Broad Strokes with Calypso Sally on WHFR

Last month, my radio show, Broad Strokes, streamed live off the web on  Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR).  Despite my obvious nervousness,  the show went well.

For those of you that don’t know,  I have a radio show and it’s called Broad Strokes, and it streams live off the web every last Wednesday of the month at a new time 8:00pm.

I, Calypso Sally, that’s me, try to play a broad range of genres, stretching from indie rock, pop, alternative, noise rock, hip hop, reggae, dance hall, metal, calypso, funk etc.  It’s sort of a mixed bag.  I also have live acoustic performances.

Speaking of live performances, the indie rock trio Coyote Eyes will be playing a live set on Broad Strokes next Wednesday, June 30, at 8:00pm.  Check it out.

Last month’s Playlist, and listen here:

They Built a City In My Country Mind by Pet Ghost Project
I Don’t Love You No More by Kings Go Forth
Tigallo For Dolo by Little Brother
Promises by The Morning Benders
Tales of Stage Fright by Pet Ghost Project
Forced to Love by Broken Social Scene
Do it Again by Galactic
Electric Car, Gas Guitar by Dinowalrus
Chrome Depot Freestyle Blade Mix by Apathy
Medula Oblongata by Buke & Gass
Yellow Red by Coyote Eyes
The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade  by The Joy Formidable
Cataract by White Hinterland
Anyone’s Ghost by The National
See it All by Fink
Peripatetic by Pet Ghost Project

Bringing you stories, live events, and much more, WHFR tries and remains independent of any corporate sponsorship.  So, if you like what WHFR is doing, you can donate by contacting them at info@whfr.org.  DIY forever baby!

If you’re in a band or you know a band and or singer/song writer that would like to do a show, contact me at: roarplanet@gmail.com.

Subterfuge

I’ve been working with Magnetic Island, an exprimental, indie rock band based in NYC, on the single Subterfuge.  

This past week the single premiered on Gimme Tinnitus.  You can check it out here: Subterfuge

Not only did I play the drums, and the steelpan on the single, I also sang!

It was so great being back in the recording studio, and playing in general.  Even though at times it was a challenge, I learned so much from the experience.  

Working with Magnetic Island was really refreshing as the sound is completely different from my band Telenovela Star

I think the difference is that I was more focused on percision rather than power.  Less concerned with trying to prove how fast I can play or how much agility I have, but more concerned with how to bring out the song, make it tell the story that it’s dying to say. 

Working with these guys also gave me the opportunity to break out my steelpan, which has been sitting in my closet for sometime now, and as well as to sing.  Being brought back to my first instruments, my voice and the steelpan, reminded me of why I desired to be a musician.  I was blown away.  I didn’t realize that I was capable of expressing myself through these other mediums, especially singing.  I realized that I can do more than carry a tune.  I have a voice.  I can sing. 

All in all this was an eye opening experience for me, and I’m thankful to have had the chance to work with such talented, and genuinely remarkable musicians.  They brought out a side of me that was starving to be explored.

Here are some shots of us in The Fort recording studio:

 

A week of radness.

This week started off, well, great. I went and saw a show at the Knitting Factory, on the mother of all school nights, Monday.  But, it was an opportunity to listen to Object‘s new works live, catch-up with friends, and then as a cherry on top, reaquaint myself with The Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a power trio out of Brooklyn, NYC.  I saw them maybe about two years ago, when the line-up included a female bass player, now changed to a dude on keys. 

They were on my 2008 list of bands I totally dug.    And I’ve been meaning to see them perform ever since that one show when they had blew my mind, so much so I bought all their cds. 

With their own sort of pyshedelic, punk, soulful grunge rock, you might suffer a head or neck injury from head thrashing to their music.  

Here’s the video I made of the Netherlands using my Flip:

I took a few shots:

Magnetic Island

 

On Wednesday, I had my radio show, Broad Strokes, on WHFR

 This month, I invited Magnetic Island, another fave of mine, to play a live acoustic set and they were freaking awesome. 

So gifted, just this week Magnetic Island dropped a demo that you can check out at Cash Music, and you can listen to the Broad Strokes broadcast here

Broad Strokes’s March 31st show

Broad Strokes is a radio show on Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR) that streams live off the web every last Wednesday of the month. 

I, Calypso Sally, that’s me, try to play a broad range of genres, stretching from indie rock, pop, alternative, hip hop, reggae, dance hall, metal, calypso, funk, etc.  It’s sort of a mixed bag.  I also have live acoustic performances.

Bringing you stories, live events, and much more, WHFR tries and remains independent of any corporate sponsorship.  So, if you like what WHFR is doing, you can donate by contacting them at info@whfr.org.  DIY forever baby!

If you missed last month’s show, you can listen here

 Playlist

The Horror by RJD2
In a Strangeland by Talk Normal
Heart Beat by Nneka
New York is Killing Me by Gil Scott-Heron
Sao Paulo by
Flying Lotus
Go Outside by Cults
Love More by Sharon Van Etten
Waves by Holly Miranda
Bad Actors by Flying Lotus
Protest Song by Aloha
Best of Times by Strong Arm Steady
Our Loving Mother in A Pink Diamond by Good Shoes
Want Some Mo’ by Turbo Fruits
Dreams of Dreams by Fang Island
Dark Horse by Gold Streets
A Dream by Magnetic Island
Go Then, Bye by Speech Debelle

The next show is on April 28th with a live acoustic set/interview of the band Magnetic Island formerly known as Renminbi.  I’m totally psyched. 

If you’re in a band or you know a band and or singer/song writer that would like to do a show, contact me at: roarplanet@gmail.com.

Object on Broad Strokes

Last month, I invited Object to play live on my radio show, Broad Strokes, and it was pretty awesome to say the least.  They played an acoustic set with all new songs, and as I type, one of these new songs is being mixed for their next album!

What I love about these guys, one of the many things, is that they are so incredibly talented, sincere, and down to earth.  Okay that was three.  They are definitely good people, and great musicians.  

Today, while listening to the acoustic set, I thought if I had never seen them live and I just heard this acoustic recording,  I wouldn’t  expect the all encompassing swell of sounds from their electric live sets.  That’s how adaptable they are.  They can move to any element with ease, and without pretense.  All in all, Object can play some rock and roll.

Anyway, I’ll be hosting another Broad Strokes hour live on Washinton Heights Free Radio(WHFR), this Wednesday, March 31, at 9:00pm.    New tunes to feed the soul!

Bringing you stories, live events, and much more, WHFR tries and remains independent of any corporate sponsorship.  So, if you like what WHFR is doing, you can donate by contacting them at info@whfr.org.  DIY forever baby!

To listen to Object’s acoustic set and interview go here.

You can also read the Tom Tom (a magazine about female drummers) interview with Maria here.  She was featured as drummer of the week in February!

And if you haven’t had enough of my obvious obsession with OBJECT, you can read this.  Hey, I like what I like for reals.

Goes Cube

On Friday of last week, I saw one of my favorite rock bands, Goes Cube play for the CMJ 2009 music festival at Trash Bar. And with my trusty Flip I took some footage and made this video. Check it out:

Listen, Listen, Listen

If you missed my show, Broad Strokes, on Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR), here’s your chance to listen.  I think this was probably one of my best mixes so far.  I’ll be back streaming live off the web on Wednesday, October 28th at 9:00pm.  And if you know a band or you’re in one, send me a shout out at roarplanet@gmail.com.   

Listen here at WHFR or download here Broad Strokes.

 Playlist

Get Up – Washed Out
Die Slow – Health
Elemental (Featuring Sputnik Brown) – DJ Spinna
Plaster Casts of EverythingLiars
Kathmandu DubMad Professor
Che Sara SaraKing Britt
Left Handy Man HandleHelms Alee
MurderThe Big Sleep
K.I.S. CompatibleTony Allen
Slugs In the ShrubsLes Savy Fav
Lock PickerProton Proton
The Dirty DirtyTapes ‘n Tapes
Gringo Dread – Mad Professor
Go GhostEx Lion Tamer
Stranded PearlGiant Sand

 

Broad Strokes tonight at 9:00

I will be doing my radio show, Broad Strokes, tonight at 9:00pm on WHFR.  Check it out.  If you can’t, not to worry, I’ll be posting an mp3 of the show.  Btw if you’re in a band or know someone in a band and would like to be played on the show send me an email: roarplanet@gmail.com.

Playlist

Get Up – Washed Out
Die Slow – Health
Elemental (Featuring Sputnik Brown) – DJ Spinna
Plaster Casts of EverythingLiars
Kathmandu DubMad Professor
Che Sara SaraKing Britt
Left Handy Man HandleHelms Alee
MurderThe Big Sleep
K.I.S. CompatibleTony Allen
Slugs In the ShrubsLes Savy Fav
Lock PickerProton Proton
The Dirty DirtyTapes ‘n Tapes
Gringo Dread – Mad Professor
Go GhostEx Lion Tamer
Stranded PearlGiant Sand

On the Radio

Ahhhh!If you missed my other persona, Calypso Sally, on the radio, you can listen to the broadcast here (it takes awhile to start). The next show is Wednesday, September 30 at 9:00pm. Check it out!

 

 

PLAYLIST

Bombs Onra
Everyone is Guilty Akron/Family
Big Bang Swati
What About Us? Mr. Lif
Dirty Loop Onra
Hey There Girl Yo! Majesty
Song 57 Goes Cube
Part Bloodhound Susu
Your Mouth Telefon Tel Aviv
Hold the Line Featuring Mr. Lex & Santigold Major Lazer
The Under Over Rob Sonic
Talking About Money Wye Oak
Winner Telenovela Star
High Road Deradoorian
Down In The Park Kirb & Chris
Fangela Here We Go Magic
Waiting for the Sun to Rise Lightning Dust

If you’re in a band or know someone in a band, and you’d like to be on the show, just email roarplanet@gmail.com.

On Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR) Tonight!!

I will be doing my radio show, Broad Strokes, tonight at 9:00pm on WHFR.  Check it out.  If you can’t, not to worry, I’ll be posting an mp3 of the show.  Btw if you’re in a band or know someone in a band and would like to be played on the show send me an email: roarplanet@gmail.com.

PLAYLIST

Bombs Onra
Everyone is Guilty Akron/Family
Big Bang Swati
What About Us? Mr. Lif
Dirty Loop Onra
Hey There Girl Yo! Majesty
Song 57 Goes Cube
Part Bloodhound Susu
Your Mouth Telefon Tel Aviv
Hold the Line Featuring Mr. Lex & Santigold Major Lazer
The Under Over Rob Sonic
Talking About Money Wye Oak
Winner Telenovela Star
High Road Deradoorian
Down In The Park Kirb & Chris
Fangela Here We Go Magic
Waiting for the Sun to Rise Lightning Dust

On WHFR

Exploding Dog
Exploding Dog

Recently, I did a radio show on Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR) and it was a blast.  I’ve been a guest reader for a WHFR event (see and listen here), but now I will be dj-ing every last Wednesday of the month at 9:00pm (streaming live off the web) as Calypso Sally and the name of my program is Broad Strokes, Yay!. 

Why Broad Strokes?  Well, I’ve never been the type to pigeonhole myself into one particular genre, so I thought what better way to express my eclectic taste but by playing different types of music.   I’m always looking for something new to listen to.  So if you’re in a band (or you know someone in a band ) send me an email: roarplanet@gmail.com.

 

You can listen to the show here:  Broad Strokes 

 PLAYLIST:

Cellz Doom
The Reeling Passion Pit
Still Dope Feat. Empress Starhh Doom
Clumsy Coyote Eyes
Flynn Ratatat
Caterpillar Playground The Nurses
My Girls Animal Collective
Cannibal Resource Dirty Projectors
Portland Renminbi
BDF – German Hardcore The Netherlands
Quiet Dog Mos Def
Three Decades The Horrors
Black Hearted Love PJ Harvery & John Parish
Extinguisher J.A.C.K.
Sleep Over Beethoven Ungdomskulen
Youth Her Vanished Grace

Summer Music

Adulthood is an illusion. It is an uncomfortable suit of clothes which makes us stiff and complex and at odds with life which is fluid and simple and wondrous.  Paul Squires

I’ve been somewhat neglecting the music out there. With everything that’s been going on, tracking down bands seemed pretty juvenile, but then again, you need music in your life, especially now (see previous music posts here).

So in no particular order here are some talented artists that are neither an illusion nor juvenile:

Renminbi

Renminbi’s Surface.  It’s pronounced REN-MIN-BEE (rénmínbì; literally means “people’s currency”), and they are an experimental, post punk rock band from NYC.  Their EP Surface just dropped and it’s amazing.  Produced by Don Fleming who agreed to work with the band after a myspace message (I’d like to see a copy of that myspace message!), the album makes you want to curl up with your headphones on and zone out into your own world.  These guys are currently on tour.  Faves: Honestly, I love every single one of these songs. 

 

 

 PJ Harvey & John Parish

 

PJ Harvey and John Parish’s A Woman A Man Walked By.   I’m a sucker for PJ Harvey, because it seems like she can never do any musicial wrong.  Every album is a new sound, a different story.  Some may find this album daunting, but I find it very gutsy and courageous.  In this album she teams up with John Parish and you hear a less restricted, a more free PJ Harvey, as she manipulates her voice to different vocal styles.  There’s actual screaming in this album!  Faves: Black Hearted Love, The Chair, The Solider, Passionless Pointless.

 

  

The Horrors

 

The Horrors’ Primary Colours.  The Horrors is a British five-piece garage band that I discovered on emusic.  They combine the punk with the expriemental, sometimes reminiscent of Joy Division.  Faves: Mirror’s Image, Three Decades, Who Can Say, Scarlet Fields, Primary Colours.

 

 

 

 

Ungdomskulen

 

Ungdomskulen’s Bisexual.  For the life of me I can’t pronounce their name right, and it’s embarrassing because I’m always like, “OMG you have to listen to Ung…!”  Ungdomskulen is a three piece Norwegian rock band.  They combine a very satisfying mixture of new wave, prog rock and jazz.  With solid syncopated beats, gritty guitars, phat baselines to move your hips to, and infectious vocals that sound familar, but I can’t put my finger on  (if only the IPhone would come out with an app for that), I’m always drenched with sweat dancing to my interpretation of their songs.  Faves: Sleep Over Beethoven, I Dunno, Osaka, Only In Novels, Teenage Tritonus.

 

  

 

White RabbitsWhite Rabbits It’s Frightening.  The White Rabbits is a six-piece indie New York band.  I must admit at first I wasn’t that into the White Rabbits because for some reason them having two drummers annoyed the shit out of me, but on their latest album, this annoyance seems to be fading.  On It’s Frightening , they sound a little Spoon-ish, no surprise there since Spoon’s lead singer and guitarist Britt Daniel produced the album.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Faves:  Percussion Gun, They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong, Company I keep, Right Where They Left.

 

 

 

 

 

Passion Pit

 

Passion Pit’s  Manners because I couldn’t resist the catchy lyrics, and 80s pop synthesizers mixed with a touch of R&B and house music.  Definitely songs to dance to. Faves:  Little Secrets, The Reeling.

 

 

 

 

 

Animal CollectiveAnimal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion.  Animal Collective is just that, a musical collective based out of Baltimore, Maryland.  I love their music because it’s  not pretenious, not over the top, but  takes the kind of risks that I appreicate in a band.  The title of this album is homage to one of the best outdoor venues in the Maryland/DC area. Faves: Summertime Clothes, My Girls, Daily Routine, Bluish

 

 

 

 

 

Show

July 3 show pic

My band (Telenovela Star) is playing a show this Friday, and I must admit that I’m a little nervous. Nervous, because it’s been a year since we’ve played out in front of anyone. The feeling kind of reminds me of when I performed for the first time.

It was for a Carnival event that my elementary school put on. I was like six or seven, and I was competing in the Calypso Competition. I remember staying up late the night before practicing with my dad. He wrote the lyrics and the melody. I remember thinking that it was a really cool song. I had dance moves.  I even had back-up singers, awesome.  Most of all, I had my dad singing to me.  I’d look him in the eyes, while he sang the song to me.  That was the best part.

When it was my turn to sing, I was completely terrified. I was so afraid. When I got on stage, I totally froze up and couldn’t remember the song that I lived and breathed for months. Honestly, maybe a shot would have calmed me down.

Anyway, DJ Mojo is responsible for my band’s end of hibernation.  Our last show for ’08 was in celebration of his birthday.  And we’re doing it again, this Friday.  We’re playing July 3rd at 11:00pm at the Delancey.  If you’re in the city, come celebrate and see me freak out!

Recession Chardonnay

Photo taken by me 🙂

Lately, I’ve been gravitating towards more of the “heavy” music, like metal, punk, and noise rock. I blame it all on a backlash behavior: rejecting the current trend of bubble-gum lo-fi recycled 80s pop music, that music reviewers and the dying dinosaur that is the music industry, are labeling as “rock”. They obviously don’t know the difference between heavy rock and some tame quasi folk/electronic dance song.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a space in my heart for folk songs and electronic music, especially the ones that dare to take some risks. Risk?  Because that’s all you got: guts and a blurring-the-line sense of humor.

Another reason I’ve been going heavy is that I feel like there’s so much to scream and be angry about.  We’ve been in a sort of zombie complacency, lackadaisical mummification, “I don’t care” state. A glaring example is the 8 years of having an idiot be a representative-leader for one of the most influential countries in the world (obviously, even in America fleeing monarchy and fascism is incredibly difficult).

One can argue that heavy doesn’t go with the current times that are affecting this incredible difficulty.   From the way we wear our hair to the very way we walk, this economic crisis was foreshadowed by the  however the cause was ignored. Maybe life should be concerned in a shift of what and when we want to recognize the fuckery? in the American way of being : a big, loud, bully is now passe.  Well maybe. We’re going green, even though going green doesn’t change the Manichean paradigm.

This world divided into compartments, this world cut in two is inhabited by two different species. The originality of the colonial context is that economic reality, inequality, and the immense difference of ways of life never come to mask human realities. When you examine at close quarters the colonial context, it is evident that what parcels out the world is to begin with the fact of belonging to or not belonging to a given race, a given species. The colonial world is a Manichean world. Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, 40, 41.

If what “parcels out the world is to “belong to a given race,” then in the same way that we are divided by color, we are as well divided by gender, sexual orientation, immigration… and whatever anew division we choose to distract ourselves with and call the enemy. And consequently, we’ll never understand ourselves.

Human social development will never be the foreground and continue we go on this path to perpetuate a Manichean pulse in contemporary live thought/living, never as a History left behind, never as a backward thinking.

Thus, I feel a great affinity towards yelling and fucking shit up! It’s very therapeutic. I recommend it completely; that and going up to a tree in the forest and screaming loudly. It’s good for you, try it.

Anyway, in no particular order, here’s a couple of bands helping me along the healing process. I thank them with all my heart for their insanity.

Life... The Best Game In Town
Life… The Best Game In Town

Harvey Milk‘s Life… The Best Game In Town. I was pleasantly surprised while searching for a review on the movie  Milk.  I discovered the metal band from Athens, Georgia. with the same name. Intrigued, I looked them up and was immediately hooked by their sound: a fusion of experimental, psychedelic, noise rock and sludge metal. Granted, I have never been one to find growling vocals appealing, but it’s different with Harvey Milk, maybe it’s the timber of purposefulness in the growl. Faves: Death Goes to the Winner, Decades, After All I’ve Done For You,…, We Destory the Family, Motown, Barnburner.

 

 

 

WizardryWizardry is a five piece NYC metal band, I saw for the first time at Trash Bar, and they were very entertaining. I highly recommend seeing them live, because they know how to put on a show. With their glam rock look and theatrics, and actual smoke machine, I was really impressed with their effort to make the stage their own. But they’re not just about theatrics and stage presence, these guys can play.  With intricate drumming, insane guitars, and strong vocals, Wizardry will definitely dazzle you with their magic.  I can’t wait for their upcoming album.

 

 

SpylacopaSpylacopa. Another NYC band, that a friend of mine turned me onto and to whom I’m now forever indebted. Spylacopa was just what I needed. When I played their debut EP on my ipod, I immediately knew that it was right, because they made meh pores raise (a saying from Trinidad, meaning, I got goose-bumps). With their skilled transitions and ample ability to switch genres in a fleeting second, a testament to their progressive sound, they’re at times noise rock delivered purpose and direction. An example would be when switching from the heavy, noise with a purpose tracks to the ambient piano/keyboard instrumental track, Together We Become Forever, and the very moody Sigur Rós sounding, I Should Have Known You Would. Faves: Bloodletting, I Should Have Known You Would.

 

Goes Cube Goes Cube. A noise rock power trio from you guessed it, NYC. My band actually had the great pleasure of playing on a bill with these guys, and they are awesome. They are a punishing combo of rock, punk and metal. Goodness! I remember the first time I saw them live, they made my ears bleed. I don’t think I ever regained the hearing I lost.

 

The Bedlam In GoliathMars Volta‘s The Bedlam in Goliath because it’s just brilliant. Mars is the epitome of progressive rock, they fuse latin/african, jazz, funkadelic beats with punk experimental rock. With orchestral musical arrangements, they take prog to a heightened level that when listening, you can’t help but think this is the electric version of classical music. It’s that multi-layered and expansive. I must admit I was a bit disappointed with their previous album, Amputechture.  I felt like it was way too abstract and I couldn’t grasp anything. Even though this may have been the point of the album, as an avid fan I couldn’t bear it. A buddy of mine shared the same feeling, up until he listened to Amputechture under the influence. Apparently, the album is less abstract while on drugs: everything makes more sense. It’s almost like what people said about some rock music back in the day, that it was evil and if you played the record backwards you’d hear the devil. Spooky. Anyway, The Bedlam in Goliath is a complete 360, my only criticism is that at times the repetition was a bit too much. Faves: Ilyena, Wax Simulacra, Goliath, Cavalettas, Askepios, Ouroborous, Memories.

 

Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern‘s This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That. Probably one of the longest titles ever. I feel like I’m embarking on a study.  I’m listening to a dissertation for a sociological/cultural studies thesis, that sounds like a mixture of AC/DC, Erase Errata, and Stern’s very own powerful voice as a songwriter.  And what I’ve learn in the center is that I am it and my future is it!  Faves: Prime, Transformer, Shea Stadium, The Crippled Jazzer, Simon Says, Roads? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads.

 

 

 

 

Helms Alee
Helms Alee

 

Helm Alee‘s Night Terror. Helms Alee is an experimental, sludge metal, rock trio from Seattle Washington whose sound reminds me of the Twin Peaks soundtrack.  With their pensive moodiness, great melodies, and  hard wailing beats, mixed with at times delicate vocals, and then at others yelling,  Helm Alee makes me feel like they’re preaching (in a good way). I feel like obeying them as I shake my head yes, yes, YEAH!  I really hope they can visit NYC sometime soon.  Faves:Honestly all of them.   They capture most of the moments in my day to day.

 

 

 

MORE TO COME!

 

New Song for the New Year

Telenovela Star
Telenovela Star

A couple of months ago, I met up with the other members of my band, just to hang-out and play some songs. We’ve been on a hiatus from playing out and practicing, since we’re practically broke and looking for employment and better lives (the real, on-going telenovela).  This has been a really difficult year for so many, not just us.  So good riddance 2008.

Anyway, we’ve been needing some sort of release for some time now, and meeting up just to play, not our set or unfinished songs, just to play loudly like we didn’t give a shit anymore, and feel the frustrations, the beast, bleed out.  This release felt like the best sort of cure for the thwart that’s been illing, suffocating us for some time now.

Of course I was late on the day, which sucked, because it takes forever to set a kit that’s not your own up, especially when it’s a piece of shit kit.  If anything this is a good metaphor for life:  never set-up or play anybody else’s piece of shit kit. 

Anyway, Maggie was fooling around on the keyboards, and Hanna on her bass. I quickly tried to set the mouse trap of a kit up. It was my worst set-up time ever: half an hour! After doing a three week residency at the Delancey earlier this year, I could set-up in like 5 minutes, 10 tops. Well, that was mostly nervous adrenaline, mixed with shots of Red Bull.

We were just messing around, spur of the moment playing, and then we started talking about this metal band that shared the studio space next door to our old studio, and how awesome we thought their musical arrangements were (lately we’ve been getting into metal). Maggie started talking about how she wanted to write a grave song, and of course that just started it all. Hanna started jokingly singing about loving a lover from the grave, while Maggie was playing on the keys, a blues progression to match Hanna’s bass and vocals. I came in with a slow blues beat, and it went straight to hell after that. We were so excited.  We had to play it again, and this time record it. We were hooked on what we had made, it felt so good. It honestly felt like a drug rushing through my veins.

We couldn’t get the melody out of our heads, even after our session at the studio ended. We kept humming this sketch, it was like a nursery rhyme. We just kept singing it over and over again, all through the streets of Manhattan’s Port Authority, laughing when one of us added a scandalous line to the lyrics.

I raced home hoping Hanna had emailed us the short recording of the song. I remember I couldn’t sleep that night, and for once it was for a positive reason. I kept giggling like a kid about our night, and the song. Ha! my poor lover, she puts up with so much. Luckily, she didn’t kick me out the bed that night. 

Anyway, we never had a chance to meet again before the holidays to flesh the song out, but Hanna did this incredible just keyboard version of it at home.

The name of the song is Carcass of Pleasure, our attempt at a metal song, well the lyrics are metal, but the melody is more blues, pop maybe? You decide.

After listening to Carcass, I suggest listening to Something In the Middle (see previous post) right away (on loud speakers, and dance around in front of a mirror, I do it all the time in just my underwear, and a broom as my microphone), since they sound so good together.

Enjoy, and as Yo! Majesty says, Never be afraid… Let the music set you free!

Listen to here: Carcass of Pleasure

This Time of Year

Yup, it’s that time of year for list making and the best ofs…

But during this time of worry, wondering if my job is going to be there tomorrow, I’ve found this activity to be quasi healthy, as it perpetuates hopefulness. A promise. Something that I’m terrible at.

“Any tiny positive thing is good,” so says my lover, the Buddha. So, in an attempt to be hopeful about the future, I’ve created my list of favorite songs, and albums for 2008. Because as much as I make fun of her Buddha remarks, my lover is semi right. Reflecting on your favorite things, what makes you laugh, smile a little, that brings you joy is worth making a list of and keeping in your empty pocket, or maybe on your ipod.

In no particular order, here are a few of my favorite songs and albums, that kept me alive in 2008:

OBJECTObject’s Black Swan, because these kids reek awesomeness, especially live. I saw their last show for the year this past Friday night, and they did all new stuff, with the inclusion of their unrecorded and my favorite, Disappear. Most of their new stuff is instrumental metal, a new direction (maybe?), which began as a Halloween side project. These kids are sickly talented, and I can’t wait to hear what they bring in 2009. See previous post here: Object. Listen: OFF THE RECORD

THE NETHERLANDSThe Netherlands‘s BDF-German Hardcore, because they’re effin crazy, and their songs remind me of James Brown: some soul meets rock, meets noise possibly? My faves: Teenage Sun, BDF-German Hardcore, Warleola!, The Gogo Dancer, and The Cocain Knightz. This is a great band. I can’t wait for their insanity to explode. Listen: BDF GERMAN HARDCORE

YO! MAJESTYYo! Majesty‘s Kryptonite P***y EP and Futuristically Speaking… Never Be Afraid. Some of the words, and phrases I associate with Yo!: Risk Takers, Unapologetic, Dynamism, Hott, Scandalous, Blasphemous… Scandalous and Blasphemous because isn’t that what makes 2008 especially special? When we think about all our leaders being caught in the act, and all these words become attached to their behavior. Like “phenomena”, as if they’ve created a new trend. I wonder sometimes what exactly is phenomenal about what they’re doing, especially when they can get away with it. These guys, however, Yo! Majesty, push the queer in funkadelic, rap, hiphop. Added to this mix and their in your face lyrics Yo! fuses Soca and Club music, making their sound completely sick. Faves: Break Bread, Kryptonite P***y, Night Riders, Hott, Grindin’ And Shakin’, Never Be Afraid.

SWATI Swati‘s Big Bang. This is probably one of the most uplifting songs I’ve listened to in awhile. It makes me feel electric from my finger-tips to my toes. I walk to work imagining that I could play guitar like it was my sword, singing the lyrics like they were a spell, ready for whatever awaits me…

RENIMINBIRenminbi‘s The Phoenix. Renminbi, pronounced REN-MIN-BEE, is an experimental three piece, that kept changing drummers on me. My band had the opportunity to play with these guys, and they’re amazing: both as musicians and human beings. For me that’s all it takes. My faves: Lachine, Fight Song, Siren, The Shore. Listen: SIREN

pianowire1 Pianowire‘s The Throws, still gives me goose bumps, or as we say in Trinidad, make meh pause raise. So good. They’re a mixture of Elton John, Billy Joel and Queen. I also love Contact. These guys are coming out with an album soon. Listen: THE THROWS

Holy FuckHoly Fuck‘s Royal Gregory, because you couldn’t be in a much better mood after listening. It’s a great mixture of electronic, experimental and rock music. See, it’s very possible to like electronic music, once it’s done well and it’s not repetitive. Another band that I appreciate a lot, that does the same (bridging the gaps between electronic, experimental and rock) are the Battles.

The CoolLupe Fiasco‘s The Cool is supposedly an antithesis to Miles Davis’s Birth of Cool and if I may the Cool Jazz movement, as it critiques and decontructs the current “cool” state of hip hop (a derivative of bebop jazz) which no longer challenges the status quo, discusses social issues, but again and again chooses to be distracted by the bling and pussy.  Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem We Real Cool also comes to mind when listening to this album:

We Real Cool

THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We
Left School. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

Something in the Middle

Something In the Middle CoverMy band uploaded a new song on our myspace page. It’s called Something In the Middle.

I can’t remember the details which lead to  Something In the Middle. Maybe it was a day when one of us was so beaten down, that we just spilled all of our guts out.  Because that’s what we do when we’re together, we spill everything out, everything that is trying to kill us. We sing louder, play harder, speak in tongues. We joke that our band practices are really therapy sessions.

Anyway, Something In the Middle is probably one of our most political songs (other than our very visible presence as women playing rock music) on our line-up.

Oh wait, it’s coming back to me now, how it all began. I was talking about the issues surrounding gay rights, and Hanna (bass player and vocalist), or maybe it was Maggie (lead guitarist and vocalist), made a scathing remark which lead to a beat, to a riff, to a refrain…

The recording is homemade, live at our studio. It’s not as polished as our previous recordings, but I’m digging the rawness.  We used this really handy recorder that fits right in your pocket,  Olympus LS10.

You can listen here: Something In the Middle

Something also reminded me of a poem I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah!

when tomorrow is just tomorrow

when we know that our phenomenal experience

isn’t as immediate as the phenomena expected

where Yeah exists.

I hope that these impressions stay with you

like the scars dealt to me for being open

as long as you live

I hope you live with just that amount of fear

living, breathing, preparing yourself for an attack

as you sit calmly with someone’s else’s blood on your shit: maybe it’s your own

wishing they were gone

as you sit and wait for Yes

to magically appear?

I’m still going to have Metal beating through me tomorrow

I’m still going to text my lover, I heart yous, and still be under-represented

infected with insanity, perversion, illegality

until I’ve been completely molded into something accustomed

I, continues, growing into a form

a persuasion for pettiness

and oh, I thank you God for my nose, eyes, and ears

because I couldn’t have reckoned without them

I couldn’t have survived this Love.