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.
This is a video that Maggie, the guitarist from my band, created. We were jamming in Jeff Byrd‘s living room, which was totally awesome. It’s the weekend we recorded a couple of songs up in Gilboa.
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.
So a week and two days ago, my band went up to Gilboa to record a couple songs — hopefully we’ll be coming out with something new soon. It was a lot of fun, here’s a few clips of me drumming:
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’sSurface. 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 and John Parish’s A Woman A Man WalkedBy. 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’Primary Colours. The Horrorsis 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’sBisexual. 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 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’sManners 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 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
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!
Last night I had the first, of hopefully many, listening parties where I invite friends to bring over songs and/or albums that they believe is the shit, or as I like to say make yuh pores raise. And we listen, and if we like, we swap music. I thought this would be a great way to find out about new to you artists, and well, talking about music is one of my favorite things.
Since this was the first, I wasn’t sure of how to go about the listening part of it. I didn’t want to force people into sitting in a circle to listen. I’m also very shy, so only a few people actually did some listening and discussing. I think for the next I’ll designate a time for the actual listening, and maybe a M.C. to direct everyone.
There’s so many possibilities… One friend recommended that people should say why they like this song, or maybe talk about the memories they associate with the song(s). Themes were also suggested. A little focus couldn’t hurt.
All in all it was a fun party. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves.
I discovered Jeff Buckely’s amazing voice and his awesome version of Lilac Wine.
You have to wonder and worry about people who refuse the stimulus package and want the new president to fail. I mean, if he fails then America, and Americans would suffer the consequences of his failure. It means that poverty would be at an all time high and ultimately this will result in the economic demise of one of the greatest countries in the world. You have to be an incredibly spiteful and a stupid individual to wish this and believe that the economy would survive this blow. Anyway, here’s some tunes for those haters.
Township‘s Township. I saw these guys a couple of weeks ago at the band J.A.C.K’s record release show, and they blew me and my lover away. Granted I’m not a huge fan of classic rock, but these guy’s professional delivery, exceptional live playing, and general awesome stage presence made me buy their CD at the end of their set. Faves: Sinister Minister, Beaver Fever, Beyond Free, Jack Shack, Burnin.
J.A.C.K‘s Deletist. The band that I came out to see that night and who I stayed for only one song because… Well the reason is quite pathetic and I’ll save myself the embarrassment. Anyway, the vocals for J.A.C.K. is like the gritty goodness of Judas Priest’sRob Halford mixed with the powerful vocal range of Guns N Roses’ Axl Rose over some psychedelic blues rock. These guys are playing K&M Bar on April 20th. Faves: Dracula, The Leader, I Cut Off My Arms, Extinguisher, Rainbow Blood.
Photo by Justin Fitch.
Man In Gray. The first time I witnessed to the spectacle that was Man In Gray it was at a Deli Show. I stared in amusement as the lead singer was performing while a dog was attached to her hand. Yes the dog was biting her but she didn’t stop singing and tambourine shaking. Unfortunately, as of late spring last year, Man In Gray is no more. Beside Proton Proton, yet another great band that passed away, Man in Gray was definitely one of my favorite live acts. I miss these guys, luckily I still own their raucous riot Man In Gray Tour EP.
Torche‘s Meanderthal is kind of like rock pop vocals over sludge metal. No, there’s no growling, just harmonizing vocals, which they do so well. I discovered these guys through Earfarm last year and I’m not at all disappointed. I initially downloaded the track Healer which lead to some research on the band and a purchase of the entire album. The next step is a t-shirt purchase. These guys will be playing at Highline Ballroom on April 19th. Faves: Triumph Venus, Grenades, Pirana, Speed of the Nail, Healer, Sundown, Little Champion, Without a Sound, Amnesian.
Susu’s Win. Susu is like if Sleater Kinney and Hot Snakes joined forces. This artsy noise rock trio is everything I need on days I feel exceptionally disgruntle. I find their wailing guitars, drums, and vocals very satisfying. Sometimes I even find myself dancing. These guys are playing on April 4th at the Annex. Faves: All the songs.
Jaguar Love‘s Take Me to the Sea is fun fun fun. In fact, they totally remind me of Man In Gray with all the yelpings, squeals, and outright yelling. They fuse an intoxicating X-Ray Spex, Kathleen Hanna vocals with a sort of funk/hip hop punk vibe into their rock. They sound like they would be a great band to see live. Faves:Highways of Gold, Bats Over the Pacific Ocean, Jaguar Pirates, Vagabond Ballroom, Humans Evolve into Skyscrapers, Antoine and Birdskull, My Organs Sounds Like…
Love is All‘s A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night. Is another album that exudes fun and reminds me of X-Ray Spex. With Cyndi Lauper vocals, Love is All’s 80’s power pop indie rock sound just makes you want to get up and dance. This is another band that I’d love to see live. Faves: New Beginnings, Give It Back, Last Choice, Rumours, Big Bangs Black Holes Meteorites.
Jean Grae
Jean Grae‘s Jeanius. The things I love about this album is the guts, the humor, the mad intelligent flow… Yeah it’s solid. You can feel the adrenaline rising in each pause, you can feel the explosion coming, and when it does all yuh pores raise. This is full of enlightenment and whoever said that Hip Hop is dead is looking to the wrong places. Open your ears to the non-traditional sick shit. Faves: 2-32’s, Don’t Rush Me, My Story, The Time is Now, #8, This World, Smash Mouth.
Telepathe‘s Dance Mother. So against my advice, my lover downloaded Dance Mother. I was opposed because I’m really not feeling the new wave electronic “rock” that’s reasserting itself in the music scene. But even with my disdain for this reassertion, I’m kind of pleased that she didn’t listen to me, because I did find a song or two that on first hearing did bring some joy and usage of phrases such as “that’s kind of awesome.” At times Dance Mother’s style strangely reminds me of New Kids On The Block (particularly In Your Line) and Enya (particularly Can’t Stand It)with some 80’s sounding techno mixed in. These guys are playing Webster Hall April 10th & 11th and the Annex on April 15th. Faves: In Your Line, Can’t Stand It, Trilogy.
Witchdoctor‘s The Diary of an American Witch Doctor. With Witchdoctor’s smooth, liquid butter flow, haunting atmospheric melodies and thought provoking lyricism, yes indeed, Diary… will cast a spell on you. Think Outkast‘s Aquemini album. I discovered Witchdoctor after watching an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. There was an add advertising the album. It was over for me when I heard the short clip for one of the songs. Faves: Just Like You, Spell on Them Hoes, Cream of the Crop, Oxygen, Jake Got Ya Body, King of the Beasts.
Two Saturdays ago, I met up with the other members of my band, Telenovela Star, for the first practice in a long time. We went through our songs, which surprisingly wasn’t that bad considering it’s been like 6 months of not playing our set.
We played some new songs and some not so, but in the sense that it’s taking on new directions. I’m talking about Death By Meteorite (DBM) that’s off of our full length, Love, Lust, Sci-Fi & Monsters (LLSM).
The genesis of DBM began like any of our songs, out of a long and quite possibly frustrating day at work (you know what I’m talking about), and then coming to practice, and some douche played with and may have broken or stolen our equipment. So, we quite possibly spent a good half an hour venting, calling around to find out who messed with our shit, and then finally we channeled all of this stress and DBM was born. At which point, of course, we’re smiling because for the time being, we’ve forgotten about all of the ills inside and outside.
The first DBM recording was a total raw draft that was recorded on cassette tape. Feeling the vibe from that first draft, Maggie went home and started playing her acoustic. From there, she wrote the lyrics for DBM. I don’t know what made her decide to record what she was working on, but I’m so glad that she did.
Awesome was the first thing out of my mouth, when she shared the home-recording with Hanna and me. She did all of the recording for the DBM version on LLS&M by herself! Even the whistling, the effing whistling.
It was around the time when we were finishing up with the LLS&M album. So, we were so excited about including DBM on the album. It was the perfect ending piece.
After LLS&M came out, we hoped to come back to DBM with the whole band. And we so did last Saturday. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this song. Listening to it is like witnessing the sun about to set, you’re cruising down a road, and all you feel is this summer breeze. Maggie said it: DBM is very visual. You get the feeling of going across the country.
We can’t wait to share this experience.
The Love Lust & Sci-fi Monster’s Death By Meterorite version: Death By Meteorite
Here’s a few more bands/artists that rocked it in 2008 (previous post: This Time of Year):
The Roots
The Roots‘s Rising Down. The Roots is my favorite hip hop band. Album after album, they’ve never lost themselves due to fame, however realized. They kept true to their identity and have taken the hiphop art form to a whole new level, that no one in the genre has been capable of catching up too. The mere fact that they are an actual band makes them shine even brighter in my eyes.
Reminiscient of a Fela album cover, just by looking at Rising’s album art you’re given a feeling of rebellion. A rebellion against the now status quo standing of a rap/hip hop album: the complacent cool of living it large.
I hear and feel the revival: the rush of wanting something other than what has been dealt, or what we make ourselves believe in. This feeling is ever so present in the song Singing Man. Singing Man evokes the traditional Sinnerman running but with no where to run to once the well has been sucked dry. This album brings us closer to that essence, of where and how Rap/Hip Hop began, before it’s quantification. Once Sinnerman realized the profit in his asethetic: discounted as an individual, as a peoples stripped of everything, why turn back now when the reasons for looking back means reliving an ugly truth that everyone is petrified by and there’s no profit in that, well maybe. And the future that you dream is just as horrific, if you follow what is being displayed in contemporary media who devel in the fluff. We all ignore the backlash, just waiting to bloom with it’s brooding revenge. It’s already begun.
Rising Down is the renissance of Rap/Hip Hop. It looks back and embraces the struggles and fight of a peoples… Not only is Rising Down a rebellion against…. it is a celebration of this unapologetic freedom to reject….
Faves: Lost Desire, I Will Not Apologize, Rising Down, Singing Man, Criminal.
The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields‘s Distortion. This album reminds me so much of Jorge Borges‘s poem Mutations. Maybe it’s because I was reading the poem while listening to Distortion. Or maybe it’s because the album sounds like a mutated Joy Division, that’s been distorted into a noise pop pulp fiction soundscape that’s centered on well written, humorous ballads that I secretly snicker about in a dark corner. I really enjoyed Distortion. So much so, that Please Stop Dancing is responsible for this poem: Words. Faves: Three-Way, Old Fools, Xavier Says, Please Stop Dancing, Too Drunk to Dream.
The Kills
The Kills‘s Midnight Boom. The Kills is a electronic, rock, indie, pop duo, that I’ve been following for sometime now. With their lo-fi sound: danceable drum machine beats, dirty guitars, mixed with bluesy vocals and very catchy cynical lyrics, Midnight Boom is, maybe, my favorite of theirs. Faves: U.R.A. Fever, Last Day of Magic, M.E.X.I.C.O, What New York Used to Be, Night Train.
Duffy‘s Rockferry. Like Adele, I consciously resisted Duffy when I first heard Rockferry at a Starbucks. Fortunately for me, I got over my hypocritical snobbery, because this girl can sing some Motown soul. Rockferry‘s sound maintains this back in the day lost love gospel with success, as you begin to grieve along with Duffy’s sorrowful vocal range. You feel like crying too. Faves: Rockferry, Warwick Avenue, Stepping Stone, Syrup & Honey, Hanging on Too Long, Distant Dreamer.
TV On The Radio
TV On The Radio, Dear Science. Honestly, I don’t know what’s the big deal about this album. Yes it’s good, but it doesn’t make meh pores raise (a saying from Trinidad, meaning, I got goose-bumps) as everyone is going on and on about it. And when I say good, I mean this is a really well made and produced album, but there isn’t anything radically great as music reviewers ranting and cheers would have you believe. It doesn’t change my hearing perspective or awareness, and maybe it’s because that wasn’t the album’s intent or maybe it’s just because there’s nothing new here. If they’re not sounding like Seal or Eddy Grant, they’re playing Afrobeat and or Calypso music, like for instance the songs Crying, Dancing Choose, Stork & Owl, Golden Age, Red Dress all sound like a track from one of my favorite calypsoians, David Rudder or even Andre Tanker. I did however appreciate the care and effort that these guys took into making this album. I also appreciated their conscious lyricism that was critical of our current social and economic state, another aspect that makes me cling to the idea that Dear Science is a hybrid of a calypso album, because the very purpose of a calypsoian/calypso music is to critique and deconstruct the current events of society. As much as I dig the fact that they’re mixing calypso and afrobeat into their sound, I still don’t get the hype, but then again music is so subjective. Faves: Halfway Home, Golden Age, Family Tree, Red Dress, Love Dog.
The Comas‘s Spells will cast a spell on you, as they combine great progessive 90s indie rock with dreamy, imaginative songwriting. Even though this album came out in 2007, my bandmate, Maggie, and I can’t help but refer to this album on a rainy everything sucks and I’m bored day. Unfortunately, the band is on an indefinite hiatus. Faves: Red Microphones, I Am A Spider, Come My Sunshine, Stoneded, Sarah T., New Wolf.
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!
My 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 Middleis 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.
I read (out loud) two Sundays ago on WHFR, which was really exciting. I haven’t read aloud…for years.
It reminded me about how important it is to hear the words you’re speaking, the importance of pronouncing your voice, the completely unstable voice.
I met some really uplifting artists at WHFR. It was like an arts commune that ranged from reading excerpts from novels and poetry manuscripts, playing live music, comedy, improv… It was an apartment full of breath, full of buds ready to flourish in this time of uncertainty, a room filled with togetherness.
I read 8 of my poems, and played a couple songs off my band’s full length (Love, Lust, Sci-fi & Monsters), and our self-titled EP (Telenovela Star).
s package and want the new president to fail. I mean, if he fails then America, and Americans would suffer the consequences of his failure. It means that poverty would be at an all time high and ultimately this will result in the economic demise of one of the greatest countries in the world. You have to be an incredibly spiteful and a stupid individual to wish this and believe that the economy would survive this blow. Anyway, here’s some tunes for those haters.
Township
J.A.C.K
Love is All
Telepathe
Witchdoctor
Duffy
My 
COCOYEA 
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