My band recently got back from the F&%$ SXSW Windian Records Showcase in Washington DC. We played with a bunch of awesome bands, but the band that blew me away was Two Tears from New York. Their sound is a mix of raw rock n roll, blues and punk with Kathleen Hanna-type howls. Front woman Kerry Davis (Red Aunts, Beehive and the Barracudas) is so tough, she could rip you a new a-hole and so cool, you wanna be just like her. Their 7-inch on Windian Records is sold out, but they've got a few other records out and they're playing in Europe soon. Check them out here, here and here.
Circle Pit passed the Fred and Toody Cole's Rock n Roll 101 class with flying colors. They combine nonchalant dual male/female vocals with scumbag 80's/90's rock n roll. Their recent album, Bruise Constellation (Siltbreeze Records), is great because every song sounds different so you don't get bored while listening to it. Some songs are really melodic (like Beginning and the End, one of my personal favorites on the album, whose lead surf-drenched guitar solos throughout leave me mesmerized. You can listen to that song here) while some songs bring out singer Angela Bermuda's inner Nirvana-era Courtney Love meets Exene Cervenka, drizzled with some Kim Gordon and Toody Cole. This is the kind of album you blast as loud as possible while driving up the coast with all your windows rolled down. They're currently touring the states, check out their Myspace page and their blog. Listen to clips of the entire album here. Circle Pit plays Soda Bar November 8 with Jungle Fever and The Last Years. Hurricane (first of the 3 videos below) is my favorite track off this album. If you like Dead Moon, I think you'll really dig this band.
I really don't think people give Darlene Love the props she deserves. Let me give you a little background on this amazing lady (and later today you should probably buy her autobiography because it's fantastic).
The name might not be familiar to you when you first hear it, but her distinctive voice is what sets Darlene Love apart from all the other singers of that era... the woman can seriously belt out tunes. She started singing/recording in the early 60's with her girl group, The Blossoms, and with Phil Spector (The Crystals, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and as a solo singer). Not only did she sing on one of the most recognized songs in history, He's a Rebel (with The Crystals), but she (along with her group, The Blossoms) also was the background singer of numerous 60's hits: Johnny Angel, The Tracks of My Tears, Baby I Need Your Loving, just to name a few.
Although Love was part of The Blossoms in the early 60's (side note: The Blossoms were the background singers on the weekly music variety show Shindig!, as well as Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special), towards the mid-to-late 60's she sang with them as a more full time gig. Their songs had more of a northern soul sound, but were as equally amazing as her early material. Here's a cute video of Darlene lip syncing to The Blossoms' 1965 tune That's When the Tears Start. It looks like this video was shot more recently and she looks gorgeous!! I'm assuming the older lady is an original Blossom? Not sure who that younger woman is?
One of my favorite Blossoms songs is Good, Good Lovin'. You can hear it for free here (just type in the code on the right hand side of the page and the MP3 streams for free). This song is pure GOLD.
In the early 80's, Darlene wasn't able to find many music-related jobs, so she started cleaning houses in Beverly Hills. She made her comeback in the late 80's with roles in movies (Lethal Weapon) and musicals (Grease, Carrie, Hairspray) and she continues to make yearly appearances during Christmas time on The Letterman Show. Darlene was also a finalist for this years Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
You can buy her Best Of CD here, several Blossoms songs are featured on this fantastic (!!!) compilation CD and lastly, I didn't even know this existed until just now. I may buy myself that CD as a belated birthday present. Eep!
Becky Lee is a musical jack of all trades hailing from Arizona. Her one (wo)man band features her on guitar and drums. She plays rhythm and blues and throws in a little rock n roll, old country and even some glam (ok not totally, but on some songs her voice reminds me of 70's female glam singers like Noosha Fox and Zenda Jacks). I saw her play last night at San Diego's Tower Bar and she blew me away. Totally inspiring... If you like Jenny Lewis' solo "alt-country" stuff, you'll dig Becky Lee (check out the song Old Fashioned Man on her MySpace page to get the idea). Watch the video below of her performing in Europe!!
In 1979, The Last released an album on Bomp! Records called L.A. Explosion. This record is great, kinda like Los Angeles' very own little British Invasion. Comprised of three brothers, they combined mod and powerpop with really awesome harmonies. Their first show was in 1978 opening up for The Dils, Avengers and F-Word (!!!) They continued playing shows throughout the late 70's and 80's with a slew of rad bands like Black Flag, The Go-Go's, The Plugz, Urinals, Pointed Sticks, Gun Club, Alleycats, Plimsouls, etc. The band reunited several years ago and played a few shows. They released a handful of 7" singles, a few albums and are featured on a "butt load" of compilations. L.A. Explosion is still available (on CD) through Bomp! Records.
Here's one of my favorite songs off their Bomp! LP:
Wanda Robinson released two albums in the early 70's on Perception Records. Instead of singing, she does spoken word poetry over some serious heavy funk, jazz and super chilled-out soul. My favorite track is Nobody in His Right Mind off her second LP, Me and a Friend, where she boldly states mid-song "when a cracker talks of peace, he means peace in the grave, and when he talks of love, he means how he'd love to help us get there. ...but if it's bad for the crackers, than it must be good for us." Listen to a clip of that song here. Both albums are available on a 2-for-1 CD, The Soul-Jazz Poetry of Wanda Robinson.
The Revelons are one of those bands that when you’re fortunate enough to finally discover them, you’re mad you hadn’t heard of them sooner (which is what happened to me after my friend made me a copy of their CD!) There’s a quote on The Revelons webpage: “It is impossible to believe that punk-era music this rock, this raw, this heartfelt and this good has been buried for nearly twenty years.” I couldn’t agree more. And why weren’t they more popular? Hello!! Members of The Patti Smith group AND Television!! Rock n roll, a little bit of powerpop and a whole lot of seriously GREAT songwriting. As far as I know, and I could be totally wrong here, they only had one 7” and a song on one of those random alternative compilation LPs that came out in the early 80’s (I found mine in the budget bin at Amoeba! Total score!!) Buy their “Anthology” CD as soon as humanly possible. Thank me later, dudes.
Not to be confused with one of the shittiest bands to ever come out of the 1990's (and that's saying a lot. I'm talking to you Ugly Kid Joe, Tripping Daisy, Crash Test Dummies and Crazytown). The Cake got their start in the late 60's, completely missing that "girl group train" from the early 60's, and because of this, I don't think they ever got the props they deserve. If you're into that blue-eyed soul/pop sound, you'll dig these ladies. I have their first album and have been looking for their 2nd LP, A Slice of Cake, for years (to no avail.)
Side note: I decided to stop shopping for records on eBay...it's totally cheating. Plus, I don't trust lil' ol' Mary Lou Dinglehop from Bumbletit, Tennessee who found her grandma's "really old vinyls, you know, the real big ones?" that she decided to sell on "the internets." She doesn't know what a scratch is, or what heat damage looks like. She's one of "those" people who thinks, because she owns it, it's in near mint condition. "I mean, why wouldn't it be in perfect condition, I wouldn't hurt a fly, ya'll! Much less put a scratch on this here vinyls!!" Another side note: I hate when people call vinyl "vinyls" - seriously drives me bat shit crazy, but I feel like an ass being "that guy" who corrects people. So I just let it slide. Another side note: I knew a guy in high school who would pluralize and put a "the" in front of everything!! "Hey! Are you guyses going to the shows tonight at the Somas?" I seriously just started laughing out loud remembering that kid. My friend Lindsay and I would talk like him behind his back, not to be mean, simply because it was knee-slapping hilarious. "Hey Lindsays, are you the hungrys? I'm hungrys let's go get some the foods."
Holy moly, where was I? Oh yeah. I like the feeling of taking the two hour drive up to Amoeba and telling yourself there won't be one record there you will want. It's this mind game I play with myself, because I know I will find something I want, but just in case I don't, I already told myself I won't find anything. In the end, no one gets hurt. But I digress. The Cake. Bee's knees, cat's meow, eel's ankle, snake's hips. You get the idea! Check out the video below.
It bums me out that Phyllis Dillon doesn’t get enough props. It seems like a lot of people don’t know about her, and that ain’t right. The majority of music I listened to in high school was 60’s ska and rocksteady (and Operation Ivy, Gorilla Biscuits, Metallica, Nirvana) (side note: I recently listened to GB's "Start Today" and I still love that record as much as I did when I was 14). I always had a hard time finding female singers from that era and genre. Phyllis recorded in Jamaica with Duke Reid (Treausure Isle) in the 60’s and 70’s, combining wonderful original songs with amazing covers that were popular in America. Her voice is soft and buttery and she has amazing vibrato. Not like the intense vibrato as, say, Ronnie Spector or Frankie Lymon, but in that same realm. Finding her records are near impossible. Good luck finding 45s, but I have two reissue LPs of hers that I got about 8 years ago at Lou’s Records (when Lou’s Records had a decent reggae vinyl section). The vinyl is filled with pits. What’s up with those Jamaican printing plants?? The records always skip all over the place!! But you can find several CD compilations of hers and I HIGHLY recommend you buy them this weekend...
I discovered Florida's Garbo's Daughter last year while searching for people that liked 60's girl groups on MySpace. Yeah, I kinda need to get a life. Anywho, forget all the over-hyped bands that all sound alike, this band is unique and fun and doesn't sound like Jesus and Mary Chain (for once). A mix of all my faves: girl groups, bubblegum, teeny bopper hits. They do a great cover of "Private Party" that was featured on one of the Girls in the Garage comps... and they are cute as a button to boot! I'm pretty sure they have a record or cassette or something coming out on Burger Records (?) They have a picture on their main myspace page that makes me want to be their best friend. Garbo's Daughter, can I please go to your house, pop some popcorn, make cupcakes, listen to that Jacques Dutronc 7" and trade Tune Totes?!!?!? Pleeeease???
Dead Moon is the best rock and roll band to ever exist. Fred Cole is the coolest, sexiest, toughest rock n roller ever.
Several years ago my friend Megan tried to get me into Dead Moon and for some reason I didn’t listen to her. I finally got my head out of my ass last year when I discovered (post-Dead Moon band) the Pierced Arrows at San Diego’s Johnny Rad Fest. I bought a shirt from Toody Cole (bass/vocals), and as she took the money out of my hand she knocked over her beer and it splashed all over her jeans. She was pissed. I felt uncomfortable and grabbed my shirt and ran away. I ruined a living legend’s jeans. I decided it was my mission in life to collect literally every record that Fred Cole has played on. I’m not close to being done, but I’m getting there.
First off, if you’ve never heard of Dead Moon, you need to get into them. As in, like, today. Right now. If you don’t believe me, sacrifice 1.5 hours of your life by watching the Dead Moon documentary, Unknown Passage. You’ll learn about Fred Cole’s early bands from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s (The Weeds, Lollipop Shoppe, Zipper, the Rats, etc) and his family life with his wife (and bandmate), Toody. The dude lives in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere and is an all-around badass. Oh yeah, he’s a total DILF and has a face tattoo (which normally is not sexy at all, but on him = totally sexy). Here’s the trailer:
