Wigwax

This was our first show and Lori and I were nervous as hell. I still wasn't sure about the current band moniker, Wigwax. We couldn't decide on a name for the band and had reluctantly decided on that one a few days before. I guess it was better than our former name, Crackhouse Mistress. I surveyed the packed room with some trepidation. Michael was there holding court with his bevy of fag hags. They smoked and laughed, somehow managing to not spill a drop from their lipstick-smeared martini glasses. Kim was there, looking luminous as ever, her black hair glimmering in the lamplight. She smiled in my direction, increasing my nervousness tenfold.

Jeannie Linguine stood in the doorway by the kitchen. She was sporting her customary blue bandana and denim overalls. I lived with Jeannie in her immaculate duplex in the up-and-coming Paseo Arts District. "Up-and-coming" usually denotes a formerly cracked-out part of town that still hasn't quite shaken the crack out. Just a few days earlier, a scraggly, toothless woman had screamed at me in my driveway when I informed her that I didn't have any cash.

"Well, Fuck you then!" she yelled.

I was surprised by the high-pitched, little girl like timbre of her voice. Beneath her grizzled exterior lurked a woman barely older than me. But these days, drugs and hard living had taken their toll. She looked like a cross between Courtney Love and Iggy Pop.

Luckily, Iggy Courtney wasn't in attendance this evening. Just the usual crowd of people that we hung out with in the dive bars and dance clubs that defined our Oklahoma City existence. These bars, with names like Angles and the Hi Lo, were smoke-shrouded shrines for bored twenty-somethings like ourselves.

I felt itchy. Was it my nerves or my shirt? The shirt I was wearing looked like it had once been part of a big, green seventies shag rug. After all, this was the nineties and retro was in, especially the disco seventies kind. My hair, newly shorn and dyed bright orange, offered a splendid contrast to the green shirt. I bristled as the air from the blasting fan tickled my neck, swirling about my head in little mini dust devils. My guitar felt like Silly Putty in my grasp. What were the chords to that song again? Lori looked over at me and nodded, a cue to start. I swallowed another swig of my beer and took a deep breath.

2010 Music Preview

2010. Twenty Ten. Two Thousand and Ten. We are embarking on a new year and a new decade. Already, there are tons of new releases that I'm super excited about. And.......South by Southwest is right around the corner and it's looking to be another stellar year for the festival.
I have been digging the new track "The High Road" from Broken Bells, a collaboration between James Mercer of the Shins and prolific producer Danger Mouse. You can check it out here on their website. Their self-titled album drops on March 9th.

I love the new Vampire Weekend Contra, as well as the brilliant new album July Flame by Laura Veirs. I'm curious to hear Peter Gabriel's new all-cover album Scratch my Back (out 2/15), featuring versions of songs by Bon Iver, Radiohead, Elbow, Arcade Fire and others.

Some other early 2010 releases that I'm looking forward to:

Midlake - The Courage of Others (feb. 1st)
Spoon - Transference (jan. 26th)
Yeasayer - Old Blood (feb. 9th)
Beach House - Teen Dream (jan. 26th)
Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck - IRM (jan. 26th)
Rogue Wave - Permalight (march 2nd)

Also out this year: Miles Kurosky (0f Beulah), Menomena, Dr. Dog, School of Seven Bells, LCD Soundsystem, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Cat Power and a million others!


Plus, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel has been showing up on the radar lately, appearing on the Chris Knox tribute album. You can check out Stereogum's article on that for more information and a sneak peek at the track. I hope this means he will be ending his long hibernation period and start making some music this year. Fingers crossed!

Fade to Black

I'm pressed against the barricades amidst a surging sway of bodies. The crowd is chanting "Die! Die! Die!" I'm loving every squished, sweaty moment of it. My newly acquired Metallica tour T shirt sticks to my skin. My best friend Jackie looks over at me approvingly, her mane of black hair thrashing back and forth, her hand proudly molded into a devil sign above her head. I duck to avoid the occasional foot or hand as crowd surfers navigate the sea of sweaty metal heads. It's 1988 and I am sixteen.

Last night, twenty-plus years after that monumental concert, I was driving home and skimming through the unimpressive sea of Austin radio stations when I came across the opening riff of "Fade to Black" by Metallica. Hell yes! I thought. As I drummed out the rhythm on the steering wheel, singing at the top of my lungs "Life it seems to fade away - drifting further every day," floods of memories came rushing forward.

I spent a painstaking amount of time learning that song note for note, rewinding the tape to listen to an elusive part over and over again. Is that an A minor or an A Major? What the hell is Kirk Hammett doing there? I debuted my masterpiece in front of my friend Jackie and a pair of incredulous neighborhood boys who were convinced that a girl couldn't shred. I showed them!

The first time that I ever heard the song was at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. My boyfriend and I had driven three hours from Oklahoma to see the Monsters of Rock Festival, the penultimate rock extravaganza starring Van Halen, Dokken, The Scorpions, Metallica and Kingdom Come. Remember Kingdom Come? They were a Led Zeppelin carbon copy band that featured Jason Bonham, the son of late Led Zep drummer John Bonham, on drums.

I had heard of Metallica, but hadn't really listened to much of their music. When they started, I left my boyfriend in our nosebleed seats in the stands to get a better look. I wanted to be where the action was in the crowd gathered around the stage, and he wanted to sit comfortably with his Coors Light and wait for Van Hagar to take the stage. I was making my way down through the crowd when I heard this sweetly beautiful riff emanating from the massive speakers. I muscled my way through the mass of people, mostly men, who were singing every word. Why had I never heard this song?

When I asked a black clad man with stringy hair the name of the song he looked at me like I was a complete moron. "It's 'Fade to Black'," he sneered. "Only the best song ever written."

After that experience, I bought all three Metallica albums and submerged myself in their music. Soon after that, my friends and I formed a shitty little garage band whose repertoire consisted mainly of Metallica covers. My love affair lasted through the infamous "Black Album." After that, grunge hit the airwaves and Metallica's newer music just didn't do it for me. To this day, I still get goose bumps when I hear "Master of Puppets" or "Fade to Black," and I still have the urge to bang my head to "Am I Evil" or "Creeping Death."

Mono-licious

On 9/9/09 all of The Beatles proper albums were released in their glorious remastered form. A marketing ploy, or a markedly better sound? You decide. Upon hearing the mono version of "Hey Bulldog" on KUT last night, I would have to say better sound definitely wins out. Two box-sets that were released, a mono and stereo set, promptly sold out in less than a day, with more on the way. You can also buy the individual stereo remastered albums by themselves.
I have yet to get my hands on one of these gems. The mono box set is the one that I'm most curious about, although I wouldn't throw the stereo set out of bed. The Beatles long-time producer George Martin once said, "You never really heard Sgt. Pepper's until you've heard it in mono." Back in the day when stereo sound was a new thing, albums were recorded to be played in mono. Martin, and the Beatles themselves, took great pains in creating these exceptional mono versions. Word is that the boys left the building when it was time for the stereo mixing sessions.
As for the regular stereo remasters? People have been complaining for years about the sound on the 1987 remasters. Released for the first time on compact disc in 1987, the sound can be tinny and over-compressed on these versions.
The box sets will cost you. The stereo set is $179, while the mono set will set you back $229.99 over on Amazon.

Fanfarlo LiveDaily Session

If you didn't catch Fanfarlo last March at SXSW 2009, you were missing out.
Check out this video of their LiveDaily Session at the festival. It is quite a beautiful performance.

http://www.livedaily.com/sessions/71.html

Their debut album, Reservoir, will be out on October 6th.

SXSW: Day One

Yesterday was a half day for me. I had to work until about 4:30.
I quickly headed downtown and stood in a 45 minute line to get my wrist band. I wondered to myself why I didn't get my lazy ass down there on Tuesday to pick it up. It's all hologram-y and fancy this year.
After that I headed to Beerland to meet up with my friend Susan who was finishing her shift up there. I wanted to catch The Vivian Girls at Red 7, but was too late. Luckily, they will be playing a million times, so I shouldn't have a problem seeing them. I had a beer and listened to a very heavy band called Endless Boogie.
We headed to the Fader Fort to check out the new location and have a few free adult beverages. Luckily, we both had gotten our wristbands on Tuesday because the line was long. I got to see B.o.B. there and was pleasantly surprised. They (he) were really good. The drummer was especially entertaining. I wanted to stay and check out Little Boots, but wanted to try to go to the M. Ward/Dept. of Eagles showcase at the church. We ducked into Headhunter's and caught the end of Hacienda. I would like to see more of them.
When we approached the church, we saw a long line of badges and decided we would skip that one. There are so many good bands playing that waiting in a long line for an hour isn't worth it. Although, I was sad to miss M. Ward. Maybe i'll venture over the river to see him for free at Auditorium Shores tonight.
Next up were Cut Off Your Hands on Sixth Street. They were fun. Nice melodies and very tight. We watched some guys rock out on Rock Band and then headed to Stubbs to check out Heartless Bastards and the Decemberists. I was torn between seeing the Decemberists, Blind Pilot and School of Seven Bells, who were all playing at midnight.
Heartless Bastards were really good. I think that Erika Wennerstrom's vocals translate well in a live setting. Plus, they rocked. Nice and high energy. The Avett Brothers were up next. I like some of their stuff, but it kind of made me sleepy. Maybe it was the beer and the bbq sandwich that I ate, I don't know.
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I don't care. I though The Decemberists set was kind of boring, at least the first thirty minutes. I loved "The Crane Wife" and i'm sure I will love "The Hazards of Love," their new one performed in its entirety last night. But for some reason, it just wasn't doing it for me. I later heard some commentary on NPR saying that they thought the first half was boring, but got exponentially better. I guess I should've stayed, but I couldn't do it.
We headed over to The Beauty Bar and caught the last few notes of The Parenthetical Girls and then over to Club Deville to hear Deer Tick. Although I liked what I heard, I was ready to head home and rest up for Thursday.
I heard the last couple of songs of The Decemberists set on my way home in the car. It sounded pretty good.
Today's agenda?
I'm meeting a friend at the Red Eyed Fly for a free bloody mary or two. There are so many parties, it's hard to choose. I want to check out School of Seven Bells at the Rhapsody Rocks party. Blind Pilot, K'NAAN, BLK JKS, Thao Nguyen at the NPR party at the Parish. I want to see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at least once. Will probably head to the Paste Party to see them at 12:45. And of course, to the Fader Fort to see Late of the Pier and Tricky.
Tonight, tentatively.
The Rural Alberta Advantage, Grizzly Bear at the Presbyterian church. Vivian Girls, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wavves, BLK JKS, Max Tundra, Passion Pit, Blind Pilot, and more.
Off for another mind-blowing, feet-hurting day!

Micah P. Hinson "Beneath the Rose"

With a thousand things to do today, I still find myself immersed in all things SXSW. I discovered a new resource on the SCHED SXSW blog for finding information and music from the SXSW bands this year.

Paul's SXSW Artist catalogue is a neatly organized site that allows you to browse artists by popularity or hotness factor, among other things. Beneath each artist is a brief description, culled from last.fm, and links to the artists' work on last.fm, youtube and flicker. If you like what you hear, you can even add the artist to your own personal SXSW schedule via the SCHED link.

This is how I discovered Micah P. Hinson's song "Beneath the Rose" on youtube. This song, which apparently isn't available any where in the U.S., is achingly beautiful.



Check out Micah's official showcase at The Radio Room on Friday at 9pm.