New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (July 27)
AN ORGANIC EXPERIENCE
A few weeks ago I went to Bowery Electric and saw Rue Snider and his band. That was the first time I saw them do a show. Dressed in what might have been a space suit, he did an exciting show featuring a lot of music from his very recently released new album "City Living".
I've been listening to his album since then, and I can say that it definitely lives up to its name. The songs cover a wide range of city life, not only about our own personal hopes and drama, but also a connection to and a rooting in what's outside our front doors. Listening to all eleven tracks envelop you and grounds you in time and place, covering a panorama of life in the city. The music includes everything from love songs to the political, and very interestingly, contains many references to local aspects of life in Brooklyn and New York (especially in track 10, "Wouldn't Be Summer"). While I lived in Brooklyn for many years and can relate to some of the specific place references, the story lines in the songs could be part of life in many cities and towns. It's truly a whole, organic experience. And one of the reasons that makes it so is also the inclusion of some of the broader macro issues that currently face our society as a whole, regardless of what city you might live in.
Decency Can't Dance Alone
What a horrific couple weeks we've had, with terrorist attacks in the form of attempted mail bombings and actual shootings at, of all places, a house of worship. It's times like these when we can feel overwhelmed. The media accounts leave us with too much of a sense of horror and vulnerability. And too small a sense of true healing.
It's times like these when we need the reassurances that, yes, there still are many good people out there, people who are ready to put themselves on the line to make the world a better place. We need an antidote to the divisiveness we too often hear from our country's current leadership.
And I definitely found inspiration from the last track on "City Living". When I first heard "City Living" a few weeks ago, this was the track that had the greatest impact for me. The right track for the right time. Its title is "Don't Lose Heart". It's beautiful and passionate and has been made into a video. Here is the video version of "Don't Lose Heart", with Rue Snider's background comments appearing further below:
I was very intrigued about how the song came to be and wanted to learn more of its background, so I asked Rue.
He explained that it had actually started out as a different song, but, as events in 2017 unfolded, felt that he had to rewrite the song to address the serious issues we're facing. Here's an excerpt from our email conversation last week.
The Women's March had happened. Trump was trying to ban Muslims. He was actively stripping rights away from minorities. My circle of friends and artists were outraged and beginning to take to the streets to protest. So I rewrote the lyrics with all of that in mind and "Don't Lose Heart" was born.
The single most important issue facing America in my mind is income inequality. I addressed that on my first record in a song called "Snowfall." That's the lens through which I was viewing all the other issues in the song as I was writing it. "The oligarchs smile/they traffic in fear to divide." The idea being that all this other stuff that's going on is a deliberate distraction to get us to take our eyes off the people at the top with the money who are pulling the strings. I was angry and the song addresses a lot of topics. The song is absolutely a Fuck You to the the President and every republican in power who supports his policies. But I wanted to be sure to end on an uplifting note, and I truly believe that many of the stands these powerful men take are designed to keep us fighting among ourselves so we don't pay attention to how they're profiting off of our subsistence and pain. The war machine cranks on because there is money to made from it. Not because of any principles or ideals. Guns remain legal not because of the second amendment, which most people on both sides of the debate understand wasn't designed to protect personal gun ownership but to protect the establishment of militias, but because there is a lot of money to made selling guns.
I mention Lucy Burns and Rosa Parks in the chorus to kind of hammer home the idea of women's rights being central to everything that's going on at the moment. I wanted to lend my voice to support women's equality.
I realize there's more nuance than what I'm describing, but I had to fit all of this into a 3 minute rock ballad. So "Don't Lose Heart." That's the story in a nutshell.
I think the song's title, "Don't Lose Heart" can have two meanings. One meaning can be a reassurance for us not to lose hope. Another can be an admonition not to lose love for others, but to be in solidarity with them ... because decency can't dance alone.
Rue Snider doesn't have any other shows coming up in our area in the near future, but here is the click to his Facebook page, so you can keep up with what he's doing as well as to get links to the new album: Rue Snider on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
p.s. ::: I write about the live shows in the order in which I've seen them. Weird timing when this song came along.
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (OCTOBER 26!)
Philly Music!
EASING THE FALL
NEWS ::: NEWS ::: NEWS ::: NEWS ::: Philly post-punk band The Silence Kit just released a new album today, "Fall Protection"! Fans of The Silence Kit won't be disappointed; this is another great album! All of the familiar qualities of the band's music are there, coming from the deep and dark, and talking about the complexities of life and relationships.
I think the first time I saw The Silence Kit perform must have been back in 2006 or 2007. I'm pretty sure it was at Khyber. "Sea of My Discretion" was one of their most popular songs at the time. It came from the album "In Regulated Measure".
So how is the music on today's new album changed from my first time seeing them at Khyber? There have been changes in the instrumentals as well as the vocals and lyrics.
One of the unique qualities of the band when I first heard them was Pat McCay's vocals. They were always very much front and center, more than you would experience with other bands and their lead singers. The instrumentals were plain and stark which enhanced the materials in the lyrics and vocals as the characters in the songs tried to deal with their introspection and sometimes anguish.
Moving forward to 2014 with the release of the album named "Watershed", we hear fuller instrumentals complementing the vocals, but the vocals were still the main front and center. There was much more complexity in the instrumental arrangements including some faster beats.
And fast forward to "Fall Protection", the album being released today. This album continues and builds upon the more complex instrumental arrangements that we heard in "Watershed". One song with a unique structure is "Worry".
As a general broad brushstroke impression of the new album, I think the arrangements and sound mixing as a whole have the prominence of the vocals receding ever so slightly. The instrumentals are moving forward. They're more than just the background accompaniment that we heard in 2007. In this album the instrumentals are out there demanding attention on their own.
Another difference and broad brushstroke impression that I observe in "Fall Protection" revolves around the content of the lyrics themselves. While the characters in a number of the songs are still experiencing complex and tumultuous life situations, the characters in the new songs at least see a few options in life (which is why I subtitled this writeup "Easing the Fall"), whereas the characters in the earlier songs felt less hope and maybe fewer choices (retroactively in comparison might have labeled their writeup "Freefall"). The characters in the new songs have a realization that a less drastic alternative to what they're facing might exist. (But, don't worry, Silence Kit fans, it's still dark!)
I think the the best example on the new album that illustrates that transition in attitude or awareness is in the song, "Can We Skip This", which is the fourth track on the new album. Take a listen :::
And, while the band doesn't have any shows coming up in the next few weeks, here is the click to the band's Facebook page, where you can keep an eye on everything! The Silence Kit on Facebook (CLICK HERE)".
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (May 2018)
JOURNAL OF THE MONTH
Suppose you could do a "re-start", to go to a new place and start out completely fresh, and leave behind all the old stuff that you'd just as soon forget. It takes strength to make such a move, but you could do it!
That was the question posed to the audience as Mandy of The Rungs opened up the evening at Bowery Electric last Thursday. And that's the theme of The Rungs' song, "New Town", which was the first song they played that night. Throughout the show, Mandy sprinkled in little stories and anecdotes between each song. Very engaged with the audience, talking to us like we had been her close friends for years! Stage presence definitely a few notches above lots of the rest!
I liked the band's show at Bowery Electric, but it was a thinned-down acoustic version of their music. But listen as the Brooklyn three-piece plays a more full-bodied version of "New Town". This is on the first track on their May, 2018 album "Mandy's Song Journal" :::
So what's "Mandy's Song Journal"? A very interesting concept, for one thing. Mandy explained that, partly as a manner of self-discipline, she decided to write at least one song a month and keep it in a song journal. Here is her online description of it :::
In May I decided to start a creative challenge for myself by committing to write and record a song, or demo, each month. I’ve titled this project my ‘Song Journal’ because sharing these rougher demos feels like opening up a journal. Home to the b-sides, the experiments, and the explorations outside of my comfort zone, the journal tunes are currently available to stream on Youtube and purchase on Bandcamp.
Thank you for listening,
❤
Mandy
If you would like to see more of the song journal, here is the click ::: Mandy's Song Journal (CLICK HERE). ... The Rungs don't have any other show coming up in the next few weeks, but here is the click to their Facebook page, where you can keep an eye on what they're doing::: The Rungs on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (August 2018)
SUPERB DESIGN
NEWS ::: ::: ::: Sam Seeger has just published an ambient guitar video. Wow, this is a change from his normal hard-hitting rock. We normally see Sam with his band and hear him taking some swipes at the surveillance state. In addition to being a change in genre this video is also a change in that it's entirely instrumental. If I had been blindfolded, I never would have guessed that the artist in this piece was Sam; this is a true sign of his versatility.
I asked him about all this :::
Bob: What made you decide to do an ambient video?
Sam: My father needed some ambient music for a
free APP he developed called GoView 360 Yoga.
Bob: Is this a singular exploration, or are you looking towards changing or expanding your genre? Bringing the other band members along with you on this exploration in the future?
Sam: I don’t think they’d be willing to come along on such a journey. But I am finishing up a new song with Rosie and Max that emerged out of an ambient loop. Planning on releasing that next month with a music video.
Bob: The latter part of the video includes a “tape” of the first portion? I see at about 2:26 you reach out to adjust the equipment but the music is still playing. Slide guitar? Is because of your hand contraption or is there a real thing called a slide guitar? Not familiar with this term.
Sam: I basically made a long ass loop and kept adding layers throughout the video, as my guitar ran through three amps—each with different effects trailing out. And it’s a regular old guitar—the “hand contraption” in question is the slide.
Bob: That’s all your artwork in the background?
Sam: A couple of the paintings are by me, the rest are by my mother Holly Whitstock Seeger, my aunt Mindy Seeger, as well as Max and Rosie. Each wall in my studio is completely covered with artwork by family and friends.
Bob: Are you aware that everything in that room appears to be angular? Only curved lines appear to be the curved stems of the stemmed-eyed monster in the pic to the left.
Sam: Haha—gets a little less angular on some of the other walls. Maybe they’ll be featured in the next in-studio video.
Sam: Thanks Bob!!
Bob: And thank you, Sam!
One of the things I find intriguing about Sam's videos is that they seem to be set in very interesting rooms. In looking at the room in this video, at first glance I see all the straight angles of the equipment, all crisp and clean, and then after a second look I see the more complex wall hangings and artwork. I had a similar reaction when I saw the room in his "Drumbeat of the Apocalypse" video, first noticing the square-windowed doors, and then, with a closer look, seeing the carpet's intricate patterns. When you watch Sam's videos, you not only get good music, but superb set design as well!
I've heard Sam and his band perform twice, once at Goldsounds in Bushwick and then more recently at Pianos in Manhattan, and I'm looking forward to hearing them again. While Sam doesn't have any shows planned in the next few weeks, here is the click to his web page where you can follow what he's doing ::: Sam Seeger's Web Page (CLICK HERE).
Family is very important to Sam, and it's truly unique that he always tries to bring along their participation in his efforts in one way or another. Here is the click to Aunt Mindy's art work. Mindy Seeger's art work. And his Mom also has a website. In addition to paintings, her artwork is commercial including graphic design and website design: Holly Whitstock Seeger's page. And brother Max has The Mayor Of Bad News, which is his own band. Sam and Rosie hope to join Max in some of his upcoming work to be released soon.
I'm eager to find those long commutes ... ... partly because I'm a member of a book club! Just finished reading "Canary", by Philly author Duane Swierczynski.
"Canary" is a fast-paced crime novel with an interesting ensemble of characters but telling its story focussing on two people: "Sarie Holland", a 19-year-old college student, who, while driving a new boyfriend to allegedly pick up a laptop he left at a friends house, is apprehended by "Ben Wildey", a police officer who is trying to make a name for himself on the Philly police force, and who has been watching that very house because it is really the house of a drug kingpin.
While I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime novels, I would give it a special recommendation to anyone who lives in Philly. BECAUSE THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN PHILLY! It takes place in Philly at many familiar places and areas we Philadelphians see each day. It's got Khyber, the El, Roosevelt Blvd., movie theaters under I-95, Melrose Diner,, as well as the crooked Dr. near Drexel. ... ... ... and many more. And it's got detailed real descriptions all the way down to the color of the formica tables in the diners! Yikes!
Here's the blurb from the book's cover. It's dangerous enough when an ordinary college girl turns confidential informant. Even more dangerous when she's smarter than the killer, kingpins, and cops who control her.
Honors student Sarie Holland is busted by the local police while doing a favor for her boyfriend. Unwilling to betray him but desperate to avoid destroying her future, Sarie has no choice but to become a "CI"--a confidential informant.
Philly narcotics cop Ben Wildey is hungry for a career-making bust. The detective thinks he's found the key in Sarie: her boyfriend scores from a mid-level dealer with alleged ties to the major drug gangs.
Sarie turns out to be the perfect CI: a quick study with a shockingly keen understanding of the criminal mind. But Wildey, desperate for results, pushes too hard and inadvertently sends the nineteen-year-old into a death trap, leaving Sarie hunted by crooked cops and killers alike with nothing to save her--except what she's learned during her harrowing weeks as an informant.
Which is bad news for the police and the underworld. Because when it comes to payback, CI #1373 turns out to be a very quick study
This story has an interesting ensemble of characters who tell the story from different perspectives, but a main focus is the relationship between Sarie and Ben.
If you would like to get a copy of "Canary", here is the click to the FLP site where you can find available copies or "place a hold". Get "Canary" at FLP (CLICK HERE).
New Video / Freshly Produced & Released This Week!
Philly Music!
SIMULTANEOUS EMOTIONS
Philly punk rock outfit "Trash Boy" asked me to do a writeup about their new video, "Trash Boy - Fuck New York [official video]". So here it is! I would like to start by giving a shout out to band members, Chris Fortunato, Dan Baggarly and Nolee Morris. Thank you!
First of all gotta say this is a dope video. Great production aspects including the animation and talking faces from huge billboards. Yikes!
This video is also a mass and mess of emotions. First of all there's the anger and resentment that's in the audio, brought forward from the original version of the song as the lead track on the band's new album "The Future Is Trash". It's the anger and resentment as the band's family was driven out of New York by gentrification. We hear the family's history of living in New York generation after generation and then finding themselves no longer able to deal with changes and the increasing costs and city's seemingly inhospitable attitude towards every day working people. As a specific example the song points out that there are resources to build 10,000 dorm rooms for the kids of wealthy parents, but not enough resources to provide a decent life for every day working people. People are told "not to watch" as society siphons off more and more money to the billionaires.
While the original audio version by itself is very stark, the video version brings with it another emotion, an element of love. While the undercurrent of the lyrics is seething with anger, the video, in contrast, shows a lot of smiles and happy faces. Ironically, in spite of its title and obscenely shocking hand gestures, this video is also an homage to New York, showing people laughing, showing them in every day situations on the subways and in the streets. The scenes that the video portrays show the band has a real love for New York.
This story might be happening any place. The band's singing about "New York" is just using New York as an example, perhaps because it is one of the most egregious, but also because it is a place where the band's family has had a personal history. The song as well as the band's total body of work is more of an indictment of the failures of capitalism itself, as compared to a sole condemnation of New York. The band shows its love for people and its anger and resentment when people are mistreated. Throughout the band's body of work, the topic of economic and income inequality pops up frequently.
But what about all that anger and resentment? Where does it go? Look at the facial anger when the singer is being forced to move and he says he'll "fuck up somebody else's neighborhood." Is he destructively passing anger forward to those in the new place (in Philly? oh noooooo), or is he realizing he'll be an interloper to someone else? In a society that doesn't take care of its citizens to begin with, people are forced to displace in this harmful cycle.
So how do we fight gentrification? Here we seem to have a split. The band itself as a unit is a great example of activism as they keep the issues of gentrification and income inequality in front of our eyes and ears by their writing and their performing.
But as individuals, the characters in the songs often start up with a tone of militancy but wind up either willingly or unwillingly succumbing to oppression, and then making a conscious or forced decision to detach themselves from the dominant capitalist landscape, and then living "free". For example, in "Government Skatepark", the band laments the closing of public spaces and the fact that the city is corralling all skaters into government skateparks. The band even flirts with the concept of "overthrow", but, in the end, the main character winds up skating in the skate park anyway. In "40s and Blunts" the singer laments not being able to have a family or a future because, financially, both are way out of reach. [[And, as a side comment of my own at this point, this makes the cheery proclamations of both the government and the Sunday morning pundits about our "healthy" and "recovering" economy a little ridiculous. ... when there are many people who have lost and have given up hope and who can't afford even the basic necessities of life. We need to establish a new set of metrics when we discuss the financial health of our country.]]
The characters in the songs have tried to live by society's rules but have suffered in return and some now choose to break away. Because there is no hope. No reassurance. Capitalism has done a number on us. Nothing can be fixed. After all, "The Future Is Trash".
From the band's web page: "you decide to climb to the top of the dirtiest landfill you can find, and throw a dance party on the disposable remnants of the capitalist hellscape. you listen to trash boy on your headphones, and as you thrust your body into an uncontrollable frenzy, your mind races back to every arbitrary oppressive societal expectation that was ever forced on you in your youth. so much study. so many rules. yet all our educations, governments, and billionaires did not save us. finally, outside of technology and the cobwebbed halls of academia, you are free."
Trash Boy has been touring the Northeast over the past couple weeks. Here is the click to their Facebook page so you can keep up with what they're doing: Trash Boy on Facebook (CLICK HERE)
Personal Note: And while I also moved from New York to Philly, that was years ago. ... But the band's work is important and relevant in today's world as they talk about these current structural economic issues.
It was the perfect night. It was the end of a horrific three-day heat wave, and NJ band "The Break Lights" was doing an outdoor evening show in the cool breezes under the towering trees of Morristown Green. This was part of the last Thursday of the month "Meet Me In Morristown" arts events. And, at the end of the heat wave, this was just the right night for it.
I went there after work. The show began about 7pm when it was still daylight. As the evening progressed, the crowd increased. The Break Lights had the whole evening to themselves, and, other than a ten-minute break, played straight through. I caught most of the show; they were still going strong even when I had to cut out a few minutes early to catch my train.
What was unique about this show (other than being "The Big Relief" from the heat wave), was the number of debuts of new songs. While I heard the band play songs that I recognized from their web page, I kept hearing "And here's another new song that we haven't played for anybody ... " I can't remember any other show where there was so much new work being presented.
The Break Lights have music from a number of albums posted on their Bandcamp page. From their newest album, "The Bright Life", released in the Fall of 2017, here is "Why Don't You Call Me?", which is the lead track :::
The Brake Lights doesn't have any other shows lined up right now, but here is the link to their Facebook page where you can keep an eye on them ::: The Brake Lights on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
New Music / Freshly Written & Video Released Aug 13
NEWS! ::::: :::: Brooklyn band Spritzer just posted a video of their song "Jean & Helene". The song itself comes from their new album "Love, Lies, Decay", which was released just a few months ago.
I've seen the band perform live two times, once in Brooklyn at Sunnyvale a couple years ago, and then very recently in Manhattan at Pianos just a few weeks ago. Excellent shows both times
Spritzer doesn't have any other shows on their upcoming calendar right now, but here is the click to their Soundcloud page, where you can hear all the songs from the new album! ::: Spritzer on Soundcloud.
Thursday night I went to Pianos after work and saw garage rock outfit "GEEBS" open up the evening. GEEBS is a two-piece band originally from Charlotte, NC. They recently moved to New York, and last Thursday at Pianos was their first New York show! It went very well.
GEEBS is Ezra Engler and Ian Duke. Their band has a very full sound with some fuzzy vocals, intriguing melodic lines, and distinctive arrangements to each song. And in the lyrics there's a heavy dose of relationship drama.
Here's a sample of some of their work. This track is from July, 2017. It's "Johnny Nonsense", and is the fourth track on their album, "Lucky" :::
So what's "The Fast Track"? I think Pianos was just as impressed with GEEBS as I was, because, while GEEBS was the opener last Thursday; on August 30, less than two weeks from now, they'll be back, this time playing the prime spot at the end of the evening !!!!! Here is the click to their August 30 show at Pianos: GEEBS at Pianos on Aug 30.
GEEBS has a huge amount of work on line. Quite prolific! Here is the link to their Bandcamp page: GEEBS on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).
New Video / Freshly Produced and Recently Posted (Two Weeks)
NEWS !!! ::::: 185668232 has posted a new video, a couple weeks ago. The video, simply named, "Demo Capsun", and subtitled, "MPC Live beat looping practice", takes us on a tour through different genres that are part of one long thread, as we sit and watch close up.
185668232 doesn't have any shows coming up soon, but here's the click to the Facebook page where you can keep an eye out for the next show ::: 185668232 on Facebook (CLICK HERE)
"Skating is an act of resistance," Chris Fortunato told me as we talked after his band's show at Kobol nine days ago. This was my second time seeing Philly punk-rock band "Trash Boy". (May 11, Jul 27)
Chris told me skating is an act of defiance, taking parts of an otherwise inhospitable urban landscape and making a personal play area out of it. And it's an act of defiance because there's an element of risk; it's re appropriating off-limits areas for one's personal pleasure. And, as people come together, skating is also a community.
While all of this may seem innocuous, it's something that the government can't tolerate, because it's still a nuisance and it's still breaking the rules. People skating illegally in urban areas make noise and keep taxpayers up at night. And there's the danger that that aura of boldness and flagrant disregard for social order might overlap into (gasp!) the political.
So something must be done. Better to have the skating and the people all under control. The solution is to build a government skatepark where all these people will be moved away and kept out of sight, as far out of the way as possible (The song says under I-95). Make the government skatepark nice, so the skaters' minds will be anesthetized and there will be no chance that their skating will evolve or meld in with any other type of social action or protest. And, of course, in the spirit of turning this "resistance" into an officially condoned "sport", make sure the skaters buy the new branded merch.
One of the most awful examples of this type of move was the destruction of the original Love Park in Center City Philadelphia several years ago. Love Park was a skater's paradise, a mecca that was known internationally as THE place to skate. People came from all around the world to skate here. I asked Chris whether this song was about Philly specifically and what he thought about that destruction. Chris said it was about Philly and its environs; he was angry about the closure and says he does skate in the new skateparks but still has some favorite (secret) spots and (decaying) infrastructure where he skates as well.
So what was different between the first time I saw the band and the second? I would say that in the second show they brought their stage presence to a new level, increasing the impact of the music through enhanced body language. Some and most bands show the emotions of what they're singing in broad brushstrokes. But in the second show the eyes and facial expressions of Trash Boy were tuned in to the lyrics line by line and word by word. This definitely undergirded the power of the lyrics. Something you don't often see.
Here is "Government Skatepark" by Philly band Trash Boy. This is from their 2017 album, "The Future Is Trash".
From their web page, "Trash Boy is actually 3 people (not one boy alone) who love Philly & its DIY world and hate rules that oppress the marginalized & uphold bogus meritocracy." Trash Boy is Chris Fortunato, Dan Baggarly and Nolee Morris. They don't have any shows coming up in our area soon, but here is the click to their Facebook page, so you can follow what they're doing ::: Trash Boy on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
New Video / Freshly Produced and Recently Released (last week)
NEWS! ::::::::: Sam Seeger came out with another new video just last week. It was on July 26, which also happens to be Sam's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM! In this video he has his whole band playing with him. And More!
Family is important to Sam; he told me last year his goal was always to have a "band of siblings" Here's my writeup from the show at Pianos.. While his music last year at Pianos included a brother and sister, he's expanded the family participation to include all family available! He told me yesterday: The guy in the karate uniform fighting the eyeballs is my father, Dave, and the woman painting the eyeball is my mother, Holly. They actually have their own band: https://youtu.be/LJSZ1TwjcsQ Also got my brother Ben in this video too. Shot that bar scene when he and his girlfriend Paris were visiting from LA. You've gotta click here to see Sam's web page with his art and more music. Sam Seeger web page (CLICK HERE)
THE SURVEILLANCE STATE
The "floating eyeballs" are always watching, always watching. The message here is do what you want to do and don't let them intimidate you.
NEWS! ::: Sam Seeger has just published a new video.
The song is "Y Control", and it's a Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover. Sam told me I love Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “Y Control” is super loopable and I just went for it.. On this particular recording he's playing solo, sort of, with the help of a drum machine.
I've seen Sam Seeger play with his full band twice, at both Goldsounds in Bushwick and Pianos in Manhattan. They always do a good live show.
I saw Syracuse band FLOTUS a few months ago when they came to Pianos to do their first New York show. And now just a short time later they've published their first video, a video of "Swim to Me" one of the songs on their "Sundance" ep. The band told me The video was directed by a friend of ours at Syracuse University, Ben McLaughlin, who majors in television, radio, and film. He thought it was a fun song and offered to do the video for us so we just let him roll with his own creative vision.
If you'd like to find out more about them, here is a click to their web page (where they even have a quote from yours truly (wow) ) FLOTUS web page (CLICK HERE). Here's the click to their Facebook page ::: FLOTUS on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And to my original Writeup. They're going to be doing a show in DC this Thursday, July 26. On their summer touring hope they include a "Thursday" visit to Philly or NYC soon. :)
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (March 2018)
Last week I went to Mercury Lounge and saw Jelani Sei for the first time. Their members are from both Hartford and New York, they're "electro-ebonix", and they're "future-soul". And they played to an absolutely packed house!
As I was exploring their website before the show, the song that really caught my attention was "Rep. Maxine Waters", which is a fairly new piece, having been released just this past March. Read the lyrics as you listen; they're written as if Rep. Waters might be voicing this herself.
A few weeks ago I saw Brooklyn band Spritzer for the second time, the first time being a couple years ago at Sunnyvale. I'm learning that the band's persona changes show to show or night to night. The first time I saw them, they were a fairly new effort with only a few samples of music on line. But when I went to see them for that first time, I saw and heard something completely different, as they had "guest brass" playing with them. A whole different feeling!
A few weeks ago I saw Spritzer do a show at Pianos, and, again, the feel of the music was unexpected, although this time not by design, as Matt Meade, mastermind of the band, had broken his hand and was unable to play the guitar. He wound up doing one-handed keys.
In spite of that change in instrumentation, the band still sounded great, as they played both new and earlier work as well.
So here's a sample of a song from last year. About The Twilight of a relationship? oh nooooo ((And this song does have some brass!))
Spritzer is a fairly new project by Matt Meade, who was one of the founders and principal songwriters of New York band "Friend Roulette". Stylistically, Matt wanted to veer off and experiment with some new sounds that were outside the sound territory of the other band.
I like Spritzer because of their complex instrumentals, and, of course, their surprise insertion of the horns every now and then. They've just come out with a new album, "Love, Lies, Decay", which takes the listener on an adventure through many different styles. Here is the click to their Soundcloud page where you can listen to the new album as well as some of the band's "originals". ::: Spritzer on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE).
Spritzer doesn't have any shows coming up soon, but here is the click to their Facebook page where you can keep watch::: Spritzer on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
I fell in love with the chords right away, and listening to the online samples was what propelled me to do an after-work trip to Trans-Pecos a few weeks ago. The band is Five Pound Snap. They're Space-Groove, and they're from Detroit. When I saw them on May 24, they were finishing up a tour that took them through the East Coast, South, and Midwest.
This was my first trip to Trans-Pecos, actually the first time I crossed the border from Brooklyn into Queens (Ridgewood) to hear music. I like all the windows and the skylights at this venue. The closest to an outdoor concert while still being inside, and still maintaining the industrial vibe! The concert with four bands began when it was still daylight, with light pouring in from all sides. As the evening progressed and the natural light began to fade, they gradually upped the lights inside. A nice effect; I liked this. This was one of those situations where the band and venue were a perfect match. A good evening.
It's usually the instrumentals and melodic lines that first attract me to any particular music. And that was certainly the case here. When I started listening to "Convex Hollow", the first track on the band's 2017 album, "White Birch Lakes", the chords at the beginning of the song grabbed me, and, by the time I listened to the whole album, I knew my visit to see them would be a sure thing. Good chord action with lots of interesting progressions. Wow!
However, as much as I first liked "Convex Hollow", I'm highlighting the album's second song in this writeup. It's "Twelve Seventy-Three". I've seen in some of their songs how the band switches over between different tempos and different textures, a little jumpy or choppy at times. And in this "Twelve Seventy-Three" they manage to pack in pretty much everything, samples of a lot of different textures and instrumentations that appear throughout the body of their work as a whole. A good representative sample.
Since they just finished their tour, it doesn't seem like they have any dates coming back East soon. But here is the click to their Facebook page where you can follow them ::: Five Pound Snap on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And, to hear more of "White Birch Lakes" as well as some previous work, here is the click to their Soundcloud page ::: Five Pound Snap on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE). If you listen to the earlier music and do a comparison with White Birches, you can hear how the band's instrumentals have changed over the past few years, developing more depth and a fuller sound, all with a stronger yet smooth presentation.
True Story: Chris Fortunato of Philly punk-rock band "Trash Boy" wrote the lyrics of how his father and grandfather and ancestors before them all lived in New York, and of how the city changed and how his family was driven out. And how he later set up his own life by moving to Philly. ... These are the basic story lines that are behind the lyrics in the band's song "Fuck New York", which is the lead track on their 2017 album, "The Future Is Trash".
The song is about how New York is changing with rising gentrification and income inequality (although these dynamics could be applied to many places). It talks about a city where there's enough money and resources for 10,000 more dorm rooms for rich kids but only obstacles for average people who are struggling to survive and achieve a dream of their own. This particular song singles out New York due to the band's personal experience, but they move on to talk about this injustice in a larger context.
It's in our society where the public is told not only "not to watch" as more income is transferred to billionaires, but, in another one of the band's songs, "Government Skatepark", where they might be taking aim at City Hall in Philly, they accuse the government of trying to channel people into mindless recreation so that the people won't be out in the streets protesting these economic outrages.
The band rejects the upward mobility when it is tied to maintenance of the order of inequality as the price to be paid. In the song, "40s and Blunts", they sing:
dont wanna be a boston aristocrat
dont wanna be a dc diplomat
or an ass kissing journalist who gets paid a lot to be wrong
Many bands are becoming more topical in their lyrics, and Trash Boy brings talk about income inequality as a main issue in a lot of their songs. In their live performance I saw them go after injustice with even a more piercing anger than what can be seen or heard through their web presence.
Chris Fortunato along with Dan Baggarly and Nolee Morris form this Philly three-piece. If I were to say these folks were "out from the underground", you might say well that's cliche, but they really are, for, in addition to their performing, they've also operated the South Philly basement venue, "Slime Time Live". That was where I saw them for the first time do a show back on May 11 (same night as Madam West, in my previous writeup). It was undoubtedly the nicest basement venue I've ever visited. No loose hanging wires from the ceiling at this place!
So here was the band's good riddance to New York :::
And if you would like to read the lyrics as you listen, here is a click to the words: Read and Listen (CLICK HRE)
The band is currently on their "Summer of Trash Tour". They have a couple more shows coming up soon. And where are they going to be? In New York! Yikes!The first is tomorrow on June 23 at Punk Island, and June 27 at The Bowery Electric". And, if you would like to visit them on Facebook, here is the click ::: Trash Boy on Facebook (CLICK HERE). So they'll be presenting this song in New York? Are they trying to recruit more people to move to Philly? If that's what they want to do, then, hey, they better not keep singing that Philly has "shitty pizza". haha.lol
In this song the only villain that's named specifically is NYU. If the band wants to look at Philly through those same lenses, they might find some ripe topics in questionable actions by universities here. For example, there was (maybe still is) the recent controversy about Temple's attempted encroaching into its surrounding neighborhood to build a new stadium.
Personal Note: And while I also moved from New York to Philly, that was decades ago and I don't share the band's animosity towards NY. But the band's work is important as they talk about these economic issues.
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (March 2018)
A MOTHER'S QUESTION
Madam West first came onto my radar screen back on February 23 when my friend, David Burgos, did a post onto my Facebook page inviting his band friends to post their music, and Sophie Chernin, vocalist for Madam West, posted a track there. So I'll start by doing a shoutout and thank you to both David and Sophie! ... This is my first official followup.
My work schedule limits my concert going to some Thursdays and a few Fridays. So it wasn't until May that I saw Madam West was doing a show on one of my free nights. (Found out about it through Songkick). Cool basement show here in Philly at Slime Time Live.
Before I went to the show I listened to a couple songs and was generally aware that a lot of the lyrics are about relationships. And that was reinforced when I heard the music at the show.
It wasn't until afterwards when I started to focus more deeply on some of the lyrics that I became aware of the intensity of the scrutiny that some of these interpersonal relationships were receiving, as to what relationships have turned out to be, how they've changed, how they could have been different, if only, and trying to accept that they have changed, or not.
One of the strongest human relationships is between mother and child. In "Strongest Son", the lead song of the band's recently released album, "Warm Bodies", they talk about the relationship between a mother and son, or mother and any children who might have been usurped by today's war machine and the possibility, or inevitability as the band sees it, of nuclear war. It's a song that shows the mother's strength in her watching out for her children's safety, but also a feeling of helplessness.
The song opens with a mother's lament of how to put into words something that will help us get through these times. Yet while she reflects on the uniqueness of these times, she sees the threat of impending war as something that is timeless and that has always been present since ancient times. She talks about the "strongest sun", nuclear war, and her "strongest son".
The second verse talks about the attributes of the nuclear weapon, its being "colorful". I think this section could be a metaphor of the way some people in our political life are quite enamored with the thought of war and the prospect of maybe using one of these horrific devices, that they're so eager it's a "foregone conclusion". No way out here, we're doomed to "foreclose."
And in the final verse the awareness of the absurdity of war as she describes that war is the worlds' children being made to fight against each other. And here is the rhetorical question about what to do now.
This song is filled with word play and metaphors. Is the "mother of all" the collective spirit of all mothers and/or is it the biggest and most horrific bomb of all? I'm ending my comments here because I've rewritten this post about a dozen times. Each time I go back to read and listen I come away with possible new meanings and wordplays. This band knows how to challenge the listener! :)
So here is "Strongest Son", the lead single on Madam Wests's new album, "Warm Bodies", just released in March. :::
On a trip to "Warehouse On Watts" on April 19 I saw Philly music outfit "Overwinter" for the first time. Overwinter is a solo project, "Sarah" on her Soundcloud page, describing herself as a "multi-instrumentalist". An unusual thing about her web presence is that she not only has a Bandcamp page showcasing her vocals, but also has a Soundcloud page where she has taken some familiar motifs and built them into "Demo Instrumentals". One such song is "Nobody Knows".
Here is "Nobody Knows (Demo Instrumental)" by Philly multi-instrumentalist, Overwinter :
And other songs appear first as demo instrumentals and then later as instrumentals with vocals. Here's an example: "Not Mine":
Her music is recorded and produced in North Philly!
If you would like to see Overwinter perform live, you're in luck!. She will be doing two shows in June and July, the first at Trafalmadore on June 19 and the second at Pharmacy on July 23.
6/9/18 >>>>> UPDATE >>>>> OOPS. A little odd, but the Artist seems to have removed all of the music from her Soundcloud page. I've tried accessing it with a few browsers, and, even though the music links from my page are sourced to her Soundcloud page which now seems to be empty, that music still seems to appear here.
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6/24/18 >>>>> UPDATE >>>>> IT'S MAGIC. The artist's music has reappeared on Soundcloud! So click away!
Two times I've gone to see the band "The Nude Party". The first time was successful.
The Nude Party is a rock band from Boone, NC. Their music has a lot of classic rock instrumental stylings with some lyrics that go out to the edge. They do seem to make some fairly frequent trips up North to let us hear their great sounds, and I was successful in seeing them on my first attempt. I saw them do a great show last summer, back on August 31. They were the headliner at a very late middle-of-the-night show at Williamsburg's Baby's All Right. The show was high energy, and the venue was just the right match. It was a good evening; I felt I had to go see them again.
Here is a sample of their music. This is "Poor Boy Blues" from their January 2016 album, "Hot Tub EP":
The Nude Party has more shows coming up soon, on June 1 at Metro Gallery in Baltimore, and July 5 at Rough Trade in Brooklyn. In the meantime, here is the click to the band's Facebook page: The Nude Party on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
6/27/20 UPDATE :::: OOPS! The band has removed that song from their site. Just another element to show that everything related to that night was a bust!
Yes, I did go to see The Nude Party twice. August 31 was a great show, and I wanted to see them again. So I had my hopes up when I saw they were coming back up North a few weeks ago. They would be doing a show at the new "Elsewhere" venue in Bushwick on Friday, April 6. I did manage to go there after work. When I read that Elsewhere was a creation by the same people who ran Williamsburg's Glasslands, one of my favorite venues, my hopes were raised even higher. I was sad to see Glasslands close. I loved the place because of its high ceilings and spacious layout. Even if a crowd came out, there was still room to roam around and see the band from many different vantage points. The ceiling was so high, it even allowed for a small balcony around part of the room. A few notable acts that I had seen at Glasslands were "Slothrust", "Wild Yaks", "The Belle Game", "Boyhood", and "Graveyard Lovers". Great nights!
So I can't say how disappointed I was when I arrived at "Zone One" at Elsewhere. The attributes that I liked about Glasslands were missing here. The room was small with what seemed like a ceiling way too low. It was cramped right from the beginning. I've gone to house shows where it's been crowded, but I wasn't expecting that here. Different expectations going to a venue as compared to going to a show in someone's house basement. And different expectations going to a place created by people who previously had one of the best venues.
They also seemed to bring forward the only attribute of Glasslands that I didn't like: no draft beers, although can't be sure. After I saw how tight and cramped the place was I only gave the bar a quick look but didn't buy anything; the vibes I was starting to get was that I wouldn't be there too long.
This was starting to get me in a bad mood. I was also disappointed (my fault) because I had not checked out the other bands in the lineup as thoroughly as I usually do. Turned out I wasn't into the other bands as much as I had thought, and I wasn't liking the room itself and I wasn't in the mood for bottled beer. I couldn't visualize hanging out there for another couple hours before the The Nude Party even started. Too many reasons not to stay; I decided to cut my losses and leave. Never did hear The Nude Party the second time. That will have to be in the future.
I've been writing about my music experiences for several years, with very few negative writeups. I guess these last few paragraphs could be considered a mini-rant, mourning the loss of the great Glasslands and pissed that the new invention is not an adequate replacement.
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (Feb 14)
HOW TO LIVE LIFE
A week ago Friday I went to Pianos after work and saw Syracuse band FLOTUS do their first New York show! I thought it was excellent with good performances all around, but I was especially mesmerized by the work on the keys! Wow!
They recently came out with a new album, "Sundance"; two of the songs deal with what to look for in life. How should we live life? One sure thing is that "FLOTUS" (acronym for "Funky Lads of the United States") doesn't have any doubts; they know what they want. And what they seek revolves not so much around actions or material goals, but, rather, on the right attitude. And part of that attitude is an uncommon confidence that everything will turn out fine. Some songwriters talk about hope for the future, but the FLOTUS guys don't talk about a good future in terms of "if" things turn out ok, but in terms of "when" things turn out ok. In other words, life turning out right is a given.
More details in "Sandals", which is the lead track on the new album :::
Unexpected and cool that they say that when everything "falls into place" for you, they remind you to thank your siblings and parents.
Here's more, these on "Flight 815", the second track on the album :::
FLOTUS doesn't have any shows coming up in the near future, but here is the click to their Facebook page where you can watch what they're doing in the meantime: FLOTUS on Facebook (CLICK HERE). I will have my eye out for their next tour.
New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (Nov)
Philly Music!
RECOVERY
I've been watching Panophonic for a long time. The first time I saw Panophonic, it was a one-man outfit, with Tom Lugo playing live along with some pre-recorded accompaniments. But the lineup has been fluid with extra band members added when he headlined at the Popnoise Festival at The Fire back on February 23. Tom is also the mastermind of Popnoise Festival as well as an indie recording company, Patetico Recordings.
One thing that hasn't changed, though, is Tom Lugo's commitment to helping important causes, both local and world-wide. I first have to say that, on the very local level, he donated merchandise to our community org when we were doing a fundraiser. He's selflessly helped to promote many musicians here in Philly and beyond.
On the national and world-wide level, Tom has brought together many of the artists he has known to do benefit albums to help those who have been stricken by major natural disasters, most recently the victims of Hurricanes, Harvey, Irma, and Maria. He brought together fellow musicians to create a FIFTY-SIX TRACK ALBUM called "Rock Back: Stronger Than the Storm". Tom traces his own roots back to Puerto Rico.
The concept of the Rock Back compilation series was born in 2011 when disaster hit Japan and Tom Lugo, Patetico Recordings’ label owner who is very passionate about helping causes and non-profit organizations, decided to reach out to the community of artists he has in his network to put together a compilation with profits being donated to relief efforts. The response was overwhelming, over 100 artists all over the world joined to together in the efforts. What was to be a single CD compilation grew to an 8 disc compilation titled “Rock Back for Japan”.
The compilation series hit the top 10 Indie Rock releases on Amazon's chart for several weeks as well as certain volumes holding the number 1 spot.
Since then Patetico Recordings has released the benefit compilations “Rock Back: Animal Rescue”, "Rock Back for Nepal", “Rock back for Ecuador”, “Rock Back for Haiti”
“Whenever Tom Lugo reaches out to his musical family you know it’s for a crucial and essential cause, The Rock Back for Nepal CD compilation is no exception. I’m proud to be part of this relief effort / fund raiser for anyone affected by the recent earthquake disaster in Nepal and if I can help or contribute in some way to aid support and assistance to the many displaced people I will without question. Please support this cause and donate as generously as you can.” -Dean Garcia
“It is a horrible tragedy this destruction of culture and life. I feel lucky that I can use my craft and contribute a song to this fund to help them raise money for relief. If we can all do something to help and give relief for the people of Nepal we should do it now.” – Oliver Ackermann
On this most recent album Tom's own musical contribution via Panophonic is the last track on the album: "After the Storm". The track's instrumentals show a quiet yet strong resolve :::
And, again on a personal level, when I first became interested in hearing local bands, Tom educated me on what was going on in the Philly music scene. Thanks, Tom!
Panophonic doesn't have any other concerts coming up soon, but here is the click to their Facebook page so you can keep an eye on them: Panophonic on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
At the Popnoise Festival at The Fire here in Philly on February 23, were there going to be six bands, five bands, or four? I wasn't sure. "Dani Mari" was listed in some of the publicity for the February 23 show, and "Primitive Heart" was listed in others, and both were listed in still others. It turned out that Dani Mari was performing as "Primitive Heart", her solo project, but also playing solo versions of music from bands in which she played. And maybe some solo work pre-Primitive Heart. Not sure; the lines were a little blurry as to what was which.
Dani Mari is a prolific writer whose work spans many genres. A look at her Soundcloud page shows work in many styles played not only as solos but also as collaborations with an impressive list of other musicians from many backgrounds.
Here is an excerpt from her web page: Dani Mari is a multi genre music producer and visual artist that works with artists from all over the world. She is currently working on a solo album as Primitive Heart and her love for shoegaze has brought about collaborations with Violentene, Omega Vague, Xeresa and more.
As a visual artist, Dani Mari creates live visuals for her performances and other events. She is a huge horror fan and created a series of songs & horror films inspired by Dario Argento's movies about witches (Suspiria, Inferno & Mother of Tears) with Johnny Butler for Cruel Beauty Productions & premiered them at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.
Dani Mari is the founder of Female Frequency, a community dedicated to empowering female, transgender & non-binary artists through the creation of music that is entirely female generated. She created an album made entirely by women with co-founders I Am Snow Angel & Claire London, Madame Gandhi, Ryat and many other female producers & engineers.
Even though there's a huge amount of work on her web pages, this was one of those situations where the live performance bore little resemblance to what's on line. I actually enjoyed her live style much more than the web music. One of the qualities I liked best about her performance that night was a dynamic similar to what I had heard by the musician in my previous blog, that there were a couple of different tempos and textures operating at the same time. I couldn't find anything on the web pages that resembled that. While the tempo and tonality of her vocals at the show were similar to what we hear on much of her page, the accompaniment at the live performance was in many instances a fuller, up-front, slow-moving bass. It was a solid foundation to the words she was singing. I'm intrigued by the combining of textures.
Of the music on her page, one of the tracks I like the most is "Invisible Lines". While she has a few renditions of the song, this is one with Brooklyn Shanti and Kid Graavity.
If you'd like to see Dani Mari live, you're in luck. She'll be doing a show on Tuesday, March 20th, at Brooklyn's "C'mon Everybody". In the meantime, here is the click to her Facebook page: Dani Mari on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to her Soundcloud page where I'm sure you'll be impressed by her wide variety of work: Dani Mari on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE).
I was completely captivated by the instrumentals in this track. I fell in love with the chord progressions right away. There's an ethereal and mysterious intro to this song, but these fascinating chords start in about 0:40 on the clock, followed by the beginning of the vocals.
Midway through the piece is an intriguing multi-tempo interlude that starts about 1:56. While the basic foundation of the song's tempo remains the same as in the first verse and refrain, some fast-paced rippling instrumentals enter at this point and take us to the second verse. I like the two tempos playing with each other at the same time.
I like instrumentals that are complex and grandiose and those at the conclusion of the piece certainly fit the bill, with the basic foundation tempo created by the percussion along with the rippling that we heard in the interlude now blending equally with vocals.
While there is a wide range of instrumental textures and tempos in this piece, I have to say that the vocals are equally impressive. Quiet Luke has a flexible voice that covers a wide range. He switches very comfortably back and forth between chest voice and falsetto. He even incorporates the two styles in one sentence! Listen to the second line of the chorus or refrain, where he sings "how i got here" in falsetto and then "i couldn't tell you at all" in chest voice. All one sentence! Another example is in the second line of the second verse where he sings "i know it's for the birds i've heard enough" entirely in chest voice with the exception of the one word "I've" which pops in as falsetto. Nice enhancements to the expression of the lyrics.
"The Shortest Distance" is the fourth track on Quiet Luke's debut 2016 ep "Beholden". I've been listening to this and his other music on Soundcloud ever since I went to his live show at Alphaville in Bushwick last week. Stopping in on my way home from work I was just able to hear a portion of his show before train time said I had to leave.
One show I did get to in the last couple months was Philly band Tygerstrype's headlining a benefit show for Prevention Point at Everybody Hits. The band's sound was a perfect match for the venue and the stage setup was just right. Tygerstype's music on stage has become a little grittier and a little looser as I've listened to them over the past six plus years, although that grittiness doesn't necessarily carry over into their recorded sound, which remains a little crisper and more tightly controlled.
A couple years ago Tygerstype came out with a new full-length album, "We Learn to Love Our Chains". The album has some intriguing songs including the unique "Lonely Bully".
The song starts out with the bully singing to the victim about how he or she taunts now and will keep taunting later. Symbolic of the bully's lack of empathy, the instrumentals convey a surprisingly casual and nonchalant feeling when compared to the severity of what's expressed in the lyrics and what the bully is actually doing.
The first unexpected turn occurs as the song progresses into the second section ("1.58" on the clock) when the bully's words begin telling of the subconscious reasons for being a bully, such as the insecurity, the need for attention. But then the song takes another and bigger unexpected turn, because the bully then starts talking about maybe channeling his or her need for attention and for showing off strength to "protecting" the victim from others who might be trying to do the same harm.
After the second section there's an instrumental interlude which might symbolize the progression of the interactions (change does take time). The music is still active but quiets down, sort of a "simmering" then opens up beautifully into the third section (about "4.30") where the bully winds up very much wanting a friendship with the victim. The bully has been redeemed and the relationship has been redefined. A very unexpected conclusion! If society could only make this the norm!
After that third verse the instrumentals continue with increasingly varied stylings along with some more vibrant percussion work. It shows that everything is fine.
Here is "Lonely Bully", from Tygerstype's album, "We Learn to Love Our Chains":
Tygerstrype is Gabriel Guerrero and Alden Towler. Their song shows a refreshing consciousness that's not always evident in instances where society discusses bullying, where the talk seems to move toward punishing the bully and protecting the victim, but less often addresses the underlying psychology of the bully's actions in the first place. Their story of repairs being made to a once thorny relationship can only fill the listener with hope that there can be a good answer to the problem of bullying. Schools should make this song required listening! :)
Tygerstrype doesn't have any shows coming up in the immediate future, but here is a link to their Facebook page where you can keep track of what they're doing ::: Tygerstrype on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
I've been off the radar screen for a while. I'm just coming back on line and wanted to wish everybody a happy and healthy 2018.
Over the past weeks I had radiation treatment for prostate cancer followed by a recovery period. The treatment appears to have been successful. I'm happy with the great care I received at Pennsylvania Hospital.
While work is the priority, as I still have worked during both the treatment and recovery periods, I have cut back on evening and weekend activities and am still not going out at night just yet.
However, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel and am starting to take a look and listen to events I see listed later in the month and moving forward. It will be good to get back to attending live shows again!
Also, as a side note, and, much to my dismay, I see that some pictures I had mounted here on my blog postings seem to have "vanished". I don't know what that's about. Will have to look into that this week.
I hope to get back to attending shows soon and sharing some of those experiences with friends here on my page.
