I feel like a bit of a late comer to the whole Ariel Pink thing.  I mean none of my music geek friends were listening to him.  Also, just as there are too many bear (grizzly, in heaven, minus the,) deer (tick, hunter, tracks) and beach (fossils, house – okay, I’m done here) bands, so is the case with the Pinks (mountaintops, the big, vicious.)  It’s hard out there!  But out of the Pink’s I’ve listed here, it looks like Ariel Pink has been around the longest.  And boy am I glad I got into them!

Usually bands tend to play songs from the current album they’re touring for.  I’m always looking forward to my favorite; I’m surprised how often I’m let down.  And even though Haunted Graffiti didn’t play ‘Beverly Kills’ or ‘Revolution’s A Lie,’ two faves from the current album, Before Today, there was no cause for complaint.  In fact, it was a treat to hear so many great songs I hadn’t heard before delivered with passion and humor from a bonafide weirdo (I’ve said it before, that’s a GOOD thing!)  My pal Erik and I have spent the better part of the last week blowing our emusic credits and going record shopping for the Ariel Pink back catalog.  My current favorites include ‘Politely Declined,’ ‘Strange Fires,’ and ‘The List (My Favorite Song)’ just to name a few.

If Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is coming to your town, I highly recommend going to see them; if only for the pleasure of of being in the same room as Haunted Graffiti band member, the goofily adorable Kenny Garret.  And beware, I love supporting artists at the merch table but that evening’s prices were a little over the top.  I was five bucks short for two records which totaled $45.00 and they wouldn’t take the $40 for them. I ended up with nothing, which I regret; it was hard to pick between the two after all those beers!  Crushes and gripes aside, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.  I’ve got my site set for their upcoming Paramount show with Flaming Lips if I can come up with the dough!

(Pix from San Francisco show at Bimbos.)

The ticket I purchased to your upcoming performance in Seattle has just arrived!  It’s been forever since I’ve seen a Pet Shop Boys show; in fact it was on the stunning “Performance” tour.  The stage direction, the costumes, the amazing cast of dancers and back up singers was something I have not seen before or since in a live pop music performance.  It was, and still is the best live show I’ve ever seen.  Needless to say, I was excited to be a VIP for your new Pandemonium tour -albeit I had to pay to be a VIP which is something I’m not used to.  There were no seats together for the VIP tickets, but I figured that it would be fun to meet new people who might also have attended the “private VIP pre-show”, so I went a head and purchased one.

I mean a chance to meet the Pet Shop Boys in a private location on the day of the show in a location to be determined?  A cool laminate pass?  A chance to have said cool laminate VIP pass autographed by you?  No photographs allowed?  All for a price which I won’t name here because anyone else reading probably thinks I’m already an idiot.  But boys, I think there’s a bigger problem here.  This is going to be a little tough, but I think you can handle it.

For the price I paid, I feel like the agency you hired could have been more forthcoming with the rules and regulations of the meet and greet.  These “guidelines” arrived after I purchased the ticket, not before.  These instructions are a list of things I can and cannot do, where to be and at what time etc.  There are so many demands being put on me, the fan – and I thought I was the VIP here!  The whole thing sounds like a bigger disaster than Los Angeles, but since I paid an insane amount for what you refer to as an “opportunity”, I may as well go.  I’ll probably be the one observing and not really saying much if you want to come and say hello.

I’m sure you’ll never read this, so I’ll add one more thing.  It seems that this meet and greet is a way for you to get around promoters who are another factor in the jacked up price for your ticket – they are scoundrels, at best.  But your fans are already snatching up $35 T-shirts, $20 programmes and $70 hoodies already, how much more do you really need?  A moderate fan could spend up to half of their months rent to go to your one of your concerts!  Add up the price of a couple of tickets, swag, dinner and drinks for two plus transportation costs and you’ll have an idea of what you’re fans are doing for YOU.  I’d hate to know what your crazy rabid fans spend on all of this!  I have to ask the obvious question here – How can you expect to be taken seriously?  There isn’t a solution for any of this and I admit that this was my choice, but I still feel a little tricked. 

Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction (neither of whom I really enjoy, but strangely respect) recently had a series of meet and greets and nice dinners for fans who paid a crazy amount of money to attend.  The difference between you and them is that they donated the proceeds to a very sick fan who needed a heart transplant.  It is my belief that celebrities who have more than enough should use their popularity to do these kinds of things for their fans and their communities.

Which brings me to somewhat of a challenge.  Short, sweet and to the point.  I’d like to openly ask you to consider a small donation to a local charity when you visit Seattle.  If you’d like some suggestions, feel free to find me at your meet and greet or e-mail me through our weblog!  It would be great to see a little less taking and more giving, don’t you think?

That wasn’t so painful, was it? 

All this other crap aside, I am very excited to see your show this coming Sunday.  I can’t wait to see what you have in store for your fans.  Oh, and I totally want to hear “It’s Alright”, okay?

– Phil

Pet Shop Boys play Seattle’s Moore Theatre Sunday 20th September, 2009.

In a statement, his wife Sally Mundy said: “Jake was always a classic bike enthusiast, he loved sailing though he was invariably seasick. Music was central to Jake’s life.”

I met Jake several times when the Bunnymen toured in the late 80′s. He was always the friendly guy who would spare a moment for the babbling star-struck American teenager who couldn’t fathom how she managed to get backstage.

In 1988, when I was 20, I made a pilgrimage to Liverpool to meet the Bunnymen and see their homeland. A clerk at the local record store must have found me amusing. He let me know where to find the Bunnymen’s headquarters, just up the hill and over an ice cream shop. Two years previous I had spent the entire summer transcribing the lyric’s to the Bunnymen’s entire catalog with the help of my new typewriter and a small cassette walkman. My sophomore year at MIT my term project had been designing the layout of a lyric book on a Mac II. When I ran the bell at the Bunnymen’s office that August afternoon, I had my hand colored handbound book of transcribed lyrics in hand.

You can guess who answered the door. Jake. Of course he didn’t remember me, but he cordially invited me in, explaining he was the only one about that afternoon. He cheerfully gave me a tour of the Bunnymen’s office, showing me the rehearsal space, the merch, the guitars, etc. About ten minutes into my private tour Ian arrived. Jake introduced me, but he paid me no real mind. I tried to peaque Ian’s interest by telling him about my lyrics project and I proudly handed over my only copy of “Songs to Learn and Sing.” He and Jake thumbed through it and started to giggle. Not in a disrespectful way, but in an amused wouldn’t-it-be-funny-if-we-were-singing-these-lyrics kind of way. Ian’s interest lasted a mere minute and he was on his way. Jake continued to answer my questions and show me about. He was also kind enough to recommend a pub, as well as a night club that I might like to visit that night. Of course I visited both. Jake made me trip to Liverpool complete, and for that I will forever be grateful.

My interactions with Jake were brief, but I found a beautiful tribute from a close friend, Bernie Connor, in his weekly podcast. I wanted to share it. Bernie, I couldn’t find any contact info for you, so I hope you don’t mind me including your wonderful tribute here.

my good friend jake brockman has died in the course of his adventures. he was the most beautiful caring and optimistic person i ever met. people like jake gave us all hope, he lit up the world he was put on to live.

i first met jake in 1980, gary dwyer (the teardrop explodes drummer) and myself were tripping on acid and weedling our way round liverpool city centre looking for something to do. we eventually ended up in the zoo records office in chicago buildings, just around the corner from probe. inside we encountered the bills drummond and butt plus this pixie like thing with long straggly hair and a long straggly beard, decked out in an raf greatcoat and sitting on a table cross-legged. this turned out to be jake who cut a rather strange figure in liverpool in 1980 looking like that. realising instantly that me and daddio were tripping our tits off he picked up an acoustic guitar and began serenading us with these very wonderful made-up songs that defused a con fused and psychedelic situation.

that was the beginning of lifelong friendship with this most gentle, caring, loving soul on the planet. not long after his arrival in liverpool he became roadie, keyboard player and general factotum to echo & the bunnymen, completely indispensible and more a part of the band than thge musicians and the music they made. from this lofty position grew his friendship with pete de freitas, they took on the world as a psychedelic dangermouse and penfold, two poshers with a arid thirst for life and all that could offer them. there’s was a world of italian motorcycles, hand-made leather shoes and the finest marijuana avauilable to humans, every moment spent with them was like an eternity on planet whack. a knockabout series of high laughs, startling conversation and to be honest, a dazzling insight to how the other half lives.

enter whittaker.

their adoption of former deaf school drummer, tim whittaker as lysergic guru and artist in residence was a master-stroke. tim brought to the table an earthy lancashire witticism that was desperately needed to prevent them from becoming a modern day jeeves and wooster. this unholy trinity designed the course of my life in my early twenties; music, philosophy, fine art and the concept of the ever changing world were constantly hovering in the air around our heads and the explosion of thought that was contextualized for me by jake and put into a language we could all understand.

i never learned to do anything practical at all, when he used to live round the corner he did everything for me, putting up shelves, building the children’s bunk-beds, hell i even called him once to ask him to change a lightbulb for me. he came and did it, of course he did, that’s what sort of beautiful cat he was, nothing was ever too much. he directed me over the phone on how to change a washer on the bathroom tap, when it was glaringly obvious that i was woefully inept at even that, he came round and did it himself. beautiful.

when pete died in 1989 and when tim died in 1996 jake was a lost but rock solid soul to cling to. he took it all in his stride and in his philosophical way he put our hearts and minds at ease. as i write this, i wish he was here to make us all feel a little more secure, we could certainly do with it. and right here, right now i can’t believe that all three have gone, a chapter in liverpool’s cultural history closed forever. hopefully in the otherworld somewhere the divine thunderbolt corps are rearing for their reunion gig. good luck, chaps.

i can’t really think of anything more magnanimous to say, jake was a good friend, someone i thought would outlive us all by sheer beauty and determination. his spirit and his smiling face will live with me forever, i’m glad it’ll never go away.

he really was a friend of mine and shall miss him for all time. and man, that feels bad.

my love goes out to his wife, sally and everybody who ever came into contact with him, their lives will be better for it.

this week: we lost our co-pilot, navigator and captain of the ship. all at once.

love, man. x x x

We’ll miss you, Jake.

P.S. — I’ve also found several other articles and online tributes to Jake, which I’ve linked below.

• Liverpool Daily Post
• NME
  
• Strangeglue Blog

• Isle of Man Today
• Prefix Magagine
  
• sideburnmag.blogspot.com

Jake and Sally Brockman photo and Jake at sunset photo courtesy of sideburnmag.blogspot.com

“Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic actions, and keeps them conversant with all that is beautiful and sublime in the intellectual and moral world.”

– Kenelm Henry Digby in Chivalry: The Broad-Stone of Honour

Given that definition, I bestow upon Anthony Gonzalez the title Mr. Chivalry 2009. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pacifist with a large peace sticker on the bumper. I’m constantly telling my six year old to use his words. I’m a lover, not a fighter. However, if a big burly security dude is getting inappropriately violent with your fans, my first reaction would be to come to their defense. And to Anthony’s credit, he issued an apology afterward. This is a good man.

The full details and a video of the events after the jump.

I’ve seen several people comment on other blogs that The Wexner Center stage was a temporary stage and that it couldn’t hold the weight. I cry bullshit. The Wexner Center was recently renovated and they provide complete technical specs for both the stage and the entire venue. They tout the fact that “The stage at Mershon can also be transformed into a “black box” space, creating a more intimate and flexible setting, with both audience and performers on stage.”

This morning, Anthony issued an apology:

“Statement regarding events at M83′s performance at the Wexner Center, Columbus, OH on the 18th July 2009.

“I’ve been thinking about the events that happened at the end of show in Columbus last Saturday. Time and distance has given me the space to realize that my actions were clearly inappropriate. I wish to emphasise that inviting the crowd on stage was in no way calculated but simply a result of being caught up in the intensity of the moment and essentially celebrating what I believe had been a very positive and enjoyable performance for both the band and the audience. In retrospect though I understand why such actions were not the wisest and why the staff at the venue had requested me not to encourage the audience on stage. I sincerely apologize for the way I handled the situation, and in particular for trying to physically interfere with security staff at the venue who I fully accept were only trying to do their job of ensuring proper protection for both the band and members of the audience.

“My reactions in the heat of the moment have caused me much regret and once again I offer my sincere apologies to all persons concerned with the show and at the venue. I feel that it is important to issue a public apology as I do not wish my actions to be perceived as in any way as condoning or encouraging aggressive behaviour.

“Anthony
24th July 2009″

I agree that violence is not the answer. But I still say “Anthony, thanks for trying in your own small way to defend something beautiful and sublime.”

And here’s a video of what went down.

Tom Wilkes gained national prominence when his advertising firm landed the 1967 Monterrey International Pop Music Festival. He designed and created all the graphics, posters and other print materials for the festival, including the iconic psychedelic poster that was printed on foil stock paper.

According to his daughter, Katherine Fotch, “He won an award from Reynolds aluminum for the most creative use of aluminum foil. He was always very proud of that.”

Music producer and festival organizer Lou Adler said Wilkes “caught the spirit of the time” with his graphics for the ’67 Pops Festival.

“Most of the artwork in that particular culture was coming out of San Francisco, and what Tom did was he took a San Francisco look, or niche, and made it international,” Adler said. “You can see a lot of the posters from that period and say, ‘Oh, that’s the ’60s.’ With Tom, it isn’t dated. There’s a very special look to it.”

Wilkes designed or provided the art direction or graphic design for scores of classic album covers. As an example, he designed the covers for the Rolling Stones’ “Beggars Banquet,” Neil Young’s “Harvest,” Eric Clapton’s “Eric Clapton,” Joe Cocker’s “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” and George Harrison’s “Concert for Bangladesh” and “All things Must Pass.”

Wilkes was a photographer as well, and often shot the images that appeared on the album covers. The most infamous of which was the cover photo of Joplin for her 1971 “Pearl” album. According to Fotch, “He was the last person to see her alive”

In 1973, Wilkes won a Grammy Award for best recording package for the Who’s rock opera “Tommy.”

Back then, there wasn’t the huge music hype machine that we have today. When you when into a record store, you were often flying blind. David Fricke, a senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine explains “the magic and the sort of importance of album design was to be able to catch the eye, to try and get a sense of what the music and the personalities were inside and also make you want to buy it.”

Wilkes, Fricke said, “was able to capture a certain essence of what was on the record and the person who made it.

According to the LA Times Obituary, A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. today at First Presbyterian Church of Orange, 191 N. Orange St., Orange.

Instead of flowers, the family asks that donations in Wilkes’ memory be made to fund ALS research and sent to the ALS Assn. Development Department, 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 250, Calabasas, CA 91301.

I just received this in the mail.  1 Top Class Manager is how Rob Gretton(January 15, 1953 – May 15, 1999) referred to himself as Joy Division‘s fifth member in the book.  Through financial thick and thin, this amazing publication chronicles Joy Division’s rise as one of the most influential bands of all time.  1 Top Class Manager is definitely for fans only – who else would care how much Stephen Morris (Joy Division’s drummer) was owed for petrol from a late night gig?

Rob was a dedicated hoarder, note taker and doodler.  The compiled notebooks, memorabilia and business records have been locked up until his partner Lesley Gilbert unearthed them for this volume.  Rather than write a biography or transcribe Rob’s thoughts, Gilbert and a handful of editors chose to take high quality photos of actual pages from several steno-notebooks and place them in chronological order. 

Some of my favorite highlights document some of the “doubt” stages any band must travel through on the journey to success. Early in the book Rob drafts a pitch to the members of Joy Division – “I know that you all suffer from depression to depression but personally I think things are going along fine – Anyone disagree”?

A band’s image was 100% of why Melody Makerand NME readers in the late 70′s chose to listen in the first place:  “I would appreciate it if you would all co-operate more -(my shirts(?) beard) and try and dress more smartly (Barnie’s shirt)”. 

Later in the book are invoices for garments, notably 3 pairs of trousers on one invoice early on and an £165.22 shopping trip for the band only three days before the suicide of lead singer, Ian Curtis on May 18th, 1980.  Other iconic purchases include the legendary (Vox Mark) “teardrop guitar” (Friday,May 2nd 1980),  ”Ian’s coat” (30/10/79). One of the more pricey and telling items predicts the planned (and future as New Order) “more electronic” turn for the band, an “ARP OMNI 2 Synthesizer” for £1090.00, including flight case.

Throughout are planning for gigs with contemporaries like Siouxsie & the Banshees, Cabaret Voltaireand The Buzzcocks.  Rob made notes on what the song order should be on Closer, including the infamous run-off groove markings (Side A “THIS IS THE WAY”/Side B “STEP INSIDE” referencing the track Atrocity Exhibition).  One of the more haunting pages are his initial band names for what would become New Order, only days after Ian Curtis’ death.  The apparent leader of the pack, Man Ray is joined by other possible names like Fifth Column, Complex, The Immortals and The Truth – or maybe they were just a list of words to describe his feelings about a horrible tragedy.   

These highlights took some considerable flipping from page to page – and that’s what 1 Top Class Manager is – a reference for fans (or perhaps budding band managers).  I’ve only had it a week but I enjoy picking it up and flipping through it for interesting passages.  Factory Records was the blank stage for wacky events and characters which became legend in film and print.  The entries here connect legend with reality and surely ignores Factory rule number one – “Print the myth”.

During the time when members of New Order were working on side projects, Rob started his own record label, aptly named Rob’s Records.  There were a few great singles, I especially like the Manchester revamp of “Security” by The Beat Club with added vocals by Bernard Sumner.  There was another little band on his label called Sub Sub who changed their name and became the massive stadium rocking Doves – Rob was their manager as well.  

Rob acheived much in his lifetime.  I’m sure he would be quietly flattered to see actors portray him in modern films about Joy Division (Anton Corbijn’s Control) and the rise and fall of Factory Records (24 Hour Party People).  I by no means knew Rob Gretton, but I met him a couple of times.  He was always nice, but never smiled.  I was too scared to talk to Peter Hook in an airport once and he made me go over and say hello.  I swear it felt like a dare!   Whenever Gillian (Gilbert, New Order) would put me and friends on the list, Rob always made it happen!  I even have his autograph on one of the Technique stickers which came in the NME the week of the album’s release in 1989.  It’s tucked away safely in my New Order scrapbook which I’ve had for about 25 years. 

I swear I’m never going to grow up!  And really, why bother anyway?

I you’d like your own copy, you’d better hurry – they are limited to 1500 copies.  If you order directly from the 1 Top Class Manager web page, you’ll receive an immediate, and exclusive link to an additional 159 pages which didn’t make the original volume.

[Apologies to Japanese Forms flickr stream for use of the notebook image without attribution from June 20009 - Sept 2010.]

Sonic Boom, Capitol Hill/Ballard – This is probably the most heard of record store outside of Seattle.  The selection and prices are great.  Both locations have a stellar selection of used LP’s.  The pricing on them is inconsistent, but they are always of good quality and housed in plastic sleeves.  The Booms used to have more in-store performances from touring bands, and both stores have dedicated performance areas for such occasions.  The staff at the Sonic Boom stores also tend to be the most attractive of local shops as well, just sayin’.  I especially miss Julie and Brad.

Easy Street Records, West Seattle/Queen Anne - I’ll be honest, I haven’t been to the Easy Street in West Seattle – The one on Queen Anne is just fine!  This is one of the bigger record stores in the city.  Easy Street is kind of like an indie Tower Records which is suiting as they opened their Queen Anne store in an old Tower Books location.  They have the most in-stores of any in Seattle and plenty of used CD’s and LP’s.  Their used LP’s are very fair priced and I never walk out of there with less than 5 used records!  The staff, especially the buyers, are sweet and know their stuff. 

Golden Oldies, Wallingford – I finally got to visit this store earlier this year.  It’s musty, dusty and older than God.  This store gets a rap for being disorganized and hard to shop in – I didn’t find that at all!  The only hard thing was having to go through 30 or more 45′s for every artist you can imagine to find the one I really wanted.  I know, poor baby, right?  The gentleman who runs the place was very nice and made recommendations based on what I bought!  My friend Nathan and I are sure he laughs inside everytime someone uses the static record cleaning block at the preview station - we were quickly convinced it’s rigged to slide out of place when you lift it up to use it, and has probably been that way for years.  Cheeky record shop owner guy!!

Bop Street Records, Ballard – Okay, this is the weirdest of the bunch, easily.  Upstairs is a big old mess and the downstairs looks like a record shop owned by the Dharma Initiative.  I went looking for a Bee Gees record and they had well over 50 copies of it.  I have never seen so many records in one place in all my years.  Bop Street unfortunately has a used car lot kind of vibe to it as pretty much NOTHING is priced.  There’s an old pro behind the counter who will wax on about how rare or unique a record is before pulling it out of the sleeve to comment on its condition and then BANG!, you finally get to the price tag – and it’s usually a shocker.  Bring a friend who negotiates well or brush on up on your own technique before visiting BS, oh sorry, Bop Street.  But do visit!!!

Wall of Sound, Capitol Hill – This is the only shop keeping it real.  From CD-R’s by local artists to psychedelic thai pop,  unusually weird noise to blissful drone, Wall of Sound is certainly the most interesting of Seattle’s record shops.  To keep up with the changing neighborhood (or maybe to keep the doors open) they’ve started to carry some more popular new releases.  They’ve also expanded their used vinyl selection.  Because these guys are picky (that’s good BTW!) their used selection is top notch and includes pieces from old school Seattle DJ’s and radio personalities.  The collection is small enough to shop in one trip!  When you think of local businesses, this is the type of shop you should consider supporting!

Singles Going Steady, Belltown – I was going to sort of slam this store, but I changed my mind.  The guy on the phone who wouldn’t give me the time of day is usually the sort of thing that will turn me off right away.  I guess I shouldn’t really expect “polite” from Seattle’s only straight up punk store, right?  Either way, their selection of punk, 80′s, industrial and other greebo genres is awesome.  I found some completely unforgotten goth stuff, particularly Wax Trax artists like Lead Into Gold and Chris Connelly.  Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ve noticed the “endangered species” sign outside their front window – I’m pretty sure I saw it though.  Watch your back, guys – of all the stores on this list I believe you have the biggest target on your back.

Georgetown Records, Georgetown – I’ve only been here once.  It’s a little out of the way, but worth the trip.  This is Seattle’s least pretentious record shop for sure.  They support all genres and carry every format you can imagine.  They tend to stick to the music while a lot of other stores are selling DVD’s, tee-shirts, magazines and faux memorabilia.  If I remember correctly, it was a little pricey – but is was more like you get what you pay for kind of pricey, which is good!

Jive Time, Fremont/Capitol Hill Annex – I was bummed when Jive Time closed on Capitol Hill.  Their selection is a DJ’s dream.  They have to fit everything into a smaller space, so their selection is perfect.  They are pretty much exclusively used, and mostly vinyl – but a warning, it can be pretty pricey.  The exception is their 12″ vinyl selection which is the best I’ve ever seen in one place and very, very fairly priced.  There is a mini Jive Time in Seattle’s recently commercialized Atlas clothing and the Fremont joint is open as well!

Holy Cow Records, Pike Place Market - It’s funny, locals don’t really shop in the lower levels of Pike Place Market.  Tourists can be a pain in the butt, especially during the summer.  I work on the waterfront so I walk through it every day now!  I had never visited it before and was shocked at how awesome it was – I felt like an ass for not shopping there all these years.  I’ve raided their easy listening, vocals and disco sections and have found some real gems.  The prices are very reasonable, but watch out – that growing stack of records can get pretty pricey, pretty quickly!

Everyday Music, Capitol Hill – Okay, so I saved the worst for last.  But first, here’s a joke:  What’s the difference between God and a record store employee?  Check out the answer below – But really, are you kidding me here?  This is the worst store in the world.  They don’t keep their stock on-hands in the computer, they give the worst rate for used product and the people who work there are rude.  Bigger is not always better, and if you want to avoid shopping in a store that has the potential to swallow up some of the smaller stores I’ve listed here, then this is the one to stay away from.  It might sound a bit harsh, but you get what you give with me.  Sorry.  Oh, and the punchline?  God doesn’t think he’s a record store employee.  Snapz.

There are many other record shops out there, but they are dwindling – and quickly.  If you have a favorite, let us know about it in the comments section!  And wherever you live, go out and buy a record or CD now and then – the world would be a pretty awful place if you could only purchase music digitally.  It would be worse if really great record stores became a novelty.

Spencer Moody being an ass

So, I’m happily shooting the main stage at Sasquatch, minding my own business. I’m shooting the Murder City Devils. There are about 20 of us photographers in the pit. I should have known that things could get a little crazy after Spencer Moody, the Lead singer, starts on a log-ass heterosexual rant. He’s clearly quite agitated. I can’t remember the whole thing, but it ended with,

“A lot now, we play these shows in front of a lot of people, and I see a lot of gross, disgusting high school jocks in the audience. But what we do is for all the beautiful faggots, and the rest of you can all eat a big bowl of wet dicks.”

All righty, then.

Soon thereafter he proceeds to come down off the stage onto the large NIN equipment cases in the photo pit and grabs the back of my head and grinds it into his crotch for a good 10 seconds. I’m a pretty easy going gal, but be reasonable. Not only did he give me crotch burn on my forehead from rubbing into me so hard, but he also scratched my delicate fisheye lens. Minimally, wear soft pants if you’re going to be forcibly grinding people’s faces in your crotch, and preferably do it to a fan who chose to be there, rather than to a photographer who’s just doing her job. And why did you choose to pick on the female photographers (he pushed another woman after harassing me) when it’s the frat boys you’re pissed off at?

So although I was quite shaken, I tried not to get to pissed off. It makes for an interesting story to tell my grandchildren, I tell myself. I had a fisheye lens so I was able to capture the whole thing (The original images on flickr for your voyeuristic pleasure.) But most importantly, I just kept thinking of the dozens of awesome Seattle queers I’d met the other night at my BF Phil’s birthday bash. Those are the kind of gays I associate with Seattle. They’re big, lovable, loyal, hunky Eagle-lovin’ bears that read this blog and they’re my friends, Spencer Moody. They can always stop by Anne Bonny and let you know what they think of your behavior. They’ve got a good fifty pounds and six inches on you (both kinds, I’m sure.)

Erik’s new album, The Way We Live,  is released today!  Dave Segal, one of the few people I have respect for at Seattle’s (The) Stranger gushes, “Blood’s songs bear elegant contours, and their hooks stick in your mind like a nutritious goo while avoiding cloying obviousness. Crafted with care and expertly produced, The Way We Live seems destined to attain pop-classic status.”  A very nice compliment indeed.  And warranted too.  If you’re reading this, I urge you to purchase this album immediately.  You’ll be supporting a great artist, and you’ll get one of the best albums you’ve heard in years.

Purchase:  iTunes (9.90) | Amazon (7.99) | emusic (by subscription)

Exclusive Download:  Erik Blood – “Jet Inside You”

So you’re sitting at Six Arms on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.  Fresh from a Sunday afternoon nap, ready for an IPA and some pub grub.  Some girl who looks exactly like Deb Googe from My Bloody Valentine walks by.  What do you do?  Well I would run down the street after her – and I did.

I walked quickly out of the restaurant and loudly said, “excuse me!”.  She turns around and I ask “Is your name Debbie?”.  The answer is “yes” and I proceed to become more of a shaking, bumbling geek than ever.  I told her that I’m a huge fan and slightly recollected the time I hung out with her 17 years ago.  Nonplussed, she politely says “that’s lovely”.  I’m a moron.  But not enough to ask if she’d like to join me for a drink.  “Sure” she says – my heart drops and we walk back to Six Arms.

We take a seat at the corner of the counter where I left my IPA and hoodie.  I’m beaming.  So what does Deb order?  A Bloody Mary.  Too perfect.  We talked for about half an hour.  With the music and conversation in the room, Deb was barely audible – I consciously had to pay close attention to this moment!
 

As we sat down I told her how I had helped to transcribe Kevin‘s (Shields, guitar/vocals) interview with Mike McGonigal for his 33 1/3 book about Loveless.  She mentioned that it sounded like a challenge and that I was lucky I didn’t have to transcribe an interview from Colm (Ó Cíosóig, drummer).  I told her how funny it was to hear Kevin say “you know what I mean?” after just about everything he said during the interview and got kind of a laugh from her. 

Deb seems really taken with Colm.  She told me how great it was to play right next to him again on the tours.  She rarely gets too see Colm as he lives here in the U.S. (San Francisco).  Deb confirmed that he and Hope Sandoval are working on a new Warm Inventions record slated for release in September.  She joked that it’s impossible to get him to send her any new music he’s working on.  Last year’s All Tomorrow’s Parties event at Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, New York last September was an exceptionally special time for her – the entire band thought of it as a holiday and invited tons of family and friends to share in the event.  She made it sound like a family reunion.  Check out BP Fallon‘s candid and relaxed photos of the event HERE.

Deb was just out walking around Seattle, enjoying a day off.  It sounds like the whole band has been under a lot of pressure during this whole reunion thing.  My Bloody Valentine are gearing up for more international dates and new material in the coming summer months.  She told me how hard it is for Bilinda (Butcher, guitar/vocals/general gorgeousness) to leave her six and nine year old children at home during these outings.  That’s why they happen in less than two week stints at a time.  By the way, I was reminded that Bilinda has a 25 year old kid as well – I heard stories of how he was just learning to skateboard back in the day. 

You can stop reading now if you like, but I’m going to keep going.  I’m just as excited writing this as I was sitting with Deb at that bar.  She grabbed my huge gray bearded cheek and told me to “stop doing that!”.  Apparently I was really into the moment and smiling too much.  So cute.

I was wondering what Coachella was like – I’ve still never been.  I can’t do it. Port-a-potties and sun are just not my thing.  I’d need the comfort of the VIP tent – and I’m not a VIP.  I asked what the difference is between playing outdoor venues – which they rarely did in the earlier days - to indoor shows.  Deb told me that she really enjoys the outdoor venues because the sound starts at one point and just goes out. Indoor venues tend to bounce back sound onto the stage and makes it difficult to keep up.  She motioned accidentally playing a wrong note during such confusion.  It was adorable.

I whipped out the Blackberry to show her my recent posts on this blog about my MBV memories and our afterparty.  In her very London accent she asked, “you’re all set up for tickets to the show, right?”.  I think I may have eye dropped her with a look that simply said, “duh!”.  Of course I had tickets – an early birthday present from my dear friend, Xin.  What I didn’t have was access.  Erik and I really wanted to check out the set up process.  I told Deb that I’d e-mailed their manager.  She suggested that they didn’t even know what was going on the following day, but would pass it along to their manager.  Colm (pronounced “column”, by the way – never knew that) was not even in town with everyone else.  He was driving up from their Denver show to experience the Rockies and some nude hot springs action on the way up, apparently.

She was wearing the cutest T-shirt.  It read “Rock Is Dead”, with a little toilet paper banner underneath that says “because paper beat it”.  She also doesn’t look like she’s aged a day in the last 17 years.  I asked if she’d like another drink, and she politely declined.  She tried to pay the server when he came back by and I insisted – “it’s the least I can do” I said. 

Needless to say, the show the next day was amazing.  Everything you’ve heard is true – It’s really loud, they pushed the boundaries, “You Made Me Realise” was really long, and all the fans were satisfied.  I wanted to write a review here seperately, but I’d like you to check out Erik‘s recap instead.  The Stranger‘s review is kind of amazing too.  I’m not being lazy, I was just so into the music that a lot of other elements kind of got by me.  You’ve made it this far?  I’m impressed.  Thanks for being The Color Awesome’s friend!

Years later when Loveless came out, they became the instant “it” band.  Until Creation‘s demise, fans never knew what MBV went through to make the now legendary record.  Short version – they bankrupted Creation because of the amount of time, space and engineering personel it took to record it. 

After too much touring and high expectations from fans and their new label, Island Records, they seemed to have folded.  Their only post Loveless songs were both cover versions.  “We Have All The Time In The World” was a Bond Theme (from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and was performed by Louis Armstrong.  The other was their remarkable version of ”Map Ref 41°N 93°W“ originally performed by WIRE.  Rumors persisted that MBV had blown their advance, had studio mishaps, scrapped an entire record, were driving taxi’s, raising chincilla’s – yeah, I know, crazy Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett or Phil Spector kind of wackiness!

Kevin Shields‘ name would pop up now and again over the years – a remix here, a production credit there.  When Sophia Coppola‘s Lost In Translation came out, MBV fans rejoiced at what ended up being somewhere around 10 minutes of music. 

Reports of album re-releases with bonus material and a follow up to Loveless have been among the most accurate of recent news.  In fact, Loveless looks like it’s FINALLY slated for a May 18th, 2009 release in the UK.  Instead of bonus tracks, most of which were slated to be Loveless era b-sides, the double CD will include the original LP and a second disc of the LP remastered from anologue tapes.  For now, it looks like a re-release of Isn’t Anything is still in the works.

When the announcement came through that My Bloody Valentine were coming to Seattle on April 27th, I felt like I was 23 again – I’ve been in super geek mode the last few weeks.  They’ve been important to me in so many ways over the years.  I had the pleasure of  transcribing portions of interviews with Kevin conducted via telephone by Mike McGonigal for his entry into the 33 1/3 series.  It’s a great read, especially for gearheads.  As a huge fan, it was great to hear Kevin talk about some projects which never saw the light of day (yet?) and even excusing himself to take care of some “personal business”, if you know what I mean.  Back in 1992, I made sure I saw as many of their shows as possible.  My friend Cathy and I drove to San Francisco and stayed at the Phoenix Hotel where I heard they were staying.  We were shocked to not only meet them (except Bilinda who was holed up with awful stomach pain) but to be invited to hang out with them!  We went along with them to an in-store record signing, saw L7, and Deb and Colm came to our room and “partied” with us.  Kevin’s lovely and kind sister, their manager at the time, made sure we were on the list for the L.A. shows a couple of days later!  The show we saw was to be the last MBV show until the recent reunion.  As a Japanese teenage girl trapped in a 40 year old body, I’m hoping to get the chance to say hi again – not like they’d remember me, but I’m just like that I guess!

Erik Blood and I will be hosting a My Bloody Afterparty at the Bus Stop on Seattle’s Capitol Hill on April 27th, right after their show at the WAMU Amphitheater. 

I’ve included a CD burn of a flexidisc from Catalogue Magazine circa 1989.  Erik and I split the cost when we found it on ebay.  I don’t remember how much we paid for it, but I would guess it was enough to be able to share it with our readers!  Here it is in all of its flexi pops and clicks glory!  Actually, it sounds pretty good.

Thank you Kim Erlandsen, NRK P3 for use of the creative commons licensed image. 

download Sugar by My Bloody Valentine

criznittle, creator of the Indie Rock Playlist

In his honor, I give you two tracks that I never would have found if it weren’t for Criznittle.

Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream
download mp3 | visit myspace page

Wombats – Let’s Dance to Joy Division
download mp3 | visit myspace page

Where do you find new music? Inquiring mind want to know..