Seattle Subsonic - January, 2009
The Cave Singers, Kay Kay @ Holy Mountain
| Friday, January 23, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Should be an interesting show at an interesting venue (Holy Mountain), with the always affecting Cave Singers teaming up with the prog-pop-psychedelia of Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground. The Cave Singers broken backwoods ballads will drive deep to the river of your soul, washing it over with a fluid, icy comfort. If you aren’t instantly a fan after hearing their music for the first time, I’ll be shocked. Kay Kay will pronounce itself a bit differently. Melding styles previously instituted by artists such as David Bowie, Steely Dan, Panda Bear, and White Album-era Beatles, their music is simultaneously grandiose and intimate.
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Update: the Cave Singers are no longer on the bill. w/ Navigator vs. Navigator and Yonder Low
Sleepy Eyes of Death, HLAK, Loving Thunder @ Neumos
Fans of Karp will appreciate Loving Thunder, whom I saw at the Greenhouse several months back. The duo plays a mighty rendition of progressive metal and pounding drums, as Colin Roper, of Cobra High fame, plays a DEEP, synth-like base that grinds and pulsates along with the spastic drumming of Sterling Callier. Roper’s high-pitched vocals are slightly reminiscent of Ozzy, but also dampened as if the deranged Black Sabbath chief sings from <gasp!> 20,000 leagues under the sea.
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Excellent overall lineup with the epically ambient visual & aural stimulations of Sleepy Eyes of Death (CD release) and electro-rock genre-benders Head Like A Kite.
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SATURDAY, JAN. 17: $8 Adv / 21+
Hardly Art joins us at Happy Hour!!
This Thursday, Jan 15th, we raise a glass to local label and general superstars, Hardly Art as they joins us for our Monthly Subsonic Happy Hour @ Moe Bar from 5-8. They’re coming with loads of goodies to give away throughout the night including bundles of CD’s from their catalog, T’s, tour posters designed by CmRuiz, a fist full of tickets to the Moondoggies show this Friday at Neumos and other assorted knick knacks for you to wow your friends. Check out the post below for more on Hardly Art, their turn on’s and turn off’s and their views on quantum physics.
A Little Q & A with Hardly Art
For those of you not yet aware of the Seattle based record label Hardly Art they host a handful of up-and-coming talent on their repertoire with names like The Moondoggies, Athur and Yu, Le Loup and The Pica Beats. Former Sub Pop founder Jonathan Ponanman started the label along with Sarah Moody who worked as Sub Pop’s publicity department, and with them came Nick Heliotis who managed to give me a little Q & A about the label…
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1. Nick whats your role at the Hardly Art label and how did you get involved?
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My official title here is “General Employee”, the joke being that Sarah is the General Manager and I am the only employee. Together Sarah and I handle all the day-to-day stuff here, and my focus is a bit more on the retail/distribution and tour promo/press side of things. Both of us are pretty involved in everything that is happening here, sort of the point of a two-person operation is tighter communication and coordination between the “departments”. Previous to working here I was interning at Sub Pop, largely for Sarah who was then working in the publicity department there. We got along really well and she was nice enough to bring me along when she was put in charge of Hardly Art.
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2. I read online that the Hardly Art name came from either The Thermals lyrics “No Culture Icon”, or from Sean Fennessey’s blog Hardly Art, Hardly Garbage (which has since changed)… sooo which one?
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The name definitely comes from the Thermals lyric—did you really think we’d name our label after a blog?
Get On the Good Foot w/ Orgone @ Nectar 1/16
So it’s Friday night and you are in the mood to get crazy…shake your ass a bit…have a drink, or 5…vibe out to some funky cuts…
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Well lucky you.
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This Friday January 16th Nectar Lounge is playing host to the first all out funk dance party of the year. I shouldn’t even have to say this but I will. This is a can’t miss event. If you were one of the poor souls that missed them the last 2 (!!!) times they played here, or missed out on Budos Band for the TSK release, or forgot about the Herbaliser in November slap yourself and then get with the program. Nectar throws one hell of a funk concert.
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So yeah, Nectar throws a good party blah blah, but let me explain further why this is going to be one of the best concerts of Q1/09. Orgone is going to kill it. I saw them play Bumbershoot this year and I had my own little dance party at the Fishergreen beer garden. Sure I looked like a granola eater at a Phish concert, but I could not have given less of a shit. I am a fiend for the funk. Love it, live it, breath it, spin it, produce it. These guys have got their shit dialed. It is infectious. You can’t help but bust out your finest two step within seconds of the first kick drum or horn stab.
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Oh you still don’t believe me? Fine. Let me break it down further…Orgone is 8 members of the LA funk band/crew Breakestra (sometimes more) coupled with lead singer Fanny Franklin. The band itself is one of the best in the biz. The thing is, Fanny has the soul and organic sound to not only complete the package, but sign, seal 
and deliver it rushed overnight Fed Ex. Music Man Miles did a great job on the vocals on Breakestra’s Ubiquity release “Hit the Floor” but Fanny just brings that extra something I need in a funk ‘group’…sass, soul, whatever you wanna call it. The band can jam on and on, seemlessly transitioning from funk classic to dirty breakbeat to flute solo and back. I love that shit. Probably more than most people will ever comprehend. But, it’s the extra addition of Franklin that really brings it all together and helps it stand out from the rest. Just peep “Who Knows Who” on their myspace and tell me otherwise. I dare you.
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So what are you waiting for??? Peep their music either on their myspace or buy the cd and go get your tixx HERE.
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Also, it’s Colin Johnson’s farewell party *tear*. The man that has brought us all these wonderful nights of funkiness, and who was a true friend to the local music scene, is leaving us for greener pastures (family first!) in LA and he deserves one hell of a bash to go out on . We’ll miss ya man!
C-Leb n A-Bro – Broke Downtown, the story of an LP
So I don’t know how really taboo it is for a writer to post a review on their own album, so let me throw out an immediate disclaimer that this is not for shameless self promotion. This review is to show multiple inside aspects of the painstaking joy it is to be a musician in Seattle… and:
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1. To tell the story (it’s like my therapy).
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2. I’m my own worst critic… I think?
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3.The hours and money that is spent to make just one LP DIY.
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First off I’d like to thank Kevin for letting me do this because I was supposed to have this done when we released it at Zombie Prom back on Halloween 08. And I seriously would have but the end of 08 kicked my ass literally and I kinda dropped off the face for a moment… So Kevin I’m back and thanks.
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So let me start by going back to 2002 when I was in a little unknown band called altaRego here in Seattle. We played good old rock-n-roll and a ridiculous amount of shows. And we even had a few good moments like opening up for The Fixx at the Fenix Underground, and making countless contacts and friends that carried us through the duration even still. We played together for 5 years and even lived in the same house together for 2 of it. So needless to say by the time it was said and done we had 50+ songs, a ton of fights, even more drugs and alcohol, 15 songs recorded rather badly, and owed a small indie label called Double Dos money which we could never repay. I say badly because we recorded a one thru live session at the Art Institute with the dear Joanne Castillio and then overdubbed the rest. Not a good idea if you want it done right, or quickly, but totally not her fault. We had other recording sessions but never had the money to carry it through the way it needed to be done and so the unfinished recordings remain on a hard drive untouched or mixed to this day. Regardless, girlfriends and drama superseded our ability to keep the band together and I could see it coming. The story of every band right… right.
Read the rest of this entry »
Caves: The Return of Ska (Sort Of)
With pretty much every rock band nowadays owing at least something to bands and genres of yore, it seems someone’s always asking the question, “when is somebody gonna bring back yacht rock?” Or, “who’s gonna start jackin’ hair metal?” Or, more close to Seattle’s dampened heart, “when will GRUNGE see its retributioooooooooooon!” Anyone else heard this inquisitive quandary of late? Well, I have (thanks to my lovely bride-to-be), and it was concerning ska music. One genre we might not have expected to be resurrected any time soon was the often-hailed/sometimes-derided reggae and dub forefather.
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(To satiate history buffs, ska was the precursor to reggae music, and while it never attained the same level of global prominence as its wide-ranging offspring, it did experience much popularity in the 60s, 70s and early 80s. It was born in Jamaica due essentially to all the R&B the country was exposed to from the American military presence after WWII. It deserves mention that I only ever owned a Specials record and a Skatalites compilation, but pretty much everyone had one of those two.)
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Caves, a 2-year-old band out of Portland, may be answering said question. And while you might never refer to them as an all-out ska band, you can definitely hear the influence from their syncopated guitars and dub-inflected bass. And yes, they probably owe more to the Police, the Jam, and the Clash, but the lineage remains the same. White guys doing ska…or reggae…or Jamaican, mixed with dance and/or rock. Vampire Weekend recently rode a wave of success for co-opting traditional African sounds, but their record never really did it for me. Caves brings a bouncy attitude to their revivalistic pop tunes and adds a fresh take on a vintage idea. The track below, “Curiosity”, is one of the more dub-sounding tracks in their repertoire, with vocalist Jake Carey recalling Sting (with an American accent) quite proficiently; but the hook eventually sinks in.
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Their song “Pessimist, Optimist”, for which the new video is below, is a bit more interesting. Glam guitars are juxtaposed with the unmistakable reggae rhythm and 4/4 drumbeats. A soaring chorus swoops in (the guitar solo is a bit cheesy), and dancing ensues. Is this neo-ska? Or post-ragga? You decide.
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[audio:http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/caves-curiosity.mp3]
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Optimist, Pessimist by Caves from Johnny Le on Vimeo.
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*Hat tip to Larry Mizell, JUNIOR at Line Out for the video.
Coconut Coolouts @ the Funhouse
| Friday, January 23, 2009 | ||
| 9:30 pm |
I haven’t seen the Coolouts in awhile, and I’m feelin’ like I need a party-time pizza-crazy, dual-drum, backyard a-go-go to help me out of this mid-winter funk. While they may never bust the national thermometer, this garage-rock band—known for sportin’ banana costumes and Hawaiian shirts on stage—are certainly more fun than a barrel of monkeys. And you never know, they just might actually test that theory.
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With the Pets, Ebonics, and Rooftop Vigilantes (Blood on the Wall) in the best punk venue in town.
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$7 / 21+
Songs you should know EVERY word to: The Cure – Just Like Heaven
It seems to me The Cure is a very polarizing group, you LOVE them or you HATE them. I know no one with only a passing interest in the band, I’ve know plenty of people who have no clue of who they are, but no one without a strong opinion. For those who LOVE them you probably already know all the words to the song as any good fan should, but to those who HATE them I submit for your approval “Just Like Heaven”. Who doesn’t like a love song right? You may hate Robert Smith’s voice, or hair, or the generation of hot topic goths he indirectly spawned, but you SHOULD respect good songwriting. Though I don’t think this is the best song The Cure every recorded I do think it resonates with just about everyone. And just for fun I have tacked on the sweet mashup version that is making the rounds
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The Cure vs. Commodores – Easy Heaven
[audio:http://popbytes.com/img/Brat-EasyHeaven.mp3]
Lyrics
“Show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream” she said
“The one that makes me laugh” she said
And threw her arms around my neck
“Show me how you do it
And I promise you I promise that
I’ll run away with you
I’ll run away with you”
Spinning on that dizzy edge
I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To make her glow
“Why are you so far away?” she said
“Why won’t you ever know that I’m in love with you
That I’m in love with you”
You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You’re just like a dream
Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone alone
Alone above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me
You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Just like heaven
John Spalding’s Name, And Memory, In Lights
In what will surely be remembered as one of the most energetic, buzzed-about concerts of 2009, friends and fans alike came out in droves Friday night at the Showbox to pay tribute to the recently departed John Spalding. The third in a series of five (so far) scheduled benefit shows, the sold-out venue played host to five outstanding local bands, all boasting members with whom John was a close friend. Not surprisingly, each set was filled with the same vigorous dynamism and lively ebullience that John bestowed on all his friendships, old or new. Those of us who were lucky enough to experience both him and the bands easily felt the common bond between the two.
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Unfortunately, I missed the first act, Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death, because the show started promptly at 8pm. I will say from past experience, however, that any band featuring Spencer Moody (Murder City Devils), Dann Galluci (MCD, Modest Mouse) and Andrea Zollo (Pretty Girls Make Graves) is worth a gander. Formerly more of an oddly attractive, drone-inspired incendiary probe, the group has somewhat shifted gears of late, introducing a more “accessible” and conventional aspect to their peculiar and fractured punk experiment. Past Lives, who’ve received a fair amount of recognition on this blog—if you hadn’t noticed—were up next. They played, as usual, a focused set of their best tunes, which included “Beyond Gone”, “Strange Symmetry”, “Chrome Life”, plus a handful of new ones (i.e., those not on their EP). Catch them next at the Comet Jan. 28th and THEN opening for the MURDER CITY DEVILS Feb. 11th and 12th.
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The Cave Singers wove their haunting and sobering back-woods ballads into the bubble of liveliness that encompassed the crowd, intoxicating each person in the room as they have so many times before. Despite the somber tone of many of their songs, the trio opened with a few of their newer, more upbeat tunes, with guitarist Derek Fudesco busting out his electric hollow-body for those. Pete Quirk was his usual quivery self, all tremulous and eerily inspired. If you haven’t seen this affecting band live yet, I encourage whole heartedly that you do. POST HASTE!
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Rocky Votolato was the one act on the bill I hadn’t seen live before. Flaunting his “guns” in a sleeveless tee, he channeled a rabble-rousing rendition of Ted Leo meets Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen. Along with his drummer and bassist, Votolato put another charge into the crowd with some unwavering power-pop and gushing praise for John. He reverted back to his acoustic self mid-performance, playing several old favorites.
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The headliner on this night, for good reason, was local-gone-big tempo-rockers Minus the Bear. While I am a fan, I’d never been completely impressed with their live performance. Tonight—like everything else—was different, however. The synth was driving, the bass from Cory Murchy (who was close enough with John to speak at his vigil) was pumping, and the guitar and vocals from Jake Snider were soothingly powerful. The crowd was the rowdiest for this band, and they delivered. Lucky for me, they played several tracks from Menos El Oso, my favorite MtB album, and rounded out the set (presumably) with many from their newest Planet of Ice. Looks like the dudes are headed to Australia in February for the Soundwave Festival. (side question: is that curated by a Decepticon?)
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Given the site and sets, this was probably the largest of all the memorial concerts planned; but only in physicality. The Comet last week seemed to have almost as much anticipation packed into a smaller place, and the upcoming shows (Chop Suey 1/21 with Damien Jurado and See Me River, El Corazon 1/31 with MXPX and Nazca Lines) will no doubt be similar. It’s only fitting that someone with so much spirit was appreciated and honored with an awesome concert and his name in lights.
Murder City Devils, Past Lives @ the Showbox
| Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm | ||
| Thursday, February 12, 2009 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Big news, kids, regarding the legendary Murder City Devils. Shows scheduled all along the west coast, with the kick-off being at the Showbox February 11th and 12th. All I can say is “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.”
Here’s a couple classic MCD cuts for your listening pleasure:
“Dance Hall Music”
[audio:http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/01-dance-hall-music.mp3]
“Boom Swagger Boom”
[audio:http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/03-boom-swagger-boom.mp3]
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Update: I believe the 21+ show on the 12th is now sold out.
EPMD “We Mean Business”
Im a huge fan of EPMD. Ever since I heard those signature drums on “So Whatcha Sayin?”, EPMD has been a top 10 rap group to me. When they broke up back in 92 (I think) I was crushed. 5 years later they were “Back In Business” and the signature E Double funk laced sound was intact. A couple years after that they were again “Out Of Business” and have been missed ever since…
Fast forward to 2008
“We Mean Business”, EPMD’s 1st record in 9 years, dropped about a month ago and I finally got a chance to listen to it.
Im impressed.
Featuring the likes of Redman, Keith Murray, Method Man, and KRS-ONE, this record has plenty to offer if you’re looking to dust off your fishermans hat and twist up some trees.
My favorite song so far happens to be the single “Listen Up” which features Teddy Riley on the talkbox laced hook (no t pain). This song, in my opinion, is current enough for todays dance floor and classic Erick Sermon funk at the same time.
This album is a breath of fresh air for the purist that is just looking for some funk loops and hardcore raps.
There is nothing new as far as the flows are concerned but E-Dub and Parrish don’t need to change much in order to continue Making Dollars.
You Gots To Chill!
