Power Pop Roundup

As my band approaches being ready to record our next album, I find myself dialing up more power-pop records than stoner rock records. Becoming a vinyl nerd means I sometimes miss out because the latter batch of bands revel is gorgeous vinyl, while the former bands tend to be digital and CDs only, with a couple exceptions here and there.

Spotify has been a good friend here, as I use the Similar Artist feature to lead me down the rabbit hole. I don't even remember what artist started it this time around, but here's some of the good jangly- guitar rock I have been digging lately.

Crash Through or Crash by Shake Some Action! Yes the exclamation point is in the band name. I like that. The album cover even hints at a Rickenbacker like mine. You can hear the chimey guitars right from the start. This is classic sounding, soaring power pop. The vocals remind me of Jagger in spots; second track "The Only Way Is Up" has a verse that says "Am I fast enough? Am I some slow enough?" on and on. What Stones song was that? "Miss You." Anyway, this is my favorite of the batch.




Melody Records by The Mylars. This is more modern sounding. Great vocals and great melodies.  And a pretty cool cover of The Cars' let's go. These guys are opening for Rick Springfield and that's a pretty cool comparison.  The vocals remind me a TON of some band I listened to in college. Wakeland comes to mind, but there is somebody else. These cats are really good. I'd love to open for them. I followed them on Instagram and they followed us back. I should hit them up.

Welcome Aboard: by The On and Ons. More of a retro 60s feel here. Sounds like a band that plays on Little Steven's Underground Garage that I would need to look up immediately so I didn't forget. Or if The Wonders kept going for a bit more than one record. They appear to be from Australia, so I probably won't ever see them. At least we have the internet!

Crybaby by Danny De La Matyr. I am never gonna completely remember this guys name. But that's alright, I'll buy the record and that will be fine. More chill than the others here. Rainy day power-pop. A bit more produced, like in the Jon Brion-vein. His voice reminds me of somebody too. Memory is failing.





Scenery For Dreamers by Daniel Wylie's Cosmic Rough Riders. And I thought my band name was a mouthful. Crunchy guitars over Americana-y vocals. Internet tells me these guys are taking a hiatus. That's too bad they are very cool.

Tear Your Minds Wide Open! by The Galileo 7. Another retro sounding outfit. They sound British. Yep Kent. I guess their name comes from a Star Trek episode so you have to add BAND when searching for them. Worth the effort.

Band of Gypsys

One of the Christmas presents that Jodi gave me this year was the Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys Live at the Fillmore East vinyl. I have the original Band of Gypsys but it is this document of their first show on December 31, 1969 that is really jaw-dropping.

You don't need me to tell you how good Jimi was. He was the personification of innovation. He feels like one of those guys who would have invented the electric guitar if it didn't already exist. His hands and his brain would simply know what to do.

It is a tragedy that he succumbed to fame's perils. The Band of Gypsys records show what direction he was going, where his muse was taking him. This record is very improvisational. He is also less a bandleader and more of another piece, fitting in with his bandmates. Buddy Miles and Billy Cox, which is a pretty damn good band.

It's interesting to hear on the first track Jimi making mistakes, trying to keep up. But when he hits it you can almost hear him say "There it is." Even Jimi didn't get everything right on the first try. And for much of this he is winging it with the other two guys. They hadn't rehearsed much. At the end of the set he mentions they will come back and do it right. Which makes it especially incredible.

The liner notes say these shows were not especially received. Over the course of several nights the band added more of the hits. 

He would be 75 if he had stayed alive. I don't claim to know where he would have gone with his talent. I don't think he'd have stopped. Music seemed ingrained in him. To remove it would be removing a limb. I don't think he would have been an oldies machine, that he would have become irrelevant in terms of creativity like The Rolling Stones. I can't see him playing "Foxey Lady" and "Purple Haze" 200 times year for 10 years. Maybe he would have. Man's got to eat. The mythos would be different with life. There'd be just Jimi Hendrix, not JIMI HENDRIX. The allure of what could have been never need rise from the tomb. The world would have been better with that music, with that life.

Back In The Saddle

I don't really like the concept of resolutions. Let's call them "resolutions" because they deserve the quote marks. You shouldn't need the act of hanging up a new calendar to find inspiration for making yourself better. It's a constant process. We are fluid entities, we shift and change. Some things are wired in but we as beings are capable of growing and changing and expanding. We don't need to be stuck in a rut.

One of these said "resolutions" is to write more. According to this blog, I last made that resolution at the start of 2016. It did not last long. Sigh. What a waste. OK, done with the looking back, let's look forward. I'm gonna stick to it this year. OK, I am really going to try to stick to it.

Another one is to see more rocknroll shows. That's a big one for me. I have wimped out farfarfar too many times over the years, missing great shows, letting opportunities slip by. That's another sigh, so let's not belabor it. For me, music is as important as air. If god wanted to fuck with me he would take my hearing away. My band has been trying to kill my hearing but I am fighting back these days with dreaded earplugs at rehearsal. Some of the time, at least. So, dear reader expect to see many more show reports here over the coming months. And if you don't you have my permission to call me a loser.

Other "resolutions" aren't quite musical related. Continue to eat sensibly. Go to the gym at least 4 times a week. Start doing yoga and meditation. That one can help with the creativity. I have anxiety but I have no reason for anxiety. I have a smart, funny, beautiful, and loving wife; I have a good job that has a positive impact on people's lives; I have a kick-ass band with three genuine friends. That should be another one, see friends more often. The anxiety I have is self-flaggelation and it fucking sucks. It isn't necessary. I think Trump has a part of doing it. That asshole is bringing my shakes and twitches back. Hell with him, he's not worth the additional characters.

So change is in the the air.

Why now...why today. I watched the new teaser video for Titus Andronicus' new album. And now I am listening to their masterpiece The Monitor. What a fucking record. I saw them when they toured behind it and it was rocknroll at it's most....well, rocknroll at it's most. Energy, passion, the catharsis you get when you just yell "fuck you!" I drifted away from them, saw them again a couple years later but the crowd was bigger and the energy at the back of the room is never like the front of the room. They'll be back in town in April and I will be there.

My advice is put a record on. Or a CD. Or if it's the only thing you got then put your earbuds in and listen to something you love. Something that breathes life into you. Something that makes you want to shake the pictures off the walls and hug whomever is standing next to you. Something that makes you forget about all the hate and all the anger and all the pain and all the fear we have in this country and all across the world. We all have one heart and one body (thanks, Call Me By Your Name). Don't fucking waste it.