Have you been waiting for Chinese Democracy since Ace of Base was topping Billboard? Well don't be too harsh - Axl isn't the only guy with a penchant for dragging his heels. Today we've pulled together three of the biggest offenders, and calculated their odds for a 2008 release. Place your bets kids!
Continue reading "Tortoise v. Tortoise: Who Will Win the 2008 Album Release Race?" »
I admit it - I'm weak. Somewhere around Memorial Day weekend, that damn Kid Rock song got lodged in my head. A so-called music blogger should know better, but "All Summer Long" is just so easy - take two easy rockin' classics that have inexplicably never gone out of style ("Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama"), throw in some nostalgic rhymes about teenage love and gettin' high, shoot a video with some bikini babes and booze cruisin', then watch the cash roll in. The track is already dominating FM radio, hit #1 in Europe this week (a first for the decidedly American Kid Rock) and brought the accompanying album back into the top 10 on the US charts.
Maybe it's too late, but with two months left in the season, I'm not gonna throw in the towel. My summer song of 2008 will NOT be one that rhymes "things" with "things." So, despite the fact that I listened to it three times while writing this post, tonight I offer a few Rock-less alternatives for your next beach day, BBQ or rooftop shindig. I don't necessarily love all these songs, but I'm being realistic here. Please, just think about it. For me.
Continue reading "Some Alternatives to the Summer of Rock" »
The turn of the century, as with any other period, ushered in a fair share of new fads and fashions. Specifically, a hip new breed of the 60’s male singer/songerwriter persona emerged in the form of a bundle of John Mayers, Howie Days, Jason Mrazs and the list goes on. In 2000, the lustful, acoustic melodies of one-man-show Stephen Kellogg seemed a likely candidate for that wave of musical fad, but he never managed to make that leap. Recently, hoping to create a second chance for his music, Kellogg added a new dimension to his identity- a full band. Signing to Foundations record label and prepping a new CD, Kellogg found a renewed sound and maturing perspective.
“I get sick of guys like myself,” says Kellogg. “ I just want to be like, ‘I’m so normal it hurts!’”
Well, who defines normal or unique? What’s special, what’s not? What’s fashionable, what’s outdated? And who ever put such a high value on any of it anyway?
Stephen Kellogg wants to celebrate just being normal and being himself. Regardless of whether being ‘himself’ is ever going to be enough to amount to much fame or fortune, Kellogg does it well with his highly personal and heartfelt love songs, pop tunes, catchy melodies, and witty charm. In 2002, Kellogg shed the one-man act and enlisted the talent of fellow University of Massachusetts classmates Keith Karlson (keys/bass) and Brian Factor (drums) and the renovated Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers set out to play some good music, and have lots of fun.
Kellogg may have graduated from college, but his valuable education started during his years as a traveling solo performer. “College was a really great opportunity to get out and play. When else do you live in a dorm full of people your own age who are up all night and into music and ready to write and check your stuff out?” he says. “ But I certainly haven’t needed a degree to get any gigs.”
He put in his time as the starving artist, playing anywhere from chili cook offs and steakhouses to clubs and bars. Kellogg learned his life lessons and got a feel for what musical direction he was destined for. “Traveling around on the road alone was not what I wanted to do when I was little,” says Kellogg. “I wanted to be in a band. I wanted camaraderie, I wanted friendship.” He describes his progression as a “slow-burn. You’re always figuring out who you are and what you’re trying to do and what you want to say and what’s special. In the beginning, I was glimpsing that and I have a better sense of that now. But it’s still a work in progress.” 
In 2002, after attempts to break the ice with two independent releases, Stephen Kellogg attempted to “keep on keeping on”, forming a band called the Sixers. The approachable, familiar vibe of the Sixers starts from the beginning with a less than fairytale merging between the three band members, who all attended the University of Massachusetts. “We met there, but we didn’t start playing together there. I ran into Keith at a truck stop one night and he said, ‘Yeah, my band--it’s not totally happening’. So it was kind of this serendipitous thing where it seemed like we should get together and play and then we just really hit it off personally. And the whole band has been based around first being friends and then we worked the musical elements out,” recalls Kellogg. And the friendship, something Kellogg refers to as a “collective conscious”, gets dragged on stage every night.
This “collective conscious” dominates the spotlight at times with an atmosphere of silliness and quirky humor between the guys--something Kellogg initiated to draw attention to the music, but now seems to be detracting from it.
“In the old days, because the music at first feels awkward to play, I’d look for other ways to connect with people just so that they’d really pay attention,” Kellogg recalls. But in a glimpse of his maturing perspective, he says, “ As the music has become more comfortable to me, I sometimes just want to let the music speak and not get in the way with too much silliness and banter. But I love to have a good time.”
Less than three months after forming and still lacking a real fellowship, the trio released Bulletproof Heart. “When we made that record, we had no real sense of identity. We had never toured together, we’d never lived in a together in a hotel room for months at a time,” says Kellogg. Now with a lot more ground under their feet, the Sixers’ debut self-titled CD under Foundations Records is scheduled for release on February 15th. Says Kellogg of the band’s creative progress, “We’re so much closer than we were when we did that first record. The songs are much more about our lives. It’s always been personal, but on this album, I think we remember when every song was written, so you really have a context for what was going on in your life when it happened.” After a handful of independent releases, Kellogg is grateful to find himself satisfied with signing to Foundations, which has thus far proved to be accommodating to the Sixers’ down-to-earth manner of making and promoting music. “ I think Foundations really embraced what we were doing. They didn’t say, ‘Guys, be a little bit more serious onstage, be a little more rock ‘n’ roll, or if we repeated this chorus 1,000 times, it could be a hit,’” says Kellogg. “If we would have gone with a different label and had pushed in a certain direction, maybe we would increase our chances of selling a million records and making more money or just being more widespread and I hope that we get a balance of all of that”.
The new album is a pop album aimed at the college age generation, with a country twang and a rock ‘n’ roll edge, laced with lyrics from the mind of a typical young man--childhood memories and old friends, self discovery and soul searching, but mainly the continuous stab at describing the indescribable feminine mystique. “ Obviously, you want to understand what you’re feeling. You know, if 60%- I’m just throwing a number out there- of my day is spent marveling at women, then I consider it a lot and if I happen to be considering that a lot or feeling a lot about a relationship, then it will come out in the music”, explains Kellogg. “ I don’t think if I tried to write a song thinking, ‘This will get the girls,’ it would ever work. It wouldn’t sound real and honest. But I feel very comfortable with it because it’s a big part of me.”
Throughout several years of phases, growth spurts, discoveries, and tribulations---now is the best time to catch Stephen Kellogg on the music scene. He’s been described by one critic as “Another super sensitive yet slightly funky soft rocker for girls who like John Mayer”. And while Kellogg scoffs and shakes his head at this, some may nod approvingly. The Sixers’ approaching release, an honest exposé of three twenty-somethings just being themselves, will either sink, swim, or simply drift out to sea in a crowded genre. But, says Kellogg, “You are who you are.” Time will tell if that’s enough.
Back in the seventies, the phenomenon that would be cable first landed on our entertainment radar. Like me, you might be too young to really remember it, but you probably do remember how much you wanted your MTV just a few years later. And you probably also remember how your parents would always lament about paying for something that was already free. Ever since “Video Killed the Radio Star” and more recently our adoption of a mobster family from North Jersey, we as entertainment junkies have never been happier or more dependent on this once supposed excess. Cable television has formed the greatest outlays of visual experiences and has revolutionalized life as we know it. Now we can witness everything from war being broadcasted live to 24-hour pet lovin’ programming.
Is the radio on deck for the same revolution? Why not? Over the past decade consumers have only been subjected to a few choices when it came to in-car entertainment. The dinosauric AM band and the choice of two media conglomerates on the FM band, Clear Channel and Infinity Broadcasting, with their inordinate pitches on the 20s and 50s of the hour. Now we have a new sheriff in town, satellite radio. Again, let’s go back to old adage; why pay for something that has always been free? Well, for about the same price as three mocha lattes, one could enjoy 65 commercial free music channels a month, and 55 news and magazine channels in digital quality.
This emerging forum already has 3.5 million loyal subscribers and with the help of the auto industry, had a growth rate of 165% last year. GM and Honda are now offering vehicles standard equipped with XM radio and are already acclaiming a 60% conversion rate in creating regular subscribers. The other player, Sirius, is doing the same with Ford, Daimler Chrysler, and BMW. The clear strategy between these two rivals is recruiting the best programming available and creating differentiation through content. XM has been able to snag Major League Baseball, NASCAR and the once banned Opie and Anthony, while Sirius has stepped up to the plate by securing a blockbuster deal with Howard Stern and broadcasting rights for the NFL.
Let’s talk about the music first. Can satellite kill the radio star? The radio revolution has an opportunity to tender a higher level of creative outlay and better overall format for artistry than the over commercialized FM stage. Since satellite stations are not subservient to the almighty advertising dollar, they have been able to provide music entertainment that reaches almost every niche. From punk to blue grass, speed metal to boy-band, and even 24-hour comedy stations, every ear has a home. This can only open the doors for musical expression and creativity without having subjecting overlooked talent to late-night college radio broadcasts and “out there” public radio programs. As the basic subscriber base grows, the satellite stage will be taken seriously and we, as aficionados, will experience an influx of emerging artists, fresh styles, and new genres. The power is back to the people and more importantly, the artists.
Listeners can easily associate themselves with a particular style or mood they are in by choosing clearly defined stations. Hard rock is labeled as “Octane” on Sirius and Top 40 country is marked as “Nashville” on XM. Listeners now have a title to identify with rather than a frequency and call letters.
Sirius, having a 2-to-3 disadvantage in subscriber base, has pulled out all the stops. With the signing of Howard Stern to a 5 year, half-billion dollar contract and the recent hiring of Mel Karmazin, former Stern boss and ex- Viacom (CBS) and Infinity broadcasting Chief, Sirius is starting to catch up in terms of growth. They expect the deal with Stern to create at least 1.1 million new subscribers as prominent “number crunching investment firms” contend that Sirius needs 2.7 million new subscribers to come out of several years of losses. Since the self-proclaimed “King of all Media” dominates four dozen syndicated markets and has around 10 million loyal listeners, this seems hardly a feat. The only roadblock Sirius has is the gag order on Stern for talking about the new deal on his show. But Stern has 20 other hours a day for promotion as he anxiously demonstrated by handing out hundreds of free Sirius boom boxes in Union Square last week, appearing on Letterman and posting a link on HowardStern.com (~285,000 hits per day) to the Sirius pitch site.
In a move similar to the Stern deal, XM radio attained the “Banned for Life” duo Opie and Anthony. (Hailed as the next generation of shock jocks, it seems they went too far by sponsoring a contest where devoted listeners bragged about public places that they had intercourse… St. Patrick’s Cathedral was the cinder block that broke the camels back.) What XM has in there arsenal is the radio friendly 162 game + playoffs, Major League Baseball, which might prove to be a better revenue generator than the 17 week, TV friendly, NFL schedule.
The interesting outcome of the Stern deal will be the content. With the FCC off his back and limitless freedom, will the Stern show turn away loyal fans? Many see his charm and cleverness getting around the FCC as arguably the best part of his show. Would the average middle of the road listener want to listen to a 50-year-old man cursing and championing x-rated programming? Not that the average 18 to 36-year-old male cares, but anyone else outside that demographic could lose interest. And will the NFL family image be scarred again after a wardrobe malfunction and a desperate housewife in a towel? It is widely speculated that Stern will have to be a premium channel like O&A to avoid pressure from other content providers like Disney, Nickelodeon and various sporting organizations.
Funny thing is, what made cable explode, namely premium channels like HBO, may prove to be the same catalyst for Satellite radio. It’s the obvious avenue for the differentiation strategy. Right now on XM you have the chance to subscribe (for $3 more over the already $9.95 fee a month) to Opie & Anthony or The Playboy Channel. (Let’s hope everyone keeps two hands on the wheel.) The listener’s choice, when not forced by the car they buy, will be determined by premium content. With the exception of an Elvis-only station on Sirius and a Sinatra-only station on XM, the stations are highly similar.
The foreseeable future for radio is rapidly changing. The next wave will likely be High Definition Radio. The emerging provider of this technology is Ibiquity. What they are doing is talking binary code from various stations on the FM/AM bands and processing this code through a hi-tech compressor so that radio waves do not collide and create static on your receiver. This produces digital like quality and also real time information about what you’re listening to displayed on your receiver, similar to satellite. The folks at Ibiquity contend that this will revitalize the AM Band and be the saving grace for traditional radio. But don’t go out and buy your Hi Def Radio yet… it’s currently carrying 280 local stations and the new JVC player goes for about $850.
What can you expect from the future? Satellite is certainly taking over. It’s only a matter of time before you have it embedded on your cell phone with your digital camera. I wonder, how long before the folks at Apple have a new reason for you to shell out another $400? Can you say Itunes channel? In fact Delphi, mobile electronics pioneer, recently debuted the first possible “iPod-killer”. The MYFi is the first portable satellite player that has recording capability. The storage capacity (128mb) pales in comparison to the mega-selling iPod, but the appeal caters to listeners who just want to hear that new song a few times without making a purchase. Currently, the $350 MYFi does not interface with a computer.
With most consumer technology adhering to the “On Demand” ideology, it is easy to foresee having a handheld device where you could be one click away from purchasing a song you just listened to, not unlike pay-per-view. Is there any better synergy? More importantly, besides all the dollar signs that Howard Stern, Mel Karmazin and Steve Jobs might be dreaming about, it’s really great to see that radio is on the comeback. The days of hearing the same overplayed garbage on 9 out of 10 stations is over. We are embarking on new era where talent will be sought and higher quality will be demanded. For about $10 bucks a month, sounds good to me.
Rising pop star Jemma ‘Jem’ Griffiths stands out in the music scene today for more than one reason: she has traveled across the pond all the way from the small British country of Wales, she has just released her debut CD at the late age of 28, and her mixed-genre musical statements strongly defy being placed into any one category. Whether despite or due to these distinctions, Jem’s sparkly appeal has proven to be irresistibly eye-catching and alluring to a myriad of listeners.
Although her unpredictable and surprising road to success has been laden with twists and turns, Jem, who is now well on her way to being a familiar face and voice in the popular music world, has maintained her perspective. “You can only appreciate something if you’ve had kind of a struggle,” she said. With the release and growing success of her first full length CD Finally Woken and her second US tour underway, Jem finds herself making the turn off the road to success and onto the road of success.
Music has played an important role for Jem from the beginning. “When I was about 12, I used to write songs,” she said. “We had this old out of tune piano in our house and we all used to just bang around on it and I wrote songs on the piano. I remember thinking; I’m going to do this for a career. I just knew it inside because it made me feel so happy and calm and I just loved writing music.”
The prospect of having a career in music remained in the front of her mind: from a law degree at the University of Sussex, to working in club and on festival promotion, to time spent as a DJ agent. Yet, it wasn’t until November of 1999, finding herself now totally immersed in the music world, that Jem decided to make her move. “I was talking with all of these artists and these great DJs and I just thought, oh, I want to be doing that!” she said. Never one to give up on anything, she followed her instinct that “blind faith really works” and ended up collaborating with producer Guy Sigsworth on a track for Madonna’s American Life album and working with hip-hop producer Ge-ology before having her own demos discovered by A&R Bruce Flohr of Dave Matthew’s record label, ATO. “I’m really glad I followed my heart through all this and that’s why ATO has been so great because they really support me. They signed me and they helped me make the album that I wanted to make. They’re brilliant”, she said of her newfound home at ATO.
However, the album she wanted to make has proved to be one of such diverse musical styles that its unique sound has made it a rare gem. In an MTV interview, Dave Matthews described it as having “a celebration to it. Leave-your-worries-behind kind of thing.” Finally Woken, containing a glisten of all musical shimmers, including hip-hop, rock, techno, dance/club, and even classical, is truly Jem’s personal coloring book of musical soundscapes, drawing from her many influences and preferences. “I find it really hard to describe, but I always thought that that was quite a good thing. It’s just popular music that anyone can enjoy, like the Beatles or Madonna, or that…middle ground. Basically, I like all different types of music and I listen to soul, classical, hip-hop, reggae, and dance. Originally I didn’t think I would get signed if I didn’t choose the songwriting side or the more “dancy” side, but then I thought, I’m not just one thing, I’ve just taken it all in. I wasn’t trying to tap into every genre but I do like every music,” she said.
The diversity of this album is further highlighted by samples from several different sides of the musical spectrum, from ‘60’s-era Indian music to the classical sounds of Bach. “ I’ve got loads of vinyls I’ve collected from weird places,” she said. “‘Come on Closer’ has a sample that I found on an Indian hits from the ‘60s record. I really like samples because they spin you off in a direction you wouldn’t otherwise go. I’ve never been wanting to hide it because obviously it compliments my song.”
Because Finally Woken so tastefully acknowledges several musical genres, it has attracted a well-rounded audience. Jem’s goals for the reception of this album are simple, yet heartfelt and passionate: “If they get anything from it, then I’m happy. My thing is just to get the chance to have it out there and that people are listening to it. I listen to music and I get really moved, like really emotionally moved. And to think that I’m in any way inspiring anyone then that’s just incredible,” she said.
Despite her success, including appearances on VH1 and MTV and playing to sold-out crowds thus far on this winter’s tour, it seems Jem is in denial of her elevating fame. Being no stranger to the music industry has guaranteed her invaluable experience and made her an ambitious, motivated, and knowledgeable professional with her feet still firmly on the ground. “You can get really caught up in this position and it’s actually bollocks. I just want to write music and get it out there and if you can stay focused on that then everything else is like…you know. I’m really happy that I still have a normal perspective on everything and I think that it is because I’m older and I’ve worked jobs. So, I don’t know what is must be like if you’re 16. I don’t see how you could appreciate things fully. But then, who am I to say? I don’t know what it’s like”, she said. But when it comes to her increasingly certain rise to pop stardom; she’s still eating her humble pie quite oblivious to her potential future. “Oh, that’s crazy! What does it mean to be an icon? I’m from Wales, I don’t know, can I be an icon?” she said, with a chuckle of disbelief. “When I did this show the other night, the guy introduced me and said, ‘She’s going to be a legend, talked about in 20 years’,” she said. “I was standing behind this curtain, just laughing. It’s the most bizarre thing. All of this is really bizarre.”
Zeitgeist: the spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation.
As we approach 2005, you’d think that the spirit, taste, and characteristic outlook are pretty grim and gloomy: war, poverty, and madness seem the rule, not the rarity. But one band from Los Angeles is here to change all that, with its own hot blend of rock and roll, social commentary, and humor. To them, the zeitgeist is all about mullets, Botox, and Bollywood. Enter the world of Zeitgeist Auto Parts if you dare, but leave all gloom behind. Once they get under your hood with their melodies, lyrics, power, and precision, you’ll never go back to Ethel. And you won’t even miss her.
Officially a punk band, “ZAP” plays as hard and as fast as anyone. Their music is heavy and solid, with a mix of high- and medium-register female vocals giving it a Go-Go’s-meets-Stooges sound. But it’s the humor, precision, and hooks that make them stand out. Musically, they are almost as tight as Rush, which one would never expect from “rock-and-rollers”, as they like to call themselves. They may be modest, but they are more than that: they are serious musicians, and even the most casual listen reveals that a great deal of time and effort went into crafting their songs, as playful and seemingly innocuous as they might be.
Frontwoman and bassist Nascar Madagascar (you’ll get used to the humor, the alliteration, and the pop-culture references very fast, I assure you) and lead guitarist Motor met at work and began a musical collaboration in 2001. After their company was bought out, the two were laid off, experiencing what they now call “a blessing in disguise”. Living meagerly on unemployment checks gave them the time and freedom to cultivate their response to wage slavery, the culture of superficiality, and anything else that struck their fancy. About a year later they met and rounded out their ensemble with rhythm guitarist La La Damage and drummer Flesh and Chrome Metronome. Their first gig came in February of 2003.
“It took us about six months after that to really get going, show- and stage-wise. Then we began gigging around Los Angeles at least two times a week, it seemed,” Nascar recalls. They performed shows all over Southern California, earning themselves local notoriety and attention, and branched out to Las Vegas, where they enjoy regular return engagements. All that dues-paying paid them back: this past summer the band played an extremely well-received show at the House of Blues in L.A., and local L.A. radio station Indie 103.1 has supported the band, inviting it to play at events, even playing its demos on the air. The response has been unanimous: this is a band to watch and hear again and again. Influences range from Iggy Pop and Motley Crue to Chopin and Mona Lisa (she’s got Botox, don’t you know?).
Onstage the lead vocalist and bassist Nascar (originally from New Mexico) is a smoldering, dark beast—she seems like a demon escaped through a crack in Hell’s ceiling. It's energy and passion for performing that lead all the members to give it all at every show. “Performing is godlike, dreamlike, surreal,” Nascar says. “The first time I got onstage I felt like I was home. It’s a place where, if you let yourself, you can really be the you of you. It’s kind of spiritual and fun and sweaty and hot and engaging. Liberating, for sure.” Those who see their act seldom forget it, but there is more beneath the surface. “Writing is a must,” she adds. “Words . . . words are music, you know? I’ll have songs in the back of my mind most of my waking hours. It’s a very personal thing.”
On lead guitar and occasional lead vocals is the “Quiet Auto Part”, Motor (originally from the San Francisco Bay area), who issues fierce but therapeutic licks on her 1995 Mexican Strat and writes some of the group’s most satirical lyrics. “I wrote for most of my years poetry and prose stuff that I just wanted to put to music. I mostly like spoken word, because I don’t think I am a good singer. But, I love performing. That is what it is all about: getting on stage and letting it out!” She modestly adds, “And I definitely need to rehearse much more.”
On rhythm guitar and occasional lead vocals is La La Damage (originally from Missouri), a.k.a. “Fluffy” due to her giant mop of fluffy hair, with a jazz-trained voice that for these purposes comes as sharp as a knife. Her signature song is fan favorite “Runaway Romance”, which she wrote, and her guitar solo during their cover of “I Wanna Be Your Dog” was a highlight of this summer’s show at the House of Blues. Of ZAP she says, “Ze Auto Parts is part activism, part art, part social commentary, part music. To us I think it’s a lot more than just music. . . . When [we] are together we channel something. ” Of course, there are still social challenges: “Ani DiFranco was really formative for me. There are so many many women out there who want to play and don’t. Our culture is so powerful--so many parts of our culture send the message that women are to be seen and not heard.”
Favorite songs during their live shows include the Motor-penned “Groupie”, during which the lead guitarist stops the show to take a phone call from a friend --“Um, I’m on stage; I can’t really talk right now,” she explains before continuing to relate to that friend an anecdote of Valley-girl absurdity; the song “Gay Lover”, which looks at the classic love-triangle dilemma in a new way (“If your roommate is your gay lover, I guess I’ll just bring the chips and salsa”); the soon-to-be classic “MLB (Mona Lisa Botox)”, which features from Nascar some of the highest-pitched chirping since early Siouxsie; and “Frankenstein”, a new look at Mary Shelley’s famous monster: “He met a girl and he learned to dance--was taught songs, danger, romance.”
In September the band went into Ton Recording Studios in Silverlake, California, to record its first stereo tracks. The session didn’t go completely smoothly; Nascar, unable to hear herself in her headphones, had to move into the control room to record! But the proof is in the pudding: go to http://www.myspace.com/zeautoparts to hear the results, which will also be released in January on an EP called Never Mind the Gullets.
As for all their word play, Nascar explains: “Honestly, when the Ze girls get together, we just pull things out of nowhere and roll with it. ‘Gullets’, the idea, the word, the vibe, I think, was birthed somewhere between Los Angeles and our first Vegas show. ‘Gullets’ became the word for everything and anything . . . , but summer is over and we’ve got to move on! Gullets are so last season! It’s all about rotunditis and medullas now!”
In October the Flesh and Chrome Metronome left the band. “His departure was sudden, but on amicable and understandable terms,” Nascar says. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.” Luckily, Nascar, Motor, and LaLa recently announced the addition of new drummer Black Market, who currently also drums for Billion Stars and Merle Jagger, and who began playing with the band on a temporary basis November 7. According to the band’s mailing list announcement, Black “enjoys long summer-night cigarette breaks, fancy hair products, and gambling with cross-dressers”. Next month the band will be recording one more song for the EP, in anticipation of a late-January release.
Black Market plays a five-piece 1978 Ludwig drum kit with concert toms, and says he brings “controlled recklessness” to the band. “I have no choice but to be a musician,” he adds. “It’s like being gay; it's who I am and have always been.” He cites influences as varied as Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and Television. His first performances with the group have been well received.
The Zeitgeist Auto Parts website http://www.zeautoparts.com proudly proclaims: “We live in Los Angeles, so naturally being in the center of an entertainment capitol takes its toll, but we try not to let it affect our art, we just keep doing what we wanna do, and in the process, we’re toughening our skin.” Through life’s ups and downs, the group carries on. Its members are “tight”, and they’re doing what they love.
Nascar concludes, “I think the most important thing to do is just be true to yourself. That’s all anyone can do. If people dig what you do, great. If not, so what?”
That’s rock and roll.
In the midst of prepping for their official CD release party on Saturday, January 15th at the Khyber in Philadelphia, Jason Mcbride and Marc Chartier of Run Away from the Humans took time out for a Q&A with Sonic Slang to discuss the electronica revival, the fabulous Ashlee Simpson and the indie rock renaissance.
Tell us a little about how you guys got together.
Chartier: Jason and I met when I was visiting Philly (from Seattle) for a friend’s wedding. Well, my wife and I ended up moving to the Philly area and we hung out quite a bit with Jason and his girl. Although we both had played in bands in high school and college, neither of us was playing music at the time we met. Jason was the first to get the bug and started playing with some old high school buddies of his. Soon after, they needed an extra guitar player so I was brought into the mix. After playing for a few months together we found that we shared the same vision for the sound of our (old) band – which was totally different than what was happening at the time. To make a long story short, we quit the old project and that’s how we ended up starting RAFTH.
McBride: Then things just really started to take off for this little project of ours. I had switched over to writing the electronic stuff and just out of pure adrenaline we went on this massive writing spree for about a month, which gave us enough material for a small set of songs. Before we knew it we got Brian involved and then just a couple of months later we were working on the EP and playing shows. I’m really happy that we didn’t waste any time getting to where we are now.
The RAFTH sound is by many accounts, very much on the cutting edge of popular music today. How do you account for the recent retro/electronica craze in certain musical circles, particularly indie rock?
McBride: Probably the same reason why anything else becomes popular, it’s just a recycling of what people like to listen to. I think people in the indie community are a bit more sophisticated with their music and it might just come from a desire to hear something new. But so many artists have paved the way for this and it’s not just a recent occurrence. I mean maybe it took a larger act like Radiohead to switch over and cause a spike in interest, but this has been a growing thing for some time. Aside from the recycling theory, to me it’s more about this being music that is still evolving, where as rock seems to be at a real stalemate. Even though it’s great music...fantastic music, most things have been done right? I do think there’s a difference from what we’re doing as opposed to a lot of newly popular rock bands that are incorporating the synth to make it sound retro or 80s. That seems like a technique to juice the rock up, where as we try to revolve everything around the electronic sounds and not the other way around.
Chartier: I think the recent interest in electronic - I hate to say 80s or “retro” - music is mostly attributable to people wanting to hear new things. I’ve recently gained interest in the electronic stuff mainly because it is a great avenue for music that is still evolving. I guess it’s easy to give it a retro tag because most of the music in the 80s was centered around the electronic stuff as compared to having the electronic music complement standard instruments. I think we’ll see some great new developments in music in the next few years as electronic music continues to evolve.
And more on indie rock: What are your thoughts on the recent surge in popularity for the indie rock scene in general? Does this reflect a lack of quality in the mainstream?
McBride: If there’s a recent surge; assuming you’re talking about how once smaller indie bands like Modest Mouse are making such a splash on popular radio these days; I think it’s great. To give credit to musicians like them, the songs they’re writing are catchy and have a real unique quality to them. That to me is the reason they’ve become so refreshing to listen to. I’m sure many people would agree that a lot of the popular alternative music these days has lost the individual/unique flare that was there just 5-6 years ago. So maybe people are resorting to the indie scene to hear a better variety of sounds now.
Chartier: I love the recent popularity of the indie sound. Today I think indie is more often associated with a certain type or brand of music as opposed to...like...a lo-fi or low budget “independent” project. As far as the cause for its popularity, that’s a tough one. For me, I like that sound because as a regular person I can relate much more to indie bands and their music. It seems more real to me and less contrived as say a Nickelback, Ashlee Simpson, or Puddle of Mud (laughs).
McBride: Speak for yourself, Ashlee Simpson is fabulous.
Ok, so what's been a highlight for you guys, as a band, performing in Philadelphia?
Chartier: The Philly music scene is... how should I say this...growing? There are a lot of cool bands and kids around, but all scenes sort of come and go through the years. Being relatively new to Philly, I initially got the impression that the city was mostly known for hip-hop and regular old “rock and roll”. But after going to a few shows, I realized that it’s pretty cool here. The kids and bands are definitely here, and it’s just a matter of getting them all out. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed more and more interest in the indie sound in Philly in the last year or so.
McBride: We did a show with Dogs Die in Hot Cars recently. That was probably my favorite because the whole night was a great party, just a fun time.
What type of musical background did each of you come from to come up with the RAFTH sound?
Chartier: What really makes this project fun is that we not only come from very different musical backgrounds, but our instruments are also relatively new to us. I mean, I’ve played guitar for years, but never actually seriously in a band or anything. I played bass in all of my previous bands, with the exception of the short-lived band that we were a part of prior to RAFTH. Playing guitar in this project has been a great experience. All the different effects and pedals and stuff have opened so many new doors for me.
McBride: I’ve been all over the map, but the main influence for this sound right now was the time I spent in the 90s as a House DJ. I guess a mixture of acid, hard, and deep house that I’ve always kept up with combined with a lot of the other electronic projects out there and the influence that they’ve had over me. And, you have to mention the rock too because that’s important as well… everything from Manchester to early 90’s indie/alternative.
Do you guys have any musical heroes? Who are you most influenced by?
McBride: With vocals my all time favorite is Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys. When the vibe is right in their songs, his voice sounds so angelic. I’ve been a huge fan forever. I love Ian Brown’s (Stone Roses) voice as well. Those two guys are probably who I’ve always enjoyed the most. Aside from vocalists I like Kevin Sheilds, U2, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, Air, listening to a good DJ like Josh Wink, Carl Cox, or DB spin records...all sorts of stuff.
Chartier: The guy that immediately comes to mind for me would be Jonny Greenwood, amazing guitar player and effects wizard. I’ve only seen Radiohead live once, but during that show, I realized how much of a champ that dude is. I also like that he sort of flies under the radar among this huge music industry.
If you had to pick a favorite track on the EP, what is it and why?
McBride: "Lost My Way" is probably my favorite track. I enjoy everything about that one: the vocals, the beats, the guitars, and the vocoder in the chorus. It’s just a quick and catchy little electro pop song. That one and maybe "Wake Up" are probably the two that people seem to like the most. Some of the newer stuff that we are working on now is geared towards that "Lost My Way" style. I’m sure that when we finally do our full length in the near future we’ll have a few more house songs like that on it.
Chartier: Yeah, for me it’s a toss up between "Wake Up" and "Lost My Way". For sake of making this interesting, I’ll say "Wake Up" is my favorite. It’s a real good mix of several different styles of music - more outright rock than most of our stuff, but it works into our sound real well. Most of our new songs keep that mix of musical styles but are heading more in the… I guess you call it “house” or “party” type direction. It’s really fun to play that kind of music live.
What has local reaction to your debut EP been?
Chartier: So far the reaction has been great. The reviews that we received have all been very positive. Our intention when initially recording the EP was to just have a good recording to use to book shows and stuff with. After weighing out our options in the studio, we realized with a little more time and money we could get something of much better quality than just a demo. So we ran with it and now we’re pretty happy with the outcome.
McBride: Everything that I’ve heard so far is a positive reaction for the most part. For the amount of experience we had as a group we really pulled the first EP off in great time. Like 3-4 months or so after we had finished forming the trio. We’re all pretty happy with the sound quality for 2 days of recording and 4 days of mixing and mastering. I also really think the art played a big roll too, at least in getting people interested in listening. Lee Garnett who is a good friend and an artist that I usually trust for these things came through with a great simplistic and stylish design for it. It makes you want to listen to it.
Ok, the name, any significance to it?
Chartier: No. The name has zero significance, but we all love it. I actually came up with the name in a dream. We were brainstorming names all over the place for a couple weeks and I actually dreamt that we named our band ‘run away from the humans’. When I woke up, I had the reaction that almost everyone has - I laughed, and liked it. After mentioning it as a joke to Jason, he was into it, so it stuck.
McBride: We had several names that we had floated around before RAFTH that I don’t want to mention (haha). I’m really glad we all decided on that one because to me it really reflects what kind of group that we are. It’s not traditional sounding in the least, there’s no chance of the name sounding like any other band, it’s got a great short version for people to say (The Humans), and it’s kind of got that “we don’t take ourselves that seriously/comical” kind of thing going on, which is important to us. It’s fun, and I guess that goes well with a band that writes about cute girls in Burberry outfits and Risk (some of our current projects).
So what's in store for the future of RAFTH? Any plans yet for a full-length? How about signing to an indie or major label, if the opportunity presents itself? You all have day jobs outside of RAFTH. Do you hope to make this a full-time endeavor?
McBride: Things have been moving pretty fast for us ever since we started promoting We Exist. We have a few short-term goals right now. We’re concentrating a lot on PR, getting the EP to print and radio to spread the word about RAFTH. We’re also playing a lot of shows to promote the songs on there. We’ve been playing out every other week since early Fall and plan on continuing until our CD release party. After that, aside from a few shows up in NYC, we’re taking a month off from playing out just to write. We’d like to have the material ready if we decide to put out a full length in the summer of 2005.
Chartier: Making this a full-time endeavor is definitely a goal of ours, but we’re realistic as well. There are a lot of great bands out there and to get anywhere you have to work very hard and to some extent get kinda lucky. Right now though, we are taking this pretty seriously in hopes that we can someday quit the nine to five routine and focus solely on RAFTH.
On a late July lunch break from his job as creative director at the TBWA\Chiat\Day advertising agency in Los Angeles, Juan Perez rummaged through the racks at the Hear Music in Santa Monica. This is a favorite escape for Perez—Santa Monica’s bustling Third Street Promenade is a good excuse to get out of the office and look for new sounds. On the agenda that day was music for a new ad campaign for the Nissan Quest—a minivan for "sexy moms."
The creative team at TBWA was thinking along the lines of "aggressive girl band.” There were only a few weeks left until the commercial was set to air, and Perez wasn’t satisfied with the “Avril Lavigne sound” they had in place. It sounded too young—it was trying too hard.
Perez began filing through the "Artist's Choice" and the "KCRW Selects" sections, picking out albums often based on trivialities like the cover art or an artist’s name, then testing them at listening stations.
One of the CDs Perez previewed was a compilation with an oddly titled tune by an oddly titled band: Modest Mouse. It had some edge. It didn't feel canned. It was happy—without being boring.
"They’re enjoying what they’re doing, but they're unconscious," thought Perez. He fell in love almost immediately. And it was perfect for the campaign.
Modest Mouse had already been signed to Sony's Epic in 1999 after a major-label bidding war, a move that may have alienated as many fans as it created by technically ending their celebrated indie status. At that point, making a few bucks off a car commercial couldn't piss off the purists any further. Besides, as lead guitarist Isaac Brock explained in the May issue of rock zine MeanStreet: "If Nissan is willing to offer us a shit-ton of money, well I don't really make that much being on Epic and I gotta keep the lights on."
And so the marriage began, with another underground superhero taking the pragmatic approach over indie rock martyrdom. Such is the case for most relatively unknown artists who get a chance for the easiest payday in the music biz. They can thank the legions of indie-loving admen that bring their hobby to work. "Go to any (indie) show in San Francisco and you're going see four to five people from our office," says Tenny Pearson, broadcast producer at the Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco ad agency. Goodby recently chose the music of underground hip-hop elite RJD2 for their Saturn VUE ads, and has tapped fringe acts like the Walkmen and I Am The World Trade Center in the past.
Todd Porter, a creative director at Goodby and the man behind the RJD2 recruiting, has long been a fan not only of RJD2's soulful breaks, but of the lot of underground music. Porter was the music director and DJ at his college station at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., a "very, very independent-minded" station. "I think we threatened to fire DJs who played Depeche Mode," jokes Porter. His list of current favorites doesn’t include any of the more staid indie choices like the new Death Cab for Cutie or Wilco, but releases by The Eagles of Death Metal, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Li'L Cap'n Travis—bands whose names alone can make you feel out of touch.
The song Porter championed for the VUE campaign was RJD2's "Ghostwriter" from his Deadringer LP. It was remixed slightly, but the end result is not only an advertisement for Saturn's new SUV, but for the music of an artist with few opportunities for mainstream access.
The obvious plus for the band is the money. These payouts can have liberating effects: paring down those enormous record advances, spending less time touring to concentrate on writing music, or just keeping the lights on.
The precisian that points the finger at their bands, wondering why they accepted the perceived evils of corporate America, may need a shift in perspective. RJD2 got good money for his tune, money that can free him from a potential albatross. "We essentially bought him out of his record contract," says Pearson, notably proud. "He was able to pay off his loans from his company. He can be a free agent now."
In return for their effort, the ad creatives get that warm feeling that a preacher converting a swarm of stubborn non-believers must enjoy. But with national television exposure, the indie admen get more than just their circle of friends or like-minded critics to join the fan club—they get to affect the masses.
And all rejoice. All except those forgotten here-from-day-one fans, left gnashing their teeth and typing out blistering blog defamations. Porter once counted himself among these teeth-sucking naysayers. "That changed when I really got into music," says Porter. With due credit to the Chemical Brothers' Levis ads in the mid-‘90s, he now sees the importance of spreading the word. "If this guy's got a good tune, I want everybody to hear it," Porter says.
Not everyone takes the bait, though. Tom Waits and John Hiatt both turned down offers from the Merkeley and Partners agency in Manhattan. "They just said that they don't do advertising," says Chris Corraco, broadcast producer at Merkley.
But Waits and Hiatt have the luxury of being established, giving them at least a choice in the matter. And there's no doubt that Waits and Hiatt would command much higher prices than some of the more esoteric names Merkley has approached, making them a bit less attractive financially. "As our budgets become increasingly tighter, we scrutinize the best use of our clients' money for production impact," says Adina Sales, another broadcast producer at Merkley. Translation: indie bands and unsigned talent are cheap labor.
But there is also this sort of A&R drive for the next big thing at ad agencies. "We get tired of hearing Fatboy Slim, Moby and whoever else gets fast-tracked to mainstream overexposure," says Sales. This can lead to the ad agencies picking artists that are virtual unknowns with no record deal, and turning them into hot commodities.
Merkley recruited MoZella, a 22-year-old Detroit native with a throaty Norah Jones-type voice, soon after she signed to Maverick Records last year. A chance encounter at a recording studio led to a partnership between MoZella and Merkley, though the singer/songwriter had yet to release an album.
Her first full-length album isn't due out until next year, but her single "Amazed," sold hundreds of copies on iTunes since its release this May—sales which spiked as soon as the commercial began airing. A single without an album is an atypical approach, but MoZella wrote “Amazed” with Merkley's Mercedes campaign in mind. The exposure from the resulting commercial has increased anticipation for the album and, naturally, spread the word well beyond the L.A. scene MoZella now inhabits. Maverick estimates that traffic on her Web site increased by about 500% after the commercial began airing early last spring.
Deregulation and its bastard son, ClearChannel, have left commercial radio with few openings for new voices, and network TV is bowing deeper and deeper to their respective conglomerate's bottom line. This symbiotic relationship between the starving artist and the ad agency now seems to one of the few ways that fringe voices can get widespread exposure. The other option includes grinding it out night after night in club after club, hoping to build a dedicated fan base while working menial day jobs. As heroic as the latter option may be, it may not keep the van running.
Maybe their dedication will pay off, though. Maybe one day Juan Perez will just have to get out of the office for a while and make the familiar trip to Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, strolling past the street performers and tourists with a deadline looming. And there between the racks and compilations full of hopefuls, he may just fall in love again.
Dan Morrell
Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice: While it doesn't break any new ground, this would qualify as the band's "serious" record
Tegan and Sara - The Con: The Quin sisters employing the sharp production skills of Chris Wala (Death Cab for Cutie)
Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather: So-so tunes, but still infuses mundane snapshots of life with wit to spare
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