Thursday, May 4. 2006
For fans of the Maynard James Keenon band Tool, the title of this new release feels like the time that has passed waiting on this new disk. Tool's last disk, Lateralus, was released five years ago in 2001 and a lot has happened since then, but as evidenced by my trip to Best Buy where I was nearly trampled by a couple guys trying to get copies, they still draw a crowd. Honestly, though, after five years of waiting I was hoping for a little more.
This disk seems to take a page from Keenon's A Perfect Circle songbook, in that it is a less bone-crushing orchestrally complex piece, and has more of an ethereal, wandering, industro-metal-meets-jam-band feel. Tool fans will enjoy it, primarily because it is the first new Tool they have had in like forever, but mainstream America and certainly mainstream radio probably will be less enthusiastic. The title track itself clocks in at an astounding Pink Floyd-like 11+ minutes. Many other tracks come in at 7+ minutes and more. "Right In Two" is another long tracker, more like a Tool standard, with a long, slow build, ending in a götterdämerung-like crescendo.
Packaged in a strange 3-D stereographic package that must have caused fits for everyone involved, the disk actually includes thick hard plastic glasses to allow you to view the images in the liner notes.
Maynard also continues to offer his fans weird audio clips to try to decipher. On Ænima it was a strange Hitler-esque monologue that turned out to be a recipe for deviled eggs,"Die Eier Von Satan," proving once again that German is just not a romance language. This time it appears to be an Apache spiritual cantation, called "Lipan Conjuring." It will not so easy to deciper this one. Also on the indecipherable list is the track "Viginti Tres" which appears to consists of some kind of electronic goofing around in the studio and doesn't really add much to the disk other than another listing on the liner notes. Maybe if I wore the 3-D glasses while I listened too it...
Favorite tracks:
Vicarious
The Pot
Right In Two
Sunday, April 30. 2006
Alice Cooper told me to start this webzine, telepathically. Some in the reptile industry, however, feel I need to adjust the reception on my aluminum foil hat.
Mention the name Alice Cooper to most people and they will tell you he was the world's first "shock" rocker, best known for a song hated by generations of teachers and parents everywhere, the infamous "School's Out," or for his extremely timely and incredibly vacant opus of wasted youth, "Eighteen," or for the infamous myth that he bit the head off a live chicken onstage in 1968. Ask somebody who owns a snake and they will probably tell you somewhere deep in their subconscious, Alice Cooper taught them that rock & roll & snakes were cool.
I know for me this imprint happened in Indianapolis in 1973 when I was 10 and saw a news story on TV about Alice. Politicians were trying to ban him from appearing because of stage antics where he appeared to behead himself with a guillotine. I remember watching the coverage of him onstage and he had this monster boa constrictor. To a ten year old the snake seemed huge. And Alice really seemed to piss the adults off.
I got three things out of this when I was 10: Rock 'n' roll was cool, Alice Cooper was really cool, and I wanted to own a really big snake. It was probably a good thing my mom turned off the TV just as Alice was sticking his head on the chopping block or lord knows what else I'd have gotten out of it or how I'd have turned out. No matter, what I did take away has kept me in fairly good stead so far.
Many, many songs, albums, tours, and years later, Alice Cooper is still the purveyor of cool to me, and he still takes snakes on tour with him. Last year he had one of Amazon Reptile Center's pythons on the road with him. His next tour starts in June and I'll be curious to see if the snakes go with him again. I don't think it swings through Austin, but if he makes it to Texas somewhere I'll try to catch up and give him a kingsnake.com T-shirt. ;)
Since then, many popular music stars have used snakes in their act or promotions, including Britney Spears and LaToya Jackson, or kept them in their personal lives, including Kerry King from Slayer. But certainly no other musician of record has influenced so many people to turn up the music, put on a black t-shirt and leather jacket, and take up the snakes like Alice.
Rock and roll has long been influenced by reptiles, whether it's the 1001 covers of the old blues standard "Crawling Kingsnake," a personal favorite, or Jim Morrison, the infamous "Lizard King," encouraging all to "Ride the snaaaaakkke." While most rock and roll has introduced reptiles subtly through lyrics, Alice's use of large constrictors onstage was essentially a cathartic progression that has resulted in a huge subculture of black-wearing, goth-influenced reptile owners wholisten to music with an alternative edge or message.
This webzine is basically for all the fans of rock & roll & reptiles. Thanks, Alice, for telling me to start it - whether you actually did or not.
Friday, April 28. 2006
The Beck show announced for June 19 at Austin's Backyard has been pushed back a day and will now happen on June 20. The show is officially SOLD OUT, so if you were waiting to get tickets, you're too late.
Hank III (Hank Williams Jr, Jr?) will be bringing his hellbilly mash-up of country western speed metal to La Zona Rosa on May 23, and Echo and the Bunnymen will be there on June 17.
In other Austin music news, Tom Petty has been announced as this year's headliner at ACL fest. The official, complete, lineup will be announced on May 11. Also appearing this year: Ben Harper, Thievery Corporation, Son Volt, The Flaming Lips, Los Lonely Boys, Iron and Wine, Asleep at the Wheel, Massive Attack, KT Tunstall, New Pornographers, the Shins, Matisyahu, Kasey Chambers, John Mayer, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Subdudes, Buckwheat Zydeco and the Greencards. More to follow...
Wednesday, April 26. 2006
When I quit clubbing in my late 20s, I started snake hunting. Let me tell you that the one thing that kept me from driving off of numerous cliffs in the middle of the night in Davis County was loud screaming rock and roll. Joe Forks always used to say that the reason I rarely saw graybands was that the bass was shaking my eyeballs too much. Snake hunting and music go well together, the music often acting as a soundtrack or mood enhancer to what was usually a long monotonous drive.
I remember driving east on 90 between Sanderson and Langtry listening to the Doors' "Riders on the Storm" as I dashed from rain shower to rain shower, parking at 5:30am overlooking Lake Amistad watching a lightning storm over Mexico, the sun dawning to the east and "Dark Side of the Moon" providing an aural backdrop, or dodging 18 wheelers and weekend boaters zipping down 277 on a hot friday night with some Soundgarden to help keep the pace.
Music and snake hunting are a natural.
Saturday, April 22. 2006
Les Claypool, sometime bassist and frontman for the band Primus as well as bands such as Oysterhead, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, Sausage, Frog Brigade, and Holy Mackerel, will roll through Austin in July supporting the release of Of Whales And Woe on Prawn Song.
Hard to peg in terms of genre, one word keeps consistently popping up in reviews of his works; that word is WEIRD, and it's accurate, although other adjectives such as bizarre, sick and twisted have merit. Kind of a rural version of S.F.'s late 70s experimental band The Residents, Les has a streak of dark humor that runs through his soul, appearing in his music with songs about things like fishing, beavers, and burying your dead buddy.
Some of his songs are so basic and annoying that they immediately grate on the ear ("Barrington Hall"), others are ethereal and engaging and take the listener on a weird audio voyage of musical exploration. It's no doubt that his work with the bass guitar is some of the best and his ability to transcend genres is amazing. On "Capt. Les Claypool's Flying Frog Brigade Live Vol 1" he slides from a cover of King Crimson's "Thela Hun Gingeet" with an almost superhuman bass riff, to his own cryptic "Riddles are abound tonight," to a tremendous cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Amazingly. Vol. 2 is a cover of Pink Floyd's album Animals.
Incredibly talented, and musically more prolific than a rabbit, Les Claypool will be at La Zona Rosa in Austin on June 21.
Friday, April 21. 2006
Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth is now a former radio talk show host.
It was announced today that his new talk show, one of the replacements for Howard Stern, has been canceled after failing to establish a beachead on the airwaves. Performance was so dismal that it was pulled before the announcement of the latest Arbitron ratings.
Apparently there is no truth to the rumor that Sammy Hagar, also former Van Halen frontman, will be replacing Roth, nor will Gary Cherone, another former frontman for Van Halen.
It is also unknown whether Roth will collect on his $4 million salary, or will have to return to being a NYC paramedic to pay the bills.
Wednesday, April 19. 2006
"We are Motörhead - We play rock & roll."
That should about sum it up. I've been following Motörhead's gritty path through rock & roll since 1980's "Ace of Spades," and songs like "Love Me Like a Reptile" make them a prime target for a club kingsnake review.
This disc essentially spans Motörhead's career all the way back to Ace of Spades,with the classic songs "Killed by Death" and "Overkill", was filmed live in Germany in 2004, and released at the very end of 2005.
MY advice on this one is play it loud, but take some dramamine first. I love Motörhead and this DVD has an excellent audio mix, expecially for a live show, but honestly, enough already with the spins, the pan and scans, the close ups, and the audience shots. I was dizzy before the first song was over and this went on for 19 more songs. I half expected them to break out in a cover of Def Leopard's "Pour some sugar on me." Couldn't they have waited at least 6 seconds before whipping away to another camera angle?
Anyway, the music is still good, Lemmy is still god, but I think I have have to sit down.
Tuesday, April 18. 2006
Austin being the music capital of Texas, we see our share of good roadshows. Shows I'll be covering in the Austin area:
Additional shows will be added as appropriate and this list does not include shows seen while "clubbing" locally. If you are in the Austin area I hope to see you there.
Friday, April 14. 2006
From the strange but true files, it seems two miniaturized KISS tribute bands are going head to head over who had the idea to start a tribute band populated by little people. The mini-match culminated in at least one tiny bandmember being tossed from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. No further news is available at this time and so far no comment from the full sized KISS camp either. I am hoping to see this ironed out in the wrestling ring rather than the courtroom. Perhaps we can convince the Hells Belles, the all-female AC/DC tribute band, to officiate the match. Only in Vegas...
More here.
Tuesday, April 11. 2006
Staunch conservative republicans should read no further. Sometimes it takes something special to bring out an artist's best works. For Ministry, it appears that special something is having a Bush in the White House.
Cuts from their forthcoming CD Rio Grande Blood are available on their website. Darker, heavier and faster than earlier disks such as "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" or "Psalm 69," this disc is more raw and brash, not quite as hooky. Certainly the politcal rhetoric is ramped.
Ministry is always shoved into the "industrial" genre along with artists such as Nine Inch Nails, and it is really not the right fit. Ministry is a mix of speed metal and thrash punk all its own.
This disc will make it into my collection soon after its release in May. Jello Biafra makes an appearance. Ministry will be touring this summer with the Revolting Cocks and Pitbull Daycare. For CD release and tour info and to listen to tracks, go to http://www.ministrymusic.org/.
Monday, April 10. 2006
The Original Sinners w/Exene Cervenka
Hometown: Pacific Palisades, Ca.
http://www.exenecervenka.com/
Saturday, April 8 2006
Emos (Austin, Texas)
also: Punkaroos, Pink Swords, and 7 Shot Screamers
This was an old fashioned punk rock show in a small bar with an unbelievable $10.50 cover charge and plenty of good music. The crowds were thinner than expected, workers at Emo's attributing it to the festivities for the Texas Relays that had shut down 6th Street and eaten up all the spare parking.
When I first arrived I almost tripped over Exene Cervenka at the bar. I got to talk to her for a few minutes. She was waiting for Austin's Punkaroos to start, a favorite local band she follows. The Punkaroos are fronted by the vivacious Dotty Farrell who is backed up by longtime punk locals and former members of Austin's legendary Dick's, a punk rock band that dates back to the days the punk scene was dominated by clubs such as Raul's and Duke's Royal Coach. A good band with a dark punk humor to their lyrics, they blazed through a tight set.
Austin's Pink Swords followed. Like a Green Day without training wheels, they are definitely a band influenced by the faster pure punk sounds of bands like the Sex Pistols and 999, and is a band I am sure I will be writing about more in the future.
The stand-up bass was a dead giveaway that the 7 Shot Screamers from St. Louis would be playing some hardcore punk-a-billy and seemed to draw their own crowd of supporters. They are a fun band with a lot and I mean a LOT of tattoos.
To call The Original Sinners too derivitive of X would be a cop-out. I have loved X since Los Angeles was released in 1980 and caused thousands of women across the country to dye their hair black and adopt the goth punk maven lifestyle. With members of the 7 Shot Screamers providing the rythym section, The Original Sinners set smoked, sating my need for a live X fix. With a slight country trailer-park twang, distressed vocals and a hardcore punk edge provided by some slashing guitar work, this show evokes the spirit of what punk in the early 80s was all about. This is a can't-miss tour for anyone who wasn't born when Los Angeles was released and thinks that the pablum being pushed as "punk" by the mainstream is too slick, corporate and over-produced.
Thursday, April 6. 2006
The Pretenders
Hometown: London UK
http://www.pretendersband.com/
Saturday, March 18
Stubb's (Austin, Texas)
When I first saw the Pretenders, both Chrissy Hynde and I were much younger. Chrissy has aged much better than I have.
This tour is supporting her new box set and covers a lot of the classics from the first albums, like Tattooed Love Boys and Kid. Playing to a packed house at the world famous Stubb's in Austin, Chrissy has lost none of the verve or punkiness of her youth. She blew through her extensive catalog and dusted off long-unheard gems for an appreciative crowd. The music has lost none of its luster after an eight-year hiatus.
A punk rock icon and "founding mother" (she taught Sid Vicious how to play, kind of), she has lost none of her ability to excite her audiences, although she might not be able to shock them anymore. She really appeared to be enjoying herslf onstage and this was pretty apparent as the night wore on. This was truly
a show for diehard Pretenders fans, and not an oldies show at all.
Tuesday, April 4. 2006
The Zico Chain
Hometown: Brighton UK
http://www.TheZicoChain.com
Wednesday, March 15 2006
Flamingo Cantina (Austin, Texas)
I caught the last four songs of The Zico Chain's set, which included "Rohypnol" and "Social Suicide," and these guys really made the place throb. This must be what it was like to watch Nirvana before "Nevermind" and "Teen Spirit." These guys are raw, loud, unpolished, and, of the 40+ showcases I checked out, by far the best.
They claim to be heavily influenced by Motörhead and the great god Lemmy does seem to have graced their songs with a frantic pacing. Don't expect to slow dance to these guys, and I don't see many acoustic guitar solos in their near future.
This has to be one of SXSW 2006's breakout bands and if they don't get signed to a major U.S. label soon, I would be surprised. I would also be happy. Much as I would like to see them become successful, I must admit that a greedy part of myself would like to see them stay small and unpolished, because I fear that the music industry would just smooth out all the rough edges, make them corporate, and I like them just the way the are, thank you.
What can you say about an artist who combines reggae, hip-hop and traditional hasidic religous values? Oy vey!
Brooklyn, NY native Matisyahu exploded onto the reggae/hip hop scene in 2005 with his "Live at Stubbs" disc, and this year we get a taste of his studio work with Youth.
Youth is an amalgam of styles, with the sonic influences of Marley and Tosh, but with the freshness and verve of hip-hop that helps bring reggae into the 21st century. Like Marley, Matisyahu's music is politically charged message music, with a distinct religous bent. This disk will make you want to twist a blunt, sway back and forth, and check the flight schedules to Jamaica. Highlights of the disk include "Youth," a reggae anthem about making the right choices, and "Fire of Heaven/Altar of Earth," a lush reggae celebration of god's gifts and a call for appreciation. Keep your eyes out for the "Best Buy" version of the disk as it includes a neat remix of "King Without a Crown" by Mike. D. of the Beastie Boys.
Is Matisyahu the future of reggae? Could be. If so, it will require a change in hats.
Favorite Songs:
What I'm Fighting For
Jerusalem
South African band Seether's second full length North American release Karma and Effect is a solid album with a number of stand-out songs, including "The Gift" and "I'm the One." Buzzsaw guitars, Shaun Morgan's strong, angry voice, and a uniquely identifiable, gritty sound - there's not a song on this album I don't like.
One can certainly hear Kurt Cobain's influence on tracks like "Remedy" and "Plastic Man," but Morgan's voice is smoother and warmer and it works better on slower and richer tracks such as "Never Leave" and "Tongue."
Often compared to Creed, Seether's sound is less accessible to the masses, its ballads not quite so sticky sweet or "perfect." This band rocks hard and has an energy and exitement that seems to drive each song. I hope they can continue to keep this going in further releases. The less corporate and
over-production this band receives the better. They have just the right amount of pointy sharp edges.
Favorite Songs:
Burrito
Truth
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