Help Me With an Indie Rock Decision I just received my renewal notice for Magnet magazine. As part of the renewal, you get to choose one free CD from a list of ten. But I'm not familiar with any of these CDs. So, please suggest one over the others. Arlo - Stab the Unstoppable Hero (Sub Pop) Bigger Lovers - Honey In the Hive (Yep Roc) Ill Ease - Live at the Holiday Sin (Smilex) Ladytron - Light & Magic (Emperor Norton) Mayflies USA - Walking In a Straight Line (Yep Roc) Nightmares On Wax - Mind Elevation (Warp) Nate Ruth - Whatever It Meant (Soundless) Six By Seven - The Way I Feel Today (Mantra/Beggars) Jenny Toomey - Tempting (Misra) James Yorkston and The Athletes - Moving Up Country (Domino) Thanks for your help. Murf
I really like the new Ladytron, but that's just me. It's all electro and new wavey...none of my friends like it. The couple of Yep Roc titles are good too, if you dig the "new country" stuff. Jenny Toomey is always interesting, but I've not heard that one yet. Call the Magnet office first to check which discs are available, since they usually run out of some titles before others. The girls there are cool. Speaking of Magnet, the new Power Pop issue is excellent. I'm a big poprock fan, and this issue's way up my alley. Even the Bomp/Clem Snide cover photo is great.
When you say "new country", do you mean bands like Lambchop, Scud Mountain Boys, Health & Happiness Show, Palace, etc.? If so, then they would be right up my alley. Thanks, Murf
That's what I meant, as that's what Yep Roc has been about so far, but I didn't even look at the titles offered, so I mislead you. The Bigger Lovers cd is actually more along the lines of The dB's in terms of poppy-ness, and The Mayflies are not countrified at all, but a solid rock band with really solid and catchy melodies. Glad to see another Health & Happiness Show fan here.
Likewise. When I was a kid, I found a tape copy of The Bongos' Drums Along the Hudson along the side of the road. I didn't know anything about them but I started listening to it and enjoyed it. I really liked their cover of T. Rex's "Mambo Sun". Then I saw an article on The Health & Happiness Show that mentioned how Jim Maestro had previously been in The Bongos. So, I checked H&H out and fell in love with them. They used to play at Maxwell's in Hoboken a lot when I lived there. They did a great live cover of Dylan's "Girl From the North Country". I later got to know Jim when I was taking guitar lessons (from the guitarist in Tiny Lights) in the back room of his guitar store in Hoboken. He's a really nice guy. Murf
You found a Bongos tape? That's cool. I, too, have taken lessons from Tiny Lights' John at Guitar Bar. Kinda wierd, that guy... Jimmy's an old friend of mine, and his bands have always been great. Did you know he's now in Ian Hunter's band? Also, FYI, the other main Bongo, Richard Barone, is recording an album now with Tony Visconti (who most recently produced Bowie's "Heathen").
Let's move this thread even further off topic... -- I also used to take lessons at Guitar Bar -- and have been telling myself for about two years that I need to get back into it. And if guitar teacher John is/was the guy getting his Ph.D. in German Lit and Tiny Lights was John & his wife playing lots of Beatle covers, then make it a very creepy 3 for 3. For musicians in the NYC area, I'd highly recommend it for used equipment, especially vintage amps. -- H&H Show's final album, "Sad and Sexy", remains a staple in my cd player.
That's him. It's more an indictment of myself than John that my playing sucks and I bailed far sooner than I should have. The cool thing about the used stuff at Jimmy's store is that a lot of it is old equipment from the collections of musicians that you probably have heard of and possibly own the music of...and to his credit he doesn't sell the stuff at inflated prices as "Thurston's amp from the 'Dirty' tour" but rather at fair prices for what the piece is really worth.
That is really weird that all three of us have taken lessons from John. I used to drive him nuts when I couldn't keep a standard 4-beat with my foot. He was patient but clearly perplexed. I remember seeing a bunch of amps in Guitar Bar with "Sonic Youth" stenciled on the side of them. But I always figured that if anyone bought those amps, their friends would say, "The only reason you bought that was because it says Sonic Youth on it." Since it would make you look like a groupie, it was possibly tougher to sell it than if it was just blank. Is the place still open? I've since moved to Vermont and haven't been back in a few years. Do you guys ever see Ira & Georgia of Yo La Tengo around town? I lived there for three years and never saw them anywhere in town (except Maxwell's, of course). I'd see them in NYC occasionally at shows of other bands but never in Hoboken. One time after a Bedhead show at The Knitting Factory, I saw them (with some unrecognized short guy) outside on the street. I had gotten an advanced copy of ICHTHBAO and decided to compliment them on it. They were really nice and we spoke about the album, singles and tour for a few minutes before I said good night. A few months later there was an article in Spin magazine on YLT and it turns out the short guy with YLT was the author of the article. He wrote about how YLT has cultivated a relationship with their fans such that their fans fell free to just walk right up to them and start talking to them like old friends. He then told the story of meeting a fan after a show at the Knitting Factory who rambled on about ICHTHBAO before disappearing into the night. The writer apparently then asked Georgia who I was and she said "I have no idea". My small brush with greatness. Murf
Very good teacher. Much better than the guy they gave me when John moved to Germany for a few months to work on his dissertation. Yep, still there. There's also a new competing guitar/brass instrument place less than a block away, and the hope has been that that stretch of 1st Street can become a little 48th Street in Hoboken. I've never seen them walking around town, but my wife has taken the NJT bus to New York with them several times because for a couple of years they kept the same late-morning commute schedule. Ira works during the day for WNYC putting together the sound collages in between segments of NPR shows. (Which explains why the bass line in "Moby Octopad" has been used more than once on Morning Edition ) I don't know what Georgia does during the day, if anything, but she was always with him. James lives in Brooklyn. I've seen Ira at a couple of Maxwell's shows, though. He seems to hang out back by the sound boards where there's more room.
Here's a couple cool Mastro-related upcoming gigs: Joe Hurley & The Gents - Thurs, Nov 21, 9:30, Mercury Lounge Fri, Nov 22, 10pm, Southpaw, Park Slope These shows (both with Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3) will feature some brand new songs, some rarely performed Rogue's March tunes, and even selections from 'Oliver'- The Gents are comprised of James Mastro (Ian Hunter, Bongos, 'Chaser' producer), Tony Shanahan (Patti Smith), Kenny Margolis (Cracker, Rogue's March), Sean Seymour ('Cropduster'artists), and Christian Cassan (Rogue's March). Joe Hurley and The Gents perform their 1st-ever gigs this week. Be a gent and come on down. Cheers all. "Joe Hurley is one of New York's most entertaining frontmen-his distinctive vocals can be raucous as all get-out, and as sorrowful as a baritone can be." VILLAGE VOICE Merc Lounge 217 E Houston- 212 260 4700 Southpaw 125 5th Ave, Park Slope, Bklyn- 718 230 0236 http://www.roguesmarch.com
I have never taken guitar lessons from anyone in Hoboken (or anywhere else for that matter), but it looks like we could start a pretty good game of "Six Degrees of the Guy From Tiny Lights Who Teaches Guitar" here. Alas, any Yo La Tengo information I could lend to this thread was wiped out when I was knocked loopy by falling, flaming ceiling tiles at the Great YLT Fire. It's a small price to pay - not everyone was as lucky as I.
I'd be willing to bet we could start a nice game of "Six Degrees of Pat DiNizio, Mike Mesaros, Dennis Diken, or even Jim Babjak" here. (Guess what I've been listening to all night). That story in The Onion was real?! Hope your glasses didn't melt, dude!