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.

Eight Songs That Rocked My Socks In 2008

2008 was a crappy year for lots of people. Here are eight musical reasons from Memphis that helped me weather the shitstorm:

“Stinky Man” by The Original Cyndi – What starts out like some mutant sister of The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” quickly turns into an ode to bad hygiene. As is rote with Cyndi, the song is a little different every time they do it. I have video of it that I’ll be posting very soon. Currently unreleased.

“Pointless Drinking” by Amy LaVere – Yeah, everybody and their mama loves Amy and after having heard Anchors & Anvils I can see why. This is my favorite song off of it.

“Holly Would” by Angel Sluts – You know, one day someone’s gonna find this song and do a mash-up of it with the Talking Heads classic “Psycho Killer”. I’m just sayin’. From Designer Heat on Wrecked-Um Records.

“Make Up Your Mind” by Holly Cole – As much as I liked Fearless And Free, this song is massive. A total barn-burner. From the Makeshift 5 compilation, obviously on Makeshift.

“Carbon Dioxide” by Antique Curtains – More surf-freakout-thrash punk, delivered in the usual unhinged way. The metal bit at the end is price of admission alone. From Dressed In Vertigo on OK Stars/Makeshift (also on the Makeshift 5 comp)

“Panic” by J.D. Reager – It’s not simply because it’s a waltz, or because J.D. is at the top of his form…it’s that melody line that firmly entrenches itself in my skull. From The Repechage on Makeshift/Migrant.

“Insisting” by The Family Ghost – I’ve heard it twice now. “A Series of False Starts” aside, this might be their best tune yet. My favorite part? The interlocking clean guitar lines which create a beautiful crystalline structure. Currently unreleased.

“Sins” by Tiffany Harmon – A delicately moody track: soft guitar, Tiffany’s haunting voice, and even a little bit of whistling at the end. Currently unreleased.

Honorable mention, even though he’s no longer a Memphian, is Clouded Son for his “…And the Stereo Says” from the self-released Unfinished Business.

Me, Tiffany, and J.D….

I'm feeling it...whatever 'it' is...

Ain't she something?

Guitar as tool of expressing irony?

Lately…

There’s been a lot going on. I played my first ever solo gig at the P&H Cafe with Tiffany Harmon and J.D. Reager (pictures to come, try the meat dip) and the very next night went out to see The Family Ghost play the Full Moon Club with Rainy Saturdays and The Modern Gentlemen. I have pictures from all of this, but haven’t gotten them up yet. They should be here for your viewing enjoyment either late tonight or tomorrow night.

And I’ve just noticed that I’ve set everything up as searchable by category, not tag. I’ll have to fix that so I’m starting with this very post.

J

True Story! You Had To Be There…

I’m warning you in advance, this may not be very funny and it may rely entirely on you having to be me IN the situation…

So I end up running the door for J.D. at Nocturnal last night, and at the beginning of the night he hands me this piece of paper – that time-honored institution of doormandom, the guest list. One of the guys from The Bulletproof Vests comes up and asks to put three more people on it. No problem.

Part of the way through the first band, a really pretty girl and her significant other (I assume?) comes in and I say “Good evening! Five dollars.” She hesitates for a second and says “Am I on the list?” and gives her name. I look down…it’s not there. I say “Ma’am, I’m sorry but it’s not here. I can show you the list if you want…” About this time, the Crowders – Kate and Corey, both members of the fine Two Way Radio – run up and say “Oh! Can we put them on the guest list? This is my sister.” I turn and look at her and yes, they do resemble each other so I say with a smile, “Hey, she’s the boss!” and let them in.

About an hour later, another girl comes in – slender and pretty, with a knit hat on, and she resembles Kate too – and again I attempt to take money from her. She waffles a little, so I say “You know what? Go on in…you’ve just won the Kate Crowder lookalike contest.” She looks puzzled but goes on in.

I have no clue if they’re related.

Tonight At Nocturnal

J.D. and the CB3 will rock thine own socks off. And for the record, if you’ve never heard Two Way Radio, you’re in for a treat.

REVIEW: J.D. Reager

J.D. Reager
The Repechage
Makeshift/Migrant, 2008

This is a record I’ve been looking forward to for a long time – given J.D.’s rich history in the Memphis music scene with a wide range of groups such as Pezz, Johnny Romania, The Great Depression and Two Way Radio, seeing something released in his name is a big moment for those of us who’ve been keeping up for a while. You find yourself being proud for him.

The Repechage lives up to the anticipation generated by the two tracks that have made their way out via Makeshift’s self-titled compilation series – that would be “For Now” and this record’s opener “Water”. And for those of us lucky enough to have caught J.D. and his backing band The Cold-Blooded Three out and about (yeah, I’m bragging – three times now!), a good chunk of this record is already familiar. “Wading In” is magnificent in its studio form, and “Panic” is the best song in ¾ time I’ve heard in recent memory (and I even wrote one recently, but everyone knows your own material doesn’t count in reviews of other people’s records).

And so you know, “No One Wants To Know” is nothing short of spectacular, as is the rocker “I Can’t Decide”. A Tim Regan-penned number, “Regime”, is another high mark on a record crammed with real ups. Also, it’s of little consequence but it’s only recently dawned on me how much J.D. sometimes sounds like Lou Barlow (Sebadoh fans take note)!

If you’ve not bought any local music – and shame on you if that’s the case – you owe it to yourself to grab this one, and get out to a show or two. Maybe you should just get out more anyway…

Antique Curtains Gig News (and other stuff)

Straight from the Antique Curtains MySpace:

The Howlies,
When dinosaurs ruled the earth (awesome band from Austin, TX)
and the Antique Curtains!!!!!!!!!

Friday, Nov. 21st at Murphy’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s hoping they play “Surviving the Nuge”!

Anyway, there’s a lot going on that night, as J.D. Reager will also be rocking your face(book?) off at a record release party for his solo debut…more on that later.

Pictures From Nocturnal

I regret that, by and large, my photos of the first two bands (Shabbadoo and J.D. Reager and the Cold-Blooded Three) really didn’t turn out quite as good as I would have liked. Here’s a smattering of what turned out passable.

Nautilus at Nocturnal, September 2008

The Original Cyndi at Nocturnal, September 2008

Mikey Bibbs of Antique Curtains at Nocturnal, September 2008