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I played drums for a number of years and like to think I’ve gotten to be a good time keeper, but alas I nearly missed it this week – TVD turned two.
I was rereading last year’s ‘we turned one’ post last night, which if you’re sorta new here, you may want to give a once-over in regard to back story and how the minute and thirty seconds you spend with us each day came to pass.
In fact, read it twice because very little of my sentiments have changed to any degree beyond being in awe that the blog is still clicking along after so many weeks and this being the 900th post.
I don’t think I look for any affirmation from this endeavor although it has come along in varying guises—Best Blog lists,RecordFairs, and being named the official blog for Record Store Day 2009. I often wonder what if I didn’t wake up that Sunday morning two years ago and begin tinkering with Blogspot and slapped the first incarnation of TVD together? What if I just rolled over and and kept dreaming?
For now though, here’s ten from the past two that struck a chord.
Y’know, Ed’s right. I’ve seen him live maybe 20 times now, and despite my persistent blogging, it really is word of mouth that fills the seats. Despite this, we asked Ed to do his best to impart what you’re in for—blog-style:
"They've asked me to Blog a bit as to what you can expect to see if you were to choose to see my show. Hell if I know. First of all why are you reading this? Do you have too much time on your hands? Are you scrutinizing each and every blog by each and every fringe act? Are you familiar with my work and wanna see what kind of wackiness I'm gonna write? I'll give you some basics and I'll shoot from the hip. It's a one man show, pretty biographical, got a lot of hard hitting music, a bunch of social commentary, and you should, if all goes well, be pretty entertained, challenged and laugh your ass off. It's a reality show. Not like the ones on T.V. that are scripted and insult your intelligence. I'll respect your intelligence and tell you the truth, albeit in a humorous way. I've been kicking around doing my potty mouth anarchistic folk punk for about 10 years and decided a couple years ago that I would script and mold it into a more theatrical setting. Hired a really great director, Kate Valentine who was a heavy hitter in the New York City Art/Burlesque scene and signed onto new management, "The Invasion Group" who brought the world the great comic genius Bill Hicks. My good buddy Ani DiFranco produced the entire venture and we brought our show over to Scotland for The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest in the world. I was honored to have won the coveted Herald Angel Award. Three thousand acts and they only pass out seven of those babies so it was extremely flattering. Now we tour the States and Europe with the production and we'll be bringing it to Washington. Looking forward to it. But the real deal is as follows: Opening night will be a fair showing. How big is the venue? 120 seats? I'll have 40. But those 40 will tell their friends because maybe they're punk rockers and they respond. Or maybe they're artists with a dream who toil away at a thankless job and they need a shot of inspiration and so they get it that night and tell their friends, "I don't know how to explain it but you got to see this guy". Because were you to tell me, "Hey, he's bald, he plays the guitar like he did a kilo of Red Bull, he yells at the crowd, he's got a foul mouth and I laughed until I pissed my pants but then he made me cry and sing songs about genitals with my parents" I don't know that I'd be buying a ticket to wait in line either. Or maybe you got elderly parents and you don't know how you're going to afford to take care of them or you just lost your job and you don't know how you're going to keep your house and you just want 75 minutes, (or how ever long they're going to let me explode) to forget all your troubles. Then I'm your guy. And you're going to tell your friends and I can guarantee by the last night we're gonna have a full house. Blogs ain't gonna sell it. I could wallpaper my bathroom with 5 star reviews from The New York Times, Playboy, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice, The London Times and if truth be told that ain't gonna sell it. Word of mouth sells it. So...I hope you come out, I give 150% every night and I hope you spread the word. Watch the sparking demons escape from my brain."
Around the time MJ passed away, someone commented on one of the many TV and radio broadcasts that he felt lucky to have had ‘Thriller’ as a kid because, at a very early age one doesn’t ‘choose’ music, your environment and surroundings dictate what's consumed more or less.
Now, in the ‘70’s when I still counted my age in single digits, AM radio out of New York City (WNBC and WABC respectively) was omnipresent in my home. If you were to ask me then, I would have convinced you with the utmost sincerity that my two favorite bands were The Beatles and KISS—but I was absorbing so much more without even knowing it.
So, if you haven’t detected it already, we’re bringing some of that background music to the fore this week.
Oh—and you parents out there? I’d consider just tossing the radio out the window. Just pitch it. Y’know, for ‘the kids sake.’
On which gospel meets Philly soul and makes it all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard dance chart.
The Mighty Clouds of Joy came out of Los Angeles in 1960 as a traditional gospel group. By the early '70s, they started developing a more secular sound even as they kept the faith. This joyous, upbeat record, from 1975, is proof.
"Mighty High" is that dance hit. "Leanin'" clearly is inspired by the O'Jays' "Love Train." Then there's a funky, mashed-up cover of Kiki Dee's "I Got The Music In Me" and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." Still not sure what to make of that.
Back in November of last year, Washingtonian did a little Q&A with yours truly and at the time they poked me to name my favorite band or act in DC. I had one name for them then and I remain consistent; Paul Michel.
Don't believe me? Fine. Paul plays tomorrow night at Velvet Lounge with the equally awesome Caverns and Hammer No More The Fingers - so, y'know, you do the homework and check 'em out live.
And hey, Paul - whatcha got in store?
"I'll be playing some songs off the new album, JUNE. Been working on this album for like a year and a half, and I'm really excited about we've been able to produce. It comes out this fall, and we're beginning to play out to help promote the thing. So, though we're in the nascent stages of the touring cycle, it's going to be fun to play songs that we've never played before live, and the energy should be really great. Mike Ushinski, the motha-fuckin best drummer in the world, is playing drums, too. And my boy Sean Davenport's on the keys. I'll also have a shiny, new Macbook Pro doing all other musician-related activities - so it'll also be fun to see what a complete technology meltdown looks like.
Other reasons: we're playing with a couple rad bands, Caverns and HNMTF, who rock in schizophrenically different ways. The one thing that joins us all is badassery. Which is French for, "we like to bring it." These guys are extremely fun, both to watch and to hang out with, and the whole thing is sure to be a blast. It always is with those dudes. Plus, it's the Velvet Lounge. I remember once seeing Mastodon play there and almost falling through the floor. Near death experiences always make a show better!"
You’ve certainly got to hand it to Fort Knox Five. Not just musicians, not just DJs, these guys actually run their own label and are consistently dropping vinyl right along with any digital output. We shot some questions over to FK5’s Jon Horvath and in honor of our second birthday today, we’ve got the entire interview below along with some seriously select tracks:
How important is Vinyl to Fort Knox Five and Fort Knox Recordings? Vinyl is very important to Fort Knox Five and Fort Knox Recordings. We founded the label on vinyl. It supported our label's growth. In the last couple of years, we have started focusing on digital releases, but still releasing everything on vinyl. The great thing about digital music, is it does not cost anything to release. Making records is very expensive. To keep our label in the vinyl business, we recently signed a P&D deal with Groove Distribution for our vinyl releases.
Do you still play vinyl records? Generally for dj gigs, we use Rane/Serato Scratch. It is excellent for live shows. You have an unlimited crate. That helps with being able to rock any situation. It still has sound quality flaws, but for the most part, it works very well. Although, nothing sounds quite like vinyl.
Does vinyl have any advantages over digital music? In the old days, vinyl had many more advantages. It was much harder to bootleg a vinyl record. Vinyl only releases are also more limited than digital music. Some tunes only exist on vinyl. At least until someone rips them. The main advantage of vinyl is its warm sound quality. Digital music can never emulate that warmth.
As a DJ, what do you prefer and why? In the old days, we were strictly vinyl djs. We did play some exclusives off of cd, but generally it was all vinyl. Nowadays, we use Rane/Serato Scratch to perform. It is amazing. It eliminates the need for carrying lots of records for gigs. It feels great for our backs, but also it is nice to keep the records in mint condition. We used to go through numerous copies of a big record. Now you can make a digital copy, and then the vinyl stays mint. We like that. It is really nice to play exclusives, and our new tracks like their records.
You recently released a remix as a 7" vinyl single to celebrate 60 years of the 7 inch record, how did that come about? We released FKX018 - Radio Free DC Remixed Vol 5 in celebration of the 60 year anniversary of the 7 inch Record. It features remixes by Ali B of Air Recordings & Fabric, and Boca 45 of Dynamo Productions. A lot of our friends were throwing parties to celebrate its 60 year Bday. We decided what better way to honor its Bday than to have a 7 inch release. The remixes are serious future funk!! What vinyl have you released recently and will release soon? There are always tons of releases in the pipeline. We are in the process of releasing the Radio Free DC Remixed Vol 1-10, as well as a double gatefold 2x12" release of the Radio Free DC Album. We have gotten about 8 releases into the RFDC Remixed Series. They are all being distributed by Groove Distribution in Chicago. We also have some new artists on the label, that will be featuring vinyl releases. We are in the process of manufacturing the first Nappy Riddem's record called Nappy Riddem, featuring remixes by All Good Funk Alliance, and QDUP Foundation. Nappy Riddem is a collaboration of Rex Riddem, Mustafa Akbar, and Hash Vyas. A new See-I 7" release of "How Could You" will follow that. This will include a Rodney Hunter Remix. We also just completed 4 new Fort Knox Five songs for The New Gold Standard Vol 2. This will be released in October, and feature lots of VINYL!!!!
"An upper level low pressure system spins over the region today and will keep it overcast with limited sun. Areas of rain and some late-day storms are possible. Highs will climb into the low to mid 80s. Overnight, expect partly cloudy skies and an isolated shower/storm and lows in the mid to upper 60s.
This unsettled pattern will continue through the remainder of the week as high pressure sets up off the Atlantic coast. This will make for a chance of showers and thunderstorms each afternoon through the weekend. Highs should reach the low to mid 80s each day, finally bumping back into the upper 80s late into the week and into the early part of the weekend.
Though we may not want a rainy week in the summer, the region desperately needs it, as our region is averaging about 2 inches below normal for rainfall in the month of July. So while showers and storms are forecast each day, by no means will it be a washout. Have a great day."
After the Beatles conquered America in 1964, many other British groups found transatlantic fame and fortune. The first song of this British invasion to top the American charts was Peter and Gordon's A World Without Love, composed by Paul McCartney. The duo were Peter Asher (brother of Jane Asher, the actress) and Gordon Waller, who has died aged 64 of a heart attack.
I was commenting recently in regard to growing up that I think the best gift parents can give their children is the gift of fond memories and peace of mind. I know – often a tall order, but I stand by it.
And I can’t help it...summer comes around and I’m nostalgic for summer times that don’t involve the city, or a commute, or a day job, ...or anything else but Sweet FA. And the score to those daydreams is sweet, sweet 70’s AM radio goodness.
So, this week as we did last summer, it’s a dip into the ol’ ‘70’s box of 45’s. But if you had been keeping score previously, we’re endeavoring to not duplicate last year’s flashback in our pursuit of pure 70’s mellow gold. (I mean, have YOU ever been mellow?)
Sometimes you ache for a person, other times for a place. A fragment of your past where you left memories and friends. You may be glad you've gone, but you still wish once in a while that you could go back. Home.
I've seen Stellastarr* twice now and both times I've thought that the band's the real deal—melodic and ethereal, and miles beyond their contemporaries and the post punk purveyors they're lumped alongside in the press.
Stellastar* is back this month with their new release, "Civilized" and play The Rock and Roll Hotel this Friday night. And you, lucky TVD reader, have an opportunity to be right next to us, ON us, because we've got a pair of tickets to put in your hands.
Because we're givers, we're going to make it even easier for you guys to enter our weekly giveaways here at TVD. Staring today, you can Twitter your entries into any contest via regular Tweets or direct message via Twitter to us. Of course you can still enter in the comments below, but we need some contact info if you choose to do so.
It's a subtle way to get you guys to follow TVD on Twitter where we're often giving away additional tracks, new and old, not featured in the daily blog posts. And don't worry - it's pertinent stuff, not what we ordered in for lunch here at TVD HQ. (Not to mention, we could give a shit that The Real World's filming around the corner. So there's that.)
So, Stellastarr*! Friday night! Rock and Roll Hotel! A pair of tix with your name on 'em! Get at us!
Anyone who has done any real living has a dark side...
The old man used to call it burning the candle at both ends. I'm not sure what I'd call it, but I am sure that I've seen 3 a.m. too many times with just a coffee cup of whiskey and these songs to keep me company.
Am I out on a limb when I state unequivocally that Girl Loves Distortion might be the last and best band conjuring what I’ll call the ‘sound of DC?’ (Yea, Go Go notwithstanding.) The polyrhythms, the lacerating guitar lines, the twisty bass below have all been rumbling under the surface for a number of weeks now at TVD HQ and lucky us, we get to catch them tomorrow night when the band plays Fort Reno alongside Godisheus and Laughing Man.
GLD are releasing the brand new ‘You Better Run, Your Highness’ on vinyl this month (via Etxe Records) and as such we caught up with guitarist Christopher Goett who CLEARLY embraces the medium.
"Vinyl. Is there really any other way to experience recorded music? We don’t’ think so. The sound quality is unparalleled: deeper lows, warmer range of tones, great expression of nuance. In today’s times music quickly slips into the ether . . . it becomes a part of file sharing, compressed on a convenient iPod, or streamed online somewhere. We aren’t snubbing our noses at these modern twists and turns on the music listening experience. Most of us own an MP3 player for the convenience of it – particularly when riding the Metro around town or when we are on the road touring.
However – the thing about listening to vinyl is that it is a very deliberate experience. We aren’t trying to multi-task to something when dropping the needle down on our favorite piece of wax. It is a conscious decision to absorb the collection of songs presented by the artist. It is a tactile as well as an aural experience: perusing the artwork, pulling out the vinyl, placing it on the turntable, dropping the needle, flipping the record, etc.
Girl Loves Distortion was absolutely psyched to hear about our record label (Etxe Records) pulling the trigger on releasing our new album (You Better Run, Your Highness) on vinyl. In fact, Etxe Records has really put together a nice vinyl package - heavy grade, multi-color clear vinyl, and reverse-board LP jackets. It is record we put together thinking about vinyl, and we are hoping vinyl nerds out there like us enjoy it."
Also catch GLD this Friday, July 17, at The Trash Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The band also headlines their own CD/Vinyl release party for the new ‘You Better Run, Your Highness’ on Friday, July 24 at The Velvet Lounge with Trophy Wife (DC), Thee Lexington Arrows (Baltimore), and Fangs Out (Toledo.)
We've been singingthe praises of Elizabeth & the Catapult for some time now, but if you're STILL among the unconverted we have a pair of tickets to catch the band this Thursday night at The Rock and Roll Hotel to, y' know... get you to see things our way. Clearly.
And, because we're givers, we're going to make it even easier for you guys to enter our weekly giveaways here at TVD. Staring today, you can Twitter your entries into any contest via regular Tweets or direct message via Twitter to us. Of course you can still enter in the comments below, but we need some contact info if you choose to do so.
It's a subtle way to get you guys to follow TVD on Twitter where we're often giving away additional tracks, new and old, not featured in the daily blog posts. And don't worry - it's pertinent stuff, not what we ordered in for lunch here at TVD HQ. (Not to mention, we could give a shit that The Real World's filming around the corner. So there's that.)
So, Elizabeth & the Catapult! Thursday night! Rock and Roll Hotel! A pair of tix with your name on 'em! Get at us!
You know, I’ve always liked this room. With the lights out like this, the street lights just flood through the trees and slither up the walls. See? Oh yea, when it rains, there’s no better bay window, I tell you.
OK, sure – I’ll have another. No, you sit, I’ll turn the record over.
I have to laugh, all the years I sat here alone it’s actually nice to have some company. Thanks for stopping by. I mean that.
I've been obsessively repeating Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" all morning. The party line is that he wrote this song for the film of the same name (If you haven't seen it, do), about Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson. But the song can just as easily be heard as a lament on Springsteen's own struggle to stay relevant after 37 years.
Go ahead, make all the relevant criticisms of The Boss - He's a one trick pony. He's repetitive - only 2 of his 15 records depart from his tried and true arena rock template. He's technically a shitty singer. He's technically a shitty guitar player. He's become a caricature of himself. Levy them all, I can't argue. But the fact is that the man has a unique ability to tap into that level of human emotion that actually resides below despair better than any artist I've heard. He is actually able to write from the perspective of people so bleak, the rest of us can't even fathom their desolation.
It's a talent that has kept me coming back for more despite all the things that should have driven me away. But he can't shake me, because in my opinion there are only 2 acceptable answers to the question - "Who is the greatest American songwriter?" Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
I played drums for a number of years and like to think I’ve gotten to be a good time keeper, but alas I nearly missed it this week – TVD turned two.
