Jan. 17th: Screaming Females at the Echoplex

On Monday night was one of my favorite shows I have seen so far... The Screaming Females were so good it was unbelievable. I got to the Echoplex around 8:30 in the P.M. curious to see the other bands before SF. The first band to come up were The Lovely Bad Things, a cool band whose players kept switching instruments, which was pretty cool. They went from having some poppy indie-rock hooks to some really good punk rock. Next up was Audacity, as band full of young guys playing punk rock music, they were pretty good, funny for sure. They told some great jokes in between songs. The band up next was La Sera, Kickball Katy from the Vivian Girls' new band. They do music that is kind of like 50's pop to put it. Then after selling their merch in person for a few hours the Screaming Females finally came on. I had seen them once before at FYF and they were great then, but this time they were just crazy good. I knew most of the material and they played some of their more popular songs like "Bell" and "I Don't Mind It," but also some things that I didn't know which was pretty cool because I like getting into songs that I don't know. They played most of the songs off of their latest LP Castle Talk. Their last song they played was a probably 8 or 9 minute version of "Boss" and then came out again for an encore which was "Fall Asleep." After a few seconds of them standing around I decided to scream out the last song I wanted them to play which was "Boyfriend." They then commenced to playing the song and I was so fulfilled with their set. I cannot wait until they come back!

Jan. 15th: 9 Bands At the Blvd.

Last night was an amazing show, 9 bands, 2 stages, awesome music, it was a great night. The night started off with Sex Wolf, a four-piece grungecore band from Boyle Heights. They were loud and halfway through the set the drummer broke his bass drum. That must have sucked because I know that drums aren't cheap. I accidentally missed the Rizlas after talking to some friends. The band that was supposed to be next Richard Ramirez Beatdown cancelled but in their place was the Kill Pills. I'm not sure how to describe their music except for they sound very garagey and friggin' great. Their singer was this short chick with a killer voice.  Next was Sassafras, whom I just reviewed in my last post. A great performance for sure. Sassafras has gone from a four-piece to a two-piece, but still have a great full sound. They played some of my favorite songs including "Been Blown to Shreds" and "Sassafras Song." They preceded to end the show with "Shipwrecked" and when the song was finished the drumset sort of collapsed when Sailor threw his guitar into it. Thanks by the way Sailor for the T-shirt and CD, I appreciate it! Up next was my dad's band Lightnin' Woodcock and the Bad Motherfuckers! He does very dirty songs varying from cunnilingus to consensual rape. Super funny I always find myself laughing really hard when I go to his shows. Another great part of the performance was that the bass player Will Lefevre was singing "In the Butt" to me as a joke when he realized after the fact that the whole show was being recorded for a documentary and their probably was footage of him singing "In the Butt" to a thirteen year old dude. The next band was the Dharma Bums fronted by Joe who put this whole show and documentary together. The Dharma are a five-piece band (Three guitar players, a bass player and a drummer) who play to me seems like bluesy-punk rock with other elements mixed in. They played a pretty long set because of audience members yelling "One More!" and stuff like that. It was a really good set considering that they have a new drummer. Sadly they have to change their name to something because there is another band with the name Dharma Bums. Then came on the Mormons, who, if you didn't guess, dress like Mormons with suits, ties and bicycle helmets. I haven't seen them in a club ever, but I have seen the Mormons Mobile Unit outside of the Fuck Yeah Fest where they have mini-amps on their belts and the drummer has this awesome portable drum set that he hooks on to his body. They play really awesome punk rock music and the singer is always laying on the floor or dancing with someone. Towards the end of the set some of the audience members, including me, picked him up towards the camera that was filming all of this. They played a great set and I really want to get their new EP. I missed Manhattan Murder Mystery, but I saw Kamikaze a great three-piece. They were so loud and cool. The guitar player and bass player were both singers trading the vocals off between songs. Also the drummer was an awesome chick who made the coolest faces while drumming. I stayed after for a bit and then went home after band practice and then a six-hour show and passed out!

ALBUM REVIEW: Sassafras-Dos

The sophomore release by Sassafras is one to definitely be noted. Dos, released on December 31st, 2010, is a great new 10-track album by Sassafras led by the singer and guitarist Sailor Alexander. Recorded around the same time as the first album "Sassafras LP" and like the first album every instrument is played by Sailor. Some of my favorite songs on the album would be the first track "Old Man," "Death Blues," and "Eli" The album, as is the song, is death blues. It has has some very hard riffs that kind of go into what you would think of as bluesy, that back up Sailor's hard, scratchy vocals. I would have to note "Eli" as really one of the great songs on this album. I really like the little interlude with what seems like a twelve-string guitar part. I think this album is really great and would recommend it to someone who is looking for something really hard, but is not so much looking in the metal section of the record store. Come see Sassafras along with nine other bands on Saturday the 15th at The Blvd, where I will be watching, reviewing, and hopefully interviewing some of the bands there!

Buy the album and any other Sassafras relaease at: http://sassafras.bandcamp.com/

The Blvd: 2631 Whittier Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90023-1446 Saturday January 15th, 6 P.M.

Top Fifteen of 2010

I almost forgot to list my top fifteen of last year. Well here it is!
1.The Jimi Hendrix Experience-BBC Sessions
2. Black Keys-Brothers
3. Screaming Females-Castle Talk
4. The Dead Weather-Sea of Cowards
5. Cage the Elephant-Live At Grimeys
6. Stab City-Stab City
7. Dirty Santas-Died For Your Sins EP
8. Sassafras-Sassafras LP
9. Swords of Fatima-Eeka Eeka Boom Boom
10. New Rome Quartet-New Rome Quartet
11. Jimi Hendrix-Valleys of Neptune
12. Grinderman-Grinderman 2
13. Portugal the Man-American Ghetto
14.Wavves-King of the Beach
15.Vampire Weekend-Contra

Jan. 4th: Screaming Females Interview!!

> 1. So you guys just recently got off tour supporting Castle Talk. What were some of the highlights of the tour? What were some of your favorite places to play?

Jarrett:  Here are some stats I compiled that do a better job of explaining how extensive, exhausting, and amazing the tour was.  Going to Europe for the first time was definitely a highlight.  We have so many places we love to play I can't name them all!  Trying to think back on it now it is really a total blur and I don't really know what to make of it!
Castle Talk Tour 2010
Dates: Aug 13, 2010 - Nov 28. 2010
Total Number of Days: 108
Total Number of Shows: 88
Shows in New Brunswick, NJ: 0
Number of States Played: 31 (+DC)
Number of Countries Played: 16
Number of Fests/Festivals: 6
Fests with the Word 'Fuck' in the Name: 2
Fests with the Word 'Awesome' in the Name: 2
Number of Vans Driven: 4
Number Van Break Downs: 2
Number of Shows Missed: 0
Number of Shows Opening for New Jersey Artists: 8 (Ted Leo and Rx, Titus Andronicus, Yo La Tengo)
Number of Bactrian Camels sighted on the side of the Road in UK: 1
Number of Times I actually Thought I Was going to Die in the Van: 2 (both in Norway)
City Played Most Times: NYC (5)
Most Days Off In A Row: 9 (Oct 1 - Oct 9)

 
> 2. Now that you are done with the tour, what's next?
Jarrett: To be honest we don't really know.  It is a seriously confusing time for us.  We are writing new songs which is really great and something we barely had the time to do in 2010.  Since the time we recorded Power Move in late 2008 we have had a pretty clear idea of what we were doing in terms or touring and releases.  Now we kind of just have to wait and see what happens.  We worked our asses off in 2010 and sold a bunch of records but we lost a bunch of money because of a van breakdown.  And then we had to pool most of the band money together to buy a new van.  So that basically bankrupted us and we have been digging ourselves out of debt since. 
 
> 3.  How long have you guys been together?
Jarrett:  5 and a half years.
> 
> 4. Who are some of your favorite local bands? (Local to New Jersey)
Jarrett:  Classic locals that don't play anymore include The Ergs!, Hunchback, Plastic East, and The Atomic Missiles.  Long time locals include The Measure SA and Full of Fancy.  Some newer Jersey bands would include Big Eyes, Mattress, Sparkle Shit, Black Wine.
> 
> 5. (Some bands don't like to answer this one so this one is optional) You guys have a great and unique sound how do you get those tones? What are your rigs like?
Jarrett:  I use a 4 piece TAMA Starclassic maple drum set that I have had for over 10 years.  I use Zildjian cymbals including the Sweet Ride which is the best cymbal ever made.  Marissa uses a G&L Strat, a small Hughes and Kettner combo amp.  She uses a few standard Boss pedals but her really amazing pedals are from Earthbound Audio.  Mike plays a Rickenbacker through an Acoustic Amp.
 
> 6. How long have you all been playing your instruments?
Jarrett:  I've been playing drums for 18 years.  Marissa and Mike have been playing for around 10 years.
 
> 7. Who are some of your influences?
Jarrett:  Our biggest influences are the bands around us.  Bands that we meet on tour and know from our community.  We love bands that work hard and don't rely on hype because that is the kind of band we are.
 
> 8. What was recording Castle Talk like?
Jarrett:  Recording Castle Talk was very draining.  Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did do wrong.  Every single piece of equipment broke and we had to remix the entire album multiple times.  It had to be mastered twice and the release had to be delayed.  It was a testament to our will power that the thing even got finished.  I think the real positive thing that came out of that was that the record had a definite since of urgency in our playing.  We had to focus and make shit sound right the first or second try.  It made sure the album had a feel and a story behind it.

> 9. What are your inspirations for your songs?
Jarrett:  Our song writing process mainly consists of the three of us getting together in a room and playing stuff until something good happens and then working at refining that.  I draw the inspiration that I bring to practice from everywhere.  Lately I have been thinking a lot about the way the instrument that you use can define your writing process.  So if you are to write a song on a piano and then play it with guitar, bass, and drums it will definitely sound different than a song you wrote on guitar.  So I kind of try to envision a different instrument for myself to recreate the way I've been playing lately.  Like in this song I am actually a programed drum machine.  In this song I'm not allowed to play a snare on the normal beats.

> 10. Anything you want to add?
Jarrett: Thanks for taking the time to ask me these questions.

ALBUM REVIEW: Dirty Santas-Died For Your Sins EP

Happy New Year!!! I would like to start off the year with a great EP I just heard today actually! This one is by Dirty Santas a  awesome band from the south pole. Their name totally describes the kind of music that they play, dirty Christmas music! They are a five piece band and most of the band sings, but on this EP it is mostly Scott Gawlik and Allison June Mitchell. The EP starts off with "Milk & Cookies" a badass song with lyrics like "Is it true you only come once a year" "I'd last a little bit longer if I have a couple beers." It also includes a lot of moaning throughout it! The next song is called "Reindeer Meat" which is about Christmas dinner and eating reindeer meat, and has a lot Misfits-like "Ho Ho Ho's" in there. After that is "When Santa Goes to Bankok" a song starting off with harmonizing guitars going, a chorus of "When Santa Goes to Bankok" and a great guitar solo! The last song is "Mr.& Mrs. Clause Du-et" another dirty duet between Scott and Allison with a fast paced kind of pop-punky kind of feel. This band is great and I encourage you to buy their EP released on Thick Dick Records, along with a shirt on their website with a nice deal on the whole Dirty Santas package on their website. They don't play very often (8 times this year) but if you get a chance to see them go! Dirty Santas really rocks and plays some of the best Christmas music I have ever heard!

Dirty Santas Merchandise Website: http://dirtysantas.bigcartel.com/