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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: The Imperial Rooster

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

One of the best perks about this music blogging gig is the like-minded friends you can make. I got to know Dusty Vinyl thanks to the appearance of everyone’s favorite porch-dwellers The Imperial Rooster at the inaugural Couch by Couchwest in the spring of 2011, and the Rooster drummer has been a good buddy ever since (and simpatico enough that he chose one of my favorite books for his read).

The Imperial Rooster has two albums under its belt now, and has been gigging hard whenever it can. If you’re in the Santa Fe area you can catch them:

April 27 w/Split Lip Rayfield @ Sol, Santa Fe
May 22 w/The Misery Jackals @ The Underground, Santa Fe

 

“April” – The Imperial Rooster
(They tell me it’s a coincidence that this song has my name on it, but I’m not buying it.)

 

Good Read:
Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad.
I’m probably preaching to the choir in this space but I’ve been surprised before by how many folks with similar tastes in music have never read this book. It tells the story of most of the important underground rock bands of the 80s up until their breakup or signing to a major label.

A lot of my favorite bands of all time are represented: Black Flag, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen (whose “History Lesson Part II” is where the book cribs its title from) Husker Du, and the immortal Mudhoney.
Every story is worth reading even if you’re unfamiliar with the band’s music (never been into Beat Happening) as a snapshot of all the different vibrant music regions around the country, as cautionary tales, and as a doorway to your new favorite band.

Good Listen:
For Your Own Special Sweetheart – Jawbox
As the flipside to the overall theme of the book I just wrote about Jawbox’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart is the rare “underground rock band jumps to major label” story where the band’s major label output smokes their indie stuff.
Washinton DC’s Jawbox was a major band in that city’s burgeoning post hardcore scene, alongside Fugazi and Shudder To Think and the jump from super anti corporate Dischord to mega major Atlantic was a shock. Even more shocking was how great the resulting major label debut was. Two big events shape this record: Jawbox went on tour with Helmet and they got a real recording budget. The budget allowed their sonic pallette to expand while at the same time the tour with Helmet inspired their riffs to be big and jagged and muscular. The band remained uncompromising with their hardcore influenced indie rock. The songs are unrelenting, fantastic and multilayered and the album as a whole is a completely satisfying listen. Definitely check it out.

 

“Savory” – Jawbox

“Motorist” – Jawbox

 

Good Drink:
Trippel (New Belgium Brewery)
My beer of choice when I’m going to the store New Belgium’s take on a trippel style ale is perfection in a bottle. Its hoppy and sweet and it’s 7.8 ABV ensures that you’ll be feeling good a couple bottles in without all the beer bloat.

 

“Overunderstimulated” – The Imperial Rooster

 

The Imperial Rooster @ Bandcamp

The Imperial Rooster @ ReverbNation

The Imperial Rooster @ Facebook

 

Graphic by Jenn Bando

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Saturday Matinee: If I Should Fall from Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story

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This documentary about the lead singer of Irish-by-way-of-London band the Pogues paints a complex, heartrending, and ultimately frustrating portrait of an artist who could still be contributing so much to music if he could just get his shit together. But it’s never as easy as that, is it?

 

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The Big Nowhere: Pull Down the Moon

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Good morning, NTSIBbers. Some of you may recognize today’s band from their recent appearance at Couch by CouchWest, but for those of you that don’t, please meet The Big Nowhere, from Glasgow, Scotland.

Their line-up is still evolving, but the music I’m bring you today is the work of Simon Sinclair (Vocals, Guitar, Slide Guitar, Organ, Percussion, Melodica, Saxophone), Billy Crowe (Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Harmonica, Banjolin, Lap Steel), Joe Keegan (Piano, Organ) and Peter Morgan (Drums).

Together they make music that sounds like it belongs somewhere (or some-when) a little bit wilder than now; some place and time where people are just starting to build dance-halls on the frontier.

The song that hooked my attention was, as it happened, the first song on the record: Some Kind of Sickness. Something about the tune was familiar, but I couldn’t quite work out what it was – something about the melody, maybe. I found myself humming it at odd moments, trying to figure it out. The penny finally dropped one afternoon when I was listening to it on the uptown 4 train, and both humming along and playing the drums on my knee.

See if you can work it out:

 

(The answer is: It’s built on the frame of an old Appalachian ballad called On Top Of Old Smok(e)y, the first recording of which is lost in the mists of time; the one the link uses the arrangement created by Pete Seegar in 1951. Burl Ives and Bing Crosby sang a duet version, and Hank Williams Sr. covered it as well. And that’s not even getting into the many parodies, starting with On Top Of Spaghetti, recorded by Tom Glazer in 1963.)
 
Also fun to sing along to is (Why Won’t You) Make My Telephone Ring:


 
and my personal favorite, Untitled Song Regarding the Dangers Of Making Faustian Pacts (short form: Untitled Satan Song):


 
Also worthy of note is the three-part super-creepy murder-ballad song series called “Hansen’s Trailer Park Suite”: Johnny Walker Red, My Name is Bob Willis and Song for Suzannah. This is one of the few times I will say this, but, be sure to listen to them all together and in order, or else the story doesn’t quite make sense. There’s a full explanation here, which I encourage you to read; meanwhile, I’ll start you off with the first one:
 

 

And now, on a somewhat lighter note, I give you two videos. The first one for a song called Junk Band, and is from their Christmas in the Gutter EP. I love it because it approximately what would happen if someone had made Twin Peaks as a silent movie.

It has many of my favorite things, for example: a moody black and white color scheme! title cards! a man in a bowler hat! Magic tricks! Shadow dinosaurs! I could say more but that is my allotment of exclamation points for this post!
 

The Big Nowhere - Junk Band (official video)

 
And finally their CXCW 2012 performance of No-one Here But Ghosts, new and as-yet-unreleased:

The Big Nowhere - No-one Here But Ghosts (Couch by Couchwest 2012)

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Phantom Tails: New Video and Tour Dates

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The doom funk meisters of Minneapolis have produced a new, fantastical video for “Young Rapture” from their latest release The Armageddon Experience. It’s a little Labyrinth-y, a little MirrorMask-y, a little Mummenschanz-y.

 

 

Phantom Tails are also on the road starting next month.

April 6 @ Franks Power Plant- Milwaukee, WI w/ Terrible Awkward & Temple

April 7 @ TBA- Chicago, IL w/ Vamos & Made by Man

April 10 @ Silk City- Philadelphia, PA w/TBA

Aplil 11 @ Party Xpo 929- Brooklyn, NY w/TBA

April 12 @ Trash bar- Brooklyn, NY w/ Marvin Berry and the New Sound & Cult Fever

April 13 @ Springfest- Clemson, SC w/ Megafaun, Moon Taxi, Mr. Invisible & more

April 14 @ Flatiron- Greensboro, NC w/ Fort Wilson Riot & The Old One-Two

April 15 @ TBA- Atlanta, GA

April 16 @ TBA- Nashville, TN

April 17 @ The Melody Inn- Indianapolis, IN w/TBA

April 21 @ Kitty Kat Club- Minneapolis, MN w/ Dial-up, Buffalo Moon, Slapping Purses

May 25 @ Amsterdam- St. Paul, MN w/Red Daughters & The Goondas

June 9 @ Franconia sculpture garden

 

Phantom Tails @ Bandcamp

Phantom Tails @ Facebook

Phantom Tails @ Twitter

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Video Grab Bag: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

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The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: Because their records were the ones I neatly extracted from my parents’ collection and played as often as I could.

The Clancys came from Tipperary, Tommy Makem from Armagh, and they started creating a Irish traditional music sensation in America in the 1960s. I was lucky enough to see an incarnation of the band – there were several line-up changes over the years – in the late ’80s in DC, and I brought one of my carefully hoarded records for them to sign. (Which they did, with great ceremony, and perhaps some amusement, but definitely with courtly kindness towards a gawky not-quite teenager.) And as I remember, their voices were as sweet and true as ever.

Time has taken its toll, and as of 2009, they have all passed on. But they are still my favorite, for ever and always.

To add the Clancys and/or Mr. Makem to your own record collection, you can go Amazon and also to eMusic . The latter has Hearty & Hellish! which was the record that I probably listened to the most.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these videos.

 
http://youtu.be/jpjWCSL-utI

 

Rising of the Moon-Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem 6/11

 

Brennan On The Moor - Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

 
http://youtu.be/ONAuo51pTHY

 

Will Ye Go Lassie Go - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

 
Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem - Whiskey, you`re the devil

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: The Parlor Soldiers

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

The Parlor Soldiers’ album When the Dust Settles – with some songs that play like a wink, some that play like a punch, with all sorts of intriguing stories in between – has been one of the first real delights of 2012 for me. (If you haven’t yet, visit their Bandcamp site and be charmed by the album yourself. And check out their tour dates! The more shows you attend, the greater chance I have of seeing them up north sometime.) So, I’m very happy to have Alex, Karen and Dan participate in our series.

 

 

Alex Culbreth – Book: Post Office by Charles Bukowski (very funny novel from one of my favorite writers)

Album: John Prine (no album in particular, he’s a great songwriter and there’s lots to learn from him)

Drink: Gin & Tonic (because I love me some old man drinks!)

 

Karen Jonas – Book: Go Dog, Go – I used to read real books but now I have babies at home.

Album: Gillian Welch, The Harrow & The Harvest – I’ve been listening to this one for a few months, such great americana imagery.

Drink: Water with no ice – though the boys are always trying to get me to drink something else

 

Dan Dutton – Book: The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey; as the author says “enjoy, shipmates, enjoy

Album: 40 oz. to Freedom by Sublime because Eric can’t sing either.

Drink: Unearthly from Southern Tier Brewery because it brought me back to good beer.

 

The Parlor Soldiers – “Shallow Grave”

 

The Parlor Soldiers @ Bandcamp

The Parlor Soldiers @ Facebook

The Parlor Soldiers @ ReverbNation

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Wildlife: Sea Dreamer

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I caught Wildlife on the Daytrotter Barnstormer tour this past summer and was impressed, an easy highlight of the night. As the band says, “Every night we’ve played like it’s the last time we’ll be allowed onstage. Even Dean, after tearing his Achilles Tendon mid-concert and being ridden to a cast, hasn’t tempered the energy.” That was evident that night in a barn in Ohio.

I’m happy to be able to feature their new video for “Sea Dreamer”, off their debut album Strike Hard, Young Diamond.

 

 

You can stream and buy Strike Hard, Young Diamond at Wildlife’s Bandcamp site.

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Grandfather in Cleveland Tonight

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Grandfather is going to be part of a free bar show tonight at Now That’s Class. I wrote about them about a year ago when I was sucked in by their heavy, Steve Albini-engineered album Why I’d Try.

 

 

Showtime is 9 PM with Grandfather set to play at 10 PM. Come check them out. If you’re not in Cleveland tonight, they have a bunch more shows coming up around the country, including shows at SXSW.

3.05.12 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
3.06.12 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups w/ White Wolves, Stella, Tenth Generation
3.07.12 – Akron, OH @ Annabelle’s w/ The Hobs
3.08.12 – Bloomington, IN @ The Gourley Hole w/ Otis and the Rufies
3.09.12 – Louisville, KY @ Spinneli’s Pizza w/ Otis and the Rufies
3.10.12 – Nashville, TN @ The Thunderdome w/Otis and the Rufies
3.11.12 – Memphis, TN @ TBA
3.12.12 – Little Rock, AR @ Super Happy Fun Land
3.13.12 – Denton, TX @ Violitionist Sessions
3.14.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX
3.15.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX
3.16.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX 3:30PM Show
3.17.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX 2:00PM Show, 7:00PM Show, 1:30AM Show (Pearl St. SXSSUX Show)
3.18.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX
3.19.12 – Houston, TX @ The Mink w/Giant Battle Monster
3.20.12 – New Orleans, LA @ TBA
3.21.12 – Pensacola, FL @ The Handlebar w/ The Helvetica Effect
3.22.12 – Birmhingham, AL @ TBA
3.23.12 – Atlanta, GA @ The BeAtlanta House w/ Big Jesus
3.24.12 – Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light w/ Mother Mange
3.25.12 – Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone w/ Herra Terra
3.26.12 – Richmond, VA @ TBA
3.27.12 – Washington DC @ The Velvet Lounge w/ Treble Lifter
3.28.12 – Baltimore, MD @ TBA
3.29.12 – Jersey City, NJ @ The Lamp Post
3.30.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Motel Hell w/ Ladder Devils, Girlfight, Psychic Teens
3.31.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Shop w/ Psychic Teens + more.

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Video Grab Bag: The Monkees

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It won’t let me embed, but go and watch it anyway. This particular video for Daydream Believer showcases both Davy Jones’ voice and the daffy fun that was The Monkees TV show, which I know I watched as a small child, either in re-runs or in syndication.

If Whitney Houston made me want to dance with someone, this song made me hope I might get to be the homecoming queen for a daydream believer. That sounded like a good time. I was sure there were frilly princess dresses involved, maybe even a crown.

Last Train To Clarksville was another one of my favorites:
 
http://youtu.be/RUZeZ1e441A
 
And finally I’m A Believer:
 
http://youtu.be/XfuBREMXxts
 
Rest in peace, Mr. Jones. We shall miss you very much.