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THE INDIE ROCK BLOG
The Indie Rock Blog is a collection of Sugartune Artist News and entries from our friends at the Rock and Roll Report. If sweet, sugartunes are stirring in your soul, keep your soul stirred with a subscription to our news feed. 
Producing “evil rock ‘n roll since 1999″ Scarey Records is a great Italian record label featuring such classic bands as The Nerds, Filthy Jim, Long Dong Silver (classic name!) and the Bulemics to name just a few. They also have a great mailorder department. Absolutely first rate, filty rock and roll!
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Ballentine- 4U (Original Man Entertainment)
Ever wonder what happened to the late ‘90’s pop music movement fronted by girl bands with attitude? Well, Ballentine wants you to know the genre is alive and well with their debut release.
Garnering publicity is hard for any new band, especially without a big time label backing you up. So, in this day and age, how do you get people to sit up and take notice? By going on a reality show of course!
Sexy girl next door/lead singer, Heather Ballentine and bassist Frank Primorac took a chance on each other two years ago by mixing both business and pleasure. Fast-forward two years and the band was finally falling into place, the relationship, however, was bordering on breakup tune territory. So, the lovebirds did what any fame seeking, yet romantically challenged couple would do and signed up for ABC’s Ultimate Love Test.
Genius career move or an epic love story? I’ll leave that one for you to decide. After surviving (and winning) the ULT, one thing was certain, the real test of whether their talent could take them all the way, had yet to come.
From the appropriately titled “Starting To Move” it’s obvious that pop hooks are not a problem. In fact, Warren Huart, who worked with The Bangles, is a good choice here as producer. With a nostalgic image to match their equally nostalgic tunes, all the pieces for success seem to be falling into place.
But then one thinks of bands like Save Ferris or the late, great Letters To Cleo. Acts that aspired to ride the wave of Gwen Stefani’s svengali, with only moderate success. The problem was the world already had their Stefani. The burning question being, do we really need another?
There are highlights which prove Ballentine has some chops including “Tired Of You” and “Anything But Perfect”, and it’s obvious they’ve got a pop rock groove down pat. Still, it’s clear Ballentine would benefit from more variety and doing so would help them emerge from their carefully concocted cocoon of well-crafted songs that need a little more diversity and a little less reality TV.
Janet Branagan
I was flipping through some back issues of the excellent Beatles collectable magazine Beatlology and thought to myself “This stuff is so cool! I would love to collect something Beatles but where oh where do I start?” (OK I didn’t actually sound like that but you get the drift) There is so much info on the ‘Net that it is difficult to figure out where the heck to start. I was thinking of collecting original Canadian LP pressings but I am pretty much open to anything within financial reason. How do I get started? Enquiring minds want to know.
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British Airways has a pretty cool 3 day travel package called the London Rock ‘n’ Roll Package which includes a pretty interesting looking “London’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Legends Tour” plus a West End theatre ticket, airfare and hotel accomodation. Blimey let’s go!
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In the “why didn’t I think of this” category comes the incredible Rocklopedia Fakebandica, an incredible database of every fictional band and singer from TV and the movies that you could possibly imagine, now in its’ 9th edition. An incredible waste of time and trust me that is a compliment! Check it out and be amazed.
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Just a reminder that this year’s Rockaround in Las Vegas is coming up September 24th - 26th with an incredible line-up of bands and DJs to liven up boring ol’ Las Vegas! It is shaping up to be an incredible event.
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For a final review of the First Annual Little Steven’s Underground Garage Festival check out the review at Bulls-Eye.com.
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Sarah Hudson- Naked Truth (EMI)
Sarah Hudson has a lot to be thankful for and apparently, a lot to live up to. Although only a mere twenty-three years old, this in-your-face ingénue is different. She already has your attention and she doesn’t have to fight to get noticed. Instead she has the opposite problem, all eyes are on her. In fact, with her father, formerly one half of a successful 70’s pop duo, The Hudson Brothers, and her cousin being on-screen darling Kate Hudson, it’s hard to see what machine this self-proclaimed pop rock rebel is really raging against.
We’ve heard it all before. Bijou Phillips wailed about not being wanted on “When I Hated Him (Don’t Tell Me)” and even Chastity Bono threw her ‘woe-is-me, famous but twice removed’ hat into the ring with her now defunct band, Ceremony. So what makes Sarah Hudson’s attempt at individuality all that special? From one listen of the Naked Truth it seems, not much.
The title track is a fun, yet serious tune in the vein of a Jill Sobule or Melissa Lefton; two other quirky pop princesses that never fully found a foothold in the pop industry. “Girl On The Verge” meanwhile, belongs in a Lindsay Lohan driven vehicle or perhaps Clueless ten years past or even further removed, the Go Go’s two decades too late. Most of the songs on Naked Truth at least remain true to the title; serving up a raw approach to sad, real life topics with a surprisingly off-putting, upbeat delivery.
But before, long the whole ‘red headed stepchild, feel bad for me’ vibe starts to wear thin. By the time we get to “Strange” things downshift from self-deprecating to downright embarrassing, fast. “I’m a little bit strange, but here’s the twist. I might even get stranger than this,” coos Hudson.
The standout track crown is still awarded, however, to “I Know”, a timeless tune that at moments is part Madonna with the spirit of rock sisters Heart mixed in. This song might’ve even had a home with Britney, but on Hudson’s otherwise quirky collection, it somehow seems out of place. On “I Know” Hudson steps out of the peculiar girl gone wrong box and succeeds.
Now if only Naked Truth contained a little more meat and a little less monotone, we’d all be singing a different tune.
Janet Branagan
Join Spaceman Stan every weekend as he plays “elevator music for elevated minds” in the wee hours on Adventures in Plasticland. Featuring the best in rare, unusual, and seldom heard rock and roll, much of it gleaned from Stan’s staggeringly huge vinyl collection, Adventures in Plasticland airs from 11:59 Saturdays to 3:00 am Sundays on CKWR, FM 98.5 in Waterloo, Ontario and is also streamed live on the net.
In addition to great music, Adventures in Plasticland also occasionally features guests from the Hamilton Paranormal Society, who discuss their visits to famous haunted locations in Ontario.
Spaceman Stan is also a fan of The Rock and Roll Report and on his next show plans to feature tracks from Blodwyn Pig’s “Ahead Rings Out” and Savoy Brown’s “Lion’s Share,” the two albums that have been profiled in this site’s Between the Cracks section. Tune in if you can!
The New Untouchables will be holding another excellent Mod festival called the International Modernist Meeting this weekend (August 27th - 29th) at Margate, Kent UK with an incredible line-up off bands and events including P.P. Arnold! Check out their website for all the details and have a Mod Bank holiday this year.
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Billed as the “biggest Beatle celebration in the world” International Beatle Week starts today and runs to August 31st in Liverpool, England. With over 200 bands participating it is considered the largest free city centre music festival in the world with up to half a million people expected. All Beatles and music fans should try and make this extravaganza once in their lifetime, especially as it takes place in the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool. And if you can’t make International Beatles Week try and keep your schedule open for IPO Liverpool in October, another fantastic rock and roll festival for fans of power pop and beyond.
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For a fantastic listen you must check out the BBC’s The History of Psychedelia which “looks at the progression of the psychedelic movement, examining the music, the drugs and the people who were instrumental in its development and success.” Excellent stuff which is par for the course with the BBC.
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Montreal will be losing a rock and roll radio legend when the wonderful Mimi la Twisteuse heads off to (gasp!) Toronto leaving a city in mourning and ending her incomparable run of great rock and roll radio. She will be taking one last stab at rock and roll glory on August 26th for a special 2 hour Dodécaphonique Twist from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on CIBL-FM so tune in and witness some great rock and roll radio, hopefully not for the last time. Merci Mimi. Bonne chance.
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Well I’m battling a stubborn and nasty summer cold/flu bug and have been literally out of the loop for the last couple of days but expect some more rock and roll ruminations soon! Now pass me some more (sniff) Contact C.
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Well, seeing as how this year is the 35th anniversary of Woodstock (do I really need to put “’69” in there?) it is interesting to read the yearly tributes and debates about what Woodstock really meant. Was it a blessed out hippie utopia or a drugged-out, youth-culture rip-off or just a really big concert? I am certainly not debating the significance of the event as I believe it was a watershed rock and roll event but it is interesting what Rolling Stone magazine wrote about the Woodstock triple album when it was released in their July 9th, 1970 issue. Check this out courtesy of the Bomp Refugees List and obviously not reprinted courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine:
Bill hadn’t been to Woodstock that August weekend the summer before,
although Plattsburgh, his home, was less than 300 miles due north on
the Northway. He’d gone drinking at Filion’s Friday night, and when
he awakened terribly hungover the next afternoon, as did most of his
18-year-old buddies, it was too late to make the trip down to Bethel.
You couldn’t have convinced anyone in the months that ensued,
however, that not only was Bill not *at* the Music and Art Show in
the alfalfa fields, but that he hadn’t also played some integral part
in the whole proceeding - a dope runner for the Airplane, perhaps
(”Hey, Bill, you got a bomber?” Grace, resplendent in white, tits
high and firm, asked him standing behind the giant platform as the
Who finished up their set with the sun edging orange up the mountain
from its resting place), or a candy bar for Jerry Garcia. Bill
believed, too, and if pressed he had a whole Abbie Hoffman Rap about
the “actuality” of being there not actually being the important
thing, but only a minor side trip.
“I *live* in the Woodstock nation,” Bill told people when the topic
came up, “If you can dig it. I mean how many were actually there. You
don’t know. We’ll never know. But it doesn’t make any difference. The
Woodstock actuality has become a media trip. That’s where it’s at.
More cameras, writers, and that kind of shit than at Kennedy’s
funeral. Like the people on the outside probably knew more than those
who were actually there. What it’s come down to is Woodstock Nation,
and Woodstock Nation, man, is in your head if you want it to be.”
Probably. But Bill still knew a whole lot about the Music Show
itself, and took great pains to seek out said information. he had
clippings, articles, ads, the illustrious *Life* Magazine Special
Edition, *Rolling Stone’s Woodstock,* the *Village Voice* issue, and
now in late spring had seen the move three times at four bucks a
throw, and also had the album committed to memory. His head, in fact,
was a living monument to the whole Woodstock thing, even down to the
little things. Somehow Bill had found someone who had some of the
infamous “brown acid.” He paid ten bucks for the tab so that he could
find out “what was going down.” True to form, he took it the second
time he saw *Woodstock.*
“Man, that brown acid at Woodstock was a real bummer,” he told
assorted freaks at assorted gatherings. “A real bummer. Knocked me
out for hours. Paranoia personified.”
As time passed, Bill became more assertive in such situations. No one
now bothered to question him directly as to whether he had been
there, but merely what it was like. Bill went along with them because
he felt he really knew what it was like.
“Cocker was crazy, man, beautiful. And Alvin Lee, wow.”
“Were there really a lot of naked people,” a far out chick asked
handing him a joint, “like cunt and cock and everything?”
“Well,” Bill would smile, “you saw the movie didn’t you?”
“Yeh.”
“What else do you want to know?”
“Far out.”
Woodstock was now the new American Dream, a pipe dream, how it had
been those three glorious days of sun and rain, mud and music, and
the 500,000 patriots whose ranks were growing day by day, patriots of
Woodstock “flying their freak flags high,” Groupies, the Dope, and
good ol’ Rock & Roll, and the national anthem, understood for the
first time by Hendrix and his buzz saw guitar. It was all coming home
to rest now, and Bill, like many, was proud to stand up and be
counted, for his own People, for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness, for his Country. Woodstock Nation was a reality.
So it was, until one night at a party in West Chazy when the
conversation once more found its way to Woodstock as it always did
whenever Bill happened to show. Bill dropped facts and recollections
amidst the circle of listeners who sat rapt about him like Leary
dropped acid. They all shook their heads at the good dope being
passed and at the general incredulity of the whole Woodstock affair.
But they believed. That is, all but one believed, and this one hairy
ragamuffin of hipdom lay back against a sofa, hitting on his own
kief, and cooly taking in Bill’s polished exposition. He listened for
a long time. At some point, indiscernible to the rest of the
gathering, he apparently had head enough.
“Hey man,” he said, leaning his well-coiffed head into the
circle. “Did you ever understand what happened down front just before
the Band went on?”
Bill looked up and smiled.
“No, I wasn’t there when that happened. I must have been somewhere
else. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I was sitting about 50 yards out.” The kid leaned back
out again.
Bill eyed him for a moment and then continued on from the point where
he had disengaged. He had his stuff down.
Seconds later however, the kid again poked his head inside the circle.
“What happened, man, when that weird rumor…”
“About Dylan showing up?” Bill cut him off in stride.
“No, man, that was a media hype. No, the rumor just before Creedence
Clearwater went on about the latrines?”
Bill looked at the kid again and didn’t answer for the longest time.
And then it was only a reticent shrug.
“Well, where, man, did you take a dump after that? Where’d you spend
most of your time?”
Everyone turned and looked at Bill, but Bill had nothing to say, no
one to look at, nowhere to go.
“I mean,” the kid went on, driving his point home, “when I arrived,
the can situation, and that strange tale, well, it was weird. Right?
You do remember that, don’t you?”
“Sure, but…”
“Did you fork out any bread to get in?”
“No,” Bill answered, looking down at the flickering candle, “but…”
“Did you get back to Leon’s down the…”
“Groovy Way?”
“Wrong direction, man, wrong direction.”
There was a silence, a certain moment of embarrassment because now
everyone knew. Bill didn’t look up.
“You’re right, though,” the kid finally said, “the movie was pretty
far out. But it wasn’t like being there. Nothing was like being
there.” A second silence followed, and then the kid turned to the far
out chick. “Hey, you got anything to drink or eat, man? This is your
place, isn’t it?”
“Yeh,” someone echoed, and in seconds the crowd was on its feet,
eager to be up and away. Everyone but Bill. He was still on the floor
staring into the flame. The rest of the gang trooped into the kitchen.
*****
“Look, man, it was clear he hadn’t been there if you’d been there.”
“And you’d been there,” the girl said.
“Yeh. Anyone who had would have known immediately he was shucking us.
It was obvious, if you knew.”
“Sure, maybe, but dig where it’s at. Two wrongs don’t necessarily
make a right, as my grandmother used to tell me, if there were even
two wrongs. You know what I mean?”
“But look. He’d been sold a bill of goods, man, a product that had
little to do with anything except money, and that’s what he was
selling. What, I’m supposed to feel bad for coming down on him for
fucking around with us? He’s an asshole, it’s that simple. I mean,
like he really believes it, and that’s weird.”
“Apparently you believe it too. Perhaps more so than Bill. But then
you *were* there. You are Woodstock Nation, and if it’s come down to
this, then that’s sad. That’s why there will never really be a
Woodstock Nation. You won’t let anybody live on your land. You were
there. Bill wasn’t. Bang bang. Sad. It’s too bad you didn’t remember
what Dylan said.”
“What?”
“‘Those dreams are only in your head.’” She turned and walked away.
At the door she paused and looked back at the kid, and smiled. “‘I’ll
let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours.’”
By J.R. Young
Groovy huh?
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Well that apparent “lost trove” of Beatles material that some guy claimed he found in a suitcase at a flea market turns out to be a hoax. Surprise, surprise.
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The “Smile” hype is growing. Showtime will be airing a documentary on the making of “Smile” on October 5th so get those VCRs and Tivo doo-hickies ready!
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If you are looking for something to do this weekend (August 20th to the 22nd ) and you happen to be in Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA then you just might want to check out Sleazefest 2004, a pretty cool looking weekend of great rock and roll. Featuring everybody from Southern Culture on the Skids, The Fleshtones, The Woggles, Mondo Topless, The Swingin’ Neckbreakers, The Moaners and more, Sleazefest proves that you can be both good and sleazy at the same time!
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With the passing of Rick James last week (still unexplained apparently) most people don’t realize that before he was a “super freak” he was considered the “black Mick Jagger” of mid to late Sixties Yorkville, considered to be the Haight-Ashbury of Toronto at the time. Even more amazingly, the then Ricky James was in a band with not only various members of Steppenwolf and Buffalo Springfield but with ol’ “shaky” himself, Neil Young. The band was called the Mynah Birds and the Toronto Star has an excellent piece by John Goddard called Meet the Mynah Birds that is a fascinating description of a band that existed in the “before the gold rush” era of Canadian rock and roll. I believe that the link will expire before the end of the month so read while it’s free.
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If you ever wondered what freeform radio was all about, a good place to start would be Freeform Radio.org, a great resource to freeform radio in the past and (unfortunately not too much) present. A good starting point in your search for radio beyond Clear Channel. Check it out.
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Formed in 1966, Savoy Brown was one of the foremost bands of the British blues movement of the sixties. Although they never had a bonafide hit record, their albums consistently charted in the middle to upper range of the Top 100, and they were well regarded as a kick-ass live act. From the beginning, Savoy Brown has undergone numerous personnel changes (including three of the founding members of Foghat) with the one constant being founder/guitarist Kim Simmonds, who continues to lead the band today.
Released in 1972, on the heels of “Street Corner Talkin’” (containing the classic, “Tell Mama,” probably the band’s best known song) and “Hellbound Train, “Lion’s Share” is by far my favorite Savoy Brown album. The line-up for this album was essentially the same as the two previous releases and included Dave Walker on vocals, Paul Raymonde on keyboards and rhythm guitar, Dave Bidwell on drums, the ubiquitous Andy Pyle on bass, and Simmonds on lead guitar and harmonica.
“Lion’s Share” is quite possibly the most exuberant and vibrant of all the Savoy Brown albums. This version of the band had an undeniable chemistry and a knack for creating great, rockin’ party music. The opening cut, “Shot in the Head,” is the highlight of the album; a straight-ahead rocker featuring some beautiful, stinging slide work by Simmonds. Although rarely mentioned in the lists of great rock guitarists, Simmonds is not only a first rate slide player, but has a fluid, melodic lead style that’s instantly recognizable. I have to think that he would get a lot more credit for his chops if Savoy Brown had produced a couple of big hits. The man can flat out play!
Other standout tracks include the driving, “Second Try,” the slow, bluesy “The Saddest Feeling,” “I Can’t Find You,” a rolling, rollicking tune driven by Paul Raymonde’s tasty barrelhouse piano, and a raucous cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Howlin’ for My Darlin’.”
Throughout the album, Dave Walker’s clear, powerful voice stands out, alternating between joyous boisterousness and heart-rending despair. No mellow crooning here, Walker wears his emotions on his sleeve and holds nothing back (for another fine example of his singing, check out his all-out rendition of “(I’m a) Road Runner” on Fleetwood Mac’s “Penguin” album).
Bottom line, if you like your rock bouncy and bluesy, “Lion’s Share” is a must for your collection. The usual reaction I get from friends hearing it for the first time is, “This is (expletive) great! Who are these guys?!” It might be more than thirty years old, but it will never go out of style. For more information on Savoy Brown, check out the band’s web site at http://www.savoybrown.com.
Are you having problems getting the bass to sound just right in the garage? Or your vocalist sounds kind of strange in the bathroom? Recording at home has never been easier but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn form the mistakes of others. HomeRecording.Com is an excellent resource for anybody trying to make the best with less. Check it our before you start beating your head against that mixing board.
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If you are looking for some great rock and roll from a French band with a strange name, look no further than Scrambled Eggs. Heading to IPO Liverpool this fall, Scrambled Eggs sing in English with a fine pop sensibility that some compare to Sugarplastic and XTC. Their latest CD “It’s Hard to Say” is available through Not Lame and you can also sample some fine MP3 samples for your listening pleasure. Merci.
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I am a huge fan of Goran Obradovic of Popism fame and just the fact that he writes record reviews for a cool record label website to me means that this must be one hell of a record label. Well it is. Torpedo Records is a great label from Sweden that specializes in “melodic pop.” Some absolutely fantastic stuff comes out of Torpedo Records and there are all kinds of downloads that you can save and listen to until your iPod batteries run out. Some absolutely first rate rock and roll that you should check out ASAP. Try it, you’ll like it.
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Creature
Moonshine Orchestra
The Snitches
