrifice some things to the gods, create a shrine, meditate a bit. But I’m not sure what to do- does it work just like practicing an instrument? Like you keep doing it and get better? Because if so, my roommates are not going to be too excited ( a common phrase around the house is “Paul Wagner On Lead Vocals Ladies And Gentlemen” and i dont think hes ready to give up that crown) Or are you just fucking born with it homes? Like me and KG.
Jet Lag is a funny thing. I was wide awake this morning at 7:30am , feeling like it was the late afternoon, so that can be kind of convenient. But I also nearly passed out last night at 8pm, while doing Karaoke to Dragonforce’s ” Through The Fire And Flames”. The pure joy of Wednesday night Karaoke is something more people should take advantage of.
Web Master TB and I were discussing musician proficiency. It started as a discussion of Indie music, because, well, what is indie music? You cant really define it. He said it is “music recorded with as few tracks as possible and maximum hiss added to the recording.” while that may be sometimes true, there are certainly grey areas. Like if the guy on the corner with a kazoo records something on a Dictaphone, that might be independent, but not in the sense we’re talking about. This led to another thought. As previously discussed, there are many people out there who can easily talk the talk, but the walk is not so walked.
So, this leads us to a type of license which should be attained. If you’re going to drive a car, someone needs to make sure you’re not going to run anyone over. Its the same here. If you’re going to try to pick up chicks and subject people to your noise, lets at least make sure your not just doin a bit of chain yankin. The idea was proposed to set a metronome to 120 bpm, the standard tempo, then you must play all of the major chords in the open position, on each quarter note. A-B-C-D-E-F-G, its not too hard. Then, just one major and minor Barre Chord, anywhere on the neck, then name one scale, other than major, minor, or pentatonic. you don’t even have to play it, just NAME it. You say A Major 7? You fail. Thats how it works. We may come off as elitist, but that is really not the case. This is way easier than parallel parking. Its the equivalent of making a right turn, and signaling first. If you can’t do that, you really shouldn’t be driving.
I’m going to see Dan Wilson from Semisonic tonight, opening for Sondre Lerche. I really want to talk to him, its a tiny venue, so I’m sure I can, but what would I say? “Hey Dan, I read that book your drummer wrote, you guys went though some crazy shit, ummm, what was that like?” I’ve had a history of Chris Farley-isms, and I’m determined to break that. I was mocked by Charlie Watts, Hubert Sumlin, and Billy Martin, I think thats certainly enough for one lifetime.
Oh Greece, what can I say about you which has no already been said? Birthplace of culture? Home of the Gods? Lovely Island Location? None of these seem to suit you. I’m going to go with “really frikkin odd” instead.
The whole story will follow in a few days, its long and involved, and will include photos. Let me say, the beginning of the trip was wonderful. Full of excitement and not too serious fiasco, perhaps even some whimsy and mayhem. But the minute the important part was taken care of, performances were performed successfully, complete and utter fiasco ensued. This was no ordinary fiasco. We nearly had to battle the Greeks on their home turf, and that would have certainly ended badly. Out of the 7 in our entourage, the 3 guys ended up stranded in some remote suburb of Athens by a beach, in a very large, empty hotel that had the complete “The Shining” vibe, in an area that smelled remarkable wonderful, like some sort of flower.
It was perhaps the most surreal juxtaposition of treatment I have ever experienced in my life. Upon arrival in Thessolaniki, we were treated like truly important guests. We had our own baggage carousel at the airport, our own bus, driver, and handler to show us around. Venues were closed down for us to soundcheck, lovely catering was provided, pretty girls watched us from the audience. But once Olympia Airlines missed our connecting flight, that was all long gone. We were the lowest rung of the ladder. A country which invited us to celebrate their culture, was now treating us like garbage. I guess it was necessary to keep us in check, remind us of how it really is, not to let the ego get the best of us. Well Greece, it certainly worked. Overall it was a very positive trip, I’m delirious and jet lagged, so I don’t really know whats going on right now, but it was certainly more good than bad. More to follow.
I leave town Thursday for a minute to go to Greece. This is an extremely odd occurrance, and if you know me (which there is a good chance of, unless you’re that random hit I got in South Africa according to Google Analytics) I have probably told you about. Well, here’s the synopsis. A guitar player I have worked with for the past year used to tour with a singer known as April March. She has not been performing lately, but got offered 1 show at a film festival in Thessolaniki Greece. He served as Musical Director, and put together a band.
As far as we can tell, there is no logical reason to be invited to play. April March has a song in a Quentin Tarentino movie, so we thought, film festival, we’ll get to hang out with him, and tear it up, right? No. The list of screenings was released…no Grindhouse. We really have no idea at all. They got me a plane ticket, thats all I care about.
While T Bone and I may have lived a raucous life in the Ska Punk World, we never extensively toured beyond the northeast. The other musicians credentials easily trump mine, lets just say every single continent has been covered. I am also the least stylish of the bunch. Two of them work at a clothig store, so they have to look put together, one of the others is sponsored by several designers, the other is naturally stylish looking…and in walks Steve wearing jeans and a T shirt. I guess you just gotta be who you are. I do enjoy dressing up for occasions, So I’m determined to go extreme for this performance and trip. Velvet Pants and Snakeskin Jackets, all the way.
I hope to download as many episodes of This American Life as I can handle, those pass the time on long flights wonderfully. My problem is, I’m having trouble finding good ones I have not heard already. Come on Ira, don’t let me down.
The packing and checking situation seems a little complex. Lets do a little test. You tell me which of the following looks more dangerous.
This:
Or This:
One is allowed by the TSA, the other is not. Flinging a 22″ plate of solid sharp brass can’t cause that much damage, but splashing someone with some evian…thats some shit right there.
I know I’ll forget something important. Like we’ll get to the stage “where’s your sticks, steve?” “Oh, we’re in a remote location in Northern Greece, I’m sure theres a music store over there, right by the Alexander The Great Ruins” So, I made a giant list and emailed it to myself. Efficiency? Yes.
So, Happy Thanksgiving to all. As you enjoy your Deep Fried Turducken, I will be enjoying the finer points of Airline Coach Cuisine. Merry Christmas, bitches.
This morning on WFUV, I heard the greatest set of music I have heard in years. The planets aligned, and it somehow worked. It was snowing, covering Beautiful Historic Jersey City in a lovely slush, and the music seemed to fit perfectly. It went like this:
Johnny Cash- The Man Who Couldn’t Cry
Ray Lamontagne- Empty
Ian Ball – I don’t remember the song, the dude is in Gomez
Cake- Wheels
Really, its hard to top that, in radio-land- Which happens to be Andrew WK’s favorite non physical location. Although I was pretty aware of the genius and power of Cash, this really cemented it. “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” is apparently a Louden Wainright song, with sort of funny lyrics. Its a live recording, so you hear the crowd laugh when Cash says “He lost his arm in a war, got laughed at by a whore” but his delivery just transcends all of that. He sounds so serious, that you just listen in awe, waiting for the next line. In the end, the man learns how to cry, his ex wife dies of stretch marks, he reunites with his arm, and cancer robs the whore of her charm, and you yourself are about to have an emotional breakdown from hearing this vocal performance. Its just solo guitar and vocals. I feel like when a young singer/songwriter feels like they’re hot shit, they should listen to what Johnny Cash can do alone on a stage with one guitar. As Will Ferrell said in the legendary Robert Goulet SNL sketch “One thing we can all agree on, when a professional gets his mits on a tune, thats when it really takes off”.
Following that with this sweeping Western-ish Lamontagne song just hit it right on the head. The Gomez guy surprised me nicely, then ending with Cake’s Film Noir-ish Turkish themed murder ballad (you could totally call it that) just set the day in the perfect direction. T Bone and Yin Master Destroyer also baked a delicious cake last night, so I feel like it all fit within a theme. Mitch Hedberg (thats 2 Mitch references in 1 month!) once said ” I want to burn cinnamon roll insence, so my roommates wake up with false hopes”. But in this case, my hopes were not at all false, when I spotted that delicious cake in the fridge. Thats totally unrelated.
Now, this is just a way better photo- from the same silent session. It really captures the feel of the silent jam, as well as a good view of the new Telecaster. Notice how while Paul and I are in focus, Eric Tarn was so overcome by the music, the camera could not contain him- check out his rock and roll stance. We like to call him “Crazy Legs Tarn” at times because of this. But really sometimes, thats what life is all about. 3 dudes, tearing it up while wearing headphones, so they don’t disturb their neighbors, whom they have never met.
Photo credit to Yin “Mega D-Stroyer” Chan. Yep, thats what it says on her business card.
I’m going to go right ahead and make the statement that the greatest under 1:30 composition in the history of recorded music is Elvis Costello’s “Welcome To The Working Week” Some say the Beatles were the kings of the 3 minute pop song, I call them amateurs. Elvis did it in less than HALF that time. It comes out of the gate with a pretty little intro, you don’t know whats coming, then BOOM, Slams into with the intensity of a charging mountain goat (those things do charge, right?) Carried right out to the end, and before you know it, you’ve felt as if you’ve just heard the greatest 7 movement symphony ever, and its only 1:20 later. I was going to post a crappy live youtube video, but i’m going to pass. Please, if you will, go to itunes and buy that one song, its totally worth it. But i gotta post something, so lets continue with some analysis of the Elvis. Here we go.
Anyone Look familiar in there? How about that redhead who sneaks by elvis in the party scene around :55? Yep, thats my chick right there. An aging rocker, who some may claim is past his prime, gets Jenny Lewis to hang out in his video. Take that. Also that scene card thing that says “Bridge” right before the bridge…I’m just in awe. But lets move on
Listen to how ridiculously fast Billie Joe Greendayarmstrong starts this song. But does elvis lag? Hell no. He just comes in right on time with his backup vocals. This one too- 2:15. Are you kidding me Lennon? McCartney? You had to take 3 min to write a pop song? While you were doing that, Elvis had already finished 2 songs and was hitting on Yoko and Linda.
It’s one of those weeks where I can’t keep track of the days. Today is Wednesday, but I approached several events this morning as if it were Tuesday. I tried to book sessions for Wednesday morning, which got an interesting response. The NY/NJ Metropolitan area was completely engulfed in fog at around 8am, which added to the surreal atmosphere. On the Pulaski Skyway, it looked as if smoke was shooting up from the metal grates, it was a spectacular sight to see. Just about as spectacular as Historical Luxurious Industrial Jersey City can get.
This month has become a flying by the seat of your pants thing, which is comforting. I’ve been reading the Slash book on train commutes, and its nearing the end, which is just a bit sad. It’s taught me a lot though. For instance if I miss out on some sleep here and there, I think of when he lived in their rehearsal space (a converted storage room) and often didn’t sleep for days. Or if I have a few drinks one night….well, I consider the half gallon of Vodka he would drink every day on tour. The Comedic genius Mitch Hedberg once made a comment about Motley Crue’s “The Dirt”. He said “if you think you’re fucking up your life, read this book…because you’re not” . While Mitch is no longer with us, his wisdom applies to Slash as well.
We had a Silent Jam this weekend at the Huron, with our band the Ten-D-Stroyers. It was late at night, we were not the tightest we’ve ever been in our 14 year (or week) history, but it was fun nonetheless. Mister Paul Wagner on drums learned the importance of the drummer ending a song, which is a valuable lesson. Without it, its highly possible for a song to go on and on forever, and who do we look like, frikkin Phish? Come on.
I usually don’t discuss relationship type personal stuff on this here blog. I usually leave the to the emo kids on xanga who no one understands except Chris Caraba. But I’m going to make an exception. I met someone new, and I think I’m in it for the long haul. She’s a bit older, 33, a Cougar if you will. I’m betting she has a few more good years left. She’s definitely had some work done, a few things replaced here and there, a few parts upgraded, if you know what I mean, I think you do. but her voice….oh the voice, thats what its all about. A little harsh here and there, a good growl when its needed. She is definitely a bit heavy, but you know, just more to love. I hope I’m not crossing the line by posting a picture….
well, it happened. When I was 14, before the vintage boom, I passed on a 1973 tele with a factory bigsby, man i cant believe I did that. It would be worth many thousands of dollars today. I went to Main Drag Music in brooklyn a few days ago and saw this thing on the wall. It was certainly unique. That weird looking bridge pickup stands out right away. Well, I gave it a few days, drove about 500 miles on remote recordings, worked my ass off this week, and decided I would give it a try. Somehow, I was able to justify it, and sat in their amp room for a good 27 minutes, and it was all over. Unique tone, wonderful feel, not too expensive… it had to be done. Its not straight up Keith- 2 years 2 late, but 1974 is not too bad. it does weigh about 20 lbs. The thing is a monster. Some serious low end in this frankenstein.
I just got back from 5 hrs of practice, tomorrow I’m getting some cymbals repaired, hopefully that goes well, its now time to retire, goodnight blog.
