What more can you want from Limbeck? Rad residency & Free downloads

Last week I went to the first night of the acoustic Limbeck residency at Hotel Café. Rob and Patrick played a neat set including a few songs they don’t often play live. I got up and planed to write about it today in honor of tonight’s show and found that they have even more neat stuff planed for their residency.

They are planning to play every song from their last three albums and all the b-sides at least once over the residency. But the best part is that they are recording all four shows and will be giving away 10-20 songs from those recordings as downloads to anyone who goes to one of these shows.

How sweet is that.



Read about it here.

Hotel Cafe is at 1623 1/2 Cahuenga Blvd. / Los Angeles, CA 90028

Limbeck: Trouble – Live and Acoustic in Dallas [MP3]

Punk label does far more than sell records

So Hopeless / Sub City has now raised over $1 Million for charities (Yahoo News). That is no small task for a small indie label. The most remarkable is that that one Million has come out of their and the bands incomes. The way they work their record deals is similar to any other small label except that both the label and the bands both then give 5% of everything they make of the sale of their records not just of the profits and donate it to a charity of the bands chose. Thrice even continued this when they moved to Island and got Island to agree to a similar deal, it was one of the final selling points that got the to make the decision to go to the major.

When SubCity started this I doubt anyone though the small indie could have such a huge and positive impact. It is amazing that they have stuck with it for so many years.

To celebrate they are having a party at the Troubadour in LA on Sunday.

FUCK YEAH FEST is here!

Fuck Yeah is all I have to say. I cannot wait to see American Steel. I have not seen them in years (and LA has not in SEVEN YEARS). Rock Insider posted a good review of this with set times and everything (AS at 9:35).

Tomorrow nights line up looks great. Saturday is good but Saturday is by far the stronger line up.

Am Radio by The Lymbyc Systm

The Lymbyc Systym need to win a Grammy for best sound track. I just don't know what movie it would be for. Their instrumental mix of jazz, indie rock, hip hop beats, and electronic sounds create a rich and moving sound.

Recently they have been taped by Hrishikesh Hirway of The One AM Radio to not only open for him on his current US tour but also to play as his backing band. Recently I got to see two of these shows (one in LA and one that happened to fall during a short trip back to AZ). These shows are incredible. The Lybyc Systym are the perfect compliment for Hirway.

In addition to their tour The One AM Radio remixed a Lybyc Systym song Astrology Days and Lybyc Systym "rymyx"ed a One AM Radio song Mercury.

The One AM Radio - Mercury (Lybyc Systym rymyx)

Lymbyc Systym - Astrology Days (The One AM Radio remix)


Read An interview with The One AM Radio in the Arizona Republic by Justin Gage of Aquarium Drunkard.

Stellar Line-Up for Ferdie Cuilda of 400 Blows

Buy Tickets

Last month Ferdie Cuilda of 400 Blows got chicken pox on tour. This sounds like a childish problem but in adults chicken pox can be serious and caused a six day hospital stay during the middle of a tour. Like most touring musicians Cuilda does not have insurance and has no way to pay the bills.

Tomorrow is a Benefit being put on by The New Ship at the Echoplex in Echo Park with some of Ferdie’s Friends. The original line up was announced as The Locust, The Bronx and Qui, which is David Yow of The Jesus Lizard and special Guests. Since then the line up has been expanded to include punk rock icons The Circle Jerks, and the legendary Melvins.

I have never seen the Melvins or Circle Jerks before and it almost seems like a serious failure in my musical up bringing. Both bands have been a huge influence on independent music. I am glade that not only will I get to see both bands finally; it will be fore a great cause. 400 Blows are a band I respect a lot for always trying to do their own thing and always trying to stay independent.

I have booked 400 Blows in the past and as people they are as respectable as their band is. I am glade I will be able to help in some small way, even if it is only my $15 ticket.

The Format Matured to be a First Rate Live Act

The Format - Inches And Failing from Dog Problems

The Format has always been a solid band, always a crowed pleaser. Years ago I was one of their first people to hear “the First Single,” when I was working for Sam’s old production company. I saw Sam and Nate’s first show playing Format songs on a couch in the Nile Basement in Mesa as part of what used to be Sam’s traditional yearly 420 show. I saw their first show as “The Format.” I think I even saw the first 5 or 6 shows they played. They were good back then. They were band with undeniable potential. At that first show they had 5 or 6 labels (I don’t remember the exact number) fly to Phoenix to see the show at the old Nita’s Hideaway in Tempe.

But Wednesdays show at the Avalon in LA was undeniable in another way. It was brilliant. It was what live music should be. They have reached that potential we all new was there years ago. The show was pact to capacity if it was not sold out. They crowed was eating ever second of the show. They played songs of both albums and the snails EP as well as a new song. On stage the band had a string section, a horns section and at times during the set members of Steel Train, Honorary Title, Limbeck and Rubens Accomplice all played with them. For the encore the band came out with members of all the 5 bands on the show for a 15-18 person jam. Mike Schey was on Saxophone, Rob from Limbeck on Trumpet. It was reminiscent of something The Band would do, and was at the quality of the E Street Band. And my words of praise here does not do the show justice.

In 2001 I put out a small EP of a Phoenix band called The Solo Project. Mike Schey who is now in the Format was the lead guitarist (he was also on the cover of that EP). When I got the 1,000 CDs I had pressed in the mail Mike came over to my dorm room to get a few copies. He dumped the box CDs on the floor and started rolling in them scaring my roommate. Back then it seemed like the biggest deal to both of us to have a “real” CD with our names in it. At the time Mike was one of the most talented guitarists I had ever seen, and still is. I knew he was destined for huge things, and when the Solo Project broke up shortly after I would tell Mike that he was going to go one to do great things. Watching him from the side of the stage in front of a sold out crowed 400 miles away from that dorm room in a historic Hollywood Theatre was the fruition of my predictions.

Facing The Valley (Part II: New York)

Part two of my adventures at the Facing New York/Valley Arena Show (Part I).

Next up was The Outline. I am not a huge fan of the band; they definitely were the week link on the bill although any other night they may have stood out, just not on this line up. They are a solid band with some great pop rock songs.

Finally the last band was set to play. Facing New York.


Facing New York is another band I have helped in Phoenix in the past and have been pleased to watch grown. This group is PHENOMENAL on stage. The intensity is almost unmatchable. Watching them you remember that this is a craft and an art that few have mastered, and they have. They play beautiful jazz influenced indie rock with a passion that has always been rare, but is rare still today. FNY are a band that have to be seen live. The songs are great, but how they play them is what makes it.

At the show last night they killed it. They were on stage for one reason, to play.

I need to go to more shows like the one last night. Scratch that, there need to be more shows like the one last night.

Facing New York:

Facing The Valley (Part I: The Arena)

Last night Rock Insider and The Troubadour had one of the best line-ups of bands I have seen in a while; Facing New York, The Valley Arena, Cavil at Rest and The Outline. It was so good in fact that I decided that this entry would be split into two parts.

Kicking of the night was a neat band from Orange County called Cavil At Rest. I have seen them a few times now, at least once was at another Rock Insider show. For such a young band they are extremely tight live. They have an almost 70s rock vibe, you know back when a band could rock out for a minute or two with out being a lame jam band. There is something about these guys where they manage to pull of serious and fun at the same time.

Next was The Valley Arena.

The Valley Arena - Kick AT The Ceiling

I have been a huge supporter of this band for a few years now. I have booked shows for them in Phoenix a number of times, as well as helping set up two short tours with them (one with DeSole and one with The Stiletto Formal). They were always a good band but recently their live show has evolved so much they are becoming a force to be reckoned with. When I first started seeing them it was their raw energy that attracted me to them, to many bands feel forced or contrived on stage, these guys feel alive on stage. While this raw energy was what made those first shows, it also was their weakness, they were rough and not always to solid, not that they ever cared, it was almost the point.

By last night they have grown as a band to the point that they still have all that same energy and they nail every song. Their songs rock and are dancy. Not dancy with a drum machine beat and a single catchy hook, their songs just have rhythm without that predictable beat. You can tell they learned how to dance in the pit at a Fugazi show and not in some hipster club. On stage they are alive and real, no act, no gimmick, no forced image, just them and the music.

It was hard to believe that when they left the stage the show was less than half way over.

Of Michigan not Canada

Canada - Beige Stationwagon

On Monday I went with my downstairs neighbor Jack to Spaceland to see the last residency of Deadly Syndrome. The highlight and surprise of the night was a band from Michigan named simply Canada. I wish they had a better name, if only to find them on google (do bands not think about search engines when naming their band?). Apart from the name, which I did not know while I watched them, they were an interesting and pleasant group that intrigued me.

Canada is a seven piece, in their best songs two members play cello and they just about all sing. Between songs they all switch up instruments playing all sorts of instruments and percussion, and I am unsure if they ever use the same arrangement for more than one song. They reminded me of a less energetic Architecture in Helsinki or a less intense Arcade Fire. The music in this song reminds me of Elliott Smith on Figure 8, but not the vocals or lyrics. They were fun and cute, and I mean that in a good way. While they have been around for a little while they still seem quite new and have room to grow. I am really interested to see where they go from here musically, I could see them doing something great.

Riverboat Gamblers on a half pipe

The Riverboat Gamblers - Save You.

Last night I saw one of the best shows I have seen since I have lived in LA. The Riverboat Gamblers played at 6th street wherehouse in down town LA.

The show was packed, the band played on a half pipe and it was only $6. What more can you ask for? I think I will always have affection for DIY venues like this one. There is just something real about a room with little more than a PA and people who are actually there to see a band they like. You really don’t need more.

If you have never heard Riverboat their music is a cross between the MC5, the Bad Brains, and American Steel all on speed. They are one of the liveliest and energetic bands around and playing on a half pipe only gave them more room to run around. I don’t think they played a song in which the singer didn’t see both ends of the half pipe 6 times. They are one of the few new punk bands today that I think are doing anything interesting.

Chuck Regan does sing like no one is listening

Chuck Ragan - "Do You Pray"

Those who know me know that Hot Water Music was on of my favorite bands. While I am still sad they are no longer playing together at least their demise has set Chuck Ragan free to move on to something far new and great. While his solo work is reminiscent of Hot Water in substance the style is far from it.

This week I had the pleasure of seeing Ragan twice, once at the Troubadour (on of my favorite venues to hear music) and The Alley in Fullerton. He just released a live record “Los Feliz” that was recorded last February at the Tangiers in Los Feliz of all places. I also had the pleasure of being present at that recording. The record captures the passion of his live performances perfectly.

Chuck Ragan’s solo work is music is raw and earthy. The lack of any electric instruments or even drums is a departure from the distorted guitars of his past work. While the base of all of his songs are just him an acoustic guitar the addition of fiddle, accordion, banjo, mandolin, and even some harmonica add a fullness to the songs that could not be gained merely by adding distortion or volume. The music has an element of folk, or old backwater country blues but yet is really neither. The rawness of his voice and the passion in his words are what make these songs, as what drew me to Hot Water years ago.

Today to many songwriters have no substance and even less to say; Ragan is nothing if not substance. He may not be as hip as many indie rockers moving into the world of country and folk or even into Los Feliz, being more likely to ware worn out hiking boots and be seen fishing than designer jeans at a dance night, but he has more to say and more passion than almost everyone else today.

In “Do You Pray” he belts out the lines “I wanna dance like nobody's watching, and sing like nobody cares. Climb to the top of those mountains we see, to find peace, and die up there.” Ragan is not playing for anyone but himself; he is writing what he needs to write for him self. In “California Burritos” he sings, “I can’t stand feeling nothing, I can’t stand feeling old. I can’t stand standing for nothing when stand is all I know.” In these recordings you can hear the sincerity of these words and know they come from deep within his soul.

Ragan does sing like no one is listening and he does not just stand for nothing. I think that is why it connects so personally to those that are.

Dan Deacon shows reviewed

Dan Deacon - The Crystal Cat.

I saw Dan Deacon twice last weekend. The first was at Check Yo Ponytail at the Echo Plex. I had heard a bout this night a few times from a few different people and figured why not.

What struck me about the show was the crowed interaction. The Echo Plex is a huge venue and was far from sold out but there was a large crowed in front of the stage and on it, Deacon set up on the dance for instead of the stage and asked people in the crowd to dance on stage. The crowed was electric and explosive. Something about it was fare more punk than dance and that was what drew me into it. Lots of dance bands / DJs can be hard to distinguish form an Ipod shuffle to me. Not Deacon. The whole shows was crowd interaction, constantly involving the crowd. For his last song he past out lyrics so the crowed could sing a long, and sing they did.

I don’t really know how to best describe Deacons music. He uses keyboards, pedals and Ipod Nano and a range of other electronics I couldn’t see for the crowed to make noisy dance music. DJ is certainly the wrong word but it almost has that vib.

The second show was at Pehrspace on Monday. I went to mainly because of how moving the show was on Saturday. Not quite as moving. The setting was much better, being a small art gallery with no stage but crowed was not as involved, probably being late on Monday as opposed to Saturday night (the lack of a bar might have factored in too). Still a great show by Deacon.

The music isn’t the best out there; I don’t know how often I will listen to it. But the show is something to see. Actually see is the wrong word, you really have to participate in it.