Black Lab released their debut album "Your Body Above Mine" in 1997, and no one really seemed to care. They got a song on the Spiderman soundtrack and opened for a few big name bands but for some reason, they never took off themselves. Herein lies the real travesty: "Your Body Above Mine" is a real piece of work. There are at least 4 should-have-been-huge songs on this record, and they had exactly 0 hits. Some people remember the Counting Crows on speed alt rock jam "Wash It Away", but whenever I go back to listen to this record it's always because of "She Loves Me", one of the finest pieces of music 1997 has to offer us 13 years later. Black Lab are still around and still pretty good, but if you're going to check them out start at the beginning. Awesome album you can find in most record store cut out bins for like $4. Pick up a copy.Monday, March 15, 2010
90's Record You Probably Have Never Heard but Need to
Black Lab released their debut album "Your Body Above Mine" in 1997, and no one really seemed to care. They got a song on the Spiderman soundtrack and opened for a few big name bands but for some reason, they never took off themselves. Herein lies the real travesty: "Your Body Above Mine" is a real piece of work. There are at least 4 should-have-been-huge songs on this record, and they had exactly 0 hits. Some people remember the Counting Crows on speed alt rock jam "Wash It Away", but whenever I go back to listen to this record it's always because of "She Loves Me", one of the finest pieces of music 1997 has to offer us 13 years later. Black Lab are still around and still pretty good, but if you're going to check them out start at the beginning. Awesome album you can find in most record store cut out bins for like $4. Pick up a copy.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Top 100 of '09
This was hard. After a lot of whittling down and changing around, these are my top 100 albums of 2009. There are some albums I really enjoyed that didn't make the cut and a couple (New efforts from 30 Seconds to Mars and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones) that I haven't heard yet (They come out the 8th), but these are the 100 albums I personally enjoyed the most this year. Cue the unfounded hate.
1. P.O.S. – Never Better
2. Brand New – Daisy
3. Gallows – Grey Britain
4. Say Anything – Self Titled
5. The Sleeping – What It Takes
6. A Day to Remember – Homesick
7. Thursday – Common Existence
8. Two Tongues – Self Titled
9. New Found Glory – Not Without A Fight
10. Set Your Goals – This Will Be the Death Of Us
11. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
12. Silverstein – A Shipwreck In the Sand
13. Fireworks – All I Have to Offer Is My Own Confusion
14. The Blackout – The Best In Town
15. Lucero – 1372 Overton Park
16. Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
17. Weezer – Raditude
18. The Used – Artwork
19. Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major
20. Poison the Well – The Tropic Rot
21. Queen City Station – Self Titled
22. Polar Bear Club – Chasing Hamburg
23. Them Crooked Vultures – Self Titled
24. Ace Enders & A Million Different People – When I Hit the Ground
25. Dashboard Confessional – Alter the Ending
26. Cage – Depart From Me
27. Converge – Axe to Fall
28. The Almost – Monster Monster
29. Ruiner – Hell Is Empty
30. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
31. AFI – Crash Love
32. Thrice – Beggars
33. The Chariot – Wars & Rumors of Wars
34. The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate
35. Anti-Flag – The People or the Gun
36. NOFX – Coaster
37. Despised Icon – Day of Mourning
38. Title Fight – The Last Thing You Forget
39. Trapped Under Ice – Secrets of the World
40. Dead Swans – Sleepwalkers
41. Billy Talent – III
42. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
43. Morrissey – Years of Refusal
44. Ben Nichols – The Last Pale Light In the West
45. Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals
46. Rancid – Let the Dominoes Fall
47. Reign Supreme – Testing the Limits of Infinite
48. Oceano – Depths
49. Young Love – One of Us
50. Suicide Silence – No Time to Bleed
51. Strike Anywhere – Iron Front
52. Taking Back Sunday – New Again
53. Doomriders – Darkness Comes Alive
54. Jonny Craig – A Dream Is A Question You Don’t Know How to Answer
55. Baroness – Blue Record
56. Maylene & the Sons of Disaster – III
57. Aiden – Knives
58. Dance Gavin Dance – Happiness
59. Hatebreed – Self Titled
60. Lewd Acts – Black Eye Blues
61. Soul Control – Cycles
62. The Red Chord – Fed Through the Teeth Machine
63. Marilyn Manson – The High End of Low
64. Struck By Lightning – Serpents
65. Lamb of God – Wrath
66. Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return
67. Job For A Cowboy – Ruination
68. Winds of Plague – The Great Stone War
69. Cobra Starship – Hot Mess
70. Conor Oberst – Outer South
71. Nightmare of You – Infomaniac
72. Iwrestledabearonce – It’s All Happening
73. Vanna – A New Hope
74. Earth Crisis – To the Death
75. Coalesce – OX
76. August Burns Red – Constellations
77. Placebo – Battle For the Sun
78. The Red Shore – Unconsecrated
79. The Color of Violence – Youthanize
80. The Devil Wears Prada – With Roots Above & Branches Below
81. Cold Cave – Love Comes Close
82. Born of Osiris – A Higher Place
83. City of Ships – Look What God Did to Us
84. Heartsounds – Until We Surrender
85. Killswitch Engage – Self Titled
86. Victims – Killer
87. Evergreen Terrace – Almost Home
88. Emmure – Felony
89. Between the Buried & Me – The Great Misdirect
90. He Is Legend – It Hates You
91. Leathermouth – XO
92. Miss May I – Apologies Are For the Weak
93. Shadows Fall – Retribution
94. Last Lights – No Past No Present No Future
95. Drop Dead Gorgeous – The Hot N’ Heavy
96. War From A Harlots Mouth – In Shoals
97. Atreyu – Congregation of the Damned
98. Architects – Hollow Crown
99. Wretched – the Exodus of Autonomy
100. Hull – Sole Lord
1. P.O.S. – Never Better
2. Brand New – Daisy
3. Gallows – Grey Britain
4. Say Anything – Self Titled
5. The Sleeping – What It Takes
6. A Day to Remember – Homesick
7. Thursday – Common Existence
8. Two Tongues – Self Titled
9. New Found Glory – Not Without A Fight
10. Set Your Goals – This Will Be the Death Of Us
11. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
12. Silverstein – A Shipwreck In the Sand
13. Fireworks – All I Have to Offer Is My Own Confusion
14. The Blackout – The Best In Town
15. Lucero – 1372 Overton Park
16. Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
17. Weezer – Raditude
18. The Used – Artwork
19. Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major
20. Poison the Well – The Tropic Rot
21. Queen City Station – Self Titled
22. Polar Bear Club – Chasing Hamburg
23. Them Crooked Vultures – Self Titled
24. Ace Enders & A Million Different People – When I Hit the Ground
25. Dashboard Confessional – Alter the Ending
26. Cage – Depart From Me
27. Converge – Axe to Fall
28. The Almost – Monster Monster
29. Ruiner – Hell Is Empty
30. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
31. AFI – Crash Love
32. Thrice – Beggars
33. The Chariot – Wars & Rumors of Wars
34. The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate
35. Anti-Flag – The People or the Gun
36. NOFX – Coaster
37. Despised Icon – Day of Mourning
38. Title Fight – The Last Thing You Forget
39. Trapped Under Ice – Secrets of the World
40. Dead Swans – Sleepwalkers
41. Billy Talent – III
42. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
43. Morrissey – Years of Refusal
44. Ben Nichols – The Last Pale Light In the West
45. Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals
46. Rancid – Let the Dominoes Fall
47. Reign Supreme – Testing the Limits of Infinite
48. Oceano – Depths
49. Young Love – One of Us
50. Suicide Silence – No Time to Bleed
51. Strike Anywhere – Iron Front
52. Taking Back Sunday – New Again
53. Doomriders – Darkness Comes Alive
54. Jonny Craig – A Dream Is A Question You Don’t Know How to Answer
55. Baroness – Blue Record
56. Maylene & the Sons of Disaster – III
57. Aiden – Knives
58. Dance Gavin Dance – Happiness
59. Hatebreed – Self Titled
60. Lewd Acts – Black Eye Blues
61. Soul Control – Cycles
62. The Red Chord – Fed Through the Teeth Machine
63. Marilyn Manson – The High End of Low
64. Struck By Lightning – Serpents
65. Lamb of God – Wrath
66. Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return
67. Job For A Cowboy – Ruination
68. Winds of Plague – The Great Stone War
69. Cobra Starship – Hot Mess
70. Conor Oberst – Outer South
71. Nightmare of You – Infomaniac
72. Iwrestledabearonce – It’s All Happening
73. Vanna – A New Hope
74. Earth Crisis – To the Death
75. Coalesce – OX
76. August Burns Red – Constellations
77. Placebo – Battle For the Sun
78. The Red Shore – Unconsecrated
79. The Color of Violence – Youthanize
80. The Devil Wears Prada – With Roots Above & Branches Below
81. Cold Cave – Love Comes Close
82. Born of Osiris – A Higher Place
83. City of Ships – Look What God Did to Us
84. Heartsounds – Until We Surrender
85. Killswitch Engage – Self Titled
86. Victims – Killer
87. Evergreen Terrace – Almost Home
88. Emmure – Felony
89. Between the Buried & Me – The Great Misdirect
90. He Is Legend – It Hates You
91. Leathermouth – XO
92. Miss May I – Apologies Are For the Weak
93. Shadows Fall – Retribution
94. Last Lights – No Past No Present No Future
95. Drop Dead Gorgeous – The Hot N’ Heavy
96. War From A Harlots Mouth – In Shoals
97. Atreyu – Congregation of the Damned
98. Architects – Hollow Crown
99. Wretched – the Exodus of Autonomy
100. Hull – Sole Lord
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Eve 6 Interview
I had the chance to sit down with some childhood heroes, Max Collins and Tony Fagenson from Eve 6 a couple weeks ago. They were super nice dudes and I'm very thankful for the oppurtunity. Check it out.
BK: So if you could just say your name and what you do for the band. So Max on my left.
MC: I’m Max and I’m the singer and the bass player.
TF: I’m Tony, drummer and percussionist.
BK: The two original members of Eve 6 here, Matt being the new addition.
TF: Correct
BK: How’d you guys hook up with him?
MC: He’s been a good friend of ours for a long time, his old band Band Camp opened for us on a show that we did on long island in 2003.
BK: He’s a New Yorker?
TF: Long Islander, to be exact.
BK: Long way from you guys.
MC: He now lives in L.A.
BK: Oh cool, that makes things less awkward travel-wise.
MC: The majority of the time he’s been playing with us he’s lived there, but we made it work.
TF: We’d fly in and meet each other half way basically. Two years ago when Max and I were deciding to start playing as Eve 6 again, at the time we needed a guitar player, we were on the beach with some friends and Matt happened to be visiting L.A., and that was Labor Day 2007, and we’d just booked our first show back at a college in Virginia which was like, October of that year and we still didn’t have a guitar player but we’d booked the show a couple days before, so we were on the beach and the waves were coming in and it was a nice day and we were like “Matt, you wanna play a show with us?” and he said “sure” and that was it, and here we are 110 shows later.
BK: Is that really how many shows you guys have played since you got back together?
TF: Might be like 107, but we just crossed 100 like a couple months back.
BK: So this is your second time in New Hampshire, right? Because I saw you at a ski resort down the road last year.
TF: We’ve played up here a couple times. We played another college in Manchester earlier this year.
BK: Oh, Southern New Hampshire?
TF: I don’t even know, to be honest with you, we’ve played a lot in this area. Which is cool, we like it up here.
BK: So you two were also the Sugi Tap?
MC: Soo-gi Tap!
BK: Soo-gi Tap! OK. Named after a Japanese comic book?
MC: Yes, Battle Royale.
BK: Are you a comic book guy?
MC: Nope. We needed a name, but we loved the movie.
TF: We loved the movie, which is where the comic book came from and a friend of ours introduced us to the movie and gave Max a series of the comic books for Christmas or something, because he knew he loved the movie and we kind of breezed through them, we didn’t read them very carefully, but we were looking for a name and it popped up.
BK: So are those, because I know you guys are playing “Pick Up the Pieces”, which is a Sugi Tap song, are those Sugi Tap songs being absorbed by the new Eve 6?
MC: They have been, the good ones! Because some of those songs we really liked and we want our fans to hear them and we love playing them as Eve 6 and it’s working out. We’ve been playing a couple of those songs live like we did tonight and they’ll definitely be on the next Eve 6 record.
BK: That’s cool. I really liked the first new song you guys played tonight, “Little Tiny Everything”, which I don’t think you guys played last year. It’s got a great, old school Eve 6 vibe to it.
TF: Cool!
BK: My favorite record of yours is actually “It’s All In Your Head”, which I feel like is your “Pinkerton”.
TF: Haha, That’s awesome!
MC: That’s awesome, really cool to hear.
BK: I’ve bought all of your albums at least twice.
MC: That’s the highest compliment because I’ve bought all of my favorite albums at least twice.
BK: Yeah, I had the self titled on cassette and then bought it on CD.
TF: It probably sounded even better on cassette.
BK: I played it under it sounded like it was being played underwater.
TF: (Tony makes gurgling sound)Haha, yeah.
BK: So Don Gilmore did those first two records. Are you guys still in contact with him? I read that he had something to do with the Sugi Tap?
MC: A little bit. Yeah, Tony actually kind of stayed in touch with him. I was kind of doing this other thing when the band first broke up, wrote a few songs, these really rough demos.
BK: Is that the Brotherhood of the Lost Dogs that you’re talking about?
MC: Yeah, and he heard some of those songs and thought they were great. He thought, maybe this would be good if you got back together with Tony. So that’s kind of when we started working together again and as time went by we kind of, you know, it dawned on us that we’re Eve 6 and we’re calling ourselves the Sugi Tap, why is this?
TF: Don didn’t have anything directly to do with the Sugi Tap, a little, I mean, we’d come up with demos and send them to him and he’d be like “Awesome!” and just kind of support the idea of us getting back together. Because it was kind of hard, the idea, at first, it was like “we stopped being this band and we’ve taken and year off” and we were kind of just dipping our toe in the water but he didn’t produce anything. But he has remained a great friend and he’s a great producer and a great musician.
BK: Yeah he’s done some awesome records, some big albums. Didn’t he do a Linkin Park record?
TF: Two!
BK: What was the Catalyst for you guys wanting to play as Eve 6 again, you just missed the songs?
MC: Yeah, and I think, like I said, it was like “This is who we are, really.” What’s so vastly different about it? It’s a couple years later, we’re writing songs again, and we want people to hear them and the best way to do that is to be the band that we feel like we are anyway and start writing songs and once we did it just validated all of that.
BK: Are there any songs like, after all this time that you hate? Like “If I play ‘Inside Out’ one more time I’m gonna lose it.”
MC: All the songs have their nights. You know? Sometimes one song will feel amazing and then maybe the next night or a few nights later it feels terrible. So it’s not really about “I’m sick of this song” it’s just kind of how we execute every night.
BK: You guys have never really cut anything out f your sets. Like Green Day stopped playing “When I Come Around” and Third Eye Blind, when they started touring again they stopped playing “Semi-Charmed Life.” And you guys have never done that, which is awesome.
TF: Well those bands had a few more hits than we did.
BK: Well, not Third Eye Blind really.
TF: Either way, there are a few songs that as a fan of music , as a fan of songs, when I see a band and they don’t play the songs that a lot of people wanna see in addition to the rest of the collection, but some bands have a couple songs that fans wanna see.
MC: We find it slightly obnoxious when bands don’t play the songs people want to hear. We feel obliged to deliver that. The familiar songs are fun for us to play too. It’s fun to get the reaction.
TF: You know as we move forward and put out more albums and have a bigger catalog hopefully there will be a few more songs that people recognize and we’ll be able to take a few of those liberties. But for now we just try to do the best songs from every album that we feel have lasted the test of time
BK: Are ”Ttiny Little Everything” and “Black and Red”…..
MC: (Laughs) We were just joking about those titles because it’s easy to switch he around. It’s actually “Little Tiny Everything” and “Red & Black.”
BK: Oh, no and I’ve had a picture on my phone of the setlist I’ve been looking at all night.
MC: Dude, no worries. People closer to the band than you get it wrong all the time. Sorry, what was the question?
BK: Are those songs a good indication of the direction you guys are heading in with the new material?
MC: Some songs rock a little bit more.
TF: Those two are actually what you would call on the mellower end
BK: So more like “Horrorscope” than “Its All in Your Head”?
MC: Yeah, we’ve got one song that’s like a disco rock explosion as well that hearkens back to “Horrorscope” and takes a little bit of what we started with that and just kind of turned it up.
BK: So in the brief time hat I’ve been doing this, I haven’t talked to anybody that’s got like a platinum record or anything……
MC: You’re very good at it by the way.
TF: Yeah, totally.
BK: Well, that’s all I do is listen to music, and I’ve been listening to you guys since the self titled came out. 1998. So this is a question that I’ve been asking a lot and I’ve never talked to, like I said, a band like this that’s been on a major label or anything like that before, and you guys have had that experience, so how do you feel about where music is going? Do you need a label anymore, with the internet?
MC: I’m gonna give this one to Tony.
BK: Is that important to you?
TF: Well, for us and where our band is right now, we feel like we want some sort of a team around us. That can fall under a couple different categories now, because there’s the traditional record label but there are other people getting into the music business because there are all these possibilities. You’ve got things like, there are the big corporations, like Pearl Jam just put out their new record exclusively through Target, and that’s Pearl Jam. So the doors are wide open. But for where we are we do want some sort of a business moving around us that can help market I and help promote it, and all that kind of stuff. But the cool thing about today with iTunes and the promotional arms of YouTube and MySpace and things like that is that the traditional way of doing things is kind of going away, you know, CDs are becoming obsolete. I mean, in 5 years, who’s going to buy a CD at all? For us, we’d like to have some sort of a team around us, but we could put a record out, luckily we still have a fan base that keep coming to shows and stuff so there is a possibility of us doing it that way. But right now we’re keeping our options open.
BK: Is a physical release something that you need to do or do you care that much about? Would you do a digital only release?
TF: I think we’ll do both. I think there are still people that buy cd’s. we’re right on the cusp, we’re in the middle of a transition and we’re not totally over it yet, as in the music business we’re certainly not stuck in the past. SO I think you do both, maybe a limited run of CD’s, most kids are going to get stuff from iTunes and things like that.
BK: Would you ever go back to a major or are you looking more indie?
TF: We’re gonna see, the labels are kind of in an interesting spot right now, where we’re literally right now, next month, in the process of figuring out how we’re gonna get our music out. We can’t say right now if it’s gonna be on a major, or on an indie, on something totally different or even doing it ourselves but we’re not ruling anything out.
BK: So if you could just say your name and what you do for the band. So Max on my left.
MC: I’m Max and I’m the singer and the bass player.
TF: I’m Tony, drummer and percussionist.
BK: The two original members of Eve 6 here, Matt being the new addition.
TF: Correct
BK: How’d you guys hook up with him?
MC: He’s been a good friend of ours for a long time, his old band Band Camp opened for us on a show that we did on long island in 2003.
BK: He’s a New Yorker?
TF: Long Islander, to be exact.
BK: Long way from you guys.
MC: He now lives in L.A.
BK: Oh cool, that makes things less awkward travel-wise.
MC: The majority of the time he’s been playing with us he’s lived there, but we made it work.
TF: We’d fly in and meet each other half way basically. Two years ago when Max and I were deciding to start playing as Eve 6 again, at the time we needed a guitar player, we were on the beach with some friends and Matt happened to be visiting L.A., and that was Labor Day 2007, and we’d just booked our first show back at a college in Virginia which was like, October of that year and we still didn’t have a guitar player but we’d booked the show a couple days before, so we were on the beach and the waves were coming in and it was a nice day and we were like “Matt, you wanna play a show with us?” and he said “sure” and that was it, and here we are 110 shows later.
BK: Is that really how many shows you guys have played since you got back together?
TF: Might be like 107, but we just crossed 100 like a couple months back.
BK: So this is your second time in New Hampshire, right? Because I saw you at a ski resort down the road last year.
TF: We’ve played up here a couple times. We played another college in Manchester earlier this year.
BK: Oh, Southern New Hampshire?
TF: I don’t even know, to be honest with you, we’ve played a lot in this area. Which is cool, we like it up here.
BK: So you two were also the Sugi Tap?
MC: Soo-gi Tap!
BK: Soo-gi Tap! OK. Named after a Japanese comic book?
MC: Yes, Battle Royale.
BK: Are you a comic book guy?
MC: Nope. We needed a name, but we loved the movie.
TF: We loved the movie, which is where the comic book came from and a friend of ours introduced us to the movie and gave Max a series of the comic books for Christmas or something, because he knew he loved the movie and we kind of breezed through them, we didn’t read them very carefully, but we were looking for a name and it popped up.
BK: So are those, because I know you guys are playing “Pick Up the Pieces”, which is a Sugi Tap song, are those Sugi Tap songs being absorbed by the new Eve 6?
MC: They have been, the good ones! Because some of those songs we really liked and we want our fans to hear them and we love playing them as Eve 6 and it’s working out. We’ve been playing a couple of those songs live like we did tonight and they’ll definitely be on the next Eve 6 record.
BK: That’s cool. I really liked the first new song you guys played tonight, “Little Tiny Everything”, which I don’t think you guys played last year. It’s got a great, old school Eve 6 vibe to it.
TF: Cool!
BK: My favorite record of yours is actually “It’s All In Your Head”, which I feel like is your “Pinkerton”.
TF: Haha, That’s awesome!
MC: That’s awesome, really cool to hear.
BK: I’ve bought all of your albums at least twice.
MC: That’s the highest compliment because I’ve bought all of my favorite albums at least twice.
BK: Yeah, I had the self titled on cassette and then bought it on CD.
TF: It probably sounded even better on cassette.
BK: I played it under it sounded like it was being played underwater.
TF: (Tony makes gurgling sound)Haha, yeah.
BK: So Don Gilmore did those first two records. Are you guys still in contact with him? I read that he had something to do with the Sugi Tap?
MC: A little bit. Yeah, Tony actually kind of stayed in touch with him. I was kind of doing this other thing when the band first broke up, wrote a few songs, these really rough demos.
BK: Is that the Brotherhood of the Lost Dogs that you’re talking about?
MC: Yeah, and he heard some of those songs and thought they were great. He thought, maybe this would be good if you got back together with Tony. So that’s kind of when we started working together again and as time went by we kind of, you know, it dawned on us that we’re Eve 6 and we’re calling ourselves the Sugi Tap, why is this?
TF: Don didn’t have anything directly to do with the Sugi Tap, a little, I mean, we’d come up with demos and send them to him and he’d be like “Awesome!” and just kind of support the idea of us getting back together. Because it was kind of hard, the idea, at first, it was like “we stopped being this band and we’ve taken and year off” and we were kind of just dipping our toe in the water but he didn’t produce anything. But he has remained a great friend and he’s a great producer and a great musician.
BK: Yeah he’s done some awesome records, some big albums. Didn’t he do a Linkin Park record?
TF: Two!
BK: What was the Catalyst for you guys wanting to play as Eve 6 again, you just missed the songs?
MC: Yeah, and I think, like I said, it was like “This is who we are, really.” What’s so vastly different about it? It’s a couple years later, we’re writing songs again, and we want people to hear them and the best way to do that is to be the band that we feel like we are anyway and start writing songs and once we did it just validated all of that.
BK: Are there any songs like, after all this time that you hate? Like “If I play ‘Inside Out’ one more time I’m gonna lose it.”
MC: All the songs have their nights. You know? Sometimes one song will feel amazing and then maybe the next night or a few nights later it feels terrible. So it’s not really about “I’m sick of this song” it’s just kind of how we execute every night.
BK: You guys have never really cut anything out f your sets. Like Green Day stopped playing “When I Come Around” and Third Eye Blind, when they started touring again they stopped playing “Semi-Charmed Life.” And you guys have never done that, which is awesome.
TF: Well those bands had a few more hits than we did.
BK: Well, not Third Eye Blind really.
TF: Either way, there are a few songs that as a fan of music , as a fan of songs, when I see a band and they don’t play the songs that a lot of people wanna see in addition to the rest of the collection, but some bands have a couple songs that fans wanna see.
MC: We find it slightly obnoxious when bands don’t play the songs people want to hear. We feel obliged to deliver that. The familiar songs are fun for us to play too. It’s fun to get the reaction.
TF: You know as we move forward and put out more albums and have a bigger catalog hopefully there will be a few more songs that people recognize and we’ll be able to take a few of those liberties. But for now we just try to do the best songs from every album that we feel have lasted the test of time
BK: Are ”Ttiny Little Everything” and “Black and Red”…..
MC: (Laughs) We were just joking about those titles because it’s easy to switch he around. It’s actually “Little Tiny Everything” and “Red & Black.”
BK: Oh, no and I’ve had a picture on my phone of the setlist I’ve been looking at all night.
MC: Dude, no worries. People closer to the band than you get it wrong all the time. Sorry, what was the question?
BK: Are those songs a good indication of the direction you guys are heading in with the new material?
MC: Some songs rock a little bit more.
TF: Those two are actually what you would call on the mellower end
BK: So more like “Horrorscope” than “Its All in Your Head”?
MC: Yeah, we’ve got one song that’s like a disco rock explosion as well that hearkens back to “Horrorscope” and takes a little bit of what we started with that and just kind of turned it up.
BK: So in the brief time hat I’ve been doing this, I haven’t talked to anybody that’s got like a platinum record or anything……
MC: You’re very good at it by the way.
TF: Yeah, totally.
BK: Well, that’s all I do is listen to music, and I’ve been listening to you guys since the self titled came out. 1998. So this is a question that I’ve been asking a lot and I’ve never talked to, like I said, a band like this that’s been on a major label or anything like that before, and you guys have had that experience, so how do you feel about where music is going? Do you need a label anymore, with the internet?
MC: I’m gonna give this one to Tony.
BK: Is that important to you?
TF: Well, for us and where our band is right now, we feel like we want some sort of a team around us. That can fall under a couple different categories now, because there’s the traditional record label but there are other people getting into the music business because there are all these possibilities. You’ve got things like, there are the big corporations, like Pearl Jam just put out their new record exclusively through Target, and that’s Pearl Jam. So the doors are wide open. But for where we are we do want some sort of a business moving around us that can help market I and help promote it, and all that kind of stuff. But the cool thing about today with iTunes and the promotional arms of YouTube and MySpace and things like that is that the traditional way of doing things is kind of going away, you know, CDs are becoming obsolete. I mean, in 5 years, who’s going to buy a CD at all? For us, we’d like to have some sort of a team around us, but we could put a record out, luckily we still have a fan base that keep coming to shows and stuff so there is a possibility of us doing it that way. But right now we’re keeping our options open.
BK: Is a physical release something that you need to do or do you care that much about? Would you do a digital only release?
TF: I think we’ll do both. I think there are still people that buy cd’s. we’re right on the cusp, we’re in the middle of a transition and we’re not totally over it yet, as in the music business we’re certainly not stuck in the past. SO I think you do both, maybe a limited run of CD’s, most kids are going to get stuff from iTunes and things like that.
BK: Would you ever go back to a major or are you looking more indie?
TF: We’re gonna see, the labels are kind of in an interesting spot right now, where we’re literally right now, next month, in the process of figuring out how we’re gonna get our music out. We can’t say right now if it’s gonna be on a major, or on an indie, on something totally different or even doing it ourselves but we’re not ruling anything out.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
David Andrew Smith
A couple nights ago I got to check out a guy from Baltimore named David Andrew Smith in Plymouth. His set was awesome (I actually enjoyed his originals more than his covers) and a real shot of life for the usually downer Acoustic Cafe shows. I got to talk to David for a little bit after his set and found he was a really awesome, down to earth dude. Here are some highlights from our chat.
I see you’ve got a band, so this is like an extension of your day job. Is the band what you normally do?
Well, I’ve always been in bands but I started to do solo stuff like 5 years ago. I moved over near Baltimore because before I was from Ocean City, Maryland. When I got out of college, I started playing music for a living so the only way I could do that was to play solo shows. Because like on Tuesday or Wednesday night most places don’t want to hire a band. So I started to try to get more college gigs and stuff. So I’ve been in bands for a while but the band I’m in now,the newest band, has been going for like 2 years.
And that’s the David Andrew Smith band?
The songs with the band are more distorted, kind of Foo Fighters rockfish stuff. Well, some stuff is like that and some isn’t. For a while I thought I could lump it all together. So I’ve been trying to separate it more and keep the band more distorted and rockin’, and keep the solo stuff acoustic.
Right, like the second you opened your mouth iwas like “90’s rock!” Who does this dude sound like? And I had narrowed it down to Ed Kowalczyk of Live and Steven Page from the Barenaked Ladies. I determined you are a combination of the two.
(Laughs) Oh really? That’s funny because I’m definitely influenced by Live but the Barenaked Ladies…..
Not crazy about the Barenaked Ladies?
It’s not that I’m not crazy about the Barenaked Ladies, I’m just not influenced by them. I like some of their stuff but I’ve never been like a crazy fan. That is funny though because I’ve gotten that before. Other people have said artists that I never listen to. Like some people say Martin Sexton.
Really? I didn’t get that at all. So what were you listening to when you first started playing music?
Well, Nirvana got me to start playing guitar and I really got into the Pumpkins. I really love the Pumpkins. Well, like their earlier stuff. I heard a guy talking on the radio about the Pumpkins today and he was really bashing their new stuff.
Yeah, and now Billy Corgan’s talking about how he wants to do some like 40 song collection? Bring back Zwan!
Yeah, Zwan wasn’t that bad relative to what he’s doing now.
So when you say Pumpkins you’re talking, like, Siamese Dream?
Yeah, like the first four albums. Especially Siamese Dream
Cut yourself off before Adore?
Adore grew on me. Machina I thought was awful. Adore, some of the songs weren’t that bad. It wasn’t their best but it grew on me. Mellon Collie was awesome. That was before he started to sing differently, you know? He sort of reminded me of a rat. Whereas he used to sing real breathy and pretty. But I understand why he did it, because if you watch the live footage from the Siamese Dream era he sang like he sings from Mellon Collie onward.
You played my favorite Crows’ song off my favorite Crows’ record tonight . (“Round Here”)
That album is amazing. That thing is a masterpiece. That first album is awesome.
So I’m really stoked to hear you band now that you toss Foo Fighters in there.
Yeah, well the distorted stuff, that’ what I get compared to the most.
Like a Jimmy Eat World kind of thing?
Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, in that vein. I love both those bands. It’s funny because a lot of the songs I play acoustic are meant to be played on electric you know? But to make a living I’ve forced myself to get into the acoustic vein. Not that I didn’t like it, but I never pictured myself as this being my main thing. Like, me by myself without the band. So I have a band now, but its definitely a different situation than it was back in the day. My band now is mainly hired guns. Like I used to be in a band with a bunch of friends and it was our band, but over time I got tired of doing all the work. You know, like people wouldn’t show up for practice on time or they had drug problems or responsibility issues. One bass player I had we had to drag him to the hospital to get his stomach pumped. So eventually I got tired of the drama and I was just like I’m gonna do my own thing and do all the work, but I’ll get more money for doing all the work and I’ll just pay people to come play with me. I mean I have regular guys, but it’s my thing.
Are the guys listed in the credits for your CD part of your band or were they studio musicians?
Well, that took 3 years to make because I could only afford to go into the studio once every 3 months or so. I don’t think any of those guys are in the band anymore, but when I finished that CD was when I was starting my new band. So now I’ve kind of found better players over time. That CD was pieced together with studio people. I would play just the acoustic guitar or the drums or the other musicians would come in on a different day and we’d piece it together. On my next CD I wanna do it all live. I want to capture the full band. There’s something to be said about that. I mean I can hear on (the old album) that it wasn’t a full band in the studio together.
Do you want to multi-track instruments or do it all live?
I wanna do as much of it as possible live to try and capture that, but I don’t mind going in and overdubbing harmonies or whatever. I’d like to try to get at least two guitars, bass, drums and hopefully vocals all together live.
I see you’re crazy about that looping pedal.
Yeah, well I use that live because I get bored. I’d rather actually have other musicians with me. So it does the job for what I’m going for. It’s a little gimmicky too I guess.
Baltimore is such a beautiful, cool city. Does it seep into your writing at all? Has it changed since you moved there?
My writing has definitely changed since I moved over there. The thing is I live in a suburb, it’s different than living in the city. I’d love to live in the city but a lot of shows I have to bring my own P.A. so it’s in my car and I don’t feel comfortable living in the city with a bunch of expensive equipment. I’ve already had my car broken into one like 5 years ago and I lost thousands of dollars worth of stuff, so that’s why I kind of stick to my suburban bubble. But I’m in Baltimore a lot. I grew up more in the country, very flat land with lots of corn fields. I’ve definitely noticed a change in my writing since I moved from the country to the city.
What is your writing process like? Lyrics first or do you sit down and play guitar?
I usually end up just sitting down and messing around on guitar and come up with something cool and try to sing over it. That was my model, but I rarely get to write anymore because I’m always so busy. Since I started doing music for a living I have to work like 60 or 80 hour weeks and then drive for 20 or 30 hours on top of that, it’s insane. So I haven’t written in over 5 or 6 months which sucks, because that’s what I’m in this to do. When I do get to write, nowadays it’s usually when I’m in my car driving and a melody comes in my head so I write it down and I write the chords in my head down on top of it and work it out that way. Usually the stuff I write like that is poppier. So much of the poppier stuff I have comes from those melodies in my head. A lot of times when I sit down with a guitar the songs come out darker, it’s interesting. I don’t know why that is.
So you’re not on a label. Is that a concern to you or do you feel like the way the music business is now and the way the internet works you don’t even need a label?
I still would like to be signed to a label at some point I guess there’s a level of legitimacy that comes with that but also there’s a level of distribution that comes with that that I don’t know how I’d get otherwise. Even if it wasn’t a label, even if it was just somebody with a lot of money to front. Because that’s what it is, it’s talent but it’s also a lot of money to help get your music out there. I’m definitely not opposed to it. My dream is to ultimately be touring the world and have people come out to hear the originals.
So what’s the next recording step? Is it a band thing or is it you with an acoustic guitar?
Actually, I want to do full lengths but I don’t think I’ll be able to afford it. So it’ll probably be two EP’s, one Rew Smith EP and one David Andrew Smith EP, and the David Andrew Smith EP would be acoustic, darker and mellow and the Rew Smith would be more rocking and upbeat. The thing is the last CD I did I’m still going to be paying off the loan for that for at least like another year. So the only way I can think of to record soon is fan financing, which I’m looking into doing. Something like, if you pay this much, we’ll play a house concert for you.
What do you think about illegal downloading? Someone like you who works so hard to record something, and then someone downloads it or they rip it off your MySpace. Does that bum you out?
Well, I usually try to give away like a CD a night anyway. So instead of getting ticked off about people downloading stuff for free, I mean, it’s gonna happen, so I’m trying to find a way to turn it into marketing. So hopefully if I give a CD away for free, maybe they’ll like it and they’ll buy a ticket to a show or buy something else.
Were your parents into music? What was playing around the house when you were growing up?
Well when I was growing up we were mainly only allowed to listen to Christian stuff, you know? But my Dad would play some kind of old jazz standards and stuff on piano. He still plays a little but, he doesn’t play that much anymore. He’d sing and stuff too. So it was that, and my sister is 10 years older than me so in the 80’s she used to listen to Bruce Springsteen and Journey so I was catching some of that.
I’m a Springsteen fanatic.
Oh yeah? I love Bruce Springsteen.
My parents used to play the Born to Run record all the time around the house.
Yeah, he’s definitely up there for me in terms of people I look up to and the kind of career I aspire to have.
I wish David the absolute best of luck! If you see his name on a marquee I recommend you check him out. The guy is super talented and you might be getting in on the ground floor of something big. Look out for a review of his EP "Sweet Sweet Nothing" which I will be posting soon.
Check out David's solo stuff at:
And check out his band at
And if you like what you hear, please please support David by purchasing something from here:
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Brand New - Daisy
Long Island’s Brand New have spent the better part of the last decade making a name for themselves as one of the most polarizing, enigmatic bands in modern alternative rock. The band: drummer Brian Lane, bassist Garrett Tierney, guitarist Vin Accardi and singer/guitarist Jesse Lacey, are among the most loved and hated bands currently producing rock n’ roll, for which there is ample reason. The band began in the early part of the millennium as a cornerstone of the Long Island emo movement which also brought us Taking Back Sunday, From Autumn to Ashes, Glassjaw and the Movielife. Their first album, Your Favorite Weapon was a glorious collection of pop punk gems about girls, parties and their very public feud with Taking Back Sunday that served as the soundtrack to many a high schooler’s life in 2002. Critics fawned over the band’s sprawling, arsty follow up Deja Entendu in 2004, praising the band for their stylistic departure to a more “mature” sound. Deja was certified Gold on the strength of the singles “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” and “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades”. However, this is when things got strange in the Brand New camp. The once affable Lacey became withdrawn, rarely participating in interviews or photo shoots and seemingly distancing himself from his fans. Rumors of depression and drug abuse plagued Lacey into the making of the band’s third record, The Devil & God Are Raging Inside of Me. For those who thought Brand New had expanded their sound on Deja Entendu, they may have thought they picked up the wrong CD upon first listen to Devil & God. The album was a dark, hopeless opus that featured less melody and more dynamic instrumentation. Devil & God became a cult classic and Brand New toured the world, selling out arenas and garnering a massive following. All the while Lacey was walking around with a target painted on his head for his strange behavior. While the drug rumors continued, critics pointed out his band’s growing likeness to indie rock heroes Modest Mouse, among other bands, and Brand New cut all old songs out of their live set, playing only songs from Devil & God. They feuded with Alternative Press writer Scott Heisel and forewent fan interaction of any kind. It seemed Brand New were doing everything in their power to lose fans, but were only gaining them.
So with their popularity and egos at all time highs, Brand New give us Daisy. Perhaps the most anticipated rock album of 2009, Daisy does not disappoint. This record is not background noise: it is a disturbing, creepy trip through Jesse Lacey’s odd mind. This is the most bleak, hopeless, dark album you’ll hear for a very long time. There are no rays of sunshine here. The first track, “Vices”, begins with an eerie old time sample of a woman singing which somehow segues into a loud, meandering jam. These weird samples continue at random throughout the record. Throwing a curveball right off the bat, Brand New go from the chaotic ending of “Vices” to the contemplative slow song “Bed”, which features an excellent guitar driven outro and Lacey whispering the refrain “laid her on the bed, lie to all your friends” as if he’s trying to put the listener in a trance. The third track and the album’s first single, “At the Bottom” certainly won’t help the band escape those Modest Mouse comparisons, specifically Lacey’s comparison to Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock, whose’ aimless warble he is clearly channeling here. Brian Lane absolutely pounds the drums on this one, matching each hit with the accentuated vocals in the chorus. The anthemic tune is really the album’s only evidence the Brand New of old ever existed. “At the Bottom” is followed by a couple excellent songs and a strange intermission, before the album’s high point “Sink”. “Sink” is like no song Brand New have ever written and serves as the climax for the album, with Lacey pouring every ounce of his soul into the throat shredding chorus. This song really catches the listener off guard. Those used to Lacey’s passionate croon will be pleasantly excited that he actually screams his head off on this one. The song’s chorus of “If you call I’m coming to get you, if you call I’m coming out” is nothing short of goose bump inducing. The title track, “Daisy”, also begins with a creepy sample. This is the lyrical high point of the album. Taking into consideration Lacey’s battles with the spotlight, the lyrics “I’m a sun that doesn’t burn hot, I’m a moon that never shows its’ face, I’m a word that no one ever wants to say” seem all the more revealing about the man behind the voice. In summation, this is a difficult album to wrap your head around. It would really be hard to give an honest, informed opinion about Daisy without sitting on it for a year or so. Brand New are kind of the Quentin Tarantino of rock. In the same way the famous director borrows pieces from the filmmakers who came before him, improves upon them and collects his awards, Brand New select pieces from the bands they idolize, craft albums out of the shards and sit back and collect five star reviews. Daisy will not convert anyone who hated Devil & God. It will not bring back the kids who only enjoyed the first two albums, either. Shortly before Daisy’s release, Jesse Lacey told online music blog Drowned In Sound “Some of the kids just don’t get the new stuff and that’s ok because they enjoyed what they enjoyed. We’re happy with it. I can understand why other people don’t love the things I listen to and I like that. I make music for myself and if everyone else likes it then that’s just a bonus.” This album is truly just an example of a modern musician flexing his ego for 11 songs. It won’t make anyone like Jesse Lacey or forgive his arrogance and it won’t uncover the shroud of mystery that surrounds him. Daisy is oversaturated, self-indulgent, pretentious and devoid of any real radio singles or hope of any kind. It’s also probably the best album of 2009.
So with their popularity and egos at all time highs, Brand New give us Daisy. Perhaps the most anticipated rock album of 2009, Daisy does not disappoint. This record is not background noise: it is a disturbing, creepy trip through Jesse Lacey’s odd mind. This is the most bleak, hopeless, dark album you’ll hear for a very long time. There are no rays of sunshine here. The first track, “Vices”, begins with an eerie old time sample of a woman singing which somehow segues into a loud, meandering jam. These weird samples continue at random throughout the record. Throwing a curveball right off the bat, Brand New go from the chaotic ending of “Vices” to the contemplative slow song “Bed”, which features an excellent guitar driven outro and Lacey whispering the refrain “laid her on the bed, lie to all your friends” as if he’s trying to put the listener in a trance. The third track and the album’s first single, “At the Bottom” certainly won’t help the band escape those Modest Mouse comparisons, specifically Lacey’s comparison to Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock, whose’ aimless warble he is clearly channeling here. Brian Lane absolutely pounds the drums on this one, matching each hit with the accentuated vocals in the chorus. The anthemic tune is really the album’s only evidence the Brand New of old ever existed. “At the Bottom” is followed by a couple excellent songs and a strange intermission, before the album’s high point “Sink”. “Sink” is like no song Brand New have ever written and serves as the climax for the album, with Lacey pouring every ounce of his soul into the throat shredding chorus. This song really catches the listener off guard. Those used to Lacey’s passionate croon will be pleasantly excited that he actually screams his head off on this one. The song’s chorus of “If you call I’m coming to get you, if you call I’m coming out” is nothing short of goose bump inducing. The title track, “Daisy”, also begins with a creepy sample. This is the lyrical high point of the album. Taking into consideration Lacey’s battles with the spotlight, the lyrics “I’m a sun that doesn’t burn hot, I’m a moon that never shows its’ face, I’m a word that no one ever wants to say” seem all the more revealing about the man behind the voice. In summation, this is a difficult album to wrap your head around. It would really be hard to give an honest, informed opinion about Daisy without sitting on it for a year or so. Brand New are kind of the Quentin Tarantino of rock. In the same way the famous director borrows pieces from the filmmakers who came before him, improves upon them and collects his awards, Brand New select pieces from the bands they idolize, craft albums out of the shards and sit back and collect five star reviews. Daisy will not convert anyone who hated Devil & God. It will not bring back the kids who only enjoyed the first two albums, either. Shortly before Daisy’s release, Jesse Lacey told online music blog Drowned In Sound “Some of the kids just don’t get the new stuff and that’s ok because they enjoyed what they enjoyed. We’re happy with it. I can understand why other people don’t love the things I listen to and I like that. I make music for myself and if everyone else likes it then that’s just a bonus.” This album is truly just an example of a modern musician flexing his ego for 11 songs. It won’t make anyone like Jesse Lacey or forgive his arrogance and it won’t uncover the shroud of mystery that surrounds him. Daisy is oversaturated, self-indulgent, pretentious and devoid of any real radio singles or hope of any kind. It’s also probably the best album of 2009.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Weekly Shopping List
AFI - Crash Love
Hatebreed - Self Titled
Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home
Lovehatehero - America Undererwater
Hatebreed - Self Titled
Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home
Lovehatehero - America Undererwater
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