#you’re one of the coolest most unique guitarist

[catlqver]

Wes Borland turns 49 today!! :3

[troutfishinginmusic]

The story of Grass Records: From Brainiac to Wind-Up and Creed

                                                              Images via Grass of ’96 compilation 

Everything isn’t available in the streaming era. There are notable gaps in the seemingly bottomless amount of music currently available. Some of the most noticeable exclusions are albums released on Grass Records.

If you’re a fan of ’90s indie music, this short-lived New York label mattered. Though sometimes dismissed as a sibling label to Homestead Records, Grass released over 60 full-length albums ranging from pop to punk to noise to experimental music. It raised the profile of influential bands like Brainiac, Toadies and the Wrens. 

The amazing thing about the label is how consistent it is. Every time I thought I was done with this article, I would listen to a band like Baboon and be completely blown away. These are all fascinating, idiosyncratic bands. This is more incredible considering the label was only around for about four years.

Much of this music is hard to find. The odd song might be lingering on YouTube, but you’re almost better off looking at your local record store or ordering from Discogs.

Why are the albums in this weird limbo? Mostly because the monied interest who bought the label in 1996 thought it wasn’t yielding a big enough return on the investment. Grass was gutted and rebranded into post-grunge/nu metal giant Wind-Up. Money poured in and these wonderfully weird records were swept to the side.

The following interviews were conducted via email, Facebook messenger and phone over the last few months. Quotes from the interviews have been edited for style/clarity. I’m eternally grateful to everyone who got back to me. I am also willing to expand this story if more former Grass artists want to reach out. If you’re one of these artists, my email is at the bottom of this story.

Seedlings

“I started in the music business purely by chance,” said Camille Sciara, who founded Grass Records.

Sciara got her start working at Record World in New York as a second job and became friendly with the store’s buyer. After attending a manager training program, she moved on to become a manager of the store. Her second job became her first.

“Then, after two years there, I became bored managing a record store and my friend Mike, the buyer, told me about Dutch East India,” Sciara said. “I started there as a salesperson and, after a year of sales, became the buyer when that position opened up. I never envisioned starting a label.”

While working as a buyer at Dutch East India Trading a friend sent her a Toadies cassette. She “loved it” and started Grass in 1993 to release it.

Grass released the Toadies EP Pleather soon after, which contained an early version of the band’s inescapable alternative hit “Possum Kingdom.” After Pleather, the band scored a major label deal with Interscope. The platinum-selling Rubberneck arrived in 1994.

“They did really well on their first major release,” Sciara said in an email interview. “But then it appeared that Interscope just dropped the ball or lost interest. They were such a great band live, I never understood how they weren't huge stars. And super cool people.”

Tall grass

Sciara would go on to sign unique and influential bands like Brainiac and The Wrens.

“Since I had never run a label before, I was going purely on how much I liked what they submitted,” Sciara said. “Obviously not the best business model for running a label, but for the money we offered it worked to some respect. The longer I ran the label, the more I understood what was needed from them [the bands] regarding can they tour etc.”

There were few bands of the 90s that radiated weirdo energy as brightly and brilliantly as Brainiac. The documentary Transmissions from Zero chronicles the significant impact the band had on the music scene at the time. It also shows a band on the brink of mainstream success. Brainiac released two albums on Grass, Smack Bunny Baby and Bonsai Superstar, before departing for Touch & Go. The band’s forward motion was sadly cut short by Tim Taylor’s death in 1997. Prior to this, Interscope was expressing interest in the band.

“If Tim hadn't passed I'm pretty sure they'd have been the biggest [band on the label],” Sciara said.

Original Brainiac guitarist Michelle Bodine said Grass’ association with Dutch East India made the label initially attractive.

“[Camille] was super excited about us and we had total creative freedom,” Bodine said. “We also liked the 2-record deal with the option of 3 contract.”

After leaving Brainiac, Bodine would go on to play guitar and sing in O-Matic. The band released its lone album Dog Years in 1996. The album is one of the overlooked gems of the ’90s.

The Wrens’ influence reverberated in more subtle ways. The band’s first two albums, Silver (1994) and Secaucus (1996), provided a blueprint for much of the post-Pixies landscape of ’90s indie rock. They could’ve been much bigger, but still made a significant impression.

“The depth of realization in this record is unparalleled: every angle is perfected,” Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber said about Secaucus. The band’s third long awaited album, Meadowlands, dropped in 2001 and received a “Best New Music” tag from the same publication.

Rumblings of a follow-up to Meadowlands have been thrown around for the last 10 years, but a record has yet to materialize.

The level of talent the label had was staggering. A few groups Sciara thought would be bigger ranged from the Irish dream-pop band Chimera to Georgia punk band Sunbrain. “There's more, it would be long list,” Sciara said.

New shoots

Baltimore

Baltimore punk band Liquor Bike had released one album before signing a two-record deal with Grass. The band’s first release on the label was Neon Hoop Ride in 1993. Liquor Bike was excited to be on the label because of the Homestead Records connection.

“We loved being on Grass, we toured like crazy,” singer/guitarist David Koslowski said. “We had great booking with Creature Booking.”

Between the booking agency, which had done work with Nirvana, Helmet, the Lunachicks and Jesus Lizard; and the new label things were looking up for the band. The band would have posters up in whatever towns they were playing in and mentions in the local paper. The label would keep them up to date if they had to do things like impromptu radio interviews. When they got off the road, they entered the studio to record The Beauty of Falling Apart. During this time Alan Meltzer, who bought the label from Sciara in 1996, entered the picture.

“At the onset we were pretty psyched because this guy’s got major label distribution,” Koslowski said.

It also helped that Sciara stayed on after the transition.

“We could still work with Camille, who we love,” Koslowski said. “We slept at Camille’s house when we would play up in New York. She’s an amazingly nice, sweet person and very giving.”

Koslowski said the band was given significantly more to record the follow-up based on buzz the band was getting at the time. J Robbins, of Jawbox and Burning Airlines fame, did the cover art and Drew Mazurek produced the album. The band even hired John Lay, who had previously worked with Squeeze, to manage the band.

“By that point we were having decent guarantees,” Koslowski said. “Those two years when I was on Grass I barely worked a real job. I wasn’t making a rockstar living or anything, but I was certainly able to pay my rent and utilities.”

Liquor Bike went on tour with Gas Huffer to promote the forthcoming record. On the tour Koslowski noticed there weren’t posters out and the band didn’t receive write-ups in the local press. To make matters worse, they never received CDs of The Beauty of Falling Apart to sell at shows. Koslowski said Grass had promised this.

“We were pretty confused," Koslowski said. “I mean our record had been mastered already, everything had been sent to the factory.”

Lay soon informed the band Sciara had been fired and the band had been dropped. Koslowski said the band decided to stay on the tour even after being kicked off the label. The band had old records and T-shirts to sell. They had put a lot of work into the tour and didn’t want to waste it.

Liquor Bike eventually released its third album on Merkin after failed meetings with Amphetamine Reptile, Columbia and Interscope. It was the band’s last before the members went their separate ways.

Seade was another band on on Grass that was unfortunately overlooked. Their lone album (Perf) is an underrated ’90s classic.

Prior to Meltzer, Koslowski said that he didn’t think there was any favoritism toward any one band despite the label being so prolific.

“I just think the woman loved music and wanted to spread that out to people,” Koslowski said of Sciara. “I think she legitimately wanted to help people, you know, help these bands out. She was nothing but giving.”

Omaha

Mousetrap, an Omaha-based punk band, hoped to initially get a deal with Homestead when it sent in two 7” singles.

“Camille really liked our singles and got in touch with us.” Patrick Buchanan, Mousetrap’s singer/guitarist said in an email interview. “We developed a great relationship with her, and eventually she offered to sign us — we were given the opportunity to sign either with Homestead OR with Grass, which was a brand-new label at the time.”

Buchanan said the band thought it would possibly get overlooked in Homestead’s large stable of well-established bands and decided to sign with Grass.  He also said Sciara made a large difference.

“Camille was one of the coolest people we had ever met in ‘the business’ – she just seemed really genuine, straightforward and honest,” he said. “Those are the types of people we wanted to work with. So our relationship with Camille was probably the main thing that made us sign with Grass.”

Mousetrap would go on to release three albums on the label, starting with Cerebral Revolver in 1993. The band was a big influence on Commander Venus, an Omaha band featuring a young Connor Oberst.

“They were definitely a big deal in Omaha and everybody loved them,” Oberst said of Mousetrap in an episode of the Turned Out a Punk podcast earlier this year.

Commander Venus came in contact with Grass through Mousetrap. The band signed to the label when Oberst was only 14. The band also featured Rob Nansel, who would go on to co-found Saddle Creek Records. Oberst said the band recorded its first album, Do You Feel At Home, in 1995.

“That was a good experience and a learning experience,” Oberst said. “I also think it kind of made it more apparent that even if you do get an opportunity like that, you know, you’re a little fish in a big pond. And maybe people aren’t going to work as hard or care about it.”

He said that this was mitigated by having the support system of a local scene in Omaha. The band ended up releasing its 1995 debut on Lumberjack, which later became Saddle Creek. The band released one more album, The Uneventful Vacation, before Oberst formed Bright Eyes.

Promoting growth

Alan Meltzer came into the picture with a retail background. He had previously owned Titus Oaks Records in Long Island. He went on to found CD One Stop in 1985, which was purchased by Alliance in 1993. Meltzer became Alliance’s president during this time but left the company in 1995. Meltzer acquired Grass in 1995 from Dutch East India Trading (the label’s owner/distributor), finalizing major label distribution through BMG in 1996.

“When I heard the Grass repertoire, I almost fell down,” Meltzer said in a 1996 Billboard Magazine article. “I heard so much good material.”

“Alan was shopping around looking to purchase an established label with an extensive catalog that he could pour endless money into,” Sciara said. “He originally wanted Homestead Records. A great label owned by Dutch East as well. But once he saw the contracts and issues with some of the ‘grey’ areas in them, he then moved on to Grass.”

Meltzer did have some legitimate interest in the label as an artistic venture.

“He absolutely was obsessed with the Wrens once he heard them and Commander Venus,” Sciara said. “He was sure with all his resources, money and big ass staff he could make them huge stars. He failed. Not the bands’ fault.”

Grass would have the name (and credibility) of an indie, but the corporate reach of a major. Meltzer looked at the new situation as the best of both worlds.

“We’re not a major label, but we’re not an undercapitalized, disorganized independent that’s out there on a wing and prayer,” Meltzer said. “We’re somewhere in the middle. We’re staffed, we have the organization, and we’ve got the know-how. I opted for major distribution because the majors are better at it.”

Grass kept Sciara on as a VP of A&R (artists and repertoire) and expanded Grass’ workforce to 20 in-house employees, according to the Billboard article. The label’s future looked bright. Bodine left Brainiac and formed O-Matic (also signed to Grass) when the change happened.

“…It seemed better – they had a nice office in Manhattan with an open stairwell area and glass walls,” Bodine said. “It was very modern and cool. The budget was much bigger. They hired more people and we felt like we had a good support system.”

“When we went there it felt like money,” Koslowski said.

Koslowski only met Meltzer once at a Grass Christmas party.

“He was a typical New York money guy when I met him,” Koslowski said. “I didn’t get a good vibe. He didn’t have that indie spirit that Camille had unfortunately.”

The meeting didn’t go well.

“I remember drinking a bit and messing with him,” Koslowski said. “I said ‘hey Alan I wanted to see if I could run this by you. You know that new Liquor Bike record we’re working on? We got the artwork but we just wanted to run the title by you and make sure it’s cool. We want to call it Eat My Fuck Asshole.’”

Meltzer and his wife were horrified, according to Koslowski.

Yellowing, patchy

In an oral history with Stereogum, Wrens bassist and singer Kevin Whelan said the band was picking up steam.

“So Secaucus came out and it started to do somewhat well and “Surprise Honeycomb” was starting to get recognized and played on different shows, and we thought that international fame was around the corner,” Whelan said.

And then the call came in.

“He [Meltzer] said, ‘Well, boys, I’m not going to give you any more money. If you don’t sign with me today, it’s over.’ So, I remember, we sat in the van, we looked at the empty gas tank and we were like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not signing, let’s get the credit cards out and see how we can get home.’”

According to the Wrens’ website bio, Meltzer wasn’t pleased.

“[Meltzer], infuriated, commences layoffs of involved record company personnel and vows that ‘the next band to walk through that door will be made famous – at any cost,’” the bio states. “The next band through the door is Creed. Grass Records becomes Wind-Up Records. Creed becomes famous at any cost.”

By the time of the Wind-Up transition, Moustrap had already fulfilled its contract when it released its third album The Dead Air Sound System.

“At that time, Mousetrap was not very active,” Buchanan said. “I think we had become rather disheartened by how much time and love we put into the band, while getting very little recognition on any type of national level. At that point we were physically and mentally exhausted by constant touring and recording, with very little in the way of tangible success to show for it. So we didn’t really have any relationship with the label by the time it became Wind-Up.”

When the label wasn’t as successful as Meltzer thought, he brought in Steve Lerner. This was effectively the end of Grass Records.

“I was let go along with 8 to 10 others when Meltzer brought in Steve Lerner to run the company,” Sciara said. “The new staff felt Grass was too much related to me so hence a name change.”

“With Lerner serving as his right-hand man, the duo transformed Wind-up into a $100 million-plus sales operation with multi-platinum acts like Evanescence and Creed,” a 2007 Billboard article said.

Death, new high-yield crops

Grass was rebranded as Wind-Up, a key player in the nu metal and post-grunge universe, in 1997. Many of the Grass bands were dropped to make room for the likes of Finger Eleven, Creed and Evanescence. Meltzer, who ran the label with his wife at the time Diana, finally found his cash machine.

“I was extremely happy because, although Creed was a mega-seller and saved his label, I wanted nothing to do with that and the direction the label was taking,” Sciara said. “Not knocking it. You need artists like that to sustain a label that had an enormous payroll and nice offices. I totally get it, it’s a business. But I was happy running a small label with smaller contacts and cooler bands that didn't have to compromise their sound to write a ‘hit.’ That’s what he was always looking for.”

The transition to Wind-Up in 1997 did have some overlap with former Grass artists. The second Commander Venus album was released by Wind-Up and Thick (with a later release on Saddle Creek). Pollen, a rough-edged pop-punk act that had released two albums on Grass, dropped Peach Tree on Wind-Up. Baboon’s sophomore album Secret Robot Control was also released in 1997 on the new label.

Slowpoke’s Virgin Stripes, the final vestige of Grass Records, was a co-release with DGC in 1998. The album didn’t break the band, but it’s not a stretch to imagine it could have (especially since it boasted a song as infectious as “Belladonna”). The album retains some of band’s outsider noisy energy, but delivers it in a package palatable enough for the post-grunge crowd. Past this point, Wind-Up focused mostly on its new sound.

Koslowski didn’t initially know Wind-Up was the successor to Grass. One day someone mentioned to him that he was labelmates with Creed.

“I was like ‘wow, OK I guess he got his hit,’” Koslowski said.  

Meltzer died in 2011 at 67. He made headlines by leaving $1 to his chauffeur and $500,000 to his doorman. Bodine saw this as frustrating because of how he left things with other Grass bands.

“He owed lots of bands money so it’s just really fucked up that he didn’t pay them/us. Liquor Bike did get theirs before he died only because they were persistent,” said Bodine.

In 2013 Wind-Up was purchased by Bicycle Music Company with distribution by Concord Music Group. In 2015 the two companies merged to form Concord Bicycle Music. Craft Recordings manages the label’s reissues.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wZBpr1tDktI

Rare strain

Aside from Brainiac and The Wrens, many of the bands on the label aren’t on streaming platforms. The physical releases on Grass are mostly out of print. A sea of fantastic experimental indie music remains in this gray area. This doesn’t seem to be changing.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t a clue about if there are plans of Wind-Up re-releasing any back catalog,” Sciara said. “It’s sad really. Holding peoples’ artistic work hostage or just ignoring it seems cruel. Hopefully Wind-Up did the right thing and gave them back their masters, rights etc. Or at least license it to someone else to release.”

The three Mousetrap albums are stuck in this place.

“I wish more people had the chance to hear our music, so yeah I wish it was easily available,” said Buchanan. “Sure, we wanted to be popular — but the most important thing for us was that we made the music we wanted to make. We always did things our way — for ourselves, with no regrets. So even if the albums are harder to get, we’ll always have the memories — and those who were there to witness it will, too.”

Liquor Bike’s lawyer was able to secure the master tapes and artwork for The Beauty of Falling Apart with no questions asked. The band also has the master tapes for Neon Hoop Ride.  

“Crazily enough, Grass did not make us buy Beauty of Falling Apart from them,” Koslowski said. “I have heard from some of my fellow Grass artists that they wanted to charge an incredible amount of money.”

Neon Hoop Ride was remastered and briefly available on streaming services. The album was only available digitally and did not get a physical rerelease.

Greener pastures

Following her departure from Grass, Sciara started Ten23 (Oct. 23, 1996 was the day she was fired from Grass). The label released The Wren’s EP 1135 before folding.

“It seemed like a great idea,” she said. “Didn't put out anything else after that release. It was an expensive endeavor starting a label from scratch, so to speak, and at the time I was unemployed.”

From there she went on to work at the Knitting Factory label group and eventually Narnack Records. She uprooted from N.Y. to move to L.A. to work at the latter. She eventually ended up back in N.Y. where she was a manager at Petland Discounts for 12 years until it closed in 2019.

Buchanan has gone on to release music as Vicious Lovers. Mousetrap has plans to release new music for the first time in 20 years according to Buchanan. Some of Mousetrap’s music can be streamed here:

Michelle Bodine went on to play guitar in Shesus, which was signed to Narnack. The band released an album and an EP before splitting up. Bodine has since been participating in Brainiac reunion shows and was featured in the Brainiac documentary Transmissions from Zero.

David Koslowski went on to play in the post-rock band Vivid Low Sky and the power-pop band Gerty. He currently owns a coffee shop/record store in Baltimore called Baby’s on Fire.

“I loved every aspect of being on Grass, except for the very end,” Koslowski said. “I also loved how diverse Camille had the label. A lot of friends from that time from those bands, I’m still friends with them. It was like a really cool little group of people that all got to share in something for as brief of a time period as it was.”

If you have questions, information or concerns I can be reached at powers3317@gmail.com.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article spelled David’s last name as Kozlowski. It’s actually Koslowski. Also, J. Robbins just did the cover art for the band’s third album. Drew Mazurek actually produced it. Godplow is a great band but they’re from Minneapolis, not Baltimore.

[daggerzine]

Unhappy Fly- S/T (EMOTIONAL RESPONSE)

This one came out last year (in late Sept) and though this review is way late I still wanted to scribble about this record. If you haven’t noticed, the Emotional Response label out of Arizona (run by Boyracer’s Stewart Anderson) is releasing some of the most unique and challenging music that these ears have heard in quite some time. There’s a few old school gents in this band namely drummer/percussionist Richard Dudanski (Google him) and vocalist/guitarist Xentos Fray Bentos (coolest name in rock). They’re joined by sax honker John Glyn and vocalist/synth player Sarah Washington and I believe they cobbled themselves together in Spain to records these 11 songs. Also, while the whole thing is a really clever wraparound sound the songs aren’t as disjointed as you may think (they have a beginning , an end and most have middle parts….melody, too!).  “Boneyard” is a slinky groove as is the almost dreamy “Superficial.”  Later on ‘Electric Light” creaks like old wooden floorboards and “Singing Flame” which is just over two minutes, is good for late nights when all the candles have gone out and all you want to do it dance. Put down that flavor of the week and pick this up. True you may not like it but then again, if you’re glass is half full then you may love it. My copy is a shade of red vinyl that is sweeter looking than a bright red Life Saver and this band just may save your life.   www.emotionalresponserecords.com

[perfectirishgifts]

Sing Along Forever: The Bouncing Souls Enter Their Fifties And Fatherhood—Together

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/sing-along-forever-the-bouncing-souls-enter-their-fifties-and-fatherhood-together/

Sing Along Forever: The Bouncing Souls Enter Their Fifties And Fatherhood—Together

The Bouncing Souls, 2020—COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Bryan Kienlen and his wife, Nicole, have a new routine. When they first wake up, they give bottles to their babies, Cora and Layla. And before taking on their daily tasks, they dedicate quality time for cuddling, crawling and playing.

“All four of us have this really beautiful morning,” 51-year-old Kienlen says. “It’s how I start every day. It’s the coolest thing.”

Twenty years ago, The Bouncing Souls bassist often spent his golden hour stumbling home from a night of partying in New York City, groggy and regretful as commuters drank coffee and made their way to work.

Bryan Kienlen walks on the boardwalk with his family. New Jersey, November, 2020

But decades removed from his period of downtown debauchery, the domesticated punk has found stability and serenity through his 30-year musical journey, as a successful tattoo shop owner and as a family man. He says being a father and “giver” is the greatest thing he’s ever done.

“You find how rewarding it is,” Kienlen explains. “There’s such a stark difference from being a ‘band guy.’ When I was a young, single maniac writing songs and touring—I didn’t realize until I could see things from my current perspective—but I was more self-centered. Everything revolved around me. Now, that stage of my life is over and I’m here to serve and take care of my kids and my wife. And I’m so happy with that. It’s not all about me anymore, in a good way.”

A lot has changed for The Bouncing Souls, the cult-followed New Jersey punk band which formed when Kienlen, vocalist Greg Attonito and guitarist Pete Steinkopf were high schoolers in Basking Ridge, NJ.

In the 90s, the band lived in chaos at a series of “punk houses,” each complete with a revolving door of ill-behaved 20-somethings, drunks and miscreants.

The Bouncing Souls, 2001 (Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)

Today, Kienlen and Steinkopf have settled down in New Jersey, whereas Attonito set up shop in small-town Idaho. And miraculously—as all three musicians have entered their fifties—they’ve all, almost simultaneously, become fathers.

But much has stayed the same, too. Last year, the band celebrated its 30th anniversary by touring North America and England, performing songs from the guys’ 10 full-length albums and newest EP Crucial Moments. Three of the four original members remain, save for the role of drummer. George Rebelo, from popular Florida rock band Hot Water Music, joined in 2013.

And 2020, with its own unique set of circumstances, has encouraged the Souls to appreciate the past while embracing the new in both their musical and personal lives.

In October, the band released Volume 2, a record of reimagined songs ranging from the group’s newest single, appropriately titled “World on Fire,” back to fan-favorite “Gone,” from the 2001 album How I Spent My Summer Vacation. And on Saturday, December 12, the band will be hosting a livestream performance of the album in a digital concert called Live at Studio 4.

While the group didn’t expect an internet broadcast to replace its annual Asbury Park Home For The Holidays residency, Volume 2 itself was born under precarious timing.

Bouncing Souls, Live At Studio 4, Saturday December 12, 8PM ET

Recorded in March during two one-week sessions in Philadelphia, the band completed the record just as America was blindsided by COVID-19. As time passed in the studio, the threat of the oncoming pandemic quickly went from negligible to worrisome.

“When we first went in the studio, I’d just heard the murmurings of coronavirus,” 50-year-old Steinkopf says. “I was like, ‘What the f*** is that?’”

“The second week was more intense,” 50-year-old Attonito adds. “The restaurant above the studio closed on our last day. The crazy thing about it was, we were having such a positive experience. We were joking about how we were spontaneously creating from our old songs that we love and the world simultaneously was cinching in with dark gloom. Those last couple of days, we didn’t want to leave our bubble of happiness. We knew we were walking into this chaos of the unknown.”

The Bouncing Souls with producer Will Yip, March 2020, Philadelphia

“Even the week that things were getting really weird, we were hyper-focused and trying to stay off our phones,” Steinkopf says. “But every now and then, someone would be like, ‘Did you see this!?’ What the f*** is happening?!’”

Despite the impending doom, the Souls found the studio sessions to be fruitful. The band was able to recompose classic tracks, breathing new and unexpected life into staples and providing previously underappreciated songs with a second chance.

Attonito was able to sing from a more mature and controlled vocal perspective—leaving the guttural belting for the next fast-paced punk record—allowing him to put a new spin on songs he’s chanted thousands of times.

Steinkopf was able to give a nod to the 80s tunes that inspire him, drawing energy from bands like The Cure, rather than focusing on a checklist of sing-a-longs and “woah-oh-ohs.”

The band was even able to squeeze in some silly instrumentation, using a “cheesy” 80s Casio keyboard and toy instruments on the song “Hopeless Romantic.” At Kienlen’s burning request, they even incorporated a french horn into “Favorite Everything.”

But as the recording sessions wrapped up, the band scrambled to make travel arrangements to get home to their families.

“Everybody said goodbye,” Kienlen says. “And the world was never the same.”

The guys returned to their homes in New Jersey, Idaho and Florida. They kept in touch, but were just as anxious as the rest of the country. 

Steinkopf and Kienlen, Anchors Aweigh Tattoo Studio

Kienlen, like many other Americans, was forced to close his tattoo shop in Bradley Beach, NJ, Anchors Aweigh Tattoo Studio, for three months as the battle against COVID-19 took a stranglehold of the Northeast.

In the mountains 100 miles north of Boise, Attonito’s small resort town felt seemingly unchanged at the onset of the pandemic. But in the red state of Idaho, many remained resistant to masks, even as a surge of tourists in RVs flooded the area and caused a spike of positive cases.

Early on, Attonito felt depressed that band-life was on hold. Eventually, he started becoming conscious of mask-wearing in his dreams. And Steinkopf began to realize how much he missed the things he used to take for granted.

“Someone sent me a Souls show from a long time ago,” Steinkopf says. “I was watching it and I got real emo about it. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t go out and do as much these days, and now I’m like, ‘Man, I’m gonna go do everything when I can again!’”

But, in the meantime, the band adapted and found creative outlets to keep the spirit of the Souls alive. They started holding weekly Zoom meetings to catch up and launched the Can You Remember? podcast via Patreon, an endeavor they wouldn’t have pursued otherwise.

And along with their new projects, the guys are beginning to see a tentative semblance of “new normalcy.” Steinkopf is back producing in the studio again and Kienlen is booked up with tattoo appointments well into 2021. 

While the band is glad to feel productive and are eager to return to live music, they recognize what a unique opportunity the pandemic has offered them as new fathers. 

Kienlen and his wife adopted their first baby, Cora, as a newborn in December of last year.

Bryan Kienlen with his wife, Nicole, and daughter, Cora — December 2019

“At the time, I had one new baby, whom I hadn’t had the chance to bond with because we adopted,” Kienlen explains. “One day, you go from no baby to baby in your house, real fast. I still had touring through the end of the year and was booked out with [tattoo] appointments every other day that I wasn’t on tour. We never had a paternal leave or hardly a maternal leave, either. It was pretty difficult. When the lockdown happened it was a blessing for us because we got to stay home with her and truly bond every day.”

Then Kienlen went from having one baby to two babies just as quickly. In October, less than a year from Cora’s adoption, the couple was contacted with the opportunity to adopt a second child: a seven-month-old who they named Layla.

Kienlen and his daughter, Layla — October 2020

“We got that call on a Wednesday afternoon out of the blue,” he explains. “We picked her up that Friday. Talk about no time to plan! We scrambled to play catch-up a little. But I think we’re finally settling into a groove.”

While the couple were definitely hoping to adopt a second child so Cora would have a sibling, they were pleasantly surprised by the timing.

“We expected to wait a year or two,” Kienlen says. “That’s generally how long it takes. But I’m glad that it happened this way because they’re gonna be in the same grade. It couldn’t be better.”

Attonito and Steinkopf have also enjoyed their time home with their children. At the end of their conference call interview with Forbes, Attonito was adorably approached by his son, asking to say hello to “Uncie Pete.”

“If you’re gonna be locked down in a pandemic,” Attonito says. “You may as well be in a period where your child is under two or three years old, the most valuable moments to be with them all the time. In that sense, the timing is pretty good for all of us.”

Uncle Bryan & Lux — 2019

Fortuitous timing is just one example of the kindred connection between the members of The Bouncing Souls. Not only did they all enter their fifties together—Attonito and Steinkopf just days apart—but fatherhood, too.

Around three years ago, Attonito and his wife, Shanti, welcomed their baby boy, Ever. A few months later, Steinkopf and his wife, Keira, birthed their son, Lux.

“Serendipitous is a good word,” Kienlen says. “It describes the entire existence of our band. None of us had brothers growing up. Maybe on some deep level we found each other and bonded into a family and stayed together for life as brothers.”

They’re already growing together as parents, too, both in their capacity to love and overcome their fears.

“You could say a million things about having a child,” Attonito says. “But it pushes your capacity to look outside yourself and take care of someone. It pushes you to those limits in a way that, I don’t think, you can possibly experience without having a child.”

Greg Attonito with his wife, Shanti, and son, Ever

He continues: “I’m so glad I waited until I was in my late forties. The idea of having a child terrified me to no end. I felt like I would never be there for them. I’d be on tour all the time, that would be the worst. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy one or the other. I’m so glad it worked out the way it did. The fact that we’re all sharing this at the same time has been super special.”

“I was always the most terrified to have a child,” Steinkopf agrees. “I don’t know if it was the people I was with, my relationships or just being a selfish young guy. I would’ve been a s*** dad [laughs]. At this point in my life it just felt totally right. You spend your whole life being introspective and learning about yourself, but as soon as you have a kid, that’s magnified by a thousand. You think about your past, how you don’t want to impose stuff on your kid. It’s heady, but your heart is so f***ing full all the time. The most frustrating day now is like the best day I’ve ever had.”

Shanti, Ever & Greg Attonito — Pete, Lux & Keira Steinkopf

And the punks are embracing full-blown adulthood with sarcastic charm. Steinkopf insists he’s never felt better, as he and the singer offer a collective tongue-in-cheek, “F*** you, I’m 50!”

It’s the same self-assured confidence that the band tapped into while reconstructing classic Souls songs. While many were picked fairly arbitrarily, the group did make an effort to develop tracks on the basis of lyrics they felt were overlooked.

Take “Argyle,” off the 1996 album Maniacal Laughter, which was written by Attonito, but admired by Kienlen for its words. While the singer calls it a personal song that was “definitely written from the perspective of a mid-20s-year-old person,” he’s glad his bassist pushed to include it.

Another throwback featured on Volume 2, “Say Anything,” dates back to the band’s 1997 self-titled record. The Bouncing Souls was released just as the band’s collective lifestyle of punk house squalor came to a close.

Attonito, 1995 (Photo Steve Eichner)

“It’s well romanticized because it had moments of glory and moments of pure annoyance,” Attonito says laughing. “There’s a motivation there that’s sort’ve unexplainable. Once you hit your forties, you’re like, ‘How did I hold up?’”

Steinkopf adds: “It’s just like chaos, but it was chaos in a way that we were so f***ing motivated to do everything. We were gonna print shirts. Do this, do that—all together. It was intoxicating.”

Looking back, Attonito sees the era as a wave of energy and focus that propelled the band into a lifetime of performing. The first decade of insanity and perseverance allowed for an actual career in music. 

Bryan Kienlen (L), Greg Attonito (R) of The Bouncing Souls, 1995, Wetlands in New York City (Photo … [] by Steve Eichner)

While most of The Bouncing Souls may have taken a step back from the craziness in 1997, it took Kienlen a few more years. As all the members moved to New York, then moved on, their bassist remained and kept the “party” going the longest.

While recording Volume 2, he was able to revisit three songs he wrote during a tumultuous time, a rough patch that served as the blueprint to the band’s beloved 2003 release, Anchors Aweigh.

“Highway Kings,” “Kids and Heroes,” and “Simple Man,” all made the new record—and reignited feelings in the studio. They were also given a second chance musically.

“‘Simple Man’ was written in a pretty dark place for me,” Kienlen says. “It was a prayer to the universe for simplicity back in the middle of what was a bit of a storm in my personal life. To revisit some of those lyrics, I felt more like the returning conqueror. I’d survived. Now I can face these songs from a happier place.”

But when Kienlen first penned many of the songs to Anchors Aweigh, he wasn’t just experiencing love-life woes, but a “major life turn.”

“A whole reality was ending basically,” he says. “It wasn’t just a relationship, it was an entire reality that I had built around the relationship. It all just ended instantly and I was set free. But it was just me and my demons all of a sudden and no governing force.”

The bassist describes it as the perfect storm of a single guy who’s going through changes with nothing but time and cash in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He went out and partied every night until the following day. He’d get going around 10:00PM, then leave bars and afterparties as the sun came up, feeling like a “ghoul.”

“It was the darkest I’ve ever felt,” Kienlen explains. “I was the most depressed I’ve ever felt in my life. Then, the following night it would just start again. Any happiness was produced by substances and all the other shallow crap that goes with that life. Night after night. You’d get so high and so happy, but not really. Not real happiness. When you heard that first bird chirping, that’s when you realized you f***ed up again.”

Bryan Kienlen of The Bouncing Souls plays before several thousand at the Vans Warped Tour, 2001, … [] Ventura, CA (Photo by Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times)

He continues: “And the things I was doing were definitely gonna get me killed. I was riding my motorcycle up the FDR [Parkway] going 120 miles per hour—that f***ing high—in the middle of the night with whoever on the back that I could’ve killed. It was just insane.”

Kienlen frequently hosted afterparties at his own apartment, too. As cliché as it sounds, he usually felt alone in a room full of people. 

“All the good stuff was gone,” he explains. “All my friends were just fellow ghouls—nightlife people. I felt pretty alone. Being apart from Greg and Pete during this was also part of the despair that I was feeling. That’s when I wrote ‘Simple Man’—probably about six in the morning on a park bench. Just one of those nights.”

Bryan Kienlen, 2006 (Photo by John Shearer)

After 15 years of living in New York City, from squatting to a city-subsidized apartment in Alphabet City, Kienlen decided to abandon the F Train and return to New Jersey living.

He’d fallen out of love with his gentrifying neighborhood and was sick of his own behavior. He also mourned the loss of the Old New York punk scene he once so enjoyed. The days of brown-bagging beer on his BMX bike and bouncing from CBGBs to Coney Island High to The Continental were over.

For years, the Jersey-born transplant never imagined leaving New York City, but his Anchors Aweigh turning point was critical to an end-game he never imagined: a house, a wife, two kids, a dog and his own business. The album’s cover, as always designed by Kienlen, is symbolic: a ship sailing off into the dark distance, marking the end of a chapter.

In that regard, it’s suitable that so many tracks from the album populate the ranks of Volume 2. The band’s following release, The Gold Record, marked a new “golden” age for the Souls. The 2006 record also established that after years of noodling across the Hudson River, the band’s homebase would forever be the Jersey Shore.

Greg Attonito crowd surfs at Bamboozle Left, 2008, Irvine, CA (Photo by Noel Vasquez)

Despite Attonito’s choice to commute from the sticks—and a drummer change or two—the rest, as they say, is Jersey history. It may be generational, but there are few acts that evoke an association to New Jersey quite like The Bouncing Souls. 

Bruce Springsteen requires no explanation. Bon Jovi isn’t far behind. The Misfits are, for some reason, inextricably connected to their hometown of Lodi. The New Brunswick boys in The Gaslight Anthem (with a co-sign from The Boss) have become hometown heroes. My Chemical Romance has immeasurably left its mark on the world, but somehow holds down its Garden State credibility.

But, for Gen X and Millennials, only The Bouncing Souls—with tracks as indicative as “East Coast, F*** You!” and the aptly-titled “So Jersey”—can conjure the feeling of the boardwalk under your feet, the smell of the Atlantic Ocean and the buzz of The Stone Pony. 

The Bouncing Souls performs at The Fillmore in Detroit, MI, 2013 (Photo by Scott Legato)

In a year as uncertain as 2020, at least fans have the consistency and renewed spirit of The Bouncing Souls—31 years in—to distract them, if only for a few minutes. 

“Call it naïve, but we committed to doing this for our whole lives,” Kienlen says. “I guess we took that commitment seriously. But we didn’t know what this meant, we didn’t have a picture in our head. I’m glad we made every decision from our hearts.”

Luckily, his bandmates are equally as enthused.

“It just gets better all the time,” Steinkopf says. “We have more fun as we get older. We’re in such a cool place. Turning 50 and feeling that way, I’m pretty f***ing stoked.”

Attonito adds: “Once you make it to 50, you can see the world and understand the value in having relationships that lasted this long—with each other and the audience. This is so incredible that we can do this. We love it. And because of the pandemic, when we get back, we’re all gonna appreciate things even more.”

Follow me on Twitter at @DerekUTG.

More from Arts in Perfectirishgifts

[northcountryprimitive]

North Country Primer #7: Raymond Morin, Pittsburgh. PA

Originally published at North Country Primitive in May 2015

The seventh installment in our North Country Primer series features Pittsburgh-based guitarist, Raymond Morin, who many of you may also know as the head honcho of the excellent fingerstyle blog, Work & Worry, a key inspiration for our own humble efforts. While Work & Worry has gone on the back burner for the time being, Raymond has been finding plenty more guitar-related activity to keep him busy - as well as repairing and building them as part of his day job, he is also organising regular gigs for like-minded musicians passing through Pittsburgh and, alongside David Leicht, playing as one half of acoustic duo Pairdown - more of which below.

Tell us a bit about yourself and the musical journey that took you to a place where you concluded that playing an acoustic guitar on your own was a good idea...

I grew up in an old mill town in northeast Connecticut, pretty removed from anything interesting.  I initially started playing music just because it was something to do when the weather wasn’t conducive to skateboarding.  My girlfriend at the time - now my wife - had a guitar sitting under her bed, and I asked her to show me some chords.  Her dad jokes that because he originally taught her the chords that she passed on to me, he’s the one who basically taught me everything I know!   I originally put down the pick back in my band days, when I played in a sort of chamber-pop group called The Higher Burning Fire.  I guess my initial thought was that it would distinguish the sound of my playing if I picked with my fingers and came up with the most physically demanding chord shapes I could think of, stuff that I couldn’t imagine other guitarists going to the trouble to execute.  As I developed as a “fingerstyle” player, I came to the logical conclusion that not only could I play somewhat orchestrally on my own, but there was a tradition of doing this thing on acoustic guitars, which had their own exotic appeal, and travelled a lot more easily than electrics plus amps. What has influenced your music and why? I loved alternative and college rock in high school, R.E.M., Morrissey and The Smiths, Jane’s Addiction etc, but I always had Simon & Garfunkel and Bob Dylan rattling around in my head, from when my parents used to listen to the oldies radio station on family trips.  I got really into indie and post-rock for a few years after high school, stuff like Unwound, Fugazi, Tortoise, June of 44, Boys Life, etc.  When I started playing acoustic guitar and fingerpicking more, I started digging deeper into the older  stuff, in addition to writing my own songs, and naturally found my way to my longtime favorites: Bert, Davy, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, that whole generation of players just never ceases to enthrall me. So in addition to the records that I was listening to, I was lucky enough to befriend a few players over the years that have continued to have a massive influence on the way I play and perceive music.  The first is a great friend of mine named Matthew Goulet, who I met when I lived in Boston.  I was a year or two into exploring British folk and blues music, and Matt had all of that stuff down cold, but was also an exceptional ragtime picker.  As a guitarist, that was a big door to have someone open for you!  Within a couple days of meeting Matt, I knew that I would never be happy until I learned to play like him, and I’ll be damned if I’m not still trying.   The second biggest influence on the way that I think about guitar playing is probably Milo Jones, a criminally under-known guitarist from Boston and another good friend.  I can’t begin to describe how deep Milo’s music goes, he’s a very accomplished player and singer who has a pretty unique vision, a harmonic sophistication that’s unrivaled in the “solo guitar dude” world.  More rooted in jazz, I guess.  His YouTube videos are great, and you can listen to a ton of his recorded music on his Bandcamp page. The biggest influence is my ongoing partnership with David Leicht. We play as a fingerstyle duo called Pairdown.  When I first moved to Pittsburgh and met Dave, we were both plying our wares as solo singer/songwriter types, he was fingerpicking just a little bit… I think initially we both just liked each other's lyrics, and we just got on really well together.  In the time I’ve known him, Dave has become a real master at composing for the acoustic guitar, and it’s a huge challenge for me coming up with parts that are worthy of being attached to his songs.  He has also become a fantastic fingerpicker in his own right.  He can play Ton Van Bergeyk’s Grizzly Bear for crying out loud.  That ain’t easy. What have you been up to recently? Well, I have a young daughter who is at the top of the priority list these days.  I manage and do repairs at a musical instrument shop called Acoustic Music Works here in Pittsburgh, so that’s the full-time gig.  It’ll be three years ago this summer that I started learning to build acoustic guitars, so that takes up a lot of my time, just exploring that and honing that craft.  I’m very fortunate to have access to a lot of insanely nice acoustics at my job, stuff like Collings and Bourgeois, some fancy luthier-built stuff and my share of old Martin and Gibsons, so I take a lot of notes. Since I started at AMW, I’ve also been presenting a lot of guitar-oriented concerts at the shop.  When I was writing about guitar music for workandworry.com (still online, but kind of dormant these days, with everything else going on) I got to speak to a lot of these guys whenever they had a new record in the works, and now I’m able to give them a cool place to play when they’re on tour.  Pittsburgh is not exactly known as a raging guitar soli town, you know?  But we have a good time, and I’ve been able to get cash into everyone’s pockets, which I know wasn’t the case at a lot of the places that these guys and gals used to play when they passed through.  If you’re reading this blog and are planning a tour that passes through Pittsburgh, feel free to hit me up about a gig at raymond@acousticmusicworks.com. Other than that, we’re currently gearing up to record a new Pairdown LP, which is very exciting.  Some of our best guitar-work so far, for sure, but also some of our coolest songs.  We have a couple real epics on our hands, some real dynamic tunes that have lots of twists and turns… so we’ll probably record that starting this summer sometime, maybe early in the fall.  

What are you listening to right now, old or new? Any recommendations you’d like to share with us? This would be a good time to score some cool points, but I’m afraid my music listening has no agenda, rhyme or reason behind it.  Lately it’s lots of Mastodon, First Aid Kit, Sturgill Simpson, John Renbourn, Steve Gunn, Phil Ochs.  I got to hear what I believe are the final mixes for the new James Elkington / Nathan Salsburg duet record, those guys are incredible.  Their first one, Avos, is easily one of my favorites from the current generation of guitar players, and Nathan’s solo stuff is nothing short of breathtaking.  I’d recommend that anyone who wants to hear great guitar playing listen to Milo Jones.  I also love LOVE the ragtime playing of John James, and Stefan Grossman has been reissuing James’ Kicking Mule LPs on CD over the last couple years.   The guitar nerd bit: what guitars do you play and what do you like about them? Is there anything out there you’re coveting? My main guitar is a custom by Trevor Healy, who builds acoustics and electrics in Easthampton, MA as Healy Guitars.  It’s called his RM model, it’s a small jumbo (16” lower bout) and this particular one is 25” scale, with an Adirondack spruce top and Cuban mahogany back and sides.  I’ve had this guitar for over three years now, it sounds wonderful and it just gets better and better, all the time.  Your readers might now Trevor from the Beyond Berkeley Guitar CD that came out on Tompkins Square a few years ago, he’s a great fingerpicker in addition to being a great luthier.   I also recently built myself a ladder-braced L-00 sized guitar, a copy of the new Waterloo WL-14 that Collings came up with.  Those are based on the old Kalamazoo KG-14s that Gibson built for the catalog/department store market during the depression, something like a $15 guitar at the time.  Mine is a really dry sounding guitar, with a very quick and immediate response.  It’s great for the really snappy ragtime and country blues stuff, but honestly pretty much everything sounds awesome on it.  It has a really chunky “V” neck, which scares off a lot of people, but I love it. I’m around hundreds of brilliant guitars all day at work, so a certain amount of self control is required.  One day I’d like to build myself an OM-45 out of one of the sets of Brazilian rosewood that I have, or better yet, have Trevor build it! Banjos: yes or no? For sure!  Corn Potato String Band from Detroit just played at my shop a few weeks ago, and they had a two-banjo version of “Nola” played in harmony… totally blew my socks off! What are you planning to do next? I’ve got a bunch of guitar building commissions and other projects lined up, pretty much through the end of the year, so between that and the new Pairdown record getting recorded, I’ve got my work cut out for me.   What should we have asked you and didn’t? Nah, I’ve gone on plenty.  Thanks, keep up the good work!

Pairdown have a Bandcamp page here. You can read Work & Worry here. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Acoustic Music Works here.

[lookingglasstheatre]

1. What are you listening to right now? “Kill V. Maim” by Grimes

2. What song makes you sad? I have a whole playlist called “I Used to Know You, But Now We’re Strangers” composed entirely of songs that remind me of exes or old friends I’m not longer in contact with..

“Gimme Danger” by The Stooges is a big one, along with “Everlong” by The Foo Fighters, which both remind me of very specific relationships. But, my pick for this is “Farther” by Third Eye Blind.. it could apply to a lot of different people..

“And I think about you dying years from now never having known who you are […] All I think about is waiting and all the people we are fading into Farther from you every day..” - “Farther” Third Eye Blind

3. What is the most annoying song in the world? Songs aren’t usually annoying to me unless they’re overplayed. I don’t know, no song is annoying me at the moment. Maybe that song “We Are Young” by fun. I’m not even sure it’s annoying, I just hate it.

4. Your all time favorite band? The Birthday Massacre, probably. That would be the most unique pick. Or Elliott Smith, if that counts.

5. Your newly discovered band is? The Regrettes. It’s amazing to me that Lydia Night is like 16 years old. I hope those kids keep killing it. Good luck to them.

6. Best female voice? Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star has an amazing voice. I wish I sounded even a little bit like her.

7. Best male voice? So, I don’t think he’s the best.. but holy shit, Ville Valo from HIM has a sexy voice. It’s so sexy as to almost make you forget how cheesy HIM lyrics are. Almost.

8. Music type you find yourself listening to most? Pop music, probably.. and shitty punk rock, lol.

9. What do you listen to, to hype you up? Depends on what I’m getting hyped up for. “Bubblegum Bitch” by Marina and The Diamonds for going out and looking pretty. All of Enema of the Sate by Blink-182 for energy in the morning. Kanye for working out. Aesthetic Perfection when I’m about to hit up a goth club, hah.

10. What do you listen to when you want to calm down? Belle and Sebastian, Slowdive, Radiohead, Lana Del Rey

11. Last gig/concert you went to? My friend’s band, Sleepsnack.

12. Band you find yourself listening to the most right now? My taste shifts once the weather gets warm so; Blink-182, Fountains of Wayne, Sufer Blood, Wavves, Third Eye Blind, My Chem’s Danger Days record.

13. Most hated band? I don’t listen to music I hate unless it’s inflicted upon me by other people against my will. So I’m not good with naming bands I don’t like. As far as bands I hate for personal or political reasons.. I hate ANY band that harasses or condones the harassment of women or minorities.

14. Song that makes you think? “Romeo’s Distress” by Christian Death. It’s such a great fucking track, but I want to believe that it’s anti-white supremacist, instead of the other way around… I have read the lyrics over and over trying to figure out if Roz Williams was actually just racist. I want to believe it was written mostly for the shock value and ultimately a song just telling a story and issuing a kind of warning.. but who knows for sure.. [sigh]

15. Band that you think the world should love as much as you do? I’m always kind of surprised more people I meet aren’t more familiar with Sneaker Pimps or IAMX’s early records. Chris Corner is kind of a hero of mine.

16. Coolest music video? Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” and the video for Death Cab for Cutie’s “Title and Registration.” “All I Full of Love” by Bjork. There are probably a bunch more I’m forgetting. All Grimes music videos.

17. Music video with the most watch? This question is phrased weirdly. But if you’re asking what music video I’ve watched the most… Malice Mizer’s “Illuminati.” Definitely. LOL. Along with Velvet Eden’s “SAD MASK.” Oh god, KALM flailing around in awful CG fire is what I LIVE for.

18. What do you play/would you play in the bedroom to spice things up? Souvlaki by Slowdive. With candles lit, after smoking together.

19. Ever been in a mosh pit? No. I would die. Look at the fucking size of me. I am a delicate doll.

20. Are you in a band? Nope. Someone start an all-girl Ramones and/or Blink-182 cover band with me.

21. Ever dated a musician? “Dated” would be kind of a strong word for it, but I had an ongoing casual thing with a guitarist in a band.

22. Do you wish yourself that you were a musician? Yes, but only because I wish I were any good at playing one of the myriad of instruments I’ve tried to learn. I wouldn’t want to be famous though.

23. Best all chick band you know of? Sleater-Kinney.

24. Last song that you heard on the radio/cd…etc…? I haven’t listened to the radio in a long, long time. I haven’t bought a CD in many years. If you’re counting any kind of physical media, I’m spinning an LP on my turntable right now; it’s Blink-182’s Enema of The State and “Anthem” just finished playing.

32. What do you think of Classical music? Eh, I can understand why some people find it boring. My mother was a classical pianist and I grew up listening to a lot of classical music. I just developed a taste for it after many years, I guess.

33. What do you think of Country music? It reminds me of growing up in Texas. There will always be at least one or two country songs I like - a lot of which reminds me of middle school dances and crying in the bathroom alone because my crush didn’t like me back. And everyone likes at least one Johnny Cash song.

34. What do you think of metal? I like it. I can only take so much screaming, to be honest.. but some bands I really love can be classified as metal.

35. Last BIG band that you saw live? Blink-182.

36. Are you a groupie? Nope.

37. Do you listen to music in foreign languages? I used to listen to a LOT of J-Rock. I also listen to music in Korean, German, Romanian, and French.

38. What famous musician would you like to “spend the night with”!?

Woman; Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches. She’s a great front woman and so, so cute.

Man; I’d say Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, but I feel weird about it because he’s also married to another super-crush of mine; Lindsey from Mindless Self Indulgence… so maybe Elliott Smith when he was still alive. I get a strong impression that he respected women.

39. Worst concert moment? Any time someone drunkenly falls all over me and/or hits me. It always seems to happen. Also when I saw Kaya live with my sister there was a guy trying to hit on her the entire time and I felt really bad that I didn’t exactly notice until we were out of the show.

40. Funny concert moment? When I went to see Marina and The Diamonds there was a guy next to me with his boyfriend and right in front of us was a woman with her teenage son. At some point they lit up a joint and offered some to the mom (who honestly looked kind of square) and she and them got high together. It was pretty amusing watching them chill together.

41. Sad concert moment? I went to see IAMX with a boyfriend, who I loved very much, but he didn’t really know the band. A few rows back, my ex (who I had just recently broken up with) was there with a coworker. I was sad we’d gotten to a point where we couldn’t go together or hang out anymore because we have really similar taste in music and that concert was amazing and I was sad not to be able to hang out with him during it.

42. Best local act you can think of? King Woman is originally from this area, I think.

43. If you were a musical instrument what would you be? Vocalist. I suck at everything else. In a perfect world I’d be the guitarist or keys.

44. Do you listen to the radio? Honestly, no, and I haven’t since grade school, really.

45. Do you watch music TV? I don’t have cable.

46. Do you follow the music charts, like the top 40? I did in grade school, but I haven’t really paid attention to music charts since then.

47. Have you meet any famous musicians? Met Kaya at an autograph session at Anime USA. It was at the peak of my Kaya obsession. He told me I was pretty. It was awesome.

48. Are any of your friends/family/etc. musicians? My mom was a piano teacher. My dad is basically tone deaf, haha.

49. Song that best describes your feelings right now? “I Really Like You” by Carly Rae Jepson.

50. Song that describes your life? The ENTIRE record Froot by Marina And the Diamonds. ESPECIALLY “I’m a Ruin” “Blue” and “Forget” and “Weeds”.. and “Immortal” Yeah, I can’t pick just one song… The whole record. Just listen to the whole thing and you’ll understand me, haha. Which I realize, does not paint me in a very flattering light.. but it’s accurate.

“Gimme love, gimme dreams, gimme a good self esteem” -Blue

“Cause I have lived my life in debt I’ve spent my days in deep regret Yeah, I’ve been living in the red But I wanna forgive and forget” -Forget

“I miss all of my exes They’re the only ones that know me And God knows that sex is A way to feel a bit, a little bit less lonely Yeah, I tried to keep it covered up Yeah, I thought I cut him at the root But now I think my time is up Cause he keeps growing back Like weeds” - Weeds

51. Do you know the names of all the band members that you listen to? Not even remotely. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, no.

52. Does a musician’s physical attractiveness play a part? A part in what? I think it plays a role in how popular they become. As far as it playing a role in how much I like them, I appreciate bands with a strong aesthetic, but it’s hardly necessary. Some of my favorite bands I wouldn’t even be able to recognize if I saw a photo of.

53. What famous musician do you want to marry? I don’t think someone’s musical output is a good way to gauge their marriageability..

54. Favourite movie soundtrack? The Scott Pilgrim vs The World OST.

55. Any musician pet hates? Any time musicians are arrogant enough to insult other musician’s work just for their own credibility. Like, you’re not cool for hating pop music, my dude. >_>

56. What do your parents listen to? My mother listens to mostly classical music, my dad likes James Taylor and Joni Mitchell

57. What are you listening to right NOW? Private Affair by The Virgins. I fucking love this song.

58. Do you wear band etc T-shirts? I hate wearing band t-shirts with a fiery passion of a thousand suns with VERY rare exceptions.

59. What do you think of people who do? I’m usually pretty.. not into those people. Like, hate is a strong word… but I’m really into fashion. Band t-shirts are like a really lazy way of expressing yourself to me. And they’re almost always printed on really boxy, non-soft material. Everyone wants to fight me on this.. I just don’t care for them.

60. What music sub-culture do you feel like you belong to? None? I always dressed too goth to really feel like I belong in the punk scene even though that was primarily what I was listening to in high school. I guess goth, but I don’t get along with or have much in common with most of the generic goths I know and I listen to too much pop for them. Is the indie-synthpop scene a thing..?

61. What song is stuck in your head right now? The theme song to Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

62. Do you sing in the shower? When I was a kid I would drag my giant boom box in the the bathroom with me and listen to it while taking a bath; mostly audiobooks, but sometimes music. I usually didn’t sing along though.

63. If so, what? If not, why not? Not sure? I sing in the car a lot. If music is on and I know the words and I’m alone, I’m singing.

66. How important is your partners taste in music to you? I’m really open about music, so whatever they are into I’ll probably get into as well. If we already share a taste in music we can discover more together, which is really fun. As long as they don’t HATE my music, it’s fine.

67. Hanson moves in next door to you, do you go introduce yourself, or do you arrange to beat them up? I’d probably just update my facebook status like, “Hanson lives next door to me. So, there’s that.” And invite them to my next barbecue.

68. Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll, you dig? Yes, sometimes, and yes.

69. Do you cook to music? Sometimes, I no longer have speakers right next to the kitchen.

70. Do you sing in the toilet? Nah.

[m00nfeather]

Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Pedal Review

When you’re looking for a specific tone of your guitar and want to experience it again and again, you need a drive pedal. The most appropriate option to choose in this regard is the Fulltone OCD overdrive.

It has all the features that you have been looking for in an overdrive pedal. To learn more about this pedal, continue reading.

Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Pedal

Michael Fuller, who is an experienced guitarist, launched Fulltone in the early ’90s. Since its inception, the company has gained much popularity. The reason behind this hype is the fact that the company has consistently manufactured high-quality overdrive pedals.

It consists of the best components that you don’t usually see in other products. Almost every pedal launched by this company comes with True Bypass, as this feature is in high demand by virtually every guitar user. The LED lights indicator is another plus, which shows whether you are using the pedal or not.

The Fulltone OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Drive) pedal has the same DNA as you may have experienced while using the earliest versions of this pedal. The Fulltone OCD has been on the market for more than a decade. Every now and then, its manufacturer introduces an updated version of this pedal.

Even after introducing various tweaks and hardware, you will still experience the same tone that this drive pedal is famous for. This enhances the value of the device for senior guitarists and musicians.

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Who is this product for

When you consider the price tag of this drive pedal, it appears to be slightly expensive when compared to the other similar products. However, if you can afford to buy this product, it would serve as the best possible option.

On the other hand, professional guitarists can use this product and draw the maximum benefit out of it. Even if you are an amateur, using this drive pedal would be beneficial. 

What’s included?

The package includes just the main item, which is the Fulltone OCD pedal. Furthermore, you also have to buy the 9-volt battery, as the package doesn’t offer one.

Overview of features

When discussing the features and specifications of this overdrive pedal, let’s consider how this device runs. You need a 9-volt battery to run this OCD pedal. Furthermore, it has a drive, volume, and tone buttons. The high peak and low peak (Hp/Lp) toggle switch along with 3PDT footswitch make it easy to use.

In addition, its latest features include Enhanced Bypass and True Bypass switch which prove to be beneficial when using different cables and effects. This feature offers pop-free switching.

Moreover, you can also use the new output buffer which makes it possible to maintain the consistency of the sound even if you are using the Fulltone OCD in the signal chain. It can also minimize the loading while the sound is at its hard-clipping stage.

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It has a built-in Class A input section, configured to be compatible with 2N5457 JFET. It tends to raise the input impedance to one megaohm, which was previously curtailed to 330K. As a result, you get a smoother response when you are switching between humbuckers and single-coils.

This fantastic piece of technical work by FT appears to justify the price of this device. When you use the LP option, it will produce outstanding sound with a thrilling headroom. On the other hand, while using the HP option, you can reduce the distortion and make the sound crisper.

The overall sound of this OCD pedal is impressive — it seems to be very lively and polished. It has all the features that make it an ideal choice for most guitarists and musicians. For an amazing experience for you and your live audience, this is the option to consider.

The Fulltone OCD pedal makes it easy to identify the ‘sweet spot.’ It can create overdriven tones, which you would like to listen to again and again. The sound produced is warm and identical to that of a genuine tube.

As a whole, there is everything that you might need when using this OCD pedal. It dramatically ramps up the sound by producing some dirty overtones and saturating the distortion to make it more smooth and warm.

How to use

If you are someone who learns best by watching, check out this video on how to use this pedal:

Pros

Offers True Bypass

Warm and clear sound

Easy to connect

Cons

Consumes more power

Hp/Lp switch is small

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Alternatives

Even after reading the review of the product mentioned above, if you are still in need of looking for another option, we can assist you in this regard. To learn about the features of this alternative product, just read the section below.

BOSS Super Overdrive Guitar Pedal 

It wouldn’t be wrong to refer to this pedal as the ‘boss of all pedals.’ This particular overdrive pedal is compatible with almost any kind of guitar amp and produces unbelievable sound. Hence, if you need a serious tube-driven overdrive, this is an excellent option to think about.

It is easy to use a stompbox, which performs much better than any other drive pedal — it is far superior to its competitors. It comes with three adjustment knobs, which allow you to adjust the sound in a way you want it to be. To turn it On/Off, just stomp the pedal.

This pedal is made of durable metal and can bear job site abuse for years to come. To preserve the juice of its 9-volt battery, make sure to switch off the device when not in use. You can also power this overdrive pedal with an AC adapter.

Conclusion

The selection of an overdrive pedal depends mainly on the sound that you want to obtain from this device. If you like the sound experienced through the Fulltone OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Drive) Pedal, you can go for it.

It is one of the coolest-looking and performance-oriented OCD pedal, and it is one of the best overdrive pedals, which you can buy in this price range. It is the brainchild of a famous guitarist, which suggests that you will experience the uniqueness of the sound.

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source http://digipedal.com/fulltone-ocd-obsessive-compulsive-drive-pedal-review/

[butimnotacriticthough]

My Bae Monday: Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

Are You a Dirty Computer?

Written by: Na'cha Saeed

It’s the year 2719 and you’ve just stumbled upon a time capsule filled with a select few memorabilia intended to reminisce on the glamour that is the 2000s era. Inside, you discover: Soulja Boy “Crank Dat” YouTube videos, a bag of Migos Rap Snacks, an .html screenshot of Black Twitter as the head of national news, entertainment and lifestyle in media and most importantly Janelle Monáe’s third studio album Dirty Computer. The latter is a contemporary stroke of genius in every sense of the word. Wanting to gain a broad understanding of this daring, musical composition--accompanied by a 46-minute visual picture--you grab your rap snacks, take a seat and swan dive into the world of Monáe’s creative, alter-ego Cindi Mayweather.

Dirty Computer--released on April 27th, 2018, reaching Number 1 on Billboard’s R&B Chart--can be described using three words: funky, nonconformist and afro-futuristic AF. From the captivating, narrative film project self-titled as an “emotion picture,” to the energetic press roll out chock-full of multiple singles and video released that honored the work of art in the most exciting way, Monáe managed to give us all the feel good vibes of music and fashion from the 70s and 80s while simultaneously challenging our views of gender, race, sex, capitalism, class, socio-economics and politics. We all love a liberated, social-justice warrior that expands our way of thinking, especially when they deliver the perfect balance of past and present, objectiveness and subjectiveness. One the coolest parts of design within Dirty Computer are the choice of collaborators featured throughout the music. On the intro of the album “Dirty Computer,” you hear the legendary Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson’s harmonies setting a very sand-and-swimsuit-ready mood; bass guitarist and singer Thundercat, acclaimed for work on Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer prize winning album To Pimp a Butterfly can be credited in track 3 of the album “Take a Byte”. Fast forward to one of my favorite satire-filled tracks “Screwed” and you’re introduced to Zoë Kravitz along with a spoken word piece on inspiring song “Stevie’s Dream” from Stevie Wonder himself. Pharrell and Grimes also make a noteworthy appearance in drum-filled, dance banger “I Got The Juice” and sexually liberating song “Pynk” respectively. Sleepy Brown on track 11 “I Like That” and Isis Valentino from Wondaland Records signed St. Beauty Band based in Atlanta on track 11 “Don’t Judge Me” also adds vocals to the pot of collaborators to help create the right vibes.

To help understand the roots and influence of her latest album from the standpoint of a new listener, one would need a short summary describing the four-part Metropolis Saga and a description of science fiction character Cindi May weather’s plight. Janelle has made a career of dishing out very, well thought-out, conceptual albums that create an epic story for fans to follow--a task that not many artists have been able to successfully do during the 21st century. Inspired by Fritz Lang, Janelle’s sci-fi tale is introduced in her 2007 released EP Metropolis: Suite 1 (The Chase). It should be noted that her first body of work The Audition is not a part of the chronology but includes mention of themes and concepts further explored in later works. Moving forward, we learn in track 1 of Metropolis through a spoken word piece “The March of the Wolfmasters” that Android No. 57821 b.k.a divergent android Cindi Mayweather has fallen in love with a human named Anthony Greendown and is susceptible to disassembly by droid bounty hunters in this dystopian society. The supporting songs and videos give context into the dissatisfaction of life that individuals in this cyborg society seem to experience. Cindi Mayweather appears as the voice of the people, calling for a change in the belief of the power of Love.

From there, critically acclaimed debut album The ArchAndroid: Suite II & III released in 2010 shows us a more confident Cindi Mayweather finding her calling as the savior of her city. Ultimately, she decides to flee the city to protect her lover and herself and become a hero of many. This album received Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album as well as Best Urban/Alternative Performance for lead single “Tightrope” ft Big Boi of Outkast. Next, in 2013 Monáe released Electric Lady: Suite IV & V which offers us a deeper journey into Cindi Mayweather development. Here, she is fearless, she is unstoppable and she is challenging the status-quo. The features in this album are vast: including collaborations from Prince, Erykah Badu, Solange and Miguel.

Enter Dirty Computer and in pure theatrical honor, Monáe makes the album’s complementary “emotion picture” an extension of her fantasy world. In the visual configuration, the plot is set with Monáe (Jane 57821) being “cleaned” in a sanitary facility by a totalitarian government ruling that states anyone with a unique characteristic is a dirty computer and deserving of a special rehabilitation. The film shows two government do-boys working to clean Jane’s memory while funneling through her flashbacks that double as the music videos that were released during the album’s promotional run. This was a brilliant move by Janelle that encapsulates your understanding into an array of heightened emotions that draw you closer to the character’s Zen (Tessa Thompson, Cindi’s love interest)--who we learned recently is the real-life boo of Janelle--and Ché (played by Jayson Aaron), the second lover of Jane 57821 in the short film. The inclusion of the leather studded jackets, the advanced technology, the Black Panther, woman-warrior uniforms of rap single “Django Jane” is very purposeful to her storyline. There are MLK sound-bites and many tributes to pop icons like Prince--Monáe’s late mentor--such as the sexy, liberated feel and guitar riffs of “Make Me Feel” as well as to David Bowie, that you can only be sure are smiling down on the spirit of this album.

The most important takeaways are the anecdotes of sexual freedom and solidarity in every song. Janelle raps about gender equality and living out your true purpose. She shows us a side of we’ve never seen before; one that is transparent and vulnerable. We learn of her struggle with wanting acceptance in her surroundings but trouble in finding the voice to demand it in songs like “Don’t Judge Me” and “So Afraid”. Her confessional serves as a modern-day snapshot of what so many individuals currently go through--the desire to feel normal and loved in such a hateful society. Dirty Computer speaks volumes for every marginalized person. You’re left to feel remarkably empowered after grooving to this project. When you think about it, we all exist as dirty computers. There is no use in fighting a reality that was never meant to be changed. This prompts me to ask listeners, what is it that you’re really afraid of? With the current state of the nation, who are we to not live our lives as authentically free and creative as possible? Isn’t that, after all, the American Dream?

[thepermanentrainpress]

BUMBERSHOOT: DAY 3 RECAP

I began Day 3, the final one of the feat, with soulful act Bibi Bourelly. She's only 23, but has the talent and stage presence of someone much more seasoned and older. Originally from Germany and the daughter of popular Haitian-American jazz guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly, her career has included writing popular songs for other artists in addition to her own tunes. Her own style is a sort of unique R&B style—not quite rock, not quite rap, but all soul and groove. As she explained on stage, she co-wrote “Higher” and “Bitch Better Have My Money,” both performed by Rihanna, at only 19! She played the main stage early in the day and for only half an hour, but nevertheless there was a huge crowd turnout. Her soulful, smooth set was sucking us all in, and she definitely could've played a longer set and/or later in the day. I had never heard of Bibi before, but I suspect I'll be hearing a lot more about her in the future. She was absolutely a highlight of the day and of Bumbershoot, and contributed to the diversity of the artists there (a trend repeated throughout the day).

I next caught The New Respects, an up-and-coming all-African-American group (who are also siblings and cousins to each other) with their own unique musical style. It's a blend of rock, soul, and even some pop. They packed a ton of upbeat fun into their performance and were continuously attracting more of a crowd as their set went on. Towards the end they did a cover of “Come Together” – something the entire crowd grooved/danced/sang along to. I'd love to see this group play a longer set and/or perhaps headline a venue, and I hope they tour soon and return to Bumbershoot next year!

Bumbershoot has a lot of art to offer outside of the music, including laser light shows at the Science Center on the grounds and many visual exhibitions. I was able to visit a painting and photography exhibit displaying some great local art, and I'm glad this Seattle festival focuses on the local aspect and gives a platform to underappreciated artists. Across the grounds were giant inflated bunnies, marching bands, street buskers, and coolest of all, projections onto a large water fountain. This meant a silhouette of Odesza playing could be seen with water as a screen, making a trippy illusion.

I caught Swedish singer Léon mid-afternoon. While she's only toured North America once, she's becoming a rising star and her stage area was almost filled up with people. She looked absolutely dazzling in a red dress, her smooth elegance and brown hair giving me reminders of the Lorde show from the night before. She told us she had heard Seattle is one of the rainiest cities in America and was shocked by the beautiful weather all weekend, then removed her boots on stage. Her stage presence doesn't involve a ton of dancing, but the moves she did do were just as graceful as the rest of her.

Her voice and music is very soulful, calming, and relaxing. At one point she covered the Arctic Monkeys’ “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” as a more stripped-down version, and absolutely killed it. I think I prefer her version to the original.

Playing on the main stage was alternative rock group X-Ambassadors, opening with the hard rock anthem “Jungle.” These guys are really intense live, the lead singer’s vocals really carrying the live show. He can hit a wide vocal range of really high or really low, and this backed up with a loud and pulsing guitar led to an impressive live show. All members of the band are particularly passionate and immersive in their performance on stage – particularly the keyboardist, who is blind.

We got a unique surprise when they performed a brand new song that had never been played before, studio or live. Just before their biggest hit and final song “Renegades” (which was great fun to sing along to with thousands of others), frontman Sam Harris gave a heated and important speech on diversity. The song’s lyrics celebrate differences, and Sam emphasized our differences are what make the audience important and special. Even more importantly, he furiously condemned “homophobia, racism, sexism, and bigotry” and made it clear the band would always fight those concepts. They weren't the only group to give this sort of speech that weekend. In an extremely divisive and terrifying time for America with the political situation, I think it's really important and inspirational for music fans to feel safe and protected by artists at festivals. Particularly if you're a minority, it's easy to feel scared and uneasy in large gatherings, and I am proud of Bumbershoot and the acts for committing to respect and safety at this festival. I saw signs in Key Arena emphasizing all types of people were welcome, and this sort of thing can make a big difference. As a white male I don't know the struggles or fears many feel more than ever. For many attendees, the words that Sam and others said have a major impact. This reassurance isn't just words: it is commitment to respecting others and keeping them safe from oppression. Concerts in particular should be safe spaces where everyone is happy, and I am impressed with Bumbershoot’s policies and respect in that regard.

I have seen hundreds of concerts in many genres in my lifetime, and Solange was in my top 10 ever. While she is the less famous of the Knowles sisters, the talent in that family clearly extended to both. Notably, the Bumbershoot app’s artist biography for her was the longest one by far and written by Solange. It was a long, personal story of her roots and feelings of her career – reading it gave me the impression this was to be one powerful set indeed, and she absolutely slayed.

Not only does Solange perform with a full backing band and backup dancers, but some of her musicians WERE the dancers. I was floored by how smoothly someone could perform choreography while holding a trumpet or guitar. Solange has been performing and directing choreography since the days of Destiny’s Child almost 15 years ago, and as she told the audience, she designed all of the stage choreo herself! Naturally, she is a fantastic dancer, and I was impressed by how much she was able to synchronize her band and set with some truly elaborate arrangements. It wasn't just Solange that brought an amazing stage show, but her ensemble really brought another dimension and layer of talent. The stage was a single, vibrant red for most of the set, and the simple design contributed to where the attention should be – on the musicians performing.

Of course, Solange is still the main star, and every single song on her set was basically flawless. All eyes in the fully-packed stadium were on her as night fell for a full hour. She is captivating, soulful, and knows how to fully perform in a style I've rarely seen before. She told the crowd how she used to live in a Seattle neighbourhood and thus the city was very special to her. She even came down to the front and sang to many audience members while dancing groovily with them—something I'm sure was worth the wait to be in the front. She might be compared to her sister a lot, but Solange proved that night she is her own person with a different, but just as memorable performance style.

Rock trio and sisters HAIM were supposed to play towards the end of the night, but unfortunately had to cancel due to illness. I was curious if they would be replaced last minute, but the festival simply extended later acts sets’ instead. I finished the night (and Bumbershoot) by catching local electronic duo Odesza’s full 90-minute set. As standard for EDM shows, there was a light show—and it was absolutely spectacular. Pulsing vocals, lasers and graphics of all sorts rocked a crowd of thousands as heavy bass vibrated through excited festival goers on the final night. I’ve never seen graphics as diverse or bright as I have at that set. While I wish the final headliner wasn’t another electronic act (since Flume was on the Friday), these locals were certainly one of the most popular and exciting performances. As a real treat, they brought out rising soul star Leon Bridges for one song close to the very end. Leon is not from Seattle nor did he perform at the festival prior, so to see him was a truly lovely surprise indeed. As the crowd dispersed, another Bumbershoot finished—and it was another success.

Written by: Cazzy Lewchuk Bibou Bourelly photographed by: Timothy Nguyen

[themusicenthusiast]

Saturday, July 1st, 2017 – Laughs and Stories Abound as Ray Wylie Hubbard Entertains a Capacity Crowd at Levitt Pavilion

All photos by Jordan Buford Photography The summer concert season is already nearly over at Arlington’s Levitt Pavilion, several great local and regional acts having graced the stage so far or set to in the coming weeks. However, this particular Saturday night saw what was probably the biggest turn out for one of their free concerts, the amount of people that packed into the sprawling lawn space being staggering. It was pretty much a capacity crowd for what event organizers and volunteers said was one act that, no matter how recently he had performed at the Levitt, residents always asked them when they would have him back. Hence why Texas music icon Ray Wylie Hubbard is always a standard at some point during either the summer or fall concert season; spectators wildly cheering once he and his two band mates stepped onto the stage at 8:08 this night. Hubbard, his son, guitarist Lucas Hubbard, and drummer Kyle Schneider wasted little time in getting down to business, starting things off with a couple cuts from 2006’s Snake Farm, the moody, blues tinged “Rabbit” being up first. The mood it cast made it a good opener, especially towards the end as it offered up the sage advice of, “…We've a short time to be here, so get out of your rut and get in your groove…”; and the audience went wild when Hubbard found a way to add “Arlington” into the song.

They had barely wrapped that one up when they took everyone down to the “Snake Farm”, the off-beat and slightly humorous track being an early favorite with the fans. “It’s a sing-along!” remarked Hubbard during the song, confessing it may not be his best though promised he had some more appropriate ones that they’d be getting to. Some would argue that, claiming it is his best, the fact that they sang along well before ever being asked affirming that. Upon finishing that was when Hubbard began to entertain everyone with his banter, mentioning he had written the next song he had planned with a “young guy” by the name of Hayes Carll. “He’s a great songwriter, no matter what Steve Earle says,” he quipped, not even being able to keep a straight face as he made that joke. He then made a crack at his own expense. “For many of you, this is probably the first time you’ve appeared before me. You’re probably thinking… well… ‘you get what you pay for,” he muttered as roaring laughter broke out.

He shared an anecdote as to what inspired “Drunken Poet's Dream”; and even changed it up some, a couple lines becoming, “She likes to drink Dr. Pepper and play Ping-Pong.” That was a track found on A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C), an album Hubbard pointed out many journalists had proclaimed as one of the worst album titles ever, and they weren’t fond of the cover art, either. “You might be asking, ‘Ray, why would you do that?” he asked before delving into what creatively had sparked that move. As he stood back from the microphone everyone realized they were supposed to ask him why, and they did, in their own time. “Of course, you couldn’t ask in unison, could ya?” he laughed, more laughter then erupting from the crowd. “Down Home Country Blues” highlighted Lucas’ impassioned way of performing as he began to become a more formidable force; Hubbard picking at his acoustic axe for a time, after which he asked everybody if they had enjoyed it. “Do y’all want to hear it done right?” he questioned, joining in with everyone else. “So do I,” he finished. I don’t know how many people even realized that it was off, though no one minded hearing it again as he picked at the strings with concise precision.

They continued working their way up through the more recent releases; 2015’s The Ruffian's Misfortune being one that Hubbard declared had a lot of everyone’s favorite songs on it. “You won't know that unless you buy it,” he added, pointing out his merch table off to the side of the stage. They weren’t quite there yet, making a pit stop on The Grifter’s Hymnal, specifically with a another co-write, one where Hubbard collaborated with a member of The Trishas. To hear him tell it, he viewed it as a unique opportunity to get a glimpse of the world from a woman’s perspective, though several of his ideas were shot down. “I’m not saying that,” was one of things he said he heard as they tried to find a perfect balance between the styles each songwriter brought to the table. “…At that point I realized, if I were a woman I would be such a harlot,” Hubbard finished, rather matter-of-factly.

“Train Yard Blues” was the song, and it demonstrated what a force the trio had become. Being largely instrumental, Lucas was able to wail on his guitar, while Schneider really dug in as he dished out some mighty percussion, the three being as tight-knit as any act could hope to be. Before continuing on, Hubbard gave the audience a lesson in showbiz, “name dropping” being the subject (and also title of the coming song.) He mentioned how some people just want to put themselves “higher on the rungs” in the world, perhaps mentioning someone they wrote the song with, when in reality they don’t even know the acclaimed musician they’re mentioning. But it can make them sound important. “…In fact, I was talking about this same subject with Willie [Nelson] just the other day,” commented Hubbard, further showcasing the wit and charm that makes him so appealing.

The atmospheric “Name Droppin'” was proceeded by some more dialogue, from Hubbard acknowledging what a “special” place the Levitt was and how cool it was the city of Arlington had something like it, to confirming what any newcomers may have been thinking. “If it's your first time seeing me… you’re probably afraid I'm an acquired taste,” he said rather dryly. He then treated everyone to another tale as he changed guitars, grabbing one he said was special to him because it had belonged to his grandfather. Something he had never been allowed to play despite repeatedly asking, his grandfather telling him you need permission to play a man’s guitar and he would never grant him that. The story took a more somber tone when he said going on thirty-seven years ago he got a call from his grandmother saying his grandfather’s health was failing; making the drive from California back to Texas to see him one last time. Using phrases like “death bed” he described getting there, his grandmother telling him he needed to hurry and that his grandfather had been asking about him and mentioning that guitar. Hanging on to every word of the tender tale, it was as if everyone was leaning in closer as they grew more interested in the story which suddenly took a 180 after Hubbard gasped, “Ray! Ray!”, imitating his grandfather as he spoke to him. “…So, he sold me that guitar…” that came out of left field, shocking everyone; and it was hard to tell who was laughing harder, Hubbard or the crowd.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that to you. You people are too nice…” he said, adding what he really shouldn’t have done was use a hot check to pay his grandad. That made the night, standing as the most hilarious moment of the show. Steeped in the blues, “Mississippi Flush” came complete with an explanation, Hubbard using an extended instrumental segment to explain what was happening in the track, after which he started setting up another sing-along, feeling it was time for something the audience would know… or could at least chip in on. It was another thoroughly entertaining road getting to the next number, one that was written as a way to bring people together all by crafting a honky tonk gospel song, something Hubbard claimed he thought would be huge since both genres have such a loyal fan base. He stated it wasn’t the hit he was hoping for, simply because there is “no market” for such an eclectic genre, so to salvage it he transformed it into a sing-along.

“…You’ll have the time of your lives,” he said, referring how much fun the coming song was going to be, adding “…Which is kinda depressing when you think about it…”. The patrons acted as the choir on “When She Sang Amazing Grace”, echoing along on the choruses as Hubbard directed everyone on the gospel-esque tune that was as fun as they come. “That was the best it's ever been done!” exclaimed Hubbard; the band soon following it up with another blues heavy song, one that Lucas kicked off with some gentle picking that soon became a full-blown solo, further highlighting his slick skills on the guitar. The mostly straightforward format continued, patrons going wild when they heard Cody Canada mentioned as the person who co-wrote the number that wound up being “Cooler-N-Hell”; and in the midst of it Hubbard began talking about having shared the stage with possibly the coolest musician that ever was a dozen or so years ago. Hyping the person sufficiently, he never named them, though presumably he was referring to J.J. Cale. That was whose song they spliced into that original, seamlessly bleeding it into “Crazy Mama”; Hubbard requesting some help in finishing singing it, saying it would be “most righteous”

The 83-minute long set was approaching its end, though there was still plenty of time for more music and stories, the next one involving Ronnie Dunn and even Sammy Hagar, Hubbard co-writing it with the former while the latter recorded their own version of it, Hubbard stating the royalty check that sent his way allowed him to afford to buy a “fence!” “Bad on Fords” was their most rocking effort of the night, and it was indeed blistering, Hubbard, Lucas and Schneider going all out on the intense number. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, they made sure to include “Redneck Mother” in the set list, and once everyone realized it was coming several of them hurried up to the front of the stage, ready for the signature song. They even got the reins to it towards the end, the way everyone handled it prompting a friendly, “Tempo, people!” from Hubbard.

The crowd failed the test, overall coming across as though they had never heard that one before, though they still were told that was the best that it had ever been done. “Okay, no it’s not,” confessed Hubbard, who said despite his hopes to make a little money of merch sales this night, instead insisted everyone keep their money and go buy a “pitch pipe and a metronome”. Classic. “Wanna Rock and Roll" capped it all off, complete with “John the Revelator” added in, again allowing them to just cut loose and display their chops as musicians/a jam band as the show came to strong and stupendous finish. Throughout that only more people had joined the congregation around the stage and they were vocal about wanting more, Hubbard and company soon coming back out, happy to oblige. And what better way to close it all down than with what should be the unofficial anthem of the Lone Star State, the prideful “Screw You, We're From Texas” leaving the boisterous masses that had turned out content.

And that had been a crash course as to why the people who frequent the Levitt can’t get enough of Ray Wylie Hubbard. Few can entertain the way he does, and it’s even rarer to find an artist who can tell stories as masterfully … and not just in song format. Arguably, that is Hubbard’s most appealing factor, the fact that he comes off as being no different than anyone else; actively and constantly working to build a rapport with the audience in front of him, achieving that with ease on this night. The songs tell engrossing tales, simply because many are so human, the likes of which you just don’t hear much of anymore; the bluesy tones that often permeates the folk/Americana-based songs adding immensely to the emotion they capture. Almost making it easier to identify with for the fans.

Couple that with Hubbard’s well used set of pipes, now possessing a worn, slightly raspy quality due to all the decades of singing – the type of voice that can’t be replicated any other way but to be forged from a lifelong music career – and you have a winning combination. One that makes him completely unique. A definitive voice of Texas country music, he’s a performer through and through, the likes of which don’t come around too often. Hubbard, Lucas Hubbard and Kyle Schneider make up something impeccable, their dynamics being perfect, from skilled musicianship to being capable of throwing down when necessary with a level of intensity one might not expect from the three. They deliver a true show, one geared towards constantly engaging and intriguing the spectator, and whatever you have to pay in order to see them they will make certain you get your monies worth. Ray Wylie Hubbard has a trove of music available, his latest effort, Tell the Devil I'm Gettin' There as Fast as I Can, due out on August 18th. You can pre-order it or purchase anything else he has done in iTUNES or GOOGLE PLAY. His next show in D-FW will be a pair of gigs at The Kessler Theater in Dallas on July 13th and 14th. On July 28th he’ll be down in New Braunfels, TX at Gruene Hall and on the 29th Antone's in Austin will host him. He has a slew of other shows besides those on the books, a complete list along with more details available HERE.

[fruitbatwalton]

The Blackthorn Music Festival has moved on somewhat from it's humble beginnings on the outskirts of Manchester just four years ago.  Blackthorn Music Festival now boasts a stellar line-up of the best in unsigned UK indie music as well as a clutch of top headliners including Reef, Space, Sex Pissed Dolls and the Lightning Seeds and we'll feature as many as we can on the Radio KC Indie Show between now and July 23rd. If you're looking for a place to see all your favourite bands in one place - Blackthorn Music Festival is the place to be. In fact If Ralph was going to put together a line-up for Ralphstock, this would pretty much be it! Nestled in the picturesque countryside, yet only 15 minutes from Stockport and 30 minutes from Manchester, Blackthorn Music Festival is a true celebration of the city's diverse cultures and stunning rural produce plus all the outdoor joy of 'glamping' - time to get your wellies on! 

With the North West creating some of the best music ever made and the region's food and drink producers bringing us some of the tastiest , high quality produce available, when you come to Blackthorn Music Festival you'll be assured of the best of the city alongside the best of the countryside.

CLICK ON THEIR NAME TO FOLLOW THE BANDS & ARTISTS ON TWITTER

REEF:  Reef are an English band from Glastonbury who've been part of the UK alt rock/pop scene since 1993. The current band line-up includes Gary Stringer on vocals, Jesse Wood on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass and Dominic Greensmith on drums. Famed for their live performances and with the likes of Reading and Glastonbury festivals under their belt they're as 'British Rock Royalty' a headliner as you could wish for. LIGHTNING SEEDS:

The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock band from Liverpool formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie, formerly of the band Big in Japan. Stalwarts of the 90's ppp scene and always festival favourites, they're a real catch for Blackthorn Music Festival. After a highly acclaimed Edinburgh Hogmanay performance last year Broudie is currently writing and recording the first Lightning Seeds album in years.

SEX PISSED DOLLS: The Sex Pissed Dolls are an all female rock band. The five-piece formed in late 2014 and like many others started out covering songs they loved. In 2015 they embarked on a 50 plus date UK tour aptly entitled ' The Never Needed Bollocks Tour ' playing many prestigious venues up and down the United Kingdom to rapturous reviews. SPACE:

November 2011 saw the triumphant return of Space. The new line-up reunited original members Tommy, jamie and Frannie for the first time in 10 years. They were joined by the other members of Tommy's band The Red Scare, Phil Hartley, Ryan Clarke and Allen Jones. Their return was cemented with a sell out gig in Liverpool's O2 Academy back in December 2011. No Hot Ashes:  High on Ralph's 'ones to watch' list are No Hot Ashes, an exuberant four-piece from Stockport. The sound they have settled on is heavy bass infused Chilli Peppers meets James Brown with a rap and hip hop overlay.  The combination is as infectious as it is fresh and in an era of samey local guitar bands of varying qualities. They are band you have to see live as their performances ooze raw funk rhythms and a passion for entertaining crowds. Keep your eyes peeled for their brand new single Bellyaches, it's a corker!

The Blinders:

The Blinders are a three-piece alternative group from Doncaster who are now based in Manchester who are high on Ralph's 'ones to watch' list. 

The band attempts to be in your face at all times, smelting loud and visceral political punk rock with enigmatic, psychedelic poetry and tones with their diverse, unique combination of raw music creating a ‘Punkadelic’ sound.

Sundowners:

A formidable live act, the Wirral 5-piece Sundowners benefit from an almost telepathic on-stage understanding born out of both Fiona & Niamh’s long-term friendship and the addition of Fiona’s brother, Alfie, on guitar.

The band have released a brace of limited edition singles, tour constantly playing alongside the likes of Cats Eyes & Kasabian and appear at both the All Tomorrow’s Parties and Glastonbury Festivals.

Guxti Bibang:

Guxti Bibang is an international rock act whose first single System of a Gun decries flawed systems worldwide. With their roots on multiple continents, the group’s dynamic single is sure to find willing ears everywhere. 

Frontman and guitarist Gutxi Bibang is “a second-generation African [hailing] from the Basque region of Northern Spain.

Larkins:

Larkins have been described as Manchester's next big arena act, with the Manchester Evening News commenting...

 "The four schoolmates from Glossop are already writing songs that would make Chris Martin Weep with envy."

They've already got an impressive line up of gigs planned including Kendal Calling and Edinburgh's Fringe Festival later in the year.

Stillia:

No surprises that St Helens band Stillia are big favourites of Ralph as they've already played at two of the Ralph's Life charity events over the last three years. 

Their current single Let Me In has gained no small amount of airplay and had a video for it directed by another home-town talent Johnny Vegas.

radio 2 DJ janice Long described their forthcoming debut album as... "The best debut I've heard since The La's."

False Advertising:

Ralph's featured false advertising on the blog last year as well as catching them live in Soup Kitchen and can attest to the quality (and volume) of their music, so it's no surprise they've been snapped up to perform at Blackthorn.

Self-proclaimed purveyors of 'Twisted Power-grunge', they offer up dreamy soaring male/female harmonies blended with distorted guitars.

Dantevilles:

Describing themselves as a 'fresh-faced, four-piece band emitting new music from the home they call Manchester', Dantevilles are reimagining the sound of the red-brick capital of the North with their uplifting and soulful brand of indie pop.

Clean, canny guitars and dual captivating vocals never compete for space in their unshakable, off-the-wall arrangements.

Types:

Types are just the kind of band that sums up what makes Manchester so important. Meandering and experimental, yet intriguingly accessible.

Their new EP is described as...

"the perfect microcosm of the sound that is dominating the UK’s underground scene, and it’s bands like this that will be leading the charge when it breaks into the mainstream."

October Drift:

Rising newcomers October Drift have gained a strong word-of-mouth following since exploding onto the music scene at the start of 2015 and high on Ralph's 'ones to watch' list.

With shows at BBC6 Music festival, Dot to Dot, Tramlines and camden Rocks under their belts alongside a cult fan base spreading the word, the immediate future for this young band is very bright (and very loud).

Saytr Play:

Saytr Play have been variously described as "The best thing to come out of Preston since Freddie Flintoff" and "Vocally I hear Catfish but instrumentally I hear something completely different.  It's the coolest kind of indie."

The Jade Assembly:

With energetic rock to lift your feet off the floor, the Bolton hailing group perform with fearsome energy and zealous honesty. Recently releasing a single with Ugly Man Records the band have worked with the prestigious label responsible for Elbows early success.

Lead singer John (Foz) Foster passionately performs with enough charisma to give former rock-gods from the Gallaghers to Dave Grohl a run for their money. 

New York Tourists:

New York Tourists are an Alternative band who instantly leave a stamp on your chest, Described as Queens of The Stone Age meets Foals. 

They've had support slots with the likes of The Subways, The View, The Sunshine Underground, Buzzcocks, and previously headlining the Alternative Stage at Blackburn Festival. New York Tourists, played their biggest gig to date , at Hogton Tower, Preston, in front of 12,000 people as main support to the legends that are the mighty Status Quo.

Sly Antics:

Sly Antics arrived onto the Manchester music scene in 2016 after recording their epic debut EP Captive City at Greenmount Studios, home to The Cribs and Pulled apart by Horses.

Their live shows are described as raucous and ear blistering. Their tracks are referred to as catchy, clever and powerful. Their music videos are labelled as genius, mad and hilarious.

The Jackobins:

Formed in 2014, dubbed by Fred Perry Subculture and This Feeling as “Big in 2016”, Liverpool based four piece The Jackobins have taken the UK's music scene by storm, headlining and selling out venues across the country whilst appearing on some of the UK’s most prestigious festivals including: Reading & Leeds,Tramlines, Live at Leeds, Dot to Dot, Sound City and Y Not Festival.

Their previous singles have aired on BBC Intro Merseyside, BBC 6, Radio KC and Radio X and a must watch for Ralph.

Novatones: 

Southampton based Indie/Britpop Punksters playing music that everyone can associate with.

A band fueled on a love/hate relationship for all things British. proud to be part of England and the legendary music scene that comes with it, but fed up of the spoon fed bullshit synonymous with the x factor generation and all the pop puppets. 

Hard grafting, hard hitting well dressed punk with a sound that smacks you in the face and leaves you thirsting for more.

Happy Daggers:

Happy Daggers band have previously graced the stages of Reading and Leeds, British Summer Time, Beatherder, Blackthorn Festival, Bingley Music Live, Live At Leeds, Beacons, and Long Division to name a few. 

As well as playing sold out gigs across the country, Happy Daggers have performed with the likes of Public Service Broadcasting, The Milk, Pretty Vicious, The Tapestry, Middleman, and Fold.

Carnival Club:

Carnival Club are a quartet of late teenage, early twenty-something’s brimming with excitement, energy and kick out the jams, no holds barred vision. These Manchester based lads – Kai, George, Eddie and Joe have absorbed their musical learning showing maturity way beyond their youthful years. Their songs are made in the north, will hit you from the north, south, east and west. They will astound the ears and bless the heart. 

Floodhounds:

From British Indie to raw American Blues, "gloriously guitar-heavy," and rumbling with subterranean rock; FloodHounds are a swirling explosion of bluesy fire, tearing its way through the UK’s packed and sweaty music venues. 

Sheffield 3-piece FloodHounds’ hits you like a British Black Keys or White Stripes, inspired by the likes of Band of Skulls, or Drenge with just a hint of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.  They're high on Ralph's 'ones to watch' list.

Kashmere:

Hailing from Stockport, four-piece Kashmere are comprised of Joey Newey on guitar & vocals, Charlie Cole on guitar, Andy Law on vocals & drums and Dave Pennington on Bass.

They've just released their new single Porcelain and are playing the When In Manchester Festival this month prior to attacking the stage at Blackthorn Festival.

Oddity Road:

Emerging from the depths of the Hope Valley and the bright lights of Sheffield, Oddity Road are 4 young lads delivering energetic spikey indie rock/pop. 2016 saw the lads hit the stage for the first time delivering driving live sets at Tramlines, the O2, The Plug and The Leadmill Sheffield, amongst many others; picking up radio airplay on BBC Introducing and Radio 6 music & Radio KC. Jess Kemp: 

Mathew Lally Photography

At 22 years old with 6 years on the Manchester circuit, Jess Kemp released her debut single ‘Stars’ in March 2015. The demand for more brought the launch of her debut EP “Camden" which brings a much bolder and more exciting sound to tracks already featured by BBC Introducing & BBC Radio 2. Following the release of the EP, Jess went on to headline Manchester Academy 3, Factory Manchester and The Live Room. The success of the above release led to the demand of a 4 date European tour which took place in August 2016. Since then, Jess placed 3rd for Best Unsigned Female in the Best Of British Unsigned Music Awards. In the same week, Jess and her band reached the final of Indie Week Europe and again placed 3rd from a selection of 70+ bands.

Jamie & Shoonie:

Jamie & Shoonie play anthems that have them making waves in Scotland and collecting a loyal fanbase. They have played to sell out crowds in some of the country's finest venues such as Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom, O2 ABC, Kings Tuts, The Electric Circus and Saint Lukes.

They took the title of 'Best Live Act' 2016 Award from The Local Music Scene Blog and played to over 8,000 people at Linlithgow's Party at The Palace supporting Nile Rodgers with CHIC.

Factory:

Factory have played countless gigs/festivals up and down the country at venues like the Queens Hall and The Cavern as well as packing out venues in our home town. 

They are no strangers to big stages as we have played academies and theatres such as the Epstein Theatre and the Brindley. More recently we were chosen by Alan McGee (Creation Records) to open up at the British Sound Project for Primal Scream at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester.

Puppet Rebellion:

There are many artists out there vying for your time, but a quick glance at Puppet Rebellion's already impressive list of achievements prove to show that this fiercely independent band is the real deal.

The band have so far released two critically acclaimed EPs, ('Chemical Friends' and 'No Means Yes'), tracks of which can be heard when they play their status affirming and sold-out energetic shows around the nation's Northern capital (including main support slots with 'Catfish & The Bottlemen' & 'Reverend and the Makers') and other venues across the UK.

Ded Rabbit: Ralph's a long time Ded Rabbit fan after they not only donated a track for the Ralph's Life charity CD but travelled down to London and played a storming set at the Proud Camden launch party. With a number of well received EP and single releases, they’ve continued to complete a number of high profile performances that should be on any UK band’s bucket list. Where Fires Are: Where Fires are have been variously described as... '...a whirlwind of high-powered, introspective rock, complete with galvanising riffs and dulcet vocals... ' '...Where Fires Are are an almost perfect balance between emphatic alternative rock and more sedate, ponderous aspects...' In other words, don't miss them live at Blackthorn Festival! Polar States: Polar States are a band who have been championed by BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 6’s Steve Lamacq & Chris Hawkins and BBC Introducing's Dave Monks.  Needless to say Ralph's also given them a spin on the Radio KC Indie Show of a Sunday. Ravellas: Hailing from Wigan, Ravellas profess to playing, 'dirty, ugly, indie rock 'n' roll'. They've just released a new single Puppettes and It's featured on the Radio KC Indie Show Sunday April 16th as part of the Blackthorn Festival promotion over the weeks leading up to the event itself in July. Laura White:

Laura White is an English singer-songwriter from Atherton in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.

She is also known for finishing in eighth place on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008 and being the only singer to date raised in parliament on her exit of the show. Stew Mac: Educated Risk:  Educated Risk are a young unsigned Indie band from south Manchester who have been playing together for a few years and focus mainly on writing original songs.  They spent the end of last year writing and recording a debut EP, Rewind, and are currently writing more original songs that they hope to record onto a second EP. Indigo Velvet: Indigo Velvet are a young Tropical-pop quartet from Edinburgh. They kickstart 2017 on Vic Galloway (BBC Radio Scotland) and Jim Gellatly's 'one’s to watch’ list, after a landmark 2016 saw them championed by Record of the Day, The Metro, Scotland On Sunday and more.  Radio play includes a spot-play on BBC Radio 1, Radio X, BBC Introducing and Ralph's Indie show. Matter Of Mind:

Matter Of Mind are a four piece rock band from Stockport, Manchester made up of four 18 year olds who have recently featured on Clint Boons 'Set2go live' and the 'Set2go' podcast. “This is loud music! This is good music!” - Clint Boon They've also been 'Band Of The Day' on Louder Than War along with 'Track Of The Day' on GigSlutz. Dancing On Tables: 2017 has started well for Dancing on Tables, having released 'Don't Stop' in December, the band were named artist of the week in Scotland on Sunday as well as being showcased in Jim Gellatly's column in The Sun while receiving national radio play with the title tack from the EP. Growing up in Dunfermline, that has spawned many talented musicians, the boys always had local heroes to idolise, with their childhoods spent wanting to follow in the footsteps of Big Country and The Skids. The Leathernecks:

This band from Rotherham started out playing in a Indie/Rock covers band. After a few years of playing together up and down the UK and throughout Europe the band decided to have a go at doing some of their own stuff. In late 2013 The Leathernecks were born, fronted by Guitarist Nick Wild who brings a 'very Sheffield' vocal to he mix. His style is often compared to the likes of Milburn and Arctic Monkeys with a sprinkling of Courteeners very own Liam Frey added in for good measure. Luna Rosa: Foreignfox: Foreignfox are a 5 piece, turbulent juxtaposition of dark, visceral post rock and defiant, uplifting alt-folk. The band have enjoyed two consecutive years of huge shows across the country & festival appearances including T In The Park, Stockton Calling, XpoNorth, Wickerman, Belladrum, Kendal Calling & Electric Fields as well as supporting Scottish heavyweights such as We Were Promised Jetpacks, Fatherson & rock royalty, Nazareth. Cleargreen:

Cleargreen was formed in 2012 and the band consists of Ali Staley (Vocals & Rhythm Guitar), Jack Blair (Lead Guitar), Liam McIver (Bass Guitar) and Tyrone Heeley (Drums). Their music has a variety of influences coming from genres such as alternative indie, mod, and rock and roll. The band has grown within the Manchester inde scene and they've numerous accolades to their name including headlining the O2 Ritz, Manchester Academy 3 and being included in Fred Perry Subculture's Top 20 Manchester Unsigned bands. Young Jack:

Young Jack are a 5 piece fountain of funk hailing from the 2017 city of culture Hull who offer fresh & funky rhythms ready to cleanse the mind and take hold of your soul. Following successful shows and festivals around the UK, including Kendal Calling, Trinity Festival, Tramlines they're ready to take on Blackthorn Festival. Kriss Barras: 

With thanks to Andy Hibbs for the photo

Caroline: Argh Kid: A self-confessed Mancunian who was dragged up in the 'doledrums' on a diet of broken McVitie's biscuits resulting in the arrival of the performance poet formerly know as award-winning writer David Scott. He's signed a record contract with an EP out soon, filming a documentary, a book out in summer, festival appearances abound, been on't ITV plus...supporting his heroes The Happy Mondays! Corella: I caught fresh indie-pop four piece Corella recently supporting Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles in The Magnet' Liverpool and if their set is a taster of what's to come, I can't wait to see them again at Blackthorn Festival. Following the release of their debut single Waterfall which featured on a LA shot promo for international BMX brand Mongoose, the band are currently bouncing between the studio & the road with their powerful, positive vocals, funky guitars & energetic drums. The Claremonts: Hailed as one of Manchester's finest prospects by Louder Than War The Claremonts are, Finn Gildea on vocals, Nathan Rowbotham on guitar, Ryan Stevens on Bass and Imogen Shortall on drums. Their new single Another Day was released early March and they headline AATMA in Manchester on April 15th.

[therivertownblog-blog]

Come with me whilst I take a step back in time, a journey through the depths of an 80s Dundee. I speculate 35 years should be suffice, or perhaps the year of 1983? Let’s take a stroll through West Port towards the Hawkhill. Past the suave grandeur of Da Vinci’s Studio and across to the Globe, take a sharp left into the quaint, Johnston’s lane. There, standing alone and snuggled in amongst a tenement close, sits a quirky wee shop, which is the outré toy-like home to a prolific local artist-  Stephen French. Selling abstract sketches, peculiar sculptures and an unconventional range of modern artefacts and paraphernalia, French’s holographic 3D absurdities engaged the lucrative audience of Dundee’s art trailblazers and fast-forward initiators. With a repertoire the length (or if not longer) than the Tay Road Bridge, French’s designs have since been exhibited in the V&A and the Barbican (London), the National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto) and the Pomipdou Centre (Paris). Impressive, I know!

Take a jump to your left and then a step to your right, put your hands on your hips and bend your knees back into contemporary times. Because today in the very same spot, yes, that quirky wee lane and in that outré toy-like shop, resides an outfit with just as much splendour and attribute than it’s attractive past. Spex Pistols, Dundee’s one and only independent Optical Boutique. Established in 2011, founder Richard (Cookie) Cook has successfully matched the artistic opulence of number four’s previous owners, not only by exhibiting at London’s V&A museum but by combining a passion for vintage spectacles, toys and cameras, alongside music and movie memorabilia. Displaying his wares on 70’s sideboards and bare-brick walls, the shop is famed not just for it’s frames but it’s kitsch interior and kick-ass ambience too.

Considering all of the above, Spex Pistols ultimately stocks a nifty selection of frames and lenses alongside their frame repair service which fundamentally saves customer’s time and heartache, as well as breathing new life into your valuable or sentimental eyewear. Iconic brands such as William Morris, Prada and Ray-Ban adorn the the walls and the knowledgeable, warm and kooky staff are always on hand to share advice or pick out the perfect pair to suit not just your face but your personality and budget too. Still not enough? If you're desperately seeking more from the smallest yet undeniably the coolest four walls within Dundee’s Cultural Quarter, then Spex Pistols strong music influence makes it a hotspot for local musicians, with live and (if your lucky) impromptu gigs played upon the mezzanine floor.

RiverTown caught up with owner Richard to dig a little deeper, join us as wee explore the nooks and crannies of Spex Pistols’ history and take a nose dive deep into the kaleidoscope of Richard’s fashionable past…

RiverTown - Can you tell me a little bit about Spex Pistols’ history?

Spex Pistols -The shop was born right here in Johnston's Lane, West Port in 2011, but it was in the planning since I bought my first lot of really cool vintage glasses in 1991. I'd already trained as a specialist lens maker and I was running a factory in Glasgow with Danny McAfee, who is a Dundee legend in the true sense of the word. I bought the frames, all from the 50s in never worn condition, which is very important. It took me about 4 months from finding the right shop to opening the doors.

RT- What was the influence or inspiration behind setting up an independent optical boutique?

SP- I had been putting everything into my work for 20 years, and I was always surprised how interesting people found it; for a start, nobody knew how to take me seriously, especially with something so technical. When I worked in factory environments, there was lots to learn, but working for big retailers, there was lots they wanted me to forget.There was strict control over time spent and creativity. I never really fitted in and spent most of my time avoiding the sack. Working in the environment I wanted just wasn't available unless I set it up myself.

RT- The name obviously plays on the shortened term for spectacles, as well as a nod to the infamous Punk band The Sex Pistols. Is there a story behind the name? Who came up with it?

SP -This will sound dull, but a brand starting with no money has to have a name and identity which people will take notice of, to have the best chance of survival. 'Spex Pistols' just came into my head while driving down Perth Road one night. It was like a blinding flash of inspiration. From that very second, I knew it was going to happen. Also, I liked the Sex Pistols, they weren't my absolute favourite band, but they broke the rules so brilliantly and they were marketed perfectly, with practically no budget. I took that as inspiration.

RT- I’ve heard you have had a few musicians through the boutique’s door, most outstanding is Johnny Marr from iconic alternative rock band The Smiths. Mr Marr has championed Spex Pistols on twitter and has left a raving review on your website. How did you meet the stylish guitarist? what is your relationship with him now? Does he still commission his spex from Spex Pistols?

SP- We've been very lucky to have people of massive influence enthusing about the shop.That could be someone who loves their new look and tells all their family and friends to come in, or somebody like Johnny who seems to tell the whole world. Just today we had the head of a London PR firm in, with a  list of international household names on their rooster. He mentioned that Johnny had recommended us.There has been some communication with Johnny's gang, but we are always impressed when people tell us they've met him and he spoke about us, or he likes a picture of one of our customers on Instagram, but the time he sent my cat a get well soon message showed me what a lovely person he is.

RT- As well as Mr Marr, I've noticed your Instagram is teaming with trendy, quirky and fashion forward customers, why do you think Spex Pistols is so appealing? What is your unique selling point?

SP- Right from the start, there was a focus to be different from everyone else. Not just opticians, but all big retail firms. You can walk into any big firm's shop and get just about anything, but you can't always get something unique or cherished. People seem to love our service too. One of our customers, a cockney, who missed the football one Saturday just to visit us, bought a beautiful pair of Savile Row frames from the ALGHA works, a stone's throw from his family home. We fitted them with bespoke, hand made lenses in our lab. He said it was the best shopping experience of his life. That meant everything to us. Our customers are our friends and it's honestly great fun to be around them every day. Maybe they feel that too and that sets us apart from the rest.

RT- I can feel the warm relationship between staff and customers through social media and whilst visiting the shop, how do you ensure your team has a strong customer service ethos?

SP-We have always had people working in the shop who have an incredible understanding of customer service. We all want every customer to feel welcome. We know that not everyone wants to buy spex. Some people just want to come in and check us out. But they still have to have a good time. We like to look after the people who have always looked after us.

RT- The shop itself is brimming with kitsch, retro and vintage paraphernalia, what was your vision behind the shop’s unique interior? Where did you get all the stuff?

SP- It wasn't so much a vision. When Spex Pistols first opened, there was no big shop fitting budget. There was no money at all in fact. I've always collected things. Anything I liked the look of. Design isn't just functional, sometimes it just has to look incredible. So I had lots of old radios, toys and books to bring with me. I brought in stuff I'd found in skips, customers and friends have always donated brilliant pieces of furniture, which helped a lot. The first version of the shop was chaotic, but everyone loved that their childhood memories jumped out all around them. The shop now looks more organised and settled, with lots of interesting features, mainly because Sooz is an Interior Designer of note who never switched off, and we have incredibly accommodating landlords, but the nostalgia stays. It's part of us. We are planning another refurb in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

RT- Patti Smith famously said “My sunglasses are like my guitar”, and many other icons hide behind their big, black lenses. Who is your spectacle wearing hero and why?

SP- Morrissey. From the first time I saw him on The Tube and Top Of The Pops. This was all around my 13th birthday and I couldn't get enough of The Smiths. They had loves and hates, and passions just like mine, just like the line from Cemetery Gates. Morrissey did it all with incredible style. Swaggering and stuttering, with a lucky lisp and shy confidence which was utterly unique. He had lots of flowers, but hanging out the back pocket of his Levi's was a hearing aid and NHS glasses. He was the most incredible style icon. I was spellbound. It's no coincidence that we sell both the NHS 524s that  Morrissey wore and the vintage Ray-Ban Wayfarers which Johnny Marr had on beside him on those early tv appearances.

RT- RiverTown Clothing focuses on high end vintage and contemporary garments, we are continually inspired from people around us, predominately within our hometown of Dundee. Can you talk me through your personal style?

** SP- I first properly payed attention to clothing when I saw The Jam on TV and in No1 and Smash Hits, which were music magazines. It was all Sta-Prest trousers by Levi's, Crombie overcoats, 3 button suits, Brutus and Fred Perry  shirts, doc martens and paisley scarves. Grouchos also sold "official" Jam shoes. They were black and white or red, white & blue. All my pocket money and birthday money went on them. My first suit (which I still have) was from The Cavern in Carnaby Street. I saved up for about a year. It was incredible. Prince Of Wales checked, 3 buttons, 2 inch lapels, side vents and straight cut bottoms. Breaks from Grouchos ordered it in for me and let me pay it up. When it was all payed, I took it home on the bus, I felt like The Face. At that point, Mods were a dying breed. There were about 20 of us in Dundee, and about 6 from Cupar. We reformed The Shimmy and took our records into a cafe in a basement off City Square. We all dressed the best we could. It was a competition. All we cared about was clothes and music. Being a mod felt right. Since then, I've paid very little attention to current fashion trends. I don't care if something is second hand. As long as it's right for me. Last year, somebody in town said to me "why are you wearing those clothes?" It always feels good to be different. **

RT- We have a vintage obsession, can you create us a fashion timeline from your teens until now? what was your favourite look or style?

SP- When I turned 13, I loved music and clothes. I was obsessed with chart music as well as indie, which was pretty new, but I always dressed with a really mod style. That meant a side parting and neat hair, bowling shoes, desert boots or brogues, Levi's or straight cut dress trousers, a proper shirt with button down collars or Fred Perrys - there were about 6 colours available, Glen Alva cardigans or Y cardies. Socks were always white and trousers never came below the top of my ankle. I would rather die back then than have trousers at the wrong length. That was casual wear. Anything more formal would be a 3 button suit with a Ben Sherman (they were still quite rare back then) and a slim tie. But never a piano key tie. That was like telling the world you liked Status Quo. By the time I was 14, everybody was a casual. I never got it really, but I did like the Lacoste polo shirts and the trainers. I went to the north of England with my pals that summer and spent that year's pocket money on a pair of red adidas trimm trab’s and stone washed Levi's. I also wore a lot of band t shirts at that time. Mostly The Smiths, The Jam, David Bowie and, of course Frankie Says. I should point out though, I never looked cool. I wanted to, but I looked like Sam from Moonrise Kingdom. At 15 everyone around me was wearing really bright geometric prints and big hair, but me and a couple of pals were back trying to look like The Small Faces, with knitted shirts, paisley scarves, denim jackets and checked trousers. The Fred Perrys had dried up in the shops, but if you tried hard enough, you could find them. In fact, our clothes would have been quite expensive to buy new, but we had learned along the way that charity shops were the cheapest and the best place to find the stuff we liked. You could get a genuine Tootal scarf for about 25p from Oxfam. They sold them new in department stores for about £75. When something came from a charity shop in great condition, a commitment was there to care for it until somebody else got it. I still have clothes I got when I was a young mod in excellent condition. I still wear my first ever Tootal scarf, and my dad's old Crombie is still hanging up. Something happened when I was 16 which took me away from the recognised mod style I loved. I had new heroes to copy. They were all matinee idols, from Jack Lemon and Frank Sinatra I got to really like a more American, grown up Ivy League look. I copied the haircut from Hobson's Choice that John Mills had and then gradually, James Cagney's double breasted suits. By now I liked being the boy who dressed differently. The suits and now raincoats stayed until I discovered FLIP of Hollywood. They had shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Discovering FLIP was like finding Shangri-la. An earthly paradise of vintage clothing and accessories from America.  I'd found an inexhaustible supply of worn-in, faded original 501s and Chuck Taylor basketball boots. They also had incredible college team jackets and letterman sweaters, baseball caps, sports blazers and 1950s ties. I had to find a job to pay for all the stuff I wanted. There was a brief spell, maybe the whole of 1989 when I wore Stone Roses and Happy Mondays t shirts with flares and Travel Fox trainers. I'll never regret doing that. But as soon as I returned to my normal style, I've always been true to it. It's a pretty loose code, but as long as it's the right cut and a style i love, pre-owned, repro or brand new, I either wear it to death or keep it stored away.

RT- Why is fashion important to you? and how do you reflect that through your business? SP- Past fashion is more important to me, so It's important to me to listen to those around me. It's only the styles which really work or don't work that are worth reviving. In spex pistols, the styles we revive have to be great design, which means functionality and style over fashion. We've had some collaborations with suppliers which we always love. Each frame we buy in is carefully selected and approved by us. A modification usually makes it extra special and unique. We made a pair of oversized wooden sunglasses for London Fashion Week, and four months later, PRADA had something extremely similar. Accidental coincidence or not, it meant we were making good choices.

RT- Lastly, if you can pick 5 of Spex Pistols’ coolest frames available in store right now, which 5 would they be?

SP- That’s difficult! But I'll try:

1.There are our Savile Row collection. They are all seriously cool, with a pretty hot price tag. They are hand and machine pressed. Assembled by hand in The Algha Works in Fish Island in London's East End. They brought those machines over from Germany in the 1920s, and haven't changed much at all. Each one can be ordered with different finishes, sizes, trims and colours. If you were to order the Beaufort Panto in chestnut finish, with curl sides, for example, you'd get an exact facsimile copy of Harrison Ford's frame in the Indiana Jones series. If you ordered it in gold, you'd get a replica of John Lennon's trademark spectacles, from the same machine, assembled on the same workbenches. Even the round black rimmed frames with the "W" bridge Harry Potter wears are from there, but the coolest is the Beaufort Panto.

2. The Zoe. It was a multi million seller in the late 70s and early 80s and inspired a hundred copies, but the Zoe was the original and the best. It came in at least 300 colour combinations and 4 sizes each. Today, we have it in 120 colours. It was carefully constructed with purpose built machinery specifically for that frame only. There were 6 components designed and used exclusively. It was made from two thick layers of clear acetate with printed silk in between, which meant that every single frame was different. They also made them with 4 different denims. If they could be a song, it would probably be The Reflex by Duran Duran. In the summer, we saw a back page of Time Out on the Tube in London it was a promo poster for Be Charlotte and she was wearing a pair of Zoe’s from Spex Pistols. That was pretty cool.

3. We've always had a brilliant relationship with William Morris London, and they are always up for our schemes and ideas. One nice summer day, their sales director turned up. We looked through some of our really cool vintage frames and came up with a design we both loved. It was the William Morris London 9911. It came in 5 colours. We loved it so much, we ended up buying all the stock! We have 3 colours left and we only let them out sparingly

4. The Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer RB 2140, size 54 in light Havana. This has been available for decades but was previously called the Ray-Ban Wayfarer II. The original didn't have Ray-Ban written down the sides or on the lenses. They are engraved on the insides and the lenses have BL at the sides. These are the hardest to find in good condition, but the coolest for sure. They don't even make it in that colour and size combination any more, but we have them custom made. People want to have what they can't get, and we like to get it for them. If anybody wants these, we recommend polarised. The difference is remarkable, and people who try it never go back!

5. My personal favourite frame in the shop though is the pair Johnny Marr sent. They are  Ray-Ban "SIGNET: JOHNNY MARR LIMITED EDITION" RB3493. But these were his own personal pair. Ray-Ban still make the Signet, which is a very cool frame. We have them in the larger sizes and as sunspex or clear spex, but Johnny's ones will never be sold.

A HUGE thank you to Richard of Spex Pistols and his amazing team Sooz, Nicole, India and Baby Sadie. Please follow to keep up with the comings and goings of the quirky wee optical boutique…

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Spex Pistols 4 Johnstons Lane, Dundee, DD1 5ET

by Holly Scanlan (gigibobsherhair.com)