Most recent blog posts from Pete

Check out this video: Snow Hummingbird Current mood: grateful Category: Pets and Animals

Check out this video: Snow Hummingbird

Currently listening :
Fleet Foxes
By Fleet Foxes
Release date: 2008-06-03

1st Annual Vashon Island Music Festival Current mood: stoked Category: Music

Hello!

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, be sure to check
out the 1st Annual Vashon Island Music Festival this weekend at Agren
Park, just west of town on Bank Road.

Hours are noon to 10pm Saturday and noon to 8pm Sunday.  This event is
presented by my good friend, Ruben Arnot, who has put a ton of work
into organizing it.  It's $15 at the gate, $10 with a food donation.
All profits go to the Vashon/Maury Food Bank.  Festival-goers are
encouraged to bring a blanket, chairs and picnics.  There is no
alcohol allowed in the Park.

Here's the lineup:

Sat.  July 26th:
12:00 John Browne
12:30 Regional Faction
1:30 Dune Viper
2:30 Steelscape
3:30 Little Big Man (see below)
5:00 Ian Moore
6:30 Grebes
7:15 Scatter Gun

Sun.  July 27th
12:00 John Browne
12:30 Rod and Bob
1:15 Resonance
2:30 Radio Daddio
3:45 5:01
5:00 Subconscious Population
6:45 Trolls Cottage

.....and when this festival dies down on Saturday night around
9:30-10pm, roll on over to the Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi for some
late night beverages.  Performing onstage at The Red Bicycle at 10pm
is LITTLE BIG MAN.  It's only a $5 cover!  21 & over.

Little Big Man, a Seattle-based reggae group that focuses on music
that promotes peace, love and unity will light up the Bike with their
free-flowin' beats.

Three of the band members are from Hawaii but met in Seattle, each
hailing from a different island. Hawaii is known for its relaxed
reggae and it varies from island to island. Bass player Jaedo Youn
describes a majority of Hawaiian reggae as "pop-inspired" and
something the band strays away from. He said their influence is more
roots reggae than anything.

Little Big Man has been sharing their music with crowds in the
Northwest region for almost eight years and is constantly trying to
expand their reach to infect more people with their message and
danceable beats.     Check them out here:
http://www.myspace.com/littlebigmanreggae

Whatever you do, get out and enjoy some music if you can!

~Pete~

Aardman Creature Comforts: We Are Lions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB0XM0e70-I

Shakey Jake Current mood: awake

http://vashonislandliving.blogspot.com/

Currently listening :
Raising Sand
By Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Release date: 23 October, 2007

Who would you like to see perform at The Red Bicycle Bistro on Vashon Island? Current mood: creative Category: Music

For those of you that live on Vashon Island and/or come out here often enough....I've started a list folks of people who I feel would draw a good crowd if they were to play here at the new Bishop's Bistro, openers or headliners alike.  Who would you like to see out here?  Let me know who I'm missing and I'll add it to the list.  Please just make sure it's realistic though, like as much as I'd like it to be, The Foo Fighters aren't gonna come over and rock the joint.  It's a random list, by no means in order of anything other than alpha....  It's a work in progress, remember.....  

 

Adrian & The Sickness

Ari Joshua (performed 11/15/08)

The Beltholes (performed 4/26/08)

Betty X

Blue Scholars

Clinton Fearon (performed 5/24/08, 8/23/08 & 12/13/08)

Clumsy Lovers

Colin Spring (performed 5/10/08)

The Cops

Drew Emmitt

Dubconscious

Georgetown Orbits

Grebes (performed 4/19/08)

Groundation

Handful of Luvin' (performed 9/27/08, coming 2/28/09)

Helle's Belles

Hillstomp (performed 06/13/08, again on 01/03/09)

Ian Moore (performed 6/28/08, again on NYE '08)

The Instigators

Jason Webley

Jennifer Newberry

Jerry Joseph

John Browne (very first to perform at new venue 02/09/08)

Kuli Loach

LionHeart

Mary Win

Midnite

Natalie Wouldn't

Nathan Wade (performed 7/13/08, again 12/06/08)

Nick Vigarino

Old Dockton (performed 09/20/08)

Olympic Sound Collective

Panda Conspiracy

Picoso (performed 9/13/08)

Publish The Quest (performed 09/20/08, again 11/22/08)

Rafe Pearlman

Red Jacket Mine (performed 12/06/08)

Ron Hook

Sarah Christine (performed 11/08/08 w/Crucialites)

Scott Huckabay (performed 07/19/08)

Shakey Jake (performed 7/12/08)

Sidestreet Reny (performed 11/07/08, again on 01/03/09)

Sideways Reign (performed 8/09/08, again on 01/23/09)

SisterMonk (performed 12/20/08)

Skerik

Split Lip Rayfield

The Snow

Staxx Brothers (performed 10/11/08)

Storm & The Balls

Subconscious Population (performed 4/26/08, again 10/31/08)

The Lonely H (performed 10/04/08)

The Mishra's (Sitarists)

The Pharmacy (performed 11/28/08)

Trolls Cottage  (performed 4/19/08, again 8/09/08 & 10/31/08, again on 01/24/09)

Trombone Cake (performed 08/16/08)

The Trucks

TrumpetDust

Vicki Martinez (performed 3/22/08 & 5/17/08)

Yogoman Burning Band (performed 10/25/08)

 

Currently listening :
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
By Foo Fighters
Release date: 25 September, 2007

Ridley Scott on Blade Runner: The Final Cut: The RT Interview Current mood: fabulous Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Ridley Scott on Blade Runner: The Final Cut: The RT Interview

The director talks about the differences in the new version.

by Tim Ryan | December 18, 2007

It's been 25 years since Ridley Scott's Blade Runner helped usher in a new era of science fiction filmmaking. With the DVD release of Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Scott has once again revisited his masterpiece, subtly reframing one of the most hotly-discussed films of all time.

In his book Blockbuster, critic Tom Shone summarizes the phenomenon of Blade Runner as "one of those rare, radioactive masterpieces that cinema seems impelled to throw up every now and again: toxic to all who touch it at the time... but exerting a mesmeric, winking glow that only increases with the years." Starring Harrison Ford as bounty hunter Rick Deckard searching for androids disguised as humans, Blade Runner confused critics and audiences upon its initial release in 1982 with its meditative plot and languid pace. But Scott's film earned an enthusiastic cult audience, one that drank up its futuristic noir visuals and mysterious characters, and rumors of various cuts of the movie that framed its action in subtle but significant ways.

In this roundtable interview, Scott talks about the different versions of Blade Runner, the lack of quality in recent sci-fi writing, and how the fanboys helped to champion the film.

With the final cut, how does this compare to the other versions of Blade Runner? Is this your true favorite definitive version?

Ridley Scott: It's a refinement of taking me a step toward what it was as a release print. We've removed a few things. Namely, the biggest thing is the removal of the voiceover and the ending in the mountains. The film should have ended with the elevator doors closing. We'll be satisfied with that. The voiceover was always toyed with way back when, even before I started making the movie. I had been very impressed with the voiceover of Apocalypse Now, with Martin Sheen's voice. That was a great voiceover; it really internalized the Martin Sheen character, who was essentially fairly low key and didn't say a lot during the whole movie. But he thought a lot, so I always thought that was really great.

Why go back and do a new version of Blade Runner?

RS: I think because the film was damaged, in the sense of when it was released 25 years ago, I figured I'd really got it right. I'd already done Alien, I'd already done 2,000 commercials. I figured I'd apply what I knew about Heavy Metal comics to Blade Runner. It didn't strike a chord because people didn't know what Heavy Metal comics were then. They hadn't a clue.

The people who really resurrected Blade Runner was MTV. I kept thinking [when watching music videos] on MTV, "Oh, somebody's borrowed some footage from Blade Runner, they've got to pay for that." I gradually realized that Blade Runner was a big influence on everything -- wardrobe, rain, blue nights, smoke in the streets. All of this stuff I poured on that I'd learned from commercials. So the generation watching this on MTV suddenly realized, "Oh, that's cool." Then in 1992, the wrong print was given to a projectionist at a festival in Santa Monica where it was meant to run one night and ended up running for a week, and journalists happened to be there and said, "Hey, what's this?"

If you were approaching this today, would you approach it differently?

RS: Blade Runner was the godfather of all these movies that occur today. What's frustrating is that we're short of really great writing and great ideas.  Blade Runner was full of them. Now, everything's evolved into superheroes and it's boring. If I see one more superhero movie I'm going to shoot myself.

Is the lack of good writing and all of the silly films that have been done the reason you haven't revisited sci-fi?

RS: Yes, absolutely. There's nothing really original. Alien was a B-movie. Five directors passed on it before me. Because I was into Heavy Metal, I read it, and thought, "Wow, I want to do this." I was on a plane to Hollywood in 22 hours. It was a B-movie and was elevated to an A-plus movie by sheer good taste. [Laughs.]

When you went into the scoring, did you have an idea in mind, or did you let Vangelis just bring something to you and surprise you?

RS: It was one of the best experiences I've had with a musician, maybe the best. I'd finish editing at night and he would be in the studio with his assistant. He would have been at this all day and put something up. He's in his infancy of what we'd call new age music. Enya came shortly after that, and she's brilliant. He understood the process of movies brilliantly. He'd literally watch sequence after sequence and start to play with it, and it was a completely organic process.

As you mentioned, there are scores of films and television shows that have imitated Blade Runner. How do you feel about that?

RS: Amused and irritated. Where's the originality?

Some directors would have put away a movie they did 25 years ago.

RS: Well, they kept coming back to me. I didn't go whining on the telephone. I get on with life and move on, but the thing kept resurfacing and coming up and bopping me in the head.

Where was the demand coming from?

RS: From the fan base. I just keep doing things too early, which is really annoying because they don't make money.

Why did you want to have all the versions of Blade Runner available?

RS: I actually asked that question to the person at the studio. He said, "You would be amazed. Trust me, they're going to go through the three frames that were removed." That's great that people do that. Because I'm in the business, the last thing I want to do is see how somebody makes a movie. But if I wasn't in the business, I can absolutely understand how someone would be fascinated by the tricks. We made it accessible on the set, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Now that we know all the tricks, it makes our job more difficult. It's more difficult to make people laugh. It's even more difficult to scare people. Scaring someone's the hardest thing to do, and that's why most of these scary movies are not scary. They're sick, but not scary. There's a lot of sickness out there, of people who then sit there and watch it, which I think is absolutely dismaying.

Do you view this final cut as the final vindication for you about this movie?

RS: There's no vindication. I'm perfectly happy where I am.

Currently listening :
Take Some Time Away
By Trolls Cottage

The Problem With Music Current mood: amused Category: Music

The Problem With Music
by Steve Albini

Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed. Nobody can see what's printed on the contract. It's too far away, and besides, the shit stench is making everybody's eyes water. The lackey shouts to everybody that the first one to swim the trench gets to sign the contract. Everybody dives in the trench and they struggle furiously to get to the other end. Two people arrive simultaneously and begin wrestling furiously, clawing each other and dunking each other under the shit. Eventually, one of them capitulates, and there's only one contestant left. He reaches for the pen, but the Lackey says "Actually, I think you need a little more development. Swim again, please. Backstroke". And he does of course.

Every major label involved in the hunt for new bands now has on staff a high-profile point man, an "A & R" rep who can present a comfortable face to any prospective band. The initials stand for "Artist and Repertoire." because historically, the A & R staff would select artists to record music that they had also selected, out of an available pool of each. This is still the case, though not openly. These guys are universally young [about the same age as the bands being wooed], and nowadays they always have some obvious underground rock credibility flag they can wave.

Lyle Preslar, former guitarist for Minor Threat, is one of them. Terry Tolkin, former NY independent booking agent and assistant manager at Touch and Go is one of them. Al Smith, former soundman at CBGB is one of them. Mike Gitter, former editor of XXX fanzine and contributor to Rip, Kerrang and other lowbrow rags is one of them. Many of the annoying turds who used to staff college radio stations are in their ranks as well. There are several reasons A & R scouts are always young. The explanation usually copped-to is that the scout will be "hip to the current musical "scene." A more important reason is that the bands will intuitively trust someone they think is a peer, and who speaks fondly of the same formative rock and roll experiences. The A & R person is the first person to make contact with the band, and as such is the first person to promise them the moon. Who better to promise them the moon than an idealistic young turk who expects to be calling the shots in a few years, and who has had no previous experience with a big record company. Hell, he's as naive as the band he's duping. When he tells them no one will interfere in their creative process, he probably even believes it. When he sits down with the band for the first time, over a plate of angel hair pasta, he can tell them with all sincerity that when they sign with company X, they're really signing with him and he's on their side. Remember that great gig I saw you at in '85? Didn't we have a blast. By now all rock bands are wise enough to be suspicious of music industry scum. There is a pervasive caricature in popular culture of a portly, middle aged ex-hipster talking a mile-a-minute, using outdated jargon and calling everybody "baby." After meeting "their" A & R guy, the band will say to themselves and everyone else, "He's not like a record company guy at all! He's like one of us." And they will be right. That's one of the reasons he was hired.

These A & R guys are not allowed to write contracts. What they do is present the band with a letter of intent, or "deal memo," which loosely states some terms, and affirms that the band will sign with the label once a contract has been agreed on. The spookiest thing about this harmless sounding little memo, is that it is, for all legal purposes, a binding document· That is, once the band signs it, they are under obligation to conclude a deal with the label. If the label presents them with a contract that the band don't want to sign, all the label has to do is wait. There are a hundred other bands willing to sign the exact same contract, so the label is in a position of strength. These letters never have any terms of expiration, so the band remain bound by the deal memo until a contract is signed, no matter how long that takes. The band cannot sign to another laborer or even put out its own material unless they are released from their agreement, which never happens. Make no mistake about it: once a band has signed a letter of intent, they will either eventually sign a contract that suits the label or they will be destroyed.

One of my favorite bands was held hostage for the better part of two years by a slick young "He's not like a label guy at all," A & R rep, on the basis of such a deal memo. He had failed to come through on any of his promises [something he did with similar effect to another well-known band], and so the band wanted out. Another label expressed interest, but when the A & R man was asked to release the band, he said he would need money or points, or possibly both, before he would consider it. The new label was afraid the price would be too dear, and they said no thanks. On the cusp of making their signature album, an excellent band, humiliated, broke up from the stress and the many months of inactivity. There's this band. They're pretty ordinary, but they're also pretty good, so they've attracted some attention. They're signed to a moderate-sized "independent" label owned by a distribution company, and they have another two albums owed to the label. They're a little ambitious. They'd like to get signed by a major label so they can have some security you know, get some good equipment, tour in a proper tour bus -- nothing fancy, just a little reward for all the hard work. To that end, they got a manager. He knows some of the label guys, and he can shop their next project to all the right people. He takes his cut, sure, but it's only 15%, and if he can get them signed then it's money well spent. Anyways, it doesn't cost them anything if it doesn't work. 15% of nothing isn't much! One day an A & R scout calls them, says he's 'been following them for a while now, and when their manager mentioned them to him, it just "clicked." Would they like to meet with him about the possibility of working out a deal with his label? Wow. Big Break time. They meet the guy, and y'know what -- he's not what they expected from a label guy. He's young and dresses pretty much like the band does. He knows all their favorite bands. He's like one of them. He tells them he wants to go to bat for them, to try to get them everything they want. He says anything is possible with the right attitude.

They conclude the evening by taking home a copy of a deal memo they wrote out and signed on the spot. The A & R guy was full of great ideas, even talked about using a name producer. Butch Vig is out of the question-he wants 100 g's and three points, but they can get Don Fleming for $30,000 plus three points. Even that's a little steep, so maybe they'll go with that guy who used to be in David Letterman's band. He only wants three points. Or they can have just anybody record it (like Warton Tiers, maybe-- cost you 5 or 7 grand] and have Andy Wallace remix it for 4 grand a track plus 2 points. It was a lot to think about. Well, they like this guy and they trust him. Besides, they already signed the deal memo. He must have been serious about wanting them to sign. They break the news to their current label, and the label manager says he wants them to succeed, so they have his blessing. He will need to be compensated, of course, for the remaining albums left on their contract, but he'll work it out with the label himself.

Sub Pop made millions from selling off Nirvana, and Twin Tone hasn't done bad either: 50 grand for the Babes and 60 grand for the Poster Children-- without having to sell a single additional record. It'll be something modest. The new label doesn't mind, so long as it's recoupable out of royalties. Well, they get the final contract, and it's not quite what they expected. They figure it's better to be safe than sorry and they turn it over to a lawyer--one who says he's experienced in entertainment law and he hammers out a few bugs. They're still not sure about it, but the lawyer says he's seen a lot of contracts, and theirs is pretty good. They'll be great royalty: 13% [less a 1O% packaging deduction]. Wasn't it Buffalo Tom that were only getting 12% less 10? Whatever. The old label only wants 50 grand, an no points. Hell, Sub Pop got 3 points when they let Nirvana go. They're signed for four years, with options on each year, for a total of over a million dollars! That's a lot of money in any man's English. The first year's advance alone is $250,000. Just think about it, a quarter million, just for being in a rock band! Their manager thinks it's a great deal, especially the large advance. Besides, he knows a publishing company that will take the band on if they get signed, and even give them an advance of 20 grand, so they'll be making that money too. The manager says publishing is pretty mysterious, and nobody really knows where all the money comes from, but the lawyer can look that contract over too. Hell, it's free money. Their booking agent is excited about the band signing to a major. He says they can maybe average $1,000 or $2,000 a night from now on. That's enough to justify a five week tour, and with tour support, they can use a proper crew, buy some good equipment and even get a tour bus! Buses are pretty expensive, but if you figure in the price of a hotel room for everybody In the band and crew, they're actually about the same cost. Some bands like Therapy? and Sloan and Stereolab use buses on their tours even when they're getting paid only a couple hundred bucks a night, and this tour should earn at least a grand or two every night. It'll be worth it. The band will be more comfortable and will play better.

The agent says a band on a major label can get a merchandising company to pay them an advance on T-shirt sales! ridiculous! There's a gold mine here! The lawyer Should look over the merchandising contract, just to be safe. They get drunk at the signing party. Polaroids are taken and everybody looks thrilled. The label picked them up in a limo. They decided to go with the producer who used to be in Letterman's band. He had these technicians come in and tune the drums for them and tweak their amps and guitars. He had a guy bring in a slew of expensive old "vintage" microphones. Boy, were they "warm." He even had a guy come in and check the phase of all the equipment in the control room! Boy, was he professional. He used a bunch of equipment on them and by the end of it, they all agreed that it sounded very "punchy," yet "warm." All that hard work paid off. With the help of a video, the album went like hotcakes! They sold a quarter million copies! Here is the math that will explain just how fucked they are: These figures are representative of amounts that appear in record contracts daily. There's no need to skew the figures to make the scenario look bad, since real-life examples more than abound. income is bold and underlined, expenses are not.
,,
Advance: $ 250,000
Manager's cut: $ 37,500
Legal fees: $ 10,000
Recording Budget: $ 150,000
Producer's advance: $ 50,000
Studio fee: $ 52,500
Drum Amp, Mic and Phase "Doctors": $ 3,000
Recording tape: $ 8,000
Equipment rental: $ 5,000
Cartage and Transportation: $ 5,000
Lodgings while in studio: $ 10,000
Catering: $ 3,000
Mastering: $ 10,000
Tape copies, reference CDs, shipping tapes, misc. expenses: $ 2,000
Video budget: $ 30,000
Cameras: $ 8,000
Crew: $ 5,000
Processing and transfers: $ 3,000
Off-line: $ 2,000
On-line editing: $ 3,000
Catering: $ 1,000
Stage and construction: $ 3,000
Copies, couriers, transportation: $ 2,000
Director's fee: $ 3,000
Album Artwork: $ 5,000
Promotional photo shoot and duplication: $ 2,000
Band fund: $ 15,000
New fancy professional drum kit: $ 5,000
New fancy professional guitars [2]: $ 3,000
New fancy professional guitar amp rigs [2]: $ 4,000
New fancy potato-shaped bass guitar: $ 1,000
New fancy rack of lights bass amp: $ 1,000
Rehearsal space rental: $ 500
Big blowout party for their friends: $ 500
Tour expense [5 weeks]: $ 50,875
Bus: $ 25,000
Crew [3]: $ 7,500
Food and per diems: $ 7,875
Fuel: $ 3,000
Consumable supplies: $ 3,500
Wardrobe: $ 1,000
Promotion: $ 3,000
Tour gross income: $ 50,000
Agent's cut: $ 7,500
Manager's cut: $ 7,500
Merchandising advance: $ 20,000
Manager's cut: $ 3,000
Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000
Publishing advance: $ 20,000
Manager's cut: $ 3,000
Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000
Record sales: 250,000 @ $12 =
$3,000,000
Gross retail revenue Royalty: [13% of 90% of retail]:
$ 351,000
Less advance: $ 250,000
Producer's points: [3% less $50,000 advance]:
$ 40,000
Promotional budget: $ 25,000
Recoupable buyout from previous label: $ 50,000
Net royalty: $ -14,000
Record company income:

Record wholesale price: $6.50 x 250,000 =
$1,625,000 gross income
Artist Royalties: $ 351,000
Deficit from royalties: $ 14,000
Manufacturing, packaging and distribution: @ $2.20 per record: $ 550,000
Gross profit: $ 7l0,000
The Balance Sheet: This is how much each player got paid at the end of the game.

Record company: $ 710,000
Producer: $ 90,000
Manager: $ 51,000
Studio: $ 52,500
Previous label: $ 50,000
Agent: $ 7,500
Lawyer: $ 12,000
Band member net income each: $ 4,031.25

The band is now 1/4 of the way through its contract, has made the music industry more than 3 million dollars richer, but is in the hole $14,000 on royalties. The band members have each earned about 1/3 as much as they would working at a 7-11, but they got to ride in a tour bus for a month. The next album will be about the same, except that the record company will insist they spend more time and money on it. Since the previous one never "recouped," the band will have no leverage, and will oblige. The next tour will be about the same, except the merchandising advance will have already been paid, and the band, strangely enough, won't have earned any royalties from their T-shirts yet. Maybe the T-shirt guys have figured out how to count money like record company guys. Some of your friends are probably already this fucked.

Steve Albini is an independent and corporate rock record producer most widely known for having produced Nirvana's "In Utero".

Currently listening :
White Moth
By Xavier Rudd
Release date: 19 June, 2007

Hillstomp on Vashon Island Dec 22nd 2007 Current mood: anxious Category: Music

This incredible duo blew the lid off the Casbah Tent at Earthfair a little over a year ago and are now going to make a rare second visit to Bishop's Pub on Vashon this Saturday, December 22nd. Show starts at 8pm and it's absolutely FREE!!! Brought to you by me, so you know it's going to be a good show! We brought them up to open for Trolls Cottage Friday night at the Nectar in Fremont and then to the island for a special show on Saturday night.

These two guys in Hillstomp are quite a unique pair of young musicians from the Portland area. Henry Kammerer plays the guitar in a self-taught style using his forefinger to place his slide while he uses a plastic pick on the forefinger of his strumming hand. Drummer John Johnson sits behind a collection of five-gallon food drums attached to a bass drum and snares, pounding out the hypnotic beat with plastic sticks. Yes, it is unorthodox, but it works. Okay, they absolutely kick ass. Those of you in the tent at Earthfair will remember, these guys rock.

They've come a long way in just the short time they've been performing. It wasn't too long ago that they ran sets of completely covered tunes, but with the self-release of their debut recording, "One Word," the duo has developed into a legitimate songwriting team as well. The original numbers hold all the potency found in the music of the North Mississippi Hill Country.

Hillstomp is tending a fire that has been smoldering in the hills of northern Mississippi for nearly a century, bringing it alive for another generation. In them you can glimpse the past, present and future of the blues. Their particular brand of North Mississippi trance blues differs drastically from the 12-bar style that your uncle listens to. This music is different, it's raw and irresistible. Even as a duo their sound completely fills a room, making some wonder why so many other bands have so many people standing around. You will swear there's more than two people up on that stage….

Whether playing original compositions, traditionals, or blues classics, Hillstomp has managed to craft a distinctive sound that has quickly brought them to the top of Portland's roots, blues and alternative music circles.

Making a rare stop on their never-ending U.S. and European tours, we are fortunate to bring Hillstomp out to Vashon Island for one of those unique don't-miss performances that people will be talking about for a very long time.

Opening for Hillstomp, will be Patrick Bennion's band, Old Dockton. Their sound is simple….rootsy with earth-driven tunes and highlighted with strong vocals by PLB. This band has evolved into a very popular local draw….so get there early!

Free cover on the weekend before Christmas, you can't beat that for a treat like this!

I hope to see y'all there!

Pete

Currently listening :
The Woman That Ended the World
By Hillstomp
Release date: 11 October, 2005

Led Zeppelin in London last Monday night Current mood: tired Category: Music

Led Zeppelin: The Full Report

By David Fricke/Rolling Stone

For the second encore of their first full concert in twenty-seven years, at London's 02 arena last night, Led Zeppelin tore into "Rock and Roll," from their untitled fourth album, with a joyful vengeance. As drummer Jason Bonham hammered with the ghostly precision and ferocity of his late father, guitarist Jimmy Page fired dirty chunks of Chuck Berry and bassist John Paul Jones kept iron time with familiar reserve, singer Robert Plant sang the most obvious words of the night: "Been a long time since I rock and rolled." Overhead, images of a much younger Zeppelin, in concert during the early and mid-Seventies, flashed on a huge digital-video screen. In those films, Led Zeppelin were the biggest, loudest and most cocksure band in rock. Jimmy Page's now snow-white hair was still jet black; Robert Plant was a golden god, not yet a Viking elder, and the late John Bonham -- whose death in 1980 abruptly ended Zeppelin's reign -- still ruled the engine room.

But the band that played underneath those memories last night was not the one that misfired at Live Aid in 1985 or again in New York in 1988. This one was rehearsed, ready and out to kill. This band was Led Zeppelin in every way.

Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham the Younger opened their two-hour show with the confident wit and colossal nerve of "Good Times Bad Times," the first song on Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album. Even before Plant opened his mouth, the original fury -- a surprisingly lean, dub-like crossfire of cannonshot chords, frantic, gulping bass runs and polyrhythmic swagger -- was in order and in force. "In the days of my youth/I was told what it means to be a man," Plant sang, in the slightly lower register of someone who gives those lessons now. It was an appropriate effect, too -- an admission of age delivered with feral pride -- on a night dedicated to the memory of Zeppelin's late friend and mentor, Atlantic Records' co-founder Ahmet Ertegun. (Proceeds from ticket sales will go to music scholarships, created in Ertegun's name, at schools in New York, England and his native Turkey.) Earlier, a quote from Ertegun, who died in 2006 at age 83, hung from banners at the sides of the stage: "It is a great life, this life of music." Zeppelin honored that sentiment by playing like a band renewed, not merely reunited.
You could see the pleasure -- in the way Plant kicked at the base of his mike stand in "Ramble On," sending it in an arc over his head '72-style, and in the big grin on Page's face, blown up on the screen, as Bonham flew into the climactic drum thunder of "Black Dog." For much of the show, even with a full, wide stage to themselves, Page, Plant and Jones stood in tight formation at the foot of the drum riser, often facing Jason, as if they were still in rehearsal. "I just want to have fun!" Plant barked at one point, as the band swerved from the extended, frenzied mid-section of "In My Time of Dying" back into the song's blues-march backbone.

Zeppelin did not walk or waltz through any of tonight's sixteen songs. You could hear the care, the weeks of practice that started back in June, in the live debut of "For Your Life" from the 1976 album Presence, a song which, according to Plant in our recent cover story, the band tried in the first rehearsals but dropped after two days. Obviously, there was no staying away from its eccentric oceanic chop. There was no getting away from the warhorses either. "No Quarter" came with the obligatory dry ice. "There are certain things we had to do -- this is one of them," Plant said, almost in apology, introducing "Dazed and Confused." Page was soon back in ancient ritual -- pulling long wah-wah groans from his Gibson Les Paul with a violin bow under a rotating steeple of green-laser beams.

More impressive, though, was the fresh tension in the song's slow-drag sections as Page, Jones and Bonham pulled at the tempo, heightening the expectation between Page's bent-note growls and Bonham's thundercrack rolls with extra delay. "Stairway to Heaven" was also not quite its overfamiliar self, and refreshing for it, Page fingerpicking the opening motif and hitting the ringing twelve-string chords with a relaxed, folk-rock grace, echoing Plant's thousand-yard stare as he sang "And it makes me wonder . . ." The inevitable "Whole Lotta Love," the first encore, was almost identical to the second-album script except for a short, tantalizing passage of raw-blues argument after the whooping-theremin blowout -- no drums, no bass, just Plant and Page's guitar snapping at each other like junkyard dogs.

Any doubts about Plant's ability to still hit the high notes, his willingness to go stratospheric, was obliterated at the right, dramatic points in "Since I've Been Loving You" and "Kashmir." Jones and Bonham locked in like family. And Page was a continual shock on guitar, mostly because he has played so little in public for the past decade. At sixty-three, Page is undiminished in his sorcerer's mix of reckless ferocity -- stammering runs, strangled howls, granite-block chords -- and guitar-army wow. He recreated the harmonized-lick break in "Ramble On" with a sly blend of phasing and natural glide, and evoked the riff-orchestra swoop of "Achilles Last Stand" with a sustained rain of twelve-string harmonics. It was also clear why Page's solo career has been one of fits and starts. In Led Zeppelin, Page built the perfect beast for his fury and ambitions. Last night, he cut and slashed against Jones' percolating clavinet in "Trampled Underfoot" like an enraged butche, and matched Plant's hairpin cries in the field-holler passages of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" with a devils' choir of distortion.

At times, Zeppelin seemed to amaze themselves. "Spectacular!" crowed Plant, turning to Bonham with pride at the end of "Achilles Last Stand." As the words "Led Zeppelin" filled the back screen, before the band left the stage for good, Bonham dropped to his knees and bowed, as if to say "I'm not worthy," In fact, he was, in spades, pushing his elders -- hard -- in the circle dance "Misty Mountain Hop" and the steady, exotic ascension of "Kashmir."

It is only fair to point out that there were other performers on the bill, including Foreigner, Bad Company's Paul Rodgers, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and members of Yes and Emerson Lake and Palmer -- all squeezed into an hour's potpourri to pay tribute to Ertegun and his reign at Atlantic, with varying historic accuracy. Rodgers got the first, major ovation of the night, but with a version of his 1969 hit with Free, "All Right Now." Singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini -- the youngest featured act by about twenty-five years -- did his best with "Mess Around," written by Ertegun for Ray Charles, then followed it with "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," a 1966 hit for Cher, an Atlantic artist, but on another label. Stranger still, Nutini sang it with a raspy, trilling effect that eerily called to mind a late-Sixties cover of the song by British singer Terry Reid -- best known now for being the guy who turned down Page's offer to be in Zeppelin and suggested Plant instead.

It is also important to note that Zeppelin left the building without making any reference to their future together, if there is one -- no "See you next year!" or "Until next time . . ." The only message they left behind was, "We were the best -- and still are."

The waiting begins again.

[Photo: Westenberg / Getty]

©Copyright 2007 Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone : Led Zeppelin
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/12/11/led-zeppelin-the-full-report-from-david-fricke/

Currently listening :
Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same (Collector’s Edition)
Release date: 20 November, 2007

Trolls Cottage December 2007 Gigs Current mood: creative Category: Music

After taking a little time off, Trolls Cottage is ready to come out and play some music, with some really great shows coming up starting December 1st.    

 

Friends in or near Mill Creek, Fall City, Oak Harbor, Tacoma, Port Townsend and Seattle take note….TC will be rolling through your area in December!  Please tell your friends about these shows, especially the ones in new venues for TC….we'd love to pack these shows and be able to come back for future gigs.

Here's some early warning on the shows in case you want to make some plans….but we'll remind you again as we get closer.

 

Starting on Saturday, Dec 1st, TC will be at the Jet City Bar & Grill in Mill Creek.  Opening up the show will be the Brad Walters Project.  Show starts at 10pm, cover is $7.  The Jet City is located at 800 164th Street S.E. in Mill Creek.  Come on out and enjoy some great food and cocktails, then dance to some great beats from TC!

 

Then--on Friday, Dec 7th, we'll be at a new venue for TC….The Raging River Café and Club in Fall City, just outside of Issaquah.  The Raging River is Seattle Eastside's premier rock and blues live music and dancing venue with some great menu items like prime rib, salads, burgers, pizza, pasta, appetizers and lots more.  They have a fully staffed bar and a great room for live music.  We're excited about this new venue and hope to see a lot of our eastside friends at this show.  It's actually a really short drive from Seattle and right off the freeway….so we hope to see a lot of familiar faces.  The Raging River Café & Club is located at 33723 Redmond-Fall City Road in Fall City.  Only $5 cover!

 

Saturday, Dec 8th, TC will be taking a drive up to Oak Harbor and performing at the new Jazzbones up there, another new venue for TC.  Located on Whidbey Island, this is just one of the many live music venues that the Jazzbones franchise has taken over and turned into a first class operation.  Jazzbones Chefs serve up everything from blackened Yellow fin Tuna, Jack Daniels teriyaki marinated steaks, hand battered Calamari, burgers, salads and sushi.  A great town to go on a weekend getaway--grab a hotel, have a nice dinner and come check out Trolls Cottage!  Jazzbones is located at 930 SE Pioneer Way North.  Be aware of street signs restricting parking!  Check out their website for more info on cover charge and when the show will start at http://www.jazzbonesoakharbor.com.

 

On Friday, Dec 14th, TC returns to one of their favorite venues down south ….Jazzbones/Tacoma!  If you haven't checked this place out before, come on by….they've got one of the best sound systems around.  We've got lots of friends in the Tacoma area, so we hope to see some of you at the show!  Three great bands playing in one night--James Whiton & The Downtown Apostles and The Schematics open up for Trolls Cottage.  Tickets are $8 advance, $10 day of the show.  Starts at 8:30pm, all-ages until 11pm.  Jazzbones is located at 2803 6th Avenue in Tacoma.

 

On Saturday, Dec 15th, TC will be heading up to beautiful Port Townsend and back to the Water Street Brewery, a fantastic brewpub in this very cool town.  Lots of students on holiday break, this should be a really fun show.  Ten tap handles and a brewer who knows what he's doing.  Picturesque shoreline location, historical brick building surrounded by many other fine historical brick or stone buildings.  The food is great: mussels and clams, burgers, fries and lots of elegant pub grub.  Funky décor, decades old bar and bar back.  Show starts at 9pm, cover $3.  Water Street Brewery is located at 639 Water Street, on the north end of town.  Come on by and say hello to the best bar staff around....Amy & Jimmy....they frickin' rock!

 

Then, finally…back to our roots…TC will be performing at their favorite venue of all, the Nectar in Fremont, on Friday night, December 21st.  Don't be late to this one, as it will be one epic show….with lots of our friends on holiday break or just back home to be with family.  As a special treat, opening up for us at this show will be Hillstomp, a Portland based junkbox duo that is famous for their distinctive brand of do-it-yourself hill country blues stomp.  Despite their homemade instruments and novel approach, Hillstomp is no novelty act….these guys SERIOUSLY kick ass!   Just four days before Christmas, this is going to be one memorable show! The Nectar is located at 412 North 36th Street in Fremont.  Show starts at 9pm, $8 cover.

 

So there you have it…..we're really looking forward to a fantastic December and hope to see y'all out there!

 

Pete & TC

Currently listening :
Stereotype
By Dubconscious

Category: Vashon Music

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