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The Essex Green
I had to put this NYC band on my top ten because The Onion’s AV Club [Volume 42, Issue 12] trashed their show at SXSW, writing “their may not be a less surprising band in the world than The Essex Green. Well, perhaps Sasha Bell didn’t sing any of her songs when that reporter was present but, if someone offered me money, I’d be happy to name at least 100 bands that are at least as unsurprising (not that “surprise” is the only thing that matters for me in music anyway).
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DJX1
One thing I like about this radio show is that local people call in and freestyle, and it’s a lot more audible (and entertaining) than a lot of slick overproduced hip hop. I hear all the work that goes into it, in part because some of the rappers are making mistakes, testifyin’
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David Dondero
David is playing at Noise Pop this week and hopefully, by now, people will stop saying that he sounds like Bright Eyes and, thank god, the latter is helping to set the record straight that Dondero came first. Both musicians are great in my opinion, but I was especially happy to hear David expanding his sound in his recent track “I’ve Seen The Love” while listening to KALX this week.
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Gene Baker
Gene Baker is a young Oakland-based multi-instrumentalist who I had the pleasure to record with. He laid down some wicked trumpet and helped me arrange a horn section. While he also plays drums and keyboards, his trumpet playing will also be featured on the next Mountain Goats album.
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Willy The Mailman
Willy is a member of The Graves Brothers Deluxe and has played with
Noel Redding as well as The Residents. He joined the Continuous Peasant horn section on some saxophone. He also runs the “Beast of Baden” studio, which donated studio time last year for our New Orleans Benefit Single.
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The White Stripes
Perhaps it’s nostalgia already, but was just thinking about how so many people got turned onto this band, because of one particular song, with a catchy 3 chord hook and equally catchy lyrical hook,
“You’re pretty good looking…for a girl.” That phrase, in the ‘indie-pop’ of the time, got people thinking. Hmm? Is he actually saying that girls aren’t as good looking as guys? And, yes, many of both genders loved him even more for it. Maybe a band like The Decemberists could learn from The White Stripes
that one doesn’t have to be polysyllabic to be brilliant
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The Chackackas
Check out their early 1972 top ten hit, “Jungle Fever,” if you get a chance. Turns out this was a Belgian band led by Gaston Boogaerts
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Jolie Holland
Jolie will be releasing a new album come May, but this past week took some time out to play some violin as well as lend some vocals for a new Continuous Peasant song. I just wanted to say thank you!
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Sharon Jones
A friend of mine in the Bay Area band The Heavenly States, who you may have heard of (because they got alot of national attention for their failed attempt to tour in Libya), recently met Ms. Jones, and told me he’d write something for this column about it. In the meantime,
check out her amazing version of the Woody Guthrie classic, “This Land Is Your Land,” which would upstage Jill Scott even with both hands tied behind her back.
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The Hotel Utah
I have to plug one of my favorite venues in San Francisco, not just because I saw a great show there this week, but also to plug my show with the Vancouver based The Buttless Chaps as well as amazing local up and coming musician Michael Musika on April 9th
