Recommended shows for the week of 6/29/08

Tuesday the 1st:
Telekinesis at El Corazon

Thursday the 3rd:
Mexican UFO at Blue Moon

Friday the 4th:
Model Rockets/Tripwires/Doll Test at Tractor Tavern

Andy Werth at Legion Park Everett (1:30 PM)

Saturday the 5th:
Andy Werth/Gary Reynolds/Dept. of Energy at Tractor Tavern

Shake Some Action! Go Digital

Shake Some Action! have single handedly come up with what is hands down the best music video I’ve seen in ages. What makes it so great? Notice the dexterous guitar fingering for one. And how about those incredible digital effects seamlessly blended with live concert footage. And the performances, well how many performances of this caliper do you ever see? I could count them on the fingers of one hand. These guys really do remind me of Badfinger. Check it out.

Candy Fest 2008

Oh yeah, this is gonna be sweet:

Hey everybody! Get ready because CANDYFEST is coming up quick! What is CANDYFEST? It's going to be a one day festival taking place at two venues; King Cobra and The Comet Tavern. It will cost $12 and includes 14 of the west coast’s best bands from Vancouver BC to Los Angeles. It's punk rock, powerpop, glam rock, and rock ‘n’ roll.

You can buy your tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com

It starts at 4 PM and is going to go until 2 AM!!!

Tim Rogers at The Sunset 8/8/08

I’m pretty excited about this show:

The Sunset is extremely pleased to welcome Tim Rogers of the legendary Australian rock band, You Am I. Also joining Tim on the bill is Thee Sgt Major III and The Small Change.

Aren't we lucky!!! Here are the details:

Friday August 8th
Tim Rogers (You Am I)
Thee Sgt Major III
The Small Change
@ The Sunset
$10 tickets / buy advance tickets here
Doors at 8pm / Show starts at 10pm

Here's Tim Rogers preforming "Heavy Heart" from You Am I's fine album #4 Record.

Lund Bros./Small Change/Tripwires Live Review

Photo by Gwon Chang

A great bar at the center of the universe (Fremont) on a warm Friday night, outstanding performances by three of SPB’s fav bands - it was the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of summer.

The Lund Brothers remind me of Cheap Trick, Material Issue, Redd Kross – they play classic power pop with plenty of power, tight harmonies and catchy melodies. According to their bio, brothers Chris and Sean Lund have a rapport similar to that of Ray and Dave Davies or Liam and Noel Gallagher. There wasn’t any sign of sibling animosity at the High Dive last Friday night but there was plenty of evidence that musical talent runs in the Lund family.

Chris plays guitar, masterfully combining power chords and rhythm riffs with shredding leads. Sean’s a propulsive, hard-hitting drummer. They both sing, trading off lead vocals and singing close harmonies together. Bassist Gwon Chang holds down the low end with plenty of skill and energy and adds backing vocals and a third harmony whenever one is required. This is one power-trio with the skills and know-how to really fill the sonic spectrum. They played a great set of original, well-crafted songs, ending with an impressive cover of Badfinger’s “No Matter What.”

As the rest of the band looked on, lead singer Greg Collinsworth made a dedication to a friend and sang a rough but poignant cover of “Days” the lovely Kinks’ classic. Scott 5 (Doll Test) jumped up on stage after the first verse to lend harmony vocals and moral support. After that very moving opening Greg announced that it was time to rock as The Small Change launched into an inspired set of soulful, high energy, mod, power pop – think Elvis Costello & The Attractions mixing it up with The Small Faces, Fender guitars and Hammond organ the weapons of choice.

After a bunch of great Collinsworth originals, Kurt Bloch (Thee Sgt. Major III) was invited on stage to join the band for an incredible cover of one of the best power pop songs of all time, The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright.” As soon as they'd finished Bloch started strumming the opening chords of “The Seeker” and the band quickly fell in for another rousing Who cover. To top it all off Greg handed his guitar to Scott 5 and The Small Change proceeded to tear up The Faces’ “Stay With Me,” Collinsworth singing his heart out while 5 and lead guitarist Ryan Maxwell traded off fiery guitar licks.

The Small Change is a tough act to follow but The Tripwires where more than up to the challenge. The Tripwires have such a unique sound that it’s hard to compare them to anyone else. If pressed I’d say they mix twangy roots rock and power pop with a quirky but subtle sense of humor similar to Rockpile and NRBQ. John Ramberg is the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter. He’s an exceptional talent as are his band mates Jim Sangster on bass, Johnny Sangster on guitar and backing vocals and Mark Pickerel on drums. I’ve seen them perform several times now and they never cease to amaze me.

While always sounding idiosyncratic The Tripwires cover a lot of stylistic territory from the infectious Merseybeat sound of “Zigzag” to the roots rock choogle of “Monument,” to the swaying, anthemic ballad “Big Electric Light.” They’ve also got a ragtime, a twist and a new song with a pronounced disco feel – did I mention this is a great dance band? I’d say at least half the audience was dancing their entire set, Ramberg encouraging us to divide into Jets and Sharks, to do the twist, to do the Grizzly Bear and finally to take a Beatle bow.

While Ramberg’s songs are uniformly great The Tripwires also have a knack for finding obscure but terrific covers and making them their own. Last Friday they played Graham Parker’s (via Dave Edmunds) “Crawling from the Wreckage,” Los Shakers’ “Break It All” (Side note: If you don’t already own Rhino’s Nuggets II Boxed Set you should seriously think about buying it.), “She’s A Mod” by Ray Columbus and The Invaders and The Hi-Risers’ “One Note Joe.”

Great music, great fun and summer is here at last Seattle.

Shake Some Action! Interview

Seattle Powerpop Blog (SPB): Congratulations on the release of your stellar new album Sunny Days Ahead. I think it’s got a great sound that combines the polish of your first album Shake Some Action! with the excitement and directness of your live album Live at the Crocodile. Are you happy with the way it turned out?

James Hall (JH): Thanks Andy. Overall I'm very happy with it. I think your description is about right – it was a combination of playing live (the backing tracks) with the polish added in the overdub sessions that followed.

Gary Miller (GM): I’m very happy with the results. I know some folks have been surprised with the harder edge that comes with some of the tracks. But, I think it’s a good balance and it was a very satisfying process to go through to get the end results!

SPB: James you did a great job producing and engineering the album. Was recording the rhythm tracks with Rob Sharp at Playroom Studio key to getting the sound you wanted?

JH: Thanks Andy! It was – Rob is such an easy guy to work with and we all knew him to varying degrees, so we knew he understood what would work best for the songs. He has an amazing collection of vintage analog gear – great preamps and mics and some rare Vox and Selmer amps that we put to good use. We wanted a warm analog feel for the drums and bass in particular, with just the right amount of grit - and Rob knows how to dial in the right amount of grit.

SPB: I love the use of keyboards and percussion on this album. Did you guys experiment overdubbing various instruments after you had the basic tracks recorded?

JH: We spent about 2 months overdubbing and yeah, we experimented a lot. Chris did most of the percussion – the tambourines and shakers and the like – and we used percussion on almost every song. Gary and I spent a lot of time trying various keyboard overdubs – we had a pretty clear idea that we didn’t want it to just sound exactly like the live band, we wanted to spice it up a bit. There’s a lot of Hammond B3 organ, some Mellotron and Farfisa, some piano and Gary played lap steel on “Curtain Call.” It’s easy to go overboard with that stuff but I think we got the balance about right.

SPB: The songs on Sunny Days Ahead are credited to Shake Some Action! on the CD insert, how much of a group effort was this record? What was the songwriting process like?

JH: It was very much a group effort from the very beginning. Gary and I talked about co-writing early last year and we found we worked really well together – once we started a lot of new material just came out of nowhere. We had a lot of fun coming in with ideas, recording demos in my studio, then taking away unfinished songs and returning a week later with lyrics and melodies. Those first few songs ended up in our live set at the end of last year – “Walking Away,” “Looking For Someone” and “Unusual Girl.” Then Chris started coming in with songs (he wrote a lot of “You Don’t Care”) and would help co-write on others. Once we had chords and lyrics we would learn the songs as a band and that was where David would come in and add the icing on the cake with his guitar work. So the writing process was very collaborative from beginning to end.

SPB: Several of the songs seem to be about disintegrating relationships. Was there a catalyst?

JH: Not really. That’s the stuff that always fascinates me regardless of whether it’s happening to me or not. Some friends of mine were going through a nasty divorce last year and that inspired some lyrics on a few songs but only in a general sense.

GM: I’ve always written lyrics that have some type of loss or longing in them. For some reason, that’s always been a draw for me both as a writer and a listener. So, as one who is happily married, it requires putting yourself in another space or frame of mind sometimes. But, really, that kind of stuff is universal and you can draw on past experiences, or even things that evoke the same feeling but are in completely different parts of life. Truth be known, while I was writing the lyrics to “Your Valentine,” my dog was very sick and almost died. I’m sure that imbued some sadness in those lyrics.

SPB: I think David’s a great guitar player but I understand that he was busy with his newborn baby (congratulations) during much of the recording and that Gary actually played some of the guitar solos on Sunny Days Ahead. I really love the solo on “Half Past Three” - the way the tension quickly builds over the bridge erupting in a quick burst of violence and then when it starts back into the verse it sounds so joyful like a little victory dance and finally over the chorus almost gloating – nah nah nah nah, nah nah, nah nah nah…Great stuff and it fits so perfectly with the story the lyrics tell. I’m curious Gary, was all that thought out or was it just intuitive?

GM: You know, it’s funny you should ask that, because that is the one song that I hadn’t analyzed the lyrics for at all. In truth, it hadn’t really even struck me what that song was about until you wrote about it on SPB. I should probably hang my head in shame for that, I’m sure. But, the song’s story wasn’t obvious to me until you wrote about it. I suppose I’m thick headed or something! I guess that’s a long way of answering that it was total intuition and luck that allows the guitar solo to match the storyline of the song. I was just writing to the music, rather than the lyrics.

SPB: “Who Do You Love?” has a scorching solo played by Ryan Maxwell of Young Sportsmen. How did you happen to work with Ryan on that track?

GM: Well, this song almost didn’t make it onto the record. Even though it’s a total rocker, I don’t think James has ever really been in love with the tune. So, we were working on this one late in the game, during the time where David and Dana were getting closer to having their baby. I didn’t feel like I could really pull off a solo to match the vibe of the tune. So, I asked James if he wanted to go “outside the circle.” I called up Ryan, and he literally said “have guitar, will travel.” So, he came over and just blasted through it.

SPB: What kind of distribution deal do you have for Sunny Days Ahead and where can people buy a copy?

JH: People can buy a copy at any of the major online stores – iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Napster, Rhapsody, CD Baby etc etc – and our distribution stretches across the world so even if it isn’t on the shelves, it can be ordered from practically any record store on the planet.

SPB: You guys haven’t played any shows since last September. Gary moved to North Carolina earlier this year. I’m getting a little worried. Gary’s driving rock-solid bass playing and spot-on high harmony vocals are an integral part of Shake Some Action’s sound. Are you going to try to function as a bi-costal band or are you looking for a replacement for Gary?

JH: We still haven’t worked that one out. We had planned on taking a little break after finishing the record anyway – so with Gary gone that’s just been extended. We’re still in that mindset of having a rest from the band and seeing what happens. As you mentioned, Gary is an exceptional bass player and vocalist. It would be tough to find someone who could do either of those things as well as him, let alone wrapped up in the one person. We had such a great chemistry as a band – everyone was easy going and low maintenance, there was never any drama – that replacing any member of the band would diminish it for me. We’ve talked about collaborating long-distance and as far as recording goes that’s perfectly do-able. We’re just not sure about playing live – we haven’t ruled anything in or out, we’ll just wait and see where the dust settles.

GM: I really hope to see the long-distance collaboration come into being. I think that’d be interesting and fun, especially since I think James and I write well together. But, as he says, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens after this record runs its course.

SPB: Gary you like to classify Seattle bands in what you call affinity groups, so what bands are in Shake Some Action’s affinity group?

GM: That’s a very good question. I may be too close to the forest to see any particular trees here. I think we might straddle a few. I think we always felt comfortable surrounded by the Unsmashable guys. But, at the same time, some of our best shows I think were with The Purrs. We’re not nearly as psychedelic as those guys. But, I think both bands have a slightly dark undercurrent.

SPB: Every review or article I’ve ever read about Shake Some Action! mentions that you play Rickenbacker guitars. Have you ever thought about trying to secure an endorsement deal?

JH: Dreamed about it would be more accurate! If John Hall is reading this, we’d love a 12 string 360.

GM: And if you could toss a 4003 in the box, that’d be awesome. Ha ha.

SPB: I have a theory that bands that play Rickenbacker guitars are somewhat enamored with the music of the mid-sixties Beatles, Byrds and Who, hope to emulate that sound in some way and will therefore most likely make pretty good music themselves. What do you think of my theory?

JH: I think that’s true to a large extent, although a lot of bands can take the emulation too far - the trick is to incorporate other influences to put a fresh spin on the music. After all, those bands eventually got away from that sound themselves so it’s important to evolve.

The Baseball Project

Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows/Minus 5) recently teamed up with fellow baseball fanatic Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate/Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3) to form The Baseball Project along with Peter Buck (Minus 5/R.E.M.) on bass and Linda Pitmon (Miracle 3) on drums. They’ve got a pretty great album called Volume One: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails coming out July 8th on the fabulous Yep Roc Records. 13 hits, every single one of ‘em about baseball. You can read all about it and stream the whole record over at Yep Roc.

The Baseball Project played the Late Show with David Letterman last Friday night. Don’t feel bad if you missed it, I did too but fortunately some kind, technologically savvy fan posted it to YouTube - so here you go.

Exile in {Imaginary} Girlville

15 years ago Liz Phair released Exile in Guyville, her song for song answer to The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. 6 years ago the awesome web site Three Imaginary Girls launched. Celebrate both anniversaries at the Exile in {Imaginary} Girlville bash Wednesday night at Chop Suey.

Here are the details TIG provided:

The night will features the songs from Liz Phair's debut record "Exile in Guyville" as interpreted by some of the best up-and-coming bands in the Northwest, including Throw Me the Statue, Team Gina, Star Anna, Tennis Pro, Lucy Bland, M. Bison, Tea Cozies, as well as special performances by Rachel Flotard of Visqueen and Lesli Wood of Ms. Led. The bands will perform the record in order, from "6'1"" to "Strange Loop" and everything in-between.

The night marks the 15th anniversary re-release of the record, as well as the sixth birthday of Three Imaginary Girls, and is co- sponsored by Easy Street Records, Seattle Sound Magazine, and 90.3 KEXP.



Poster by Seattle Show Posters

Recommended shows for the week of 6/22/08

Sunday the 22nd:
Mexican UFO/Dateless at Funhouse

Monday the 23rd:
The Pranks at Funhouse

Tuesday the 24th:
The Blakes/The Broken West at Neumo's

Wednesday the 25th:
TIG Presents "Exile In {Imaginary} Girlville" with Throw Me The Statue/Team Gina/Star Anna/Tennis Pro/Lucy Bland/M. Bison/Tea Cozies/Rachel Flotard/Lesli Wood at Chop Suey

Thursday the 26th:
Andy Werth at Everett Waterfront Concert Series

The Bug Nasties/Branden Daniel & Everybody Gets Laid/The Fuzz at Skylark

Friday the 27th:
Young Sportsmen at The Tractor Tavern

The Cute Lepers/Speaker Speaker/The Pranks at El Corazon

Saturday the 28th:
The Dimes/Slender Means at The Sunset Tavern

The Turn-Ons at The Comet

Tea Cozies at High Dive

SPB 2nd Anniversary

We’ve reached an important milestone here at Seattle Powerpop Blog: our Second Anniversary. To mark the occasion I asked Gary Miller if he would write something pertinent and he obliged me with this very heart felt reflection. Thanks Gary!

What can happen in two years? Let's see. You could earn an associate's degree. You could walk around the earth a couple of times. You could even potentially have two children, like my sister did (I wouldn't recommend it). You could also start a blog with humble intentions, watch it take root, and then pack up and move away a few months before it hits that two year mark!

Given how much fun it was to start, it feels odd that the blog was created and maintained through what was probably the most gut wrenching time in my life. In the same span that SPB has existed, my wife and I lost two pregnancies and that's what motivated our return to the East Coast. That's probably too much information. But, I'm feeling sentimental. Cut me some slack!

Today, however, I find myself missing Seattle. Don't get me wrong, I love being in North Carolina. I can see my family anytime I want to. I can drive to Atlanta or take a quick flight to Florida and in no time have a niece and nephew on each knee. That's a reward all it's own.

But, on random Friday nights, I long to see Greg Collingsworth, drunk off his ass, singing at the top of his lungs at the Sunset Tavern. On hot, sleepless evenings if I close my eyes tightly, I can just make out The Boss Martians crammed into the corner at the Comet. And when it's quiet in my neighborhood, I swear I can hear the Young Sportsmen practicing.

It's hard to get too worked up over this little blog, of course. I mean it started as a diversion at work on a boring afternoon. It's not like it is a Seattle institution or anything. That said, it certainly has its place and has achieved more than I had ever anticipated. So, I was thrilled that Andy wanted to keep it going after I moved away, and thrilled for the same reason I started it in the first place -- there are bands on the scene who don't get attention corresponding with their talents.

But, it ain't easy. Andy, like me before him, struggles to find time to post -- fitting it around work and life and family and fun. It's hard to post consistently, and you'd be surprised how hard it is to get information from bands sometimes. That said, in two years there have been over 1000 posts, focused on good, quality music, and I'm proud of it!

So, this rambling post isn't a call to arms, nor is it a lament. Through my muddled thoughts, this is meant to be a celebration of effort. You know, it's easier not to blog than to blog. But, we do it anyway. It's easier to not write great songs. But, the bands do it anyway. Heck it's probably easier to not read this blog than to read it! But, some of you do it anyway. So, yes, this is a celebration of effort. Thanks to the bands first and foremost for doing what they do. Thanks to Andy for keeping this blog going. And thanks for whoever is out there reading. Happy second birthday, SPB!

Three Great Bands @ High Dive Friday

Wow, three of Seattle's best power pop bands on one great bill. OK technically the Lund Brothers are from Tacoma but never the less this should be a great show so don’t miss it.

Here's the Lund Bros. preforming "New Horizons" to a wildly enthusiastic crowd.

Shake Some Action! – Sunny Days Ahead

While Shake Some Action’s self-titled debut was essentially a James Hall solo record – written, performed and recorded by the talented frontman at his home studio – their terrific new album Sunny Days Ahead was a total group effort that sounds more direct and immediate than its predecessor and nicely captures the energy and excitement that Shake Some Action generate live. The thirteen concise, punchy songs on Sunny Days Ahead rush by fairly breathlessly from one great track to the next, each showcasing the considerable talents and pop-craft of this fine Seattle band.

With an insistent guitar riff and driving beat opening track “Get It Together” is (ironically considering the album’s title) a prophetic admonition to “Look out for stormy weather/Come on and get it together,” and it sets the tone for what follows: an album of infectious, melodic power pop imbued with the snarl and indignation of punk, taking on fakes, haters, bullies and cheats.

The album’s basic rhythm tracks were recorded in a single weekend, many in just one take and there’s an air of spontaneity and looseness here but the songs are all expertly constructed and practically overflowing with ideas. “Looking For Someone” for instance, has a catchy intro riff, verses driven by syncopated bass and rhythm guitar parts that recall the Beatles’ “Taxman,” crunchy power chords that lead into the chorus where organ and wordless background vocals create gorgeous, shimmering overtones and harmony vocals send a chill of pleasure down your spine - all this before they even reach the bridge.

“You Don’t Care” is a scathing rebuke of rampant greed and consumerism propelled by another unstoppable guitar riff (this album is chock-full of them), slashing rhythm guitar and hard-boiling bass and drums. James Hall’s rich, sonorous voice lends an imposing resonance to barbed lines like “Super-size/White-lies/Bloodshot eyes/And nothing satisfies you.” Backing vocals punctuate each verse with the refrain: “You don’t care you need it,” and when the harmony vocals kick in at the chorus: “Too much is not enough,” the song absolutely soars.

With its chiming guitar arpeggios and tambourine “Hurry Up” has that jangle-pop sound that hearkens back to the Byrds and early R.E.M. Other highlights include the exuberant pop punk of “Half Past Three,” “Unusual Girl” with great Farfisa organ and “la la la la” vocal hooks and “Who Do You Love?” the supercharged rocker that brings the album to a rousing finish. All the songs are great though and the CD is only 37 minutes long – you’ll want to set your CD/MP3 player on repeat and listen over and over. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks and I’ve decided that Sunny Days Ahead is a strong contender for SPB album of the year.

Recommended shows for the week of 6/15/08

Sunday the 15th:
Champagne Champagne/The Greatest Hits/Booze at The Comet

Friday the 20th:
The Tripwires/The Lund Brothers/The Small Change at High Dive

The Girls at Vera Project

Saturday the 21st:
Andy Werth/The Dimes/We Wrote The Book On Connectors at Fremont Fair

Thee Sgt. Major III/ Guns & Rosetti/The Riffbrokers at Slim’s Last Chance

The Cute Lepers – Terminal Boredom

If you enjoy bands that tread the thin line between punk and power pop (and why wouldn’t you?) then do yourself a favor and check out The Cute Lepers – they’ve got a fun, high-energy, hook heavy sound reminiscent of The Buzzcocks, The Undertones and The Rezillos.

Here’s their awesome new video “Terminal Boredom” produced by the video production team Guerrillamonster.



If you like the song, go download it for free over at www.fuzz.com.

Team Gina - Rock the Like

I love this new video from Team Gina that Ashley Graham of WigPR sent to me. Team Gina aren’t what I’d call “power pop” but they are from Seattle (notice all the Seattle landmarks prominently featured in the video) and they are a lot of fun and they are pretty poppy and pretty powerful too.

Here’s Ashley’s note:
As anticipation builds for the release of TEAM GINA's debut full-length album on Don't Stop Believin' Records, Products of the '80s, we've got braaaaand new amazingness for you in the form of their video for the album's single "Rock the Like"!



TEAM GINA will be releasing Products of the '80s on Tuesday, June 17 at the War Room at 9pm with guests from Portland, Alphabetix!

Tullycraft East Coast Tour

Tullycraft is playing a handful of East Coast dates in June.

June 11th - Winooski, VT at The Monkey House w/ The Smittens

June 12th - Boston at PA's w/ Pant's Yell! & The Smittens

June 13th - NYC at Pianos w/ Pants Yell!, The Besties & From Bubblegum To Sky

June 14th - NYC at Cake Shop - all-ages show w/ The Cannanes (starts 1:30PM)

June 14th - Philadelphia at The Barbary w/ Scary Monster & Surefire Broadcast

June 15th - Washington, D.C. at Red and Black Bar w/ Sprites & From Bubblegum To Sky

Recommended shows for the week of 6/8/08

Sunday the 8th:
Branden Daniel & Everybody Gets Laid/Hart & the Hurricane
at The Comet

Wednesday the 11th:
Tea Cozies at The Vera Project

Thursday the 12th:
Tripwires/The Knast/The Shy Ones at The Comet

Curtains For You/Peter Parker/Transmissionary Six/Open Choir Fire for 2008’s Noise For The Needy Festival at The Sunset Tavern

Friday the 13th:
Dept. of Energy/Young Sportsmen at Sunset

Slender Means at Georgetown Music Festival

Saturday the 7th:
The Lashes at Georgetown Music Festival

Stuporhero at Dearborn on Woodland

Studio 66

The Sinister Six

The Small Change

Recommended shows for the week of 6/1/08

Sunday the 1st:
Elba/The Quit/Another Perfect Crime at The Sunset Tavern

Tuesday the 3rd:
Lushy/The Bug Nasties at Nectar

Wednesday the 4th:
The Color Bars/Mouseheart Factor at High Dive

Andy Werth/The Capillaries at The Sunset

Thursday the 5th:
Friday Mile/Two Sheds/The Dimes at Nectar

Friday the 6th:
The Submarines/Bad Dream Good Breakfast/The Color Bars at Chop Suey

Half Light/The Purrs/Jones Family Fortune/Delusions at The Comet

Thee Sgt Major/Head/Coconut Coolouts at Funhouse

Saturday the 7th:
Brent Amaker & The Radio/Mass Sugar/The Riffbrokers at Skylark

The Sinister Six/The Small Change/DJ Chrispo/DJ Gort/DJ Vodka Twist/Tangerine Tonic at Lo-Fi Gallery