Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
In honor of my much missed friend and bandmate, Christopher Tucker (who, it’s hard to believe, passed away three years ago today) I’m posting this previously unreleased recording of one of my favorite Situation songs, Turntable. The band recorded this at Manic Music in 2001 during the same session as The Best Presciption Pill, but we were never completely satisified with it for one reason or another so the recording fell to the wayside in favor of newer material (although we did continue to play the song live). But as the years pass on, the lyrics seem to really hit home – yes, the turntable is still singing about you, my friend. Rest in peace.
1. Rockabilly : the Twang Heard Around the World – great new coffee table book on the early rock-n-roll sound, covering everything from the first days at Sun Records to later rockabilly revivalists like the Cramps and Reverand Horton Heat. Tons of great photos and lots of artists that you may not have heard of. A solid primer.
2. Norton Records – these folks release some amazing, rare rockabilly and garage records – so many odd little audio gems in there. And it’s getting more and more difficult not to just order the entire catalog right from their website – with discs like these, a life of poverty might not be that bad.
3. Super 8 – best “summer” film I’ve seen in a long, long time. Part E.T., part Close Encounters and part Goonies. If you grew up in the late 70′s/early80′s, you’ll definitely dig the look and vibe. A solid watch and a lot of fun. But, damn, I wish it was still that easy to get super 8 film developed.
4. Mike Anderson’s part in Not Another Transworld Video. Loved his style – lots of weird little wallride tricks (that boneless out of the frontside wall ride was insane!). Very original and super fun. Nestor’s part was sick too. The whole video’s pretty insane.
5. Torey Pudwell – this guy’s been on a tear the last two years and his new Thrasher mag part, Big Bang, is no disappointment. The fact that he filmed the whole thing in 6 months is just mind blowing.
6. Ed Templeton’s Teenage Kissers – got to meet and talk briefly with Ed at the opening of his excellent new photo show at the Half Gallery and he was super cool, a real gentleman. Lots of heavies lurking about (Glenn E. Freidman, Craig Stecyk, Guy Picciotto). The show’s up until July 25 – check it out if you’re in the big apple this summer and pick up the book from the nice folks at Seems.
Nothing major to report here – just thought I’d post a few video clips I’ve stumbled across the past few days. The first is a really cool interview with Gonz, chock full of high speed San Fran hill bombs. The next two are various Jimmy Fallon clips – one of him doing a spot-on Neil Young impersonation, followed by an equally spot on Dylan. I’ve been sleeping on this show but damn, these clips are so well done I might need to hop on that train.
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
Spent the weekend digging through a milk crates worth of random old cassette tapes and, among other things, came across one filled with all the old Obese Pharaohs of Funk recordings, including, much to my surprise, the two songs we recorded for Switch Skateboard Shop’sSwitchstance compilation back in 1994. I’m super stoked, since I’d lost my only copy of the comp years ago so it was nice to hear these tracks, which were the first recordings we ever did. These two songs were recorded by Nick Rotundo at our bass player Bret’s house, back when Nick was using his mobile 8 track reel-to-reel recorder. For the comp, each band had to record one “skate rock cover” and one original song – for the cover we went with The Last Goodbye by Agent Orange, a song we played live pretty frequently (As a young skate rat, I was a huge Agent Orange fan). For the original, we recorded a tune called Enchilada, which was one of the band’s earliest songs, and one of the few (along with Last Time I Laughed and Beginnings) where I wrote both the music and lyrics. And, no, I’m not claiming greatness on any of those tunes – this is just a nice walk down memory lane and a chance to finally put these lost tracks out there with the rest of the Nero/Obese Pharaohs of Funk material. The sound quality is a little bit dodgy, as the tape had been through some wear and tear over the years. Anyway, hope you enjoy them.
Don’t forget – this Saturday is Record Store Day so be sure to stop by your local shop and pick up some tunes. Plus there’s plenty of limited edition discs being dropped just for the occasion, so don’t miss out or risk lurking on ebay with their inflated prices.
People often ask why I care so much about record stores (or independent book stores for that matter) and, more often than not, I get told “record stores are dead – they’re on the way out. no one cares anymore.” Well, just because the media are once again ringing the death bells doesn’t mean I’m going to follow the sheep and just give up. The way I see it, the future’s unwritten – so you gotta support the scenes you believe in. And the record store is about community, a gathering place where music fans can meet up, talk about rock-n-roll, hunt through the crates for hidden gems and random discoveries, a place to hang out with your friends and people watch while listening to new tunes being blasted through the house sound system. You can’t get that online. The album cover art and liner notes in all their 12 inch glory – you can’t get that online. And you can’t get in-store performances by touring or local bands online either. Sure, the internet is convenient and easy but that’s what makes it soul-less. And this is no nostalgia trip either – this is about fostering and supporting the culture you love. So, if you’re a music fan, you have to support music and the bands or else watch it all come to an end. So put that on your soap box and choke on it.
Viva indie record stores. Viva indie book stores. Viva indie skate shops. Viva the art of life.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since my former band, The Situation, released our full length record on Elephant Stone – time flies for sure. So, in honor of that anniversary, we went ahead and created a Situation facebook page, complete with audio of both the album as well as the Reece Nasty EP and a few other unreleased gems. I’m going to be posting some other unreleased tracks in the next few weeks, including a couple of radio interviews that I recently uncovered, which should be pretty cool. So, if you do the whole “facebook” thing, please “like” the page and help spread the word.
And thank you to everyone who still comments on the album or the band – it’s nice to know that people still care. It means a lot. And in the end, if the music can somehow live on, then that’s all that matters.
Just started watching the first season of VBS’ Thumbs Up – don’t know how I slept on this one but damn, it’s sooo good. The show follows artist David Choe and his nephew Harry Kim as they hop trains and hitchhike across the US. Amazing – those two definitely have plenty of guts and a few screws loose. Play catch up if you’ve never seen it (it’s on Netflix instant if you roll like that). Totally insane.
Also really love this Raiders of the Lost Archives series that Skateboarder’s been doing with Andy Jenkins. Very cool to see all the original Evan Hecox drawings in there – love that guy’s work. And for you lucky souls over in LaLa Land, Mr Jenkins has a solo show opening April 1st at Hibbleton Gallery in Los Angeles. Worth checking out for sure.
And speaking of skateboarding, peep this clip French Fred put together of Joey Brezinski’s new winery. Definitely would love to get on the flow team for that one.
Picked up the new Jessica Lea Mayfield record, Tell Me, which I really like a lot. It’s definitely a grower and took a few listens before I really got hooked but I just love her voice – she has that old school, lonesome country thing going but without sounding completely derivative or like she’s just coping a style. And for someone who sings about lying all the time, lyrically the record seems to be really open and honest (but then how can one ever know? and does it matter?) Anyway, I dig it so give it a spin. Dan Auerbauch from the Black Keys produced it – just saying. Her other record, Blasphamy So Heartfelt is excellent as well. And for everyone in Philly, she’s playing the World Cafe on March 31st. Someone please put me on the list (again, just saying).
It was with a heavy and saddened heart that I received news that friend and former bandmate Jeremy Tuschak took his own life this past Friday. Jeremy and I played music together in Nero (formerly known as the Obese Pharaohs of Funk) for close to five years in Newark, Delaware, during the mid 1990′s. Those years spent in that band had an enourmous impact on my life and are memories that will not soon be forgotten.
A respected local musician, he was easily the most inventive and adventerous drummer I’ve ever worked with, one always open toward taking things in new directions and he played his instrument with the same passionate anger that often filled his life. He approached the entire drum set as a vehicle for rythmic expression and I learned a great deal from our time playing together, which made me a stronger musician. When jamming, one minute he would play like Bill Ward, the next like Reni then switch it up into a John Bonham thing but then nail some tight groove like Clyde Stubblefield. Amazingly talented – such a loss.
A hard person to really get past the surface of, Jeremy definitely harbored a dark side which he wasn’t always very good at hiding – but even though we never really moved in the same social circles, nor hung out much outside of the band, I fondly remember many late night conversations at the Barn Door, the weird dance moves and monkey jigs, his bizarre sense of humor peppered with warped impressions and faux accents. Tuschak, too strong. The Bipolar Biscuit. One of a kind for sure.
We recently reconnected over the past few years, and even discussed playing music again at some point, but, unfortunately, it never came to pass. I can only hope that his soul is finally at rest and that he’s found some long deserved peace and happiness. You will be missed my friend. My heart goes out to his friends and family – your loss is my loss, is our loss.
Rest in peace Jeremy. Rest in peace Barn Door. Rest in peace faded memories of our long lost youth.
It’s been a minute since I last posted so forgive the spillage to come:
There are some cool events happening in Philly this weekend- first up, my good friend Kevin Margitich is having an art opening this Friday, March 4th over at Sweet Mabel in Narberth. And to sweeten the pot, he’s home-brewed some special beers just for the occasion, so get there early before the well runs dry. The show is entitled The Trail to Manatawny which, roughly translated, means “the trail to where we meet to drink. You get the picture. Good times start at 7pm.
Then, on Saturday night, stop by the Slignluff Gallery where they’ll be hosting an opening bash for their March artist, skater/photographer Jai Tanju. The show’s entitled Heavy, and features some pretty sick interactive metal photo frames. That party gets going at 6pm. 11 W. Girard Street in scenic downtown Fishtown.
On the music side of things, pick up the latest issue of the City Paper which includes a nice little interview with Curly Castro (no relation) talking about the release of his excellent new long player Winston’s Appeal. You can download that here for free. And while you’re at it, do yourself a favor and grab Zilla Rocca’s new Bad Weather Classic, a strong collection of dark and gritty, film-noir style cinematic hip-hop tracks. Gotta admit I’m addicted to the first cut, Tiger Heli – 130 seconds of top shelf paranoia.
And, speaking of Zilla and Castro, what about the 5 o’clock shadowboxer’s Weak Stomach video? It’s in the can, bro, and will be debuting online any day now so keep your eyes peeled.
And speaking of that video, co-director Justin Clowes also just dropped a tasty new video for East Hundred, featuring some beautiful super 8 footage he shot during their tour this past summer. Well done, my man.
About a year and a half ago, I got an email from an old friend, Michael Sanchez, asking if I’d like to work on an album cover for an upcoming EP by his band, The Way It Is. Originally planned as a vinyl release for first quarter 2010, I was super stoked on the project since album art always looks better on a full size 12 inch record cover. To make a long story short, the files went out and communication went silent so I assumed the project was shelved due to either lack of funds or a change of heart on the material by the very finicky musician. Anyway, he’s finally made the EP available online – it’s called Music is My Boyfriend. You can read a great review of it over at Ball of Wax, or listen to the thing yourself here.
And below’s a very cool video interview with former Stone Roses guitarist turned artist, John Squire, where he talks watercolor and describes some of his techiniques for creating art. I’ve always loved this art and it just seems to keep progrssing.
