Blogs

By Brendan Joel Kelley

If you saw my column this week, you might wonder exactly what a guitar/drums/vocals metal three piece like John Wayne Jefferson sounds like. You can find the answer below, although you should be warned that the songs come off much better live and the production on the demo these are taken from leaves a lot to be desired. But, should you wish to see the live incarnation, you can do so this Saturday, June 2, at a house party in Tempe. It's called the Sesame Street Saturday Shindig, at 213 E. Sesame St in Tempe, starts at 2 pm, and costs just two bucks. Other bands on the bill include Attack of the Giant Squid, Porches, Data Storm, Slut Sister, I Wish I, An Aesthetic, and Regan MacNeil (who are also mentioned in this week's column).

John Wayne Jefferson - "Caesarian Exorcism"

John Wayne Jefferson - "The Prowler"

By Brendan Joel Kelley

Last week I blogged here about the film Once, starring the Frames' Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Markéta Irglová. Apparently, the New York Times and myself aren't the only fans of the film, which is pretty much a musical about two talented people who express their mutual attraction by making music together and then going their separate ways. In this week's issue of New Times, Robert Wilonsky, adds his seal of approval (the article's here), writing that Hansard sings "like Cat Stevens performing Damien Rice's songs for a Coldplay crowd as James Blunt forlornly looks on wishing that were him at the mic." It's an apt description, so if you find the film playing near you, you ought to check it out.

By Brendan Joel Kelley

Drunken Immortals

I ran into a dude who calls himself Letscherous Larry (yeah, it's spelled wrong, but that's how he spells it) recently, and he hit me off with a numbered "magic ticket" for a party he's throwing at the Phix on Sunday, May 27. He promises loads of booze, roller derby girls (um, yuck), and performances by Drunken Immortals, Attack of the Giant Squid, Workingman's Grass, the Strange Family Circus, and more. The party kicks off at 4:20 (strangely enough), and I'm assuming there'll be tickets for sale at the venue. If not, you can try calling Letsch at 480.343.8648; he promises it'll be the party of the year - I guess we'll find out.

By Brendan Joel Kelley

Just a reminder for you that tonight's the second installment of the Summer of Sound series; tonight you can hear (and vote for) the bands in the Americana category. That's Flathead, the Liar's Handshake, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Wormwood Brothers, with Deadbolt as the national headliner. It's at Mardi Gras on McDowell Road in Scottsdale, and admission is a mere three bucks. See you there.

By Brendan Joel Kelley

Tempe singer/songwriter J.D. Stooks hit me off with one of his new tracks a couple days ago, "10 Lb Coat," which you'll find below. J.D.'s an incredibly talented kid, which you'll hear below and you can hear more of on his Myspace. He's actually out in L.A. this weekend, bringing his sad songs to the lost angels (which is appropriate somehow, since it's a Suicide Prevention Awareness concert).

On this new track, his vocals remind me a bit of J Mascis', but maybe that's just because I've been listening to Dinosaur Jr a lot lately. See what you think.

J.D. Stooks - "10 Lb Coat"

By Brendan Joel Kelley

A while back I wrote a column about Violet Wild, the band fronted by former Mink Rebellion singer Bobby Scott and Black Moods guitarist Josh Kennedy, along with drummer Joey Schwegler and bassist Phil Fenix. At the time they'd just completed the band's first full length record, and were preparing to release it, but, what no one expected at the time is that the album would never see the light of day.

It's a complicated story, but basically the investor for the first album pulled out and took the initial recording with her. So Violet Wild had to hit the studio once more, to re-record some songs and bust out a few new ones. I just got my hands on a burned copy of the record, which should be out this summer, and though I don't have the names for all the tracks, here's the first two from the new one.

Violet Wild - Track 1

Violet Wild - Track 2

And, as a bonus, here's a clip of the band performing "Dare Disease" at the Tempe Music Festival earlier this year...

Apologies for my absence from the blogosphere; prior to the weekend I went on a camping/hiking/swimming trip to Fossil Creek in the Mogollon Rim, and there was no wireless internet up there. Before I left though I went on Thursday night to see my cowboy crony Andy Hersey play his country/cowboy-rock at Last Exit - Andy always rocks a good show, no matter how drunk he may be (and sometimes the drunkenness is my fault). If you're not familiar with him, you can read more here and here, or check out his music on the Myspace.

Now I've got a good excuse for another road trip, this one down south to Sonoita where Andy lives, for his CD release party on June 1st. I haven't heard his new disc, Between God and Country, but I was around for some of the songwriting that birthed the tunes, and despite my tendencies toward punk rock and hip-hop, I'm down for a barn dance as well. It's a long drive, down near the Mexico/U.S. border, but if you've got the time it'll be well worth it to make it to Pioneer Hall at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds to get your hoedown on. Meanwhile, here's a live collaboration by Andy and Roger Clyne from a show in Tucson last February.

I don't ordinarily go in for romantic movies, but I made an exception last night to see Once, the Irish film starring the Frames' frontman Glen Hansard. The film, which is a musical of sorts, with Hansard writing and performing songs with Czech pianist Marketa Irglova, won the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance and got a fawning write up in last Sunday's New York Times.

The director, John Carney, was at the screening last night at the Valley Art Cinema in Tempe, as well as Hansard and Irglova, and the three stuck around after the movie to answer questions, and after that the stars performed four songs from the film. While I thought the songs in the film were brilliant, it was nothing compared to when Hansard and Irglova performed them afterwards, with no amplification, for the forty or fifty people who'd stuck around. You can get an idea from the video below or by clicking the link above to the movie's site, where you can hear the soundtrack's songs. The film's getting limited release, so if you missed the screening last night you'll probably have to see it in another city or grab it on DVD. At the very least, I suggest you grab the soundtrack once it's out in a week or so.

I never went to the Real Bar a whole lot because, well, the service sucked and the setup for their all ages shows left the drinkers (i.e. the ones spending real money) at a sight line disadvantage when the bands were playing. It's nice to still have venues around that the kids can go to, but then again, if I'm paying four bucks a beer I want to be able to see the fucking band.

Nonetheless, I was surprised when I heard that the Real Bar had shut its doors. I'm trying to find out more information about the cause, etc., but I've heard that there's a health department notice taped to the front door, and the bar's Myspace page says that it's relocating "very soon." However, it also says that any shows currently booked will still go on, but in the comments there's a message from the California band Kill Deville, which was supposed to play on May 2nd there, saying, "NOT CONTACTING THE BANDS THAT TOUR AND DRIVE 6 HRS TO PLAY AT YOUR BAR IS CRAP. YOU WILL BE CONTACTED BY OUR ATTORNEY."

The Myspace page isn't receiving messages, but I'll try to find out what's up over there. Meanwhile, if you have any information about the bar's closing or relocation, hit me up in the comments.

Fun Bobby and his wife Lisa with Tammy Faye Bakker

A little more than a year ago, I wrote here about Hollywood Alley-based promoter Fun Bobby Birmingham leaving town with his family for the greener pastures of rural Oregon where he's been working at the infamous Dante's bar/venue up there. It's been a loss for music here, not just because of the bands he was bringing, but because the Alley's just not the same without his lanky grinning face behind the bar (though I still love the Alley).

But, soon we'll have at least a fraction of the Fun Bob action back. We've stayed in touch, and Fun Bobby's ready to start bringing bands back to the 'Nix, as well as other cities like Tucson, Seattle, and Denver. The first gig is Tuesday, May 22nd at the Alley, with his signature act Melt Banana hitting town (yeah, the Japanese noise-rock combo). But Fun Bobby's got a veritable vault of rock stories from his years promoting down here. After the jump, you can read his email to me recounting his encounter with El Duce, the now-deceased infamous Mentors frontman who claimed that Courtney Love offered him $50K to off Kurt...

More

Yesterday was yours truly's birthday, so it almost seems like a late present that one of my favorite bands, Bright Eyes, is playing tonight at the Marquee. I'll be there to rock; meanwhile, this is one of their dopest videos (and birthday related)...

I mentioned earlier today that I at first suspected What Laura Says Thinks and Feels was an emo band because of the name (I was wrong on that one). Then I was working on a column that references North Side Kings, and I remembered this video from a while back for their song "Bad Guy." I actually listen to some emo shit myself (I'm old enough to remember when it didn't refer to Fall Out Boy and its ilk), but this is fucking hilarious...

In case you haven't heard already, we've abandoned the New Times Music Festival of the past in favor of a summer-long series of shows featuring the nominated bands in each category all playing together at one venue on one night with a national headliner for each. We're calling it Summer of Sound, and it kicks off this Saturday, May 12th, at Club Red in Tempe (at the southwest corner of University and Price Road).

The first gig is the rock category, and features Kongos, The New Romantics, Cash Street Kids, and Antique Scream, as well as headliners Sugarcult, all for the bargain price of three bucks. You can read more about the series by clicking the link above, but here's the rundown on the other nominated bands:

HIP HOP:
THA FORMULA
ANTEDOTE
INTRINZIK
THE INSECTS

JAZZ/BLUES:
DJ SEDUCE
SONOROUS
CALUMET
PARIS JAMES

AMERICANA:
FLATHEAD
LIAR'S HANDSHAKE
ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD
WORMWOOD BROTHERS

POP:
BACK TED-N-TED
ARMY OF ROBOTS
PEACHCAKE
THE LOVE BLISTERS

PUNK:
CALABRESE
NUNZILLA
THE COMPLAINIACS
BIG VINNY AND THE CATTLE THIEVES

HARD ROCK/METAL:
GREENHAVEN
PSYCHOSTICK
GIANTKILLER
RISING CONVICTION

I'll keep you updated as the shows come along so that you don't miss the 'Nix's best bands onstage and for cheap. See you there, homeys.

Perhaps it's unfair to pick on bands for choosing silly names (like I did with the boys in An Aesthetic here a while back), but sometimes the words just beg for it. Like with What Laura Says Thinks and Feels, which I assumed was an emo band (because of the name), but in actuality plays a whimsical sort of folky mid-tempo pop music.

The band sent its self-titled debut record over to me, and it's certainly not like anything else I've heard going on around town. It's retro and psychedelic, but other than that it's in some category all its own. A couple of songs are posted below, and if it's something you dig, check out What Laura Says Thinks and Feels at Martini Ranch on Thursday, May 10.

What Laura Says Thinks and Feels - "Couldn't Lose Myself If I Tried"

What Laura Says Thinks and Feels - "Waves"

Since this Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, a totally cracker-ass holiday which happens to cause bands to play in excess all in the same day, I'm pimping some of this weekend's shows early. Friday night, if I'm not at the Ghostlife show, then I'll be checking out the Earps' CD release party at Last Exit undoubtedly. The new disc is called, appropriately, Here Come the Earps, and from what little I've heard of it, the band fills in the blanks between Flathead and the punk rock scene. Here's a little preview, courteous of the band:

The Earps - "Christ on a Crutch"