Classical Geek Theatre

CLASSICAL GEEK THEATRE HAS MOVED!

2010-07-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

If you're still going to this page, you've bookmarked the blogspot address.

Please change your bookmarks to WWW.CLASSICALGEEKTHEATRE.COM

Thanks for your readership. See ya on my shiny new server space!

Strange Fruit Productions

2010-07-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last month Rian Borland of I Promote Good Bands teamed-up Tony Tancredi (The Union Line) and Kyle Koller to launch Strange Fruit Productions, a music site featuring videos of live artist performances complete with MP3 downloads. Rian is a hustler and the recording quality is pretty good.

Check-out the Mississippi Man downloads and then go check 'em out tonight at The Echo for free.

KROQ Locals Only and LA Record present...

Mississippi Man
Useless Keys
Superhumanoids
Dahga Bloom

Monday, July 12th
The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
21+

FREE

Eff Why Eye

2010-07-09T20:56:00.001-07:00

If, for some reason, CGT disappears for a week... keep checking www.classicalgeektheatre.com

THIS WEEK: Wires in the Walls at Spaceland

2010-07-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

I really liked that Wires in the Walls EP. I've heard pretty great things about the live show. BeatCrave presents.

BeatCrave presents...

Wires in the Walls
The Steelwells
Oh Darling
Wake Up Lucid

Thursday, July 8th
Spaceland
1717 Silverlake Blvd.
Silverlake, CA 90027
$7 DOS / $5 RSVP

Also I Like To Rock @ The Hammer Museum every Thursday in July

2010-07-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm late on posting about the Also I Like To Rock free concert series at The Hammer Museum.

This promotion is descendent from a nearly identical free concert series that was once promoted by Indie 103.1. (RIP) Fortunately, KCRW has taken the reigns and this year the series is curated by the venerable Buzzbands.la.

All the shows are free, but for $25 you get a nifty VIP pass with +9 to line skipping rolls and other benefits. And if you are a single fella and young enough to date college girls... well, don't miss it. Trust me.

The LA Record 100 Festival

2010-07-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

LA Record hit 100 issues this month and are moving to a quarterly format.

I've never written for LA Record, but I would like to. I should look into that.

To celebrate their monumental achievement, LA Record is throwing an INSANE promotion. Buy a $25 card and get into a gajillion shows for cheap or for free. No, literally. I repeat, this promotion is INSANE. I won't even post the list. (But it's several shows at several venues a night.) Just look for yourself.

General Update

2010-07-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

Ho there, Classical Geek Thespians! Big things in Mouseland going on...

The Girlfriend and I got a new kitten. His name is Duncan Idaho, Atreides Swordkitter.
I just saw a very rough draft of the new CGT and it is purty. Expect it to launch sometime in the first couple weeks of July.
I also got new bio pictures taken by Sterling Andrews. Very excited about that.
Next week I'm going to polish-up Easter Sunday and enter it into the Screamfest screenplay competition.
Lastly, I took a 6-week production gig starting in mid-July, my first "real," full-time job in two years. (Hard to believe.) I can't tell you how excited I am about this. It shouldn't impact the site much, but I won't be tweeting during work hours except for lunch. So if you're a CGT twitter follower, expect a bit less content. (Probably best for everyone involved.)

VIDEO: Smokers in Love - 4 Hours to Dallas

2010-06-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here's the first video of the first single from Smokers in Love, a new band in LA. SiL is fronted by Seamus Simpson, a poker buddy of mine who played all those iconic guitar lines in Radars to the Sky for a number of years.

Their new EP, Escaping Hollywood, is available on Amazon.com today. I've had it in regular rotation for a month or so.

I really like what Smokers in Love are doing. Mostly, I like that it isn't irreverent hipster manchild bullshit. It's nice to have some seriously crafted music, isn't it?

Mississippi Man residency at The Echo every Monday in July

2010-06-29T04:00:00.001-07:00

Yes, The Echo (and Spaceland) still have free Monday night residencies. The Echo has Mississippi Man this July and the lineups are a doozy.

I can't remember if I've seen Mississippi Man live or not, but their EP has lots of wonderful rootsy 60's and 70's influences. I always heard a lot of Big Star in their sound, myself. The EP was recorded by Raymond Richards at Red Rocket's Glare, which is reason enough to give it a spin.

KROQ Locals Only and LA Record present...

Mississippi Man Echo Residency
July 5th w/ Rumspringa, Papa, Jeffertiti’s Nile
July 12th w/ Useless Keys, Superhumanoids, Dahga Bloom
July 19th w/ Buddy, Big Whup, Wires in the Walls
July 26th w/ Pity Party, The Franks, Damn Sons

Every Monday in July
The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
21+
FREE

On Writing

2010-06-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

My area prostrema has confused its own organ for the stomach, and as a result my gray matter has an unyielding -- nay, I say autonomic -- need to vomit... somewhere. I'm letting this blog post catch the ejected contents, which I anticipate will be quite messy. Stand back. You've been warned.

Harlan Ellison, that lovable old miserable crank

I've written since I can remember. As a child, writing was not just a task to be completed but something that was done. I never questioned an adult who said "Write three paragraphs about Harriet Tubman." I might have just as easily done so on my own volition. To me the act has always been rudimentary behavior.

As children, The Arts (whatever that means) are often the first cut made to education budgets. They are institutionally optional. Writing should be considered one of The Arts, but it typically takes shelter underneath the roof of English and, comparable to paints or textbooks, writing is relatively cheap to teach. The Arts aren't institutionally optional because they are unimportant, they are institutionally optional (mostly) because they are expensive and vulnerable.

But writing is cheap to teach. And as children, we enter into a social contract where for 13 years we write for free. All of us. In school we've all written volumes of words -- novels worth, maybe? -- for nothing, and it starts before many of us can even ride a bike. More importantly, before we are capable for forming expectations.

The quality of the bulk of that writing is suspect at best; we're made to do it so we can learn how to do it. And we must learn how to do it so we can continue to do it for free. We write to our parents, we write emails and memos for work. We fill-out applications and answer questions for doctors, bankers, and governments. All this writing requires a skill, and those more skilled in the act benefit from their proficiency. The act is seldom monetized.

In fact, in college, we pay people to make us write for free. Hundreds of pages of papers!

Writing. It's cheap, it's free, it's expected.

This is the mountain one must climb every time one wishes to convince another that you should be paid to write. The institutional cheapness of the written word.

I only recently began to think seriously about this.

As I said, writing was always rudimentary to me. As I got older, I got a vague sense that I might be good at it. I got a considerably stronger sense that I liked to do it. The Dream All Men Have is to get paid to do something you like. But I never really envisioned how to get there. I just figured I'd write things, then one day someone would decide they'd like to own those words. Then I'd have a giant house with a yard and three German shepherds.

No one in school ever told me I should expect to be paid for writing as an adult. (And why should I believe them? I was doing it for them for free!)

Somewhere a few paragraphs ago, you the reader probably sniffed hypocrisy. To date this blog has 1,410 posts (including archives of college paper articles) for which I've never been paid. All those words that I have given away, including most all of my best stuff. Nobody made me do it. I did it with glee. Glee, and a sense of obligation to the world for which I cannot pinpoint the origin.

I sympathize now more than I used to with the old newspaper men who, five or so years ago, became increasingly outraged at what the blogosphere was doing to their well-oiled, institutionalized racket.

The turd is out of the ass though, and there is no shoving that mother back up in there. Most of the living writers I admire (William Gibson, Warren Ellis, Nick Hornby, Chuck Klosterman, John August, Andrew Sullivan -- and yes, Kevin Bronson) have varying degrees online presence free of charge to their readers. I get the sense you cannot be "A Writer" without a free and open online portal to your mind. To a modern American, that is the definition of a writer. A word celebrity. Perhaps the notion isn't new at all. Books have always been free at the library. (There's that institutional cheapness of the written word again.)

When my only publishing credits were the Ball State Daily News and my own blog, blogging everything seemed like an obvious and easy way to get noticed. Finally, I feel past that point. So what I've wrestled with the last couple months is this: what should I be paid for, and what should I give away?

Press releases, website copy... those are easy. (Show me the $) But what about my in-depth (i.e. more than 140 characters) critical thoughts on music? Do they have monetary value? Am I devaluing myself every time I review a show? As I write this very blog post I am asking myself "Couldn't you save it unpublished, edit it, reshape it, tighten it, and get it published somewhere? There's some alright ideas in here..."

Set aside for a moment that nobody is entitled to be paid to do what they love. Granted. I also loathe the "woe is the writer's life!" moanings that self-righteous writers (usually ditzy flakes and Boomers) have a tendency to utter. There's no romance to what I'm saying, just thinking out loud.

The saying "Information wants to be free" is absolutely true. That's like saying "Money wants to be transacted". That's what it is for. Information wants to be known and consumed with the least impediment, always and forever. So the question for everyone in this game is this: "How can you control the information so it flows through you and out to someone else in a way that benefit$ you the most?"

(This, by the way, is something the megamedia conglomerates understand very well. I used to be a piracy champion. I still kind of am because Viacom is a non-person with the rights of a person, and that is evil. And I promise you, the money they think they're losing from YouTube is not coming out of the writers' pockets -- those guys aren't getting half their checks anyway.)

When CGT gets its Wordpress makeover, it's going to be geared a bit more like the homepages of published writers. I was paid to cover Coachella for BuzzBands and that opened my eyes a bit. I won't write for other sites for free anymore, save for the occasional favor for close friends. I won't do "paid per click" articles on fitness and beauty for SEO-spiders, either.

The content on CGT, when the site morphs, is going to be more direct and succinct. (Every link that used to go on Collected Thoughts can be its own bite-sized post.) I think I'll still review records and shows on here, especially the upstart locals. I made the switch to only review things I really believed in because it was a good way to cut my commitment to the site. These days I don't think of the CGT record reviews as critical reviews (which I should be paid for) so much as recommendations, and content recommendations fall under what I'm starting to think as "things writers should give away to promote themselves".

I'm going to be writing more about "content producers and artists working for free," because it's something I'm starting to feel strongly about. I'm working on something from the perspective of the photographer. And, ironically, I'll probably publish it for free. (Unless someone wants to pay to run it...)

MUSIC VIDEO: The Henry Clay People - "Your Famous Friends"

2010-06-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

Needs no introduction, really. Directed by Benjamin Gauvain Hoste. (Who, once upon a time, took photos for CGT!)

The Henry Clay People - "Your Famous Friends" from Benjamin Gauvain Hoste on Vimeo.

Changes coming to CGT...

2010-06-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

If everything works, I'll be moving to Wordpress before the middle of July. CGT is going to get a serious visual makeover. The colors will be less grotesque and gone will be the traditional giant-ass logo and yawning avatar.

Oh, stop, don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry like that.

Since its rebirth as a blog in 2007 I've considered Classical Geek Theatre to be first and foremost the homebase for my voice as a writer. The new wordpress theme you'll be seeing will reflect that. The blogging and music coverage will still be the central feature, but other parts of the site will market myself a little better. I've gotten my hustle on this month and it's time to do this "get paid to make sentences" thing for real.

ALBUM REVIEW: An Aquarium Drunkard Presents L'Aventure

2010-06-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

An Aquarium Drunkard presents L'Aventure

Today LA-based blog An Aquarium Drunkard releases a tribute comp to Television's Adventure. Titled L'Aventure, the album is a complete-cover record, each song performed by (arguably, truly) eight of LA's fifteen best indie rock bands.

There are a lot of music geeks who take the "Adventure is an under-appreciated classic" stance. I am not one of them. I think it's a perfectly fine record that unfortunately follows one of the all-time greats. (Disclaimer: I consider Marquee Moon the greatest rock record ever recorded.) In this way Adventure is like The Godfather Part III, it's chief weakness an abundance of warmth where none should be.

(J. Neas eloquently argues the contrary, by the way.)

However, it is Adventure's "good, but not great" status that makes it ripe for covering, and An Aquarium Drunkard has picked only the finest fruit. Comps overrun today's new music like randy strawberry plants overrun gardens, but Justin Gage has coordinated some truly impressive organic pairings.

Every track is expertly matched with an artist that deftly draws from a different dimension of Television's rich sound. The Henry Clay People perfectly capture Adventure's reflective tones on "Glory," the album opener. The Happy Hollows mutate "Foxhole" into a Marquee Moon outtake while Imaad Wasif (w/ Lykke Li assisting) takes the listener into an even darker and drearier hole on "The Fire".

But for my money, The Deadly Syndrome steal the show with their cover of "Carried Away," making the song their own more than any other entry on the comp. And props to Local Natives, who elevate the overall professional quality of the collection.

I was impressed with this comp on the first listen. Justin Gage's passion for both the Los Angeles music scene and Adventure really come thorough. The best musical efforts are labors of love, and you can count this among them.

L'Aventure can be downloaded for free, but donations in conjunction with the record go directly to The Silverlake Music Conservatory. (So give a few bucks, will ya?)

DOWNLOAD L'AVENTURE HERE!

An Aquarium Drunkard presents L'Aventure

1. The Henry Clay People - "Glory"
2. Foreign Born - "Days"
3. The Happy Hollows - "Foxhole"
4. Local Natives - "Careful"
5. The Deadly Syndrome - "Carried Away
6. Imaad Wasif (w/ Lykke Li) - "The Fire"
7. Dirt Dress - "Ain't That Nothin'"
8. The Growlers - "The Dream's Dream"

TOMORROW NIGHT: Seasons EP release show

2010-06-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

Got to be stoked about this one. Longtime readers of this site know a little something about all these bands.

I stumbled upon Seasons, gosh, I don't know how long ago. I think it was at Mr. T's Bowl, but it might have been Echo Curio. It seems like CGT has been with Seasons since the blog's beginning, though.

They've worked their asses off, played all the dives, written some outstanding songs, performed stupendously, given free beer to damned-near everyone they've ever met, and their reward has been... indifference by the vast majority of music blogs outside of LA. I sigh. Loudly.

Seasons are a great band and will play for you a great show, should you choose to come. It's FREE. What's your excuse?

Seasons' Winter EP release show
Seasons
Death to Anders
Tenlons Fort
Magick Orchids

Tuesday, June 22nd
The Echo
8:30p
18+
FREE

THIS WEEKEND: Beach Boys tribute show

2010-06-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

When You Awake is presenting this Beach Boys tribute show on Saturday.

The show is in a backyard. The lineup is stellar. Don't let the cost sway you; proceeds go to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

The details are gargantuan, so I'm gonna hit you with a rare press release copy-and-paste:

"The night will feature performances of classic Beach Boys songs by Victoria Williams, The Chapin Sisters, Leslie Stevens of Leslie and the Badgers, Whispertown (Morgan Meyn), Red Cortez, The Tyde , Big Search (Matt Popieluch from Fool¹s Gold and Foreign Born), Charlyne Yi, Hi Ho Silver Oh, My Pet Saddle, The Blank Tapes, The Dustbowl Revival and more. Members of The World Record and The Parson Red Heads will take up the duties of house band.

Between-set entertainment will be provided by Howard Kremer from Comedy Central Live, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Scare Tactics, Steve Agee from the Sarah Silverman Program and DJ Dougg Pound from Tim and Eric on Adult Swim.

Extra on-site goodness includes a beach-themed photo booth by Sterling Andrews and a raffle featuring a guitar from Traveler Guitar, autographed Brian Wilson and Beach Boys LPs and DVDs courtesy of Capitol Records, box sets from Rhino Records, lessons from Learn to Surf LA, dinner at Kincaid¹s Restaurant on Redondo Beach, a gift certificate to Purity Organic Skin Care Boutique, a Supergirl gift basket from Warner Bros., cupcake delivery from Scootabaker and jewelry by local designer Eso Meliae. Plus! The first 50 ladies through the door get a keepsake from Bloomers! of Austin."

Death to Anders LIVES / Free Downloads

2010-06-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Death to Anders was one of my favorite bands in the CGT heyday. They had a lot of Pavement / Sonic Youth noise, but gradually took-on an alt-country / cowpunk twain. I think their full-length, Fictitious Business, was criminally overlooked. (I might be wrong, but I think it was the first record review I ever wrote for this blog.) You can download that one for free, by the way.

D2A lead singer Rob Danson became my roommate. (No longer.) He was, and still is, a great guy. Eventually their drummer quit the band, Rob needed a break, and Nick Ceglio (a poker buddy of mine) and Pete DiBiasio went-on to form George Glass, who have earned some notoriety on the LA art gallery circuit in their own right.

Rob Danson is resurrecting the band. The lineup is not set. For their upcoming show on June 22nd at The Echo, Andrew Spitser and Kenny Koopers from Radars to the Sky are playing guitar and drums, with Josh Solberg from One Trick Pony playing bass.

If you want to know more, Radio Free Silverlake did a nice interview.

That show, by the way, has an incredible lineup. It's the Seasons EP release show. Tenlons Fort will be playing one of their last shows for the foreseeable future. Magick Orchids (defy description) are closing the night out. Oh yes, all that great local music for the recession price of FREE.

Seasons' Winter EP release show
Seasons
Death to Anders
Tenlons Fort
Magick Orchids

Tuesday, June 22nd
The Echo
8:30p
18+
FREE

MOUSE FOR SALE / Horrorfall Press Release

2010-06-13T20:42:00.001-07:00

Hey Classical Geek Thespians (especially you PR peeps), here's something new for you to chew: I'm for hire.

I'm getting the freelance writer thing in gear. Press releases, website copy, ad copy, etc. I'll flex a little based on ability to pay, but I'm not doing "payment is the published sample". Professional inquiries only. Contact for rates.

Anyways, here's a press release I did for Horrorfall. The formatting, obviously, is a little wonky on blogger.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 11th

HORRORFALL DEBUTS WITH “BLOODWORK EP” ON JUNE 15TH

FIRST SINGLE “NECROPLASM FIX” TO APPEAR ON SEASON PREMIERE OF HBO’S TRUE BLOOD SUNDAY, JUNE 13TH

Out of the darkest Los Angeles nights rises a new creative pact by veteran musicians Colin C. (Slighter) and John Girgus (Aberdeen, Languis, Spider Problem): HORRORFALL

With the DNA of electronic rock acts like Underworld and Primal Scream flowing through their veins, HORRORFALL’s Bloodwork EP taps into the revenant relevance of vampiric motifs in today’s entertainment, unleashing pulmonary pulsing beats drenched in sanguine synths and electronic fuzz.

Buzz about Bloodwork began circulating even before the blogs could get their first bite. HORRORFALL’s debut single, “Necroplasm Fix,” will appear on the season premiere of HBO’s True Blood on Sunday, June 13th, two days before the EP’s release.

BLOODWORK EP TRACKLISTING

1) "Necroplasm Fix"
2) "Cracks in the Walls"
3) "Dead of Night"
4) "Necroplasm Fix (Slighter’s Melee Mix)"

ABOUT HORRORFALL:

HORRORFALL is an electronic rock collective featuring Colin C. and John Girgus, joined by guest musicians and artists on a track-by-track basis.

Introduced by mutual friend Paul Fischer (founder of Better Looking Records), Colin C. and John Girgus set out to build a creative environment where tensions between members could be eliminated. “We wanted HORRORFALL to be something where our individual roles are never defined,” muses Colin C. “And experimentation with other singers and musicians was a must. “

HORRORFALL can be found online:

Official Site – http://horrorfall.com/
Twitter – http://twitter.com/horrorfall

Horrorfall 'Bloodwork Ep' available June 15th through all major digital outlets, iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Bleep through Alpha Pup Distribution. http://www.alphapuprecords.com/

ALBUM REVIEW: The Henry Clay People - Somewhere On the Golden Coast

2010-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's impossible for me to be objective in regards to The Henry Clay People. They're my friends. They're emblematic of what a great local music scene means to me. I've seen them play great shows, great drunk shows, terrible drunk shows, and all other manner of shows. I've slept on hardwood floors with them. I can't "review" their new record, Somewhere On The Golden Coast, out today on TBD Records. I can only offer my thoughts.

The Henry Clay People - Somewhere on the Golden Coast

Without talking too much inside baseball, I know that the song selection and track listing for Somewhere On The Golden Coast was a protracted process for everyone involved in making the record.

Somewhere out in the ether (somewhere on the golden coast?) there is a version of this album that would be more directly catered towards me. It would have included "Switch Kids," "The Good Ones," "Taste of the Tasteless," "Randy Where's the Rest of Me?" and a version of "Digital Kid" closer to what the band was playing in early 2009. It would have been a slobberknocker of a rock record.

The record that is Somewhere on the Golden Coast has a different tact. It's a Slow Burn (like the same-named track on the album); less hyper-active, less eager to please, and less inclined to flaunt its influences than any HCP release to date. If For Cheap or For Free was a published Indie Rocker's Manifesto then Somewhere On the Golden Coast might be that same indie rocker's private diary: entries written at the bottom of the eighth pint of beer, a more intimate and introspective -- if more abstract -- assemblage of somewhat melancholy thoughts and musical ideas.

(I'm not a huge fan of the HCP's glam rock-influenced direction, and for those like me, there were a number of terrific live sets recorded for various websites last year that well-document the band's post-For Cheap or For Free, pre-glitter guitar period.)

It's only fair to mention that longtime fans are only granted 26 minutes of new songs, with "This Ain't a Scene" and "Working Part Time" getting fresh takes.

That's the only serious downside.

And for those who have not yet heard The Henry Clay People (that is to say "the vast majority of music consumers"), Somewhere on the Golden Coast is an impressive, comprehensive introduction to The HCP and all their colors, from the glammy-epic "Saturday Night" to furious rocker "End of an Empire" to "Nobody Taught Us To Quit," a stripped-down indie morsel in the vein of a hundred seemingly incomplete Guided by Voices tracks.

"End of An Empire" is a stand-out, but "Your Famous Friends" might be the best recorded track The Henry Clay People have ever released. (Admittedly, one of the glammier tunes.)

Good artists perfect a dish and serve it to their fans over and over again, only mildly tweaked. Great artists have the guts to know you can't give the fans what they think they want, you have to give them something better; you have to turn expectations on their heads every time. That means taking creative risks.

On this album, The Henry Clay People have bravely charged themselves with the greater task. They often -- but don't always -- succeed. The effort is admirable and worthy of The Henry Clay People's reputation as "a band for the good guys," rock music for The People Who Get It.

Somewhere on the Golden Coast is a rewarding listen and I give it a strong recommendation. It's the kind of music worth paying for and will surely make many end of the year lists, probably mine. You can buy it tonight at Spaceland when The Henry Clay People celebrate the release of the album. (Expect a couple new covers, too!)

BUY THE ALBUM FROM THE HCP HOMEPAGE (Cheaper than iTunes!)

Everything That Needs To Be Said

2010-06-04T13:00:00.001-07:00

CONTEST: Pair of tickets to The Henry Clay People @ Spaceland 06-08-10

2010-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

This show is a no-brainer, right? The Henry Clay People (whom I regard to be the Best Band in LA) will be celebrating the release of their new record Somewhere on the Golden Coast next Tuesday at Spaceland.

Plebeians and Untouchables will pay $8 advance or $10 day of show a head to attend. But you, Classical Geek Thespians, may become one of The Chosen Few, One Who Is On The List.

Email me with YOUR FULL NAME in the body of the email and "HCP TICKETS" in the subject line. I'll randomly draw one tomorrow morning. The winner gets a pair of free tickets to the show.

And if you don't win, make sure to come. It'll be the best show of the month. And bring some extra scratch to buy the record, you're gonna want to have that one.

(Oh, hey, anyone want to give me a ride home after the show?)

Tuesday, June 9th
Aquarium Drunkard presents...

Somewhere on the Golden Coast release party
The Henry Clay People
Olin and the Moon
The Hectors

Spaceland
1717 Silverlake Blvd.
Silverlake, CA 90027
$7 ADV, $10 DOS
21+

ALBUM REVIEW: The Californian - Sea of Love EP

2010-06-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Californian - Sea of Love EP

The Californian (Los Angeles, CA) have termed themselves both post-surf rock and alt-surf rock, and with good reason: their four-song Sea of Love EP contains just as much Radiohead in its DNA as it does The Surfaris or The Beach Boys. It's a recording that doesn't rehash a proven formula that works, but makes a daring effort to create something new from what's come before. (Something "new" that doesn't rely on an Afro-beat, I might add.) Remember when bands did that? 20 years ago? Well, The Californian have encrusted a 21st century crown with the sonic gems of surf rock, displaying expert craftsmanship and impeccable taste.

Where lo-fi acts like Wavves feature bedroom-quality recordings composed with sloppy faux indifference, The Californian is staffed with devoted musicians and professional recording engineers. Where acts like Dum Dum Girls go to great lengths to replicate the sounds of 60's pop, The Californian prays before the altar of the same era but then builds an addition onto the church. And where today's trendy indie music features droning under-mixed vocals, The Californian's John Graney sings beautifully, loud-and-clear, at the forefront of the mix.

There is not a speck of nostalgia on this record, which is probably why I love it so much.

Every song has at least two heads. The Californian's greatest strength is an ability to surprise you every step of the way. In the year 2010, with nigh-unlimited access for anyone to all the music ever made, this is a nearly impossible task. It can not be said enough.

The opening track "NaNaNa" starts with a foreboding melody before swiftly transforming into the catchiest pop-hook of the year. "Sea of Love" is the stand-out track and features Graney's best performance (oh yeah, remember when artists performed on recordings?), but "The Big Hell No" is my darkhorse favorite of the collection, a track that pairs Graney's most colorful lyrics with the band's most despairing dimension.

The Sea of Love EP clocks in at just under 16 minutes. It's dark, yet uplifting. The EP betrays a love of well-crafted music, and the hard-work surely required for its creation has paid dividends. More than any other record yet in 2010, it has kept my attention and earned my embarrassing adoration. I'm going to have to insist you buy it. Current front-runner for Album of the Year.

BUY THE RECORD HERE.

The Californian will celebrate the release of the Sea of Love EP TONIGHT, Tuesday June 1st, at Spaceland. $7.

SAVE THE DATE: The Californian record release show on 6/1/10

2010-05-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping on a jet plane for Indianapolis today and I still haven't nailed my review for The Californian's Sea of Love EP. Everything I try to write comes-out a blathering mess of embarrassing, hyperbolic praise. It's that good. But you don't have to take my word for it, Lord Growing and IPGB agree.

Expect a review next Tuesday. In the mean time, mark your calendars. I'm serious. It's going to be outstanding.

Nananah nanana nanananananana...

Upcoming Shows

2010-05-17T11:14:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, I'm super busy with The Meatworld right now. (I'm also starting Final Fantasy VII this week, so there goes any remainder of free time I might have.) I'd love to post more details on all these great shows coming up, but fliers (for the most part) will have to do. I might do dedicated posts for some if I get more time.

Tuesday, May 18th

IPGB Rian is trying to rule the world, I swear. I don't trust that robot. Nope, not one bit.

Friday, May 21st

Here's a powerhouse lineup. The Bootleg is easily the best of The Fold venues.

Saturday May 22nd and Sunday May 23rd

The Silverlake Jubillee is kind of a big deal.

Sunday, May 30th
Radio Free Silverlake's local band cover charity show. It's a very RFS / CGT style lineup. You'll likey.

Tuesday, June 1st

The Californian will be releasing their new EP at Spaceland. Additional lineup TBA. This EP is my current frontrunner for album of the year.

I'm flying from Indianapolis to Los Angeles on that day. And I'm going to the show anyway. So you have nary an excuse.

Tuesday, June 8th

No flier yet, but The Henry Clay People will celebrate the release of their third full-length record at Spaceland.

I've had a hard time figuring out exactly how to express my thoughts on the record; it's really good but it also isn't what I loved about the last one. Seamus Simpson (a poker buddy of mine) wrote a good review for RFS.

The Henry Clay Peope won't play LA again until October, so you'll have to go to this show.

BROADCAST DELAY...

2010-05-11T11:23:00.001-07:00

Hey all, I've just been busy with Meatworld stuff. I finished the third draft of my screenplay and have been working on a new one. (It's sci-fi, for fans of Minority Report or Enemy of the State.)

Anyways, I've been neglecting blog-related emails, etc. Sorry. Will try to get to them by the weekend.

Iron Man 2 was pretty great.

Buy My T-Shirt

2010-05-07T08:08:00.001-07:00

My cousin and I collaborated on this t-shirt. You can buy it here.

"You pull on your shirt from last night in the harsh morning glare. As you stagger into the unfamiliar bathroom, you look in the mirror and feel - remorse? Dude - HAVE YOU NO SHAME?"

Avi Buffalo - (self titled) out today!

2010-04-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Avi Buffalo - self titled

Readers of this blog probably know about Avi Buffalo. "The kid is just 19," heard now on KCRW, opening for Modest Mouse on tour soon, blah blah blah.

This post is a kindly reminder that their full-length record is available today. It is one of the best of the year, one of those rare times where the debut album of a hyped band turns-out to be exactly what you'd expected and hoped for.

YOUR WEEKEND PLANS (w/ MP3 download!

2010-04-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 22nd

I'm a dumbass. I thought Rademacher was playing the Les Blanks residency last week, but it's this week. From last week's post:

"For more local music money, hit Casey's for the Les Blanks residency. The ever-awesome Shirley Rolls are playing, as are an all-new (again!) Rademacher lineup. Frontman Malcolm Sosa seems especially enthusiastic about this one. I'm bummed to miss it. This would be my Friday night if I were you."

Saturday, April 23rd

Looking for something a bit different? Seamus Simpson, former guitarist to Radars to the Sky, has a new band Smoker's In Love. They're playing at the Cat Club. Print the flier for a discount.

I've had the roughs of their new EP for a while. Fans of Wire need aply. Got an MP3 for ya:

[MP3] Download - Smokers in Love - "Escaping to Hollywood"

Coachella 2010 Day Three 04-18-10

2010-04-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

Coachella Day 3 04-18-10

Saturday we got-up, cleaned-up, filed our respective Coachella reports, and packed our bags. We were down by the car at about 11:00am and ready to go to Denny’s for breakfast…

…uh, no car key.

My iPhone had fallen through my left pocket the night before during Muse’s set; I had a new hole in some old shorts. That night we came home at 3am. I was stone-cold sober (only one beer the entire weekend) but tired, surely the key had fallen through the same hole.

It was not in the hotel. It was not on the ground near the car. It was not at the front desk. I checked my bags six times. I emptied my backpack, which I would have had with me, twice. Nowhere to be found.

My roommate ended-up taking an $80 cab ride. I had to cancel an assignment. I called AAA. “Ninety minutes”.

Ninety minutes (1:00pm) and the guy comes. “Oh, your Cruiser has a transponder key. I’ll make the key, but the other guy will have to come and program it. He’ll be here in half an hour.”

At 2:00pm, I call AAA again. “Uh, where is he?”

“We’ll call you back.”

They call in 15 minutes. “Fifteen minutes.”

HE calls in 15 minutes. “Another half-hour”.

All those times are estimates. The guy had been at the polo fields and kept getting new calls down there, where he was already located. Point is that I wasn't driving towards Indio until about 4pm. I had to park a mile away. I was not on the festival grounds until after 5pm.

So between the first day and this one, I missed something like eight hours of the festival. I never miss an hour, if I can help it. Because I missed a lot of morning hours, I lost-out on a chance to discover new music. It felts very much like when the Indy 500 rains-out mid-race.

A chicken sandwich was in my mouth right as Yo La Tengo started-up. You can read my review of Yo La Tengo’s set on BuzzBands.la

Other Thoughts on Yo La Tengo:

YLT has been on my to-do list for a decade. I liked “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” enough to buy the record. (Gil Scott-Heron and more Pavement were the other post-fest purchases.)
If I were making a film about Yo La Tengo’s early years, I’d cast Duke Clark as James McNew.

Georgia Hubley. Gotta be pushing 50. Yes I would.

You can read my review of Spoon’s set on BuzzBands.la

Other Thoughts on Spoon:

I still feel that Spoon is always a half-step from being a mid-90’s pop rock band like Fastball. But that show went a long way in making me think twice.
Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound / Deer Hunter) and Stephen Patterson (White Rabbits) joined Spoon toward the end of the set for a few songs.

Pavement.

Whooooooo, Pavement.

I didn’t listen to Pavement in middle or high school (should have), and disregarded them in college (shouldn’t have). They were pitched to me as “sounds kinda like Weezer,” and when they didn’t sound like Weezer beyond a few guitar tones and background vocals, I moved along. The timing was bad, I was getting out of my non-commercial hip-hop phase and hadn’t rediscovered my 90’s childhood identity just yet.

It wasn’t until a couple years ago I gave ‘em another go and got it. So I’m not gonna tell you how important they are to music. I won’t prosthetize, or anything like that. I’ll say that Superchunk, Pavement, and Archers of Loaf (late-comer to that band, too) make music that connects to me -- music that sounds like how I remember my formative years -- and chances to see those kinds of bands are pretty slim ‘round these times.

I had to be at the main stage for Yo La Tengo. I found Travis Woods four rows back for Spoon, who I also had to cover. I was four rows from the stage a half-hour before Pavement was about to play. My plan was to enjoy them from afar. I couldn’t exactly pass the chance though, you know?

Ten minutes before the set, four or so little gremlins start working their way up behind us. “I have to get to the front row!” one said to his friends. “Not a chance!” I hollered directly toward the stage.

They plotted to burst forth. Mr. Woods and I held our ground. Uncharacteristic of me, I turned around to one and said “You know, all these people have been waiting for three sets to get there.” They backed off.

Sometime during “In the Mouth of the Desert,” (early in the set) I felt bad for being a dick to those kids. They could not have been eighteen yet. By all rights, they should have been at the fest for Phoenix or Major Lazer or some godawful shit. But they were geeky-looking guys, like me when I was their age, and they were carrying the dying torch of indie rock. I grew to like them.

During “Unfair” (second to last song) some meat-pylon came charging through. Presumably a Gorillaz fan, he wasn’t slyly sneaking by. He was forcing his way up. I saw him shove one of the kids behind me. I got pissed. Those kids were trying to enjoy the show. It was Unfair!

I’d missed half the fest that day. I’d already had a drunken couple sneak in front of me, crowding my space. I wasn’t about to let this guy go. I stopped him. Shouted “ARE YOU TRYING TO GET OUT?” (there’s a barrier for easy exit in case someone passes-out or gets sick) When he said “No!” – now this is not like me at all – I screamed “THEN GET THE FUCK BACK.” And shoved him five feet.

This happened to be during the loud part of “Unfair,” and the crowd was jumping like crazy anyway. There was a lot of shoving and pushing. People couldn’t tell if he was having fun or being violent. Somehow, during the closer (“Cut Your Hair”) my thumb found its way really close to his kidney.

Huh.

I don’t pick fights. I came close to picking one there. It didn’t spoil the show for me. But – if I may be all livejournaly for a moment – I learned that I can be a more angry, violent person than I thought. Always learn something new at Coachella.

ANYWAYS… “Stereo” is my favorite Pavement song and was the best of the set, for me. “Unfair,” “Cut Your Hair,” and “Summer Babe” were also great moments.

I have my guilty pop pleasures. I have cultivated an appreciation for hip-hop music. Post-punk really appeals to my cynical side, and I liken my relationship with post-punk to my relationship with science-fiction and comic books.

But Pavement’s set was the quintessential example of what I want indie rock to be. I smiled more, danced more, sang along more to that set than any other during the weekend. As soon as it ended I was half-tempted to walk out of the festival right there.

Apparently the crowd was small. (In the fan crush, it felt endless.) I’ve stopped thinking of indie rock as being “important”. It’s a niche musical interest. While not inherently exclusive, the elephant in the room is that indie rock is very much a “white guy thing” and the today’s music is (and should be) a lot more cosmopolitan. The 21st century president doesn’t listen to Pavement or Yo La Tengo. He listens to Jay-Z.

Whether they knew it or not, this made the set all the more special for those who saw it and cared.

I heard most of Thom Yorke’s set; a few songs at the side of the Outdoor Stage, and the rest across the way while I was writing rough drafts of my Buzz Bands post. He played The Eraser (which I own) in its entirety. Meh. Sounded nice enough, but I just don’t care. One might hope for something… more than a start-to-finish performance of a four year-old record, but Yorke / Radiohead fans aren’t exactly known for being picky!

I was excited for Gorillaz when the lineup was announced. I was expecting their 3D projection live show. That would make sense, since Coachella is a music and art festival. How cyberpunkarific would that have been?

Instead Damon Albarn and his host of famous musician guests played a pretty boring live show. They stuck to a lot of Plastic Beach material, at least to start, and the video screen work was utterly subpar compared to Jay-Z’s NYC skyline-shaped screen and Muse’s seizure-inducing effects.

I’d wanted to hear the jumpier, bouncier club hits. I was still riding the Pavement high. I think die-hard Gorillaz fans probably appreciated the set, but I was ready to go home.

A video of Snoop introing the show. "The revolution WILL be televised." Uh...

We got out of the parking lot quick.

The next morning I found my fucking car key.

Coachella 2010 Day Two 04-17-10

2010-04-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

Coachella Day 2 04-17-10

All arrival and exit complications from Friday were rectified on Saturday. I think I saw more police officers. Pure speculation here: I wonder if Indio’s city council tried to skimp on law enforcement assistance and had to back-down after Friday’s problems?

Saturday was supposed to be the hottest, but the festival was blessed with overcast skies during peak heat hours. It was still warm, but Terrible Sol’s blaring gaze was obstructed. Praise fuckin’ be.

This happened to be one of the best days of Coachella I’ve attended. Not as good as Friday of last year, and not as good as the day The Arcade Fire played in ’05. But after that, probably 3rd best day in six years for me.

I walked-up to the Mojave tent right as John Waters came out. The seminal art house director spoke for about fifty minutes, a hybrid stand-up routine / retrospective lecture on his career. The mix of anecdotes and irreverent cultural jabs were well-received. That is to say, fucking hilarious. I love Coachella’s recent trend of booking speakers.

John Waters’ best lines:

“You make me feel like Justin Bieber! But I want to be GG Allin for you.”
“When I was six years old I heard Elvis Presley and instantly turned into a sexual child.”
Waters offered to program Coachella next year, complete with “Win a Date with Courtney Love” and free porn for all attendees.
“Who wants the boarding pass of Otis Redding?”
“I do like poppers and I still do them.”
“The adult baby community, have you seen these fuckers? Lock ‘em up! I ain’t marching for them!”
“You can’t date rape a cookie. You can’t hate-fuck a pie.”
“Divine has limits, too. He said when he met Richard Simmons, he felt homophobic.”

I was going on four hours of sleep and the fields were heating up, so I napped on the cool ground while Shooter Jennings with Hierophant rocked-out. I don’t remember much about it, except feeling 1) it was pretty damn cool and 2) much less Shooter Jennings-esque than I’d expected. The crowd was pitifully small. Shame.

Girls sounded about as good as they do on record, albeit more airy and expansive, less pop from concentrate. They were much more cohesive as a band than I anticipated; I’d assumed the show would be “Christopher Owens and some other guys.”

They opened with “Lust for Life” (their own song, not the Iggy Pop one) to hushed sing-a-long whispers of the crowd. At times the set felt like a guy sitting on a stool playing covers by request. (Virtually all their songs rip-off some pop gem or another.) They actually did play a cover, “All I Have to Do Is Dream” by the Everly Brothers. It all sounded pretty good.

(EDIT: A reader says they opened with "Laura". My notes say Lust for Life, but honestly, I can't remember.)

But then, “Hellhole Ratrace”. Got-dayum. I want to hate this song, but I can’t. It is the defining song of today’s youth culture. Saturday’s performance convinced me of it. When the first chorus hit, chills flew down my back as my knees buckled with every attendee in the tent. When the shoegaze shimmer ripped-out at the song’s climax, the crowd was destroyed into a spontaneous explosion of approval and self-identification.

I was a doubter, a denier of this band but I can’t ignore the overwhelming evidence: Girls is capital-I Important, if not to me and my peers then at least to somebody else.

Putting scenester identity politics aside, Christopher Owens is this hipster generation’s Chris Carrabba. They are the same girl in a different dress; heart-breaking, teeth-gnashing angst in the guise of pretty-sounding songs. It’s easy to mock. It shouldn’t be confused with grown-up music. But it should be respected (greatly) for what it is.

Lastly: someone give Christopher Owens a goddamned haircut.

Overheard from alt-bros at Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros on the Outdoor Stage:

“Man, this guy is so fucked up right now!”

“This band is good. So many pieces coming together, man.”

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros drew a huge crowd on the outdoor stage. Whatever I might prefer in music, it was clear that people love the Magnetic Zerost. It was like a hippier-dippier take on The Arcade Fire’s legendary Coachella 2005 performance.

As the band took the stage, messianic frontman Edward Sharpe seemed to injure a photographer. Profusely apologetic, he touched the shutterbug on the cheek before removing his sweaty t-shirt and tying it around the photog’s head wound. I rolled my eyes. I’ve always suspected the narrative behind this band was a PR concoction.

By the end of the rousting love fest, I wasn’t so sure. I think Sharpe and his Zeros believe in what they’re selling. Nobody says “One Love!” anymore unless they mean it. Not my bag, but the whole performance could only be categorized as a success.

I sat down and rubbed my feet while listening to most of Tokyo Police Club on the Main Stage. They were perfunctory. I feel like they used to have furious energy, but it sure didn’t seem like it.

You can read my review of Coheed and Cambria ’s rocking mainstage performance on Buzzbands.la.

Other Coheed and Cambria Thoughts:

Claudio Sanchez changes guitars for nearly every song. Yeesh.
The band trades a lot of their nuances and cinematic aspects on record for anthemic qualities when they play live.
Coheed and Cambria have some of the best fans in rock. Friendly, devoted, and appreciative. Lots of strangers high-fiving each other.

I passed by Hot Chip who had the largest Outdoor Stage crowd I’d seen. (This record was broken an hour later when MGMT played.) It looked like a fun party. I don’t care for Hot Chip on record, but the live show looked and sounded way more legit than I’d have imagined. Less electropop and more straight-up new wave.

A couple times, Faith No More’s set reminded me of concert performances of Broadway musicals. Everyone is in costume (Mike Patton in Nikes and a red jumpsuit), but they kind of just stand there to play their part.

But most of the time, their set was a blast – and I (thought I) hate Faith No More’s music. Mike Patton is a true genius, and he and his bandmates seemed wholly committed to the reconstituted proto rap-rock. They sounded great, crisp and tight.

You may think "Epic" has been played to death, you may think you’re tired of hearing it every hour on the radio, but believe me, you’re not tired of it when you hear it live. It was, frankly, epic.

FNM closed with “Just A Man,” and it was strong as hell. This was the surprise set for me. I should not have been surprised, Mike Patton has a project at Coachella nearly every year and it’s always worth your time to check it out. I walked away with new respect for FNM.

MGMT was really boring. They had a HUGE crowd. That crowd, more than anything, wanted to celebrate the song “Kids” together. Coachella is about memory making and it was a given that “Kids” would be a defining moment of this year’s fest.

So MGMT did the snotty thing and decided not to play it.

Assholes.

They mostly played new stuff. It wasn’t very fun. What a wasted opportunity. That kind of pretentious bullshit isn't going to sell records, and certainly not future concert tickets.

Muse was fucking incredible.

Two of Muse’s albums, Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations, belong on every intellectually honest Best of 00’s list. Muse not only successfully marries prog and glam to a host of obscure musical genres, but they weave into that tapestry themes of oppression, paranoia, desperation, and joy.

Whereas most arena rock shows lend themselves toward dumb excess, Muse’s gigantic displays of emotion, in sound and light, are nuanced and profoundly romantic. Muse is the rightful inheritor of Queen’s legacy, jazz-hands arena rock for the cyber-age.

Their Coachella set lived-up to my expectations and then some. Mathew Bellamy really crucifies himself on stage. His bare, skinless offering of self is what endears Muse to fans. The stage spectacle is representative of the most powerful and overwhelming human emotions, the chemical onslaughts of love, fear, and survival instinct that drive us to act outside of ourselves. Like the best space operas, the fantastic references and motifs in each song fell away to reveal essential, primal truths of humanity’s short and disastrous life on earth.

On top of all of that, every song simply sounded larger and more truthful than itself on record.

Hipsters forget that Muse was a Mercury Prize nominee and, before mainstream rock picked-up on them, Absolution was popular with many of the music elite. (My recollection is that Indie 103.1 was playing Muse well before KROQ latched-on.) They’re a common scapegoat for the indie rock sect, their mainstream popularity an impediment to many to-cool-for-school cats. I suppose prog and arena rock aren’t for everyone. But aesthetic preferences notwithstanding, I find it impossible to deny Muse’s artistic viability, and I struggle to think of a better live band in the world right now.

(Bonus points for Galaga-themed videoscreen graphics and using Harmonica’s theme from Once Upon a Time in the West as an intro to “Knights of Cydonia”.)

I’d like to say Devo or Pavement were the best set I saw at Coachella. But after my emotions cooled, after sleeping on it a couple nights, I have to say that Muse topped the festival.

Following Muse I scurried over to the Mojave tent to jockey for position to see Devo. I caught the last two songs from Les Claypool. Seemed like a fun set.

You can read my review of Devo’s phenmomenal set on Buzzbands.la

Other Devo Thoughts:

On the side of the stage there was a business-suited man with a Lobot-esque camera face-strap. The band never referred to him or acknowledged his presence.
Of all the sets I saw, this one warmed my heart the most. Devo is a formative band for me, and I loved being squished with “my people” to celebrate their legacy.
It’s amazing how much Devo’s synthpop dance songs, widely regarded as their lesser material, sound exactly like the new synthpop dance bands that critics love.
The second half of the set was markedly better than the first, which is odd, because I always figured Mothersbaugh preferred the synthpop stuff.
Set List, according to my notes:

Don’t Shoot
Peek-A-Boo
What We Do
Man Turned Inside Out
Fresh
That’s Good
One You Want
Whip It
Planet Earth
(Narrated Interlude)
Satisfaction
Secret Agent Man
Uncontrollable Urge
Mongoloid
Jock Homo
Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA
Gates of Steel

Coachella 2010 Day One 04-16-10

2010-04-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

Coachella Day 1 04-16-10

Thanks to organizational palsy on the part of organizers, I was late getting into the fest on Friday. I was supposed to cover Deer Tick, and then Avett Brothers for Buzz Bands. Both plans aborted. I also missed P.O.S., Jets Overhead, and Wale, the later two I was much looking forward to.

At some point every revived retro genre of indie becomes as stale as it was before it was brought back. These fads rise and fall like Romero zombies and, more often than not, are just as mindless. But the throaty soul-inflected vocals of Yeasayer’s Chris Keating went to war with the above notions.

You say “world beat influence” and I say “barf me out,” but Yeasayer’s appeal was tough to ignore. A cool breeze broke the hot heat right as the band played “O.N.E.”. That, erm, O.N.E. got the crowd going. Yeasayer was strongest when the instrumentals were strong; their stripped-down songs were a bit dull. And why the electric drum pads? Aren’t trusty skins good enough?

I passed by Hockey. God, this is done to death. Friendly Fires do it better. Put these goddamned hipsters in the penalty box for high sucking. I passed by The Dillinger Escape Plan. They sounded like themselves. I passed by She and Him. Their cuteness filled me with rage. Really folks, they’re just another sub-par celebrity band. We should give them the same treatment we give Dogstar.

Ra Ra Riot were the top of the baroque pop crop for this self-proclaimed rockist. Was it the strings? The pretty vocals? Exuberant stage presence? I think they were simply more talented than most of their contemporaries. Impressive set, for sure.

The Specials took the main stage in the middle of the day, not just to present their brand of second-wave ska to a new generation, but to validate their career, to prove they were a serious band that mattered in the world both then and now.

World beat, 60’s girl groups, and Gram Parsons currently influence the contemporary indie world and it is a mystery -- nay, an unsolved crime -- to this blogger as to why 2 Tone ska has not seen more direct imitation. Certainly, bands like Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit could not exist without the barriers broken by The Specials, and every cross-culture sampling indie act owes deference.

The Specials’ main stage set was, frankly, special. All smiles and wild styles, they played with the same fervor I assume they had thirty years ago. Nothing short of an utter joy.

Coachella offers attendees a chance to see legends in the flesh, and Gil-Scott Heron was a priority for me. He was so thoughtful, so patient. He mostly sung and I wish he spoke more to the crowd.

By the time he was singing “Did You Hear What They Said?” I was in tears. Heron’s set was the most substance-laden at a festival attended largely by people full of substances, not substance. In the face of his introspective and forlorn songs, most of the bill just seemed silly.

While Gil Scott-Heron sang “The Other Side” a cold apocalyptic wind blew-in, the sky grew dark, and an airplane bearing an Applebees advertisement flew overhead; the irony, thicker than the bottom of a Coachella port-o-let.

At the end, a couple other musicians joined Heron as they brought-out the celebratin’ rhythm with “The Bottle,” healing the wounds Heron opened. Beautiful set, from start to finish.

I passed by Grizzly Bear. Whatever.

You can read my review of Echo & The Bunnymen’s set on Buzzbands.la.

Other Echo & The Bunnymen Thoughts:

I preferred their set at The Nokia Theatre back in October, but I prefer Ocean Rain to their other stuff, so I suppose I’m biased.
Ian McCulloch had a couple good lines. “What a pity Gary [Numan] couldn’t make it. I thought he could fly himself,” plus an anecdote about how Lou Reed once forced him to order a $1,000 black cod dinner.
After McCulloch proclaimed “The Killing Moon” to be the greatest song ever written, he cracked his voice on the opening line. Ha!

I only caught a smidge of LCD Soundsytem. I wish I could have seen more because it looked like terrific fun.

I heard most of Vampire Weekend because Coachella scheduled almost no alternative options in that slot. I’ll parse-down my objection to the band for you: I don’t hate what they are, I hate what they aren’t. I don’t think they’re particularly bad, but I feel – strongly — that they aren’t particularly worth their cred. (Nothing rubs my rhubarb like disproportionate praise heaped on toothless bands.) I found their set to be undynamic and precious.

I saw Public Image Ltd., which means I saw a Sex Pistol play live. John Lydon came out proclaiming “If Jay-Z’s starting to give you a headache, it’s time you take your PiL!” before launching into “This Is Not A Love Song”. Lydon, by the way, makes facial expressions that rival his vocal inflections in the preternatural department.

On paper, the Public Image Ltd. reunion might have been more triumphant. The reality was that Lydon and company played for a smallish crowd, against one of the most important recording artists of the last 15 years (the object of Lydon’s intro-scorn), and the performance felt more like a novelty than anything else.

I’m no PiL expert, relatively recently exposed to the influential act. Maybe true fans loved it. But I have a strong appreciation for post-punk and the avant-garde, and I wanted something more. “Tie Me to the Length of That” was the strongest song I heard.

But hey, you can decide for yourself. Here's some official clips from the show:

PiL: Death Disco, Coachella Festival, April 16th 2010

PiL: Albatross, Coachella Festival, April 16th 2010

PiL: Public Image & Rise, Coachella Festival, April 16th 2010

I caught the opening of Jay-Z’s set before migrating over to PiL, and what I saw was so engaging as to lure me back.

Face it, folks: Jay-Z was the most pertinent and relevant artist that played Coachella in 2010. Consider this:

"He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America having had a net worth of over $500 million in 2009. He has sold 40 million albums worldwide while receiving ten Grammy Awards for his musical work. Jay-Z co-owns The 40/40 Club, is part-owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets and is also the creator of the clothing line Rocawear. He is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, one of the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records and recently, the founder of his new venture Roc Nation. As an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200. Jay-Z also has had 4 number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, one as lead artist." - Wikipedia

Jay-Z's career ascension is one of the great American stories of my lifetime. Indie rocker kids don’t care and a lot of hip-hop heads don’t like him, but as far as I’m concerned, an opportunity to see Jay-Z perform is as valuable as a chance to see Paul McCartney. (Hip to this, "Live and Let Die" was Jay-Z's intro music. Heh.) That I’d seen him once before, and knew the set would be stellar, helped the decision to see him again.

Jay-Z was losing his voice and showed signs of tiredness, aging. But he was supremely optimistic in his performance, always giving 110%, effusively giving thanks to the crowd. The set was a positive celebration of hip-hop at music festivals, and anyone who wanted to enjoy it would have

Where Jay-Z’s closest contemporary, Puff Daddy, has descended into cheap product hawking and embarrassing reality television shows, Jay-Z continues to exude class. The performance was one from a lovable, consummate professional at the beginning of his decline. (Think Shaq’s championship season with the Miami Heat)

When Beyonce joined Jay-Z for “Forever Young,” the main stage crowd exploded with joy. They were cheering the celebrity sighting, but I think there was more than that. I think they were cheering the love.

Coachella 2010 Overview

2010-04-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

"He's been with the world and I’m tired of the soup du jour!"

Every year Coachella gets a new identity. Typically, the headliners set the tone. When acts like Bauhaus or Depeche Mode play, you see a lot of gothies. If it’s Tool or Rage Against the Machine, a lot of meatheads. This year there were a lot of fratty manchild alpha-bros thanks to Them Crooked Vultures, Faith No More, and (believe it) Vampire Weekend. (And, I think, less women than usual.)

In some ways this felt like an all-new festival. 3-Day passes only and the new ins-and-outs policy radically changed the dynamic of how festival goers saw music.

By limiting the fest to 3-Day passes, Coachella skewed its population towards those who could 1) afford the expensive ticket, 2) afford to take three days off, and 3) were inclined to want to sit in the desert drunk for three days.

This festival had a more belligerent party atmosphere than past years. By and large, the indie rock kids were too cheap to go. Many kindly eccentric creative-types were disinclined to spend the money, too. The frat guys and alt bros were more than happy to sacrifice whatever it took to come, though.

In years past, once you were on the grounds, you were essentially trapped. No ins-and-outs. Being such, festival goers often chose to see something over nothing, plopping down in the grass for bands they were either indifferent to or didn’t know about. A closed-gate festival lent itself toward festival goers discovering new music and taking a second look at previously disregarded acts.

With ins-and-outs allowed, all camping attendees had the option of getting drunk in their tent instead of exploring the fest. Bands such as Yo La Tengo and Shooter Jennings with Hierophant really suffered, playing for sub-optimal crowds. Paul Tollett has said the new policy would create a tighter community amongst attendees, but in fact the policy created a more individual experience: anyone was free to walk away from everyone else.

(The show sold-out. There’s no doubt the new policies were good business. On that point, some obvious corners were cut: gone were hand sanitizer trees outside of the port-o-lets, for example. )

The end result of the new policies? Upwards of 15,000 more attendees, but even scanter crowds at the early acts, with over-crowding for the headliners.

Over-crowding issues were complicated by poor stage assignments. Public Image Ltd. should have played the Mojave Tent. Devo could have easily played the Outdoor Stage. Sundays indie rock barrage of Yo La Tengo, Spoon, and Pavement should have been on the smaller Outdoor Stage, while Thom Yorke should have opened for Gorillaz on the Main. Hot Chip and MGMT drew catastrophic crowds at the Outdoor Stage; the Main would have barely contained them.

Friday suffered from great organizational dysfunction. It took myself and Travis Woods two hours to drive-in and park. It took another hour to get through bag check because – get this – they ran out of wristbands. How is this possible? (Well, probably a durpy volunteer forgot to drive his golf cart over. But still.)

To add insult to injury, it took two and a half hours to drive out of the parking lot when we left. Never in my six years of attendance have I been so miserable coming in and leaving. What baffles me is that Coachella is usually exceptionally well organized in these departments. Fortunately, problems were resolved by Saturday.

"I'll be waiting forever. I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting..."

The art installations this year were underwhelming, though giant strings of balloons that dotted the sky (by LED light at night!) were a visual joy. A new Ferris wheel made a marvelous addition to the Coachella skyline. (I wonder why it took this long for them to figure that one out.)

As for festival improvements, giant water stands were replaced by numerous small ones scattered about, alleviating some crowd congestion. The bathrooms seemed better maintained. The food stand options were significantly improved.

This year’s festival had the deepest lineup I can remember. I saw fewer jaw-dropping, life-changing sets than previous years but nearly every set I saw was enjoyable. The bill was incredibly balanced; truly, all manner of genre and style was represented. The bill was poo-pooed when it came out. In retrospect, what a bunch of nonsense.

Coachella’s formula was perfect: broad and accessible (but individually different) headliners, rare reunion opportunities, soup du jour P4K acts, and a plentiful dance tent bill. By all accounts, every box was checked-off in abundance.

One request: It’s time for Coachella to fully-embrace prominent African-American artists. There have always been hip-hop groups. Last year’s Booker T booking was a good move to dig deeper. This year was the best yet, with Gil Scott-Heron, Sly Stone, and Jay-Z as a headliner. But there’s no reason every day shouldn’t feature a sub-liner like Alicia Keys, with some up-and-coming R&B artists on the undercard.

Despite the long list of negatives this year, the purely joyful sets (The Specials, Jay-Z, Faith No More) and the rare memory-makers (Gil Scott-Heron, Devo, Pavement) more than made-up for it. Why pay the money? Why go through the hassle?

The gathering of people to consume, participate, and celebrate in art and music culture at its highest levels. Simply that.

"Black holes and revelations..."

I loved teaming-up with Travis Woods (Web In Front), David Greenwald (Rawkblog), and others for Kevin Bronson’s Buzz Bands coverage. I dunno how it came off to you guys, but to me it felt like we were doing a cool thing. I’m hoping we do it again for some of the LA fests this summer.

Full coverage to come in the next three days. Here’s a teaser:

Mouse's Top Ten Sets of Coachella 2010

Muse
Pavement
Devo
Coheed and Cambria
Jay-Z
Gil Scott-Heron
Faith No More
Echo and the Bunnymen
Girls
The Specials

If I wanted to say the cool and hip thing, I'd tell you Pavement was the best I saw. If I went with what spoke to me the most, I'd say Devo. But objectively -- critically -- Muse played the most complete, most awesome, most thrilling and emotionally powerful set I saw. The top seven were "Coachella worthy" throughout.

A detailed look at Friday coming tomorrow...

Coachella Field Report Day 3

2010-04-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Coachella Day 3 04-18-10

Getting caught-up on bloggery. Check Buzzbands.la later today for Sunday coverage from Bronson, myself, Travis Woods, David Greenwald, and more. Expect a Coachella post a day on CGT starting tomorrow.

Sunday started off terrible. (If you read my Twitter feed, you already know.) I'll tell the whole story later this week, but the end of it is that I was not in position to watch music until 5pm. I missed Local Natives, who I am sure otherwise would have been a festival highlight for me.

Sunday Top 5 (the only five bands I saw, ugh)

Pavement
Spoon
Yo La Tengo
Gorillaz
Thom Yorke

Coachella Field Report Day 2

2010-04-18T10:29:00.001-07:00

Coachella 04-17-10

Yeah guys, no big updates until tomorrow at the soonest.

Please be sure to check Buzzbands.la for Coachella coverage. Bronson's La Bloga Nostra experiment is doing a really good job, rivaling the LA Times, I'd say.

The short of it: Yesterday was brilliant, a polar-opposite to Friday. Not quite as good as the best day of last year, but Top 5 All-Time Coachella Days, for me. My three favorite sets were hard to rank, at any given time I'd tell you a different was best of the day.

Saturday Top 5

Muse
Devo (Check Buzzbands.la for review)
Coheed and Cambria (Check Buzzbands.la for review)
Faith No More (Whodathunk?!)
Girls

Honorable mention: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Coachella Field Report

2010-04-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Dark Carnival, my Coachuggalos!

First of all, I'm doing some coverage for Buzzbands.la. Kevin Bronson has assembled a crack team of LA bloggers and I am honored to be a part.

Last year I was able to blog the morning after each day of Coachella. Yesterday I waited a total of six hours getting in and out of the festival. Never say never, but the prospects of a full review of anything before Monday are grim.

Friday Quickie:

Some very good shows, but not much really in the orbit of last year's top 10 sets I saw. The organization this year is the worst since 2005. I despise the attendees more than usual.

Friday Top 5

Jay-Z
Gil Scott-Heron
Echo & The Bunnymen (check Buzz Bands later today for review)
The Specials
Ra Ra Riot

Welcome to the Desert

2010-04-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

Sixth Coachella for me. Didn't even know what it was when I moved to LA. That first year I was shocked to find this rad desert festival so close to where I lived, but to be honest, I paid the $160 ticket price (or whatever it was back then) mostly to go see Weezer.

Every year, the same chorus. "Not what it used to be." "Bonaroo / Pitchfork / whatever has a better lineup." "Not sad I'm not paying $500 for that bill." "I can see (insert reunion band) in LA anyway".

They don't get it.

It's not about the money.

Coachella is a soul barometer.

Every year, I come down here to see where I am. It's the smog test I give myself, the ritual to see if I'm still fit to drive. Some years I could afford the trip without thinking twice. Others, it's a financial burden. The year I only went for one day was the year I felt most furthest removed from my goals for myself, and that's no coincidence.

I never danced at rock concerts until Coachella. I'll never forget the feeling of my own spirit raping my body, making my husk its meat puppet, furiously fist-punching the air during Black Star. It was maybe the first time I truly understood myself.

Got down to Riverside County this evening. Long drive that hurt my back. We're staying in Cathedral City, where no building can possibly older than ten years. This entire county is a manufactured place, a self-contained, industrious Turing machine of recreational commerce. Met with some friends for a beer at a sportsbar. (What a win by the Canucks.)

I passed on a chance to go to the Filter Party. I did plenty of insider parties in my ET days; they aren't really my scene. I just cling to the people I know, and it drives them nuts. Didn't want to be hung-over tomorrow.

I'm not especially interested in the parallel-events, either. I like to do the fest like The Normals. The entire Coachella experience, for myself, is a private journey and I'm not apt to tether myself to another person's ride or band schedule. Not this weekend. It's maybe the only weekend where I'm only ever precisely where I want to be.

But I wasn't tired. And I needed an adventure, just me and me.

No surprise, there's a casino nearby.

I have been known to play some no limit hold 'em.

Never in a casino, though.

There's a first for everything.

I know people who never play poker.

They don't get it; it's not about gambling.

It's not about the money.

Like Coachella, poker is a soul barometer. A beautiful life-metaphor, a game where you are dependent on chance but can also elbow and force yourself into a beneficial position. Like life, sometimes you just get plain fucked. Often times, it's your own damn fault. Played with this in mind, you can index an enormous volume of information about yourself based on your performance.

I always decide how much money I'm willing to lose before I start, and it's always less than what I can afford. In my six years of poker playing, I've only broken that rule once. The ensuing feeling was so repulsive that I'm terrified to break it again. This is a marvelous safety device.

Blinds were $1 / $3, a bit more than I'm used to. Bought-in enough to start medium at the table, nothing too gross. Won a couple good hands. Did some smart things. Embarrassed myself a couple times. Had a real hard bastard to my right. Lost all the money I played with. It was a bargain learning experience.

On losing: Losing the money teaches you how much that money was worth to you. Getting over losing the money teaches you how much everything truly important is worth more to you. These are the kinds of reasons for going to Coachella every year.

The mistakes you make in the game are the same mistakes you're making in life. I got away from my game twice, with devastating results: I never chase a flush with a big call and I never go all-in on that stupid fucking hand. Getting sloppy Mouse, that's the lesson.

On winning: You remind yourself that chance and fate can be conquered. And win, get fucked, or draw... it's always fair.

Last thought. It's a sappy one. In the things that matter most, I've never been happier. Usually Coachella is a radical high to counter-balance a radical low. There haven't been any radical lows in a while. No idea what the radical high will do for me, or if it will even be a radical high. No idea what other lessons are in store, either. Which is the point of coming in the first place. It's not about the money.

There is also some live music.

YOUR "Not Going to Coachella" WEEKEND PLANS

2010-04-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Coachella.

Many of you aren't.

Here's some stuff to do this weekend. (Thx to You Set The Scene, whose calendar I used to make the list.)

Friday, April 16th

Autolux is playing The Bootleg. I've heard it's sold-out, but maybe you can sneak-in.

For more local music money, hit Casey's for the Les Blanks residency. The ever-awesome Shirley Rolls are playing, as are an all-new (again!) Rademacher lineup. Frontman Malcolm Sosa seems especially enthusiastic about this one. I'm bummed to miss it. This would be my Friday night if I were you.

Saturday, April 17th

I confess, I don't really "get" Radar Bros.... but they are local legends and you have a rare chance to catch them in a DIY setting, at Echo Curio.

Alternately, The Crystelles, On the 5, So Many Wizards and Rademacher at The Smell. This is Rademacher's first-ever Smell show. Kinda weird venue for them, so it might be worth it just to see the ankle-biter's jaws drop.

Sunday, April 18th

In the interest of being honest, it'd be tough to pass-up Dum Dum Girls at Echo Curio (jeez, Grant scored big this weekend...) or Love Is All at The Echo, who slayed Part Time Punks Fest a couple years back.

Well, here's a reason to pass those: Radio Free Silverlake is doing a one-off of their fabled Let's Independent! shows. When I started blogging, RFS LI! was the "center of the scene," if you will. And it was in Hollywood! Well, now it's at El Cid.

Big Whup is a trip and I can't heap enough praise on The Californian, whom back in '08 I named one of the Top 5 rising acts in LA. By the way, their upcomming EP is outstanding.

Collected Thoughts 04-14-10

2010-04-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, Go Into the Story Readers! GITS, one of my favorite screenwriting blogs, gave CGT a shout-out on Monday. How cool is that? More on GITS on a later post where I detail my favorite screenwriting blogs.

I had a blast going on the Si'mon Quey! radio show. I'll do a post on the podcast by next week.

Rogue Radio is live. Jonsey's Jukebox broadcasts on there now.

Did you miss Admiral Radley at the Bootleg? Get the podcast here. I loved it. After the show, I heard Jason Lytle sound really upset about his performance. As a longtime Grandaddy fan who never saw Lytle until that night, I was mesmerized. Anxiously awaiting the record.

The Happy Hollows - "Big Bad Wolf" music video.

We Listen For You collected some unknown bands for you to peruse.

The Sunset Strip, like, totally discovered that internet thing! (At least they're getting it.)

I listened to "Lisztomania" for the first time since... probably the first time I listened to it. Dudes, Phoenix will not age well. What a perfectly mediocre song.

Is SXSW worth it to aspiring indie rockers? The dude from Fucked Up doesn't think so. (MUST READ)

Scott McDonald, writing for An Aquarium Drunkard, loved the Dum Dum Girls record. I'm more in line with Web In Front's take.

I've listened to I Will Be a lot in the last month. Still, there's only one or two really great songs on there, and those are the songs we've had versions of for over a year.

And truthfully? Dum Dum Girls' interpretation of 60's girl groups is no more authentic than Vivian Girls; they're both aiming to replicate a formula from over forty years ago. To boot, I'd argue Vivian Girls' music is a little more exciting because they knew less about that stuff than Dum Dum Girls. In some ways, I think Vivian Girls thought they were doing something new. But Dum Dum Girls' immitation is 100% conscious every fraction of a second. It's cooler because they're older and more disaffected, but beneath the attitude and mystique is something pretty so-so.

(Though "Jail La La," old or not, is one of the best songs of the year.)

And you know what? I'd prefer a cleaner sound. Fuzz for fuzz sake isn't doing it for me these days.

This year's Nerdlist.

I love Robert Rodriguez. I love Predator. This works wonders for me -- in the nerd-boner department.

The Thing remake / prequel has a lot of promise. Believe me, I too feel The Thing is sacred ground. But it was a remake itself. We'll see.

As a giant dork, Kenneth Branaugh's upcoming Thor film is the most intriguing thing coming down the pipeline. K-Bran teased us with some hints.

NIGHTMARE FUEL:

Conan to TBS is genius on TBS' part. If it works, could be a new model for cable stations.

Oprah is getting her own network. Increasingly, the genre of a station is irrelevant (Sci-fi doing game shows, History doing reality programs, Cartoon Network doing live-action) but if cable networks can lure major flagship talent and brand themselves by that name, there's no reason they can't beat the pants off the broadcast nets.

As Mother Jones put it: "On the web, the name on the marquee is all that counts. If you have a brand—or are a brand—you can transcend the entity that hosts you."

Grand Theft Auto IV and coke.

I totally relate to that article. (Not the coke part.)

One of my good friends and I routinely play GTA IV together. I love hitting rich old ladies with baseball bats until the cops come, and then mowing the officers down with an uzi. I get a thrill from driving recklessly, destroying everything in my path. It makes me feel alive.

America affords us Americans a lot of freedom, but I sometimes feel like we're in a zero-sum game and that every freedom has its own uniquely shaped cage. In that game I can punish institutional society for all the things about it I loathe. I get to destroy my cage.

I'd never dream of hurting a real life police officer and, at the end of the day, I'm fortunate that the licensed gang bangers in blue are on my side. But the same thing that causes me to relate to films like American Beauty and Magnolia revels in the juvenile delinquency of a good GTA rampage.

The PS3 Natal (Wiz-bang-wow!) will probably not live-up to its hype. Bet your ass its successors will.

In 1969, what they imaged the internet to be like:

There's been some debate on the iPad and whether or not it encourages or restricts independent artists, developers, geeks, whatever. Warren Ellis had some thoughts on Marvel's ap. They go in-line with my own thoughts on why we shouldn't be so quick to worship the brick-and-mortar.

Look folks, in this future we're building, every single person's desktop, laptop, or cellular phone is a storefront for whatever product / art / idea you are selling. That is a fundamental improvement over brick-and-mortar stores, if you're either an artist or enthusiast. You don't need a store to find or spend time with people like you.

YES!

Comic book cartography.

In Soviet Russia, board game plays you!

People and their gaming avatars.

MONSTER! Kill it!

Tiny horror of horrors! Kill them with... whatever kills creatures that don't need oxygen!

UGH. More horror of horrors!

Cyberpunkarific cyber-gloves.

Prosthetics controlled by tongue.

The Singularity is near!

Absurd.

The science of morality.

My own personal belief is that morality is derived from knowledge. Specifically, our capacity to recognize in another his / her / its own individual conscious mind that is unique from, but not entirely unlike, our own individual selves. In this way I think morality improves and / or increases with a greater understanding of our universe. This is why I regard thinking that restricts the pursuit of scientific knowledge as amoral.

Important to Understand.

Coachella Survival Tips!

2010-04-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Coachella '09

This year marks my sixth Coachella, fifth year going every day of the fest. It is routinely two or three of my favorite five days of the year. Word is the fest has SOLD OUT, and if you're not going, check back later in the week for alternative options in LA.

If you are going... here's my advice for making it through the Indio Gauntlet in one piece of meat.

Water water water. Budget for ten bottles a day. At least, no exaggeration. Every time you pass by a water stand, get in line and get another backup bottle. Especially if you plan on stalking-out a band a few sets early. If you wait in the sun at noon for a 3:30pm band, and by 2pm you are out of water, you will have a miserable time of it. Coachella is like Dune; water is life.
Rest. Every day, before you enter the fest, pick a 30-60 minute block of time between 1:30pm and 4:30pm where you promise yourself to take a nap in one of the shade tents. With the desert heat, your body really needs it. A mid-day nap makes it easier to go crazy for the mainstage sets at night, too. I'd also recommend against staying-up super late past the music. Getting a good eight hours of sleep will do you a huge solid in making it to Sunday night.
Food. Not everyone is with me on this, but I like to eat the exact same food around the same time every day. I have digestive problems as a way of life, and they're usually exacerbated by the heat. Stick to chicken sandwiches and carby burritos over the super greasy stuff, too. Your body is going to consume way more energy than it would normally.

Last year we ate a decent breakfast at Denny's every morning. Taking the time to relax and carb-up was a big booster for my general mood.
Water water water. Bears repeating.
Cash and Gas. Get it before you get to Indio. It will save you $50. No joke, son.
Clothes. Dress light with shorts, but put a track jacket or thin sweater in the bag for nights. Wear a hat, fisherman style if you got one. I recommend shoes with socks (LOTS of standing), but if your feet are badass, sandals work. Seriously, dress for comfort over style. Whatever is comfortable.

Here's something most people don't think about: balance your pockets for comfortable posture. If I have a heavy wallet in my right back pocket, after a day of standing for twelve hours, my back hurts. I'd keep as much pocket stuff as you can in your bag.
Gear. My top secret Coachella survival item: 3 or 4 bandannas. (Like the towel in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) One to wipe sweat, dirt, salt off your face. One to tie in a triangle around your neck. Turning it to the back of your neck SERIOUSLY reduces the heat on your skin, and turning it around over your face will help you breath in either dusty conditions or super-smoky tents. I use a third bandanna to soak in a bottle of water and lay over the top of my head.

Must-haves in your pack: Sunglasses, bandannas, light jacket, chapstick, sunscreen, TONS of earplugs (I hand them out to folks who need them), a plastic bag (to out items in in case it rains), camera, a pad of paper and pen (you'll be inspired to write at some point). Put cash in two places; in your bag and on your person. Over-estimate cash needed, then only spend it when you have to. And only bring-in what you need for the fest; trim down that purse or bag before you go in.
Scheduling! Everyone has their own ideas about how to "do" Coachella. Here's my preferred method: meticulously plan, but throw half the plan away.

Meticulously plan your fest in ten minute increments. Put it in a spread sheet. Skip bands you can see in LA regularly; place a premium on "classic" reunion bands you don't particularly care for but will never get to see again. (I'll forever regret skipping The Jesus and Mary Chain. Similarly, trust me, this year you want to see Echo & The Bunnymen.)

Figure a couple sets where you REALLY love the band, but it's not worth it to stand up-front in the heat; you'll compromise and sit in the grass. Circle two acts every day you MUST see and beyond those two, use that spreadsheet as a guide, but be perfectly willing to cast it aside on a whim / bad set / need for food / etc.

Plan to be organized, be willing to free-ball it. Don't let yourself miss the things you care about, but don't tie yourself down.

In general, I think front-row standing is over-rated. It's packed. You can't pee. There's no room to jump or dance. It takes three sets to get up there and you miss other stuff you'd rather see.
Meeting up with people is HARD. All cell phone service goes to shit; texts come-up hours late. If you plan on meeting up with someone, pick a landmark and a meeting time first thing in the morning and make sure everyone agrees to not change the time. If you split from friends, plan a meeting spot before you wander off.

To each their own, but for me Coachella is at least 50% solitary soul exploration; don't miss a set you want to see just 'cause your friends want to see another.
The dance tent. It's full of x-zombies, roofies, AND RAPISTS. I'm not kidding. Unless you really love one of the electronic acts, stay away. It's not fun in there.
Drugs and alcohol. I'd STRONGLY suggest limiting intake of anything that isn't essential. Drunk in 100 degree weather = a ruined festival / trip to the ER.
Water, water, water. Water.

(And keep a bunch in your car. During the day the desert dust will paint your windows. You'll want to wash them off before you drive home.)

On Screenwriting: In the beginning...

2010-04-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

For months I've promised to chronicle my journey through screenwriting and my thoughts regarding the craft on this blog. Here's the first post: a bunch of autoblogigraphical nonsense, if you like that sort of thing. (Worry not, music blogging will continue simultaneously.)

My short term career goals are to continue to learn new things about the entertainment industry; to meet people that can help me and whom I want to help.

My mid-term goal is to get an agent.

My long-term career goal is to sell some screenplays and / or obtain a staff position writing for television. That's hard. Thousands of hours with slim chances of a return on the investment. It requires some luck. It's not pie-in-the-sky though. Every week, it happens to someone. Someones like me, often.

A brief retrospective of my career aspirations:

In second grade I wanted be to a scientist and discover the cure for AIDS (seriously)
By sixth grade I wanted to be a novelist like Stephen King
By seventh grade I wanted to be playwright (At age twelve I wrote a play about a young epileptic boy who has to come to terms with the fact that he can never be an astronaut. I was such a normal kid.)
Sophomore year of high school, actor
Freshman year of college, radio host
Sophomore year of college, professional improvisation comedian / SNL cast member
Junior year of college, television director
Senior year of college, film writer / director / producer
Year Three in Los Angeles, music video / sketch / commercial writer / director / producer
Year Four in Los Angeles, film writer / producer
Year Five in Los Angeles, professional magazine / blog writer
Year Six in Los Angeles, screenwriter (August '10 will mark six years in LA for me)

Excepting a couple outliers, there are some obvious thru-lines there. Almost everything is creative. Most involve the invention of characters. A lot of them are performance oriented.

I spent the first half of college immersed in the world of improvisational comedy. I believed I'd found my calling. Unlike stage acting or film acting, improvisational comedy is pure philosophy. It felt like an intellectual pursuit to me. I won't bore you with the details of my tragic fall from the kingdom of Absolunacy. I'll say that when you're 20, you think you know everything. One thing I did not know was how to work well with others. I'm still learning.

I was a minor on-campus celebrity at Ball State because of the comedy troupe and my weekly newspaper column. When I quit the troupe my junior year (maybe a couple months before I would have been kicked out) I became immensely depressed. Someone who is now one of my best friends in the world invited me to hold shotgun mic on his student film. I fell in love with filmmaking.

After graduation I moved to LA dreaming of being the next Robert Rodriguez. When you are 22, you think you know everything. There were a couple detours (sketch production, blog writing) but in general my career aim since coming to LA has been a through line, if still a process of elimination.

My excuse for Year One was that I didn't have a camera. Then I bought $6,000 worth of gear. During Year Three, my friends and I made a lot of comedy shorts. I still think we mined some nuggets of genius. (My finest achievement.) Sometime in Year Three or Four I shot a music video produced by an acquaintance. It didn't go as I wanted. I tried segueing this blog into video production, too. I felt inadequate.

What I came to realize was 1) painting with light did not come naturally to me and 2) there were way more guys with way more talent who wanted it way more than I did. That my efforts found no audience beyond my friends didn't help.

That cut me down to writer / producer. My last "real" job helped me eliminate the producer aspect. I don't have the alpha male gene for it. I'm a collaborator and an inventor, not a schmoozer of agency folks.

What it came down to, for me, is that I've written my entire life. I didn't run around with a photo camera taking pictures. I did dabble in making movies as a little kid, but only for amusement.

No, I spent all day making-up new stories for my Ninja Turtle figures. (NO MIXING OF TOYS. Continuity was king. Splinter could never fight Lion-O.) I loved the essay assignments in school. I took every creative writing course I could. I wrote short stories. Stories where government agents that flew on the backs of baby dragons would execute citizens who took photographs. Stories where right-wing terrorists waged war on mass transit in a Utopian future. Even my student filmmaking in college was, ultimately, just a different expression of my desire not to tell stories, but to create stories.

But I'm also a product of the 80's and 90's; my brain was programmed with visual stimuli. Teevee, movies, and video games. I still work on short stories from time to time, but writing for the screen, writing with images, suits me.

I dabbled in music writing, but I can't hang with the true music aficionados. Amongst my music-loving peers, I often feel like the poseur. I'm comfortable with that now.

So that's how I got to this point. A little less than a year ago, I "got serious" about screenwriting. Since college I've had a gajillion ideas for scripts. Many of them made it to about page seven or seventeen. Last year, I grew-up enough to discipline myself. It's been immensely rewarding already. Back in December I made it to the final page of a draft for the first time.

The hardest thing is the format and the structure. Poets have no such concerns, really. Magazine writers have some leeway. Novelists are free to tinker with format and structure. Blogging is whatever you want it to be.

But in writing for the screen, the proven structures are religion and the format is law. No one who can help you wants you to be "creative" about the format. Hollywood readers worship the tried-and-true beats. It takes near-meditative mental discipline to teach yourself to love that. For me, forcing myself into the box is a zen exercise. The reward comes from flourishing in a box. You can fill the same box with an infinite number of different things.

Something I learned this year: the first step towards knowledge is to humbly admit there is something you do not understand. It would be a dream to have a writing career. But I write for myself. It makes for the best personal journey, the best stories.

FIVE QUESTIONS: Warren Sroka (Wires in the Walls)

2010-04-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

(You can catch Wires in the Walls at The Bootleg Theatre this Saturday, April 10th. They'll be celebrating the release of their Call Signs EP, which I quite fancy. Olin in the Moon also plays. $8.)

Warren Sroka
singer, guitarist
Wires in the Walls

1. Background:

I play rhythm guitar and sing in the indie rock/alt-country outfit Wires in the Walls, based in Los Feliz. I started the band with our bass player Nick after having played a number of these songs solo-acoustic. I really wanted to be part of a collaborative unit and see the material grow. I was lucky enough to find super talented, like-minded musicians who are passionate about the music and who've brought some really creative ideas to the arrangements. I've been thrilled with how the band's sound has evolved as we've moved away from just putting parts behind my old solo songs to writing material specifically for the instruments we now have.

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

Underrated: Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy

These guys have recently gotten a lot of attention for their last two records, The Stand-Ins and The Stage Names, but back in 2005 they released what I think is their best album to date. It's not so much a collection of songs as it is a world you get to visit. Pour yourself a glass of whiskey, turn the lights down and get swept away. "You know I never claimed I was a stone. "

Overrated: The Strokes, This Is It [Ya killin' me, Warren! ~Mouse]

Nothing against this album, I actually really love it, but Rolling Stone named it the second best album of the 2000s, ahead of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Arcade Fire's Funeral, The White Stripes, and Jay-Z. Really? Those are all pretty seminal artists whose albums fundamentally changed the musical landscape, and I'm not sure I'd put The Strokes in that category. Still a great album though...

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

I'm a big fan of today's overall music climate. I remember reading about the possible death of rock 'n roll ten years ago, as labels seemed less and less likely to go out on a limb and promote something new and different. But now artists have the ability to cut out the middle-man and reach fans directly, which has changed everything and led to the current, more niche-based climate. In turn, labels are starting to see the benefits of appealing to specific tastes instead of pushing generic, one-size-fits-all bands.

Unfortunately, with the convenience of the MP3 player we seem to be losing the pleasure and appreciation that's derived from consuming a record start to finish. I'll often be looking at someone's iPod and discover they only have one or two songs from a particular album that they claim to love. The best records take you on a journey - you would never buy one scene from a movie you loved. Sometimes context is king.

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

Absolutely it is important to the culture at large! Art is culture and hopefully the music being made is a reflection of now. Someone smarter than me once said artists are documentarians of the human heart, which is always evolving. Besides, how boring would it be if we were all still listening to music made by banging sticks and rocks together?

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

This is a tough one. While the gorilla would definitely enjoy a speed advantage and the ability to use the driftwood, I still feel that the walrus's size advantage would prove too difficult to overcome. As everyone knows, adult male gorillas range in height from 5' 5" to 5' 9" and in weight from 310 to 440 lbs, whereas male Pacific Walruses weigh 1,800 to 4,000 lbs. and are 9 to 12 feet long.

Now I know what you're thinking, "What about the Atlantic Walrus, don't they tend to be smaller?" Yes of course they do, but only slightly. They weigh about 2,000 lbs. and reach lengths of 9.5 feet. Ultimately I think a weight differential of up to 3,500 lbs. makes this a mismatch if there ever was one. However if I can hedge my bets, you can't measure the size of one's spirit, and those gorillas are a feisty bunch.

Mouse on Si'mon Quey TONIGHT! Interwebs Radios!

2010-04-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

Forgive the short notice and press-release post, but I gots a busy day. I'm gonna be on internet radio tonight. Sarah Negahdari (The Happy Hollows) is the musical guest.

Si'mon Quey! This Wednesday's guests will be Mouse creator of the blog Classical Geek Theater, Jesse the Celebrity Documentarian and performing live Sarah Negahdari from The Happy Hollows! Come listen to great music and conversation about life in LA and more! Si'mon Quey from 10pm-12am Wednesday on Only for the Open Minded.

Wednesday, April 7th
Mouse on Si'mon Quey!
http://www.onlyfortheopenminded.com
1opm - 12am

NEW BAND CRUSH: Wires in the Walls

2010-04-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Wires in the Walls (Los Feliz, CA)

If the Gaslight Anthem put strong melodies and anthemic lyrics over a punk backdrop, and if The Airborne Toxic Event put strong melodies and anthemic lyrics over a post-punk backdrop, then Wires in the Walls put strong melodies and anthemic lyrics over an Americana rock backdrop. The hipsters aren't gonna like it. Guess what? No one likes the hipsters, and with good reason: their taste sucks.

On their new Call Signs EP, Wires in the Walls deftly navigate between broad appeal and creative distinction. In a Los Angeles music scene so frequently enamored with angular guitars, harsh synths, and fuzzbox noise, here is a band that simply reaches out and touches the listener. There's more sincere intention than new invention on Call Signs, but compared to the parade of pathetic vintage clones on Pitchfork, it's easily the most interesting thing I've in 2010 thus far.

Strong, distinct, beautiful, and moving. What else could you possibly want in a record?

[DOWNLOAD MP3] Wires in the Walls - "Twin Jet Engines"

Buy Wires in the Walls Call Signs EP here.

Call Signs EP Release Show

Saturday, April 10th
Wires in the Walls
Olin and the Moon

The Bootleg Theatre
2220 Beverly Boulevard
Echo Park, CA
$8
21+

Chinese Invasion Week in Los Angeles!

2010-04-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

No kidding.

LA rock photographer Scott Schultz (who has been in Boston ~~and, um, China~~ [Fact check, Mouse!] as of late) found some Chinese rock bands and got them shows in LA. ~~I believe they may be the first-ever Chinese rock bands to play in the United States.~~ [See comments. This post is on a roll.] I heard Carsick Cars slayed last night at The Echo, and you can read about P.K. 14 on LA Record. They're all on the Chinese label Maybe Mars.

So it goes without saying, you have to go to one of these shows.

Giant Robot presents...

Tuesday, April 6, 2010
P.K. 14
Carsick Cars
AV Okubo

GR2
(in-store performance)
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

L.A. RECORD & Converse Present: The China Invasion Tour
Wednesday, April 7th
P.K. 14
Carsick Cars
AV Okubo

The Viper Room
8852 W. Sunset Blvd
Hollywood, CA
9:00pm
$10 ADV, $15 DOS
21+

Elaine Layabout presents Bands Over Borders

Friday, April 9th
P.K. 14
Carsick Cars
AV Okubo
The Monolators
Signals
M31

American Legion Post 206
227 N. Avenue 55
Highland Park, CA
8:30pm
$7
21+

MONDAYS IN APRIL: Walking Sleep residency at The Echo

2010-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Forgive the short post.

Walking Sleep used to be The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra.

The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra was one of the most interesting bands in the Echo Park / Silverlake scene.

The Walking Sleep is, in all probability, equally interesting because it's just a name change. There are some terrific musicians and talents in the band.

Every Monday in April at The Echo. Free. Web In Front has a song download.

Short Story: "Pecan Pie" by Ben "Mouse" McShane

2010-04-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

I wrote this for a 100 word story contest. I didn't win. Thought I'd share. This is undedited, but man I'd edit it considerably now.

"Higgs-Boson, you bastard!”

Fletcher Darion-McCrea was moments from completing his life’s work. Those moments then passed. He pulled the ripcord and the seven sextillion-dollar quantum taser sent a shockwave of vomit-inducing gobbledy-gook across the Crab Nebula.

The Higgs-Boson particle howled in defeat. Time farted.

“Got ‘im,” Fletcher proclaimed into his com, smiling so large his face hurt.

Down on earth, almost immediately, after two millennia of delays, the Large Hadron Collider fired-up. Wiz-pow!

“Now that I’ve killed the bugger, lets see if you brains can prove it.” McCrea was thinking about pecan pie, richly deserved.

And then, nothing. Forever.

Shit.

YOUR WEEKEND PLANS: Gram Rabbit and The Californian at The Echoplex

2010-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Gram Rabbit was one of the first local bands I saw in Los Angeles. (Well, they're from Joshua Tree, but play LA enough to constitute "local" status) It was at an Indie 103.1-promoted show at The House of Blues Sunset. They played with Ima Robot and The Spores (RIP). It was a revelation. That was four years ago next week. The Gram Rabbit Spaceland residency in September of '07 was one of the first residencies I covered on CGT. (All four nights) I believe I once dubbed them "the band that is playing at the end of the world".

Anyways, I've loved this band for the entirety of my LA music-going experience. They have a new record, Miracles & Metaphors, coming out this spring. And a show this Friday at The Echoplex. It will be a big fucking party, I'm sure.

Here's the new video for their song "Candy Flip," off the new record.

(I'd like to call-out The Californian as a supporting act worth your commitment to catch. I once wrote about them "When listening to The Californian: Am I being romanced or hunted? Is there a difference?" and I consider that to be the best blurb I've ever written about a band, which is to say they inspired me considerably at the time. By the way, their new EP is in the can. I've been thirsting for that EP since November '08.)

Friday, April 2nd
Gram Rabbit
Andy Clockwise
Crooked Cowboy and The Freshwater Indians
The Californian

The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
$10 adv, $12 dos
18+

Les Blanks Friday Residency in April

2010-03-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

One of LA rock's most under-heralded, Les Blanks, has a residency every Friday in April at Casey's Irish Bar in downtown Los Angeles. Les Blanks' brand of rock n' roll runs the gamut from 70's blues rock to cowpunk, and I can't recommend their live show enough.

They've got excellent supporting acts on every night, too. The final night, April 30th, is also the release show for the Les Blanks / Le Switch 7" split. (Try saying that ten times fast)

Les Blanks April Residency

Every Friday in April
Les Blanks
Marvelous Toy (April 2nd)
The World Record (April 9th)
Shirley Rolls (April 16th)
Rademacher (April 23rd)
Le Switch (April 30th)

Casey's Irish Bar
613 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90017

SAVE THE DATE: The Onion and The Onion AV Club invade The Echo this Thursday, April 1st

2010-03-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

I regard The Onion AV Club as the best outlet of music journalism on the web. The best features, the best interviews, the best reviews. In many ways, they're doing what Rolling Stone used to do. And they're promoting a new book, Inventory, at The Echoplex this Thursday, April 1st.

Inventory is a book of nerdy lists. (6 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 6 Keanu Reeves movies somehow not ruined by Keanu Reeve, etc) Sounds like a trip.

The Onion's new book of front pages is also being promoted. Staff members from both publications will be on-hand to read from the book and chat with visitors, as will Inventory contributors Tom Lennon and Robert Ben Garrant (Reno 911 and The State) and stand-up comedienne Megan Ganz.

Hang out with folks from The Onion and AV Club -- on April Fools Day, no less? Yes plz.

But for you music junkies, the real gem is an rare opportunity to see Division Day perform. Their record release show last September was utterly spellbinding.

The Onion and AV Club in LA

Thursday, April 1st
Division Day
All Kinds of Neat and Entertaining Shit

The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Echo Park, CA 90026
8pm
$10

REMINDER: Killer show this coming Thursday

2010-03-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

Today The Deadly Syndrome's new album Nolens Volens is released. (You can buy it on iTunes) The release show is this Thursday at The Echoplex. It's a must-attend show. (These days, if it drags me out of the house, you know it's gonna be a good one.)

I Promote Good Bands and Web In Front present...

Thursday, March 25th
The Deadly Syndrome
Signals
Rabbits

The Echoplex
1154 S. Glendale Ave
Echo Park, CA
8:30pm
$10
18+

Collected Thoughts 03-18-10

2010-03-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

OKAY. Here's a huge-ass post. I have some more Five Questions posts, but I'm gonna save 'em for a bit. This muther should keep you busy for days.

(Thanks to Web In Front for this) A Bay Area journo described Shadow Shadow Shade thusly: "The group is equal parts Edward Sharpe, Queen, Polyphonic Spree and Arcade Fire - yet not as good as any of those. In other words, they sound exactly like Matchbook 20. But, really, you probably already figured that out."

HUH?

Ted Leo covers Tears for Fears.

This Stephen King-Shooter Jennings concept album sounds right up my alley.

I lolled:

Giant Drag is back.

Eenie Meenie Records sent me one of these shirts a couple months back and I love it.

The Happy Hollows were interviewed on IGN. And did you catch them on Parenthood?

RFS revieiws Gorilla Manor.

A while back, Rawkblog Dave mused on the usefulness of music festivals. This might be my last Coachella. I dunno. The value gained is just about surpassed for the cost of the experience these days.

Feed Your Head re: The Future of Music.

I enjoyed reading Nitsuh Abebe's essay on Pitchfork. I didn't care for the bulk of the essay, the teeth-gnashing existential crisis of marginalized, burned-out hipsters. But this quote was insightful: "Because once the web brings everyone in a niche like this into constant contact, well: Where does the discussion go? Instead of figuring out your taste in relation to the world, you start figuring it out in relation to your immediate peers-- which sometimes means distinguishing yourself from them over smaller and smaller differences."

The internet media has left the wild west and entered the industrial age. The freedom and innovation has been consolidated into overly powerful entities: content mills like Demand Media or monolithic, myopic institutions like Pitchfork. Abebe uses the editorial-royal we a lot in that essay. I suspect most people still measure their taste against the rest of the world. The insulated Pitchfork writer (and perhaps the marginally less insulated local music scene blogger) does not.

I think the filter system needs to be redesigned. Publicity firms are part of the problem. A revolutionary online music magazine would refuse to accept submissions or invitations and instead send-out emissaries to scope-out live music based on their own independent inquiries and research. The word-of-mouth vine has been corrupted. Abebe smells the rot but can't locate its source. As long as sites like Pitchfork continue to be spoon-fed their content, they'll continue to ask the same asinine questions.

Here's a statistical analysis of Pitchfork's numerical scale in the past year. I'm surprised by how few low scores they actually hand-out. My own (apparently incorrect) observation / assumption was that they gave out way more low scores. What'd I'd really be interested in is a word analysis of the negative / positive comments in a review relative to the numerical score. Sometimes an reviewer glows but the number doesn't reflect it. (I've heard, annecdotally, that the editor often shifts the numerical score to his liking / needs.)

Rachel Nichols cast in Conan. Red Sonya, maybe? Probably not, based on the character breakdowns for the film.

I really wish they were doing a film or series of films based on actual stories from the canon. I'd do a film of young Conan-to-thief-to-barbarian king, a film where Conan loses his crown, and a third film where Conan reclaims his throne as an older man. There's plenty of dramatically compelling stuff in the canon, no need to make-up characters.

The Dubya Bee has got the Nolan Bros. working on other DC properties. Meh. Superman is a fundamentally uncompelling character for film. You can't spread mayo on an envelope and call it a sandwich.

Related: Now that nobody else wants Bryan Singer for everything, he's crawling back to Fox to do more X-Men movies. I think X2 is the best movie based on a comic book ever made. But I am still terribly bitter at Singer for abandoning a Perfect X-Men Trilogy to make Superman Returns. I hate Supes; make mine Marvel. Not sure if I'm ready to forgive.

Manly slang, 19th century style.

This D&D cave is in Indianapolis. Awesome.

D&D with pornstars. (NSFW)

lololololololololol

I'm this guy.

This dog hates the Law and Order theme:

Nano-everything will change everything. Nanotube thermocells.

Cyberlimb news.

Cybervoice news. (And sorry, Mecha-Ebert is pure nightmare fuel.)

This is right out of a William Gibson novel.

For a hundred grand, a jetpack can be yours! Between jetpacks, the Segway, the balloon boy debacle, this thing, and some other things I've seen... I wonder if private transport isn't a big part of future consumer culture.

This Time article on Demand Media is about exactly why I decided pursuing a career is music bloggery was folly. I don't want to spend my youth in a content mill.

Time to Start Taking the Internet Seriously (must read)

Clifford Stoll didn't take the internet seriously! My high school girlfriend made me read his book. It was a load of horseshit.

The Red Fungus of Doom. (We're all fucked.)

We've talked about this before: ants rule the earth. Were they able to inhabit our bodies and colonize our flesh, they would. I proudly step on the six-legged terrors whenever I can.

Shai-Hulud!

NOOOOOOOOO:

(wait for it...)

Culture as a force of evolution...

...and religion could be the cause of it. I've long felt that religious belief was an early species trait, not an artifact of culture itself.

Russia used to be weird. (must see!)

North Korea still is weird.

Obama looking at mundane things.

When the Bush Administration was devising the United States Torture Program, they considered mock burial.

God, the Bush Admin really did hire lawless thugs to run our stupid little war.

A central element of my liberal core is compassion for the imprisoned. "Locking up" people doesn't address any of the causes of crime, and therefore only improves society on a cosmetic level. That we turn a blind eye to prison rape says more about the content of America's character than just about anything.

My gut tells me if this kid was black, he'd be behind bars. NO time? At all? Come on.

FIVE QUESTIONS: Nicholas Ceglio (George Glass)

2010-03-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Nicholas Ceglio
singer, guitarist
George Glass

1. Background:

The main band I'm in currently is a fairly new one. I man the guitar and primary singing duties for George Glass. We are a three piece: guitar, bass, drums. We are about 4 months old. We've played about 5 live shows.

This project came about during the prolonged hiatus of Death To Anders. Back in June of '09, D2A started having lineup issues when the drummer (John Broeckel) exited the band to pursue other ventures and then our singer, Rob Danson, needed some time off for personal reasons. I decided to keep things moving by recruiting D2A bassist Peter DiBiasio, and drummer/Navy Seal Nathan Kondor into a new project. By November of '09, George Glass was born.

We're really excited about getting back into the thick of things over on the East Side. We have a good deal of material ready to record, and hopefully we'll be in the studio by May of this year.

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

Underrated is tough. No matter how an album is received, if it has found its way into the greater collective consciousness, its already achieved what many albums never do. For that reason, I'll choose an album that has yet to be championed by the musical elite. And one of the albums that stands out to me would be Rademacher's Stunts. [YES ~Mouse]

It really blows my mind that this band is still flying somewhat under the national (and international) radar. Stunts is such a solid album from start to finish. Malcolm Sosa is probably one of the most complete songwriters around with regard to lyrics and song structure. The production on the album is very thoughtful. And even though Malcolm claims that Erin Espinoza (producer) is solely responsible for the albums sonic landscapes, I tend to believe he's being somewhat modest. My proof is both in the bands earlier and later work. Stunts is extremely dynamic. It has enough variation to please every listener's palette, and the running time is just long enough to leave you satisfied but just short enough to make you contemplate a second listen in the same sitting.

The Beach Boy's Pet Sounds is overrated. Listen to it. OK, it's good. But Brian Wilson is referred to as a genius WAY too often. If the prerequisite for the moniker of genius is the ability to write a catchy jingle on a theremin while pooping in your pants amongst farm animals, I might have to start soiling the pantaloons during my next songwriting sesh.

Also, factor-in that it's not even really the Beach Boys playing on the album (save vocals). It's all Wrecking Crew studio musicians, who are great - but wouldn't you dismiss other bands for the same practice of bringing in "ringers"? Yeah you would. People get very aggro in defense of Brian Wilson, which is very amusing to me.

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

The general listeners' desire to be musically challenged has died.....if it ever existed at all.

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

Important is a subjective word here. One could argue that the past has produced enough music for a hundred lifetimes. But then I think that statement would be overlooking the need that exists in every new artistic creator.

If there is any importance at all to new bands and songs, it starts with the people creating them. After that, who knows. Sometimes said piece of work is meant to be embraced by ten people or ten million people. There doesn't really seem to be a formula for cultural importance, on a mass scale. Americans need entertainment because they have to work so much in order to afford all these Wars and Prescriptions and Gizmos. So speaking for all American musicians starting up new & entertaining rock bands, we should be regarded as nothing less than patriotic.

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

Walrus eventually wins. The important piece of information here is that they're on a beach. We can assume then that the walrus is fighting to defend something important. I know the gorilla is bigger & smarter & more agile & carries a big stick, but the walrus is (arguably) defending food or friends or family. Depending on how much you've read about foreign wars this country has engaged in, you might concede that superior firepower is not always capable of besting a stalwart force defending it's home territory. And we do live in a nation who's foreign policy has inspired comparisons to an 800lb. gorilla. What happens when we bring our big stick to someone else's home-game? They eventually hand us our asses on a plate.

I say Walrus, eventually but definitely.

28th Birthday Party Aftermath / Musings on CGT

2010-03-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

His Bloggership Mouse @ Pehrspace 03-12-10

I just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who came to the show last night. And everyone else in general.

In all likelihood, that will be the last show I put-on. There's one more dangler out there that may come together in a few months, but other than that, my days as a hobbyist showmaker are behind me. I've never liked the stress of being partly responsible for how many people come through the door.

(Want some wistful reminiscing? You're getting it!)

"Classical Geek Theatre" was the name of my newspaper column in college. I relaunched the "brand" in the summer of 2007. I was bored and lonely. So I started going to see live music. I was by myself; I didn't talk to anybody. I just stood there and watched. I saw some shows I enjoyed and posted about them on my personal myspace page.

At the same time, I wasn't writing screenplays like I was supposed to. I knew you're supposed to "write every day". Since I was writing about music on my myspace every time I went out and saw it, I decided to commit myself publicly. That way, I'd have to write every day. CGT the blog was born.

It wasn't long before bands started finding my reviews of their shows. Other bloggers took notice. I met them and made a lot of terrific friends. I started meeting and become friends with the people in the bands, too. Going to Ball State for college, I had a hard time finding people "like me". I found them at The Echo and Spaceland. Much of the past few years, for me, was having the experience I wanted but could never find in high school and college.

Eventually I started working directly with the bands to promote their stuff. I knew how to do this already because I did it for Entertainment Tonight, so that came naturally. I got listed for the holy grail, The Free Stuff, which was great. I put on some amazing shows. I tour blogged some. I flirted with trying to write about music professionally, but I lacked the drive, connections, and (to some degree) sufficient knowledge base.

Through all of it, I've never viewed CGT as a "music blog". I was never aspiring to be the next Gorilla vs. Bear. I never accepted advertising. World domination through blogging was never the idea. CGT has been, and will always be, the homebase for my voice as a writer -- whatever sort of writing career I manage to obtain.

If it were 30 years ago, I wouldn't have a blog. I'd have been at a newspaper. I would have (hopefully) had an editor that would have taken me under his wing and helped develop me as a writer. My worst writing would have never been seen by anyone. Instead, as a blogger, everything is seen. (Everything is scene?) My development as a writer has been transparent and out in the open. I've made all my (many) mistakes in the public eye.

(To that point, I still haven't forgiven myself for how I responded to The Mae Shi split. Failing to get comment from the guys in Signals before posting is without question the most egregious error I've made on this blog.)

Last night it struck me how fortunate I am to have so many musicians as friends. I'm not really like them. I'm an outsider, and I feel grateful for having been tolerated. I entered this community acting like an outsider. I wrote a lot of critical things about other people my age who were, like me, making all of their mistakes in the public eye. And I made those mistakes even more public for them. I'm not always certain it was the right thing to do. Never mind that my ideas about technology and progress are usually in direct conflict with most musicians' ideas about their art and craft.

So last night I was again allowed to share in their endeavors. I was, again, touched. Sometimes I wish I'd aspired for CGT to be more so I could do more to help these people out. I've had so much free music, so many free memories, and I will never be in a position to repay the debt.

I've finally "grown-up" enough to write screenplays, which is what I moved 3,000 miles away in 2004 to do. I wrote every day, I never stopped writing, and now I'm writing what I am supposed to be writing; the experiment worked. I owe a great deal of it to the music community, because every band I've ever covered has given me an opportunity to be engaged in living. They've given me an opportunity to write every day.

That writing, my relationship with my girlfriend (hopefully the last girlfriend I ever have), and my professional aspirations feel like they're on another planet from late night residencies and DIY drunkfests. I still like to go see music, I will still go see music, and I will still occasionally blog about music. I'll still do some album reviews, because they flex a different muscle. There's not likely to be a tangible change on CGT from the post before this one and the post after.

But I'm not the same guy I was at Sweater Fest '07. I can't do five nights of shows a week any more. I have more than enough music for every moment of my life. The Mae Shi are on indefinite hiatus, The Airborne Toxic Event has moved-on to bigger and better things, and The Henry Clay People and The Happy Hollows aren't far from a similar fate. I don't feel burnt-out, just full. I'm not sick of new music, I just feel like new music is intended for someone else. It took a lot of passion to follow those bands to this point. I can't do it again with the next batch.

Thanks again for your continued readership. I'm hoping to add some posts about my screenwriting into the mix. (Been meaning to do that anyway.) I have about 100 collected thoughts links to collate. Might break 'em down into categories per post; I'd like to write more about each individual link in the future. The Singularity is near!

CHECK IT: The Pass from Louisville, KY

2010-03-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Pass - Colors EP

Those irreverent rascals at We Listen For You sent The Pass my way last month. Wowza, good stuff.

The Pass has inspired me to form a new theory: the best electro-indie bands come from areas that don't have enormous, throbbing, self-celebratory electro-indie scenes. Brooklyn, Los Angeles, et al need to give it up. Musicians especially inclined toward the electronic have a tendency to canibalize. When I hear a synth band from Brooklyn, I hear a band trying desperately to participate in a sonic scene, merely reacting to and regurgitating their surroundings.

When I listen to The Pass, I hear calculated music that has been selectively parsed-down to essential elements, inspired by tasteful predeceasors. Fans of the electro-indie rock dance beat will find lots to like here. It's considerably more mature than your average blogcore offering, though.

You can download "Colors" from their EP of the same name (released 2/23/10) below. This track has been in regular rotation on my iPod for the last two weeks.

[MP3 DOWNLOAD] - The Pass - "Colors"

Buy the Colors EP on iTunes.

YOUR WEEKEND PLANS: CGT Birthday Party and FMLY Ride!

2010-03-10T09:31:00.001-08:00

Friday, March 12th

Ya'll already know:

Mouse's 28th Birthday Abomination

Stoned At Heart
Jack Wilson Jr.
Downtown / Union

Pehrspace
9pm-ish
$5
All Ages
Bring Your Own Constitution Check
(of-age adventurers only)

Saturday, March 13th

I've not yet done one of the FMLY Rides, but all the videos I see from them look amazing. Check the Facebook event to get all connected.

Basically, you meet-up at 7pm. There's music. Then you ride bikes and there's more music. And food. If I were a single man, I think this would be prime hunting ground.

FMLY Ride #5
7pm
ride a bike

Westside (meet at Cloverfield Park in Santa Monica)
60 Watt Kid
The Light Rays

East Side (meet at the corner of Spring and Cesar Chavez Downtown)
Neon Navajo
Las Cafeteras
Hiking

When We Meet ($3 McWorld donation)
Rumspringa
Insects vs. Robots
The Entrance Band

Vegan treats by Out of Step Baking Co.
Pizza by Slice Truck

ALBUM REVIEW: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks

2010-03-09T04:00:00.002-08:00

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks

In the early 2000's, appreciation of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists was a golden seal of good taste. The band released three pretty terrific records and toured extensively, bringing indie rock back to the clubs while The White Stripes and The Strokes were bringing a major label version to the masses.

2007's Living With the Living was a very competent record, but also a step backward. At its best it was unmemorable, at its worst it was self-parody. ("Bomb.Repeat.Bomb." anyone?) As a huge fan of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, I am proud to say that The Brutalist Bricks (iTunes), out today on Matador Records, is a full-frontal assault and total return to form. Eat your hearts of oak out.

Leo's standard array influences (sprinklings of power pop, reggae, new wave, and anthemic rock) are again all there, only this time they are most artfully wielded. More importantly, Leo's punk rock streak has rediscovered its teeth; it seems Leo has again found some things really worth writing thirteen songs about. His passionate anger is balanced by introspection on other tracks, and while Leo's trademarked tempo shifts are employed less on The Brutalist Bricks, the sonic palette he uses is so diverse that its hard to believe all thirteen songs are part of the same album.

Standout tracks include the opener "The Mighty Sparrow," "Gimme the Wire," and the infectious pop-hooked "Bottle in Cork". On "The Stick," Ted Leo and the Pharmacists come awfully close to channeling Minutemen.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are an experienced act, something all too rare in today's music world. Says I: The Next Hip Band has been over-valued, and by releasing The Brutalist Bricks, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists have offered a rebuttal with the kind of maturity and rock intelligence that can only be earned with age. If you like music by people who know what they're doing, then The Brutalist Bricks is for you.

Buy The Brutalist Bricks on iTunes.

The Henry Clay People announce new record and tour dates!

2010-03-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

The Henry Clay People @ Little Radio Summer Camp 09-06-09

Today The Henry Clay People announced that their next album, Somewhere On The Golden Coast, will be released on TBD Records. It will be released sometime in June.

(I'm really curious to read how Pitchfork responds to this one.)

TBD released In Rainbows and was founded by Coran Capshaw, who manages Dave Matthews Band, Tim McGraw, and Phish. TBD is also a subsidiary of ATO Records, the label of Drive By Truckers (who the HCP will be sharing tour dates with this spring), Ben Kweller, and The Whigs. The HCP's management company, C3 (Blues Traveler, Thievery Corporation) manages Lollapalooza (where the HCP played last year).

That's a lot of connectivity. So if you're a betting man, I'd place money on The Henry Clay People playing Kimmel (or a similar show) before the end of the year.

On a personal note, I'm really proud of the guys in the band. They've all sacrificed an immense amount of time, energy, emotion, and personal comfort to get this far. There's no promise for greater success, but they're doing all the right things and they have a better shot than most at this point. It was just over a year ago that I followed the band across the country on tour for a week, and I could smell this success coming a year away.

If you've read this blog over the last couple years than you know that The Henry Clay People live is the stuff of local legend. Here's your upcoming chances to see them:

3/17 12:50p – QuinnStorm & C3 Presents @ Lamberts (SXSW)
3/17 2:20p – LittleRadio @ Red Eye Fly (SXSW)
3/17 Night – Stubbs inside between outside sets for NPR showcase, two sets (SXSW)
3/18 2:00p – Roky Erikson’s Ice-Cream Social @ Threadgill’s (SXSW)
3/18 3:45p – Aquarium Drunkard @ Lambert's (SXSW)
3/18 8:30p – Billions Showcase @ Club Deville (SXSW)
3/19 3:30p – Buddyhead @ Annies on 6th (SXSW)
3/19 6:00p – Pure Volume @ 504 Trinity St (SXSW)
3/20 2:30p - Pianos NYC @ Kung Fu Saloon (SXSW)
3/20 5:15p – The Ship & WOXY @ Homeslice (SXSW)

3/24 - Bootleg Theatre - Los Angeles, CA w/ Admiral Radley
5/5 – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ w/ Drive-By Truckers
5/6 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA w/ Drive-By Truckers
5/7 - Avalon - Los Angeles, CA w/ Drive-By Truckers
5/8 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA w/ Drive-By Truckers
5/12 – In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT w/ Drive-By Truckers

FIVE QUESTIONS: Seamus Simpson (Smokers In Love)

2010-03-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

Seamus Simpson
singer, guitarist
Smokers in Love

1. Background:

I was formerly the second guitar player and a founding member of Radars to the Sky. After parting amicably with the band in the beginning of ’09 I took some time off to decide what my next plan of action would be. Thought awhile about just giving music altogether and then changed my mind to give it one more try. I found some like minded fellas (Smokers in Love) and here we are. I sing, play guitar, make noise, and cause general chaos whenever I can.

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

I could make the case for a 1000 underrated albums but that would take forever and defeat the purpose of this exercise, so that said I will talk about the album that is most affecting me at the moment which is The Night by Morphine. I used to live and die by Morphine’s “Cure for Pain” as the best album in their lexicon, but I now stand corrected. The Night indeed captures the mood of the night in all of its different incarnations.

There are the lonely songs like the title song. Songs of love lost and the need for redemption in songs like “Souvenir” and “I'm Yours, You're Mine” while also showing the nighttime’s playful sides in songs like “Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer” & “Take Me With You”. I don’t know if the album was particularly underrated to the masses but it was to me.

As for and overrated album it would have to be a toss-up between Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion and Lady GaGa’s The Fame Monster. In the case of Animal Collective all I can see is a screwed up electronic hippie take on the Grateful Dead, and the Grateful Dead have always sucked so why in the hell would you want to add keyboards? [lololololololol ~Mouse] In Lady GaGa’s case Peaches called and she wants you to stop stealing her identity or pay royalties.

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

The biggest dissatisfying thing about the current music cycle is the way major companies sell pre-packaged ideas to kids telling them this is what you are going to like without trusting those same kids to make decisions about what they consider art on their own. It can be argued that this practice has always existed, but never on the level it does now.

On the other hand the teenage version of myself is upset that we missed out on the internet and social networking sites. All of those lost hours trudging along and stapling flyers to telephones and dodging the cops to avoid tickets. Now a simple email blast hits more people than I ever could have as a teen.

In general I want to see music be completely taken out on the hands of big companies and put that power to make art back in the hands of the artist themselves.

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

Music and new music is as vital as any other form of art in making assumptions on the state of a society at in given point in history. The 60’s were a perfect example of this to a tee. Just listen to any music being made any year in the 60’s and it is almost a cross section of the political and social climate of the people of that time. Music is history being made exponentially by multiple individuals but when brought together tell a story.

Sometimes that story isn’t very good. For example the last 10 years should have said more but they got hijacked by the big companies trying to make one last money grab before we take it all away from them. I could go on but I digress.

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

Mouse out of all the questions you asked this is by far the easiest to answer. One word = thumbs. If you didn’t give the gorilla a log to beat the walrus with then it might have been closer, but with weapon there it is no contest. The gorilla wins hands down.

Now a pit bull versus a wolf would have been a better fight, but this is your forum.

SAVE THE DATE: Deadly Syndrome, Signals, Rabbits on 3/25/10

2010-03-05T09:23:00.001-08:00

Rabbits is the new band from Jack Burnside of the Mezzanine Owls.

Signals is ex-Mae Shi.

Same ol' Deadly Syndrome.

It's like Silverlake '08 of Future Past.

I'll be going to this show.

Manhattan Murder Mystery - "In The Parking Lot" video directed by Simon Cardoza

2010-03-05T09:22:00.001-08:00

Needs no introduction:

Manhattan Murder Mystery - Parking Lot from Simon Cardoza on Vimeo.

FIVE QUESTIONS: Pam Shaffer

2010-03-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

Pam Shaffer
Pam Shaffer (sometimes Pam Shaffer and The Librarians)

1. Background:

For all intents and purposes, I am my band. (myspace) I started playing piano as a small child and now I play the piano as a rather petite adult. My music has been described as lullabies from a sunken pirate ship.

My new album is based on the diaries of Anais Nin with each song featuring a different character. The piano is definitely a grounding force throughout but don't be surprised if you hear an antique marxophone or a bowed bass. I often get compared to Joanna Newsom and Regina Spektor, both of which are rather flattering. When I serrendipitiously met Regina at Spaceland, we discovered we had the same size hands. This encourages me greatly.

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

Under-rated: Her Space Holiday - The Young Machines. During my senior year of college, I listened to this album non-stop while writing my thesis and taking long walks to avoid writing my thesis. There's nothing specifically that recommends this record aside from the fact that I personally find it infinitely listenable. It's kinda sappy but I am cool with that.

Over-rated: Radiohead - everything after OK Computer. Don't get me wrong, I like Radiohead. A lot. However, Thom Yorke fiddling with synths just isn't revolutionary for me. Lots of people play with synths. Lots of people have kind of whiny British voices. There are fantastic songs here and there (like the Pyramid song) but none others spring to mind. Nothing will beat The Bends for me when it comes to Radiohead. [YES! ~Mouse]

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

Though it may be an idealization of the past, audiences appeared to have more patience to explore new artists and watch as their careers develop than they do in the present. Reading about the lives of singer-songwriters in the 60's and 70's is both encouraging and discouraging to me because it appears as though the audiences were really on-board throughout these artists' careers. I like watching artists grow, change, make fantastic albums, make horrible albums, get weird, get mainstream and do whatever else they want to do.

On a similar note, it saddens me that most audiences don't even stay for an entire show at a venue in Los Angeles to discover new music but instead just show up for one set and leave. In the future, I would love to see audiences take advantage of the variety of music around them. I work with kids and it's absolutely amazing to see them just react to music instead of instantly categorizing it as something they wouldn't like based on some nonsensical principle. Keep your ears open, people.

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

New bands and new music are crucial. Without new ideas, how could society ever progress? Oh hello, Dark Ages. Nice to see you.

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

I'd have to go with the gorilla on this one.

Despite the potentially larger mass of the walrus, I'd imagine that the gorilla would be far more dexterous and could actually maneuver a weapon, unlike the walrus who could only lumber around the beach. It would be awfully hard for the walrus to use it's tusks on land so the gorilla would be in luck. The sand doesn't seem like it would be much of an impedeement for the gorilla and it doesn't appear that the walrus would have much of a chance.

Maybe the walrus was launched at the gorilla at the beginning of battle, it might not fare so poorly.

ALBUM REVIEW: Tenlons Fort - Shelters (and record release show)

2010-03-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

Tenlons Fort - "Shelters"

Tomorrow (Wednesday) marks the release of the new Tenlons Fort album Shelters.

Shelters is an instant "Best of 2010" entry. The ten artfully composed songs are gorgeous in their economy. Tastefully produced, Jack Gibson's music comes from a place of knowledge and experience. You can't place a value on a life well-lived, and Gibson's perspective dwarfs that of most other songwriters, certainly all coffee shop wannabees. It makes listening to his music intensely personal and rewarding.

(I'd like to direct you also to LA-Underground's post on the record. They are, for my money, the nation's foremost Tenlons Fort historians. Also, see Web In Front's review of the record.)

No less heartbreaking than the album's lyrics is the fact that most of America will hear the next John Mayer before they hear the new Tenlons Fort.

But it doesn't have to be you.

This Wednesday, March 3rd Tenlons Fort will play their last LA show for the foreseeable future at Synchronicity Space and release the album. It's a very limited release (each one includes ten paintings) and fifty percent of the proceeds go to The Tenlons Fort Shelters Fund, which helps the homeless in LA, Austin, and beyond.

Wendesday, March 3rd
Tenlons Fort "Shelters" record release party
Tenlons Fort
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Downtown / Union
Will Courtney

Synchronicity Space
4306 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90029
9pm
$5
ALL AGES

FIVE QUESTIONS: Geoff Geiss (Big Whup, Pizza!)

2010-03-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

Geoff Geiss
singer, guitarist
Big Whup (Big Whup Industries), Pizza! (Manimal Records)

1. Background:

I sing and play guitar in both Pizza! and Big Whup.

Pizza! formed five years ago as the New Motherfuckers, which started as jangly garage rock, went through a speedy punk period, and eventually evolved towards keyboard-filled and percussion-heavy hodgepodge indie pop. We're five friends, we know each other very well, and one of our main agendas has always been to challenge ourselves.

I joined Big Whup, a colorful and emotional indie rock project, almost two years ago because I wanted to improve my guitar playing outside of the spotlight of being a "frontman." I fell in love with the band, and soon realized that it was a great place to bring songs that didn't cohere to the Pizza! process or aesthetic.

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

The Raincoats' Moving record is always overshadowed by their self-titled bedroom-punk masterpiece. Moving sounds like a totally different band, with an array of world music influences on top of the band's familiar string-laden dissonance. I'm glad that the band was willing to make such a decidedly "unpunk" album.

Radiohead's Amnesiac is terrible. It's got some good songs, but as an album it comes together like a mixtape sequenced by a novice. That's odd, because Kid A is so meticulous. It bothers me that they marketed Amnesiac as the follow-up to Kid A instead of being honest: it was an odds-n-ends record.

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

I'm dissatisfied by those tinny lo-fi fifteenth-wave garage punk bands with whiny vocalists that are ubiquitous at the moment. It would be impolitic to name names.

I think that media outlets aren't fulfilling our need for filtration. The boom-and-bust hype cycle is dizzying, frustrating, and seemingly arbitrary. These are growing pains, though. The reason why we need a filter so badly is because it's become so much easier for artists to record and distribute their music, and that's hardly a bad thing.

I'm optimistic about the future. David Byrne wrote a great article in Wired magazine a few years ago about the new opportunities for bands to make money without becoming enslaved by the old apparatus. Major labels seem irrelevant now, and the profitability of groups like Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, and the Arcade Fire is heartening. I think that we're at the beginning of a Renaissance of "boutique labels" (like Manimal, for example) that will be great for artists and fans alike.

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

It is always important for cultures to have art that reflects their triumphs and frustrations. Folks can still commune over Tom Petty's songbook, but that's different than going to Pehrspace and communing with "your people."

I'm bothered when I hear it said that there is little room for artists to create (not "discover") new songs and sounds. People were saying the same thing at the end of the nineteenth century. Then came Charles Ives, Arnold Schönberg, Harry Partch- people who made dramatic breaks from the past! Jazz, hip hop, and disco are all still very young innovations. More will follow, and people will respond similarly to how they respond after tearing up their whole apartment looking for car keys: "why is it that new music is always in the last place that I look?"

There is no such thing as an "uninfluenced" sound, so of course we hear influences in new stuff. Duh, Vampire Weekend likes Paul Simon. But they also obviously like file sharing and the new ability to expose themselves to a diversity of influences that would have been unthinkable before Napster. You can hear these influences on Contra, which is an incredibly impressive record. Those guys are just the beginning, though.

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

The tusks are ferocious, and the blubber is a good defense mechanism, but I imagine that gorillas are more mobile than walruses. To get the gorilla with its tusks, I think that the walrus would have to pin the gorilla. I don't know why the gorilla would get close enough to let it do that. If the walrus is a bit tired, the gorilla can come up behind it and start bludgeoning it. Maybe the walrus can kick its head back all whiplash-style, but in the end it will be ruined because its tusks face inward and not outward- at best it'll be able to smack the gorilla with the broad side of the tusks, and I bet the gorilla will be able to handle that.

REMINDER: CGT Party March 12th

2010-03-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Hollows Tour Dates

2010-03-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Happy Hollows

Lots of chances coming up on The East Coast and in Texas to see The Happy Hollows, one of my favorite bands and one certainly a part of the ongoing "best band in LA" discussion. Get to it, east coast geeks.

March 3 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
March 4 - Philadelphia - North Star
March 5 - New York - Cakeshop
March 12 - Los Angeles - Troubadour
March 13 - Phoenix - Trunk Space
March 14 - El Paso - Percolator
March 15 - Ft. Worth - TBA
March 17 - Austin SXSW - Red Eyed Fly (Little Radio Party) - 3:30PM
March 17 - Austin SXSW - Jaime's (Autumn Tone Showcase) - 9:00PM
March 18 - Austin SXSW - Scoot Inn (Baeble Music Party) - 12:30PM
March 18 - Austin SXSW - Lustre Pearl (Filter/Dickies Party) - 3:00PM
March 19 - Austin SXSW - Republic Live - (CoS / Rawk Plog! Party) - TBA
March 19 - Austin SXSW - Guero's - 8:00PM
March 20 - Austin SXSW - Homeslice Pizza (Ship Party) - TBA

FIVE QUESTIONS: NaNa (Spider Problem)

2010-02-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

NaNa
drummer
Spider Problem / Mikki and Mini / Puss n Boots / The Jew Cocks

1. Background:

Well... let's start from where this "crazian" (crazy + asian) came from! I'm originally from Kagoshima, Japan. At age of 10, I fell in love with rock n roll when I first saw David Bowie at his concert in Japan. I started playing the drums at age of 15 by my mom's suggestion who got me into the rock n roll world.

At age of 18 I moved to LA with nothing. No family, no friends, even no English... just myself! I still don't know why and how I did it! I guess I was just an idiot. Ha ha ha! Didn't know anybody, didn't know what to do...playing music is the only way to make some friends and communicate with people. " The Magic of Music" really cheesy way of saying... but it really is. It can connect people & people no matter who you are, where you're from. And also can change people ( but not the world unfortunately...).

Anyway..., about 2 years ago, I met Eric Stiner through his friend (I didn't even know his friend. It was totally out of nowhere. ) and we formed a band called Kill Kill Kill. After released 3 albums and did a couple of shows and sessions at KXLU, I left the band for good and joined such an amazing band Spider Problem! This is the band I mainly play and mostly known as a drummer from.

Hey! My first show with Spider was actually a Mouse show Fiend Folio! What a crazy community...

I hate people ask me what kind of music we play. I really don't know how to describe it. But all I can say is, I've never seen a band like SP out here before! [The band] has a great music, performance and looks! Since I'm heavily influenced by 70's glam rock, The looks is as important as the music and the performance.

We did tons of crazy things last year (I'm not talking about drugs or typical rock thing. Actually I'm the cleanest drummer you'll ever see! ). SXSW, tour w/ The Germs, Bizarre Magazine, Californication sound track etc... This year, we have tons of shows as always and new EP & vinyl and more cool things are coming! So, keep your eyes open!

I never imagined I would be busy drumming and playing around.... Currently I've been working on some cool projects with super cool musicians! One is called Puss n Boots! I started it with Roy Fielden from New York. I really hope the White Stripes doesn't exist... It's a dark heavy noisy punk duo. But I think the chemistry of a young Japanese girl and an old British guy makes this band more interesting! We have a lot of shows are coming here in LA and NY in March!

And another one is called Mikki and Minnie. It's a side project of Anthony Anzalone from Mikki and the Mauses. We just started and have been just recording some weird stuff. So, we don't even know what is gonna happen... I'm just so happy that I can create something with somebody who's really talented and I look up to as an artist and a person!

And... it's the last one! I just joined a band called The Jew Cocks . [Uhhhh... ~Mouse] Two drums and two basses! Sounds already fun, doesn't it!? Formed by Dan and Bobby from my favorite band Stab City and their friend Todd Sender. A group of great talented musicians! I feel like I'm taking a free music lesson. It's also hard to describe our music. Well, we also have some shows coming in the end of March. So, the best way to find out who these freaks are is to come to see our shows!!

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

There are a lot of albums that I listened to and didn't like. And also there are a lot of albums that I love! So I really can't tell which one would be....

But since David Bowie changed my life, I have to say that the over-rated album would be his every album from David Bowie to Heroes! (I don't like his 80's stuff... Wait! then under-rated album would be his 80's stuff....!?) Sorry I can't pick one. Because every single album sounds so different and has a different concept or style. And they are so good. And he even changed his looks in every album. Who does something like that nowadays?? Even back in 70's, nobody did something like he did. He is an total artist and entertainer!

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

What dissatisfies me is an industry! They don't care about music anymore. Especially here in the US, all they care about is "$"! They (even sometimes venues) don't treat musicians as who they are.

And even the audience bothers me sometimes. I go to see shows or play shows and all I see is people are having fun in a different way... All they wanna do is just to get drunk and hang out. I'm not saying that's not a good thing. What I wanna say is, if you go to see shows, enjoy the music! I really don't see a lot of people truly enjoying music nowadays.

I'm a huge music fan. I still buy CDs & vinyls and listen to the whole album. But people just download singles... as a musician, music fan, the way of people listen to music makes me really sad...

But... there's a hope! I think the music scene is great! I see tons of new bands on the magazines every month. Well, it's really hard to find a really good band and also really hard to survive. But makes the scene come alive. Even the small LA local scene is great! I've seen a lot of great bands and great talents!! And there are also a lot of great music websites and blogs who support musicians.

So, I just hope that the support system, whatever the industry or the audience or the venues, for the musicians and the bands will be better and more for music!

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

I think it's a really silly question...... Of course, Yes!! What? Are you telling me to live with just a "memory of Michael Jackson"?? No way...

I know the music scene or industry is not like 70's or 60's anymore. And there are not gonna be "brand new music" or "brand new" sound. But I think the current music scene is great! Still excites me and makes me happy every time I discover a good new band or song! It's a history, generation thing!

The new bands or new songs keep the music history and the scene going and alive. I really like reading old musicians or new musicians' interviews or watching a music documentary. Even just a Rock history, It's really interesting. We can't end it now. I mean, how can we?? There is my favorite Japanese rock magazine called Rockin' On. My mom used to read the same magazine when she was my age. So, I wanna see MY kids reading the same magazine 20 years later! ;)

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

I think a gorilla wins. He has arms & legs and can move easily. And has a weapon, too... but I wanna see a walrus win and how he wins!

YOUR WEEKEND PLANS - Pehrspace, SNAP photo show opening

2010-02-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 27th

In the past I've booked almost all these bands myself. (Blue Jungle, in particular, is worthy of more praise than they've been given.) For the noisy, yelpy crowd.

Saturday, Feb. 27th
Spider Problem
Las Quince Letras
Blue Jungle
Manhattan Murder Mystery

Perhspace
325 Glendale Blvd
Echo Park, CA
9pm
$5
All Ages

Sunday, February 28th

Los Angeles scene photographer Benjamin Hoste will be opening his new photo exhibition at Origami Vinyl. The Exhibition (which features photos of Silversun Pickups, No Age, Crystal Antlers, Dan Deacon, and more) goes on through March 28th, but at the grand opening you can enter a raffle to win a print of Brian Aubert (Silversun Pickups) or Jeff Tweedy (Wilco). You can also enter online, for a total of two chances to win.

The opening event also feature bwank spinning all vinyl, and some drinky-drink. (Colt 45 and wine) Hoste is a friend of mine, but beyond that, I will personally vouch for the quality of his work. (He's shot for CGT before, too.)

Sunday, February 28th
SNAP Opening Event
6pm - 8pm
live DJ
beer and wine

Origami Vinyl
1816 West Sunset Blvd
Echo Park, CA

SAVE THE DATE: March 12th! Mouse's 28th Birthday Abomination!

2010-02-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

I turn 28 next month. Good lord.

In honor of my aging (two years until my hand starts flashing red!) we'll be throwing a little shindig at Pehrspace. The flier looks like a "chill-wave" album cover. (lolz) There will probably be free cake. I might add a guest DJ to that flier.

Downtown / Union you already know as one of my favorite local indie rock outfits. They're a duo at their core, though I have no idea what kind of lineup we might see. Matt Eckel, the singer of Jack Wilson Jr., sends me amazing deep thoughts emails at 1am sometimes. His band plays rock influenced by R&B, like the 'Stones, and they are impossible not to love. Stoned At Heart features most of the members of Underground Railroad to Candyland. They will be similar, but different, which is awesome.

Please come. Thx.

Mouse's 28th Birthday Abomination

Friday, March 12th
Stoned At Heart
Jack Wilson Jr.
Downtown / Union

Pehrspace
9pm-ish
$5
All Ages
Bring Your Own Constitution Check
(of-age adventurers only)

Signals announce tour, SXSW dates

2010-02-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

Signals

Considering The Mae Shi are one of my all-time favorite bands, it's a crime that I haven't been able to see Signals yet. That the band (composed of former Mae Shi members) played with The Henry Clay People, one of my other all-time faves, just last week makes the crime even more egregious.

I know the Signals guys to be incredible performers though and don't doubt for a nanosecond that any of these shows would be worth the time of Austin-bound readers. For myself, that March 2nd date looks like a perfect time to break the show hiatus.

The band's debut single (debut signal?) "Silverfish/What Dreams" comes out March 22nd in the UK on Moshi Moshi. In the interim, you can download this sweet Sparks cover.

3/2 LOS ANGELES @ The Smell w/ Juiceboxxx
3/3 TUCSON @ Club Congress w/ Leslie and the Lys
3/4 ALBUQUERQUE @ Warehouse 508
3/6 LUBBOCK @ Bash Riprocks
3/7 OKLAHOMA CITY @ Conservatory w/ The Show Is The Rainbow, The Toasters
3/8 LAWRENCE @ Replay Lounge w/ The Show Is The Rainbow
3/9 COLUMBIA @ Mojo's w/ The Show Is The Rainbow
3/11 KNOXVILLE @ The Pilot Light w/ The Show Is The Rainbow
3/12 ATHENS @ Farm255 w/ The Show Is The Rainbow
3/13 ST. AUGUSTINE @ Harvest of Hope Festival
3/14 NEW ORLEANS @ Blue Nile (NOLA Showcase) w/ The Show Is The Rainbow
3/15 BATON ROUGE @ Spanish Moon w/ The Show Is The Rainbow
3/16 AUSTIN @ Scoot Inn (Panache SXSW Pre Party) w/ Oh Sees, Golden Triangle
3/18 AUSTIN @ Domy Books (The Smell Party)
3/18 AUSTIN @ TBA (Moshi Moshi Party)
3/19 AUSTIN @ TBA (SXSMess Party)
3/19 AUSTIN @ Beauty Bar (Panache SXSW Official Showcase)
3/20 AUSTIN @ Spiderhouse
3/21 AUSTIN @ Beerland (Panache Hangover Party)
3/20 EL PASO @ TBA w/ Gun Outfit, Dozal Brothers
3/23 PHOENIX @ Manor House w/ Get Down! To Brass Tracks, Gun Outfit, Naïve

FIVE QUESTIONS: Edgar Acosta (The Sonnets)

2010-02-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

Edgar Acosta
The Sonnets
guitarist, singer

1. Background:

My name is Edgar and I'm in The Sonnets, based in L.A. I play guitar and sing (half the time), and write half of our songs. We're also currently in the market for a good, groovy, minimalist drummer (somewhere between Ringo and Meg White). Our sound has been described as "punk Beach Boys."

My bandmate Matthew and I started this about two years ago, but really it's been in the making for about seven years. We were English majors in college and met one day when I was walking by the dorms and heard somebody playing, from the second story, Sublime's "Santeria" on guitar. I started singing along loudly from below. Matthew came out and we talked music and girls.

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

King Crimson's Islands is definitely under-rated. Most say In the Court of the Crimson King is the definitive, watershed prog-rock moment, but Islands really takes you on a psychedelic, disturbing journey, leaving you in peaceful reverie at the end. In the Court is just weird for the sake of being weird.

I'd have to say a critically over-rated album is Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's debut album. I actually do love "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth," but the rest of the album has no definition. The songwriting (as in melody/chords/lyrics) is without clear purpose. But I definitely commend the band for having had huge success without following the traditional indie- or major-label route.

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

What dissatisfies me is cynicism. The tired "there's no good music being made today" way of looking at things. It's a great time for music fans, and there's plenty of great bands. Unlike in the '60s or '70s, the good music isn't in-your-face and easy-to-see. You have to dig a little more, and be willing to go to random shows in the name of sifting through the bad to find the great. So I guess the antidote to cynicism is just a willingness to put effort into finding what's good; self-reliance.

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

Yes, because those with fresh-blood adapt more easily, and are naturally more in-tune with the culture at large. [I love this point. ~Mouse] That means that the struggling, no-name artist lives in the same culture the regular folk live in, so therefore it's just natural for that type of artist to have a more relevant voice within that culture. The old acts who've had success for years (Paul McCartney, U2, etc.) don't live on the same plane as the majority. Their success is insulating, and great art hardly ever happens in a vacuum.

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

I'd have to go with the gorilla. Sure, the walrus has home-team advantage, but even so, a gorilla is still going to be able to move around easier. Also, a walrus would have to be positioned just right to inflict significant damage. A gorilla has many options, including the driftwood, its fists, strangulation, and, of course, its teeth.

FIVE QUESTIONS: Malcolm Sosa (Rademacher)

2010-02-18T10:36:00.001-08:00

Here's the first of the CGT Five Questions Series. I've gotten a handful already; I'll space them to two or three a week.

I invite you to participate, here are the guidelines. (And hey, bloggers / labels / publicists can play, too!)

Malcolm Sosa
singer, guitarist / bassist
Rademacher (JAXART Records)

1. Background:

"The band I play in is called Rademacher. I know you (Mouse) know the band, and I am sure some of your readers know the band. But some people who know all of the background stuff about me and Rademacher may not realize that we (Rademacher) are playing in Los Angeles this Friday with several great acts that I personally admire. Those acts would be Radars to the Sky and One Trick Pony. I'll be joining Radars to the Sky onstage for some songs. I believe both the songs I'll be performing with them are going to be on their unreleased new record.

They sound great.

I will not be playing in One Trick Pony. Not that I wouldn't if those guys invited me to play with them. I believe Randy from One Trick Pony is one of Los Angeles's best songwriters. He can also be a jerk. He'll drink your beer. He'll challenge your artistic integrity. But that's ok. Mostly I think of him as an awesome songwriter.

I started Rademacher because no one in my home town of Fresno wanted to let me play in their bands. So I started my own. We have had over 30 members in the band and I am the only original band member. I started off playing guitar, but right now I play bass in the band, but next month I'll be back on guitar and we will have a new lineup and be recording a new record. I am certain it will be the best record I have ever done. It will for sure contain some of the best songs I've ever written.

Describing the sound of the band is tough for me to do. I can tell you that we try to sound like our biggest influences! Those influences include Television, Joy Division and Admiral Radley. I hope that Admiral Radley plays that "I Heart California" song at their show in March at the Bootleg Theater. It is one of my faves."

2. Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

"Describing any one album as "over" or "under" rated seems a bit silly to me. If you listen to what people tell you about music, you might actually begin to believe what people write about music and than you aren't really listening to music anymore. If you listen to what people write about music, that's great. I read about sound and music, but I rarely listen to the music I read about. I prefer to discover new music with my ears as opposed to being sold an idea by a magazine or a fancy blog like pitchfork.

Most importantly, I feel like if you love music, you should be going to shows, listening to songs, and buying records (or even putting on shows and MAKING records) without being prompted. The way you write in CGT, it is more like you are trying to document your explorations in the world of music versus rehashing a press release from Matador or whoever. I enjoy the way you document shows and the trajectory of the LA music scene. Which seems less opressive than the way Pitchfork writes about music. But despite the fact that I "trust" you more than many other music blogs, I still have never listened to Spider Problem.

I digress. In short, I think that Funkadelic's record Maggot Brain is one of the finest ever produced. There is very little compression on the recording and it begins with a 10 minute guitar solo. It contains positive social messages as well as well as warnings to listeners about the fate of our planet if we continue down our current path of self destruction. The themes, the style and the purpose of the music is eternal. Is that the same as underrrated?

Overrrated? Everything else you hear on the radio."

3. What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

"I think today's music scene is great in a number of respects. Most importantly the internet and music recording, distribution and everything are in the palm (literally) of just about everybody's hand. That's fucking insane. You and I pretty much have every tool that every label, promoter and company has at their disposal. Twitter, ProTools, and iTunes. There is no advantage to having a "record label" except that *hopefully* your label people know some people with lots of money that you don't know. The few threads holding the record industry together are the few threads that probably helped to bond it together in the first place. Money and friendship. The wealthier you are and the more connected friends you have, the better you will do in a monetary and airplay sense.

Most people start liking a song because they hear it. And then they hear it again. And then they hear it over and over again. You like music because it has been reinforced on your psyche from the very minute you were born. I don't really believe that musical "taste" is something an individual has control over. It is a cultural construct that's built through sheer repitition.

If you are well connected and have the money and you can get your song on MTV, Grey's Anatomy, and all that stuff and people everywhere hear it over and over again, in a sense, you are staking a claim on the musical psyche of this generation as well as future generations. Once we hear a song enough it becomes part of our collective conciousness. These are the sort of songs the advertisers, music placement folks and record labels love becuase they can easily be leveraged into creating more money for their products even if that wasn't the original intention of the artist. Hits tend snowball beyond the ability of the artist to control.

Woops. Maybe this line of thought is a little beyond the scope of the question. Hmmm ... I think the music scene is great because people now, more than ever, have theability to stake their own claim and create their own sound and sell it and change the patterns of the industry as well as the human psyche to create something different and hopefully positive."

4. Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

"Of course it is important to have new songs! It is also important to have old songs and to take care of them!

If you don't have new songs and music, and let's face it, most new songs and music are absolute crap, then all the old stuff that is really, really good, wouldn't sound as good anymore. Also, every once in a great while someone manages to put together a new song that is absolutely amazing. Which is just the coolest thing in the universe.

Besides all the fun artistic songs that we listen to, there need to be new songs that actually have a function, like to teach kids skills (like the alphabet song, I personally am working on a QWERTY song), jingles to help people sell products and national anthems to help brainwash and patriotize populations.

Does this make sense? I am very big on music having a purpose. If music has a purpose it is good music regardlessly of what I think of it artistically or whether I like the way it sounds, becuase like I mentioned earlier I believe taste is a learned and reinforced behavior. to really dig music you have to use your head and logic and ultimately you to respect and appreciate the purpose of a song -- otherwise you can't really dig it. The same way I can't really dig Leni Riefenstahl movies."

5. Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

"Walrus wins. I mean, the thing has tusks."

Collected Thoughts 02-17-10 (MASSIVE)

2010-02-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

I already believe this Five Questions experiment was a great idea.

Must-read by Jeff Weiss in the LA Times. (There is Powers, then there is Bronson, then there is Weiss, and then there is everyone else.)

Web In Front reports that The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra have changed their name to Walking Sleep. I understand the challenges of being in a band called The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, but in a day when so many bands have the same words in their names (and "sleep" is one of those words), I thought FTO had a marvelously distinctive moniker.

LOLZ. (Credit Buzzbands)

Must-read Guardian piece where musicians talk about classic albums they don't like.

Ya'll know I don't like Radiohead. In that link Tjinder Singh of Cornershop perfectly articulates the things I've been trying to say. When talking about Dark Side of the Moon: "Lyrically, it's banal and doesn't say anything beyond "greed is bad". Radiohead are the 21st-century Floyd, which says it all really."

That's it. Thom Yorke is always observing, always muttering wistfully. He never prescribes a cure, he never makes a call to action.

In my ears...

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists -The Brutalist Bricks. I'm going to do a full-on dedicated review, so you know that means I love it.

Lots of Steve Earle (again) lately.

I can't stop listening to Bee Thousand.

A lot of Lifter Puller.

Live-action Akira news.

Red Skull is the Captain America villain. I am so very stoked for that movie.

Spider-Man recasting news?

Spider-Man as directed by Wes Anderson:

UHHHHH...

Nikki ran a two parter on the lack of women in "The Industry".

The stats are the stats. I can't dispute them. But anecdotally, I'd say the discrepancy is not universal.

In my four years of working "serious" entertainment jobs, every single one of my immediate superiors was either a woman or a gay man, and only a couple higher-ups were typical males. I've had every unfair advantage in the world, but I'll say that I've had a small glimpse of what it might be like to be a woman in the workplace; I was often sexually harassed and I never felt I had a professional role model that I could completely identify with. I get that completely, and it's helped me to really sympathize with the plight of professional women. (Though my last two bosses at ET were absolutely marvelous, wonderful role models and totally nurturing. Don't get me wrong, I don't think your role models need to be Just Like You, but it does make it that much easier.)

Have you used chat roulette?

Crazy. In ten minutes I got three dudes jerking off, two instances of copulation, two DJ sets, and about fifty guys who looked about my age and demographic who appeared to be sad and or bored. Women were in groups four out of five times. I don't think Chat Roulette is a window into our world or our souls, but it certainly puts a new, meaningful visual to the same personality of the internet.

I'm a bit of a veteran at internet dating. I've had mixed results, overall. This study suggests that women are especially picky about height.

This is absolutely true in my experience.

Internet dating makes rigid standards easier. If you, for example, only want to date true brunettes then you are still likely to still be tempted by the bottle-blonde with the cool shoes at Spaceland if you're two beers into the night. But on the internet, you're never tempted to fudge Your Rules.

A man's height is for The Generalized Woman what a thin waistline is for The Generalized Man. In my six months of match.com, I can not tell you how many kickass-sounding girls I did not even message because their height requirement was a single inch higher than my own. And I know that if we'd been in a group conversation, we'd have hit it off.

Prehistoric Monster Toads

Horror of Horrors!

Horror of Horrors x10!

UGH. Vampire ANYTHING can DIE IN A FIRE.

Die, bloodsucker, die!

Truly, all those links and vids should convince you that the ocean is a terrible place.

Roger Corman understands horror of horrors: Sharktopuss!

Okay, read this quote: "America has in fact transformed journalism from what it once was, the periodical expression of the thought of the time, the opportune record of the questions and answers of contemporary life, into an agency for collecting, condensing and assimilating the trivialities of the entire human existence, [...] the frantic haste with which we bolt everything we take, seconded by the eager wish of the journalist not to be a day behind his competitor, abolishes deliberation from judgment and sound digestion from our mental constitutions. We have no time to go below surfaces, and as a general thing no disposition."

It's all about the ills of our hyper-digital social media messaging culture, right? NOPE, it's about the telegraph. This is why I don't take nostalgic anti-digital positions seriously. Same as it ever was...

Robotic surgery is on the rise.

Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? The answer is: maybe sometime soon.

The new GM-NASA robot. Nifty.

D&D on an MS Surface. Drooooool.

World-wide DIY manufacturing. (Must-read) Crazy.

...and nanotechnology will change every product as you know it. The sanitation possibilities alone are mind-boggling.

For those keeping score with CGT's Cyberpunkification of Humanity game, more Augmented Reality ideas. AR + 3D is the future of interface -- with the real world.

Here's an AR-themed short film:

Using brain scans, doctors are communicating with human vegetables. Being in a state like that frightens me more than anything. I am no more relieved to learn that the people inside those bodies really do know what is going on. If it ever happens to me, unplug me.

Oh hey, segue! YES!

Here's a fascinating 1967 CBS report on "the homosexuals".

Smoking Nazi ammo. It really is a toxic public nuisance.

This television personality could have been a heartbeat from the presidency. Can you believe it?

Readers of CGT know I am a lefty. But Obama gets no free pass with me, and this is abhorrent.

I've not dropped the Prosecute Torture banner. Sullivan has another great take on the issue.

NEW FEATURE: Five Questions -- Bands, please participate!

2010-02-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've noticed the lack of activity on Classical Geek Theatre as of late. There's a multitude of reasons, but the big one is that I've had to reduce my energy spent on music blogging and focus instead on my career goal, which is screenwriting.

The thing is that I've still got about 80% of my traffic and I'd hate to lose the audience. I've worked hard to build a relationship with publicists and labels, and I'd hate to waste that. I'd also hate to lose my attachment to the local music scene because I plan on resurfacing. So here's the deal:

In the interim I am offering a new feature called Five Questions. ANY one member of ANY band can play. Established acts and brand new bands, from LA or anywhere else. Just fill-out the questionaire, include the required info, and I'll post it. Email me here.

Keep your answers brief. (One or two paragraphs) I may edit overly long answers in good faith. I may crop the photos. Make sure you take time to redraft and edit yourself before sending. And please, answer the actual questions.

I don't have time to "deal with" this too much, so if you don't follow instructions (say, you don't send the photo) then I probably will just trash your email. But if you want to play along, it's a free bit of publicity for your band and hopefully we can have an ongoing dialog about music while I write EASTER SUNDAY, my captive horror script.

PLEASE INCLUDE:

Put "FIVE QUESTIONS" in the email subject
Your professional name
Your Band Name
ONE link that has streamable music from your band (myspace, LaLa, etc)
If you have a label, manager, etc, you may include that info (with links)
A good photo of YOU (not a band photo), at least 200 pixels wide.

FIVE QUESTIONS:

Background: What band do you play in, what is your role in that band, and how did you come to join / form the band? Also, self-describe what the band's music is like.

(OR, similar background story for music writers, label owners, publicists, promoters, etc)
Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.
What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.
Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?
Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

EXAMPLE:

Background: What band do you play in, what is your role in that band, and how did you come to join / form the band? Also, self-describe what the band's music is like.

My name is Mouse and I play keytar in the post-noisepunk band Horror of Horrors. I joined-up when our lead singer, Puke Leto II, saw me busking on Echo Park Blvd for Snicker Bars.

Based in Los Angeles, Horror of Horrors is somewhere triangulated between Pylon, Guided by Voices, and The Mae Shi. Lots of post-humanist themes and angular guitars.

Name one album you feel is critically under-rated and one album that is critically over-rated. Defend your case.

I think Green Day's Warning got written-off way too soon. Lyrically, it is the most mature thing they've written. It's poppy, but doesn't have the expensive over-production of their lamentable "rock opera" phase. Warning isn't remarkable, but it is extremely listenable, no matter how uncool it is to say that.

And I know it's blasphemy, but I just don't care for Sgt. Peppers. Whereas on Pet Sounds I can imagine a tortured, mad-genius Brian Wilson doing everything he possibly can to justify his miserable existence, I just feel like the Beatles got lucky fucking around when they made Sgt. Peppers. I really appreciate it as an artifact, but I never want to listen to it.

Don't get me wrong, Sgt. Peppers > Warning.

What about today's music climate dissatisfies you? What do you long for in the music past or hope for in the future of music? Think about the big picture.

Look, it's awesome that music has been considerably democratized. (Well, it's more like a republic) I don't mourn the loss of super-acts that define an era, like Madonna or U2 or Prince. But the problem I see is that music journalism isn't performing its function as a filter.

That hack that writes Classical Geek Theatre is a perfect example. Yes, gonzo journalism is great. Yes, in the year 2010, the writer puts himself into the story. But when the writer does that, no matter how hard she tries to be objective, she has a stake in the justification of the music she covers, because it's also the life she leads.

I don't know the answer... but Pitchfork picks music to justify its own prophesied narratives and the junior blogs aren't picking up the slack. Hopefully tablet PCs will launch a new era of music criticism to match their medium, somehow.

Is it important for culture-at-large to always have new bands and new songs? Why or why not?

I think so, yeah. I believe in Platonic ideals, that songs are "discovered" and not "created". Have all the good sounds been discovered? Most of them. Have all the best songs been written? Most of them. But there's only ten or twelve story arcs and there a few hundred great films. The role of a musician should be to present the same old archetypes in new, fresh, and relevant ways.

I loathe nostalgia. It's stagnation. I don't want someone to make a song that says "Gee, weren't teenage songs of the 60's great?" I want someone to make a song that says "In the year 2010, we need teenage songs that speak to our modern existence. The teenage song is universal."

Who wins in a fight between a gorilla and a walrus? Assume they are both healthy, adult specimens. The fight takes place on the beach with no trees (advantage: walrus) but there is one natural bludgeoning weapon, a piece of driftwood (advantage: gorilla). Defend your case.

Well, the thing is, if the walrus lands one blow with his tusk then it is all over. And I don't think the gorilla can pound through the walrus fat. But I'm banking on the gorilla being able to dodge the walrus and eventually using his weapon to go for the walrus' eyes. Match: Gorilla.

We Are the World? Well, yes. Kind of.

2010-02-13T15:15:00.001-08:00

The new We Are the World video is out. There's a lot to unpack in this thing.

I'm just going to splat my thoughts and feelings on the wall.

On the upside, this is precisely the kind of thing Michael Jackson sincerely believed in and his "involvement" has been preserved. Janet's duet with Michael in the new one was at the request of their mother. So that's a nice sentiment.

I was four days shy of four years old when the original was released. I can't really comment on the context of that one, though I have a very faint memory of it. Perhaps some of my thoughts on this video could be said of the original, too. I don't know.

Quincy Jones was going to do a 25 year anniversary re-recording anyway. This video wasn't inspired by the tragedy so much as it was conveniently timed. (Though surely the participants would have been different.)

And while the original recording carries a message about the power of music to heal, to bring people together, this recording and arrangement is, rather, disdainful towards the art of song. It's terribly awkward. The singers' voices can barely be distinguished from each other. Perhaps the perceived fellowship in the original was acted, but here it is acted much more poorly. The autotune, the effects, the cute rap breakdown... it all lacks the human essence that makes a charity single so powerful.

My first reaction after watching the new video was, frankly, disgust. I don't doubt the sincerity of any given individual who appears in the video, but the collective effort seems more like a celebration of celebrity than a compassionate plea for help.

Oh, and what celebrity we have to see. An internet meme (Justin Bieber), a "pussy cat doll" (Nicole Sherzinger), corporate child super stars (Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers), a game show winner (Jennifer Hudson), a host of criminals (too many to name), and Barbara Streisand, whose beach front mansion was the subject of internet controversy. I don't think there are too many mansions like that in Haiti. Mary J. Blidge and Tonny Bennet notwithstanding, this collection of disposable "talents" are a far cry from the original "Stevie Wonder / Bob Dylan / Michael Jackson / etc." (And where the fuck is Bono?)

I am not surprised that a charity single became a celebration of celebrity. The conventional wisdom is that it's good when a celebrity uses the power of their personality to raise money for a noble cause. But I can't ignore the elephant in the room, that the grotesque industries created to cater to these very kinds of people largely contribute to the social and political climates that allow for poor folks in Haiti to die in earthquakes by the thousands.

Hey, I'm no better. My dream is to make hundreds of thousands of dollars writing junk entertainment. But if I ever taste success, it is my expectation for myself that I'll never mistake that success for importance. I never want to confuse the very valuable act of telling a story or creating an emotional response in a person with the immeasurable value of a comfortable existence in the American bubble, where how I grew-up and who is in my monkeysphere 75% determines what happens in my life.

Forgive me if I feel like "We Are the World" is akin to graciously gifting a prosthetic to a man whose arm you've just amputated, and then calling the newspaper to tell them about your heroic act. As a society, our tastes are responsible for the culture that rises to the top. The tragic irony of this charity single belongs to all of us.

(You know what I would have done? Had Quincy Jones and Wyclef Jean produce an album featuring Mary J. Blidge, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Streisand, and the other real talents. Have celebs donate for the production and marketing costs, and donate 100% proceeds to earthquake infrastructure in other poor, at-risk nations)

Show Promotin'

2010-02-10T07:22:00.001-08:00

Here's a couple shows worth your time.