Kevin LeDoux is, I’m sad to report, leaving NWMB as editor. We hope to see him grace these pages as an occasional contributor. I’ll be assuming editor duties once again. Thank you, Kevin. Your contributions to NWMB cannot be overstated.
The situation may leave NWMB with fewer writers, so if you’d like to write here, contact us.
Popularity: 26%
I am blown away this week. It’s been a little bit since I appeared here. Been inundated with new tunes, and this week has been no exception. If you’ve been spinning these albums, you’ve been offline, too:
First off, I got the second release from Gnarls Barkley, “The Odd Couple.” If you’ve seen “Austin Powers” you’ll remember those little goofy musical interludes (with the Posies’ frontman/part-time R.E.M. member Ken Stringfellow, don’tcha know?) with those goofy little early 60’s pop riffs. Producer/DJ Dangermouse appears to have been diving into those crates for inspiration. Fantastic album. And no “Crazy”-like song to be overplayed on every damned station. “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” is on KEXP and I don’t think I’ll get sick of it anytime soon. “Odd Couple” is in heavy rotation but it’s outshined by….
Lyrics Born’s “Everywhere at Once”. I tend to think the “where” in this case is the Eighties. And that’s no dig. He’s not chillin’ with Ronnie or Max Headroom or Spuds Mackenzie. I think he’s been tippin’ back cold ones with the Sugar Hill Gang and got Kool and the Gang or maybe Nu Shooz as his backing band. Give “Differences” a test spin at your fave music store. Longtime collaborator Joya Velarde (duh, she’s his wife) is there anchoring the song with the backing vox and keeping it sounding familiar, but there’s another vocalist (male) there. (Haven’t found his name yet - damned iTunes. -ed.) Tons o’ handclaps, funky deep background guitar riffs, snare hits, synth fills, all dope Casio keyboard stuff. ‘Cept in way higher fidelity than anything your older sister was rockin’ in ‘84. Spoiler Alert: Almost NO scratching. D-Sharp and DJ Shadow have LEFT THE BUILDING. Just like LB left Quannum.
This album is a natural, but totally unexpected, progression since LB started to implement the live-band show in the past few years. If I had been in town Sunday night, I would have been at the show. I really want to know how this new recording is performed live. If you’ve got his Quannum releases stuck on REPEAT, prepare for your mental CD to start skipping, because this is not “Send Them” or “I Changed My Mind”. His trademark rhyme delivery is here and just as fresh as when the first Latyrx came out, but it’s this new instrumentation. Totally unlike anything I’ve heard in the hip hop world. “Cakewalk” is spinning now, and I get the distinct visual of that last fade out shot in “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” as the street’s full of dancers… Dunno, can’t shake that.
HowEVER, another live-band-backed hip hop outfit is rockin’ in my earphones now:
The Roots‘ RISING DOWN just dropped. I am working my way through it. Stomping my left foot as I type. Goosebumps. This is the freshest, and not by virtue of being newest. It’s tight. I’ll save you the played out metaphors. I am gotta listen really close a few times through before I can say anymore than _go_get_this_album. Talib Kweli is here. Peedi Peedi is here. Mos Def is here. (I hear white people LOVE Mos.)
Popularity: 23%
Last Tuesday was an interesting night to say the least. I ventured out to review the band The Dollyrots at El Corazón and woke up the next day with a flat tire, a screaming headache, and a Dollyrot’s t-shirt I’m sure I didn’t pay for. And thats how I guess I can describe The Dollyrot’s show, it kicked my ass. On tour to support their latest album “Because I’m Awesome” the band was amazingly receptive and humble, and the Jäger at El Corazón is friggn tainted I swear…
Currently signed to Joan Jett’s label Blackheart Records, “Because I’m Awesome” is super punk-pop with catchy verses and solid hooking choruses. And at first listen (and I’m sure the band is gonna love me for this) it reminds me of Avril Levine meets The Sounds. But that’s because of the high production quality of the album, once you see the band live it all comes together. I talk with my peers all the time about how to capture on recording the ‘live” feel so the listener can “get it” in their car as well as they do at the show. But with The Dollyrots that wouldn’t work, the album is only one-up’d by the live show. The polished poppy recordings are great, and help you get the jist of the songs, but when you see them live, 
Kelly Ogden’s raw badass vocals with Luis Cabezas guitar and Chris Blacks drumming punch you right in the face and let you know the band is for real, and punk as fuck. It’s a great combination to help them break through the hard-crusted lining that is the major label scene. And along with playing SXSW the last two years in a row, and sharing labels with bands like Green Day, Rancid, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, and Pretty Girls Make Graves the band seems to be on the high road to success.
With all that in mind you’d think they’d be on a tour bus with a ryder like as thick as The Odyssey. But no, they travel in a van with a trailer, eat pink malt balls (sorry Kelly I forgot which brand), stick to the per diem and drink tickets, and keep a level head (unlike me at their show). I was highly impressed with how grateful and humble the band is about being fortunate enough to make a living playing music. I’m not sure how I ended up with a free T (like i said the Jäger at El Corazón is tainted) but I hope they can forgive me cuz I’m gonna have to mail them $15. If you get a chance to see them live, DO IT… compared to the album it’s totally not what you’d expect, proving once again, you can’t judge a Dollyrot by its album cover.
Popularity: 25%
A week and a half ago, the writers at NWMB had our first ever meeting at King’s in Ballard. This was a big to-do considering many of us have never met each other. I was very excited
for this little get-together however a couple of nights before, I was torn on what to do b/c as you see, I found out that my favorite Portland pop band Derby was playing at the same time, same night.
Well, I knew where my priorities were… I, of course, went to go see
After a few beers and lots of talk about music, the party broke up and Christina, Kevin (editor-in-chief) and I headed out to the Smokeshop. As we walked past the Sunset, I was like “let’s go invite Derby for beers!” So we hightailed it into the Sunset and saw Isaac (the drummer), introduced ourselves and invited him and the rest of the band over. And I’m here to say, that made a recipe for a good time: 1 part Smokeshop, 2 parts Derby, 3 parts Rainer, a bucket of gin & tonic for Kevin and a dash of a little drumming toy bunny that everyone had to sing a tune to (you had to be there…). We talked with Nat and Isaac for a while. We found out they were heading out to play at the Brick (in Roslyn) the next night and were excited how they had some Foreigner and Night Ranger lined up for the set. Also playing an acoustic set at Hattie’s pre-giant fish tank was one of their favorite shows and more. All in all a very fun night! Definitely looking forward to checking out Derby’s new CD and a “later in the evening” show in Seattle. Meanwhile, go to www.derbyrock.com, I promise, they’ll be a new favorite.
Popularity: 22%
As a dyed-in-the-wool music fan, it’s rather gratifying to watch a band ascend from the ranks of relative unknown to the enviable height of homecoming success story. As fellow music aficionados, I’m sure we can all boast about a band that we knew way back when, or an album we purchased before anyone else. Shoot, I know I gots hella bands you ain’t heard yet…the White Stripes? Check ‘em out. This local band the Blakes? Awesome, get their record. I kid, I kid. Frankly, I’m not here to brag, but there is a real sense of satisfaction that comes with witnessing a sold-out show for a group whose trajectory I’ve followed for some time. Case in point: baroque pop jammers Fleet Foxes, one of the more talented bands to come out of Seattle in recent years.
You may not be a fan of the outfit’s hymnal bucolic folk, but if you had been at Neumos last Friday night (4/18), you would’ve no doubt been impressed with at least the opening choral song, Sun Giant’s leadoff title track (sans mandolin). Bandleader Robin Pecknold and bassist Christian Wargo pilot most of the vocal harmonies throughout the Foxes sound, and they delivered with an astonishing climb into the stratosphere to start things off. Most bands amp up the guitar and drums more than anything else, but the focus with this one is clearly “more vocals in the monitor.” The sound engineer did a fine job at Neumos that night (though the drums could’ve used a boost), and the voices of the two main vocalists carried quite well. My lady made the comment following the first song, “How many bands can do THAT?” Not many, I answered.
The band proceeded to follow in order with the next two tracks off Sun Giant, “Drops in the River” and “English House”, much to the enjoyment of the crowd who were unabashedly there to support the local troupe; labelmates and headliners Blitzen Trapper aside. Much of the audience had clearly dissipated by the middle of BT’s set, and looking over my shoulder to the sea of heads during the Foxes set cemented this conviction even further. Next up were a few songs from their forthcoming full-length, including “White Winter Hymnal” and “Sun It Rises”. Pecknold played solo on another. Yielding to its popularity, fan-favorite “Mykonos” was played toward the end of the set, shortly before BT came on stage to offer brotherhood and five different versions of percussion (tambourines, shakers, etc.). The two groups had clearly bonded over their recent tour together, a first for the sly Foxes, who were quite overwhelmed with the adoration the hometown fans were showing. Pecknold kept saying how much he “loved Seattle.” Good for him, so do I.
The Fleet Foxes’ carefully considered songs played live aren’t quite as polished as their recordings would have you believe, but that’s not to say the guys aren’t accomplished musicians. Just more organic. True, some of the supplementary instrumentation that adorns their record goes by the wayside when they step on stage (to reiterate, someone build a statue of Phil Ek in a town square somewhere), but their music endures. Skye Skjelset, the lead guitarist, meticulously strums his jangly guitar, while drummer Nick Peterson pounds his toms with an ominous and lively excellence. Keyboardist Casey Westcott adds some harmony and texture of his own. I realize that they are still a fairly young band, but I’m excited to see how they progress and how their LP turns out.
The band is fast becoming a popular draw, as they don their Sasquatch attire next month. Saturday, the festival’s best day, will feature them along with other local heroes such as Grand Archives, Vince Mira, and Modest Mouse. Sustained success and inflation have made this a spendy concert, but it will be a good one. Start growing your beards now.
Popularity: 26%
| May 11, 2008 | ||
| 8:00 pm |
Notice, that’s blake/e/e/e (pronounced Blake-EEEEE)
NOT the Blakes.
Very Different. Just listen.
New Millennium’s Lack Of Self Explanation
Sunday May, 11 2008 at The Comet Tavern
w/ The Music Of Grayface, (SEA)
Yarn Owl (Pullman)
Shenandoah Davis (SEA) Another Seattle gem yet to surface
Blake/e/e/e are touring in support of there upcoming full length debut Border Radio (FreeFolk Records). They are very free spirited and almost impossible to classify, thus making them intriguing and interesting to listen to. Some would say it’s folk, but only as much as the Pacific is “some water”.
Blake/e/e/e was born from the ashes of Franklin Delano. After many years, 3 full length albums and hundreds of shows around the globe, Franklin Delano came to its end, having reached the limits of the project as it was. Goodbye Franklin Delano.
Everything is wet in a folky mood, but it is no longer an American folk, it is rather an ancient type of folk, a campfire solitary strumming, there where you can watch the stars at night, and feel the scare of the darkness, generated by the wind blowing in the woods, like trees talking to your ears.
I dunno where that leaves us but I’m on board. It’s a helluva night for a school night but should be worth it. Check out the links above to everyone’s MySpace (esp Blake/e/e/e and Shenandoah Davis) you’ll probably agree.
Update————————-
Here’s a track from Shenondoah Davis
Our Favorite Idols
Popularity: 3%
| April 25, 2008 | ||
| 3:00 pm |
Friday - 4/25/2008
ANTHONY SMITH’S TRUNK FULLA FUNK w/
The Electric Jake Rhythm Test
DJ Leopold Bloom
9:00pm (doors 8:00pm)
21 & Up
$8 adv / $10 dos
TFF is a powerful, six-piece ensemble drawing upon numerous funk/rock/soul influences, with all the rock and jam-oriented improvisation you might expect. Trunk Fulla Funk, the product of Anthony Smith’s experience, imagination, and talent as a charismatic band leader, is gaining momentum with a reputation for high-energy, hard-grooving shows. The group attracts both serious listeners and those simply looking for a freak-out, funk dance party.
Popularity: 2%
“Hey mark April 19th on your calendar as National Record Store day, were going to be having a few bands do in-store performances during the day… are you interested in running sound?” emailed the current Marketing Manager of Silver Platter’s record store to me sometime in February.
“Sure,” I replied, “Just lemme know how many.” Little did I know that the 3 confirmed bands at the time would turn into a 9 band bill for the first annual National Record Store day celebrated by record stores across the country last Saturday. I had the pleasure of mixing sound for most of the 9 acts booked at Silver Platter’s Queen Anne location. One band didn’t show and the headliner brought a hired gun to run sound so technically it was 7, and this is my story.
1:00 - The Mary McPage Band
The whole band showed up about an hour early, hung out, got to know me a little while they set up. And killed it with a terrific blues set. Mary McPage is a seasoned veteran of blues music in Seattle. So much so that The Mary McPage band, Mary McPage herself, guitarist Jevon Powell, and drummer Bill Page were all nominated for best-of category at the 19th Annual Washington Blues Society Awards show at the Triple Door on Sunday. Her band is full of rippers and Mary is full of the blues, a great way to start the day off for sure. They are playing again at Monahan’s in Everett April 25th if you wanna catch em.
2:00 - Matt Jorgensen + 451
You know a jazz player once told me a joke; a jazz musician plays thousands of notes to only a few people, and a blues player a few notes to thousands of people… In this case both blues and jazz had only a store full of peep but the jazz of Matt Jorgensen and 4-5-1 (separate letters as in chord structure) was really good and a nice second up to bat. A sax, drums, upright bass (which I love), and a Fender Rhodes keyboard brought me back to my days at the Lionel Hampton School of Music where jazz was the subject and we all studied it. Nice fills, good transitions, and solid playing with a cocky little jazz attitude to boot made for a good show. Their at the Sunset Tavern on the 23rd.
3:00 - Pat Monahan
Remember Rex Manning day in the movie Empire Records? Well Pat Monahan was Rex Manning on Saturday (although I don’t think any of the staff slept with him). If your not familiar with his work he was the lead singer for the Grammy winning band Train and wrote songs Drops of Jupiter and Meet Virginia. It was like asking The Eagles to play a song you don’t know… impossible. Regardless of my pre-disposition about his top 40 work in the past, the crowd was big and he had a certain magnetism and charisma about him which drew everyone in and laid them out with his ever recognizable voice. And whether you like the music or not, major label songwriters at this level are actually really good at what they do on stage, and he was no exception. His guitarist and keyboard players were badass to say the least, and he separated the pros from the ams in what I will continually reiterate on this blog… the delivery. It was flawless, and that made the show, with 5 fuckin songs… I have no idea where he plays next, you’ll have to look that one up for yourself.
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Popularity: 23%
