Moog Guitar AKA How has this been out for two years and I didn't know it ?

Hey Broadcast Fans

Check out Principal Edwards Magic Theater.

I am listening to their 1969 Soundtrack and thinking Broadcast has to be into this band. John Peel's label Dandelion released it originally and it looks like Cherry Red reissued it.

September 2nd, 2010: Cause & Effect: : Silkworm / Bottomless Pit

In regards to the black and white photo below: Andy and Joel at Linnaea's Cafe in San Lius Obispo, CA 7/ 94. Photo by Sumaya Agha and was a relic from my days of working at C/Z Records. A prize possession to say the least.

The honor is all mine.

Tim Midgett of Silkworm and Bottomless Pit has provided me with one hell of a set comprised of his musical influences as well as crib notes about many of the tracks I will be playing. Tonight from 7PM to 9PM on WRIR I will be sharing two hours of music hand picked by Tim that in turn tells the story of how he as an artist developed his signature playing and writing style. The members of Silkworm have mastered a meticulously crafted next generation post-punk that never wastes a second of time. There is dissonance fist fighting melody. They precisely hammered out songs using a combination of wit, humor, and darkness. They didn't have just one talented member of the band. It was all four of them. I mean how often does that happen to a band? Shit!

Oh, and what happens when a band does it right and for all the right reason? (IE artists in every sense of the word verse pandering to a dumbed down pop audience) They go widely ignored and unrecognized for their talents. What can I say, people are stupid and don't understand the greatness of group this articulate and this able to fire it off into song form.

Often with  the recording partnership of Steve Albini (more Montana goodness) their catalog ended at full length number 9 due to the unfortunate death of their drummer Michael Dahlquist. It still angers and saddens me to think about this loss and how a remarkably great band's place in history now carries a permanent scar of this tragic event when their music is what really deserves the music community's attention and recollection. The one light at the end of this tunnel is Bottomless Pit. With Silkworm laid to rest, Tim and guitarist Andy Cohen formed a band with 2 fellow Chicagoians (is that even a word?) including the drummer from Seam. Part outlet for grief, I am thankful that Tim and Andy decided to continue making music, something that according to my ears is something they were born to do.

You can listen to the show this evening on the dial in RVA at 97.3 FM or stream the show live at www.wrir.org. This will be my first attempt to record the show for a podcast so keep your fingers crossed that all goes well  and hopefully for those of you who missed the show, I will have a podcast to share as well.
                                               *                     *                   *
At the age of 22 going on 23 I picked up and left NJ without much of a plan other than my final resting stop was to be Seattle, WA. I had a small van of possessions and with two friends helping divide the long drive across the county, we arrived there in late winter / early Spring. Thinking back, I am horrified at my lack of planning. While I did have a job waiting for me at C/Z Records as a sales rep, I didn't have an apartment lined up and the only people I really knew were some of the folks at the label, Sub Pop, and a handful of band people who were pen pals but not on any deeply personal level.

Terry, a -co-worker from C/Z was kind enough to let me crash with him until I found a permanent place and even more amazingly he allowed me to store all my crap in his cozy one room loft. While this move across country could have been utterly disastrous, in reality I couldn't have been much luckier. The people at C/Z were all so friendly and incredibly welcoming. I felt like I had an instant family and in just a matter of days, I had been introduced to many of the bands on the label and their friends. This tight kit group of people became not only my world almost overnight but many of them were a bit older than me and introduced to me to mountains (culturally speaking). Sure they knew about art, music, food, and places I had never been to... but they also proved to me that adults didn't have to be boring. They were a true network of friends who supported each other, inspired one another, and seemed to be some of the most passionate artists I had ever met in my life. My concept of adults up until this point in time was based on my parents and their friends, their homes, their grey lives, none of which included much of a creative edge that included sharing a bill at a local rock club. Within this group of people were members of Silkworm, Engine Kid, Jessamine, and my eventual roomie, Bill who went on to join the Downer Trio among many other groups. As a young woman still very much not a real adult in many ways, this group of people showed me the best possible scenario for combing talented bands and a communal like support system.  It wasn't always perfect, but when you have a base of incredibly talented people fine tuning their craft around the clock, bouncing ideas off of one another, and actively recording / touring...as a green music fanatic, this was the best accidental education a girl could ask for.

It took me some time to raise enough money to afford an apartment so my first 3 months if not longer included a great deal of couch surfing (often in cycles that matched Michael the drummer of Silkworm who was also a couch jockey at the time) and house sitting. When Silkworm toured for their release In the West, I stayed in Tim Midgett's (bass player) and his fantastic lady's house which gave me one of my first looks at a home that was nothing like my parents. It sounds absurd now but in hindsight but it never occurred to me that adults could decorate any way they wanted and that I too one day would have the freedom and maybe the good fortune to be in a loving relationship that would afford me the opportunity to build a home of my own that didn't have to look like my parent's, or theirs, or anyone's for that matter. Besides their impeccable taste, there was one heck of a record collection. Much like my stint house sitting for Yo La Tengo I was blessed with the exposure to a a host of artists and genres I wasn't familiar with and so began my first hefty exposures to Jazz, NZ guitar bands, and oh so many others.

It is easy to romanticize my brief time in Seattle (just under two years) but when I think of the people I was fortunate to work along side, the music I had a chance to help sell / spread the word on, and then this incredible group of friends I made, I have every right to boast and glow. These were amazing people and by dumb luck, at a time when Grunge was finally dying and indie rock bands like Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, Sunny Day were all actively playing and on the rise. I saw probably two or three shows a week back then and most of them were bills that would make any indie rock nerd's jaw drop.

                                             Tim and I in 1994 at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, Wa.

So tonight's show is certainly about the music first and foremost (Thanks again Tim!) however it would be remiss of me not to admit to the importance of this band's accidental role in the shaping of who I am and a landmark of where I came from.

Government Issue Reunion with J Robbins

It is a benefit for a DJ Stereo Faith who is trying to tackle some medical bills after an expensive operation to remove a tumor from his auditory canal.

December 11th at the Black Cat in Washington, DC. with the Goons and Set to Explode.

All the details can be found here.

August 19th, 2010: Cause & Effect : R.E.M.

Here is what I remember about seeing R.E.M. live in 1987.

1) It was a school night and I was 16.
2) I couldn't drive yet so my Mom drove me and a girl friend(s?) into the city to see the show. Being the amazing Mom that she was, she killed time in the city (NYC) while we went to the show so we could pretend to be mature and cool AKA parent free at the rock show. I grew up in NJ about 40 minutes from NYC so this was hike that meant my Mom dedicated a whole evening to playing our chauffeur.
3) It took place at Radio City Music Hall
4) I liked R.E.M mostly because I had fallen in love with them that year via a documentary called Athens, GA : Inside/Out. 



5. Mr. Stipe had many layers of clothing on and as they moved onto the next song, a shirt would come off to reveal yet another shirt. I thought he must have been remarkably skinny because for all those shirt, he didn't look layered and bulky.
6. It was a very long set and got antsy / worried that we would miss the three encores because it was getting late and we had a specific time my Mom was going to be picking us up. This was before cell phones so there wasn't a way to let her know the set was running late.
7. Michael Stipe danced unlike any other human I had ever scene. I was obsessed with Andy Warhol at the time and I remember thinking he was the first person I had ever seen in real life that was genuinely quirky to the point of alien. Ahh, the mind of a pseudo artsy  Sophomore in high school.
8. We had rather good seats and were on the floor somewhere in the first 30 rows.

Here is what I don't recall about the show but the internet had told me about:

1) 10,000 Maniacs was the opening act. I not only don't recall that but I was pretty certain until tonight that I had never seen that band play live before. I was sure that REM had played with Echo and the Bunnymen that night but apparently that isn't the case and now I am left wondering who I saw Echo play with there. (Apparently that was in 1988) I saw many shows there, (Adam Ant, Echo, Replacements, Midnight Oil....to name a few) and apparently they are all starting to blur together. It also appears that I was never much of a fan of 10,000 Maniacs since this event has left zero impact on my memory.
2) I couldn't tell you what record they were touring for (Dead Letter Office / Document according to the internet) or what songs were played. It's pathetic. I look over that set list I found on a website and it means nothing to me. I mean I know the songs but I don't recall any special memories about that night in regards to any of those songs. Oooops.
3. I seriously can't recall if I ever saw R.E.M. again. I don't think I did but with my memory, who the hell knows.
4. I can't even be certain who I went to the with. Shame on me!

I know, this is probably the worst concert "review" ever but the real point at hand is that Cause and Effect tonight will be highlighting the influences, peers, and bands who have followed in R.E.M. footsteps. Only on WRIR, from 7PM to 9PM. You can listen to us on the dial at 97.3 FM in Richmond or stream us live at www.wrir.org. The set includes music by The Byrds, The Velvets, Big Star, Rain Parade, Leonard Cohen, The Soft Boys, The Feelies, Patti Smith, Pavement, Jawbreaker and more!

Mira Cook

Mira Cook is my newest musical obsession; all thanks to the recent Aquarius Records recent review of her Capella CDR.
"With only a single cassette release to her name, Mira Cook has already become one of our favorite delicate, hypnotic and entrancing music makers of the last few years. We've been lucky to get to see her play around town so much, each time watching as she adds a new self taught instrument to the mix, as she creates songs that are really like these miniature fairy tales of the everyday. Her cassette only release, was one of our best selling tapes of 2009, and for good reason. It introduced us to her unique, inviting and warm sensual world of sound. Signs contains some reworked versions of songs that appeared on the cassette along with a bunch of brand new tracks. Using loops as a way to create endless entrancing melody, and taking so sweetly to everything from dulcimer, to drum machines, to piano, to organ, etc., it's Mira's assured and captivating voice that transports us so utterly and completely. It's hard not to think about people like Joanna Newsom, Juana Molina and Bjork, as there is that same kind of unique vision, charm and golden presence in Cook's songs. We're also reminded a lot of that a capella record that Petra Haden made covering The Who's Sell Out. Like the musical equivalent of a Joseph Cornell box, every song on Signs is filled with such unique treasures!"

Sonic Fabric : Clothes made from Recycled Cassette Ribbons

I am still trying to wrap my head around this one but I am amazed / excited it exists at all. As the subject header explains, an artist is making fabric out of cassette tape ribbons. There is even a way to listen to the fabric which sounds like a horror soundtrack of garbled chaos but hey, there are people who love that kind of thing (like me!). The artist has created clothes, ties, and works of art using this material she has loomed himself.

I am in awe.

Sonic Fabric site here.

August 12th, 2010 : Cause & Effect : Beastie Boys

Tonight's show is a little different than normal for us. Rather than playing the BB's roots, influences, peers, and so on, we thought it would be interesting to spend all two hours showcasing the music they took samples from; talk about the ultimate influence set!

A friend was kind enough to pass along a link to blog that listed every BB release and then every song they pulled samples from to make that release. Sounds like our radio show was practically done for us, right? I was hoping that might be the case but in actuality, to pick out the key songs to feature during our show, you need to know the BB catalog inside out first to know which songs are the most important. This means we spent hours, maybe a total of 20+ between the two of us, listening to all the music (BB + the songs they sampled) and then deciding which songs will make for the best show. Not to mention that just ONE record (Paul's Boutique) has over 150 songs they pulled samples from! I have a new respect for the layering and soundscaping a rap group does to build the music to rap over no less their ability to sculpt a few seconds of a sample into something entirely new and interesting. We picked the first four releases by the Beasties and in turn will be playing them in chronological order along side some of the music they used to shape the sound of that release.

It's been an unbelievable learning experience to put their music under a microscope and I don't know what I am more impressed with, the music or the overall distance these men have traveled since their inception in 1979 as a hardcore band.



With Kate from Luscious Jasckson on drums!



To this:

Shameless Self Promotion : Honor Role / Coral Fans Take Note ! ! !

Years in the making, the Dynamic Truths LPs are finally done and for sale at this very instant here. For those of you who have been living in the dark, I run a record label called Little Black Cloud and this is the first time I have pressed an LP on the label. My other releases, Ringfinger and Cinemasophia, were on CD only so this is an exciting first for me.

Don't know who the Dynamic Truths are? Check out this review.

Here is a tasty little sample of what Jordan from Dusted has to say:

"Categorizing Dynamic Truths as a simplistic update of Thatcher-era British angularities is also fairly misleading. Despite its deliberately stiff rhythms and gloomy minor-key melodies, the band touches equally on jangling, New Zealand-style pop and on unmistakably American tension inherited from ‘80s and ‘90s post-hardcore bigwigs Honor Role (fronted by Schick), Fudge (featuring guitarist David Jones) and Coral (with Schick and drummer Bill Walker). From 1996 through their split in 2000, these three indie veterans, along with a series of bassists (including Honor Role alum Chip Jones) and second guitarists, created music that went unnoticed by all but the sharpest area scenesters"

For a more complete back story on the band go here.

Heavy Metal Picnic

Oh Maryland, I know people overlook you as far as American states go, but some of us know where the true party is. Or ummmm, was.




Director Jeff Krulik posted this on Youtube and I am bummed to see that I missed the debut showing!

jeffkrulik | July 15, 2010

I'm proud to announce the official trailer for HEAVY METAL PICNIC, my new documentary, scheduled to premiere on Friday, August 6, 2010 at 9:30PM at AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD
http://www.heavymetalpicnic.com
Produced by Jeff Krulik, John Heyn, Rudy Childs, Billy Gordon
Edited by Greg DeLiso

from the AFI Silver program:
Produced and presented by the team behind cult hit HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT (Jeff Krulik and John Heyn), HEAVY METAL PICNIC is a celebration of mid-'80s Maryland rock and roll and heavy metal, by those who lived--and survived--it. The film focuses on the 1985 Full Moon Jamboree, a weekend field party bacchanal that took place at "The Farm," home to a cast of colorful characters who lived and partied alongside unamused neighbors in the McMansions of Potomac. The Full Moon Jamboree, an affair so raucous that it made the evening news, was the field party to end all field parties, and much of it was recorded using a home video camera and a stolen CBS News microphone swiped from the Reagan Inauguration earlier that year. Twenty-five years later, we revisit the scene and meet the people behind the party, as well as the musicians who performed there, including mid-Atlantic doom metal icons Asylum
http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplay...