You'd never have known these guys hadn't played together in a very long time...
Their show the other night would not have given you any indication. Grant Lee Phillips
mentioned the songs they would be playing were from an era when they "practiced a lot".
It showed. The airtight rhythm section of Paul Kimble (bass) and Joey Peters (drums) and Phillips on twelve string played through any number of pedals sounded like a well oiled and muscular machine. They joked about loud / quiet dynamics and showed them off effortlessly. "The loudest slow songs you'll ever hear", Phillips joked. I always associated them more the alt-country of the mid-90's, mostly because of Phillips Americana-soaked lyrical bent. His voice was always front and center for me, burnished baritone and aching falsetto waltzing through songs of of the old weird America, which seems to be getting weirder by the way... But Phillips also shreds. Reminded me of Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr at times, with big blasts of riffs.
Phillips is a natural storyteller and cut-up. He spent most of the evening cracking jokes between songs. Some of the music is melancholic to say the least and he and the band recognize that. It's like they are introducing oddball members of the family. That humor may be absent in the bands earnest songs, but it is an essential part of their show. They looked like they were having a blast and it certainly sounded like it
When they mentioned knowing a "hybrid of a Doors song", the audience roared. What followed is their version of The Doors-doing-the-theme-to-Gilligan's Island to the music of 'The End'. Phillips' Lizard King was dead on complete with drone-y eastern tinged guitar riffs.
Giligan.
Yes, little buddy.
I want to kill you.
Devastatingly funny and musically perfect.
Then they tore your heart out with "Rock Of Ages".
Hopefully not the end.... Maybe a new record!?
GRANT LEE BUFFALO:
The OG line-up consisting of Grant Lee Phillips, Paul Kimble and Joey Peters.
Live at the Old Town School. March 29, 2014.
Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Saturday, August 24, 2013
SHIMMER DOWN. Land of Made Up Dreams
Random connections and recollections. Breathing labored from swimming in the bloody summer smog of fantastic L.A. The sights and sounds shimmering, the hissing of summer lawns, all idyllic and fleeting. Hot hot heat rises up from moving sidewalks, sprinklers count it out, but the gasoline line, suspends time. Double Nickles On The Dime.
David Hockney - A Lawn Being Sprinkled (1967)
Las Puertas de Percepcion
David Hockney - A Bigger Splash (1967)
David Hockney - A Lawn Being Sprinkled (1967)
Hockney at work
David Hockney - lithograph 1978-80
Friday, August 16, 2013
BLACK FLAG X BLACKHAWKS T SHIRT
I grew up listening to Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Adolescents... My uncle actually managed the Circle Jerks - 'Golden Shower Of Hits' era. I grew up in L.A., but moved to Chicago years ago. I was riding my bike home one day and got the idea for the shirt. My cousin 'Gwar' (yeah, that's his nickname, has been for 20+ years) is a huge Kings fan, so it was kind of a dig at him, too. Of course he secretly likes the Hawks and wants one, too. The greatest punk/hockey shirt of all time?!?! Dunno. Is there another one?
Well, hopefully sue-happy Greg Ginn doesn't come after me. (Or the Blackhawks, either...)
In the meantime; RISE ABOVE!
Well, hopefully sue-happy Greg Ginn doesn't come after me. (Or the Blackhawks, either...)
In the meantime; RISE ABOVE!
WANT ONE? BUY IT HERE
THE SCARY MONSTER IS NO LONGER A SUPER CREEP... BOB FORREST + THELONIOUS MONSTER DOC
Aaaaand I'm back! Sorry for the prolonged hiatus. No real reason other'n bein' super busy, but that's no excuse either is it?!?! (Aren't we always gettin' some slack in over on the interwebz...) Future blog posts may not have a 100% identifiable California connection... So much much for that disclaimer, cuz this one mos def duz...!
Wasting time the other night, I stumbled upon the trailer for a documentary on the mighty Thelonious Monster and their mercurial frontman, Mr. Bob Forrest. The Monster and Bob were a part of the early '80's music scene in Los Angeles that spawned The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, Firehose, Jane's Addiction et all. Those bands shared the same bill (and members) countless times. I can't even remember how many times I saw them together. The Chili Peppers even recorded "Good Time Boys", which name checked Thelonius Monster, Firehose, Fishbone and X.
That music scene and era were notoriously drugged out. The Peppers lost Hillel Slovak to heroin and the whole scene seemed to be swimming in it. I remember going to a benefit/commemorative concert for 45 Graves' bassist Rob Graves, who died of an overdose in 1990. (Graves played bass on Thelonious Monster's third LP, 'Stormy Weather'.) Thelonius played along with 45 Grave and Trulio Disgracias, which was a Pepper/Fishbone mix at the time.
Anybody who saw any of those bands or Thelonious Monster knows they played as hard as they partied. Bob Forrest seemed to be outdoing them all in terms of hard drug use. Usually Forrest pulled it together on stage and blew away the crowd, but as the band ground on, the drug use began to take its toll and eventually the band imploded.
I don't think that anyone who saw one of Forrest's public meltdowns would have expected the massively talented, but self-destructing demon, to turn into some sort of Rock n' Roll angel.... But flash forward 20 plus years and that is exactly what happened. Forrest has been a drug counselor for years now, helping countless folks to get clean and sober. He appears regularly on Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. Both were sort of a guilty pleasure of mine for a minute, but honestly I sometimes watched in awe just waiting for a glimpse of of Bob... BOB?! WTF?!?!
Here is the trailer:
The documentary looks intelligent, sympathetic, deep, funny, sad, silly, scary... Well, just like Bob's solo stuff and the music he made with Thelonius Monster. Going back and listening to the Monster, the dude had serious lyrical chops and a beast of a band to back him up. There are just so many cuts to choose from... Well, the debut T. Monster album is posted on youtube in its entirety, so we will start there:
Nobody mixed melancholy and sardonic wit quite so well. He odes to day to day drudgery sound like Bukowski fronting a band. (Gotta' include this one as I now live in Chicago. No one knew at the time how big Mike would be...)
Or a heartbreaker. Could easily be about the drug problems that plagued him.
Before the implosion, they dropped a final record, which included a (fitting) duet with Tom Waits!
Oh, and the album was called "Beautiful Mess". 'Nuff said.
I admit I lost track of Bob for a while, but then he came back up on my radar with a new band called, The Bicycle Thief, song writing chops fully in tact. World weary, but the same Bob, dropping cultural references and emotional bombs.
Looking forward to seeing the full documentary and hearing more new music from Bob Forrest. Currently digging into some of his more recent solo work. Maybe another Thelonious Monster disc will drop at some point?
Hats off to an unlikely hero and damn talented man. (And of course the 'Rest of the Band'...!)
Oh, and buy the music, too! Support real music and musicians!
Wasting time the other night, I stumbled upon the trailer for a documentary on the mighty Thelonious Monster and their mercurial frontman, Mr. Bob Forrest. The Monster and Bob were a part of the early '80's music scene in Los Angeles that spawned The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, Firehose, Jane's Addiction et all. Those bands shared the same bill (and members) countless times. I can't even remember how many times I saw them together. The Chili Peppers even recorded "Good Time Boys", which name checked Thelonius Monster, Firehose, Fishbone and X.
That music scene and era were notoriously drugged out. The Peppers lost Hillel Slovak to heroin and the whole scene seemed to be swimming in it. I remember going to a benefit/commemorative concert for 45 Graves' bassist Rob Graves, who died of an overdose in 1990. (Graves played bass on Thelonious Monster's third LP, 'Stormy Weather'.) Thelonius played along with 45 Grave and Trulio Disgracias, which was a Pepper/Fishbone mix at the time.
Dug up the stub. RIP Rob Graves
Anybody who saw any of those bands or Thelonious Monster knows they played as hard as they partied. Bob Forrest seemed to be outdoing them all in terms of hard drug use. Usually Forrest pulled it together on stage and blew away the crowd, but as the band ground on, the drug use began to take its toll and eventually the band imploded.
I don't think that anyone who saw one of Forrest's public meltdowns would have expected the massively talented, but self-destructing demon, to turn into some sort of Rock n' Roll angel.... But flash forward 20 plus years and that is exactly what happened. Forrest has been a drug counselor for years now, helping countless folks to get clean and sober. He appears regularly on Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. Both were sort of a guilty pleasure of mine for a minute, but honestly I sometimes watched in awe just waiting for a glimpse of of Bob... BOB?! WTF?!?!
Here is the trailer:
The documentary looks intelligent, sympathetic, deep, funny, sad, silly, scary... Well, just like Bob's solo stuff and the music he made with Thelonius Monster. Going back and listening to the Monster, the dude had serious lyrical chops and a beast of a band to back him up. There are just so many cuts to choose from... Well, the debut T. Monster album is posted on youtube in its entirety, so we will start there:
THE MONSTER!
Nobody mixed melancholy and sardonic wit quite so well. He odes to day to day drudgery sound like Bukowski fronting a band. (Gotta' include this one as I now live in Chicago. No one knew at the time how big Mike would be...)
And of course, his love of Mr. Sammy Hagar:
Or a heartbreaker. Could easily be about the drug problems that plagued him.
This song just hit between the eyes back in the day.
And sometimes they just rocked the f*ck out (while bearing their souls...)
Before the implosion, they dropped a final record, which included a (fitting) duet with Tom Waits!
Oh, and the album was called "Beautiful Mess". 'Nuff said.
I admit I lost track of Bob for a while, but then he came back up on my radar with a new band called, The Bicycle Thief, song writing chops fully in tact. World weary, but the same Bob, dropping cultural references and emotional bombs.
Listen to the whole album:
Looking forward to seeing the full documentary and hearing more new music from Bob Forrest. Currently digging into some of his more recent solo work. Maybe another Thelonious Monster disc will drop at some point?
Hats off to an unlikely hero and damn talented man. (And of course the 'Rest of the Band'...!)
Oh, and buy the music, too! Support real music and musicians!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
KMET Rocks LA with Bob and George
I used to listen to Dr Demento on KMET when I was a kid. I would record it on cassette and listen to it while I delivered newspapers. I met him at the Pamona Fairgrounds. I got a custom t-shirt with "I'm Demented" printed in iron on letters. It was bitchin'.
The KMET logo was designed by Neon Park, who designed Zappa's Weasels Ripped My Flesh album.
Need more wax - Reggae Promo record. Bob Marley + Toots!
The Hawt DJs... Heavy feathering action here.
The Hawt DJs... Heavy feathering action here.
This was just on e bay. Kicking myself for not buying it even though I already own it. Just for the sticker. If you will suck my soul I will lick your funky emotion.
70s magazine ad
fish and 'stache
http://www.socalradiohistory.com
http://posterscene.com
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