Trainwreck Riders

I must admit it, the first time I saw the band Trainwreck Riders, I wasn’t too impressed.  They had energy and a fun, bluesy intensity, but i wasn’t into a bluegrassy rock thing that night.  They were headlining a show at 12 Galaxies because they’ld been chosen by the SF Guardian as ‘the people’s’ favorite band.  I hadn’t heard anything about them until that day.  What bothered me was that when I stood there with the crowd of local addoring fans, I wasn’t sure if they were playing songs, because they were delivered in a hurried, sloppy way, kind of like a puppy with enormous paws that can’t help falling all over the place and especially in his food dish.  I found out later that these guys were pups, at least 20 year old ones.  So I didn’t give them another thought until their CD ended up in my mailbox the other day.  Their debut is out on Alive Records and it’s called Lonely Road Revival.  I must say, I really like it.  I thought I’d had it with that western, countryish, blues pop the likes of the Meat Puppets, but I’ve got that good ol’ boy sensability tucked away somewhere inside of me.  About the record:  I really love the opening track, “Through Unto The End”, which nicely displays their knack for great guitar riffs.  And for the first time, I can actually clearly hear how amazingly intricate the guitar work is.  The vocals take some time to get used to.  At times, you barely hear Pete.  I guess what I really like about the record is that it’s a genuine debut album, not some over produced, hollywood bound sound.  These guys are having a good time and they are on tour all over America this summer.  And now for some free music:

Trainwreck Riders : Christmas Time Blues
Trainwreck Riders : Delia
Trainwreck Riders : Lonely Road Revival
Trainwreck Riders : Slow Motion Cowboys (video)

Monsters Are Waiting

The first song on Fascination by Monsters Are Waiting must be the one being pushed for radio play.  It’s a very pop, radio friendly tune fueled by beautiful lead singer Annalee Fery’s soft, comfortably nasaly voice.  It’s that nice pop formula A-B-A-B-10 second guitar riff bridge (because you can’t get away with those Jimmy Page solo’s anymore–it’s gotta be NPR intro/outro useable) and back to B, hold the last note, add a little tremelo, fade out.  After that first song, this album truly unfolds.  It’s as if I were listening to the Pretenders for the first time again (they are nothing like the Pretenders, it’s the experience I’m trying to get at here).  It becomes that original.  The compositions that follow are very classy and layered like a good pop sound should be.   Great little guitar riffs that intersplice the melody along with nice keyboard trimming.  They have been touring noin-stop and are sure to hit your town soon.  Catch them, even if it’s just to get a closer look at Annalee’s keyboard.

Monsters Are Waiting : Nobody

Also, thanks to my friend Chris Marsteller from The Loons  who sent me these very funny videos.  Please do check these out.  They made me laugh and if you have any kind of funny bone in ya, you’ll laugh too. 

From Hedonistica, who the heck are these guys? Sign ‘em Gef!  Come on!  They can dance.  No seriously, who are they?  Somebody tell me.

And from a band called Hurra Torpedo out of Norway comes this truly original rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart.  Who are these people?

And, an e-amil I will just paste to the end of this post (I’m getting lazy):

For Those Who Know is a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas, who released a self-titled EP that came out last year, and caught a lot of attention here in Texas. Comparisons have been made to the Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine. You can download the entire album for free here and at their myspace.  They are currently planning a tour to the East Coast for October, and on August 10th they will play their first show in California, headlining at the Silverlake Lounge with the Fleeting Joys, the Meeting Places, and Rachel Goldstar (of Experimental Aircraft).

FTWK : Competition
FTWK : Night at the Dance
FTWK : Monday
FTWK : Grow Old Together

Slow Motion Reign

Are you missing that 90’s post-grunge sound?  You know what I mean: sort of a bit of Soundgarden mixed with the melodic tenderness of Ben Folds Five?  Am I scaring you?  Don’t be scared.  I’m talking about the band Slow Motion Reign.  They are not the typical sound I usually cover or review on this site, but they sent me a CD so what the heck.  Now that I’ve completely set you up for a shitty review, let me say that it’s not at all that way.  These guys are a bit too Floyd meets Alice in Chains but they were produced by Serj Tankian, that wacky singer from System of a Down.  When I first heard he had produced this record I thought, cool, more of that System of a Down manic-panic rock, but I was wrong.  Slow Motion Reign are a talented crew of men with names I cannot properly pronounce: Narek Pogosyan, Sam Babayan, Erwin Khachikian and Vigen Sayadian.  Their sound is all over the place.  From hard contained rock balladry to slower, multi instrumental orchestral pieces.  There is no indie, under-production here.  What you get is a highly produced, refined stadium rock sound.  Track 8 “Stay Awake” starts with a pretty (did I just use that word?) piano piece that then morphs into this textured, melodic, beatle-esque (more Paul than John) ballad that can teach many a musician today the meaning of the word ‘dynamics’.  Yes that’s right!  My high school band conductor always complained I didn’t understand what dynamics were, but I do now!  Unfortunately, Slow Motion Reign does not offer downloads, but thanks to that benevolent anti-christ mogul, Ruport Murdoch, you can hear their music on his space, I mean Myspace.  Oh man, will the music police come after me?  I hope so.  I need the traffic.

Slow Motion Reign on Myspace

Michigan

My wife and I just got back form a trip to the roots of classic rock, Detroit, where we saw a free show by The Romantics (that wasn’t the reason we were there). We were in the same hotel with these guys and I got a chance to chat with Wally Palmer, the sometimes singer often bass player, for about 1 minute on our ride up to the 50th floor at the Renaissance Hotel. I said, “thanks for the show” and he said: “right on”. What else could I say? Something like: “The way you guys played ‘What I Like About You’ totally knocked me out. There was a true fire there–even the third time you played it. Man, and ‘Talking in Your Sleep’ never sounded so good.” Ok, I shouldn’t be a prick. He was actually a very nice guy and perhaps I’m just
jealous these guys have made a living off of two mediorcre tunes.
Whatever. Rock on!

After leaving Detroit we headed to Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan and what seemed like the largest Art Fair I’ve ever come
across. Some folks call this stuff art, but I witnessed very little ‘truth and beauty’. It was more like a crafts fair of objects I couldn’t imagine actually buying. Do people actually make a living
from this stuff? But what really excited us was the Ear Fair taking place at a brewery called Leopold Bros. It was great to get a chance to witness a thriving indie/folk/pop scene alive and well in Ann Arbor. We got to the show at 9PM after being told by the folks at Leopold’s that the show might sell out and that industry types might be coming. I had no idea. I was there to see Canada. The line up consisted of about ten acts each with 30 minutes to play. It was an amazing variety of music from quiet acoustic folk to blues to hard rocking pop. The last act was Canada. They went on at 1:00AM! By far the most interesting music came from the top three headliners: The Silent Years, Mason Proper and Canada.

The Silent Years had that indie look and sound down complete with animal portrait tee’s and a combined band member weight of 150lbs. They mostly played an edgy pop, but at one point they did do some toned down, melodic stuff that went over quite nicely, but it was the rocking, off balance, hoppy rock that got the crowd to finally get the nerve to surround the stage and sway. I heard a bit of ‘Shudder to Think’ in their sound. Immediately following came Mason Proper out of Detroit with an equally reverent, indie pop ensemble, but displaying a harder drumming and louder guitar rock. At times they played a quirky, Devo type pop, but overall retained a very unique, can I say it? I must say it! NEW sound that everybody in the place seemed to be very familiar with. Listen below for samples….

Canada was a much different crew. Unlike the text book indieness of the former bands, Canada displayed a more authentic and ‘lived in’ style and sound. They describe themselves as Folk Pop which is a good description, but don’t assume that means boring or holistic. They were a very large ensemble led by accoustic guitars as well as two cello players (one of which is Amy who I had heard about Canada from). The music was very soulful and to my pleasure the lyrics referenced trees in almost every song. Amy rocked so hard that she actually broke her bow! Regardless, she continued to play after bandaging it with electrical tape.

Canada : Beige Stationwagon
Canada : Hexenhaus
Canada : Hooray for Shipwreck
Mason Proper : The World is Smaller Than You Think
Mason Proper : A Chance Encounter
Mason Proper : Mr. Charm
The Silent Years : Make Up
The Silent Years : Smoke Signals

Revenge of the Book Eaters

826 Valencia and Another Planet Entertainment present Revenge of the Book Eaters,
a star-studded night featuring some of today’s most recognized names in
indie-rock, literature, and comedy, including Dave Eggers, Mark
Kozelek, Aimee Mann, Patton Oswalt, Jonathan Richman, Zach Rogue and
Sarah Vowell, in an event that promises to once and for all settle the
debate: word or musicówhich is better?

More details about the SF event here.

Here are some mp3’s from the performers:

Jonathan Richman : Not So Much
Rogue Wave : Publish My Love
Rogue Wave : 10:1
Rogue Wave : Every Moment
Rogue Wave : Endless Shovel
The Long Winters : Pushover
The Long Winters : Stupid
The Long Winters : Blue Diamonds
The Long Winters : Carparts