What’s Goin’ On…

So Much Pain, but not tomorrow night…
The adorable-beyond-words Star & Micey are playing a free gig at Cafe Eclectic (603 North McLean Blvd) tomorrow from 7:00 – 9:00 PM.

New, still-Original Cyndi
Justinedward is releasing his new Original Cyndi album as he creates it, thanks to Bandcamp.com. Visit http://theoriginalcyndi.bandcamp.com for more info and free downloads.

Well, hello there!

I took a break, yes I did.

Well, not consciously…life happens, you know? At any rate, back to the hard work of promoting my fellow musical Memphians. Coming soon: reviews, gig reports, interviews…it’s gonna be a blast and I hope you tune in (for lack of a more apropos turn of phrase).

There’s Always Something To Do…

And if you’re looking for something to do tonight, I have at least two options for you:

At Memphis Mary’s (345 Madison Ave.) – Hamsterdam with Misti Rae Warren. I know nothing about Hamsterdam (is it a band? an event name?) but Misti Rae’s good people and has an engaging set. You know you love that “candy wrappers and cloves” song, too…

And at Nocturnal (1588 Madison Ave) tonight – a favorite of this blogger, The Family Ghost, will be performing along with Textile and Chicago band The Bitter Tears. Shame on me for not having heard Texture, but let your ears do the thinking and check it out.

And dear readers, if you know of something in town that you want me to push, shoot me an e-mail (jackalberson@gmail.com)

Not Black Maxed Out Yet!

I made it out to see Black Max at Otherlands for their show February 27th. I would have gone anyway, but the short (and I mean short!) film they did to promote the show sent me over the edge…I just had to be there.

And per the usual, they did deliver. Frontman (and sinister-looking top-hat wearer) Keenan Sloan takes this making music business very seriously and puts a percentage far greater than 100 into this Black Max thing, and his drive very obviously rubs off on his bandmates who give equally to the cause. The chemistry of this group is potent.

Yes, I’m gushing a bit here.

And IF indeed you have not seen Black Max, you may also not be aware of the powerhouse vocalist that is Annie Freres. Just do yourself a favor and be at their next show, okay? In the meantime, meander over to http://www.blackmaxband.com and acquaint yourself.

Playing with them that night was Tiffany Harmon (no stranger to this blog, is she?) whose song “The Curse” is the only song I know of to include toy piano and kazoo…and Nashville pop-rockers The Usual. Yes, a rock band at Otherlands. Not just that, a rock band at Otherlands who dared to cover both The Beatles AND Sir Mix-A-Lot. Let the head-scratching commence.

Hey, speaking of Tiffany…you might be interested to know that she’s recruited the guys in Other Stories to back her from time to time. For now, they’re booking as “Tiffany Harmon & Other Stories” so keep your eyes peeled for that as well.

REVIEW: The Original Cyndi

The Original Cyndi
The POWER Without the PRICE
Makeshift/Migrant, 2009

Occasionally, albums take a long time to make. People used to churn them out on an annual basis in the early days of the long player, and I remember in the mid-Eighties when Def Leppard’s Hysteria finally came out – “oh my god, THREE YEARS in the making!” Well, former Johnny Romanian (and current member of Two Way Radio and J.D. Reager’s backing band, The Cold-Blooded Three) Justinedward took eight years for his debut as The Original Cyndi to make it to the shops. Take that, drummer with one arm. Mind you, Def Leppard were an established name, but you get my drift.

For the handful of you who might remember Johnny Romania, The Original Cyndi’s electronic-based numbers seem like the more immediate, denser offspring of that project – and such tech-savvy pieces as “(Tales of) Unnecessary Surgery” take a satirical tone towards not only man’s interaction with and through technology but also life itself. “Stinky Man” and “Tears Me Up Inside” paint a portrait of someone torn between resigned inaction and the brink of sanity.

Of course, for you others who have witnessed Cyndi live, many of the other songs indeed stay true to its current incarnation as a slightly demented glam/garage combo, and these songs bristle with sexual perversion and frustration. Justin’s vocal delivery is wild-eyed and depraved, concerned only with getting his message across from the opening anticlimax (his own observation) of “Get Along” to the incendiary final throes of “Where Ya Gonna Go?”

There are no clues for the casual listener as to whether any of it’s personal, or real, and that in itself makes The POWER Without the PRICE one of the most baffling, confrontational listening experiences a virgin pair of ears might find in Memphis’s music scene nowadays. For me, that also means it’s one of the best as well.

When Bloggers Get Busy…

Friday the 13th…an unlucky day for some, a big movie night for others…but for me, I had a blast. I hit not one, not two, but three gigs this night! It’s certainly a record for me.

I started my evening at Central Barbecue on Summer Ave. It used to be a Red Lobster, and is a big building. Apart from their excellent barbecue nachos, I went there to see the legendary Van Duren play. Van’s been a part of the musical landscape here in Memphis since the Seventies, when he ran around with the guys in Big Star and released his own seminal album, Are You Serious? (which, last year, was re-released here in the States). The man has a great voice for pop, and can handle the songs of geniuses like Nick Lowe and Neil Finn just as readily as he performs his own well-crafted compositions. He plays Central every Friday night, at least for now, and is working on a new record as we speak!

I got back into Midtown just in time to catch the outstanding Two Way Radio at Ardent Studios as part of a webcast series. The octet (how many times do you get to use THAT descriptive?) played music from their upcoming second album as well as a couple from Residential Llama – most notably the insanely funny and biting “Carrie Rodgers”.

Off I ran, after the Ardent session…on to Cooper-Young for a show at the Young Avenue Deli. My friends in Black Max were doing a radio show with the assistance of Freakengine, a local comedy troupe. Also performing were Star & Micey (signed to Ardent’s new label venture) and the Yazoo Shakes. Black Max, as always, put on a really fun and engaging show and know how to involve the audience – a spontaneous waltzing contest? If that’s not entertainment, I don’t know what is! I didn’t manage to stay for their entire set as, by this time, I was pooped!

It was a fantastic night, though.

VIDEO: Michelle Bush @ Republic Coffee

I’ve seen her at open mic now a few times…fantastic performance, here, if a little dark.

The Original Cyndi

The album is out, at last! I got a copy from Justinedward a couple of weeks ago and oh my god. lol I’ve seen it in SpinStreet, and you can catch Cyndi (tighty-whiteys and fishnets and all!) at The Buccaneer for a record release party on February 21st.

Watch this space for a review!

REVIEW: Michael Joyner

Michael Joyner
Sit and Wait
self-released

A bright spot ‘round town on the coffee shop circuit, Mike Joyner is a talented fellow. Sit and Wait, his first release (to my knowledge), is five songs strong and demonstrate his ability and competency as a singer-songwriter. “Goin’ to LA” hints at a jam-band influence – think Counting Crows or Blues Traveler, only less idiosyncratic and (for this listener) therefore superior. My favorite tune here would be “Chasing A Dream”, as it comes closest to encapsulating what I think are the best qualities about his music – at his best, Mike’s a potent storyteller with a very personable soulfulness.

If I have but one complaint about this EP, it’s this: it doesn’t do him justice. His live performances have spoiled me, perhaps. Nevertheless, Sit and Wait is a worthwhile purchase and hints at what’s to come from this talented guy.

REVIEW: Mouserocket

Mouserocket
Pretty Loud
Tic Tac Totally, 2008

Let’s face it – musically I’ve been in a rut. It’s like anything, though. You get comfortable with a certain set of sounds and you absorb anything that falls within those ‘safe’ perimeters. I’ve not had that problem so much with local music, but I knew that I needed to shock myself out of the rut altogether. So when it came time to pick something up, I headed toward the work of one Alicja Trout, whose work with The Clears way back when was well-known to me. Also I’d seen her in the Lost Sounds with critic’s darling Jay Reatard but because of environmental factors those experiences had not been terribly positive. It wasn’t them, let’s just make that clear.

Anyway, on to Mouserocket. Folks around town are loving this album and it’s hard not to see why. Pretty Loud is a good record – it’s delicate and melodic when it needs to be, and also noisy and chaotic as is necessary. Exhibit A is “Aphrodite”, its dense mix of guitar noise and velvety violin, with Alicja’s vocals capitalizing on the mixture. Of course, there are also several brilliantly straightforward moments such as the opener “All Been Broken” and the entirely-too-short “Place In Your Heart”. Well, and one more that really surprised me – a country-rock tune called “Set On You” that hits you from out of nowhere and just as quickly runs along.

Now, for a pleasant extra: the LP comes with a CD of the album, which means I can listen to it even though my record player’s in dire need of a new belt. Anybody wanna donate to the Get Jack A New Drive Belt fund?

All in all, it’s worth the hype.