Tesla - Homage

Although they’ve released eight studio albums of largely original music over their forty plus year career, Tesla is no stranger to cover songs.  Not only did they get their start as a cover band, one of their first hits was a cover of Ph.D’s “Little Suzi,” their biggest hit was a cover of “Signs” from the Five Man Electrical Band and they also released two albums of covers in 2007 titled Real To Reel Vol 1 and Vol 2.  Now, with the release of Homage, they are back with another batch of covers.  Unlike those earlier covers albums, which focused more on classic and hard rock, Homage often looks further back to bands and artists from their earlier formative years, and there is also a lot of diversity in the songs they selected.  In addition to the covers, the album does include an original, “Never Alone,” a bluesy ballad in the same vein as their biggest hit “Love Song.”  Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home” kicks the covers off, and along with The Temptations’ Motown classic "I Wish It Would Rain" a little later, is a solid bluesy rendition with plenty of soul and an emotional vocal from Jeff Keith.  When it comes to Queen, “Spread Your Wings” was a Top 40 hit in the UK, but isn’t what would come to most people’s minds as a cover.  Having said that, their performance proves that they made the right choice.  Next up is Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” and while not too far removed from the original, the song sounds like it was made for them and they still do enough with it to make this version their own.  Probably the most unlikely track on the whole album is Elvis’ “If I Can Dream,” a song that was inspired by the recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy and most notably known for his performance during the ‘68 Comeback Special.  Keith really showcases his vocals here, which are smoother, as he largely steps away from the raspiness he’s known for.  On Badfinger’s “Come And Get It” (written by Paul McCartney), they maintain the insanely infectious pop hooks of the original but give it a little bit more of a rock edge, while James Brown’s “I Got You” is just a plain old fun, upbeat cover.  The next two tracks are somewhat of a surprise and not really songs that would come to mind immediately when thinking of influences.  They give Supertramp’s “Give A Little Bit” a bit of a spin, with more of a rock element (and no horns), and on Climax Blues Band’s “I Love You” they do an excellent job of taking the essence of the song and giving it a little bit of a grittier blues groove (they actually released a different version on the 2011 album Twisted Wires).  They dip their toes in swampy / southern rock on CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “The Ballad Of Curtis Loew,” both of which seem to fit the band perfectly and don’t stray too far from the originals.  Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” is an absolute classic, and they do her justice with a fantastic take on the soulful tune giving it a bit of a dirty blues, rock element.  Closing the disc out is Hank Williams Sr.’s “Mind Your Own Business,” another fun track that finds them taking his classic country tune and giving it some boogie woogie, honky tonk swagger.  

(Frontiers Music)

  

Interview with Twin Bloom

After informally playing together from time to time, Gvir Aviv, Mickle Nguyen, Joshua Cano, and more recently Sandra Alva, formed the band Twin Bloom, and released their self-titled debut EP.  I recently had the chance to ask Mickle some questions about the EP, working with producer Maryam Qudus and more.

I read that three of you have been playing together for about ten years.  Can you give me a little bit of band history?  Also, having played together that long, what took so long for us to finally get this EP?

The three of us, Josh, Gvir and I, have played together off and on over the years, nothing serious. We shared a practice space and played with some other friends here and there, but nothing formal. Twin Bloom has only been a project for about a year and a half. We hadn't played together regularly in years before that, so when we started back up this time, we made a goal to get in the studio within six months. Sandra was also the missing piece that helped us actually move forward.

With so much time together I'm assuming there were a lot of songs to choose from.  How hard was it to pick these four?

Honestly, "Summer's Gone" was the only mostly finished song we pulled from the past.  If I'm remembering correctly, "Magazine Dreams" and "Under the Current" came from small ideas from back then but were pretty much written together in this new project.  "Signals" was new to the rest of the guys.  It was music I had written on my own and tracked a demo of, but it was different, more keys and drum machine.  It really opened up and improved with the band and Gvir's melody.  So, to actually answer the question, it wasn't hard because we were just pulling on the threads that were interesting to us.  We had a few more ideas we worked on that either got tossed or are now in our set.

The songwriting is credited to the band as a whole.  Is there a certain way the songwriting tends to happen, or does it vary?

It definitely varies.  It tends to begin with a riff or a melody and then grows with the band.  Sandra speeds it up, or Josh comes up with a lead melody or harmony, and it builds from there.  Gvir and I have also come in with more solid ideas, but none of us are too precious about what we bring to the table.  We're okay with dismantling something and putting it back together so we all have our fingerprints on it.

I read that you set a goal of making the record within six months. Did you end up sticking to that and do you think that goal had any impact on the end result?

I think we did, or came very close.  We had some songs that were completely finished going into it, "Magazine Dreams" for instance. The goal made us accountable to being close to ready when we went into the studio with Maryam.  It also timeboxed us so we couldn't just let the process go on forever like we've done in the past.  But I have to say, some of the things that came together in the studio were so good too.

I saw something that said you wanted the songs to evoke a specific feeling or emotion that comes from nostalgia.  I think that you really succeeded with that and also feel like the music and the lyrics do a great job of creating really strong visuals.  I was wondering if you also feel like you were successful in doing that?

I think we did.  When I listen to the EP, each song kind of puts me in a part of a day in the past.  Gvir's lyrics fill in the details around the music. I think there's a sadness and longing to all the songs.

Throughout the EP there are elements of new wave, shoegaze, power pop, jangle rock and even a little country in the twang of the guitars in "Signals."  Who would you consider some of the band's biggest influences?

Everyone in the band has such different musical taste, but there's a good amount of overlap, and I think we just pull from everything in our pasts. The obvious ones are Alvvays, Weezer, Teenage Fanclub.  If I remember correctly, Gvir grew up on his parents' records, Pink Floyd, Queen, then found punk and eventually indie rock like Death Cab and Elliott Smith. Josh grew up on Motown, he's really into electronic music but also pop. He probably has the most eclectic taste of all of us.  Sandra played in metal and screamo-type bands and I know she still loves pop-punk.  I grew up listening to R&B and pop music, and was a big product of early MTV, then found the Southern California punk scene, then hardcore, screamo, emo, but honestly, I listen to everything.  Pop music is really what excites me and I always come back to it, whether it's a band like Alvvays or Robyn or the catchy hooks of our labelmates Motorcycle (I constantly have "Relive It" stuck in my head).  I'm a sucker for a good melody.

Not a comment, but I wanted to say I really love the video for "Summer's Gone."  It really seems to capture the vibe of that song perfectly.

Thank you so much. Working with Kyle Garrett was so great.  He really listened and helped bring the vision we had to life.  We'd love to work with him again, especially after seeing his insane video for Tod Lippy's "The Ache." It's seriously so insane, go check it out.

Maryam Qudus produced the EP.  She has worked with an impressive and quite diverse array of artists.  How was that experience, and what impact did she have on the end result?

Maryam was so fun to work with. I think we were a bit nervous going in, or maybe it was just me.  Not nervous about working with her, more that some of the songs weren't completely done and were finished in the studio, so I wasn't sure how they'd turn out.  I had nothing to worry about with Maryam at the helm.  She really listened to what we wanted but also pushed us in directions we probably never would have thought of, and we're very proud of the finished product.  We're in talks to get back in the studio with her at the end of the year or early next year.  I'm really looking forward to it.

For Twin Bloom you came back to guitar after some time playing bass in other bands.  How was that shift?

It's been so great.  Don't get me wrong, I love playing bass too, but guitar is my main instrument, and before the last two bands I'd played guitar primarily except for filling in here and there.  So going back was easy, and that plus writing with the band has made it extremely fun. Also, getting lost in pedalboard world is always fun for me.

How is the music scene in Oakland and San Francisco, and how has it been for a "new" band?

We're an Oakland band, but the scene in the Bay Area, which includes both Oakland and San Francisco, is thriving, and we've been extremely lucky to have labelmates, friends, and bands we've just met be super supportive.  I can't undersell how much releasing our EP on Dandy Boy has helped.  Otherwise, I think we'd be a little lost.  I do feel like were the new kid on his first day, and some cool kids took us under their wing.

Now that the EP is under your belt, do you think we will be seeing more music soon?

We have some new songs written and are working on more.  You can catch two of them in our current live set.  We'll get them tracked soon with Maryam.

Do you have any plans to expand your touring to other parts of the country?

We would love to.  If the right opportunity presents itself, I think we'd try our hardest to make it work.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Thank you Geoff, for your time and for reaching out.  Please take a listen to our s/t EP, out now on all streaming services on Dandy Boy Records. We just started shipping vinyl orders, so if you'd like one, grab it at our Bandcamp. And check out our music video for "Summer's Gone" if you have a minute. 

(Dandy Boy Records)

Luke Haines - Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Bizzy

Over the past twenty plus years, Luke Haines has released albums from bands that have included The Servants, The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder, along with solo albums and three with REM's Peter Buck and members of The Minus 5.  For his latest solo album, Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Bizzy, he delves into the unlikely subject of the magic and magicians from the British children’s television of his youth in the sixties and seventies.  I will say that with a few exceptions there is very little here that most of us outside the UK will be familiar with, but that doesn’t detract from make this a highly enjoyable release.  The title track kicks things off and is a fun, almost hypnotic, psychedelic track with some great fuzzed out guitars.  The psychedelia continues on the next track, the laid-back “Mama Cass,” which is one of the aforementioned exceptions, with lyrics detailing the title subject teaming up with the Scooby Doo gang, something that is relatable over most of the globe (for those of you wanting to delve a little deeper here, Elliot was featured in the 1973 episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode titled "The Haunted Candy Factory").  On “Death Card For The Kids,” he dips his toes into glam with more fuzzed out guitars and a stomping beat, while “Tommy Cooper - Chaos Magician,” and later on “TV’s On All The Time,” (with an HR Pufnstuf namecheck that us Americans will recognize) are very reminiscent of the quirkiness of Robyn Hitchcock. “Headchanger,” a song about Worzel Gummidge, a scarecrow with powers that change depending on which of his interchangeable heads he is using (?!?), is another fuzzed out psychedelic track with hints of glam. “Mum” is an upbeat little ditty at just over one minute that’s juxtaposed against dark and disturbing lyrics, while “The Omen 2” is a lilting acoustic track asking, “have you seen The Omen 2?” (apparently it was classified AA in the UK meaning it was suitable for 14-year-olds leading children to ask that question).  Following the folkier “The Standing Stones Of ITV” is “Mick Robertson Says,” a midtempo track, with a touch of glam, about the host of the children’s show Magpie, and the slower, more introspective “Spiritualist Church at 7.30pm Every Other Wednesday.” “Graham Bond Turned On His Mellotron” is a brief little tune of minimalist, swirling psychedelia about David Nixon, a magician and television personality, who also involved in the development and manufacture of the mellotron, and musician Graham Bond, the first rock musician to record using the instrument.  The slow and mysterious “Magic Shop,” along with a reprise of the title track, close the album out perfectly.

(Cherry Red Records)

The Long Ryders - High Noon Hymns

With the release of High Noon Hymns, The Long Ryders are back with their sixth full-length release, and third since getting back together in 2004 after a thirty-year break (with the exception of the occasional live show).  Like its predecessor, the band is comprised of Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy, Greg Sowders with McCarthy and Old 97s' Murry Hammond playing bass in place of the late Tom Stevens.  The album is another strong collection of country and roots rock with elements of psychedelia, jangly guitars, soul and even a bit of post-punk.  Opener “Four Winters Away,” is the first of several songs that address their dislike of the current political climate.  It’s a punchy, jangly rocker with a post punk edge and lyrics looking forward to when Trump is out of office.  “World Without Fear” takes a less specific view of the problems of society, dreaming of a world without fear, and is an easygoing midtempo track with some influence from The Byrds.  The next two tracks are back to a more pinpointed opinion on the state of the country.  Channeling a bit of The Rolling Stones, “Stand A Little Further In The Fire” is a rocker addressing the “Liar In Chief,” while “Ramona” is a more laid-back psychedelic, roots rock song criticizing ICE.  The remainder of the album largely moves away from the more political lyrics, starting with “(How How How) How Do You Wanna Be Loved?,” an extremely catchy, driving rocker.  More in line with classic, old school country, “Knoxville On The Line” is a gorgeous, laid-back, deeply emotional and introspective track.  With a guest appearance from X’s D.J. Bonebrake on vibes, “A Hymn For The City Of Angels” is another laid-back cut with a bit of a shuffle, that pays homage to Los Angeles, while “Down To The Well” is a solid, straight-on rootsy rocker and “Wanted Man In Arkansas” is a great, classic country ballad.  Drawing from eighties alt country, but giving it a modern day sound, “A Belief In Birds” is one of the album’s standouts.  Following the catchy, midtempo country rock of “Rain In Your Eyes” and the reflective, introspective “Say Goodbye To Crying,” they close the album with a fresh take on Dylan’s “Forever Young,” highlighted by Wyatt Ellis on mandolin.  High Noon Hymns is another perfect of example of how vital The Long Ryders were and still are.  

(Cherry Red Records)