Check it out. Reminds me of some of Paul Westerberg’s best basement-solo stuff, as well as the Velvets at times. Good stuff.
Loving the new Eels record
June 10th, 2009 by scottCraig Ferguson vs. Britney Spears. And Puppets.
May 20th, 2009 by scottSorry, not really relevant to FRANK or good music generally, but this is awesome.
John Legend is smart, Fishbone was awesome.
May 19th, 2009 by scottCheck out his U Penn Commencement Speech here. Good speech, and towards the end he offers some really cool thoughts on truth and soul.
Speaking of truth and soul, I’ll bet John Legend likes the classic Fishbone album of the same name. I wore out my Truth and Soul cassette back in the day. If you’re gonna buy two Fishbone records, but that one and The Reality of My Surroundings, both unbelievably good.
Neutral Milk Hotel Reforms…..To Issue a Press Release About A Carousel in Massachusetts
May 6th, 2009 by scottEither these guys are the smartest marketers ever and the reunion everyone’s been waiting for for over 10 years in in the offing, or they remain some of the most obscure and sincere artists of our generation. I posted about them before, and now they’re turning up again. Maybe if I keep posting they’ll book a tour or record another record.
Titus Andronicus = Early Replacements + Early Fugazi + Bruce Springsteen + Nietzsche
April 30th, 2009 by scottI am loving Titus Andronicus. Aside from having a name that is both badass and Shakespearean (no small feat), their music is some of the most visceral and alive I’ve heard in some time. The desperation of the early Replacements, the grandeur of the best Bruce Springsteen and the live charge of early Fugazi combined with an obvious underlying intelligence (definitely some English majors in this band) make for a potent cocktail. The record is recorded beautifully, sounding hoarse and twangy but not overly obfuscated. The lo-fi sound was probably not recorded in a lo-fi manner. Want to get some of this kind of energy on the new frank record. Won’t work on all of the tunes, but will definitely work on some.
Indie rock? Punk? Whatever. This is good rock and roll.
Frank to Start Recording in May!
April 27th, 2009 by scottHello Internet!
Having amassed a tremendous amount of new material, we’re finally heading into the studio next month to start putting some of it down to tape. We’ll be tracking at Silence Breaks Studios in the boogie-down Bronx, working with our old friend and musical compatriot Joe Rogers, who some of you will know from Back to Blonde and/or as a solo artist. In addition to being both a fabulous guy and an excellent musician and songwriter, Joe has put together a very cool studio in a non-traditional space and has honed his craft, having done an apprenticeship of sorts with our old buddy Adam Lasus, who recorded the first two Frank records at his Fireproof Recording Studio, back when he was Brooklyn-based. Adam’s in L.A. now, but we hope to get him involved in the project at some point as well.
The band is feeling and sounding great, and we’re excited to get started. No timetable, no expectations, but we’ll keep you posted as we move forward….
Watch Mike Watt, Integrity Personified
April 24th, 2009 by scottVBS.TV has an amazing five part interview with the legendary Mike Watt that I highly recommend you watch. A few tips:
1. The link takes you to part 3 of the interview. Part 1 is on the right hand scroll thingy. Start with part 1. The whole thing is under 20 minutes, and really worth it.
2. You can bypass the super annoying Izod ad that comes on before each part by clicking on the upper left hand corner of the screen.
For those of you who are not familiar with him, Mike Watt singlehandedly embodies almost everything I love about rock and roll. He plays music because he loves to play music. Full stop.
Watt started his career in the mighty Minutemen, who were among the first trailblazers to get in the van (with Black Flag and others from the SST crew) and make their own tours (to read about these guys and other seminal 80’s indie bands that paved the way, check out Michael Azerrad’s excellent book “Our Band Could Be Your Life” - the title comes form a Minutemen song). The Minutemen played all kinds of music, and never sounded like anyone else, past or present. If you’re interested in the Minutemen, listen to “Double Nickels on the Dime” or watch “We Jam Econo“, a good documentary with excellent live footage.
After the tragic death of Minutemen singer/guitarist d boon (Watt’s best friend, as far as i know every record he’s done since d boon’s death has been dedicated to him), Watt ended up in Firehose, which included Minuteman drummer George Hurley and Ed Crawford (aka ed fROMOHIO), who sought Watt out to start the band. If you’re interested in Firehose, I recommend you check out “Ragin’ Full On“, their first record. Same ethos as the Minutemen, but a bit more accessible on first listens.
Since Firehose, Watt has done a million different things, from a wide variety of solo records (with lots of different bands, many comprised of fellow local dudes from San Pedro, Watt’s beloved home base), constant touring and a radio show (all of which can be checked out at his homepage) to playing on lots of other people’s records and with other people’s bands, most notably and recently, the Stooges.
I could go on and on (I guess I already have), but if you’re looking for true punk rock authenticity (meaning open mindedness, earnest perseverance and rock and roll power), look no further than Watt.
Jackson
April 23rd, 2009 by scottSo some friends of ours have a little boy named Jackson, and Jackson’s Grandma rewrote the words to Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler’s 1963 classic tune (made famous in 1967 by Johnny and June Carter Cash). I did jackson with the new lyrics, which is here for your listening pleasure. Worth listening all the way through, as there’s a nice pickup in the middle. Check it out.
Excellent Jeff Buckley documentary from the BBC
April 21st, 2009 by scottCheck it out here. A great doc from the bbc with alot of interesting perspectives, great history, etc. Another (tragic) example of someone who makes great art and walks away. Beautiful and sad, like so much of his music.
The doc also helped me connect the dots on Gary Lucas, who my buddy Ram and I saw (but barely heard) perform at our old friend Giorgio Gomelsky’s 75th birthday party a month or so ago (big ups to Jesse Malin for throwing the man a proper birthday party). Gary played guitar with Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, briefly played with Jeff in Gods and Monsters, and co-wrote “Mojo Pin” and “Grace“, two of the songs from “Grace“, Jeff’s only official album.
Jeff used to practice at Giorgio’s lair, where Ram and I later threw the Brooklyn Invasion parties, which was how we originally met Giorgio, and why we were invited to his birthday party. Also, there’s a bunch of interview footage towards the end at Arlene’s Grocery, where Jeff played some legendary shows, and where frank is playing on Friday. Small world. Good documentary.
“Musical Archaeology of the Raddest Order”
April 15th, 2009 by scottHeather Browne, via her excellent fuelfriends blog, turned me on to Numero Group, a very cool label that unearths artists who never achieved fame or ubiquity but are nonetheless worthy of notice. I think her description says it best:
“When I explain the Numero Group concept to friends, I liken it to musical archaeology of the raddest order. Founded in 2003 by Ken Shipley (an old high school pal of mine), Rob Sevier and Tom Lunt, the Numero Group relentlessly explores old vinyl singles and reels of tape from groups with potential who never made it to top 40 airplay, the unnoticed and unappreciated. Their goal is to create reissue libraries of varying niche genres and of the highest caliber, and to date this library feels like “a mix of thrift shop soul, skinny tie pop, Belizean funk, and hillbilly gospel.” In my mind they are one of the coolest labels currently in existence.”
Check them out.
