A Few Good Shows: 9/28/12
September 28, 2012
Yet another show-filled weekend is in store for Nashville. We have a very good mix of touring acts and local shows to choose from, so choose wisely. Here’s what I recommend:
FRIDAY:
Wild Nothing, DIIV, and Ponychase @ Exit/In. 9pm $10
Polica and Canon Blue @ the High Watt. 9pm $12 adv/$14 DoS
QDP @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $1
Celebrate the City ft. Cherub, Rubblebucket, and Reptar @ War Memorial Auditorium. 7pm $15
The Blind Shake, Fancytramp, and Prince Coyote & the Dogmen @ The End. 9pm $7
SATURDAY:
Stars, Diamond Rings, and California Wives @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $18 adv/$20 DoS
Circuit Bender’s Ball @ Brick Factory ft. Roth Mobot, Blight Side of Life, Brain Lesion, Elegant Bassterds, Pineapple Explode & more. $15 (This is part of a very cool all-day workshop/educational experience/performance event. For full details check out the Brick Factory Facebook.)
PseudoMoto Rally @ Zombie Shop ft. daytime rally ride & bike contests, music at 6pm ft. Ranch Ghost, Ben Spinks Supermelt, Acorn Bcorn, Ri¢hie, and Lantern.
SUNDAY:
Sunday School Presents: NUDITY, The Maloneys, and Be My Doppleganger @ The End. 9pm FREE
Nick Waterhouse w/ The Allah-Las and DJ Jacob Jones of Keep on Movin’ @ the High Watt. 8pm $10
Forget Cassettes returns to the spotlight with “O Cursa”
September 27, 2012
The name Forget Cassettes may not be as meaningful for those not familiar with the Nashville indie rock scene of the mid-aughts, but if you are one of those unfamiliar, you’d be doing yourself a favor to change that. I was a big fan of most of the Nashville bands on the Theory 8 Records roster back in those days, and Forget Cassettes was one of them. Their debut Instruments of Action from 2003 is still a fave of mine. In 2006 Salt featured a new 3-piece lineup and was also a fantastic record. Beth Cameron, the force behind FC, started work on this new album roughly 3 years ago, if memory serves. There were plans to release it under a couple of different names but ultimately she has come full-circle and arrived back at Forget Cassettes. I know she’s put countless hours and poured her heart and soul into this album, as is the case with everything she does, so I really look forward to hearing it.
The album as a whole won’t be officially released until January 2013, but leading up to it are three digital-only EPs consisting of songs from the album. Full details can be seen at her new website. Welcome back, Beth!
Oh Shit: Soundland postponed till 2013
September 21, 2012
From the department of OH SHIT: Soundland is postponed until 2013. Straight from the horse’s mouth:
We’ve been so excited to bring you an all-new outdoor SoundLand experience in 2012 and have been working for months on creating a one-day extravaganza Oct. 6th at The Lawn at Riverfront Park. Unfortunately, issues out of everyone’s control have caused us to put this vision on hold until 2013.
Ticket buyers: check your email for details.
Well that sucks. I think the idea behind Next Big Nashville and Soundland is a great one, and I think their mission is not over. So don’t fear- I have no doubt they’ll be back next year with a bigger and better festival. Also, there are still plenty of good events happening on that weekend:
PS – we will still have some great shows happening over the original SoundLand weekend with JD McPherson, Jonny Corndawg, Generationals, The Tontons, HUSTLE: The Biggest Dance Party of the Year, and others. Stay tuned here in the coming days for details.
Personally, I’m a fan of Generationals and will make an effort to see them wherever they end up playing. And that HUSTLE dance party will be off the chain- it’s all of this town’s finest dance party producers all in one night/event. That’s an OH SHIT in the good way.
R.I.P. Brad Baker, a.k.a. the sound guy at The End
September 6, 2012
Some very sad news came across my twitter feed yesterday. Brad Baker, the main sound guy at our beloved little rock club The End, passed away in his extended stay hotel room in the Super 8 on Spence Lane on Friday, August 31st. According to the Scene, he had been suffering from sleep apnea, which I know can cause a host of issues including heart and lung problems. He had also been suffering from other health problems the past few years from what I could tell. I, just like most musicians that have played The End, was initially confused and a little freaked out by his barky, fast way of talking, but I quickly realized that he really knew his shit and was actually a pretty nice guy. The sound quality of shows at The End both for the audience and for the band onstage was always great when he was working. He had a weird sense of humor and if you played there often, you eventually learned to “speak Brad” and not have to say “huh?” when he spoke to you. He also had a signature trick where right before the band onstage started, he would fade up the house music to blaring for just a split second and then cut it off. It took me a while realize why he did it, but it really did the band a favor. It grabbed the attention of the crowd, stopping their conversations and giving the band a chance to start their set with the crowd’s full attention.
My friend Jesse Baker, who also worked as a sound guy at The End, posted this video of Brad fronting a cover band in 1991. I really wish I’d seen this before his passing. No one really knows the details of his past but the Scene reported that he had stints as a touring crew member for REO Speedwagon and Chicago, as well as plenty of other concert production endeavors. But apparently he was also one incredibly badass singer in Hotel Bill & The Incidentals:
Brad was quite a character and in his passing we’ve lost a very special part of the Nashville rock community. Rest in peace Brad, we will miss you dearly.
My band Scale Model released our new self titled EP last week, so pardon the self-promotion for just a moment. We worked on this for most of the summer and Brian Carter at Paradox Productions did a fine job of recording, mixing, and mastering. I highly suggest him! Our friend Ryan Roberts took the cover photo, and I added typography and design. You can check it out below and purchase on bandcamp.
Also, if you’re in Nashville please come out to our EP release show this Sunday night (Aug. 26th) at Exit/In. It’s part of their new Sunday School series and it’s totally FREE. Joining us will be Magnolia Sons and Sound & Shape. Show starts nice and early at 8pm SHARP, rock o’clock schmock o’clock. This will be done by 1130 so you can go home and get some rest. This is gonna be one helluva weekend with the B52’s+Brandon Jazz & His Armed Forces @ The Ryman and the Cream Anniversary Party @ Mercy Lounge/High Watt, afterall!
A Few Good Shows: 8/17/12
August 17, 2012
Prepare to see some good shows this weekend- Nashville’s rock clubs are full of both local (East Nashville Underground!) and touring goodness. Here are some shows that piqued my interest.
FRIDAY:
Caitlin Rose, Andrew Combs, and Dirt Heavy @ The Basement. 9pm $10 21+
East Nashville Underground night 1 ft. Chancellor Warhol, Blackfoot Gypsies, Sex Bombs, Roots of a Rebellion, The Joy of Painting, and Kim Logan @ The East Room. This venue is new to me, but it appears to be in or near Matty’s Alley. Address is 2412 Gallatin Rd. $12 nightly wristbands/$20 full weekend wristbands which includes free drinks. More info on facebook.
QDP @ The 5 Spot. 9pm
SATURDAY:
Cio Cio San & The Half-Japanese Girls (my Weezer cover band), Foxcore (Sleater-Kinney covers), How Cozy! and Calicocat @ The End. 9pm $5
East Nashville Underground night 2 ft. Fly Golden Eagle, Oh No No, H-Beam, Hello Kelly, Mr. Jitters, and The Young International @ The East Room. $12 nightly wristbands/$20 full weekend wristbands which includes free drinks. More info on facebook. ENU also has a day party from 1-7pm- check that info here.
Archers of Loaf @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $18
Ttotals, Dirty Dreams, and Gangly Youth @ Brick Factory. 9pm $5??
SUNDAY:
Shonen Knife, White Mystery, and Heavy Cream @ Exit/In. 9pm $10
Sunday School presents Honey Locust, the Hardin Draw, and Copper into Steel @ The End. 8pm FREE
It’s a busy summer. Tomorrow is the 4th of July, then I’m heading out of town for a few days for some desperately needed time off. So, this will be the last blog post for about a week and a half. But before that, here are some musical goodies/tidbits:
- California steeldrumwave artist Viceroy has just released “Chase You Around,” a new single featuring vocals from Nashville’s own Madi Diaz, via Vitalic Noise. Seriously, I think there’s enough poolside-summer-vibe-fueled slow disco with steeldrums out there now that we can just call it steeldrumwave. It’s got a bit of a 90s influence, but that should come as no surprise given Viceroy’s knack for throwing his tropical twist on 90s jamz. Check it:
- JEFF the Brotherhood just released a very summery video (though NSFW) for their new single “Sixpack.” It features a lot of local pals such as members of Birdcloud, Heavy Cream, Ri¢hie, and some very brief male nudity (I think it’s Cy Barkley, but it’s hard to tell). It also features the only tasteful/non-annoying use of those laser pointer splitter effects I’ve ever seen. Gotta hand it to these guys- they’ve made some awesome music videos, and this one is no exception- it just makes you wanna jump in a canoe and go camping and get drunk. (Via Nashville Cream)
- Finally, I’ll link back to my post from last year about how to make homemade smoke bomb from sugar and saltpeter. Reminder- please be very careful if you do this and observe all safety precautions! I am not responsible for any injuries or other harm that may come to you as result of reading this blog post and carrying out the instructions contained within. If you observe all safety precautions, however, this is a safe recipe/method for making a very impressive homemade smoke bomb. It’s done very commonly by pyrotechnics hobbyists everywhere. Be sure to check your local ordinances and laws to determine whether doing this is legal where you live!
Have a great 4th of July and I’ll be back late next week!
Heavy Cream is the perfect example of how a band should evolve. When you say a band has “matured” it can often have bad connotations- it can be treated as a nicer way of saying a band has gotten boring or lost their raw energy. That is most definitely NOT the case with Heavy Cream. They have matured, but in an entirely good way. The rhythm section is anchored solidly by Tiffany Minton’s furious and powerful backbeats, Mimi Galbarez’s riffs have gotten more interesting while maintaining that rudimentary charm they’ve always had, and frontwoman Jessica McFarland’s vocals… well, they’ve always been really good and they’re still really good. As for the new album, it’s solid and well-produced. I have a terrible tendency to talk a lot about the production value of albums when I review them on here, but I really can’t help it this time. Ty Segall produced this album and the real victory here is the drum sounds- they’re insane but just right. Distorted but not painful… weird but not too weird. The snare drum barely even sounds like a snare drum anymore… more like pounding on muffled trash can lid at times. But for some reason it works! And the somewhat beefed-up guitar tones actually complement the overall sound quite well. The songs are as catchy as ever- but most venture into a slightly more complex rhythmic territory. There are even a few slow-burners (well, slow in comparison to most of their material at least…) that take the band from their old “girl-Ramones” vibe to a more straight-ahead, fist-in-the-face rock & roll feel that reminds me more of the Runaways. That’s a very obvious comparison but it has to be made. The biggest point I want to make is that this band has done nothing but get better over time, and this new album is the best example. Grab it now via Infinity Cat Recordings.
As I’ve mentioned before, local electronic music genius Makeup and Vanity Set did the soundtrack for the locally produced independent film 88:88. Only some of the music is actually used in the film itself, but MAVS created a whole album of material based on the ideas/emotions of the film. That soundtrack album will be released via VHS tape, yes VHS tape, on May 31st. Telefuture is behind it and, well… it’s possibly the coolest distribution idea ever, only because it’s so absurd. By absurd I mean absurdly perfect for this release and this release alone. MAVS himself tweeted “I would encourage everyone who grabs one of the 50 copies of the VHS to watch it alone in a dark room the first time. Trust me.” If the above teaser clip is any indication, I wholeheartedly agree. If you can find a VCR to play it on.
Stream the whole album via Soundcloud below:
steve cross loves music and science 