To be honest, I started listening to GBV sometime last year and find their style, or lack thereof, to be intoxicating at times and refreshing.  With songs ranging from 30 seconds to almost four minutes, many of their albums are loaded with material.  I’ve heard that live shows average 30-40 song sets.  Drawing from his own experiences in life or crafting silly ditties around a simple beat, Pollard has a unique style.

How can I describe this album?  Imagine sitting in a basement with a few close friends where there happens to be a good amount of alcohol and musical instruments handy.  After everyone has had enough, or too much, to drink people start to pick up instruments and then someone rattles off some stream of consciousness stuff into the microphone.  That is not a slight against the band by any means; rather I was trying to hone in on the camaraderie of such a situation that makes for a lot of fun.  The songs are presented in a way that is straightforward with little room for interpretation, and sometimes you need to have everything stripped out of the big picture.

I would start with: “Doughnut for a Snowman”, “The Unsinkable Fats Domino”, “How I Met My Mother”, “Chocolate Boy”, “Either Nelson”, “Waves”, “Laundry and Lasers” and “My Europa”.  Each song is a quick adventure and no two are the same.  If you are in the mood for something that isn’t quick punk, pop or indie rock but a mix of all three, then grab this for some fun listening and then find some earlier albums too.

The stage presence and focus of the band is backward, where Keenan stays in the back and the rest of the band is put in the foreground.  The focus is on the band as a whole along with the insane laser lights, smoke and videos playing on the monitors.  The band incorporates as much visual stimulus as possible so when Adam Jones’  videos are on screen they freak you out more than usual.  Nine Inch Nails used a lot of visuals but there is something about a Tool show that will scar your unborn children.

This was a tight set of songs — as Keenan said”we haven’t played some of these in a long time”, and you could tell the audience was elated to hear some favorite album cuts come to life.  Even though they have nothing new to showcase, they have an idea of what their fans want and they bring it to them.  This was by no means a”greatest hits” type of tour, and I would never expect that; this was a way for the band to stretch their legs a bit.  Keenan has also been busy, as last summer he toured with A Perfect Circle and this spring he hits the road with Puscifer.  He’s a busy fellow and you have to admire his work ethic.

There were no punches pulled at this show, the band had an agenda and served it to us.  I was more than happy to hear familiar favorites and some tracks I never thought would see the light of day.  Not addressing the audience very much, each song segued into the next, and there was almost no way to guess what would be coming at you.  After almost 10 minutes of feedback looping and some weird video, Keenan addressed the crowd by saying “well, it has come down to this” and he began the recognizable breathing that led the band to night closer “AEnema”.  Waving to the crowd and exiting the stage, many of us couldn’t believe almost two hours had passed.  Check the set, it was impressive.

Opener YOB brought their brand of doom metal that was interesting at first, but droned on for too long.  I would have preferred another Mike Patton project instead.

We’ve talked about 4 Footer before, as I wrote a piece on their show at Holiday House last year. Once again, 4 Footer was playing with Bastards of Reality and man, what a fantastic bout of post-punk / heavy metal glory we were given! It was like being tied up in a burlap sack and beaten with a Dethklok “Thunderhorse” Explorer.

The highlight of the night for me, however, was being one of the few recipients of a 4 Footer demo CD. The nine-track EP featured some of my favorites like “Power Move”, “Dirty Old Man”, and “It’s Like Kablam!” The recording is nicely done and the mixing allows for one to easily hear all the subtle nuances of the instruments. Jack Denning’s vocals are clear and crisp, with no fancy effects like reverb getting in the way.

The only thing I could say about the CD that could be interpreted as a negative would be that it only had nine tracks on it, but hey, you can’t argue with free. I’m hoping that they get into the recording studio for another round real soon, though, as I want a good copy of “Epic Fail” to rock out to – it’s truly a brilliant song.

4 Footer is a full-on punch in the face with hard-hitting rock jams. A fun diversion from a rock scene that’s begun to take itself way too seriously.

What I liked about the album by the Wolff boys was that it was simple pop made by a few boys that are not overstepping their own reality, and what I like about this album is that Calhoun is writing straight ahead pop tunes about real relationship problems without making a huge fuss.  He isn’t writing about idolizing some girl he can’t have or anything, he writes about breaking up or promising to make himself a better person to keep something alive.  To be honest, I think he is overstepping a little when he states that he’d take down Mike Tyson if a girl would give him a chance.  I have no doubt he’d try, but the Champ would chew his ear off before knocking him out.

Calhoun has made a name for himself in the last few years with songs on many TV shows: Men of a Certain Age, One Tree Hill, So You Think You Can Dance, Cougar Town, Real World, MTV True Life, A&E, E! and ABC Family to name a few.  With this new project, The Heaven Switch, he seems to be breaking from his usual formula and crafting better material for himself.  You can pick up pieces of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Blessid Union of Souls, Howie Day or Stephen Kellogg as he spins tales of love lost and trying for redemption.

You can stream the first four tracks to give you a great sample of the album: “Raise a Flag” is a solid opener to draw you in, “Stolen Car” will keep you moving, then lead single “Trainwrecks” is a great way to tell someone you love them no matter what, and “Fault Lines” is a good breakup tune.  Later tracks like “Surface” and “Best of Times” are also ones to watch for.

If you are in the market for something that is not run of the mill pop, then I would give this fellow a shot.  It may not be my cup of tea but that does not mean you won’t enjoy some of these tunes.

American Idol

Season One: Kelly Clarkson. Clarkson has done extremely well ever since American Idol. She released her fifth studio album Stronger just last year. It debuted at the number 2 spot in the U.S.

Season Two: Ruben Studdard. Studdard beat out Clay Aiken by what was said to be a very small margin. Both artists achieved moderate success after the finale. Studdard has worked with four labels. He is still attached to 19 (the contract from American Idol), but recently left the label Hickory and signed with Shanachie. He is expecting to release an album later this year, but anticipation isn’t exactly running high.

Season Three: Fantasia Barrino. Season 3 is known as the one that brought us Jennifer Hudson and William Hung, though neither even saw the top 5 spots. (And here I thought Hung had a chance.) Barrino, now simply known as Fantasia, was the eventual winner. She’s done pretty well recently, earning her first Grammy last year for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “Bittersweet”. It’s possible Fantasia will be making some film appearances in upcoming years.

Season Four: Carrie Underwood. Where do we start? Even those who didn’t bother watching Season 4 of American Idol know Underwood’s name. Her first album became the best-selling album in the United States in 2006 and the best-selling country album in the United States in 2006 and 2007. Her most recent album Play On was released in 2009. Since then, Underwood has taken part in duets and has made several television appearances, but there is currently no indication of another album coming out any time soon.

Season Five: Taylor Hicks. Oh yeah, remember this guy? Most recently, Hicks released his second album, the first under his own label, in 2009. It sold a meager 9,000 copies in its first week of release. Some refer to Hicks are the exception that proves the rule that Idol winners generally do go on to “greatness.” If only Chris Daughtry had won; then, we would have had a real rule.  Oh well.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

In 2007 Brien released his first album of acoustic original songs and has been consistent with letting more material out each year since then, consisting of originals and demos.  In preparation for his newest album, titled Through the Darkness, We Will Find the Light, there are two songs that he has let me check out and share with you, Avid Reader.  As he explains it: the music is a journey through all of our trials and triumphs in life.  Citing some of his influences for this ongoing project as The Cure, The Smiths and Depeche Mode, you can feel the emotional qualities not just in the lyrics but through the instrumentation.

“Mistakes” reflects upon how we pay for wrong turns we make on the road leading to now.  Sometimes we are left cold and by ourselves, yet if we decide to open up to others, then we don’t have to be alone.  Maybe there is some light at the end of each wrong tunnel or choice we make.

“Winter Solstice” takes to task the greyest of seasons and how it affects the mentality of many people.  Being stuck indoors is taxing and, unless you hibernate, those months are not easy.  By holding on to memories that made you happy earlier in the year, and realizing that this will pass, everything gets brighter after the solstice.

If you’d like to hear these songs and more, then check the website or catch him live.  Whether he’s accompanied by a full band or just his acoustic guitar, all of the songs take on a different life when performed live.  He’s come a long way since his time in Antimony – and if you get a chance to talk with him, tell him Fizz says hello.

Having seen Pearl Jam and then watched the movie, hearing the music brought me back to those concerts and many others I have attended.  You can hear the band finding a groove and working up the crowd, but you can also hear the crowd riding that groove and working up the band to push themselves on stage.  For example: the song “Betterman” was written by Eddie Vedder for his mother and it might be one of the saddest songs in their catalog.  Yet the live cut on this album from Madison Square Garden two years ago is daunting to listen to.  The entire crowd sings the song while Vedder gently plays the notes and the full band kicks in.  The intimacy that you feel when the crowd joins in brings all of the songs together.

The first CD contains many of the tracks that were used in the movie while the second CD has several demos and then live versions of the actual song.  One of my favorites is “Times of Trouble” which would later become “Footsteps”.  Each track brings you to a different period in the band’s life and you can feel that tension riding over the guitars, drums and vocals.

For me, I jumped into Pearl Jam full time around Binaural and also love No Code – which was the album that many folks were jumping out at.  From there it has been a tough relationship, and I find they are still a consistent group making albums not just for themselves but for the folks that take a week off work to follow them around on tour.  From Green River to Malfunkshun to Mother Love Bone to Mookie Blaylock to Pearl Jam, this is history, this is evolution baby.

Three versions of Up! were released, all with the same track listing: a country version (the green disc), a pop version (green disc), and an international version (blue disc), which was in the style of Bollywood music. I listened to the country version, but based on other reviews that I have read, the differences among the three are quite minimal. Twain’s voice is essentially the same in all three styles. The album you prefer depends solely on what you would like to hear more in the background, some fiddle and a banjo or some funk guitars, keyboards, and a string section.

If you liked Twain’s first few albums, then you’ll like Up!, unless you were hoping that Twain would expand her musical horizons. Despite the three different versions of the album, Twain ultimately does not seem to stray from her simple and oh-so-catchy tunes. Her voice sounds exactly the same as on Come on Over, and many of the songs reminded me of her older hits. It’s almost like she looked at her old songs as models for her new ones, instead of coming up with original material. You can decide for yourself whether that’s a good or a bad thing.

Up! garnered Twain the distinction of being the only female artist to have three consecutive albums released in the United States become Diamond. However, since Up! Twain has only released a handful of songs; on her website, she cited personal struggles as the reason for the delay in new music. Unless you count her Greatest Hits album, Twain’s fans have been without a new album for just about a decade! Twain released one single last year (after six long, empty years) entitled “Today is Your Day,” but there is still no word on a new album. Twain reported recently that she will by headlining Caesars Palace for two years starting later this year, with a show called Still the One. At least she gave us plenty to listen to; the 19 songs on Up! would probably be on a minimum of two albums for any other artist.

I’ve been reviewing last year’s posts and noticed a theme throughout several of them: I mention the musician Beck quite a lot. To be honest, I referenced him five times.  Then I started thinking to myself, as I often do, Avid Reader; why did I mention him so often?  The answer is pretty simple: he’s my favorite artist of all time and has held on longer than others who have had this prized position.  He’s the reason I dig for export albums and why I’ve built such a collection.  Everybody has “the one” — an artist they seem to always turn to for inspiration or to gauge other artists by –  and I’m going to share my story with you all.  If you happened to think this post was going to be about James Brown’s funk groove, I hate to disappoint you.

Growing up, we identify with the music we hear most often and, as far as my own research dictates, this is the noise playing in your parents’ car.  For me it was the Beatles and other icons of 50’s and 60’s pop.  I heard Billy Joel early on and thought I would identify with him for the rest of my life.  I liked his songs, they were always on the radio and plenty of other people liked him too.  I was set.

Billy lasted for a few years until a friend created that fabled mix tape and sent my world on its ear.  Kurt Cobain had been dead for two years before I discovered him and sent Billy packing.  Here was a guy that spoke about alienation, anger and a whole bunch of other mumbled stuff I couldn’t decipher.  He guided me through high school and early college, and I pulled everything I could from his songs.

A light turned on one day: Kurt was dead.  This meant his music had an ending point and there would be nothing new.  I’ve heard bootlegs, the Outcesticides, early demos, and plenty of other things, but I needed someone who would put out albums once in a while.  Then I realized there was someone else that I had been following for years who always managed to boost my own creativity with each release.

Beck was the soundtrack for my school projects and papers, and why I started watching Futurama again.  His albums challenged my way of thinking and how I listened to albums.  He was multi-dimensional, whereas Billy and Kurt seemed one-sided. Beck was also putting out new material every few years.  I’ve developed a wider taste in music and I have him to blame.  For me, Beck is the one whether he produces albums or puts out his own material.  I bet your story is similar to mine; you just need to find someone you can grow with or who will make you grow too.  Who is your one and what’s your story?

I first heard about them about a year ago. They were mentioned in passing by a friend of mine and after a few weeks of procrastinating, I finally got around to checking them out. If you can imagine what it would be like if Seth McFarlane decided to make an animated series about an 80′s glam metal band, you can imagine Steel Panther.

With a tongue-in-cheek approach to raunchy and hilarious lyrics, and a great musical ability, Steel Panther has been able to turn a niche comedy act into serious business, producing two major-label records and recording with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger (who I detest, but oh well). The band has gone through three other names before settling on Steel Panther – Danger Kitty, Metal Shop, and Metal Skool.

The quartet began their career doing covers of 80′s metal songs while parodying the artists. As Metal Shop (and later as Metal Skool) they released an album in 2003 titled Hole Patrol. The 10-track album featured one of their most popular singles, “Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)”, which was later re-recorded (along with a few other songs) for their second album Feel the Steel.

Feel the Steel was released under the Steel Panther name in 2009 and featured the singles “Death to All But Metal” and “Community Property”. Easily my favorite album from the group, Feel the Steel brings authentic glam metal sounds and melds it expertly with their own special blend of funny for an excellent listen.

This past year, in October, Steel Panther released their third album, Balls Out, to much fanfare. This album features more of the same, with a more aggressive and vulgar attitude.

While I’m not in the mood for them all the time (such as when they suddenly burst into a bar I was at in Philly and made a crap ton of noise while I was trying to enjoy some German beer with my girlfriend), they have a unique style that’s good for a few play throughs. I’ve yet to see a live show of theirs, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity the next time it presents itself.