The Grates Play Seven CMJ Shows Next Week

I guess I've been out of touch with what The Grates have been doing as I didn't realize that the Brisbane, Australia trio is now a duo and had relocated to Brooklyn. I got a kick out of the band's new bio (snippet below) where they talk about how they expected NYC to give them immediate inspiration for their third disc, Secret Rituals (which came out this past June). "They rode their bikes through New York blizzards, ate too much Mexican, joined a food co-op to stalk Entourage star Adrian Greiner and longed for New York to give them an album." Hopefully, they didn't join the Park Slope Food Co-Op as that place will suck the creativity and inspiration out of anyone.

Secret Rituals’ is a giant step forward for The Grates. There are still the infectious choruses, cheeky singalongs, and artfully addictive arrangements that characterised the band’s first two albums, but nobody could accuse The Grates of being ‘cute’ any longer. The band’s latest effort is broader and tougher in scope, more stripped back and bold. While a common thread links the record together, marking an album that is unmistakably The Grates, the individual tracks explore new depths. Without the luxury of having six weeks to finetune her lyrics while Alana and John figured out the songs, Patience was forced to take a more direct approach to her lyric writing.

“Everything had been hidden in metaphors on the previous two albums,” she says. “I don’t exactly know how I started feeling confident but it was probably to do with being in New York and being out of my comfort zone and how scary that is in the beginning, but then when you conquer it you’re left with so many more resources because you’ve got so much more to draw from.”

Patience wrote the lyrics to ‘The Night Won’t Start Without Us’’ in the middle of winter in a crazy, crazy blizzard, on one of the days the band was trapped in the band room for hours. But the only storm you’ll hear in this homage to the beaches of Australia are the whirling guitars and tumbling drums. ‘Welcome to the Middle’ is what Patience refers to as a “death lullaby.” No-nonsense drums punch through swirling guitars as she sweetly sings about life being a circle parade. “That’s the sort of song you’re not really going to want to sing to your kid, but that’s what I would sing to explain how life works,” she explains.

The Grates' CMJ Schedule:
- Oct. 16: The Delancey, NYC, 11PM (FREE)
- Oct. 17: Public Assembly, Brooklyn, 9PM
- Oct. 18: Cake Shop, NYC, 9PM
- Oct. 20: Rosenthal Pavilion, NYU Kimmel Centre, 1:55PM
- Oct. 20: Pianos, NYC, 10:30PM (FREE)
- Oct. 21: Pianos, NYC 5:20PM
- Oct. 22: The Delancey, NYC, 4:40PM

Links:
The Grates

Read More

French Horn Rebellion and AVAN LAVA Play MOSCOT's Unofficial CMJ Party on Oct. 19th

Lemons by AVAN LAVA

MOSCOT Music is presenting an unofficial CMJ Party on Wednesday, October 19th with French Horn Rebellion and Avan Lava. This is a free show that starts at 7PM.

French Horn Rebellion (Robert and David Perlick-Molinari) kicked off 2011 by announcing the US self-release of their debut album, The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion. Written, produced and mixed by Robert and David, the album warps together the fabric of dance, electro, rock and funk. Previous to this release, the Brooklyn-based duo has had an illustrious pedigree; David produced MGMT's indie release "Time to Pretend" EP for Cantora Records, and French Horn Rebellion’s previous single “Up All Night” scored Record of the Week on BBC Radio 1 and a slot on the influential Kitsuné Maison compilation series. Pitchfork praised the track as, “irresistible, panting synth-pop, with fat new wave key tones and ecstatic vocals.” The band has also toured with Yelle across the US, and remixed tracks from the likes of MEN, Two Door Cinema Club, OMD and Alex Winston.

Born in 2010 in New York City, AVAN LAVA is the union of singer T.C. (Tom Hennes), musician/producer Le Chev (Michael Laine Cheever), and drummer Ian Pai. After touring playing bass and DJ’ing with Fischerspooner on their “Entertainment” tour, Le Chev began collaborating with T.C., a singer with a performance background in NYC, to create the debut release by AVAN LAVA, an EP entitled “Vapors”. Prior to the first EP’s completion, the record was picked up by Faux Pyre Records, and the duo was flown to Los Angeles for mixing and mastering sessions at the prestigious Infrasonic Sound Studio with audio wizard Pete Lyman (The Mars Volta, Bloc Party). During the initial pre-production sessions for AVAN LAVA’s second release, tentatively titled “Fantasy”, the duo called on Ian Pai, also of Fischerspooner, and to collaborate on the upcoming album and he soon became a fixture in the group. AVAN LAVA is planning its second release in January 2012.

The MOSCOT Gallery and Music Space is located at 118 Orchard Street, NYC (NE corner of Orchard & Delancey Streets). Attendees will receive 20% off purchases of MOSCOT branded glasses the night of show.

Links:
MOSCOT

Read More

Spread Eagle - "Spread Eagle" CD Review (MVD/Lovember Records)

To give a bit of context for this review, Spread Eagle's self-titled debut was originally released in 1990 (on MCA). This disc is a solid slab of rumbling gutter metal with all the kick of a Skid Row or Gun N' Roses disc but, unfortunately, both the disc and the band got "lost" due to lack of label support and the rise of grunge. The disc was out of print for years until Lovember Records remastered and reissued the disc in 2006 and MVD just signed on as a distributor.

This disc kicks off with the track "Broken City" which is the sound of a band climbing out of the war-zone of early 90's Alphabet City and follows this with the politically incorrect stomper "Back on the Bitch". There isn't a bad track on the disc but the standout tracks are "Switchblade Serenade" and "Scratch Like A Cat", both of which could have had the same radio impact as any of the Gunners or Skid Row hits if they had come out just a few years earlier. Most of the tracks are driving, hard-rock numbers but the band slows down on "Thru These Eyes", which is the disc's only ballad. Slow doesn't mean bad though as Ray's raw vocals and some shredding leads from guitarist Paul DiBartolo keep this track from succumbing to the excesses of 80's hair metal. In an interview a few years ago, Ray described this disc as being recorded on "sheer, sheer anger… and alcohol. "





Ray and Rob started playing a limited number of one-off reunion shows starting in 2006 (Tommi Gallo seems to have fallen off the Earth and Paul DiBartolo (who changed his name to Salvadore Poe) moved into scoring films and documentaries) and seem to have gotten a bit more active this year with the addition of guitarist Dennis Kimak and drummer Rik DeLuca.

Tour Dates:
Oct. 22 - Ray West/All Points West @ Queens Library, Flushing, NY ("Blood Fest 2011")
Nov. 18 - Spread Eagle @ KC Hall, Sanford, ME
Nov. 19 - Spread Eagle @ Voices Rock Club, Lowell, MA
Dec. 10 - Spread Eagle @ Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ (w/ Kix)

Links:
Spread Eagle
Ray West

Read More

L.A. Guns - "Acoustic Gypsy Live" CD Review (Favored Nations Entertainment) / Show at Rebel on Nov. 5th

I don't know who thought it would be a good idea for the first release from the Tracii Guns led lineup of L.A. Guns to be an acoustic release. This "rehash" of Tesla's 5 Man Acoustical Jam is 20+ years past its stale date.

Jumping in - this fourteen track disc runs close to 70 minutes and contains one new song "Little Soldier", covers of Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine" and Boudleaux Bryant's "Love Hurts" and ten assorted L.A. Guns cuts. The first problem with this disc is that it is flat out boring - there is a bare minimum of crowd banter and minimal energy to the performance. There is no doubt that Tracii can play but his acoustic finger-picking is the stuff you hear at B.B. King's while eating a pre-made, reheated hamburger and drinking grossly overpriced beer. Jizzy's vocals sound pretty good but acoustic takes on some of the slower songs ("It's Over Now") end up sounding like yacht rock cheese and the band's cover of "These Arms of Mine" is positively painful. Unfortunately, the band's one new song, "Little Soldiers", has L.A. Guns sounding like a country bar band so there is no salvation here either. There are some moments of redemption as the band finds its energy on some of the tracks from the first three L.A. Guns albums ("Over of the Edge", "Sex Action" [which briefly segues into "Paint It Black"], "Never Enough", "Ballad of Jane" and "Rip and Tear"). All-in-all though, the bloated portions of this disc take all the life out of this performance and make this one to pass on.

Generally, I'd say wait for the next disc but Jizzy Pearl has dropped out of the lineup and has been replaced by Dilana Robichaux (Rock Star: Supernova runner-up). I think this version of the L.A. Guns franchise is pretty close to having run its course.

For anyone who wants to check out the current incarnation of the band, L.A. Guns is playing Rebel on Nov. 5th along with 20 Shades, Metalfier and Suicide Boulevard. Tickets are $12 in advance.

Links:
L.A. Guns

Read More

Van Halen - "Live on Air" CD Review (Southworld)

This disc came out last year but I only recently became aware of the "copyright gap" in the UK where previously unheard-of British labels are releasing live radio broadcasts under the premise that the broadcasts are public domain in the US which would make these shows public domain in the UK.

The good news is that this disc marks the first 'official' release of Van Halen's headlining set at the US Festival, which took place on May 29, 1983. This is also the first commercially available live recording of the band with David Lee Roth. I've read reviews of this show which said that the band was pretty drunk before taking the stage (check out the video below of Roth forgetting the words to the set opener) and this show captures the sloppy party rock of classic Van Halen. It is a fun performance as the band's set is loose and they take some chances with the material. David Lee Roth is at his peak and shows why he is one of the more entertaining frontmen in the business and the Diver Down tour marked Eddie's last hurrah as a guitar hero before he got lost in the keyboard and synths of 1984 and the pop of the Sammy-era discs.



Looking at this disc from the other side of the coin (aka: "the bad news") - guess what do you get when you try to fit a 120 minute concert onto a 72 minute CD? The answer is that ~40 minutes were cut out of the concert. Unfortunately, some of the songs are faded out early. "Cathedral" was cut from the middle of the set and so was the encore ("Bottoms Up" and "You Really Got Me / Happy Trails"). The mix is also a bit strange as it appears to be from the soundboard (as the crowd is behind the band) but it is rather unbalanced.

Here is the set list:
1) Romeo Delight
2) Unchained ~ Drum Solo
3) Full Bug
4) Runnin with the Devil
5) Jamie's Cryin
6) So This is Love
7) Little Guitars
8) Dancing in the Street
9) Somebody Get Me a Doctor (includes Girl Gone Bad & I'm So Glad)
10) Dance the Night Away
11) Secrets
12) Everybody Wants Some
13) Ice Cream Man
14) Pretty Woman
15) Ain't Talking Bout Love

Despite this disc's flaws, Van Halen was one of the better live acts during the early 80's and this disc does a good job of showing why the band deserved this reputation. The price point is also a winner as you can buy the disc new through Amazon's UK site for just over $10 (USD).

Jumping forward to the present, according to Ultimate Classic Rock:
"Van Halen‘s long awaited new studio album is completely finished and expected to hit stories in February of 2012, according to an inside source. The new record, the band’s first since 1998′s ‘III,’ and first with original lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984′s ’1984,’ has been the source of much speculation over the past few months.

No title or tracklist has been revealed for the new album yet, which is described, similarly as by other people who have heard it, as a modern-day revisiting of the classic Van Halen sound. The source said a record company had yet to be chosen, with two unnamed major labels reportedly bidding for the right to work with the band."

Links:
Van Halen

Read More

Misfits - "Devil's Rain" CD Review (Misfit Records) / Halloween Show at B.B. King's

The good news is that Devil's Rain isn't as bad as I feared, given that Jerry Only is the only original member. It is also infinitely better than that Project 1950, which seemed to be a "The Groovy Ghoulies" [the cartoon, not the band] take on doo-wop songs. The bad news is that this new disc has more in common with Project 1950 than either the Graves or Danzig eras and it also sags in the middle as the songwriting doesn't hold up to the disc's 50 minute run-time.

For anyone who hasn't kept up with The Misfits in recent years, Robo has bowed out of the band and the current line-up is Jerry (bass), Dez (guitar) and Eric "Goat" Arce (x-Murphy's Law, Skarhead) on drums. The band kicked off a Fall tour in September and the current set list contains 14 of Devil's Rain's 16 songs:

(from October 4th show at House of Blues, Hollywood)
The Devil's Rain
Vivid Red
Land Of The Dead
The Black Hole
Twilight Of The Dead
Curse of the Mummy's Hand
Cold In Hell
Unexplained
Dark Shadows
Father
Jack The Ripper
Static Age
Bullet
Children in Heat
Nike A Go Go
She
Abominable Dr. Phibes
American Psycho
Shining
Dig Up Her Bones
Scream!
Ghost of Frankenstein
Death Ray
The Monkey's Paw
Halloween
Skulls
Where Eagles Dare
Hatebreeders
We Bite
Death Comes Ripping
Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?
All Hell Breaks Loose
We Are 138

Encore:
Descending Angel
Hybrid Moments
Attitude
Die, Die My Darling

It has been years since I've heard 1997's Violent World: A Tribute to the Misfits but I imagine Devil's Rain sounds like something that Pennywise, The Bouncing Souls, NOFX and Goldfinger (who all contributed songs to Violent World) would have come up with if they had been asked to write a Misfits-style song. Producer Ed Stasium gives the disc a high-gloss shine which leaves this current lineup of the Misfits sounding like a cross between Bad Religion or Pennywise and some of the bouncy "second stage" bands from any year of Warped Tour.



Lyrically, Jerry mines the expected b-movie horror themes with songs like "Monkey's Paw", "Jack the Ripper" and "Ghost of Frankenstein". The lyrics aren't deep (and sometimes repetitive) but one can't hold that against Jerry as "138" and "Where Eagles Dare" from the Danzig-era of the band aren't any better. When the band is "on" (with songs like "Land of the Dead", "Dark Shadows" and "Monkey's Paw"), their brand of power-punk sounds great. The two songs that Dez sings ("Jack the Ripper" and "Death Ray") mix things up with a bit of old-school punk teeth. The problem is that the middle of the disc sags into a bland mix of horror-punk.

The Misfits are playing their annual Halloween show at B.B. King's with JuiceheaD (who record for Jerry's Misfits Records) opening. The show is all ages and tickets for the show are $28 in advance and $32 DOS.

Links:
The Misfits

Read More

Dex Romweber Duo Are Playing Le Poisson Rouge on Nov. 4th along with the Meat Puppets

DOWNLOAD: Dex Romweber Duo: "The Death of Me"
DOWNLOAD: Dex Romweber Duo - "Jungle Drums" (posted on Under the Radar magazine)

"Dex Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned all of his records as a teenager, and was thrilled at the fact that we were able to play together recently on tour. His attitude towards music is remarkable. His songwriting, along with his love of classic American music from the south, be it rockabilly, country or R&B, is one of the best kept secrets of the rock n roll underground." —Jack White, White Stripes

If a quote from Jack White helps sell more Dex Romweber discs, I'm all in favor but...Flat Duo Jets were head-and-shoulders above The White Stripes. Things never change in the music industry as gimmicks and a large promotional budget more often than not takes a band further than quality songwriting and blazing live shows.

What distinguished this band from other retro outfits is that the Duo Jets were not really retro at all. While their music was certainly inspired by the rock-n-roll of the 1950s, one got the feeling that nothing was calculated. There was no marketing ploy on anyone's part to capitalize on a trend or movement at the time. Dex and Crow brought the music to life with such vitality and passion that the styles did not seem antiquated in their hands. This was the genuine article. This music was alive and well. - Jeff Arndt's 2001 interview with Dex

Getting back on track...Dex Romweber Duo released their latest disc, Is That You In The Blue?, on July 26th on Bloodshot Records. Dex and his sister Sara (x-Let's Active, Snatches of Pink) are heading out on a limited run of Oct. - Nov. tour dates with the Meat Puppets. The tour stops at Le Poisson Rouge on November 4th -- advanced tickets are $15 and the show is 18+.

Dex Romweber Duo Tour Dates:
10/28/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo / Meat Puppets
George's Majestic Lounge
519 West Dickson St., Fayetteville, AR

10/29/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo / Meat Puppets
Hi-Tone Cafe
1913 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN

10/30/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo / Meat Puppets
Old Rock House
1200 South 7th Sreet, St. Louis, MO

11/01/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo / Meat Puppets
Rock And Roll Hotel
1353 H Street NE, Washington, DC

11/03/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo / Meat Puppets
Johnny Brenda's
1201 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA

11/04/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo / Meat Puppets
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY

11/05/2011 - Dex Romweber Duo
Middle East - Downstairs
480 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA



Links:
Dex Romweber Duo

Read More