Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep (2013)

Target Date for this album is March 1st for the Limited Edition. I'm curious about this as I have posted recently, with Enchant singer Ted Leonard coming on board. I haven't heard this sampler above yet. I guess the key could be the songwriting and how well his vocals fit Spock's. I haven't been all too into their work since Neal Morse left, but given I'm an Enchant fan, I'm a lot more curious about this album, more than any of their records in a long time.

http://www.facebook.com/spocksbeard/posts/387733371309051

PREORDER SPOCK’S BEARD’S 11TH STUDIO CD NOW!

The preorder for our next CD has finally begun!

We are now taking preorders for a Limited Edition of our 11th studio CD.

Target delivery date for the Limited Edition is March 01, 2013

Proceeds from this preorder are a necessary part of the funding required to put out a quality product, so your support is greatly appreciated!

The title of the CD is “Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep” and will be shipped as a main disc PLUS a bonus disc. This privately released Limited Edition will contain an additional bonus track and some extra booklet pages that will not be on the InsideOut release in April.

As a gesture of appreciation for your trust in Spock’s Beard, by purchasing this CD before it is even finished your preordered copies will be shipped a month before being released worldwide by InsideOut / Century Media.

You’ll notice that there are more preorder options this time, one of which is a digital download. There are also some more expensive packages offered that are quite unique and may be highly interesting to some of you.

Check it out! Preorder soon because it is a Limited Edition with only 5,000 units available. (The 5,000 total units available will be divided between digital downloads and physical CDs). Once they’re gone, they’re gone, never to be reissued.

Thank you for your interest and support!!

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" released 11/30/1982

Not that it's as huge a deal to me, as to say my girlfriend, but today is the 30th Anniversary of the release of Michael Jackson 's landmark record Thriller.

And for the Record: I did buy the cassette tape, sometime around that time, more likely in 1983 or even perhaps '84. A cassette tape, along with Prince's Purple Rain I still own to this day.

Steven Wilson Band - The Raven that Refused to Sing (and Other Stories) (2013)

1 Luminol                                   12:10
2 Drive Home                             7:37
3 The Holy Drinker                     10:13
4 The Pin Drop                     5:03
5 The Watchmaker            11:43
6 The Raven that Refused to Sing  7:57


The new album by Steven Wilson and band “The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories)” will be released on Kscope on 25th February. The album was written between January-July and recorded in Los Angeles in September with Steven’s current band line up of Guthrie Govan – lead guitar, Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Marco Minnemann – drums, Adam Holzman – keyboards, Theo Travis – saxophone / flute and engineered by legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons. More details on StevenWilsonHQ.com http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/new-album-details

Not a ton to say really, as his solo work has been spotty at best for me. Worth checking out, and it's intriguing to consider his band is different. But those Porcupine Tree plans? yeah, the band seems to be still a ways away from reuniting still.

Hotel of the Laughing Tree - Mammoth Skin Pt. 1 [EP] (2012)

11/27/12 3:10PM





The whole thing can be streamed and downloaded (name your price). More comments should come on this entry and/or the Album Index which should be right around the corner.




1 link



1. Make Waves
2. People That We Please
3. Flowers and Lawyers
4. Waterfall Games
5. Brotherly Thunder




 from November 17th

Hello,
It has been quite some time since we have updated anyone on what we're up to.

We have had a lot of changes since we released Terror in 2011. Band members have left, new ones have joined.
We have reflected on our existence. Where were we, where we want to go. A lot has happened behind the scenes. We buried ourselves in a hole and we are now just preparing to come out of it. First though, we

'd like to share our thoughts on what has transpired during this time.

Hotel now consists of 4 members. These 4 members have been working on an EP for the good part of a year. Progress has been slow due to many factors. Mainly personal lives getting in the way, but also our complete jadedness towards the music industry in general. We've seen a lot of talented musical acts get the shaft in the past few years due to the fickleness of this unforgiving machine. I don't think it's any secret that the music industry is in chaos in it's present form. It's made us question if we really want to be a part of it.

At this point, we really don't even have all the answers as to what we want to do. We know we are done caring about record and merch sales, touring in a van that breaks down more oft than not, playing in venues that time has forgotten. We don't mean to sound unappreciative. We love you guys SO much. Maybe we lack the drive these days. Maybe adulthood has made us more logical and less passionate. Maybe we just don't really enjoy it. We're not charismatic, rockstar-esque . Half of us play video games over the weekends and have modest social lives. We enjoy simple things and the potential glamour that so many chase is not something we really desire. This band started because we wanted to write music that we enjoyed and would hope others enjoyed as well. You can lose track of that after awhile. We certainly have. And it made us hide.

We know one thing for sure, and that is that we love to write, record and play music. We are going to continue doing that. As I mentioned, we have been working on an EP that is now completed. The name of the release will be "Mammoth Skin Pt 1." We will be releasing this digitally. Pay what you want. We plan on playing shows whenever possible as well.

And that's it. No big promotion and whatnot. This is a release that is lacking any bells and whistles. We're just throwing some songs up and we hope you guys enjoy them.
We'll be releasing it on NOVEMBER 27TH, 2012.

For now, Hotel is taking it day by day, and we'll see where that takes us. As always, we appreciate the support we have always seemed to have gotten, undeserved or not. We figured we'd repay that with some truth.

Well, not enough time to add all that I'd like to about this, but 1st and foremost, it's good to see they are still a band and have this new DIGITAL EP coming next Tuesday, 11/27.

The music industry can suck all kinds of ass, since it seems you either have to be a flavor-of-the-month or a local/regional artist/band to sustain a reasonable length career. HOTLT are a band who have (had?) a ton of potential after an amazing debut record. Hopefully they will go the way of like Fates Warning, with even a reduced lineup, the importance to keep making music outweighs the challenges their lack of financial stability allows. Perhaps they'll be able to do what Water & Bodies seemingly are doing, be a regional/local and release new music every year or 2, even digitally. Maybe they could setup a Pledgemusic or Kickstarter for their next record.

But in the mean time, I'm pretty excited to hear these 5 songs next week. The fact it's titled "Mammoth Skin Pt 1." suggest they have ideas for a part 2 or more. Maybe a little like BTBAM latest concept. Although I'd be surprised if this EP is as long as the BTBAM EP from last year.

"If I were a Rich Man...yada yada ditel dum..."

WKRP (in Cincinnati) used Pink Floyd's "Dogs"

I was just watching an episode of WKRP earlier this evening with Sparky Anderson that a friend of mine suggested I DVR via "MeTV." And WKRP is a show I was only vaguely familiar with in the past a bit, from seeing it in reruns, as I was rather young when it originally aired from 1978-1982. I was just reading up about it and then stumbled across this video where they used some Pink Floyd, and not the predictable radio hit Floyd, but "Dogs" off of Animals.

So, it just supported a lot more of the feeling I was getting when I wrote that post last night about The Current's "Time Machine" and song lengths, and how Radio (and television and other forms of media) used to be able to use stuff without restriction (save for things that violate FCC rules though). I mean 89.3 did play some Floyd, and even a few deeper tracks like "Lucifer Sam" and "Fearless"...but what about a song like "Dogs"? All 17 minutes and 3 seconds for that matter. In 1978, Radio stations could and DID play songs of that length.

Based on the lengths of every track on Animals, unless they had edits (which I'm sure some stations did/do) the only tracks from Animals that would suit 89.3's length would be the "Pigs on the Wing" intro and outro with their whole minute and change they clock in at.

I honestly do not recall any radio station ever playing anything off Animals (save for KFAI, which I was one of maybe a few programmers who have over the years), which by many fans feeling, is Floyd's best record (and I'll admit to be of that feeling, although I LOVE a number of their other records, Obscured By Clouds and Atom Heart Mother among them).

89.3 The Current's "Time Machine"

I tuned-in scarily, for a lot of 89.3's "Time Machine" marathon weekend, the past 4+ days, and enjoyed some of it, admittedly.

But it of course was not without a handful of flaws/could be much better if they did a few things.

1) If they were forced to avoid playing the same artist more than once, even say just within 5 years.

2) didn't restrict their typical *radio friendly* length to many songs. I was looking at the number of tracks they played in many hours, and it seems to be between 13-18. Given a bit of time of the dj's being on the air, that ends up averaging the song lengths to being around 3 minutes. It almost seems to be more about quantity than quality I suppose.

3) don't play the hits. They play some deep tracks, but why do they have to play so many of the songs KQ and other stations have beaten to death? If you're going to play something off Led Zeppelin IV, avoid "Rock and Roll" and "Black Dog" at all costs.

Those factors aside, in just tuning in and small talk with my girlfriend about it, she suggested I make my own playlist. Which I figure I could do, especially without including artists 89.3 has been playing (just to show how much more than worthy music they don't play, but could).

So I just scanned my rateyourmusic listing for 2005, as 2005 was an incredibly deep year for music. And I came up with a (somewhat incomplete) playlist below

Vedera - The Falling Kind
Greg Herriges - Thirteen / It Plays Me
Bend Sinister - Hell or Shelter 3:52
Karnivool - Themata 5:40
Josh Rouse - Streetlights 4:24
Porcupine Tree - Lazarus 4:18
Margot & the Nuclear So & So's - Skeleton Key 3:25
Klimt 1918 - They Were Wed By the Sea
System of a Down - Old School Hollywood 2:56
dredg - Bug Eyes 4:14
Imogen Heap - Headlock 3:36
Neverending White Lights - The Grace 5:19
Between the Buried and Me - Alaska 3:57
Oceansize - Meredith 5:26

but I'll confess, I tried to include some artists that the songs that might make sense from their album from said year, but for some, the TRACK LENGTH just ends up being 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 minutes long, and thus 89.3 wouldn't give it a chance in hell just based on that shear fact alone. Which leads me to why I often hate making playlists or compilations.

When you have to consider TRACK LENGTH in picking songs for a mix or playlist, it sort of RUINS the whole idea in a lot of ways. Because, the length of a song, if it's really good, should really have very little to no baring on how you feel about it, or if it should even be recommended to someone. Especially if Radio were how radio really should be at its best. And ironically, many of the years their "Time Machine" played music from, came from periods of time when TRACK LENGTH had nothing to do with if it got played on the radio or not. I'm referring to the 60's and 70's, when FREE FORM radio existed, hell, even THRIVED in a lot of ways.

This does go back to a number of reasons why 89.3 bugs the fuck out of me. Because it's not the fact they don't play the music I love, but the fact is THEY COULD play it, BUT CHOOSE NOT TO. And I'm not referring to in the Wee hours of the morning. I'm talking DRIVE TIME, PRIME TIME and MID DAY hours.

If they even could do a special Weekend, or hell, even an Hour or 2 like they do with the "Time Machine" every week, that was intentionally not restricted to TRACK LENGTH, that would be a big step in the right direction for them.

Of course their argument would be along the lines of, well if we play 7-15 minute songs, many of our listeners including members will tune out and not renew their membership. My comment to that is,  if people listening and pledging expect the station to play songs at a certain length specifically, I'm not sure I'd want them to be members anyway. I mean 89.3 is supposed to be about the people, and not corporate ads. More music, less filler radio content. Also, by opening up your playlist format (length), odds are a lot of new listeners would come on board anyway.

At any case, this is another hyperbole that I need to put to bed. But I thought it may be worth sharing.

Michael Dunford (Renaissance) RIP

http://www.facebook.com/notes/renaissance/michael-dunford-of-renaissance-passes-away/431595216896389

I just saw this on Facebook, what a sad start to Thanksgiving Weekend. And Renaissance have a new album coming soon, which also makes this sting even more. I will never forget finally getting to see them June of 2010 in Chicago.
 

R.I.P. :(

Michael Dunford of Renaissance Passes Away 
by Renaissance on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 3:40pm · 


Michael Dunford, musical composer and guitarist of the progressive rock band Renaissance passed away on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. He had just returned home from the first leg of the band’s North American tour and suffered a massive Instantaneous Cerebral Hemorrhage while dining at his home in Surrey, England Monday night. He was rushed to hospital where doctors declared his condition irreversible and terminal. He passed away at 11:06 pm GMT, surrounded by his family without having regained consciousness. 
  
The fairly reclusive and soft-spoken composer, a mainstay in the world of progressive rock, was born, raised and educated in Surrey. His first job was selling clothing in a local shop followed by a stint as an airside driver at Heathrow Airport which enabled him to form a “skiffle” group which lead to his first rock band called Nashville Teens in the early 1960s. Nashville Teens reached #6 on U.K. singles charts with their version of Tobacco Road. On leaving them, he formed several other bands including The Pentad and The Plebes. One night he went to see the original band Renaissance perform locally and ended up joining them in the early 1970s. The original band members were Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, Keith Relf and Jane Relf. 
  
Dunford and vocalist Annie Haslam took over Renaissance’s reins in 1971 and soon had established the group as a world class recording and touring act, selling out venues like New York’s Carnegie Hall and The Royal Albert Hall in London. They would go on to release over a dozen albums before eventually parting ways in the mid-1980s. However, they would continue to write new material together and in 2001 reunited the band to record a new studio album, tour the following year, and release a live album. After another sabbatical, the refreshed line-up was introduced to the world and captured for posterity on Turn of the Cards and Scheherazade and Other Stories Live 2011. 
  
Earlier this fall, Dunford and the band completed recording their first new studio album in twelve years. Grandine il Vento was recorded at Studio X in Ridgewood NJ, USA. All the music on the new album except for one track was composed and arranged by Dunford and features him on acoustic guitars and backing vocals. 
  
Michael Dunford is survived by his wife Clare, two sons William (13) and Oliver (10), and sister Judy Kendall. Services will be held at Woking Crematorium at a date to be announced. 
  
For more information and materials contact:Howard Wuelfing at Howlin’ Wuelf Media, Inc. 215-428-9119, howlingwuelf@aol.com

A note or 2 about 2012

Given some circumstances, namely my back issues, and in the interest to publish it in a desirable amount of time (i.e. by December 1st if not earlier), the 2012 Index will be a bit different than the past couple of years.

I will just say, I have a list of course, and among that list, I have weeded it down to around 24 releases now, that are I guess I would say worthy of 4-stars or higher. Or, just releases I know well enough to write something about (I think!).

Then there's a sizable number of releases that have music I like on them, but for various reasons, I'm not exactly in love with. And I guess just in the interest of time, I may or may not include much of a blurb about. In other words, it'll likely be more of a random thing. Perhaps a twitter-length blurb, perhaps more, or perhaps nothing.

There also likely will only be 2 entries for now, the 4-stars+ one, and the under 4-stars one. The under 4-stars also won't have an exact order or numbered rankings.

2012 was an unusual year. And one that I honestly did not have the time or energy to amass a typical type of year's worth of music. There still was a lot of good music, some of which I heard, some of which I didn't have time to hear, and some which I suspect I have yet to hear.

I guess over the next 10 days or less, I'll find out how this slightly new approach works for me, but if it does, I can't imagine not doing it again next year, just in the interest in making this process easier on myself.

The Monkees with Michael Nesmith in Minneapolis TONIGHT (11/15/12)

11/15/12
The day has FINALLY come. Hopefully a review will follow soon after.

edit:: (late, after the show) A long review, should come tomorrow, I just have too much to deal with my back and sleep right now. But if all goes well, a review, could be 1 of those tangent/hyberbole/storytelling perspective-filled diatribes, given the significance of this show.

But for now, it was a great show, epic, yet it also flew by leaving me wanting more, or to see another show on this tour. The gf's friend is tomorrow in Chicago.. I hope the more enjoyed experiences Mike has, the more thought of a solo tour of the US in 2013 could be a real possibility.

I believe this is the setlist (as it is from the Greek Theater on Sunday)

Last Train to Clarksville
Papa Gene's Blues
Your Auntie Grizelda
She
Sweet Young Thing
I'm a Believer
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
I Wanna Be Free
(Davy on video)
You Told Me
Sunny Girlfriend
You Just May Be the One
Mary, Mary
The Girl I Knew Somewhere
For Pete's Sake
Early Morning Blues and Greens
Randy Scouse Git
Daily Nightly
Tapioca Tundra
Goin' Down
The Porpoise Song (Theme Song From "Head")
Daddy's Song
(Davy on video)
Can You Dig It?
As We Go Along
Circle Sky
Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?
Daydream Believer
(Vocals sung by audience)
What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?
Encore:
Listen to the Band
Pleasant Valley Sunday 

11/16/12 9:50PM

When I was a kid, I loved sports. Probably Baseball the most. In fact, no question, Baseball was MY thing. I collected baseball cards religiously. I even at my Bar-Mitzvah, made a silly plea to ask to become a major league baseball player someday. I told my folks, I want to play baseball in the Summer, and be a Rabbi in the Winter, lol.

I'm not sure when my love of Baseball, and maybe later sports like NFL (and Fantasy) Football, NCAA and NBA Basketball and then PGA tour golf. As well, NHL Hockey, especially when I got a Sega Genesis and the NHL'93 video game addiction came to me and my friends. But what I am getting at is, I LOVED that stuff, but I suppose my passion for it did PEAK. I'm not sure what my ultimate goal was, other than maybe doing it professionally, but it sadly in some ways, is not what it was then. And I think a big reason behind that is how my love and addiction to music replaced it.

Over the years, which years probably refers to about 1990 to the present, I have gotten into many bands very passionately. Led Zeppelin, Rush, Marillion, Dream Theater, King's X, Fates Warning, Pain of Salvation, Yes, Renaissance, Genesis, Kevin Gilbert, dredg, Ours, The Dear Hunter and so on. And I have managed to see most of them live, thankfully. Of course the ones that are dead, or bands that are broken up or inactive, are sort of always in the category knowing I'll never see them anyway, but I can love their recordings, and even find live recordings. Plus tributes I suppose.

I suppose in October of 2004, when I finally got to see Marillion in Chicago, I had been a fan for 9 and 1/4 years, and had many times doubted if I'd ever get to see them live. I almost got to the point of thinking I would fork over $1000 or more to 1 of the conventions in either Montreal or Holland. But they did finally come, and I made the most out of my experience, meeting the whole band, even taping the show, etc.
I was at times in tears literally that night, really in disbelief. And ever since, I've come to believe, these things that seem like they will never happen, can and do happen.

I met my girlfriend Joyce, in January of 2011 at KFAI radio. She gave me shit, which has its appeal. Her music taste, while being an important thing to her, didn't match mine incredibly well. She told me her favorite musician of all-time was Michael Nesmith, and her favorite band was The Monkees. I of course knew The Monkees in limited amounts from the tv show and their hits. I had even seen Davy Jones at Taste of Minnesota in 2008, after seeing Roger Hodgson of Supertramp.

But I'll admit, there was a ton more to The Monkees and Michael Nesmith I knew nothing about, before meeting her. So, we started seeing each other a few months later in March. And we of course had countless conversations about music and concerts. While Joyce loved music, and compared to her friends, she was the music addict, but she wasn't really used to knowing someone like myself, who attends 50 or more concerts a year, etc.

So, eventually the topic of seeing what are our "Bucket List" concerts, and she of course said Michael Nesmith with or without The Monkees. But she was convinced it would never happen for her. When Mike did the reunion shows in LA in the 80's she was just a kid and couldn't fly out for it. When Mike went to Europe in 1997, she had tickets for the following leg in the US, which included a show in Minneapolis at The State Theatre in August of 1997. But Mike bailed on the US part of that tour, after seeing a lot of negative reviews from the shows he did in Europe.

See, for those who don't know, Mike left The Monkees in the late 60's to pursue a solo career. He released 3 records shortly after, that was a lot of music he had written that was for, but never made it on any Monkees records. And he had a successful solo career, ever evolving, and pursuing things like music with Video (which he played a big part in the development of MTV in fact). And he didn't struggle financially, unlike the other Monkees perhaps, partially due to the fact he inherited a good amount given his mother was credited for inventing liquid paper aka Whiteout.

So, doing a reunion or touring with The Monkees, was never something he needed to do. The others perhaps like Peter Tork or Micky Dolenz. So, as I came to learn, post late 1960's, The Monkees were either a 2-headed band (Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones) or 3-headed band (adding Peter Tork).

Also the fact Davy and Mike I guess were kind of at odds, which this tour that is happening now, one could guess, likely would not have had Mike if Davy was involved. There's an interview with the whole band on Youtube from the UK in 1997, in which you notice between Mike and Davy it seemed kind of obvious, how Davy was not all that welcoming to Mike's sense of humor.

But that's purely speculation of course.

So, Joyce, having become a fan of The Monkees in 1986 (back when I was in my Baseball addict days), had waited and doubted seeing Michael Nesmith would ever happen. He was getting up there in age, as she said to me "He's going to eventually kick the bucket, and I'll be sitting there thinking, all these years, and I never got to see him, not once."

I told her, probably more than once, with that mentality, you probably will not ever see him. However, instead, maybe if you just didn't dwell on that fact, it might actually happen. It's sort of like the old girlfriend thing for myself. Whenever I felt like I'd never find a girlfriend, I would keep aggressively looking for one. But when I didn't care, or didn't think about it much, it sort of popped into my lap.

So, then this show gets announced, after Mike was oddly posting on Facebook frequently this year. It may have been partially due to Davy's passing which got Mike to become a little more proactive. Mike also did have Cataract surgery in 2011, so his lack of presence online/his website likely had something to do with that. But once he started posting away, almost daily, something was up.

He even recorded some new songs and made them for sale on his Video Ranch site.

So, for Joyce, this was finally it. Her belief is now finally seeing Mike live, just once, she can rest in peace. The rest of her life is just gravy.

And as far as the show, as the setlist above shows, they did a bevy of tunes, featuring much of Headquarters and Head. They had a large Video screen sync-ed up throughout more or less the entire show. The videos even ran between songs, which had a lot to do with the fact they had no set break.

We sat in the 9th row, 9 and 10 seats in from the middle, in front of Mike. It really was about as perfect a location for her. Now the whole debacle I dealt with, having purchased 3 tickets from Ticketmaster the instant the "pre-sale" happened, and then ended up in the Balcony, is an entirely other blog entry to get into another time. But the silver lining I guess is, I learned my lesson. I did manage to sell 1 ticket for $25 at least, which was more than some others outside trying to get anything for their extra tickets.

The band played a bunch of Nesmith's solo tunes, which I'll admit to barely knowing. I knew "Listen to the Band" and 1 or 2 others, but I imagine doing some of his own music was part of what brought him out for this tour.

And "Circle Sky" was possibly the biggest highlight of the night. That is Mike, maybe at his finest. It's just such a tight, memorable piece. I wonder if he has played it live when he has played solo shows. I suppose seeing that, along with Mike playing songs like "Pleasant Valley Sunday" meant a lot to Joyce and myself, as well as the many Nesmith fans who came out.

Now, about the music media. This show was not sold out, after it initially looked like it would in just a few days. Why the media in this town gave it no publicity is frankly, both baffling and appalling. It's MIKE NESMITH. for fucking sake, that people like Jon Bream and the people at Citypages don't seem to grasp how significant it is to have him here. Not to discount, that this is ONLY A 12-DATE tour, and We (being Minneapolis), got 1 of those 12 select shows.

As I was telling Joyce, having seen this happen with the buffoons that have positions of influence in the Music community in this town, I do wonder if there is some un-revealed, undiscovered CONSPIRACY with the music media in Minnesota. It's like, if Pitchfork doesn't shove it down your throat, or they aren't showing up at The Grammy's, it's not "current" enough to cover and give publicity to.

In a parallel dimension or fantasy of mine, I would find some way to spread my message, beyond this little blog, to the people who run those music sources. But that's not how this world works. Perhaps someone else will find a way to change that potential conspiracy. Someone from the next generation, that is smart enough not to kiss the ass of Owl City or Bob Mould for the ump-teenth billionth time.

But, all in all, this show will go down historically for her and myself. It really did fly-by, though. I suppose it's like a fun weekend or vacation, it seems to be over before it even starts. But I think that speaks to how significant and enjoyable it was.

Now that Joyce has Mike off her bucket list, she only has him as a solo act. Which as I wrote last night above, I hope the pleasure he seems to be experiencing at these shows from playing with Micky and Peter and the rest of the band (including my fellow prog/Kevin Gilbert fanatic and his son Christian Nesmith), and the adoration from the fans, he may be able to actually look into doing a solo tour in the States. He just did the 4 shows in the UK, which seemingly went rather well. And he has new music which he could promote on a tour here.

Joyce has mentioned to me more than once, how Mike is sort of alone now, given he is not with the 3rd woman he married anymore. He may be divorced, I'm not sure. But he has a dog (or dogs?), and his children, who are all grown up of course, doing their own thing. And friends of his like Douglas Adams and Frank Zappa of course are not around anymore. So, while Mike wouldn't necessarily need to tour for money, he may find touring could fill an empty part of his life now.

I guess it comes down to after this tour is over, and into the new year, if Mike is still posting away on Facebook like he has most of 2012, it could happen. To expect it to happen would be silly. But if it does happen, even if he plays like 5 dates, just in LA, NYC, and 1 or 2 others..perhaps Chicago too, if the timing works out, Joyce and I will certainly try and go. And if a tour happens, and it does end up in Minnesota, of course Joyce and I as well as most of last night's crowd would go. The music media in Minnesota probably wouldn't say much about it either, but of course, I wouldn't expect them to.

But as far as Joyce, we have this little battle now, now that she's seen her 26+ year wait come to an end. I am sort of in the front, given I never saw Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd (or any of the members save for John Paul Jones). But she likes to kill that possibility given I knew John Bonham was dead the day I became a fan of Led Zeppelin in 1990.

The Kevin Gilbert 'Shaming show coming in January in Milwaukee may finally end my wait to see Kevin's music played live. But even if that happens and counts, my live bucket list is limited. But to just list of some (if not all) the names..mostly 2nd/3rd levels of passion for me.

Fish
John Arch
Andre Matos (doing Angra or his other work)
Shadow Gallery
Faith No More
Peter Gabriel
Jeff Buckley (tribute)
Imogen Heap
Bend Sinister
Neverending White Lights
Godspeed You Black Emperor
The River Empires
Janelle Monae
Foals
Hotel of the Laughing Tree
Pepe Deluxe
Vuvuzela

reunions?
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Jellyfish
Apes and Androids
Soundscape
Oceansize
Pure Reason Revolution
Kiss Kiss

Josh Rouse - The Happiness Waltz (2013) (Pledgemusic)

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/joshrouse/

Well, another one of these campaigns of course, but certainly for a worthy artist like Josh Rouse, whose another one of my girlfriends favorites, but I caught onto. I like a handful of his tunes, and the Nashville record especially.

It says it's coming in March (19th according to the story below), so add it to the growing list of early 2013 records. He's as 13% right now, hopefully that number will go up soon. The campaign has 60 days left, although as evidenced with Revere's, campaigns can get extended.

http://www.yeproc.com/josh-rouse-returns-with-new-album-the-happiness-waltz-set-for-march-release

Josh Rouse returns with new album THE HAPPINESS WALTZ set for March release.

.........................................................

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Josh Rouse will release his new album, The Happiness Waltz, on March 19 of next year.  Sonically, The Happiness Waltz takes a trip back into Rouse’s early-2000’s period, a time when so many of his longtime fans really came on board. A number of the new tracks could easily find a home on the AM radio of the late 1970’s, nestled between some of the biggest songs of the day. Lyrically, The Happiness Waltz is very much an album in the present, featuring some of Rouse’s most personal songs to date. Rouse reunites with producer Brad Jones, who produced and engineered two of his most beloved albums, 1972 (2003) and Nashville (2005).  The Happiness Waltz was recorded in Valencia, Spain at Josh’s studio Rio Bravo; with overdubs and mixing completed at Alex The Great in Nashville, TN.

After nine acclaimed studio albums, residing all over the U.S. and touring the world, Rouse found his muse for The Happiness Waltz in what is most near and dear to him, his new family. In 2005, the Nebraska native moved to Spain, where he now spends the majority of his time with his wife and two young children. The thoughts and perspective gained from his experience as a husband and father pervades the 12 songs that make up The Happiness Waltz.

The Happiness Waltz is filled with Rouse’s thoughtful, delicate and infectious pop craft, a sound that has become his signature. The subtle grooves of “It’s Good To Have You” and “Julie (Come Out Of The Rain)” blend seamlessly with the poignant “The Ocean” and “Our Love” and the jovial “A Lot Like Magic” and “City People and City Things”. The common thread running throughout The Happiness Waltz is derived from a newfound wisdom that can only be the result of life-changing transitions. For Rouse, it is his loved ones who have provided the inspiration.

In a time when music careers come and go faster than ever, there is something to be said for an artist who has maintained a level of consistent quality output, building a solid body of work that spans over 15 years. The Happiness Waltz is a sure sign that Josh Rouse will not be ending that streak anytime soon.

sElf - TBA (2013..or 2012?)

Wow, this sounds pretty awesome. The post on Facebook about it almost suggests it might get released before the end of 2012. Regardless, whenever this record comes out, it's worth keeping in mind.

Also cool how Matt made this sampler free to download.

Health concerns

11/12/12 9:43PM
This has returned, maybe as bad if not worse than it was back in August. It's been troubling me since Saturday (11/10/12), and while it comes and goes, other than taking a hot bath, standing and walking around intermittently, and a little bit of sports cream, I haven't found a consistent helpful therapy. Advil, of course, but I am trying not to get addicted to painkillers.

I went to a therapist about a month ago, and didn't keep up with the exercises he gave me to do. But when trying to do them, I aggravated my back, although at least with that experience, it only lasted a day at most.

I sincerely hope this subsides at least from now until after Thursday evening for the Monkees/Michael Nesmith show.

But as sad as my situation is, my girlfriend is worse in some ways, now having flu symptoms, I in all likelihood gave to her. I had a cold/or am slightly still recovering from a cold. But have seen my symptoms very low since Saturday. She on the other hand, has just got worse every day.

I really hope she is feeling at least a lot better, if not more or less 100% by Thursday. She's waited over 26 years to see Michael Nesmith live. It really seems unfair if something like the flu impacts her ability to enjoy the concert she's waited her whole life to see. It just would seem unfair, but hopefully over the next couple of days her flu/temp will go down, or away entirely. And my back issues will as well.



8/11/12
Not that this has anything to do with music, but yours truly, honestly, I can't seem to get a break with minor health issues. Within the last month, my lower back has been acting up, and I've had therapy done 5 times, taken Aleve, applied a cold pack, used stretching techniques as often as I can. It seemed I was getting better, but than a little over a week ago, it flared up again. And today, literally the 1st 24+ hours since I went off Aleve every 12 hours, it seems to be having more issues than normal.

And then this Thursday, I somehow contracted an enlarged uvula. I had this condition close to 10 years ago, but don't recall exactly all I did to treat it. I read some stuff online about it, and among sucking on ice cubes and drinking fluids, 1 thing suggested GARGLING SALT WATER. I did that last night, and I'm thinking due to the fact it feels LARGER i.e. WORSE, that was not a good thing to do.

I'm headed to the 3rd clinic/Urgent Care I've been to in the last few weeks in just a bit, hopefully to get something for this swollen/enlarged uvula.

But it's unbelievable, almost like Murphy's Law, how sometimes things come at you once something else starts to seem to improve.

Coheed + Between TBAM + Russian Circles Winter 2013 Tour

1 link

Dates:
Feb 04 2013 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Feb 05 2013 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Feb 07 2013 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
Feb 08 2013 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
Feb 09 2013 – Chicago, IL – Congress Theatre
Feb 10 2013 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Feb 12 2013 – Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
Feb 14 2013 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
Feb 15 2013 – Salt Lake City, UT – SaltAir
Feb 17 2013 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Feb 18 2013 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
Feb 19 2013 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
Feb 21 2013 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theater
Feb 22 2013 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
Feb 25 2013 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Feb 26 2013 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ
Feb 27 2013 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre
Mar 01 2013 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s
Mar 02 2013 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
Mar 03 2013 – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
Mar 05 2013 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Mar 06 2013 – Saint Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
Mar 07 2013 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
Mar 08 2013 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore
Mar 10 2013 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
Mar 11 2013 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
Mar 14 2013 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Mar 16 2013 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall*
(NYC going on sale the following week)

This isn't exactly the newest of news, as I recall seeing this at least a few days ago in an email from the Coheed email list. What I wasn't aware of, was it coming to Minneapolis. And 1st Ave, lol. Now Coheed has played there a few times I recall, but Between the Buried and Me?

Hey local Minnesota Music Media and Hipsters:
Your favorite venue is going to have a genuine, self-indulgent/wanky PROG METAL band play in the MAIN ROOM. Yeah, Opeth have been at First Ave, The Mars Volta as well, and The Dear Hunter played there once as an opener. But overall, as far as Prog and ProgMetal, and not really Pitchfork-approved, this is finally something.

Maybe since Dream Theater was there in 1997 or King's X in 2002?. Porcupine Tree never played there, nor did Fair to Midland. dredg? nope. It's a long list of bands who arguably were big enough, but that place refused to book.

I suppose it would mean a lot more if BTBAM were actually headlining there. But so be it.
Some predictions to make, right now, on November 8th, 2012:

-Citypages WILL NOT include this show in their "Sunday the 10th Live Music" feature.They may not even list in their music calendar as they have failed to do so multiple times with recent shows (Gotye and Mayer Hawthorne to name 2).
-It will get no mention (nor music from Coheed and BTBAM on the air of course) on 89.3, nor Radio K (although Radio K does play Russian Circles, but Coheed and BTBAM? maybe like 10 years ago, lol).
-Vita.mn will be the only publication that will include a story/write up about it.
-Chris Riemenschneider and Jon Bream might mention it, but not favorably
-If there is a sizable crowd, some of the local stores will finally start carrying BTBAM Vinyl.

Now, the truth for me is, while I wave the flag and fight for these bands, and Coheed and BTBAM new albums I like some of, it's not like I've rekindled my love for their latest music as much as I would have liked.

But I have still not seen Coheed live, and it's been awhile (Progressive Nation 2008) since I've seen BTBAM.

Russian Circles? meh..I suppose they are better live, but they have just mellowed too much (or sounded a bit too much like Explosions in the Sky) since Enter. But I did see them, and recall enjoying that show.

And the show in looking at the Calendar, is on a Sunday night, which barring some kind of blizzard, is in my favor as I loathe trying to go downtown Minneapolis on a weekend evening. I may have to ask for the next day or morning off though.

edit:

lol @First Ave about Between the Buried and Me
 http://first-avenue.com/performer/between-buried-me
 (or the blurb they passed along from some guy who writes for Alternative Press).

Between the Buried and Me have not made a name for themselves through playing it safe. Pushing the envelope of heavy music with each successive release, they have continually evolved in thrilling new directions while maintaining the honesty and integrity that has connected with so many listeners. With The Parallax II: Future Sequence, the first concept album of their career, the North Carolina based unit have delivered their most complex, ambitious, and accomplished work to date. "We're certainly not the average metal band - we write what we want to write, and we've never really tried to fit in anywhere," states guitarist Paul Waggoner. "With this record we held nothing back. We were excited to experiment and see where it took us, and working with a concept was a really interesting new challenge."

apparently the writer doesn't consider Colors (nor The Great Misdirect, or even Alaska) a concept album, lol. ewwwkay.

Imogen Heap - You Know Where to Find Me (Single/Video)

http://www.imogenheap.com/you-know-where-to-find-me-video/




This is her latest single and video for it, that is for sale on that link above (on her website). I haven't heard it or watched the video. It appears to be preventing certain countries, although there are ways around that I may try. But I also may just buy it anyway.

I'm not sure what this and the other songs she's put up online for sale mean, more than just singles. I still think she has a new record coming, but it may not happen for a few years. But I haven't kept tabs on her forum or even her twitterfacebook as much as I would like.

Water & Bodies - American Dream EP (2012)

11/6/12 12:06AM

from their email list:


Happy Election day ya'll,
After you hit the ballot box tomorrow, make your way over to itunes and pick up a copy of our brand new EP American Dream. We recorded these songs over the summer in our Portland sound lab... aka (the basement). We then put the raw tracks in the hands of our dear friend Colton Holiday of The Panic Division to mix and master the album. We could not be more excited about the outcome of these songs! We think they are some of the most thought out songs of our career and hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Please share with your friends and dance about. Let's change the direction our world is heading.... one song, one word, one idea at a time. We love you all. 


track list added below
Water & Bodies on CDBaby.com (hardcopies should be up for sale there in a matter of hours)
iTunes link

I bit the bullet and bought it via iTunes (as much as I hate to, I want to hear this thing snd support the band). I'll likely order a copy on cd later today as well.

Stuff is sounding pretty epic anyway.
10/25/12 9:32AM

1 4th of July 4:43

2 All I Remember 4:30

3 Not Alone 4:20

4 Alive Again 3:50

5 Over Under 3:54

Facebook post link

OUR NEW ALBUM AMERICAN DREAM COMES OUT NOV 6TH ON ITUNE. HARD COPIES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON CDBABY. PLEASE SUPPORT US. WE LOVE YOU.

This is I am assuming a new FULL LENGTH album based on the way they worded that. 2011's Light Year is/was an enjoyable debut record. The video for the song "4th of July" can be streamed below.

edit: it's an EP, not a full length as I asked them and they confirmed. So be it, I'm looking forward to it in a few weeks no matter the length.

Kind of a short notice/late in the year release, but these are the guys from Kaddisfly which the W&B's tunes they've written have been songs I've enjoyed and gone back to off an on still. I'm not sure what expectations will be for this, but I'm looking forward to it regardless.

2012 Album Index: A REVISITING (and a few mediocre titles) LIST Part 1

This is kind of a list of albums that I guess didn't find the top 50, maybe 1st and foremost due to lack of time spending with them, or knowing about them. But also of course when I did listen to them, they didn't demand me to replay them. But, as the topic says, more or less all of them could and probably will receive some revisiting and my feeling may change about them.

In other words, there are too many albums, and in 2012 I didn't have enough time for these.

But, these are also here, as opposed to some of the others on the list that didn't make my top 50, given these had reason to like, or anticipate. They are not completely worthless records for the most part, but more in the underwhelming category. I didn't hate them, but I hardly loved them.

This is also just Part 1, I likely will include at least 1 more part to this, perhaps before the top 50 countdown, but perhaps after, I haven't decided yet.

Also some of these may be edited out and moved into the top 50 depending on if the revisiting happens soon enough and warrants them.



OSI | Fire Make Thunder
Initially, I enjoyed much of this. They seemed to emphasize more riffs, and not so much of the slow, mellow work on their last record Blood. But after more time with it, this one still fell short overall. They had samples on 1 track I recall, which I've said was 1 of the best parts of their debut record. Kevin Moore doesn't seem to be interested or be able to incorporate that significant element to what made the 1st album so good.

I honestly don't know why I keep hoping they will make music like their 1st album again. I love Matheos, and Kevin Moore has made some great music in the past, but this band has swung and missed now 3 straight records. That's not a phase, it's a predictable pattern. Matheos needs to collaborate with Portnoy again.



School of Seven Bells | Ghostory
Not that I found this to compare to their live shows, but I have always struggled with their studio albums despite enjoying the heavy acid trip that has been their concerts. But this album, while not incredibly better than their two others, I found had more flow and subtle mood that worked slightly better for me.


Sigur Rós | Valtari

Another album I barely got to hear, enjoyed somewhat, but gave the *mood music* category, and then I never was able to go back to. I do recall hearing "Varud" and a few other tracks on Radio K and it being rather mesmerizing. But most of their music is that way. So this ends up being par for the course, which is fine, just not as significant or addictive. But more time might allow this to standout more so.



Ian Anderson | Thick as a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?
I honestly only streamed this once or twice, and tried to listen to it at work a few times, but never managed to get through it all. Not due to it being bad I guess, but just due to circumstance. I love the original Thick as a Brick, as it's one of my top 20-30 albums of all-time, but from the amount I did hear this sequel of sorts, it seemed to be a classic case of overtly trying too much and failing to capture the brilliance of a past work. Some of the references to the original were a little charming, but overall, it just didn't go too far.

Now seeing it live with the 1st part might change my mind, but for now, this will just end up being mediocre. Not having Martine Barre, I think may have hurt some of the writing on it as well.


Akphaezya | Anthology IV : The Tragedy of Nerak
This album took awhile to come out, and as I understand, was a minor miracle it did, as I think the band finished recording, mixing and mastering on it maybe over a year before it actually got released.

Frankly. I remember thinking I was going to love it, and it just didn't blow me away. Their last album was a nice fix for wanting more music like Unexpect, but this album didn't have as many freakish sections that I long for.

I will say, it came around the same time the new Diablo Swing Orchestra did, and that other album grabbed me a lot more, this kind of had its thunder stolen from it before it was given a chance.

But, a revisiting should still be warranted soon just to see if my feeling about this might change.


Big Wreck | Albatross
This was cool to see a band from the late 90's who I grew to eventually like, comeback and release a new record. Sadly, the sound on this album, sounds more or less like the work from the late 90's, except the songwriting isn't really at the same level of  for example their debut record In Loving Memory Of... . But I think part of that is, not necessarily wanting/needing to hear that blatant late 90's melodic grunge-rock style of music again. I just remember sort of liking this, but wondering when and why I would want to listen to it again. Was it better for them to have made this, rather than not? yeah. But it still sounds like it was made in the late 90's rather than 2012.


The Nightflight Orchestra | Internal Affairs
A fun record, that's very retro. Sort of channeling bands like Deep Purple, Uriah Heap, ELO and Thin Lizzy. This is an album I'll likely find worth revisiting, just because it's relatively consistent and energetic. Not mindblowing, but the songwriting has enough to enjoy, say even compared to other blatant retro acts like Astra.

I should cite credit due to my friend and fellow music-aholic Epic Rock Talk podcast co-host That Drummer Guy just for posting this among his extensive 2012 end of year blurbs.


Micky Dolenz | Remember
I'm surprised how much I enjoyed these selections/re-arrangements of covers by Micky, who of course is best known for being an integral part of The Monkees. There's a few Monkees covers like "I'm a Believer," "Randy Scouse Git" and "Do Not Ask For Love" along with some standards like The Beatles "Good Morning, Good Morning," and others like "Johnny B Goode," "Sugar Sugar," and "An Old Fashioned Love Song."

I'm going to spend more time with this soon, but initially, some of these interpretations are pretty brilliant!


Thank You Scientist | Maps of Non-Existent Places 
I was suggested this band from the owner of http://altprogcore.blogspot.com. This to me sounded like a cross between Coheed and Cambria and Jazzkamikaze. Or rather, like if Coheed had a big jazz influence, including using soprano saxophone among other non-traditional rock instrumentation.

I guess part of why I haven't been able to love it is the clear 'core element sort of sticking out as the base of their sound, regardless of what else they include. Part of it seems a little excessive.

I guess Bumblefoot/Ron Thal played on some of this ("My Famed Disappearing Act" for one), and may have been involved with the production, which has it's value I suppose given his talents. But like most albums, it goes furthest based on how good the songwriting is; I think that particular piece is nice, but it comes all the way at the end of  the record. I suspect had I enjoyed the rest of the album as much as that piece, I would have listened to this album more. But with some time, I may, or at least have this band in mind to keep track of in the coming years.


Judgement Day | Polar Shift
This honestly came out to being a little more bland than I hoped. "Epic Acoustic Metal Record" is how it was billed on their Kickstarter campaign. And I backed it of course. I guess it wasn't as memorable, and shorter than 2010'a Peacocks / Pink Monsters , it lacked addiction. The style/approach maybe being a reason why as well. I dunno, this may be one for the right mood, or one that I'll enjoy more in the coming years. It's not bad, just not one at this point I ever found a reason to go back to.


Lost Lander | DRRT
Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls/ex-Menomena produced this album, from this band whose based out of Portland, Oregon like himself. I guess the best thing to say about this is, the songwriting and layering has Brent's stamp on it, which overall is a good thing. But, I also can't help but get sort of a Poor Man's Ramona Falls/Menomena from it. It also almost reminds me of some groups like Rural Alberta Advantage or your token college rock band doing things a bit different. The actual magical side, or amazement doesn't quite get there. Maybe more of this album is a bit better or worse than the sum of it's parts, because there aren't like the 1 or 2 standout tracks, yet nothing on it is particularly repulsive.

Given this is just a debut album, I guess I didn't have gigantic expectations, but still at the same time, I liked it enough, I'm surprised I didn't listen to it much after initially checking it out. Maybe I will again soon and my feeling will change.


Van Halen | A Different Kind of Truth
A somewhat surprising comeback with David Lee Roth. A fun album, that is almost like polished bar rock. Consistent energy, and not a track to skip. Although the style seems to be somewhat samey from track to track. I wouldn't necessarily put it among their best, but the same time, it was so unexpected, I couldn't help but respect it.


Ihsahn | Eremita
Compared to 2010's After, there is less Black Metal and more progressive metal on this record, which on paper, that would seem to be in my favor. But I remember going back to it a few months after initially checking it out, and struggling with it. I recall it being samey and having some cymbals clipping. "The Paranoid" has a reasonable chorus I suppose. But for some reason, the way the sax was used on After, translated better than on this. Perhaps being that it has been done before, and it seemed more buried on this album. It being a little repetitive, and overall the best parts of this are isolated. A mood record maybe at best, at this point.


Sound and Shape | Hourglass
I loved this band's 2009 mini album The Love Electric. That record had the classic college prog elements that I love with extended parts, that segue well and were memorable. But both the EP they made last year, and this, really lacked what they had on that album. I'm not sure if they are not into doing progressive rock anymore, or just found the band wasn't best suited for that style. I don't hate this album, but like many others in 2012, it just did not have enough for me to demand to go back to it yet.



Punch Brothers | Who's Feeling Young Now?
I could go more into detail about my thoughts of this record, but I'm not gonna lie; I only got around to hearing it in full for the 1st time this morning (November 3rd), and I guess the best thing to do is to pass along what I posted on rateyourmusic.

The 1st half sounds like par for the course for these guys, but the 2nd half the songs take different twists. "New York City" and it's epic nature probably stands out the most..

And I'd say "New York City" is among the best songs this groups has ever done. But given how little time I've spent with this, I may regard this better over the coming years. One thing is certain, they do kind of have a formula for most of their songs in the acoustic/dynamic folky/singer/songwriter bluegrass vein,, which is one reason why I never made it a point to spend time with this, this year. But at the same time, when they're good, they can be pretty moving.

FALSE GOSSIP: Jimmy Fallon + The Monkees? (Michael Nesmith FB post)

11/3/12 4:57PM

edit:
Nez more or less confirmed on Facebook a bit ago, this and the thing with Kevin Spacey WERE A JOKE. He was just being Mike, but me being the relatively new Monkees/Nesmith fan, I was naive to this fact.

So, just in case those who stumble upon this posting are scratching their heads about this notion, it is a FALSE ALARM, etc.

My apologies, but I suppose better safe than sorry, right.

9/23/12 10:46PM
Mike Nesmith's most recent post on Facebook (which in all likelihood will get deleted soon as pretty much all of his posts are on Facebook)

As I get relatively older the corporeal sense data set goes more and more non-linear. I’ve been watching Emmy Blotnick all morning and laughing hard, but I know somewhere deep down I am not laughing at the right thing.

There is a kind of horror in finding oneself inapt, and yet, there is a certain joy to it – coming loose from the moorings, as it were.

Emmy does this stand-up that is very funny to me – “I made you a sandwich” and I watched it two or three times just this morning – and something inside me wants to tell Emmy why I think it’s so funny.

But I know better than to do that, so I am keeping my mouth shut and laughing with the rest of the people that think she is funny.

The reason I was watching her is because she is a blogger for Jimmy Fallon.

And I have been talking to Mick and Pete about how we are going to do Daydream Believer without David. We have some ideas – and clearly we have to do it – it’s one of the Monkees best songs – but how?

Stay with me here.

Mick and I are heavy into rehearsals and hanging out – and I have started privately nourishing this idea that – in New York and LA at least – I think Jimmy Fallon should come do Daydream Believer with us.

First, he is a good singer and musician. And second, he seems pretty easy going. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, he is the only person I think that could actually do the Davy dance with the proper gravitas and respect it deserves.

(Lord knows Axel Rose did his best – and it may be that Axel has even won the name wars for the dance – but to me it is, and always will be, the Davy dance and not the Axel Rose dance.)

In any case -- I think Fallon could do it great, sing the song great, and I am thinking seriously about inviting him to come and do it with us – just a couple of nights. I am giving it a lot of careful thought.

Careful, non-linear-wacked-out, goofy thought.

So far I haven’t got this past Mick and Pete – I actually haven’t even asked them – but I am drifting that way because of Emmy Blotnick who has now (unwittingly)re-enforced the notion that Fallon could do it great – “birds of a feather” is more than enough validation for me. That’s the best I can explain it: Blotnick sandwich = Jimmy Fallon sings Daydream Believer and delivers his version of the Davy dance.

So, Mick and Pete and I have the show covered, it will be fun and satisfying to the hardest core Monkees fan –but --

There is this one last thing we absolutely have to work out and get right -- who will sing Daydream Believer?

I’m starting with Jimmy Fallon – and if he won’t do it -- then I’ll just let the non-linear world take over and see where the ball lands next.

It may land in the town we’re coming to.

If this happens, I'm not sure how much I will care, especially given it's only at 3 shows. Micky can and has done the tune live, but maybe AS A SPECIAL TRIBUTE, getting Fallon to do it, or even just have Fallon EMCEE or have The Monkees (with Nez) make an appearance on Fallon's show would be nice.

We'll see, but I hope Fallon gets word about this (I'm going to try both Facebook and Twitter anyway).

2012 Album Index Forecast

Just a quick note as I posted on Twacebook:

If all goes well, the 2012 Album Index should be published in full within the next 3 weeks (if not earlier).My Goal: have 15 blurbs by Tuesday. I just made my preliminary countdown, and wow, 2012 has been a THIN year.

Jerry Gaskill (King's X) health concerns/HURRICANE SANDY EFFECT

11/1/12 1:05AM

bump.

I know there are so many others going through hell besides Jerry with the effects of this, but among them, Jerry and his wife Julie apparently lost their home due to Hurricane Sandy. The guy, while having a Rollercoaster of a 2012, you'd think Good Karma will eventually find him.

http://www.giveforward.com/jerrygaskill

The friends and fans of Jerry Gaskill- King's X are uniting to raise money to help Jerry and his wife Julie rebuild after hurricane Sandy The friends and fans of Jerry Gaskill of King's X and solo success, are uniting to to raise money to help with the devastating losses he and his wife Julie suffered during Hurricane Sandy. Jerry and Julie lost almost every material possession they owned and are displaced from their home.

I spoke with Jerry and he and Julie are ok, and very optimistic of the future, despite losing every material possession to this dreadful storm. It's been one helluva journey for him this year-cheating death, marrying his soul mate, a successful tour with Kansas, the announcement of a new solo project kicking off next month, and now this....

If you know Jerry, you already know that is it not in his DNA to ask for help....per Jerry's words "It's gonna be Alright"....... For me, Jerry has helped me in so many different way that past 3 years, that there is no real way that I could repay him. I'm going to do what I can, and hope you will join in. If you would like to help as well, my wife and I will match the first $1,000 that can be raised. Any gift you can give will be treated as a gift, and is not tax deductible. 3/12/12 12:24AM

the latest news, although baby steps. Very encouraging.

Update!! Julie when to see Jerry today, she said he was in a chair getting his hair
washed, Hes breathing on his own also. Good news!


2/27/12 6:17PM
Dug Pinnick's Facebook Fan Page

"Julie said Jerry woke up pulling chords out, she says hes fiesty! that's a good sign! thanks everyone for prayers and good vibes! it can only get better now!!!


Update! jerry is the same, heavily sedated and on the ventilator, they are going to try to take the balloon pump out tomorrow, thanks for everyones support!"





2/26/12 5:46PM
"Jerry had a heart attack last night. He was operated on and is in stable condition at the hospital. Were all waiting for more info. I will keep you posted" - dUg

As a longtime fan of King's X and his drumming, and having met/chatted with Jerry many times, my thoughts are totally with him, his family and any other King's X fans/fans of his, like myself.

Black Ribbons - Neuromancer (2012)

11/1/12 12:56AM

This is a only recently finished project's debut record from Daniel Victor of Neverending White Lights. The below bio piece from their site kind of explains everything for the most part. Stylistically, it's I'm presuming somewhat like NWL, but maybe less conceptual, and more ambient/spacey and influenced by New Wave music. (I've only heard the 2 tracks embedded below, but am awaiting my CD order in the mail).

But that isn't extremely different than some of the NWL music. At any case, this is in limited printing, and may be the only thing Daniel ever releases for this project. What does this mean for the next NWL album/Part 2 of Act 3? I suppose between this and some of the touring Daniel has done, the anticipated next chapter has taken a bit of a backseat. But understandably, especially after Daniel lost a lot with the flooding in his living quarters late last year.

I'll hopefully be able to post more details in here and/or the upcoming 2012 Album Index (assuming it makes it). But in the mean time, this is something on my radar down the stretch here in 2012.

http://www.dieholdinghands.com







1 The Fear 3:56
2 Sylvana 4:11
3 All I Ever Wanted 4:26
4 Kill for the Kiss 4:32
5 Teardrops 4:03
6 Pretty Little Tears 3:53
7 Another Lover Calling 4:35
8 Honey Inside 3:56
9 Sheila 3:05
10 The Pressure 4:24
11 Lover, Only You 4:35

In the late '00's Daniel Victor (Neverending White Lights) wrote and recorded an album as an experimentation in indie-synth-pop-noir-wonder. Originally intended as a duo with Lexi Valentine (Magneta Lane), the two mutually decided to sever their working relationship for personal reasons before production began. Victor continued on to realize the album in full, writing, recording, and performing the songs alone over the course of eight weeks in the winter of 2007. The album was built with elements of shoegaze, dream pop, dance, indie, and new wave by pairing vintage drum machines and synths with lush distorted electric guitars and retro-fitted punk bass lines. Using rich atmospherics and brooding emotive vocals, the end result is an eleven-song offering in themes of bittersweet love, lust, and tears - overshadowed by the reality of those very things during its conception.

 Due to unfortunate political circumstances the album was shelved with it's fate in question, until now. This debut will see a release in 2012.

 Notable influences: David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, The Cure, M83, New Order, Smashing Pumpkins.

File under: Pop/Noir