Woah. What a wild and crazy February vacation! It seemed like it lasted forever, which was kinda cool because there was some kind of party every night! Last night I went down to Boston to track vocals for this song Adam is working on. We didn't realize it until now but we pretty much reworked an amazing Beach Boys song called "Break Away". Haha.. whoops! Once it's done.. maybe ill post it here!
So anyway, I was just rummaging through the junk here at the Garage, and I decided to repost a review I did of the Foxboro Hot Tubs EP "Stop Drop and Roll", which was originally posted on The Gypsy Bitch Blog. Sam usually runs the ship around there and I think he might be starting a new blog, so I figured I would just post my only GB contribution on the Garage of Cheese.
Also, I forgot to add Turbonegro's "Retox" album to my TOP RECORDS OF 2007, on my first post! What a dummy! It's a great album, and it was released last year! So I did a review and also posted album artwork of all the top albums in my first blog Here "2007 The Greatest Year Ever"
I gotta go to work...followed by the LAST EVER DOLLAR DRAFT NIGHT @ THE DOGFISH CAFE!
Rock on!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Foxboro Hot Tubs - "Stop Drop and Roll"
Man do I love the 60's. There is just something about that decade that calls my name! It's like "Kurt! This is the 1960's, I love you! Take a hit of thissss!!!" You know. Really though, I think it began with my love for the Beatles and the Beach Boys, then of course my discovery of the Radio and oldies 100.9 (which has gone to shit by the way) and eventually the viewing of the classic film "Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery". I just became obsessed with 1960's sound,style and culture. Now, you wont see me wearing some flabby ass bell bottoms or sporting a nice little flower designed headband with some LSD on the inside soaking into my pores... but you will see me more than occasionally boppin' and rockin' to great 60's garage rock. Fuzzed out,revved up and exciting. This kind of music is sure to get any party started.
So fast forward to last weekend. I wake up on some couch in Boston, still drunk from the night before, sick as a dog and ready to never see the suns beautiful rays ever again, when my friend Andrew tells me about this band called "Foxboro Hot Tubs". "Dude, I think you might really like it " He said, "Oh yeah.. and I think its the guys from Green Day." Well it's safe to say that I sure was curious. And yes, I do like Green Day, I know it's so uncool right? Yes, I know you cringe at all the fat rock chicks in American Idiot t-shirts that pass you by and wink at you while you and your friends all huddle around the food court eating Sarku. But WHATEVER. Green Day writes good songs. Subject Closed.
So I checked out The Foxboro Hot Tubs on the World Wide Interweb and found out through their Myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/foxborohottubs) that they released an free mp3 only EP called "Stop Drop and Roll" through their website (Http://www.foxborohottubs.com).
The opening title track of the album "Stop Drop and Roll" is the most definitive track on the EP. And as soon as the vocals come in you can undoubtedly tell that the singer is none other than Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. Good luck getting any info on this band from him though, as Green Day has tried to stay as distant as possible from the Foxboro Hot Tubs, much similar to when The Network, Green Day's New Wave side project, released their album "Money Money 2020" back in 2003. If the Network was Green Day's take on 80's New Wave then The Foxboro Hot Tubs are their version of fueled up 60's garage rock. This opening track is instantly catchy with a memorable chorus and a driving beat, a perfect introduction and just enough 60's songwriting and tone to tell it apart from a standard Green Day number.
The next song "Mother Mary" begins with a bit of Persian spice due to its sound clip of a girl speaking in French about god knows what. But as soon as the guitars come in and a bouncy retro beat shakes the speakers you think your listening to The Strokes, Mando Diao or Locksley. These type of groups are considered to be the torchbearers of current day retro rock and I think they are trash. Luckily The Foxboro Hot Tubs supply a great hook filled chorus with plenty of "oooohhhs", much like Green Day, and a kick ass guitar solo. "Mother Mary" is pure pop, and after a few listens I've come to really dig this song.
One thing that really gets my knobs turning about 60's garage rock are the cheesy organs. Just think about those classic songs like "96 Tears" and "Can't Get Enough of you Baby". The organ totally moves those songs along and are a huge part of the garage rock sound. In "Ruby Room", the Foxboro Hot Tubes employ that classic farfisa organ which makes this one of the stand out tracks on the EP.
Another thing about 60's garage rock is it's ability to go from chaotic and noisy to mellow and melodic. "Red Tide" is the slowest song on "Stop Drop and Roll", but it also might be the best and easily the most 60's influenced. Armstrong's vocals fall perfectly on the music which sounds sun-drenched and groovy. You can almost get lost in its quirky melody. Sit down, relax and light yourself a....well, whatever you got and enjoy this tune. And no, this song is not about the destruction of many clam and mussel colonies along the coast of the Atlantic ocean. Red Tide can be a serious problem to commercial fisheries and if you eat an infected clam or mussel you could DIE.
After "Red Tide", the EP takes a slight turn down the wrong way on a one way street. I'm not saying it totally awful, its just not as good as the opening of the album. Even if the intro "Highway 1" is hilarious in it's Spinal Tapish way (hear - "Your doing it FUCKING wrong!" in British accent) the rest of the song doesn't make up for it. Sounding similar to the International Noise Conspiracy the track has a good beat and a lot of energy but no hook. Even at its best moments when the drumming is nothing but primal and the vocals are nothing but screaming "Highway 1" has little replay value for me and is the weakest track on "Stop Drop and Roll".
The EP closes with "She's a Saint, Not a Celebrity". Green Day super fan circles claim that this guitar riff is almost identical to that of the Network song "Right Hand-A-Rama", which shouldn't be much of a surprise considering The Network and The Foxboro Hot Tubs are the same batch of musicians i.e. Green Day. To me however, "She's a Saint..." sounds nothing more than a throw away "American Idiot" track that went unused from the album. This songs verse is pretty weak, but the pre-chorus leading up to the chorus is excellent due to the layering of crunchy guitars,boppin' piano and the classic chord changes with the voice of Billie Joe over everything.
So concludes The Foxboro Hot Tubs debut EP "Stop Drop and Roll". As a whole, this EP is a very enjoyable listen, perfect in for a party, or to listen to while riding your bike, or maybe even making out with your goldfish. Green Day fans will love it. 60's garage rock weirdos may find it interesting. Regardless, it's cool to see Green Day playing music from a vast array of influences no matter what band name they are playing behind. From New Wave to Garage Rock they seem to be able to nail the different genres sounds and styles on the spot, which only goes to show how great of musicians and songwriters they are. I'm going to go drink a beer. Bye.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Wild Honey - The Beach Boys
Summer. Fun. Sun. Feel Good Times. These are just a couple of words that first come to mind when you think of the Beach Boys. They will always be remembered as a surf rock band. Some people may find them corny and dated, while others... like me... find their music to be some of the best pop music ever recorded.
I've been a Beach Boys fan since I was really little. I had a Beach Boys greatest hits tape that I would listen to all the time. It was mostly their standard classics... "Surfer Girl" "I Get Around" ect. I remember being able to sing the high falsetto part at the end of "Fun Fun Fun", and being totally psyched about it! At the prepubescent age of 8 this is totally possible.
Id also always listen to records. I didn't have a CD player yet, but I had a record player. Id mostly just listen to The Beatles or Wings, but every now and then my Dad would pick up a few albums from up the street at Enterprise Records. He knew I liked the Beach Boys so one day he brought home The Beach Boys album "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!!)". This album is classic Beach Boys. I loved songs like "Girl Don’t Tell Me" and "California Girls". But then one day my Dad brought home another Beach Boys album, and it threw me for a loop! To start, the album cover looked drastically different than any Beach Boys album I'd ever seen before. There was so sun, no fun or even a picture of them on it! It was an odd looking cover that was colorful yet confusing to me at the time. This was probably my first encounter with Psychedelic art. I turned the album over and saw 5 guys with long hair, beards and mustaches. "What!?" They looked drastically different the clean cut guys I knew from the cover of "Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!!)"! But then I took the record out of the sleeve, placed it on the turn table and put the needle down....I was hooked.
Released in the fall of 1967, "Wild Honey" is one of my favorite Beach Boys albums, while many causal Beach Boys fans may have never even heard of it! Recorded after the disbanded and unreleased "Smile" album, an album that was to be the Beach Boys "Sgt. Peppers” but was trashed by Brian Wilson due in part to his shrinking confidence and ever growing drug use, The Beach Boys were in their dark ages. As an apology for not releasing "Smile" they put out a rushed half ass album called "Smiley Smile". They were pretty much viewed as a joke in the US. They had spent so much time and effort trying to make the "Smile" album and after it never came to be, the band was musically drained and exhausted. Regardless of their dwindling success, Capitol records still needed a new album out. The band decided to scale it back and start from scratch. To record "Wild Honey" they moved their recording studio to Brian's house, and for the first time since their early days, each member would play their own instruments on the record. No excess amount of studio musicians on this record. This scaled back approach really gives the record an honest feel which makes the music shine.
When I first heard "Wild Honey", I didn't hear the trademark polished Beach Boys sound, but rather I heard simple, rough around the edges R&B flavored pop music. Pop music that never was devoid of beautiful melodies and catchy hooks. Listening to "Wild Honey" was and is defiantly a different experience than listening to other Beach Boys albums, but I found myself putting "Wild Honey" on more often and anything else.
Unlike all the previous Beach Boys albums, "Wild Honey" has no filler tracks. Nothing that I would ever skip over. Every song is amazing. This album highlights Brian Wilson at his up right piano. The honky tonk sound of the keys are present throughout each song, while the distinct voices of each Beach Boy can be heard in perfect harmony. The title track and "Darlin'" became only minor chart hits, but tracks like the catchy "Aren’t You Glad" and the rockin' "A Thing Or Two" are strong contenders as well. Tracks like "Country Air" and "Let the Wind Blow" are some of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I've ever heard, and let's not forget "Here Comes the Night" which was later remade into a full on 10 minute Disco version in 1979!
Regardless of the mishaps, bad fortunes and awful albums that would come down the road during the Beach Boys career, "Wild Honey" stands on it's own as a wonderful collection of songs and will always be one of my favorite albums.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Maine State Plate Art
I have a driver’s license, but I don't have a car. I probably will never have a car. First off... I don't really know how to drive that well. I can't even believe that I passed my drivers test way back in '04. I was hungover and it was 7am! Second off, I walk just about everywhere... and for places I can't walk to, I usually rely on a vast resource of friends with cars. Thanks guys. Oh and third off... cars are expensive. I'm broke.
But with all that aside, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate one of the more beautiful facets of the driving world... the license plate. Everybody needs a plate to drive, and the fair state of Maine just happens to have a variety of plates you can choose from. Some states in the US have some great plates...others don't. I'm kinda cheesed off that New Hampshire has a burly moose on one of their license plates. Massachusetts really has a pretty boring license plate.. while Hawaii has a beautiful rainbow! But Maine. Maine is my home state. And so I’ve decided to share with you all some of my thoughts about these thin metal plates that are a definite must for the road.
Here we have the most common of the Maine license plates. The standard plate. This is the one that you are issued if you don't want anything special. It fucking sucks. Okay, I know I know... most of Maine is completely covered with pine trees. They are everywhere you go. But when I think of Maine, I don't think of miles and miles of boring pine trees. I'm sure you don't either. You might think of other things... who knows? But not miles and miles and miles of boring ever greens that stay the same color year round. The way that these trees are present on this plate look totally lame. And then you have the Chickadee. The state bird. I recall in 4th grade visiting the state Capitol of Augusta and being shown around the State House by some representative from god knows where. Probably Skowhegan or something. Anyway I defiantly remember her telling us that she was working on a bill to put the Chickadee on the state license plate. Even at the age of when I was in 4th grade I knew that this lady was retarded. The chickadee is the most stupid pathetic bird ever. It's small and annoying. Why the hell do we have to glorify this puny bird on our states standard plate. C'mon! This is another reason why I think our current standard plate is bullshit.
If only it was like the old days....
Most of you Mainers reading this will recall this old standard. This is what you USED to get. This was a REAL Maine plate. Nothing to fancy, but totally memorable. That's a key to license plate art...being memorable. That cooked red lobster just burst out from behind the writing.. begging you to tear off one of it's many legs... and to suck out it's succulent lobster juice. The lobster is a Maine symbol. It's what you think of first when someone says Maine! "Vacationland" is also such a perfect word. It's catchy. It gets outsiders to come here and spend money. Maybe I sound like an old fool, but I really think this was and is the best Maine license plate. So much better than that chickadee shit.
Next we move on to the specialty plates. The plates that you might have to spend a few extra bucks on. Most of the time the extra bucks you spend on it go to a cause or something else that is good. This is all great, but why spend extra bucks of a sucky looking plate?
I've been seeing this new plate around a lot. It is plate that supports the local agriculture. And it's awful. It's a good cause to support local farming and all that jazz, but when the plate looks like two people walking into the nuclear blast of Hiroshima I think the message gets a little fuzzy. Agriculture? I see a tiny little farm!! TINY! This could be a license plate for any state. Any State! Nothing about this plate screams out "MAINE!" like a proper license plate should. FUCK THIS.
This is a plate for students. It's got an incredibly scary bear on it, and if I didn’t know that the UMaine mascot was the Black Bear I would be so freaked out I'd probably never step foot in Maine. Nothing sucks more than getting mauled by a fierce bear. Remember that.
Ah... here's a nice plate! This is the Conservation plate. If you have this plate it means you might have contributed a few nickels in preserving the parks and natural areas of this great grand state. It is a very pretty looking plate, with a very awesome bird. The Loon. The loon is so much frickin' cooler than the chickadee. It makes a great little call too. Notice the art on this plate. The depth. The mountains are in the background and we see some very nice looking pine trees. Of course, there are many lakes in Maine. The lake here looks like a nice place to take an afternoon dip. As an observer when you look at this plate you know for sure that Maine IS a natural treasure, and maybe you shouldn’t even be driving in you car because you are destroying Maine's beauty with every mile you drive. Maybe this license plate is ironic. My dad has this one.
I think I’ve seen this plate maybe once or twice. You might have to be a member of the Wabanaki tribe to own this plate. But it's got a great illustration of Maine's largest mountain... Mount Katahdin Mountain!
Here's the Maine Lobster plate! This should be the NEW standard license plate. Even though, there is probably no way a cooked red lobster would be hanging out on a rock, this plate takes the best bits of the old standard and glorifies it with some better artwork. The Maine coast is beautiful with all its ocean and islands. It's the best part of Maine as far as I’m concerned. There is even a little old lobster shack in the corner. The colors and presentation are nice, and this plate showcases the best parts of Maine. Why this isn't the standard plate I don't know. Brothers and sisters....this is the best license plate we got!
But with all that aside, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate one of the more beautiful facets of the driving world... the license plate. Everybody needs a plate to drive, and the fair state of Maine just happens to have a variety of plates you can choose from. Some states in the US have some great plates...others don't. I'm kinda cheesed off that New Hampshire has a burly moose on one of their license plates. Massachusetts really has a pretty boring license plate.. while Hawaii has a beautiful rainbow! But Maine. Maine is my home state. And so I’ve decided to share with you all some of my thoughts about these thin metal plates that are a definite must for the road.
Here we have the most common of the Maine license plates. The standard plate. This is the one that you are issued if you don't want anything special. It fucking sucks. Okay, I know I know... most of Maine is completely covered with pine trees. They are everywhere you go. But when I think of Maine, I don't think of miles and miles of boring pine trees. I'm sure you don't either. You might think of other things... who knows? But not miles and miles and miles of boring ever greens that stay the same color year round. The way that these trees are present on this plate look totally lame. And then you have the Chickadee. The state bird. I recall in 4th grade visiting the state Capitol of Augusta and being shown around the State House by some representative from god knows where. Probably Skowhegan or something. Anyway I defiantly remember her telling us that she was working on a bill to put the Chickadee on the state license plate. Even at the age of when I was in 4th grade I knew that this lady was retarded. The chickadee is the most stupid pathetic bird ever. It's small and annoying. Why the hell do we have to glorify this puny bird on our states standard plate. C'mon! This is another reason why I think our current standard plate is bullshit.
If only it was like the old days....
Most of you Mainers reading this will recall this old standard. This is what you USED to get. This was a REAL Maine plate. Nothing to fancy, but totally memorable. That's a key to license plate art...being memorable. That cooked red lobster just burst out from behind the writing.. begging you to tear off one of it's many legs... and to suck out it's succulent lobster juice. The lobster is a Maine symbol. It's what you think of first when someone says Maine! "Vacationland" is also such a perfect word. It's catchy. It gets outsiders to come here and spend money. Maybe I sound like an old fool, but I really think this was and is the best Maine license plate. So much better than that chickadee shit.
Next we move on to the specialty plates. The plates that you might have to spend a few extra bucks on. Most of the time the extra bucks you spend on it go to a cause or something else that is good. This is all great, but why spend extra bucks of a sucky looking plate?
I've been seeing this new plate around a lot. It is plate that supports the local agriculture. And it's awful. It's a good cause to support local farming and all that jazz, but when the plate looks like two people walking into the nuclear blast of Hiroshima I think the message gets a little fuzzy. Agriculture? I see a tiny little farm!! TINY! This could be a license plate for any state. Any State! Nothing about this plate screams out "MAINE!" like a proper license plate should. FUCK THIS.
This is a plate for students. It's got an incredibly scary bear on it, and if I didn’t know that the UMaine mascot was the Black Bear I would be so freaked out I'd probably never step foot in Maine. Nothing sucks more than getting mauled by a fierce bear. Remember that.
Ah... here's a nice plate! This is the Conservation plate. If you have this plate it means you might have contributed a few nickels in preserving the parks and natural areas of this great grand state. It is a very pretty looking plate, with a very awesome bird. The Loon. The loon is so much frickin' cooler than the chickadee. It makes a great little call too. Notice the art on this plate. The depth. The mountains are in the background and we see some very nice looking pine trees. Of course, there are many lakes in Maine. The lake here looks like a nice place to take an afternoon dip. As an observer when you look at this plate you know for sure that Maine IS a natural treasure, and maybe you shouldn’t even be driving in you car because you are destroying Maine's beauty with every mile you drive. Maybe this license plate is ironic. My dad has this one.
I think I’ve seen this plate maybe once or twice. You might have to be a member of the Wabanaki tribe to own this plate. But it's got a great illustration of Maine's largest mountain... Mount Katahdin Mountain!
Here's the Maine Lobster plate! This should be the NEW standard license plate. Even though, there is probably no way a cooked red lobster would be hanging out on a rock, this plate takes the best bits of the old standard and glorifies it with some better artwork. The Maine coast is beautiful with all its ocean and islands. It's the best part of Maine as far as I’m concerned. There is even a little old lobster shack in the corner. The colors and presentation are nice, and this plate showcases the best parts of Maine. Why this isn't the standard plate I don't know. Brothers and sisters....this is the best license plate we got!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
2007 - The Greatest Year Ever.
2007 was the greatest year ever. It was the year of the dolphin, and for that reason alone it should be declared the greatest year. Dolphins make great friends and love to giggle. I mean 2007 obviously had some unfortunate events take place like the death of Evel Knievel, a couple bridges collapsing and WWE wrestler Chris Benoit killing his entire family and then himself, but then again on the bright side... Ozzfest was totally free! But for me 2007 was the greatest year in the history of my life. And I know this is a bold statement but it’s going to be wicked hard to top it. 2008 has already started off a little rocky considering the countless amounts of drunken debauchery I’ve taken part in, and the superbowl upset of the greatest football team ever (next to the Green Bay Packers) The Patriots. But lets forget about the now and take a little look back in time!
January 2007 saw the recording of The Leftovers record "On the Move". I got to hang out with my great family and friends in Madison Wisconsin, and then record the best thing Andrew, Adam and I have ever done musically. We got to meet and collaborate in the studio with Ben Weasel, who had and has been one of main musical influences since High School. It was a great experience, and we left Madison with a record we truly love.
In February and March I got to act in The Maine Short Play Festival. I have always loved doing plays when I was younger. I was apart of two short plays... one in which I had a shitload of lines and had to pretend I was a jocky baseball player. At first it was hard to try and get into character because my only baseball experience was T-ball. And ya, hitting a ball on a tee is a lot harder than it looks. In the other play I played a 20 year old in the 50's drinking with the family and seeing Jesus... this was a way easier to do for me. But what fun I had! I only wish I had more time to do plays because not only performing them is a great but hanging out with all the actors backstage and eating chips and drinking rum is pretty fancy and fun too.
In May the Leftovers embarked on a full on US tour. We went everywhere, from Florida to St. Louis, from LA to Wisconsin. You name it... we were pretty much everywhere except the deep south and the northwest. I would love to get up to the Northwest and see Portland Oregon and Seattle but the deep south seems like a big steamy shit. We met the mighty Hulk Hogan at TGIF Fridays in St.Louis and that sure was a highlight of the tour. Other great moments included most of everything in California - playing at Gilman Street in Berkeley and staying at Blag Dahlia's house where he rolled us a joint and made us breakfast. Hollywood was great too. I like Hollywood and a lot of people don't. The tour ended with the Insubordination Fest in Baltimore. It was a total party and a great line up of bands, and we were really lucky to be apart of it.
We got back from the BIG tour and hung out in Maine for a totally perfect Maine summer. Friends and the Beach. Perfect combo. Unlike the cheese filled pretzels, which are the Unperfect combo because no girl is going to lock lips with you if you got those crunch snacks on your breath. But you would find my friends and me at the beach every day, and then that night you would find us again at the beach with a bond fire and a bunch of beer. We listened to the Beach Boys non-stop and it obviously was the perfect soundtrack. I was bummed when summer was over but you can't stop the seasons from changing.
The Fall was packed with action as well! In September the Leftovers took off on tour again. We played in Wisconsin 4 times. We drove all over the state. Love Wisconsin! We got to play with one of the best bands around right now - The Jetty Boys. Also, highlights included crazy times in Ohio - another state I dig. We all somehow got molested by some garage rock icon in Pittsburg, but luckily our uncle Jonny Rally was their to save us with lots of beer and tasty fucking food. In October Me and Andrew took off with our pals the Guts back out to, of all places.... Madison Wisconsin to help out with the new Guts album. Again, lots of hanging out and drinking beer with the cousins.. and some crazy Halloween party action! On the way back we drove straight from Madison to Portland in one day too. Well we stopped in Portsmouth for a few beers at the Stock Pot but that doesn't count. In November the Leftovers toured yet again. Hanging out with Jonny Rally a lot and pretty much living at The Glendora house in Cincinnati for a week with that crazy party animal named Jon Weiner.
In December the Leftovers hopped on a plane to Holland to tour mainland Europe with The Accelerators from Rotterdam. It was the BEST tour we had ever done. Not only were The Accelerators the best tour buddies we could ever ask for, the shows were outta sight. Every fucking night there was a packed club. A lot of people knew Leftovers songs which totally blew my mind. Some people even asked for us to play songs off of our first album "Stop Drop Rock n' Roll". I couldn't believe it. It was always a dream of mine to tour Europe and it couldn't have been a better experience. Spain was by far my favorite country. The people there are nice and they love to have a good time. The bread was so tasty, anywhere you went. The beer was so good. The wine so cheap. Europe, oh how I love thee. I hope we can get back their in the Fall 2008. As it turns out, 2007 ended in Europe. We had a crazy show/party in Salsomaggiore Italy, and actually had to break into a locked and cold practice space at about 6 am, which was New Years here in the States. We were all wasted. It was a pretty fitting end to a pretty crazy year. 2007 - full of fun, friends and rock n roll. What could a loser like me ask for? Kick ass.
TOP RECORDS OF 2007
Okay so also I decided to do list of some of my favorite records of the year. This is not a top 10 list because I don't like most current music so it hard to find 10 records released in one year that I really like. Here they are in NO particular order:
1. The Donnas - "Bitchin'"
I didn't want to like this album, but its fucking fantastic. The songs are well developed and full of rock. The production can get a little cheesy, but it’s a good kind of cheesy. The Donnas could have fucked up royally trying to go for the 80's glam rock Joan Jett kind of thing, but they succeed in making a record that I listened to almost everyday for a while. Best songs : "Like An Animal" and "Love You Till It Hurts"
2. Rooney - "Calling The World"
I knew there was no way Rooney could reproduce the greatness of their debut, but this follow up which took them four friggin' years was well worth the wait. I bought this in the Summer and the songs couldn't have fit better with the timing of the season. Driving out to Higgins Beach listening to album just seemed like the perfect thing to do. This album to a lot of people probably sounds "over produced" but to me it sounds perfectly produced. From the Beach Boys-ish bridge of "I Should've Been After You" to the Cars influenced rock assault of "Are You Afraid" this album has everything a good pop album should have. Variety but consistency. Love it! Best Songs : "Love Me or Leave Me", "Don't Come Around Again" and "Are You Afraid".
3. Everybody Else - "S/T"
When I first bought this album, I sold it back because I thought it was trash. My mistake. I re-bought it on one of my visits to Madison and I became fully obsessed with it. I listened to this album a lot while driving around in Europe. For awhile I was trying to figure what the lead singers voice sometimes sounded like and I finally came to the conclusion that it sounds a lot like Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. Tilbrook has an amazing voice so that made me dig Everybody Else even more. Songs like "Born To Do" make me think of movies like Caddyshack and I'm not sure why. But that is a good thing. Every song has a great melody and has a nice groove. I think a lot of girls like this band, and also they love to ride their bikes and believe in good causes. More power to them! Best songs are : "I Gotta Run" and "Without You".
4. Ben Weasel - "These Ones Are Bitter"
This album was released digitally only, and then limitedly on vinyl. But while we were in Wisconsin one time this year we met Ben at Monty's Blue Plate Diner for some great grub, and he gave us a CD version of this album with a picture of a punk puking on it that he drew. I will forever hold it in my hands as a punk rock artifact! This album has some great songs on it, and it shows Ben taking new directions in some of his song writing while going back to some of the sounds of albums like Screeching Weasel's "My Brain Hurts". Great pop punk! Best songs : "Happy Saturday" and "Sour All Over".
5. Paul McCartney - " Memory Almost Full"
Paul McCartney is an old ass motherfucker. But somehow after all those years of pot smoking and whatnot he still has got it! Yep folks, the man still fucking RULES. This album was all over Starbucks this summer, and on tour it’s impossible to get a consistent cup of good coffee unless you go to a place like Starbucks. Well, I’m somewhat of a Coffee snob, but Dunkin' Donuts will NOT cut it. I hate going to Starbucks, but when on tour sometimes you gotta. Anyway, we were in Park City, Utah and at Starbucks and they were playing this album. I heard "Ever Present Past" and was completely blown away. Go Paul!!! Best songs : "Ever Present Past" and "Only Mama Knows".
6. The Queers - "Munki Brain"
The album art on this sucks. It looks like it was thrown together in a few minutes. And shit... the album production doesn't even sound that great compared to "Pleasant Screams" and "Punk Rock Confidential", but with songs like "I Can't Stay Mad At You", I can't help but put this album on my top list of 2007. I love the Queers. Always have and always will. Also, it seems that Joe is experimenting with some new styles. More poppy and Beach Boys-ish which can't be a bad thing at all. There are a few clunkers here.. "Monkey in a Suit" and "Whatever Happened to Philithy Phil" but the Best songs are "I Cant Stay Mad At You" and "Overdue".
7. Fountains of Wayne - "Traffic and Weather"
I was interested in checking this album out because I loved Fountains of Wayne previous singles "Stacy's Mom" and "Mexican Wine". When I listened to this album I was really impressed and it soon became my "at work" cd to listen too. Fountains of Wayne know how to make great pop music. Sometimes they fail, and when they do it pretty much sucks... but when they hit it on the spot it really shines. On this album they are shine a lot. They're lyrics are excellent, and their hooks are memorable. They tackle all the subjects on here to. From first love at the DMV, 1992 Subaru's from New Hampshire and Planets of Weed to being chased down by the Mob... it's all here. Best songs : "This Better Be Good" and "Strapped For Cash"
8. Turbonegro - "Retox"
I'm not going to lie. I love Turbonegro, but their last album "Party Animals" was a huge let down. The album title rules, they had the Redd Kross guy producing it, it should have been great... but what we got was a over produced, ready for radio Turbonegro. A tame Turbonegro. In my mind they had totally lost their edge. They were no longer dangerous. So, when I heard "Do You Dig Destruction", the first single off of "Retox" I expected the same radio friendly, polished deal. NOT SO. "Retox" shows that Turbonegro haven't lost their edge. They are finally singling about homosexual topics again, and the production is dirty and loud.. more akin to their past albums like "Ass Cobra" and "Scandinavian Leather". Their 10 minute long opus "What Is Rock" should have sucked, but it is flat out amazing... complete with a Cheap Trick-esq outro. The stateside edition comes with two bonus tracks, which are fantastic. "Back in Denim" is total 80's stadium rock, while "Into The Void" is complete trashy rock n' roll. Fuck YA. This album rules!!! Best Songs : "Stroke the Shaft" and "Hot & Filthy".
January 2007 saw the recording of The Leftovers record "On the Move". I got to hang out with my great family and friends in Madison Wisconsin, and then record the best thing Andrew, Adam and I have ever done musically. We got to meet and collaborate in the studio with Ben Weasel, who had and has been one of main musical influences since High School. It was a great experience, and we left Madison with a record we truly love.
In February and March I got to act in The Maine Short Play Festival. I have always loved doing plays when I was younger. I was apart of two short plays... one in which I had a shitload of lines and had to pretend I was a jocky baseball player. At first it was hard to try and get into character because my only baseball experience was T-ball. And ya, hitting a ball on a tee is a lot harder than it looks. In the other play I played a 20 year old in the 50's drinking with the family and seeing Jesus... this was a way easier to do for me. But what fun I had! I only wish I had more time to do plays because not only performing them is a great but hanging out with all the actors backstage and eating chips and drinking rum is pretty fancy and fun too.
In May the Leftovers embarked on a full on US tour. We went everywhere, from Florida to St. Louis, from LA to Wisconsin. You name it... we were pretty much everywhere except the deep south and the northwest. I would love to get up to the Northwest and see Portland Oregon and Seattle but the deep south seems like a big steamy shit. We met the mighty Hulk Hogan at TGIF Fridays in St.Louis and that sure was a highlight of the tour. Other great moments included most of everything in California - playing at Gilman Street in Berkeley and staying at Blag Dahlia's house where he rolled us a joint and made us breakfast. Hollywood was great too. I like Hollywood and a lot of people don't. The tour ended with the Insubordination Fest in Baltimore. It was a total party and a great line up of bands, and we were really lucky to be apart of it.
We got back from the BIG tour and hung out in Maine for a totally perfect Maine summer. Friends and the Beach. Perfect combo. Unlike the cheese filled pretzels, which are the Unperfect combo because no girl is going to lock lips with you if you got those crunch snacks on your breath. But you would find my friends and me at the beach every day, and then that night you would find us again at the beach with a bond fire and a bunch of beer. We listened to the Beach Boys non-stop and it obviously was the perfect soundtrack. I was bummed when summer was over but you can't stop the seasons from changing.
The Fall was packed with action as well! In September the Leftovers took off on tour again. We played in Wisconsin 4 times. We drove all over the state. Love Wisconsin! We got to play with one of the best bands around right now - The Jetty Boys. Also, highlights included crazy times in Ohio - another state I dig. We all somehow got molested by some garage rock icon in Pittsburg, but luckily our uncle Jonny Rally was their to save us with lots of beer and tasty fucking food. In October Me and Andrew took off with our pals the Guts back out to, of all places.... Madison Wisconsin to help out with the new Guts album. Again, lots of hanging out and drinking beer with the cousins.. and some crazy Halloween party action! On the way back we drove straight from Madison to Portland in one day too. Well we stopped in Portsmouth for a few beers at the Stock Pot but that doesn't count. In November the Leftovers toured yet again. Hanging out with Jonny Rally a lot and pretty much living at The Glendora house in Cincinnati for a week with that crazy party animal named Jon Weiner.
In December the Leftovers hopped on a plane to Holland to tour mainland Europe with The Accelerators from Rotterdam. It was the BEST tour we had ever done. Not only were The Accelerators the best tour buddies we could ever ask for, the shows were outta sight. Every fucking night there was a packed club. A lot of people knew Leftovers songs which totally blew my mind. Some people even asked for us to play songs off of our first album "Stop Drop Rock n' Roll". I couldn't believe it. It was always a dream of mine to tour Europe and it couldn't have been a better experience. Spain was by far my favorite country. The people there are nice and they love to have a good time. The bread was so tasty, anywhere you went. The beer was so good. The wine so cheap. Europe, oh how I love thee. I hope we can get back their in the Fall 2008. As it turns out, 2007 ended in Europe. We had a crazy show/party in Salsomaggiore Italy, and actually had to break into a locked and cold practice space at about 6 am, which was New Years here in the States. We were all wasted. It was a pretty fitting end to a pretty crazy year. 2007 - full of fun, friends and rock n roll. What could a loser like me ask for? Kick ass.
Okay so also I decided to do list of some of my favorite records of the year. This is not a top 10 list because I don't like most current music so it hard to find 10 records released in one year that I really like. Here they are in NO particular order:
1. The Donnas - "Bitchin'"
I didn't want to like this album, but its fucking fantastic. The songs are well developed and full of rock. The production can get a little cheesy, but it’s a good kind of cheesy. The Donnas could have fucked up royally trying to go for the 80's glam rock Joan Jett kind of thing, but they succeed in making a record that I listened to almost everyday for a while. Best songs : "Like An Animal" and "Love You Till It Hurts"
2. Rooney - "Calling The World"
I knew there was no way Rooney could reproduce the greatness of their debut, but this follow up which took them four friggin' years was well worth the wait. I bought this in the Summer and the songs couldn't have fit better with the timing of the season. Driving out to Higgins Beach listening to album just seemed like the perfect thing to do. This album to a lot of people probably sounds "over produced" but to me it sounds perfectly produced. From the Beach Boys-ish bridge of "I Should've Been After You" to the Cars influenced rock assault of "Are You Afraid" this album has everything a good pop album should have. Variety but consistency. Love it! Best Songs : "Love Me or Leave Me", "Don't Come Around Again" and "Are You Afraid".
3. Everybody Else - "S/T"
When I first bought this album, I sold it back because I thought it was trash. My mistake. I re-bought it on one of my visits to Madison and I became fully obsessed with it. I listened to this album a lot while driving around in Europe. For awhile I was trying to figure what the lead singers voice sometimes sounded like and I finally came to the conclusion that it sounds a lot like Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. Tilbrook has an amazing voice so that made me dig Everybody Else even more. Songs like "Born To Do" make me think of movies like Caddyshack and I'm not sure why. But that is a good thing. Every song has a great melody and has a nice groove. I think a lot of girls like this band, and also they love to ride their bikes and believe in good causes. More power to them! Best songs are : "I Gotta Run" and "Without You".
4. Ben Weasel - "These Ones Are Bitter"
This album was released digitally only, and then limitedly on vinyl. But while we were in Wisconsin one time this year we met Ben at Monty's Blue Plate Diner for some great grub, and he gave us a CD version of this album with a picture of a punk puking on it that he drew. I will forever hold it in my hands as a punk rock artifact! This album has some great songs on it, and it shows Ben taking new directions in some of his song writing while going back to some of the sounds of albums like Screeching Weasel's "My Brain Hurts". Great pop punk! Best songs : "Happy Saturday" and "Sour All Over".
5. Paul McCartney - " Memory Almost Full"
Paul McCartney is an old ass motherfucker. But somehow after all those years of pot smoking and whatnot he still has got it! Yep folks, the man still fucking RULES. This album was all over Starbucks this summer, and on tour it’s impossible to get a consistent cup of good coffee unless you go to a place like Starbucks. Well, I’m somewhat of a Coffee snob, but Dunkin' Donuts will NOT cut it. I hate going to Starbucks, but when on tour sometimes you gotta. Anyway, we were in Park City, Utah and at Starbucks and they were playing this album. I heard "Ever Present Past" and was completely blown away. Go Paul!!! Best songs : "Ever Present Past" and "Only Mama Knows".
6. The Queers - "Munki Brain"
The album art on this sucks. It looks like it was thrown together in a few minutes. And shit... the album production doesn't even sound that great compared to "Pleasant Screams" and "Punk Rock Confidential", but with songs like "I Can't Stay Mad At You", I can't help but put this album on my top list of 2007. I love the Queers. Always have and always will. Also, it seems that Joe is experimenting with some new styles. More poppy and Beach Boys-ish which can't be a bad thing at all. There are a few clunkers here.. "Monkey in a Suit" and "Whatever Happened to Philithy Phil" but the Best songs are "I Cant Stay Mad At You" and "Overdue".
7. Fountains of Wayne - "Traffic and Weather"
I was interested in checking this album out because I loved Fountains of Wayne previous singles "Stacy's Mom" and "Mexican Wine". When I listened to this album I was really impressed and it soon became my "at work" cd to listen too. Fountains of Wayne know how to make great pop music. Sometimes they fail, and when they do it pretty much sucks... but when they hit it on the spot it really shines. On this album they are shine a lot. They're lyrics are excellent, and their hooks are memorable. They tackle all the subjects on here to. From first love at the DMV, 1992 Subaru's from New Hampshire and Planets of Weed to being chased down by the Mob... it's all here. Best songs : "This Better Be Good" and "Strapped For Cash"
8. Turbonegro - "Retox"
I'm not going to lie. I love Turbonegro, but their last album "Party Animals" was a huge let down. The album title rules, they had the Redd Kross guy producing it, it should have been great... but what we got was a over produced, ready for radio Turbonegro. A tame Turbonegro. In my mind they had totally lost their edge. They were no longer dangerous. So, when I heard "Do You Dig Destruction", the first single off of "Retox" I expected the same radio friendly, polished deal. NOT SO. "Retox" shows that Turbonegro haven't lost their edge. They are finally singling about homosexual topics again, and the production is dirty and loud.. more akin to their past albums like "Ass Cobra" and "Scandinavian Leather". Their 10 minute long opus "What Is Rock" should have sucked, but it is flat out amazing... complete with a Cheap Trick-esq outro. The stateside edition comes with two bonus tracks, which are fantastic. "Back in Denim" is total 80's stadium rock, while "Into The Void" is complete trashy rock n' roll. Fuck YA. This album rules!!! Best Songs : "Stroke the Shaft" and "Hot & Filthy".
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