http://www.earcandyarchive.com Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:45:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 2006-2007 webmaster@earcandyarchive.com (Earcandy Archive) webmaster@earcandyarchive.com (Earcandy Archive) posts Just another WordPress weblog Earcandy Archive Earcandy Archive webmaster@earcandyarchive.com No no http://www.earcandyarchive.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://www.earcandyarchive.com 144 144 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=624 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=624#comments Sat, 07 Aug 2010 05:55:07 +0000 Bob Gaulke http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=624 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=624 3 00:01:01 An Introduction To The Music Of Suely Mesquita by Bob Gaulke (author of Sexo Puro: A Life In Brazilian Song, Verse Chorus Press, 2010) I walked into ... An Introduction To The Music Of Suely Mesquita by Bob Gaulke (author of Sexo Puro: A Life In Brazilian Song, Verse Chorus Press, 2010) I walked into a NYC record store that couldn't have existed a few years ago. Its stock is made up of recently unearthed obscure global rock treasures. The same hungers that inspired the idols of my youth (Jerry Dammers, Green Gartside, Andy Partridge, etc.) are now easily sated, packaged in deluxe imported and domestic editions that have taken the Soul-Jazz or Luaka Bop aesthetic and ran it right back into the neighborhood. No more name-checking games for the next generation; everything is in the bins. The store ("Other Music") seems successful. I've just written a book about an obscure treasure, Suely Mesquita. You should know about her. She's written songs for and in collaboration with many of Brazil's most interesting contemporary artists. She has many things to say about the song-writing process and the journey from music fan to professional artist. Mesquita writes songs about being a potato, about witches in downtown Rio, the art ofnbsp; dying "well", becoming an ant, and being a man proud to have a loose wife. She hasn't made gold records, but is the go-to writer for Brazilian stars who need something more substantial to chew on between slices of pop. Behind her photogenic exterior is the heart of one weird nerd. Although weirdness isn't at a premium in the indie-rock world, when it is part of the Brazilian process, its results are stunning: seductive melodies snake through poetry of the highest order, layered on top of an irresistible groove. Oh yeah, she's a great singer, as well. When the words are coming out of Suely's mouth, the correct listening position is with your back on the floor in a darkened room. While living in Portland, I first glommed onto the work of the latest Brazilian generation, these children of Tropicalia. Although 70's Brazilian music has been harvested to death by DJ's, the contemporary scene has a lot to offer; strange harmonies, tempo changes, cryptic lyrics, ear-worm melodies, and of course the "fuck-beat" ("This is body music. I don't do body music", complains the publisher). In the early 2000rsquo;s I went to live in Brazil for a year and a half and returned to Portland only when my credit card started to be declined in record shops. There I first got hipped to the kids who had grown up on the works of Cateano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, and others and were now making their own fine songs. If you don't know the work of Lenine, Zeca Baleiro, Pedronbsp;Luiacute;s, Kali C,nbsp;Luiacute;snbsp;Capucho, Lucas Santtana, you're missing something special. In music, as well as cinema and fashion, team Brazil has not given up possession for several decades. While paying off that same credit card in Japan, it became apparent to me how little of the current wave of Brazilian music was known there, or anywhere else outside of France. Japanese record stores would have Bossa and Tropicalia releases done to death, but most of the contemporary scene was unavailable or discounted cheaply. I approached Mesquita then through her website about the idea of doing a book about her work for an international audience. Last summer, I went down to Rio and stayed with Mesquita and her family for a few weeks. Suely took me to numerous meetings with her friends and collaborators, all mild-mannered looking people until given a guitar. To see the kind of beauty Kali C can generate from just two chords, or the humble demeanor of Glauco Laurenco betray a voice worthy of a diva, is to feel that some wonders of Brazil have escaped the Lonely Planet. Mesquita has a pretty decent selection of a half a thousand songs laying around her house. I went through them, arguing with her about which to include on the CD of the book. We spent a few hundred hours talking about music. I transcribed it, tweaked it, got it edited (thanks, Marg), and continued... Feature,1 webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=568 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=568#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:00:53 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=568 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=568 2 58:15 When the 120 year old church that housed the Great Northwest Bookstore was recently consumed by fire, destroying over 100,000 books, it also had a ... When the 120 year old church that housed the Great Northwest Bookstore was recently consumed by fire, destroying over 100,000 books, it also had a devastating affect on Walt Curtis, one of Oregon's most legendary poets. Much of his lifetime collection of poetry and paintings were destroyed, and what remains is water damaged, requiring painstaking renovation. nbsp;His many Portland friends and fans immediately jumped to the rescue, organizing benefits and donations to enable Walt to get back on his feet. Recently Kurtiss Lofstrom #38; Anne Marie Grgich held a benefit in their home, bringing good food and friends together to raise funds, and were rewarded by an hour long poetry reading by Walt. Listen for yourself (double click the audio player below) Passing around the painting he was working on when the fire broke out (its called The Beast), he says he plans to sell it on Ebay, claiming it was the true cause of the fire (and not the poorly wired electrical system). [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="....do you want to touch the beast?"][/caption] He read one of his "Fire Poems", written 40 years earlier, followed by poems from throughout his career. There are the juicy #38; wet poems such as "The One Is The Other", "Picking Pears", and "Things I Do Alone When I'm Alone With Myself" and he talks about Vagina-Ons replacing Hard-Ons and of a woman teaching other women in a dark forest how to piss while standing up, freed from male dominance even in such a basic act. He talks about his ego, KBOO, and that this tribute is really all about YOU. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="281" caption="Walt on #34;Ego, KBOO #38; You#34;"][/caption] He praises the Red 'ambler nbsp;(which lost its chrome letter "R") in 2 poems , how he loved that car, and would have wished to be buried in it, propped up against the steering wheel, going places others can't even dream of...and he sings out The Song Of The Loon during the white-out of a Mt Hood blizzard. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="519" caption="Walt reads the #34;Red #39;Ambler#34; poems, accompanied by Dylan"][/caption] Each poem is preceded by a history lesson or a rant, and when it goes on too long, his nemesis, Bob, yells out "Hey Walt, read a poem, read a fucking poem, Walt"!nbsp; And, without fail, after every poem, Walt asks, "Do you like it?....its not a bad poem. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Kerouac#39;s 1st book, saved from the fire"][/caption] Walt takes his audience on a journey, celebrating life, intimate moments, and the flowers #38; weeds growing out of the cracks. On July 4th, Walt turns 69 and Mark Woolley has organized a week of events to celebrate Oregon's Poet "Lariat" and help him get back on his feet.Details here. You can contribute to the "Walt Curtis Fund" at any Wells Fargo branch,or donate here. Below, watch a video of Walt reading at Mark Woolley's gallery in May 2010 [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="275" caption="Walt Curtis #38; Mark Woolley"][/caption] Spoken,Word webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=557 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=557#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:31:20 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=557 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=557 0 23:35 Harmonic Convergence On The Olympian Just another WordPress weblog Gig-bites webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=508 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=508#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 02:28:26 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=508 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=508 2 36:07 PDX_2X4: Rainy Day Dreams As Spring slides soggily into Summer, we can only dream that there is sunny, Beach weather ahead here in the Great Northwest. ... PDX_2X4: Rainy Day Dreams As Spring slides soggily into Summer, we can only dream that there is sunny, Beach weather ahead here in the Great Northwest. The Portland bands Explode Into Colors, Mike Coykendall #38; The Golden Shags, The Minus 5 and the Lex Browning Band share their umbrellas: Double click on the audio player to listen: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="536" caption="Explode Into Colors"][/caption] Not wishing to rain on your parade, but word is that Explode Into Colours, a band that has generated a huge buzz during the past 2 years, are about to play their final gig (at the Mercury 10th Anniversary party at Rotture). In 2009, NME voted them one of the ten top bands of SXSW and they recently were voted Best New Band in Willamette Week. When Lisa Schonberg and Heather Treadway lay down a twin, tribal beat for Claudia Mezarsquo;s downstroked baritone guitar and echo drenched vocal, their sound is invigorating, their gigs become Events. New release, Quilts, a 12 ldquo; compilation of their 3 vinyl singles nbsp;will be released in June (buy it here). Grab it fast before it goes out of print as quickly as the 45rsquo;s did. Listen to our podcast for 2 songs, ldquo;Heatrdquo; and ldquo;Sharpen The Kniferdquo; performed last year at Holocene, in the support slot to The Raincoats. If you were there, you probably saw Gina Birch, videocam in hand, literally running around the room to document the excitement of the performance. Explode Into Colors will be dearly missed. More info here. Mike Coykendall, since moving to Portland in 1999, is best known as a producer, manning the board in his attic studio for such bands as M Ward, She #38; Him, Richmond Fontaine, Bright Eyes, Fernando, Blitzen Trapper and Beth Orton. Back in San Francisco, his band Old Joe Clarks issued 3 critically acclaimed albums. Larry Crane of Jackpot Studios claims ldquo;Novemberrdquo; to be one of the finest album projects in which hersquo;s ever been involved. At the Doug Fir Lounge, Mikersquo;s current band, The Golden Shags, recently played ldquo;Wasted Starrdquo; from ldquo;Novemberrdquo;, as well as ldquo;Marileerdquo;, a seriously great song that will appear on their next release. In the meantime, check out Mikersquo;s excellent solo album, The Unbearable Being of Likeness, released earlier this year. (buy it here). more info here [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="362" caption="The Minus 5 @ Dantes (Neil Young #34;Doom Trilogy#34; Night)"][/caption] The Minus 5; yoursquo;ve probably heard of this local, upstart band. Over the years Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck, when not playing stadiums with REM, have roped into their loose collective such luminaries as members of The Posies, Wilco, and NRBQ as well as Paul Westerberg, Robert Pollard, John Ramberg, and John Wesley Harding. Check out the latest (and 8th) album, Killingsworth, where mega-fan Scott wisely taps into Portlandrsquo;s vast talent pool, gathering members of The Decemberists, Casey Neill #38; the Norway Rats, and the now-defunct She Bee Gees. Itrsquo;s a real blessing for Portland and Seattle to have multiple shows from them each year. For fans not as lucky, we have a special treat in our podcast: The Minus 5, with Scott #38; Peter being joined by Ezra Holbrook (drums), Tucker Jackson (pedal steel) and Chuck Carroll (piano), performing 2 Neil Young songs from the classic (but still unnervingly out of print) Time Fades Away: ldquo;Yonder Comes The Sinnerrdquo; and ldquo;Last Dancerdquo;. It was a memorable evening at Dantersquo;s, in which 3 bands recreated Neilrsquo;s so-called Doom Trilogy in their entirety. They captured the ragged glory to perfection. Who cares if it rains a lot in the Northwest when evenings like this can be witnessed? Read more on The Minus 5 here. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="294" caption="Lex Browning Band @ White Eagle Salon"][/caption] Last year, Lex Browning, a talented guitarist and fi... PDX_2X4,(Portland,,OR) webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=444 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=444#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 05:42:52 +0000 Gretchen Wood http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=444 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=444 4 33:31 Deep in the city canyons of Melbourne, Australia, a band called X gathers at the Cherry Bar on ACDC Lane. This is their fourth rehearsal ... Deep in the city canyons of Melbourne, Australia, a band called X gathers at the Cherry Bar on ACDC Lane. This is their fourth rehearsal before their first American tour, 33 years after the band was born on spit, gasoline, stark rage and anger. Nope, this isnrsquo;t some reunion thing with John Doe and Exene. This is the seminal Aussie punk band that shares the same name and formed about the same time as the band outta Los Angeles. Like the L.A. band, this X is revered by their native punkers and wields a massive influence, particularly in their native country. Through a combination of a risky reputation and the giant impact the album Los Angeles had on American music fans, the Aussie band was damned to obscurity on this side of the Pacific. But Xrsquo;s influence bled through, seeping into the West Coast grunge scene, inspiring legions of snarly guitars and shrieking vocals and a rhythm section driven by an aggressive downstroke. Before Nirvana ever sold a single copy of Nevermind, before Butch Vig ever helmed nary a production, Steve Lucas, Ian Rilen and Steve Caferio were hammering out the shit to rioting audiences, getting banned from an impressive string of pubs, and basically frightening the music biz from ever coughing up the dough to export the Aussie incorrigibles. Only the most hearty were X fans. And ya gotta be pretty damn hearty to be a member of X as well. Their mortality rate stretches longer than the list of living X alums. Of the originals, only Steve Lucas survives. Joining him in the U.S. will be former Love Addict Kim Volkman on bass and ex-Cosmic Psycho Bill Walsh on drums. Long time drummer Cathy Green had to forego the trip to look after her son, but with Walsh comes a style more reminiscent of Cafierorsquo;s drumming on the debut, X-Aspirations. Probably the biggest single loss was bassist Ian Rilenrsquo;s demise in 2006 from cancer. Formerly of Rose Tattoo, Rilen had written their biggest hit ldquo;Bad Boy For Love.rdquo; Looking for something more raw, more primal, he formed X with the two Steversquo;s. His stage persona was animated, charismatic, and his aggressive bass was emblematic of their uniquely heavy sound. It seemed unlikely X could continue without Ianrsquo;s powerful downstroke. Enter Kim Volkman. He played guitar with Rilenrsquo;s Love Addicts, Rilenrsquo;s main band while X was on indefinite hiatus. Took balls for the one time busker and self-described ldquo;bedroom pickerrdquo; to hit up a man of Rilenrsquo;s legendary status for a spot in his band ndash; which at the time was Skin Diver - but Volkman got the nod. The Love Addicts formed on the heels of Rilenrsquo;s 2001 solo album Love Is Murder. They played together until Rilenrsquo;s death. According to Melbourne myth, Rilen himself handpicked Volkman to take over bass in X after his death. The reality was that again Volkman poked his hand up at the right place at the right time when Steve Lucas was considering a one off reunion night. With his powerful downstroke and explosive stage presence, Volkman proved himself to the surviving members of X as well as skeptical X fans to be a worthy replacement for the legendary Aussie rocker. That explosive stage persona even got Volkman kicked out last year, but after a year of penance hersquo;s back in the fold. Steve Lucas couldnrsquo;t be more excited for this version of X to cross the ocean. I spoke with him at his St. Kilda flat the day after sitting in on rehearsal. Far from the roaring mad man, he greets me with a hug and a kiss, and putters into the kitchen to fix a cup of peppermint tea. His home is cozy, unpretentious; in the art deco style thatrsquo;s common to the suburb, which is a lot like Melbournersquo;s version of Coney Island. As we settle down for a lengthy ldquo;chin wag,rdquo; I ask why X relocated from Sydney. ldquo;Melbourne makes quite a good first impressionrdquo;. What about a second impression? ldquo;I never got over the first one!rdquo; Steve mov... Feature,2 webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=383 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=383#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:23:39 +0000 Robert Dean Lurie http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=383 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=383 10 19:08 The Australian group, The Church, are doing something really special to celebrate 3 decades as a band: they've undertaken an acoustic tour through North America ... The Australian group, The Church, are doing something really special to celebrate 3 decades as a band: they've undertaken an acoustic tour through North America this month billed as An Intimate Space 30th Anniversary Tour, wherein they play one song from each of their albums, starting with last year's Untitled #23 and then slowly work their way back to the debut album Of Skins and Heart from 1980, relishing the journey they've shared together along the way. The lucky audiences who come along for the ride are in for a real treat (see the tour dates at end of article). Robert Dean Lurie, author of NO CERTAINTY ATTACHED: Steve Kilbey and The Church, reflects on when he saw the band perform last year, and their latest album which has garnered rave reviews. nbsp;However, their best performance and their greatest album may well be around the corner. "But I Canrsquo;t Let It Go" (Further Reflections On The Church) By Robert Dean Lurie Photos by Autumn Andel Towards the end of his brilliant book Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs, Ted Morgan humorously muses on the inconvenience of his subject still being alive at the time of the bookrsquo;s completion. While it was nice to have Burroughs around to talk to, his presence and continued creative output left Morgan with an unfinished story. In less morbid terms, the fact that the Australian rock band The Church were still recording and touring at the close of my biography No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey and The Church left the narrative similarly incomplete. The one bit of closure the book had going for it was a ldquo;finalrdquo; scene between myself and Kilbeymdash;the bandrsquo;s colorful and unpredictable frontman. Having finished the work we had begun together years earlier, our relationship seemed to have run its course. The thing is, the publication of a book marks a beginning, not an end. Especially when the protagonist of that book graciously offers to promote it at concerts around the world. Furthermore, when that protagonist then embarks on the most prolific and creatively rewarding stretch of his career, the ldquo;endingrdquo; begins to seem very arbitrary indeed. No worries. It just means there will have to be a sequel. [caption id="attachment_384" align="alignleft" width="604" caption="Tim Powles, Steve Kilbey #38; Marty Willson-Piper (photo by Autumn Andel)"][/caption] The Churchrsquo;s 2009 performance in Portland, Oregon came fresh on the heels of the stateside release of Untitled #23, the best-reviewed album of the bandrsquo;s nearly thirty-year career. The show was also occurring one day prior to the US release of No Certainty Attached, and in the hometown of my publisher Verse Chorus Press, so all of these factors combined to make it a very special evening indeed. Listen to a few songs from that show as you read ahead: North South East and West #62; Almost With You #62; A Month of Sundays #62; HappenstanceSwervedriverrsquo;s Adam Franklin opened with his new collective Bolts of Melody. He spoke to the audience a few times, but I could make neither head nor tail of the slurred vowels and consonants that tumbled forth from his lips. I wondered why he bothered; Franklinrsquo;s style of performing is so internal as to make Miles Davis seem like a crowd-pleaser. But if I closed my eyes and focused on the sound, there was definitely something happening. His guitar playing is penetrating, transcendent, and loud enough to disrupt pacemakers. [caption id="attachment_385" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="The Church in Portland June 14, 2009 (photo by Autumn Andel)"][/caption] The Church, of course, have made a whole career out of writing and performing similarly ldquo;internalrdquo; music, yet in a live context they present that material with evangelical fervor. You canrsquo;t go wrong with Marty Willson-Piper on stage right, eyes blazing with Rasputin-like intensity as he wrests note for searing note out o... Feature,1 webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=310 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=310#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:52:29 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=310 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=310 0 33:57 PDX_2X4 : Pills, Pop, Pearls #38; Swine Episode One shines a light on The Welfare State, Drunken Prayer, Derby and the Lewi ... PDX_2X4 : Pills, Pop, Pearls #38; Swine Episode One shines a light on The Welfare State, Drunken Prayer, Derby and the Lewi Longmire Band. In a new series of podcasts, each consisting of 2 tracks played live by 4 Portland-based bands, celebrating what's going down right now. THE WELFARE STATE (live at the White Eagle Saloon) 1. Beneath the College Garage 2. The Man Of Least Resistance DERBY (live at the Doug Fir Lounge) 3. All Or Nothing 4. Stop Stalling LEWI LONGMIRE BAND (live at Mississippi Studios) 5. Save Yourself 6. Voluntary Martyr DRUNKEN PRAYER (live at Doug Fir Lounge) 7. What Made Me Kill 8. Pearls #38; Swine The Welfare State debuted in August of 2008 at the International Pop Overthrow Festival, and were straight out of the gate tight synapses #38; sinew.nbsp; A huge leap forward from previous band, Crack City Rockers; these songs were once destined for CCR's 3rd unreleased album. nbsp;A year and change later, The Welfare State ready the release of High Times, the debut cd this Spring. The songs have been hammered #38; honed live: Greg explodes bombs on the toms while Ken squeezes sparks from the frets a la Quine. nbsp;Freddie's funky fat cobra bass lines slither past you, slamming against the bar while Eric shivers #38; sings of "delirious, contagious certainties", taking more than you need and spending it easily. nbsp;Is it worth it? Fuck yea. If Derby resided in NYC or Sweden or some other scene blipping on the radar, they'd be mega huge by now. nbsp;Earcandy Powerpop with double shots of Kinks wit #38; Beatle harmonies, they'd have to run for the tour bus and turn down the interviews. Luckily for us in Portland, they are our little secret. nbsp;Their 2008 release, Posters Fade, upped the ante on their debut, This Is The New You, by which time NPR and the BBC took note and Europe gave a listen. nbsp;Derby are finishing a 3rd album as we speak and, in a perfect world, it might force them to hire limos and do that world tour. nbsp;Portland would miss them. Lewi Longmire has never met an instrument he didn't like; whether playing fender, farfisa, trumpet, what-have-you..he's been the go-to-multi-instrumentalist session #38; sideman since moving here from Albuquerque. Peter Buck of REM once remarked it seemed Lewi was always in whatever band he went to see when in Portland. Thankfully, a couple of years back, Lewi stepped forward with his own band and his own songs. nbsp;With Bill Rudolph on bass and Ned Folkerth on drums, its a powerful rock trio that will pummel #38; sway you. nbsp;I hope to grow old to the music of Lewi Longmire. Its a long, cold pull of water after an endless stumble across the desert. You can still smell Appalachian smoke on the songs of Morgan Christopher Geer and his band Drunken Prayer, hailing as he does from Asheville, NC. Songs of sin, drunkenness #38; possible redemption, Morgan's guitar attack assails you #38; grabs you by the lapels #38; looks you square in eye #38; slowly smiles. Like a carnival barker selling snake oil with a promise to cure all and save your soul. nbsp;I've been at gigs where local musicians, dragging in their friends, yell over the maelstrom: "Man, you've got to hear this guy, he's fuckin' awesome!". nbsp;It's true. PDX_2X4,(Portland,,OR) webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=273 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=273#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:51:28 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=273 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=273 2 22:14 It was my pal, Gretchen, who told me I had better crawl outta whatever rock Irsquo;d been living under and go see Dex play; they ... It was my pal, Gretchen, who told me I had better crawl outta whatever rock Irsquo;d been living under and go see Dex play; they were heading to Portland that month to tour behind the new album, Ruins Of Berlin.nbsp; It was blasphemy that I had yet to hear of him and his earlier band, Flat Duo Jets, and how he reaches deep into the Southern songbook of rockabilly, country and R#38;B, stirring in surf, punk and garage rock to make a heady, psychotic brew of his own.nbsp; And so I head down to Slabtown, a dive lounge bar near the 405 freeway, to see for myself . When he hits the stage, hersquo;s a man possessed, a guitar sound barreling down on you like a locomotive fueled by demon wine, steam coming out of his ears. His sister, Sara (who drummed in Letrsquo;s Active and Snatches Of Pink) is in the engine room, keeping the music gliding along the rails. Irsquo;d have to say that Sara, along with Linda Pitman of the Steve Wynn 4, are hands down my favorite drummers playing the traps. While the new album is great, with a primal mix of rockers, rave ups #38; ballads and the added bonus of duets with Neko Case, Exene Cervenka and Cat Power, the truth is Dex #38; Sara donrsquo;t need the helphellip;.their performance is telepathic, powerful and maybe even a bit dangerous: a fight briefly broke out during the set, rattling Sara and Randy the roadie, but Dex just told a dirty joke to clear the air before slamming into a deranged instrumental on his Silvertone guitar.nbsp;nbsp; ldquo;People keep talking about that fightrdquo; he told me at a gig 2 months later, ldquo;It was nothingrdquo;.nbsp; That 2nd gig at Barbati Pan was that much further into the tour. If anything, it was even better than the earlier show Irsquo;d seen; Dex #38; Sara more confident, and Randy the roadie no longer worried that something might go wrong.nbsp; A lot of the audience were there to see the Detroit Cobras, with gals even dressed up like Rachel #38; Mary, but to me Dex #38; Sara owned the stage. It was a helluva concert, probably my fav of the year. And now its MY turn to tell you to go see the showhellip;. This 20 minute excerpt from the Slabtown show ought to get you hopping: *********************** Before he headed to San Antonio for the 1st show of a 3 week tour sharing the stage with Exene Cervenka, Dex kindly answered a few of my questions: EA: last year saw you working with your long-time fan Jack White, producing the great single The Wind Did Move/Last Kind Word Blues on his label Third Man Records. How did the sessions feel to you, and what was it like working with Jack? Dex: Yes, working with Jack was very nice. He was very giving. His obsession with recording is something Irsquo;ve shared. EA: Yoursquo;ve been touring hard behind the new album during the past year; howrsquo;s life on the road been treating you? Dex: Well, the road is the road; .both good and bad .I'm not a fan of real long drives. One night we had to do 1000 miles; .it started feeling horrible! But its amazing to transverse such distances. Its a raw form of life: just passing through, no place is home,nbsp; rhythms echo out through America .But I remember all those cities. EA: What was it like doing the recent tour with Charlie Louvin? Dex: Charlie played realnbsp;honky tonk music, something I'm a fan of. He was there in the beginning. Not many people like him around anymore. Very interesting to see it up close. EA: In recent years you been exploring projects such Dexter Romweber and the New Romans as well as the earlier instrumental classical album ldquo;Piano".nbsp;nbsp; What are your plans for the next album? Dex: No record plans. Lordy i have to put something together! hopefully this year I'll have something worthwhile. EA: What shows do you have lined up for the coming months? Dex: Wersquo;re supposed to go overseas to Spain and Ireland for about two weeks, but thatrsquo;s not until May. For now, its touring with Exene; 1st gig... Feature,1 webmaster@earcandyarchive.com no No http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=250 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=250#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:46:33 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=250 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=250 0 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=196 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=196#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:03:49 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=196 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=196 0 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=181 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=181#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:33:11 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=181 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=181 0 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=171 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=171#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:22:01 +0000 earcandy http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?p=171 http://www.earcandyarchive.com/?feed=rss2&p=171 1