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A Tribute to Jason Lockwood… at Small’s Hamtramck

Kind of a late post but, everyone in Detroit should be at Small’s in Hamtramck in tribute to Jason Lockwood.

Jason was a great guy that was always ready to have a whiskey shot with, hang out at shows and even helped put out an Amino Acids vinyl release for us on Hellcity Records. I’m not going to pretend I knew him as well as others have, but I can tell you it was cool when we did hang out.  I wish I could be at the show, but even worse is, it sucks that we lost him in the first place.

lockwood-smaller

Thursday, December 27th – A tribute to Jason Lockwood…

A night of live music to celebrate what Jason meant to all of us, with The Jollys, The Amino Acids, Mean Mother, Bailout and Dick Hickey on the stage plus DJ’s Trent Whiskey & Abner Wigglestaff throughout
$8 Donation @ 8p.m.

Doc Waffles Extends Metaphors with “Ambulance Chasers”

Accidents happen, but great work is thoughtfully, artfully executed.

Such is the case with Doc Waffles latest,  “Ambulance Chasers”, out today on bandcamp.

To hear Ben Ness tell it, Waffles’ given name, the album’s title comes from a combination of two events: 1.) while living in Southwest Detroit at the time he looked outside and noticed his apartment was surrounded, in 360 degrees, by billboards for personal injury attorneys & 2.) his friend suffered a dog bite and had a story to tell after going through a personal injury lawsuit.

Hip-Hop with a Novelist’s Approach

“Ambulance Chasers” opens with a sample from “The Aviator” of dialogue between Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchet) and Howard Hughes (Leonard DiCaprio) talking about golf. This continues several themes & references in Waffles’ work including golf and the pair in question. Mr. Ness is proud to tell you that he was the captain of his golf team in high school, loves the sport and that there is no finer piece of attire than a “Golf Shirt”. The dialogue between the Hollywood legends reference back to the pair’s starring role in a track on Waffles recent EP, “Seizure Suit Farms”.

The record is put together with the concept of a novelist. It’s not surprising considering Waffles’ day job as a rare book dealer. “Ambulance Chasers” extends his previous references from “Golf View Drive” through “How to Shoot Quail” to expand on his themes of misconnection, removal and self-reflection. Waffles’ appears to be looking at aging, at times, and asking new questions about the durability of the heart and the ideas of permanence.

The lead track “Hockey Fights” finds allegories to the flying fists of the Detroit Red Wings of yore, like Bob Probert, the physicality of relationships and the durability of out-of-date formats such as the trusty, dusty VHS tape.

A big highlight on the album, “Groucho Masks”, is a tale of longing, grasping for connection and trying to create a new paradigm from the latest shocks that is heartbreaking due to the use of multi-layered symbolic references to previous songs and themes that rewards faithful listeners to the Doc Waffles catalogue.

That’s one of the rare and risky things about Doc Waffles’ work. He doesn’t create a self-contained piece that lives in its own bubble. His albums are like Venn diagrams that stack upon each other at skewed angles and offer more with each connection to past work and each additional listen. This is something most artists are not willing to consider from song-to-song let alone album-to-album in our “just download the best tracks, forget listening to the record all the way though” world. Single tracks or albums do not begin to tell the untold riches that await the listener to Doc Waffles. A broad, inclusive approach is needed in order to wring out nuance, humor and, ultimately, understanding from Mr. Ness’s novelistic approach. His concepts take time to develop within the ear and the mind.

Sonically,“Ambulance Chasers” is also noteworthy for the solid production by Eddie Logix and textured cameos from SelfSays, Passalacqua, Josef Coney Island and J. Walker.

To celebrate the release, Doc Waffles and friends are hosting an “Ambulance Chasers” release party on Saturday August 25th. The details are below:

Saturday August 25th, 2012 – Doors at 9pm

1440 Gallery

1440 Service St.

Detroit MI

All Ages. BYOB.

$5 cover includes copy of “Ambulance Chasers” and coupon for “accidental nap” or “strip-the-bride bear-trap” of your choosing.

Passalacqua: Detroit Hip-Hop Heads South and East

Look out NYC, Philly and even Toledo – a traveling side show of death-defying rappers is coming your way and its doing it Detroit style. That means, of course, only one thing: it’s “BETTER MADE”.

The “BETTER MADE” tour sends Passalacqua, one of the key groups in the Detroit hip-hop scene, out of the road for the very first time. After several years of great shows & building a fan base in Detroit, the team of “Mister” and “The Blaksmith” will be infecting folks south and east of the Motor City with their laidback style and a touch of humor.

Although funny, at times – such as rapping in spacemen helmets, Passalacqua hits some hard topics on their albums. For example, “Ms. Washington (Bridge Card Hustle)” on “Zebehazy Summer” features a smooth flow and tasty beat with a female vocal chorus on the topic of welfare fraud and trying to make it day-to-day. Other tracks like “Sunset City” (check out the video below) offer odes to the Motor City. Because, you’ll learn quickly, these cats are steeped in Detroit and wear it proudly.

Among the tour guests are the Anonymous, who I wrote about before, who will head out to play shows with Passalacqua in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.

While Passalacqua is out bringing some new Detroit sounds to the you – they are offering a fresh take on their most recent release, last fall’s “Zebehazy Summer”. This special remix album features many respected local producers like Eddie Logix twisting the nobs and breathing new life into the beats & ideas.

Oh, and that remix record - it’s a free download on the band’s site come Friday June 22nd. So, there is no excuse  for you not to be studied up to see Passalacqua when they come through your town over the next two weeks.

 

Come sample some Detroit “BETTER MADE” flavor near you:

6/21 — Detroit, MI (Northern Lights Lounge)

6/22 — Toledo, OH (Ottawa Tavern)

6/23 — Nashville, TN (Exit/In)

6/24 — Knoxville, TN (Relix Theatre)

6/25 — Raleigh, NC (The Pour House)

6/27 — Richmond, VA (Balliceaux)

6/28 — Brooklyn, NY (Spike Hill)

6/29 — Philadelphia, PA (Level Room)

6/30 — Brooklyn, NY (Fifth Estate)

The Anonymous is Unknown (to me) No More!

It was about two months ago that I first heard of the Anonymous. I went to this Doc Waffles show; you know how I feel about him, at a space in Woodbridge. After Waffles’ set, I left. But because I paid to get in – I rarely use my “guest list” privileges – I was handed two recordings: a 7” split of Noman/Summer Pledge and a CD of “Why Am I Grinding My Teeth” by the Anonymous.

It sat in my car for a few weeks before I got to it, but once I started listening to the Anonymous – it’s been pretty much a daily part of my rush hour rotation.

The first thing that will attract any born and bred eastsider to “Why Am I Grinding My Teeth?” is the cover – the iconic bull’s head hamburger stand on Mack north of Conner.

It’s closed now, but the bull’s head still holds guard over that section of the eastside.

Moving on to the music, the Anonymous have had some time to work on this album and their craft. According to their facebook page, the group started almost ten years ago in the suburbs with Goldzilla! (Kwesi Akaah – the mc) and Some Kid (Paul Wilson – the dj & engineer) starting out in freestyle events and basement parties. In 2005, the duo put out an ep titled “Love is Not an Orgasm” in 2005 and, another, “God’s Day Off” in 2006.

This new record brings together tracks from 2007 to today. One would that it could be a messy production affair – varying quality, no real through line – but that is not the case. If you sample and purchase “Why Am I Grinding My Teeth?” you will find it high polished but not antiseptic.

Among the key tracks to my ears is the opening, “Searching for Kid Calamity”. Not only is the flow smooth and the beats bounce funky, the end of the track showcases the time these cats put into building their ideas. A montage of references to “anonymous” in other songs and culture even includes Howard Stern giving a shout out to “the Anonymous” – the hackers group, of course – but it’s still great fun.

If you are not sold on them by the time you listen to the second track, “Hammerhead Shark”, hang it up. Because if you can’t pick up what Goldzilla’s throwing down, you might want to reconsider your interest in hip-hop in general. Especially when he’s preaching the truth:

“Since when did vampires go from Nosferatu to asexual teen heartthrobs? You see, back in my day they would have got bombed.”

Goldzilla’s themes range but frustration – sexual, professional and even at McDonald’s – seems to take center stage. Even though he seems frustrated by circumstances, Goldzilla’s voice is bright, fun and seems to be winking at you – letting you in on the joke – and that’s evident with his references. Goldzilla’s piles on geek troupes like comic books, Star Wars and video games, but never heads into nerdcore. He also can spin a great couplet out of current affairs – equating one’s inability to be sneaky to the President of Iran:

“Like Ahmadinejad in the synagogue trying to get it on on krypton with nothing but slippers on.”

Great images, funny and true.

Some Kid’s simples and engineering style is quite tasty – preachers, off kilter beats, Goldzilla play hype man and counterpoint against his own flows. I also especially like Some Kid’s delightfully twisted use of earworm chart toppers like Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi”  and Modest Mouse’s “Float On”.

The Anonymous played at the Magic Stick on Thursday, May 24th. I was there for the show and captured the set. Take a listen:

The next Detroit show for the Anonymous is in early June. Details pending. But stay in touch through the Anonymous facebook page. Also, the group is heading out on the road this summer with other Detroit favorite Passalacqua. Dates and cities beyond Detroit – possibly near you – are coming soon.

From my perspective, if the Anonymous continues on with the recipe found on “Why Am I Grinding My Teeth?” they won’t be unknown beyond Detroit for long.

Sirhan Sirhan Live at The Casbah

Sirhan Sirhan Band Fisheye PhotoI filmed this “masterpiece” of the awesome Sirhan Sirhan playing All Aboard at The Casbah in San Diego with a cheap VHS camcorder I picked up from the thrift store for $5.00.

Yes, the quality is pretty shite, but unfortunately there isn’t much footage of them since they’re kaput.  In 2008 they were dubbed best Hard Rock Album in San Diego and in 2009 they made Alternative Press’ 100 Bands To Watch list.  Singer Jason Blackmore now plays in Rats Eyes with Gabe Serbian from The Locust.

http://youtu.be/3boS4lX8MX4

“Praise Bob” for the Amino Acids – the Band that Wouldn’t Die!

The spokespeople for The Amino Acids are liars, cheats and charlatans – and I couldn’t be happier about it!

 

See, back in late 2010, two of the men possessed by the surf-punk aliens, took off their masks, talked to the media and said the Aminos were done. They said the band was played out. In about a decade, the group managed to hammer their sound into our heads through about 500 shows.

So, I talked to Dave Taylor & Scott Boyink – so sexy, just like “Star Search” spokesmodels – about “the end” of the Aminos. The story worked out so well that some fellow journalists give me a few awards for it. Thanks, guys!

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Saturday Night at Tree Bar, Columbus

Went to see Dead Set Ready, Slaughterhouse Chorus and Henry’s Rifle Saturday at The Tree Bar (formerly Andyman’s Treehouse) to take some photos with my Lomo Fisheye.  Also filmed a song from Henry’s Rifle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP2UL2p16jE