Dec 27 : "Southern Gothic" - Look Out Houston

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (2011)

PHILLY MUSIC!

Last Friday night David and I went over to Blockley Pourhouse to hear some bands. One of them was Look Out Houston, a new Philly band that has two members brought forward from Long Walk Home. Mark Rybaltowski does drums and vocals, and J. J. Booker does guitar and vocals.

The band played songs from their debut album, "The American Standards". They did a very good live performance, playing the songs with plenty of style and force.

Current song is "Southern Gothic" by Philly band Look Out Houston.

To visit Look Out Houston, here is the click ::: Look Out Houston

Dec 25 : "Angelic Eyes" - Tygerstrype

So now with Christmas over as well as our Toy Drive and other holiday activities, now it's time to catch up to talk about some of the interesting music I've heard recently.

One night a few weeks ago I saw that Tygerstrype was doing a show at North Star. That caught my attention. I had heard heard them only once before, and that was at Kung Fu earlier in the year. (This tyme the artists each had a strype on their faces).

Tygerstrype is a duo. Gabriel Guererro does electronics and most of the vocals and some dancing and some jumping down off stage and bouncing around through the audience. Alden Towler plays a great guitar and does some vocals as well.

Tygerstrype plans to do another show at North Star in just a couple weeks, on January 12.

Current song playing is "Angelic Eyes" by Philly band Tygerstrype.

tygerstrype · Angelic Eyes

To visit Tygerstrype on line, here is the click ::: Tygerstrype (CLICK HERE)

Dec 19 : Moving Into 2012!

December 19, 2011

Dear Friends,

Another holiday season is upon us and West Girard Community Council wants to make sure our friends, acquaintances, and neighbors do not go hungry this winter and into 2012. As deep government budgetary cutbacks continue to occur, we are again reaching out and appealing directly to you, our friends, to help us continue our mission of “Building a Healthy Community.”

West Girard Community Council is a local organization that partners with city-wide groups and churches such as Celebration Place, East Park Revitalization Alliance, Farm to City, SHARE, and the Alston Beech Foundation to provide healthy food access to our community.

Our year-round project continues to be our Food Cupboard. Over the last year it served 95 families from Fairmount, Brewerytown, and beyond. This past year, food cupboards in Philadelphia have seen drastic cuts in state support. In these hard times, local families and seniors on fixed incomes are struggling to buy food and we have seen an upswing in Food Cupboard enrollments.

In addition to the Food Cupboard, we run a seasonal weekly farm stand to bring fresh produce and bread into the neighborhood. For the last 8 years, we have run a Thanksgiving Food Drive and a Toy Drive for local churches.

Thanks to your generosity last year, we did not have to cut back our services. In 2012 we would like to expand our programs. We are asking that you help us out with these projects by giving a tax-deductible donation to West Girard Community Council. We are a Public Charity as defined by Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Donations of all sizes are greatly appreciated.

We are an organization of volunteers who want to make a difference in our community through targeted projects important to the community’s health and well-being. Each dollar allows us to reach more families in need. WGCC operates with no paid staff, no office rent, no vehicles -- your donations go towards the operation of our projects in the community.

I thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to whatever support you can provide. You can mail your donation to the address below. Or you can make donations through Paypal via our website. For additional information about West Girard Community Council, please contact me and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may also visit us on Facebook and our website, Visit our website (CLICK HERE)

Bob Seabury, President
West Girard Community Council
926 North 26th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 232-2728

Nov 25 : "Sneaking Suspicion" - Current Profile Song

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (2011)

Philly Music!

I finally came out of my pissed off funk last week and realized I was addicted to the music and had to go back to hear some bands. .... But I don't like getting burned (it's unlikely I'll go back to M Room unless I hear that new people have bought it), and I've got to have what I feel in advance is a minimum amount of enjoyment in order to spend the whole night out and spend $. And that's probably a threshold of three bands whose sample web page music I like. If there are 4 bands in the lineup, I need to like 3 out of 4. If there are only 3 bands in the lineup, I need to like all 3. And probably won't even look at 2-band lineups unless it's an extreme situation (e.g., band only plays live shows once every year or two).

So, with the competing internal feelings of having to wait to find a threshold of three bands I liked, while, at the same time, feeling the urgency of impending music withdrawal and urgently needing a FIX, I came across a good lineup at The Barbary last week. I enjoyed all three bands, but, I think of the three, Coup Couroux was my favorite.

I was running a little late and got there at 7:20pm for a 7:15pm show, and the band had already started! On time! And I was so impressed! I wish all the bands and venues respected customers/fans by sticking to a published schedule (wildly undependable show start times is my main and repeated gripe about M Room). This was my first trip to The Barbary, and I was extremely impressed by their punctuality.

I was also very impressed by Coup Couroux. They're from right here in Philly and they're almost new. Having come from histories in other bands, the members formed Coup Couroux about two years ago.

Here's a description from their web page ::: "Coup Couroux has overcome obstacles that have broken lesser bands, instead gathering strength by subverting classic and modern sounds into a twisted blend of electro indie pop with a sultry edge." ... And that they've done!

Current song playing is "Sneaking Suspicion". This is on their intriguing new ep just released this year.

CoupCouroux · Sneaking Suspicion [Radio Edit]

To visit Coup Couroux, here is the click ::: Coup Couroux (CLICK HERE)

Oct 31 : Robbers, Sea, and Long Walks

Mercury Lounge was always my favorite venue ... until, that is, October 7. It was my favorite venue because of the clarity of the sound; I could always decipher the words. While one sometimes might not have understood the imagery in the lyrics, there was never a problem with hearing the words. While some sound men at other respected venues don't give a damn whether you can make out or even hear the words, Mercury Lounge was always one place where I could hear the fullness of the music, both instrumentals and the lyrics.

So I was really looking forward to October 7, because Robbers On High Street, one of my favorite bands, was playing at Mercury Lounge, my favorite venue. I had first heard ROHS back in 2005, when they played at North Star, and then would hear them play at several other times and places over the intervening years.

I would have to say that I was a little put off and annoyed when I examined the Mercury website in more detail, for they had seemed to largely abandon the four-band nights, now dividing up the four bands into two separate shows of two bands each, with separate cover charge admissions. Ewwwww. That started to get me a little peeved. ... But I decided to go anyway.

I had an ulterior motive as well. I've been becoming more and more disenchanted with the music scene in general and was seriously thinking about bringing my music blog to a close. Since Robbers On High Street was one of the first bands whose music I featured on my page, I thought that ending this blog with a sample of their music would be a nice full circle.

My next disappointment was when I got inside. It's been a while since I had been to Mercury Lounge, and their sound quality has descended to that of a lot of other venues. The lyrics were a blur. Couldn't make out too many words beyond what I remembered from listening to their music on line.

One of the things that I like about Robbers On High Street is their writing; they're continuously working and reworking their music. When you go to one of their live shows, you have no idea what to expect in terms of the lineup, what instruments they'll have, which musicians they'll have. In the case of October 7, they had an added and unexpected brass section! Nice!

When I first heard ROHS in 2005, they had recently released their acclaimed album, "Tree City." The music was full. In the couple years after, the music thinned out a little, which was not to my liking, but then it seemed to fill out again when I heard them last year at M Room.

On one level I got what I wanted. I've complained many times about bands that don't innovate. ROHS does it continually. It was just that on this Friday night, October 7, their sound had pulled back a little and was a little thinner as a few years ago. I couldn't fault them for that. They were doing what I wanted. But their style that night was not what I was into.

Between the cover charge for a two-band lineup, the sloppy sound work, and the thinning, more gentle style of the band, I was ready to leave. Half of me felt I should stay, because I had traveled and paid the train fare up to New York, but the other half of me wanted to leave because I wasn't having a good time. So I applied the "last thirty minutes" rule, which is this. If this were the last thirty minutes of my life, what would I do? What would give me the most pleasure. That rule always works, and this time made it easy. .... I walked out of there even though the band had played only fifteen minutes.

As I walked down Houston Street, I noticed an area up on the next block and across the street where there was an open space with some trees and some festive lights and a gathering of people. What was that? ... I walked across the street and found in a courtyard or large alley between a set of buildings, an "outdoor room" had been set up with a meeting taking place. What was this? I picked up a brochure. it was the "BMW Guggenheim Lab". The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a "mobile laboratory traveling around the world to inspire innovative ideas for urban life". One of the functions of the "lab" is to host meetings. On October 7 when I happened to stop by, it was a meeting of Signified, a "web series and multi-platform documentary", largely about Gay life.

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. These two links have completely vanished!

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To visit Robbers On High Street, here is the click ::: Robbers On High Street

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As I said above, I've become somewhat disenchanted with the music scene. I see venues doing what Mercury has done, slimming down the nights from the standard four band shows to either three or sometimes an outrageous mere two. It's almost not worth going out.

I've also seen what seems to be less creativity in the writing as compared to a few years ago. This is reflected in fewer good bands playing in each lineup. Time was just a few years ago when I could go out to hear a favorite band and probably enjoy the other bands on the lineup and maybe even liking one of the others so much that they would become a favorite, too. But that happens less and less these days. Now a lot of times when I go out to hear a favorite band, I feel like I'm "putting up with" the other bands in the lineup, or sometimes feel like I just have to get out of there.

Is it worth staying up late (and wrecking the next morning) just to hear two or one 30-minute sets? It's frustrating. A lot of times the answer is "no". It's not my idea of a good time to hang out for a few hours and only have one good set to show for it. ... I'm not faulting any venue in particular when I say this; it seems to apply across the board. ... Music styles are changing? ... It's seeming more difficult to find bands with strong individualities. A lot of bands, once that first album is successful, often bland towards the same-old same-old that everybody's doing in the middle.

A frustration with writing the blog is the changes that Myspace made about a year ago. The blog space is blanded down with no color and simplified down with offering no ability to go back and look at specific blogs. Hence my starting the parallel blog here on Blogspot. ... Bands and people are migrating away from Myspace which makes it more difficult to post music when I do hear a good band. Some of the other sites don't interface well with either Myspace or Blogspot.

And a huge frustration in trying to pick out where to go to hear live music is the increasing trend of venues to link their sites over to Facebook pages of the bands, even if the bands do have Myspace. This is so aggravating because most of the Facebook pages don't even have any music on them, and, those that do, often have only a couple samples, or a music player that doesn't' work at all, or what really gets me, is music players that will only function if you "like" the band first. Fuck all the bands that have so little confidence that people will voluntarily like them, they have to trick people into clicking "like" before they can listen to the music. I'll decide if I like it AFTER I listen. :) To me that counts as a negative for them and possibly for the whole lineup. The more difficult the venue and the bands make hearing samples of music, the more I just want to move on. ... The process of cross-checking venues and bands to hear music samples has become more time-consuming and aggravating for these reasons.

And there''s more. On top of all of that, my file hosting companies on which I have all my photos stored are providing less reliable service, with more frequent and lengthier equipment and service "outages". Today all the pictures on my profile page are still blank.

I didn't want to end the blog on a downer, the Mercury show that I didn't really like, so I decided to wait until I saw Long Walk Home, another one of my long-time favorites, do their 2011 annual show on October 28.

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I was not in the mood to see shows for a while after October 7, and DEFINITELY not even looking at any venue that was offering less than four shows in a lineup. I was overreacting? ... Until David told me last week about a FIVE-BAND night at The Fire. And one of the bands was one that I had seen before, "The Sea Around Us". That Philly band does some very ambitious vocals. I had only heard them once prior, just over the summer at North Star. Since that time, the band got the vocals a lot tighter and on target. They did a good show. They just came back from a lengthy tour.

To visit The Sea Around Us, here is the click ::: The Sea Around Us

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Long Walk Home is one of my favorite bands, and I was happy to see that they were doing a show last Friday, October 28. At M Room this year, this was what's getting to be one of their "annual" shows. I enjoyed watching their music on a regular basis up through a couple years ago. But after the guys graduated from Temple and St. Joe's, they went their own ways professionally and now just get back together to do a show usually once a year.

I checked M Room's website right before I left home. It said 8pm doors, 8:30pm show. I got there at 8:25pm. The first disappointment was that M Room no longer seems to offer draft beer and had sunk to the depths of the bars at Tritone and the old Grape Street with just the bottled kind. ... I went into the music room. Well a little relief there. I saw a band up on stage doing a sound check. "Yay!" I thought. This is being timed just right. However, after the sound check, the band got off stage and disappeared. ... 8:45pm no music. ... 9:00pm no music. ... 9:15pm no music. ... By 9:30pm I was pissed and felt like I had had enough. M Room is notorious for not sticking to schedule, and maybe I should have anticipated that in advance. An hour is my limit for waiting for a band to start. It's arrogant to collect a cover charge and then make people wait over an hour for an indefinite time for the music to start; that's a case where a refund of the cover charge would definitely be appropriate. But I'm sure the owners of M Room couldn't care less.

While music is art, a person going to a concert doesn't just go as an expression of artistic interest. It's an economic transaction. Fans are PAYING CUSTOMERS, although many venue owners and bands don't seem to have a clue or care how shitty they treat their paying customers by making them wait. Adding all this up, I need to take a hiatus from this. It's much less fun than it used to be.

Current song playing right now

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. The band no longer has any sharable links.

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To visit Long Walk Home, here is the click ::: Long Walk Home

So this still isn't a good experience with which to end up the blog. But it is indicative of the frustration and lack of fun I'm having with live music these days. I need a break for a while.

Oct 27 : EXPLODING WORLD - THE INTERVIEW

AND THE WINNER IS ...

And the winner is Willow Grove band "Exploding World" which just came out with a new album, "Pasts". The band was also the winner of The Deli Magazine's Featured Artist Poll.

I first heard Exploding World play an outdoor show on a hot summer night at Little Berlin over a year ago. At that time Exploding World consisted of David Saylor, and David Saylor only.... He played all the parts, all the instruments. What intrigued me was that he didn't have some of the parts pre-recorded and then play along with them at the live show, but he somehow managed to play a few instruments simultaneously IN REAL TIME! YIKES!

I got his first ep and then heard Exploding World again this past year when they (he) played indoors at M Room.

But now Exploding World has just come out with a new album, "Pasts". And now the band has also expanded to additional members! While I have not yet seen the "enlarged" Exploding World, I was curious about why the expansion. ... So I asked David :::

(Bob)In enlarging "Exploding World", what made you want to expand?

(David)As a solo act I felt like I was limiting myself by only using as many instruments as I could play at once. I still do everything that I did when I was by myself, playing keyboards and drums at the same time, now I just have a full band on top of that. It gives the songs alot more possibilities. I think it gives the music a nicer texture then the completely stripped down minimal stuff I used to do. Before, I would come up with somthing that I liked, but there were only so many options to go with cause of the kind of act I was doing. Now the options are pretty limitless.

(Bob)How did you pick the band members? Had you known them for a long time, or just met them recently?

(David)I've known John since middle school and I've known Brandon since elementary school. The three of us have played in a bunch of different bands together since high school. Me and Jen have been dating for almost 2 years now, this is her first serious band, but she has a great sence of melody.

(Bob) What was the inspiration behind the new album?

(David) As far as the music, I am really into Brainiac, they've had a big influence on me. Also bands who use keyboards like The Screamers and Devo. We use keyboards and synths as a primary instrument, but it's misleading to say were are an electronic band cause we never use samples. As of right now we don't even use effect pedals. I don't know what to call this band. I just wanted to do something really unconventional, but also showing an appreciation and understanding of tradition and what came before us.

(Bob)Who writes the songs for the new band? Do you do all the writing, or is it a group effort?

(David)As far as the lyrics, I didn't go into it trying to write a "concept" record, but it just kinda turned out that way. It's about walking into a dreamscape. Like walking thro the doors into the surreal. Where all your impulses and compulsions are completely unmanageable. In Duck Messiah the character arrives into the dream. In Strange Enough he realizes the reality of the situation. In Drunk Rabbit Foot he surrenders to it. And in Highway Grave he reflects before he expires. It's a concept I've been toying with for a while now. It's alot of experiences, my own and others, wrapped in to one experience. Hence the title "Pasts." its kind of like multiple past lives living one story. I guess it's not as deep as it sounds though.

To listen to some of Exploding World's earlier work (when it was a solo effort), check out the band's Myspace page ::: Exploding World on Myspace, earlier music (CLICK HERE)

And to listen to the new album, "Pasts", and even download it at Bandcamp, click here ::: Exploding World on Bandcamp, 2011 Music (CLICK HERE)

And here's the link to the article in The Deli Magazine ::: Exploding World / Deli Magazine (CLICK HERE)

Exploding World is going to be playing TONIGHT at The Fire. They're listed on the venue website as playing third. They're worth checking out!

Oct 19 : Tuhs and Fuhs

Another exceptional band that I heard at Girard Fest / Fire Fest was "Tuhs and Fuhs". Don't bother looking. You won't find any web page for them. They themselves said at the beginning of their set that they didn't have a page. They announced themselves as the band "Igor's Egg", minus one of their regular members.

I wasn't quite sure what that actually meant. Was it that one member was sick or couldn't make the show, so they just renamed themselves. Or was it that this was a different band with different music. As I listened to them further, I started to think it was the latter.

This band also played at the juncture of jazz and rock. And they were good. And somehow even familiar!

By the third song I started to notice some similarities between Tuhs and Fuhs and another band that I've heard many times and that I like a lot, "Codename". As we got more into the music I was wondering whether they were ripping Codename off. Parts of some riffs on the keys sounded like they were from "The Latin Tune". ... But it has been a while since I've seen Codename, and I couldn't be sure. ... I decided to enjoy the show and wonder more later.

After I got home I studiously tried to track down SOME information for Tuhs and Fuhs. And after poking around through different links I found reference to Tuhs and Fuhs that contained the names of the band members. And, I WAS RIGHT. The keys man was "Adam Nash", who is also the keys man for "Codename". ... As I'm writing this now, I've tried to find that reference on Facebook, so I could link it to this posting, but it seems to have been deleted. ... So there are no "clicks" accompanying this posting. Just a recommendation that if you ever see a lineup that features the spontaneously named and arranged band, "Tuhs and Fuhs", GO !!!

Oct 10 : "Easy In My Skin" - Current Profile Song

One of the more delightful parts of the afternoon of the recent Fire Fest / Girard Fest was the performance by Philly band "Sunshine Superman". Their performance at The Fire a couple Saturdays ago was the first time I had ever heard them. I like their sound. This is another band that has carved out a special musical place for themselves, this one at the juncture of where jazz, rock, and pop all meet. While a lot of bands may hover around that juncture, I think it was the interesting chord progressions that sealed the deal for me, and made me want to make it a point to see them specially in the Festival.

Current song playing
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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. Outdated link. Band took the song off their page.

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I know I'm going to go back and hear the band again sometime. But, in the meantime, they can be visited on their page / here is the click ::: Sunshine Superman (CLICK HERE)

Oct 05 : "Explain It to Me" - Current Profile Song

A GREAT PACKAGE

The Sky Drops presented their listeners with a "great package" when they did their recent show at North Star. They gave their listeners a sampling of their full body of work from some of their current songs back to some of their standards from their 2006 cd "Clouds of People". I would say this was one of their best shows; I enjoyed it a lot. Hope to hear them again soon.

Current song playing right now is "Explain It to Me" by Wilmington band The Sky Drops. This is from 2010.

To visit The Sky Drops, here is the click ::: The Sky Drops (CLICK HERE) .

Sep 26 : "Chemistry" - Current Profile Song

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (2011)

Philly Music!

BEST SHOW YET!

After I got back to Philly from Hampdenfest, the first band I saw live was The City Music Project which did a weekend show at North Star.

Frank Cervantes, who is half of TCMP's duo, has told me a couple times that, at one time or another, they've had a saxophone player joining them on some shows. I had heard the band play several times, but never seemed to hit the right evening when the duo was a trio ::: until this recent show at North Star.

And I really have to say this was the best show I've ever seen them do. Frank does most of the vocals along with the guitar, while Adrian Palashevsky (goldenSpiral)is the "DJ". The music dwells in its own world of "Multi-Genre", seamlessly blending an array of styles into a complex force. And, at the North Star show there was a third musician, who did play the saxophone in some songs, but then switched over to a mystery instrument the likes of which I've never seen or heard. Looking like a thin oboe or clarinet with a wire coming out of the bottom, the mystery instrument was incorporated into a few different songs with widely varying sounds in each.

I love to see a band doing some true innovation, while, at the same time, not relinquishing their individuality (Do they pass the blindfold test? Listening to them for a few bars, less then a minute, do you have any doubt what band it is?) This show was satisfying on a lot of levels, and I look forward to seeing them again soon.

Current song playing is "Chemistry" by Philly band The City Music Project. This is the fourth track on their cd "Visual-Audio", which was released earlier this year.

The City Music Project · Chemistry

To visit The City Music Project, here is the click ::: The City Music Project (CLICK HERE)

Sep 23 : "Bicycle Diaries"

Right now I'm reading "BICYCLE DIARIES" by David Byrne (of "Talking Heads" fame). an upbeat book about how cities are becoming more livable and correcting mistakes of the past :::: I found this book while browsing at my favorite bookstore, which right now is featuring "NEW BOOKS ON MUSIC CULTURE". I love this place.

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. Very sad to say that Penn Book Center recently closed. :(

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Sep 21 : "Remote Unelectrified Villages" - Current Blog Song

New Music / Freshly Written / Not Yet Released

While I was at Hampdenfest I ran into Rusell de Ocampo, keys man for Baltimore band "Yeveto". He told me some good news, that the band is going to be coming out with a new album, which will be having its formal release at Windup Space on November 12.

I had heard Yeveto play at Hampdenfest last year and was sorry they weren't going to appear this year. They have a very distinctive sound. It's the only (experimental) rock band I've seen that has a cello as a regular component of its lineup (Amy Cavanaugh is the cellist). In many of the songs the cello plays the melodic line with the guitar joining the drums to provide rhythm.

The music is forceful and dark, very unique. The band has carved out its own place musically.

So what music is going to be on the new cd? Russell didn't say. But one of their new songs that might make an appearance is "Remote Unelectrified Villages" which is playing right here on my blog page.

So I hope I can get down to Baltimore to see their new show in November. The band does a high-power performance.

To visit Yeveto, here is the click ::: Yeveto (CLICK HERE)

Sep 18 : "Social Networking" and "Juanita" - Current Profile Songs

[have been busy with the community group this week, so am behind in my msuic postings :) ]

On another corner of the music world compared to The Flying Eyes, which I featured yesterday, is Raindeer, another band I heard last week at Hampdenfest.

Raindeer played mid-afternoon at the Friends Records Stage at 36th & Elm. This was the first time I had heard Raindeer live. What appeals to me about Raindeer's music is that there is a little more complexity in the instrumentals as well as a variety of textures. I'm just getting acquainted with Raindeer but am friending them everyplace so I can find out about future shows and hear them again.

Current songs playing are "Social Networking" and "Juanita" by Baltimore band Raindeer.

To visit Raindeer, here is the click ::: Raindeer (CLICK HERE)

Sep 18 : I'm Frustrated

Having a difficult time posting music right now, so I will check back and try to write my next blog later.

Sep 11 : "Lay With Me" - Current Profile Song

THE DOORS ON STEROIDS

"The Doors On Steroids". That's what went through my mind as I listened to an excellent show by "The Flying Eyes". The Flying Eyes is a heavy psych band from Baltimore, and the location of the show was at yesterday's annual "Hampdenfest". The Flying Eyes got the day going, playing shortly after noon, at the beginning of a string of shows that went all the way til after 6.. On some of the songs there are some instrumental and vocal stylings that are clearly reminiscent of Jim Morrison and The Doors. However, The Flying Eyes is much more heavy-handed in its work; they definitely have their own style. One of the things I find intriguing about the band's music is that, in spite of their intensity, they still retain a smoothness.

Yesterday was actually the second time I heard them live. The first was back on August 21, 2009, when they played at Ottobar with Bad Liquor Pond. I made a notation at the time that I enjoyed them and that they were worth seeing again, which was why I made it a point to see them yesterday. However, while I liked them before, I was very impressed with them yesterday and will probably up my impressions to include them in a band whose shows I actively have to seek out.

Current song playing is "Lay With Me" by Baltimore band The Flying Eyes.

To visit The Flying Eyes, here is the click ::: The Flying Eyes

Sep 08 : "Face In the Fog" - Current Profile Song

My blog earlier this week was about Philly / LA band "Tygerstrype" which I saw at Kung Fu Necktie back on August 29. I picked Tygerstrype after cross-checking band + venue pages and listening to various samplings.

However, as much as I liked Tygerstrype, that was a last minute idea. I had originally planned on going up to Brooklyn to see Robbers On High Street. But Irene cancelled out train service, so I looked for a good band that I could see without traveling through flood waters.

I originally saw Robbers On High Street one evening back in 2005 when I did the same exact thing as I did last week with Tygerstrype. I listened to samples of various bands playing at various venues, and the one I liked best was Robbers On High Street which was playing at North Star. At that show they played several of their songs from their then new cd "Tree City". Their lineup at the time was similar to that of many other bands.

I was very impressed with them and later saw them again at (at least) M Room, Johnny Brenda's, and Troc. My "band database" of shows that I've attended goes back only as far as 2007, so I might have also seen them another time in 2006 which wouldn't be recorded. I'm quite certain I saw them at least once at Mercury Lounge.

One of the things I like about the band is their experimentation with different lineups of vocals and instruments. When you walk into one of their shows, you never know for sure what instruments or vocalists they might be adding that one night. The most recent time I saw them was at M Room where they had expanded their regular lineup to six musicians. This was on June 10, 2010.

Unfortunately Robbers On High Street has not come to Philly since, and, while they do a fair number of shows, some of the ones in New York have been the night before I have an early morning commitment, so I can't get to them. So, this Summer when I needed an ROHS fix, I had seen this August 29 show as the best possibility.

So what did I miss? I don't know exactly what I missed, but their Facebook page promised an expanded horn section! For a year or two after Tree City, they had a period where their music was a little leaner, but then turned around to bring the music forward with more complex arrangements and orchestrations.

An example of some of the newer work with the more complex arrangements is "Face In the Fog".

To visit Robbers On High Street, here is the click ::: Robbers On High Street (CLICK HERE)

Sep 04 : "Angelic Eyes" - Current Profile Song

I saw Tygerstrype for the first time this past week. Monday night had opened up for me, so I cross-checked the band and venue pages, and saw an intriguing lineup at Kung Fu. Opening was Philly / LA outfit "Tygerstrype". They classify themselves as "electronic experimental pop", with Gabriel Guerrero doing most of the vocals as well as the electronics and Alden Towler playing guitar and doing some vocals as well. The performance was energetic with some very unique melodic lines. It grabbed me right from the beginning. I liked their music.

Current song playing is "Angelic Eyes" by Philly / LA band Tygerstrype.

To visit Tygerstrype on line, here is the click ::: Tygerstrype (CLICK HERE)

Aug 18 : "Don't Fear the Reaper" - Current Profile Song

Philly Arrangement!

David had often talked about the band City Rain; his cousin is in it. I never got to see them live until a couple weeks ago when they did a good show at North Star. In addition to regular fans, it was a family affair. David's relatives were all there to cheer the band on.

The outfit is a two-piece, consisting of a guitar and and some electronics on high shelves. The presentation is lively and energetic and the music itself is a little all over the place. In that respect the innovative song structure is a good segue from the music of Beam and Deem in yesterday's blog.

Current song playing is "Don't Fear the Reaper" arranged by Philly band City Rain.

I know I'm going to go back to hear City Rain. In the meantime you can hear more of their music on their page, for which this is THE CLICK ::: City Rain (CLICK HERE)

Aug 15 : "Clark Park" - Current Blog Song

Philly Music!

I'm not usually the guy who gets all excited over an all electronic show, but I think I'll make an exception for West Philly outfit "Beam and Deem". They played right after Close to Good at my visit to Blockley about two weeks ago. The music is a combination or merging of styles and genres, and they had lots of people dancing up front and all around.

Here's a description from their page :::
Beam&Deem is the launchpad for the musings of Zach Catarelli and Chris Coffey. A fresh and innovative act that strives to create a multi-sensory experience, catapulting the listener into a soundscape where classical elements create a welcoming familiarity, but where the air is also tinged with unexpectedness.

Here is a sample of their music. This song is titled "Clark Park".

Beam & Deem doesn't appear to have any upcoming shows planned right now. In the meantime, to check out their web page, here is the click ::: Beam & Deem (CLICK HERE)

Aug 13 : "Rift (Phish)" - Current Blog Song

Philly Music!

A couple weeks ago I heard a good show by Philly band "Close to Good". They opened up at Blockley Pourhouse. ... I had music posted here, but the band changed accessible music on their page, thereby cancelling out what I had written :(

Aug 09 : "Pyramid Girls" - Current Profile Song

Philly Music!

Am still a little behind in writing my updates. :) .... Last Tuesday night I went to Danger Danger Gallery to see Orbit to Leslie. I hadn't seen them live for a few months (not since February). It was a good evening. First of all, Danger Danger is now air conditioned, so that was a plus.

The band played some of their standards, music from their 2009 cd "The World Was Saved With Chocolate Cake", including the album's namesake. The regular songs were interspersed with some interesting new work. And some new instruments as well, a trombone, and a hand-held xylophone type instrument (not sure what it's real name is, or whether it was just an invention just for that evening).

It was a very satisfying show.

::: 7/4/20 UPDATE ::: Current song playing right now is "Pyramid Girls" by Philly band Orbit to Leslie, which I had posted when I first made this post back in 2011. However that link "VANISHED", so I'm replacing that version with a new version from a 2013 album.

And Orbit to Leslie has another show lined up for tomorrow night (Aug 10) at Kung Fu. If you can't wait til then, you can visit them right here ::: Orbit to Leslie (CLICK HERE)

Aug 02 : "Better Day" - Current Blog Song

Philly Music!

In the previous blog I reprinted an insightful opinion piece by my friend, Colin Alcock. I first met Colin a few years ago when he was playing as part of the duo (with Jamie Campbell) "Seizure 17". Seizure 17 at its peak played all around Philly, including the Grassy Knoll, Khyber, and (quite often) the Fire.

While the instrumentals were always pleasant to the ear, the lyrics often steered away from the "catchy" and "reliable", touching on social attitudes and issues. Today I'm featuring one of their more mellow songs right here on my blog page. It's "Better Day", which is the fifth track on the band's cd "Too Pretty for a Riot". To hear the song,

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. All links seem to have disappeared. Unfortunately, the band isn't around any longer. :(

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Jul 30 : "I Like Government"

"Let's not be fooled by cynical politicians who are manipulating our economic crisis towards permanent ruin, what our country needs right now is to get off of its ass and start spending."

That's a quote from an insightful piece written by my friend, Colin Alcock, in response to the right wing's constant trying to demonize our government, saying the "government is the problem" ... well, you've heard it all, you know the rest of their litany. But just take a few moments to read Colin's refreshing piece ::::

I like government.

I like paved roads. I like libraries. I like post offices.

I like a lot of the things that come from the government: firefighters, for example. It's great knowing that if there's a fire, someone's gonna come and put it out. Without the government, we wouldn't have public firefighters. So thanks, government! Firefighters are awesome! (And yes, even volunteer fire departments make use of federally funded training and equipment.)

The government is constantly making sure
that we have the resources, infrastructure and protection that everyone needs. You benefit from that everyday.

So it makes me mad when people say that they don't like government, especially if they haven't thought about what that really means. Do you like disaster relief? Do you like schools? Do you like food safety regulations? Then you like government.

There might be things related to government that you don't like. Personally, there are plenty of policies that I disagree with—but I realize that, at the end of the day, government is a good thing.

Right now, our government is in a lot of trouble. Politicians are trying to use the bad economy as an excuse to dismember our government. Already, in Pennsylvania, where I live, the emergency management budget has been quartered. In Philadelphia, where the schools are already in bad shape, one-eighth of the teachers have been fired (that's more than an entire grade level worth of teachers removed from the district). They are eliminating school buses. The city government is not keeping up with road maintenance. Across the river in New Jersey, similar slash and burn tactics are being applied, and I assume its the same in other states.

Unfortunately, these austerity measures have long lasting consequences that will continue to hurt us and our economies in years to come. (For example: under-educated students lead to an under educated workforce, which leads to lower paying jobs, which leads to a bad economy, which leads to problems for everybody. That's why we need a healthy government, because it can educate people, and everyone will make more money as a result.)

The current "compromises" being discussed in Washington will only make our situation worse. These "compromises" assume that government is bad and attempt to disable it when, instead, we need to be taking steps to make our government healthy, so that we can continue to have things like roads, firefighters, libraries, post offices, etc. Please remember that government makes modern life possible. Government facilitates the world we take for granted.

If you still think that you do not like government, please move to someplace that doesn't have one. (there are two options: a cave, far away in the woods, or Somolia.) I like government, and I want to keep mine.

I really hope that the "compromises" being discussed will prove politically untenable, and that the president will be forced to act unilaterally, to raise the debt ceiling through the power of the 14th amendment, without enacting any of these idiotic austerity measures.

Even if that happens though, I doubt he will have the courage to do what he needs to do next. Because what this country needs right now is to pay for the services that will help our economy recover. Yes, this does require defecit spending, but that's how government works. later, when the economy is healthy, there will be more taxes coming in because everyone will be making more money, and then we will be able to pay down that defecit, as we did in the prosperous 90s.

That's what's great about having a government: it can spend the money that it needs to to fix the economy. Not only that: that's what it is supposed to do.

Anyway, I hope I've explained why I like government, and why I want one, and why I hope that we still have one after August 2nd. I'm really tired of people acting like we don't need a government or saying they don't like it, when, in fact, everyone benefits from the government, everyone likes what it does, and almost everyone needs it.

Let's not be fooled by cynical
politicians who are manipulating our economic crisis towards permanent ruin, what our country needs right now is to get off of its ass and start spending.

To read Colin's piece from his own page, here is the click :::"I Like Government" ... (CLICK HERE)

Jul 28 : "Guntown Mountain" - Current Profile Song

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (April 2011)

Philly Music!

So I've been real busy and haven't updated this page as often as I should. :) So here's an update about a show that Ben and I saw a couple weeks ago.

When I invited Ben to go see Giant Mind with me, one of the first things he said was "Do they play music with some type of discernible melodies?" My answer was "Well, maybe. Yes and no." … Giant Mind lives partially in the world of indie rock and traditional rock stylings, but they also inhabit a world of some new and irregular song structures.

When Ben and I went to see Giant Mind play at North Star a couple weeks ago, this was the first time I had seen them since they came out with a bunch of new work. Current song playing right now is Guntown Mountain by Philly band Giant Mind.

Here are a few of the best pictures that my friend, Ben Shuler, took that evening :::

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. Outdated links.

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To visit Giant Mind, here is the click ::: Giant Mind (CLICK HERE)

Jul 10 : "When They Fight, They Fight" - Current Profile Song

Once in a while I see some music of a favorite band in an unexpected place. Such was a case recently when I was exploring Hulu and found music of a favorite band, "Generationals", used as a background in a new tv series, "Suits".

"Suits" is about people working at a law firm. In one of the opening scenes in the first episode (about 10 minutes into the story), we can hear "When They Fight, They Fight". This song is the fourth track on the bands 2009 album "Con Law."

"Suits" looks like it's going to be an excellent series. If you'd like to check out that particular episode, here is the click :::

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. Outdated link.

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Generationals is from New Orleans, and they do get up to Philly. I've heard them a couple times at Johnny Brenda's, but most recently a couple months ago at Kung Fu. They don't have any upcoming show in Philly, but you can still check out the band by going to their web page. Here is the click ::: Generationals

Jul 05 - "Tennessee Girl" - Current Blog Song

EXTRA SET

Over the weekend David and I went to see Levee Drivers at Johnny Brenda's. The band played several of their standards including a new and dirtier rendition of "Tennessee Girl", which is playing right here (this song featured July 5 & 6). The band has been playing their standards in a few different ways during their past few shows. It's ranged from very clean and crisp, which is the way the songs exist on their 2008 ep "Levee Drivers" to a more free-flowing version such as what I heard Friday.

Levee Drivers played first on Friday night followed by two other bands. I was happily surprised when Levee Drivers' recorded music was played over the speakers in between the second and third set. So I got to hear both versions of most of the songs.

Afterwards I was talking with August, front man for the group. He told me they were planning a new album but weren't yet seeing eye to eye among themselves about whether the new music or even new versions of the old music should be "dirty" or "clean and crisp". I like both, but I think I would vote for "dirty" (I don't know that they're actually asking listeners for feedback).

Levee Drivers will be doing two more shows soon, one at Tritone on July 16 and another at North Star (Victorian Dining Room series) on July 18. ... To visit the band in the meantime, here is the click ::::: Levee Drivers (CLICK HERE)

Jun 28 : "Whole Foods Parking Lot" - Current Blog Video

"It's getting real in the Whole Foods parking lot." :) cool video!

The video is by Fog and Smog. Here is the click to their website: Fog and Smog (CLICK HERE).

Jun 25 : "Hudson Tubes" - Current Blog Song

Welcome to my new blog page! This is my first post on "Blogspot". I've been growing more and more disenchanted with the "new" Myspace. They've deactivated a lot of the nice features they used to have, including the ability to have something more than a "plain white" background on one's blog page. They've also ruined one's ability to have any type of creativity on the profile pages. They're trying to be Facebook, which they're not, and which is even worse as far as giving users the ability to customize their pages.

So I'm winding up here for now to give this a try. (But I'm still keeping the Myspace page because it still has a strong music connection.)

My friend Keith originally got me involved with Myspace. I always keep him as "Friend #1" of my "top friends" on Myspace. So, in Keith's honor, and as a thanks to him for getting me involved in social networking years back, I'm posting his picture right here in my first Blogspot blog :) . Click here for the page to Keith

And, in looking back to my first Myspace blogs, Robbers On High Street was one of the main bands whose music I originally posted. So, to celebrate the start of this new blog, I'm starting off with one of their songs as well. Current song featured today is "Hudson Tubes" by New York band Robbers On High Street. This is from their widely-acclaimed 2005 cd "Tree City". I like the song "Hudson Tubes", but it is also the name of an extinct train system (the predecessor to PATH), so that's a good reason as well.

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7/4/20 ::: OOPS. Sorry. Band will no longer allow song to be shared!.

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Coincidentally, the first time I ever heard Robbers On High Street live was at a concert at North Star, where Keith is manager.

To visit Robbers On High Street, here is the click ::: Robbers On High Street (CLICK HERE)