1.17.2004
new day rising
It wasn't a blowout. Don't call it a comeback. But boy, howdy, were we all surprised when we had 50+ at the Beachland last night for the
Straw/Holtnow
Big Black Africa
Paik
Lives of the Saints
show.
Lemme tell ya: the Brian Straw and Eric Holtnow duo was tres nice. Brian did his strangling/mangling thing via gadgetry that spiked the air with shards, loops and ambient sound. But it was Holtnow who subdued Straw's screech and howl with lovely vibraphone work, as gentle tintinnabulations soften the blows coming from the other side of the stage. It was hectic enough to get the growing crowd interested in music rather than beer, yet mellow enough to not rattle the still-sleepy crowd too much.
Big Black Africa, an offshoot of avant-rock trio Vernacular, stunned everyone with a furious set that paid homage to Albert Ayler, godheadsilo, Jimi Hendrix, black poetics, and the catharsis of getting over (rafeeq trashes items belonging to his ex, lawrence demolished a string and I swear was going to level his loud as a biblical plague bass rig from just the sheer feedback). It was scarier and yet more fun than a lot of sets I've seen people do these days. I think these cats are onto something--but I could say the same for Vernacular, too--some more tightening and a few more audio tricks in the bag (like running LDC through a guitar rig for added high end, clarity, and depth), and really, motherf****rs are going to start getting scared.
Even though I didn't see all of Paik, they were sweet. And drew a good chunk of the crowd, too. Here's what I have to say: MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Not derivative, but in the vein of. And I mean in the vein. Just huge, huge, huge, waves of guitar, bass and drums in a megawatt lullaby. Whew! Here's hoping they come back again.
And Lives. I gotta say, I'm proud of the boys. Now with Jason Schafer on guitar, they've turned into a whole new thing. Soul-noise? Gospel-core? Somewhere between Tar and Hum with Little Richard on vocals? Does that make them Branch Manager? Their set, my friends, was a whole lot of rock. There is now officially some trouble in town.
Straw/Holtnow
Big Black Africa
Paik
Lives of the Saints
show.
Lemme tell ya: the Brian Straw and Eric Holtnow duo was tres nice. Brian did his strangling/mangling thing via gadgetry that spiked the air with shards, loops and ambient sound. But it was Holtnow who subdued Straw's screech and howl with lovely vibraphone work, as gentle tintinnabulations soften the blows coming from the other side of the stage. It was hectic enough to get the growing crowd interested in music rather than beer, yet mellow enough to not rattle the still-sleepy crowd too much.
Big Black Africa, an offshoot of avant-rock trio Vernacular, stunned everyone with a furious set that paid homage to Albert Ayler, godheadsilo, Jimi Hendrix, black poetics, and the catharsis of getting over (rafeeq trashes items belonging to his ex, lawrence demolished a string and I swear was going to level his loud as a biblical plague bass rig from just the sheer feedback). It was scarier and yet more fun than a lot of sets I've seen people do these days. I think these cats are onto something--but I could say the same for Vernacular, too--some more tightening and a few more audio tricks in the bag (like running LDC through a guitar rig for added high end, clarity, and depth), and really, motherf****rs are going to start getting scared.
Even though I didn't see all of Paik, they were sweet. And drew a good chunk of the crowd, too. Here's what I have to say: MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Not derivative, but in the vein of. And I mean in the vein. Just huge, huge, huge, waves of guitar, bass and drums in a megawatt lullaby. Whew! Here's hoping they come back again.
And Lives. I gotta say, I'm proud of the boys. Now with Jason Schafer on guitar, they've turned into a whole new thing. Soul-noise? Gospel-core? Somewhere between Tar and Hum with Little Richard on vocals? Does that make them Branch Manager? Their set, my friends, was a whole lot of rock. There is now officially some trouble in town.
1.15.2004
dear, sweet konk
Well, well. I'm gonna keep this kind of brief.
Yet another Cobra Verde date came through--Akron, at the Lime Spider, on Feb. 20th. Expect some kind of obnoxious email blast from Yers Truly in the next few days. I'm going to officially declare February as "Month of the Cobra".
Yesterday I sat in with Lives of the Saints in order to help them prepare for their Saturday night show. It was quite a challenge, playing noisy punk rock once again. I used the Monster Peavey head, my Fernandes bass, and a RAT pedal. Not bad, not bad. Their show on Saturday--with Paik and Big Black Africa--should be a good 'un. Everyone please come out and support my pals and give big ups to Jeff Deasy (bass), who's been on the DL list due to illness.
Scheduling of the bands and work has been slaying me lately. I'm glad to just be sitting home, with not much to do. Other than dinner and WCSB softly playing in the background.
Yet another Cobra Verde date came through--Akron, at the Lime Spider, on Feb. 20th. Expect some kind of obnoxious email blast from Yers Truly in the next few days. I'm going to officially declare February as "Month of the Cobra".
Yesterday I sat in with Lives of the Saints in order to help them prepare for their Saturday night show. It was quite a challenge, playing noisy punk rock once again. I used the Monster Peavey head, my Fernandes bass, and a RAT pedal. Not bad, not bad. Their show on Saturday--with Paik and Big Black Africa--should be a good 'un. Everyone please come out and support my pals and give big ups to Jeff Deasy (bass), who's been on the DL list due to illness.
Scheduling of the bands and work has been slaying me lately. I'm glad to just be sitting home, with not much to do. Other than dinner and WCSB softly playing in the background.
1.14.2004
hoo boy.
So tonight, I rolled down to Mark Klein's (Cobra Verde drummer) house to lay down some bass for an upcoming CV release (it's actually going to be on an Alice Cooper tribute comp). And after several hours of doing the same lousy bassline over and over, I realized that yes, I am not such a sweet bassist.
Y'see, it's all about feel. And for this song, "Is It My Body", which is sloppily rendered in the original version, I didn't have the right feel. I'm not lazy enough on the instrument, I guess. I've gotten to the point where I can whip out a lot of stuff fast--quick runs and what have you--but I'm always rushing, rushing, rushing to the end. I've noticed this problem with the New Lou Reeds, too. Stephe's folk-rock strumming, which always lays back, is totally outdone by my charging lines. And that's not the point. Mark and Frank are the same way too. It's not that they can't play well--quite the opposite. It's just a different kind of riddim. I'm just too caffeinated to get it. There's too much math-punk in my mix. I'm too proficient. Too uptight. Thank the bass gods I get to play with these guys--I've learned a lot! It would appear that at a certain time in rock history, everyone lagged and everyone was behind the beat. Which gives songs that aren't very fast a kind of energy and heft that they wouldn't otherwise have. Maybe it was punk rock that changed the paradigm. I'm not sure. But that's the musical legacy I've been left with that isn't always appropriate to the songs I have to play.
Anyway, I do hope that thinking about the info on this following link helps me out in the future:
http://www.baumgarten.nl/
Y'see, it's all about feel. And for this song, "Is It My Body", which is sloppily rendered in the original version, I didn't have the right feel. I'm not lazy enough on the instrument, I guess. I've gotten to the point where I can whip out a lot of stuff fast--quick runs and what have you--but I'm always rushing, rushing, rushing to the end. I've noticed this problem with the New Lou Reeds, too. Stephe's folk-rock strumming, which always lays back, is totally outdone by my charging lines. And that's not the point. Mark and Frank are the same way too. It's not that they can't play well--quite the opposite. It's just a different kind of riddim. I'm just too caffeinated to get it. There's too much math-punk in my mix. I'm too proficient. Too uptight. Thank the bass gods I get to play with these guys--I've learned a lot! It would appear that at a certain time in rock history, everyone lagged and everyone was behind the beat. Which gives songs that aren't very fast a kind of energy and heft that they wouldn't otherwise have. Maybe it was punk rock that changed the paradigm. I'm not sure. But that's the musical legacy I've been left with that isn't always appropriate to the songs I have to play.
Anyway, I do hope that thinking about the info on this following link helps me out in the future:
http://www.baumgarten.nl/
hoo boy.
So tonight, I rolled down to Mark Klein's (Cobra Verde drummer) house to lay down some bass for an upcoming CV release (it's actually going to be on an Alice Cooper tribute comp). And after several hours of doing the same lousy bassline over and over, I realized that yes, I am not such a sweet bassist.
Y'see, it's all about feel. And for this song, "Is It My Body", which is sloppily rendered in the original version, I didn't have the right feel. I'm not lazy enough on the instrument, I guess. I've gotten to the point where I can whip out a lot of stuff fast--quick runs and what have you--but I'm always rushing, rushing, rushing to the end. I've noticed this problem with the New Lou Reeds, too. Stephe's folk-rock strumming, which always lays back, is totally outdone by my charging lines. And that's not the point. Mark and Frank are the same way too. It's not that they can't play well--quite the opposite. It's just a different kind of riddim. I'm just too caffeinated to get it. There's too much math-punk in my mix. I'm too proficient. Too uptight. Thank the bass gods I get to play with these guys--I've learned a lot! It would appear that at a certain time in rock history, everyone lagged and everyone was behind the beat. Which gives songs that aren't very fast a kind of energy and heft that they wouldn't otherwise have. Maybe it was punk rock that changed the paradigm. I'm not sure. But that's the musical legacy I've been left with that isn't always appropriate to the songs I have to play.
Anyway, I do hope that thinking about the info on this following link helps me out in the future:
http://www.baumgarten.nl/
Y'see, it's all about feel. And for this song, "Is It My Body", which is sloppily rendered in the original version, I didn't have the right feel. I'm not lazy enough on the instrument, I guess. I've gotten to the point where I can whip out a lot of stuff fast--quick runs and what have you--but I'm always rushing, rushing, rushing to the end. I've noticed this problem with the New Lou Reeds, too. Stephe's folk-rock strumming, which always lays back, is totally outdone by my charging lines. And that's not the point. Mark and Frank are the same way too. It's not that they can't play well--quite the opposite. It's just a different kind of riddim. I'm just too caffeinated to get it. There's too much math-punk in my mix. I'm too proficient. Too uptight. Thank the bass gods I get to play with these guys--I've learned a lot! It would appear that at a certain time in rock history, everyone lagged and everyone was behind the beat. Which gives songs that aren't very fast a kind of energy and heft that they wouldn't otherwise have. Maybe it was punk rock that changed the paradigm. I'm not sure. But that's the musical legacy I've been left with that isn't always appropriate to the songs I have to play.
Anyway, I do hope that thinking about the info on this following link helps me out in the future:
http://www.baumgarten.nl/
1.13.2004
le bien, le mal
I have good news and bad news.
The bad news first:
I didn't realize how much heat skillets trap. I busted out an old skillet I'd acquired several years ago, and went about the business of prepping a quick n' dirty quesadilla. I got it crazy hot, plopped the chow down on the metal, and in mere moments, the dang thing burned my treat. Just like that! So I had smoke and a very dirty dish to consume, and a dirtier one to wash. Fortunately, this was all relieved by the presence of tomato juice. I'd invested in some on my last shopping trip, and god bless it. Keeps me (relatively) healthy and energized. These days, I need that!
Now, the good news:
All praise Brandon Stevens. The New Lou Reeds disc is done! Stephe is now the proud owner of 150 CDs, which we'll be selling at all future shows. We're also playing a lot of shows: Columbus this Saturday (see donewaiting.com for details); and the 24th with the Tough and Lovely (good friends of Ed who are in Columbus as well). On the 5th of Feb, we'll be doing a night at Edison's, which I hope we can turn into a residency of some sort. That'll be fun.
Mike Uva is playing in Chicago this weekend. I gotta get details and talk to all my people in that fair city and tell them to buy him a mocha.
And I'm really, really, really psyched to announce the following COBRA VERDE show dates:
feb 3 grog shop -- CV with urge overkill
feb 6 subterranean, chicago -- as part of donewaiting.com's one-year anniversary!
feb 7 radio, radio (i think) indianapolis --more donewaiting fun
feb 21 beachland -- as part of little steven's underground garage with the fondas, reigning sound (YEAH!), the chesterfield kings, and 80s hitmakers the romantics!
Whew.
The bad news first:
I didn't realize how much heat skillets trap. I busted out an old skillet I'd acquired several years ago, and went about the business of prepping a quick n' dirty quesadilla. I got it crazy hot, plopped the chow down on the metal, and in mere moments, the dang thing burned my treat. Just like that! So I had smoke and a very dirty dish to consume, and a dirtier one to wash. Fortunately, this was all relieved by the presence of tomato juice. I'd invested in some on my last shopping trip, and god bless it. Keeps me (relatively) healthy and energized. These days, I need that!
Now, the good news:
All praise Brandon Stevens. The New Lou Reeds disc is done! Stephe is now the proud owner of 150 CDs, which we'll be selling at all future shows. We're also playing a lot of shows: Columbus this Saturday (see donewaiting.com for details); and the 24th with the Tough and Lovely (good friends of Ed who are in Columbus as well). On the 5th of Feb, we'll be doing a night at Edison's, which I hope we can turn into a residency of some sort. That'll be fun.
Mike Uva is playing in Chicago this weekend. I gotta get details and talk to all my people in that fair city and tell them to buy him a mocha.
And I'm really, really, really psyched to announce the following COBRA VERDE show dates:
feb 3 grog shop -- CV with urge overkill
feb 6 subterranean, chicago -- as part of donewaiting.com's one-year anniversary!
feb 7 radio, radio (i think) indianapolis --more donewaiting fun
feb 21 beachland -- as part of little steven's underground garage with the fondas, reigning sound (YEAH!), the chesterfield kings, and 80s hitmakers the romantics!
Whew.
1.12.2004
paradise city my ass
Notes on Classic Rock:
Someone needs to write a thesis that goes something like, "AC/DC Is Fucking Sweet" and use "Shoot To Thrill" as one of the most condensedly ass-kicking examples of just how sweet AC/DC is.
"Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles makes me sad in ways that I simply cannot express here. Let's just say it's the right combination of sappiness, cliche, and heartfelt longing that brings a tear to my eye. (cf "Summer Wind", by Frank Sinatra, though that falls outside of this genre, and affects me for utterly different reasons)
Who listens to Foghat? And why?
I've been noticing a lot more Journey on the radio. Not good.
I HATE classic rock playlists in Cleveland. Hey, uh, dude. The Police cut more tunes than just "Roxanne".I have to say, however, that purely in the interests of Bass Geekery, that tone Sting gets is just downright meaty.
Listening to the Who's Live at Leeds record, I find it hard to believe that there was a band on this planet that was that ridiculously good. It's breathtaking. "Heaven and Hell", man. God bless John Entwistle's old crusty soul, and let's just hope that the afterlife gives him enough chicks and blow and stadiums to rock forever and ever, amen.
"Hollywood Hills" by Bob Seger, can at the right time, send me into fits of anthemic chill. Same with Led Zep's ridiculous "The Immigrant Song". Plus, you can sing, "Valhalla I am coming".
"The Wizard" has got to be one of Black Sabbath's worst songs. Having heard some of their other stuff, like Sabotage, makes up for a crap tune like that, though.
I think that Supertramp's half-baked but decent song "Take the Long Way Home" needs to be covered by a much better band and used as end credit music for a movie.
Someone needs to write a thesis that goes something like, "AC/DC Is Fucking Sweet" and use "Shoot To Thrill" as one of the most condensedly ass-kicking examples of just how sweet AC/DC is.
"Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles makes me sad in ways that I simply cannot express here. Let's just say it's the right combination of sappiness, cliche, and heartfelt longing that brings a tear to my eye. (cf "Summer Wind", by Frank Sinatra, though that falls outside of this genre, and affects me for utterly different reasons)
Who listens to Foghat? And why?
I've been noticing a lot more Journey on the radio. Not good.
I HATE classic rock playlists in Cleveland. Hey, uh, dude. The Police cut more tunes than just "Roxanne".I have to say, however, that purely in the interests of Bass Geekery, that tone Sting gets is just downright meaty.
Listening to the Who's Live at Leeds record, I find it hard to believe that there was a band on this planet that was that ridiculously good. It's breathtaking. "Heaven and Hell", man. God bless John Entwistle's old crusty soul, and let's just hope that the afterlife gives him enough chicks and blow and stadiums to rock forever and ever, amen.
"Hollywood Hills" by Bob Seger, can at the right time, send me into fits of anthemic chill. Same with Led Zep's ridiculous "The Immigrant Song". Plus, you can sing, "Valhalla I am coming".
"The Wizard" has got to be one of Black Sabbath's worst songs. Having heard some of their other stuff, like Sabotage, makes up for a crap tune like that, though.
I think that Supertramp's half-baked but decent song "Take the Long Way Home" needs to be covered by a much better band and used as end credit music for a movie.
