Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Local RocknRoll

Saturday night three/fourths of my band trekked down to the Rock n Roll Hotel to see our friends Technicians play their maiden show at that fine establishment. I had only been there once, seeing the great Titus Andronicus. We met Technicians when we had the pleasure of sharing a bill with them at the now regrettably defunct Red Palace, which is/was just down the street from the RnR Hotel. They are great musicians and perhaps more importantly incredibly nice and gracious fellows. Their drummer Steve was kind enough to let our drummer Mike play his kit in the interest of speeding up the wait between sets. It was great to play with them and a treat to see them play a great room like the RnR Hotel.

Nick, Steve & Navid of Technicians
Technicians were the second band on the bill. They were without their bass player this time around. He had other commitments but it was not a major distraction. I have had to do shows without our bassist and it's a bit of a let down, but Technicians are gifted enough to do it without any significant loss. At first listen they strike one as a very Pavement-y and Sebadoh sounding outfit. They have that very 90s alternative sound going, but what's most interesting is that they have a refreshing take on it. Take their EP, which is available at their website (and really good, BTW). The first track is, not surprisingly, the best, a great cut called "Dreamer." It starts off very ethereal and liquid sounding before crunching up near the end. The guitar lines drive the songs, and they have an interesting sophistication in their construction. These passages are very reminiscent of a band from Austin I have written of before and love terribly called Explosions In The Sky, which is basically three guitar nerds making glorious instrumentals. There's a nod in the rhythm track, be it on purpose or not, to fellow DC indies Jawbox on the lovely "Now That We're Home." Performance-wise, they are very strong. Engaging presence and great tunes and excellent musicianship equal a band you should check out. Get their EP; it's one of those name your price things. You won't be disappointed.

Boris Milic
Moving backwards, the first band of the evening was Boris Milic. I hadn't heard of them but I wound up walking out with their 10" vinyl. Boris appears to be the name of the leader of the band. According to the liner notes he played all the instruments himself with an assist from the producer. I figured it would be cool when he came out with a sweet Gretch White Falcon. The band was tight. They played that kind of twitchy-sounding, nervous power pop I spent countless dollars on through Not Lame Records back in the 90s. Especially the excellent song "Don't Tell Me Stories, Gramophone"which reminded me of bands like Heavy Into Jeff and Bloody Chiclets (BOY! I feel like a Pitchfork writer now, dropping references to equally obscure bands like it should mean something to you. IDIOT!) The drawback to the record was a few too many filler-sounding instrumentals. The songs that were songs, like "Not A Toy" and "I'm Just Saying," are great. The instrumentals just didn't grab me. No knock..they are a band I hope to see again and spend more money on.

Interesting thing I noticed: the opening riff to "Not A Toy" sounds remarkably like a riff that Tom wrote for a song we are working on. In the unlikely event Boris ever hears that song I swear on all that is good and holy that Tom did not steal that riff from you. Tom hasn't bought a new record since Don't Look Back so there is no way he could have heard it.

After two bands I was hungry and getting to the point where if I drank anymore PBR I would be carried out of that joint, so Tom and I left to go get food.

One more thing: on both of the aforementioned records, the vocals are mixed in the right spot. At the RnR Hotel they were very buried in the mix, which is disappointing, especially to a lead singer like me! Let's hear what they have to say, man!!

One last thing: Technicians are playing there again on February 9. So be a good sport and check them out. I will probably be in the back gnashing my teeth at those toads because I am still looking for our next gig.


Monday, January 21, 2013

A Band At Transformation

Listening to a record...and by record I mean a real live vinyl LP...is the best way to really appreciate the music. Especially through headphones. I've been sounding like a broken records on this topic lately...did I really just say that...whatever. My favorite way to unwind after a day has been to lay out on the couch with the headphones on listening to music. It gives me a chance to not just decompress but to really hear the music. Listening at work or even on the computer while doing other stuff it is just background noise. The car is a good place but there are distractions...like not crashing. But laying in the dark with just the music is a great way to experience all the nuances of an album.

Take the latest record from my number-2-most-favorite-band-of-all-time The Tragically Hip. It came out in 2012 yet did not make my top 10 of the year. I never really gave it a close listen, so it never really formed in my mind. I found it to be a disappointment. This has been a trend with The Hip whose last few records have taken time to grow on me. Last year I did a primer (click here and here) on them and the last few records all seemed kind dull to start before springing to life. That happened when I was writing the primer and took the time to really listen close.

The latest record is called Now For Plan A. Last week I ordered the vinyl from MapleMusic in Canada even though I have had it digitally since it was released. I figured they are one of my favorite bands and I should just in principle have whatever media the record came out on (I have all the previous CDs already).

I have listened to it closely about 3 times now and I can say I have better appreciation for it. The Hip are definitely a band that are aging. I don't mean that in a bad way. Here's a better description: they are maturing. It's easily their most mellow record. There are no fist pumping anthems, though "The Modern Spirit" tries, but there is lots of finely crafted music here. The sense is that the band is slowing down some, interested less in simple rocking and more in experimenting and crafting the music. No chugging chords but more complicated guitar interplay.

Lyrically it is vintage Hip in that it's strange and appears kind of fake-deep but is really more clever. Gord Downie is one of the more enigmatic lyricists out there. Scanning the lyric sheet for a sample I can't find one that really speaks to me. There's no "Nautical Disaster" or "Bobcaygeon" here. The usually references to Canada about. They are without a doubt a Canadian band.

On the whole it is a good album. Not my favorite Hip album, probably in the bottom third, but something has to be down there, right? I am glad they aren't just making the same records over and over again. The record has a vibe and a personality of it's own. More relaxed, more restrained. The Hip are at the point in their career where it is perfectly fine for them to do that. Choice cuts include the title song, "At Transformation," "About This Map" and "Goodnight Attawapiskat."

Here's the video for "The Lookahead." It has Sarah Harmer helping on vocals and features the band's sense of humor. Or should I say "humour?"





Sunday, January 13, 2013

Johnny Cash & The Gospel Road

I reckon if anybody could get me back in touch with my faith it would be Johnny Cash.


Johnny's faith was a big part of his life. It was a big part of his return from the abyss of drugs. That and June Carter were the two things that got him back on the straight path. When he left Sun Records he did so because Columbia Records was so happy to have him they had no problem with him releasing Gospel records, even though they were not the kind of thing that would sell.

Early in the 1970s Johnny was at the height of his popularity. Between the records and the TV show he was doing very well. So he parlayed that popularity into a movie that was very personal to him: "The Gospel Road." I haven't seen the movie but I understand it to be inspired by Johnny's visit to The Holy Land and made up of Johnny narrating against scenes of that visit and of actors portraying scenes of Jesus' life, interspersed with songs both traditional and original. The soundtrack to that is what I am listening to right now.

I grew up Catholic; I went to Catholic schools from second grade through high school, high school spent with the Jesuits. In the last few years however, I find myself without much of a faith these days. Much of it is that I don't agree with the Church; I find people (not just in the Church but elsewhere) spend too much time meddling with other people's lives. I am not anti-religion; I feel if it helps you become a better person then fine. I think if it makes you feel superior or look down on other people, or if it makes you disregard the value of human life because paradise awaits you, then that's where I disagree vehemently.

Johnny Cash had the kind of faith that I sometimes wish I had. He embraced it and was never afraid to talk about it or sing about, but it never felt in listening to him that he was judging you or pushing his faith on you, in least in a way that made it uncomfortable. What you had was a man who loved and embraced his faith and used it to improve his own life and of those he loved.

The record here is not Johnny's best but it's interesting. I found it at the local used record shop for $5 and I couldn't resist. Listening to it, it appears to be the audio from the movie put to a record. There are some great songs and performances. Kris Kristofferson shows up and does a great version of "Help." June is here of course. Larry Gatlin to. But the fascinating part of it is the portrait of Cash and his faith; that he was brave if that's the right word to so openly display what he cared so much about and meant so much to him. That I really admire and it's one of the reasons why he's one of my heroes.


Friday, January 11, 2013

Peter Buck Takes Flight

Peter Buck is best known as the guitarist for REM. His career with that great band has pretty much had him in the background behind Michael Stipe, a place it also seemed from general observation he was happy to occupy.

After the retirement of REM last year (I don't say break-up because it wasn't an acrimonious split, just a band deciding that was it...for the time being at least), Peter Buck is the first out of the chute with a solo record. Interestingly it is a vinyl release, and since I have recently gotten onto a crazy vinyl kick I reckoned I would track it down. Even though they only made a couple thousand copies it wasn't hard to find a copy thanks to the internet. It arrived last week.


Last night I gave it the headphone experience. Listening through headphones is the best way to listen to music, especially vinyl. It's an all encompassing experience, especially when it is later in the evening and the lights are out and you are just chill in enjoying the music, like I was last night. The only sad part is I was too lazy to go down and fetch a beer. Through the headphones you can really hear everything that's going on; every string struck, every snare hit, every pump of the organ comes through nice and clear.

Buck takes special care to note this record was recorded all analog. No digital shortcuts, no studio trickery, it is all done to magnetic recording tape, then mastered "onto a half-inch Scully deck at 30 ips." That's from the notes along with the record and I cannot say I know what that means but I will guess it's old school.

With such attention to old-school detail, the record comes off more as an experiment than a statement. Nothing wrong with that but it keeps the record from being a drawn-in experience. At the end of the second song of side two, titled "It's Alright" Buck says "if that isn't music I don't know what is." That is a statement I can support, but that doesn't mean it's great.

Buck is helped out by old friends Mike Mills and Scott McCaughey from The Minus 5. McCaughey also did a side thing called The Baseball Project where he and some friends (Buck included) did two records worth of baseball-inspired songs. The music here is much in that vein, but the negative is it sounds very thrown together, a bit too ramshackle, a bit too all-over-the-place. Buck has an interesting voice; hard to describe except that it is deep and not what you immediately think of as musical.  Reminds me why you don't give a lead guitarist a microphone a lot of the time! That said there is no doubting the quality of musicianship on display. Buck is a seriously talented guy and it is here in spades.

Best songs on the album are the Byrds-y "Some Kind Of Velvet Sunday Morning" and the album closer "I'm Alive" which has a loose Stones-y Exile On Main Street vibe. But then there are songs like the aforementioned "It's Alright" and "L.V.M.F." which stands for little-village-mother-fucker. There are lots of curse words shouted in a few of the songs which doesn't bother me but seems sort of pointless.

All in all a good record. I don't expect it to be among my favorites for 2013 but I recommend it to hard core fans of REM, not neccesarily casual fans, though.

Here's "I'm Alive" for your listening pleasure!


Saturday, January 5, 2013

Barnstorming the Vinyl Shops

Over the Christmas holiday Jodi enabled my belly-aching about setting up my old stereo system by buying me a bunch of vinyl records. Needless to say this started a frenzy of activity. I immediately dug out my old receiver, CD player, turntable and speakers and got everything working again.

With that inspiration I attacked the train-wreck that my attic office had become. From a mess of dust and boxes and storage bins and tables with junk all over the place, it has been clean, set-up and re-organized into the sanctuary I have always wanted. On one side is my desk, from where I type this. In one corner is my guitar gear organized around a table with recording gear and tools. In another is my hi-fi system. In between will go a futon from downstairs, just need Tom's help in getting that moved. Once that arrives I might never come down. Just kiddin, sweetie!!

Then I went into the attic and retrieved my 1500+ CDs. The only CD rack that survived the purge (a gift from my first girlfriend in college) only holds about 400. So the rest remain in bins but readily accessible. My vinyl collection has grown from 0 to about 50 in a little over one week. Before you scoff, that is mainly through two trips to Record and Tape Exchange in Fairfax VA where I have found pure gold for as little as $1. The most I paid was a beautiful copy of Led Zeppelin II for $15.

The internet has also been helpful. Hopefully you read my Top 10 Albums of 2012 series (start here). I am halfway in the receiving of being able to change that to Top 10 RECORDS of 2012. I also picked up Peter Buck's new solo record and will talk about that tomorrow maybe.

Vinyl is just so much more cool than CDs. Not just in the presentation aspect but I am one of those nerds that thinks vinyl just sounds better. It is definitely better than digital, especially when it comes through real speakers. . The first record is listened to after hooking everything up was Barnstorm, Joe Walsh's first record (which I found for $3). The production on that record is just stunning; it sounds like it was recorded in the barn that graces the cover:


When the first notes of "Here We Go" came softly through, then built up into the chug it has, it was magic. Magic I tell you!! I hesitate to say but it was a revelation. This is the way music is supposed to be heard, not from a hard-drive through computer speakers but through Infinity's (or even better good headphones) on a good turntable. That said, my CDs sound glorious to.

Back to Barnstorm. It's one of my desert-island-discs. The melodies are just beautiful. This is before Joe got overtly goofy with his "Life's Been Good To Me" schtick, when he had been making The James Gang great but felt too restricted and confined by that band to remain there. There isn't a bad track on the record, but the highlights are "Mother Says," album opener "Here We Go", acoustic beauty "Birdcall Morning," and the brilliantly heavy "Turn To Stone" which is 1000 times better here than the redo he did a couple years later. Joe is one of those terribly under-rated guitarists, a real true innovator. This record is the one that shows all that in one stop.

Here's "Turn To Stone" and I promise you it sounds nowhere near as good on your computer as it does cranked through the speakers. It isn't the album version but it's from 1973 and it shows why Joe is so freakin great.