Pickathon: Frank Fairfield "Sleeper"

No that's not the name of the tune. That's the name we dubbed Frank. This 23 year old kid was- in a move of shear genius- slotted right before Bonnie 'Prince' Billy at the WoodStage on the Saturday of this year's Pickathon festival at Pendarvis Farm just outside of Portland, Ore. Quickly, let me say Thank You to any and all who helped put on this festival!! What a treat. We are coming back with more numbers and for a longer stay next year. I hope it remains so moderately priced and special for years to come. Alright, back to Frank. So everyone is setting up early to get good seats for Will Oldham and the Cairo Gang (Awesome set by the way, but I stopped filming to further enjoy....) and has no idea who Frank Fairfield is until he drops all jaws and silences the crowd after saying "I'm gonna play some American songs fer ya'." In the first video (follow to youtube) you can here me saying "This kid's a sleeper," and "He's got an old soul my friend," by the end I yelled down to him "God Bless you Frank." My beautiful and always two steps ahead girlfriend Adrienne bought me his LP the following morning and I caught up with Frank near the main stage for a signing of it and a chat about his version of "Deep Elem Blues," not to mention his performing schedule in the Los Angeles area where we both reside.  Frank is currently touring Europe and bringing his renditions of classic tunes undoubtedly to bars, pubs, theatres, and pick-up jams everywhere he goes. We caught him three times at the festival and were really treated to find him, Blind Boy Paxton, and some other unknown members from other Pickathon groups in the Workshop Barn pickin' on our way out. A crowd of three turned into about 25 and Adrienne and I started a twirling stompdance session that really blew the performers away after starting with no audience and just playing for the fun of it. What a festival. Enjoy the footage and I apologize for the laughter and shaking in advance...

Fresh Vinyl (That's New To Me): MMW's Combustication

Just picked up Medeski, Martin, and Wood's arguably most accesible and popular album to date on wax. It was an easy decision to make. Take MMW throw in DJ Logic and press it on vinyl, "Um, yes, thanks. Ring'er up freakish dipshit with the lip-ring and purple mohawk that hasn't been spiked up in weeks." I brought it home and my new Spanish roommate says, "Awwwww yes, you should burn something like this for me because I am needing fresh music." You got it girlfriend! I know some people complain that Medeski is obviously classically taught and not a true jazz cat or that they stick on the same thing for too long and it gets boring, or whatever, but when you see them in Nor Cal and they come out of a super extended spacey trip into the tastiest clav groove you ever heard you just don't care. I have to agree with the old shirt with the BMW logo...."The Ultimate Grooving Machine." The slow warmth of "Everyday People," the instant entertainment of "Sugarcraft," the ridiculous jazz story on "Whatever Happened to Gus..." this ain't bein' me favorite of their albums, but it is good.

This should pain and sadden you.

Live Music Tonight: Parson Red Heads and Fruitbats

So.........I caught the Fruitbats on NPR/KCRW this morning and the set was pretty cool. I had first learned of this band in San Diego covering their tune "When you Love Somebody," with Ernie Garcia and StuntDouble. But, I had never really pursued checking the band out despite really enjoying the simple tune with its ups and downs in dynamics and intensity.....Then, yesterday I heard it on the radio and sure enough the DJ says that they're going to be on Morning Becomes Eclectic today so I gave a lis'. Well, they're in town because they are going to play at the Echoplex tonight and I am trying to roust some heads to go peep it out when I head over to the website to see about ticks and........I see that The Parson Red Heads are playing at the Echo tonight as well in a show promoted by my favorite local blog, Aquarium Drunkard. Well ho-lee-shit....what's a kid to do? I first heard about the Parsons from the Drunkard's Ram on L.A. a tribute to Paul and Linda McCartney's RAM album. The Parson Red Heads did one of the best re-makes on that album, which was awesome in spirit and benefitted charity, but in many cases failed to produce good renditions, in my opinion. Their version of "Ram On," stood out enough for me to remember their name and check out their myspace and eventually become a fan. So......this is a good problem to have if you are interested in going out to see some live music in Silverlake tonight, but it still presents a problem.....Parsons or Fruitbats......more to come on this tomorrow.....

Concert Review: A.A. Bondy @ The Echo

A. A. Bondy just finished up at the Echo in Silverlake. First thing that stood out was his voice. Instantly recognizable as a great folk/pop timbre. Instantly. Nice little trio; drummer doubled on pedal steel and had a synth pad he used to trigger some samples (not too exciting, but noteworthy in terms of the electric sound they had on some tunes)...the pedal steel was quite nice, however. After three songs one might think that they were in for an insanely dynamic performance and they wouldn't be too far off, but for the lull in the center of the set. Somewhere in the middle of this lull the band went into a noise-rock/sound experiment of nob turning and feedback, but it just wasn't convincing. I was actually extremely relieved when they brought the intensity back up for the last couple of tunes because they executed it so much better. This was achieved by not solely raising volume and distortion, but doing so whilst maintaining the integrity of a very slow building 6/8 tumbler which they were able to climax beautifully before ending with a dissonant crash. A.A. also displayed some tasty travis-picking independence and the encore displayed the drummer's musicality and skill with a long set of extremely even and poignant double-stroke rolls within his compound metered groove. All in all this headlining set was very mellow, plenty eclectic, and overall, quite satisfying. Always nice to hear a band sound even better then their records.

RVOW: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

So, I suppose this isn't the most random vinyl, but whatever. They're all just great records that I feel like highlighting and spinning for a week and this is no exception. How does it fit in with the classics I've gone through? Emmylou Harris sings backups on it (shrug) good enough?....I didn't even realize it was actually her voice and not a just a younger female going for the same vibe until I read up for this entry. The songwriting is also pretty damn good and many claim that Oberst first claimed his place in the lineage with this record. I think it to be a fair statement. Conner Oberst is a fantastic and prolific songwriter and as good as any of his contemporaries if not right up there with the greats from the past in the genres of folk, rock, garage, psych folk, whatever.... I picked this baby up on Audiophile grade vinyl for 9.99 and it comes with a digital download code from Saddle Creek records. Lovin' it.....keep it greasy......

Have You Dug Don Covay Yet?

Do you dig on The Rising Storm? If you are saying "Who the heck is Don Covay?" then the answer is undoubtedly no. Wait....should I back up? Do you dig classic funk/soul/rhythm and blues/rock and roll? Then peep The Rising Storm out. In their words: "The Rising Storm is an mp3 blog about fine forgotten albums. We focus on lost gems in the genres of garage, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic rock, and other overlooked classics." Need I say more???? Don Covay is a soulful brother whose "Mercy Mercy," which I first found on Aquarium Drunkard (through The Rising Storm) a few months back, was recorded with a young Jimi Hendrix on guitar. The difference between the record discussed in that original post, See Saw, which is a classic soul groover and "The House of  Blue Lights," which more closely resembles a gritty Taj Mahal record of the same era shows the range and roots of this forgotten talent. The mp3s from the older post have expired, but the new one has two downloadable tracks and if you see one of this cat's records in some dingy bin somewhere then buy it. If you don't want it hit me up and I promise to pay you twice what it cost you plus shipping or whateva. Grazie