...and they're giving you a shirt right off their backs. (Well, from the merch table - but you get the idea.)
The mighty Solar Powered Sun Destroyer joins North Carolina's Hammer No More The Fingers Monday night over at Velvet Lounge in advance of new releases from both bands—SPSD's J. Robbins produced "Sender/Receiver" and HNMTF's "Black Shark."And with a little twist on a popular theme around here, the guys in SPSD have come up with the hoops you need to jump through to win this one:"To celebrate this historic night of rock, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer and the guys in Hammer No More The Fingers have decided to give away a couple shirts as well as a pair of tickets to see them at Velvet Lounge on July 26th. The rules are simple—tell us who you feel deserves a Solar Powered Sun Destroyer shirt and why . . . and the best answer wins.
You can say "my grandmother, because she doesn't understand irony." You could suggest "the wolf kid from Twilight cuz homeboy needs to get in the habit of wearing a shirt to work at Quiznos as soon as his 'acting' career ends." Or, you can say "Megan Fox because she is not talented and is married to the white rapper from 90210."It's up to you, be as creative as you want or, if you are a fan of lame, be as sincere as you want. Winner gets a choice of shirts for themselves or having us personally send the shirt to the person you choose a shirt for with a note saying why they deserve that shirt . . . oh, and remember, you get a free pair of tickets to the show. That's one Solar Powered Sun Destroyer shirt, one Hammer No More the Fingers shirt, and one pair of tickets . . . FOR FREE. Be sure to leave your name in the comments section and enter your email in so we can contact you if you do win. Best of luck."Can't beat that, right? We'll take your submissions until noon on Monday, 7/26.
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer - The Roulette Year (Mp3)Solar Powered Sun Destroyer - Ghost Light (Mp3)Solar Powered Sun Destroyer - Intromission (Mp3)Authorized for download!
Our Favorite Ridiculously Gratuitous Guitar Solos |
While we all love good pop songs, as a musician it's hard to deny the power of a really sick solo. These are our favorite moments where someone said, "You know what this needs? A guitar solo. From me. It's gonna be awesome." And awesome it was...BRENDAN (drummer):The Knack - My Sharona (from Get The Knack)Everyone knows this song, but most people only know the shortened radio version. The album version is 4:52 long, mostly thanks to one of the longest, most-badass guitar solos on a pop-rock album for its time (1979). If you ever get the chance to get your hands on this record, it's well worth a listen.Do You Feel (Like I Do) - Peter Frampton (from Frampton Comes Alive!)If your parents liked rock and roll in the 70's, chances are Frampton Comes Alive! lives in their record collection somewhere. My dad absolutely loved Frampton, or rather "Do You Feel (Like I Do)", simply because he could talk through his guitar during his solos. "He made his guitar talk! Amazing!" Pretty cool, dad. Pretty cool. Mountain Jam - Allman Brothers (from Eat a Peach)This track, featuring Duane Allman and Dicky Betts having a musical conversation with their guitars, takes up the entire Side II of "Eat a Peach." It can get a bit intense, but something tells me that was the intention. And the drum solo at the end is pretty spectacular as well.
THOMAS ORGREN (bassist/guitarist):Lynyrd Skynyrd - FreebirdIt's THE classic guitar solo, and I love it to death. When I was a freshman in high school, my band learned it so that we could actually play it when that asshole in the crowd yelled for it. Somewhere in my house I have a cassette tape recording of us playing it - I was playing rhythm guitar, using a Boss Metal Zone for distortion, and when the solo rolls around it sounds like aliens landed in the swamps of Florida. I still sing the solo note for note whenever I hear it on the radio. People think I'm crazy...In A Gadda Da Vida - Iron ButterflyAnother song that I learned freshman year of high school for little reason at all. This one I actually learned without ever having heard the song before. During the guitar solo our drummer's bass drum pedal broke so I put down my bass and climbed underneath the drum set and fixed the pedal as the drummer launched into his solo. I'll probably lose my hearing before I'm 50 years old because of that.Derek & The Dominoes - LaylaThis song makes me a little embarassed for Eric Clapton, because Duane Allman was just that much better than him (read: more tasteful). I still hardly believe the first part of the song exists (you know, "Layla, you got me on my knees") because whenever I hear it on the radio it's always the outro that's on.
RYAN LITTLE (vocalist/guitarist/singer):Wilco - Ashes of American Flags (live)It's almost impossible to choose the best Nels Cline guitar solo, but on the live Wilco album Kicking Television, he pretty much destroys the end of Ashes of American Flags. It's heartbreaking and pure and technical and abstract and just one more reason he is my favorite guitar player of all time. Of course, I do have to give some props to Glen Kotche on this one because his signature drumming really deeply reinforces the splendor of the moment.Yo La Tengo - We're An American BandAs much as I enjoy "My Little Corner of the World," this should really be the last song on I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. It's epic. The solo is the culmination of Ira Kaplan's face-destroying noisy proclivities, his patient and moving sentimentality, and his incredible sense of melody. Ira takes a really solid, structured song and rides it out for a while before really pushing it out into another dimension.The Velvet Underground - I Heard Her Call My NameThere's the line "And then my mind split open!" and the subsequent guitar solo proves it to be true.
The Knack - My Sharona (Mp3)Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird (Mp3)Wilco - Ashes Of American Flags [Live] (Mp3)
Is it OK to say you grew up in the '70s and somehow never really got into Bruce Springsteen?
None of my hometown friends were into Springsteen when he hit it big in the mid-'70s. But when I went away to college, I started working at the newspaper and found myself one desk over from a guy who was a hardcore Springsteen fan. You did anything with that guy and you got the gospel according to Bruce.
Somehow, perhaps by hearing it played at Truckers Union (our local record store), I was introduced to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, the great R&B big band that thundered out of Asbury Park, New Jersey, not long after Springsteen hit it big.
Part of Southside Johnny Lyon's appeal (to me, at least) was that he was not Springsteen, yet he was one of Springsteen's pals, doing any number of Springsteen songs and sharing a collaborator in Miami Steve Van Zandt. That gave my friend and I some common ground.
Part of the Jukes' appeal (again, to me) was that their music was more consistently upbeat and joyous than that of Springsteen, especially on "This Time It's For Real." That was their second album, released in 1977. It was arranged and produced by Van Zandt, who wrote eight of its 10 songs.
Side 1 is an extended nod to classic R&B, with a cover of Aretha Franklin's "Without Love" and tunes on which the Coasters and the Satins sing backup.
Side 2 gives way to five original R&B workouts, all written by Van Zandt (and three with Springsteen as his co-writer).
We have three of the latter for you. Finishing out Side 2, they go from laid-back, stripped-down blues ("I Ain't Got The Fever No More") to Brill Building-inspired orchestration ("Love On The Wrong Side Of Town") to primal, thundering drums, piano and guitars ("When You Dance").
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - I Ain't Got The Fever No More (Mp3)Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - Love On The Wrong Side Of Town (Mp3)Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - When You Dance (Mp3)
"This Time It's For Real" is out of print, at least on its own. It is available on this 2-on-1 CD also featuring "I Don't Want To Go Home," the group's fine debut LP from 1976.
(Note to Springsteen fans: I appreciate your passion and I appreciate his greatness. I have some of his records. But I am far from a hardcore fan like you, or like my old friend from the newsroom.)
