Sadler Vaden Speaks the Truth

I was not privy to watching the 4 hour HBO special last night celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...we don't have HBO....but a good friend of mine was. His name is Sadler Vaden. He's the lead singer/songwriter/guitarist for the rock band Leslie. I was lucky enough to have met him this year as we shared space as steady rollin' rockers  in the "Man Van" while touring the country this past spring with Bang Camaro.
Leslie supported us on most of that tour and I forged a kinship with the band, their restless spirit and their authentic love for tried and true rock and roll. They made me feel like I still had something to give to this crazy life of a musician and in return, I let them know how impressed I was with their steadfast belief in the genre, their focus and their all out love affair with creating and performing in the truest spirit of what great rock is made of... This is so lost on most of the performers and the dumbed down, robotic, saccharine audiences of the generation below us...but not on Sadler.. Here is what he had to say about the current state of rock/pop music... after watching the HBO special last night....ahem, PREACH, brother!

ROCK AND ROLL IS NOT A JOKE


Hello everyone

It is one o clock in the morning of Monday November 30th 2009. I just returned from a pal's house where we were watching the HBO showing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert. A concert event held at the legendary MSG put on by the likes of big hitters such as Jann Wenner, Tom Hanks, and Robbie Robertson to celebrate 25 years of the hall. The lineup was mind-numbing, i'm talking NUMBING. Everybody was there......well almost everybody. Everybody thats still alive that could show up. The two night concert was squeezed into four hours of nothing but the best performances from artists such as CSN, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Metallica, Jeff Beck, Stevie Wonder, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. including some of the coolest collaborations I have ever seen. Every artist that performed is getting up there in age but still managed to sound unbelievably fresh and relative to today's standards or even above. It was amazing to see all of these living legends get up there and still pour every ounce of soul into what they were doing. Its like they haven't even missed a beat! You would think that after doing what "they do" for so long, some of that spark would be gone, diminished in a way. The whole night was anything but that.

It really made me realize all that we've lost in today's musical integrity. That perfection, that "want" to go above and beyond the norm, that imagination of taking someone to a place they've never been before, or a place that they've been to a million times in their lives with people or places that they've loved. Its almost like we've lost the art of captivating an audience with just a voice, a guitar, and a microphone. A message, a dream, a song. No longer can we just go up there and sing about a person looking in the mirror wondering about what he or she means to this world. We have Adam Lambert from American Idol going on the American Music Awards and shoving someone's face into his crotch on prime time television for what, ratings? First off, American Idol is tired. Who wants to see a bunch of hacks, who mean nothing to the idea of rock and roll, criticizing just "another bunch of singers." Don't get me wrong, some of these people are talented, but very few of them have the feeling or soul that once was. You don't find the real deal that way, the raw talent just shows up. Otis Redding was just a roadie for a group when he walked into Stax studios and begged everyone to let him sing. You don't get that everyday. You don't find your soul mate by "looking," they come to you. Then we have Green Day which was like the closest thing we had to true rock on the AMA's, go up there and just sing another song about the war or something and just looked bored. Tired and bored. Look don't sing about something that critical and not at least act like you mean it. To me, Green Day has joined the soda machine of rock music. Hmmmmmm, what will I have today, a Nickelback or a Green Day. Don't take me to the heart so much, I love Green Day, but I mean GREEN DAY! Not these impostors!

Which brings me to Miley Cyrus. Who at the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards started working a stripper pole as a part of her act. Information brought to me by Kathy Griffin's Bravo special, I Got Balls. I mean come on Miley....i mean come on Billy Ray! I couldn't believe it as my sister said " Us women have worked and fought so hard for so many rights, just to have lil 16-17 (whatever she is) year old Miley Cyrus workin a stripper pole in front of a bunch of pre-pubescent boys and girls. Thats a great example to set for America's youth. Look boys and girls, you don't have to have talent anymore, just shove somebody's face in your crotch and jump on a stripper pole for all the world to see. Look if these people were really that talented, they wouldn't have to rely on these tasteless shenanigans to get people to watch and notice them. At least Taylor Swift just performs her stuff the best she can while looking like the girl next door. What happened to artists like Tom Petty who could just stand up there with a guitar and a kick-ass band and bring the house down. You think Stevie Wonder would do that? Stevie is blind!!!! He's just thankful he is still alive and has a voice and a message to bring to you people! Not rely on some tasteless act of desperation because you're just not that good. Is anybody listening anymore? NO! We're just watching. We're listening with our eyes instead of our ears. Who puts on their headphones and listens to a vinyl anymore with their eyes closed? I do, and you should too. Go somewhere, thats what music is for. Its an escape from the financial woes and cheap fear we're smothered with every day. Get over it! Life ain't a walk in the park and its not supposed to be! So start runnin!

I come to you with this while listening to The Rolling Stones record It's Only Rock & Roll. Look, rock and roll is not a joke and neither is music. Its something bigger than us. We have to embrace it and nurture it, not let it go to waste while in the hands of performers like Adam "Flamboyant" and Kanye "douche" West. Look, Bowie and Bolan were flamboyant, but they weren't lost of class. Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders said to my friend Jaren Johnston of rock band American Bang, "You know what you're doing, this is not a joke, rock and roll is a league, rock and roll is serious. Its not some toy you can pick up from Wal-Mart and play with for a few days and then throw in the pile of "done-withs," its a lasting thing, keep it up and don't F*$!K with it!" Its always been something bigger to me as well. I remember when I was 6 years old, standing up on the coffee table with my snow boots on and my plastic guitar and microphone reenacting Pete's famed windmill move. I met Roger Daltrey the other night. One of the best moments of my life. He came out back after the show and shook people's hands, you know why? Because Roger knows his place. He's thankful for everything we've given him. Look, these guys leave it up there every night. In the new Rolling Stone magazine, there's a quote I really enjoy. Brandon Flowers of The Killers says of Bruce Springsteen, " Bruce can wipe up the stage with any 25 year old kid." He's right. Just like everyone who performed at MSG the other night, these people give it their all. I like to think of myself and my band as just that. We pride ourselves on that. We're not the best band in the world, but dammit do we give it everything we got! We play the same show for a couple thousand or a couple.

So what I'm saying is, give it your all. No matter what it is you do. We need you. The world needs you. Leave it there man. Leave it all there. Live for now and tomorrow, cuz you can't go back. Shine that light. Shine "your" light and let it be love. Cuz if we settle for less we're just gonna become a wasteland of complacency. A place where its about the surface and not whats beneath. We can't let it go down the drain. We have to rise above the ashes of mediocrity and get back to whats real, MUSIC. ROCK AND ROLL. Its not dead, its just stuck inside waiting to get out and play on the monkey bars again. I hereby promise you that I/we will wave that flag. Wave it high and proud. Like Terry Fox says, if you ain't here what I'm here for, you gonna be here when I'm gone. Lets leave them in the dust.

sadler vaden

Sadler, you can't see me...but you can feel me waving my little freak flag from this sleepy suburban hamlet. I will do my best to never put it down. Thank you for "getting it", brother. Rock On..................... 

Black Friday: Complete With No Shopping Whatsoever

Do you think Becker and Fagen are in line at a Best Buy somewhere right now?  Do you think anyone is rushing out to get a copy of the remastered Katy Lied today for their very informed teenage son today?  I say no. People are much too busy buying a bigger plasma screen to watch American Idol on. Shoppers are scratching and scrumming each other in a bouncing bloated rush to get to the PS3s and the Bella and Edward dolls.
I wonder if the octogenarian mall wallking grandmoms in their velour track suits are pissed off today, with their early morning excercise routes being crowded by a stampede of suburbanite, sugarfueled super shoppers..engulfing their buckets of Frappachino and Orange Julius on the way to get Cousin It a socket set at Sears.
I'll keep wondering that while I'm safe at home...waiting for the turkey soup to be done...watching this video....

Thanks Alot

Thanks alot to:  Bang Camaro, Every Day Visuals, Leslie, The House Harkonnen, Hot Leg, Skeletonwitch, The Hold Steady, Gallows, Whorehound, Dean Lickyer, Kylesa, Black Math Horsemen, Electric Six, Tortoise, Mastodon, Buckethead, Eagles of Death Metal, Rival Schools, Red Fang, Valient Thorr, Them Crooked Vultures, Back Door Slam, Butch Walker, Doves, The Mars Volta, Rilo Kiley, Benji Hughes and  Wilco for your high caliber live shows and keeping me of the ilk of one who believes in Rock and Roll music.

Thanks to:  Cormac McCarthy, Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer, Geoff Emerick, Chuck Palahniuk, Dave Eggers, Vice Dos and Don'ts, Richard Price,Greg Kot, Jim DeRogatis, John Schaeffer, Michael Butler, Matty Robinson, Adam Kempenaar, Dave Attell, Howard Stern, Tim Henson, Juxtapoz Magazine, Wired Magazine and Mojo Magazine for your comedy, journalism and your fiction. You have made my escape much easier this year.

Thanks to: Jann Wenner, Irving Azoff, Gene Simmons, Adam Lambert, Ryan Seacrest, Clear Channel, Beyonce, Chris Cornell, Kenny Chesney, Rob Sheffield, Dancing With the Stars, Kings Of Leon, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Brooklyn Vegan, a Pavement Reunion, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Jay-Z, Lil Anyone, Blink 182 reunion, the readers of Us Weekly, Jack Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, Daughtery, Kid Rock, T.I., T-Pain, skinny jeans, Glen Beck, bad beards, fame whores and television from the hours of 7am to midnight for giving me fodder, fungal food for thought and FAILS. You are the Turkeys of 2009. May you run around with your heads cut off.

Thanks to: Leslie(again), Baroness, Jason Isbel, Dan Auerbach, The Heartless Bastards, Lightening Dust, Blitzen Trapper, Built to Spill, The Company Band, Spinnerette, The Sword, Girl Talk, Howlin' Rain, Moistboyz, Neko Case, The Parlor Mob, Paul McCartney's remastered bass lines, Priestess, Wino, Three Inches of Blood and Them Crooked Vultures for letting me hear your most recent work and allowing me to etch it into my permanent, unbreakable musicology.

Thanks to:  Layla's Classic Rock, Isorski's Musings, Pod, Blogs N' Roses, Crustcake, Antiquiet, Glorious Noise, MXDWN, Rollingstone.com, Cracked, Look At This Fucking Hipster, Dlisted and Goldenfiddlr for Inspiration.

Thanks to:  The readers.... silent but deadly or ever present. I do it for your love.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Seano

Bohemian Muppsody

The most lighthearted thing I've ever posted here.....but it's pretty cool.  I'm thankful that my black heart has a lighter hue sometimes.  Which Muppet do you relate most to?   Let me guess....

First Time For Everything Dept: Praising Dave Matthews

Is there anyone on earth who hasn't seen this? Way to go Mr. Matthews for your spot on impersonation of the Ozzman.  I can forgive you now..for paving the way for Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Pete Yorn, Josh Rouse and all of the other campfire surfnecks who have somehow smoked and snoozed their way into granola lore and the Billboard charts.

This Critic Hates Radiohead

A link to an interesting and incendiary piece from Spin Magazine....Yet I find myself focused on #1...

http://www.spin.com/articles/myth-no-1-radiohead-can-do-no-wrong?aggr_node=55990

I would like to find Chris Norris, pull him away from his peach chai and his laptop, pluck his one inch thick bi-focals from his head and bitch slap him with an oven mitt with a brick in it.

The best(read : worst) snippet from this Debunked Rock Myth is that Radiohead have turned into "a well dressed jam band that you can't even dance to." He calls them paralyzingly boring more than once. He says fans started drifting to Coldplay after Kid A was released in 2000. Have any of you out there known ANYONE who has "left one band for another"? Let alone Radiohead for Coldplay?  Thats like switching from the NY Times Crossword to Connect the Dots...
  Chris, maybe Radiohead simply got BORED, not boring. I don't believe that they felt some internal pressure to top OK Computer, I think they just kept going...away from a guitar based verse chorus verse, which in this article, is apparently a "form" fans were hoping they would return to. I also believe they weren't going to stylistically evolve into the electronic wave of maps that were Kid A and Amnesiac without believing in the work...and that alienating fans was the furthest thing from their minds..it is merely an evolution.

The internet(pay what you want) release of In Rainbows was not a gimmick, rather an experiment by a band with power and money, yes... who also grew tired of the stale and confining structure of a traditional record company and its relationship to artists and fans. They put it out later on a label anyway because many fans like to hold things in their hands(and not merely own a digital pile of files) and vinyl sales happen to be on an inexplicable upswing.

Radiohead don't suck, Chris. They push boundaries and buttons and evolve(albeit sideways at times). They refuse to be as good as their last release..and they don't want to be the future any more than they want to make music that means something now.

Steel Panther: Best Ballad Ever

I am sure I'm late to the party on this one, but I finally got around to listening to the new Steel Panther CD. I broke out the red leather pants to set the mood, lathered up the legs with Canola oil, and herniated a disc trying to get them on... For those of you who don't know..Steel Panther are a very popular LA based hair metal tribute/parody band who have had a residency at the legendary Key Club on the Sunset Strip for years. They were formally known as Metal Skool and very convincingly poke fun at the glam/hair genre better than anyone. The lead singer "Michael Starr" is a versatile vox genius for emulating anyone from John Bon Jovi to Gary Cherone to David Lee Roth to a Fucking T!!! He was formerly the DLR in the very successful VH tribute band Atomic Punks .

Their new album, Feel the Steel is full of full-on raunchy songs and many of the familiar sounds and solos of the high hair metal era. When I say raunch...I mean raunch. Backstage X rated lyrics that will make you bust a gut or bust a nut. I'm such a fan, I'm under a heat lamp right now, waiting for my newly frosted blond highlights to dry as I type this.

This video is called "Community Property" from the new album. It already gets my vote for Best Ballad Ever. Better than "More Than Words", Better than "When The Children Cry"...even better than "Don't Know What You Got(Till its Gone)". I'm thinking of sucking in my cheeks for every picture taken of me from now on. I'm thinking of switching to proudly displaying "the shocker" from proudly displaying the "horns up" from now on....  that being said...the vid is not for the easily offended...but then again, if you're easily offended what the hell are you doing here?!!!  Go watch 2 and 1/2 Men or something.

Wishlist of Live Rock

This morning as I perused the headlines provided by my fellow rock bloggers,  I came upon an announcement by Bad Company of an imminent mini reunion tour in the UK coming in 2010... thank you Nightwatcher's House of Rock for this news. Much to the chagrin of most of my friends, I happen to love Bad Company. Paul Rodgers has always been on a top 10 list of Fav Vocalists, and even though small city rock radio staples like "Can't Get Enough" and "Feel Like Makin' Love" have ended up litter on the dirty rock highway of my brain, I can dig deep and find other songs to sing in traffic. I have probably the best Paul Rodgers voice on my block, I think, but we've been here two years and I haven't met the neighbors yet.

Then my train of thought veered off to Pelham Bay or Brighton Beach distant reaches or "Christ,we're out of milk again" then somehow came back to Paul Rodgers again and I realized that I've NEVER seen him live...not with Free(I was, like 5), Bad Co., The Firm or Queen.

Which is an insanely roundabout way to come up with my Wishlist of Live Rock. A list of artists/bands/poseurs that I've never seen live and would surely like to before I'm drooling on my arm alone in the dark hallway of a rest home, staring at the wall from my locked wheelchair, mumbling AC/DC lyrics.

The only "rule" I have with this list is that the artist must still be above ground and walking mostly upright. If he..she has to use a teleprompter, wear a colostomy bag or be held up by invisible wires, thats OK. Here goes:

1)Bad Company- no Paul with Queen, thank you. I'll keep my Freddy where I want him.

2) David Bowie-It will probably have to be at some Silicon Valley Corporate Event where they wire a couple million into his acct. He doesn't tour and he doesn't like the Hits.

3)Fleetwood Mac- Gotta see Stevie twirl those scarves, even if they're much larger now and she uses them primarily to hide her girth.

4) Jeff Beck- The closest thing to a living guitar God whom still roams the earth, besides..he never has a singer and it will be all notes, no banter and no Rod Stewart standards.

5) Big Star- Power pop was put on the map because of them, three of them are still alive and almost all of their songs are brilliant.

6) Lou Reed- One of the legendary curmudgeons of rock, who always has a great band when he tours. Even if he hates every member of the audience, I'd still go in hopes of hearing anything off of Berlin or Coney Island Baby.

7) Alice Cooper- For the shock, the origin of shock, the shock of the snake and guillotine, and the shock of a golf semi-pro in greasepaint belting out "Under My Wheels".

8) Danzig- The guy was in the Misfits! He's a hulky little elf with a punk/Elvis delivery. What's not to like?

9) Iron Maiden/ Judas Priest- The absolute tragedy of such a closet metal head as me not having seen these two giants is so comical, that I've lumped them together like 2 spikes on a wrist bracelet, in hopes of seeing them tour together and for the encore bring "Eddie" out in nothing but leather chaps riding a Harley.

10) Bruce Springsteen-  I hated Bruce for years for no real reason except that the over perfumed cheerleader with a chirpy voice that sat next to me in drafting class in 8th grade was a fan...and that's not enough.

Honorable mentions: Prince,Ween, Van Morrison, Steely Dan, High On Fire, The Kinks, John Fogerty, Kraftwerk, Echo and the Bunnymen, Loverboy, Neko Case,The Pretenders, Blackmore's Night(never seen Richie), The Sex Pistols, Roxy Music, Slayer, Son Volt, Stevie Wonder, Dream Theater, Insane Clown Posse, High School Musical, R. Kelly and Wayne Newton.

Yes, I would like to see your lists as well. Thank you very much.....

Krist Novoselic : How I Met Dave Grohl

Great article from the Seattle Weekly: Krist talks about Dave...and we all reminisce ..

Krist Novoselic: How I Met Dave Grohl, the Biggest Guy in Rock and Roll

By Krist Novoselic in Krist Novoselic

Tuesday, Nov. 17 2009 @ 12:52PM

Dave Grohl, right, with his Them Crooked Vultures bandmate: John Paul Jones (left), and Josh Homme. Krist Novoselic is a regular contributor to Reverb.

Something dawned on me when I was reading Sunday's New York Times: Dave Grohl is the greatest rock musician in the world today. Don't believe me? The man is dominating November music releases. Here we go: Nirvana's Reading DVD, Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits, and new work with Them Crooked Vultures.
Since we are talking about drummers and this November's rock music releases, I would be remiss not to mention Chad Channing and his work on Nirvana's Bleach re-issue. It's good to see Chad get his due as a drummer. His great work speaks for itself. There was a time between Bleach and Nevermind when Nirvana was drummerless. And the story has been told about how Dave joined Nirvana because the band Scream was stuck in North Hollywood.
I remember going to the airport and picking this dude up. He was easygoing--just like some guy named Paul McCartney told the Times. He brought up his drum set--a yellow TAMA with a 26" kick. The man understood John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) and Dale Crover (the Melvins), and this kick proved it. We wasted no time and rehearsed the next day. I knew Dave was coming, so beforehand I'd found a rehearsal place in Tacoma's north end.
It was a productive session, but the next night Kurt and I just messed around at practice for some reason. We all left together, and I could feel that Dave was a little distressed. That shows his serious work ethic. Don't get me wrong, Nirvana had a good work ethic, but perhaps Dave was feeling a little remorse at that moment for betting it all on these two guys from Washington.
We got into the groove again and played most nights. We already had songs like "In Bloom" and "Polly" from the session we did with Chad. They were well developed and benefited from the recording we did with Butch Vig in Madison, Wisc. There's a heavy version of "Polly" that shows what the band did with the tune with Dave on the drums. But on Nevermind, that's Chad, recorded in Madison, on the crash cymbal.
Kurt loved writing songs. He was always compelled to create, and the new tunes just kept coming. We kicked around this Pixies-like riff, and the tune "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was born. The band started playing shows, too. Along the way we became a tight unit. And playing together was as easy as it was fun.
For me, the years 1990 to 1994 seem like 10 years. So much went on, and of course so much went wrong. But life went on after Nirvana. I love the Foo Fighters. Dave kept that work ethic and focus, and that's why he's the greatest rock musician in the world today.

Review: Them Crooked Vultures

Vultures in nature are often depicted as shady scavengers, lying in wait on vague branches, shadows on a heat bleached scenic palate, circling to a natural metronome. Their move is never the first, but most certainly the last in a convulsive and passionate burst of activity as they lunge for their comfort foods.

Them Crooked Vultures, on their self- titled debut are indeed as crooked as they come, with an effortlessly manic, yet ferociously forthright display of hunger, power and need. These bulky songs, tucked under dirty wings have no patience to hold back, allowing themselves to briskly swoop down and pick them bones clean with a carnal, yet sexy intensity. We have been blessed with an uneasy and relentless rock album.

 Here is a smeared Polaroid(found under a hotel bed) of each song :

No One Loves Me and Neither Do I: Two lost souls meander back to a flea-bit flophouse and mumble beer breath sonnets to each other until they end up in a bloody tumble of self deprecation and sex. A monster of a riff break as the money shot escapes. One of the best album openers this side of Saturn.
Mind Eraser, No Chaser- "Give Me the Reason Why the Mind's a Terrible Thing To Waste" shouts Josh Homme, on this quest for pill perfection..The wicked escape is soundtracked by a crushing frontline of rhinocerotic drums and bass, stomping over the drug of choice, obliterating it into a snort-able snack.
New Fang-A slinking slimy beast of a song.. preying on the backstage flooz of its choice. Its coil and strike entwined with an unapologetic kiss and tell, buried in a droning rhythm...what a charmer.
Dead End Friends- Trust No-one, drive further, push harder, channel your doubts toward that destination..but that horizon line laughs at you...a myriad of monstrous mirages.  The minutia of a jam at the end is epic. Pleasantly recognizable back up vox by Mr. Grohl.
Elephants- "Like lumbering giants on shameful parade".  The centerpiece of the album...an unclassifiably massive stomp stamped and notarized by John Paul Jones, and delivered by Grohl and Homme like a cad and his wingman returning to the jungle,smelling like sex. The mildly operatic break is scored vaguely reminiscent of a deep cut from In Through The Out Door.
Scumbag Blues-A scuzzy funk and blues crawl through mud and thunder...we are encased in bass..we cannot move unless it is a dance move..heartbeats bleeding and bursting in time, a carousing arterial spray of a jam.
Bandoliers- Could be a lost track from QOTSA's Lullabies to Paralyze, a song of yearning, basquing in a haze of mantra like keys, but don't call it a love song, call it a leave song. Grohl doesn't hesitate to bludgeon a mountainous beat through a bleeding heart.
Reptiles-  Doozy of a "Crunge" intro breaks off into a spastic piledriver of the most beautiful bruises and breaths until the bottom, driven by a druggy slide accompaniment, just fucking breaks the song apart.
Interlude With Ludes-An afternoon delight of pharmaceutical, beautiful..baby's breath angel dust under her cuticles. Revolution Number Nine as she's done from behind. Unwind, unrefined. A lysergic convergence of drug lust.
Warsaw or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up- A layered, bluesy peek into the un-hostile brothel in Homme's mind..the first breath you lose is the one you try to catch as it catapults into a slide tastic spook jam that unwinds somewhere in between the sweaty sheets and the nebulaic rings of the nearest star.
Caligulove-  JPJ's Bass pedal push and heavy 70s bush panties in a ball in the dark corners..de-flowered in a west coast porn set after party jam. The farfisa is the only organ you will need.
Gunman- An addictive funk disco riff that pummels, yet the vocal melody misses its messy mark. A higher register and the removal of that Vulgaris -era vocal break would have burst every bulb on that lit dance floor.
Spinning In Daffodils-The album closes with monoliths moving behind mountains on wheels..a tri- fold of musky scents unfurled as the dirty demons are released ...immense richter rock spray coated with Homme's most sultry delivery.. copulation the sincerest form of flattery...

This is a sexy album.  This album is the girl you never take home to mama...Sex is the weapon here. The dirty little secret you masquerade around,  sex that causes wars, angers gods and leaves us submissive and sublime. Sex is the ever present destiny, sex sells, baby. And this record left me busted, bankrupted ..left with a dry mouth and an empty chamber, each song like prying open the next page of a dirty mag, ashamed and excited. Each beat like the thuddy flicker of a stag film frame as we watch in the dark. Each riff like a shadowy knot of flesh in a moaning room next door, calling, cursing...catching up to your senses and burying them in an overwhelming rush of breathless climax and animal magnetism.

More than what the music media tagged a "supergroup", Them Crooked Vultures is merely a super.. group. This trio of musical masters and the accompanying album was conceived in JUNE of this year on a well calculated, simmering whim. Here it is finally birthed as a sensuous and steamrolling, yet streamlined wishlist of musical ideas that come together as a unconventional and crushing, not overstated or mish-mashy...album.

Grohl's beats are like a battering ram that leaves your soul calloused, denting your senses with agility and aplomb. John Paul Jones is again a secret weapon here, as he has been throughout his career. His low end is a proper bully, cunning and congenial. Mr. Homme's guitar work is, raucous stellar and jammy, but something must be said for his smirky lyrics, a biting pictoral of carnal carnival barking, booty calling and satire, with equal parts deprecation and bravado. An under-rated lyricist for sure, here his prose is simply overshadowed by the beauty of it all. 

Triskaidekaphobia Totally Rocks

Doesn't that Post title sound like I'm hyping some band from the edge of obscuria? A fabulous Greek metal band I discovered while on a lovely drunken vacation on the fringe of Cyprus?  Nawww. I'm just obsessing on bad luck on this Friday evening the 13th of november. Been doing alot of watching the leaves rustling and staring straight hardcore into the land of would ofs and should ofs and quite possibly could ofs as I always do when I strap myself into the stocks and pillory and wait for one of my meth-ed out escaped alter egos to come and publicly cane me while shakily gripping a megaphone and broadcasting my impurities to the suburban white bread devourees that I've been falsifying around.

13 13 13 13 ..the 13th individual seated at the last supper was the one who betrayed Jesus...and that rings so chillingly, inexplicably parallel to my thoughts. On any given day I can think of 13 additional ways in which Jesus has betrayed me. "jesus" being whatever higher power I assign it to be. Jesus is 13 is Jesus is today.
Example 1:  all of my music has been minimized into files compressed into masquerading 1s and 0s. Portable, deviously inferior to any tactical real thing, safe and forgettable. I have acquired over 100 "albums" this year and gotten completely through 6 of them.
Example 2:  After all of my previous, scientifically musical family rock star planning, I witnessed my son dancing joyously to a fucking Miley Cyrus song in the alleyway of my kitchen last night, while my wife egged him on and called me a "hater" for not joining in. LOL LOL LMFAO LMFAO LOL LOL 666 LOL Burn me..just watch me burn...the flames with illuminate your sitcoms.
Example 3:  My obsession with an unanswered Craigslist ad(for a semi pro jam session) wielded no new responses, one blog comment from a friend I've never met 3k miles away, and wasted fuel for a thread that burns whether we read it or not. Flag me, Satan!
Example 4:  Slash...multi millionaire rock star from the 80s, has a new solo album coming out, went all Santana on us, and got Fergie to bless us with her tits(vocals) on a new version of Paradise City.Exorcise! REPENT!
Example 5:  Jesus made me forget that today was Neil Young's 64th birthday. I actually didn't know, but WTF..if I knew how to bake a cake, I'd bake one in the shape of Old Black and give out pieces to passing strangers on the cusp of picking up their dog's shit.
Example 6:  My relationship with Jesus has made me hype the probably fanfuckingtastic movie "It Might Get Loud" right here on this blog, but I've yet to see it. Betrayal and blasphemy. It came out in August. For three months I've been burning bushes. The Edge is on tour, but Jimmy and Jack are pissed.
Example 7: Bang Camaro is on Hiatus. Every single person in that band has a side project except for me. My side project is "bus driver/ass wiper".
Example 8:  Holidays persitantly arrive when I'm most angry and most broke and when family is most fractured. Deck the Halls with buckshot and blood stains. I've got no ipod playlist ready for that.
Example 9:  I'm convinced that I'm tailor made for inclusion into the higher echelon of the Illuminati. What would Jesus do? Where's a friendly and inclusive Black Metal band when you need 'em.?
Example 10: I cant grow a beard even close to the one jesus rocked, yet almost all of the bands I am currently heavily rotating are Beard- centric. Its a cruel joke played on me... the facially follically fucked.
Example 11: Jesus tricked me into making those chicken tenders in the corner of the freezer without taking the time(2 seconds) to read that they were breaded with COCONUT! COCONUT is the dandruff of the devil.!!! I am fucked! H1N1 would be a more welcome hors d' ourve well before coconut(beelzebub baby's breath)
Example 12: Jesus sneezes and leaves dust on my guitars whenever he feels like it. (BTW- don't tell him, but Jesus Sneezes is an awesome band name). I am forced into abandoned instrument guilt and into learning an F chord over and over in a repeating nightmare.
Example 13: Matchbox 20 minus Pearl Jam "Ten" equals (7 Mary) Three....or 13.     

Good luck to all of you.....but not today.

Fits Shaped Like Circles

Moody sieve separating the rain from the idleness today.
amazing ungraceful stasis "goin' my way?"
wet wheat wet chaff cold shower blood bath
bad blood rivers run in a room full of laughs
wanted to do a metal haiku and came up with a thousand syllables too many.
 spy named lightbiz.com jacked my laptop a plenty
cant reward a reader,can't get my trivial stuff done
can't fool you readers who think I'm having fun
on a glacier slow machine 4 years too old
threaded with virus and malware and now, malcontent mold.
money always tight when you covet a dream
and the fits shaped like circles will make you come clean
on a blog where mere mortals are shielded by words
opinions are knives hari karied into the guts of clean thought and brain turds.
What shall I skewer today to hide me
TaylorSwiftGrizzly BearNancyGraceMTV
HipsterDosHypsterDon'tsorKardashianFame
or the writers who put bad Brooklyn bands in the game.
SmokingVeganWhoringHousewivesBiggestLosersLebron
I've lost track of which planet of hate I am on.
Out of work, studderstepping in unstable ground.
Tit For Tat Sink or Swim Ride to Live Pound For Pound.
Dark road like a sweater or crackling fire.
kept warm in the glowing jail of desire.
Desire to be recognized off of this couch
something other than brooding or casting out ouch.
adopting addiction for my calling card.
downloading corroding chipping off shards
picked up in a gust forgotten in time
the only thing easier is the next rhyme.
a stalemate with a shadow that chomps at the bit
form fits shaped like circles , or Circles of Fits.

Steven Tyler Staying With Aerosmith

Told You So.....



Last night in NYC.........recording's a bit distorted , but you'll get the idea.     NEXT!

Aerosmith: Dream Off?

The blogosphere is abuzz with the "news" or  "announcement" that Steven Tyler has left Aerosmith after 39 and some odd years with the band, and that the band plans to continue on without him. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford have volleyed out some fascinating and scandalous quotes and soundbites for immediate consumtion by a story driven media. The problem is...There's 2 sides to every story and the world has yet to hear Mr. Tyler speak on the matter. So we are left with SPECULATION, folks. Not a finite answer. Hell, the question hasn't even been asked of Steven yet.

I don't like to rehash these quotes because they have been used and abused at the surface of this (so far) NON story: but they ALL stem from just two stories from Classic Rock Magazine and an interview with the Las Vegas Sun newspaper.
Joe Perry: "Steven Tyler has quit as far as I can tell. He has had no contact with me or the other band members."
Brad Whitford: "Nobody could replace Steven or imitate him – he's one of a kind. But if somebody was willing to do it and the chemistry was right, why not?"
Steven Tyler: "I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but it’s definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself – Brand Tyler,"

Look, has anybody talked about Steven's upcoming autobiography Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? to be released in 2010 and the probable promotion that may surround it?  Can anybody picture a 61 year old man who has allowed Joe Perry to promote his freaking hot sauce and release an album and tour with the Joe Perry Project, wanting to do something on his own for once in 40 years?!!

Is it possible that the "Brand Tyler" soundbite was merely a playful or out of context jab at Perry's endeavors?
Was anything said about the corporate gig in San Francisco (for Oracle) they have done SINCE these soundbites were put out there?  Are any of you the same age as he and experienced what it feels like to blindly fall off a stage, injure yourself and maybe have to worry about the need for painkillers? Nobody knows the extent of his injuries.

When he was treated for hepatitis several years back he was put on painkillers which made him relapse into a dependency . The guy put himself into rehab at that time. Is he worried about a similar situation as a result of his fall in August?

Does anybody state that their pre- concert dressing rooms have NEVER been close to each other and there has been little or no band discussion before a show for many years. I was witness to that...having spent an hour in his dressing room with my beloved sister before a show in September of 2006. Musicians have rituals before shows..and he had a make up artist and a pilates machine for stretching in that room with him.

I'm suprised at the lack of reporting in the blogosphere and the rampant speculation. The homework is easy. Not one reporter or blogger has gone to Aeroforceone.com, their official fan club/website for a possible interview or statement from any insider. I have, and everything I stated has been previously discussed by friends of the band and insiders as well in depth on the forums.

Joe Perry is restless(as he has always been), Steven may need a break. That is all I will commit to at this time.

Collect more facts before you get them sraight.

Craigslist FAIL

Inspiration sometimes hits the curmudgeons too. I have been inspired to make music again, so I put yet another ad on Craigslist( this could be my hundredth) trying to find like minded individuals. If you are a regular reader, you may know that I have an empty basement, an 80's era white drumset that doubles as a breeding ground for spiders, guitars in cases molding successfully and an amp that hasn't been fired up since Christ was a kid.

I have been here, in the 5th largest city in the country, for 2 years and during this time, been a member of three  cover bands drawing the " suburban cougar" demographic for half a minute each, and toured the country as a singer with the legendary band Bang Camaro. The Bang Camaro guys are great, intensely creative and from a wide variety of musical upbringings....but the core of that band lives in Boston, and I don't. Frankly, the only things I like about Boston are the bands Boston, The Cars, Bang Camaro, Noble Rot, The Everyday Visuals and the sadly defunct The Vershok...because of this and my fear of anyone in the Red Sox Nation I don't see them regularly.  I need an outlet here, I also need some sort of partner to get the rock rolling...so back to the worn out ritual of using the old (un)faithful Craigslist.org.


In my experience, the craigslist musicians section has always been hit or miss..Now its like a whiff heard round the world in the bottom of the 9th. First let me show you my posting...

I'm a rock vocalist in XXXXXXXXXXXX. I know there are Dads of young children out there who are also very good musicians, lusting for an outlet, but the responsibilities of adulthood have left your talents latent. I am looking for semi pro/pro level rock lovers who want a little bit more than a jam session, who actually want to write songs that spring from a jam, just like we all used to in the bands we might have left behind. I have a finished basement with nothing in it but my drumset, my SG and my Fender amp, screaming for attention. I'm looking for you guys...and mind you, having little ones is not a prerequisite. My tastes lie on the less dischordant indie..more melodic, poppy, heavy side of rock, but never veer towards pure metal. Think Beatles/QOTSA/Radiohead/Zep/Clutch/Neil Young/Wilco/Thin Lizzy/Black Keys/Iggy Pop/Drive By Truckers/Hold Steady/The Who. Looking for Drums, Guitars, Bass and keys for a project whose goal is to write and record songs....playing out is sort of on the backburner. I hope to hear from you . Call Sean.

Pretty well focused and to the point, right? I even put my self congratulatory snark away and stuck to my needs. Well... I got NO responses in a city of 4.5 million people. And let me tell you why... just wait a minute while I put on my slippers, take my hand out of my pants and step on this here soapbox......

1) craigslist's musician section has become a never ending, always changing smack talking thread that  goes nowhere and buries genuine posts written by people with actual goals.
 Start with ONE off base, opinionated, horribly written, chock full of spelling errors post written by any "musician" from any genre or level...and a thread begins with intermittent posts attacking the first post. This can go on for days, sometimes weeks and some of the retorts from the bitchosphere are hilarious...There's a book deal in there somewhere.....The Problem is they clog up the thread-like appearance of posts and anyone hoping for a response has to compete with  RE:RE:RE:RE:RE: your cover band couldn't fake its way through American Girl like a shit-fit sandwich.

2) The musicians section should have NO ADS. Almost every post  that isn't publicly stringing up a bass player who looks like Uncle Fester is either
-a blunt sucking neanderthal  hawking beats from his basement.
-a criminally sad suburban cafe promoting it's sensitive acoustic Saturday afternoon open mic.
-a band you've never heard of begging you to come to the show at Paddy's Pot Hole EVERY 10th line of the thread.  You want us to care about you with not even a link to your website or god forbid a song sample from your fucking slow loading, Flash flooded myspace page? Listen, you tie- dyed einsteins, if you put the bong down, stop watching Judge Judy reruns and leave the house you might learn a few things: A post of your show on Craigslist is as relevant and useful as being stapled five flyers deep on a Tuesday morning telephone pole . Nobody's coming and less of us care!
-anyone who gives lessons for everything from oboe reed replacement to my personal fav:  Learn How To Sing!  Guess what you tone dead window lickers? You either know how to sing or you don't!
 THESE ARE ALL ADS! AND YOU REPOST THEM AS FREQUENTLY AS A SPOT ON TERRESTRIAL RADIO!

 Craigslist is one of the most used and secretly successful websites of all time(despite all of those serial killings and date rapes that it is the nucleus of)......and its fucking broken.  Why can't they simply divide the section into pieces?
-one section for smacktastic trollers who can't do OR teach but can pitch and preach,
-one section for the Shilling and Selling of shred lessons and beatboxing and yodeling in Yiddish.
-one section for endless aimless promotion of the Sad Cafes and the dreaded rainy day open mics
-one section just called Cover Band Purgatory for those who want to join a wedding band or sing Linkin Park songs to the Bud Light suburbanites who generally find themselves perpetually 4 to 6 years behind anyone with culture.
.........and one for the TRUE MUSICIANS looking for other TRUE MUSICIANS.  

Those guys with empty basements and a collection of  melodies bouncing off of gray matter in between the endless path of school chauferring and the deep exhales expelled while bagging raked leaves.....you know who you are. But I can't find you. Not on craigslist anyway.

An Interview with the Beatles Remastering Team

There's been a large chunk of talk about the newly remastered Beatles catalog. Some nay but mostly YAY. I lay with YAY as I say every day. Yay plays okay, so why stray today....There is so much new beauty in the remasters and it thoroughly surprised me.with headphones if you can. Even in Mp3 format , you should be blown away,  Get yourself a pint and a few granny smith's(or vice versa) and dig into these reissues.... From a link via the great music website Glorious Noise, I found an interview with the entire engineering team team responsible for this enormous task....it can be found here http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/3242/inside-the-making-of-the-beatles-remastered-catalog.html . I hope you take the time to read and enjoy it.

Have a Good Weekend.......Seano

Why Are You Still Here?

Papa Roach
311
Creed
Limp Bizkit
Kittie
The 2 Other Guys from Sublime
Blind Melon
Toad The Wet Sprocket
Better Than Ezra
Marcy Playground
7 Mary Three
Eve 6
Days Of The New
Trans Siberian Orchestra
The Outlaws
Cherry Poppin Daddies
Zebra
Warrant
Rusted Root
Donna The Buffalo
Collective Soul
Two and a Half Men
Law and Order
Sum 41
Biohazard
Dropkick Murphys
Queensryche
Less Than Jake
HedPe
Sponge
Joan Osborne
Tesla
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Social Distortion
Umphree's McGhee
Mushroomhead
Local H
Vertical Horizon
Gin Blossoms
Bowling For Soup
Flogging Molly
Bouncing Souls
LA Guns
Blues Traveler
Nitzer Ebb

Best/Worst Rock Girlfriends/Wives

Game 6 is on tonight..Here in Philly being a Yankee fan is about as fun as being gay in Maine...so I stay home and watch baseball here where I can pace in my living room. I think often about filling my mouth with leftover pumpkin seeds and chewing them up and spit throttling them all over my own personal "dugout" here, but it would be horrific to pick 'em out of the carpet after the 9th inning.

The camera often pans the crowd and, when at Yankee Stadium, a plethora of fair weather celebri-fans...like Kate Hudson, who happens to be greasing up A-Rods bat regularly these days, are shown in the stands wearing oversized Yankee gear and spewing out faux cheer. Makes me freakin' ill, it does. Boy she has really gotten around, hasn't she...which got me thinking, and inspired me to come up with today's list..The Best/Worst Rock Girlfriends/Wives(yeah, she's on there) . Not much where and why on this one....just the facts, ma'am.

BEST

5) Joan Baez/ Bob Dylan- Joan kept his folk in check and inspired some of his wordiest brilliance....everyone after her just made him cranky, made him find religion and made him mumble more.

4) Linda McCartney/Paul McCartney-For the most part, she kept Paul a family man, and they were only apart for one evening during their 20 plus years together..she was in his band and graciously accepted that her voice should be kept WAY Down in the mix....that's teamwork, THAT'S love.

3) June Carter/Johnny Cash- June, an accomplished singer and songwriter long before she was a cash.. took no mess, co- wrote "Ring of Fire" and then lived it through with Johnny...she also got him off drugs and booze and back to some of the most productive years of his life. He obviously could not live w/o her since they died 5 months apart in 2003.

2) Paulina Porizkova/Rik Ocasek- One of the most beautiful dames in her day...could have had ANYBODY and chose one of the most hideous men in rock...and she's still with him. Either he has a magic penis(I'm sure that's what "Magic " was about) or she has a heart of infinite measure.

1) Patti Boyd/ George Harrison/Eric Clapton-  Patti Boyd has dumped a Beatle, had a fling with a Stone,broken up a couple marriages, sent guitarists into heroin fueled tailspins and was a major cause of pain for 2 of the greatest rock guys(maybe more)....BUT, name me ONE other rock wife/girlfriend with 2 of the greatest classic rock songs of all time written about her and several more just OK ones)...Lets see...Layla, Something, Wonderful Tonight, Bell Bottom Blues, For You Blue....Shit! Damn!  Doesn't it make you want to see what she's got goin' on down there?  I don't know about now..she's, like a grandma...but back then, she looked like this

WORST

5) Kate Hudson/Chris Robinson...and who knows who else.  Kate falls in love like I change underwear, frequently and when things are no longer fresh. She's fickle..she probably caused Rich to hate Chris even more, named her son after a Grateful Dead song she probably never heard and she lays it down often for pretty much anyone(actors,musicians,ball players, pipe fitters, rickshaw drivers, eunuchs)...Kate, dear... less fucking, more acting, Kay?

4) Susan Silver/ Chris Cornell-  Cornell's ex wife Susan used to manage Alice in Chains and Soundgarden and went bonkers soon after she and Chris split up....forcing the other Soundgarden members to conspire against Chris and refusing to give him his numerous guitars, two grammys, demo tapes and journals from the house they shared in Seattle. Lots of lawsuits drove Chris crazy enough to join Audioslave and befriend Timberland, thus making his legacy really soft in the middle.

3) Janna Lapidus/SRV- Janna was Stevie's girlfriend in 1990 and was so goddamn needy and co-dependant that she made him take a helicopter after a concert in Wisconsin to reunite with her in Chicago instead of taking the 2 and a half hour drive with his brother Jimmie....the rest is history.

2) Sharon Osbourne/Ozzy- Sharon needs a bigger house than the one she had last week and another full time hairdresser for her seventh dog so she keeps pushing Ozzy out the door and onto the stage and counts the money as he drools and tremors through "Mama I'm Coming Home" for the hundred millionth time.

1) Yoko/John- Was there any doubt that she would be my number one worst mate?...a billion people can't be wrong, if you think I am. If you read any Beatle's bio or history..which have varying accounts of the end/demise of the greatest band ever...there is ONE constant in all of them....and that's YOKO. She showed up in Abbey Road's Studio 3 in 1968 during the White Album sessions... and never left...the ONLY outsider ever to be allowed in(albeit by a strung out,disillusioned, angry, nervous John Lennon).  If that didn't suck enough for the others, she started putting her "art school" two cents in....poor John...if he only could have come out of his anxiety ridden thought processes, he might have figured out that 1) Avant garde really means "too hip for the room". 2) Scream therapy wasn't going to bring his mother back  3) Yoko was NEVER a musician and his "Lost Weekend" should have started in 1968 and never ended.

Honorable mentions  : Nancy Spungen/Sid,  Tawny Kitaen/Coverdale,  Erin Everly/Axl,  Pamela Courson/Jim Morrison.

Boy I would love to hear your two cents worth.  Let's hold hands and do a little of our own scream therapy.

Indaba Music

I think I've found a cure for the empty basement blues. I was reading Wired magazine( really just looking at the pictures and dreaming that I knew what all that techspeak meant), while waiting for my slice of 6 meat, 7 cheese slice of pizza the other day when I came across an advertisement for another phone with too many functions. One of the men featured in the ad was Daniel Zaccagnino, who is the CEO of a company called Indaba Music.

Indaba Music is " a web platform that enables musicians all over the world to create music together in online recording sessions".  Wow...I thought to myself, no more dredging the molding fogies on Craigslist for a possible collaborator on my musical endeavors, no more drummers showing up at my place who make Meg White look like Stewart Copeland.....so I took a look, signed up and it was as easy as that. Apparently its FREE and you can do everything from your browser. You can create a profile which allows musicians to find you and vice versa.

Coincidentally, my pal Isorski  http://isorski.blogspot.com/ was just saying the other day that he'd like to collaborate with me because he heard how fucking RAWK I am, and I suggested we start with some lightweight jingles we could try to sell to companies like Massengill, Flomax and Playtex. We will be getting started on this soon just to get our feet wet.

Now I can just lay back and indent the couch even more as I'm nailing a spandex worthy
 high C on the laptop while adorned with a cookie crumb necklace and kicking it in my tightest briefs. Its genius!

Seriously, though.  This sounds like a next step for me. I demand you check it out and stretch those creative muscles again.   Go to Indaba Music and find the stage again on your laptop.

Pearl Jam Whips It

Last night here in Philly, Pearl jam played the last show ever to be held at the legendary Philadelphia Spectrum..during their 3 hour and 40 minute set...they broke out the Devo outfits(it being Halloween) and played a rousing version of "Whip It". Here are 2 minutes of video from the show just hours ago:

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month

NOVEMBER IS LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.

My sister Meaghan was my biggest fan and we were very close. Last August 2008, she passed away after a very tough and extremely courageous 2 and a half year fight against non smokers lung cancer. Her dream was to bring awareness to lung cancer and the lack of funding for research on early detection.... She also was perplexed with the fact that the public was overwhelmed with the obligatory pink ribbons and no other colors?  The problem with lung cancer is that by the time it is detected it is usually late stage..and has traveled to other organs which makes it extremely deadly and harder to treat.

Early detection is where all the research money should be going when involving cancers such as lung, pancreatic and ovarian...but sadly, in my sister's case, research funding for lung cancer is lower than funding allocated for many of the other cancers, while it remains the number one cancer killer.

Non smokers represent an alarming 20 percent of all lung cancer cases...which is nearly as many as all of the breast cancer cases reported yearly. But my sister was not bitter about her plight..She had a vision of a "rainbow ribbon" where all cancers were represented equally in funding...and hopefully, by creating awareness, some day that may come true.

For more information on what you can do to become more aware, visit http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/ and http://meaghanshope.com/

Stop smoking, if you do...it is time...you know it is.  My sister was 37.  Use your time wisely.