DEAD END

Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.

Somewhere Over The Black Rainbow

What a weekend! I went up to Portland to see Coheed & Cambria at the Roseland Ballroom. It was an exciting trip full of coincidences and near misses. We really got a lot of bang for our buck, plenty of entertainment for the ticket price.

I was correct about the opening act, Circa Survive. They put on an excellent show, very high energy. Coheed was simply awesome, and their fans are savages! Much more rabid then Pumpkins fans. Claudio is relentless, he rocks you for 2 hours without let up. We were pressed together like sardines, at times I just went limp and let the bodies around me keep me upright. One of my 2 companions was kicked in the face by a crowd surfer, popping the left lens out of his glasses. We searched the floor with no results, what a bummer. Acting on a hunch, I checked one more place, and found the mono focal in his shirt pocket!

Acousti-claudio

Mic Todd

Electri-claudio

The following day, after some much needed rest, we broke fast at Voo Doo Doughnuts, the bacon maple bar was delicious. We visited Portland Music Co. the biggest locally owned music shop in town. Guardian Games was next on the agenda and as it was only a few blocks away, we decided to walk. About halfway there I realized that I had locked my keys in the car! Oh noes! 500 miles from home and I've just locked my self out of my car. By coincidence or divine intervention one door was unable to close because the seatbelt was hanging out. The last stop before heading home was Cosmic Monkey. If you find yourself in Portland Oregon I recommend all of these places.

Fantastic weekend, awesome show, but now it's Monday and that means back to work.

Synth Solos

It's not always about the guitar, or the drums, or the lead vocal, or the sweet harmonies. It's not always about the guitar solo. Sometimes it's about the keyboard player. Who? The keyboard player. They usually hide down stage next to the drummer, behind the bassist, surrounded by pianos, synths, VCO's and organs. Once in a great while the spotlight is on the keys. So here, in no particular order are 5 classic keyboard solos by 5 brilliant pianists.

Yes - Roundabout (1971)

After Starting out with some classical guitar, this song shifts gears by grooving into some of the funkiest bass in classic rock. The synth solos by Rick Wakeman are incredible. Everything Wakeman did was incredible. Even this disaster, incredible.

Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1975)

Although this song was written about Syd Barrett, it is Rick Wright who "shines" in this epic, 9 part, 26 minute masterpiece. Also noteworthy is the saxophone outro. Syd once said that the only way for Pink Floyd to move forward was to hire 2 female saxophonists. Crazy Diamond indeed.

ELP - Lucky Man (1970)

Written by Greg Lake when he was just 12 years old, this song tells the ironic tale of a man who is so lucky, that he catches a bullet. The song, and it's Moog solo, performed by Kieth Emerson, was only included on the album as filler. It was released as a single in '71 and covered by Homer Simpson in 2010.

Van Halen - Jump (1984)

The last Van Halen song before they caught that red disease. Eddie plays his Oberheim synth, and the song was included on Clear Channel's list of "inappropriate post 9/11 songs" which accounts for it's scarcity on the radio today.

Led Zeppelin - No Quarter (1973)

John Paul Jones always does fine work. Whether it's sessions with Herman's Hermits or Donovan, his best known work with Led Zep, or his modern work with Them Crooked Vultures. This example from Houses of the Holy is just a sample of a brilliant career.

Two Voices: Part 3 Queen

The legendary story of Bohemian Rhapsody as told by Brian May to Guitar World magazine: Since ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was done on 16-track, we had to do a lot of bouncing as we went along; the tape got very thin. We held the tape up to the light one day—we’d been wondering where all the top end was going—and what we discovered was virtually a transparent piece of tape. All the oxide had been rubbed off. It was time to hurriedly make a copy and get on with it.” They did so many overdubs of guitar and vocal harmonies that they almost destroyed the tape! I've also heard that Freddie had the whole song charted out as to who would sing which parts. Rhapsody is certainly an epic. But my favorite Queen song is the Prophet Song. Way. More. Epic.

In the acappella section (3:24-5:50) Mercury is harmonizing with himself via a tape delay. He sang into a 2" Studer reel-to-reel and heard what he sang a moment ago in his headphones. These days there are much simpler ways to get that sound, but that was some innovative technique in 1974.

Two Voices: Part 2 CSN

If David Crosby had stayed with the Byrds, if Graham Nash had stayed with the Hollies, and if Stephen Stills' band Buffalo Springfield had stayed together, these three men would still be individually famous. By their solo merits they belong in the Rock and Roll hall of fame, but as a super group they belong in the pantheon of musical gods.

Perhaps no other group of men have ever sounded so well together. Perhaps none ever will. CSN and CSNY have had a profound effect upon me personally, and the way I write songs. Giving maybe the best advice any songwriter could get David Crosby once said "we write a lot of our songs just right out of what goes on to us and about the people we love and stuff, because thats what you have to write about if you want it to mean anything." Thanks Dave.

If you are unfamiliar with CSN check out Just a Song Before I Go and Find the Cost of Freedom. 4 Way Street is one of the best live albums ever made, it should be on your shelf next to Frampton Comes Alive.

Two Voices: Part 1 Alice In Chains

Sometimes the world is a harsh, discordant, cacophony of random noise. I received a phone call like that today. That got me thinking about harmonies; the sound of two or more voices together, not doubling the same note, but creating beautiful chords. Todays example is Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley of Seattle grunge originals - Alice in Chains.

AIC's sound mixes acoustic and distorted electric tones into a dark, melodic, minor-key soup. At the center of that soup was the harmonized vocals of Jerry and Layne. Lyrically, this song perfectly fits my current hope. "You've got me wrong" Todays catastrophe will prove to be just a misunderstanding "that don't last forever." In ten years time we'll look back at this and laugh, after all, "something's gotta turn out right."

Breakup Mixtape

The Opening Act

This May, my brother and I will drive up to Portland for a Coheed & Cambria concert. He has seen CoCa like 12 times but this will be my first time. The opening band is called Circa Survive, and to get ready for this show I've been listening to their debut album Juturna.

Usually I sit politely through opening acts waiting for the headliners to get on stage, but I am really digging "Circ de Sadness" as I originally mis-heard their name. My favorite lyric on this record is "it's a surprise, you haven't caught on yet, it's nothing personal, you're an embarrassment" I'm looking forward to seeing these guys and hearing these songs live. They have two other LP's I need to check out between now and May 7th.

The Endorsement: Paste Magazine

I have a few magazine subscriptions, my wife gets them free for taking surveys or something. I don't know, I don't ask, I just enjoy reading Golf Digest, Esquire, and Paste. Paste is a music/movie/game/book review monthly. The best thing about paste is the mix disc they send with each copy. You get brand new music from undiscovered up-and-comers, and established acts, about 17-20 tracks each month.

My March edition just showed up and guess who's on the CD? My #1 Woman of Rock Juliana Hatfield with a new song called Dear Anonymous. How cool is that? I was just talking about her and here she is in my mailbox. So I recommend you check out Paste. What magazines do you get in the mail?

Clever or Stupid?

Well, there it is; my (sort of random) top five Women of Rock. But by making this list am I combating sexism, or giving in to it? Why do Women need their own separate list anyway? That feels like some kind of southern fried segregationist nonsense to me. Indeed, we walk a fine line between clever and stupid.

See also: Bjork, Courtney Love, Heart, Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry, Janis Joplin, Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, and Yoko Ono.

#1 Juliana

Juliana Hatfield and the Blake Babies only came to my attention about 6 years ago. But this power pop trio disbanded nearly twenty years ago! They had a song called I'm Not Your Mother that I want you hear, I can't find it on YouTube but here it is at Rhapsody. Girl in a Box was a bigger hit for the Babies and then her solo act the Juliana Hatfield Trio made a splash with the song My Sister.

What I like about Juliana, and the reason she climbed to the top of this list, is her dynamic range. Heavy rock songs and also melodic acoustic songs. She has a beautiful voice that even a McCoy could love.

#2 Alanis

Jagged Little Pill was one of the best albums of the 90's. At 30x platinum it remains THE best selling debut album by any female artist. Fun fact: Alanis Morissette was one of the kids on You Can't Do That on Television. She continues to act, and played Nancy's OB/GYN on the last season of Weeds.

Apparently in Canada, they have a different definition of ironic then we have in the states, but it has been corrected here.

#3 Cyndi

Three words; Time. After. Time.

That's really just two words. And only one of many classic songs from this long lasting artist. The EPIC double length music video for the Goonies, her duet with Chuck D, her friendship with Capt Lou, Cyndi Lauper always marches to her own beat. She continually reinvents herself and her songs. She's so unusual.

#4 Chrissie

Chrissie Hynde is best known as the leader of the new wave punk group the Pretenders. They had many hits in the late 70's and into the 90's. Brass in Pocket, Talk of the Town, and I'll Stand by You. When I saw Neil Young in concert, the Pretenders opened, and they played an awesome cover of Neil's "Lotta Love" I wish I could find it on YouTube and share it with you. Chrissie is a brilliant entertainer, and a thrill for the eyes and ears.

#5 Joni

Joni's best known song is likely "Big Yellow Taxi" but my favorite is "My Old Man." Here she is singing to a place - with the kind of love usually reserved for people.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers elicit the same kind of sentimental feelings in "Under the Bridge." Frank Sinatra feels this same way about "New York New York." I don't feel that kind of attachment to any place, so I can't identify. But what Joni sings in "My Old Man" always puts a lump in my throat. "When he's gone...the bed's too big the frying pan's too wide."

Women of Rock #5 Joni Mitchell - the only Woodstock performer on the list.

What's Wrong With Being Sexy?

Not sexy...sexist. See there's a fine line.

Internet talk surrounding a recent episode of LOST includes the theory that only men are on Jacob's list. This made me think about sexism, and looking back at my own lists, I haven't mentioned a whole lot of ladies. So to set things straight (and provide fodder for the next several updates) I'd like to count down my top 5 Women of Rock.

Snap, Crackle, and Pop

I still enjoy listening to records. I am not a know-it-all audiophile who insists that vinyl sounds better then cds. That argument usually has something to do with sample rates; sound is a wave, analog equipment (represented below in grey) perfectly reproduces the wave, but digital audio (red) is only a rapid series of samples and your brain fills in the rest.

I don't care about that, and modern digital equipment uses such high bit rates that anyone who claims to be able to hear the difference is simply lying. No, I like listening to records because my parents listened to records. My grandparents listened to records. There's a sense or nostalgia involved with carefully placing the record on the turntable, inspecting the needle for dust, before gently setting it into the grooves, and listening to the hisses and pops until the music rises above the noise floor.

I haven't taken a head count in a while, but I think I have 40 or 50 albums.

My collection includes:

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

rare first pressing found at a local record shop $8

Linda Ronstadt with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra

thrift store $1 cheap

Rob Zombie - Dragula 7" 45 rpm

this was part of a promotional display at a music shop and was not for sale

Billy Joel - 52nd Street

white label promo copy for radio DJs $11 local record store

The Marx Brothers

family heirloom

Neil Young - Decade

3 disc greatest hits of early work $4 garage sale

Along with lots of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Jimi Hendrix. I'm currently bidding on Fleetwood Mac - Rumors, and John & Yoko - Plastic Ono Band on Ebay. I like records because they are severely undervalued. Even now with downloading as the most common way to get new music, CDs cost an astonishing $17-$20!!! The most expensive record in my collection was maybe $12 and most were $2-$5.

The pops and crackles that flank the 12 minutes of music are almost as magical as the music itself. It's such a soothing sound. You can't get that from an iPod. But then again, you can't put a turntable in your pocket and jog around the block.

The Endorsement: Let It Be... Naked

Long before he was convicted, Phil Spector was a murderer. He slaughtered hundreds of healthy young pop songs with his "Wall of Sound." I, for one, am relieved that this monster has finally been brought to justice. One victim who finally received reparations is the Beatles album Let It Be. The Fab Four set out to make a simple record, a snap shot of a live performance, without all of the multi-tracked, overdubbed trappings of Sgt Peppers or the White Album. They tried to capture the raw sound of 4 musicians playing together in the same room.

However, by this point in their career they could hardly stand to be in the same room. When the recording was finished, none of them could bear the burden of the final mix. So they turned the miles of tape over to producer Phil Spector. Like an Iron Chef competitor Phil chopped, diced, mixed, mastered, blended in orchestras, and folded in choirs until the original vision for an album whose name means "leave it alone" was completely obstructed.

Finally, just a few years ago Sir Paul could stomach it no more, went back to Abbey Road and remixed to the original intent. "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It Be" are the most significant changes. Those songs sounds great now. The whole album is alive and breathes, and the new track order flows better. If you haven't heard this yet, check it out. I think you'll find it refreshing.

Just Like Starting Over

In my ongoing effort to improve my guitar playing, I'm trying to learn some new scale patterns. For some time I've felt that I'm in a minor pentatonic rut because the pattern is simple and transposable.

That shape, also called the "blues box" has carried me this far by simply moving the root note to the appropriate key. So this month I'll be drilling major and modal shapes into my repertoire.

Repeating these patterns and committing them to memory is long over due; something I've put off because repetition is boring and learning something new is difficult. But a guitarist who only plays one scale is like a painter who only uses one color. The time has come to expand my palette, the blue period ends. Beautiful work came out of that period, but artists change, and art is change.

Imaginos

While doing some research I stumbled upon this Wikipedia entry about the Blue Oyster Cult band. BOC is best know for the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" which famously, needs more cow bell. But the 1988 album "Imaginos" is a sci fi concept piece which blows the doors off of something I said in an earlier post. You might know one song on this album, "Astronomy" because Metallica covered it in 1998.

Just a few days ago, when blogging about guitar players who are better then John Mayer, I indicated that Coheed & Cambria were a unique entity in prog rock concept music; because the name of the band is taken from the story that unfolds in the music. Lo and behold, the Blue Oyster Cult beat them to the punch by at least seven years!

I, even I, dear reader, can be wrong. Perhaps I am wrong about the number of commas that belong in that sentence. Yes, Perhaps.

The Endorsement: Classic Album Series

I have now seen several episodes of this documentary series and highly recommend it to you. They play on VH1 sometimes and many are available from Netflix. They usually feature the artist and producers sitting at the console playing back each song from the album. As they discuss the production of a particular song they'll solo certain tracks to highlight something you might not have otherwise noticed. It's a unique behind the scenes look and you should check it out.

Another Meaningless List

In the last month I have debated not one, but two different John Mayer fans, and his fans are rabid! They will not hear a bad word spoken against him. Fan IS short for fanatic, but please, John Mayerites don't start spray painting "Mayer is God" on bridges just yet. Here is a list of guitarists that I personally prefer over the writer of "Your body is a wonderland."

Tom Scholz of Boston

Boston are arguably the inventors of arena rock. The wall Marshall's in "More then a feeing," and the ubiquitous pick scrapes of "Peace of mind" are part of the signature sound that defines the genre. These things seems ever-present due, in part, to Boston. My personal favorite Boston song is "Rock and roll band."

Jimi Hendrix

I know I'm not shocking anyone with this pick. I love the first three albums, and how different they are from each other. "Are you experienced?" is so psychedelic, "Axis" is full of sweet love songs, and "Electric Ladyland" runs the full gamut of emotions. There have been many Hendrix imitators over the years: from Stevie Ray Vaughn, to Kenny Wayne Shepherd, but Jimi was a beautiful and unique prototype, never meant for full production. My personal favorite Hendrix song is "1983...A merman I should turn to be."

Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever of Coheed and Cambria

Bands like Asia, Yes, and Rush certainly are the godfathers of prog rock, but these guys are the modern day torch bearers. They aren't just writing concept albums, the whole band is part of the concept, honestly I don't know what will become of them when they finish this story. Here they are trading fours with Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule.

Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins

Billy continues to reinvent himself and his band 22 years after formation. Like it or lump it you have to respect the fact that he still churns out fresh material after many of his contemporaries dried up. I don't know how to begin to pick my favorite SP song. So many to choose from and so much of it has meant so much to me. I love the 4 minutes of feedback that follows "Drown." It doesn't sound like noise to me, it sounds beautiful. Just like Billy's voice, it drives some people crazy, but I could fall asleep so that sound.

See also: Neil Young, Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Richie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Brian May, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Rick Nielsen, and Larry LaLonde.

Desert Island

If you were stranded on a desert island what albums would you wish to have with you? On the other hand if you were stranded on a dessert island would you wish for ice cream or cake? If it were me on that island I would need music for a variety of moods, a slice of chocolate cake and a tall cold glass of whole milk.

1) in a mellow mood

Bjork - Post

and Portishead - Dummy

or DJ Shadow - Preemptive Strike

2) in the mood to rock out

Neil Young - Live Rust

or Smashing Pumpkins - Gish

3) in a sentimental mood

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

and John and Yoko - Double Fantasy

So what albums would you like to have on your island? Did you make dessert?