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Welcome to VashonMusic.Com!
Each and every one of us has had all sorts of personal experiences with music.....we find ourselves calmed by it, excited by it, comforted by it, mystified by it and often haunted by it. Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears. Some of us need music to start the day and as company when we drive, especially those of us who commute off-island to the city. Sometimes we just need it to calm our thoughts when we are done for the day, to usher us into the world of dreams at night.
In fact, music can work for us in more than one way--it can distract us from pain, it can boost our mood or revive old memories and it can even prompt the body to match its rhythms...yeah, that's right...make us want to dance. It has tempo, rhythm, melody, harmony....so it stimulates the brain in many ways all at once.
Music can provoke your thoughts, set a mood, or put you on edge. It can be a release or an old friend that brings comfort...... or quite simply, it can be used to drive the neighbors crazy.
Vashon's music scene is rich with some of the most incredible artists you will ever come across. Join us in recognizing our music community and getting to know them. Welcome to VashonMusic.Com!
Music creates community. Music matters.
If I ever die of a heart attack, I hope it will be from playing my stereo too loud. ~Anonymous
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Calling all musicians! |
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 I wanted to reach out to everyone and let you know that if you’re a musician or if you know a musician on the island, anyone as a solo artist or in a band should have some sort of representation on the hottest music site on Vashon Island: http://www.vashonmusic.com
If you have a minute, take a look at the site to see who and what’s happening on the island. The site is maintained by Steve Allen, Kris Bates & myself….me mostly for content and those two guys for the technical aspects….they are the smart ones without a doubt.
We welcome any and all suggestions on how to improve the website….ideas on how to make it easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for, ideas on what we’re missing and might make the site more interesting….whatever….we’d love to hear from you.
We have uploaded many bands and solo artists to the website, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more of you. |
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Vashon Music Pete
Most recent blog posts from Pete
- Check out this video: Snow Hummingbird
Current mood: grateful
Category: Pets and Animals
- 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
- Shakey Jake
Current mood: awake
- 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.
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
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:
Stereotype
By
Dubconscious
Category: Vashon Music
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