One Comment

Drew Smith: Love Teeth

  By

We just received this submission minutes ago from Drew Smith, and even though I’m at my day job with limited resources (can’t even get you proper images to go with the post), it’s so heartbreakingly beautiful that I couldn’t wait to share it.

From Drew, the story of the video:

My first ‘real’ job was teaching English as a Second Language in Ontario. I kept in correspondence with many of my students, and was pleasantly surprised to find one of them, Sohee Jeon, had become an established animator in South Korea. She expressed how much she had been enjoying my music, and while I was working on my newest record The Secret Languages she generously offered up her services to make an animated video for my newest single “Love Teeth”.

 

 

You can download the song in exchange for a tweet here.

 

Drew Smith @ Bandcamp

2 Comments

Et Voilà: Taisez Moi, Didier Wampas

  By

Didier Wampas, of Les Wampas, has put out his first solo record. It is called Taisez Moi which, from what I can gather translates as either “Shut Me” or “Quiet Me”, and it is delightful.

It’s also really, really different from Les Wampas‘ sound. The catchy melodies are still there in force, but the big crunchy riffs and reverb have given way to a lighter, surfier, clap-along vibe.

I’m still working on parsing the lyrics – I don’t speak any more French now than I did before – but so far I’m particularly enjoying La propriété c’est du vol (Property is Theft) which is actually a love song on the theme of “I don’t want anything but you”; La folle de Marvejols (The Wild Marvejols) which I don’t (yet) know what it’s about but it has lovely orchestral elements; and Les framboises dorées (The Golden Raspberries), the bonus track on the iTunes version of the album, which has a great sing-along chorus.

Also, for all of you (other) fans of Ryan Ross (The Young Veins, Panic! at the Disco) out there: he played guitar on this record, and also contributed some back-up vocals to, as best I can tell right now, Eternellement, Chanteur de droite and Les framboises dorées.

And now, here is Didier Wampas with Magique, or as I think of it, the slow dance at the sock hop song:

No comments

New Guadalupe Plata Single

  By

 

You may recall us covering this dirty Spanish band with sharp edges before. They have a new single out called “Casino El Camino”, and it’s a two-parter. Listen up!

 

Good stuff and available for free download. How many people do you know who love you enough to give you good stuff for free?

Guadalupe Plata @ Bandcamp

Guadalupe Plata @ Facebook

No comments

Doesn’t Matter Where You Take Flight: Milan Jay

  By

Milan Jay is John Millane (left, above) and Joseph Kenny (right) – the name of the band is a loose reverse anagram of Millane’s name – and they are from Ballinasloe, just outside Galway City, in County Galway, Ireland. Millane began making music on his own in 2008; Kenny joined him 2010, and their producer/mixer Mike O’Dowd is currently helping out with drums. Right now, in addition to working on new music, they are contemplating a SXSW bid.

I’m hoping they get to go, because I have told pretty much everyone who asked me for new music recs in the last two weeks (and several who didn’t), y’all need to listen to this. Since their discography is tiny but very rich, like a Fabergé egg, I’m just going to talk about all of it:

1. Mellow Funk (2009) [available at: Bandcamp]

This record, their first, is available in its entirety as a free download from Bandcamp. It’s wholly instrumental, and “Mellow Funk” is a very appropriate title. I’ve been putting these songs on when I need some quiet, and yet also need to drown out very annoying people on the train.

This is the video for Terracotta Nights, which is the last song on the record, and will be your five minutes of Zen for today:

 

Milan Jay - Terracotta Nights

 

2. To The Sea and Swim (November 2010) [available at: Bandcamp; iTunes]

This is the first EP of what will eventually be three-part cycle – more on that below – and it is about half instrumental, and half not. The two tracks with singing are With The River Flow and We Believe, the latter of which is a free download at Bandcamp. Their sound continues to be pretty mellow here, though it is definitely does get deeper and more complex. I like listening to both To The Sea And Swim and Jupiter Falls just to count the instruments as they come in and then track them through the mix.

Here’s Jupiter Falls for you to listen to:

 

Jupiter Falls by Milan Jay

 

3. To The Night and Sky (June 2011) [available at: Bandcamp; iTunes]

This is the second EP of the three-part cycle. I can’t really declare a favorite here, because a) there are only five songs and b) I’ve been listening to all of them kind of a lot, however, I will say if you’re dipping in and out rather than taking the plunge, pay special attention to these:

Interconnected the first track, starts almost literally with a bang. It has a big thudding beat and includes a sample from Repo Man. The video they made for it, below, is comprised entirely of what seem to be black and white home movies of regular people doing Irish step dance. Now, I (voluntarily!) took a couple of years worth of step dance lessons when I was in high school, so I can almost hear the thudding and clicking of their feet on the floor, but even without that background the way the music and the action synch is pretty amazing.

 

Milan Jay - Interconnected

 

Time To Leave Computers Behind is the third song, and is a free download at Bandcamp. This is the one I put on to get myself moving either in the morning or after class, and I have a feeling it will be on every road trip / travel mix I make from now on. Here’s the video, starring the band and the beautiful Irish countryside:

 

http://youtu.be/EOpvkNhP-RQ

 

And finally, there is 421 Wilson St., song number five, which is an instrumental track. It starts with a mixture of electronic and real rain – the latter was recorded by sticking the mic out the door of the studio and waiting for breaks between passing trucks – and slowly expands to include more instruments, including keyboards and guitars.

 

421 Wilson St. by Milan Jay

 

4) Robot Revenge (September 2011) [available at: Bandcamp]

 

This song, also a free download from Bandcamp, is the first single off the as yet un-named third and final EP in the “The Philosophor Trilogy”, named after their label, Philosophor Records, which will be out at the end of November. (Americans: Just in time for post-Thanksgiving shopping! Buy yourself a present on Black Friday!)

It combines punk swagger and bravado with meta-commentary about punk swagger and bravado, and, in the video below, they have Punisher stickers on their equipment. This was actually the first song I listened to, and those stickers as well as the fuzzy guitars were what drew me in and made me want to know more.

 

http://youtu.be/FwyyF4Psbz0

 

No comments

Founder of Living Blues Needs Your Help

  By

 

An important dispatch from Rick Saunders:

JiM O’NEAL (second from the left in the above photo) – Founder of Living Blues Magazine & Rooster Blues Records Has Cancer and No Insurance. Please Help!

Jim O’Neal, the founder of Living Blues Magazine and the late great Rooster Blues Records has been diagnosed with Lymph cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. Like so many in the music industry, and blues in particular, Mr. O’Neal does not have insurance. You can help Mr. O’Neal and his family by sending a donation and helping to spread the word. It’s good karma, baby!

A fund has been set up at Commerce Bank in Kansas City.

Checks may be sent to:

Jim O’Neal Blues Fund
P.O. Box 10334
Kansas City, MO 64171.

You can also donate at www.paypal.com to the account “onealbluesfund@aol.com”.

Of course, musicians being who they are are always quick to help their own and a series of benefit shows are being arranged. If you live near any of these locations please show up for a night of great music for an even greater cause. The good that Jim O’Neal done for blues music and musicians can hardly be repaid. But here is your opportunity to try.

THE JIM O’NEAL BENEFIT CONCERT SERIES

OCT. 20, 2011
SURF CLUB, HYATTSVILLE, MARYLAND
With Memphis Gold and others

OCT. 28, 2011
KNUCKLEHEADS, KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
Kenny Neal, Memphis Gold and others

NOV. 19, 2011(date is tentative)
BUDDY GUY’S LEGENDS, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Kenny Neal, Memphis Gold, Eddie Clearwater, Eddie Shaw, Billy Branch, Elmore James Jr., Nora Jean Bruso and others

For further details and confirmations of time and artists, please check www.Stackhouse-Bluesoterica.blogspot.com.

photo: Panny Flautt Mayfield

4 Comments

Giveaway: The Dead Exs

  By

 

Regular readers of our blog will recognize the Dead Exs from previous posts by my co-blogger Jennifer and our friend @Popa2unes. Jennifer has described their sound as “a delicious blues-funk stew lightly seasoned with garage-rock flair”, and their dirty, fuzzed-up grooves fit in well here.

Now Popa has generously donated a signed copy of the Dead Exs’ CD Resurrection for one of you lucky people to own. All you need to do is drop a comment below that includes your name or preferred internet handle and a reliable e-mail address and then wait patiently. The giveaway will close on October 24 at 5 PM EST, and the winner will be chosen at random and announced on October 25.

And while you’re here, you can download the song “More Stuff” by right-clicking on the link below. Enjoy!

The Dead Exs – More Stuff

 

 

 

The Dead Exs Official Website

One Comment

Bobby Bare, Jr., and Hayes Carll Write a Dirty Song

  By

Not only do I personally approve of and encourage the writing and performing of dirty songs (rock ‘n’ roll was built on some smutty songs, y’all), but I love to watch collaborations come together. If you feel the same, you’re going to love the new video preview from the folks at Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost), the upcoming Bobby Bare, Jr., documentary.

A word from Lee Baker, the producer:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCLUSIVE BACKSTAGE ACCESS! BOBBY BARE JR. & HAYES CARLL

CHECK IT OUT! A clip from the new rock documentary DON’T FOLLOW ME (I’m Lost) — a film about BOBBY BARE JR. – featuring Hayes Carll!

Go to: www.indiegogo.com/dontfollowmeimlost AND click the GALLERY tab to watch!

AND please help us reach our goal-we have 18 days left!! Every $ counts! We can’t do it without you.

Thank you for your support.

 

2 Comments

Marone!

  By

I am half-Italian/Sicilian-American on my father’s side. As such, I feel both a deep part of and an alien to my family’s culture. I’ve never been to Italy, though my heart clenches like a fool in love when I see an Italian landscape. I have taught myself a bit of proper Italian, though the first Italian I learned was the end-vowel-clipping tones of those who came to seek the American dream from the lower calf of Italia’s boot. As such, I have a love/hate relationship with the fake Italian songs so popular in the early 1950s, before rock ‘n’ roll really took hold of America.

Arguably, the greatest practioner of fake Italian songs was one of my great loves, Dino Paul Crocetti, i.e., Dean Martin. Dino’s story reflects my own father’s story in some ways. Like my father, he was born in Ohio (my father from Cleveland, Dean from Steubenville), and part of his family came from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Like my father, he spoke mostly Italian until he was five years old, like my father, he loved to sit in his favorite chair and watch Westerns. And, like my father, a handsome man (I am told I look just like my father, so this compliment may be self-serving).

So here, per voi, this Friday slackday, is a selection of the best fake Italian songs of that Italian-loving era. Per voi, cafones. Va’ fa’ un culo! (Don’t translate that.)

 

The greatest of fake Italian songs:
 

 

Here’s Rosemary Clooney, of Irish descent, telling the story of how Mitch Miller talked her into singing one of the biggest hits of her career, a song which was actually written by the great Armenian-American author William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks). (Thanks to Rick Saunders for the illuminating information.)
 

 

Dino and Rosemary duke it out on this fake Italian song, “Mambo Italiano”.
 


 

 

I was going to include Sergio Franchi’s “Pizza-zza” here – despite the fact that Franchi was native Italian, this song sounds ridiculously fake – but there are no videos for it available. So here instead is the only mildly fake Italian “Buona Sera” by the inimitable Louis Prima.
 

No comments

Notes on a Final Show: The Academy Is . . . (2003-2011)

  By , ,

The second night of the Fueled by Ramen 15th Anniversary celebration happened the Friday after Labor Day, the end of a week that had been both somewhat short and unbearably long. Summer was not quite done with Manhattan yet; it was hot, sticky, and close. I was tired and perhaps a little bit feverish, worn thin, or perhaps worn out.

I almost didn’t go.

But after a (slightly longer than planned) disco nap , I made my way down to T5 and eeled my way into the pit. Oversleeping meant I was further back than I really wanted to be, but it was early yet, and the crowd was loosely packed. I’ll move up as we go along, I thought, and I did, slipping into breaks in the ranks as the crowd shifted between sets.

Oversleeping also meant I missed the first band, so I started the evening with A Rocket To the Moon, and my notes on them were “So that’s who Halvo is” and “Oh, you’re the ones responsible for the Fueled By Ramen Holiday Sale song!” The former is their bassist, and is properly known as Eric Halvorsen; the latter is a remarkably infectious earworm – part commercial and part community in-joke – used (or, I should say, deployed) in annual winter holiday promotions. I realized it belonged to them when they sang it for us.

The Academy Is . . . were next. The first I saw of them was the flash of skin and color that is Andy “The Butcher” Mrotek’s chestpiece. I was both wryly amused by my ability recognize him by his tattoos from practically the back of the venue, and pleasantly surprised / relieved to see him climbing behind the drums, as at that point, the last I heard he had left the band. (Michael Guy “Chizzy” Chislett, their second guitarist, also recently left; he was not there.)

 

IMG_1436Andy “The Butcher” Mrotek

 

Then the rest of them came out. It took me a few songs to realize they were playing their first record (Almost Here, 2005) straight through, with only one later song (We’ve Got a Big Mess on Our Hands, from Santi (2007)) added at the end. I was slightly late to their party, arriving only in 2008, shortly before the release of their third record, Fast Times at Barrington High.

The girls around me certainly knew what was up, though, because they were singing along and shuffle-dancing as best they could, hemmed in as we were by the sheer volume of bodies. This was the thing that stuck with me: they way they were grinning at each other, hearing these songs that they probably listen to all the time, but have slid out of the regular show rotation as the band moved forward.

 

IMG_1438Adam “Sisky Business” Siska (l) and William Beckett (r)

 

It made me happy, too, though I’m somewhat more partial to Fast Times, and the way it sounds like the summers in high school felt. A little bit happy, a little bit sad, a little bit frustrated with the pressure cooker and suburbia, mixed with a certain amount of bravado and longing.

And then it was over. The band melted away into the wings. The Butcher came out again, briefly, bearing a tambourine, his presence ruffling the front row into a burst of cheering. He extended his arms and – well, it wasn’t quite a bow, but it was clearly a gesture of farewell. Here was where my heart clenched a little bit, though I was glad to have the moment, and to be able to say good-bye properly. (William Beckett appeared again at the end of the evening, but more on that later.)

At the time I thought I was only saying goodbye to the Butcher. The others, we had been told, would be soldiering on, while he and Chizzy pursued other, separate projects. I was warily hopeful for the future – some bands can survive a radical fissioning (i.e. Panic! at the Disco) others cannot – and I was curious what kind of music TAI . . .  would produce in a post-Butcher, post-Chizzy future.

 

IMG_1442The Butcher and Mike Carden

 

Meanwhile, the show kept rolling. Gym Class Heroes came out and played a tight, focused set. They had also been away for a while, and clearly it had done them good. Cobra Starship closed the evening down with more old favorites, including – and here is where William Beckett reappeared – Snakes on a Plane.

I know the song is (or was supposed to be )a joke. It is nonetheless one of my favorites, not least because of the way Beckett’s voice punches through the layers of noise and soars above it all, sweet, clear and true. This ridiculous song from an equally silly movie was the song that made me say Who is that? and go in search of his (their) non-silly-movie related music.

I slipped away as the last notes were fading out, sweaty, thirsty and tired, but suffused with warm concert glow. The pictures I got of TAI . . . weren’t that great, but I put them up anyway, since the internet always appreciates new pictures. They’ll be back, I thought. I’ll get better ones later. (The ones of Gym Class Heroes and Cobra Starship were better, but only marginally so. But that is a story for another day.)

 

IMG_1428William Beckett

 

And then last Saturday, they announced the fissioning was actually going to be a complete dissolution. The Academy Is . . ., is no more. (I will still probably get more pictures of them in their new, non-TAI . . . adventures, but, it will not quite be the same.) It was a jolt – a sharp, unexpected punch to the heart – because it always is, when a band you love comes completely unscrewed. But it was not truly a surprise.

 

IMG_1439William Beckett

 

When I heard (or rather read; I found out via Twitter) I thought some more about this show, now their last, and was extra glad that I had gone.

I also thought about the other shows of theirs I had attended. The first time I saw them, at the New York stop of the mtvU Sunblock Festival, held in the back parking lot at Jones Beach. It was July, and it was also pouring with rain, blowing hard, and so cold the kids were drinking hot chocolate between bands. (The Butcher, who normally plays the drums in booty shorts and a smile, was fully dressed and wearing jeans. Every time he hit a cymbal there was a spray off water.)

I was wearing a poncho, but it didn’t help very much. By the time TAI .  . . came out I was soaked almost to  the skin, standing in puddle, and having a somewhat serious discussion with myself on the topic of “can we go home now?”  Then, as sheets of rain blew across the stage, they started their set with About A Girl, and for the next 15 minutes, it did actually feel like summer.

The second time I saw them was last summer, when they went out with KISS. That show was also at Jones Beach, though on the main stage, and was (mercifully) warmer and drier than the first one. The vibe was a little off – the KISS crowd was definitely not their crowd – but they came out and valiantly bounced through their set just the same.

And then there was this last time, when I finally got to see them indoors. I was thinking the next time I might get all the way to seeing them at their own show, but it is not to be.

Still: I am grateful for this last gift, this last show, for the fact that they managed to hold on this long, and that I was able to be there when the whole room sang with them, even all the way at the back.

Because you don’t get that kind of magic very often.

2 Comments

Old Gray Mule: A Day in MS, a Night in TX

  By

 

This year’s Deep Blues Festival, my first, was full of highlights both music and personal. One of those highlights was seeing Old Gray Mule play, partially because of their musical prowess and service to the groove and partially because watching C.R. Humphrey and C.W. Ayon joke around like a couple of schoolboys on the verge of a giggle fit is so damned enjoyable.

It is great to hear that slightly mischievous, good-time atmosphere brought to OGM’s new release A Day in Mississippi, A Night in Texas. “Alright, this song’s got cussing in it,” Humphrey announces as OGM kicks off a live set, recorded this past July at the 2nd annual Junior Kimbrough Birthday Party in Austin, Texas. After a little more joshing around, OGM ease into their gritty take on “Stagger Lee”, showing not only that service to the groove but also showcasing Ayon’s sharp vocal attitude as he relays the fateful story. Ayon is a good match for Humphrey, who has played with a few different drummers under the Old Gray Mule handle. The swagger of Ayon’s vocals reflect the cool assurance of Humprhey’s guitar playing as Ayon also backs up on drums with a beat calculated for maximum hip sway.

 

Stagger Lee/My Babe Told Me So by Old Gray Mule

 

And can we talk about Humprhey’s guitar playing? From fuzzed-out riffs inspired by north Mississippi hill country blues masters like Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and T-Model Ford to funked up waka-chika (their take on Burnside Exploration’s “Bitch, You Lie” rolling into Parliament’s “Flashlight”, with Julia Magness of the Original Bells of Joy, is an ass-shaking good time) to the soulful picking that characterizes their cover of Junior Kimbrough’s “I Cried Last Night” (with Meredith Kimbrough of Mother Merey and the Black Dirt) that will have you closing your eyes, nodding your head and wishing you could morph into a guitar string to be so sweetly caressed, Humphrey is sharp.

But before the party night in Texas, there is the day in Mississippi where Humphrey and Ayon record with guitarist Bill Abel who has played and recorded with greats like Paul “Wine” Jones, Hubert Sumlin, Sam Carr and more. For me, the highlight of this four-song section is the sleek, slow-grooving “I’m Bad Like Jesse James”.

 

I’m Bad Like Jesses James by Old Gray Mule with Bill Abel

 

If you need a little more convincing (But why would you? Did you listen to those songs up there? Fucking great!), head over to Deep Blues where Rick Saunders has another taste from the album for you, a little zydeco number. Then get yourself out to a show and pick this up for yourself when Old Gray Mule hits your town (the opportunity will be coming up shortly if you’re in Australia).

Old Gray Mule Official Website