The Wailers vs. The Sonics--- Battle of the Bands!

I had the headline locked in and was gearing up to write this when the news that Kent Morrill of The Fabulous Wailers had left this mortal coil.  Normally, I am not one to glorify artists beyond what they deserve and I hope this doesn't sound like one of those 'boy, he was swell' after-the-fact pieces, but it will be hard for me to hold back the enthusiasm.  You see, I saw Kent perform one night at the Albany Guard Armory, The Wailers double-billed with The Sonics.

Today, one might think that the armory would have been overflowing with overly exuberant teens ready to kill for a seat, but you have to understand that when anyone played the armory circuit they were playing dances and not concerts.  You also have to understand that The Sonics were not then the Rock Gods that they have since become.  They had records, sure, and received a lot of airplay on numerous stations in the Willamette Valley and that did translate into teen admiration, but stars were who you saw on TV or played the Portland Coliseum and not the bands who carted equipment up and down I-5 to satisfy the results of hormones that floated like pollen on a warm Spring day.  Pacific Northwest musicians like Morrill and Gerry Roslie and Jimmy Hanna and even Mark Lindsay spent a portion of their time packing and unpacking vans and hearses and pickups in order to hock their musical wares and sell a few records.

Yeah, I saw Kent Morrill.  Man, I saw The Wailers!  When I close my eyes, I can see them still, spread out across a stage three platforms wide and drumming the crowd into a fury--- okay, more like providing music for teen gyrations.  See what I mean?  I get carried away.  But it is hard not to when you're sixteen or seventeen and you fall in love with every girl you see and have as background music some of the best rock to ever come out of the Pac NW.  Practically impossible.  Man, I had the car too!  That's right.  Dad let me drive the car two towns over  (a good 30 miles!) and handed me a twenty to boot.  In my world, it didn't get any better than that.

The Armory-----

I drove past the armory just the other day and it's still there, right where I left it.  Unlike many of the other armory buildings which were little more than glorified quonset huts, the Albany armory is a two-story building which could have been a bank building in earlier times, if it had had more windows anyway. Constructed of stone and brick, it seemed huge back in the day.  As I passed in my car, I was surprised to see this square gray structure which may have had a dance floor to accommodate 300 comfortably, 500 if you packed them in like sardines.  The entrance is offset toward the southeast side of the building with two steps leading from the sidewalk to the ticket window.  The door, directly to the left is average size.

As a teen, though, it looked formidable and the guy who took tickets could have been a bad guy from a James Bond movie.  The line was short--- it was a good hour before the music--- and it was still light outside.  I bought my ticket and whoever it was who went with me that night bought theirs as well.  A few steps and a torn ticket later, we were inside.

The stage was there, lit mainly from behind though there was a semblance of overhead lighting.  The chrome on the various guitars and amps were star shells from a distance and the drum set anchored them all.  Kids were already beginning to break into groups and a line formed at the snack bar, tables set up along the back wall.  Needless to say, I wasn't there for the girls, though I certainly enjoyed looking because there were girls from schools outside of my domain and  that was always intoxicating.  I was there for the music.  And judging from the equipment, there was going to be some music, for sure.

Pegged pants, crewcuts, ratted hair and short skirts (some even above the k nee!) were the fashion of the day.  One hundred, maybe two hundred teens gathered in groups of two, three or four, chattering away like one does in such settings.  I guess.  I was too enamored of the amps and guitars to pay much attention.

The Sonics-----

Paul Revere & the Raiders had gone national, The Wailers struggled to have hits (though Out of Our Tree had done very well for them, thank you).  Don & the Goodtimes were turning into a Raiders farm club (Jim Valley and Charlie Coe  were two Goodtimes to make the jump), The Live Five (not to be confused with The Liverpool Five) could not get to the next level in spite of an outstanding pair of regional hits (Yes You're Mine and Hunose) and The Viceroys were on the cusp of heading to the Bay Area for rejuvenation.  The Sonics drove through the hole created by the chaos and built on the amazing radio success of The Witch and Psycho to become the new regional favorite.

When they took the stage, the kids were scattered, many hanging around the snack bar visiting with friends and acquaintances.  The thump of drum and honk of guitar, typical tune-up noises, had them looking stageward and slowly they moved that direction.  Before they could gather, the race was on.  A few plunks and bangs were all The Sonics needed before filling the armory with a powerful, muddied sound.  No mikes on the drums, no mikes anywhere except onstage in front of Roslie.  You didn't make music with a PA system.  You made it with amps and power.  The PA just upped the ante.

I can't remember the order of songs.  There were a couple of instrumentals and a lot of what are now considered classic Sonics tracks:  The Witch, Psycho, Strychnine, Boss Hoss.  It didn't matter.  What mattered was the booming sound and the pounding rhythm.  When these guys played, it was hard not to move.  They blasted through a 45 minute set, maybe, giving the kids little chance to change dance partners between songs.  Pegged pants strained and ratted hair bobbed and weaved and legs stomped.  It was a glorious sight--- hormones on speed dial.  Standing directly in front of the stage toward the right side was just short of painful, the sound loud and brash and at times alternating staccato and whatever the opposite of that is.  The four University speakers on the two PA stands could barely handle Roslie's shrieks and screams and when they tore into Boss Hoss and Strychnine, I remember a chill down my spine.  I expected this--- at least this--- and the whole scene scribbled itself onto my psyche in indelible ink.

All too soon it was over, like the aftermath of an explosion.  Two roadies hit the stage--- the one for The Sonics scrambling to get mike stands and equipment off the stage, the one for The Wailers shifting the instruments and amps from the back of the stage where they had been stacked to the front.  A half hour passed, maybe more.  Then the moment arrived.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Wailers...

I have no idea who introduced them.  Maybe a disc jockey or maybe Ed Dougherty himself, the king of Willamette Valley showcases.  Under the guise of EJD Enterprises, Dougherty had been bringing bands to the teen masses since the advent of the armory circuit.  He worked out of Salem where he was rumored to be a high school teacher,  but we didn't care.  All we cared about were the bands he brought.  Now that I think about it, Dougherty may not have been involved with this at all, but it seems unlikely.  He owned the Willamette Valley when it came to concerts.  But I do seem to remember Etiquette having its own production and booking wing around this time.  Don't quote me.

But I digress.  The point is, The Wailers were introduced in fine fashion and, man, I was floored!  I had just seen one of the better bands I'd ever seen tear the roof off of the place.  Five seconds in, I was seeing a band to raze city blocks!  Hard to tell what the difference was.  The experience.  The confidence.  The years of sharing stages.  Whatever it was, it was definitely on a different level.  You could hear it.  You could see it.  More than that, you could feel it!  And the kids responded.

As the evening progressed, some quit dancing to watch the band, some danced harder--- they all sweated more.  Set list?  Hell, they blew through so many songs so fast, I could barely remember after the dance let alone 40+ years later.  There was a hellacious rendering of Dirty Robber that fried my brain, and the obligatory Tall Cool One.  Of course, Louie Louie (The Wailers' version was the first I'd ever heard, even before The Raiders' and Kingsmen's--- On the single, Rockin' Robin Roberts putting his classic voice over what was one of the sparsest versions ever recorded).

The songs ran together as the night progressed until, finally, they ripped into Out of Our Tree and everyone hit the dance floor.  I even danced, though I never took my eyes off the stage. I mean, The Wailers were wild!   Dave Roland was a monster on the drums, pounding and hammering and almost slashing his way through the song (After the set, I saw Roland backstage leaning against a National Guard truck taping his blistered and swollen knuckles with masking tape, attempting to stop the bleeding).  The rest of the guys were all over the place, stomping and dancing and squeezing as much music as they could out of their voices and instruments.

But Morrill!  Kent Morrill stole the show!  He played a huge Sunn organ with this strange leg system which looked like car exhaust pipes woven together, and he hammered it mercilessly.  Bouncing from side to side in time with the beat, the longer hair on his right side alternately flared out from his head before slapping back and he was smiling and even laughing at times.  He kept the roadie busy just keeping the keyboard on the stage, his incessant pounding causing it to skitter forward with every chord until it was ready to slide into the dancing mass.  More than once, the roadie got there just in time, grabbing it and pushing it back onto the stage, Morrill not missing a beat.

The Aftermath.....

I stayed for awhile after the dance.  I wanted to watch them bag the equipment and load up for the long drive to their next gig.  To say it was anticlimactic is understatement.  My ears rang from the now quelled music, the only sounds muffled because of it (I could barely hear people speak).  I watched the various Wailers pack up their gear, talking little and moving quickly.  They were obviously sweaty and tired and not looking forward to the long ride ahead.  They talked with people who approached them, but they had tunnel vision.  They wanted to go home.  The gig was over.

I looked back at Dave Roland as I turned to exit.  He was peeling the shreds of masking tape off of his now swollen knuckles, tossing the bloody pieces onto the floor.  I noticed he was having trouble making the tape stick when he retaped because of the blood.  His hands looked like he had been in a bare-knuckle fist fight with someone whose head was rough granite.  It was painful to watch.  I decided not to.

I wish I could be sure that that was what actually happened that night.  I can't be sure.  Too many dead brain cells and re-imagined scenes, maybe.  Then again, that's how I remember it.  Man, I dig The Sonics and always have.  They put sounds on record no one else did.  They were great.  But that night, The Wailers were kings!  If Morrill were alive today, I would tell him that.  You guys were kings.....

An aside:  While I have no idea who took the picture of The Wailers used in this piece, I do know that the Sonics photo was taken by Jini Dellaccio, who took pictures of many of the Pac NW bands of that time.  If anyone knows who took the others, please let me know and I will adjust the credits accordingly.

Zoe Muth Live at the Axe & Fiddle, Rusty Willoughby Live in the Studio

Listening to Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers is not unlike sliding into a hot jacuzzi after a good workout.  There is something in the music--- the texture of the voice, the shuffling brushstroke of the rhythm, the relaxed cohesion of the musicians--- which puts me at my ease while making me smile.  It doesn't hurt when the venue is Cottage Grove's Axe & Fiddle, a restaurant/bar which is a bit more than a restaurant/bar.  I saw Zoe and band there last summer and the return last Saturday (April 9th) was a bit of a return home. 

Zoe had contacted me regarding her newly minted album, Starlight Hotel, and mentioned casually that they were playing the Axe & Fiddle should I be interested.  Of course, I was more than interested.  Their show last year, played to a crowd mostly ignorant of the band and their music, was the kind of show I embrace (I also like sitting in a theater all alone watching somewhat unknown or unpopular movies).  That was a good night and I talked with Dave Harmonson and Greg Nies as well as Zoe before and after the gig, trying to get their take on the bar and the music biz.  It was their first tour and, of course, everything was new and exciting.  Even playing to a small audience which on the whole had no idea who they were.  (Read my review here)

They knew who they were on the 9th.  A number of people showed up specifically for the band, grabbing seats and chowing down on the food long before showtime.  I ordered a Reuben sandwich (grilled to perfection, I might add) and headed upstairs, hoping that one of the two tables on the rail would be empty.  One was.  I sat down.  Someone approached and said something which I missed.  I looked up and saw Zoe herself and heard the hellos of the rest of the band, settled in at a table on the other side of the room.  And we talked.

We talked about the music business and her new label, Signature Sounds, and the Doe Bay Music Festival they had played last summer, directly after the Axe & Fiddle gig.  We talked about money and how hard it is to survive in music these days and how much fun it was in the studio working on Starlight Hotel.  We talked about audience response and the differences between good and bad venues and how you really never knew unless you had played them before.  We talked about a number of things, music and otherwise, and they brought her food and then they brought mine and before I knew it, we were done eating and it was time for the band to gather.  Hear me here:  I am a positive guy who believes that the new music business paradigm is exponentially better than the old one and I try to show that.  But when a band the caliber of The High Rollers is faced with a gig in a small bar in an out of the way town playing for peanuts, though, I find it hard to support that stand.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the Axe & Fiddle.  The brews are excellent, the service is topnotch and the food is great.  It is a wonderful place to see live music.  But The High Rollers should be playing bigger venues in bigger cities to bigger crowds.  They should be breaking out of Nashville or Austin.  They should be gaining the attention of major media.  They are that good.   So I talked between sighs and bemoaned the fact that the band isn't a household word among media pundits and spewed my frustration to Zoe, who surely had frustrations of her own, and I probably bummed her out to a degree.  Yeah, I know.  Good job, Frank.  Headslap.  I'm hoping that she and the band realize that my frustrations have to do with a business I have not quite been able to unravel yet, a business in chaos and with no easy answers.  A business which should have welcomed them with arms wide open, knowing what they are.

Well, after a set by a Eugene group called Apropos (pronounced Apper-poe) who came off as close to the old Up With People of the sixties as I've heard in some time, Zoe and crew took the stage and turned on my musical jacuzzi.  The opening track was the lead-off track on their first album, You Only Believe Me When I'm Lyin', and by the end of the song, the sound man was getting it down and it was gravy from there on out.  They worked their way through tracks off of the new album (Let's Just Be Friends For Tonight, If I Can't Trust You With a Quarter (How Can I Trust You With My Heart) and the outstanding Starlight Hotel), a number of songs from their first (Not You, Middle Of Nowhere, Such True Love and Hey Little Darlin') and Zoe gave the band a short break while she performed, solo, one of my favorite tracks from the new album, New Mexico.  By the end of the set, only a handful had left (it was Saturday night and when you're young, hormones dictate your moves) and the crowd demanded an encore.  The band provided it and the evening, as it were, was over.

The sound was excellent, though the PA system could have handled the vocals a bit better.  The band played with the ease of professionals, Greg Nies and Mike McDermott laying down excellent rhythms, Ethan Lawton weaving his mandolin in and out while looking at the stars it seemed, and Dave Harmonson pedaled his steel with elan when he wasn't working wonders with an outfit he called the SDG Vintage, a guitar/amp system which spewed sounds you seldom hear from even the best.

I left after thumbs-upping the band for a job well done, shaking hands with the sound man (no ringing in my ears this night, thanks to him) and flipping a few dollars on the bar counter on the way out (did I mention that the service was excellent?).  In the car, I slipped Starlight Hotel into the CD player and listened to it all the way home.  It's a killer, as was their first.

It is hard to be negative about music after something like that.  The really good ones float to the top, right?  Well, Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers are better than really good.  They have that something that many of the stars don't have.  If I could figure out what that is, I'd bottle it and make a fortune.

I give you this video because, alas, I could find no live video of exceptional quality.  There are some good ones out there, but after a buildup like I gave the band, good just won't do it.

Rusty Willoughby--- Where have you been hiding?

Two days ago, my buddy Howie posted a video on my Facebook page, asking if I'd seen it yet.  Not only had I not seen it, I had barely heard of the artist--- one Rusty Willoughby.  Evidently, he was in a band out of Seattle called Pure Joy, a name I knew only in passing.  After watching the video, I wondered how I'd missed it.  Someone should have brought it to my attention.  Well, Howie did, but a bit after the fact.  If you don't know this guy, I suggest you scope him out.  Another musician who deserves more attention than he's getting.

Rusty Willoughby - Too Early/Crown of Thorns - Live @ Crackle & Pop! from Andy Smith on Vimeo.

Mariana Bell--- Charlottesville's Queen of Pop

Mariana Bell is another of those Charlottevillains you hear me rave about now and again.  She's a generation down from the likes of Danny Schmidt, Devon Sproule, Paul Curreri, Keith Morris, Shannon Worrell and the seemingly unending line of outstanding musicians who call C-ville home and she's a different weave of cloth (Mariana is a true Pop maven, swimming in a pool of melody, harmony and full-on production a la--- ahem, who was that lady who sang Perfect Day?).  Her new album is called Push and it is stunning.  The more I hear it, the more I love it.  I will be reviewing it on my site, Rock & Reprise, soon, but in the meantime, here is a video of the making of the album.

A Reminder---

Research Turtles  will be making their single available for free download starting May 3rd.  It's a bit smoother than their hard-edged tracks on their excellent self-titled album, but it is more great pop nonetheless.  The album will be available for sale at the end of May.  Check them out!  Bob Segarini said that if he was 20, he would kill to be in this band!  What's that, Bob?  Gotta Have Pop?

Liz Pappademus & The Level----

Here's something you might want to check out.  Liz Pappademus recently released an album titled Television City, which she put up on bandcamp for download.  At $5, it's a steal.  A concept album revolving around TV and its penchant for game shows, it tells a story I find intriguing.  About time someone turned the tables on the media clowns and looked into their workings, for a change.  Stop by and take a listen.

Lots of new things to go over on the next installment.  Lots of links to new releases and the odder side of the business.  Stay tuned!

The Re-emergence of Nick Holmes, Research Turtles Update, Gary Heffern's Beautiful People Video and upcoming albums you should check out.....

 Nick Holmes--- The Soulful Crooner

It's the early seventies and the whole world of music is blowing up.  Musicians are becoming stars (a precursor to stars becoming superstars) and music itself is getting serious.  FM is changing the way we listen, AM is adapting to a changing culture and it means something because music, like they say, is the background for our lives.

In NYC, an obscure group of musicians, jazz and otherwise, are taking part in an experiment which will spawn a number of session men and musicians of no small stature in this new world and out of this will come an album which will go pretty much unnoticed in spite of its excellence.  The band is tagged White Elephant as is the album, a double-disc rule-changer regardless of its obscurity.  The songs, rehearsed and recorded over a period of time, feature no less than The Brecker Brothers (Michael &Randy), Michael Mainieri (who produced and arranged the sessions), Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Hugh McCracken and a raft of others.  They vary from straight rock to intense fusion, at the time a mere germ of a genre, and they changed the way I listened.

Up to that time, jazz was to me a genre to be avoided.  I wanted loud and I wanted electric and I wanted melody and harmony.  I wanted something other than lounge music or free-form noise (I called it squawking geese music in my lack of experience and ignorance).  I wanted--- well, I didn't really know what I wanted but I knew I'd know it when I heard it.  I heard it on White Elephant.

I heard raucous jazz jams and hippie anthems and the oddest version of Auld Lang Syne I'd ever heard.  I heard drumming to rival the best of the rockers and guitar that stretched the boundaries and horns--- oh, those horns!  But mostly I heard Nick Holmes.

Nick Holmes was an unknown quantity, but for me he brought the music home.  He wrote songs like I'd never heard and sang them like no one I'd ever heard, though there was this strange aura of John Martyn and Nick Drake in his phrasing which captivated me.  His songs were laced throughout the album and, at first, I skipped from one Holmes song to another, avoiding the others.  They were gems--- melodic, poignant, magical--- and Holmes sang them to an imperfect perfection.  I listened to them so many times that they became ingrained in the brain and to this day I can hear the music in my head and get a rush whenever it happens.  Others had their chosen hits of the day, but I preferred Battle Royal and Gunfighter and More To Love and Right Back, all (to myself) Holmes classics.

Without Nick Holmes, I would have missed the rest of the album.  Through the process of dabbling between Holmes tracks, I slowly developed an appreciation for the more jazz compositions--- The Jones, with its manic Bob Mann shredding of the guitar and overamped Tony Levin bass, and the other strange conglomerations that I came to call "hippie jazz" for lack of a better term.  Through repeated listenings, I learned to love the whole album and, from there, opened myself more to jazz.  White Elephant was a landmark album for that reason alone. 

A year or so later, Holmes released a solo album, the outstanding but ill-fated Soulful Crooner.  Again produced by Mainieri, it had that jazz edge but toned down and not unlike the Holmes tracks on the White Elephant album.  Of course, by that time I was sold, but Holmes upped the ante.  He wrote and Mainieri produced a musical treasure.  From the first notes of Only a Human, I knew this was special.  Behind Holmes was a combo version of White Elephant--- Donald MacDonald on drums, Tony Levin on bass, Mainieri on keyboards & vibes, and Hugh McCracken on guitar.  And the guest appearances!  Few, but fitted to the music and the moment. 

By now, you can fathom that I am a Nick Holmes fan.  Indeed, since the epiphanies of the aforementioned albums, I have searched for any and all information I could find about him.  I scoured used record bins, talked about him when I could get people to listen, listened to the albums on a lesser but regular basis to get my fix and never gave up.  A few years ago, I ran across a MySpace page which I was pretty sure was the right Nick Holmes (there are other musicians out there by that name) and tried to contact him through that but nothing came of it.  Sometimes when I would search for that page, it wasn't there--- not in the place I was looking anyway.  Holmes was like a ghost--- this elusive Casper-type entity whose existence I would have begun to doubt but for the physical proof I could pick up and listen to when the need arose.

But if I am nothing else when it comes to my music, I am persistent and a couple of weeks ago I hit the jackpot.  I found him.  I had been putting his name in search engines fairly regularly and to no avail, but this last time, there he was.  Well, not him, but his website.  I learned more about Holmes in one sitting than I'd ever been able to find out--- his attachment to The Serendipity Singers and Gamble Rogers, the release of an album on United Artists Records titled Hunger Is the Best Sauce (in all my years scouring record bins, I don't believe I have ever seen a copy), his involvement with the White Elephant gang.  In the '90s, he played in a band called The Neurosurgeons and worked with Diane Keaton and others.  He had a studio (I assume he still does) and recorded music.  Hell, he has other albums!  What the hell?

I sigh.  How talent like Holmes goes missing for, what, decades?  But I found him.  With luck, I may be able to get him to talk about his story.  It's a sure bet that I will be picking up all the music I can get my hands on.  And there is a little.  He has four songs posted at present on his website (just follow the link and click on "music"), three albums available through cdBaby (Soulful Crooner, The King of 26th Street, and Low Ball) and, if I can talk Holmes and Mainieri into it, we might see a release of another Mainieri-produced album, Freedom Slave.

I know there are a few people looking for Holmes out there.  Hopefully, they will fall upon the info I did and find their way to the music.  Michael Mainieri, by the way, has a ton of great jazz albums available through his NYC Records label, including the White Elephant album (with an additional Nick Holmes track).  There are some true classics by the likes of Steps Ahead and others and, of course, Mainieri's solo albums as well.

Research Turtles Update-----

My boys from Lake Charles are getting ready to unleash Mankiller Pt. 1 on the world, an EP of their latest tracks produced by Justin Tocket at the same studio where they recorded their self-titled album (one of my all-time favorites already).  The plan is to allow free downloads of their "single", Bugs In a Jar, beginning May 3rd and continuing through that month.  Release date for the full EP is May 31st.  Like all good plans that could change, but until it does that's the plan.  In the meantime, for those who don't know, Research Turtles knocked down the song of 2010 honors from the UK's Radio Six International.  Here's the video:

Jill Stevenson-----

We break into what I already had planned for a short announcement regarding the impending release of Jill Stevenson's latest project.  Her last two, The Jill Stevenson Band and Where We're Not (with Adam Widoff), worked their way into my psyche enough to place them on a number of my "best of" lists (here is my take).  If the new one is anywhere near as good as those, it's going to be a killer.  You can check out Jill's music at her website where it is streaming 24-7.

Gary Heffern-----

I knew Gary back in the days which would lead to The Penetrators, the golden days of San Diego.  He was a kid then, exuberant about the music he loved (mostly punk during that phase) and convinced that he would soon be fronting a band.  I left SD for Seattle and the next thing I knew, a Penetrators album crossed my desk and, sonofoabitch, there was Gary.  He made it.  A lot of water has run under the bridge since then.  Gary had some ups and downs, but his music kept him going.  He has just wrapped up an album of music which deserves more than a cursory listen.  Gary's older now.  Life for us both is not the same carefree life we had led in SD.  You can hear it and feel it in his latest work with Gary Heffern's Beautiful People.  Check out this video--- Hand of the Devil.  It makes my point.  Album available soon from Glitterhouse Records.

Mariana Bell-----

I admit to having a bit of a crush on Mariana Bell, but it is a musical crush.  I listen to music all day long and it can be a bit wearisome at times, but I am always in the mood to hear Mariana.  She's a modern pop type singer and songwriter and another one of those dreaded Charlottesvillain's you hear me rave about at odd times.  She has a touch for melody and writes as pure a modern pop song as I've heard and did just that on her upcoming release, Push.  It is a solid album (I stole a CD-R and have been listening since) and will be available April 26th.  Here is a video of "the making of" the album.  You can hear bits of the album as background music but you'll have to take it from me, it's not enough.  Hearing the whole album convinces me that 2011 is another great year in music.  God love the indies!

Wrap Up-----

This is going to be one hell of a year, musically.  Bright Giant is slowly piecing together its next project, Nine N Out just released theirs (their best yet), and holy crap!  I almost forgot!  Ash Ganley recently finished another in a string of fine albums (this one's titled Magic Season).  Dennis Crommett's (The Winterpills, whose Tuxedo of Ashes fries my brain) In the Buffalo Surround just hit the shelves and I am doing my pee-pee dance awaiting Zoe Muth's next offering.  There are too many releases of real import to keep up with, but I will do my best.  If you want to see where I've been, you can log on to my website, Rock & Reprise, for a rundown of music I think worth checking out.  I don't take solicitations, by the way.  I search out and write about only the music I deem worthy.  FYI.

I know it sounds like a Madison Avenue slogan, but let me say, buy indie and support the indies.  These guys aren't getting rich and they're every bit as good as anything the labels will hand you. 
 

Hymn For Her Live!, The Beatles For Boneheads and Instant Replay.....

I've seen a number of bands over the years and it is probably true that a lot of those performances caused a regurgitation of the dreaded "best show I ever saw" line, but I swear on a stack of Cargoe albums (I can never pass up a chance to plug one of my all-time favorites) that I've just seen one (actually, three) by a band I'd thought I would never see---  Philadelphia's Hymn For Her.  They passed through Oregon a little over a week ago, playing first at Diablo's Lounge in Eugene, a semi-downtown bar of reputable disrepute.  Typical dive in the daytime, it transforms itself into party central at night and, hell, it was Friday night and I had driven miles so I figured to get my money's worth (Have you seen the price of gas these days?).  I showed up close to show time and was pleased to see a good handful of people milling about and the crowd got bigger the closer it got.  Lucy and Wayne (formerly Maggi and Pierce of amazing trio Maggi, Pierce & EJ--- boy, don't get me started on them) were still setting up equipment, running plunks and grunks through the sound system to make sure everything was plugged in, after which Pierce exited, stage left, to track down the sound man and Maggi took to her computer to answer emails.  It was an odd setup--- two acoustic guitars, banjo, a strange looking square-bodied contraption which turned out to be a two-stringed cigar box guitar, percussion toys everywhere and a bass drum and hi-hat setup right in front of the chair which would ground Pierce.  Two people.  I mean, how much damage can two people do?

Well, one hell of a lot, it turns out.  That two-stringed cigar box guitar began the night by cranking out some of the damndest and fullest slide licks this side of the Pecos, Lucy strutting her stuff a la Jimmy Page (and, ahem, they did play a Led Zeppelin piece, slide cigar box and banjo trading licks, which was something else).  Wayne was strapped to the bass drum, working percussion with both feet while playing banjo/guitar, singing and, at times, spewing forth with mouth harp worthy of The Yardbirds during freakout time.  You heard me.  Freakout.  Psychotic Reaction.  Train Kept A-Rollin'.  No, they didn't play them.  They didn't have to.  They came armed with their own arsenal of musical fodder and when they laid into it, they really laid into it!  Hell, here's a small inkling-----

Not bad, right?  Well, take out the Farfisa organ and crank the cigar box up a few million decibels and you are closer than you have any right to be.  Lucy is a monster on that damned thing and Pierce spends a lot energy pounding the beat into you whether you like it or not and when they get going, it is true freakout and not the controlled storm it is in the studio.

Friday night at Diablo's was maybe 45 minutes of really good and then it turned into Sunday at the Music Millennium in Portland and an hour of a sedated music for an instore.  Only a handful turned up but to be honest, it was scheduled quickly and off the cuff and the ones who showed were not disappointed.  First time I set foot in Music Millennium was the summer of '71 when I returned to Eugene after the Army, started hanging out at The House of Records there and caravaned to Portland and Music Millennium once a month with the HoR guys to buy imports.  Been a customer ever since.  Seeing Hymn For Her hitting the instore stage was a dream come true.

The real treat was the next night--- Monday.  Valentine's Day.  The Calapooia Brewing Company.  Albany.  It was a special night.  A special night, indeed.  The place was packed.  Hymn For Her and a special chef's offering made for one hell of a night for a lot of people.  When I walked in, I thought--- oh, no!  H4H will clear the room.  The average age was maybe 40 and most seemed to be there for the food (which received raves from the consumer, my friends) and you know how it is when you can't speak to your honey or the guy bumping into you at the next table and spilling ale on your pants.  I shouldn't have worried.  The crowd was primed and the food and brew worked itself right into the evening's entertainment and the more H4H played, the more the people wanted (even the Led Zeppelin slice, which brought the house down) and if it wasn't for the fact that I was sicker than shit (I really have to find out just how sick that is, I use the phrase that often), it would have been a night of nights.  Hell, it was a night of nights and I can't wait for next year.

I know few of you have heard of Maggi, Pierce & EJ, but mark the name in your heads because I can feel an MPE storm a-brewin'.  They released over ten albums.  I have them all.  I treasure each and every one.  They are the Gruppo Sportivo of the 21st Century.  What?!  Never heard of Gruppo Sportivo?!  Storm just got bigger.  Stay tuned.  And if you see Hymn For Her's name out there, check them out.  You won't regret it.

THE BEATLES AS EDUCATIONAL FODDER?

Seems like they handed out some kind of degree at some institution of higher learning, which drops their rating to merely an institution of learning. No doubt, The Beatles have had a huge impact on the boomers and if you believe the media, there are more boomers than anything on this sinking spaceship, but a degree in Beatles Studies?  Knee jerk?  No way.  Then again.....

I can think of no other group, musical or otherwise, which has created more untruths and altered realities.  If Beatles Studies is actually Beatles Studies and not just idolatry in textbook form, there is more than enough.  You could create an auditorium of classes---  Beatles 101:  A general overview of The Beatles and their music. Beatles 301:  Statistical studies which prove or disprove John Lennon's contention that The Beatles were, at the time of his statement, more popular than Jesus.  Beatles 210:  The films of The Beatles.  Beatles 401:  The media and The Beatles--- a study of how The Beatles changed media and vice-versa.  You could go on forever.

The real truth is that I find it a bit disconcerting.  The public attitude toward The Beatles moved way beyond reality before they even officially broke up. There is something about the fanatic loyalty that people have toward the band (and they were just a band, after all) that I find a bit creepy.  People get in fights over The Beatles, for chrissake, and yes, Led Zeppelin and The Who and a whole slew of other bands, but mostly The Beatles.  It seems a bit absurd and certainly extreme, but it happens.

Maybe what I find most disconcerting is the way The Beatles have gone public.  You want to experience political correctness, go into a yuppie tavern and tell everyone that The Beatles suck.  You'll become a social pariah in a matter of minutes and maybe even seconds.

No, sir.  Beatles Studies?  I don't like it.  I don't like it at all.  Then again. maybe it's time we opened the whole matter up for discussion.  Maybe we have reached that point at which it becomes a necessity to stop pretending and actually back our attitudes up with something beyond blind faith.  Maybe.  Yes, sir.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

What?  Me?  Listen to The Beatles?  No sense in it.  There are few Beatles' songs which are not genetically implanted in my brain at this point.  All it takes is a click in my left brain (or is it my right brain) and I can hear the music as if it was actually being played on the stereo.  That's right.  I said, stereo.  I have one.  And not one Beatles album to play on it.  Like I said, I don't even need it anymore.

INSTANT REPLAY.....

It wasn't that long ago that I was handed an album by Ruth Moody titled The Garden.    I was so taken by the lyrical beauty and the clear, clean vocals that I became an instant fan.  Much to my surprise, although it shouldn't have been, I found that Moody recorded that album while on hiatus from her regular group, The Wailin' Jennys, a group I knew of but had yet to hear.  Well, the new Wailin' Jennys is finally here and I am happy to report that Bright Morning Stars is as good as expected.  Moody is joined by bandmates Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse and the three have come up with another (though I have yet to hear another) gem.  Time to listen in retrospect (read: go back to the earlier albums) and in the meantime, I leave you with this--- the official video of the making of the new album.  I love this kind of stuff.  Call it rockumentary or documentary or whatever you want, I seldom walk away from them without having gotten something good out of it.

Ever hear of Ken Carter, the daredevil?   The guy was crazier than Evil Knievel, but you can't say he wasn't goal-oriented.  Carter wanted to rocket across the St. Lawrence River--- that's right--- rocket!  Ever hear of Mark Haney?  He's almost as crazy as was Carter except his media are music and theater.  He dug up the Ken Carter story and pieced together a story (with music) which is as eerie as anything I've ever heard.  In Carter's own words, Haney recreates the buildup to the jump and tells the stories behind the story---  how things did not always go as planned, how Carter thought and felt, how the pressure built until he had isolated himself right out of reality.  It is fascinating and gripping even without the production, but Haney puts it together in a combination form of funeral and Twilight Zone.  It's called Aim For the Roses for a reason and Haney is crazy enough to have asked a medium to contact the now departed Ken Carter on the other side--- thus, the video.  This is a bizarre story presented in a very unique way.  Haney, by the way, is a member of Rick Maddocks' excellent band The Beige who completely knocked me off my chair with their excellent 2010 release, El Angel Exterminador.

Arborea's Buck Curran comes from the camp of the acoustic purists of old--- Robbie Basho, John Renbourn and the like--- and is one of a small handful keeping that music alive.  He and wife Shanti have just finished an album that has been long in the making and all the better for it.  Red Planet will be distributed by Strange Attractors Audio House and will be available on vinyl as well as CD, but in limited quantities.  This video will pretty much tell you all you need to know about them, to start.  If you're like me, you will want to delve a little deeper.  They inhabit a surreal world when it comes to their music.  Very surreal and downright beautiful.

The Band That Would Be Sojac..... and Instant Replays

Notary Sojac.  Never heard of them?  Get in line.  I could throw another few hundred band names and few would stick on most people's walls, but none were more obscure to the world nor as adventurous nor better than Notary Sojac.  They were a landmark band, one which defined an era for myself and a handful of others--- others lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest in the late sixties and early seventies and lucky enough to have crossed paths with them.  They were something else.  They were special.

They became Sojac, the name used by everyone who knew them and their music, and please don't confuse it with the later version of the band actually named Sojac.  You saw them once, you called them Notary Sojac.  Twice, Notary Sojac.  By the third time, they became Sojac out of necessity or maybe laziness because after the second time, they became an automatic topic of conversation.  It was a show of respect, I guess.  It was a rite of passage.  The Rolling Stones became The Stones.  Led Zeppelin became Zeppelin.  Notary Sojac became Sojac.  Simple as that. 

Why do I bring them up now?  Well, lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of indie music--- real indie music and not that called indie by the monied structure of the music business.  I well remember the days when if you wanted to record and press an album, you overpaid (no quantity discounts for the little guy) and consigned (no distribution and few record stores would pay up front for a local or regional act which might not sell at all).  The few bands going that far ended up selling more off the stage at gigs than in any store anyway, if they sold to anyone at all beyond family and friends.  Bands were hogtied, and the few which weren't ended up calling in favors they could never repay.  Just ask the members of Portland's Sand, who after a long ride down a bumpy road with Andy Williams' Barnaby label pressed their second by themselves (Head In the Sand, Ostrich 0001, 1976) and ended up making their way around stacks of boxes for the next few months to years until Jack Meussdorffer decided he'd had enough and just trashed them.  Lack of sales had nothing to do with the quality of the record (I personally loved it) but the problem of how to sell it.

Well, even real fans of Notary Sojac might be surprised to hear that they had also recorded an album.  Toward the end of their existence as that band and just before a few of the members moved on to a more jazzy and arty lineup they labeled Sojac, they headed down to Tioga Studios (outside of Coos Bay somewhere on the Oregon Coast) and laid down a number of tracks.  The classics.  Feel It (In Your Heart) and Willy Nilly and Bumpy Road  and maybe even their signature tune, Carolina.  They put ads of sorts in their little newsletter (Point of View), an early version of having your fans pay your way through the process, and I bought more than a handful hoping for the best.  Of course, it didn't happen.  Or should I say it hasn't happened yet.

Amazingly enough, the members of NS reconnected a handful of years ago and  sonofagun if they didn't piece together an album of live tracks culled from raw recordings they had made in the clubs in the early seventies.  It is raw, yes (many of the recordings were from nothing but a basic tape deck and two mics hung from the ceiling of The Roman Forum, their old tavern haunt), and the quality is relatively poor (they did a great job of cleaning the tapes up for this release, though), but it is Notary Sojac in the buff and man, oh man, is it worth it for the fan!  Titled Live 1972-1973, it captures not only the loose structure of the band on the whole (they had the looseness of the Dead) but the moments when it all came together--- the Maxell Man moments when the band was all on the same page, in unison, and the audience hair was blowing. 

Ah, but my point.  Steve Koski and cohorts have decided that if the double live CD sells well enough, they will work on releasing the Tioga tracks--- the only real in-studio tracks ever recorded by the band.  Am I pumped?  Better believe it.

So why call this The Band That Would Be Sojac, you ask?  In my quest for the story that is the band's, I have run across a gold mine of information about the guys, their friends and followers and families and their journey toward Sojacdom.  I have been handed information I did not know existed and sometime soon want to share it.  If you want to know about Notary Sojac, you also have to know about The Wild Wild Weeds who morphed into The Weeds and then Weeden.  You have to know about The Quirks and Faith and a whole list of people and bands whose paths led to Portland and the forming of one of the best bands I've ever heard, live.  

So help me out here.  I have a lot of info about the band and about the times, but I need more.  There are holes to be filled--- from fans and friends and hopefully even extended family members.  Email me if you have a story, no matter how trivial you might think it.  My email address is frank.gutch.jr@gmail.com and I guarantee I will read and maybe even use your memories to tell the story of this almost forgotten and just short of legendary band.  And by the way, if you are at all interested in bits and pieces of this story, I posted a number of pages a few years ago which should pique your interest.  Click here.

  

Instant Replay.....

Did I mention that I was listening a lot to Elephantom lately?  This East Coast conglomeration crept into my tomb through some unusual quirk of fate and got under my skin.  What do they play?  I'm not really sure.  Rock Opera?  Art Rock?  Prog Rock?  Jazz?  Classical?  Pick any two or three minute (or ten or twenty second) movement and you might be able to lock them down for that short period, but they'll leave you in the dust on the next.  Adventurous?  Absolutely.  Maybe that's why I like them so much.  They recently  released an album titled Swim Toward the Sun and are over halfway done with their next and, man, this is what I live for.  Swim is all over the place and yet musically cohesive.  Hard to explain.  If you want to take a listen, they are streaming their album here.  But let me toss in a live performance for the open-minded, whom I do not have to forewarn about video and audio quality.  They'll hear it and they won't care.  For those who want professional quality, there are plenty of Taylor Swift and Katie Perry videos out there for you to watch.

Steve Young..... 

Still Lonesome Orn'ry & Mean.  I've been working on my version of the Steve Young story (with help from Steve himself) for a few years now and am amazed at my procrastination toward completion.   His life mirrors a lot of the frustration and anger which I have held toward the music industry for decades.  The man should have been a star.  I mean a star.  It pains me to see lesser talents reap the benefits while Young labors in obscurity.  Consider this a video promise to complete the story and get it posted for all to read.  In the meantime, sit back and enjoy.  Posted by Carolina Girl on Youtube.  Thanks, Carolina.  You captured what music festivals are all about.

Psych Lives!!!!!

I've been dragged back into the world of psych once again, courtesy of  The Grip Weeds and Neil DelParto of Planting Seeds Records.  Last year saw three substantial releases (The Grip Weeds' Strange Change Machine, The Young Sinclairs' We Spoke Our Minds and The Lovetones' Lost, though I'm not sure that Lost has made it to the States).

Damn!  Life is good!

Music: The Personal and Not So Much--- Plus Instant Replay.....

I just finished watching last year's Christmas episode of Eureka--- a guilty pleasure I have allowed myself the past few years--- and, as usual, was reminded of the personal aspects of music.  In this episode, Zoe received a vinyl copy of The Clash's London Calling, something for which she was very grateful.  Many of my good friends would appreciate the reference, the card carrying members of "The Clash are rock gods" society.  Most specifically Sam Berger and Stan Twist, two people to whom I turn regularly for not only information but advice.  While I do not share their enthusiasm for the band (the music is little more than honking horns and industrial noise to my ears, sad to say), I do share their enthusiasm and that, my friends, is the magic of music.  To use a Christmas euphemism, fruitcake--- good fruitcake--- may not be to everyone's taste, but to those who love it there is little better;  i.e., you do not have to love fruitcake to realize how much others do.  Well, you do not have to love certain bands or musical styles to realize that others do and I am getting too  old to hold grudges.  Gone are the days I would cringe when people would hear Cowboy's Please Be With Me and say, "Hey, that's an Eric Clapton song."  [It is a Scott Boyer song, first recorded on Cowboy's oustanding 5'll Getcha Ten album]  Gone are the days I would try to pummel people into submission with repeated playings of Cargoe or A Foot In Coldwater while doing a war dance and spewing negativity toward a business whose model was, after all, business.

I finally get that not all people hear music the same way, that each person brings his or her own unique perspective. And I finally realize that that is part of the reason I have flourished (if flourished I have) in a business which at times sucks all the air out of the room. It isn't about the business for me, you see.  It is about the music and while I always said that, I suppose I didn't always mean it.    There was ego, probably, and more than a little attitude when music was discussed.  I ranted and raved more than my share and burned more than a few bridges with uncalled for chutzpah.

Well, it is now a different landscape.  Years ago, releases were somewhat limited by various labels and their distributors---  the accepted pipeline through which the vast majority of music used to flow.  In those days I raged against the machine, so to speak.  Well, as much as many cannot accept it, the machine is dead (or at least, dying--- actually, I tend to think of it as morphing).  Today, it is every man for himself, at least on an ideal level.  Today, getting music from the artist to the consumer is easier than it has ever been and as much as it drives the stake further into the heart of the music industry which once lived, I embrace it.  I embrace the idea that music is to each of us what it is and that no one else, though able to empathize, is able to experience the same highs and lows in exactly the same way. 

Less so than in the past, in fact.  There was a social aspect in the past which has pretty much gone by the wayside.  What with the advent of digitization, personal listening devices and such things, music is more personal than ever.  Sure, there are internet sharing sites and file sharing but it is hardly the same as sitting around a room listening to music in real time while trying to grab an album jacket from the hands of an album-jacket-hogger (for some of us, 'bogarting' did not just refer to joints).  Gatherings based upon music purchases have sadly disappeared as well, new music as much a reason among my old friends as birthdays or the big game.  Three new albums and a short case of Blitz Weinhard--- reason enough for a party.

I miss those days.  I really do.  But if the tradeoff is the seeming unending mountain of music worth discovering, what the hell.  It is, like I said, about the music and there has never been so much music nor an amount of music so worthy in my lifetime.  This is the Golden Era.  For myself, anyway.

And there is news.....

This news just in from The Research Turtles.  Release is imminent.  RT should have the finished masters of their latest Dockside Studio efforts in their hands this week.  Digital downloads should be available soon and hard copies, with luck, not long thereafter.  These guys are the real deal, sports fans, and slake my power pop thirst.  Well, they will, once I get my hands on a copy.  Recorded by one Justin Tocket, the dial twister on their last album's sessions (that is a good thing, trust me). 

Bright Giant are also working on a collection of tracks.  Like RT, they have decided to go with the EP approach, recording a handful rather than a full album.  If it gets the music out sooner, I am all for it.  They are working with a member of the band The Envy Corps, another Iowa gathering of forces, and will be working for some time as the main priority, at least at this very moment, is The Envy Corps' latest project.  Doesn't bother BG's Josh Davis a whit, though, as he has a full schedule of live performances and projects as it is.

Charlottesville's Keith Morris dropped a three-track CD-R in my lap this past month, a precursor to his album project (which is moving at the pace of a snail traveling through molasses).  I'm listening to Bordertown as I type and am all smiles.  If this is what taking time is all about, I hope Keith takes all the time he needs.  A great song made even better with a wealth of talent, not the least of whom are Davina Jackson and Davita  Jackson, who nail the background vocals down tight.  This may well be the sleeper of the year.  More when it is ready.

In the Just-As-I-Thought department, the bummers are already rolling in re: my best of 2010.  I inadvertently left out Ash Ganley, whose Universe Acceptable album was more than worthy of inclusion.  Ash has a real touch with mainstream rock, writing and performing songs a step above.  I heartily recommend you stop by his Reverbnation page for a listen.

Instant Replay.....

I love it when media people get it right.  This time, a huge pat on the back to the people who put together Haven, the sci-fi series, for using Sweet Talk Radio's We All Fall Down as a closing song in one of their later episodes this last year.  A great song and a fantastic duo.  Here is what it looked like:

They also placed a song in the pilot for USA's Fairly Legal.  I hope this leads to bigger and better things for them.

Americana does not get better than The Dixie Bee-Liners and their latest project, Susanville, which easily made my Best of 2009 (and so good that I almost tried to slip it into the Best of 2010).  They are actually good enough to transcend genre.  I mean, it isn't exactly bluegrass, but.....

But nothing!  One of my favorite bands of the past few years and deserving of much more press than they are receiving.  I got the same headrush the first time I heard them that I got when I heard Nickel Creek.

Bob Segarini has made Courage My Love one of his media projects and after seeing this video, I can see why.  These young kids have drive.  And the support of high school football, evidently.

The big question is, are they old enough to drive?  Doesn't much matter when you're this young and this good.

Bands I'm Listening To.....

Elephantom
The Hitmen
49 Stones
The Wailin' Jennys
and Nine N Out (That's right, Babies... Dick's out).

More on these later.....  Right now, I need some sleep.  Stay tuned.

20+ Sweet to Rockin' Sounds--- The Best of 2010!

Yeah, I know.  I said I'd never do this again, but try to get people to pay attention without tagging what you say with "Ten Reasons" or "Twenty Tips".  As a society, we have become immune to information for information's sake and seem to focus only in tabloid style, so accept this as a compromise.  The bottom line is, this is about the music, sports fans.  If I have to structure and headline articles like that to get people's attention, so be it.  Because these are, honestly, the best albums/EPs I've heard this year and if you snooze, you lose.....

DEVON SPROULE/Don't Hurry For Heaven-----

If this isn't the album of the year (I am trying to wean myself off of such judgments), for many it is.  Devon Sproule stepped across the pond to England to lay down the basic tracks for this album, utilizing the talents of Andy Whitehead, G. Vaughan and celebrated pedal steel player B.J. Cole.  She then brought the tracks back to Charlottesville for honing, a process which involved husband and fellow genius Paul Curreri.  Separately, the sessions could have produced a solid album.  Overlapping, they create pure adventure in music.  Tracks revolve around the unique songwriting and voice of Sproule, ranging in style from folk to country to, ahem, well, not exactly reggae (the cover of Black Uhurus's Sponji Reggae is one of the best covers I've heard in years and is, in fact, my pick for track of the year) and capture a talent deserving of much more than bubbling-under status.  And perhaps it is time for you to step beyond the music and listen to the sound.  You get the multi-levels of Sponji Reggae (listen closely to the layered guitar parts and how well they meld with the vocals), the straight forward country rock of Good To Get Out, and the stunningly unique Sproule phrasing mixed with church-basement piano, too-short Duane Eddy sounding low end guitar, exceptional vocal chorus, and the pedal-steel-to-the-forehead originality of B.J. Cole, not just on the solo but throughout Julie--- it's a killer!  Albums like this don't give me hope for the future.  They are the future.  And knowing Devon (and Paul), the next album will be that much further along.

Favorite Tracks: Good To Get Out, Julie, Sponji Reggae.

THE BEIGE/El Angel Exterminador-----

 Earlier this year, Vancouver's The Beige dragged me into a dark alley and bludgeoned me into submission with some of the most creative and out there music I'd heard in some time.  I freaked out.  In retrospect, maybe some of the songs aren't pushing the envelope as much as I heard, but push the envelope they do and played in order, they leap canyons  compared to most music.  Such is the power of the album.  For those of you who disdain the album for individual tracks, when albums like this come along, you miss a lot.  Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here--- the individual tracks are great--- but the album.....  When you hear the transition from the freakishly eerie and march-like Road to the sci-fi-heavy and odd-chorded I Got a Job In the Belly of the Beast to the beat-heavy (complete with anthemic orchestral chorus and break) King George to the ethereal streaming country rock of The Exterminating Angel---  My eyes roll back in my head just thinking about the twists and turns and the mastery of it all, it's that good.  Rick Maddocks put it together along with Jon Wood--- two names you should hear more of in the future.  Maddocks, in fact, is involved with a new project called The Meal.  If it is anything like this album, it will be something else altogether.

Favorite Tracks:  Road, King George, The Exterminating Angel.

ALOUD/Exile-----

There is something about Aloud which is vaguely reminiscent of  a few of my more favorite alt.bands of the immediate past.  Bands like The Decemberists and The New Pornographers.  Not in sound, exactly, but in structure.  To my ears, the best of the alt.bands have a looseness in the verse which culminates in full chorus or bridge, on a good percentage of their songs at least.  The technique grabs me every time, vulnerable giving way to the hopeful and even majestic, and these guys have it down.  I tossed this around to a few people I trust and received comments like "the vocals could be better" and "they need more structure," which only proves that you can't trust anyone.  They missed the ebb and flow, the impressive songwriting and the exceptional production.  Sometimes, you see, the genius is in what you do not do.  While it is true that they have a sparse and even at times raw edge, repeated listenings uncovers a structure which enhances what is there.  Okay, I can't describe it that well.  Suffice it to say that I return to this album on a regular basis.  There is something which keeps me coming back.  They must have something...  they must.  I hear it!  Tell you what.  Start here:

Favorite Tracks:   Broken Hearts, Exile In the Night, Old Soldier, Counterfeit Star.

LAURIE BIAGINI/A Far-Out Place-----

If you don't hear where Laurie Biagini is headed after ten seconds of Intro - Setting the Scene, hang it up.  You're brain dead.  Biagini carves her music out of the fossilized sun and surf sound of the past and does it with a touch which brings it alive again.  These are bright pop and good feeling songs.  Think girl groups, surf, Annette, Frankie, Moondawgie and sand...  lots of sand.  No, she isn't from SoCal.  She's from Vancouver.  They evidently have sand up there too.

Favorite Tracks:  A Far-Out Place, Another Old Lazy Lyin' On the Beach Afternoon, Gonna Do It My Way.

TOM MANK & SERA SMOLEN/Paper Kisses-----

Tom Mank lives in virtual obscurity and I can't understand why. He is one of the best songwriters out there these days and surrounds himself with super-talented people, yet his albums get little respect.  Well, the last couple are not totally 'his'.  He shares the studio with wife and internationally recognized cellist Sera Smolen and utilizes a support group which includes Julie Last, Kirsti Gholson, Kathy Ziegler, to name only a few.  The last album, Paper Kisses, steps slightly away from his folk roots and rides on a carpet of eerie between offerings of folk/jazz/blues.  They love Tom & Sera in Holland and Belgium.  They even recorded them live:

MIST AND MAST/Action at a Distance-----

 I caught Mist and Mast live at Eugene's Sam Bond's Garage and despite the earsplitting level of the sound, they knocked my socks off.  The musicianship and the confidence of the band caught me totally off guard.  Playing to a room of five or six, they put on a show worthy of the Cow Palace, testament to their commitment to their music and their fans.  They were borne out of the remains of another solid Bay Area band, The Red Thread, and retain a lot of the Red Thread sound, thanks in no small part to the songwriting and vocals of Jason Lakis.  You know how some bands and/or songwriters are not quite like anything you've heard?  Welcome to Mist and Mast.  Plainly unique but not plain. 

Favorite Tracks:  X-Ray, Action at a Distance, Two Seams, De Trop.

RUTH MOODY/The Garden-----

Ruth Moody's The Garden was a simple case of love at first listen.  From the opening strains of the title track, the lightly plucked banjo giving way to Moody's sweet voice, I was hooked.  Moody struck a major chord with me, and it wasn't just the voice or the songwriting or the production or arrangements.  It was all of those and more.  I had the same reaction to The Dixie Bee-Liners' outstanding Susanville album last year.  It's almost like some albums are made just for you sometimes, you know?  Moody is a member of The Wailin' Jennys, who have a new album ready for release as I type this.  I include the video from the making of that album as an idea of what the future holds for present and future fans of Ruth Moody and, in particular, The Wailin' Jennys.  

Favorite Tracks:  The Garden, Cold Outside, Never Said Goodbye, We Could Pretend.

 HYMN FOR HER/Lucy & Wayne and the Amairican Stream-----


Maggi Jane and Pierce Ternay are hardly new to the music scene, having started busking on the streets of Philadelphia back in the mid-90s.  Ternay, alongside pal E.J., was playing with rap/hip-hop favorites The Goats when they decided to head out on their own, joining friend Maggi to form a trio which was way more than a trio.  Maggi, Pierce & EJ, in fact, stretched boundaries far beyond what a trio usually does, proving it with no less than ten+ albums of musical consequence.  Releasing one after another to little response from a buying public (in spite of overwhelming critical support) took its toll, though, and Pierce and Maggi started a side group--- Hymn For Her.  The same adventurous qualities which were the defining fabric of Maggi, Pierce & EJ remain, though, and one has to wonder when seeing them live how much music two people can make.  Lucy & Wayne is their second album, a followup to Year of the Golden Pig, and a step into hogwaller heaven.  They are touring to support the album right now, joined by daughter Diver and road manager/roadie/pet dog Pokey.  If you want to see something a step outside the room, check these guys out.  Until then, check out this video.  A video is worth a thousand words and, yes, this is how they record.  In an old Airstream trailer.  Like they say on the album, "When the Airstream's a rockin', we're recordin'."

Favorite Tracks:  Grave, C'mon, Cave, and an excellent version of Morphine's Thursday.

 THE WINTERPILLS/Tuxedo of Ashes-----


Other critics have marked this Winterpills EP a collection of afterthoughts.  After hearing it, the first thing that went through my mind was , holy crap!  Just how good were their earlier albums?  I cannot imagine them bettering these six tracks.  I will go back and give them a listen, but am still enthralled enough with Tuxedo of Ashes that I as yet have no need.  What it is is acoustic psych, reminiscent of the sounds of the late sixties and early seventies but updated.  Think The Arbors' Symphony For Susan overlapping the spacier side of Simon & Garfunkel with a bit more of a psych edge.  I searched for a video from the EP, but could not find one.  Here is one from their 2008 Central Chambers album.  A bit more rocking than Tuxedo, but a great track and shows what they can do.

Favorite Tracks:  Pick any, but The Ballad of the Ancient Decoder completely wipes me out.  The harmonies are outstanding and the spacey folk feel hits me right where I live.

DAVE GLEASON/Turn and Fade-----

Dave Gleason has been developing a solid following and his own style on the Left Coast for a number of years and just last year decided to take his act to Nashville.  His style is a conglomeration of west coast country and brit rock with touches of whatever else he deems worthy of a fit.  True, he does live and play country, but when he does, it is old-style.  No modern country for him.  The lineup on the following video is the same as on the album and features some of my favorite musicians. I have a feeling it was a hell of a show.  I'm sorry I missed it.

Favorite Tracks:  If You're Going Through Hell, Pale Blue, Radio 1965, Tonight.

HEARTSFIELD/Here I Am-----

Perry Jordan has been flying the Heartsfield flag for a number of years, the original band having released their first album back in 1973.  The band has morphed constantly since its last album with that original lineup and here Perry is back with a new and very impressive lineup which looks back to the old days of shit-kickin' rock with a country flair interspersed with angelic ballads and trademark harmonies.  The best of  the alt.country bands only wish they could hit the highs these guys do.  An aside:  Perry has suffered some serious health setbacks and at present has been replaced by original Heartsfield guitarist and vocalist Fred Dobbs for the interim.  Like many musicians, he is caught between a rock and a hard place regarding finances.  If you are a diehard fan from the old days or just someone who recognizes the plights of those without deep pockets, you might want to check out their site and help an old country rocker out.  A click on the band's name up above will take you to the website and you can click on from there.

Favorite Tracks:  Here I Am, One Word, Did You Know.

JEFF FINLIN/The Tao of Motor Oil-----

Welcome to the new glory days of the singer/songwriter.  I believe we have finally passed the period at which the majority of people brush off what they consider an overworked genre and now accept good as good.  Jeff Finlin is as good as anyone out there.  With unique voice and masterful lyric skills, Finlin brings his own sound to the aura of Steve Goodman, John Prine and others who have proven themselves writers of songs of substance.  Finlin stands equal with Ellis Paul, A.J. Roach, Will Kimbrough and a handful of others in writing the complete song.  If you haven't heard or heard of him, it isn't his fault.  He's one hard working SOB and is doing his damnedest to spread his music.  From Fort Collins, Colorado.  A place we love in the summer but avoid like hell during winter.  Man, it gets c-c-cold there!  Finlin is a trooper, though, and proves it on The Tao of Motor Oil and a slew of other albums he has recorded.  A  musician's musician.

Favorite Tracks:  Hands Off the Wheel, My Maybelline, Barefoot In the Snow, Only Human (a dream of consciousness).

JUSTIN NOZUKA/You I Wind Land and Sea-----

Subtitled, How In the Hell Did the Major Labels Miss This Guy (Or is he just smart enough to avoid the trap)?  Normally, I steer clear of mainstream music, but Justin Nozuka is a talent of major league proportions and is ready-wrapped for success.  The performance and production on You I Wind Land and Sea is as good as it gets and the songwriting is over the top.  I have no idea who he sounds like (Lenny Kravitz?  Seal?  Hell if I know.) because I seldom listen to the hits, but 'hit' this is. Listen for yourself.

Favorite Tracks:  Love, Heartless, Unwoken Dream (King With Everything).

 PIETA BROWN/One and All-----


Someone once told me that if Pieta Brown's father did not own Red House Records, she would not have a contract.  That guy was an idiot.  Wait.  I take that back.  That guy is an idiot.  Not only is One and All one of the best albums of the year, it is one of the most solid.  Great songs, front to back, excellent arrangements, outstanding production and performance.  One listen and Brown jumped from obscurity (in my world) to the top of my you-have-to-hear list.  You don't think so?  Watch and listen.

Favorite Tracks:  Pick one.  The whole album is a killer.

KINK ADOR/The Shape of Life-----

In the musical chain of evolution, Kink Ador are the logical end result of the punk cycle.  Their sound is lean, their beat punchy and their attitude in-your-face, but the music more cerebral than punk and most certainly modified.  The three share expertise on their various instruments (Sharon Koltick: bass guitar, trumpet; Brad Naylor: drums and percussion; Andrew Sovine: guitars, lap steel, piano and trumpet) as well as drive.  Influences are hard to pinpoint, bits and pieces inserted at will, but one can hear a bit of Motown, a slice of the B-52s, a smattering of Iggy and a string of others.  If you thrive on the creative edge with a real beat, Kink Ador might just be the band for you.  I file them under punk/not punk. You have to hear them to fully understand.  And understand--- this is only one face of a multi-faceted band--- and not the punk face.

Favorite Tracks:  Barbarians, The Shape of Life To Come, Coming Clean, Stop On By.

THE GREEN PAJAMAS/The Red, Red Rose EP-----

When I left Seattle back in early '92, I somehow lost touch with The Green Pajamas, a band I revered for its treatment of pop/psych.  I didn't pick up on them until 2009's Poison In the Russian Room and right away realized what I'd missed.  I just had no idea how much.  I found that they had released over 20 albums as a band and that didn't include solo albums and side projects.  Friends have since given me lists of their favorites and even the honed-down list is massive.  Over the years, according to Jeff Kelly, the Pajamas have recorded in varying combinations and conditions but have (according to my sources) retained the musical spark which caught my ear when they released Kim the Waitress and the first album I'd ever heard by them, Book of Hours (recently re-released as The Complete Book of Hours and worth a gander, if you get my drift).  Kelly says the next album as projected may well be a country album, something they have been considering for some time.  In lieu of a video from the EP, allow me to post a video from the Poison In the Russian Room album--- Any Way the Wind Blows.

Favorite Tracks:  You get five solid songs on this EP.  Pick your own.

PAT ANDERSON/Magnolia Road-----

 Pat Anderson must have stolen his PR list from Will Kimbrough's briefcase during the sessions for Magnolia Road because I received an email from him one day asking if I would review his new album.  I explained that I normally did not accept submissions (that would be considered a submission, right?) but told him to send it on ahead and I would listen, if nothing else.  I listened.  And I give high praise to the rookie, if rookie he be.  There is a lot of Kimbrough influence here, not surprising being's how Kimbrough plays on the sessions and probably had a suggestion or two.  Of course, when you start off with a raft of songs like Anderson's, you have a fair chance at success and, musically, he succeeded.  It is country with pop and rock influences.  The songwriting is exceptional, the production and musicianship is topnotch and, hey, the guy can sing!  Not at all Nashville, this is what Nashville should be doing instead of pumping out formulaic tripe.  Wait!  That's what Nashville does, is it not?  Here is a short news clip which might give insight and features live snippets of Anderson's She's the One.

Favorite Tracks:  She's the One, Six Spent Shells, Martinsville, Magnolia Road.

FIERY BLUE/Fiery Blue-----

There were a lot of files floating around the Internet when Fiery Blue's self-titled album was being put together, but you couldn't tell by the time the project was finished.  This is as polished as an album can be, pop as polished as you could want.  The roots are there--- a little country, a bit of folk and one whole lotta pop--- but they don't overtake the songs.  Credit Paul Marsteller's songwriting, Simone Steven's voice and Gabe Rhodes' musicianship and engineering skills.  This is just plain nice stuff.

Favorite Tracks:  Hide Away, The Long Light, Virtue, Big Moment, Stranger.

WILL KIMBROUGH/Wings-----

Did I just mention Will Kimbrough a minute ago?  Sonofagun.  Here's his Wings album.  Wonder how that happened?  Oh, well.  I've been following Kimbrough since his days with Will & the Bushmen back in--- what was it?  1980?  Time flies when you're having fun and Will's been having plenty of it.  Not only does he have his solo career, he is much in demand as a producer and session man and plays in a handful of bands, the most notable of which is Daddy, which he fronts alongside Tommy Womack, formerly of Government Cheese.  Will leans toward country, but you can't count on it.  He is a pop-rocker at heart and plays every genre known to man.  Tell you what.  Call him Americana.  I call him damn good.

Favorite Tracks:  You Can't Go Home, It Ain't Cool, Bog Big Love and Day of the Troubadour, co-written by Jeff Finlin (see above)

 MORWENNA LASKO & JAY PUN/Chioggia Beat-----

I'd been waiting for any of the fine Charlottesville musicians to come to the West Coast by the time Danny Schmidt scheduled the 2009 Sisters Folk Festival and all it did was whet my appetite.  When Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun scheduled a concert at Richmond, Oregon's Old Richmond Church, I committed to a long drive (somewhere around 400 miles) and a long drive back.  It was more than worth it.  I consider myself lucky to have seen two excellent musicians play in a little country church building with a wood stove and rough-cut boards with a handful of others who had made long drives as well.  It was more than I'd hoped for and reinforced my faith in music outside the accepted boundaries.  They played long and well--- a little jazz, a bit of soul, some gypsy and classical influenced pieces.  All instrumental.  It was something else, indeed.  Here is an indication what they do and can do live--- a musical tribute to a close friend no longer with us--- LeRoi Holloway Moore.

Favorite Tracks:  Atip Ouypron, Into the Hedges, Mama, One Moore Farewell. 

SHADE/Highway-----

When Shade's Jane Gowan approached me about a review, I (as always) was leery, but she had a connection with The Beige, and what the hell, I didn't promise anything.  I dove in with critical ear and thought I understood what I was hearing and immediately sent Gowan an email I wish I could have back.  In it, I gave critical appraisal based upon bands whose albums I was then listening to rather than Shade's music itself.  It is a trap easily fallen into, judging my the number of times I've fallen in.  I should have waited because the more I listened, the more I wanted to hear and that alone says a lot about any album.  As a songwriter, Gowan is simple and it caught me totally off guard.  As I listened, it became obvious that her songs were simple but effective and I have since embraced Highway as a necessary part of my music collection.  It is AM Pop for the 21st Century--- songs for music's sake.  Especially notable is the vocal relationship between Gowan and bassist Mary Harmer--- voices which belong together (on these songs, at the least).  And this, by the way, is one of my most played albums for my own pleasure.  I love this band!

Favorite Tracks:  Highway, Los Angeles, What I Mean--- aw, hell.  I love each and every song on this album.  Jane, send me back that email.  I was an idiot.

MOJO MONKEYS/blessings & curses-----

Damn!  These guys are good!  Kind of a hybrid of ZZ Top, Eric Quincy Tate, The Juke Jumpers and The Morrells.  You want to read about them, here's a link to my review.  If not, watch this live performance. 

Favorite Tracks:  Bodacious, Can't Say No, A Girl Might Do, Our Curse.

RICH McCULLEY/Starting All Over Again-----

Getting lost in Los Angeles is easy to do, especially when it comes to Pop and Power Pop.  Rich McCulley and fellow power popper Adam Marsland have been lost for some time in spite of some way above attempts to break out.  Starting All Over Again should find a home with people who love the hook and melody side of rock--- The Shoes, Matthew Sweet, Greg Kihn, etc.  Fans who followed BOMP Magazine closely should feel right at home with this.  Here's a taste.

Favorite Tracks:  Tell Me I'm Listening, Who'll Hang the Moon (Song For DJ), Not the One, Wake Me Up.

CARGOE/Cargoe-----

Leave it to these clowns to title their new album Cargoe.  Title-challenged, they obviously forgot that their now-classic 1973 release for Ardent Records was also self-titled.  How long ago was that?  Forty years?  Well, they are back and after all that time, there is only one substitution--- guitarist Steve Thornbrugh for the incredibly adept Tommy Richard.  As substitutions go, that's not a bad one, Thornbrugh handling guitar chores very well indeed.  Of course, this is not the same Cargoe, at least not in spirit.  These guys are older and more mature and are not under the thumb of Ardent and Terry Manning.  They still have it, though, the real difference being that the songs are more mature and up front.  A bit more soul creeps into certain of the songs, but the Brit Rock influence remains.  Solid production, outstanding musicianship and first-rate vocal harmonies carry this into the albums-of-note column.  Still in Tulsa and still rockin'!  Oh.  Seems that they claim the album is titled Twenty-Ten.  Hmmm.  Must have forgotten to have it printed on the album jacket!  Now you understand why it has been hard to be a diehard fan for the past, uh, four decades!!!  Just kiddin', guys.  Welcome back!

Favorite Tracks:  Do It, It Won't Be Wrong, Sailing, Together.

Thing is, as long as it has taken me to gather the info and post the pics and videos, I already have another list of 2010 favorites.  I am hunched over with guilt because every one of the albums I missed are albums I love and love listening to. Maybe if I get a wild hair and some energy in the near future, I will add a Part Two.  Probably not, though.  I am too far behind as it is.  In fact, I normally post an Instant Replay section at the end of these posts, but I have to sleep sometime.  Maybe I will save them for an all-Instant Replay posting.  Not a bad idea because I have links to some very interesting bands.  Like Elephantom and Mothership and Feverbird and.....  Yawn.  Sleep overcomes.  Stay tuned, though.  Tomorrow is another day and the music just keeps getting better and better.