Quasi @ Noise Pop

I don't get out to see bands as often as I'd like but I definitely make a point of trying to see Portland based Quasi whenever they make the trip South to the Bay Area. I'm always left with the feeling that I've been hanging out with friends after one of their shows. No rock star attitude, just excellent music performed by genuine people. Janet Weiss (current Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks and former Sleater-Kinney beat-keeper) and Sam Coomes (who used to be in one of my favorite local bands The Donner Party as well as doing Heatmiser with Elliot Smith) have been making a very distinctive brand of pessimistic power pop for over fifteen years now. They inject a healthy dose of atonality into the indie rock formula that keeps things interesting and Sam's catchy crooning is a perfect foil for lyrics brimming with irony and cynicism. Ms. Weiss is one the best drummers around and I'm crushing on the heft added by Jicks bass player Joanna Bolme (who is apparently a full fledged member now). Last night's show at the Rickshaw Stop was not the smoothest show they've done in these parts but Sam forgetting the words to a tune or two or starting a different song than the one his band mates were charging into is part of their charm.

To give you an idea of what their live show's all about here are a couple of tracks from the bonus live cd that came with 2003's Hot Shit, called Live Shit (natch) :

It's Raining
Under a Cloud

A big reason to go see more bands: the "self-released sold only at shows" CD. Taking advantage of obsessive completists like myself is a time honored tradition and Janet was up to the task, selling me a copy of Quasi Self Boot 93-95 that features sundry outtakes and singles like this nifty Prince cover:

Take Me With You

I was very impressed by the opening set (and first show ever) by peoplepeole, a new side project from Tyson Vogel (Two Gallants) featuring Andrew Kerwin (Trainwreck Riders), Antonio Roman-Alcala (Dear Nora) and Jesse Sabin. Great noisy guitar indie rock that sounds like this: Rock Ins.

Janet Weiss will be back with Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks for a free show at Amoeba Records this Wednesday.

Mashup Monday

Finally got around to sinking my teeth into Bootie's annual collection of the best mashups of the year. Sounds like it was a slow year for the genre compared to the previous two but there are some fine grooves here. Bootie's regular throwdown at the DNA Lounge was recently upped to twice a month so you can rest assured these folks know what they're doing. You get Amy Winehouse facing off with Britney Spears, Jackson 5 going against Guns N' Roses, Wild Cherry crashing into Frankie Goes To Hollywood plus 17 more.

Two personal favorites:

Tequila Lip Gloss (Lil Mama vs. The Champs) - DJ Paul V

Standing In The Way Of Connection (Gossip vs. Elastica) - AplusD

Get the whole 75 minute continuous mix as a zip file here or download individual tracks plus some bonus cuts here. You can find links to the best of '05 & '06 compilations there as well. And don't forget to grab the artwork here.

The Station nightclub fire 5 years later

Five years ago today fire raged through The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., leaving a hundred dead and over two hundred injured. The inferno began when pyrotechnics lit by Great White’s tour manager, Daniel Biechele, ignited highly flammable soundproofing foam surrounding the nightclub's tiny stage. The survivors and the families of those that didn't make it out are still waiting for their lawsuit against the nightclub's owners and dozens of other defendants, including the band and local fire marshals, to wend its way through federal court. Many remain bitter that the only people held criminally responsible were club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, and Biechele, who is due to be paroled next month after serving less than half of his four-year prison sentence for pleading guilty to illegally setting off the pyrotechnics just two years ago.

On top of the physical and emotional hardships that come with burn injuries victims like Linda Fisher (above) continue to deal with mounting medical bills made even more difficult by the inability to return to normal work. A non-profit organization called The Station Family Fund was started to help survivors and the families of victims. You can donate via paypal here.

A benefit concert organized by Dee Snider is scheduled for Monday night in Providence, RI . More info here.

Can anyone loan me 3 million bucks?

This guy is the most avid record collector on the planet!? Well if his stockpile is really worth a cool 50 mill than I suppose he's got me beat. Paul Mawhinney of Pittsburgh, PA is selling "The World's Greatest Music Collection" on eBay right now. 3 Million Records, 300,000 CDs, over 6 million song sitles. You only have two more days to place a bid so gedonit folks. If he would promise to ship the climate controlled warehouse with it I'd be sorely tempted...
UPDATE: sold for $3,002,150.00

"What was that song you just played?"

Did my regular gig at KALX last night. Sadly it was Queen Bee's last show in the timeslot before mine. I'm really bummed I won't be following her anymore. On the bright side it was nice to see Maceo Parker getting the best listener response of the evening (on his birthday no less). Also had a couple of dedications for Valentine's Day. The most interesting had to be the Public Image track that closed out the show. I can't decide if that was about general relationship dysfunction or just love post punk style...

Anyway, here's the playlist:

Hero Worship - The B-52's
Stop! You're Hurting Me - Magic Sam
No Way Out - Clarence Reid
Money Won't Save You - Boscoe
You Can Leave Your Hat On - Merl Saunders
Me Myself And I - Billie Holiday
Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
Young Man Blues - The Who
Outtasite! - Chesterfield Kings
Ruby Room - Foxboro Hot Tubs
Cavalettas - Mars Volta
Hallelujah I Love Her So - Maceo Parker
The Broad Majestic Shannon - The Pogues
Is It Really Love At All - Eric Anderson
Valentine's Day - Steve Earle
Wild Horses - Iron & Wine/Calexico
Back For Good - The Concretes
Safety Bricks - Feist w/ Kevin Drew

***Music Picked By My Kids (regular segment)***
Tear My Stillhouse Down - Gillian Welch And David Rawlings
Over Your Shoulder - Dinosaur Jr.
Y Control - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Alligator - The Grateful Dead

Omaha - Moby Grape
Reject, Reject - Pants Yell
Old Home Movies - The Botticellis
Introduction - Ryan Ferguson
Homeland Blues - American Relay
Hold Me In Your Arms - The Black Keys
Lights Out for Darker Skies - British Sea Power
Annalisa - Public Image Limited

Honeycut's Future Funk

Honeycut has been funking up the CD player in our house with great frequency ever since their debut The Day I Turned to Glass came out on Bay Area indie hip hop label Quannum Projects (and made my Best of 2006 list). With Bart Davenport (Loved Ones, the Kinetics, Persephones Bees) on vocals, RV Salters (Femi Kuti, Lifesavas, Lateef &The Chief, DJ Mehdi, Lyrics Born, Blackalicious) playing keys and Tony Sevener tapping a souped-up drum machine they create a truly unique sound from an blend of styles as diverse as soul, funk, techno, jazz, pop, ambient, bossa nova and rock. When my nine year old wants to hear it more than Green Day you know they're killin' it.

I've been getting a little too video happy lately but this short little documentary now playing at Current TV is such a good introduction to one of my favorite local bands I had to spread the word.



Two of my favorite tracks from The Day I Turned to Glass:

Crowded Avenue
Exodus Honey

Honeycut are tearing up the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Friday, March 7 with Sugar & Gold (another fantastic local band) and Her Grace The Duchess.

For more songs and tour dates check out their myspace page.

"Camden Town ain't burnin' down"

It’s a shame Amy Winehouse’s train wreck of a personal life has so overshadowed her professional output because she is one of the best vocalists I've heard in the last couple of years. Her second record Back To Black moves beyond the jazz chanteuse style of her debut to a sound (created with the help of producer and DJ to the stars Mark Ronson) that puts a firmly contemporary spin on 60’s R&B and Phil Spector's girl group wall of sound. Kudos to the recording academy for looking past the tabloid hysteria and rewarding her music at last night's Grammy Awards. Aside from the shock of Herbie Hancock's win for album of the year her performance was the highlight of the evening. Damn the Dap-Kings are tight!


I was really worried her acceptance speech was going to stay as awkward as it started but she gets into it and you gotta love how she punctuates the whole thing with a shout out to Camden Town where a massive fire broke out the day before and was still smoldering as she took the stage. How refreshing was it to see someone looking like they didn't expect to win all along?

Now maybe people who only know her as a media punching bag will get to hear her sing. To that end I'm posting a couple of tracks you won't find on her current album.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? - from the Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason soundtrack
Moody's Mood For Love - from her 2003 debut Frank

And a gorgeously spare rendition of Love Is A Losing Game she performed at last year's Mercury Music Prize.

Dave Gleason Acoustic Set on KALX

Dave Gleason and his band the Wasted Days have been a shining example of what the Bay Area country music scene has to offer for over seven years and three fine albums. I love how they apply a hard rock sensibility to their particularly twangy blend of Bakersfield honky tonk and Gram Parsons style California country rock then infuse it with enough outlaw attitude to make Waylon Jennings and David Allen Coe proud. Dave stopped by KALX during my show last Thursday to shoot the breeze and play a couple of tunes. I won't bore you by posting our idle chatter but the songs are damn fine. Enjoy:

The Blue Side Of The World Brand spankin' new tune
The Good's Been Gone A beautifully spare rendition of a song that appeared on his last record Just Fall To Pieces (right, click the picture to buy it)
The Last Fool At The Bar A real cry in your beer heart breaker penned by Mike Stinson, the king of L.A.'s neo honky-tonk scene

To hear what Dave sounds like with a full band check out his myspace page.

Dave Gleason's Wasted Days are doing a couple of Bay Area shows in March. For a beer soaked good time check him out here:

Thursday, March 13th at the Sweetwater Sation in Larkspur w/ East Bay country outfit Red Meat
Saturday, March 15th at The Starry Plough in Berkeley w/ Johnny Dilks

Vote Dammit

Super Tuesday's here. I vote absentee so it was actually a super January 23rd for me but I would brave the cold winds and bitter rain (it's a beautiful day here - VOTE!) with the rest of you if not for that convenience the state of California provides me in the form of that sweet little envelope colored the same pale yellow as my name in the snow. Here are a couple of songs to get you up from your desk, out the door and down to your local polling place:

Sunset Rubdown - They Took A Vote And Said No (6/11/06 Daytrotter Session)
Radiohead - Electioneering (OK Computer)

After watching hours of exit polls I'll probably feel like this:
Joy Division - Candidate (live at Pennine Sound Studios 6/4/79)

So I'll cheer myself up by listening to this:
Monty Python - Election Special (The Final Ripoff)

And I hope this gloriously sloppy version of Wilco's Casino Queen helps those So-Cal Native Americans celebrate (from a show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on 6/12/95).

Got more voting/election songs? Leave a comment!