Monthly Archives: July 2022

TVD Radar: After All Is Said and Done: Taping the Grateful Dead 1965–1995 in stores 9/20

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Artist and collector Mark A. Rodriguez explores the groundbreaking history of the devoted bootleg tapers community who developed their own culture of recording and trading cassettes of Grateful Dead live shows. Features dozens of interviews with tape enthusiasts, members of the Dead organization and striking visuals from hundreds of archival cassette covers.

If any one musical act of the rock and roll era can be said to have transcended the simple categorization of “band,” the Grateful Dead is it: by the time they stopped performing in 1995, the Dead had become an international institution with a vast backing organization, a massive and devoted fanbase, and archival recordings both official and bootlegged. The cultural significance of these bootlegs—live concert cassettes which solidified the Dead’s legendary status even as they occupied a legal gray area for decades—is utterly unique in the annals of music, and the story of their creation, trading, and proliferation is a people’s history unto itself.

Featuring dozens of interviews with tape enthusiasts and members of the Grateful Dead organization as well as the show stopping visuals from hundreds of archival cassette covers, After All Is Said and Done is artist Mark A. Rodriguez’s exploration of that history, a saga of homegrown psychedelia, anarchic graphic styles, and black market fandom as written in magnetic tape.

Read More »

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

UK Artist of the Week: lotusbliss

Indie-rock trio lotusbliss are back and they sound better than ever. Their new single “Nightshade” instantly packs a punch and is a perfect introduction to what we can expect from their upcoming EP.

Channeling the likes of Foals and Wolf Alice, lotusbliss bring together jangling guitar, scuzzy synths, and pulsating percussion creating a sound that is undeniably impressive and oozing with finesse. The harmonies are also 100% on point throughout. Talking about the single, the band elaborate, “It’s about being involved with something or someone that is unhealthy, though the unhealthy nature is not immediately visible.”

“Like solanine (the poison found in nightshade plants like potatoes and tomatoes), in small doses it’s too subtle to notice; the corrupting force goes undetected. In larger quantities, though, it can be all consuming and fatal, like with the infamous Deadly Nightshade flower. Its scientific name, Atropa Belladonna, comes from Greek mythology—Atropos has the thread of your life in her hands and is poised to cut it.”

lotusbliss are three brothers originally from Canterbury, UK. Their new single “Nightshade” is the first single to be released from their upcoming EP “An Aching Sea,” due in stores on 2nd September 2022.

Posted in TVD UK | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Jeremy Cunningham / Dustin Laurenzi / Paul Bryan, A Better Ghost

Cohorts and collaborators Jeremy Cunningham and Dustin Laurenzi have been strengthening the foundation of contemporary Chicago jazz for roughly a decade. On A Better Ghost, out July 29 on bullion-colored vinyl and digital through Northern Spy, they’ve honed a set of nine compositions alongside Los Angelino Paul Bryan, who co-produced Cunningham’s 2019 LP The Weather Up There. Laurenzi contributes tenor sax, OP-1 synthesizer and electronics, Bryan brings bass and synth, and Cunningham handles the drums and percussion. The pieces resonate with emotion and are often surprising as they eclipse boundaries.

Of the individuals who’ve shaped this album, Paul Bryan has the most extensive discography. In addition to playing bass on a slew of records, he has a long list of production credits, winning a Grammy in 2017 for Aimee Mann’s Mental Illness, in addition to working as an engineer, arranger, and session-touring musician.

Bryan also plays on guitarist Jeff Parker’s albums The New Breed (2016) and Suite for Max Brown (2020), as Parker is heard on and helped produce Bryan’s very nifty Cri$el Gems (2020). This solidifies the Chicago connection, as Parker is a stalwart Windy City guy perhaps best known for his work as a member of Tortoise, though germane to this review is his playing on and co-production of Cunningham’s The Weather Up There.

Said album also features Laurenzi and saxophonist Josh Johnson, the latter bringing a little alto to A Better Ghost; rounding out the contributors are Will Miller on trumpet, Katie Ernst on vocals, and Joe Bellerose on drums. The seed of this new record is improvisations and experiments that were recorded over the telephone, then sharpened and expanded following Bryan’s emergence into the scheme.

Read More »

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

In rotation: 7/26/22

Eight Isle of Wight, UK | Eight Isle of Wight record shops for new and preloved vinyl: Record shops are the height of retro cool and where better to snap up vinyl than on the Isle of Wight? The industry celebrated its 14th consecutive year of growth in 2021 and records are flying off the shelves and onto our turntables – which these days come with helpful USB connections and built-in speakers. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), more than 5 million vinyl LPs were sold last year. It made 2021 the biggest year for record sales in three decades. Whether its for latest releases or preloved gems, the savvy shopper can be be found hunting through boxes of records, which range in price according to their condition. The Isle of Wight boasts perfect places to lose yourself among classic artwork and decades of music development. Here are eight Isle of Wight record stores to while away a few hours, as you search for your favourite 7″, EP, or LP…

St. Petersburg, FL | St. Pete artist Steve Madden is bringing flair to the bins at Daddy Kool Records: He’s brought life to the plain, white, thick plastic sheets the shop uses to categorize and separate its stock. If you’ve recently visited Daddy Kool, St. Pete’s premier record store located at 800 28th St S at The Factory, you’ve probably noticed some pretty eye-catching and artistic divider cards, colorfully indicating individual artists’ sections while browsing. The store’s manager and resident music expert, Manny Kool, enlisted the services of local artist Steve Madden to bring artistic flair to the plain, white, thick plastic sheets the shop uses to categorize and separate its stock. Madden, who is also a devout music lover, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay how the partnership came about and how he approaches each and every mini-art project he cranks out for usage around the record store.

Los Angeles, CA | Time Collapses In Dave Muller’s New Record Store Pop-Up: The artist has opened his second record store pop-up as the centerpiece of his recent solo exhibition. In the spring of 2017, the L.A.-based artist Dave Muller and local record purveyor-turned-music producer Ethan Swan created the P&B Records shop at The Meow, a pop-up exhibition-retail space for artist-run businesses located inside a backyard shed at the Mt. Washington home of Angeleno artists Lisa Anne Auerbach and Joel Kyack. “It was so popular it scared them. They were afraid too many people were gonna start showing up, so now it’s just a kind of yoga cottage,” Muller says with a laugh during a call from a road trip the week after he opened his second record store pop-up. This one is the centerpiece of his recent solo exhibition, Sunset, Sunrise (repeat) b/w The Record Pavilion, in the upstairs gallery of his L.A. dealer, Blum & Poe. “It’s kinda like the record store I’d like to go to, combined with an art installation that still works as a record store,” he says. “But I can paint on the ceiling, paint on the walls, all that stuff.”

Selangor Darul Ehsan, ML | Here’s an event celebrating music collector culture, vinyl lovers: The inaugural Kena Sound music collector culture event at Nero Event Space, PJPAC, 1 Utama, Petaling Jaya on Aug 6 promises a day out with a difference for music lovers who have not lost faith in physical music formats. It’s an event to celebrate listening to music via a physical format, notably vinyl, CDs, cassettes and more. Organised by the Kena Sound Crew (a collective of music lovers) and supported by PJPAC, the independent event aims to broaden and liven up the record-buying experience and give music collectors an opportunity to interact with kindred spirits and discover new developments in this niche music collecting scene, which is being propped up by independent record shops and online sellers nationwide. “…“Kena Sound is about bringing back the fun when it comes to music collecting. It will be presented in a laidback setting, with music conversations (on stage), pop-up music stalls, record shop storytelling, video screenings, open turntable sessions and more…”

Read More »

Posted in A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined | Leave a comment

TVD Live Shots: Machine Gun Kelly, Avril Lavigne, and Willow at Oakland Arena, 7/19

In a sign that his trajectory shows no sign of slowing, Machine Gun Kelly brought his “Mainstream Sellout” tour to the Oakland Arena for an over-the-top rock show that left nothing to be desired.

Soft-spoken but with a big voice, Willow Smith kicked things off to an enthusiastic crowd. Clearly trying to shed her “Whip My Hair” origins, the twenty-one-year-old is making a big step towards recasting her image through her latest release Lately I Feel Everything, an opening slot for MGK and a few between-song f-bombs no doubt helped in this regard.

Next up was Avril Lavigne who, with a new album out earlier this year, arguably could have been given a longer set time. As it was, she only had around 30 minutes to cram a pair of new tunes off of Love Sux in with the expected fan favorites. Given the crowd response, the Bay Area is likely hoping for a proper headlining date in support of the new album.

The Oakland crowd started to get a good glimpse of what was to come as the crew made quick work of the stage, assembling a sloped circular checkerboard section of stage with sections cut out for the drums and keyboards. Of course, the helicopter not-so-subtlety positioned directly above the stage was hard to miss from the beginning of the night, but its purpose was not so obvious.

Read More »

Posted in TVD San Francisco | Leave a comment

TVD Live Shots:
The Cult with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Zola Jesus at The Anthem, 7/19

Veteran rockers The Cult made a stop on its “We Own the Night” tour at The Anthem in Washington, DC, bringing along Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Zola Jesus to play to the mostly Generation X crowd.

Kicking off the night was Nika Roza Danilova, who goes by the stage name Zola Jesus. Her latest album Arkhon, was released just last month; the album explores heavy themes brought about by the current state of the world. In a 30-minute set, Zola Jesus introduced the still-assembling Anthem crowd to this music, appropriately wrapped in an industrial and goth sound and bathed solely in red light (the latter making for a frustrating photographic shoot, especially from the soundboard). There are elements of classical music in her songs as well as underscored by the presence of a violinist in her backing band.

After a quick turnover, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the stage. The setlist spanned most of B.R.M.C.’s albums, but leaned mostly on songs from earlier LPs, like “Spread Your Love” and “Red Eyes and Tears” from the band’s first album, B.R.M.C (2001), and lasted an entire hour, rather unusual for a support act. While well-performed, the band’s vibe was also distinctly mellow, somewhat flying in the face of their garage rock sound. Nevertheless, including B.R.M.C on the “We Own the Night” tour was a good choice. The band’s catalog complements that of The Cult, and provides aural lubrication for the crowd, prepping them for the headliner.

It was 10:20PM when The Cult finally took the stage. In 2022, The Cult consists of two original members, Ian Astbury (vocals) and Billy Duffy (guitar), as well as John Tempesta (drums), Charlie Jones (bass), and Mike Mangan (keyboards). They launched into a setlist of fan favorites, which included all the songs you’d hope for, “Sun King,” “Edie (Ciao Baby),” and of course, “Fire Woman” and “She Sells Sanctuary.”

Read More »

Posted in TVD Washington, DC | Leave a comment

TVD Radar: Bobbie Gentry, The Girl From Chickasaw County: Highlights From The Capitol Masters 2LP,
2CD in stores 8/5

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Prior to the release of 2018’s The Girl From Chickasaw County box set, the music of Bobbie Gentry would often be lazily filed under “Easy Listening” or “Country” but the expansive collection opened the ears and the eyes of the world to what really lay in this incredible songwriter’s recorded oeuvre.

Her seven studio albums revealed an extraordinary body of work that merged Americana, soul, country, chamber-pop, bayou funk, jazz, folk, and psychedelia across recordings that possessed incredible musical ambition. And that doesn’t even touch on the quality of songwriting that lay within, where Gentry brings alive her evocative tales of life in the Deep South with all the characteristics of that region, its people and its customs illuminated to stunning effect.

The box set was a huge global success, earning a Grammy nomination and coveted Reissue of the Year accolades from The Times and Mojo. There were 5-star reviews, magazine covers, in-depth appraisals of Bobbie Gentry’s work and social media awash with listening parties bringing legions of new fans. Mercury Rev, Margo Price, Vashti Bunyan, and Hope Sandoval amongst others got together to make a superb tribute album, re-recording Gentry’s masterpiece The Delta Sweete as The Delta Sweete Revisited. After three represses, the box set became a collector’s item, but continued consumer demand from an audience either discovering or revisiting Gentry’s music now leads us to the August 5th release of The Girl From Chickasaw County: Highlights From The Capitol Masters.

Read More »

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve: Grateful Dead,
Infrared Roses

See this album I’m holding in my hands? It’s a copy of the Grateful Dead’s 1991 LP Infrared Roses. Now watch closely—I’m going to perform a magic trick. What I’m going to do is gently remove the record from its sleeve and dash it against the far wall, then puke into the empty sleeve. And presto! A new and improved version of Infrared Roses!

I would never be so unkind to do the same to any other Grateful Dead album, no matter how dreadful. But Infrared Roses is not your average dreadful Grateful Dead album. What it is, and I tremble just at the thought of it, is a compilation of the “drums and space” interludes the Dead performed between sets. Their purpose, so far as I can tell, was to give hallucinogenic casualties the opportunity to head for the freak-out tent to rehydrate, levitate, and communicate with Deadheads from distant planets, until the Dead returned to playing real songs such as, for instance, “Terrapin Station.” You know “Terrapin Station.” It’s the one that makes you want to throttle a dancing bear.

The twelve tracks on Infrared Roses are not jam sessions. Nor are they free jazz—I’ve been listening to free jazz since my younger brother forced me to do decades ago, and this ain’t that. Drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart establish the occasional groove, but I can’t say I enjoy them—they remind me too much of the early morning drum circle in the park I lived next to in Washington, DC which generally inspired me to scream out my window “Can it you fucking hippies!”

But when the drummers give up the ghost anything might happen, and that anything tends to be very, very bad. I’m talking Martian Muzak bird sounds, come-from-out-of-nowhere guitar riffs, brief flights of Garcia fancy, snippets of actual Dead songs, neo-classical brouhaha, dusty-piano-playing-itself horror movie music, and on and on until you drop your bong and barrel out the front door shrieking, “They’re here! They’ve come scramble our minds! Toss your children in front of them! It will slow them down!”

Read More »

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

In rotation: 7/25/22

Who’s Driving Up Vinyl LP Sales In 2022? It’s Probably Not Who You Think. What might a GenZ female have in common with a Millennial male? How about vinyl LPs? During the first half of 2022, vinyl album sales – the only segment of recorded music for sale that continues to grow, according to Luminate’s Midyear Music Report – were driven by younger women, with 34% of female buyers in the Gen Z category, while 62% of male buyers of vinyl were Gen X-ers or Millennials (31% for each). What’s driving those sales is not classic catalog titles, which might attract those older male consumers, but rather current releases, sales of which are up 27.4% year-over-year while catalog LP sales fell 8.4%. And who’s driving them is Harry Styles, currently the dominant act at CHR with two of the format’s top five songs based on Mediabase’s weekly spin count. Since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991, Styles’ album “Harry’s House” has posted the largest vinyl sales in a single week with 182,000 units upon its release in May.

Appleton, WI | Former Exclusive Company employee brings new record shop to downtown Appleton: The Exclusive Company may be gone, but its legacy carries on. A former Exclusive Company employee is keeping the tradition alive with his own record store, Eroding Winds Record Shop, which opened at 229 E. College Ave. in downtown Appleton on July 8. It’s the second Eroding Winds location for owner Adam Bartlett, who opened his flagship record store at 436 N. Main St. in downtown Oshkosh in 2016. It’s fitting that shortly after The Exclusive Company closed its doors in Appleton (and in many other cities), one of its former employees has made sure the Fox Cities will still have a place for music lovers to gather. An Oshkosh native, Bartlett was a regular at his hometown’s Exclusive Company location during his teenage years. He started working there on his 17th birthday in 2000 and reported directly to the late Exclusive Company founder James “Mr. G.” Giombetti. Bartlett also spent time as an employee at the Northland Mall Exclusive Company in Appleton.

Athens, GA | All things music: Local music shops in Athens: It is no secret that several major bands and artists like R.E.M., The B-52’s, Pylon, of Montreal and many more began right here in the Classic City. The city of Athens is famous for their long history in the music scene. While many of those famed bands rose to the top, other local bands took their place, and the Athens music scene is still alive and well. As the music continues to flow from the Classic City, the legacy of local music stores in Athens grows stronger as well. Athens has several locally owned music stores that offer all things music to its customers. Whether you are looking for instruments to learn to play, gear to start up a band or are looking to add to your vinyl collection, Athens has a store for it. The Red & Black has compiled a list of locally owned stores for all things music.

Milwaukee, WI | Former The Exclusive Co. employees will open Lilliput Records at Farwell St. location: Employees of The Exclusive Company’s Milwaukee location will open a new record store in its place as Lilliput Records, by the end of July. Lilliput Record’s soft opening is tentatively planned for July 30, two days after The Exclusive Co.’s last day, Thursday, July 28. Long-time manager Brian Kirk and assistant manager Tanner Musgrove decided that buying this store “was for the best” after learning of the Wisconsin-based record store chain’s closure. “Initially, we were just looking at the inventory. But it quickly morphed into purchasing the building as well, which, in the end, made much more sense,” Kirk said. Though the grand opening for Lilliput Records is still in the works, Musgrove said it will likely be the third weekend of August. James Giombetti opened the first The Exclusive Co. store in 1956 in West Bend. The company expanded with locations in Milwaukee, Appleton, Green Bay, Greenfield, Oshkosh and Janesville. The Milwaukee store has been continuously operating since 1991.

Read More »

Posted in A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined | Leave a comment

TVD’s The Idelic Hour with Jon Sidel

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

When you call Call my name / I need a shelter / I need a friend Someone to hold me To lend a hand / I fell on hard times / I lost the plot / No understandin’ The pain I got / My body’s broken / My body is bruised / Try to remember / What it’s like not to lose / I won’t go under / I won’t give in / Try to remember What it’s like to win / I need a shelter / I need a friend Someone to hold me To lend a hand / I fell on hard times / I lost the plot / No understandin’ The pain I got / My body’s broken / My body’s bruised / Try to remember / What it’s like not to lose / I won’t go under / I won’t give in / Try to remember What it’s like to win / When you call Call my name

Today’s thought? Is my mind broken?

Actually it’s my right middle toe. I broke it a few weeks ago and finally got around to a foot doc. The prognosis? “If your gonna break something it might as well be your right middle toe.”

Well, this said, there is a certain frustration with a small bone break. What a surprise as I found myself flipping through old records thinking of songs about broken bones and hearts. Luckily I don’t have a broken heart but I did pull a sad song, “Broken Finger Blues” from my departed pal Richard Swift, below.

It reminded me of the week I spent with him five summers ago. He was recording The Seasons, a brilliant French Canadian band I was trying to manage. In a quiet moment in the studio I asked Dickie about his next solo album. Swift played me the song. I remember turning to him, asking if he really broke his finger? He shook his head and said “Yeah Johnny.”

Read More »

Posted in TVD Los Angeles | Leave a comment

TVD Live Shots: REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Loverboy at Five Point Amphitheatre, 7/16

Classic rock lovers rejoice! The “Unzoomed” show featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Loverboy was one amazing evening under the stars in Irvine on Saturday night. Five Points Amphitheatre was the perfect venue for this classic rock extravaganza, and the concert did not disappoint. Amazing performances by all three bands had the crowd on their feet all night long. If you love classic rock, this is one show you don’t want to miss. Let’s dive into the performances!

Opening the show on Saturday was none other than Canadian heartthrobs, Loverboy. From the first notes of “Notorious,” these cats delivered a high-energy performance that had the audience on their feet from start to finish. Frontman Mike Reno was in top form, belting out “Working for the Weekend” and “Turn Me Loose” with ease. The rest of the band (including Paul Dean, Doug Johnson, Matt Frenette, and Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve) were equally impressive, delivering a tight and polished set that kept the crowd moving and grooving through their short but exhilarating set. Loverboy proved they’re still a force to be reckoned with and left everyone in the audience wanting more.

Next on the docket was Styx. These Chicago legends have been around since 1972 and are one of those rare bands that is just as good, if not better live than they are on record. Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young led the band through 15 classics that spanned their historic 50+ year career. Highlights of the show included “Lady,” “Too Much Time on My Hands,” and “Come Sail Away,” but honestly every song was great. The encore consisted of “Mr. Roboto” (one of my favorites) along with “Renegade” (which featured original bassist Chuck Panozzo). These were perfect songs to end their set and highlight in spades why Styx is definitely a band worth seeing live.

Read More »

Posted in TVD Los Angeles | Leave a comment

TVD Live Shots:
The Struts at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 7/14

The Struts made their triumphant return home last week in London, kicking off their UK tour at the beautiful Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Having recently announced signing on with one of the hottest labels on the planet, Big Machine, The Struts look to be primed to finally break through and fulfill their destiny to be one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

If you’re not familiar with Big Machine, they are the leading “independent” label based in the States with a rich history of not only turning artists into hit-making machines, but also opening up the heavens in terms of opportunities to reach the masses like no one else. Big Machine is a shining example of the modern record label; when it works, it works and generally blows up, taking the band to the next level of their career; when it doesn’t, well, let’s not go there.

The first sign of the “rebirth” of The Struts comes in the form of a new single. The band is super excited about this one as they invited the VIP ticket holders into the venue early to give it a spin. Then they played it live. I heard this song three times that night, the studio version once and two times live. While it certainly sounds like The Struts, it’s moving in a slightly new direction. Holy shit, the Machine is working.

The Struts 3.0 is an evolution, and it’s quite good. The song is called “Falling with Me,” and it’s about a night out in LA with the band as they personify the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle at the legendary Rainbow Room on the once famed Sunset Strip. It’s no surprise that these guys love their ’70s and ’80s glam rock, so why not retrace the steps of your peers and inject that into your music?

Read More »

Posted in TVD UK | Leave a comment

TVD Radar: How We Roll: The Art and Culture of Joints, Blunts, and Spliffs in stores 9/20

VIA PRESS RELEASE | “Around the world and from coast to coast, How We Roll stays smoking.”Snoop Dogg

Celebrate one of the most foundational and varied skills of the cannabis connoisseur, with How We Roll: The Art and Culture of Joints, Blunts, and Spliffs. This handy, visual, and giftable guide to twisting-one-up offers rolling techniques, do’s and don’ts, quizzes and charts, and illuminating interviews in one lively illustrated reference. Practiced potheads and perennial puffers alike will find something new and exciting in these pages written by Noah Rubin, the former editor-in-chief of Snoop Dogg’s media platform, Merry Jane.

From the classic joint to The Scorpion, The Braid, The Holy Cross, The Tulip, and other unique approaches, How We Roll employs clever illustrations and clear instructions to take you higher. Featuring interviews with notable cannabis lovers like Wiz Khalifa, Dawn Richard, Wayne Coyne, and Tommy Chong, insight into rolling culture around the world, and tips and tricks for rolling an impressive J, How We Roll is the go-to guide to rolling deep.

Read More »

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

TVD Radar: The Podcast with Evan Toth, Episode 78: Felix Cavaliere

Between the British Invasion and the Summer of Love, there was a time when American music was trying to figure out just exactly what it was, what made it unique from the rest of the world. Many might answer—that in that slim window of time—one of the most important American bands on the scene were The Rascals, they were certainly unique: they were soul and R&B oriented, they knew how to rock a house party, and they were one of the first rock bands to proudly feature the mighty Hammond B3 as its signature instrument.

The main voice of the group—and the captain piloting that massive B3—was Felix Cavaliere. Originally a pre-med student, Felix was bitten by the rock and roll bug and found himself working with Joey Dee and the Starlighters. Following this, Cavaliere met the three other musicians with whom he would form The Young Rascals: Eddie Brigati, Dino Dinelli, and Gene Cornish. Between 1966 and 1968, the band reached the Top 20 nine times (hitting #1 three times) with timeless blue-eyed soul classics such as, “Good Lovin’,” “Groovin’,” “People Got to Be Free” and many others.

1971 saw the release of the final Rascals album to feature all of the original members, Search and Nearness. The band did, however, reunite in 2012 for a run on Broadway and a national tour which was produced by Steven and a Maureen Van Zandt. Of course, the group was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of a fame.

Recently, however, Felix has published a book of his experiences titled, Memoir Of A Rascal and he was kind enough to join me to discuss the book and share some great rock and roll stories and wisdom. You can’t tell the story of mid-60s American rock and roll without The Rascals, and the best guy to tell us about it is Felix Cavaliere.

Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment

Graded on a Curve:
The Nation of Ulysses, The Embassy Tapes

When it comes to recordings, I’ve got a simple rule: the rawer, the better. I like records that sound like field recordings of old bluesmen; you know, the kind John A. Lomax and son made on sagging Southern shotgun shack porches using a cheap microphone. Hence my love of The Basement Tapes and Pussy Galore’s version of Exile on Main Street and innumerable other super lo-fi recordings I can’t think of at the moment.

This is the reason I love The Nation of Ulysses’ The Embassy Tapes so much. They sound like they were recorded in a McDonald’s bathroom, with vocalist Ian Svenonius locked in a stall and the microphone plunged head first into a urinal full of tape hiss. They’re raw and feral and murkier than a peat bog—a primitive cacophony that will pick you up the way a tornado picks up a cow, before depositing you, your ears ringing, in the demolished remains of that seedy trailer park at the trashier outskirts of rock and roll.

I saw Washington, D.C.’s Nation of Ulysses back in the day and didn’t like ‘em, although I’ll be damned if I can remember why. They just left me cold. Maybe it was the prominently displayed DC flag. I hate all flags, and what they represent, because I’m a shitty citizen with zero civic pride. It wasn’t until I became more familiar with the, er, unique bent of band front man Ian Svenonius’ mind that I became intrigued. He envisioned The Nation of Ulysses as a political party or revolutionary outfit, and described the band’s sophomore LP (1992’s Play Pretty for Baby) as “a blueprint for the destruction of the Parent Culture. It’s like a zip gun… It’s an instruction pamphlet for kids on how to destroy their home life, you know, their domestic state.”

His simultaneously serious and tongue-and-cheek revolutionary opinions on the U.S.A., teen rebellion, etc., are revealed in NOU’s songs—in one Svenonius talks about the Nation being “seriously unserious, reverently irreverent, amoral moralists.” They were also to be found in a zine (Ulysses Speaks) the band issued at shows. Both the lyrics and the zine demonstrated that Svenonius was working at a high level of intellectual sophistication, and more importantly that he had a sense of humor, something far too many irony-deficient DC bands of that period sorely lacked.

Read More »

Posted in The TVD Storefront | Leave a comment
  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


  • Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text
  • Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text