Something a little different!

Ok, I kinda felt I had to share a guy I have been pimping during some of my sets as of late. He's been performing since '96 and recording a few tunes here and there since '02.What blows my mind about him not only is his vocal style but when he got discovered by one of the co-founders of Daptone records they put him in front of a band and he said "Just play music I'll sing" and proceeded to make up his lyrics on the spot. So after all of this is said and done he finally released his debut album last year...at the tender age of 64.

This is the title track off his debut CD (and my favorite track on it)

Graveyard Train

Also in the audience enjoying Cash Savage (my last post) were members of Melbourne horror folk band Graveyard Train. In my mind it's hard to beat the all-male chorus, much less the use of chains! Looking forward to their next album, due out in May. Meanwhile this song is from the wonderful "The Drink, The Devil and The Dance".

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O4BnIW6dIM&w=560&h=315]

Cashed up for the little savages

So....my first ever non-work-related blog. I can't help wondering what on earth I think I'm doing! Feeling an overwhelming need to justify myself, I thought I'd start by promoting some of the Australian artists I love who are generally less well known in other parts of the world. Which brings me to a recent "cry baby" session in a small inner city bar here in Melbourne. These sessions are for parents with little kids - those who so often miss out on all the best gigs because they start only hours before the small fry wake in the morning. For just $5 entry on a Sunday afternoon, once a month, you get face painting (not restricted to the little 'uns), a sausage sizzle, and a monthly guest artist or band...all this AND beer!

What a treat, then, to be offered the marvellous, somewhat enigmatic Cash Savage and the Last Drinks - especially so soon after being introduced to her music via a friend in the UK (to my shame). The 3-4 year olds on the dance floor went wild, and most of us bigger folk were only slightly less excited. The music? "Country for the broken hearted. Blues for the debauched" according to her web site. Yep, that's about it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZrpzZdtPaQ]

Pendulum

(This is a re-post of a reply I made to Mikkey Magic here)

The thing about dubstep is that it has... alongside that technical brilliance and innovation - this crazy reggae influence. I found this wiki article really helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep#Structure.2C_bass_drops.2C_rewinds_and_MCs

The mixture of the two (reggae and electronica) was so unexpected when I first encountered it, something like discovering a ... science-fiction rasta. This song, 'Tarantula' by Pendulum (2005), seems to be about such a character. I love how the wild & outlandish music helps to characterise the character being described by the singer - interestingly enough in the same way that the eerie music in the Aphex Twin helps to bring alive the eerie character in the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kJ09FpWoaM

Tarantula is great for describing that jump from reggae to dubstep because of the way the first version of the refrain (with syncopated guitars and even a hint of a West African style brass section) transitions quite quickly into the 'future' - dubstep :)

Of course, this song was released 7 years ago and is quite tame by today's dubstep standards. Especially after Skrillex.


Massive! Time to fix you up something here right now!

Shotta, hitter, serial killer
Go-a your funeral and all drink out your liquor
When you are bury we a-stand next to vicar
Fling on some dirt and make your bury a little quicker
Shouldn't test the youth them in the Tommy Hilfiger
Hug up ya mama, say sorry to ya poppa
All-a get number for ya little sister
I true be cold like Alaska freezer

Black tarantula, time for the massive come sing ya
Black tarantula, don't play with my style I might sting ya
Black tarantula, you want me inject me bacteria
And if ya body goin' stiff and your spine goin' numb
Now come fi get some...

(blank)

70 million smiles for any art lover

This video has been around the interwebs for awhile but it is still praise worthy. If you want to download this on Itunes please don't make the same mistake as me and purchase the "Hold your horses" country band album. There are two bands with the same name. You want the 70 million EP.  Take a shot for every painting you recognize and I'll see you at the bar! - Mik

Flogging Molly

I found this, had it on repeat and can't resist posting it ... Bob Dylan for Judas... Flogging Molly for me :)