No, he’s not dead. After the special event was announced on Facebook, rumors began circulating about whether the revered Mardi Gras Indian had passed away. This tribute is a way of giving him his flowers while he is still alive. It is scheduled for this evening from 5-7 PM at 1525 Louisiana Avenue. It is presented by the New Orleans Musicians Clinic.
The Mardi Gras Indians have been vexed by weather this season. Cold rain limited their activities on Fat Tuesday and the Indian Sunday parade was postponed this past weekend because of the threat of more rain.
But tonight’s St. Joseph’s Night marches should proceed without a hitch. If you’re out looking for Mardi Gras Indians downtown, a good spot is on St. Bernard Avenue between N. Claiborne and Rampart.
“My first favorite record was the Beach Boys’ Christmas Album from 1964. I had to hear it every night to go to sleep.”
“It wasn’t Christmas. And the record player wasn’t even on the same floor of the house as my bedroom. But I had to hear it. Eventually, when the neighborhood had heard enough of ‘Little Saint Nick,’ I got my own own hand-me-down stereo and a U2 cassette from my sister. I found an even less likely lullaby in their version of ‘Helter Skelter.’
My older sister used to play me 33s at 45 rpm, and I honestly believed that albums came with Alvin and the Chipmunks’ versions of all the songs on the flip-side.
Stylistic audacity is the undoing of many bands. Not so with Casper & the Cookies, though because of their refusal to fit into one tidy bag their discography can be aptly described as an uneven affair. Due in part to concision and intensity the Cookies’ fourth LP Dingbats is their best, but that doesn’t mean its 13 songs offer a streamlined ride.
Athens GA’s Casper & the Cookies stretches all the way back to the late-’90s in relation to one Jason NeSmith, a multi-instrumentalist some may recognize as a touring member of his municipal cohorts Of Montreal. However, NeSmith hasn’t been out on the road with the Kevin Barnes-led outfit since the mid portion of last decade.
Subsequently, the Cookies have issued two full-lengths (their debut appeared in ‘03) and assorted singles/EPs, the majority of it via the label Happy Happy Birthday to Me (though Dingbats comes attached to the imprint Wild Kindness), so the connection to Of Montreal might not seem all that relevant. In fact, by now it’s quite possible NeSmith and his bandmates have grown tired of reading about the relationship.
But as it underscores Casper & the Cookies’ often bold pop unconventionality the link is worth bringing up. Additionally, the association earns them extended family status in the Elephant 6 family tree (the Cookies supported The Apples in Stereo on a nationwide tour in ’07 and figured on a split single with head-Apple Robert Schneider’s side group the Marbles the same year) and places them solidly into Athens’ new breed alongside Tunabunny, Muuy Biien, and New Sound of Numbers (who happen to include in their ranks Cookie Kay Stanton).
I saw Killdozer once at the Black Cat. The club was nearly empty, and I took advantage of this fact to stand right up against the stage. I thought I’d pulled off a coup until Killdozer started playing. And boy were they loud. They were easily the loudest band I’d ever heard. It was sheer ear sodomy is what it was, and I soon found myself being driven slowly and inexorably backwards, inch by inch, until, no kidding, I was pinned and mounted to the club’s rear wall like a butterfly. And my ears still hurt. Here I loved them more than any band in the world, and even I couldn’t stand them.
But I’m not here to praise the late Killdozer’s unbearable volumes, or their great but unbearable music. I’m here to call them the greatest protest band ever. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking he’s nuts. But it’s a fact. Forget Phil Ochs, who was as boring as a symposium on civil service reform. And forget Bruce Springsteen, who is too hopeful to ever be taken seriously except by other hopeful people who live in magical bubbles of utter delusion. Forget Rage Against the Machine, which writes bona fide protest songs that I would sooner eat an Ebola eclair than listen to. Forget the late, great Minutemen, who wrote brilliant protest songs but who were also too hopeful. And don’t even bring up Bob Dylan, whose protest career was, in my opinion, a brilliant shuck.
No, all of these guys’ protest songs pale in the face of Killdozer’s scathing indictments of everything from Walmart (“Enemy of the People”), the first Iraq War (“Turkey Shoot”), capitalism as a failed system (“Das Kapital” and “Final Market”), rapacious bankers and real estate developers (“Richard” and “Porky’s Dad”), even shitty customer service (“Hamburger Martyr” and “Ted Key Beefs”). Oddly enough, Killdozer had nothing but good things to say about the late automobile paint and collision repair king Earl Schieb (“Our friend, Earl Schieb/Friend of man, helped so many/Did so much for so little in return”), but I’m relatively certain their salute to Earl was a left-handed one.
The late Ellie Greenwich’s well-deserved fame derives primarily from her activities a songwriter, specifically as one half of the behemoth Brill Building duo Greenwich-Barry, a pair that penned some of the most brilliant and enduring tunes in the rich history of the ‘60s Girl-Group sound. But she was also a gifted vocalist, and while her talents behind the microphone will never eclipse her abilities as a composer, a little enthusiasm for her efforts as a performer can only serve to deepen an already impressive legacy. Exhibit number one should be her fabulous single from 1967 “I Want You to Be My Baby” b/w “Goodnight, Goodnight (What’s So Good About It?)”
Once upon a time, the highly rewarding phenomenon of the ‘60s girl-groups was firmly in the grips of the formidable tentacles of nostalgia. Such was the intense power of the “golden oldies” experience. While the same can be said of the numerous more rock-based genres that also happened to remain in the cultural memory through widespread popularity, those forms were also separated far more easily from their sticky status as representatives of a supposedly simpler and somehow preferable past.
As such, younger folks often come to grips with the greatness of Stax before they integrate the more sophisticated pop direction of Motown into their listening diets. And to this day, whole hypothetical countries can be populated with Beatles fans that care nothing about the concept of the ‘60s as a great time to be alive, mainly because they weren’t around to form any memories of that nature.
“For me, when I started listening to vinyl was when I started getting into classic rock, bands like Pink Floyd and The Beatles, artists like Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young. Of those though, Pink Floyd has had the biggest influence on me and there are few records that are made for vinyl like Dark Side of the Moon.“
“Love it or hate it, that record reflects what I appreciate most about playing vinyl, that it forces you to envelop an album, to be a part of the experience. I also love when an album (like that one) closes the a-side with an extremely heavy and cathartic piece. Flipping the record is like a small intermission to the full performance, and starting the b-side with the “hit” is a great use of tension and release.
And of course there’s the sound of vinyl, the warm crackle, the physicality of it all that gives a certain power and tangible truth to a great recording. Certain types of music just sound amazing on wax. When I was 17 I started getting serious about being a jazz bass player and went to a 5 week summer music program at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
As one can imagine in the year 2000 there were a ton of record stores around the college and that summer I began entering the jazz world through vinyl. Collecting records with Paul Chambers on bass was a top priority for me, and from that direction it was easy to get turned on to legendary artists like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Bill Evans. I mean, there are few things more powerful than listening to John Coltrane play, but on vinyl it just enters a whole new level!
The fifth annual partycelebrating those born under the Pisces horoscope sign starts at the Blue Nile at 8 PM. Funds raised will be donated to the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans. Those are the fine folks spearheading the battle against the noise ordinance.
Acclaimed poet and spoken word artist Jose Torres Tama is set to MC the event. He will also perform a piece. DJ Black Pearl kicks off the night followed by a short tribute and blessing by the all female, spirit-driven vocal group, the Yemayayas. Live music from an all Pisces, all-star band aptly titled “Los Pescados” will begin at 9 PM.
The band features Sam Price (Honey Island Swamp Band, Otra and Los Otros) on bass, Eric Bolivar on drums (Anders Osborne, Bonerama, Tab Benoit), Randy Ellis on guitar (Chubby Carriere), Greg Hicks on trombone (Bonerama, Funk Monkey), Matthew Shilling on saxophone, Kristina Morales on vocals, and Alexandra Scott on vocals and guitar.
“But you/You and I/Hate to see/A flower die,” sings Dean Wareham on his first-ever solo LP, the just-released eponymous Dean Wareham. It’s a typical sentiment for the legendary indie rock fixture, who since 1987 has been making beautifully bewitching sounds, first with cult faves and dreampop pioneers Galaxie 500, then with indie-rock “supergroup” Luna, and finally with duo Dean and Britta, Britta being Luna’s former bassist and Wareham’s wife.
Wareham, who hails from New Zealand and still retains an accent, is an extraordinary guitarist, a wonderfully witty and excellent songwriter, and a visionary. And he’s still in full command of his formidable powers, as he demonstrates on his new LP, which will slay you with dreamy beauty (“The Dancer Disappears”), blow you away with ought-to-be-a-smash hit “Holding Pattern,” and break your heart with “Love Is Not a Roof Against the Rain.”
And fortunate for us he’s going on tour to play a career sampling of songs from Galaxie 500 to the present, with a few very cool covers likely thrown in as well. He’ll be at the U Street Music Hall in Washinton, D.C. on Friday, April 4, with The Vacant Lots opening.
I got the chance to speak to Wareham by telephone about the new album, the odds against a Galaxie 500 reunion, his thoughts on releasing his new album on 8-track, and speed-metal superstar Glen Campbell. He was a good sport throughout, despite my weird questions, and I humbly submit that if you’re not at The U Street Music Hall on April 4 you had better have a damn good excuse. Like you have Ebola, are at that very moment enjoying the best sex of your life, or you’re wearing jail house orange. Because this is one show where attendance is mandatory.
I write for The Vinyl District, so I’m supposed to ask artists about their feelings about vinyl but I always forget. So—are you a fan?
I have a large vinyl collection myself. When you live in New York City, you can’t be a large collector of anything. But now I live in LA, so I’ve been buying albums. CDs are disappearing. Buying music is disappearing. I feel like most people who buy vinyl rip it to their computer anyway.
Is your new album available on vinyl?
It’s out now on CD. Vinyl will be coming out next week.
I’ve been thinking about what might be best for your career, because I tend to worry, and I think you should consider releasing something on 8-track. I think it’s due to make a big comeback, and you’ll want to be at the forefront of the big 8-track revival. I love it when you’re in the middle of a song and—click!—there’s this long delay that cuts your favorite song right in half! So what do you think?
(Laughs) No. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Dexter Romweber continues to be most noted for his work as part of Flat Duo Jets, but if he keeps releasing LPs as strong as Images 13 that situation is bound to change. Recorded with his sister Sara, the Dex Romweber Duo’s latest album finds them in expectedly trim and energetic form, but key to its success is the level of subtle diversity on display.
Like many I’m guessing, my introduction to Dex Romweber came through the 1987 Tony Gayton-directed documentary Athens, GA: Inside/Out. That film and its accompanying soundtrack illuminated one of the more storied regional scenes of the post-punk era, with its exponents including The B-52’s, Pylon, and R.E.M.
By the latter portion of the ‘80s, Athens’ musical productivity, loaded as it was with jangling college radio friendly guitars, frequently got saddled with the reputation of being just too damned well-mannered for its own good. It was a trait far from unwarranted; R.E.M. was sitting on the precipice of Big Rock Stardom (by the beginning of ’88, Document had sold a million), and all sorts of acts were attempting their own overly-pleasant wrinkles on that niche.
Athens, GA: Inside/Out helped to at least somewhat undercut this notion. Standing out was the noise-punk racket of Bar-B-Q Killers, but the biggest exception was easily Flat Duo Jets. They mixed a solid grip on pre-Beatle rock gumption with a wild streak of impoliteness that kept them securely out of the neo-rockabilly bag from earlier in the decade, and to these ears Dexter, drummer Crow, and bassist Griz “Tone” Mayer (who departed in 1990, leaving them as a two-piece for the rest of their run) landed in the fertile zone betwixt The Blasters and The Cramps.
PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | On the evening of March 9, we ventured to a charming area of Takoma Park, Md., to the equally charming restaurant Republic, where we had the honor of speaking with former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic—himself a charming man.
Novoselic was at Republic to talk about FairVote, an organization chaired by Novoselic (an Independent voter) that educates and empowers Americans to remove the structural barriers to achieving a representative democracy that respects every vote and every voice in every election. Half of the proceeds from the evening at Republic went to the FairVote organization.
Novoselic started off the intimate evening with witty banter and the importance of being involved with FairVote. Afterwards, the capacity crowd was treated to an accordion rendition of Lorde’s “Royals,” the accordion on loan from local music shop House of Musical Traditions.
Before the festivities, we sat outside on Republic’s heated patio to discuss Novoselic’s political activism, online streaming, and of course vinyl.
Before you were involved with FairVote, you supported the creation of the Joint Artists and Musicians Political Action Committee (JAMPAC). Is that what started your political activism career?
Yes, that’s my story. I got involved in these music issues in Washington State, where Seattle music was taking the world by storm but our own state legislator was trying to pass censorship bills. City Council created anti-music ordinances like the Teen Dance Ordinance and other weird laws from overreaching legislators. I started to learn about the political system; it was my civic education. I worked to break these barriers down, but I didn’t do it by myself, I worked with a large group of people.
Through that, I learned about the barriers that exist in political participation, where political insiders circled the wagons making rules to benefit themselves. I wanted to get involved and discovered this group called FairVote, formerly the Center for Voting and Democracy, who proposed proportional and rank choice voting to give voters more choice and more power. That’s been my gig since then.
FairVote is a non-partisan, Independent, not Conservative or Liberal. It’s for people from all walks of life, of all ages, having an opportunity to participate. The reforms we proposed have a long history in the United Sates rooted in the Voting Rights act. You have this proportional voting rights system where a political or ethnic minority can have a chance to have a voice. We were just involved with a Voting Rights Act in California where Latinos felt misrepresented or excluded in their district. We worked to propose a voting system to give more power to those voters.
If you feel excluded from politics, and you want to have more power or more choices, go to FairVote.org to find out ways to make democracy more inclusive for all people.
REVIEW: SAMANTHA HILSENROD | I am a big fan of Cody ChestnuTT’s socially conscious neo-soul. A throwback to ’70s-era artists such as Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, ChestnuTT is unafraid to discuss the realities of urban life for African Americans as well as examine broader issues that affect both white and black audiences. His 2012 release Landing on A Hundred impressed me thoroughly, and I was excited to see ChestnuTT at Tipitina’s this past Wednesday.
However, I felt ChestnuTT left a lot to be desired. He focused the majority of his set on poppy, upbeat numbers that failed to hint at the insight I found so compelling in much of his work. Wearing his signature hard hat, ChestnuTT nevertheless put on a high-energy, theatrical performance. He was obviously extremely connected to his music, dancing and shaking like a skinny, modern-day James Brown. His vocals were crisp and clear, and his band exhibited tight, high quality musicianship.
Still, the first half of the set left me waiting for a song that would really move me, which was absolutely the opposite of what I was expecting from ChestnuTT. The show did get a little more interesting when ChestnuTT began performing work from his album Headphone Masterpiece. Both songs, “Black Skin No Value”and “Under the Spell No Hand,”discussed gripping themes that departed from the earlier pieces that seemed to focus more on love and bubblegum. This was the Cody ChestnuTT I had come to see.
The term mogwai in Cantonese is translated to mean “monster,” “devil,” or “demon.” In the music world, Mogwai is translated to mean a really awesome Scottish post-rock band.
Formed in Glasgow in 1995, rock quintet Mogwai consists of Scott Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch, John Cummings, and Barry Burns. Since their formation, the band has consistently released albums and EPs that are more instrumental than vocal, building a reputation focused around each member’s guitar work.
Currently on a mini European tour, Mogwai is heading across the ocean to tour North America beginning mid-April. As a part of the North American tour, Mogwai is coming to the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, May 7, and we’re giving away tickets.
“I was a late bloomer when it came to discovering music.”
“As a child growing up, my parents never really played an important role in inculcating a listening upbringing that I would consider to have an influence in my life today. Barry White and Eric Clapton through the car tape deck would prove to be an interminable experience through years of being driven to school in the morning, and there was never anything musically inspiring on offer at home that would allure my attention away from playing soccer every day or climbing trees.
I had piano lessons at the age of 11 that I hated, and my first single ever purchased was “I’m Blue” by Eiffel 65 on compact disc. It is safe to say I can never reflect on those wonderful nostalgic experiences many musicians tell of dusting off their old man’s original pressing of Revolver and hearing the satisfying purr of the needle hitting the vinyl. Although I was given a copy of The Commitments on tape when I was 6, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Press Play is our Monday morning recap of the new tracks received last week—provided here to inform your vinyl purchasing power. Click, preview, download.
We expected this year’s SXSW to be crazy fun and productive, but it’s proven to be even more explosive. As my “rock ‘n roll journey” continues, I’ve learned life certainly has it’s ups, downs, and trudges.
Not sure I want to type this morning so let’s keep the chat down and turn the SXSW bands up! I’m midway through another epic time in Austin.
