Tampa Calling

Stay Positive
THE HOLD STEADY
Vagrant
It’s hard not to root for The Hold Steady. Especially if you’re from Tampa and regularly frequent Ybor City. The intelligent booze-rockers may call Brooklyn home but our famed entertainment district surfaces in so many of singer/songwriter Crag Finn’s tunes — most notably the band’s signature jam “Killer Parties” — that it’s like listening to one of our own. And then there are the joyous concerts The Hold Steady have thrown in Ybor, like the one in January at Czar Bar, which concluded with about 100 people joining the quintet on stage.

The band’s latest and greatest album, Stay Positive — currently available on iTunes; CD drops July 15 — also includes a couple local references. “Don’t tell ’em Ybor City almost killed us again,” Finn sings on the closing track, “Slapped Actress,” over a guitar-and-keyboard wall of sound straight from E Street. “Don’t mention Tampa, they’ll just know all the rest,” Finn sings on another verse of the same brilliant song. It’s a cinematic number inspired by the John Cassevetes flick Opening Night, which depicts a Broadway star on the verge of a nervous breakdown after witnessing the death of a fan. Finn documents desperation better than most.

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The Rage Against the Machine axe man’s solo disc, The Fabled City, will be released Sept. 30 via Epic Records. System of the Down’s Serj Tankian and Shooter Jennings (sweet) appear on the album.

Here’s the press release, which includes quotes from Morello (aka The Nightwatchman) and the CD track list:

June 30th, 2008 — New York, New York — Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine is set to release the solo album, The Fabled City, September 30th, 2008 via Epic Records.  The 11-song set is the anticipated follow up to the 2007 The Nightwatchman debut One Man Revolution.  Now being billed as Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman, the album is the first release to bear the political and social activist’s birth name. The Fabled City was produced by Brendan O’Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam) and features appearances by System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and Shooter Jennings.
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Toby Keith w/Montgomery Gentry, Sat., June 28, Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa

Toby Keith looked tired Saturday at the Ford Amphitheatre. Not physically tired from, say, doing too many curls before picking up his guitar and hitting the stage, but tired from singing the same songs, writing more songs, touring extensively, and doing the same redneck schtick in the spotlight for years now while simultaneously running a record company and trying to launch a film career.

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Tampa singer/songwriter Ronny Elliott has issued plenty of gems since launching an internationally acclaimed solo career in the 1990s. It’s hard for a serious fan like me to pick a best album of his, or a greatest song, but “Burn, Burn, Burn” is clearly a favorite of mine. And deserves to finally have it’s own video (well, sorta). One that’s as humorous as the song is gripping. It’s posted here at Brink.com.

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Well, it’s Year of the Gun. For the first time in history the Supreme Court has defined the Second Amendment as defending every Tom, Dick and Hillary’s right to own a gun — not just Militia persons, which is how the amendment reads to me:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

If everyone is going to be armed to the teeth, though, why not me? Any suggestions? Anyway, here are some songs that celebrate our country’s rather disturbing fascination with firearms.

Top 10: Songs about guns

1. “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” The Beatles

2. “Time to Get a Gun,” Fred Eaglesmith

3. “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” Warren Zevon

4. “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” Warren Zevon

5. “Pistol Packin’ Papa,” Jimmie Rodgers

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Local hip-hop duo Blac Soap, country king Toby Keith and more. Here’s what I have running in this week’s Creative Loafing:

• Bar Tab: You Are What You Drink … The ladies’ edition.

• Blac Soap: So fresh, so clean.

• My Morning Jacket issues its best album to date.

• Toby Keith saddles up at Ford Ampitheatre.

• Win Win Winter and Tres Bien dive into Neptune’s Lounge.

• Maserati, The Fixx and more in Music Week.

• Pink Floyd at its peak.

• Click here to peruse entire Music Section.

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It won’t be out until later this year, but Brian Wilson’s That Lucky Old Sun, an L.A.-in-the-late-’50s song cycle with some breathtaking tunes, already has a promo video. It is a good overview of the music, with some interviews and in-studio performances, including a bit of the stunning “Midnight’s Another Day.” It’s not embeddable but here’s the link.

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Rumors have been flying about Phish getting back together ever since lead vocalist/guitarist Trey Anastasio hinted at a reunion in a May interview with Rolling Stone. The flames were fanned even further when longtime Phish songwriter Tom Marshall sat down with PopMatters.com and talked at length about his recent time in the studio with Anastasio. Then, Billboard picked up a “breaking” story last Friday about the band recording a new album with producer Steve Lillywhite. (The story was picked up on this blog, too, though neither Billboard nor CL music writer Wade Tatangelo seemed to realize that the story info came from a weeks old rumor on Jamtopia.com.) This week, Phish bassist Mike Gordon weighed in with Rolling Stone as well and, not to be left out, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell also had something to say about the matter and released the following statement on Phish.com:

Given the volume of speculation and rumors that have bubbled up recently, I have been asked to make a statement…Here goes.

For me, the last four years have been great. I’ve spent quality time with my family and have watched my daughter grow. I took great pleasure and pride in writing and recording an album. I’m living a healthy lifestyle. I travel as little as possible and I sleep in my own bed. It took a couple of years after the break up to begin talking to my old band mates, but once the conversations began to flow it wasn’t long before the friendships were rekindled. And I can honestly say that I’m closer with all of them now then I’ve ever been in our 20-year relationship.

Recently the conversations have turned toward the possibility of spending some time together. Currently many of us have plans and projects already in the works, most notably Mike, who made a great album and is about to hit the road in support of it. Given that I might not even see some of the guys for the next six months, I would say that the announcement of a reunion is premature. However, later this year we hope to spend some time together and take a look at what possible futures we might enjoy. In fact the only real decision that has been made is that when we do get together, it will only be the four of us, hopefully with no distractions. I am really looking forward to that.

I want to say just a few more things. The prospect of Phish reuniting is something I consider very seriously, and I think about it a lot. And lastly, as always, there is plenty of misinformation floating around. Try not to focus too much on secondhand sources and random gossip. If there is anything real to announce, it will come from the four of us as a group.

Until then,
Page

No telling whether or not drummer Jon Fishman will offer his two cents.

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As do many CDs by artists I’m not familiar with, Albert Hammond, Jr.’s Como Te Llama? languished on my ever-growing pile for at least a couple weeks, before the gentle urging of a publicist caused me to grab it and shove it in the car player. I’m glad I did.

Hammond, as I now know, is the rhythm guitar player for The Strokes, which didn’t predispose me to liking his music, but didn’t necessarily put me off either. As it turns out, I like Hammond’s wide-ranging take on indie-rock better than the more confined stylistic approach of The Strokes.

Como Te Llama?, Hammond’s second solo outing, is a grab-bag that includes garage-R&B, power-pop, reggae and any number of other iterations of modern rock. His sound lacks the polish of his band, but it’s more daring, and ultimately more satisfying. The disc is due out July 8.

By the way, Hammond’s father Albert is a soft-rock songwriter and performer. He charted a few times in the early ’70s, mostly notably with the Top 5 hit “It Never Rains in Southern California.”

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Anyone who reads my Bar Tab column knows I’m quite fond of whiskey, especially Irish whiskey. As a rule, I only drink wine and beer during the week, but this week has been a royal bugger and I think tonight I might have to cuddle with my sweetie Jamie. Or, better yet, finally drink the 12-year-old single malt whisky a dear and kind coworker brought me back from her trip to Scotland.

Top 10: Whiskey songs

1. “Whiskey River,” Willie Nelson

2. “Whiskey in the Jar,” Thin Lizzy

3. “Whiskey Bent and Hellbound,” Hank Williams Jr.

4. “Tennessee Whiskey,” George Jones

5. “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” John Lee Hooker

6. “Whiskey Lullaby,” Brad Paisley with Alison Krauss

7. “Streams of Whiskey,” The Pogues

8. “Lace and Whiskey,” Alice Cooper

9. “Snortin’ Whiskey,” Pat Travers

10. “Whiskey Rock-A-Roller,” Lynyrd Skynyrd

WHAT DID I MISS?

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Former Flat Duo Jet (and one-time Venice, Fla., resident) Dexter Romweber, who I interviewed here, has inked a deal with the venerable cow punk label Bloodshot. St. Petersburg’s own Brett Steele of Steele Management (Mojo Gurus, Blind Buddy Moody, Some Dancing Skeleton), manages Romweber. The roots rock hero’s debut disc for the label will feature dutes with Cat Power’s Chan Marshall and Neko Case, among others.

Here’s the press release from Steele:

AMERICAN MUSIC LEGEND DEX ROMWEBER SIGNS MULTI-ALBUM DEAL WITH BLOODSHOT RECORDS NEW ALBUM FEATURES CAT POWER, NEKO CASE AND EXENE CERVENKA 

SUMMER TOUR ANNOUNCED!

 

Bloodshot Records and Dex Romweber announce the signing of a multi-album deal - a match made in heaven between two arbiters of the edgy side of rock, R&B and country. The first album, as yet untitled, will feature duets between Dex and Cat Power, Neko Case and Exene Cervenka. Recording commences in mid-August at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC; John Plymale (Meat Puppets, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Corrosion Of Conformity) is producing. Said Nan Warshaw, Bloodshot co-owner, “Dexter’s reputation as a musician’s musician is well-established and so deserved, but we here at Bloodshot are also in awe of the unbridled fury and raw soul he has unleashed for decades.”

 

The Dex Romweber Duo will stretch their legs prior to the recording with a tour that is bookended by two festival dates: Festival For The Eno July 6 in Durham, NC and the Deep Blues Festival July 19 in Lake Elmo, MN. All tour dates are listed below.

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Fleet Foxes
FLEET FOXES
Sub Pop

Fleet Foxes comprise five guys in their early-20s from Seattle who make music that’s honest and beautiful at a time when such virtues are in short supply. Yeah, this is a tough spell for the working class, unlike anything most young adults have previously experienced. Government mendacity and corporate greed have all but crushed the latest generation’s quest for the American Dream. The same money-changers that send 18-year-olds to fight crooked wars overseas feed them inauthentic pop music that renders human voices cold and robotic — reinforcing the idea, if you’re a thinking person, that nothing is trustworthy.

Fleet Foxes, on the other hand, offer the sonic equivalent of warmth, beauty and integrity. They make timeless music that lovingly harks back to such 1960s titans as Brian Wilson, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Paul Simon and John Lennon, all of whom, and more, are mentioned in the “deepest thanks” section of the liner notes. Yet rather than being some catch-all revival band, Fleet Foxes craft a strikingly original sound by employing oblique, sometimes chamber-esque, melodies and the occasional odd-meter rhythm.

Robin Pecknold, whose singing evokes a cross between Neil Young and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, leads Fleet Foxes. The other members are also capable vocalists, and the quintet collectively delivers stacked harmonies worthy of a Beach Boys or vintage Phil Spector record. The lyrics are slightly obscured by the dreamy way in which Pecknold stretches syllables like taffy — but that’s OK, or I should say I’m OK with not being able to distinguish each word.

In fact, in this case I prefer it. I enjoy the way the vocals wash over me like soothing memories of romanticized good old days or visions of better days waiting up around the bend. This is music of hope. Fleet Foxes’ innocent, earnest “ooo’s and aww’s” are as moving and, yes, poetic, as the cleverest lyrics.

All the instrumentation is organic and majestically subtle. These young men do not posses superior chops, but you can hear them aspiring to a level of expert musicianship they may reach by, say, their third album. Another huge plus is that each track was expertly recorded to sound like it’s emanating from a living room, where some of the album was actually cut. “Music is a weird and cosmic thing,” reads the liner notes, “its own strange religion for nonbelievers.” I’ll gladly worship at Fleet Foxes’ temple. 4 stars