Wanting to say this video was “how I spent my summer vacation” – although it has been decades since that really applied. Spent many a summer late night working out this piece. It was a labor of love. – Steve Gans
Month: August 2016
August 28 was a date I looked so forward to. The Living End, from Melbourne, Australia, were doing a US West Coast tour with a stop in Seattle. I have only seen The Living End at festivals. Once at End Fest on the Kitsap Peninsula in 2001 and at Warped Tour I think in 2006. …
I’ve known a lot of “solo artists” over the years… people that used to be in bands, or musicians who were too cheap to split the take 4-5 ways in the first place. Oh, and they moan how hard it is. They complain about airplay, how their records don’t find enough audiences. They fail to …
You know that scene in “The Fly” where Goldblum is experimenting with steak, and has Geena taste a sample of teleported meat? “Not right?” I feel that way about a lot of modern electronica in music. I would’ve thought that with the advent of PCs with keyboards/ MIDI gear essentially replacing banks of synthesizers, new …
Musically, Toronto is the new Portland. Here’s another tough new tune from the rough and tumble Hogtown in Canada. Released just yesterday, it’s taking the internet by storm. https://twitter.com/jessiereyez https://www.facebook.com/MusicJessieReyez/ https://www.instagram.com/jessiereyez/
Based on his stellar work as the voice of Bob Belcher on Bob’s Burgers (the only show that matters) and Sterling Archer on Archer, it is clear that H. Jon Benjamin is not only the most gifted actor of all time, he is the greatest human on the planet since the passing of Mother Teresa. …
I’d love to go to a Stoned Soul Picnic right about now…… by the way – the four night run of shows by Miles Davis (with Chick Corea-Keith Jarrett-Jack DeJohnette-Steve Grossman and Airto) in June 1970 that become Miles Live at the Fillmore [East] was in fact, Miles opening for Laura Nyro each night – …
34 years ago today, REM’s Chronic Town EP was released and it simply changed the whole landscape of indie-rock, college-radio, clubs, touring, fanzines – it inspired a whole host of imitators (god help us!) but also tons of bands that sounded absolutely nothing like them (such as SST bands). During the first half of the …
Last Sunday, I paid a visit to the new statue at AT&T Park: Gaylord Perry, who spent the first decade of his career in a San Francisco uniform alongside Juan Marichal as a mainstay of the Giants pitching staff during the 1960s. Perry’s most famous pitch was a spitball, which he discussed at length in …
On a hot August 19 night Darrel’s Tavern just north of Seattle hosted a night of Seattle hillbilly, celtic and folk punk bands. The headliner was Wages Of Sin. This Seattle quintet combined a bit of country, a bit of folk, a bit of punk and a heavy dose of Celtic and tossed it into …
Everyone’s favorite acid organ punk duo, Archie and the Bunkers, have returned from a massively successful European tour and released a new record, Mystery Lover. Below is a video they released a few months ago which will give you a feel for their electrifying retro sound. http://archieandthebunkers.com/
Strangely, this version of “Joe Cool” sung by Vince Guaraldi is NOT featured on any of the countless Peanuts soundtracks issued by Fantasy Records (their albums only have an instrumental version) – I had to buy a CD called Lost Cues from his family’s estate. – Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The …
I twice voted for Barack Obama for President of the United States of America. Now that he has less than six months left in his job as President, and since I have been rightly critical of his predecessor (and Obama’s successor will likely be worse than Obama), I feel compelled to present some of his …
The Chicago Tribune has printed a four-part series on a subject I wrote about last year: https://www.eastportlandblog.com/2015/09/22/the-pope-pig-manure-and-minnesota-water-quality-by-mark-erickson/ Here’s one Tribune article regarding pig polluters: http://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/launch.aspx?pbid=3e7227b1-e3b7-4fac-aa07-5f943e58b4c5 As I read the article that landed on my doorstep today I recall the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, which exposed the production and sale of meat and the …
“Credit must be given to the foremothers: the Shaggs. In 1969 they recorded an album that can stand, I think, easily with Beatles ’65, Life with the Lions, Blonde on Blonde, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks as one of the landmarks of rock history. The Wiggins sisters (an anti-power trio) not only redefined the …
This fine Carpenter’s cover was discovered by my lovely wife who tells me that when she grabs the mic to sing, her favorite karaoke jam is this song. As for this version, it’s marvelous. Ms. Ericks channels Karen Carpenter excellently. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/user/ShaneEricks https://www.facebook.com/shaneericksmusic
On the eve of the Pitchfork Music Festival last month, I read the Chicago Tribune’s preview of the three day event. The article coded the entertainers by genre such as EDM, hip hop, indie, rock, etc. On day one, the first act was a rock band called Beach House. On day two, Brian Wilson was …
The NYT posted a video today of Trump’s supporters letting it all hang out at his rallies. The footage is instructive, but not for the squeamish. – Vino Knight-Trané http://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000004533191/unfiltered-voices-from-donald-trumps-crowds.html
I have been on a Modest Mouse kick of late. Love the records Good News for People who Love Bad News and We Were Already Dead before the Ship Sank. I really love those records, pretty much in their entirety, but especially, “Ocean Breathes Salty.” My right now favorite lyric of all time is: “That …