Jan 31 : "Scarecrow Pt. 1" - Nic Sanderson (Philly)

Philly Music!

pic from Nic Sanderson's Facebook page

It was the music of Philly post-punk artist Nic Sanderson that caught my attention. After listening to samples of lots of bands playing at lots of venues on January 17, I decided to go to Ortlieb's, where Nic Sanderson was going to be opening up the evening. In listening to Nic Sanderson's music on line, I immediately liked his strong instrumentals. The music had some intriguing and unexpected chords and arrangements, just the right amount of messy, and rounded out with some interesting fuzz. Although I got to the venue a little late (going after work), I liked what I heard; it was even better than the online version. (Time had passed since the release of the albums). I hope to catch a full show in the future.

Nic Sanderson has a couple albums out. One of them is from 2017 and is titled, "Blurry Being". This is the seventh track on the album and is titled "Scarecrow Pt. 1" :::

Looks like I might have to wait a while to see a complete show; Nic Sanderson has no other shows coming up soon; but here is the link to his Facebook page, where we can find out when that next show will be. Nic Sanderson on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jan 28 : "The Day After an All-Nighter" - Sam Seeger (New York)

News
Sam Seeger Releases New Video

Sam Seeger just released a new video today, "The Day After an All-Nighter".

(smh true)

Sam doesn't have any other shows coming up in the next few weeks, but here is the click to his Facebook page where you can keep watching what he's doing ::: Sam Seeger on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jan 25 : "Take It Already" - Dear Althea (Philly)

Philly Music

ALMOST NEW YEARS EVE

My New Years Eve was off by one day. While I normally don't go out on New Years Eve, I did an "almost" this year, seeing that "Dear Althea" was doing a show on Monday, December 30 at Kung Fu. It had been years and years since I had seen this band do a show (I checked with Songkick and I found that the last time I saw them was in 2010 and 2011!) ... They were just as good as I remembered, maybe even better after the intervening years.

Don't have a lot of details to talk about. Unexpectedly ran into several people I knew; my attention was all over the place. That plus the music made it one of the best New Years!

The most recent album that Dear Althea has out is "Louder Faster Female" which was produced in 2013. Here is the lead track from that album, "Take It Already" :::

Deal Althea doesn't have any other shows coming up soon (Hope I don't have to wait years to see them again), but here is the click to their Facebook page where you can find out more about them ::: Dear Althea on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

pic from Dear Althea's Facebook page

Jan 16 : "Davenport" - Aspect Ratio (Philly)

Philly Music!

MOVIE MAGIC

I think this is the first time I've ever seen a band who dedicates itself to the work of film! On December 30th, I saw Philly band "Aspect Ratio" do a show at Kung Fu Necktie.

Aspect Ratio is Joshua Alvarez and Carly Marcoux, and they both love the movies, most specifically cult classics. Last year they came out with a two-track ep "Davenport b/w Daisies".

"Davenport" is actually based on "Dawn Davenport", a character in the John Waters' film "Female Trouble". Dawn Davenport was played by Divine, which is the reference in the song's chorus. The song also references "Edith Massey", who was one of the regular actresses in John Waters' films. ... And "Gator" is Dawn's husband.

The band describes its love for film on its Facebook page ::: Aspect Ratio's music is about writing a love letter to the movies, performing a send-up of personal favorites in all of their often brutal and heartfelt complexities. Guitarist and singer Joshua Alvarez (Cinepunx/Crossed Keys) and drummer and singer Carly Marcoux have created a space and duality that mixes their love of film with a kind of agelessness and 'zero-f**ks-given' zeitgeist of 'non-control.' "We'll see where the songs take us; and if we don't like it, what we're playing, or feel good about it--then we won't do it."

The Philadelphia-based band's debut single, "Davenport" b/w "Daisies," was inspired by two unforgettable favorites: John Waters' classic, "Female Trouble," featuring trash-goddess Divine, and the 1966 new wave Czech girl-gang cut-and-run romance, "Daisies," directed by Věra Chytilová. For a bookend, both are quite powerful, but come at you in completely different ways (and are meant to be experienced as such).

I nominate Aspect Ratio to provide the soundtrack for a future John Waters' film.

Here are the lyrics to "Davenport" and Aspect Ratio's Bandcamp page: "Davenport" (CLICK HERE). And here's where you can check out "coming attractions" for Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

pic from Aspect Ratio's Facebook page

Jan 11 : "'Hey Dragon' feat. Mekia Machine (Official Video)" - The Holy Wow (New York)

News
The Holy Wow Releases New Video

Back in the Fall I saw The Holy Wow do a great show at Bowery Electric. And somehow I missed it, but they came out with a video about that same time, titled "Hey Dragon". Late, but here it is. This was released on November 19.

Here's the click to their Facebook page where you can find out about their next show, as well as the full story of the band's unique background. ::: The Holy Wow on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jan 08 : "Key to the Highway" - Bad Tiger (Princeton)

NEW INTERPRETATIONS

I was immediately pulled in to the music by the smoothness and the complexity of the arrangements. I saw Bad Tiger play on my recent trip to Barca City in New Brunswick. Yes, I had listened to the music on line before I went to the show, but their music at the live show sounded more nuanced, more textured. I recommend you check out a live show!

And some of the songs sounded familiar. Most of the band's music is covers, and they aim very high, following some of the blues greats! They show their respect to these legends, they have a love for the individual songs, yet they're staking out their own interpretations, adding to the life of this music.

Bad Tiger doesn't have a whole lot of bio information on their Facebook page, so I was curious to learn more. Alby (Lead Guitar/Vocals) got back to me with the info.

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Bob: How old is your band?

Alby / Bad Tiger: We are all PhD students at Princeton University and we started playing together in January 2018.

Bob: How do you pick the songs?

Alby / Bad Tiger: We all share similar tastes in music, so picking the songs is a fairly easy process.

Bob: How do you create the arrangements?

Alby / Bad Tiger: We usually turn to the Blues greats (Freddie King, Albert King, Eric Clapton), as well as to the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and so forth. Our arrangements are two-fold: either we stick to the original version (or some live version) of the song we are covering, or we come up with our own interpretation. Our own interpretation is usually on the bluesier-side, but sometimes we like to give it a reggae twist. All in all, we tend to give room to the guitar and keys to solo/exchange licks, and when possible/suited we try to end the song with a jam.

Bob: What do you see the band doing in the future?

Alby / Bad Tiger: As far as the future of the band goes, we plan to keep on jamming for the next few years until the end of ours PhDs. Once this is over, I hope life won’t drive us too far apart from one another, so that we’ll be able to get together for a reunion and a few beers every couple of years.

Thanks again for reaching out

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((At this point I expressed to them it was too bad that they had to get their PhD's and disperse.)). :)

I was also trying to think of which song to choose to feature with this writeup. I was thinking about "Key to the Highway", so I asked them about it ::::

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Bob: I guess I have a couple more questions. When I write about bands, I usually feature one of the songs I like the most to accompany the writeup. I seem to be zeroing in on “Key to the Highway” in the Whitman College album. Any special story or comments about that song or album? .... .... When you say “Whitman College 4/27/19” as the title of the album. That was a specific concert where you recorded the songs?

Alby / Bad Tiger: I’m glad you’re zeroing in on “key to the highway”. It’s my favorite song and it’s one of the first we put together as Bad Tiger two years ago. Our arrangement is largely inspired by the “Derek & the Dominos: live at the Fillmore” version (you can find it on youtube or Spotify). It’s almost always “a must” in our setlist: we get to unleash the blues chops that we like, guitar and keys take multiple solos, and we also get to change the dynamics of the song quite a bit (you may have noticed how we drop the volume during the guitar solo in the middle of the song).

Also, in case you hadn’t run across it, let me point you to the version from our bandcamp album “Scarlet Pub 10/14/18” (Scarlet Pub is in New Brunswick). I think it’s tighter than the “Whitman College” one, but that’s just my opinion.

As for your question on the title: yes, the recordings in “Whitman College 4/27/19” are from the Whitman College (Princeton University) gig on 4/27/19. Likewise, “Scarlet Pub 10/14/18” and so forth. I guess we are not very creative with our titles, but the artwork is mighty fine haha.

Bob: Thanks for the background story, Alby.

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"Key to the Highway" is the opening track on the band's "Whitman College 04/27/19" Album :::

A Bandcamp glitch has the song below mislabeled, but click anyway below to begin, and you will hear "Key to the Highway".,

Bad Tiger doesn't have any other shows coming up soon, but here's the click to their Facebook page where you can find out when the next time will be ::: Bad Tiger on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And here's the link to the other version of "Key to the Highway" that Alby mentioned in our conversation: "Key to the Highway" (Scarlet Pub 10/14/18) (CLICK HERE).

photo from Bad Tiger's Facebook page

Jan 01 : "mERRY_e'VERY_dAY" - 185668232 (Brooklyn)

Philly Music!

We're approaching the end of the holiday season and all its festivities. Most of us have spent time with families and friends, celebrating the season and hoping that 2020 will bring a fresh start. ... But what if all those hopes, good wishes, and celebrations could last year round and not be restricted to this one short season! ... Such is the concept behind Brooklyn artist 185668232's song "mERRY_e'VERY_dAY".

And, appropriately, they were the first words the artist wished the audience as he opened up his recent show at Bushwick's Wonderville on December 26. Wonderville is a bar, a game arcade, and a performance space, all three.

When I first arrived there I was wondering how much the people's talking and the whirring and ding-ding's of the game consoles were going to interrupt or possibly overpower the performance on the stage. But two plus two was put together for me as I learned that that was the whole point. 185668232 was taking the sounds of the room and building it into a piece before our very eyes and ears.

Or, at least, before other people's eyes and ears.

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VILLAINS OF THE EVENING! ::: I couldn't stay for the whole thing. The villains of the evening were New Jersey Transit and SEPTA whose recent train cancellations and fantasy connections caused me to have to leave too soon.

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Whoa, Wait! Why is this "Philly Music"? This is Bushwick! ... The piece was written when my friend, Iam, (aka 185668232) lived in Philly, before his move to Bushwick. However, when originally released in 2012, this track was known as "mERRY_e'VERY_dEI_" and was on an album titled "pRODUCt pLACEMENt". Both the album and song have been renamed. The album is now "cULTuRE jAMMiNG" and the song's spelling has been changed to "mERRY_e'VERY_dAY"

The song starts out in a quiet way, and about the halfway point a foreboding element starts to appear from nowhere. The scary part recedes and we hear a familiar and reassuring melody, although it's transmitted with a certain fragility, signalling that making _e'VERY_dAY mERRY will take effort and needs attention so it doesn't slip away!

While 185668232 has a show coming up in L.A. in the next few weeks, here is the click to the Facebook page where you can keep up with all future events ::: 185668232 on Facebook (CLICK HERE).