The Melvins

Alright, so I'm not gonna come on here and bullshit y'all like I know tons about The Melvins (aka the Godfathers of grunge music), but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna write about them.  My brother introduced me to them a while back, and I've done what I can to get an idea of who they are, but they've been around for so long that it's quite the task.  I'll give you internet people what I can, but this is going to be a pretty basic post.  If I forget anything that you either know already or would like to know, leave it in the comment box at the bottom.

Formed in 1983, The Melvins have gone through a decent amount of members in their 27 years of existence, so I'm just going to focus on the core.  Guitarist/vocalist Buzz Osborne (the dude with the hair, from now on known as King Buzzo) and drummer Dale Crover have played with 6 bass players in their time together, and played as a two-piece for a small part of their career.  In 2006, without a bassist, they collaborated with another two-piece, Big Business, who were made up of bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis.  Crover is right handed, Willis is left handed, so they made two drum kits into one really big drum kit, sharing some of the toms and cymbals in the middle.  Later that year it was announced that Warren and Willis were officially members of The Melvins, and they have been touring with them ever since.  King Buzzo does most of the lead vocals, but all four members sing gang vocals.

The combination of two drummers and all four guys singing in deep, beefy voices leads to one of the biggest sounds I have ever experienced in concert.  Crover and Willis typically play the same drum parts, giving the kit an illusion of being mirrored in the middle.  Wild stuff, man.

Fun fact: While still in high school, Kurt Cobain used help them load gear, and would generally just follow the band around.  That's right, Kurt Cobain was The Melvins's roadie before Nirvana was even conceived.

I was disappointed to have to leave part way through their show at this past Bonnaroo, but The Dead Weather was about to play, and my man-crush on Jack White wouldn't allow me to miss any of that show.  Luckily, the kind people at Bonnaroo released a decent amount of videos of The Melvins show (and The Dead Weather, for that matter).  Here's a couple of highlights.

Anaconda

Black Bock

This one isn't from Bonnaroo, but it's my favourite Melvins song, so I had to post it. Wicked double-drummer action in this one. The Kicking Machine, live at Amoeba Records in 2008.

Grady

Howdy internet people, and sorry for the lack of activity over the past week, it's been kinda hectic.  I recently found out that Grady is returning to Winnipeg on November 19, for another show at The Pyramid.  I saw them there earlier this year, and it was great, so I'm really excited for this show.

Grady is a "cowboy metal" from Austin, TX.  They feature former Big Sugar frontman Gordie Johnson (fun fact: Gordie was born in Winnipeg) on guitar and vocals, "Big" Ben Richardson on bass and Nina "The Queena" Singh on drums. They have 3 albums out, Y.U. So Shady? (2004), A Cup of Cold Poison (2007) and Good as Dead (2009).  The current tour is in support of the release of their CD/DVD combo, Calling All My Demons.  The DVD is of their 2009 show at The Pyramid (kinda weird that they've played the same place 3 times in the past year, but I'll take it) and features songs from all 3 albums.

If you don't have plans for that night, bust out your cowboy hat, dust off your leather boots and come down to The Pyramid, you won't be disappointed.

What would a Jaremy on Music post be without some videos for my kind readers to watch?

When The Boots Come Off

Chili Cold Blood

Joe Louis (originally a Big Sugar song)

The Social Network

*This post is an assignment for my Public Relations class.  More musical goodness to come, I promise*

Last night I saw the movie The Social Network, which, for those who are out of the loop, is the story of how Facebook was created.  It tells the tale of how one drunken night when Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend dumped him lead to the creation of the second most popular website on the internet (Google Earth takes the number one spot, according to http://mostpopularwebsites.net/). 

I originally had pretty low expectations for this movie, though many of my friends had told me it was actually pretty good, so I went in with a clean slate.  After seeing it, I don’t really understand what the hype was about.  Cinematically it was nothing special, the story was only mildly engaging, and I was left wondering “wow, is Zuckerberg really that much of an asshole?”  A few good one liners made me smile, and the part with the chicken was pretty funny, but all around, a stinker in my books.  The only part of the story line that kept me interested was the outcome of the lawsuits, which I could have easily found out without watching a two hour movie.

As for Zuckerberg being an asshole, I don’t think the writers created a very realistic image of him.  In the movie he treated people like dirt, walked all over anyone in his path, was sarcastic (not a problem with me) and just generally unlikable.  Everything I have seen or heard of the real life Zuckerberg leads me to believe this is mostly exaggeration.   He seems like a friendly guy, who may have a bit of a “holier than thou” problem, but being the world’s youngest billionaire may be cause of that (still not excusable).  The character in the movie really didn’t care about anything; not his friends, not his money, not his image, nothing.  He was portrayed as this dark outcast sort of figure, but the movie made it seems as though it was by his choice.  Throughout the whole movie, Jesse Eisenberg (playing Zuckerberg) has a look of sheer boredom on his face, which makes his character seem like even more of a recluse.

I don’t feel like the release of this movie will have any impact on the popularity of Facebook, for a few reasons:

-almost everyone in the target audience is already on Facebook

-those who are not using the social networking site probably have a reason for holding out

-in the modern online world, no one cares about the people behind the service, they just care about the service itself

Zuckerberg handled the negative portrayal of himself in a calm, reasonable, and light-hearted way.  He made it clear that this is a movie, and that just like any other movie, it’s made up (at least partially) and should be more for fun than anything else.  It is too bad that a movie like this can come along and paint someone in such a negative way that they have to come out and make it clear that it is not true.  I believe he did a good job of making it clear that the character in the movie is made up, which will definitely brighten a few people’s perceptions him.

Best part of the movie?  The fact that opened with Ball and Biscuit by The White Stripes, which played in the background all throughout the first scene.

Lastly, if I ever join a frat, please shoot me.

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Throughout my posts, you will often see me talk about the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, for one simple reason: it's probably the greatest place on Earth.  It is a 4 day festival held annually in June in Manchester, Tennessee, which now attracts over 70 000 people per year.  Everyone camps out in a giant field on some dude's farm and just lets loose.  Rarely will you see people not getting along (they're hippies, what do you expect) and it is easily one of the most relaxed atmospheres I've ever experienced.

I have been for the past three years, and seen some of the best concerts I've ever seen there.  Pearl Jam, The Raconteurs, Stevie Wonder, The Dead Weather, Conan O'Brien, The Black Keys, The Melvins, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Galactic, Trombone Shorty...the list goes on and on.  With over 120 acts spread out over 4 days on 5 main stages/tents, and I believe 8 secondary stages/tents, festival goers have the opportunity to see many of their favourite bands all in the same day.  This past year, I saw over 20 concerts in the brief span, with almost no overlap.  One disappointing moment for me was when John Fogerty and Ween overlapped, and I missed the first half of the Ween show.  But seeing Fogerty play an outdoor show in the south in 110 degree sun was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.  

It really is hard to describe Bonnaroo in words, so I'll let the videos and pictures do the talking.  If you ever get the chance, go!  Just don't forget sunscreen, a hat, and rain gear.

An aerial shot taken this past year gives you an idea of how huge the place is.

  The view from the second main stage, The Which Stage.

 Mid-day crowd at the main stage, The What Stage.

 Pearl Jam playing Better Man in 2008.  Eddie Vedder was spectacularly drunk.  Polished a few bottles of wine during the show.

The Raconteurs playing Old Enough in 2008. Check out the tone Jack White has coming out of that acoustic.

The Beastie Boys doing Sabotage in 2009. They screwed it up TWICE! Awesome.

The Dead Weather playing Blue Blood Blues in 2010.

Ween doing Touch My Tooter in 2010. If you haven't heard of Ween, enjoy.

Lastly, The Melvins playing Civilized Worm. Check out that sweet double drummer action!

Jello Biafra @ The Pyramid

First off I want to mention that I will have a few more off-topic blog assignments coming up in the next few weeks, so I'll try to even it out with as many regular posts about music as possible.  Don't want all you internet people to lose interest, now do I?

On to the good stuff.  Last night punk rock legend Jello Biafra, best known as the lead singer in the Dead Kennedys, was in town with his new band The Guantanamo School of Medicine.  I saw part of their set at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans on Halloween last year, but had to leave early to see (not bragging) George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars.  Had to be done.

Those not familiar with Jello may be surprised at the amount of talking he does during his shows.  Their songs are punctuated with long speeches about all sorts of topics, mostly political.  He has always combined his political views with his sarcastic sense of humour to educate the audience.  Sometimes it's just random goofiness, but usually there is a message behind what he says.  He gets into stuff that just confuses me, and I'm not here to write about politics (at least not this time) so I'll just stick to the band.

His new band is much heavier than the Dead Kennedys, but similar enough that people who come for that are satisfied.  They also do a few DK covers to keep the crowd happy.  Jello hasn't changed much over the years, aside from a few extra pounds and a little less hair.  His trademark nasally near-lisp hasn't changed at all, and his stage antics are wild.  Watching him on stage, you would never guess that he is now 52. 

The show last night at The Pyramid Cabaret was a 90 minute frenzy.  The crowd was pretty nuts, although small, and the mosh pit rarely slowed down.  Jello made it clear right from the start that this would be a no bullshit night, calling out two guys standing right up front.  "Oh, by the way, if you two are here to fight, get the fuck out of this room right now.  There will be no fuckin' fighting tonight."  And he meant it.  When a scuffle broke out during the second encore, Jello stopped the song to make sure it was broken up.  His roadies were busy trying to keep people from rolling onto the stage and accidentally unplugging anything.  All in all, it was a sweaty good time.

The band has one album out, The Audacity of Hype, which is a modest 9 songs long.  They had a new EP coming out in spring.

I found a few good quality videos from the first time I saw Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, so here they are.

Three Strikes

Dot Com Monte Carlo with a short Jello rant at the beginning

Holiday in Cambodia (Dead Kennedys cover)

Russian Circles

What's that, internet people?  You say you wanna hear something entirely instrumental this time?  Well okie-dokie, how's Russian Circles for you?  WHAT?!  You've never heard of Russian Circles?  Well I don't blame you, they fly pretty low under the radar, so let me tell you about them...

A three-piece rock (some would say metal) group based out of Chicago, Russian Circles got started in 2004, originally as just guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper.  The two had previously played together in a band called Dakota/Dakota, so they were already familiar with each other's playing styles.  Not long after they were joined by drummer Dave Turncrantz, and together they released their first album, Enter, in 2006. DeKuiper left the band shortly after the release and was replaced by Brian Cook.  They have released two albums since Cook took over on the low-end, Station in 2008 and Geneva in 2009.

My first experience with Russian Circles was just this past summer, when they were opening for High on Fire at The Royal Albert (one of my favourite bars as far as shows go).  Having seen High on Fire once before and knowing how good (and painfully loud) their live show is, I wasn't about to miss this one.  At the time I had never heard of Russian Circles, but my long time guitar playin' buddy showed me some of their stuff and I was hooked.  The mixture of hard-hitting metal and slower more melodic rock riffs keeps their songs fresh and interesting, and hardly ever are they repetitive nonsense like so many current songs are.  Also, being a drummer, I couldn't help but notice that Turncrantz was a MACHINE!  This guy is all over the place, playing a mile a minute, and he never misses a beat.  As I mentioned in my earlier post about The Black Keys, I don't think that speed has anything to do with how good a musician is, but being as tight as he is, playing as fast as he is, and doing the things he does is no small feat.

It was only about a month before the show that my long time guitar playin' buddy introduced me to Russian Circles. He had just gotten back from living in B.C. for almost two years, where a friend had introduced him to the band. I had told him about the upcoming High on Fire show, briefly mentioning the openers. Luckily he had his Macbook with him, and loaded up Geneva for me to check out.  After one listen, I was already more excited for Russian Circles than I was for High on Fire.  When I found out that the band was made up of only three people, I was interested to see how their live show translated, because most of their songs have intricately layered guitar parts and all sorts of weird sounds.  Well, thanks to effects/loop pedals (which Sullivan uses flawlessly), they were able to reproduce the sound almost to the tee.  Luckily for me, it was just the sound they reproduced, not the exact arrangements and feel of the songs.  I hate going to see a show and pretty much just hearing the recorded versions of the songs played really loud.   I'd way rather see/hear something original that I haven't heard before, and may never be heard again.

The show was mind boggling, by the way.  The Albert was packed with sweaty metal fans, most of whom were huge and smelt pretty bad.  Me being about 5'7” and freshly showered, I expected to stand in the back and just listen, but was able to force my way forward and ended up near the front.  I got knocked around a bit (especially during High on Fire...did I mention they are one of the heaviest bands ever?) but it was well worth it.  The music was so good that I didn't even notice the pain, just like the time I saw Rage Against the Machine and realized after the show that the blood stain on the guy in front of me had come from my face.  Good times!

Unfortunately, there are not many good quality videos of the group on YouTube, but I found a couple that are decent.  They aren't the songs I was hoping to post, but good enough.

Micah


Enter

Sam vs Judy LIVE @ RRC!

*this post is an assignment for my Journalism class.  Check back soon for my post on Russian Circles.*

Today may be a turning point in one aspect of my life.  Stress on the MAY BE.  The day I became interested in politics.  Up until this morning I had always found politics (and politicians) to be so full of it that it was unbearable for me to follow.  And, like Stan Marsh in one episode of South Park, I was never really a fan of the options I was given on the ballot, so I usually go write myself in as a candidate, just for kicks (anyone who doesn't like their options is encouraged to write my name on their ballot, that's Jaremy with an "a" Ediger).  On top of all the lies and egos, I found most things political about as boring as Coronation Street.  Sorry to any fans, but after hearing that damn depressing theme song every weekend for my entire life as my Mom watches it in the other room has ruined me...also, sorry Mom, I should have told you that in person, not on the internet.

This morning, Red River students had the opportunity to watch Sam Katz and Judy Wasylycia-Leis debate live in the cafeteria of the Princess St (Princess Ave according to Richard Cloutier) campus.  I'm not sure if I would have attended it had I not been required to, but I'm glad I was.  The mayoral candidates duked it out for almost two hours for an audience of mostly students, tackling issues such as Winnipeg's increasing crime rate, crumbling infrastructure, the Veolia contract and briefly touching on the police helicopter recently purchased by the city.  Though neither presented any new ideas or platforms, it was interesting to hear them exchange blows, and be able to watch their reactions right in front of me.  The highlight for me was Judy W-L's rapid shift facial expressions after Katz responded to her scolding him about the Veolia contract with "Thanks, Mom!"  Many people saw that as a low blow, and it even evoked a few boos from the audience.  Personally I saw nothing unethical about it, for a couple reasons... 

1)  Name-calling is part of politics, that much I know.  They're called attack ads, people, it's no different.  

2)  As far as slandering the opponent goes, Judy presented very little of her own ideas, and spent much of her time talking down on Katz, with not much to back it up. 

3)  In regards to being condescending, how about referring to the incumbent mayor as "My dear Sam Katz" at one point.  You had to hear the tone she used.  In fact you can, by clicking here to watch the entire debate, courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.  Watch for my buddies Garth and Al to ask the hard hitting questions near the end.

Throughout this whole debate I felt like I should be taking notes, in case the big bad Journalism instructor decides that a quiz is necessary (note to Duncan: it's not), but I was too caught up in the debate to even think about taking out my notebook.  The back and forth exchange was so quick and enticing that I doubt I would have been able to write fast enough, anyway

A lot of people are talking about the "winner" of the debate, and though there really is no winner in a debate, I felt that Katz presented himself a lot better than Judy W-L.  She spent too much time talking about Katz, rambled on for too long, and presented arguments that were factually ungrounded.  Katz was more professional, more composed and tackled the issues at hand rather than talking circles around them.

I should mention, though, that I am still unimpressed with my options in this election, and plan to write myself in again.  JAREMY FOR MAYOR!

"Like This..."

Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to stand front row at the Garrick Centre to see The Robert Cray Band.  Cray is someone who I have always known of, mostly as someone who has played with many blues greats in the past, but never seen or been overly familiar with.  When I heard he was coming to town and tickets were a mere 45 bucks I jumped on it.  Boy am I happy that I did.  My long time guitar playin' buddy and I were right up front (he took the picture above with his BlackBerry) and Cray delivered.  Everything from his dreaded bass player's bare feet (complete with painted silver toenails) to the rubber chicken hanging from one of the cymbal stands was perfect.  Talk about dynamic, this guy would go from wailing loud enough to make ears bleed to a barely audible whisper, both vocally and on guitar.  But just as a note to all concert goers, when someone is playing quietly that doesn't mean start yelling stupid shit like "IN THE GROOVE!" or "NICE!" or "SWEET!" or "THIS IS AWESOME!" or "WE LOVE YOU!".  The man is preforming, he doesn't need your drunk ass yelling at him.  Just drink your beer and shut up.  

Sorry for that last little rant, but it really pisses me off when people are stupid like that at concerts, especially during quiet parts.  Don't get me started on the drunken frat boy morons at Neil Young...

Videos You Gotta See

I've been wanting to post a couple videos of covers for a while now but haven't found a good time.  Well, after seeing the video of David Lee Roth from Van Halen (a guilty pleasure of mine, I'll admit) playing a bluegrass version of Jump on Leno, I decided it was time to post some of these videos together, completely out of context and just for fun.  Enjoy!

To start, bluegrass Van Halen, as mentioned above.  I love when he tries to point out the guy playing the solo but can't figure out which guy he should be pointing at. I can't decide if this is awesome in a terrible way, or just plain terrible.  Let me know what you think.

 You've probably seen it, but the Muppets do an awesome version of Bohemian Rhapsody.

This next one is cool for me because I was actually there. I'm pretty impressed with the quality this guy got from so close. Ben Harper & Relentless7 doing Under Pressure by Queen/Bowie at Bonnaroo 2009.

And speaking of Ben Harper, click here to see a video of him on Conan O'Brien's last episode as host of The Tonight Show. Not only is Ben Harper there, Will Ferrell sings, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top is there, Conan rocks the guitar, and just for the sake of being weird, Beck is there as well.

New Poll/Oddity Faire

Polls are closed, all 23 votes have been counted, and the winner is...

Stairway to Heaven!

The final count was Stairway 15, Freebird 8.

New poll is up, Darkside or The Wall?  Vote now on the right hand side of the page.

side note: The Oddity Faire was amazing!  Split Lip Rayfield turned out to be a wicked good three-piece bluegrass band from Wichita, Kansas formed in 1995.  Two of the members switched between guitar, banjo and mandolin while the third played a "homemade one-string bass, named Stitchgiver, built from the gastank of a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis and a piece of hickory and strung with one piece of Weedwhacker line."

Of course, Primus was mind blowing.  Les Claypool has the best strut ever, and he makes everything look so easy.  Highlight of the night for me was My Name is Mud, but a close second would be Claypool coming on stage in a monkey mask and playing his homemade whamola.  If you don't know what a whamola is you're missing out. 

Here's a couple videos for y'all internet people to enjoy.

Split Lip Rayfield - Never Make it Home

Primus - My Name is Mud