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April 13, 2005
Viva Las Vegas 2005
Well this was my 4th Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender and well, if you been to one, you have been to them all. Every year, I get so excited about it and at the end, with tired feet, I vow that I'm never coming back and well I always do.
My highlight of this year was the Dave and Deke Combo Reunion, The Collins Kids, and the Rocketz, going to finally see the Elvis-o-rama museum and learning to play Craps. Dave and Deke were awesome. I always enjoy the Collins Kids. I know I can always see the Rocketz in L.A. but I so enjoy that band. I wish I payed the extra cash to see the Elvis Impersonation show at the Museum because I happened to see the "Young Elvis" walking around the museum and he was hot!
I thought the line up was lack luster and was disappointed that Ruth Brown fell ill and was unable to perform. Hopefully she is fully recovered. She is awesome! I'm also sad that I missed the Comets!
But thanks to the car show, I have decided that I want to learn how to pinstripe. If you know anyone that teaches, please leave a comment with their info!!
And of course, Charles Phoenix slide shows are a must to see!
As of April 05, I'm not going next year, but you just never know!
Posted by Tinkinator at 9:54 PM
Tink's One Minute CD Reviews . . .Finally!
I've been wanting to do this forever. My reviews are short and simple, hence the title, One Minute Reviews. So I apolgize if the CD has been out for awhile and I'm just now reviewing it. I'm calling this series Better Late than NEVER!!!
Ad Frank " Is The World's Best Ex-Boyfriend"
I liked it. I thought vocally he was o.k. but I really liked the music lyrically and musically!
Bob's Country Bunker"Wellwater"
What can I say, I'm a sucker for this kind of music. A little Reverend and a dash of Hillbilly Hellcats and you have Bob's Country Bunker.
TKO Records Present:
SACTO Sacramento Report featuring:
Pressure Point
Whisky Rebels
Killing the Dream
The Secretions
The Roustabouts
TKO Records takes a sample of the Sacramento Music Scene. Nobody stood out but I think they all have potential. I did enjoy The Secretions " All My Rowdy Friends" and the Roustabouts "Freedom"
Dirtminers "Meat and Electricity"
As they say, never judge a book by it's cover. I totally thought this band was going to be industrial/techno but no way, jose. They are very much a country influenced band and they rock!
Strychnine "Born in a Bar"
This band is all over the map when in comes to influences. I totally hear Fugazi, Rancid and the Misfits influences. They grow on you. The 1st half is good the second goes a little more hardcore for my tastes but I think they are worth a listens.
Legendary Shack Shackers "Believe"
Where have I been and why have I been missing this band. Come back to L.A. soon!
Palo Duro Presents: Texas Unplugged Vol. 1
Maybe just a little too country for me but I liked Becca Dalrymple, Sisters Morales, Terri Hendrix and Eleven Hundred Springs.
I'm looking forward to Vol.2
Lagwagon "Live in a Dive"
It's o.k. I liked the artwork!
Retching Red "Get Your Red Wings"
If you like hardcore, in your face, punk rock . . . go for it.
The Briefs "Sex Objects"
It was good!
Gosling S/T
A very social conscience group.
Pistol Grip "Tear it all Down"
A real solid punk rock album.
Posted by Tinkinator at 9:10 PM
April 10, 2005
Asleep at the Wheel @ House of Blues, Anaheim - 3/29/05
It seems I’m driving to Orange County more & more lately to go to shows, especially if they’re as just plain GOOD as Asleep at the Wheel. It was well worth the drive..and the notorious walk from the Downtown Disney parking lot to the House of Blues.
Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Vaquetones opening the show. Lead singer Miguel Garcia overcomes his initially reserved personality to show a real comfort on stage, with his discussions of his cheap shampoo and the strippage of his shirt.
Shortly after, the curtains opened with Ray Benson crooning “So good to see y’all!” The band kicked off their show with “Cherokee Maiden,” and hardly paused for breath after they started. The crowd was small, but very receptive, and the lack of bodies allowed for dancing, which I imagine is quite a change for the staff who are used to seeing that space used for mosh pits instead. Asleep at the Wheel benefits from not only the princely charm and mischievous grin of Ray Benson (who made a point of saying, “We play country AND western music!”), but also a band that has the virtuosity of playing that music well. In particular are piano player John Whitby and fiddle player Jason Roberts, who just makes it look so easy.
They covered all the pioneers of Western Swing music: Bob Wills, Hank Thompson, Cindy Walker…as well as themselves. They’re nine-time Grammy winners, but still humble enough to be self-effacing about it. Ray introduced “Ain’t Chet Yet” from his solo album, mentioning it that this is the instrumental song that won six Grammys, and that “As the lead singer, I’m very proud of that.” Their version of Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster’s “Green Leaves of Summer” made me cry, and also delightfully included in the show were songs from the new “Live From Billy Bob’s” DVD.
Man, do I love this band.
Posted by darlin at 5:33 AM
April 8, 2005
Too Novelty or Not Too Novelty – Me First and the Gimme Gimmes vs. The Ukranians
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Ruin Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah (Omnium Recordings)
Ah the memories of growing up a San Fernando Valley Jewish American Princess. The private schools, the Hebrew lessons, the dermatologists, the psychiatric therapy, and let’s not forget, the Bar Mitzvahs. Because I now live in Orange County and have become painfully aware of the fact that the rest of world is not like the suburbs of LA and is sometimes ignorant of a few major points in Jewish culture, I will take the time to define a Bar Mitzvah.
“bar mitz·vah or bar miz·vah n.
1. A 13-year-old Jewish boy (or girl, girls do this too in the more progressive sects), considered an adult and responsible for his moral and religious duties.
2. The ceremony that initiates and recognizes a boy (girl) as a bar mitzvah.
3. An opportunity for obscenely wealthy Jewish parents to prove their love for their spoiled brat by throwing a bigger party than the Silverblats down the street.”
The musical entertainment usually consists of a DJ who spins all the top 40 hits and that one version of “Hava Nagila” that they all seem to have. If there was a band, I may have only been 13, but trust me, the band was always a cover band and never very good. Would your parents have hired the Spazmatics? I didn’t think so.
Enough rambling, back to the CD. I don’t know how Me First and the Gimme Gimmes wound up recording this live at Little Jonny’s manhood party, but bravo. Bravo to the parents for being that cool. Bravo to Jonny’s friends and family for digging it. Bravo to the Gimmes for having a great sense of humor which translates well on the CD. I have never heard “Auld Lang Syne” and “O Sole Mio” played with so much angst.
My personal favorite is “Hava Nagila” sung to the tune of “Feliz Navidad.” It’s such a natural fit, I’m surprised someone didn’t do it sooner.
Final verdict – Too novelty. Just like any other comedy CD, this is not the kind of album you want to listen to over and over again. Once you know all the jokes, it gets old fast.
The Ukrainians – Istorya (Fat Wreck Chords)
I have been a very bad reviewer. A very very bad reviewer. I have been sitting on this CD for the last six months and had absolutely no idea what to write about it other than the fact that it’s good. It really is good and I don’t know why.
We have all the elements of a novelty album. A historical compellation of the band’s original rockin’ Iron Curtain “hits” mixed with popular covers of Morrissey and Sex Pistols songs sung in the Ukrainian mother tongue.
(Think “Big Mouth” sung in a language you’ve never even heard before but you completely understand because you know the original version so well.)
The bottom line is that this is a talented and practiced band, and it’s audible. It’s not a cacophony of Eastern European folk instruments brought together on a lark. It’s a purposeful, well thought out band that knows what they’re doing when they go into the studio time and time again.
Final verdict – Not too novelty. Rock and roll your FOB grandma will love (and you; you’ll love it too).
Posted by xx - Ms. Lauren - xx at 9:06 PM
April 3, 2005
Adolescents - The Complete Demos 1980-1986
"Naughty Women in Black Sweaters"
Frontier Records
This album is a delightful 30 minute romp through time, documenting the evolution of the Adolescents from an awkward teenage combo to a snarling punk rock machine. I like it.
Is it as good as Elvis's first recordings at Sun Studios? Probably not.
Is it as good as live recordings of the Beatles in Hamburg? I doubt it.
Is it better than the early dramatic work of Scott Baio as Chachi on "Happy Days"? Yes.
There you have it.
The Adolescents -- Better than Chachi.
Posted by Big Kev at 5:34 PM
