Music, Film, and Book Reviews

Poisoned Town and Virtual Cut by Inner Voices

2010-02-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
As some of you may remember, I reviewed two songs by Adam Brierley's solo project, Inner Voices, back in November. For the many of you who enjoyed his past releases, prepare yourselves because his next EP, Impact Statements, will be available soon. The Impact Statements track list is as follows:

1. Poisoned Town
2. Virtual Cut
3. Bend Your Mind
4. Stay In The Light

The theme of both Poisoned Town and Virtual Cut comes from Brierley's observation of the devastating aspects of street violence and its effects on many victims' friends and families. Poisoned Town, although is lyrically based on unfortunate events, has a catchy, smooth melody. Brierley dazzles the listener with his brilliant use of the synthesizer like always, but in this particular song he also includes a beautiful piano solo during the second half of the track. Of all his releases, I’d say this one is my favorite so far.

As for Virtual Cut, this one is an instrumental track. Its melody is extremely similar to that of Poisoned Town, and also includes the piano solo. Despite the lack of lyrics, the track is constructed in such a way that Brierley’s voice still manages to shine through. For reviews on the final two tracks please check out my last post. I’d definitely recommend keeping an out the release of Impact Statements!

For more on Adam Brierley’s Inner Voices, check out:

www.myspace.com/AdamBrierley

Bend Your Mind and Stay In The Light by Inner Voices

2009-11-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
As some of you may remember, I reviewed the Inner Voices' Surveillance State EP back in early May. For those who enjoyed the sounds of this one-man group I am pleased to announce that he is back with more. There have been mentions of an album coming out eventually, but for now all I've got is two tracks to provide us with a little sneak peak: Bend Your Mind and Stay In The Light.

Bend Your Mind is a track that leans towards the mellow side of things. From the very beginning, stretching all the way to the final beat, Adam Brierley creates a misty, almost dream-like feel with the synth, creating an even tone though out the song. Professional soprano vocalist, Ruth Jenkins, laces a few of the lines with her beautifully soft voice towards the second half of the track. What I really like lyrically is Brierlley's concept of "bending" one's mind. We are typically more accustomed to hearing the words "change your mind" and I like how Breirley took a more original stance in conveying a similar message.
Bend Your Mind was originally produced in 2007 and was quickly recognized by Kaz (the MySpace Music promoter) and George Mulchay from Radio Dublin Near FM, and has been playing through out the UK ever since.

Stay In The Light starts off a bit more fast-paced than Bend Your Mind, creating a nice distinction between both songs. This track clearly has a lot more of an edge in both lyrical and musical terms, closing with a brilliant instrumental and final say from Breirley. It was first recorded 18 months ago, and since then has been awarded 5 separate finalist Effigy awards by ABC Radio/MMI Fmaegames (January 09) for: best overall song, best song in General Rock category, best songwriting, best production, and most popular song. The final album version was finished up this July and was mastered by Fran Ashcroft, who has worked with Damn Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & The Queen), Abbey Road Studios, etc.

From more on Adam Brierley Inner Voices, see:
www.myspace.com/AdamBrierley

Featured Artist: The Drool Brothers

2009-10-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

One of the things that I love about music is that there aren't any boundaries. The age we live in is one where the subject of a song, the concept of a band, and the instruments of the group have become immensely diverse. The spectrum has widened to various forms of what used to be one genre, and between Eugene Hutz's (of Gogol Bordello) fire bucket to The Suburban Legend's synchronized dance moves, members have gotten more and more creative at entertaining us. One band in particular who seems to be well aware of this is The Drool Brothers.

This four-member group resides in the Los Angeles/Whittier area, and have been a group for the past 13 years. Over the course of that time they have managed to mold themselves into a genuinely original band with a one-of-a-kind sound. Their latest release for instance "gets more unusual as it progresses" says frontman Chuck Mancillas. The song titles alone - "Journey To The Center Of The Mall," "Flapmaggot," and "Sons Of Sal" for example - are enough for the listener to know that he or she is experiencing something different.

Their influences include Mott The Hoople, P. Funk, The Knack, comedian Jerry Lewis, and Kurt Rambis, among many others. Unlike Muse's latest releases, however, The Drool Brothers have skillfully mastered the ability to create their own musical signature through and through, while subtly incorporating bits and pieces from their influences. According to Mancillas, their goal is to "create as much music as possible and exist independent of scenes or music industry influence. To play unique places and enjoy our musical emancipation" and so far they are doing just that.

For more on The Drool Brothers, see:
www.DroolBrothers.com
www.MySpace.com/DroolBrothers

Seeing the Arctic Monkeys and The Like

2009-09-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Long time no speak! Summer's officially over, I have finally adjusted to the new school year, and I am now ready to throw some reviews your way! Two weeks into September (the 15th to be exact) I saw the Arctic Monkeys play with The Like at the Hollywood Palladium, and it was absolutely brilliant!
The doors opened at 7:30, and the moment they did, (what seemed like) hundreds of fans stampeded into the venue. The line was literally wrapped around the street by the time I arrived at 6:30; I can't even imagine how far it must have stretched by the time they let us in. I saw the Arctic Monkeys play at the Palladium two years ago, and I suppose all the excitement had blinded me from the scenery; this time around, however, I took a better look at my surroundings. For those of you who have never been here, I highly recommend checking it out, the venue is magnificent. The ceilings are beautifully decorated with chandeliers, and the floor space is incredible. I guess for a venue of this size it would have been better to have built a bigger stage, but apart from that I have no complaints.
As for the show itself, the crowd was very disappointed to find that the Klaxons were not going to be opening up for the Arctic Monkeys. They were initially supposed to perform and, for reasons unknown to me, they had been last-minute replaced by The Like.This show was the all-girl group's second time performing on stage. As for their music, the first few songs sat well with me but I soon got bored of their repetitive sythn beats and common music style. I felt as though all the songs sounded the same, almost as if they were all part of one giant song. I could tell I wasn't alone in thinking this, as the crowd soon got restless as well.
Once The Like had left the stage, however, the restlessness of the crowd only got worse. I found myself shouting obscene things in order to draw some attention to myself in hope of ceasing some of the chaos. My efforts failed miserably. I was squashed to the point where it was affecting my (and I'm sure everyone else's) breathing. I almost lost my shoe several times, and then finally after a great push the damn thing came right off. Thanks to my fancy footwork, however, I managed to retrieve the little bugger as I miraculously made my way out of the crowd, hanging onto dear life by a mere thread.
After about 45 minutes of intense pushing and shoving, the lights started to dim. About 15 minutes after that the band came out. This isn't the exact order of the set list, but here's what was played:
Brianstorm
Crying Lightening
Only Ones We Know
This House Is A Circus
My Propeller
Dangerous Animals
Cornerstone
Pretty Visitors
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Still Take You Home
The View From The Afternoon
Dance Little Liar
Do Me A Favour
Encore: Fluorescent Adolescent
Secret Door
505
The band was brilliant. They came on and played right away, and after the first song or two they stopped to address the audience. Between every few songs frontman Alex Turner would stop to make some comments, or crack some jokes, always reminding us of how much he enjoys saying the words "Los Angeles" (which hopefully means he'll want to come back soon!). I heard a few complaints about how they should have played more stuff from their first album (Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not) but I think all in all they did a great job of representing each album fairly. Their tour, after all, is meant to promote their latest release Humbug so naturally they had to play the hits from that, and I reckon they managed to satisfy the portion of the audience who haven't heard the new album by playing their older hits as well. The crowd responded fantastically to the band, the energy in the venue was incredible. Apart from a violent, but expected, reaction from the crowd I had a perfect night!

For more on The Like, see:
www.myspace.com/TheLike

For more on the Arctic Monkeys, see:
www.ArcticMonkeys.com
www.myspace.com/ArcticMonkeys

Away We Go

2009-07-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
A couple months ago I remember seeing the trailer for the film Away We Go and thinking that it's one film I don't plan on spending my time on; I guess I had the impression that it wasn't going to be anything special. Well, I gave in and eventually did end up seeing it and, despite my low expectations, I actually enjoyed it. According to Yahoo! Movies, the critics gave it a B-, personally I would have given it a B.
The film is about Burt (John Krasinski: Leatherheads, License To Wed, Shrek The Third) and Verona (Maya Rudolph: A Prairie Home Companion, 50 First Dates, Duplex), an unmarried couple who unexpectedly find out that they are going to have a baby. Desparate to raise their child in the company of family or friends, Burt and Verona set out to find the best suited destination. Along the way they encounter a wide range of very different families, all with varied backgrounds and situations. This brings a bit doubt among Burt and Verona as they start to question their past and their future.
What I really liked about this film was that it obviously didn't seem far-fetched at all, and thus was easy to relate to. Personally, I am not on the verge of having a child, but the different types of situations that Burt and Verona faced, along with the lessons they learned from each one, were done in such a way that even I, an audience member, could clearly draw connections from them.
The acting was great, and the chemistry between Krasinski and Rudolph was beautiful. Some other well-known stars were Catherin O'Hara (Penelope, For Your Consideration, Game 6), Jeff Daniels (State Of Play, Space Chimps, Traitor), Alison Janney (Hairspray, Juno, Over The Hedge), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, Monster House, Stranger Than Fiction). The film was directed by Sam Mendes, also known for Revolutionary Road, Jarhead, and Road to Perdition among others.
I thought this was a sweet film with a very cute ending. There was a handful of clever jokes, all of which I genuinely laughed at. I'd say this goes hand-in-hand with a nice bowl of popcorn on a rainy day.

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

2009-06-30T20:43:00.001-07:00

Hello all,
After that disastrous Digital Fortress experience, I thought I'd give Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen a try. It had been recommended to me by everyone I had talked to who had read it, so I figured I should check it out.
The story is about Jacob Jankowski, a "ninety. Or ninety-three" year-old man who reflects on his adventures traveling with the Benzini Brothers' Most Spectacular Show On Earth. I found the first ten chapters rather slow, Gruen has a tendency to describe everything in great detail, and I guess it just didn't sit too well with me. Apart from that, those ten chapters weren't too bad - they talked briefly about Jacob's school life at Cornell University, how his parents died during his senior year, how he never completed his veterinary exams, and how he managed to avoid being "red lighted" by taking up the position of being the Benzini Brothers' vet.
Jacob's relationship with his first friend on the show, August, (who initially fought to keep him on the circus) takes a drastic turn when he starts to fall for August's wife, Marlena. The next two thirds of the book are filled with secrets, lies, attacks by a paranoid schizophrenic, romance and sex which get you so hooked that you almost forget about the previous crap chapters. I find that it's a lot like To Kill A Mocking Bird, where it's a great book but you need to fast forward to the second half before you actually start enjoying it.
Jacob built another vital relationship with Rosie, the newly acquired elephant. She was described as being "stupid" by her previous owner, and as a result was heavily beaten by August when he couldn't get her to perform any tricks. Being a vet, Jacob naturally felt a great deal of guilt and sympathy for Rosie. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized how competent she actually was. By a stroke of luck he figured out that the only reason Rosie wasn't responding to August was because of a language barrier - Polish, which lucky enough was Jacob's native tongue.
Gruen packs us in with a ton of information at the start, preparing us for the wild adventure that unwinds during the last two thirds of the book. To be honest, I found myself going from reading half a chapter to two, sometimes three, chapters a night, and coming from a slow reader that means a lot! Although it is a bit difficult to get into, I definitely do recommend this book, because when you get to the bare bones of it, it's not as important how you feel when you start the book, but more how you feel once you end it; and I felt pretty satisfied by the time I was finished.

Seeing the White Rabbits and The Subjects

2009-06-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Long time no speak! Don't worry I've plenty coming your way! To start, I saw the White Rabbits play with The Subjects at The Troubadour on the 18th of June; I definitely didn't expect such a great show.
To be honest, I wasn't much of a White Rabbits fan to begin with, and I had never even heard of The Subjects, but all my indie-show experiences at the Troub have been fantastic, so I didn't need to think twice when my friend invited me to come with him.
We got there just as the doors opened, and the crowd was pretty small which was fine by me. The Subjects went on about at about 9 and were absolutely brilliant. Here's their set list:
New Years
Edge Of A Dime
Winter Vacation
Right2know
Hard Way
Down Time
Hounds Of War
In The City
Swept Upon
Coward In The Night
At one point Matthew Clark, one of drummers of the White Rabbits, joined The Subjects on stage; it was great! I love it when groups do that; whether or not it's true, it projects a good vibe to the audience that there's more to the groups' relationship than just sharing the same stage. As mentioned before, I had never heard of these guys and I'm sure some of the audience members had either, but it didn't stop a significant number of people bobbing their heads and moving along with the music. There was brilliant vocal variety as two of the four band members pitched in with the vocals, nicely accompanying the frontman. There was also fantastic organ work done by one of the vocalists. Towards the end of the set, one of the members picked up a set of drumsticks and started playing on a spare floor tom, effectively warming up the crowd for the White Rabbits.
By the time The Subjects were finished with their set, the crowd had practically doubled in size. I'd say it was almost as packed as it was when I saw Razorlight, and that's saying something.
Shortly after, the six-member band started to neatly assemble themselves on the venue's small stage. Here's the set list:
Rudie Falls
The Lady Vanishes
While We Go Dancing
"Ethio"
"Chevy"
"Sleep"
Kid On My Shoulders
Company I Keep
The Plot
"Punk"
"Burundl"
"Foxhunting"
The Salesman (Tramp Life)
They played a great set - each member put so much effort into every song, but the one member who really caught my attention was Matthew Clark. It seemed as though every time I looked at him he was playing a new instrument. After drumming alongside Jamie Levinson for a bit, he gave his sticks a break and then started jamming on his guitar. Then, for the fast-paced songs like While We Go Dancing, he'd pick up a tambourine and dance about the stage. Honestly, at one point I half-expected him to steal the mic off frontman Stephen Patterson.
Patterson positioned his piano at the centre of the stage. I was cool with the arrangement at first, the pianos are typically off to side so it was interesting to see a new arrangement. Towards the middle of the show, however, I realized why the piano isn't typically positioned like this: Patterson had his back to my side of the stage for at least ten of the thirteen songs on the set list; probably not the best angle to present to half your audience. I was impressed with his key-work though. On top of the piano he had a keyboard, and for at least one of the songs he would play with one had on the piano, while the other was simultaneously playing on the keyboard. It was quite a sight to see. At one point he picked up an acoustic guitar and started strumming, which was great.
Odd piano position aside, I guess the only other issue I had with the show was guitarist Alex Even's 'guitar stance.' He was standing on my end of the stage, and I've seen this move countless times so I don't mean to be picking on Even specifically, but every once-in-a-while he'd lean forward while playing the guitar, resulting in a crouched posture, while facing his shoes. I really don't like this popular move, and would greatly appreciate it if someone would explain to me the fascination behind doing it.
Towards the end of the set bassist Brian Betancourt grabbed a pair of sticks and started drumming along with Levinson and Clark. That was three guys on drums. Three! I was blown away and it's not just because I was standing by the speakers (definitely don't recommend it by the way). On the whole, the bad performed brilliantly. Every song projected so much energy it was incredible.

For more on The Subjects, see:
www.myspace.com/TheSubjects

For more on the White Rabbits, see:
www.WhiteRabbitsMusic.com
www.myspace.com/WhiteRabbits

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

2009-06-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Those of you who checked out my last blog about the film Angels & Demons probably found it obvious that I'm a big Dan Brown fan. A little while ago I finished Digital Fortress, and now that I have read all four of his published novels I can confidently say that I definitely don't recommend it to any Dan Brown fan out there.
Brown pretty much maintains the same backbone in all his stories, where there is some sort of giant catastrophe leaving the protagonist with limited time to save the day; and for any of you who have read his books, you pretty much start the story knowing how it will end. His brilliant way with words, however, keeps you wanting more. What I loved about Deception Point, Angels & Demons, and The Da Vinci Code was that although they shared the same basic idea, Brown cleverly laced each story with enough mystery and excitement that each book had its own unique spin to it. Digital Fortress, despite the excitement, had hardly any mystery at all. We find out who the "bad guy" is by about the first third of the novel, and the little mystery that Brown leaves us with is so weak that you've got the story all figured out half-way into it. Unlike his other novels, there is no secret society, hidden motives, or mysterious phone calls to keep you guessing.
In the story Susan Fletcher, a master code-breaker, gets informed of a code so complex that even the world's most powerful code-breaking machine can't crack it. Fletcher and her boss Commander Strathmore have to crack the code before it gets out to the public, ultimately crippling U.S. intelligence. We soon find that the creator of the code, who happens to be in Spain, has a clue engraved on his ring, and it is up to Susan's boyfriend, David Becker, to find it. Brown puts us on a race against time to find the ring, but stretches it too far. Becker, a college professor, ends up searching for that ring for a full 90% of the book, narrowly escaping death in way too many instances. Clearly he must have been an extraordinarily lucky man, because it seemed that he was always in the right place at the right time. I found myself sighing outloud each time I read about his mission because the chain of events were so ridiculous.
I won't deny that Brown's way with words kept me up reading, but the experience was nothing like what I got with his other three books. If you have never read a book by Brown, then I suppose it's not a bad Brown book to start with; despite its flaws it was very well written. If you have read anything by Brown, then I suggest you either extremely lower your expectations for this one, or save yourself some time and disappointment and not bother giving this book the time of day.

Angels & Demons

2009-05-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
I'm sure many of you have experienced the thrill of finding out that one of your favorite books will soon be released into a film. Unfortunately this feeling is typically followed by those such as disappointment and irritation when you see what a mess the director made of such a fantastic book. It happened to me with the Harry Potter series, and just recently with Angels & Demons. No matter how many miserable times I've walked out of a cinema, I just can't abandon the hope that one day a director will get it right.
Angels & Demons was given a C+ by the critics, according to Yahoo! Movies, and it was well deserved. For those of you who have yet to see it, don't worry there are no spoilers here.
I've read the book twice myself and have recommended it to just about everyone. I know it's thickness can be a bit scary, but the action, brilliantly structured plot, and expertly devised fact vs. fiction situation that Dan Brown creates for his readers puts you in a state where you're almost wishing it was longer! As you can well imagine, I was naively chuffed to find out that it was going to made into a film.
I did what many dedicated fans decided to do, which was see it at the midnight showing. My party and I found ourselves decent seats, and as the lights dimmed I made myself comfortable for what I thought was soon going to become one of my favorite films. Well, I'm afraid I have a bone to pick with director Ron Howard: he couldn't have made the start of the film more unlike the actual book. I was literally disgusted with how incorrect everything was, which left me in a bad mood until it was over. Honestly, the man's been in showbiz since childhood, you'd think this would have been a piece of cake.
It is lucky that great actors like Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson's War, The Da Vinci Code, The Polar Express) as protagonist Robert Langdon, Ewan McGregor (Miss Potter, Star Wars series, The Island) as the Camerlengo, and Armin Mueller-Stahl (The International, Eastern Promises, Jakob The Liar) as Cardnial Strauss took up the leading roles, otherwise this would have been a complete disaster. I understand that a book's length is unlimited, and that when it is being converted to a film scenes are typically cut, but I never understood the point of changing major situations from how they were originally created. Wasn't it those very situations that made the book a best seller to begin with? For instance, two specific situations involving leading lady Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer: Vantage Point, 28 Weeks Later, Munich) were recreated in such a way that they robbed her great discovery of its intense level of importance and secrecy that Brown so strongly stressed in the book.
In addition, an important character, who started off the story, was completely cut out. This person would have been great as a key suspect in Brown's mystery, as he had a very suspicious personality. I suppose his lack of presence was pushed onto the Camerlengo, who I noticed was a lot less kinder in the film than he was in book.
Furthermore, the mystery behind the killer pretty much remained a mystery; his charcter wasn't developed in any way, and the aundience got no visual notification of who was directing him on his mission. There was not a single secret phone call, or even a letter, directing this guy. It was terrible, because the motive behind his horrendous actions were incredibly weak.
I suppose one plus-side to this was that I couldn't make myself turn way from the screen, since it was so different that I wasn't sure what would happen next.
As a film, I suppose it was pretty decent; the action was brilliant and the acting was superb. As mentioned in regard to the killer, there was a lose end, but many viewers don't care too much for lose ends in an action-packed film. I also liked the way anti-matter was visually explained; I think it was a lot more effective than having an actor verbally describe what it is.
As a film based on a book, however, all I've got to ask is whether Howard took the time to actually read the book or if he decided to take a short cut and read the cliff notes instead.

Seeing Gogol Bordello

2009-05-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
I saw Gogol Bordello perform at the Majestic Ventura Theatre on the 20th of May, and I can confidently say that it was one of the best shows I've ever been to.
For those of you who are not too familiar with the band, Gogol Bordello is a gypsy-punk 10-member group local to New York. In addition to the standard drums, guitar, and bass (played by Eliot Ferguson, Oren Kaplan, and Thomas Gobena) this group manages to incorporate the accordion (Yuri Lemeshev), violin (Sergey Ryabstev), and fire bucket, played by frontman Eugene Hutz.
The last punk show I was at was The Adicts at the Key Club, and although I had the time of my life, I did end up going home with a couple scars and bruises, so I was a bit apprehensive on how the crowd was going to be for this show. The doors opened at about 7, and the show kicked off at some point after 8 with Pedro Erazo spinning some tunes. It was interesting having a DJ open up for a band, and although we was spinning for longer than I hoped, I quite liked that approach.
About a hour later Erazo packed up his gear, and out came the band! Unfortunately I wasn't able to score the track list, but I did leave with Hutz's Yellow Tail wine bottle haha. Some of the hits they played were: Wonderlust King, Think Logically F*ck Globally, Start Wearing Purple, Not A Crime, and Immigrant Punk. What I loved about this band was that they played each song as if it were their last. They went all out dancing all over the stage and almost every member managed to shake hands with the audience at several points during the night. Elizabeth Sun and Pamela Racine (both backing vocals) were placed at the right-hand corner of the stage, and occasionally would leave their post to dance. They were dressed in black leotards with flowy skirts and were the perfect touch to each song they danced along to; they weren't over-the-top, and didn't demand attention, but rather helped build up the hype for the songs. At the end Sun came out with cymbals and Racine had a huge drum attached to her stomach, causing chaos and commotion along with the rest of the band.
Surprisingly, the audience wasn't violent at all. The music died down the urge to push and shove, and intensified the urge to dance - I wish I could have seen a bird's eye view of the pit! It almost felt like being in a club, as we all danced the night away. At one point I felt as though a little warm up session would have been a good idea, because I reckon I got quite the work out that night!
Unfortunately I found out on the way to the show that I left my camera at home, so I don't have any cool shots. I do encourage everyone, however, to keep an eye out for this lot. They've been banned from CB/GB, the Mercury Lounge, and Bowery Ballroom immediately after their first performances for being too over the top! I promise you will have an unforgettable time.

For more on Gogol Bordello, see:
www.GogolBordello.com
www.myspace.com/GogolBordello

Outliar EP by Outliar

2009-05-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
Writing about music for the past seven months has taught me several things, one of which is that the longer it takes for a group to record an album/EP doesn't necessarily mean it'll turn out better. Pete Dee of The Adicts once mentioned how it's sometimes a good idea not to mess around with music, and rather just get together, record, and publish the "raw talent." That type of method works well for the The Adicts, and definitely worked in favor of Outliar. This four member group, who have been practicing in vocalist James Ghaleb's garage for just under a year, were recently determined to finally record their tracks; five days, 13 boxes of Trader Joe's peanutbutter cups, and "frequent pocket-fulls of Jelly Beans" later a self-titled EP was born.
The Outliar EP is a good balance of catchy beats and relaxing melodies, all of which carry a jazzy/blues undertone.
Here's the track list:

1. Say Sorry
2. Back To You
3. Very Fragile Thing (Hollow)
4. Cowardice
5. Thousand Man War
6. This Side Of The Ocean

The first track, Say Sorry, is one of my favorites. Ghaleb opens up with about five seconds of acoustic guitar, and then comes in with the vocals, accompanied by the rest of the band. This is a mellow track but catchy enough to tap a foot to. I find it incredible how the average age among the members is 18, and despite the growing present influnce of the matinstream, these guys are still able to keep it so old-school, it's a pity Chet Baker isn't alive to hear this.
Very Fragile Thing (Hollow) is another one I really like. This one also starts off with acoustic guitar, and is shortly followed by the rest of the instruments. Just under minute later, the beat starts to progress, as the disco bass and stream of open hi-hats lay in a dance-able beat. During the second half of the song, Ghaleb gives his voice a rest, leaving us with an approximate 45 second instrumental.
The final two tracks, Thousand Man War and This Side Of The Ocean, were recorded back-to-back on final fifth day. Thousand Man War leans more towards the mellow side of things, and both are acoustic.
I've had the chance to meet the guys behind the music and I don't think they realize just how good they are. I wouldn't miss an opportunity to check these guys out, because I reckon if they keep it up they're definitely going to make it.

For more on Outliar, see:
www.myspace.com/OutliarMusic

Out Of Your Control demo by The Carletons

2009-05-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
As I'm sure many of know from previous entries, my favorite band is The Clash. One of the reasons that I like them so much is because they never limited themselves, as they combined various musical styles while still staying true "the cause." A current band who has taken on similar actions is a four-man group from the UK who call themselves The Carletons.
The group recently released a three-track demo, resulting with "a mix of indie, rock, punk, and ska all thrown into one."
Here's the track list:

1. Out Of Your Control
2. On To A Winner
3. Tiny Little Problem

Out Of Your Control starts off with Adam Darwen laying out a fierce beat on the drums, as Jack Benton ad Rob Eatough come in only seconds later on the guitar and bass. Alex Mckay slaps on some vocals about twenty seconds into it, reminding me a bit like Pete Doherty of Babyshambles. The whole group joins in for the chorus of "They are against us/They are against us/Woah/They are against us/They are against us" which refers to the addiction of gambling, and how it's always a losing battle.
On To A Winner starts a little less aggressively, with Benton placing a beat as Darwen compliments it with some cymbals. This song's got more of a serious tone, reflecting the band's wonder of "where [they'll] be in five years" and what the future has to hold for them. I really like this one since it's got a really good punk-rock feel to it, even though it's not extremely fast-paced. Almost three minutes into it, the beat slows down to where we're only left with Mckay, Darwen, and Eatough. This part's great because it gives us a taste of the bass work.
Tiny Little Problem's got more of an indie-feel to it, establishing a beat sounding like a cross between The Libertines and the Arctic Monkeys. This was actually the first of the three songs to be written, and is what the band believes helped them find their unique sound. They pride this song on pulling away from typical indie values of love or "how shit life is," and instead lean more towards the old-school punk view of representing "the lower class people who seem stuck in their own little world." The group believe that the song's meaning gives it "that extra aggressive edge" and I completely agree.
For more on The Carletons, see:
www.myspace.com/TheCarletons

Surveillance State EP by Inner Voices

2009-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Have you ever bought an album only to find that just a small handful of the songs were ones you actually liked? I realize iTunes has now virtually eliminated such a problem, but lucky for us there's one EP out there that can save the trouble of testing out each song before we commit to buying it. The Surveillance State EP by Inner Voices was released in March, and includes three songs that have been placed at number one positions on several independent charts, along with two semi-finalist positions in the UK Songwriters Competition of September 2008.
Here's the track list:

1. Surveillance State (radio version)
2. Carbon Shadow
3. My Aberration
4. Surveillance State

This one-man band has found that "just right" balance between electronica and rock which, coupled with his incredible vocals, results in a similar style to that of Depeche Mode and New Order.
Adam Brierley, the man behind the band, pushes that synthesizer in Surveillance State to where it sounds as though it's just putty in his hands. He starts it off with a misty beat that just gets catchier by the second, bringing the guitar and drums about ten seconds in, establishing a firm framework for the rest of the track. It is definitely my favorite track off the EP, as it's so danceable. Brieley expands on the song as being about "a society sleep walking into a surveillance state justified by 'anti-terror' legislation." This track actually has already receieved a finalist Effigy Award from MMi-ABC Radio Famegames, USA and Europe in January of this year.
Carbon Shadow's meaning gets even deeper, as Brieley "questions the motivation of the religious leader who asks the people to sacrifice their lives for their own gain." He starts his second verse with "Drilling through your head, these words they carry tasks.../Guilty man for ending life too soon/bending words to enhance your personal tune" makes reference to suicide bombings and essentially opens up the listener's ears to what is going on in the world. It's really refreshing to hear artists pull away from the typical theme of writing about personal issues, and instead enlightening us with world issues. What's so great about this track is that it still has that danceable synth and guitar; Brieley successfully keeps the listener going while getting his message across.
My Aberration starts off slightly different to the other two, opening up with an exotic Spanish beat. About fifty seconds into it the synth starts to creep in. The mood is a bit more serious in this track, expanding on truth that our identity isn't about how we're made up, or "molded," but who we are beneath the outer layer.
Brieley, just like so many other unsigned artists out there, is a good reminder that quality music doesn't necessarily come from a fancy studio. He puts thought into his music which leaves him with a talent that, judging from the Surveillance State EP chart positions, shines bright and clear.

For more on Adam Breiley's Inner Voices, see:
www.myspace.com/AdamBrierley

Record Store Day '09

2009-04-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Last Saturday, the 18th of April, was Record Store Day. Never heard of it? Well it’s probably because it only just started two years ago. It was first thought up Chris Brown - yes, I know he’s a no-good abusive celeb but it doesn’t mean that all his ideas are bad ones. In 2007 Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave, and Brian Poehner took Brown’s idea into affect, launching the internationally acclaimed Record Store Day.
The point of it is to celebrate “the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundred of similar stores internationally.” Since 2007, Record Store Day has been celebrated the third Saturday of April and involves live performances by both bands and DJs, cook-outs, body painting, “meet and greets” with artists, parades, and more. What really got me excited was the fact that special vinyl and album releases – from Queen to Bad Religion – were going to be available, so I thought since I’m not going to be at Coachella, I better check this out!
Since it was my first year of participating in this, I wasn’t too prepared. I only managed to check out two record stores – Amoeba Music in Hollywood, and Salzer’s in Ventura, but I learned a lot for next year! On the event’s website there’s a complete list of participating stores and artists, and I suggest for next year that anyone who wants to participate to have a plan. I’d say your best bet is start early and to do some research – the worst is to find out that you missed out on a band you like because of bad timing, etc. Map out your area, round up some friends (and money haha), contribute to the cause, and make it a day-long adventure.
I would have blogged about this sometime during the days leading up to the event, but as previously mentioned, I wasn’t too familiar with it myself. No worries though, it will be back next year, and I’ll definitely send out some reminders!

For more information on Record Store Day, see:
www.RecordStoreDay.com

Featured Artist: Ten Digit Army

2009-04-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
One show that I'll never forget was Kroq's Inland Invasion '05. Apart from all the amazing performances that went on that day, one that stood out in my mind was Arcade Fire's. I'm pretty indifferent about most of their work but this seven-member band was remarkable on stage. After what seemed like every song, each member would swap instruments with each other - even the singers changed! I remember thinking that they were all incredibly talented for mastering multiple instruments, and I suppose it is for that reason that I hold such high esteem for one-member bands.
Ten Digit Army, local to Las Vegas, Nevada, has released songs that include vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, sampled keyboards, and drums which are all performed by Steve Penhall. Anyone who has had any experience with being in a band, or knows someone in a band, can confirm that creating a song takes time and effort; and Ten Digit Army is no stranger to that.
Penhall says that he generally starts the song process with sampled keyboards, and then follows up with some guitar, usually electric. A tip for all you guitarists out there: Penhall likes to use a Godin LGXT with a synth pickup, triggered on a GR-33 guitar synth for bass and other effects. Next, he drums out the beat, or sometimes uses computer-generated drum machines, and ends with slapping on some vocals. Once it's all over he goes back, mixes and lengthens it, and compresses the final version once he's happy with what he's got.
The process of performing each instrumental piece, timing it just right, and putting it all together has been done with expert precision and patience, as it is clearly shown in his work.
I'd say my favorite song would be A Way Away. It starts off with echos of his voice and electronic samples in background. About fifty seconds into the song, the guitar and drums come in a lay out a really smooth, catchy beat. By the sound of it, it seems that two separate guitar pieces have been recorded which cleverly creates the effect of multiple band mates. About fifteen seconds later, Penhall's misty vocals come back and tie the song together.
I'd definitely recommend checking out Ten Digit Army, not only for the great songs, but to hear how much one person is capable of doing.

For more on Ten Digit Army, see:
www.TenDigitArmy.com
www.myspace.com/TenDigitArmy

Featured Artist: Halston!

2009-04-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Ever experience that moment where you're scanning your iTunes, looking for that one song you've never really listened to, in hopes of finding something new? Well for those of you who are growing tired of the same old stuff, or are looking for something fresh and different, look no further, Halston! will do just the trick.
This two-man group is from Brighton, Massachusetts, and are proof that you don't need a handful of members to make good music.
On the 23rd of February they released their latest single, The Terry Jive. It's got a catchy a beat that picks you up only five seconds after it starts. Dando's unique vocals coupled with Carlos on the piano and drums gives it a boogie-woogie Louisiana blues feel, much like that of Fats Domino. I'm loving every second of it! Not your style? Well not all their songs are like that, the group, whether intentionally or not, was mindful of creating an exclusive sound with each song.
Sign "O" The Times reflects the duo's talent as producers. It's got a bit of an electronic sound to it with live guitar by Carlos.
I'd say their Gurl Grope track is a bit more poppy than the previous two. It starts off with a steady drum beat, followed by guitar and keys not too long after. Carlos brings in the synthesizer towards the second half of the song, which ties it all up really well.
When I first added Halston! on MySpace my impression of them changed with each visit to their profile. What originally felt like young guys with old souls quickly changed to two guys meshing pop and indie with an original twist. Their up-coming track, From Here To Here, however, gives me a whole new idea completely. I see this as a positive thing because first, the listener gets exposed to bits of various genres, and second, the band doesn't feel the need to limit their creativity based off labeling themselves as a specific genre.
From Here To Here will be released on the eleventh of May, and although it's a hard decision to make, I reckon this one's my favorite song. It leans more towards the electronica side of things and is really danceable. Carlos' chords on the piano are perfect, and the sampling was done just right. It almost sounds as if it's a remix off another track, so pats on the back for the duo's great production skills. This one's definitely a track worth looking out for.

For more on Halston! see,
www.myspace.com/HalstonBoston

Just A Game by The Kickdrums

2009-04-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
There are many things that can happen in a spare bedroom of a house in Ohio, but would you ever guess that the recording, mixing, and mastering of a 9-track album would be one of them? Alex "Fitty" Fitts and Matt "Tilla" Pentilla, collectively known as, The Kickdrums, turned down the luxury of recording in a studio, and instead chose to record at home; "we thought it would it would help with the creative process. And we ultimately think it did just that," says Fitty. Their album Just A Game was released on the 17th of March, was their first release as artists. Just A Game fuses live guitar, bass, drums, keys, and vocals with samples produced by both Tilla and Fitty. Here's the track list:

1. Impatient (Slow Down)
2. When I Come Down
3. Just A Game
4. Things Work Out
5. Personal Calamity
6. Out To Get You
7. Slipping Away
8. Mental Traveler
9. The End

The album leans more towards the soft side of things, but it's extremely varied. Each song - whether it be from samples or instruments performed by The Kickdrums - is colored with a wide array of different instrumental sounds that give each song an identity of its own. I really enjoyed listening to the album since I got a little taste of something new with each track. Personal Calamity, for instance, has a huge emphasis on brass, while Slipping Away projects piano and strings.
Personal Calamity, past the first twenty seconds, starts with a beat sounding a bit like the beginning of Hotel California by The Eagles. As previously mentioned, it's a brassy track that holds a reggae undertone. It's a lot different to the previous tracks, keeping the listener on his/her toes.
The next track, Out To Get You, starts off with a calm sampled melody, and about thirty seconds into it Fitty lays vocal tone with "I've got this paranoid feeling, it makes me shiver to the core." Fitty later states that "someone in this town is trying to kill me, they've got their poison and their people around. I'm not sure if they're going to find me, but if they do I'll greet them with a smile." I love the irony in this song, not only is it expressed in the lyrics (being paranoid of death, but yet he'll greet it with a smile), but it's also ironic with its musical accompaniment. As aforementioned the sampled melody, along with the drums and guitar, is smooth and peaceful, while the lyrics lean towards the grimmer side of things.
Track 8, Mental Traveler, starts off tense and a little eerie for about the first minute, then progresses to a catchy beat projected by drums, guitar, and samples. This one's another brassy track, with strings, jazzy drums, and keyboard.
Many of the tracks end with instrumentals, some up to a minute long, which is great. It let's the listener know that music is about more than just lyrics.
I'd definitely recommend this album to anyone looking for something new. It was made by guys who know their stuff and have had a lot of experience with other major artists. Both Fitty and Tilla are producers who have done original tracks with artists such as 50 Cent, John Legend, Chamillionaire, among others, along with official remixes for Kanye West, Adele, and Fall Out Boy. They have also been recognized by Chicago's Hear First on 93XRT, which played their single, "Just A Game." For those of you who are not familiar with Hear First, it is a radio show known for playing up-and-coming acts first in the US.

For more on The Kickdrums, see:
www.myspace.com/thekickdrums
www.kickdrums.blogspot.com

Adventureland

2009-04-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
So last night a friend and I decided out of the blue to see a film. I haven't seen one in ages, so I jumped at the chance. He really wanted to see Adventureland, so that's what we got tickets for. I've gone off watching television lately, just can't find the time, so I hadn't even heard of it. From its name I got the idea that it might be one of those stupid-funny comedies like Knocked Up, so I wasn't too sure if I would like it. I prefer witty humor than stupid humor, but Adventureland wasn't stupid at all. It got a B+ from the critics (according to Yahoo! Movies) and it was well-deserved.
The film is set in Pennsylvania during the 80s. Jesse Eisenburg (The Hunting Party, The Village, Emperor's Club) plays James, a boy who has never worked a day of his life, has just graduated college, and has just found out that, due to a change is positions at work, his dad is not making as much money as before. In order to be able to move to New York and attend Columbia University for graduate school the following year, James is forced to find a job and the only place that hires him is the Adventureland carnival. What starts off as a miserable way to begin the summer quickly turns around. He soon makes friends with the other "carnies" and develops a crush on Em, played by Kristen Stewart (Jumper, Twilight, In The Land Of Women). Ryan Reynolds (Definitely Maybe, Smokin' Aces, Just Friends) plays Mike Connell, the mysterious repairman who has been rumored to have performed with Lou Reed. As time passes James starts to become more and more interested in Em, but little does he know that she and mystery-man Connell have a secret that they're hiding from him.
Some other well-known actors that starred in the film are Bill Hader (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineappe Express, Tropic Thunder) who played Bobby, the guy in charge of Adventureland; Martin Starr (Good Luck Dick, The Incredible Hulk, Knocked Up) who played Joel who worked with James, Em, and Connell; and Kristen Wiig (Ghost Town, Semi-Pro, The Brothers Soloman) who played Paulette, Bobby's wife and co-worker.
There were a number of things that I really liked about this film, one of which was the comedy to drama ratio. I never found the film to be too serious or ridiculously funny. There were times where I'd laugh out loud and other times where I found myself captivated in a scene. There wasn't much to the plot, so it didn't stray from reality which was great. I'm surprised to say that I didn't find any problems with the acting, more specifically, Kristen Stewart's acting. I watched Twilight for the first time two nights ago, and I was so disappointed with the way Stewart played her character. I found that her acting was very stiff, and her voice was very monotone. Seeing her name in the opening credits, my expectations for her immediately dropped, but she did a lot better in this film; my friend didn't even make the connection that she was in Twilight. Finally, the soundtrack was brilliant. It was, of course, all songs from the 80s, but they were subtle. The characters weren't too dressed up, and the songs weren't the major hits of the decade, and I was really pleased with that. Songs by Bowie, The Cure, Lou Reed (of course), INXS, The New York Dolls, The Velvet Underground, and more were featured.
Greg Mottola (Superbad, The Daytrippers, Swingin' In The Painter's Room) both wrote and directed the film.
If you're looking for a comedy that's not too fast-paced then I'd definitely recommend this.

Travel Guide, Vol. 1 by Balance & the Traveling Sounds

2009-03-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
So vocals, drums, guitar, and bass have over time been regarded as the grounds for what makes a “typical” band, right? Couple that with a hip hop producer, an MC, and a saxophone player; the result is a sound unlike much of what we hear today. These guys have pushed themselves beyond the typical, and they go by the name of Balance & The Traveling Sounds.
The release of their first album Travel Guide Vol. 1 was on the 19th of March. This 15-track album mixes jazz, soul, hip hop, a bit of funk, and a bit of rock at an even level that’s easy on the ears. Here's the track list:

1. Intro (SoulHipJaFunk)
2. Blaze Of Glory
3. All A' Board
4. Sounds Travel
5. Fell Down
6. BTS
7. Runnin'
8. Rollin'
9. Itz Yours
10. Communication
11. Shake Down
12. Rain
13. If Only Words Could Explain
14. Music
15. Don't Stop

The first track, Intro (SoulHipJaFunk), keeps a steady beat on the piano and drums as KIRB, the MC, and Alvin, on vocals, get the listener familiar with the band. During the second half of the song Alvin tells us to “hop on board, take a trip with us, listen up to ’soulhipjafunk,’” giving the listener an idea of what exactly he or she is listening to. Ironically at the end of the song we hear, “soul, hip hop, jazz, and funk? You can’t do that. You can’t mix four genres together.” It’s a clever touch reminding the listener that this is in fact an original sound.
Track five, Fell Down, contains traces of the “do it yourself” mindset that was strongly projected by ’70s punk band, The Clash. KIRB mentions during the first half that “the future is only what you choose to bring,” sounding a bit like Joe Strummer’s (The Clash) motto of you make your own future, or “the future is unwritten.” It's possible that I'm just straining my brain to make a connection to my favorite band, haha, but this connection, whether it was intentional or not, still does the job of resounding a deeper meaning within the song.
The following track, BTS, plays a trick on the listener. The first ten seconds sound as though it’s going to be another song, but it soon stops and out comes deep-voiced broadcaster. The rest of the track is modeled like a film advertisement, officially introducing the listener to each member of the band and its mission of “suppress[ing] the musical empire of the mainstream.” It’s just under two minutes long and it gives the listener an insight to the humor that lies within the band. It's hilarious! I reckon it may have had a better affect if it was placed as an earlier track on the album though, but that can be debatable.
Track 12, Rain, includes samples of the popular hit Rain by Jose Feliciano. The song starts with Feliciano’s “and with every drop of rain you know I love you more,” appealing to older listeners as something many of them are familiar with. Alvin echoes Feliciano’s “and with every drop you know I love you more” in the chorus, sandwiched between original Balance phrases. The track ends with just rain drops, unlike the ending in Feliciano’s Rain, which is a brilliant effect. What starts off a pure Feliciano merges with Balance through out the majority of the song, and then ends with pure Balance; it’s a smooth transition that highlights EBO’s talent as a producer.
The final track, Don’t Stop, starts off with about twenty seconds of a misty, almost ’80s, tune. Alvin comes shortly after, bringing us back to the soul we’re so familiar with. His “don’t stop, don’t stop the music, it’s the only thing that gets me by” is a smart move on Balance’s part as it is universally relatable to music fans of any genre. It also serves as a paradox, as it’s spoken during the final track of the album, perhaps as an indirect message to the listener that although he or she has reached the end of the album there’s always the option of playing it once more.

For more on Balance, see:
www.myspace.com/Balance123

Seeing The Adicts, The Dickies, Henchmen, The Masked Villains, and Pogo Brats

2009-03-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
Experiencing The Adicts from backstage was surreal, I still can't believe it all happened! But as I stood there in awe, I noticed that all their eyes were glued onto the audience. Not only did the crowd experience an impeccable show, they had everything, from confetti and streamers to the box that held it all, thrown at them! As I helped chuck the beach balls onto the crowd I couldn't help but feel a little jealous; when it comes to this band, watching from the sidelines versus watching from the crowd really are two completely different experiences. I can prove this because, as I'm sure you can tell from the title of this entry, I had to see them one more time!
The show took place at the Key Club, Los Angeles, on the 20th of March, and the doors opened at seven. I was running a little late so I got there only half an hour prior, but lucky for me, people generally don't line up ahead of time for punk shows. I managed to find myself a spot right next to the stage. I have never been to the Key Club before so it was nice to experience a new venue. It's a bit on the small side, but it has an underground floor which was pretty cool.
As we waited for the bands to come on, I noticed that The Young Ones, a funny old English television show, was being projected onto a screen above the stage. I thought that was a really good touch. Not too long after, the first opening band began to play.
They were called the Pogo Brats. This four-member punk band were completely new to me, and I thought they were alright. Their music is a lot harder compared to The Adicts. They were a bit too hardcore for my taste, but I had spoken with someone from the crowd before the show who said that he had seen them before and liked them.
Up next was The Masked Villians. The front man was the only one in a mask, but it's possible that the other members might have worn some too at other shows. This five-member band came out loosely dresses in Clockwork Orange attire; this was pretty cool as it reminded us all of the "Clockwork Punks" we came to see. I enjoyed these guys a bit more than I did the previous opening band. Bubba Da Villain, the drummer, and the lead guitarist, Dimy Villain, were absolutely amazing! The members of The Masked Villains were all pretty young, but Bubba and Dimy must have either started learning their instruments at very young age or take their practicing very seriously; I was really impressed. Bubba's beats were so fast and energetic. I felt as though the band played a pretty long set, and Bubba kept his energy level up the whole time. Dimy had this really cool looking pink and black striped guitar which looked a bit like Eddie 'Fingers' Ojeda's of Twisted Sister. For such a young guy (I'd say no older than twenty-one) he played some of the most mind-blowing guitar solos I've ever heard in person. His fingers moved so fast on his guitar that it all looked like a blur from where I was standing. The other members were talented as well, but these two clearly stood out.
Then came Henchmen. I was really looking forward to seeing these guys again. Steve Rejon walked onto the stage with his great big bass, Nick Benson got behind the drums, and Eric Razo walked up to the microphone with his beautiful silver Gretsch guitar. They opened up with their instrumental Red Sky to get the crowd rolling. The only other songs they played that I knew the names of were Sleepwalker and Devil Woman Angel Baby. They played a brilliant set. They were very upbeat and it seemed as though the crowd really enjoyed them. Through out their entire performance Benson's bass drum kept sliding away from him. Although the kit was on a carpet, the bass drum wouldn't stay still. The group noticed this, but Benson just told them to just keep playing. He'd adjust it with every song, but he took such good care of sticking with the music that it wasn't even noticeable. Eric took a few breaks to talk to the audience, and I reckon the crowd appreciated it.
Up next were The Dickies. I had never really listened to them before that night, but I was happy with what I heard. Greg 'Plushie' Hanna came out dressed as a Care Bear, with a sparkly green bass. It was great! The rest of the members came out dressed in "normal" attire and started their set. Leonard Phillips entertained the crowd with not only his brilliant vocals, but his props too. At one point he brought out a blow up doll while dresses in scuba mask! He then came out in a gorilla mask, and later brought out a puppet of a dick. Here's their set list:
Rosemary
I'm Ok, You're Ok
See My Way
James
Nights In White Satin
Got It At The Store
Give It Back
Paranoid
Waterslide
Manny, Moe, and Jack
My Pop The Cop
You Drive Me Ape
Dog
If Stewart Could Talk
Free Willy
Gigantor
The crowd went wild during their set. Phillips looked a bit old, but had the heart of a seventeen year old. He was constantly running about and dancing on stage. Once their set was over, the stage was cleared and on came the colorful microphone coats, courtesy of The Adicts Bastard crew.
Then finally, after an incredibly long line of opening bands, came The Adicts! They started off with Ode To Joy like they had the night before, getting the crowd ready. Fiddle Dan danced around the stage, coming close to the audience and getting a good look at who he was performing for. He actually spotted me which I thought was really cool. Then, once the song was over, came Monkey. He ran onto the stage as the band played Joker In The Pack. The crowd went wild as he threw out giant playing cards and danced around on stage. He came to my end and recognized me! His eyes widened and he gave me a beautiful smile; his expression is still echoing in my mind. A few songs later he came to my corner again, stretched out his arm and shook my hand! I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. What I love about the group is that they like to get really close to the audience. The only problem is that for short people like me, it means getting severely squished; at several moments during the show I honestly felt the wind get knocked out of me. I remember grabbing onto the speakers a few times for support, but looking up at the band's faces made me numb to the violent crowd. Here's the rest of their set list:
Let's Go
Tango
Easy Way Out
Troubadour
Johnny Was A Soldier
F*ck It Up
Life Goes On
Angel
Bad Girl
Chinese Takeaway
Go Genie Go
You're All Fools
All The Lucky People
Viva La Revolution
Rockin' Wrecker
Who Split Me Beer?
Party Sing Song
Songs Of Praise
Crazy
How Sad
and encored with:
My Baby Got Run Over By A Steamroller
You'll Never Walk Alone
Bad Boy
Similarly to the previous night, Monkey had a few costume changes - gotta love that sequined sombrero! Again, he came out dressed as Elvis, and this time I actually got to see how he looked like (the night before I wasn't able to get a good look at his face). He did his Elvis stance and sprayed the crowd with silly string. I guess I must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time because it landed all over me haha.
I loved how the band seemed really in touch with their audience. They spoke to us, met our gazes, and acknowledged us - Scruff, on guitar, gave me a little nod when he saw me waving at him. The view from the audience was fantastic! But the audience itself was pretty violent as a whole. I felt my hair constantly being pulled during the show, and once the show was over I walked out with scraped elbows, light bruising on my ribs, and scar developing on my hip. I was soaking wet, as you can well imagine, from being pressed against so many people, many of which were a lot bigger than me. I suppose at this point it all comes down to the question of whether it was worth it, and to be honest, I'd do it all over again without a second thought.

For more on the Pogo Brats, see:
www.PogoBrats.tk
www.myspace.com/PogoBrats

For more on The Masked Villains, see:
www.punkrockers.com/TheMaskedVillains
www.myspace.com/TheMaskedVillains

For more on Henchmen, see:
www.HenchmenRock.com
www.myspace.com/Henchmen

For more on The Dickies, see:
www.TheDickiesArchives.com
www.myspace.com/DickiesBand

For more on The Adicts, see:
www.Adicts.us
www.myspace.com/Adicts

Seeing The Adicts, The Billy Bones, Henchmen, and The Disgusters

2009-03-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
As mentioned in my previous blogs, my favorite band is The Clash. The frontman, Joe Strummer, sadly passed away about six and half years ago, so I was never able to see them on stage. My second favorite band, however, are The Adicts and lucky for me they are still alive and kicking! Three nights ago I got to see them on stage for the first time. I'm still in shock of how amazing it all was.
The plan was for me to do a quick interview with the band beforehand. I've recently started writing for 12:51 Music Magazine, and we thought getting an interview of the longest touring punk band with original lineup would be great for our next issue (I'll have the actual interview up a little later). I got to meet up with Pete Dee at four to discuss when to have the interview. He took me backstage where I got to meet the band, and the lot of them were very nice guys, all clearly passionate about what they do and what they stand for. Unfortunately Mel, the bassist, hurt his back quite recently so Shahen of Fish Circus was there instead. I'm sure I am a lot younger than many of the writers that have interviewed the band before, but they were so friendly and so down to earth that it didn't seem to matter. Pete Dee mentioned something about how the band has learned to "leave [their] egos at the door" and it was very clear from the moment I met them that his statement is true.
The show took place at the House of Blues in Anaheim, and the doors opened at seven. From then until a little before they were ready to go on, the band walked about the crowd. It was crazy seeing how many people showed up, yet only a few fans could recognize the members without the white trousers and make up. I suppose from the band's perspective it's better than being bombarded by tons of eager fans, haha.
The show started about an hour after the doors opened, with a band called The Disgusters. Musically, they were pretty decent. I have never heard of them before, but they sounded good to me. My only complaint would be for them to work on their stage presence. The frontman, Kip Turd, started off standing on two stools. As the show progressed, he'd change his position to lying down on them, sometimes on his back and other times on his stomach. It wasn't terrible that he did this, the way he did it just seemed a little sloppy. It wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't swearing at the crowd so much. Towards the end of their set he got a little nasty with the way he was talking to his audience.
Next up was a psychobilly band called the Henchmen. They opened up with an instrumental beginning which really got the crowd pumped! Again, I had never heard of them, but I thought they were great. They moved about the stage and weren't stiff at all. Their songs were up beat and diverse enough that they didn't sound the same. A complaint I've heard from some is that psychobilly songs sound too alike, but I didn't find that to be a problem with the Henchmen. The stand up bassist and guitarist were brilliant, but their drummer was out of this world. His beats was really fast-paced, and his energy level stayed up through out the set.
The final opening band was called The Billy Bones. As you can probably guess, I hadn't heard of these guys either, but they were really good. They were a danceable punk band. Unfortunately I missed the majority of their set, but based on what I did hear I wouldn't miss the chance of seeing them again.
Finally came The Adicts! The lights dimmed, the Clockwork Orange theme music came on, and the tension from the crowd finally broke. All five members came out and grabbed their instruments, while Monkey stood behind channeling his energy. They started off with Ode To Joy. They emitted their mojo into the crowd from the moment they played their first note - I'm getting jittery just thinking about it! Fiddle Dan danced around the stage with his fiddle; Pete Dee was playing his beautiful new Schecter; Kid Dee was showing those drums who's boss - he went through several sticks that night! Scruff moved about with his gorgeous light blue guitar, and Shahen hit up those bass lines like he'd been doing them his whole life; I've no doubt that Mel would have been proud. Then, once Ode To Joy was over, the band went straight into Joker In The Pack. The crowd finally got to see Monkey as he ran onto the stage, dressed like a joker, and throwing giant and normal-sized cards into the crowd. Everyone went wild! Here's the rest of the set list:
Tango
Easy Way Out
Troubadour
Johnny Was A Soldier
F*ck It Up
Life Goes On
Angel
Bad Girl
Chinese Takeaway
Go Genie Go
You're All Fools
All The Lucky People
Viva La Revolution
Rockin Wrecker
Who Split My Beer?
Party Sing Song
Songs Of Praise
Crazy
How Sad
and encored with:
My Baby Got Run Over By A Steamroller
You'll Never Walk Alone
Bad Boy
Monkey went backstage twice to change costumes, coming out with a sequined jacket the first time and a sequined sombrero for Viva La Revolution. The band was really good about keeping the audience going while Monkey left the stage. At one point Monkey had his back to the audience as he was putting on a wig and sunglasses; the band meanwhile started playing Elvis' famous Falling In Love With You. Once Monkey had his gear on, he turned around and did an Elvis impression as he sprayed the crowd with silly string. If the elaborate costumes weren't enough to please the crowd, confetti and streamers were constantly being thrown about. During Tango Monkey opened this big white umbrella which released tons of glitter and confetti onto the audience. I once met someone who told me that an Adicts show isn't a concert; it's a performance unlike any other, and I couldn't agree more. During the encore, for Bad Boy, we were told to throw giant beach balls into the crowd, the effect was great. At this point the confetti and streamers were all used up, and the beach balls were perfect to end the show.
Once it was all over, and the band had put on their regular clothes, they asked me what I thought of their performance and I didn't know what to say. I was in awe of not only an unforgettable performance, but an the unbelievable opportunity of actually being able to sit and talk with the band. As mentioned before, they are amazing guys with tons of tricks up their sleeves. They've been doing this for over thirty years and are professionals of the highest degree. Keep your eyes out, because they're on tour and it would be a real shame to miss a chance to see them.

For more on The Disgusters, see:
http://www.thedisgusters.com
http://www.myspace.com/disgusters

For more on Henchmen, see:
www.henchmenrock.com
www.myspace.com/henchmen

For more on The Billy Bones, see:
www.myspace.com/thebillybones

For more on The Adicts, see:
www.adicts.us
www.myspace.com/adicts

I'm Confused by Handsome Furs

2009-03-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
What's cooler than a good two-man band? Possibly one with a husband and wife duo...also known as "Handsome Furs," haha. This Canadian duo released their new album "Face Control" on the 10th of March. Here's the track list:

Legal Tender
Evangeline
Talking Hotel Arbat Blues
(Passport Kontrol)
All We Want, Baby, Is Everything
I'm Confused
(White City)
Nyet Spasiba
Officer of Hearts
(It's Not Me, It's You)
Thy Will Be Done
Radio Kaliningrad

Today I'm going to be focusing on track six, "I'm Confused."Alexei Perry starts it off with fifteen seconds of pure synthesizer…The Killers aren’t the only indie/alternative rock band to make it work for them. The cowbell soon kicks in, and not too long after that comes the guitar.
What starts off as rather misty quickly picks up a danceable beat. The first vocalized word we hear is “woah!” which, among the rhythmic clapping, helps develop the tone of the song. Dan Boeckner (of Wolf Parade) on vocals, comes in about forty seconds into it, sounding a little like Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. This song is catchy, up-beat, and a good example of the teamwork performed by this husband and wife duo.

For more on Handsome Furs, see:
www.myspace.com/HandsomeFurs

Converging In The Quiet by Crystal Stilts

2009-03-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
What do you get when you put four guys and a member of the Vivian Girls together? A combination of alternative rock and post-punk sound who call themselves the Crystal Stilts. This New York based band released a self-titled EP in May of last year. Here's the track list:

1. Crippled Croon
2. The SinKing
3. Converging In The Quiet
4. Bright Night Nursery
5. Shattered Shine
6. Lights

Track three, Converging In The Quiet, of this six track EP is a mixture of styles similar to those of Jesus & Mary Chain and Animal Collective. The song gets right to the point, starting off with a catchy bass line and faint taps on the bass drum, which are accompanied by guitar (played by J.B. Townsend) and more percussion only ten seconds later. Singer Brad Hargett comes in not too long after, sounding a bit like Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen. The song carries a relatively steady pace, breaking off in the middle for an instrumental, lasting roughly forty-five seconds. I think it was smart of them to include the instrumental, since the oh-too steady vocals would get a little boring after a bit. As the song draws to an end, Townsend brings his strumming to a halt, leaving us where we started: with a bass line and a tapping on the bass drum. All in all, it's a pretty relaxing song I'd recommend to anyone looking to tae a break from the world.

For more on Crystal Stilts, see:
www.myspace.com/crystalstilts

Seeing Red Cortez and Razorlight

2009-03-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
Long time no talk! I hate to admit this, but school has definitely gotten the best of me. Midterms are coming up and the workload is spilling out of my ears, but I promise I'll never neglect you for this long again! A little over a month ago, the 3rd of February to be exact, I finally managed to see Razorlight! I've been a fan of this English indie group for about four years now, so I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was when I got my ticket!
The show was held on a Tuesday at the Troubadour, a relatively small venue. I've been to the Troub on week nights before, and on those incidences I never experienced it to be completely packed, which is cool; I prefer it to be that way.
The opening band set up their gear around 9 and off they went. They called themselves the Red Cortez. I had never heard of them before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Without any introduction they flew right into their first song. Now, you know me, my pet peeve is a band who fails to introduce themselves/lacks communication with their audience, but there was something different about this band. They had this intense soul/indie feel to them that had me mesmerized - I almost didn't want to know who they were or what they had to say, I just wanted them to keep on playing. Here's their set list:
In The Fall
World At Rest
Neal Cassady
When I Was A Soldier
Laughing Street Car
Gospel Song
End Of An Error
Soledad
Let Me Into You Country
All Ye People
Old Man Jude
Fell On The Floor
By their third song they took a break to tells us who they were. Each member played with such heart-felt passion; it was beautiful to watch. Something I found really interesting was that the drummer would occasionally put a drumstick down and play with a maraca. It made such a great effect onto the songs; he also piled two cymbals on top of each other for certain songs too, I loved it. They are now touring with Morrissey; this band doesn't mess about! I got to meet some of the members after the show, and they were really decent guys, very into their music. I can't think of a better band to warm up a crowd for Razorlight.
The Troubadour, as previously mentioned, is a pretty small venue. It's got a tiny second story with seats, and a little balcony just above the entrance to the main room. Of the five or six times I've been there I have never seen it so full. At first the crowd was decently sized. I could comfortably move about the area I was standing in, but I couldn't walk in a straight line without bumping into at least one person. Then, once it was time for Razorlight, the place suddenly became packed. It was as if a full bus decided to unload right there and then. By the time Razorlight had started, people on the balcony and second story were practically piled on top of each other. It was crazy! All on a Tuesday night too! Personally, I was pretty tired, as I always am on weekdays, but I woke up once Red Cortez started, and was wide awake for Razorlight.
Here's their setlist:
Back To The Start
Burberry Blue Eyes
In The Morning
Don't Go Back To Dalston
Tabloid Lover
Who Needs Love?
Golden Touch
Before I Fall To Pieces
America
Hostage Of Love
60 Thompson
In The City
North London Trash
Stinger
Wire To Wire
Blood For Wild Blood
Rip It Up
Encore:
Stumble and Fall: it started off with just frontman Johnny Borrell on an acoustic guitar; he was later accompanied with the rest of the band towards the end of the song.
VICE
Somewhere Else
They performed a perfect combination of all three of their albums. Every time Borrell out stretched a hand or got close to the end of the stage it felt like a magnet was pulling us all towards him. Instantly we'd all lean in, our eyes widening to take it all the glory. He was a brilliant performer. Had us clapping along for at least two songs, and even had us singing along to Golden Touch - and let me be the first to tell you that we weren't mumbling, everyone was singing their hearts out. Each word we shouted was distinct and on time. This was definitely like one of those shows they have in the movies, haha. The band played everyone song as if it were their last - finishing each with 30 seconds to a minute of instrumentals and Borrell holding his final notes. This performance was well worth the four year wait. I also got to meet Borrell for a little bit after the show and, contrary to the rumors, he was a really nice guy.
I strongly suggest that you check out both bands. I promise you won't be disappointed.

For more on Red Cortez, see:
www.redcortez.com
www.myspace.com/redcortezband

For more on Razorlight, see:
www.razorlight.co.uk
www.wearerazorlight.com
www.myspace.com/razorlight

Red Cortez:

Razorlight:

Bridges and Tunnels EP by The Static Jacks

2009-02-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
I was having a conversation with a friend the other day on how more bands should release EPs. Albums are great, don't get me wrong, but EPs are short enough that you get a good taste of what the band is about, while at the same time they're a step up from singles. The EP I had in mind while I was having this conversation was Bridges and Tunnels by The Static Jacks. They are a young, New Jersey-/New York-based band who have already shared the stage with Lido Beach, Smoosh, So So Glos, and Tokyo Police Club.
The Bridges and Tunnels EP was released on the 7th of October. Here's the track list:

1. Resistance/Self-Control
2. Fire On The Bridge And In The Tunnel Below
3. Stay A Lover
4. Wine Cellar

What runs through this EP that makes it different to most is a theme. The band puts it best: "The EP as a whole is about wanting to escape where you are and what you've been doing. Its about getting away from kids around town, ended relationships that need to be distanced, and dissatisfaction about being trapped in a place, doing things you don't want to be doing. A lot of it is just being young and finding yourself in relationships that have gone sour, and seeing how people deal with that in f*cked up ways that don't seem to make sense." Although it's done often, songs that are universally relatable are always appreciated. Part of what makes a song appealing is our ability to find personal truth in it, regardless of its genre. This EP is a perfect example of that.
The album cleverly starts off with Resistance/Self-Control. Within the first ten seconds we are lured in with the plucking of a guitar, played by Henry Kaye; the tune is a little eerie, but open to go in a number of directions, which keeps the listener eager for what's next. Then, the guitar picks up a solid, stronger beat, laying out the foundation for the drums and bass, which are played by Nick Brennan and Spencer Kimmins. It carries on for about 25 seconds, warming us up. Then Ian Devany comes in with the vocals. Much like Sam Endicott of The Bravery and Julian Casabalncas of The Strokes, Devany has a voice that is strong enough for general appeal, but soft enough that it's not over-powering. The ending is a little sudden, but puts us back where it started, with the plucking of the guitar.
Fire On The Bridge And In The Tunnel Below gets right to the point, starting off with a faster beat than Resistance/Self-Control. This pace keeps steady at the versus, until the choruses, where it speeds up as Brennan shows those hi-hats and cymbals who's boss.
The third track, Stay A Lover, has more of a bouncy beat as opposed to the rest of the tracks. The band says it's probably because it was written in "bright and sunny Florida." It's brilliant how much surroundings can have an effect on songs as a whole.
The EP ends with Wine Cellar. The song opens up with Kaye, except it's a stronger beat than what we heard in Resistance/Self-Control. Then once the drums come in, about ten seconds later, Kaye starts picking up a slightly different beat. At first it made me think of a slower version of Peculiar Music by The Adicts; whether or not that was intentional, it was a nice touch. This song is a bit more instrumental than the others which is great. I love instrumentals; it gives the listener a chance to really appreciate what the rest of the band can do.
For more on The Static Jacks, see:
www.thestatickjacks.com
www.myspace.com/thestaticjacks

For a copy of the EP, see:
www.thestaticjacks.bigcartel.com
or iTunes

An Interview with The Takeover UK

2009-02-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
So back in November I was finally able to see The Takeover UK while they were touring with The Von Bondies, The Shys and Army Navy. And as of late, I've managed to score an exclusive interview. It was filled out by Mark Solomich (vocals/guitar). Check it out:

1. It's mentioned in one of your MySpace blogs that you have been The
Takeover UK for about three years; what made you guys decide to become a
band in the first place?

Actually, it's coming up on 5 years this June, but who's counting? All of us have grown up playing in bands. I started my first band in the 6th grade. In fact, I wasn't in a band for a couple years and I felt strange, like something was missing. Being in a band has been our normality since we were kids. We started this band because we all had a similar vision as to what we wanted to do. We wanted to focus solely on the songwriting, make that the most important aspect of the band. And really if songwriting isn't the vital component, then I'm afraid your band's not going to be any good. As soon as we started playing, everything fell into place and we've kept going ever since.

2. Which bands/artists influenced you the most?

Wow, the hardest question to answer. Everyone's taste is so eclectic and different, it's hard to nail this one down. The Beatles and The Clash are the 2 core bands that we've all loved from a young age. As we've grown as band though, so have our influences. All your basic food groups are covered, as far as the classic rock/pop groups go but then you've also got your gourmet, specialty types like Lee Perry, Wilson Pickett, Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto. It's all in there and everything's an influence, even songs you don't necessarily like but are familiar with ala Top 40 radio, from reggaeton to pop/country.

3. Where do you look for inspiration for your songs?

You don't look for inspiration. Either it comes unannounced or it doesn't come at all. It can't be forced and you can't sit down and try to make yourself inspired. The answer is as infinite as the world is. For example, I was watching new film classic"Hotel for Dogs" with my girlfriends 3 year old daughter and some of the soundtrack music gave me an idea and you just run with it from there. Normally, we write the music and the vocal melody and then fit the lyrics to that. So the lyrics might not come until 6 months after we originally wrote the music.

4. How was it like touring with The Von Bondies, The Shys, and Army Navy?

It was a blast. We really lucked out touring with not only amazing bands, but also amazing people. That's the best part of touring, the camaraderie and friendships that develop. It makes the clunker shows much easier to take. Great bands, I'd highly recommend to give all of them a listen and see them live.

5. Some young bands feel that all they need is one good tour to "make it."
Is that really all it takes?

Well, I'd like to say no, that's absurd. But there have been instances when you don't need to tour at all to make it. But the Panic at the Disco's of the world are certainly the exception to the rule. Most bands - read 98%- have to tour their asses off and little by little build a fan base. But with the internet and media changing so rapidly, making everything available at the click of a button, bands can become enormous literally overnight, well maybe, over a fortnight. Usually though, these become flavor of the weak, pop radio acts that are forgotten soon after they're discovered. Endless touring not only builds dedicated fanbases that'll stick with you long after your freshness has worn off, it also makes you a better band. No question.

6. It is also mentioned on one of your MySpace blogs that you have a new
album coming out in March. Does that mean you've got another US tour
planned?

O yeah! March 24th ladies and gentlemen, "Running with the Wasters" comes out. 13 songs. It's our first album. It's been a long time in the works and it's finally ready to shake everybody's hand. And yes, we'll be touring the US probably the majority of 2009. So check www.myspace.com/thetakeoveruk for our tour dates. We're probably gonna place most cities at least twice. We start in 3 weeks.

7. Are there any particular bands you hope to tour with in the future?

Sure, there's loads of bands we'd love to tour with. We have a long list we gave to our booking agent of these bands. Off the top of my head...The Virgins, Delta Spirit, My Morning Jacket, Sleepy Jackson, Hard-Fi, The Cribs and many, many more.

8. Your song "Running With The Wasters" must have triggered a lot of hype
since it is also the name of your up-coming album. What inspired you to
write that song? Did you anticipate that it would be so popular?

It does seem to be a fan favorite. But really it's our album title because it sums up what this albums about. We took the advice and wrote what we knew and the album is a document of that. The song itself, it pretty much wrote itself and those usually turn out to be the best ones. I can't say where the inspiration came from, because I really don't know. I wish I did, and anytime I wanted to write a great song, I'd just go to my surefire inspiration and fire out a few more. It's something I can't pin down but I like it like that. I did have a feeling that people would like it based on a secret ingredient in the song, which I can't giveaway. You have a feeling that people will like all of your songs because you like them, and you think your taste in music is pretty good. Ultimately, all you can do is put out there and see if the fish like it.

9. For a band from Pittsburgh you've certainly got a deceiving name. How
did you come up with it?

Long story short, we were going to call ourselves "The Takeover", from the opening track of Jay-Z's "The Blueprint" album. We liked the vibe of it, but unfortunately someone else had the copyright to the name, so we stuck on the UK as a not very funny joke. But in the end it's got more character than just the plain old "The Takeover" and besides UK had a better ring to it than USA or PA.

10. What do you guys like doing when you're not making music?

Josh our drummer is into mixed martial arts, fighting--controlled violence I guess. Oh, and gladiator movies. I watch a lot of movies and read a lot, and I write screenplays. Nic's into movies and books too and buying albums. I guess the real answer would be our girlfriends. We're all tied down and the ladies pretty much occupy our down time, because we're not home that much these days.

11. Is this what you always thought you'd be doing?

Personally, yes. I wanted to be a pro baseball player until I was 12, and then I got a guitar and it's been a musician/songwriter ever since. I never had a legitimate, everyday dream of being a CPA or an actuary, if that's what you're asking. And neither have the others.

Once you get the bug, it kind of takes hold of you and doesn't let go and I think that's true for all of us.

12. Is there any advice you'd like to give to all those young artists out
there?

Make music that you like, that you believe in. Don't cater to an audience or a popular trend. And if you want to make music for a living, know that it's easy for it to become a grind and for you to lose your love for it. Oh yeah, and get out there and play for as many people as you can. Hustle.

For more Takeover UK, see:
www.myspace.com/thetakeoveruk

Seeing Franz Ferdinand

2009-02-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
There's nothing I like better than a free show, and on January 30th I finally got to experience one! Well, let me tell you, it's definitely not as glamorous as it sounds. In fact it is, as I'm sure you can imagine, quite packed. The show was held at Amoeba Music in Hollywood. It was to be at seven, so I got there around four, and already the line had gotten ridiculously long (and that's not including the people they had already let in before I arrived).
Anyway, let me fast-forward past all the queues, CD stacks, crazed fans, etc. and give you the good stuff! At about four minutes after seven, Franz Ferdinand finally made their way onto the stage. I'm not a huge Franz fan, so I wasn't too familiar with all of their songs, but here's some of what they played: The Dark Of The Matinee, Shopping For Blood, Ulysses (off their latest album Tonight), Turn It On, Do You Want To?, and ended with What She Came For. They were on for about forty-five minutes, and it was a really good set. I enjoyed it a lot.
I was on the second floor, and I was not complaining. I'm not very tall, so apart from a few things hanging from the ceiling, I had a pretty good view. Originally I was on the first floor, and my view was a little obstructed by all the people of "normal" height (don't even get me started on the CD racks!) There were so many people there, the floor was absolutely covered. What's more, almost everyone was making some sort of movement while Franz was up there, which I thought was good. Apart from having an anti-social band on stage, nothing annoys me more than a stiff audience while a band is up there singing and playing their hearts out.
The audience was pretty diverse too. Since Franz has managed to push themselves to being a band that suits general taste, they attracted a crowd of all sorts of people.
Some tips on free shows:
1. GET THERE EARLY. If you're:
a. aware that you're short,
b. aware that this a very popular band, and/or
c. aware that the show has been openly advertised
make sure you plan your timing so that you're able to get what you came for. Other than that, I'd say bring an iPod, book, or someone entertaining, because chances are high that you're going to get bored while you're waiting. And lastly, bring something to eat. My friends and I were starving by the time it was over, haha.

For more on Franz Ferdinand, see:
www.franzferdinand.co.uk
www.myspace.com/franzferdinand

Bang! EP by Kyoshi

2009-02-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
When it comes to bands, a few things that really impress me are a clever name and an original sound. Popular 70s band, The Clash, for instance, called themselves that based on how their views clashed with the then current views of the general public. Those of you who listen to them know that although they're considered a "punk" band, they incorporated ska, reggae, hip-hop, etc. into their songs, achieving a more-or-less universal enjoyment level. When I think about bands doing that today, one that quickly comes to mind is British-bound Kyoshi.
The word "kyoshi" comes from a Zen word meaning "we are one;" very appropriate given the current state of things, right? The band is comprised of four members, Ben (drums), Dan (guitar), Chris (bass), and Leanne (vocals). According to Dan, "We have a genuinely exciting and vibrant singer that half raps, half sings, proper solid and tight beats that you can dance to and really great sing a long choruses. Bass plays an important role in our songs like it does in all the great bands from the Beatles to the Chili's" and he couldn't have said it any better. On the fifth of January Kyoshi released their Bang! EP which cleverly covers all sorts of bases, again achieving a universal enjomeny level.

The EP's track list includes:
1. Bang!
2. Your Own Beat
3. Up Late

Dan starts off Bang! with a solid mediam-paced beat, before Ben comes in with the drums. A second or two later Leanne comes in and gets right to the point with "when we first met, we met with a bang! My stomach flipped because I knew you were the man." The song keeps a pretty steady pace, fast enough to keep you listening, but slow enough that you're able to keep up with it. Unlike some British singers, Leanne's accent is heard loud and clear; it's brilliant.
Your Own Beat is probably my favorite. Leanne opens up, while the guys put together a ska-like beat. Then right before the chorus, Leanne comes in with her rhymes, rapping left, right, and center. Much like Blondie's Rapture, it's unexpected and keeps you on your toes.
Up Late's got a slightly darker feel to it. It starts off slow, but then picks up the beat at the chorus. About a minute and a half into the song, everything slows down considerably, and all we're left with is soft drums and vocals. Then, about ten seconds later, the beat kicks back up, leaving the listener satisfied by the end of the song.
Within all three songs there's the bob-your-head type beat made with the guitar; a little like the ones heard in Ghost Town and Do Nothing by The Specials. It's not too fast, but it certainly gets you moving!
Bang! is avaiable in iTunes.
For more on Kyoshi, see:
www.kyoshiworld.com
www.myspace.com/kyoshimusic

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-02-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
So last week I saw Slumdog Millionaire, and, honestly, believe all the hype you're hearing about it, it most certainly is not over-rated. I loved it! This isn't like the Dark Knight, where those who saw it right when it came out fell in love with it, but those who saw it three weeks later were disappointed by their high expectations. In six days from now it'll be two months that the film's been in theatres, and for good reason. It got a B+ from the critics, and out of 9,648 ratings the average Yahoo users gave it was an A-. I wouldn't agree with either one, I'd give it a solid A.
The story, as can be seen by the trailer, is of a young man, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel: British television series Skins), who managed to land himself a spot on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? At the start of the film we see that he is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. Labeled a "slumdog" due to his poor background, he's got people raising eye brows on how he's managed to get so far. The four options the film considers is:
A. He cheated,
B. He's lucky,
C. He's a genius, and
D. It is destiny
The trailer leaves us with option D being the answer, and it is definitely a destiny he had to work hard for. The events leading up to this destiny of his are in one sense so horrifying that all you can do is lift a hand to your face while your jaw slowly drops. Other events are so comical that, despite all else, you just can't help but laugh. But one thing that really made me love this film is that I found that none of these events were far-fetched or forced. Although a lot of what happened did seem unbelievable, if you look at where they took place and why things happened the way they did, you'd realize that they aren't so uncommon.
Jamal and his older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal: Say Salaam India) are orphaned at a very young age in the slums of Mumbai, India. By chance they meet Latika (Freida Pinto) who becomes their "third musketeer." The three of them are placed into difficult situation after difficult situation until, due to the hand of Salim, they are separated. This hurt Jamal at a high degree, and after running into Latika a few years later, he makes it his mission to find her. He "went on the show because [he] thought she'd be watching." The trailer puts it best: "Every moment of his life is a clue to the answers; every questions brings him closer to his one true love."
The ending was beautiful. The final action we see Jamal make towards Latika genuinely sums up just how much she means to him. Ladies have your hankies out, this film may get you a little teary. The film also ends with Jamal answering the final question, which either wins him 20 million rupees or leaves him with absolutely nothing. The anticipation you see on screen, as fans of the show are waiting to see what will happen, is the same anticipation the audience feels. It isn't until the very end that we find out if he chooses the right answer.
Apart from a fantastic storyline, the casting was genius. Of course most small children with similar hair, eye, and skin color (along with height and weight) look alike, as they grew older it was so clear to see who was who. The actors that played Jamal, Salim, and Latika couldn't be more perfect. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar played the younger Jamal, Tanay Chheda (Taare Zameen Par, Don) played middle Jamal, and Dev Patel, as mentioned earlier, played older Jamal. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail played younger Salim, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala played middle Salim, and Madhur Mittal played older Salim. Rubina Ali played younger Latika, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar played middle Latika, and Freida Pinto played older Latika. Each actor and actress played their parts equally as well as the others, giving the audience a smooth and believable flow of time.
This was directed by Danny Boyle (Sunshine, 28 Days Later, Trainspotting) and co-directed by Loveleen Tandan (Vanity Fair, Monsoon Wedding). It was obviously put into the right hands, haha.
A friend of mine mentioned that this film was close to going straight to DVD. I guess it's massive success can serve as a great slap in the face for all those who didn't think it would sell or didn't want it played on the big screen.

Featured Artist: Patrick Doval

2009-01-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
Any 80s fanatics out there? I will shamelessly admit that I am one of them, from disco to glam metal, I'm all over it! One thing that really bothers me though is that it's very hard to find current bands that somewhat sound like those 80s artists we love. Well lucky for us, there's Patrick Doval to make it all better.
Doval is a soloist who produces and mixes his original songs. He's got this 80s feel to him, and his soft voice and synthesized sound makes him the New Order/Joy Division of today. His latest album is called "Fractured" and it came out on the 23rd of November. His songs like Endless Heartbreak and Shattered Dreams give him a dance-able aspect, while Don't Let Me Go and Girl give him a slightly serious aspect. But what he's able to do in both is keep oldies touch.
Doval released his official Don't Let Me Go video on the first of Januray, check it out:

For more of Patrick Doval, check out his MySpace: www.myspace.com/patrickdoval

Defiance

2009-01-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
I'm not sure what you've heard about Tom Cruise's (Tropic Thunder, Mission: Impossible I - III, War of the Worlds) latest film Valkyrie, but what I got was that it wasn't worth seeing on the big screen. Apparently Cruise's accent was poor, and the film wasn't much of an enjoyable one. Personally, I liked learning about World War II, so I was pretty bummed that I didn't get a chance to see it. It got a B- from the critics, which, funny enough is the same rating that was given to Defiance, and I disagree with that. Out of 1,607 reviews, the Yahoo users' average rating was an A-, and that seems more accurate to me.
The film came out on the 31st of December. It is about four Jewish brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig: Quantum of Solace, The Golden Compass, Casino Royale), Zus (Liev Schreiber: The Omen, The Painted Vail, The Manchurian Candidate), Asael (Jamie Bell: Jumper, Mister Foe, Flags of Our Fathers), and Aron Bielski (George MacKay: Peter Pan) who live in Poland during the Nazi regime. With their parents recently murdered by Nazis, their only chance of survival is seeking refuge in a forest. Apparently this idea was a popular one, since they ran into groups of escaping Jews while they were there. Eventually they built a community for themselves, and the numbers of people the Bielski brothers were harboring grew to be right around 1,200!
My favorite things about this film is that, first, I love how the main role was more-or-less evenly divided between Craig and Schreiber. In the film, they both have their own people and they are both leaders in one form or another. It's so nice to see the concentration on more than just the most famous actor. I think maybe the only problem is not putting Schreiber on the film's poster. Another thing I liked was that it, in a sense, humanized Nazis (such as the scene when we briefly get a look at a Nazi police captain having dinner with his family) and shows us another side of the Jews (such as in the various scenes that the Bielskis decided to kill certain Nazis purely based on revenge). I'm definitely not saying that I'm pro-Nazi or anti-Semitic, but what I mean is that this isn't another one of those films that's extremely biased. Of course the Jews were right in fighting to survive, and of course the Nazis were crazy beyond belief, but at least here we get to see that neither one is anything more than human.
One scene that stood out the most was the wedding scene between Asael Bielski and Chaya Dziencielsky (Mia Wasikowska: I Love Sarah Jane, Rogue, September). As they prepare to their vows, the scene travels back and forth between the couple and a shoot out. The music is joyous, as you see everyone in the forest dancing and laughing, while a little farther away people are trying to kill each other. It's a brilliant display of the birth of one thing and the death of another.
The acting was great, and the voice coaches clearly did an amazing job. Everything from accents to tears seemed real. I really liked how Schreiber played his character; his performance was probably my favorite. At first I thought it was a big mistake to have him play a Bielski since he doesn't resemble Craig, Bell, or MacKay (they, on the other hand, look somewhat alike) but his acting was so good that I felt like a fool to even question it.
It was directed by Edward Zwick, who also directed Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, and The Siege.

The Bed and Breakfast Star by Jacquline Wilson

2009-01-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Do you remember having that one book you loved to read when you were little? That no matter how often you read it, it just wouldn't get old? Well the other day I was going through some old books I used to read when I was younger, and I suddenly remembered The Bed and Breakfast Star. I had lent it to someone a couple years ago who refused to give it back to me despite me throwing a fit, so I ordered a copy off Amazon and I just finished reading it. All I've got to say is I must have been a pretty cool kid, haha.
The story is about Elsa, a young girl who loves telling jokes and hopes to be a famous comedienne someday. She lives with her mother, half-sister Pippa, half-brother Hank, and step-dad Mack (or "Mack the Smack" as she likes to call him). Due to Mack's good jobs and bad jobs, the family is forced to move about a lot, until finally landing themselves at a bed and breakfast. The Royal Hotel, or O Yal Htl according to the sign outside, was nothing close to "royal" to say the least. It starts off as a disaster. They arrive with aching arms from carrying bags and baby Hank and are forced to wait for longer than their patience will let them, only to find that lady at the front desk is in another room locking lips with the manager. Eventually they are given their key, and realize that their wait was only the least of their worries: their room is cramped, the breakfasts are dull, and they're stuck with a broken elevator and a room on the sixth floor.
On the first day at the O Yal Htl Elsa runs into Naomi, a girl her age who likes to sit on the sinks in the bathroom and read. After sharing a few laughs with Naomi, Elsa then realizes that she hasn't quite hit rock bottom. She soon tries to make the best of her situation by also making friends with the cleaning lady "Mrs. Hoover" and "Funny Face," another kid her age.
School eventually becomes another problem Elsa has to deal with. Manning up, and doing what needs to be done, life goes back to being "okay." Her parents also see to get things done by taking constant trips to the Social in order to be relocated to a better hotel. Afer a few trips too many, the manager threatened to kick them out. Right when things reach the breaking point, a fire in the hotel becomes a blessing in disguise.
This book's a short one, only taking a day or two to finish. It's a light read that really is much like Watermelon by Marian Keyes, minus language, sex, and an adult point of view. It's wittiness is brilliant! The enjoyment you get from reading this really makes you forget that it's written from the perspective of a child. This is definitely one for all ages.

An Interview with Christopher Robertson of The Whale & The Wave

2009-01-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
I just recently started writing for 12:51 Music Magazine, and my first task was to interview one-man indie/pop band The Whale & The Wave. Here it is:

When people think of a “band,” they typically assume that it has multiple members. What would you say are the good and bad aspects of being in a one-man band?

Well to start with the bad it’s much much more difficult financially. Recording, touring, promotion, ect.. all costs money and with only one person you can imagine how that adds up. Also, being alone believe it or not is a little more nerve racking without a full band at your back and side. Other than that I think its much better. Your free to write what you like to write, make all of your own decisions and you don’t have anyone to fight with. Plus if you want a band to play with you can easily add musicians for a show and then play on your own the next.

What made you decide to become a one-man band?

After my last band broke up I vowed to try it solo. Since I had written most of the music in my last few bands I figured it would be much easier to do it on my own and best of all I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone quitting!

How long does it usually take to record a full song?

Generally a few hours but then I end up either changing or taking out something over the next few days following.

How old were you when you first learned how to play an instrument? What instrument was it, and what sparked this interest?

My first instrument was an electric guitar, surprise surprise, and I was around 13 although I didn’t end up really starting to play til I was maybe 14 or 15. I remember having a study hall in school and oddly enough it was in one of the music rooms. A bunch of the kids in there were from a guitar class where they all played acoustic guitars and I hadn’t really played an acoustic much before that. So I guess just seeing them playing made me want to play and I kinda just messed around with it and ended up with my first acoustic the next year.

How many instruments do you know how to play?

Well my main instrument is the guitar but I can get by on the keyboard/piano, bass and drums.

Where do you turn to find inspiration for your songs?

Like most people life experiences and other music but a big inspiration to me strangely is movies. They just have so much emotion and I guess I just get so into them that by the end I feel inspired to write.

Which bands/artists have influenced you the most? And why?

The band that really got me started actually wanting to play and write my own music was Incubus. I guess I just related to it lyrically and musically.

That’s an interesting name you’ve got. How did you come up with it?

Well…to be honest I heard a song maybe 5 years back on the radio in my car somewhere and you know how people hear a phrase or a word and they say, hey, that would make a cool band name! Well that was in the song and I really don’t remember what the song was or who it was by but I remembered that lyric to this day. I actually used the name for my last E.P. title since I was still using my actual name but when I decided to change to a “band” name I liked it so much I used it.

Did you grow up in a musically-oriented family?

Actually no not really. My parents were both really into music so I heard music all the time but never being played by them.

What do you like to do when you’re not making music?

Play golf, bowl, play frisbee. hah I guess I like all the geeky sports.

How did you manage to join Snap Neck Records? (Or, was it difficult to join Snap Neck Records?)

Actually pretty easily. Its much more of a family as they would say than a record label. They would help mostly with promotion or just helping you find what you needed in the music world. I haven’t done much with them lately but they’re great to work with.

What would you say is the hardest thing a musician has to face?

Rejection. If you can’t take it then you picked the wrong art to follow. Its never fun to play in front of just your girlfriend or have people tell you how bad you suck. I suppose if its what you really love to do then none of that really matters you just keep on keepin’ on.

Is there any advice you’d like to give to any new bands who are trying to make a name for themselves?

Just play out as much as you can, promote like crazy and really just get your NAME out there. I’ve heard of bands that I’ve never even heard before and thats where the internet comes in huge. Some people are making it without ever touring or playing a show just because someone found them on the net. Its an awesome resource now a days and is the main thing that gets bands where they are today I think. Oh and being good, that helps a little.

How old were you when you first started The Whale & The Wave, and did you ever anticipate to come this far?

Well I’ve been writing this music since I was 17 but The Whale & The Wave name was added on pretty recently to give me more room to grow as an artist and not be stuck in the “singer-songwriter” genre. I want to be able to write music w/ a full band sound and music w/ just an acoustic guitar and not have people think it Chris Robertson and the whatever band. Thats at least how I see it and I’m enjoying it like this for now.
As far as coming this far I think most musicians will tell you they could never go far enough and that you’ve never reached your goal. Once you get to one bench mark you end up setting another and another. So yes I did anticipate coming this far and I hope to be able to move much further in the future.

If you're interested in having a listen, see: www.myspace.com/thewhaleandthewave

The Tales of Beedle The Bard by J. K. Rowling

2009-01-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
J. K. Rowling came out with a new book, The Tales of Beedle The Bard, on the fourth of December, and being a little Harry Potter geek, I just had to get it! Now I know what you must be thinking, and yes, the Harry Potter series did end with The Deathly Hallows, but as you may or may not remember, Hermione was given a book from Dumbledore's will. It was in that book where the heroic trio figured out what the Deathly Hallows were, and thus how to defeat Lord Voldemort. That book was called The Tales of Beedle The Bard.
This book is divided into five short stories, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hair Heart, Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump, and The Tale of the Three Brothers. These stories essentially are stories, and just like Little Red Riding Hood and other short stories we grew up with, these talk about moral values, right versus wrong, etc. After each story there's commentary done by Dumblerdore on how each one affected the wizarding world, mostly over the controversy of "pure-blood witches and wizards" versus "Muggles."
The stories and short and fun to read, and even though Harry Potter is never mentioned, you still to escape to that magical feeling that comes with reading Rowling's famous book series.
I would recommend this as a fun, quick read. I also encourage all of you to please go ahead and purchase this, even if you think you won't ever bother to read it. The proceeds go to the Children's High Level Group, an organization created by Rowling and Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne. Nicholson explains in a note to the reader that "the CHLG aims to bring an end to the use of large institutions and promote ways that allow chldren to live with families...or in small group homes." This organization helps children who are forced to live in institutions due to many reasons (finance, health, etc) break free and be able to live in a proper home.
For more information on CHLG please visit www.chlg.org

Seven Pounds

2009-01-05T23:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
A few days ago I finally unlocked the mystery behind Seven Pounds, and I hate to do this, but I'm afraid you won't find any spoilers on here!
I think I have to agree with the critics rating of a C+. Originally, I fell in love with the film the moment it was over. I thought I enjoyed every bit. But then I talked about it with my mother who made me realize that a certain part seemed unnecessary. In the film Ben Thomas' (Will Smith; Hancock, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend) relationship with Emily (Rosario Dawson; Eagle Eye, Descent, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints) seemed completely inessential when compared to the relationships he had with the other key people that were involved in his mission. I feel like it was heart-breaking for both Dawson's and Smith's characters, and the depth of it really wasn't needed for the film. It just goes to show how the film industry loves to rely on sex. Another thing that bothered me a bit was that I felt it dragged a little.
Apart from that, I liked the idea of Smith's character's mission. That was all that was in my mind once the film was over, and I suppose that's why I liked it so much originally.
The acting was unquestionably good, which was to be expected.
It was directed by Gabriele Muccino, who also directed The Last Kiss and The Pursuit Of Happyness, among others.
Would I see it again? Sure I would, it wasn't terrible, I just think that Smith can do better than constantly putting himself up as martyr, like in The Pursuit Of Happyness for instance. It's as if all his young roles were mostly made up of comedy (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Men In Black) , then later it shifted to action/comedy (I Robot, Hitch) and now we're starting to see a trend of solemn films (The Pursuit Of Happyness, Seven Pounds). It's not to say that the solemn films are bad, they aren't, but I miss the funny, action-packed Will Smith.

Seeing One Pin Short, Streetlight Manifesto, and Reel Big Fish

2009-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
So two nights ago I was at the House Of Blue on Sunset, kicking off the new year with some ska! And although I was a bit tired that night (I definitely don't recommend gallivanting the night before a show) I had a great time.
The first band up was called One Pin Short. This seven-member ska band definitely got the crowd warmed up for the next two bands, to say the least. I had never heard of them before, and after asking around I finally found out their name. Naturally, I didn't know what to expect, but they quickly managed to get a pit forming, and definitely got me skanking away. The frontman, Shawn Garnett, was shoe-less the whole time which I thought was a bit funny, but he had this smooth voice which was really nice to listen to. They played a really good set, the only song name I managed to catch was one called Revolution. The crowd seemed to be pretty fond of them.
Up next was Streetlight Manifesto! I have seen them once before, about two years ago, and they were amazing, so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. I love fast-paced music, and Streetlight got everyone moving about. I knew every song they played, so I felt like a pretty good fan that night haha. This was their set list:
The Receiving End Of It All
Point/Counterpoint,
Keasbey Nights,
Point/Counterpoint (return),
Down, Down, Down to Mephisto Cafe,
We Will Fall Together,
Would You Be Impressed?,
Better Place, Better Time,
and ended with Failing Flailing. I'm pretty sure they played Here's To Life as well, but I just can't remember when. Their Point/Counterpoint return was great! I love it when bands combine two great songs with a return, it keeps things exciting. These guys are such a fun band, if you like a good mosh pit, then they're your guys; and if you don't, then it's still fun dancing to them up on the balcany! I think my favorite song by them is probably Everything Went Numb, so I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play it, but it's a good enough excuse for me to see them again, haha!
Up next was Reel Big Fish! While we were waiting for them to set up their instruments, they played songs off Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves album, it was great! I was almost sorry when Reel Big Fish was ready for us, haha. Anyway, they ran onto the stage, each member dressed smartly, while Aaron Barrett, the frontman, came out in his usual Hawaiin print, gotta love it! They played a few songs off their new Fame, Fortune, And Fornication album, and opened up with New Version Of You, and followed with:
Trendy,
I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend,
I'm Her Man,
Everything Sucks,
The Bad Guy,
Live Your Dream,
She's Famous Now,
Another F. U. Song,
Kiss Me Deadly,
She Has A Girlfriend Now,
Ban The Tube Top,
Good Thing,
Authority Song (off their new album),
I Hate Your Guts,
Don't Start A Band,
You Don't Know,
Nothing But A Good Time (off their new album),
Somebody Hates Me,
Where Have You Been,
Beer (but they originally announced it as being called "Tequila" haha), and they encored with part of a Goldfinger song (I didn't catch the name), Suburban Rhythm, Sell Out, and Take On Me.The set was great, they combined songs from thier new and old albums, and they gave us a little taste of what's yet to come. Lucky for us, Fame, Fortune, And Fornication was being sold at the show; Barrett hilariously announced that there was a "time machine next to the cash machine at the merch table" for anyone who wanted to "go into the future" and get their new album. For the record, I paid visits to both the cash machine and the time machine, so a review of the new album will be up soon!
I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play their extended version of Where Have You Been. The original falls more into the "punk" category than in the "ska" one, but they usually make up for it by including horn solos and such, but they unfortunately didn't do it this time. Apart from that, the show was great. Barrett had to stop one of the songs, I think it was She's Famous Now, since he sang lyrics from the wrong verse! It was hilarious, but you've got to appreciate how comfortable the band feels with their audience. They also didn't fail to mention how they are "masters, masters off all musical style" while they were playing Suburban Rhythm.

All in all, it was a great show. If you're interested in checking any of these bands out, here's their myspaces:
www.myspace.com/onepinshort
www.msyapce.com/streetlightmanifesto

Here are some pictures of the show, courtesy of Rose Henn's iPhone.
One Pin Short:

Streetlight Manifesto:

Reel Big Fish:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hey all!
Hope everyone kicked off 2009 with smiles and laughs! I know I did, but I feel that I may have kicked it off with some high expectations too, specifically regarding the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (based on the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald).
It starts off with Daisy (Cate Blanchett; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Notes on a Scandal) old and weary in a hospital with her daughter Caroline (Julia Ormond; Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, I Know Who Killed Me). On her deathbed, she asks Caroline to read from a diary that Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt; Ocean's 11/12/13, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Babel) had left. In it, he wrote the story of his life, and the film goes on from there. He was born with a weak heart, wrinkly skin, and practically deaf and blind. As we watch Benjamin get younger, we see that his childhood was filled with a few experiences that he definitely wasn't ready for; at ten years old he got drunk and "experienced a woman" all in one night!
I guess what bothered me about this film was that, for all the hype that it's getting, I expected something a bit more original. Throughout the film all I could think about was Big Fish: old man on his deathbed retelling his crazy life story while his son's at his side; and personally, I prefer Big Fish. I saw it with my family and I had one cousin tell me it reminded him of The Notebook, and another tell me it reminded him of Jack. I mean, if you think about it, we've seen all this before; a child born in an adult body, a diary containing a remarkable story laced with romance, it's all been done.
Another thing that I wasn't too happy about is that I felt that the film dragged on a little at the beginning. Watching Benjamin grow younger was fine at first, but after a while I just wanted to skip to some real action. I walked away feeling as if the film strecthed to three hours, and I was close; it's two hours and forty-seven minutes long.
The acting though, as expected, with brilliant. Blanchett was amazing as an old women, her trembling voice and constant lack of breath got you thinking twice about whether or not they got another actress to play the older role of Daisy. We've seen her act her age before, who knew she'd be so convincing as an old woman, haha! Another actress who played her part really well is Taraji P. Henson (Smokin' Aces, Four Brothers, Hustle & Flow) who played as Queenie. Queenie raised Banjamin; the way she stood up for his looks and loved him regardless really did seem genuine.
The makeup was very convincing, expecially on the older version of Blanchett's character. This coupled with her amazing ability to play an old women was brilliant.

All in all, I don't agree with it's B+ rating, I'd probably give it a B-. If you've got some time on your hands, then go ahead and check it out. But if you're looking for something original, then I'd suggest you keep looking.

Day & Age by The Killers

2008-12-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Hope everyone had a nice holiday! I spent Christmas in Arizona, the drive was a grueling eight hours, but I had The Killers’ new album Day & Age with me, so I managed to survive!
For those of you who haven’t heard, The Killers released a new album, Day & Age, on the 24th of November. This album’s a little different from their previous stuff, but that’s not to say that it isn’t good!
It starts off with a track called Losing Touch. It has a “typical” Killers feel to it, and catchy chorus, much like their old stuff. The only thing that might separate this song from other work done by The Killers, is that it includes a saxophone. I think it was a smart move to open up with this, since sometimes listeners get turned off when they hear something different. They were wise to begin with something familiar, and slowly wean their fans out of their comfort zones, proving that The Killers can indeed expand out of theirs.
Up next comes Human, their recent hit. Brandon Flowers, the frontman, does a great job of hitting the exact notes that leave the listener with a feeling that he is genuinely sincere when he asks his famous question of “are we human, or are we dancer?” According to Flowers that was inspired by author Hunter S. Thompson, who once said that America was “raising a generation of dancers.” Flowers likes to call it a “mild social statement.”
Third comes Spaceman. I love this one, it’s so dance-able and catchy. The synthesizer is put to good use, softening up the rock just a little bit, leaving the song with a “friendly” tune. Its upbeat-ness reminds me a bit of Mr. Brightside.
Track four is called Joy Ride. This one starts off with what sounds like a Spanish beat; crazy, right? After about 10 seconds, Flowers “creeps” into the song, a little bit like Alex Kapranos, the frontman of Franz Ferdinand, does in his songs. There’s hints of a saxophone, which just adds to the dance-able beat. The chorus is another catchy one. The song is different to what we’re used to, but that’s not a problem, it’s still really good haha.
Track five is called A Dustland Fairytale. This starts off with just some piano and vocals, the synthesizer creeping up every once in a while. Then, after about a minute, the beat picks up with some guitar, the synthesizer now becoming very apparent, and then comes the drums. This song is a bit slower than the past four songs; I think it’s done that way to maintain an air of “fairyland” mystery to it.
Track six is called This Is Your Life. It starts with Mark Stoermer crawling on the bass, while vocals echo in the background, as the synthesizer comes in like a fog. A few seconds after comes the drums, creating a platform for Flowers to start singing. This is another calm one, the beat not picking up much more than when the drums first make their appearance.
Track seven is called I Can’t Stay. It starts off with Flowers singing, while Stoermer subtly plays on the bass. After about twenty seconds the rest of the instruments come in, and so does, if I’m not mistaken, some maracas. This one’s not a fast one (not too slow either though!), but it’s so catchy. I love the chorus, the vocals combined with the beat is so calming; it's almost got a tropical Caribbean feel to it.
Track eight is called Neon Tiger. The beat picks up a little at the chorus, and then slows down at the verses. The tune’s really good though, so it keeps you from turning to the next song. Then after about 2 minutes the beat keeps at a good pace, leaving you with a positive impression of the song.
Track nine is called The World We Live In. No new instruments are used, and all the “usual” ones are included, but the beat is different to what we’re used to. I think it’s got a bit of an 80s feel to it, and I love that. Then, once it hits the chorus, it goes back to what we expect to hear from The Killers. This way if the verses don’t get you liking the song, you’ve got the chorus to fall back on.
Track ten is called Goodnight, Travel Well. It has a creepy start to it. Flowers comes in after about 30 seconds, with a calm, but morose, tone, adding to the eerie-ness. About half-way into the song it picks up the pace, but it’s as if the silent beginning is just taken to a new level of loudness, the calm/eerie feel is still there. Four minutes into it, the eerie-ness fades, and leaving us with a sense of, well, the best word I can think of here is, accomplishment. I feel almost as if Flowers spends the first four minutes trying to say his “goodnight,” and by the fourth minute he starts to accept that, bitter or not, his subject is leaving, so they should say their goodnights in good terms. As if all the feelings were building up, and by the end of the song they burst out of him, and he’s able to wish his subject a good trip. The song is almost seven minutes long, but it’s so good!
The final track is called A Crippling Blow. Dave Keuning, the guitarist, and Ronnie Vannucci Jr., the drummer, give the song a strong beginning. This works really well for the position Flowers is taking on that he doesn’t need time, and “can get by [him]self.” The song more or less keeps the same pace throughout, but I’m not complaining, the pace is a good one. It’s not too fast or too slow.
All in all, I’d definitely recommend this. I feel that it has a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy/appreciate. It definitely deserves the hype that it’s getting. I think it’s wonderful when bands experiment and push their limits. The Clash did the same with their Sandinista! album, and I love it!
If you’re looking for a listen, here’s The Killers’ myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/thekillers

Frost/Nixon

2008-12-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

Frost/Nixon
Hi everyone,
I’ve finally managed to find some “film time” this Winter Holiday, watching two new films back-to-back! I’m pretty happy about this, seeing as I hadn’t seen a new film in ages!
Yesterday the film Frost/Nixon came out in cinemas. One of the things I enjoyed learning back when I took AP US History was the Watergate incident. Celebrity scandals are one thing, but political scandals take the seriousness and excitement to a whole new level.
Watergate, in case some of you don’t know, is an office complex in Washington D.C. At the time of Nixon’s presidency, it was the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Seven men who were working for President Nixon (Republican party) got caught spying on Democratic meetings during his re-election year (1972). Not only were the rooms bugged, but improper tax audits were conducted, wires were tapped on a massive scale, men were ordered to perform illegal break-ins, and a fund was created to be used as “hush money” to keep Nixon’s men quiet. All of this was found out, but it was not until his televised interview with British talk-show host, David Frost, that Nixon gave a true confession.
This film is about how Frost came up with the idea of interviewing Nixon in the first place, how his career almost crumbled in the process, and how Nixon hoped to use a series of four interviews conducted by Frost as a way to save his name.
The movie keeps at a steady pace. Obviously watching Frost attempt to gather funds and a team for his interviews isn’t the most exciting thing to see, but the last half an hour or so really make you feel thankful that you kept watching.
The film is not done in an interview-format, but we do get every main character’s opinion (with the exception of Frost and President Nixon) of how they felt about everything. This helped add to the deeper understanding of how hurt some were about the scandal, and how dedicated some were about surfacing the truth.
The acting was brilliant; Michael Sheen was just as convincing as he was playing Tony Blaire in The Queen. There’s something about his facial expressions that help the viewer relate to his character’s feelings. Frank Langella, who played President Nixon, was also very good. The way he fought for his reputation would make you think that he truly understood how President Nixon must have felt. Another actor who played his role exceptionally well was Sam Rockwell, who played author James Reston Jr., a man that hated President Nixon with a passion. His dedication to dig up as much evidence to help Frost with his interviews was amazing. He basically told Frost from the start that the only he would help him is if they would do whatever it took to get the President to make a confession, and his attitude remained the same throughout.
The film was directed by Ron Howard (The Da Vinci Code, Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind) and written by Peter Morgan (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Last King of Scotland, The Queen).
I love reading books and watching films on true stories, especially ones that the general public already has some insight on. This way it furthers our knowledge of what’s going on, and leaves us with a bit more “truth” to hold in our hands.

If you’re looking for action, then this is not your film, but I’d still encourage that you see it if you appreciate anything from good acting to a good story.

Changeling

2008-12-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
First I'd like to wish all of you a happy Christmas and/or Hanuka/Kwanzaa/all that good stuff! Yes, I know it's Christmas day, but the turkey's roasting in the oven, and there's not much left to do, so I thought, "why not do a little blogging?"
Last night I saw Changeling (yes it's still playing in some select cinemas!) and it left me speechless. I was a little worried that I wouldn't appreciate the film as much as those who saw it earlier. I watched The Dark Knight at midnight when it first came out, but thanks to all the hype it got, a lot of my friends who saw it a few weeks later ended having expectations that were too high, and thus didn't enjoy the film as much as I did. Lucky for me, Changeling was not the case.
The story opens up with Christine Collins (played by Angelina Jolie), a single mother of 9 year-old Walter Collins (Gattlin Griffith). Christine Collins' story starts in 1928 and ends in 1937. The Collins family seem to live a relatively normal, quiet life, until one day in March when Christine steps out for work. The plan was that Christine would leave, a nanny would arrive shortly after, and Christine would then return home later in the day to find her son safe and sound. But having seen the trailer, you and I both know that things did not go to plan.
Naturally, Christine called the police the moment she realized that her son was missing. A short while later a boy is found, who claims to be her son. Being a single mother, Christine paid close attention to her child as he grew up, noticing differences between the boy and her son, such as his height. She later consulted his dentist and teacher who both proved her suspicions: that the boy was not her son.
Back and forth trips were made to the police station, more specifically to Captain J. J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan), who dealt with her in a most unforgivable way, which was, sadly enough, a common way to quiet down opinionated women at the time. As the story progresses, it just gets more intense as the truth slowly makes it way to surface, and we eventually find out the horror of which was assumed to have happened to Walter Collins.
Not only is the story itself original and true, but the acting is superb. The actors clearly understood the seriousness of the plot and performed to their best abilities. I didn't find the acting to be too dramatic, or over-the-top; Jolie was in fact very moving. One actor in particular that nearly got me crying was Gabriel Schwalenstocker, who played as James Nesbitt, a young boy with a terrifying story. He was absolutely amazing.
John Malkovich (Burn After Reading, Johnny English) also plays in the film, as Reverend Gustav Briegleb. He did an excellent job in depicting the Reverend's passion for the Collins case.
The team that worked on the casts' wardrobe stayed true the time, making it easy to believe that it was a film set in the 1930s. The lighting was also on the darker side, adding to the grim and mystery that filled this movie.
This was directed by Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, The Rookie).
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone out there who is looking for something that will leave he/she speechless.

Seeing The Aggrolites and The Vandals' Annual Christmas Formal

2008-12-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Two nights ago I saw The Aggrolites play with The Vandals at the House of Blues in Downtown Disneyland, Anaheim. Ever since 2006, my friend Rachel and I have started a "tradition" of going to The Vandals' Annual Christmas/Winter Formals. They always seem to be held at the House of Blues when they come to Southern California, either at Sunset or Anaheim, which annoys me a little since we aren't allowed to bring cameras inside. I actually gave one of the HOB security men a little bit of crap about it on Saturday; didn't get me anywhere though haha. Anyway, I'm not a very big Vandals fan, I don't know much other than what's on their Oi To The World Christmas album, but they put on such a good Christmas show that I just can't stay away!
Not too long after the doors opened, the curtains separated, revealing a stage decked out with Christmas decorations, and then out came The Aggrolites! I have seen them before, so I was looking forward to seeing them again. For all those Tiger Army fans out there, ex TA stand up bassist, Jeff Roffredo, now plays the bass for the Aggrolites; ex Hepcat drummer Scott Abels, is also part of the band. They opened with a personal favorite, Mr. Misery. Among a few that I wasn't familiar with, they also played Work To Do, Funky Fire, and Time To Get Tough. Towards the end they played a song that started off much like The Clash song, Tommy Gun. This got me really excited since The Clash are my all-time favorite band, but after about thirty seconds of it, I realized that it was a different song. Then, to my surprise, the frontman, Jesse Wagner, asked if there were any Clash fans in the audience. My arm shot up instantly, and the next thing i knew, the band started playing Police And Thieves! After about a minute or two into the song, the band started playing Pressure Drop (originally by Toots and The Maytals, covered by The Clash and The Specials), and then moved on to playing Bankrobber (also by The Clash)! I went nuts, it was just what I needed! To make things even better, and I know what you must be thinking, "how can things get any better?!" the band then started playing bits from Lip Up Fatter (Bad Manners) and Monkey Man (Toots and The Maytals, covered by The Specials, among others). They ended with Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles). It was a great set, and very appropriate given that today marks six years since The Clash's frontman, Joe Strummer's, passing.
Then came The Vandals, opening up with their Overture. After that, they played Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairies, Thanx For Nothing, C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S, My First Christmas (As A Woman), Grandpa's Last Christmas, Here I Am Lord (sung by bassist and owner of Kung Fu Records, Joe Escalante), Jesus Is My Friend (originally by Sonseed), I Don't Believe In Santa Claus, Jesus Is My Friend (return), Christmastime For My Penis, Cafe 405, Jesus Is My Friend (return), A Gun For Christmas, Jesus Is My Friend (return), I've Got An Idea For A Movie, Jesus Is My Friend (return), I've Got An Ape Drape, 43210-1, Jesus Is My Friend (return), Pizza Tran, Jesus Is My Friend (return), And Now We Dance, It's A Fact, Anarchy Burger, Jesus Is My Friend (return), My Girlfriend's Dead, and encored with Hang Myself From The Tree, Don't Stop Me Now (both of which were sung by guitarist, Warren Fitzgerald), Oi To The World, and, you probably guessed it, Jesus Is My Friend. Their Jesus Is My Friend returns were hilarious! When they first played it, the frontman, Dave Quackenbush (gotta love that last name!), pulled out the lyrics and sang it straight from the paper in his hand. Then, when you'd think that all the Jesus hype was over, they'd randomly start with "Jesus is a friend of mine, I have a friend named Jesus!"
"Native Wayne" from Indie 103.1 FM and Jason Freese of Green Day made appearances, and Jason even played with the band for a bit.
One thing I love about Oi To The World is that that songs really point out the ugly side to Christmas that we convenietly seem to ignore. Songs like Thanx For Nothing and Nothing's Going To Ruin My Holiday talk about the disappointment of spending time and money at crowded shopping malls for someone only to find that he/she didn't bother to do the same for you, or how regardless of all the family fights and "shitty" weather, everyone better put on a fake smile otherwise they'd "regret it for the rest of the f-cking year!" haha.
Seeing The Vandals is one of the things I look forward to during Christmas time. I love how they perform their songs and crack jokes with each other and the audience. They also get opening bands who go above and beyond the "typical" performance. Last year Super Nova was one of their opening bands, I had never heard of them before then but they put on a crazy show. They dressed up in space suits and handed out foil to the audience before the show, so we could make "space hats."
I'd definitely recommend seeing The Vandals next December if you get the chance.

If you're interested in listening some stuff by either one of these bands, here are their myspace links:
http://www.myspace.com/thevandals
http://www.myspace.com/theaggrolites

The Vandals:

The Aggrolites:

Seeing Audrye Sessions, Hockey, and The Virgins

2008-12-18T00:17:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!!
I just got back from the Troubadour, and it's late, and I'm tired, but I had such a good time that I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I blogged this! Haha. So, my first blog was about seeing Hockey and The Kaiser Chiefs, on the 11th of November at the Fonda. I had never heard of Hockey until that night, and ever since then I can't stop listening to them, so when I found out that they were having another show I had to check it out!
Originally I thought it was only Hockey playing with The Virgins, but I was wrong. The show opened with The Audrye Sessions, another band I wasn't familiar with. They walked right on stage and just started with no introduction at all. I always think this is a bad start when it comes to opening bands, especially the ones that aren't well-known. I find that it's a bit of a turn-off when I go to a show but have no idea who's playing since the band fails to introduce themselves. But anyway, poor start, but I thought why not give them the benefit of the doubt, that they'd introduce themselves at some point during their set. Well, I found myself walking away towards the merchandise table to get their name because there was hardly any communication to the audience whatsoever. I'm not sure about you, but one of the reasons I like going to shows is the little interaction that's given from the band to the audience. It almost makes the rock stars seem "human" so to speak, haha. Well these guys seemed very disconnected from the crowd; to make matters worse, the lead singer sang with a face that I can only describe as one being placed near something foul-smelling. Apparently the smell must have been awful since he couldn't even bring himself to open his eyes until he walked off the stage. Personally, as you can probably guess, I didn't enjoy it too much. But up next was Hockey! The band I had been waiting for!
Hockey didn't make us wait very long, opening up with Work. They then played Too Fake (my favorite!), a new song that I wasn't able to get the title of, 3am Spanish, another song I wasn't too familiar with, Preacher, and ended with Song Away. They were great! Just as lively as they were back in November. Their beats, especially when performed live, are so dance-able. The drummer makes really good use of his hi-hats, creating a beat well-worth shaking hips to! And, as he did last month, during two songs the frontman, Benny, picked up his own set of drumsticks and intensified the beat as he hit the floor toms. Loved it! The vibes were so positive, and there was so much energy. As soon as Benny would start to sing you could tell that he was transformed into another world. Plus, his voice is amazing! It was brilliant, I can't wait until they're back in LA!
Next came The Virgins. I had gotten mixed reviews about them, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I managed to get a copy of their set list: Teen Lovers, Radio Christiane, She's Expensive, Hey Hey Girl, Murder, Fernando Pando, Rich Girls, Private Affair, One Week; and encored with Love Is Colder Than Death and Sweet Emotion. They started out alright, the frontman arrived in a big hairy jacket, ripped jeans, and what looked like tights being held up by suspenders; very bold on his part haha. Another member had black duct tape all over his jeans, while another had these crazy "penguin shoes," as I like to call them haha. Anyway, they managed to get the whole entire crowd moving by the time they played Rich Girls, when they released four big black beach balls into the crowd; wise move for some fun at a small venue! They were flying everywhere, I even managed to hit one! I also thought the bassist was really good; I was lucky enough to be standing at his side of the stage, and he was all I could pay attention to during the songs that I wasn't familiar with. All in all, I found them, as expected, pretty dance-able, and I enjoyed their set; but I'd have to say that Hockey was definitely my favorite performance of the night!
As I was leaving I ran into Benny and tried to take a picture with him, but my stupid camera was having one of it's moments. Lucky for me, he was really nice about it. I also got to talk to the bassist of Hockey, who was also really cool.

If you're interested in checking out any of these bands, here are their myspaces:
http://www.myspace.com/hockey
http://www.myspace.com/thevirginsnyc

The Audrye Sessions:

Hockey:

The Virgins:

before...

after...

Autobiography Of A Face by Lucy Grealy

2008-12-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
The world seems to be going through a bit of a rough patch lately, and I don't know about you, but I definitely feel the burn in my pocket. It's Christmas time, finals time, pick-classes-for-Spring-Term time, and the last thing we all want to think about is how money is short and times are hard. I was always told to be thankful for what I have since there's no doubt that there are people out there worse-off than I am, but it was very hard for me to think in those terms without some self-pity until I read Autobiography Of A Face by Lucy Grealy. Although she likes to call it "a piece of literature" as opposed to "an account of a child's cancer and disfigurement," you can't help but put your troubles aside and feel lucky that at least you have your health...and your face.
Grealy starts off her story in a playground at school in New York, where she was accidentally knocked in the jaw. Naturally, her jaw started to hurt, and was taken to see several dentists and doctors. After some tests Grealy, at the age of nine, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone/soft tissue cancer, in her jaw, and as a result had a third of it removed. The following two years consisted of weekly radiation and chemotherapy treatments, and then another half year to finish out the chemotherapy. Chemo had obviously left her very weak and very thin, and having been so young, her description of the process leaves you in bits:
I wanted to collapse, to fall back onto the table or, better yet, go head down onto the cold floor, but I couldn't. The injection had only begun...My body, wanting to turn itself inside out, made wave after wave of attempts to rid itself of this unseeable intruder, this overwhelming and noxious poison...My stomach quickly rebelled. I stood quickly and made my way over to the sink, where I threw up the now liquid ice cream, still cool and even soothing as it came up. For some reason I started to cry.
Grealy then moves on to talk about the hard time she had in high school due to all the teasing she had gotten due to her looks, but how attending Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal school, changed her life.

Although I didn't always agree with how Grealy assessed her situations (the death of her father, for instance) this is a very touching and pretty unbelievable story. If you're feeling low, and need a reminder that things could always be worse, I'd recommend you read this haha.

25th Anniversary Edtion Songs Of Praise

2008-11-29T21:12:00.001-08:00

Hello all!
I don't usually like to review albums after they've been out for longer than a month or two, but I think that The Adicts' 25th Anniversary Edition Songs Of Praise album is a well-qualified exception (released on the 25th of August, 2008).
I had only just heard of its release and wanted to get my hands on it right away. I was told to check out www.peoplelikeyourecords.com but the album was being charged in Euros. I checked out a few more sites which all were Euro- and British pound-based, but www.tower.com was my savior! For ten dollars I got the 25th Anniversary Edition of Songs Of Praise along with the original album, a dvd, a poster, a patch, and a sticker! I got it all in the post today and for a moment I felt as though Christmas had come early haha.
The freshly remastered Songs Of Praise is absolutely brilliant. Almost every song is longer than its original, with, believe it or not, more energy than ever before. The improved sound quality is apparent, the instruments and vocals are a lot more sharper this time around. Some songs, like the ever-popular Viva La Revolution and Songs Of Praise, even have new beginnings.The new Viva La Revolution starts off with the famous London bells from the Big Ben clock tower, progressing to a siren which fades after a few moments as the guitar cuts in, and, instead of Kid Dee shouting "viva", we hear the whole band, which really gets you pumped for the rest of the song. Don't mean to get a little political here, but I can't think of a better song for our upcoming president. As for Songs Of Praise, this time it kicks off with an actual choir for about 30 seconds, then the band jumps in with a great big "ah" as the bass drum starts picking up a beat.

Here's the track list:
1. England (originally 2 minutes and 38 seconds, remastered to 2 minutes and 50 seconds)
2. Hurt (originally 2:44, remastered 3:37)
3. Just Like Me (originally 1:55, remastered 1:51)
4. Tango (originally 2:15, remastered 2:52)
5. Telepathic People (originally 2:13, remastered 2:32)
6. Mary Whitehouse (originally 2:01, remastered 2:45)
7. Distortion (originally 2:44, remastered 3:31)
8. Get Adicted (originally 2:07, remastered 2:00)
9. Viva La Revolution (originally 2:26, remastered 3:54)
10. Calling Calling (originally 2:44, remastered 4:44)
11. In The Background (originally 3:03, remastered 3:45)
12. Dynasty (originally 2:43, remastered 2:50)
13. Peculiar Music (originally 1:58, remastered 2:10)
14. Numbers (originally 2:24, remastered 2:24)
15. Sensitive (originally 2:16, remastered 2:46)
16. Songs Of Praise (originally 2:15, remastered 2:59)

In the dvd, we hear what all the band members had to say about remaking the album. We get to see how Monkey looks without all his makeup on (not bad for his age, if I do say so myself!), as well as a few sneak peeks at them recording. Monkey tells us how he feels that they were lucky enough to release one album, let alone able to release an anniversary edition 25 years later. Scruff, who was only ten years old when Songs Of Praise was first released (first of January, 1981) puts it best: he says that they remained true to their punk roots from back in the '80s but the new album has also "got today's oomph to it." The chemistry between the band members seems like one with no tension involved, which is probably the secret as to why they have been around for so long.
Once you get the album be sure to look behind the flap holding the poster; there is a link to download a hidden track!
I would, without a second thought, give this album 5 out of 5 stars. If you thought The Adicts were good before, then their remastered album will definitely blow you away.

If you're interested in checking them out, here's their myspace: www.myspace.com/adicts

Poster:

Patch:

Sticker:

My Mistakes Were Made For You by The Last Shadow Puppets

2008-11-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
I went to see The Last Shadow Puppets on the third of November at the Mayan Theatre, and they were amazing!!! But that's a story saved for another time haha. So anyway, I picked up a t-shirt at the end of the show along with their latest album, My Mistakes Were Made For You, which was released on the 20th of October. This eight-track album has got three live performances and four acoustic versions of songs from their first album The Age Of The Understatement (released on the 21st of April of this past year).

Here's the track list:
1. My Mistakes Were Made For You (also on The Age Of The Understatement)
2. Separate And Ever Deadly (live from New Theatre, Oxford)
3. Paris Summer (featuring Alison Mosshart, live from The Olympia Theatre, Paris)
4. My Litter Red Book (live from New Theatre, Oxford)
5. The Age Of The Understatement (acoustic)
6. Standing Next To Me (acoustic)
7. The Meeting Place (acoustic)
8. My Mistakes Were Made For You (acoustic)

My Mistakes Were Made For You is one of my favorite songs off The Age Of The Understatement, and a great choice for the start and title of the album. The song's got a nice and easy flow to it, something you can listen to to help you relax. It's mostly sung by Alex Turner (also of the Arctic Monkeys), which is probably why I like it so much haha.
The next track, Separate And Ever Deadly was a bit of a disappointment for me. It took me a while to get into TLSP and Separate And Ever Deadly is what did it. The studio-recorded version has an Arctic Monkey feel to it, since it's loud, fast, and powerful! But I feel that this live version is emphasizing too much on the organ (at least for the first half of the song) and not enough on the drums. I almost got the impression that the organ was a little too fast for the song, I think the organ player might have gotten a little too excited haha. But, for all you fans out there, don't worry, when I saw them there was plenty of drummage!
Paris Summer is a track I've never heard before, but I really like it. It's really smooth, and it features Alison Mosshart of The Kills.
My Little Red Book is a cover, originally sung by 1970's band Love. I'm pretty sure they didn't play it when I saw them, but I wish they did. It's got a really catchy beat to it, pretty danceable haha.
The next four acousitcs are ones I have no complaints about. Alex's and Miles Kane's (also of The Rascals) voices compliment each other so nicely, since they sound quite similar. They've got a calm feel to them that, when paired with a couple of guitars, can do wonders.
All in all, I definitely would recommend this album.

Here's their myspace if you want to check them out:
http://www.myspace.com/thelastshadowpuppets

Mothers Pay More by Meeting Of Important People

2008-11-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hello all!
One thing I really like about myspace (I can see you rolling your eyes right now haha) is getting friend requests from bands. I feel like it can really open your eyes to what's out there, because you get a taste of not just the really well-known artists, but you also get to see what everyone else is about. Most of the time I get friend requests from really good bands I've never even heard of, and that's the best part.
A short while ago I got a request from this indie band from Pittsburgh called Meeting Of Important People and I thought I'd give them a go. One of their song that seems particularly popular is Mothers Pay More, and I'm not going to lie, it's definitely the one that got me into them! The band asked me write what I thought about it, so here it is:

The song starts off with what sounds like a clapped beat with a bit of drums and guitar in the background. When I first heard it, it made me think of the beginning of That Thing You Do by the Wonders. The song doesn't progress in a pop-y direction though, instead i think it's got a bit of an 'indie Rolling Stones' feel to it. It goes for three minutes and twenty-five seconds, with a really smooth progression towards the middle. The beat is catchy and easy to follow, it's pretty obvious why it's so popular haha.
Songs by Meeting Of Important People, at least the ones on their music myspace, have a really nice ambient feel to them, it's pretty relaxing. I think their lack of harshness in both instrumentals and vocals is probably what makes them so popular.
If you're interested in checking them out, here's the link:
http://www.myspace.com/meetingofimportantpeople
You never know, they may be the next big thing!

The Clash: Live At Shea Stadium album

2008-11-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
So The Clash came out with a new album on the 7th of October and here's what I've got to say about it. But, before I start, I know what you must be thinking, "how could The Clash have come out with a new album?" Well, the answer is, it's actually a live album, recorded from their gig at the Shea Stadium in New York back in 1982. For those who have seen The Essential Clash dvd, their Should I Stay Or Should I Go? performance is from this very show.
The album opens with Kosmo Vinyl, a long time associate and sometime manager of The Clash, who introduces the band. Then frontman, Joe Strummer, comes in with his "welcome to the Casbah Club" before playing the first song.
The energy of this album can not only be heard by the band itself, but from the audience as well. On The Essential Clash dvd we see that Shea Stadium is in fact a quite large out door venue, but there is no need for walls to hold in the cheers from the audience. At the end of each song, the applause goes for miles.
For all those British punk lovers out there, or anyone who's passionate about music, I'd highly reccommend this album. If you close your eyes while listening to this you can almost see these kings of punk rock tear it up on stage.

The Clash have also released another live album, From Here To Eternity, which is also very good. Their Complete Control, Straight To Hell, and (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais performances are the reason why I prefer this live album to Live At Shea, but that's only because those songs are a few personal favorites.

Here's the track list:
1. Kosmo Vinyl Introduction
2. London Calling
3. Police On My Back
4. The Guns Of Brixton
5. Tommy Gun
6. The Magnificent Seven
7. Armagideon Time
8. The Magnificent Seven (Return)
9. Rock The Casbah
10. Train In Vain
11. Career Opportunities
12. Spanish Bombs
13. Clampdown
14. English Civil War
15. Should I Stay Or Should I Go
16. I Fought The Law

Their Magnificent Seven (Return) is brilliant; really unexpected, keeps you on your toes; a very typical Clash thing.
This album also has live performances that have never been on any other ablum or dvd, such as Spanish Bombs and Police On My Back. They were very good at mixing their hits with their lesser-known (but still very good!!) songs, able to please both their fans and their major fans.

Seeing The Takeover UK, Army Navy, and The Shys

2008-11-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!
So this past summer I wanted to start listening to something new. I'm not going to lie and say that I was tired of the "old stuff" but for a little while I needed something that didn't carry a memory. So, lucky for me, right around that time I got a myspace friend request from this rock/indie band from Pittsburgh called The Takeover UK, and let me tell you, it was just what I needed. The song that really got me was one called Don't Wait Up; I really like the Libertines and Babyshambles and I thought that it somewhat sounded like them, so they were perfect.
So anyways, they're touring right now with Army Navy (yes, one of the bands from the Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist soundtrack), and The Shys. They made a stop in Hollywood last night at the Troubador, and you bet that I went there to see them!
Doors opened at 8 and the show started at 9. The members from all three bands mingled with the crowd before the show started. I got to meet Nick (vocals/guitar) and Adam (vocals/bass) from The Takeover UK and they were both really cool guys. Adam was a laugh, he outstretched his arm and took and picture with me, it was great!
By 9 o'clock The Takeover UK had just gotten on stage and were ready to perform. Being only a Monday night, the crowd wasn't too crazy, but it didn't stop the band from putting on one hell of a show. As soon as the band began to play Adam started dancing on stage with his bass, and the whole lot of them moved about and really got into it. The friend that I was with, Vernon, asked the bands for their slips paper with the set lists written on them and each band was kinda enough to give them to us. The Takeover UK opened with Lonely Ones, then Ah La La, Main St. Crush, Distant Shores, Birthday Boy, Golden, Running With The Wasters (I had asked for this one, so right before they began playing, Nick said this one was for me :D), and finished with Don't Wait Up. It was a really good set, and they sounded exactly the way they do on their album, nothing short of a great performance.
Up next was Army Navy. Vernon and I were right by the stage the whole time so we got a chance to talk to the band members as they were setting up. Ben, the bassist, was really nice. One of the guitarists had broken his foot, the poor guy had to sit a stool, but still managed to give it his all. They started with Saints, then Dark As Days (if I'm reading the handwriting on the set list correctly), Slight Of Hand, Janice (again, if I'm reading the handwriting correctly), Snakes of Hawaii, and ended with My Thin Sides. They played two songs right before My Thin Sides, but I really can't make out what it says on the set list haha. Kyle Krone, a member of The Shys, picked up a tambourine and jammed with the band for one of the songs.They were really good too; not quite my type of music, but they put on a great performance regardless.
And then came The Shys. All the previous bands had really nice looking members, but I've got to say that The Shys were gorgeous. The singer, Kyle Krone, had this James McAvoy look to him, and the drummer, Tony Cupito, was not only really good-looking, he was wild on the drums! As mentioned in a previous blog, I've drummed a bit myself, and watching him play with such intensity and passion was fantastic. They opened up with my favorite, Hangman, then Two Cent Facts, Brother Please, Never Gonna Die, Mercy, Astoria, Carry On For Two, Savior, Call In The Calvary, and encored with She's Already Gone. For one of the last songs, I'm pretty sure it was Call In The Calvary, Kyle had asked the members from Army Navy to join them on stage (The Takeover UK had gone to perform at another show, I believe) and it was really fun to watch. You could just see how much these guys must have bonded during the past month or so of their tour. At the end of their set Kyle had invited the crowd to hang about and meet the band.
All in all I have to say that Vernon and I definitely did enjoy ourselves. Each band performed really well with tons of enthusiasm. It really made my Monday night!
Here are the band's myspaces if any of you are interested in giving them a listen:
www.myspace.com/thetakeoveruk
www.myspace.com/armynavy
www.myspace.com/theshysmusic

Here's a few pictures from last night:

The Takeover UK:

Army Navy with Kyle Krone:

Kyle Krone and Cory Case of The Shys:

The Shys with Army Navy:

Watermelon by Marian Keyes

2008-11-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
So life's been a bit hectic lately, so a good friend of mine recommended the book Watermelon by Marian Keyes. I had never read anything by her, but I needed something to get my mind off everything and this was perfect.
All you girls out there (and guys I suppose haha) if you're looking for a light, witty chick flick, this is exactly what you need. (You can scroll past all of this a read a few quotes I pulled out from the book; if that's not enough to get you then I don't know what is!)
The story starts in a hospital in London, where Claire Webster is giving birth to her first child. What you'd assume to be a joyful and heart-warming moment makes a vicious turn when James, Claire's husband, walks into the room and tells Claire that he's leaving her for another woman. Claire is naturally heart-broken and doesn't know what to do, so she takes her baby back home to Dublin.
The story progresses from there, we watch Claire grow and cope with her loss, along with her gain. A short while after moving to Dublin she meets Adam, "long legs. Muscly arms. Blue eyes. Square jaw. Big smile." I'll leave it to you find out what, if anything, happens between them.
The story's great, very light, no need for deep thinking since it's written in first person. Keyes does a really good job in letting us know just how Claire feels about what is going on around her. There are few little twists here and there, but my favorite part was seeing Claire grow as a person, just the way any other person could logically mature after taking a walk in her shoes.
I think the only thing that bothered me about this book was that for a few instances Keyes would go off on emphasizing a point a little too far. But it only happened a few times, definitely not enough to make me want to put the book down. Also, her portrayal of her male characters sometimes seemed a bit weird to me, some of the things that came out of Adam's mouth made me question if a guy would really talk like that, but whatever, the point of me reading this wasn't so I could go deep in thought about what was going on. The point was for a little entertainment, and Watermelon definitely delivered!
Keyes is an Irish writer, so her humor and wit is really refreshing to read since it's different to typical American humor. Claire has four sisters, Maggie, Helen, Anna, and Rachel, and three of which are the protagonists in her books Angles (Maggie being the protagonist in this one), Rachel's Holiday (Rachel), and Anybody Out There? (Anna); Helen's book is coming up. They're not exactly a series, but the idea is cool, this way we get to meet most of the sisters and experience their different personalities and not worry about reading the books out of order.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Watermelon so you can get a feel how this book's like:

"The way i react to food when I'm around a man is a sure barometer of the way i feel about him. If i can't eat it means that I'm mad about him. When i can manage orange juice and some toast in the morning it's the End of the Beginning. And by the time i get around finishing the food left on his plate it's as good as over."

"Besides, I'd seen a really nice pair of shoes yesterday at the mall and wanted them for my own. I can't describe the feeling of immediate familiarity that rushed between us. The moment i clasped eyes on them I felt like I already owned them. I could only suppose that we were together in a former life. They were my shoes when I was a serving maid in medieval Britain or when I was a princess in ancient Egypt. Or perhaps they were the princess and I was the shoes? Who's to know? Either way I knew that we were meant to be together."

"Maybe I was in the wrong job, maybe I didn't have a true vocation, maybe I was just bone lazy...At best I thought of it as a means to an end, at worst a hell on earth. And I couldn't wait until I retired. Only thirty-one years to go. Unless I got lucky in the meantime and died."

"I read once somewhere that shopping has a huge effect on one's adrenaline levels. Sending blood pressure levels soaring and causing one to hyperventilate and making one's eyes bulge and all kinds of other effects. It made perfect sense to me - all that excitement!"

"Then we wondered around the bookshop for a while. My adrenaline started pumping any time i was within about a hundred yards of a bookshop. I loved books nearly as much as i loved clothes. And that's saying something."

"There was a time when my name was legendary among Women Who Shop. A time when there was no such thing as choosing between the black pair and the green pair. No such thing as standing, agonizing, my index finger pressed to my face, my brow furrowed in girlish consternation. No siree, I bought both of them."

Seeing the Kaiser Chiefs and Hockey

2008-11-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
I have been a Kaiser Chiefs fan for about four years, and this past Tuesday, that being the 11th of Nov, I saw the them perform live for the first time ever, and I've got to say, it was well worth the wait!
The show was in the Music Box at the Fonda in Hollywood, and was hosted by the radio station Indie 103.1. My friend and I arrived about half an hour prior to the show, lucky for us the line wasn't that bad, so we had pretty decent spots close to the stage.
The opening band was one from Portland, Oregon, called Hockey. I, and many of the people I met that night, had never heard of them, but they were pretty good. They had this energy about them, the lead singer, although he mumbled a bit when talking to the audience, was pretty entertaining on stage. It was obvious that he was really into his music by the way he moved about, going back and forth with the mic, and jamming on two pink floor toms with the drummer during a couple of their songs. Having dabbled on the drums a bit myself, I found it really cool how the singer would go back there, pick up some sticks, and intensify the beat. They were really danceable, and defintely a great starter band that, as far as the people I met were concerned, got the crowd pumped and ready for the Kaiser Chiefs.
About half an hour/forty-five minutes go by and then the lights dimmed, the curtain rose, and all we could see was a banner that read "Kaiser Chiefs" along with a stage of just the instruments. All the while, The Guns of Brixton by The Clash was blaring from the speakers. It was beautiful. The Clash are my all-time favorite band, and this just got me even more pumped. After about a minute of that, the song faded away and the Kaiser Chiefs ran on stage, opening with, if I remember right, Spanish Metal, off their new album Off With Thier Heads, or Hyroids, I just can't remember which, but I'm pretty sure it was one of the two haha. It was wonderful, the whole crowd started to move. The singer, Ricky Wilson, was very good, walking at the edge of stage, standing on, what seemed to be a platform (sadly I wasn't close enough to see what exactly he was standing on) that was at the very edge of the stage, giving a lucky few a chance to touch him. He also threw his mic up in the air a couple times, catching it every time of course.
What I really liked about them was that, although there wasn't a crazy amount of talking to the crowd, they really knew what to play to get the crowd going. Again, if i remember right, they played Spanish Metal, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, I Predict A Riot, Na Na Na Na Naa, Ruby, Heat Dies Down, Hyroids, Modern Way, Time Honoured Tradition, Take My Temperature, and encored with Never Miss A Beat, finally ending it with non other than Oh My God. That was great, Ricky had the crowd chanting "oh my God I can't believe it, I've never been this far away from home" along with him so loudly to the point of where he was barely audible, it was great!
Unfortunately Nick "Peanut" Baines, the keyboardist, wasn't able to be there since he had to get his appendix out in Brazil. They had someone fill in for him, I didn't catch his name, but he did a decent job with the keyboards.
At some point in the middle, Ricky stood on the platform-thing, and started making a motion with his hands to part the crowd. Then before we knew what was going on, he jumped down into the crowd! Without a second thought, I maneuvered through the waves of people, coming to halt as I ran into a couple sweaty backs, yeah it was pretty gross haha. Being only five foot two, I couldn't see where he was, all I knew was that he was close to the back of the floor. So I managed to wedge my hand in between two people in hopes that when he'd come back he'd touch it. Then I looked up and saw that he was on someone's shoulder, heading back towards the stage! I thought, "this is my chance! It's now or never, I've got to make my way to him" and as though a surge of determination ran through my body, I pushed my way through and managed to literally walk right behind him! As he clambored onto the stage I gave his back a pat and his bum a pinch, and then made my way back to where I was originally standing. I was lucky it was a Tuesday night; if it had been a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, the crowd would have no doubt been too thick for me to go through.
The show was great. I had walked in with mixed reviews, hearing from one that the Kaiser Chiefs aren't that great live, and hearing from another that the Kasier Chiefs are one of the best bands to see. Well, if it's not obvious already, I walked out pleased haha. I kinda wish they played Saturday Night, but the show was still great without it. Don't miss a chance to see them or Hockey if they roll into town, I promise it'll be a night for the books!

If any of you out there are interested in hearing Hockey or the Kasier Chiefs, you can check out their myspaces:
www.myspace.com/hockey
www.myspace.com/kaiserchiefs

And now time for pictures!

Hockey:

Kaiser Chiefs:

Ricky Wilson: