May 06 : "Poor Boy Blues" - The Nude Party (Boone, NC)

PRAISE AND MOURNING

Praise

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!

============================================= =============================================

Mourning

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.

Apr 04 : "Sandals" and "Flight 815" - FLOTUS (Syracuse)

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.

Mar 28 : "After the Storm". - Panophonic (Philly)

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 :::

Here is the link to all 56 tracks: "Rock Back Stronger Than the Storm" (CLICK HERE)

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).

==========================================================

RECOVERY EFFORTS in Puerto Rico have hit the news a couple times recently.

Last Week

Last Wednesday, "Democracy Now" did an entire show on the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. Here is a link to that episode ::: "Democracy Now" March 21 Show on Puerto Rico's recovery (CLICK HERE).

This Friday

This coming Friday, March 30, there will be a symposium at Rutgers in Camden, titled. ::: "A Call to Action: Future Challenges for a New Puerto Rico" (CLICK HERE). The Honorable Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto, Mayor of San Juan, will be the keynote speaker.

Mar 11 : "Invisible Lines" - Dani Mari & Brooklyn Shanti - Invisible Lines (Rap Mix) ft. Kid Graavity (Brooklyn)

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).

Feb 18 : "The Shortest Distance" - Quiet Luke (New York)

WIDE RANGES

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.

Here is the click to "The Shortest Distance" Soundcloud page where you can see the lyrics to the song while listening. He also has an eclectic mix of other work on Soundcloud as well: "The Shortest Distance" on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to Quiet Luke's Facebook page: Quiet Luke on Facebook (CLICK HERE).