Category Archives: Music

Libby’s Music

The Swell Season – Live At The Hollywood Bowl

Posted on by
3

Ok….order is officially restored. By order, I mean my soul. The Swell Season, blew my head off at The Hollywood Bowl. AH-MAH-ZING! Simple, no bells, no whistles, no gimmicky outfits, no set design, no projected images…just straight up good music exceptionally well performed. The line up was, The Bird & The Bee, She & Him and the aforementioned. We missed The Bird & The Bee, unfortunately. I like them, but have not had the opportunity to see them live, which as you know solidifies for me the future like or dislike of an act. But I heard they were good, and put on a good show. From the photos I saw, and the reviews I’ve read, they had sequins with their shenanigans, some choreography to boot, and had the goods to back it up. I did see She & Him. Zoey is beyond cute to look at, and M. Ward is undeniably talented. The band, who’s names I can’t share with you as, neither Zoey nor M. had the courtesy to introduce any member of the band. The Chapin Sisters sang back up for them and jumped up and down with Zoey on cue, they got a mention, but the musos…nah! Bad form, just bad f’ing form. However, I liked the music. It was fun, light-hearted and adequately presented. Zoey proved that she’s more than just an actress having a go at music, she has a cool sound to her voice, even though, she is still wrapping her chops around control of her dynamics. She sounded best when there was less sound to get above. She had a go at the rhodes and at the piano…it was clear that she can only play what she has rehearsed, but it was fine for this kind of show. Even though there was nothing raw about it, not edge of my seat moment, it was fun for the atmosphere and again, I genuinely enjoyed the music.

The Huffington Post’s article said it best “The first few opening bars of The Swell Season’s set made it clear that the children had been put to bed”. 100% agree. When Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova hit the stage, the first thing Glen did was introduce the band as they were strapped themselves in to their axes and toms. The crowd roared in approval and at that moment I knew I was not the only one to frown upon She & Him’s overt negligence. Glen then strapped himself in to his busted up acoustic that literally will soon be more holes than wood. He proceeded to play solo with Marketa straining to support him vocally. He sang so hard that I could feel myself being quickly converted to his religion. I was already a member of the congregation, but now I’m born again. O….M….G!!!!! I can understand the feeling of being placed on a stage like that with a full house, after struggling for soooo many years. His energy wreaked of gratitude and satisfaction. Marketa, as usual, played it cool and took it all her stride. She’s humble and solid. I do wish she’d dress just a little bit more….I realize it’s part of the charm, in a Rickie Lee Jones kind of way, that she can wear a cotton nothing sack and still rock the house, but just a little attention to personal style wouldn’t hurt….I mean…just a tad. But that’s just me. I know. I know. I complain when they do and complain when they don’t. Understand, it’s important to have the entire package to me. When the outfit is over compensating for lack of talent, it pisses me off. When the outfit understates the venue and the amount of talent, i get it, but just wish there was a little more.

Either way, this was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Glen’s performance especially. He brought tears to my eyes. He made me jump out of my seat. He made me speechless and submissive. This is a talent that can sing with so much raw power and emotion and then in an instant have the softest sound that still reverberates over the heads 14,000 people. His guitar takes a beating along with it…masterfully. He’s untouchable. He’s en fuego!

He talked about playing Santa Monica Promenade as a busker. I knew he had busked (hence the movie), but to see him in this light, and then imagine him as one of the nameless faces playing The Promenade just put it all in perspective. I guess it just goes to show. Never give up on your art. Do it for the love of it. Build and they will come, or perhaps, in this industry, they may come…they may not, but do it anyway. Thanks Swell Season, for restoring my soul. Just the basics, and some of the best sound I’ve ever heard.

You can read more, and see and hear more at The Huffington Post. Here. Enjoy!

Billboard’s Top 10 Worst National Anthem Performances

Posted on by
Reply

My daily email from Billboard this morning featured “The Top 10 Worst National Anthem Performances EVER”, well, according to Billboard magazine and Monica Herrera. Of course I was intrigued. Over the years I have had several students call me in a mad panic having been asked to sing the National Anthem at a stadium or at a function of some sort. It seems to put the fear of God into any singer. It’s understandable. Usually the singer is required to sing it “a capella” which is not easy for most singers with any song…but the National Anthem isn’t just any song. The melody has a raised 4th in the verse which basically requires the singer to step out of the main key for a brief moment. The overall melody covers an octave and a half range, and does this in the first two bars. To cover that kind of distance in the voice requires control and some technique. Also, it is often performed at a stadium, which invariably creates an substantial echo or two, and unless the performer is wearing in ear monitors, or is seasoned enough to be able to tune this out, it can create a massive melodic train wreck, especially when the crowd usually sings along to the echo. So, yes it is challenging to say the least.

Based on Monica’s article, it seems there are three acceptable ways to perform the anthem. One:- Diva Style (Whitney Houston, Beyonce etc. Which means legato melody, belted out with vocal acrobatics galore). Two:- Traditional (a good singer just singing the melody no muss no fuss, with the acceptable run or blue note here and there) or Three:- Artistic (Marvin Gaye or an artist of any genre who cannot be tamed like a session singer….no matter what, they will sing it in a way that reflects what they do.)

Let’s look Monica’s choices for the worst performances of the National Anthem ever….

Coming in at number 10 is Josh Groban with Flea. Ok…I agree, this is an odd pairing but it’s not one of the worst ever performances by a long stretch. First of all, it takes balls of steel to walk out into the middle of a stadium with nothing but a bass player, a drummer and a brass section behind you. That would actually be more challenging than singing it ‘a cappella’…ESPECIALLY if you’re as accomplished, vocally as Josh Groban. Why? Well, there isn’t one instrument there that is polyphonic. The singer is relying on the various monophonic instruments to make up the harmony. Usually this is difficult to sing to due to issues with intonation, balance, rhythm and the list goes on. Therefore, I liked it. It was risque, it was odd. I would say that as the song reached the climax it’s a little lack luster due to the lack of solid harmony behind him. However, Josh sings on with conviction was unswayed, and flawless in his delivery. To call this one of the worst is just unfair. I might also like to add that to play the bass the way Flea did at the top of the song, requires some skill. I give Josh points for trying something different and changing it up. This goes in the Artistic category.

Next up at #9 was Keri Hilson. Keri Hilson forgot the words, caught it and fixed it in mid flight. Ok…not ideal, but It happens. At this moment you can hear the entire stadium commenting. Keri rose above it. Not easy to do. However, she did sing ‘a cappella’ and she did miss the alt note in the verse both times. This performance would go in the Diva category, however no self respecting Diva would miss that raised 4th note. So EEEEAAAAHHH thanks for playing. The girl can sing though, let it be known.

Ok…at #8 is R. Kelly. Oh dear. Mr. Kelly. Monica is spot on here in her noting that R. Kelly was clearly inspired by Marvin Gaye’s famous performance in 1983, although he does it his way. I also agree that it was unnecessary to have the dancers behind him. But, this falls into the Artistic category. R. Kelly is R. Kelly. He believes he can fly and lord help anyone who tells him otherwise. He does it his way and that is that. Also, it’s at a boxing match for Christ’s sake. Who the hell cares. People were entertained and they got their little dose of patriotism, all is well. It was cheesy yes, but it was R. Kelly.

#7 was Steven Tyler. This is just judgmental. To think that Steven Tyler would get up and perform this anthem any other way is naive. He starts with Harmonica and has his trademark scarves flying on the mic stand. He’s in tune as much as he needs to be, he gets the alt notes and adds some of his own….and he screams at the top of his damn lungs. This is “you either love him or you hate him” situation. I have at least 9 male students who would give their eye teeth to be able to scream like this at this range. Absolutely going into the Artistic category.

Ok…now we’re getting somewhere…coming in at number 6 is Jesse McCartney. Oh my dear lord…have Mehrcyah! I like how the news reader takes pity on Jesse and begs the question…”could you remember all the words to the national anthem if you were singing in front of millions of people?”. Well…most people might say yes I could. I’m not an American and I could do it, but the National Anthem for your country of birth should be like Happy Birthday. It’s permanently etched in your brain. That said, even if it isn’t, and you’re calling yourself a recording/performing artist of any description, who is about to perform in front of millions of people…you LEARN THE WORDS!!!! If you have stage fright to the point of distraction…you have the words written out in big text and have someone hold them up in front of you out of the way of the camera, or use a telepromopter. (I’ll admit that even this is lame, but some people need it). However, when you forget entire sections of the song (sections which coincidentally have the big notes) and don’t know the melody and don’t know how to sing in tune, nerves or no nerves, I’m sorry….GO HOME! There are so many more deserving performers. This just goes in the “WTF” category and is indeed one of the worst performances of the National Anthem EVER!

OK numero cinque….Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville and Dr John. Dr. John and Aaron Neville, representing New Orleans and Aretha representing Detroit. To list any of Aretha’s performances of any song as one of the worst performance ever, and to put it AHEAD of Jesse McCartney’s tragic rendition takes some mighty ‘cajones’. To also poo poo a performance that has been designed to pay tribute to victims of the Katrina hurricane, well cajones or not, that’s just rude. However, this performance was disjointed without a doubt but not deserving of this list. First of all, Aaron does not have the “let me belt out this song right about now” type of voice, which a stadium gig almost begs. He’s a stylistic singer, who’s good in his range, and probably even better in a padded vocal booth with a studio microphone that can pick up the slightest wheeze deep inside one’s alveoli. Here he’s just lost, sonically. Completely lost. He’s doing his damnedest until Aretha marches in and just pretty much wipes the floor with him. Putting these two singers together in a stadium setting was just cruel. It’s like putting a lion and a mosquito in a boxing ring together and being surprised the mosquito fell down dead when the lion exhaled. But, Aaron represented his town, as did Dr. John…and he did a fine job. This goes in the Diva and Artistic category (and perhaps even the “weird tribute” category that we accept due to the circumstances).

Number 4. Scott Stapp from Creed. Horrible. Out of tune, wrong notes you name it. I’m not even going to dignify this with any further comment.

#3. To put Michael Bolton after that performance above that I’m not going to discuss, because I desperately want to erase it from my mind forever. The fact that my retina had to take a moment to process it for my brain at all is offensive to me on many levels. I know, I said I wasn’t going to comment, but that was until I watched Michael Bolton. Now, I’m not a Scott Stapp fan, but that is not why I’m offended by his performance. As I’ve said before, I’ll give anyone a go. I’m not a Michael Bolton fan either…not even a little, but to put this ahead of Scott Stapp is so wrong. Ok…Michael did have to look at his hand for his cheat lyrics which caused the entire stadium to murmur, but he didn’t mess up the lyrics as a result did he! He was prepared, even if it’s lame, he knew that he would forget that line and was prepared. I give him some props for this. KNOW YOURSELF. Don’t leave it up to chance. If you forget one line every time you practice it…you most likely will forget it live and then some. Of course we could argue that if you’re a professional you should never forget a line, but we’re not all Stepford Singers like Celine Dion. It happens. Prepare! Other than this little bungle, he does actually kill it. In quite a high key for his voice I might add. He even rises above the crowds mockery of his cheat sheet. No way this is worse than Scott Stapp. No Ha-way!

Before I even clicked on the link this morning I wondered where this next performance would rank. I knew it would have to be close to #1, if not #1. Roseanne Barr. It comes in at #2 and I say whatever. Who ever allowed her to do this is responsible. Not Roseanne. Apparently Roseanne was paying homage to Madonna….that is lost on me and I have no idea what that inside joke was about, but even if that is the case…spare the rest of us. Sense of humour or not (and I have a big one!) spare people’s ear drums and don’t waste my time.

Wait for it….#1…The WORST National Anthem Performance ever, according to Monica Herrera goes to Kat DeLuna. WTF? Who? This is worse than Roseanne Barr? Worse than Scott Stapp? Worse than Jesse? Kat DeLuna’s performance is lacking, no question. Frayed around the edges of her bravado, you can see the lack of confidence and towards the middle of the performance I wanted to run on stage and give the little girl a hug and tell her it will be ok. She’s a baby! This is personal me thinks. Let’s see…Monica Herrera (latina) and Kat DeLuna – who is of Domenican nationality and has had success in the Latin music genre. Yes. I think this is a case of Ms. Herrera letting her personal feelings, tastes and interests cloud her judgment. She calls Ms. DeLuna’s performance “a spectacular failure”. That is unfair. It is lacking, as I’ve said…but it’s also clear that Kat has some chops in there. And…even though Monica is adamant that Kat botches the final note, she’s wrong. Throughout her performance where she changes keys a few times (and not in a good way), she actually…in the very end, lands on the right note. I feel for these super young artists who have been thrown into the lions den because they have shown talent and they are easy on the eyes. To sing the US National Anthem, alone, a cappella, in front of thousands and sometimes millions of people is in no way easy. Monica is offended that Ms. DeLuna shows confidence in the midst of terror and maliciously points out that people booed at the end. Well, people also cheered which is more than you can say for Roseanne’s performance. People cheered at the end of Scott Stapp’s performance….which just goes to prove that many people cannot hear the water in their own shower let alone a good singer from a bad singer. There have been countless performers who have used audacity alone to sell records when devoid of real talent. The music industry wouldn’t exist without it. Kat DeLuna is not a true example of this. Yes she’s cute and she’s young. She’s bilingual and she can sing. Can she carry a tune a cappella…no way in hell, not this one. Is she an artist with a vision and something to say? I honestly don’t really know. I’m going to go with probably not. Kat is just a young girl who needs more experience. Needs to tame and harness her talents. But I digress. She is in no way deserving of the #1 spot.

Where oh where is Michael Paoletta when you need him? Enough with the music journalists that know diddly squat about music. Anyway…you have a look and let me know if that star spangled banner waves the way you like it. Land of the free? Home of the brave? Brave doesn’t cut it in Monica Herrera’s world.

Over and out!

Here’s a link to the Billboard article - check it out here.

Goldfrapp – Hollywood Bowl

Posted on by
Reply

I am loving Goldfrapp’s new album – Head First. At first listen, I was taken aback by how “on the nose” 1980s it sounds, but hey, I was there (shhhh don’t tell anybody) so it quickly grew on me and now…I’m addicted. But I have loved every album they’ve made so far, so I guess you could safely say I’m a fan.. My good friend Sean invited me and friends to their show at The Hollywood Bowl. As we walked in, an usher lead us down towards the front row, and then across to the middle and I just about died. There honestly wasn’t a better seat in the house. So we had some wine, some food and listened to the amazing Buena Vista Social Club Orchestra as the sun went down (they were an odd choice to open for Goldfrapp I thought, but hey, I was into it). Overall, at that moment the vibe at The Bowl was amazing.

Finally Alison, Gregory and troupe came out, dressed head to toe in 1980s metallic spandex garb and draped in key-tars. Alison’s soprano soared over the Hollywood valley. It sounded gorgeous. But after the first song….several people around us got up and left. I was close enough to see the look on Alison Goldfrapp’s face. She kept her cool, but as a performer, I can imagine playing such a prestigious venue, full house, and how it would feel to have half the audience directly in front of you get up and leave either during or after the first song. The Bowl being the type of venue it is, people have their box and subscribe to the shows they want to see. The Bowl is divided into sections and if you’re not holding a ticket that puts you in the first 3 rows of the front, you can’t get there….in fact it’s pretty hard to move from any section at The Bowl once you’re situated. In this case it was obvious due to the odd pairing, a large part of the front row circle crowd came for Buena Vista, used their boxes for a bit of a show, dinner and drinks and then left when this weird electro-pop European group came on stage that they had no idea what to make of and clearly didn’t care for. Who can blame them. The music industry isn’t really designed for someone who is a fan of The Buena Vista Social Club to also be a fan of Goldfrapp. Two different demographics entirely. Not that everyone falls into this trap, but you know….

This left a few of us fans up the front all alone with ourselves. Now, I’ve been sandwiched in amongst people at concerts more times than I care to remember, wishing I had more room to move or to breathe. It was interesting for once to have the best seat in the house, nothing but space all around me and feel completely alone in my concert-goer excitement. Be careful what you wish for. Such a huge act and so many die hard fans there, but the best seats in the house, empty and the majority of fans in the nose bleed section.

Anyway, Alison didn’t disappoint, even though it was obvious the start rattled her. I’m sure she’s experienced and old enough to have figured out what happened. And, she’s enough of a professional to go within her own mind and take control o f her experience. And she did this with flying colours. Will Gregory did his best to get people moving and deflect for his partner. However, his outfit disturbed me a little bit, and I’m quite sure I wasn’t alone. He had full metallic spandex on and a blouse-y shirt. He’s grown out his fringe and hair…looking quite neanderthal-ish…in a new wave 80s way that is. But, in his typical “I’m-super-multi-talented-thank-you-very-much” fashion, he did rock the violin, the guitar and the key-tar and did a fair amount of singing in his bizarre ensemble. Alison stuck to singing this time and performing. Her voice soared over soprano to alto parts down to tenor parts with finesse. At one point, half way through, she reached her arms out towards the back and screamed with frustration “AURG! I wish you were closer to me!”. Damn straight! At that point I jumped out of my seat and bonded with the two gentleman to my right who were enjoying their date together and started to get into it as I wanted to. By the end of the night, literally, I was one of 4 people who right went up to the stage and had arms flailing and feet stomping. Now that’s not right is it, but what the hell….I felt like I had the whole band and the whole Hollywood Bowl to myself…now who’s the rock star?

Lady Gaga…

Posted on by
5

If you read my ‘Women in music, or little girls?” post you will know how I feel about female artists of late. Well, I went with my friend SuzAnn to see Lady Gaga. I’m not necessarily a fan, but like I’ve said before, I’ll go and hear almost anything live, at least once. It is the best way to truly assess an artist. Especially in today’s musical climate. Are they actually singing? Are they able to play the instrument they are photographed with? What is their message? Can they communicate that message artfully? etc.

If you saw Taylor Swift’s performance at The Grammys this year, you will know what I’m talking about. The Grammys forbids the use of auto-tune or lip syncing. They also like pairing up artists of contrast or different eras. Putting Taylor Swift with a veteran performer like Stevie Nicks was simultaneous brilliant and stupid. Either the mastermind behind that arrangement had it in for Taylor or was stupid enough to believe that Taylor could actually hold her own. I love that the label issued a statement to the public defending Taylor’s out of tune singing as technical difficulties. Who on this earth would buy that? OMG! Anyway….I’m not here to talk about her….I digress.

Lady Gaga, love her or hate her, is the real deal. I know enough people connected to Lady Gaga to know that the tour was thrown together in minutes and was on the road virtually seconds after her songs were written and recorded. I know that ‘Teeth’ was being recorded in the studio in October and I saw the show in December. That’s almost unheard of. And, she has since completely redesigned the show to take it to Europe and is revamping it again to come back and tour the states as soon as she is finished in Europe. Every single penny she makes is put back into “The House of Gaga”, which from what I understand, is her own empire of set designers, fashion designers, producers and worker bees working in said house to constantly create and develop everything and anything to propel her music and her performances forward. This girl has a strong work ethic….and a drive that is very rare.

She has a very clear message which she unabashedly flaunted. She is entertaining. Her set is full of strong visuals, leaving no stone unturned. Costume after costume, costume within costumes. Even the piano was barricaded and designed to look like a broken down shack of rusty nails and drift wood, she had big black wings on her back and sat squatted on the piano stool by herself and played and sang a ballad really really well. I say that with enthusiasm because that is a big deal, especially with an artist who’s so young and whose music is so electronically driven. That girl can sing and play. I mean, she’s no Herbie Hancock, but she doesn’t need to be.

Gaga at piano

What blew my mind the most was the diversity of the audience. Sold out shows every night – yes. I know she’s got the gay vote, that goes without saying, so I expected a strong representation of the gay community. I also expected a strong presence of those under 21 years old, and I was not disappointed. What I didn’t expect in a million years was the presence of woman and men, both single and couples over 40…dressed to the nines – mardi-gras style. Mums and Dad’s with their kids, and not sitting down with their faces in their blackberry’s or waiting at the bar until it was all over, but dancing and singing and as into it as their children. Families dressed up like gaga. I’m serious. I’ve never in my life seen anything like it.

Gaga has wormed her way into the hearts of the insecure freak in many a demographic. If you were the wall flower in high school in 1975 or if you are the in-the-closet lesbian in junior high now, she is your ambassador and she knows it. Or maybe you just have a penchant for drama and dressing up, and if it’s as simple as that, she is your queen.

Ok…couple of criticisms. Had my friend Craig (who incidentally represents the queer vote) not called me and ordered me to take earplugs, I would have most likely bled to death in the isles or choked on my own vomit. Now, I’m not a light weight, I’ve been going to concerts since I was 12, and I’ve been in more rock bands than I can remember. I rarely plug my ears (I’m not proud of that, I should), but this was just offensive. It wasn’t that is was loud, it was loud and bad. Strong and wrong. Whoever does her sound should be fired. Distorted, bad levels, you name it. Horrid. There were times when I could only hear the drum loop and nothing else. I could hear the stomping of the feet on the stage and nothing else. Gaga struggled with the mic and the sound, and the show went on, but it was a black mark on the report card…that’s for sure.

Also, it wouldn’t hurt her to polish up her dancing or at least stop pretending she is a good dancer. She could finesse her in between song banter. It’s understandable though. Her rise to super stardom has been so incredibly fast that I think she is still learning to fill the shoes of the level she’s actually at. In a way it’s nice that it’s not so overly produced that it impersonal, but it’s definitely a few notches down from the type of production she is putting forward.

Yes…it was all very self indulgent. Yes…she is determined to be the biggest star in the world. But I’m sure we’ll see her put that celebrity to some use in time. Right now, I can’t imagine she has time for anything. She’s so busy grabbing hold of her constantly evolving and growing status. However she did pair with Cyndi Lauper recently to promote aids awareness, and I have faith that as she settles in to her new found mega stardom she’ll do more for her freaks. She’s a good Italian catholic girl after all. ;-)

Lady Gaga….an artist with a vision. An artist who is a woman and proud of it. An artist who will be around for a very long time and will never sway from her directive….world domination. Like it or not, she is here to stay.

The Best Is Yet To Come – Cy Coleman

Posted on by
Reply

My friend and occasional collaborator Dave Palmer produced an album last year. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it, but life has totally gotten in the way of my blogging on a regular basis. Anyway, it is a fine, fine album. In case you don’t know, Cy Coleman, is often quoted as “the youngest member of the elite group of Great American Songbook composers”. He’s responsible for well known standards such as “Witchcraft,” “The Best Is Yet To Come,” “Big Spender” and “The Rules Of The Road” made timeless by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Barbara Streisand, Dusty Springfield, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee (for example). Ella Fitzgerald won a Grammy for her performance of “The Best Is Yet To Come.”

The album, “The Best Is Yet To Come: The Songs of Cy Coleman”, was released September 15, 2009 on New West Records. It’s also on iTunes and various other internet sites. In his inimitable fashion, he completely re-arranged and produced the songs, making them fresh and at times, avant garde and unpredictable. Then, Dave chose to have different female artists perform songs. The production and new arrangements revived the lyrics and created a new indescribable genre in my opinion. It’s also some of the best singing I’ve ever heard.

Fiona Apple contributes two songs (her first new music in five years), alongside other artists such as Missy Higgins, Madeleine Peyroux, Jill Sobule, Nikka Costa, Sara Watkins and Patty Griffin, who sings The Best Is Yet To Come. It’s unlike any version you’ve ever heard of the song, and it’s Patty as you’ve never heard her before. This is what I’m talking about. Who would ever think of Patty Griffin to sing a song that is known predominantly as a jazz standard? It’s brilliant and it creates something unexpected. Something fresh.

Michael Perfitt recorded most of it, and various notable musicians played on it such as Jay Bellerose, Aaron Sterling, Mark Goldenberg, Benmont Tench, Lisa Coleman, to name a few, and of course Dave.

The Best Is Yet To Come, does the original songbook genre justice. I’m not talking about jazz as a broad stroke genre, I’m talking about vocal jazz, The Great American Songbook standard jazz. Know what I mean? This is how I want to hear it. Squeeze new life out of well known songs. Wake them up. Use instrumentation that is not typical. Anyway, you get the idea. It’s great. Really good for the ears and the soul.

Check it out!

Check it out!

Women in music or little girls? Regina Spektor at The Greek.

Posted on by
1

I went to Regina Spektor’s concert at The Greek Theater last Wednesday night.

How was the show? Well….is Regina Spektor a good singer? Yes, without question. Her voice soars and dips, sings almost perfectly on pitch the entire time, is flawless in it’s transition and holds a spectrum of sounds that rival Tori Amos. Is Regina Spektor a good musician? No doubt about it, she plays the piano with expression and feeling, she adds surprising little hooks to the middle of sections that take you by surprise and does this without any hint of rehearsal. Is RS a good songwriter? Yes. I wouldn’t say she’s one of the greats, but she is good and has a style that is unique to her that doesn’t necessarily play by the rules, but exhibits knowledge of the rules and structure that makes songs memorable and sing-able. I particularly like her ‘Laughing With’ song, along with several songs off of her 1st record, ‘Begin To Hope’. Did she have good musicians playing with her? Yes, Matt Chamberlain, who in my opinion is one of the finest drummers in the business, along with a lovely very competent string quartet. So then…why did my friend and I leave after 5 songs?

First, I will admit it was bitterly, b-i-t-t-e-r-l-y cold. Probably the coldest night we’ve had so far this season. That said, I would sit through an ice storm for great music or a great artist. I should also admit that I am not a die-hard fan, I like her well enough; I own her first record and listen to it every now and again. I agreed to go out of curiosity. You understand, you like an artist at a tier 1 level. To decide whether or not you want to move to tier 2, you go to a live show. I am a HUGE fan of live music and find this the best way to really hear an artist. So I went. She delivered but she did not blow me away. She did not reach me, or move me or make me think. She did not reach into my rib cage and rip out my heart. There was no blood on the microphone or the ivory’s. But whatever…that doesn’t bother me so much because very few artists can do that. I also knew that what I saw was an accurate barometer for the rest of the show.

The crucial thing that made me choose a car with a working heater over her remaining set…she played the little girl card. Now I will ask the question I have been asking myself for about 2-3 years…..and I beg for your answers. I’m serious…school me. Why oh why do women feel compelled to behave and/or sing like little girls????? This silly, giggly awe struck thing that goes on? It’s been a fad now for about the last three years and I don’t get it. Regina is 29 or 30 years old. She wore a dress akin to an Alice in Wonderland costume with a cardboard cut out cartoon bow on her neck. She giggled as she shrugged and covered her mouth and I guess it was alluring to those who dig it….but who are they and why? Is it as simple as pedophilia? Please explain.

I look at artists such as Madonna, Chrissy Hynde, Pat Benatar, M.I.A, Bjork, Tori Amos, Patty Griffin, Nikka Costa, Suze DeMarchi and NINA FUCKING SIMONE and I don’t see one of those artists pretending to be a little girl. Fiona Apple is probably an exception, as she has a tendency to behave cute and shy in between songs…but when she opens her mouth she has the voice of a 65-year-old jazz singer who is being channeled from the gates of hell and the gates of heaven simultaneously, so therefore, she gets a pass.

Personally I can’t take it anymore. I can see that she has it all right there…and yet she’s playing it safe and all perfect and it’s sooooo boring and contrived. I want to either be on the edge of my seat, or comfortably sitting back in my seat enjoying what the artist does brilliantly without any facade.

I know, I know. I sound jaded. I’m just merely asking the question. Why is popular? I really wanted to love Regina’s show…truly. I still believe she is remarkably talented, but the image…needs an overhaul in my humble (not that anyone gives a fuck) opinion. Where is the next great female role model? Because this little girl thing is tired.

I Live In Hope – Video

Posted on by
1

Something happened recently. Something exciting. I met a lovely lady, Jen at my last Genghis show. She is a photographer. She asked about shooting some pics for me sometime and one day I intend to take her up on that offer. She took my Sometime In Morning CD. Her husband, Ric contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in making a music video with him. They’ve been playing my CD and Ric and Jen fell in love with the music. I checked out his portfolio and thought, why the hell not!? I’ll confess, I’ve been down this road before. I had a producer/director combination get all excited about a music video when I released Sponge Brain. We spent two days shooting two videos…lots of time, money, volunteers, energy obtaining permits etc. To this day, I have nothing to show for that. The producer never saw it through. Good intentions all around, I’ve no doubt. You see, it’s all fun and games to get a creative group of people together to shoot for a few days, but to actually sit down and sift through the footage and create something great takes more vision and grunt work, more time and energy. So alas, nothing ever came of it. Suffice it to say, I was skeptical (and graciously told Ric so), but thought, what do I have to loose.

Well…..OMG! What a fabulous day of shooting. Easy, quick, professional. Other than buying lunch, I wasn’t asked to do anything but perform. Ric is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I’m convinced that this guy one day will be a well-known name in his field. Efficient, professional, honest, creative, realistic and thorough! He brought a crew with him, (and not just anyone, I mean guys who know what they are doing!) awesome equipment and great attitudes all round. I have no doubt that I will see a final cut very soon. I’m very excited. It’s quite thrilling.

Oh, what song? As the title states, he chose I Live In Hope. (One of my personal favourites, if I’m allowed to say so). Ric even submitted it to the producers he knows on The Good Wife. (fingers crossed). The song is also to be featured on the soundtrack for The Seven Rays by Jessica Bendinger in the coming weeks and of course, it’s part of The Secret’s Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott for Random House.

How cool. YAY!

I Live In Hope video shoot

I Live In Hope video shoot

In a way, this ties in a little with my last post about Cinespace – you can read it here. You see, Genghis wasn’t a huge gig for me…it was a small gig that I didn’t overly promote, but more or less treated as a test for new material. I had a good turn out but I didn’t go “all out” if you know what I mean. You see, I know that JT at Genghis knows how to run a venue. One good sounding room and one good act at a time, and each act compliments the following act. There is no risk…do a show, play for people, and things like this happen! Thank you Ric! Thank you Genghis Cohen!

Playing live shows.

Posted on by
25

I recently received an email from a long time musician friend, Mikey De Lara. Mikey is an outstanding singer/songwriter. When you hear him you scratch your head and wonder why he’s playing to a room with a mere 10 people. It doesn’t make any sense. The subject of his email read “2nd to last LA show…EVER!”. He stated that he’d had enough, that LA just wasn’t working and several other reasons that supported his decision. It all made sense, but I have to confess, I felt a little disappointed and got a little judgmental about it. I thought it was too severe, giving up and that, and (like many, many of us) Mikey should just enjoy playing for the love of it and play his music for himself. After all, at some of my shows with the lowest attendance, I’ve still met someone interesting, had someone become a life long fan or even met someone who wanted to collaborate on songs, make a music video and much more. Let’s not leave out that one can always play out of town and come back. Change your expectations, I thought.

Well, any sliver of judgment or thinking to counter his “I’m giving up” email, absolutely dissipated last night. Thank you Cinespace. After Cinespace last night, I was 100% with Mikey. I was done. Done like a dinner. Moving, leaving, giving up, WTF am I doing….D.O.N.E! It’s the first time I’ve ever stopped a gig and walked off stage in my entire life. Why? What happened? Well….this is a good one, brace yourself as you may need a crash helmet! I certainly did.

First let me say, (I’m free to say whatever I want right? It’s my blog and no-one is reading it yet!) I knew deep in my bones and my gut that it was going to be a badly managed situation. I have enough experience to judge by the correspondence leading up to the gig from the booking agent. But thought to myself, try a new venue, give it a shot, play to new people, be positive, don’t be pessimistic and so on. So I said yes to a small intimate acoustic show in what they were calling the V.I.P. lounge, early at 8pm, half an hour set. I’d been to the venue many times before, and even though it had been a little on the tragically hip, too-cool-for-school side for me, I’d had a good time and seen some wickedly good bands there. Figured playing in the acoustic lounge would be easy to warm people up for the bigger room and for me to “check it out”. So I do the stuff; read the contract, promote, rehearse, organize set lists, rehearse some more, invite special guests and friends, plan what to wear, coordinate with everyone else, car pool, get money together for musicians…grab my cds and my list and cards, read the contract again, arrive an hour before as stated.

We arrive and realize that the VIP acoustic lounge, is in fact the smoking lounge. NICE! Hey…be positive…set up, play for the nice smoking people and the people that have schlepped out to see you and paid $10 for the privileged. Set up done, sound check done. Just as we settled to wait until the curtain call (I say that to add to the comedy, as there was no curtain, or dressing room). We then noticed, right outside the glass doors separating us from the bar, a band was sound checking, probably 20 feet from us. That’s strange, we thought. Then said band starts, or should I say, THRASH METAL BAND starts!!!! Are you serious? Why oh why on god’s great earth would anyone book a thrash metal band to play in a small bar at 8pm? (Note: thrash metal should have a mandatory start time of any time after 11pm, and thrash metal should have an entirely different venue from any other genre that doesn’t have the word metal in it, but that goes without saying, right? Apparently not.) So I look at our designated engineer and he acknowledges my disdain. He leaves to try to get them to play a little softer (insert laughter here!). I say “Mate, this isn’t going to work, you know that right?” He begs me to try one song to see if we can “drown them out”, turn lemons into lemonade he says. We know it won’t work, I mean how can a 1950s Gibson acoustic guitar and an upright bass drown out a double kick drum and bass and guitar amplifiers and some guy screaming within an inch of his life? We give it a shot. But, halfway through “Cat Up A Tree” I apologize to the audience and tell them we will not be playing. I walk off stage. The sound man, in between spits and spats of frantic exclamations that “it’s not my fault!” tells me he will see what he can do. Kaveh (bass player) says “Fuck these guys! Let’s just go and get dinner with your guests and call it a night!” He was right. Engineer du jour returns and then the sound drastically died down from Thrash mania, so we decided to give it a second try. It wasn’t a great show, it was a decent show, but it wasn’t a great show. We were professional and did what we were there to do…albeit reluctantly, but did so for the friends, fans and smokers there who had paid to see us play.

In the light of day, I’m not ready to leave LA, but I am ready to be waaaay more trusting of my instinct and where I play in Los Angeles. you see I broke my own rules. There are rules to booking live shows, and definitely rules to booking new venues.

Rule #1 – Go to the venue! Go before you agree to the gig if you haven’t been in over 6 months. Go on the same night at the same time you are supposed to play. Venues change management regularly.

Rule #2 – Ask about the other rooms and ask what bands are scheduled at the same time before and after you. Their names, their style, their shoe size.

There are more rules…but these are the most important BEFORE you agree to a show in a new venue.

I have a dear friend, Jeff Dean who played bass in my band for about 5 years…the sponge brain era, he’s stupidly talented. I’ll never forget this as long as I live. We were backstage at a gig in Beverly Hills, we’d been barked at, moved, told not to touch the food (it was a private party), told not park in the valet area, to self park and the list goes on. Then finally they put us in the janitors area and told us to wait until we were called. I turned to Jeff and he said, deadpan, “Next they will lay us down and just piss in our mouths!” As hysterically funny as that was and still is when I think of it, I do feel like last night came close to that. At the end of it all, it’s not their fault, it’s my fault for assuming that they would take care or their artists and do their job well. Big mistake! It’s my fault for breaking my own rules. I guess it’s true, even in the worst situations, you do learn something. I apologize Mikey. You go and find that greener pasture. I support you 100%!