I usually don’t read e-mails from publicists — sorry… I know it must take so long to cut and paste our names (usually incompletely or incorrectly) into the form messages you send out that often do not reflect any real understanding of what this blog does — but Tony’s pitch for The Bosch caught my eye. Now, I’m not usually one for crazy, mixed-up comparisons, and I almost got lost in the ones provided for The Bosch: Joey Ramone, Dick Dale and Brian Wilson, or maybe The White Stripes, The Violent Femmes and Phil Spector, or even The Clash, the Femmes, Spector, Bruce Springsteen and Man… Or Astroman. However, I like enough of these performers to download a few tracks, and I liked them enough to share them with you. This NYC quartet offers short, rich, intense songs that are better enjoyed on their own, without comparison. These are from their newest album, Hurry Up, while four more off Buy One, Get One, from 2005, are available on the band’s website.
Artanker Convoy
The best way to describe Artanker Convoy is downtempo funk jams. Slowed-down grooves that go on and on as if the earth’s rpm’s have dropped down a notch and no one’s in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything but c.h.i.l.l. An air of improvisation takes center stage as each member of this Brooklyn sextet lays down their perspective track, often tinged with the music they’ve been listening to lately whether it’s east Asian dub, Nashville soul, jazz, Bowie or The James Gang. Their new album (pictured), out now, features a DVD with videos of live performances, animations, and abstract op-art by art collective MUX, who frequently perform live with the band. Most of the MP3s here are unreleased demos, but still offer a good idea of what Artanker Convoy is all about. As a point of band history, Arthur (aka Artanker), drums and percussion, used to rock out in the early ’90s with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, in the Jinx Clambake Explosion. Drop that bit of knowledge at your next soiree for major indie-cred points.
The Budos Band
My 10-year-old son plays the clarinet in his school orchestra. His teacher offered a weekly jazz band class, in which my son, disappointing his old man, chose not to participate. This summer I plan on feeding him some heavy doses of The Budos Band, regaling him with stories of their after-school jazz ensemble, and how it lead the boys across the East River, via late night ferry rides, to sneak into Antibalas, Sugarman Three and Fela Kuti shows. Those illicit escapades helped form the Afro-Soul roots of The Budos Band. No son, it’s not exactly Harry Potter but, man, “Ride Or Die” would sure make a great soundtrack to those Lego James Bond videos you’re always watching on YouTube kid.
Bad Brains
When I was about 12, my dad built a bootleg cable descrambler out of transistors and other thingies like that, and we ended up with the full complement of 80s cable, including MTV. That was where I first heard and saw Bad Brains, in a video for “I Against I,” and the particular style of music offered by the band — totally frenetic, out-of-control, Jah-inspired DC hardcore — made me think that Dad had messed up the wiring on the his pirate cable gizmo. It was Unreal, capital ‘U.’ However many years later, the Brains are still going, recording Build a Nation, produced by Adam Yauch and released a week or so ago on Megaforce Records. And the old is new again.
Rasputina
A few years ago, I had this great Creative Writing class, with Ross and Tommy and a bunch of other kids. They did some of the best work I’ve seen yet, and I loved them. It was good. For his final project, Tommy brought in a doll’s head, decapitated and with the top of the skull — which had been shorn off — held on tight with a large square silver hinge. Inside, of course, were “Poems and Prose from a Deranged Boy’s Head.” Fantastic. Awesome. I keep that project in a cabinet, and now and again take it out to freak out my classes. Anyway, Tommy was a big, big fan of Rasputina, and though I couldn’t get into the heavy, theatrical cello-based chamber rock at the time, I’m just loving “Cage in a Cave” off of the upcoming Oh Perilous World, to be released in late June. Maybe it’s the Pitcairn Island theme, maybe it’s the pop-rock vibe; either way, I’m ready to talk to Tommy again about Rasputina, and see what kind of crazy things he’s up to.
Martin Sexton
School of Rock was on cable over the weekend, right about the time I started listening to Martin Sexton’s new album Seeds, and I couldn’t help but make a comparison. Powerful, funky soul-pop instead of face-melting rock, a band of adults (presumably) instead of Dewey’s / Ned’s 10 year olds — well, maybe that which draws Martin Sexton and Jack Black together in my mind is simply a similar physical appearance. Oh yeah, and total sincerity in expressing the joy of music. The five tracks below, from five different albums, are awesomely and gloriously full of Sexton’s soul, and you can take that line any way you want.
The Red Button
I’m always in the mood for this sleepy sort of pop song, this time from The Red Button. Principals, Mike Ruekberg and Seth Swirsky, have been writing and producing music in L.A. for more than a decade: composing soundtracks and writing songs for the likes of Al Green, respectively. The two met in 2004 when Seth was working on a solo record and discovered they had a mutual love for concise, melodic pop songs. So they began creating just that. Their album, She’s About to Cross My Mind, reminds me of a mix between the woefully obscure song-crafting wizard Erik Voeks on his album, Sandbox, and seminal pop-rockers The Posies. Coincidentally, those last two artists were in heavy rotation on the college radio station (AM 960: The Student Underground Network) Sam, Clay, and I launched way back when: sharing the sharing v.1. The Red Button’s retrospective melodies have me reminiscing like that today, the day after 3hive quietly celebrated our third year of existence. We hope to instigate more intensive festivities in the near future once our lives, mine in particular, settle down a bit. The proverbial dance card’s been booked lately.
Westbound Train
Clay’s posting of The Busters prompted a little combative traffic in our Comments section. Eigner requested, “please no ska,” to which Ali responded, “please more ska!” Yep, things are getting pretty heated here on our humble blog. Being a ska band veteran (trombone), I’m gonna side with Ali and — not to rub it in, Eigner — honor his request. Boston ska-pop kids Westbound Train bring in a little smooth jazz and R&B into their mix, matched nicely by the mellow vocals of Obi Fernandez, on their Hellcat Records debut from last fall. Hey Clay, it’s your turn!
The Scarring Party
“Fortelling certain doom to the bouncing rhythm of tuba, bass, accordion, banjo, and tongue drum.” That’s how The Scarring Party describes “No More Room,” as in no more room in hell. You could add the following: Tin Pan Alley, Tom Waits, gothic slaughterhouse, phantasmagoria — it’s like, make sure the hatchet is safely in the garage, the double-barrel in the gun safe. There will be quite a party on the ship when the Scarring Party sets sail from Milwaukee for Singapore, but with evil lurking everywhere, will anyone survive the journey? Though not for everyone, these tracks should give you that little extra twist for which you might be searching.
The Busters
As Joe pointed out last week with the Expos, 3hive could do with a “ska” genre. We might only post a few per year, but the love of ska runs deep here at the 3hive. Joe played in prominent Michigan ska band back in the day, and I once drove from Utah to LA mid-semester just to see the Toasters and Bim Skala Bim with Mobtown. (If any of our readers were at that show, that was me screaming “Veil of Sadness” at the top of my lungs when Bim asked for requests at the start of their encore, only for Shanty Dan to huddle with Vinny briefly before responding that they couldn’t remember how to play that song!) My fascination with German ska (see Skaos and the Special Guests) continues, so it’s time to roll out an old fave, the Busters. Still going after all these years, the Busters display the maturity of those years with “Waiting for the Sun.”