It's About to Get Odd in Winnipeg

The Oddity Faire rolls into the Walker Theatre (okay, the Burton Cummings Theatre, but I really hate calling it that) tonight, featuring one of the oddest bands in the land, Primus.  It also includes opening acts Portugal. The Man and Split Lip Rayfield, neither of whom I have heard.  I usually steer away from bands with punctuation in their name (don't ask why, just a weird bias that I have) but I have been told P.TM is good, so I will look past that period and give them a shot.

I'm pretty much just writing this because I'm super excited for the show.  I have had two chances to see Primus's bassist/frontman, Les Claypool, but both times something arose, and I ended up seeing a combined total of about 15 minutes of those shows.  Disappointing, to say the least.  I can't wait to sit back in a theatre and watch these guys, and not have to worry about leaving to see other shows (love festivals, but there is that factor), or being too drunk (ya, I'll admit it, I missed one of the Claypool shows because I had a few too many rye 'n' cokes before hand).

If you have a ticket for this show, see you there.  If not, that sucks for you.  Unless you don't care.  In that case it doesn't suck for you.

Galactic

I feel like gettin' funky today, and they don't come much funkier than Galactic. These guys have been together since 1994 (originally known as Galactic Prophylactic), maintaining a core group of Jeff Raines (guitar), Robert Mercurio (bass), Stanton Moore (drums), Ben Ellman (saxophone), and Rich Vogel (Hammond organ). They have no singer in the band, but many of their songs feature guest vocalists. Over the years their sound has evolved from a traditional jazzy New Orleans funk to a more modern style, mostly because of their use of electronic effects. They now have elements of hip-hop and electronica mixed into their funky tunes. Their 2007 release From the Corner to the Block features a different emcee on almost every track, including Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Boots Riley (The Coup), Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), Lyrics Born and many more.

They are well known for incorporating multiple guests in both their recordings and their live show. Most of these guests are other New Orleans locals, including Trombone Shorty, Corey Henry, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, and members of both The Neville Brothers and The Meters.

Galactic is another band on the long list of groups that I was introduced to in a live setting, at Bonnaroo in both 2009 and 2010. Keeping with their tradition of playing with guests, in '09 they played with Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry (both horn players) and last time they brought out Cyril Neville to sing and play percussion. I left that show at about four in the morning, RIGHT BEFORE THEY PLAYED MY FAVOURITE SONG! Shit-damn, that was disappointing.

Now, I'll admit, Galactic is one of those bands that I love, but am just not that familiar with song titles. In fact, aside from songs off of From the Corner to the Block, I can hardly put a track title to a song. But they do get me groovin', that's for sure.

The guys have even appeared in a couple episodes of HBO's Treme, a show based in post-Katrina New Orleans, where they perform live, and stir up some trouble with the cops.

On a quick side-note, drummer Stanton Moore also plays in a few side-projects, Garage-a-Trois and The Stanton Moore Trio to name a couple, which are definitely worth checking out.

I had a hard time deciding which videos to include with this post, but I think these are a fairly good representation of what the guys are all about.  I apologize for the size of the videos, you'll probably have to full screen them to see anything.

"Immigrant Song" featuring Boots Riley, Chali 2na and Laidlaw.  WARNING: if you like Led Zeppelin but don't like rap, this video may not be for you.

"Tuff Love" featuring Trombone Shorty and Big Sam.  I like this video because it not only shows off Galactic's talent, but also Shorty's (he's on trumpet in this vid).

Thanks for stopping by, internet people, and come back soon for more another edition of Jaremy on Music.

The Sadies

Hi there, internet people! Today I am here to tell you a little bit (emphasis on little) about a country/indie/blues/rock band from Toronto made up of guitarists/vocalists/brothers Dallas and Travis Good (the sons/nephews of the famous Canadian group The Good Brothers), bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitsky. Collectively, they are The Sadies.

They have been releasing music since 1998, averaging one studio album per year, and released an amazing live album in 2006. The live album features many guest appearances, including The Good Brothers, Blue Rodeo, Neko Case and many more.

My first experience with The Sadies was seeing them open for The Tragically Hip at the MTS Centre in 2007. From the moment they struck the first chord of “Lay Down Your Arms” to the moment they left the stage I was transfixed. This was the fourth (or fifth, I can't really remember) time I had seen The Hip, and they FINALLY had a good opener. I have since seen them perform at The Pyramid Cabaret twice, and they have gotten better with every show. Aside from playing as The Sadies, they often record and tour with other musicians, most notably as Neko Case's preferred backing band for live shows.

This is the kind of band you need to experience live at some point in your life.

 As always, here's a couple videos of the group in action.

"Intro/Lay Down Your Arms"

"Why Be So Curious?"

The Black Keys

Members:

Dan Auerbach - Guitar/Vocals

Patrick Carney - Drums

Discography:

The Big Come Up - 2002

Thickfreakness - 2003

The Moan (EP) - 2004

Rubber Factory - 2004

Chulahoma: Songs of Junior Kimbrough (EP) - 2006

Magic Potion - 2006

Attack & Release - 2008

Brothers - 2010

Recommended Songs:

"Act Nice and Gentle" (The Kinks cover) off of Rubber Factory

"Just Got to Be" off of Magic Potion

"Meet me in the City" (Junior Kimbrough cover) off of Chulahoma

"Countdown" off of The Big Come Up

Okay, this is getting to be like picking favourite children (of which I have none, children are vile creatures), so I'll end this section with three simple words: they're all good

The Black Keys are a blues/rock duo formed in 2001 in Akron, Ohio, first brought to my attention many years ago by a very tall friend of mine.  At first I was unimpressed by their seemingly simplistic format and lack of fast rocking, fuzz-filled metal riffs that I loved so much in my younger days (one day I'll do a post about all the musical phases I've gone through, but that's a whole other topic on it's own), grouping them in with The White Stripes under my "Too Simple" category.  Little did I know that both The White Stripes and The Black Keys would grow to become two of my favourite bands (did I mention my man-crush on Jack White?), but my 15 year old self wanted to hear Kirk Hammett rip out solos so fast you can't even hear the notes he's playing, and I would have none of this simple shit.

Of course, as I now know, I was dead wrong about what makes music good.  Running on double-kick pedals faster than Usain Bolt doesn't mean you're a good drummer, it just means you can play fast.  The speed and intricacy of a song has absolutely no effect on me anymore.  These days I am more inclined to listen to a song with a catchy riff, a good beat, a unique tone, or (in the case of most hip-hop) well written lyrics. 

Speaking of a unique tone, it was the raw, powerful sound of the album Rubber Factory that initially turned me on to The Black Keys.  The album was actually recorded in an old abandoned rubber factory (hence the name) which has recently been torn down.  Prior to this, the duo had done all their recording in Pat's basement on a 20-something year old 8-track recorder (Thickfreakness was recorded in just 14 hours!!).  Up until Attack & Release, Pat produced all of their albums on his own.  They gathered popularity quite quickly, and by 2006 were signed by Nonesuch Records, with whom they released their last self-produced album, Magic Potion.  This is about the time when I began to appreciate music for things other than complexity, and my Jack White phase had just begun.  I was reintroduced to The Black Keys by the same very tall friend of mine, once more, and began to listen casually.  I knew a few of their songs back then, but didn't consider myself a big fan until after seeing them in 2009 (see below).

With their new-found popularity, Dan and Pat were turning heads not just with the public, but also within the music biz.  Danger Mouse (who has been in and produced a wide variety of bands) approached The Keys and offered to produce their next album, and he has since produced their last two albums.  On Brothers the band strayed from their guitar and drum format and began multi-tracking to add bass and keyboards.  In 2009 they recorded and released a hip-hop/R&B album under the name Blakroc, featuring vocals by such artists as The RZA, Mos Def, Q-Tip and many more.  They are working on a second Blakroc album, slated for release in 2011.

Despite the fact that they have never been to Winnipeg (at least not that I am aware of), I have been lucky enough to see them twice.  The first time was at The Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, in October of 2009.  They played on the main stage during a torrential downpour, and it was that show that pushed them into my "undeniable favourite band" spot.  Though I spent much of the show worrying about not ruining any of the posters or cameras I was holding onto, I was blown away by the amount of noise these two guys could make.  They were almost blown away, too, although in a more literal sense.  The show ended with a gust of wind knocking over half of Pat's drum kit in the middle of a song.  Pretty impressive to see a guy play while cymbals were falling over all around him.  The second time I saw them was at Bonnaroo 2010 in Manchester, Tennessee.  They played a late night show on a fairly large stage to a massive crowd.  Unlike the last time I saw them, they brought up a bass player and keyboardist for a little while to play some of their newer songs.  Personally, I prefer the stuff they did as a two-piece, though the Bonnaroo show goes down as one of the best concerts I've ever seen, probably because it was my favourite band at my favourite festival, after seeing two fulls days of amazing music, with another two days to come.

Well, I'm rambling, and I'm sure very few people have actually made it this far.  Actually, just out of curiosity, if you read this sentence, leave a comment saying so, just so I can see how many people actually made it all the way through.

Here's a couple live videos for your enjoyment

"I Got Mine", "Here I Am I Always Am" and "Same Old Thing"

"Act Nice and Gentle"

I strongly recommend you check out some more videos of these guys, it's hard to pick just two.

See you all next time!

Well, Now I'm on Twitter

*note: this is an assignment for school, The Black Keys profile will be up in the next couple of days*

I tweeted my first tweet ever not long ago. It's a whole new world for me...one which I had planned to stay far away from! Although, after spending two weeks in Creative Communications, I can see that there is actually many practical uses for Twitter, aside from telling everyone that I am drinking a soda, or that I farted and it smells bad. So far I am more entertained by finding out who's on there than actually reading their tweets, but that will change once I get settled in. If, for some strange reason, you want to follow me on Twitter, my username is @jediger.

Here's two completely random videos from graffiti animator Blu to keep you entertained, and to keep you from realizing that my first two blogs have essentially been about nothing!

for more videos like these, or more info on Blu visit http://www.blublu.org/

My First Blog Ever!

Well howdy, internet people, and welcome to Jaremy on Music. Since this is my first blog ever, I'm going to keep it short, and basically tell you what to expect on here.

First off, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jaremy, I'm from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and I am currently studying at Red River College to become a radio genius (hopefully). I spend most of my free time either playing or listening to music, which is why I chose to write about the tunes that I like. I have been playing drums in various bands since I was 13, and hope to play for the rest of my life.

When you return here in the future (please return here in the future, by the way!) you will get the pleasure of reading about the various bands that I like and think other people might like, too. Hopefully it won't turn into me shoving my musical opinions down your throats, but if it seems like I am, let me know, leave a comment. Typically I'll post a video or two for you kind internet people to watch after you read my ramblings. Don't forget to check out the monthly poll on the right!

I realize this was not the most exciting blog you've ever read, but I promise it will get better once I get the hang of everything! I will be randomly posting at least one entry a week (I won't tell you when, just to keep you guessing) that will highlight one of the bands I like.

Tune in next week for my first actual band profile: The Black Keys

Here's a video to get you excited