Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Not a statement of adoration, but the name of a Springfield, MO band.
SSLYBY, for short, is named after the former Russian president. The trio, composed of Will Knauer, Phillip Dickey, and Jonathan James, formed after meeting at a Super Bowl party in 1999. Since then, the Missouri band has toured in many countries, including Russia and Japan. The band has released numerous LPs and full-length albums that are praised for their charming and likable indie-pop sound.
Adding to their collection of feel-good albums, SSLYBY recently released their album Fly by Wire through Polyvinyl Records. The album features ten new tracks, written and recorded in the attic where the band made their debut album, Broom. Fly by Wire has been pressed on special limited-edition Coke-bottle clear vinyl, and we’ve got one to give away!
We’re delighted to debut Space Fight’s “Who Do You Think You’re Foolin’?” video from their brand new full length, All Systems Wait out now on the Glasstone Records imprint. And we’ve got a record rummage with the band’s Spencer Miles.
—Ed.
U2 – Achtung Baby, War | U2 is the band that made me want to be a musician. I got Achtung Baby on cassette for my 12th birthday. When that first chord on “Zoo Station” hit, my mind was blown. I immediately wanted to be a rock guitarist. When I got War on vinyl later that year for 25¢ at a garage sale, I must have played it a thousand times, trying to absorb those unbelievable punk-influenced guitar tones.
Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy | Everyone had their High School Zeppelin phase. I had an obsession. The bass lines on Houses of the Holy, especially “The Song Remains the Same,” are otherworldly. I didn’t know who James Jamerson was yet, but John Paul Jones was my first favorite bassist, and his playing resonated with me deeply, so I started the switch from guitar to bass.
Henry Diltz is making tea in his North Hollywood studio. His mid-century digs are filled with stacks of photography books and boxes of negatives, vinyl records, and box sets. One wall is filled with neatly labeled little drawers, each filled with hundreds of slides. Each drawer has a label like “Tom Waits” or “The Eagles” or “Neil Young.” It’s a photographic card catalog of rock and roll.
Henry Diltz got his start as a photographer serendipitously; he would say it was the result of many “happy accidents.” As a member of the Modern Folk Quartet during the folk revival of the late ‘50s, Diltz toured the country with the group and played the same clubs as Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, John Sebastian, and many, many other early rock ‘n’ roll luminaries. A random purchase of a thrift store camera—and one scrapped Phil Spector-produced record later—and Diltz found himself taking photos of his musician friends instead of sharing stages with them. That drastic change of career trajectory never phased Diltz; the guy is impossible to discourage.
The tea is ready, and he smiles excitedly as he sets the cup down. When I arrived, he was going through a proof of an Australian magazine that’s publishing several of his photos:
“Here’s Keith [Richards] and Ron [Wood] on a Lear jet… Here’s The Doors at the Hard Rock Café in downtown LA. Tom Waits… two Neil Young shots…” He’s about as nonchalant as someone who has a digital Rolodex of legendary rock stars can be.
“There’s Michael Jackson… then Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, then Stephen Stills and Mick Jagger in Amsterdam…”
Times may have changed, but Diltz’ photos remain an archive not just of rock royalty, but an archive of the man’s sense of fun and his pure enjoyment of life. While his iconic works can be found at the Morrison Hotel Gallery (of which Diltz is part-owner), he remains active and still shoots album covers and portraits. But most of his photography now is focused on his artistic whims, like photographing series of things like hearts he finds out in the world, or fire hydrants, or beautiful tattoos.
Our candid chat covers a wide swath of his career, his early experiences, and his cheery outlook on life. It’s hard to know where to begin and end with Henry, as he’s the kind of artist who makes everything memorable.
I have to settle a bet before we start. I bet a friend that you were the one who played banjo at the end of “Bluebird.” He said you didn’t.
[Laughs] He’s right, I didn’t I played banjo on “Elusive Butterfly” by Bob Lind. [Sings a bit of it] It was a hit in the ‘60s; and “Don’t Cross the River” by America. You can hear me tinkling away in the background.
No kidding! That’s how you had an “in” with these guys, because you were a musician like they were, not just some photographer.
Cian Nugent is a young Dubliner mainly known for his acoustic guitar prowess as one of John Fahey’s growing number of stylistic inheritors. But on Born with the Caul, his new LP in tandem with the appropriately named outfit the Cosmos, he’s completed a surprising and at-times amazing transformation. It’s psychedelic rock masterfully done, and it’s one of the best albums of the year.
Up to this point, the productivity of Cian Nugent has been pretty easy to synopsize. In a sentence, he belongs to the rich folk tradition known as the American Primitive. And placing him in this category surely isn’t as noteworthy as it used to be, since what was once a rarity on the scene, namely post-Fahey/Basho/Kottke instrumental guitar grandeur, has over the last few years become far more commonplace.
A distinguishing factor for Nugent is his nationality. And yet hailing from Ireland sets him apart only somewhat, for his status as a Euro extender of an overtly American musical phenomenon places him in the company of Englishmen James Blackshaw and C Joynes (and no doubt others I’m forgetting or don’t know), both of whom have toured with Nugent.
While of interest, the locale of these three guitarists is of no great consequence; in the end there’s really nothing that unusual about a British division of American Primitive exponents. Just as Europe picked up on jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, two indisputably American forms, and then contributed a large tide of substantial work to the canon, so it is with the children of the Takoma School.
PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | At ten minutes past 8pm this past Friday, Anoushka Shankar walked barefoot onto the stage at Lisner Auditorium and sat down on a slightly raised platform in the center of the stage. Clad in a version of traditional Indian clothing—bright pink pants, an iridescent green tunic—Shankar crossed her legs and picked up her sitar. Bathed in a soft blue spotlight and dwarfed by the size of her instrument, the audience’s eyes riveted on Shankar—and rarely wandered during her two-hour set.
From a young age, Shankar trained under her father, the world-renowned Indian composer and sitar player Ravi Shankar. While Ravi kept widely to traditional Indian music, Anoushka’s compositions have a wider range from time-honored to contemporary, incorporating electronic beats, experimental instruments, and modern lyrics. Given that Anoushka grew up in London and Delhi and went to high school in Southern California, it is of little surprise that her sound is often labeled world music. Shankar has been nominated for multiple Grammy awards and has collaborated several times with half-sister Norah Jones, including on her most recent album, October’s Traces of You.
For sitar neophytes like myself, this contextual background on her family and training certainly helps. But a working knowledge of traditional Indian music certainly isn’t necessary to be enthralled by the beauty and complexity of her compositions.
Washington, DC’s Rites of Spring is considered to be one of the most widely influential of the many short-lived groups to burst from the roster of Dischord Records, and their self-titled 1985 LP has also been offered up as a prime contender for the title of flat-out finest album to see release via that long-serving and well respected label. Yes, that’s a bold statement with names like Minor Threat, Faith, Void, Fugazi, Nation of Ulysses, and Lungfish in the mix, but it’s surely a valid proposition and a topic worthy of discussion. And as Dischord has just waxed-up the band’s oft-discussed (and bootlegged) Six Song Demo for post-hardcore fans both young and old(er), that conversation is also a timely one.
For some casual observers Rites of Spring, a four-piece comprised of Guy Picciotto on guitar and vocals, Mike Fellows on bass, Eddie Janney on guitar, and Brendan Canty on drums, are the big link between the initial waves of righteous American Hardcore as done in the distinctive style of Dischord Records and the later music of Fugazi, one of the most artistically successful (and probably the most well-known) post-hardcore bands on the planet.
This link is solidified most obviously by Picciotto’s and Canty’s membership in Fugazi, but it’s also deepened by the presence of Ian MacKaye, who figures in the connection through his roles in Minor Threat, Fugazi, and as the co-owner of Dischord and by extension co-producer of Rites of Spring’s small body of work.
“My first experiences with vinyl are some of my earliest memories.”
“As a kid crawling around on all fours, the bookshelf lined tight with my dad’s records may as well have been paint on a wall. Just part of the scenery. But seeing him legitimately stress out when the cat would use the bottom shelf as a scratching post clued me in to the fact that these skinny square book thingies actually meant a lot to him.
As I got older and more curious – and having learned what a record actually is – I found myself pulling them out one by one to inspect the artwork and see if I’ve heard of any of these ancient artists my dad was (is) so attached to. I wound up reading names for the first time that would wind up meaning a lot to me: Jazz legends like Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson… along with the Beatles, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits…
So much about Kate Tucker reminds me of Audrey Hepburn’s character, Ann, in the classic film Roman Holiday.
If you’ve seen the movie, you know Ann is an anxious crown princess touring Europe. Kate Tucker isn’t royalty, but she has a nomadic spirit that moved her from her home in Akron to Seattle, where she harnessed her inner recording artist and learned to speak French. The singer moved to Paris, which plays a prominent role in the official video for “Looking Around.”
“Looking Around” is the first single from The Shape The Color The Feel, an incredibly ambitious collaborative film and music venture from Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden. Jason Smythe, owner of Silver Point Studios, is one of ten filmmakers involved in the project, making his directorial debut here.
It’s all right there in the title. Washington, DC’s Black Market Baby was a great punk band, but they never went national despite all the fantastic songs they recorded—more than Fear, certainly, and more than my beloved Dictators even!—never received significant airplay, and remain beloved by DC punks but are largely unknown and unacknowledged outside our nation’s capitol. Is that unfair or what?
Ask Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat/ Fugazi/ Dischord fame, and he’ll tell you the answer is no. In fact, the whole notion kind of pisses him off. MacKaye was kind enough to speak with me about Black Market Baby, and he let me know he disagreed with former Government Issue singer John Stabb’s assertion (in his funny and perceptive liner notes to Coulda… Shoulda… Woulda) that Black Market Baby never got “their proper due within the punk music scene.” Said MacKaye, “I contributed a line to the press release of the reissue: ‘They were not underappreciated. They were a great fucking band.’”
A brief history: Black Market Baby was formed in 1980 when singer Boyd Farrell basically looted several other local bands for talent, snatching guitarist Keith Campbell from D. Ceats, bassist Paul Cleary from Snitch and Trenchmouth, and drummer Tommy Carr from the Penetrators. Mike Dolfi replaced Cleary on bass shortly after the band released their first 45, which they followed up with their 1983 debut album, Senseless Offerings.
But personnel changes were rife, they broke up several times only to regroup, and when Black Market Baby finally got around to recording their second LP (with MacKaye producing) in 1986, they couldn’t find a label to release it, although they came close with JEM, a large independent distributor trying to move into the record business. In light of this failure, Black Market Baby decided to call it quits, playing a farewell show in January 1988, only to regroup in 1993 and stick it out through 1997. Fortunately for all of us, in 2006 the Dr. Strange label released Coulda… Shoulda… Woulda…, which offers a grand and relatively comprehensive representation of the work of a great band.
Press Play is our Monday morning recap of the new tracks received last week—provided here to inform your vinyl purchasing power. Click, listen, download.
Not too much to report from the Canyon this week. I guess for me, the big news was passing on an opportunity to play hookey and head way south to go fishing in deep Mexican waters.
Knowing that my “band of fishing bros” were riding free as birds on the open seas made me feel a bit “thirsty,” to say the least.
So, my week started thirsty and in need of inspiration. On Monday morning it came by way of a friend, music industry vet Alan Wolmark. It was, after all, Veteran’s Day.
Now, normally we think of veterans of a war, but there are veterans of the music business too. (And, if you think about our casualty rate…hmmm. Never mind. Let’s not go there.)
Since gaining a dual identity as a horror movie director and American rock icon, Rob Zombie has spread himself around quite a bit. He’s directed seven full-length movies (including a Tom Papa comedy special) and released five albums as a solo artist. Currently in the promotion phase of his newest album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, the gravel-voiced singer is tearing his way through the states.
Rob Zombie is coming to the 9:30 Club Club on November 27 with guest Scar the Martyr, and we’ve got tickets to give away to the sold-out show.
This year has been busy for the king of late-’90s shock rock. Lords of Salem, Zombie’s sixth horror movie, saw a theatrical release and fan fervor. He and his band also released their newest album with plenty of homages to rock of the 20th century.
Chugging guitar and call-and-response vocals hint at throwback sounds, while the cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band” is a full-on admission of retrospective adoration.
Not a hoedown, just good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. Ha Ha Tonka isn’t your average honky-tonk band. They actually aren’t a honky-tonk band at all.
The Missouri band has an Americana-meets-indie touch. Showcasing this successful fusion, Ha Ha Tonka has just released a new album titled Lessons. To promote their fourth record, the band is touring the country, making a stop at the Rock & Roll Hotel tomorrow, November 16.
Ha Ha Tonka hails from the Ozarks, turning the name of Missouri state park into their own. The band has been a part of an episode of Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and has recently had their song “Pied Pipers” featured on ABC’s hit show Nashville. “Pied Pipers” can be found on Lessons.
Space cumbia: What is it, you wonder. Just ask DC-based producer G-Flux.
Born in Mexico City, Gustavo Naranjo a.k.a G-Flux didn’t move to the States until 2008, when around the time that synth-infused “nu-cumbia” began trending across the globe. It was then that Naranjo began working with up-and-coming Latin American artists to cultivate a sound both futuristic in its electronic stylings and traditional in its ties to Latin roots music.
Since his production of “El Cicion Del Caribe,” a collaboration with popular cumbia duo Afrodita, G-Flux has become one of the most celebrated artists of the nu-cumbia genre.
He has worked with both national and international artists including Chet Samuel, Boogat, and Karen Bernod, to produce a sound that pushes the boundaries of the category’s conventions.
Access Royale’s “Planet Earth” is a revelation. Having released a debut album last year, their latest single is a more mature approach with an anthemic feel as they crescendo into the chorus, leaving us breathless by the end.
Hailing from Washington, DC, this hasn’t stopped the band from pursuing their UK dreams. Having been regulars in Europe, they finally make it over to the UK this month for a short stint of shows to promote the single.
This focus and drive can be heard in the music too – they are determined to lead the way for the next wave of proper electrified indie rock minus the silly haircuts and ambient airwaves.
