The Motors - The Motors 1 In WAV - Scans are included 1Dancing The Night Away 2Freeze 3Cold Love 4Phoney Heaven 5Bring In The Morning Light 6Emergency 7Whiskey And Wine 8Summertime (Is Calling) 9Be What You Gotta Be Bonus Tracks 10Dancing The Night Away (Single Version) 11You Beat The Hell Outta Me (Single Version) 12Cold Love (Remix)
Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster first worked together as members of Ducks Deluxe, one of the tougher and more rollicking bands to emerge from the British pub rock scene, so when punk rock raised the ante on volume and attitude by the time their next band, the Motors, released their first album in 1977, they were more than willing to meet the challenge. While The Motors 1 is a long way from punk rock, it certainly reflects what many pub rock refugees learned from punk -- namely, keep playing straight-ahead rock tunes, but kick up the volume and tempo and forget trying to sound like the Band. The Motors 1 kicks off with the superb "Dancing the Night Away," an excellent fusion of pop melody with big guitar firepower, and the song is so effective that it sets a standard the rest of the disc can't quite match. But they do come close in spots, especially on the cranked-up "Phoney Heaven" and the Springsteen-esque "Bring in the Morning Light," while the neo-reggae lurch of "Cold Love" confirms these guys didn't have to limit themselves to four-square rock and roll. Nick Garvey and Bram Tchaikovsky are a formidable guitar combination on this album, while Rick Slaughter's drumming is sharply energetic and Andy McMaster is a truly valuable point man on bass, keyboards, and guitars. The Motors 1 is a fine set of meat-and-potatoes rock and roll played with the right amount of sweat and more smarts and craft than you might expect.
Have you ever dreamed of a band that has the good looks? A band that's got crunchy guitars AND catchy melodies? A band that's got the rock'n'roll attitude without being cliché?
Don't look any further. Ladies and gentlemen I give you The Singles! The band is currently featuring Vince Frederick (guitar/vocals) - Nicky Veltman (drums) - Max Goldman (bass).
One girl and 2 guys. 100% perfect rock'n'roll trio.
Their fourth full length, SWEET TOOTH, is brilliant from start to finish.
All killers and no fillers.
Read their full story here, told by Vince:
1)Vince, it seems like a long way, musically
and visually from the 4 guys who released the very Beatlesque "Better Than
Before" in 2003. In 2017, you are the only remaining original member and
the new release "Sweet Tooth" sounds -at times- very glam (the
title track). Please, tell the viewers of this blog your full story. We want to
hear it all from you!
I joined this band called “Electricity” back
in 1998. We only played a handful of shows, maybe 3 or 4. This band is how I
met the original drummer (Dave Knepp) and bass player (Dave Lawson) for The
Singles. I started “The Singles” in 1999 with Knepp, and once we made our first
EP, we recruited Lawson to play bass. Lawson brought in his friend Will Yates
to play lead guitar; that line-up got signed to Rainbow Quartz Records in 2002,
due to Matthew Smith from Outrageous Cherry. He dug us and wanted to produce
our first album, and his band was on the label. Anyways, Knepp suggested we
wear black and white suits for a 'Battle Of The Bands' gig, and that's how the
suits got started. I was way into the Beatles, etc. back then; so I wanted us
to always be in them, and it stuck for a loooooong time.
So after we made “Better Than Before” and did
a bunch of Euro touring, etc., that line-up went away. I put out an ad looking
for a drummer in the Metro Times, and that's where I found Brian Thunders. In
the meantime, I was rehearsing with a linguistics professor, John Hale, on
bass. He saw us play at the University he was currently teaching at and he came
up to me and said he liked us. For some reason I felt he was a musician, so I
asked him if he would want to join. And he did! This was the line up that made
our 2nd album “Start Again”. John left shortly after, and we got in
Phil Roth on bass. He was great too, and we did a bunch of gigs, including a
really fun tour of Europe in 2008.
After Phil left on bass, we recruited our
buddy Ryan Hurnevich to step in. He was in a band called The Lessmores, who we
always played with. I was going for another full length record for that year
(2009), but we just managed to get 3 CD singles released. Also, Thunders
decided to leave the band midway through that year. It felt like going I was in
circles at that point, so that's when I decided to move out to Los Angeles.
In LA, I ran into another fellow Detroit
musician Jenny Pirch. She played in a band called The Gore Gore Girls. Pirch
and I were gigging around as a duo for awhile. Then she invited out Nicky
Veltman to a show. Nicky played drums with her in the GGGs. We asked Nicky if she
would join up and she did! (Note: the suits vanished by this point)
Nicky and I got things moving on our next
record “Look How Fast A Heart Can Break” pretty quickly. We put the album out in April of 2014. We had
rotating bass players around this time. We also did a bunch of touring in the
US for that record.
Max Goldman was one of the bass players that
toured with us that year, and he stuck around for better or worse. After a year
or so we jumped back in the studio with Rick Parker, who mixed and produced
“LHFAHCB”, and we made a brand new album called “Sweet Tooth”. The album came
out on July, 28th 2017.
2)What
is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
That
would be heartache or heartbreak topics. I can really summon those feelings up
very easily when it comes to writing a song. It's a genuine feeling as well. So
I know I'm on the right track when that feeling is helping me write.
3)About
your latest full length, "Sweet Tooth". You opted not only for a tougher
sound but also for a stronger visual. Gone are the 4 sharp dressed guys in ties
and instead here is some aquatic monster with its mouth wide open. What can you
tell about the choice of the cover of the album? And what can you tell about
the recording process? Was this a live in the studio recording or a track by
track recording with lots of overdubs?
Well,
the album cover was done by my girlfriend Ursula Galviano. I knew I wanted the
album artwork to be a handmade drawing of sorts. The image was totally hers. So
whatever she heard in the making of the album, as well as the final sequenced
version, she put that down on the drawing board and created the water monster.
I think it fits the feel of some of the tunes on this album, especially the
title track.
The
recording was done once again with producer/mixer Rick Parker here in Los
Angeles. We went into the studio to work on two or three songs at a time
throughout the year of 2016. Once we got the basic backing tracks done, we
would hop on over to Rick's personal studio called “The Sandbox” to put on
overdubs.
4)To
what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence
your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that
you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
The
main band that got me to pick up a guitar and start writing songs was The
Beatles. They certainly were my favorite band back then. But I was also
listening to a lot of the early rock n rollers like Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry,
etc. too. I was checking out who The Beatles liked and then going on a hunt to
find those records. A lot of 50's blues, doo wop and rock n roll was a part of
those formative years. I was also really into the bands coming out of England
at that time in the 90's: Oasis, Supergrass, Blur.
Bands
don't really influence my songwriting nowadays. Back when I was figuring out
how to write songs, they sure did. Now it's experiences and feelings that I
wanna get off my chest I'll write about. But, regardless of not thinking about
other bands when I write, I think your formative years really play a part in
the way you end up sounding or singing. So I can always hear a little Beatles,
Buddy, and the Everlys in my stuff.
5)Are
you still the main composer in The Singles or is everybody involved to a
certain extent?
I
am. But once the song is written I'll bring it to the band and we'll figure out
the feel of how the tune will go down. Will we play it fast or slow? Will it be
a waltz or a country shuffle? Those kind of things. Usually all that happens
naturally once we all start jamming on the song.
6)Do
you have a video on youtube featuring a track from the latest release?
There
is a live performance of us playing the song “Voodoo” off the new album. You
can see it on YouTube here:
7)What
can concert goers expect at a The Singles gig? Are you playing any famous cover
songs?
They
can expect a loud rock n roll set of our jams. Drums, bass and guitar. Some
good harmonies here and there as well. We are not doing any cover songs at the
moment.
8)When
you perform nowadays with The Singles, are you still playing some tracks from
the first albums? If so, are the songs given the "tougher sound"
treatment?
We do play a lot off the first two albums.
“Since You've Been Gone” “When Will She Be Mine?” “Waited So Long” to name a
few. Those are all in the current set. And I think the old tunes sound even
better with this line-up (with Max and Nicky). If we had the luxury to make an
album to re-record a bunch of the old songs, I would definitely try it out. I
think it would come out great. It would also show how some of those songs still
hold up today! Wink.Wink.
9)What are the plans for the rest of 2017 as
far as The Singles are concerned? Are you guys planning to tour Europe soon?
We're gonna try to play as many shows that
come our way and hopefully turn on some more people to our new album. We'd love
to go back and do another European tour again. The last time we did that was in
2008. If you know any booking agents that would want to help make it happen,
send them our way!
10)Anything you would like to say to the
viewers of this blog?
Endless Boogie - Vibe Killer In WAV - Scans are included 1. Vibe Killer 2. Let It Be Unknown 3. High Drag, Hard Doin' 4. Bishops At Large 5. Back in '74 6. Jefferson County 7. Whilom
Endless Boogie did, in fact, start way back in the late ‘90s, as a chance for some employees of Matador Records to jam. And it took a while for them to get the thing off the ground, with only occasional shows and no recorded material to speak of until the mid-2000s. But they’ve made up for lost time in the ‘10s, releasing a slew of full-lengths over the past half-dozen years. The latest, Vibe Killer, further entrenches Endless Boogie as the band that time forgot.
Saw these guys last night, that was quite something!.
For a decade, James Hall has brought us under the moniker Shake Some Action! some brilliant Rickenbacker driven Power Pop / Jangle Pop. "Crash Through or Crash" is probably one of SSA's best outings, featuring reverb-soaked harmonies and powerful guitar work (my personal favorite track: "It goes like this"). All the songs on this latest recording, are performed and produced by James Hall at Studio 88 Seattle. Once again, it is released on James' very own label Satellite 451 Records. So it was time for this blog to have a very interesting chat with the man himself. Here is what he told us:
1) James, it's a decade now since the release of your first solo record under the moniker Shake Some Action! in 2007. By the time of "Sunny days ahead", you put together an actual band. In 2017, it seems that you are back on your own. Please, tell the viewers of this blog your full story. We want to hear it all from you!
Yeah, the actual band started as the first album was coming out. That was with David Bos, Gary Miller and Chris Campbell and we played live throughout 2007. During that year, we started writing songs together and then "Sunny Days Ahead" was recorded by that lineup at the end of that year.
Gary and Chris both moved out of town and on the Fire And Ice record, I was pretty much solo again, although gary played on one song and David played on a couple of others by recording themselves remotely. For Full Fathom Five, I recorded every note myself and really enjoyed it. Then I put together another lineup and we played a handful of shows in 2013. And then during the last year while I was working on the latest album, I put together another lineup and we’ll hopefully be playing some Seattle shows before the end of 2017.
2) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
Usually I improvise lyrics over the top of the backing until I hit on something interesting. So the lyrics can be a bit stream-of-consciousness and not necessarily make sense at first. What usually comes out is some sort of subconscious attempt to process whatever is going on in my life. Sometimes it can be about things from years before, or about a dream, or something somebody said. But often it’s just the first thing that comes out when I stick a mic in front of my face.
3) Putting a Black Rickenbacker 330 on the cover of your latest full length, "Crash Through or Crash" feels like a statement to me. This means : "Look out, this is power pop you are going to listen to" Do you agree with this assumption and furthermore what can you tell about the recording process of this new release?
Yeah, that shot was actually from our first show back in 2006 and as they say, a picture tells a thousand words. I think it was to say, yeah, this is the music inside and also just to convey a bit of energy, a bit of swagger. I think this album has a few songs that rock a bit harder than I’ve done for a while.
The recording process for this album started back in 2015 when I was initially working on music for TV and film, which I do on the side. After a little while it became clear that some of the songs could be Shake Some Action songs and so I started to re-focus on making a new album.
I record songs in my home studio as I write, so my process has been the same for a few years now. I start out with some drums, then plug in a guitar and jam on it until something interesting happens. Then often I’ll edit some of those ideas into a song structure and improvise a vocal on it. Usually by then I can tell if it’s worth working on more or leaving it alone. By the end of 2016 I had about 30 finished songs.
4) To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
When I was a teenager I listened to a lot of Beatles music. I was a bit of a fanatic, actually. They are still a major influence even though I don’t listen to them as much as I used to. When I first heard their music it was like being struck by lightning and nothing was ever the same again.
The other main influences are probably the Stone Roses and a couple of Australian bands - Hoodoo Gurus and You Am I. They were my favorites as a teenager that still resonate with me today and were very influential when I first started writing songs.
5) Are you more comfortable in working alone or with an actual band?
When I record, I like to do it alone. Mostly because I record as I write and when I get in that zone, it’s hard to stop. Usually I get ideas for bass lines or guitar parts early on and I like to get them recorded while they’re fresh. Before I know it, the work is all done.
But playing live, I much prefer playing with a band. I like to give my bandmates freedom to play the songs however they like and I think that makes it interesting when the songs become living, breathing things that are different every time we play them.
6) Do you have a video on youtube featuring a track from the latest release?
Not yet . . .
No new video, so here is an older one instead!
7) What can concert goers expect at a Shake Some Action! gig? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
Hopefully they’ll see energetic performances of the new songs, alongside new versions of some older favorites. We haven’t rehearsed any cover songs yet but I recorded Lady Friend by the Byrds during sessions for the album so that might appear at some point. We also used to do White Light White Heat by the Velvet Underground, so that might make an appearance as well.
8) Is Satellite 451 Records your very own record label?
Yes it is.
9) What are the plans for the rest of 2017 as far as Shake Some Action! is concerned? Are you planning to tour Europe soon?
No touring plans at this stage, although we’ll see what happens. We’re looking into recording a live performance towards the end of the year and if we like it, possibly releasing a live DVD. We also have a 10th anniversary re-release of our first album coming out on October 1st, and that has a bunch of extra tracks that nobody’s heard before so we’re looking forward to that.
10) Anything you would like to say to the viewers of this blog?
Yeah, thank you all for your support and we hope you like the new record!
Chain & The Gang - Live At Third Man Records 07-03-2016 In WAV - Scans are included A1.Live N Direct A2.I See Progress A3.Why Not? A4.Certain Kinds Of Trash A5.Devitalize A6.Free Will A7.Logic Of Night B1.Mum's The Word B2.Livin Rough B3.What Is A Dollar? B4.Come Over
The latest from the world's greatest frontman, Ian Svenonius, is the excellent live document of Chain and the Gang! This LP captures the raucous yet sagacious social commentary of Svenonius perfectly supplemented by the shaken soulful punk styling of The Gang. This ain't 3 Am party dulled garage rock; this is sharp, socio-political and intelligent critique, as many DC artists have had a rich history of representing. This also must be Chain & the Gang's decidedly lo-fi sound at its most clear.
A highlight is the final track "Come Over," kicking off with floor tom detonation, adding chunky power pop guitars and barely-breathing vocals pushing to the point of disintegration with the very last note of the show.
Yipes! In WAV - Scans are included 01.This Is Your Life 02.Good Boys 03.Out In California 04.Girls Get In Trouble 05.Me And My Face 06.East Side Kids 07.Russian Roll 08.Hangin' Around 09.The Ballad Of Roy Orbison 10.Last Of The Angry Young Men
Yipes! was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Band members McCurdy, Hoffmann, and Strand had been playing together since 1971, but formed Yipes! in 1977 after the addition of Freese and Bartel. After winning a battle of the bands contest, the group submitted a demo tape to Millennium Records, which signed the group.Their debut, self-titled album was issued in 1979, and a follow-up release appeared in 1980. During this time Yipes! opened for Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Kansas, and Jefferson Starship. The band was dropped from their label in 1981 and disbanded soon after.
