Sunday, February 24, 2013

Guitar Nirvana

I just got back from making a pilgrimage to the Mecca of guitar shops: The House of Guitars in Rochester, NY. It seems strange that one of the best guitar shops on the planet is in Rochester, but it's a fact. My good friend Tom, who is the lead guitarist in our band, is from Rochester and has raved about the HoG. Our friend Patrick, who is the bass player, is like me and had never been there. So being the adventurous souls we are we met at Tom's house at 6am on a Saturday morning and began the 6.5 hour trek north. I brought some CDs for the drive up (mostly 90s power pop) so we wouldn't be at the mercy of the satellite radio. The drive down we were at the mercy but after some fiddling around we settled on  Underground Garage which has a nice mix of old 60s rock and new rock that sounds like 60s rock.

Pulling up...a beautiful day in Rochester
Anywho, the HoG is an amazing place. If you are a musician, let alone a guitarist, it's pretty much chub-central. It's an old house (hence the name) that has been pretty much gutted to make room the inventory. Evidently there are 30 to 40 thousand guitars on the premises. Obviously they didn't display all of it or have it available for rummaging but it was still an overwhelming experience.

Me and Patrick
When you walk in there is a big glass case that holds a ton of fancy guitars...Les Paul Customs mostly but a couple Strats and a Thunderbird. The aisles are packed together and mad eof plexi-glass cases where the guitars are stored/jammed in. It's really overwhelming; I didn't know where to look or really how to begin approaching looking at all the gear. At the back of the main room is a stage where they do shows and have some really really old amps.

Tom in his element...TONS of guitars
The house has been significantly added to. There is a whole back section filled with amplifiers. The upstairs is all drums and keyboards. The back has what looks like acres of CDs and vinyl and vintage posters and t-shirts and DVDs. Total and complete sensory overload.

One guitar particularly caught my eye. A beautiful cherry colored Les Paul Custom. The staff (thanks Curt!!) were kind enough to pull it out of the glass case and let me play it in there loud room in the back.

DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!
The loud room is naturally filled with my favorite amplifier: Orange. There were also a bunch of Marshalls, including a Marshall combo that Patrick and Tom fell in love with. This particular guitar was just a dream to play. Seriously fast and incredibly playable. Just beautiful to look at. It roared like the monster it is, but could also handle the more delicate numbers. I played with it for about 30 to 45 minutes. But the price, as can be expected, was more than I was willing to pay. This is a $3000 guitar. I already have a Gibson 335 for my workhorse, a Gibson SG Custom as my luxury, an Italia 12-string for when we go into REM-mode, and a Epiphone Les Paul copy as my backup. Plus a Squire Strat that my dear friends' daughter is currently painting for me. Another electric guitar, even such a gorgeous Les Paul, though WANTED is not NEEDED. There's an ocean of difference between those two things, and usually I have leaned towards the impractical side of that, but in this case prudence won out. And I walked out of HoG with empty hands but a full heart, so to speak! But if I ever get a Les Paul, I would hold out for like this. (Note to the missus: I can give you a phone number if you feel compelled for an extra-special anniversary present. nudge nudge wink wink!!!)

The rest of the weekend was a blast. We stayed with a good friend of Tom's from high school. His family was very gracious to feed us and ply us with beer and have us crash at their place. (Thanks Scott, Mary Beth, Jack, Will and Matt!!) Patrick and I brought some of our guitars and Tom happily upgraded his acoustic so we put on an acoustic show for the family, who appeared delighted! We were delighted to play and glad that the songs transferred to acoustic nearly seamlessly.

So, if you find yourself in Rochester some dreary afternoon (which is pretty much EVERY afternoon in Rochester) treat yourself with a visit to the House of Guitars. Even if you don't play it is a cool place to visit. And thanks to Bruce and Curt at the HoG for their help!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Push The Sky Away

If a bunch of serial killers were gathered in a room and Nick Cave walked into that room, the murderers would mutter to one another "who is that creepy guy?" Nick Cave has to be one of the oddest and most uncomfortable looking fellows around. But he is also one of the more interesting musicians around. He's been fronting The Bad Seeds for many-a-many a year. Their latest record, and the first featuring none of the other original members, is called Push The Sky Away.

Nick Cave records have run the gamut from loud to mellow but always have a vibe of danger surrounding them. There is something sinister going on in the vinyl's grooves. The new record is far on the mellower side, but not mellow like sitting with your girl holding hands; mellow in wondering whether your girl might be about to kiss you or cut your throat. It has a distinct Leonard Cohen vibe; songs that are lyrically driven, with the music energizing the words with dread and darkness.

The album opens on a note suggesting one of those new bourbon commercials, or maybe a late night Cinemax flick. "We No Who U R" burns gently with drums and bass and a synthesizer dripping notes like water. Throughout the record guitars are used to softer effect; strings and gentle horns fill in the spaces. There are some great songs, like the album opener and best of the bunch "Jubilee Street." The first side is great, but the second side is a bit more difficult to digest, less memorable in terms of tunes and melody, more experimental and lumbering. A companion piece to "Jubilee Street" called "Finishing Jubilee Street" misfires. The centerpiece of the second side is "Higgs Bosun Blues," which name checks everybody from Robert Johnson to Hannah Montana, and comes across as more silly than anything else.

Here's the great video for "Jubilee Street." The inherent creepiness that is Nick Cave is on full display. Be warned it does have some nudity. Thankfully not Nick.



That said, it's a solid record. One perfect for bad moods or moods verging on bad. If you like Nick Cave you will probably like this one.

Strange story, in addition to coming with an additional 33 with two extra songs (neither of which really are great), there was a razor blade in the package. This was obviously some sort of quality control issue  from the manufacturing plant, but I did think that this was a Nick Cave record after all, so it coming with a razor blade isn't really that much of a surprise.




Saturday, February 16, 2013

Shameless Self Promotion!!

You probably know that I have my own band called Braddock Station Garrison. We are a little bit power pop, little bit Americana, but a whole lotta rock n roll. We have been working on our demos for a looooong time now, and I am very happy to announce that they can be listened to and downloaded at our ReverbNation site. So, PLEASE, come check them out!

Tell your friends to listen to California Specific!

Tell your family to listen to Maria With Child!

Tell that girl you have a crush on to listen to Zero Confidence Level!

Tell that girl breaking your heart to listen to A Lot To Ask!

Speaking on behalf of Tom and Mike and Patrick, we are very proud and grateful for the support! Let us know what you think!!





Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Wonderful, Glorious eels

Mark Oliver Everett is one of the more interesting characters in rock n roll. He is the leader and only continual member of eels. He goes by the moniker of "E." You might have heard of them from their minor hit "Novocaine For The Soul" or from the large number of soundtrack work they have done, like "My Beloved Monster" from the Shrek movies.

The bets way to define them is quirky. That can be a dangerous label. Quirky usually means something like The Flaming Lips, whom I can only really take in small doses. eels are much more accessible while maintaining their oddness.

The latest record is called Wonderful, Glorious and is the best record they have done since my favorite of theirs: Daisies Of The Galaxy.


The LP is a very cool double orange vinyl record. A drawback is that it's only a 10" so there's only 3 songs per side (except for side 4) and the songs aren't exactly "Supper's Ready" length. That's a touch annoying when I listen to it while winding down in the evening because as soon as I get comfy I have to hop up and flip it over. The things I do for sonic perfection. The vinyl showed up a week before the official release day (very nice) so it felt like a secret. On the release date an email arrived with a link to download the record, not just the record itself but a bunch of bonus tracks including extra tracks and an assortment of live tracks. If you want people to order directly from you that's the way to do it...give us extras that we don't get from Amazon or InSound of something like that. Thanks, E!!!

Like I said the record is the best one they have done in many years. Not to say the records in that gap have been bad, not at all. The last couple I will say I didn't like that much, but it is still E and still interesting. He's a great storyteller; the majority of the songs have a tale to tell, of sad sacks and boxers and the heartbroken. But with the sadness that permeates the songs there is always a strong element of hope and light at the end of the tunnel. E strikes me, and based on what he has gone through in his life, as someone who has accepted the pain of life and chooses to see the good parts while acknowledging the sad parts. It makes for great music. And this has a real good chance of being in my 2013 countdown.

Here's "New Alphabet" which is a pretty perfect demonstration of eels are all about:


E is a fascinating guy. A few years ago he grew a beard unibomber style and has kept it for a long while. Looking at the new video it appears he has normalized that beard a bit. The last tour I saw all his band mates had nice long beards as well. And clever aliases: Koool G Murder, The Chet, Knuckles and P-Boo are all credited on the new record. E is the son of Hugh Everett III, the physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics. Heavy, dude.

Friday, February 8, 2013

This Will Take A While

Alan Sparhawk is part of the indie band Low. They take a minimalist approach to music, with slow tempos and and a delicate sense but not in an indie-for-the-masses kind of way that Mumford & Sons do. When he wants to make a bit of a ruckus, he gets going with his band Retribution Gospel Choir. Their first couple records had a more power pop kind of feel, but their latest record, simply titled 3, contains only 2 songs, both of which clock in at nearly 20 minutes. Side A is titled "Can't Walk Out"and Side B is titled "Seven." Both tracks are modern guitar epics, especially "Seven" which features the great Nels Cline from the current incarnation of Wilco. The leads in that song are traded off between Sparhawk and Cline and even casual familiarity with Wilco's latest records one will easily tell which lead is who. Sparhawk's playing is more straight-forward and thick toned; Cline is much more angular, operating in the highs. It's a nice mix, both guitarists work well together, and it makes for a big change from the poppy-ness of the last EP. They are playing DC9 and I would totally go but it's Valentine's Day. Ugh. Stupid tour manager; who books that night!?!

Here's the creepy ass video (though also kind of howlingly funny) for "Seven." I don't know if anything really weird or odd or whatever happens because I only watch for a minute or so.


Speaking of long tracks, Neil Young reunited with Crazy Horse in 2012 for the enormous Psychedelic Pill.  I saw enormous because it has two tracks that run over 16 minutes, "Ramada Inn" and "Walk Like A Giant," and one, "Driftin' Back," that runs nearly half an hour.  It's these three songs that are obviously central to the record and show the band in great form musically. There isn't much sophisticated about it. The opener "Driftin' Back" has the feel of a studio jam that just goes on and on and on. Lyrically it is kind of terrible, Neil singing about getting a hip hop hairdo and wanting his mp3s or some kind of nonsense. But the classic Neil sound is there, soloing with gusto between the silliness. He's old, sure, and he isn't going to be writing any more songs like "Old Man" or "Cinnamon Girl" but he can still make the Earth shake.

Here's the album closer, "Walk Like A Giant." Check it out for a few minutes and you'll get the idea!


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Coming Out Of The Fog

Now that I have reverted back to primal ways of listening to music (vinyl through headphones) it is giving me an opportunity to really listen to the records. It is also making me much more picky with what I purchase. I have subscribed to eMusic for a long time. Since I have converted to vinyl as my primary mechanism I have seriously downgraded my digital commitment. Instead of the shotgun approach of getting new music I am now doing a lot more reading and researching and listening online before making an order. There is a local record shop but they don't have a selection of new stuff really. It's primary a vehicle for selling off and buying old stuff. Cool, but I am most interested in getting new records (though I have bought a nice pile of old stuff).

One of the bands that have made it through this new found prudence is Baltimore's Arbouretum and their latest record Coming Out Of The Fog.  It is 8 tracks of Crazy Horse-esque guitar anthems and mellower country-ish jams, country in this sense of Americana. Guitarist and vocalist Dave Heumann is the main song writer. His voice stays in the lower registers which occasionally climbs up the ladder. The musicianship is great; lots of great guitar work that remains the focus but doesn't get in the way. The chords are fuzzed out for the chunkier songs, giving it a nice full Neil Young kind of vibe. A few of my band's songs have the same kind of vibe, but these are better by far. The lyrics are imagery heavy, sort of high school-ish in spots but very good in others. Like: "Everyone says/It'll come to an end/Oh, the oceans don't sing/Of impossible things."

Key tracks include the Soundgarden churn of "The Promise" and it's story of ocean voyages giving way to the elegant piano and guitar  and slide of "Oceans Don't Sing," the very 90s grunge of "All At Once, The Turning Weather." The one misfire is the album closing title track; it seems like a throwaway, not really fitting in with the rest of the record.

I'd recommend it to Neil Young fans and fans of sludgy guitar work that doesn't get to the sharp point of metal.

Here's "The Promise:"