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Postcards from the Pit: Empires / The Constant / Follower, 6/17/2011

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Empires, still the scrappy little band of my heart, won’t be on the cover of Rolling Stone this year. They are, however, on tour right now and may very well be coming to a tiny club near you sometime soon. And if you can make it out to see them, you should. I had the pleasure of catching up with them and also some promising local bands last Friday night.

The first opener was Follower, who are so new that this show was actually their second show ever. If the two songs I was able to hear were a reasonable representative sample, they play like a much more experienced band – tight, focused and powerful. Here is one of the three decent pictures I managed to take of them:

IMG_9163Follower

 

Next was The Constant, who are poppier than Follower and Empires, but yet are still definitely rock and roll, and also significantly grittier live than they are online:

IMG_9180The Constant

 

And then it was time for Empires. They started with The Night is Young, a song created during the whole Rolling Stone contest, and then powered through a set that included another song written for the RS contest (Hell’s Heroes) but was mostly a solid mix of  Bang and Howl and included I Want Blood, Damn Things Over, Hello Lover, Spit the Dark, I Know You Know, Voodooized and Bang.

It’s been a year or so since I saw Empires last, and I was once again entranced by the depth and richness of their sound, especially the blues at the core. To me they sound like the essence of certain aspects of Chicago: the stockyards, the sexy menace of mobsters in heavy coats and molls in sleek furs, speakeasies, the rumble of the El, and the snap in the air as snow falls on the mighty river.

These are the two best pictures from the evening:

 

IMG_9221Tom Conrad, intent on his chords

IMG_9218Sean Van Vleet

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…And Wants to Be Free

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People often get the name of this blog wrong, especially on Twitter where I use the handle nowthissound. It makes me sad. Not because I feel it means the blog is not well-received but because it means people don’t know the source material. One of the reasons I call Joe Strummer the patron saint of this blog is because I took the name from the Clash. “This is Radio Clash” to be exact.

 

 

Though the biggest reason Joe is the patron saint is his life-long belief in the power of music and his joy in finding new and weird music and sharing it around. From his BBC radio series to his encouragement to “Go out and buy something weird today!” Joe kept an ear out for new sounds. The results could be heard from his early days with the 101ers, through the Clash and right on into the last Mescaleros album.

It’s that musical ideal, that desire to go out and find something great, no matter where it comes from, that I hope comes through on Now This Sound Is Brave. As the man sang, the stars go in, the stars go out, and punk rock’s what it’s all about.

 

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Rebirth of the Cool: Children of the Revolution

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Some artists are practically uncoverable, by virtue of wild technique, extreme virtuosity or uncompromising personality… but that never stops other artists from trying. Sometimes you just have to watch and shake your head as you watch trainwreck after trainwreck. Sometimes you weep and gnash your teeth. Sometimes it helps if you come in from the middle.

Aside from just being a great band, T. Rex had a larger-than-life personality, sprinkled with glitter and sex. Every T. Rex song was imbued with this personality, sonically represented by shake-your-ass beats and Marc Bolan’s suggestive vocals. Nobody has ever had quite the same sparkle and stomp.

 

 

Though if you want to talk bands with comparably unmistakable and inimitable personalities, there’s always the Violent Femmes. This is where I came into this song stream. Like many of my generation, the Femmes permeated my adolescence, for good or for ill, making me simultaneously queasy and excited. To this day, I still have unhealthy and confusing feelings about Gordon Gano (preacher’s kids will have that effect on people). On their album The Blind and the Naked, the Femmes had the gall to cover T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution”. Well, maybe not so much covered as kidnapped and beat it until it was so broken and bruised that it barely resembled it’s original state (which is always the right way to do a cover, if you ask me).

 

 

There have been other attempts at covering “Children of the Revolution”, and most of them have ranged from forgettable to laughable (there is something so wrong and so right on about Bono singing “I drive a Rolls Royce because it’s good for my voice” on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack), but the cover from Neon Indian, while not everyone’s cuppa, feels faithful to the original cosmic sex shimmer of Bolan and his boys.

 

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Roosters on the Porch

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The Imperial Rooster returns to the porch where we first found them during Couch By Couchwest. Well, clearly, they were on the porch while the rest of us were on the collective couch. But we were all drunk, and that’s what matters.

The Imperial Rooster is going to sing you into the weekend with a selection of songs from their new album, Decent People. When you’re left wanting more, you can click that Bandcamp link at the end of the post and get you more.

 

Anything Goes At A Rooster Show (Rooster Anthem)

 

Korhn Sirup Sundae

 

McGinty’s

 

The Imperial Rooster @ Bandcamp

The Imperial Rooster @ Facebook

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Songs I Love Best: Wildflowers

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I don’t remember now how I first discovered Trio, the record Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmyloud Harris put out together in 1987, but I know I bought it on tape because I can remember both the garish pink cover, and the number of times I carefully cued up various tracks for mixes. I acquired it again recently – digitally, this time – when I went on an Emmylou Harris collecting tangent and realized I had missed it, somehow, when I was filling in other digital gaps.

I liked the whole thing, by and large – I can also remember singing along (hand stapled firmly to forehead) to The Pain of Loving You and Those Memories of You at various times in high school – but my favorite track is, was, and ever shall be Wildflowers. If (when) I get a tattoo, “no regrets for the path that I chose” will be a part of it. Of course that’s now, when I’ve been walking a while and had some time to actually make some choices; then, it was more about the hope of invoking the appearance of the path.

In any case, bursting with enthusiasm and keen to share it with all of y’all, I then went to YouTube to find a video and on first skim it seemed like there were precious few for the original song. (The two quasi-live performances are 1) a clip from a movie and 2) a clip that appears to be the result of  pointing the camera at the tv set and pressing record.)  A little bit of further digging pulled up this, which at least as a slideshow of pictures of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt through the years:

 

http://youtu.be/aDxrQFrGipo

 

Because I am a magpie, though, I got distracted from my main search by all of the cover versions that I found. The following are a few of the highlights:

This version, by The Clear Branch, is probably the most faithful to the original overall, and the beautiful voice you are about to hear belongs to Signe Salvesen, who moved from Norway to the hills of East Tennessee to study mountain music. She’s accompanied by Clint Riddle (guitar, banjo, mandolin), originally from Decatur, Alabama, with a background in Delta blues.

 

 

In this version, which features just Ginny White and her guitar and was recorded at the  New Harmonies Exhibit, Culp Building, Johnson County Historical Society in Warrensburg, Missouri, it’s stripped down to its barest essentials and transformed into something quite like a hymn.

 

http://youtu.be/-DZH58V8D6A

 

This one, performed by Tuva and The Far-Out Orchestra, and recorded in the Privaten Cafè in Holmsbu, Norway, occupies the patch of ground where indie rock and bluegrass overlap, and tends to slide more towards the indie rock end of the spectrum. Tuva Andersen has a rich, full and flexible voice, and it shines here.

 

Tuva & the Far Out Orchestra - Wildflowers (Dolly Parton)

 

This one, by the Sandy Bottom Bluegrass Band (according to YouTube, they are: Neil – Mandolin, Ken – Guitar, Steve – Dobro, Wayne – Banjo, Rick – Bass, and Denise – Autoharp), of Florida, is a solidly bluegrass rendition; the instrumental underpinning is perhaps a hair or two richer than the original.

 

Wildflowers Dont Care Where They Grow - complete band

 

As I was exploring, I also got to thinking about who I’d like to hear cover this song. Gillian Welch and Dar Williams sprang to mind first, and I spent a good ten minutes contemplating who I’d make the third part of that trio before I decided on Lucinda Williams, though I think Neko Case and/or Alison Krauss might also work well there.

And then my thoughts took a more critical turn. You know it is kind of plinky. Couldn’t we fuzz that up a little bit? Give it some muscle? said I to myself, and I  shuffled my mental deck of voices some more, and came up with Courtney Love, which was actually kind of a stumbling block because the pairings that seem to me to be obvious there (Kim Gordon and Kim Deal) are, shall we say, complicated. Though on further reflection, I’ve decided swapping in, say, Pink and Shirley Manson might produce just the right kind of fireworks.

Now tell me, dear readers, who would you pick?

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Feel Bad For You, June 2011

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Feel Bad For You hosts a monthly mixtape comprised of submissions from music bloggers, Twitterers and a rockstar or two, and it’s always a good time. A celebration of eclecticism, you can enjoy it all below, by stream or by download.

Download.

Title: I’ve Got Love
Artist: Warren Smith
Album: The Complete Sun Recordings
Submitted By: Bowood
Comments: Sun Studios legend Warren Smith. That studio…that f…in’ beautiful studio. Thank you Lord for Sam Phillips.

Title: Angel From New Orleans
Artist: The Dead Exs
Album: Resurrection (2011)
Submitted By: @popa2unes
Comments: David Pattillo – electric slide guitar and vocals – Wylie Wirth – on the skins. Pattiillo is a producer with a credit list from Alanis Morrissette to the Hold Steady, The Black Crowes to the Beastie Boys and last year produced the Reni Lane debut for Universal Motown. Wirth has toured extensively in Europe and the US with various bands and was a member of the Warner Bros act Sweet Lizard Illtet.

Title: What She Turned Into
Artist: Retribution Gospel Choir
Album: Retribution Gospel Choir (2008)
Submitted By: verbow1
Comments: I like to think of myself as ahead of the musical curve, finding new stuff before anyone else. The truth is I’m often several years behind, always trying to catch up, hence a 2008 release just finding me at the end of 2010. This band features Alan Sparhawk of Low – I’m not the biggest Low fan but these guys really stick with me. Nothing fancy, just a good rock song.

Title: City Lights
Artist: National Grain
Album: self-titled (2006)
Submitted By: Corey Flegel
Comments: some dude on an Amazon review of the record said it best about NG- Their songs sound like deepcuts off of some of the early, better albums by Haggard and the Possum.

Title: Ain’t No Such Thing As a Superman
Artist: Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson
Album: Midnight Band: First Minute of a New Day (1975)
Submitted by: April @ Now This Sound Is Brave
Comments: Shortly after I received the June FBFY call to arms, it was confirmed that Gil Scott-Heron, the man responsible for “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, died. His album I’m New Here was possibly my favorite of 2010, and I was looking forward to seeing what he would do next. Dying wasn’t what I had in mind.

Title: Stuck in an Office
Artist: Edmunds Crown
Album: Regrets of a Company Man (2006)
Submitted By: Simon
Comments: One of the may highlights from an eighteen track album of 3 minute power pop songs everyone should own

Title: Penicillin Penny
Artist: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
Album: Belly Up! (1973)
Submitted By: Shooter Jennings
Comments: Be cleansed by her dirtyness

Title: $2 Pints
Artist: Last False Hope
Album: Outlaw Radio Compilation Vol. 1 (2010)
Submitted by: Adam Sheets
Comments: Everything that is great about honky tonk and punk is represented in this song. This is the sound of the future

Title: Sleep With One Eye Open
Artist: Chris Thile & Michael Daves
Album: Sleep With One Eye Open (2011)
Submitted By: Phil Norman | @philnorman | www.bluemoonshineband.com
Comments: Been listening to this record non-stop since it came out last month.

Title: Never Miss Your Mama
Artist: The Black Twig Pickers
Album: Hobo Handshake (2008)
Submitted By: Truersound
Comments: I’ve been seeing these guys a lot lately, and every time I swear they get better. Love it when they break out the washboard, especially on this song and on The Coo-coo. See these guys live if you get a chance, talk Mike into telling some stories. This song also makes me wish I could clog like a drunk hillbilly.

Title: Fuck Me Up
Artist: Brandon Adams And The Sad Bastards
Album: Self Titled (2011)
Submitted By: Romeo Sid Vicious
Comments: This one has been stuck in my head for about a week now. It’s a raw song that’s just plain amazing. I don’t have a rant for this one. Just one I have been enjoying a lot lately

Title: My Back Pages
Artist: The Ramones
Album: Acid Eaters (1993)
Submitted By: @mikeorren
Comments: In honor of Bob Dylan’s 70th, a cover I just rediscovered

Title: Every Day You Have To Cry
Artist: Bon Scott
Album: Round And Round Compilation (1967)
Submitted by: Erschen
Nothing spectacular here but interesting to hear Bon Scott before his AC/DC days. This was a band called the Valentines. The song is by Arthur Alexander and has been covered by quite a few including the Bee Gees and Dusty Springfield.

Title: What Am I Supposed To Do?
Artist: The Sidewinders
Album: Witchdoctor (1989)
Submitted By: toomuchcountry
Comments: The deadline was drawing near for this month’s submission, and I hadn’t chosen my June selection. So my quandary naturally resulted in my submitting this great track by Tucson AZ’s The Sidewinders (later known as The Sand Rubies).

Title: I Can Buy You
Artist: A Camp
Album: A Camp (2001)
Submitted By: DC Noise
Comments: A Camp makes some mighty infectious pop music. The band is fronted by Nina Persson, aka That Girl From The Cardigans (an underrated band, in my opinion).

Title: Let’s Get Out Of Here
Artist: Les Savy Fav
Album: Root For Ruin (2010)
Submitted By: PearlSnapMan

Title: Heart Attack
Artist: Raphael Saadiq
Album: Stone Rollin’ (2011)
Submitted By: @BoogieStudio22
Comments: Raphael Saadiq has been around for a while, but in his most two most recent releases he’s been digging into the Motown catalog of sounds. He’s still got the R&B / Soul thang going on, but his most recent album rocks out a bit more.

Title: Down In The Valley
Artist: The Head and the Heart
Album: Self-titled 2011
Submitted by: Cowbelle / morecowbelle.net
Comments: I’m not huge on this band in general, but I heard this song on a sunny walk in my new stomping ground the other day and it spoke to me. Something about trouble and whiskey – and I think there’s some optimism in there too.

Title: Walking Into Walls
Artist: Mike Ethan Messick
Album: The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday (2011)
Trailer / farcethemusic.com

Title: Arousing Thunder
Artist: Grant Lee Buffalo
Album: Copperopolis (1996)
Submitted By: The Second Single

Title: Heart Won’t Bend
Artist: Branden Barnett
Album: Heart Won’t Bend (2011)
Submitted By: TheOtherBrit
Comments: I forgot to send in my submission so made this selection in about 30 seconds. This song is part of a series of singles and covers Branden has been releasing on his bandcamp (bandcamp.com/tag/branden-barnett). 100% of what you hear on there is Branden and I think that’s pretty badass.

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Sat, Jun 4| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    The Hesitations
    $10
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Sat, Jun 4| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    T-Model Ford & Gravel Road
    Shouting Thomas & The Torments
    DJ Kitty B. Shake
    $12
    Tavern | All Ages
  • Sun, Jun 5| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Southern Culture on the Skids
    Whiskey Daredevils
    $15 adv / $17 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Mon, Jun 6| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Zoe Keating
    Nick Diodore
    $18 adv / $20 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Tue, Jun 7| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    Del The Funky Homosapien
    Bob & The Devil
    Bukue One
    Muamin Collective
    Unseen Handz
    Groovesmith
    $12 adv / $14 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Tue, Jun 7| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Daryl Hance
    Physical Rockett
    Andrew La Ponza
    $7
    Tavern | All Ages
  • Wed, Jun 8| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    Dennis Coffey
    (with Will Sessions & vocalist Kendra Morris)
    Stepkids
    We The People
    DJ Charles McGaw
    $18 adv / $20 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Wed, Jun 8| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea
    Rebekah Jean
    Nate Jones
    $10
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Sat, Jun 4| 8 PM
    Red Giant
    Ohio Sky
    $6
  • Sun, Jun 5| 8 PM
    Polymerization
    The Red Buttons
    People Parts
    Big Sur
    $5
  • Tue, Jun 7| 8 PM
    The Dodos
    Gauntlet Hair
    Shoreway
    $10 adv / $12 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Sat, Jun 4| 9 PM
    Keelhaul
    Megachruch
    $5
  • Mon, Jun| 9 PM (4 PM doors)
    10 Cent Beer Night, featuring
    Natural Child
    Rabble Rabble
    Mr. California
    (Bar opens at 4 pm. Kegs tapped then. Show starts at 9 pm When they run out, they run out.)
    $5
  • Thu, Jun 9| 9 PM
    Garbage River
    Yvette
    Folded Shirt
    Skitzobill
    FREE
  • Fri, Jun 10| 9 PM
    Tiger Hatchery
    Moth Cock
    Drake-Scheible-Henry
    Dead Peasant Insurance
    $5

Happy Dog

  • Sat, Jun 4| 9 PM
    The Flying Eyes
    The Suede Brothers
    The Exploding Lies
  • Wed, Jun 8| 9 PM
    The Tillers
    Shivering Timbers
  • Fri, Jun 10| 8 PM
    Weapons of Mass Creation Pre-Fest Mixer Show, featuring
    Humble Home
    Gregory and the Hawk
    Bethesda
    David Dondero

Musica

  • Fri, Jun 10| 10:30 PM
    J Rawls
    A Minus
    Muamin Collective
    TUT
    DJ Jack da Rippa
    $10
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Your T.V. Favorites

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Earlier this spring, I conducted a seasonal survey on Twitter that was a big hit all around. And while this one won’t be as titillating as the first, here’s another fun one, inspired by @Truersound talking about one of his old favorites (and which song I can’t remember now… oops). While I don’t watch television that much anymore – aside from occasional shows on the internets… oh hey, I should have an episode of Archer waiting for me – I grew up with television as my best friend. I was a latchkey kid for most of my childhood and used the T.V. set for company becoming well-versed in all manner of syndicated sitcoms and afternoon talk shows.

While I wouldn’t accuse most shows of having good music for their theme songs, there have been a few that have really stood out down the line. My personal favorite has to be the theme from The Dukes of Hazzard, a show which I was devoted to when I was a kid, sung by none other than Waylon Jennings.

 

 

Submitted by @ATerribleIdea:
“Hard tossup between Electric Company and Sanford and Son. #ismellamashup”

 

 

 

Submitted by @dopeburger:
“because of a local jam band in college that really stretched out on it, Night Court.”

 

 

Submitted by @pdennison:
“Unquestionably, Mike Post’s theme for ‘The Rockford Files’!”

 

 

Submitted by OwenTemple:
“A-Team. it’s like a 4 movement symphony. you will drive your van better after hearing it.”

 

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Gil Scott-Heron: And now it’s time to gather all the things we need to fly

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The beautiful Gil Scott-Heron died yesterday.

If I was into making Best Of lists, GSH’s I’m New Here would have been high atop my list for 2010. But, of course, his legacy stretches much further back than that, at least back to 1970 with the release of Small Talk at 125th & Lenox, which contained the iconic “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.

If you’re not as familiar with GSH as you’d like to be, you can check out a documentary about him at Self-Titled or read a sketch of his life and career at The Telegraph.

 

Gil Scott-Heron: On Being New Here from Iain & Jane on Vimeo.

 

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Ben Sollee Subway Session

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Having trouble getting into the swing of things this week, but here’s a nice way to ease back into it: Ben Sollee, accompanied by Jordan Ellis, playing a session at the Fulton Avenue subway stop in New York for Subway Sessions. Sollee has such a unique way with the strings, and I love the sounds Ellis is getting out of his percussion.

I wonder if we could find a good place to make sessions like this happen in Cleveland…