Monday, November 30, 2009

Local Natives 11/29/09 Minneapolis + more...



Saw them this evening, November 29th, 2009.

Set list

Camera Talk
World News
Warning Sign
Airplanes
Wide Eyes
Shapeshifter
Who Knows, Who Cares
Sun Hands +jam

another energetic, uplifting live performance from the-next-big-thing (in Indie) err..not next to me of course considering I've loved them for nearly 3 years to the day/week as it was December'06 or January'07, I forget, when I was 1st introduced to the band, then known as Cavil at Rest.

Sun Hands is such a winner live. It absolutely kills every-time. Honest-to-god, they might be good to open with that track every show. I told Matt, their drummer, if they ever release a live album/dvd that has got to be on it.

And maybe most satisfying about this show, I am pretty certain, I was right. A lot of people had never heard them before and now dig them. Hopefully memories won't be short and come February, when they mentioned Gorilla Manor should drop in the US, those folks will remember and hound 89.3 to play them. And to be honest, they could play any number of songs off GM. If I picked one, I might suggest "World News"..the vocal-harmonies are just such a great representation about what they are about, a ton more people can and will enjoy them just for the vocal-harmonies on that track.

Interesting in talking with the band after the show and showing them my copy of "Gorilla Manor" they-had-not-seen-it yet in fact, lol. I felt so privileged yet embarrassed in a way. The special pre-order from Rough Trade

edit: for what it actually is worth, Gorilla Manor is their "album-of-the-month" lol. Very cool!

The Varsity Theater: this show sold out. Mainly because "Home" by Edward Sharpe is being played seemingly every hour on 89.3. But they removed most of the couches and risers that they place them on on the sides of the floor. I still love/prefer The Varsity Theater to any other venue, at least for Rock music in Minneapolis and St.Paul. But without the couches, it's a little different. I guess they changed the set-up to fit more people, which is understand-able, but still unfortunate for some people who really enjoy having them there to sit on. I stood for Local Natives, which was only about 45 minute set. But Fool's Gold and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros I certainly would have preferred to watch from the couches/chairs, assuming I'd be able to see the stage okay.

The one thing to look forward to, even with that kind of arrangement in the future, being the construction/expansion they are doing on the 2nd level. It appears they'll be adding actual General-Admission seating up there soon. That should add to the capacity and add more seated options. So, it's a matter of the next time I'm there, which I'm not clear on at this point. It could be in a few weeks, it may not be until next Summer. But hopefully the similar if not expanded seating will be available at that time.

A few words about Fool's Gold and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I'm happy LN's got to open for such a buzzed-about band. But honestly, Edward Sharpe's music really doesn't do all that much for me. They did "Home" at least, which does admittedly, have a very catchy chorus with the whistling. But even when the 2 Minnesotan female string-players joined them onstage, their music didn't really get much more interesting. The Folky/Americana style just only goes so far for me. Ya got a whole bevvy of players on stage, and the overall result ends up sounding stripped-down.

Fool's Gold were fun for a little while, but the African-funky jam combination is not something I find enjoyable in large doses. The song "Poseidon" I think it was, with the lead-flute, I will grant them had them kind of going into progressive rock territory. But overall, most of the music had a samey-ness to it, even tho I enjoy percussive stuff. If I saw them play at Fest or CON they may have done more for me. Perhaps the same fate would have found the likes of Bat For Lashes and especially BLK JKS who I wanted-to-see earlier this year but missed.

just a few small notes to add.

1st off, my Grandpa, "Papa Dave" passed away over the weekend. In short, it had been coming, I suppose more-so in the last few weeks. Why this is relevant on this blog? mainly due to what I meant to be doing, and what I will do with this. Which leads me to my next point.

2nd) I am trying-to and likely will be doing some podcasts soon. Limited though, as I'm not interested in shamelessly plugging them on the podcast networks or other spots (at this point).

3rd) Lists. They are coming, and I meant to work more on them this weekend. But somehow my activities shifted to dvr-clearing and talking-on-the-phone with a certain female. Along with just reflecting about my life and experiences with my family, my Grandfather and Grandmother namely. So, like many, my mind has been pre-occupied with things, thus not as consumed by others. Especially on a long holiday weekend like this was.

But it is that time of the year, and certainly my lists will find their way in here soon enough. 2009 Albums Index, 2000-2009 Albums Index, and I will publish some kind of 2000-2009 Movies and TV Indexes. And I suppose like last year, a Feb 2009-Feb 2010 Movie Index as well. Scary thing is, the Albums one's I'm not all that excited to compile, at least compared to the movies and tv ones.

some other notes to be added in the next entry...

Friday, November 27, 2009

Kaddisfly back?...Water & Bodies video

Kaddisfly myspace



2 new songs/demos uploaded "Man On a String" and "Lately".

Speculation?...I have no clue if they are demos they made before the hiatus, Water and Bodies songs/demos, or new Demos made recently i.e. they're back together. certainly possible, getting back together was the *big* announcement Beau, their drummer, alluded to back in August on their blog.



2 guitars on this live video of a new song called "Smoking Gun"

..hmm..

Classic Rock Magazine's "150 Albums...

you must hear before you die."

not bad. A lot of *obscure* titles, and some that are not really all that obscure. And mostly older albums from the 60's and 70's, which is understandable given the magazine and people submitting the lists. I should try and check out some of these, namely the Jazz-Rock and some of those Psyche records I've never heard-of.

I'm really not all that clear on what the difference is in some of the genres tho. namely "Country Rock" and "Southern Rock." Maybe that's like early Metal and Metal now, or "Hard Rock" and "Metal." Definitely there are times the lines get awfully blurry.



http://rateyourmusic.com/lists/list_view?list_id=204001&show=50&start=0
http://rateyourmusic.com/lists/list_view?list_id=204001&show=50&start=50
http://rateyourmusic.com/lists/list_view?list_id=204001&show=50&start=100

http://rateyourmusic.com/lists/list_view?list_id=204001&show=50&start=150


Prog and Psyche

Selected by Cathedral singer Lee Dorrian

Caravan - Caravan (1968)
The Gods - Genesis (1968)
The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow (1968)
Pussy - Pussy Plays (1969)
High Tide - Sea Shanties (1969)
Arzachel - Arzachel (1969)
Mighty Baby - Mighty Baby (1969)
East of Eden - Mercator Projected (1969)
Locomotive - We Are Everything You See (1969)
Arcadium - Breathe Awhile (1969)
The Human Beast - Volume One (1970)
T2 - It'll All Work Out in Boomland (1970)
Fairfield Parlour - From Home to Home (1970)
Julian's Treatment - A Time Before This (1970)
Czar - Czar (2007)
Comus - First Utterance (1971)
Fuzzy Duck - Fuzzy Duck (1993)
Tractor - Tractor (1972)
Second Hand - Death May Be Your Santa Claus (1970)
Nicholas Greenwood - Cold Cuts (1972)

70s US Rock

Selected by Derek Oliver

The Boyzz - Too Wild to Tame (1978)
Legs Diamond - A Diamond Is a Hard Rock (1978)
Ram Jam - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram (1978)
Y & T - Struck Down (1978)
Starz - Violation (1977)

Japanese Rock

Selected by Julian Cope

Far East Family Band - Parallel World (1976)
Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971)
Les Rallizes Dénudés - Heavier Than a Death in the Family (2002) [Bootleg / Unauthorized]
Itsutsu no Akai Fusen - Folk - Volume 1 (1969) [Compilation]
Speed Glue & Shinki - Eve (1971)

Second Wave of Punk

Selected by John Robb

U.K. Subs - Another Kind of Blues (1979)
Crass - The Feeding of the 5000 (1978)
The Ruts - The Crack (1979)
The Subhumans - The Day the Country Died (1982)
Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982)

Blues Rock

Selected by guitarist Walter Trout

Taj Mahal - Taj Mahal (1968)
Taj Mahal - The Natch'l Blues (1968)
Mike Bloomfield - Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West (1969)
Moby Grape - Grape Jam (1968)
Small Faces- Small Faces (1966)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band - In My Own Dream (1968)
Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills (1970)
Frankie Miller - The Rock (1975)
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Play the Blues (1972)

Pub Rock

Selected by Terry Staunton

Eggs Over Easy - Good n' Cheap (1972)
Brinsley Schwarz - The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz (1974)
Graham Parker - Howlin' Wind (1976)
Dr. Feelgood - Stupidity (1976)
Mickey Jupp - Juppanese (1978)

Concept Albums

Selected by Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson

Aphrodite's Child - 666 (1972)
Nektar - Journey to the Centre of the Eye (1972)
Tom Newman - Faerie Symphony (1977)
Walter Carlos - Sonic Seasonings (1972)
Godley & Creme - Consequences (1977)
Jon Anderson - Olias of Sunhillow (1976)
Camel - Nude (1981)
Virginia Astley - From Gardens Where We Feel Secure (1983)
Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)

Power Pop

Selected by Ken Sharp

Raspberries - Side 3 (1973)
The Knack - Get the Knack (1979)
Big Star - #1 Record (1972)
Badfinger - Straight Up (1971)
Jellyfish - Spilt Milk (1993)

Grunge

Selected by Greg Prato

Brad - Shame (1993)
My Sister's Machine - Diva (1992)
Truly - Fast Stories...From Kid Coma (1995)
Tad - 8-Way Santa [Original Cover] (1991)
The Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity (1997)

Goth Rock

Selected by Scott Rowley

Flesh for Lulu - Flesh for Lulu (1984)
The Lords of the New Church - The Lords of the New Church (1982)
The Rose of Avalanche - First Avalanche (1985) [Compilation]
The Batfish Boys - The Gods Hate Kansas (1985)

Power Metal

Selected by Malcolm Dome

Grim Reaper - See You in Hell (1983)
Helstar - Burning Star (1984)
Savatage - Streets: A Rock Opera (1991)
Axxis - Back to the Kingdom (2000)

Instrumental Rock

Selected by Jason Sidwell

Racer X - Second Heat (1986)
Shawn Lane - Powers of Ten (1992)
Jeff Beck - Who Else! (1999)
Guthrie Govan - Erotic Cakes (2006)

Glam Rock

Selected by Geoff Barton

Young Parisian - Young Parisian (2006)
D'Molls - D'Molls (1988)
Dirty Penny - Take It Sleazy (2007)
Silverhead - Silverhead (1972)

Southern Rock

Selected by Jerry Ewing

Hank Williams, Jr. - Hank Williams, Jr. & Friends (1975)
Steve Gaines - One in the Sun (1988)
The Kentucky Headhunters - Pickin' on Nashville (1989)
Gregg Allman - Laid Back (1973)
The Charlie Daniels Band - Simple Man (1989)

Hair Metal

Selected by Steel Panther guitarist Satchel

Mötley Crüe - Shout at the Devil (1983)
Warrant - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1988)
White Lion - Pride (1987)
W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (1989)
Britny Fox - Britny Fox (1988)
Autograph - Sign in Please (1984)

Alternative 80s

Selected by Wildhearts frontman Ginger

Jason & The Scorchers - Lost & Found (1985)
The Long Ryders - State of Our Union (1985)
Bad Brains - I Against I (1986)
Concrete Blonde - Concrete Blonde (1986)
Fishbone - Truth and Soul (1988)
Soul Asylum - Hang Time (1988)

Lost Gems

Selected by Ginger

The Babys - Head First (1978)
Urge Overkill - Saturation (1993)
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided (2006)
The Jayhawks - Sound of Lies (1997)

Industrial Rock

Selected by Jonathan Selzer

Einstürzende Neubauten - ½ Mensch (1985)
Laibach - Opus Dei (1987)
Skinny Puppy - Vivisect VI (1988)
Rammstein - Mutter (2001)
The Young Gods - L'eau rouge (1989)

Jazz Rock

Selected by Paul Henderson

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame (1971)
Bruford - Feels Good to Me (1977)
Brand X - Masques (1978)
The Brecker Brothers - Heavy Metal Be-Bop (1978)

Melodic Rock

Selected by Dave Ling

Strangeways - Native Sons (1987)
Giant - Last of the Runaways (1989)
Michael Bolton - Everybody's Crazy (1985)
Unruly Child - Unruly Child (1992)
Harem Scarem - Mood Swings (1993)

Solo Stars

Selected by Hugh Fielder

J.D. Souther - John David Souther (1972)
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
Bobby Charles - Bobby Charles (1972)
J.J. Cale - Naturally (1972)

Folk Rock

Selected by Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg

Dave Swarbrick - Rags,Reels & Airs (1967)
Bob Fox & Stu Luckley - Nowt So Good'll Pass (1978)
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses (1978)
John Martyn - Solid Air (1973)
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1970)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Kate & Anna McGarrigle (1975)

Country Rock

Selected by Jerry Ewing

David Allan Coe - Longhaired Redneck (1976)
The Flying Burrito Bros - The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)
Texas Tornados - Texas Tornados (1990)
The Blue Ridge Rangers - The Blue Ridge Rangers (1973)
Willie Nelson - Shotgun Willie (1973)

Thrash Metal

Selected by Alexander Milas

Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (1986)
Testament - The Legacy (1987)
Death Angel - Act III (1990)

Jam Bands

Selected by Warren Haynes

John Coltrane - Blue Train (1958)
Sly and the Family Stone - Stand! (1969)
B.B. King - Indianola Mississippi Seeds (1970)
The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East (1971)
Steely Dan - The Royal Scam (1976)
Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus (1979)
Medeski, Martin & Wood - Notes From the Underground (1992)
Widespread Panic - Light Fuse Get Away (1998)

Shock Rock

Selected by Geoff Barton

Plasmatics - New Hope for the Wretched (1980)
PileDriver - Metal Inquisition (1985)
The Mentors - You Axed for It! (1985)
W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P. (1984)
Lizzy Borden - Menace to Society (1986)

Sleaze Rock

Selected by Sleazegrinder

The Dogs d'Amour - In the Dynamite Jet Saloon (1988)
Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction - High Priest of Love (1986) [EP]
Rogue Male - First Visit (1985)
Love / Hate - Blackout in the Red Room (1990)

Monday, November 23, 2009

CHUCK Season 3 Promo, Parenthood casts LAUREN GRAHAM



nbc.com link



2-Hour season premiere on Sunday January 10th, and then it replaces the shark-jumping "Heroes" the next night.

Kristin Kreuk, Brandon Routh and Angie Harmon are going to be guest starring.

Nice to see NBC wise-up a bit by bringing it back earlier than the originally projected March time-frame. Heroes is B-A-D this season, and by some miracle, this may save their butt.

Regardless, my friend's point about NBC leaving all their best shows, besides Chuck, in the farm system on the USA Network is inexcusable. Bringing, what is in-effect, the only good show they have back early, doesn't make-up for the fact their network airs pretty much all crap, and their owned-cable network in USA has I count 6 good shows. (Psych, Burn Notice, Monk, In Plain Sight, Royal Pains, White Collar) As my friend says, IT-MAKES-NO-SENSE.



The only other possibility is the new, but pushed-back old-movie-based show "Parenthood," (which based on projections the Wednesday after the Winter Olymnpics end, would premiere on Wednesday March 3rd at 7PM central) which has a decent cast in Monica Potter (Boston Legal, Trust Me), Peter Krause (Dirty Sexy Money, The Lost Room), Craig T Nelson (Coach) and maybe most importantly, Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls).



edit: In now reading about why this was delayed, Maura Tierney was originally cast, but came to learn about having breast-cancer soon after. My guess is Lauren Graham replaced her. Hopefully Maura is doing well in her treatment; but from a casting standpoint, I can't be upset being a Lauren Graham fan. Although Ron Howard is (executive aka forking $ over) producing (he did the movie and original tv show the year after in '89 and 1990, and the possibly over-rated, but still entertaining-at-times "Arrested Development" among his other many Hollywood credits), but the WRITER is someone named Jason Katims. Looking at his credits, namely the writing, his best work was a few episodes of the canceled-too-soon Rebecca Romijn WB-show "Pepper Dennis," "Roswell," and "My So-Called Life." His other work, namely "Friday Night Lights" is not really anything to write home about.



Lauren Graham has been good in other things, but there's no debating over how great Amy Sherman-Palladino's writing on Gilmore was for her. So this, being possibly the only other good NBC show with the demise of Heroes, gives the laughable-network 2 shows worth watching on their main network, and still 6 (or now-5 with Monk gone). But is Jay Leno helping them climb out of 3rd place? of course not. The USA shows probably would, but perhaps with Chuck returning so early and Parenhood with Graham, they may finally gain an ounce of respect back.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Untitled (2009)



11/18 review
Very good movie! Admittedly, the experience with meeting Prince might have distracted me, but I'm not sure how much.

This was a very effective parody of music/musicians and artwork in general. To be more specific, like the most misunderstood Andy Warhol-like creator modernized, or as a musical equivalent, maybe someone like John Zorn.

But it was PURE PARODY.

Adam Goldberg hit on line-after-line. Yeah, it struck me again how he does more or less play the same character in every movie he's in. But especially here, it didn't matter. The writing was just perfectly delivered.

"Harmony was a capitalist plot to sell pianos"

Also just his actions, like his annoyance when disrupted, he waves the American Flag in demonstration. Or at a restaurant, a cellphone goes on and he then resorts to hacking away loudly on the piano he was being paid to play as background music.

Crumpling -up paper as percussion, using a whoopee-cushion? I forget what else. he even plays a depressing piano piece at a wedding. And then at a showing of the avant-garde art, in protest due to his music "not fitting" with the artwork, he has his group change to a score to what is in-effect pure-silence as a musical-piece, lol.

The art-humor was effective as well. Using real-animals (it appeared at least) in various stuffed positions with different household devices. If I recall, there was 1 with a cat connected to a vacuum.

This movie was about the parodied humor, dialogue (commentary on art and the art-scene in NYC mainly), and characters. The plot itself, was not all that brilliant. Character-relationships, etc..

And the truth is, while the humor always worked, it did get a bit repetitive. That and the last 20-30 minutes seemed pretty rehashed jokes from earlier in the movie.

Also one thing people who saw this movie should kill some time some day on oddmusic.com. Many of the unusual approaches to sound and instruments used in this movie could have been inspired-by or taken from that website. Playing Bucket? it wouldn't surprise me.

80/100






imdb

A fashionable contemporary art gallerist in Chelsea, New York falls for a brooding new music composer in this comic satire of the state of contemporary art. Adam Goldberg (Two Days in Paris) plays the serious composer...

I'm seeing this tomorrow evening at Edina Theater. It doesn't look bad, about the art and music world in a sense. Adam Goldberg stars.

words to follow soon after.

oh and I actually have a *date* kinda/sorta. Not sure exactly what to call it :p

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

2010 Albums: a list mid-November 2009

here's my current list, some definite, some likely, some possibilities. Some unlikely-but-not-impossible (Necrophagist? The End?)


Agalloch
Annuals
Apes and Androids
Arsis - Starve for the Devil ..less prog, more Arch Enemy-like?
Battles
Bend Sinister
Between Two Skies
Blackfield
Broken Social Scene
Canon
Circa Survive
Coheed and Cambria
Cynic
Dark Tranquillity
Dead Letter Circus
Demians
Distrails
Fair to Midland
Fates Warning
Jimmy Gnecco
House of Fools
Immortal Technique Revolutionary Vol. 3
Immortal Technique -The Middle Passage
In Vain Mantra
Kaura
Lehto & Wright
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor (US Release)
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Buzzard
Menomena
Pat Metheny
Midlake - The Courage of Others
Minus the Bear
Necrophagist (?)
Neverending White Lights - Act III
Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
Pain of Salvation Road Salt
Periphery
Oceansize
Revere Hey! Selim
selF
Silverchair
Sound & Shape
Stateless
Subterranean Masquerade - In Pastille Colors
Tangled Thoughts of Leaving
The Age of Rockets
The Apples in Stereo - Travelers in Space and Time
The End
The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra
The New Pornographers
The Polyphonic Spree
The Reign of Kindo
The River Empires
3
Thurisaz
Devin Townsend - Deconstruction
Devin Townsend - Ghosts
Unexpect
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Warpaint
Water & Bodies
We Valedictorians

for some reason, this list seems more about quantity, than huge x-mas-morning excitement. 2009 had so many of those kinds: Soundscape, maudlin of the Well, Kiss Kiss, The Dear Hunter, Mew, Imogen Heap, Local Natives, Transatlantic, BTBAM, and of course Kevin Gilbert.

there are some there certainly..but I'm hoping some of these names will surprise me. Debut albums should be there at least, which is always something to look fwd to.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Agalloch - The Silence Of Forgotten Landscapes (DVD 2009)

order page



1 Limbs 9:51
2 Falling Snow 9:38
3 As Embers Dress the Sky 8:04
4 Dead Winter Days 7:51
5 I Am the Wooden Doors 6:10
6 In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion 14:44
7 Not Unlike the Waves 9:16
8 Bloodbirds 6:21

AGALLOCH - The Silence Of Forgotten Landscapes (DVD)
First-ever DVD from the mighty Agalloch. The main feature of this DVD is a show recorded on March 29, 2008 in Belgium -- eight tracks culled from the band's three albums to date, totaling over 70 minutes. Features another 50 minutes of extra material, which includes about 10 minutes of original music written and performed by John Haughm. [By request of the band, $2.50 of each DVD sale will be donated to a nature preservation society that protects parts of northern Belgium and southern Holland.]


the lack of buzz about this along with some comments on rym have me kind of wary about buying it. Plus nothing from "The White."

Still, I've never seen them, the price being $18.49 ain't too high, I may consider picking this up soon, depending on if my financial status improves.

The Prisoner (2009) 11/15-11/17



it premieres tonight on AMC and airs tomorrow and Tuesday. 7-9PM followed by encores 9-11PM.

Sir Ian McKellen, Jim Caviezel star. I'm guilty in that I haven't tried to find/watch the original still. Perhaps after seeing this, I'll be more motivated to.

From the San Diego ComicCon trailer it is clear that the basic plot of the new series remains the same, a man awakening in a strange village, and some of the scenes appear to be directly based on scenes in the original series, for example, the Prisoner trying to purchase a map in the Village Shop. A notable difference appears to be that the villagers (including the Prisoner) have been made to forget about the world outside of the Village. Other changes include the difference in the setting of the Village, the costumes, and the lack of badges.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Who is this clown and

how is half of the content on his Wikipedia Page even believe-able. I read through his blog, he's not funny, and frankly is not entertaining to read.

If a douche like that can get a fucking book published, I may actually have a chance to make this more than a hobby, lol.

Also (what traced me to his blog in the 1st place) this album by Ken Snyder "By Request Only" that some folks are gushing over, as some hugely hilarious joke, really in truth is old news. A simple google search shows the (attempts at) humor with-it goes back to 2007 or earlier.

Also, someone has got to point out the fact Ken resembles Steve Zahn



Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Dollhouse RIP



it's been 86'ed by FOX. What a shock!

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/11/11/this-just-in-dollhouse-axed/

at least they will air the remaining episodes. The show was kind of screwed from the start given it was placed on Friday night and the storyline was fucked-with I guess..ie. not exactly how Whedon had written it.

He should go to Cable, plain and simple. Or Web-based (see Dr.Horrible).

VOTE for BEND SINISTER!

I just voted, others need to, too!





Hi dude, this is dan from BEND SINISTER here. We are offering 10 of our favorite songs from our 3 records completely free for download at our new website if you'd like to check it out!. They are available here:

http://www.bendsinisterband.com

Also we are taking part in this MUSIC BC/PEAK radio station contest right now for a chance at a 150,000$ grant towards our musical career which as you know would be a huge help for any artist to continue making a living touring and recording. The contest is based on online votes and it only takes a second to vote for us in the contest. We are falling behind and could really use your support so if you have a second please vote at:

http://www.peakperformanceproject.com/?page_id=111

If you really want to help, I know facebook and twitter are more key these days so were are hoping people might spread the word on their facebook/twitter status and get there friends to vote!

Thanks for listening and PLEASE take a second to vote and spread the word, we could really use the help!

Much love


I noticed the other day, Bend Sinister are now represented by The Agency Group who have a ton of names on their roster including: King Crimson (and many of their members solo work), Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, 3, dredg, Nicole Atkins, The Dresden Dolls, Dragonforce, Muse, Murder By Death, Malajube, The Sword, Rush, Russian Circles, Pink Floyd, etc etc

I'm not sure what or how much it means, being that list being as length-ly as it is. But I'd like to believe getting that kind of representation would benefit the band. Does Malajube tour? I dunno, but they're from Canada and might be in a similar spot in some ways. Although I'd guess a lot more people know them, given how their music is more available, and name is more known.

William Shatner's RAW NERVE Returns!

About on the Biography Channel website



Greetings!

Welcome to the WilliamShatner.com Newsletter!

Things have been busy in the WilliamShatner.com world.

Our first bit of news is from our friends at the Bio Channel. The Season 2 debut of Shatner's Raw Nerve. Guests this season include Rush Limbaugh, Regis Philbin, Mackenzie Phillips, Whoopi Goldberg, Gene Simmons, Jerry Springer, Jason Alexander, Larry Flynt, Tony Danza, Henry Winkler, Weird Al Yankovich, John Edward, Meatloaf and more.
Shatner's Raw Nerve premiere's on December 6th on Bio at 10PM ET/11PM PT. Check local listings.


I honestly thought it was canceled with so little about it. But that is far from the case! With Boston Legal gone, and with his usual cameos and b-movie appearances, I figured Shatner would want to continue doing this. Perhaps the ratings were not high enough on Biography? Anyway, it's great to find out that didn't matter for the show now being renewed, starting up again next month. The guest list doesn't look bad either. I just wonder if he'll continue to try and play shrink.
"tell me about your childhood... lol.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Age of Rockets FOR THE WIN!!!

Age of Rockets myspace

edit: I missed "the" in the url

I got into this band earlier this year. Sort of classical-influenced and "Indietronica" at the same time.

This is very cool of them

kickstarter page with Video



considering the $ won't get charged until that deadline, I went ahead and pledged $25. This band are rather good, and this idea sounds hella intriguing.



"Hannah" from 2008 is a rather good record, I have hope that this new thing will surpass that. In some ways this fills a void of some of the other bands breaking up of late (Fields, 100Ft Snowman, Eroica).

Dead Letter Circus (March 2010)...Eroica (RIP)

Dead Letter Circus new/debut album apparently will be coming out in March 2010 ..or *projected* at least.





good to find out when. But as I've posted before, I'm in a wait-and-see with them. Their debut ep was pretty good; their new songs not so much. Hopefully the full-length will be better.



Eroica is officially done. I got a message back from them yesterday.

Damnit!

I guess some of the members also are in Irepress, lol..and another band called Henry Gale which are both of the "post" variety, not surprisingly.

Eroica >>> Irepress

and I'm not really getting a much better impression from Henry Gale just sampling their myspace. But who knows.

So, along with 100Ft Snowman and Fields..Eroica joins that fatality list :(

it happens every year, but it doesn't make it any easier to accept. O well, maybe they'll do a reunion or something similar to Eroica again. RIP guys.

edit: this pisses me off in some ways. I was just thinking, why do you get all these boring, nature-music "Post" bands who are still around, and yet one of the more unique/distinct ones like Eroica goes away like this. It's-just-not-fair.

Reminds me of People For Audio. Baffling.."the good don't last too long" as they say, and the mediocre get popular and remain for decades often times. Fuck them.

Karnivool - All I Know (video)



new video. Nicely shot. What the video exactly means, I guess I *don't exactly know. Someone named Chris shot it. Suppose going over to the 'Vool forum I could find out who exactly that is.

edit: Chris Frey who also shot the "Set Fire to the Hive" video earlier this year.





The song, well in my whole *revisiting* phase now for the 2009 Index/Race, Sound Awake does probably deserve some of that. I'd be surprised if my feeling about it changes a ton, but I'd love to be wrong. This new video, for it's metaphors and whatnot, didn't hurt.

More new FAIR TO MIDLAND demos

edit:

"Rikki Tikki Tavi" (live)



.

pulled a 2nd time, lol. even tho it's stated on the user's upload

THIS IS NOT A FINISHED PRODUCT, IT IS A DEMO. DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS WHAT ITS GONNA SOUND LIKE ON THE ALBUM.

The band said they really dont care about it being leaked their only worry is about it being thought of as finished.


yeah that reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally sounds like it would fit on Fables From a Mayfly, lol.

so, this new album of theirs is gonna be a huge leap in different directions.

Prediction: It will turn off a lot of fans of Fables, especially the ones who don't care for much of the screaming and "like their vocals clean" lol..but it will attract/get-support from people who thought they were a one-trick pony on Fables (which they weren't, just listen to inter.funda.stifle to understand that), and many will see it as them moving forward.

It may also cause some people to feel they are being too eclectic for their own good. Personally, I'm pretty damn optimistic regardless. They are very good songwriters. How cohesive the whole record will be, I dunno. But I gotta believe a lot of this down-time has helped them get ideas as to how to put the album together (along with writing that many more new songs).

But this demo sounds really intriguing, and very much worthy of how good that song sounded live last month.

edit: here's a couple more

"A Loophole In Limbo" and "Bright Bulbs and Sharp Tools"





prmising..verrrry promising. And I think we heard at least another 4 or 5 others at the shows here last October and back in April that I'm pretty sure didn't sound exactly like any of these 3 (nor Musical Chairs).

Mind you, these are JUST DEMOS, but for demos, they sound very intriguing.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sound Opinions (the podcast) to do a PROG show (11/13)



Here's my forum post


soundopinions.org

Dunno how many others around here listen to the Sound Opinions podcast besides myself.

While the hosts and the content they cover at-times can be nauseating and baffling, at the same time, the show has enough music topics and entertaining moments for myself to keep listening to it.

Well well well, this upcoming week, which is the 207th show for these 2 Siskel-and-Ebert-wannabe music critics, they are going to feature a whole show on our known and beloved genre of progressive rock.

Show #207: 11.13.09
School of Prog Rock: Jim and Greg explore the fantastical world of Progressive Rock with Charles Snider, author of The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock. ( )


so, if even if you hate both Kot and especially Derogatis, this show may give many reasons to check this weeks show out, just based on subject matter.

And one thing to note, a few years ago they added a hotline segment at the end of the show. People call-in and voice *their opinion* about the show. So, if you agree/appreciate or disagree with anything they say on this show, there is that option and hopefully your message will get played at the end of following week's show.

Will Dream Theater or Marillion get mentioned? who knows. I met the guys last Spring at a q&a in Minneapolis, and I brought up Dream Theater to them once; which led DeRogatis especially claiming he wasn't a fan.

But, given the theme of this show, and how they mentioned how progressive rock exists today, I'm not sure how DT will not be at least be brought up. Guess we'll see.


looking forward to how much "modern prog" they cover. Frankly, they should have contacted ME, even tho I'm not a journalist exactly, or necessarily any more of an expert than many other fans.

However, I am probably one of if not the most passionate fans who listens to their show regularly. Frankly, I'm one of the most passionate fans anywhere, if you consider the word "progressive" by it's literal definition.

I mean I'm sure there's a % of the regular listeners that know their prog rock. And there's a % that are into bands like Yes, Crimson, Tull, Genesis, Floyd (duh) Muse, The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, and even Dream Theater.

But among all of those, I dunno how many of them are as-into so much other "prog" or indie-prog and the different areas of progressive metal, yadayada etc, etc.

But who knows, maybe my taste pales in comparison to the people they'll have on there. It certainly does give me almost necessity to call-in to react/thank/complain or just name-drop on the hotline.












edit: this is slighly ot, but kind of related as I am known to do, I shamelessly-plugged this on a few prog-centric boards. One of the obvious ones (I would think) is this site progarchives.com.

Okay, I posted something a few weeks ago I recall..last week actually about Soundscape since they finally added them after how many years?

well, I have pretty much since I ever went to that site, found it be an absolute embarrassment to people who enjoy the music I do. Everything is so distgustingly CATEGORIZED to the detail. The people who run that site *vote* for bands to be included.

It's fucking lame and anal as hell. Really, the clowns who use that site actively need to get the fuck out of their parents basement and either go the fuck away, or get rid of the fucking sub-genres, that they assume everyone on the site, let alone coming to the site for the 1st time would know.

Your site sucks. The reviews for the most part suck. You people need to take the lumps of coal out of your fucking asses and get a fucking life.

There's 2 categories for music

1) good
2) bad

that site is totally ridiculously set-up, it makes D&D seem simplistic, lol.

So if someone posts a new topic in *the wrong forum* I would think it's a common thing. Many of those people never come back. And wouldn't find reason to unless they ever changed the way the site and maybe more importantly, the way the people who run/maintain it are.

Frankly, I'd love to see it get shut down. It almost did a couple of years ago. It was giving spyware or some other shit. It might be nice, then people who are looking for info on said genre wouldn't have to be embarrassed (or laugh-at) the stereotypes that people like myself have dealt with for so long. it would be justice, I tell ya. But at this point, I'm not sure what to do, other than ignoring any kinds of responses there.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Emerson, Lake and Palmer reunion 2010





http://www.emersonlakeandpalmer.com/

http://www.greglake.com/index.html

ELP agrees to headline the new High Voltage Festival, the UK's new flagship classic rock event, on Sunday July n26, 2010. It is expected that fans from the Europe, USA, Japan and around the globe will fly into London to see this much anticipated and unique event

yay! lol..honestly, I'm not all that thrilled by this, but I suppose it's nice. I saw ELp with Dream Theater and Deep Purple (including Jon Lord) back in 1998 at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, MN. They were good certainly. But unless a full-scale tour were to happen, this is much less significant than the 1-off Led Zeppelin show a few years ago.

If it is the only show, it'll be taped and circulated I'm sure. Maybe on 7/26/10 (or 26/7/10) I'll pop in "Brain Salad Surgery" and "Tarkus" in tribute.

...notes...

this week, I've been kind of shooting myself in the foot. Every day i come home late due to ot at work, kill time online and don't catchup on my dvr. I could use a day/week off badly, but right now, I need the $ worse.

I finished the 2nd Daniel Clowes book/graphic novel I've read. Mind you, I could finish that or probably "David Boring" in a day or 2, but since I only have about 20-30mins to read at work each day, I have been forced to pace myself.

I need more time to really write a review of both of those, but for now, I can say i thoroughly enjoy Daniel Clowes. characters and dialogue. He truly is not a 1-novel/story wonder w/ Ghost World. Although I'd rate "David Boring" higher than this, but I really started to enjoy the characters, even though their stories were never very long or explored in-depth. DB was more of a story-arc, but these were sort of like short-films (or short-stories done in a comic style), but they all revolved around that town of "Ice Haven." 1 film that comes to mind Niagra Motel or even just Gilmore Girls in a sense (Northern Exposure, Men In Trees). Yeah, I always have to reference tv or movies instead of books, sorry.

Now I've started another one, 2004's "Pussey!"



and I'm already digging it. Clowes just has a great ability at observing society and putting that into narrative and characters that represent that. He reminds me in a way of someone like Charlie Kaufman or Bryan Fuller in that way. Not in style, but in appeal and distinctive-ness and social/political commentary through fiction.


the new V show premiered last night. Thumbs-Up so far. Yeah, the reptile-part of the "Visitors" genetics got revealed already, but that is not so much where I think they may have a chance. The factions of their race, possibly replacing humans with cloned-with-lizard-bodies-underneath (and having to hunt-down those original human and/or their bodies), and the "Visitors" who are good, bad, neutral. There is potential here. Scott Wolf?..meh, i hope he becomes tolerable, especially in that role. Beyond him, I felt the cast worked fine. Joel Gretsch and Elizabeth Mitchell..both fine. Monica Baccarin (sp?) and Laura Vandervoot = eye candy and great as evil-grinning aliens. The black dude and his fiance I have seen before as well. I do hope Alan Tudyk from Firefly and recently on Dollhouse continues to show up as the previews for this season showed. The guy is good in everything he's done that I've seen. Even the commercial with Dule Hill, lol.

We'll see, but as I and my co-host went-on about on that Psych podcast last weekend, this may be the lowest/worst new-tv-show fall ever. Eastwick is good, and for me "Accidentally On Purpose" and maybe "Community" are watchable. Otherwise, it's just been bad network-show after bad network-show. All the best new tv is being made on Cable. It's true. But V at least might save that a little. And perhaps the Tyler Labine show "Sons of Tuscon" and "Parenhood" will be better, but that doesn't happen until March, lol.



new Biffy Clyro album is really good. Better than I expected, and not just the songs from the eps. I shall post some kind of list of recent albums I require more time with between now and early December to finally go about and accurately rate my 2009 Index. Sound Opinions of course only allows 50 albums for voting, and to make the top 50 for my list..truth be, album number 63 might be as good if not better than album number 39. There's a laundry-list of records that are really pretty close in that mid 60's to high 70's range. Easily they could be mixed-and-matched.

Also the EP/Singles list. I need to list and rank them, and figure out all the videos that aren't singles. Thankfully, I posted many of those in this blog throughout the course of the year. A damn fine year for EPs. This day and age could become more about the EP based on cost/time/convenience.

-Margot and the Nuclear So and So's have a new single out in late December


-dredg played the entire "The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion" record at least twice this week in Germany. I heard a recording of the show from Monday 11/2. Good show, the Judgment Day guys helped out a lot. Enhanced many tunes including some of the stuff besides the TPTPTD stuff. The show on Sunday 11/1 is/was supposed to be filmed for a DVD. Based on some comments on some of the boards, I'm not 100% certain of that. But mixing and whatnot can help make recordings work better.


-Thomas Pridgen is rumored to be booted from The Mars Volta. Okay. Bedlam the cymbal work ruined that album. Their latest record is better, but as a fan, I'm not really down about that since their recent music isn't as much my thing. And they may get someone whose better suited for them anyway. Pridgen is/was a jazz drummer. Are TMV Jazz? not really.

Between Two Skies opens for Janus on Friday in Maplewood at the Rock. Mixed feelings. I have Janus latest record and I won't keep it from here, the production is pretty awful on many tracks. Lots of cymbals clipping throughout. And the new songs I don't find to be as good as the 3-4 they had up before that. That all being said, I'm looking fwd to seeing BTS again of course, but also finally seeing Janus. They still have some music I enjoy, and after a few years, it's nice to finally see them live. I know, I skipped their show earlier in the year, but they're from Chicago, so I was right to think they'd be back. Why they never made it here in 2006, 2007 ish? no idea. maybe their label gave them money finally to tour.


more to add in a bit (i think)

Psych Podcasts



well there is this blog but I mentioned a few months ago how I wanted to talk more about my favorite tv show, and since I along with a friend do a podcast, it makes sense to link it up here too.

As I posted the other day

Episode 7 and 8 and Fall Finale aka Longmore Man
my apologies for the lack of edits and especially the heavy-breathing (I had no idea I was doing that.) As someone who LOATHES hearing stuff like that on other podcasts, I want to warn/apologize ahead of time. On the Fall Finale aka "Longmore Man" I tried my best to avoid it. Unfortunately the mix of the microphones isn't perfect.


Episodes 7 and 8 of Season 4

Episode 9 Longmore Man

Monday, November 2, 2009

King's X News for 2010

story

So it sounds like in 2010:

- live DVD
- a *select cities* tour where they may play the entire Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
- Boxed Set of their Atlantic albums
- working on a new record as-a-band





King's X Planning Trip Down Memory Lane for 2010
By BRIAN HEATON

King's XTwenty-one years after its debut album, King's X remain largely unknown to the average rock music fan. With little commercial success, one might reasonably expect the band to cut its losses and wind down. But the power trio of Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill shows no signs of slowing. If anything, 2010 might be the busiest in the band's history.

Pinnick, King's X's primary singer and bass player, revealed that the band was discussing a variety of projects for the upcoming year, including the release of King's X's first major live DVD and a possible box set of the band's years on Atlantic Records.

For hardcore fans, however, one of the more interesting options under consideration is playing Gretchen Goes to Nebraska in its entirety. Released in 1989, Gretchen is heralded by many fans as King's X's greatest work. Although quite a few bands have followed the full album presentation trend in recent years, it would be the first time for King's X.

"We've been throwing around the idea of doing all of Gretchen in key cities with a lot of special effects," Pinnick revealed. "A lot of the songs we don't play live much, so it's going to take some work."

Although the King's X frontman was clear that playing Gretchen front-to-back was not carved in stone and is just being discussed internally among the band members, the one firm undertaking is the live DVD. Shot earlier this year in London, England, the release will feature a DVD of the concert and a bonus audio CD of the performance that is being mixed by Tabor.

Currently in the mixing stage, the DVD was filmed in high-definition by eight cameras and will be released by InsideOut Music in the coming year. Pinnick was ecstatic about what he has seen of the footage, saying it was the first time he was really pleased with how he and the band had been portrayed on camera.

New music is also on the horizon for King's X, but according to Pinnick, nothing is imminent. The band really wants to take its time when they finally hit the studio and create something a little deeper than King's X's last few records.

"We've been trying to write a couple of hit songs so we can sell some records," the bassist admitted. "Next time we want to do a real record again – Gretchen, Dogman, something people can sink their teeth into. We've been writing songs and want to get back to ground zero and touch someone emotionally."

One of the things Pinnick was adamant about was writing together as a band. The singer revealed that most songs on King's X last album, XV, were written individually. While both fans and media praised the record, Pinnick noted that only one song, "Go Tell Somebody," was written by the group together in the studio. It's a vibe the singer wants to build on.

"We want to do it in Los Angeles somewhere, get in a room and hash it out, take our time and have some fun," Pinnick said.

Road Warriors

Just back from a short slate of dates with progressive rockers Porcupine Tree, Pinnick was thrilled at the reaction King's X received from fans.

"The tour was great and so were the guys in Porcupine Tree," the singer said. "There were a ton of sold out shows and we really won the crowd and had them all singing. They gave us a lot of respect and it was very successful."



King's X On the road periodically since summer 2008, King's X is likely done touring in support of XV, according to Pinnick. Although King's X made sure to include a few new tracks from its latest album into its set list each night, the band made a conscious effort to play its hits – a decision the frontman has mixed feelings about.

When asked about King's X's classic tune "Over My Head," Pinnick emphatically stated that he never gets sick of performing it because of the crowd response, despite it being 20 years old. But that doesn't hold true for him regarding some of the band's other fan-favorites.

"Truthfully, I'm pretty sick of 'Dogman,' 'Black Flag,' and 'We Were Born to Be Loved,' but I understand it's a part of it," Pinnick admitted. "When I'm a fan of a band, I don't want to hear stuff I don't know. I want to hear my favorite songs and I get mad if I don't."

As strange as it might seem to those that know about the band, King's X is relegated to playing small clubs as headliners these days -- not exactly a lucrative career. Despite being cited as an influence by members of genre-defining acts such as Pearl Jam and Pantera, King's X hasn't been able to have a prolonged period of notoriety and financial success like many of its contemporaries.

Pinnick acknowledged that at times, the fact that King's X hasn't had that big break does bother him, but not to the point of depression.

"We live week-to-week and it's only frustrating on the days where I can't pay my bills and something as simple like buying tires screws up the whole month," Pinnick explained with a laugh. "I don't feel like a loser or want to give up, but sometimes you feel that way. If King's X isn't as successful, it's not the peoples' fault. Life is what you make it. I'm a musician but I'm not a rich rock star. I just do what I like to do."


if they do in fact play the full GGTN, I am definitely gonna try and travel for it if it doesn't hit Minnesota. Hopefully Chicago at least.

Also if they write a whole album's worth of songs of the quality like "Go Tell Somebody" their next record may surpass pretty much anything they've done in a long time.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Apes and Androids Video/Interview + Halloween'09..

http://www.hilfigerdenim.com/gb_en/#/artists/page/apes-&-androids

Interview

Creepy Girls
Hot Kathy
New Song
Sweetest Secret
We Don't Understand You

the new song had a kind of 80's Dance element to it. The key solo almost reminded me of Marillion from that period.

I think that performance was taken from 1 of the shows they played in the UK last April. I'd love to find out more of what they are up to, as their web presence over the last 6 months has been pretty quiet. But for now, this will have to do. And it's cool that it is Halloween as they are kind of into costumes/dressing-up and Halloween in general.

Got much to add. Tons of leaks and new releases: Pain of Salvation, Devin Townsend + all the 10/27 released titles.

Biffy Clyro, Annuals and Revere are really the only known releases (that I can think-of/know-of) that haven't surfaced yet. Annuals EP "Hi-Hat" not even artwork has been put up nor a tracklist.

Goes back to my whole thing with end-of-year/last-minute release of info.

Pretty much, if your album doesn't come out or at least have a set-in-stone release date by the 1st week of October, it's pushed back until the next year.

December: nothing comes out. New movies? yeah, but with music, it's just Holiday albums, live stuff or compilations. And November is starting to be the same way.

Fuck, I'm tired, so i don't have the energy to mention everything I'd like to.

100Ft Snowman are in-effect broken up. The offer from some producer/mgr for a deal was going to have them give up 50% of their earned $. Yeah, right: as I posted on their page last week.

Oct 25 2009 11:03 PM

I just purchased an EP, t-shirt and DVD from your website store. I just feel really really bad about what you guys have to do. You guys are just WAY too talented a band to get insulted with a record deal as ridiculous as that, losing 50% of your revenue. Whose the clown who drew that up? Honestly, reminds me of the idiots at that at-1-time-respected-progrock label MAGNA CARTA who kept screwing band after band over contractually. Requiring rights to their master tapes and naming rights..all false promises and bullshit.

The music BUSINESS can be a dark, soul-less industry, and it pains me to see groups like you guys be the casualties. It's just not fair. But I guess at least if you guys will continue to make music, in other capacities, I am happy about that no matter. Best of luck Snowmen, in whatever the future holds.


without a potential debut album from them, it has me thinking about other groups whose debut albums are likely in the near future, but unfortunately 100Ft Snowman won't be included.

Local Natives (this Monday in the UK/March 2010 US likely)

Water & Bodies my guess is early 2010

Distrails

Warpaint (Spring 2010)

The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (2010 it sounds like)

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving (2010)

Periphery (2010)

Between Two Skies (2010 depending on what happens with their demo)

The Bewitched Lot of songs, hopefully they'll find the time and $ as well.

Sound & Shape 2010 maybe?

Eroica it says "2006-2009" on their myspace name. I'm unsure if that means anything more than how long they have existed.

Dead Letter Circus 2010 seems likely.

Children of Nova

Meniscus 2010?

deretla 2010 perhaps?

Total Babe 2010 or 2011?

We Valedictorians 2010 possibly as well. It may depend on time and $ of course, but they are working on it currently which is a good sign.

the last 2 I saw last night (or 2 nights ago now) at The Music Box Theater in Minneapolis. A really nice venue. Small theater, but honestly, it would be great to see more concerts there. I guess they are trying to get a liquor license and that may open a lot more opportunities for them. Because between there and say The Entry, The Rock, The Triplerock, 400 Bar, Big V's, or even The Barfly, etc that venue is WAY nicer. Sure it's seated, but so what? if you have to stand, you can in the front.

The Ritz Theater and The Woman's Club Theaters are 2 similar venues I suppose, and I've attended 1 concert at both of them. But none since. That shouldn't be the case honestly. Guess we'll see in the near future.

Afa WV and Total Babe, both are very promising new groups. I just picked up Total Babe's new EP "Heatwave"



no idea how good it is as I won't be playing it until likely on Monday at work. But from seeing them live twice, and the myspace samples, they really have something I feel. Kind of experimental pop, but not too out-there. Less-is-more without being exactly derivative or half-baked. They're a group of mostly high school kids, so where their music goes is uncertain, but perhaps they'll find reason to continue doing music together for a long time. I certainly hope so.

And We Valedictorians also played last night and certainly got my attention. Jordan Gatesmith, it seems is the front-man and organizer of this group. He actually also is in Total Babe, so it's apparent he's a rather ambitious musician which is a good sign. Hopefully his work in both bands will flourish as some musicians are able to juggle multiple music projects well. When you're in HS as well? hopefully that won't be as difficult as it may sound.

Their sound, I'm still getting a handle on I guess I'd say. They're sort of wall-of-sound in that they have a large ensemble of different players in many of their songs. Violin, oboe, 2 drummers, cello, etc. They remind me of some of the chamber-pop/rock bands of the last 10 years especially in that respect. The Decemberists, The Dear Hunter, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, etc..even our own Cloud Cult perhaps. The Arcade Fire was the name mentioned as well..and I guess in being tactful, I'll just say I have a bit more intrigue about them than I ever have had with TAF, but that's more a matter of personal taste. I am not into Radiohead nor Tool of course, yet I dig dozens and dozens of bands who are similar.

So to conclude, Total Babe, WV, Jordan and The Music Box Theater (who should get The Musical Box Peter Gabriel-period Genesis recreation band to play. But of course the 2004 failed-attempt at The Fitzgerald Theater may always prevent that) are all something to take away from Halloween'09.

I also did see deretla ("Altered" backwards) last night at Big V's, and my friend Cr8tron was not there. He's not in the band anymore I guess, but still is working with them. Musically, they are not vastly different than many other progressive death metal bands. I do like when they have the clean guitars over the double-bass. The demo Creighton put up on his Minnesota Artists dot org page really impressed me. I don't question Creighton's perfectionist approach to working with them (depending on how much he actually does. I'm not sure exactly what kind of schedule and time-frame they and he will have with that just as an outside observer). So, certainly if and when they have their 1st release available, I'm optimistic at what they do based on seeing them last night and that demo.

Big V's otoh, i dunno how often I'll end up there again. Frankly, it made the Turf Club look big and nice. But, I suppose for bands, it's $ and better than some spots. If I end up gigging and writing music which may be a ways away, but that will depend on $. The fact is, I got music in my head, I'm certain of that. Just no current means to get it down in some format right now. I need actual ProTools (and not a demo-version) or a Mac for garageband.com. But I may not be as keen to end up there as some other places (Celtic Junction?..aka kind of the new Cedar).