The last stop on my Art Around Adams tour was to see Mittens back at the library stage. I had seen the band play about a month ago at The Kava Lounge so I already knew how much fun they were. Mittens play a style of indie-pop that looks back but still has a modern feel to it. Their band bio mentions being inspired by groups like Rilo Kiley, The Cranberries and The Cardigans – and I can certainly hear the influence of those bands in their sound – but there’s also no mistaking their love of early ’60s girl groups like The Ronettes, The Shirelles and Martha & the Vandellas. Throw in some surf-rock licks and well-timed blistering guitar solos, to go along with their 3-part harmonies and big hooks, and you have Mittens! Continue reading →
My father was 26 years old when the Beatles‘ Please Please Me came out. I used to tell him that he was still young enough then to have followed the Beatles and the Stones instead of staying on the path that lead to Andy Williams and Glen Campbell. But the die was cast by that point, and rock ‘n’ roll was not going to be my dad’s thing. However, it turns out there was a section of his record collection that I would eventually come to fully appreciate. For as the British Invasion was in full swing, my dad was listening to The Lonely Bull, South of the Border and Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. It turned out my dad was much cooler back then than I ever gave him credit for! Continue reading →
I made it through the first 55 years of my life without ever seeing The Schizophonics and now I’ve seen them four times this year already. I was doing it wrong! The first time I saw The SchizophonicsI had no idea what to expect. It was a crowded night at The Casbah and I was near the back craning my neck looking for the second guitarist. I turned around to say something to my friend and he was doing the same damn thing! Continue reading →
Next up on this perfect day for local music was Cardinal Moon. The last time I saw this band was at their debut performance at the Redwoods Revue at the Music Box in early May. The creative duo behind this new San Diego band is singer/guitarist/songwriter Dawn Mitschele and Al “another band? sure, why not” Howard. Continue reading →
There were so many great bands to see at last weekend’s Art Around Adams festival but fortunately whoever scheduled this event managed to have all my favorites playing at different times.
First up was Imagery Machine. I imagine the beginning of this group to have gone something like this: “Hey, we should start a band!” – “Good idea, what kind of music should we play?” – “Let’s play all kinds.” – “Ok, I’m in!”
That’s an exaggeration of course but Imaginary Machine does have an expansive sound that draws on many different influences. Just check the two videos posted below. The first clip is of “Lyon”, a summery rock song with a gorgeous vocal melody by Jennie Lynn and intertwining guitar leads. The second is “Drum Winds”, a full blown reggae jam that gives everyone in the band a chance to shine, including the two backup singers, Kristin Jennings and Daechelle Hernandez. It’s a highlight of the song when they switch from providing harmonies for Jennie to becoming co-lead vocalists for a chorus in the middle of the track. And check out the solos by James Howard (Retra) on guitar, Tyler Shimkus (Mittens) on drums, and Will Mino and bass – these guys can flat out play plus you can easily tell just how much fun they are having throughout the performance.
Imagery Machine bills itself as a rock/reggae/prog band – and that’s an interesting combination already – but even that doesn’t fully describe the scope of their sound. This is a relatively new band, having formed just last November, yet already they have performed on some of San Diego’s best stages like The House of Blues and The Belly Up Tavern. As nice as those venues are, on this day a sun-splashed stage next to the Kensington Library was the perfect setting and a great start to a day of art and music on Adams Avenue.
Here’s “Lyon” and “Drum Winds” at Art Around Adams:
The Who has been one of my favorite groups since I can remember knowing about rock ‘n’ roll. I can recall the first time I heard Quadrophenia in junior high and it has been in my main listening rotation ever since. In high school “Baba O’Reilly”, from Who’s Next, was still played regularly at school dances and when I got to college my roommate had a GIANT promo picture of the cover art from Who Are You hanging in our dorm room. I’ve seen The Who several times, including a trip to The Forum in the mid-’70s and the Quadrophenia tour just a few years ago. Including this last show, if I close my eyes and just take in the music I don’t feel that the passage of time has diminished their power and musicality at all. Sure, it’s not the same without Keith Moon and The Ox, but with Zak Starkey on drums and Pino Palladino on bass the creative duo of Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey have found very capable substitutes.
La Luz –Weirdo Shrine. La Luz (Spanish for “the light”), are an all-female quartet based out of Seattle, WA. After forming in 2012 they quickly released their debut, It’s Alive, in 2013. Over the course of two albums now, the band, led by singer/guitarist Shana Cleveland has created a sound that deftly mixes girl-group sounds, indie rock, doo wop and of course the predominant element of their sound: surf rock. This is indie music for surfers that don’t care about indie rock; just as it is surf-rock for indie scenesters that don’t care about surf music. This turns out to not be a problem for me at all since I love both Surf and Indie rock. The music goes from languid to upbeat between and within many of the songs, but always there are reverb drenched guitars and girl-group vocals. If you’re feeling a little down in the dumps one day – grab a cup of coffee, or maybe a beer, and pop this record on. Problem solved!
Opening for Frightened Rabbit at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, was Caveman, an indie rock band from Brooklyn. Like a lot of Brooklyn bands that have emerged recently, their song-craft is superb, with interesting vocal and instrumental melodies, vocal harmonies and creative drum patterns. I was reminded of a couple of “chill-wave” bands, also from Brooklyn, that I saw at TheCasbah a couple of years ago: Small Black and Snowmine and thought that they would fit well on a bill together. Really though, I would go further back to describe Caveman’s sound. With their strong melodies and infectious hooks, the band reminded me of an updated Hall & Oates – but only if Daryl and John could also stretch out and really rock a la My Morning Jacket.
Frightened Rabbit, the ten-year-old indie rock band from Glasgow, writes big, melodic songs tackling complex and often uncomfortable topics. They’re touring in support of their outstanding new LP, Painting of a Panic Attack, whose songs explore dark territory, yet are delivered with energy, passion and hooks layered upon hooks.
If you are into vinyl records, and especially if you consider yourself somewhat of a collector, be sure to see the documentary Records Collecting Dust. The film features a cross section of musicians from the alternative and punk rock world talking about and showing their record collections. There’s Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Keith Morris and Chuck Dukowski (Black Flag), John Reis (Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes), Mike Watt (Minutemen) and many more talking passionately about the first record they ever purchased, the last record they bought and everything in between!
And don’t worry if you’re not really into punk rock for this isn’t a film about that genre. It’s a film about records, and record stores, and how much they matter to them and to us. One of the fun things to learn is just how wide and varied the musical tastes and collections are of these artists and how the records they purchased growing up influenced their own music and lives.
MaxSoundsMusic 