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I should have just enjoyed it when "Planet 9" by GONEMAD smacked me upside the head. But no, I had to get all cerebral and concerned as to why I, on the cusp of 40, would suddenly find myself headbanging to a Heavy Metal/Hard Core band like I was 20 years younger.
"Is it me? for a moment." *(i)
It gave me fits and starts as I cranked it to 11 and fondly remembered the glory days of old school '70s Metal. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Rush, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, AC/DC, even Alice Cooper, and KISS (to an extent) just to name a few. I thought about how I shifted my attention in the late '70s/early '80s with the Punk/New Wave movement (where Punk, after all, was headbanging music with a different slant) which helped me to dismiss the "Hair" metal bands of the '80s. Relived how my younger brother kept me enlightened at that time by taking me to shows by Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Ozzy and others. Realized that although my head has softened over the years, in the '90s I have followed Smashing Pumpkins (more Heavy Metal than anybody gives them credit for), Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, and Rage Against The Machine for the most part...
"Just another night on the other side." *(ii)
Is there an age ceiling on Heavy Metal? Should I be concerned/embarrassed/proud of my headbanging enjoyment? Have I not grown up? Do I really relate? Am I clinging to a fantasy? Might I have multiple personalities? Or does the ideology brought forth by sincere lyrics addressing such (admittedly) youthful concerns as alienation, rejection, despair, love, hate, relationships, social interaction, and societies ills (just to name a few) applied to a thundering back beat with screaming guitars and explosive vocals still hit home in a subliminal manner that is acknowledged by the "older, wiser" me, and embraced by the "young at heart" rebel without cause still lingering within my soul?
"Direct approach works every time." *(iii)
"Planet 9" by GONEMAD is a killer. I love this stuff, these guys kick ass in a unique way. Metal, with a bit of every thing thrown in. Some A Cappella? Yes! And the amazing thing about it is, they pull it off beautifully within the context of the song and the music (Sympathy Crutch). Funk? Get down funky! It will have you thinking Sly Stone as it explodes with power (Nowhere). I can't tell you how many old '70s influences I spotted, and I loved every one of them! Most kids nowadays might never hear the Deep Purple riffs sprinkled throughout (Guitarist Gerald Brown tells me his instructor was a Deep Purple fan, thus the influence has undoubtedly rubbed off), though they may notice the power of John Bonham and finesse of Alex Van Halen in J.C. Dwyer's drumming. Amazingly, the decidedly '90s hip-hop/rap/scream style vocals that Craig McInnis displays works in ways bands like Limp Bizket, and Korn could only hope to. These five guys (Cliff Powell - Guitars, and Scott White - Bass round out the group) produce a sound of fury that can only be described as Monstrous."What does it involve to evolve?" *(iv)
GONEMAD's lyrics slice
through the alienating street slang so popular with todays Heavy Metal/Hard Core bands and
give us songs that not only make sense but are easily identified with by anyone who has
experienced the frustrations/worries/bliss of adolescence.
The best thing about
"Planet 9" is the across the board appeal that the music holds. Through constant
touring GONEMAD has polished their sound into that tight, solid smack upside the head
that'll have the youths jamming along with 'em, while people of my age group/background
will smile with delight to see a young, up and coming band express their music with nods
to the "Classic" Heavy Metal pioneers.
Can you handle it?
GONEMAD "Planet 9" is
now available for $11.98 + s/h.
*(i) from "Doctor Jimmy" by The Who off "Quadrophenia"
*(ii) from "Just Another Night" by Ian Hunter off "You're Never Alone With
A Schizophrenic"
*(iii) from "Direct Approach" by GONEMAD off "Planet 9"
*(iv) from "Knuckledragger" by GONEMAD off "Planet 9"
"Hot Streets" Issue Nov./Dec '99
This months Feature;
'Hell's Laughter and Heaven's Ache' by John Ludi
John Ludi is a total DIY Artist/Songwriter who is an amazing master
of studio wizardry a la` Todd Rungren. His writing, playing and production of this whole
disc (not to mention manufacturing and packaging) is nothing short of phenomenal.
The depths of Ludi's intelligent, insightful, thinking man's lyrics,
with the type of biting cynicism needed to spark the mind as well as the soul, mixed with
a far reaching and ever expanding knowledge of musical territory that can be identified
with on several levels of sub/consciousness are defied by arrangements and hooks a plenty,
all delivered with a Bowie-esque charm that immediately captures you as the songs take on
the weighty issues of life, death and existence in the fragile world of human beings and
our own minds.
Need to find out more? A quick visit to John's web site <http://web.rollin.com/~ludi/> provides you with
the means to explore the inner and outer recesses for years to come. Some think of him as;
an enigma of esoteric essentialism, or
a disciple of faith, or
a prophet of fate, or
none of the above, or
all of the above,
where as I consider him a thinking man's artist....
John Ludi opens 'Hell's Laughter and Heaven's Ache' with: 'All Dead Dictators';
"Discard your faith in the virtues of civilization,
for here lie the bleak rewards of decadence and degradation.
For the few, opulence, for the rest, subjugation (to the capricious whims of a dying
nation)."
and closes it with: 'Kali Yuga';
"Time's hands are choking you, fate's plans a joke on you,
while you live to let live, tripping on gifts that you cannot give.
Forget, losing the reason why we build this empire of science and illusions and defects,
forget.
We all are chained to it, our souls are owned by it, losing the questions as well as the
answers."
In-between he squeaks in other subjects such as; a punk back hand to the face of the Alternative/Grunge whiners with 'Dysfunctional', and even a love song 'Secret Serenade' that just blew me out of the water with the intensity of this mans longing -- chilling in a way those who have walked that road would be all too familiar with.
I conclude with another line taken from the title track:
"And I don't know if I'm asleep or awake caught between hell's laughter and heaven's ache."
Get caught between John Ludi's 'Hell's Laughter and Heaven's Ache'
Now available for $8.98 + s/h.
Advertising: The art of manipulating the media to create consumerism.
It is no mistake that this month's Feature Artist; The Dan Emery Mystery Band, titled their CD Love and Advertising. And, it was no mistake that they chose The Only One Who Loves You as the leadoff track. A searing indictment of the rampant commercialism on which this world of ours survives. It is meant to open our eyes as it is pulling the wool over them, to pokes us as it prods us. The Mystery Band lays down a taught rhythm line that bubbles along just under the surface as Dan Emery tells us - "There's a lazy person in a brand new pair of Nike sneakers." and "An unimaginative person trying to be an artist with the help of a Kodak camera." He reaches our sympathy with his earnestness and we understand our common bond with these people. At one time or another we all have been duped by an advertiser into thinking the manufacturers care so much about us that they have created a product to make our lives better. Then, to show us he knows of what he speaks, Dan hits us with his tag line (slogan - if you will) as the Mystery Band explodes with a ferociousness to confirm their conviction; "I...AM...THE...only one who loves you/ I...AM...THE...only one who cares for you/ I'm the only one who really cares for you," leaving us to wonder how firmly the tongue is implanted in cheek and whether or not the joke is on us. We find out soon enough - After running down all the bargains at the Tower Outlet Record Store, Dan doubles back on his lyrical references mixing and matching scenarios he's already created to show the lunacy involved with any given sales pitch, then drives it straight through our heart when he takes the line from the first stanza: "And a depressed person trying to cheer up checking out a Disney movie," and later in the song personalizes it by telling us: "The first person you ever made love to is checking out a video from Blockbuster." Love and Advertising, they make for strange bedfellows.
With the Advertising out of the way the disc continues, centered around 4 songs of love. These showcase Dan Emery as a master storyteller as well as a hopeless romantic.
Track #2, Her Favorite Bra is a beautiful story of a man who loses his girlfriend because instead of supporting her through the hard times of her life, like her favorite bra ("Everybody needs some kind of a bra to support them in what they're going through") he sits and writes songs about wanting to support her ("I wanna be a firm strong bra for the times in your life when you need a firm strong something that you can depend on") which in the end is not enough.
Leading to Track #3 It's Not Enough To Be In Love which opens with the hyper strumming of an acoustic guitar that is joined by a bouncing piano. As the two instruments begin a dance of mutual understanding, they also keep to themselves as they display an agenda of their own intentions. The musical choreography is a delight as the story unfolds about a man who is hopelessly in love with a woman that in turn, loves him as well, but can not return the feelings on the same level. Never have I heard two instruments convey the emotional turmoil of a relationship as perfectly as this.
Jumping ahead to track #6 The Girl In The Laundromat is a Rock Anthem that weaves an extraordinary tale of longing and desperation in which the (hopeless romantic) narrator (of all these songs) finally does get the girl, but is still left lamenting his disappointment because it didn't happen in the way that he had envisioned.
The rest of the disc is filled with equally compelling yarns of personal goals and commitments- Winning, I Just Want To Live, Self-explanatory titles- Other Peoples Tongues, Student Loan, (One Good Reason To)Shake Your Booty (a song about the dance floor mating ritual) and stomach aches- Don't Let Me Die Tonight the latter, a delta blues style swamp rocker set in the heart/heat of NYC that transcends the plot so perfectly you can almost feel the pain.
The final love song Alone On The Moon closes the disc with a soliloquy of a sad, failed romance set to a heartfelt sparse acoustic arrangement. As the final piano note lingers and fades until we hear the door close, we realize that above everything else the Mystery Band - Dan Emery- guitar, vocals, Steve Espinola- piano, shortwave radio (yes, you read that right- shortwave radio- once you hear it [it ROCKS!] you'll wonder why it isn't a standard instrument), Jeff Morris- bass, & Andy Morris- drums, create musical landscapes so vivid that as Dan's parables unfold, we the listeners can not help but to become part of the stories. This has to be one of the reasons that 119 fans of The Dan Emery Mystery Band helped to finance the manufacturing of the Love and Advertising disc.
119 fans can't be wrong! Pick up your copy of Love and Advertising by The Dan Emery Mystery Band,
now for the low, low price of $8.98 + s/h.
This offer valid through the IndepenDisc Music Club, but not in most stores.
One of the simple joys in life is kicking back with an old friend and shooting the breeze. It doesn't matter if the conversation is about your father teaching you to throw a curve ball, the girlfriend you met while buying a used kitchen table, your limping little dog, or the house parties until 9 o'clock in the AM. What matters is the time you are sharing; How it eases your mind and comforts your soul...
Our old friends Crenshaw are back with their new CD "the mack sessions" the follow up to last years disc "add the good" the IndepenDisc Feature of Mar. '99, and they've laid to rest the industry standard "Sophomore Jinx". Here Dan and Mike Allenby, Tad Howard, and Jon Melzer have taken the formula that made "add the good" one of our favorites of '99 and built upon it in towering proportions.
"the mack sessions" eases our mind and comforts our soul as Crenshaw kicks back and entertains us with smooth, funk laced jamfests that carry us along with gleeful abandon. Taking a more (unintentional) Steely Dan approach this time around, Crenshaw drops extended middle bridges of exquisite jazz infused lead guitar work into their Dave Matthews -with a twist- groove rhythms. The results are a continuous run of intriguing hooks and catchy fills that delight the senses and move our feet to a subconscious shuffle that we only recognize once the music has stopped.
The Grateful Dead parallel can still be applied (we forgive the "Shakedown Street" opening riff cop in "here comes dizzy") in the way that Crenshaw's musical compositions come off extremely tight and precisely arranged, yet give the feel of complete improvisation as they sail away. As a unit, Crenshaw plays off one another to perfection, allowing each to guide the other as they carve their own musical paths. To quote myself from last years "add the good" review: "Their sound is provocative, tantalizing, hypnotic, funky, serene, and just plain easy on the ears." That quote applies here, but jumps from the minors to the majors.
Using shared vocals Crenshaw adds to the overall ambiance of the disc by perfectly matching individual vocal abilities to the structure of each song so as to complete/complement the arrangements that carry them along on their musical journey. And on this musical journey it doesn't matter what the conversation is about...
"the mack sessions" by Crenshaw is one of the simple joys of life. Kick back and share some time with it, you'll be glad you did.
Crenshaw "the mack sessions" available now for $9.98 + s/h.
