Posts Tagged ‘music’

Four Word Letter, Pt. 1: mewithoutYou and Kevine Devine at The Glass House

Posted: August 28, 2012 by Kevin Collier in Concert
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(Photo Credit: Ely Brothers)

It wasn’t February, 1878 or January, 1979. It was July, 2012 on the twenty-eighth day at The Glass House in Pomona, CA. I, who calls himself a Kevin Devine fan and a mewithoutYou fan was seeing both for the first time. I was very excited. This was the third show for me at the Glass House within the span of a week and I now live about 2 hours, give or take traffic, from the venue. Buried Beds was the opener and I was unfamiliar with their music. Still, I was looking forward to hearing them and experiencing new music. My friend and I ended up underestimating the time and missing Buried Beds’ set altogether (cue sad face.)

Though only two acts remained, to be fair, they were Kevin Devine and mewithoutYou, so it would definitely be worth it. We shuffled in and Kevin Devine took the stage. Though there were certainly a vocal few around me who knew his music, I got the sense the rest of the crowd was either very respectful or had no idea who he was. Early on, he launched into “A Story, A Sneak.” Here is video evidence:

Yes, you’ll hear the aforementioned “vocal few” in the video. These guys were fans, but they were annoying and probably high and almost ruined it for the rest of us. But nothing could ruin it for me. I was finally seeing Kevin Devine live. I get to see him again because I bought a ticket to see Bad Books at the Troubadour in October. He put on a great performance. There is something to be said about a great stripped down set with just a voice and a guitar and I’d be hard pressed to find a better lyricist and performer with this much passion in a solo show. Sure, I would place City and Colour higher on my list of favorites than this one, but mostly because KD’s set was shorter and he was not headlining. Speaking of thought-provoking lyrics, here is one of the best examples from his repertoire, “Another Bag of Bones.”

Then, just because he knew I missed out on Buried Beds, Kevin brought up Eliza Jones of Buried Beds to duet a song called “Cupid.” It was cutesy, but more in a Walk Hard “Let’s Duet” way than a Walk The Line “Hey, wait a minute, Reese Witherspoon sounds better than June Carter” kind of way. Take a listen:

Eliza would later make an appearance on keyboards with mewithoutYou. Kevin Devine played a few newer songs and a few older songs. He did not play “Me and My Friends” which the guy in front of me loudly suggested, but he did play “Enter Sandman” by freaking Metallica. Yes, it was a joke, but it was also kind of awesome because it was so unexpected. After that, he played “All of Everything Erased”, which you can see here. As you’ll see, he got really into the song, which was cool to see live.

He also played “Cotton Crush”, which I did not record because if you like him, you should really go see him in concert and I like to enjoy the concert myself and not watch through a tiny screen the whole time. It was a short set, but it was fantastic. After the show, I got to talk to him for a few minutes at the Merch table. He was really down to earth, nice and actually took the time to talk to me and listen to what I had to say. If by any chance you read this: Thanks, Kevin Devine and keep making great, thought-provoking, intelligent music. Oh, here’s him saying hi:

Next came the main event: mewithoutYou. Their set was like a rollercoaster. Start to finish, energy, passion and delight upon the faces of the individuals in the crowd. I didn’t get a lot of footage of their set, because it really has to be experienced wholly, without video or cell phones clouding the experience. I did let my friend film a little bit and he did his best, okay? Here’s his version of filming a song two songs:

Though I didn’t film much of their set, I did get “The Angel of Death Came to David’s Room” because it’s one of my favorite songs from them, especially lyrically. It’s a bit simplistic and Biblically based, but quite simply the message is we’re all going to die someday, so live your life. Here’s the footage I got. Enjoy!

After the show, I bought Buried Beds’ Tremble The Sails on vinyl and have since listened to it. They’re awesome. I will definitely have to catch them some other time. As I closed out my week/month of Glass House concerts, I felt equal parts excited, accomplished and tired. It took me so long to recover, that I’m just now posting this about a month later. That or, I don’t know, laziness or something. I hope you enjoyed and will check out these bands if you haven’t and find out when they’ll be in a town/city/state near you and experience if for yourself. (Still wish I could have seen mewithoutYou back when they opened for Brand New and Thrice. Oh well. Hindsight’s 20/20.)

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Song of the (Independence) Day 7.4.2012

Posted: July 4, 2012 by Kevin Collier in Music Video
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Hey everyone, I know not all of my readers are American, but in honor of our big day today, I just had to post this video by Imagine Dragons. Check it! Happy 4th everyone!

That is Ridiculous…ly bad! The Second Encounter!

Posted: June 27, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight, List, Ridiculous
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Oh goodness. I am going to step on some toes today… I’ll be honest, I am almost afraid to do this one, but I must. Too many people think this person is talented and fantastic and awesome and beautiful. I disagree with all points. What use is what I think? Why should my opinion matter? Like my bio says: I attended Musician’s Institute. I spent almost two years surrounded by amazing musicians. I got to sit in practice rooms with some of the best singers I have ever heard. I sat in on vocal classes during my free time to get a sense of what was and is a good singer. I have played with men and women that could sing the pants off of any, ANY!, pop/rock/rap singer on the radio. I live and breathe music. I KNOW MUSIC! It might be all I know, but I know it…

So… Now that that is out-of-the-way…

That is Ridiculously Bad!

Lady Gaga

If I wanted to watch a cheap, trashy, far less talented version of Madonna… wait, who am I kidding, I wouldn’t even listen to Madonna, so why would I subject myself to something worse?

If I pumped myself full of that much auto-tune, I too could sound half decent. But I can’t sing, and neither can Gaga. You know what Lady Gaga is in the music world? A rogue back-up singer. She can carry a tune, but can’t SING.

We’re talking about a girl who quit music school because she thought she was better than the other people there.. A girl who says things like, “I just wanted to do it alone, so it was me and my piano.” SOURCE! [1] Is this sound reason for dropping out of music school? no.  That just sounds like a whiny little girl who didn’t get along with her music instructors.

Now my opinion of her beauty is, let’s face it, my opinion. so let’s just leave it at I don’t find her pretty.

NOW! The one thing I will give this tiny little freak, is her music videos are astounding. Visually. They are very VERY well done. So kudos on the visuals Lady Gaga. But lay off the “singing”.

Okay! That is all I will say about that.

-Ace (soon to be murdered by a raging Gaga fan) Lancin- RIP

That is Ridiculous. Rhan Saith

Posted: June 21, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight, List, Ridiculous
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I might be a little biased in the type of musician’s I choose to write about, but I don’t care. Which means, today, another bass player. Sorta. This guy was more than a bass player. One of the best players to have ever lived, A fantastic big band leader, an amazing composer, a noteworthy producer, and A psycho.

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco

Jaco Pastorius

This edition of That is Ridiculous has been somewhat difficult for me to get out. I started writing this on Tuesday June 19th and it is now Thursday June 21st and I still don’t have it done. The reason this is so hard, Jaco! Jaco was an inspiration to just about every bass player out there.   “I think I succeeded in finding my own sound, but I think it’s obvious that Jaco is a big influence when you hear me play (at least sometimes).” -Marcus Miller-

Jaco’s playing style grabbed everyone’s attention right out of the gate. His first Album, Jaco Pastorius (1976) got him two Grammy Award Nominations. (When the Grammy’s still meant something.) And Jaco was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988. He was one of only four bassists get the honor, and the ONLY electric bassist to get the award.

Jaco has played with Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Trio of Doom, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Word of Mouth, Al Di Meola, Ian Hunter, Biréli Lagrène, Mike Stern, Flora Purim, and Airto Moreira.

Sadly, in 1982 Jaco was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His behavior and antics kept getting stranger and more erratic. There are rumors of him stripping naked on stage and coloring his face with magic marker…

September 11th, 1987 Jaco sneaked on stage at a Santana Concert, he was thrown out of the concert. He then went to the Midnight Bottle Club, where he and the bouncer Luc Havan got into a fight. Jaco was put into the hospital where he slipped into a coma. And on September 21st, 1987 Jaco Pastorius died of a brain hemorrhage. Luc Havan plead guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 22 months in jail, he served four of those months and was released on good behavior.

I know these articles are usually short. But I had to say more! IT’S JACO! All I can say, go listen to all the Jaco you can. Read what he had to say. Learn from him. He was such a great bass player it would be a shame to not learn from him.

Jerry Jemmott: “Any advice for musicians, young and old?”
Jaco: “Just to keep your minds open, keep an open head about music…
I grew up in Florida where there is no real musical prejudice,
there was all sorts of music, everyone was playing everything
from Cuban music to symphonic music…keep listening…
keep your ears open…”

-Ace Lancin-

That Is Ridiculous. Del Seks

Posted: June 13, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight
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I seem to be really bad at keeping a schedule…

Every time most men hear the sound of a banjo they think about Deliverance. And then they cringe.

When I think of banjo I think about the Prelude to Bach’s Violin Partitia #3. I think about Crazy fusion jazz/bluegrass. In short I think about Bela Fleck.

This dude really is ridiculous!

Notice how he plays that whole thing without reading the music. He’s got that mess in his HEAD!

I have been listening to Bela for years. Named a cat after him. His band Bela Fleck and The Flecktones is one of the best. Victor Wooten Trumps the low end for little ol’ Bela.

 

 

I recommend anyone interested in music should go out and check out anything they can by Bela Fleck, his music will open your mind to new musical possibilities.

Ace Lancin

 

p.s. You all wanna know something else ridiculous!? Prometheus! Go see it. It was extremely ridiculous. I need to see it again…

Quick Fix: Oh, Sleeper’s Shane Blay performs solo at Angels & Kings Bar in Hollywood

Posted: May 30, 2012 by Kevin Collier in Concert
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Children of Fire

Children of Fire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sunday night I went to Angels and Kings Bar in Hollywood, CA. They held an open mic that night for acoustic acts. Shane Blay, clean vocalist for Oh, Sleeper stopped by and played a four song set that included original songs, Oh, Sleeper track “Means To Believe” and a cover of U2′s “With or Without You.” Here’s a peek at his set:

 

 

I got to chat with him after his set, which was pretty cool. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more from him on The Stereo Lounge in the future.

 

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My Rec Collection: Play it Backward

Posted: May 28, 2012 by Kevin Collier in My Rec Collection
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Thickfreakness Is Coming To Your House

Thickfreakness Is Coming To Your House (Photo credit: seventime)

It began innocuously on a Sunday afternoon. I had mentioned to my wife that I came across a series of local antique shops in Agoura Hills, right over by The Canyon Club. She said she wanted to check them out, so off we went. The first store we came across had lots of interesting trinkets, including an old Collier’s Magazine that was, unfortunately a bit out of our price range. We did find several old LPs, or vinyls or records. I hope you know what I’m talking about. They were the thing that was before MP3s, CDs and cassette tapes. I picked out a few. We bought them for around ten bucks each, after the 50% sale was applied. We figured we would use them as decoration for our game room.

Next thing we know we’re walking around the Oaks mall and we went into Urban Outfitters, where we found a whole section of records from mostly newer artists. There we found Thickfreakness by the Black Keys and Abbey Road by the Beatles. And we bought them. Thickfreakness may have been forgivable, as it came with a digital download, so we could actually listen to it. Abbey Road, well, we could have rationalized that as yet another decoration, right? Urban Outfitters sells turntables, several different brands. They are mostly portable with speakers included. They had a cool retro style with bright colors like orange and red. We didn’t buy one that day.

Collier's The National Weekly (1902) ... Don T...

Collier’s The National Weekly (1902) … Don Towers of Cocoa, Florida..a/k/a Scrapdaddy (July 15, 2011) …item 2..The Solo (Carl Palmer) … (Photo credit: marsmet522)

The next weekend, we were buying gifts for my wife’s birthday and we went to Best Buy. Much to our surprise, they also had a section of LPs. I picked up an album by The Band, as Levon Helm had just passed and I thought it might be cool to have. I felt kind of ridiculous walking up to the counter and making yet another purchase of music I would never hear, so we decided to pick up a Sony USB Stereo Turntable. Later, we went to Hot Topic and they too had a record section. My wife picked out a Johnny Cash album and she also found The Artist in the Ambulance by Thrice, which just so happens to be my favorite band. I almost bought a Beastie Boys compilation. It was official, we had started a collection.

So, our journey continued as we checked out The Record Outlet, a store we had passed countless times going through town and spent about 80 bucks on a stack of records. We loved that place, and they even gave us free records because we bought so many. They also gave us an awesome map of all the record stores in California and surrounding states. Can you say road trip?

All in all, I’m really excited to add to our collection. I decided I’m going to attempt to review all the records I own over time. What do you think of that? I’m going to compile a list here of all the records I own and update it as I get more.

My Rec Collection:

  • Thickfreakness – The Black Keys
  • Abbey Road - The Beatles
  • Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
  • The Artist in the Ambulance – Thrice
  • Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
  • Nuthin’ Special – Lynard Skynard
  • Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
  • Why is There Air? – Bill Cosby
  • Teaser and the Firecat – Cat Stevens
  • Close to You - The Carpenters
  • The Band – The Band
  • Looking Back - Stevie Wonder
  • Demo – Living Colour
  • Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston
  • Today’s Super Greats – Various Artists
  • 2001 A Space Odyssey – Music from the Motion Picture Sound Track
  • Greatest Hits Live - Heart
  • Some Enchanted Evening - Blue Oyster Cult
  • Labour of Love - UB40
  • Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
  • So Tough - Carl and the Passions
  • Hot Space – Queen
  • Spirit of America – Queen
  • American VI: Ain’t No Grave – Johnny Cash
  • Judy - Judy Garland
  • The Game - Queen
  • Desolation Boulevard - Sweet
  • Come Around Sundown – Kings of Leon
  • No Jacket Required – Phil Collins
  • Brainwashed (Holland Import) - George Harrison
  • The Barbra Streisand Album - Barbra Streisand
  • In 3D - “Weird Al” Yankovic
  • Electric Warrior - T. Rex
  • Soldiers Under Command - Stryper
  • In Currents - The Early November
  • Beautiful Things - Anthony Green
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That is Ridiculous. Tertiary Phase!

Posted: May 22, 2012 by acelancin in Ridiculous
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Les Claypool!

The man with the bass.

When I was attending Musician’s Institute I took a class that dumbfounded me. Who would make an entire class devoted to one man? What man, bass player at that, would be worthy of his own ninety minute class? Well! Les Claypool of course!

When people are asked to name some great bass players usually only a handful pop into peoples minds; Flea, Patitucci, Collins, and (of course) Claypool. But out of all of these bass players Claypool stands in a class all by himself. He redefined solo bass playing. He made bass cool and made Primus suck. (For those of you that don’t know, “Primus Sucks” was what the band Primus would get their crowds to chant at shows.)

Anyways. You aren’t here to read my rant on how awesome Les Claypool is. So let’s get to some music!

Look at that man play that wicked six string bass… Freak! Oh yeah… And Buckethead often comes out and plays with Mr. Claypool… What a small world…

This next video I am going to share is Les playing an instrument called a Whamola. One string, a pick-up, a pulley system, and a drum stick! It’s a dirty, gritty, gravely sound. Lovely. Oh, yes, Les is the monkey playing the stick…

AAAAAAnd there he goes off stage…

Hope you enjoyed this madness…. I think it is safe to say that Les Claypool is Ridiculous!

-Ace Lancin-

 

That is Ridiculous! Part Deux

Posted: May 15, 2012 by acelancin in Ridiculous
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Vital Tech Tones

What is ridiculous about Vital Tech Tones? All three members! VTT is aFusion Jazz “supergroup”.  Steve Smith drummer for Vital Information, Tribal Tech guitarist Scott Henderson, and Bela Fleck and the FleckTones bass ex-freakin-traordinare Victor Wooten comprise the line-up for this freakishly ridiculous band.

Let’s hear a track from their second album VTT2.

Now that is just Wooten introducing the band. THAT’S JUST ONE GUY!

I’ll be honest. Their second album is my favorite, but they are both amazing albums.

But honestly these articles aren’t here to give you a bio on the band. They are here to let you hear a sample of the RIDICULOUS musicianship and hopefully get you to go out and buy their album.

Ok, The meat of the burger fusion fest!

That is Catch Me If You Can off of their first album VTT.

I’ll be honest, VTT is an acquired taste. This whole fusion jazz genre is an acquired taste. BUT I LOVE THESE GUYS!

SEE YA’LL LATER!

-Ace Lancin-

That is Ridiculous! (The Maiden Voyage!)

Posted: May 8, 2012 by acelancin in Ridiculous
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Okay.. Well it has been a while. I apologize. Honestly, I haven’t been inspired by anything new in a while. But! Something has inspired me! And I have an idea! I think I shall start a new series… One day a week I will Publish, what I am going to call, “That is Ridiculous!” I am going to pick an artist or band that I deem RIDICULOUS! for whatever reason. And not usually ridiculous bad…. That kind of ridiculous that makes you want to quit being a musician, crawl into the dark corner of your closet, and beg the world to stop being so cruel! But there will also be some bad ridiculous. I will not aim to offend anyones likes or dislikes in music, but if it happens… Maybe you should rethink your tastes! These will be short and sweet Articles right to the point.

SO! LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

THAT IS RIDICULOUS!

BUCKETHEAD

Image

Brian Carrol, otherwise known as Buckethead is, well, how do I put this?… A freak. Buckethead is a guitarist. He mostly does solo work but he has worked in many bands and most of them, we all know and love.

I am most familiar with Buckethead through his work with Les Claypool. But i went and bought a recent album of his called Electric Sea. Total shock, it shocked me. It was beautiful, and smooth and i added to my sleepytime music list. I am a fan of the ridiculous.

Some people might look at this big tall man wearing the KFC bucket on his head and a blank mask and this he is all show… Those people are so wrong they should be hung by their toenails.

ok, enough talking. Let’s hear it!

                THIS                 IS                      RIDICULOUS!!!!

GOOD DAY TO YOU ALL!!!!

I will see you next week!

-Ace Lancin-

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