Black Lips release Arabia Mountain

A few weeks ago I had the urge to go out to Second Spin in Costa Mesa and purchase a Black Lips album or two on CD to add to the collection.  Originally, I intended to grab a hard copy of their third album, Let It Bloom.  Unfortunately it was not in stock, but the newest album of theirs, Arabia Mountain, which was recently release on June 11^th, was sitting solo with a red “sale” sticker on the front.  I don’t usually spend $13 plus tax on a CD, but I trusted that the boys from Atlanta would not fail me, so I grabbed it, forked over the cash, and stuck it into the mouth of my vehicle’s CD player during the duration of my drive home.  On the first listen, it sounded like trash.  Rough edges, low fidelity; all I could hear were foreign incantations created from the far reaches of someone else’s brain; exactly what the rebellious foursome of the Black Lips strive for.  I gave it another listen. And then another, and another, and another.  Each tone became more familiar, it all began making sense, and the messy façade finally fell to reveal an entire album packed with potent lyrics, and perfectly composed pop-structure songs, all of which contain a darkly sarcastic perspective of what it means to be part of the contemporary youth culture today.

Opening track, “Family Tree,” sets the tonality with a Tarantino-esque twist that seamlessly slides into a morbid psychedelic-pop rhythm.  As vocalist and guitar player, Cole Alexander, coerces the audience, “It feels so cold down by the family tree….Can I take you out? Come on out with me, let me take you out to the family tree,” a vision of an old and twisted oak tree covered in darkness, hunching over an array of family tombstones enters my mind.  Definitely not a place where I am interested in treading.  Continuing to track number two, “Modern Art,” is by far the most standout single of the whole album.  The lyrics explain an electric tale of what happens when drugs and art exhibits collide, and the chosen chord progressions make the blood bubble in a way that feels a little like the euphoric feeling of actually being on some sort of upper.

Next is the deeply romantic recount of Peter Parker’s (aka Spiderman’s) upbringing in the song “Spidey’s Curse.” This is sure to give any comic-book fan a reason to loop the song on repeat and admire the endearing sympathy over and over.  Rounding out the top four tracks is “Mad Dog,” a must-listen with its trippy orated intro and psychedelic sax hook filled with creepy minors meant to conjure demons.  Although the rest of the compositions are equally as interesting as any others mentioned above, “Bicentennial Man,” with its Link Wray-type guitar licks, the super catchy single “Time,” and the completely positive vibe of “New Direction” dominate the top spots for potential singles.  Final favorite is “Don’t Mess Up My Baby,” a hilarious and affectionate tale of modern love, in which the female “accidentally” trips out on her lover’s drug concoctions time after time, until Alexander explains that it’s time to “settle down and have some kids because your brain is fried.”  The double entendre of “my baby” encompasses both the frisky female, and her potential offspring.

A handful of the collection of memorable story-songs are engineered by Costa Mesa’s very own Mike McHugh at The Distillery, and produced by pop-master, Mark Ronson. Arabia Mountain, released by the Vice Records label, is the most mature and structured album from the Black Lips so far, and this collection of songs will inevitably shoot the band out of the underground and towards the general public of music appreciators in the next coming months.

Enter Into the Third Garden

After almost a decade, Rip "Ripper" Morgan of Third Garden Studios in Costa Mesa has advanced out of his basement studio in Newport Beach, and into a cleanly built studio off of Placentia Ave., that he actually fashioned with his own two hands. This contractor and landscaper focused on his work for over 20 years, leaving the world of music for quite awhile to make ends meet. Now, 30 years since he connected with the music scene, Morgan has found his way back and is participating more than ever. He took the time let me see the studio, and to enlighten me with his passionate ideas, many of which inspired his Third Garden.

How many years have you been here at the Third Garden Studios?

Rip Morgan: Over two and a half years now. Three more months and I’ll be celebrating my third anniversary, and I still have never had an open house. I don’t know a whole lot of the young bands, ‘cause I haven’t really been going to those indie-style shows, but I started getting into it because of Cassie (Walter). My band, we just play like classic covers and the stuff that we write, which is a lot different. It’s independent, because it’s us, but it’s not what all the young kids listen to who are coming out at 11pm at night, enjoying rock n’ roll of a different style.

When did you first start getting involved with music?

Morgan: Well, we are about nine years into the Third Garden project. Started, of course, in a bedroom, moved to the living room…

Then to the garage?

Morgan: The garage was like 40 years ago, the garage was cool then. But if you want to really cut lose, you gotta have a little more than a garage—unless you’ve got the money to spend. I started by thinking, ‘I’d really love to have a place for my band and I to rehearse in, and have it be a place we could always go and not bother anybody.’ So we found it, and that was down in Newport Beach. Very nice little place, and it worked out really good for a while. When we moved in there, it rained for like three weeks straight, and I had a river running through the studio. It was a basement that was all dilapidated, and water flowed right through it. I started the remodel, staying away from the river. I actually cut a hole in the wall and made a little trench in the concrete so that it would drain out when it got really bad. It was a daily deal for a while. Eventually, I got it all fixed up, and that was the beginning of the Third Garden. Two and a half years ago, I moved. The landlord and I had a good idea, but it fell through, so I had to move. I’m kind of glad, ‘cause in the beginning it was kind of hard, thinking, ‘Oh, my beautiful little place!’ You put your heart and soul, time, and muscle into something, and then you have to go. But it transitioned well. When I first started, I never really thought I would want to do recordings, or have a rehearsal room, or really get into the music scene.

You were just looking for a place to play?

Morgan: I just wanted a place to play. In the ‘70s I had the Boiling Mud band, and several other bands around Orange County—playing just rock n’ roll and popular covers. That developed into another family. I had two families; one before rock n’ roll, and one after. So I had a big 20-year period where I wasn’t doing much music, I was just working hard and raising a family. Things worked out to where my wife and I separated, and I went, ‘Wow, I just gotta get back into music.’

So you hadn’t been doing music all that time?

Morgan: Well, not really. I was a contractor and that’s all I did. I did have the acoustic guitar, and I’d strum it once and a while, but it wasn’t what I had to do at the time, and I had no equipment, nothing. But when things changed, and Ralph, my son, grew up, and we drifted apart from mom, I said, ‘Let’s get back into music.’ So we started in the living room. I never really thought, ‘I’m going to be recording big hits, produce people, promote people, play music myself, and still try to write stuff.’ I decided, I’m gonna play music, have friends come over, and have little jam parties. People then started saying, ‘Our band would sure love to rent this place,’ and it started into a whole deal. So I went, ok, that’s it. We’ll rent the studio out for free little rehearsals, and then I’ll learn how to do the engineering, get some equipment, try to keep it on a good budget, and open up a full recording studio. We started with just the little Yamaha 8-track, and then wanting to step up a little bit, I learned how to use ProTools.

It has definitely been a huge help to many musicians, having ProTools.

Morgan: It’s not like in the ‘60s and ‘70s when I first tried to get into recording. The development from that stage to now is a millions times better, much simpler.

You can write more information, store more, and change certain parts easier.

Morgan: And you can get it all done in a little room like this. Even like Babeland, in the bedroom.

When did you start getting out of your circle of friends? Did that come when you started working with KOCI?

Morgan: The radio station helped a little bit. About two years ago, just after I moved in here, a friend of mine, Michael Ficklin, who was my drummer occasionally who lives in Laguna, invited me over to be with him on an interview on KOCI radio. I’d never heard of it before because they had just come up. It was probably six months or so before they really were a radio station, on the air, and doing stuff like a radio station. So I went over, you know, to check it out. They were working on the first concert ever, and it was one week before the event down at the American Legion. There were four good Blues bands scheduled to play, and it was kind of a big deal ‘cause they had to get 300 people in the American Legion. So we do this interview, and I actually brought three songs with me that I had produced at the old studio and they played one for me on air. I didn’t expect them to do that, but I thought, ‘I better have something in case they ask.’

I was walking around meeting people, saying hi, and then Michael Donahoe comes out of another office over there. He was over there discussing work with KOCI, and that was the first time I met Michael, who I work with and is now my partner. When I met Brian Helvey, the director over there, we’re just sitting there talking and Brian is all nervous saying, ‘We’ve got this show coming up, but there’s nobody to do the sound.’ So it was like, here comes Rip of Third Garden, and I’m standing there going, ‘You guys need a system and engineering. Ok, I’ll do that.’ It was just a given. So I had a week to prepare, but it was easy because it was a lot smaller than what we do now. Now we do the full sound-system. KOCI has developed, and we’ve both grown together. It’s good, I’ve done a lot of stuff for them, and they have done a lot of stuff for me. I’ve met some great people, we’ve been meeting more and more bands to get them on the venues, and it’s been a great deal.

Now Semi-Sweet. It was actually Cassie that came to Third Garden with Dan Chapin about four years ago. I’d known Daniel from my son’s school, Christ Lutheran. But it didn’t register for a little bit, until I finally realized it was him, and that he was all grown up now and playing guitar. So they would rehearse at the old studio. Alysium, that was what they called their band. Cassie came and sang a few times with the band, and that’s when I first met her. She didn’t play guitar, she just came out to sing, and I still have one recording of it. Then Dan joined the Army and the band just kind of went away. Then the next thing I know I’m watching this band one day, thinking to myself, ‘I know that girl.’ It was the Semi Sweet band—the all-girl band, before the guys joined. I thought she was so cool, she had a guitar at that point, and she’s writing all these songs. I was impressed, so I contacted her on Myspace. She remembered me, and so I told her, ‘I’d love to record you guys, you sound cool.’ I told her I’d give her a good deal, come over and rehearse at my studio. She thought she was going to the old studio, but I told her no, it’s the new studio up on Placentia Ave. Derek (War) was there at this point, the girls, and another guy guitar player. That was before any of the EP’s. So I told them to come back any time they could. We did some recordings, they rehearsed a little bit, and then they were having problems with sound at the shows, so I told them I’d come out. Ever since then, I’ve helped them from time to time.

You mentioned you are partners with Mike Donahoe, how are you affiliated with him?

Morgan: He has a mobile telecasting van, and that’s partially Third Garden, partially Mini Big Productions. What Third Garden does, is provide this space here at the studio—the sound stage and the video stage, since we record video here too. We link them up with the remote van outside, and we can go anywhere in the city, and broadcast live. So, another part of that is Mini Big productions with Mike Donahoe.

You two work together on events, but you also wanted to get more local bands into the studio and do Friday-night shows?

Morgan: We’re already doing the Friday-night, which is the Local Musicians Jam Night. We don’t always broadcast that, but we have been, and we can if we want, or we can do any other night, and events outside of Third Garden. I was thinking of keeping it in the studio because it would be easier here and we could always assure a good sound. But we’ve been working on going out and Michael has done it several times. We setup at the Westside Bar once, and he’s done Westside two other times, and Pierce Street Annex as well.

So you could go in through the back of Detroit Bar and broadcast a show?

Morgan: Yes, outside viewers could be watching that show, that’s right.

Friday night is a continuous thing right now for you then?

Morgan: For Live at Third Garden, we’re trying to practice setting things up as fast as we can. Of course we know we can do it fast, but we’re working on the routine, know what we’re doing, and get it all done in a short amount of time.

Put every piece up, tear it all down, put it all up, tear it all down… That’s definitely a way to get quicker. Since the studio has been here, how long have you been doing the Friday night Local Musicians gathering?

Morgan: About six months. We started when KOCI asked us to play at Rockin’ For Radio IV. I thought, ‘Third Garden hadn’t played for about a year, so what are we gonna do. We’ll take Friday nights—usually my slowest night at Third Garden, ‘cause most groups are out there partying, doing their thing, or playing music. So we decided on Friday nights to get our band together, do the gig, and it developed from there. We thought, let’s keep doing it. We might be playing another Third Garden show this Summer, at Sawdust Festival and the Back Bay Environmental Center, with KOCI Radio.

How did the name and concept of Third Garden come about?

Morgan: I bit into the study of the Urantia Papers for quite a few years, and I was really heavily into it. I read the Bible, all of the Urantia Book, all the philosophy, wanting to seek something beyond mortal and beyond Earth. In the reading of that, lately, like within the last 20 years or so, I’ve really gotten into the concept of the Garden of Eden, which actually was on Earth. I don’t know where for sure, but I have an idea. And the first Garden of Eden had a default, and they were expelled from the First Garden. This was a necessity. Once they were out of the First Garden, they formed the Second Garden of Eden, which we now know is Iraq, basically. In Mesopotamia, between the Tygris and Euphrates Rivers; that’s what they call the Cradle of Civilization. And I kind of think that’s where the Second Garden was. That’s been quite a few years, maybe 35,000 or so. So a lot has been lost of the real history of our planet. Because of various things that have quarantined us and kept us out of contact with our celestial administration; namely Jesus Christ, and his Father, the one and only God. So getting back to the Third Garden, I thought well, I’m really kind of into that and I wanted to make a nursery for musicians. It would be like a garden where you grow plants. I had a nursery years ago where I grew stuff, and I called it the Third Garden, ‘cause I was a landscaper. I’d rescue a plant that would be torn out, then I’d take it out and transplant it. After about four years, I had a yard-sale and made about $2,000. I had hundreds of one-gallon, five-gallon, 15-gallon palm trees that I had kept and moved every time I moved. Then I started back into music, and it just came right into the studio. Well, it’s the Third Garden.

My first studio in Newport, I had the stairway going down, ‘cause it was built in the basement. So my Third Garden was going down the stairs and hanging up all over the walls and around the back. It was really nice. I had a lot of land to have the Third Garden nursery, and the Third Garden Studio on the other side. It developed into a great name, and then I name the band Third Garden. That’s how it evolved. So it’s stayed with me a little bit. The Third Garden nursery for musicians. There might be a fourth garden someday, who knows. But I had this crazy idea. Adam came to Earth for a purpose. And they did fulfill their purpose. They were admonished by that, but because they repented enough to be able to live as a celestial being. So maybe there’s a chance, if we created a Garden of Eden, someday they would come back and fulfill their purpose. I get into the spirituality a little bit. But I know that in all the universes of universes, Jesus Christ is the main person; our administrator, our sovereign, our life-giver, our love our savior, and that goes along with Third Garden—even though I don’t preach.

It’s all about being positive?

Morgan: It’s good, because it’s all about finding a purpose. We all have a purpose, and finding purpose is a hard thing. When you’ve got it down, you go, ‘I think I know what I want to do,’ and then all of a sudden it’s something else. Your attention goes here, goes there. I’ve been a contractor, builder, craftsman most of my life, and musician on the side, for 20 years. Then I decided to really get into it, and I’m hoping that it will evolve into something where I can make a living the rest of my life.

It’s difficult finding that balance.

Morgan: Well, you gotta have a little bit of money. You gotta be able to have your home, your studio, your livelihood, hopefully be able to pay all the bills, and do something you love. If you’re doing something you love, it’s more fulfilling. And music is fun, deep fun. I mean, you can have fun watching television, but deep fun is what really counts. Having that deep fun of being able to create something that is in your head, taking it from your thought, through your body and your fingertips, or your voice, and there you go—you created something. Something that will probably stay with us for eternity, hopefully.

So many younger people don’t understand what it is to make something. Meaning, deconstruct something in their head, and then produce it in a physical state. How do you feel about that?

Morgan: Imagination. Put your imagination to work, for good things. We all have big imaginations and if you can make your visions become a reality, that’s more deep fun. And that’s really the essence of finding your purpose in the mortal life here. We have many more lives to go through. I feel that each individual personality in the universe goes on for eternity. That’s forever, you say. So what are we going to be doing for all of eternity, what do we do? Well, we’re going to find out once we leave this planet, go to heaven, start learning what path to take, and what that path actually is. It could be, someday, an eon into your personal life, you might be helping another Jesus Christ construct a universe and planets. It’s limitless, because there is so much out there. It goes on forever. Maybe we might get bored. I kind of doubt it though, because you imagine waking up on the other side, it’s like, ‘Whooaaa.’

Perhaps city people don’t recognize that life is much bigger because it is too bright to see all the stars at night. I think that tends to make people feel small in comparison to the bigger picture.

Morgan: Daily lives, it takes a lot of energy, and you have all your priorities. But on the side, there should be something where you collect spiritual capital. You’re trying to make money to live, and maybe have some for retirement, so you need to do the same with your spirit. Learn it, think it, find out what feels best, practice it. You don’t have to go out and spew it all over and make people feel uncomfortable, because it’s all about you, the personal, and the individuality of each personal mortal, throughout all of the universe. I have no doubt that there are more mortals out there in the universe, and they’re not that far away, and they have the same purpose we do. I always get a kick out of sci-fi movies. They portray aliens as these incredible, gory, unbelievable monsters that the imagination can think up. But I think if we ever really do find out about how other planets are, it’s going to be basically the same type of life. We’re going to be inherently created in the image of God. Everybody’s the same—well not the same, because environments will create different types of species, but it will be inherently similar. Carbon-based units with water. If we find life, they could be similar to ours, and not these green, ugly, amoeba-type looking creatures that suck your blood. The imagination is a great thing to have. We all have a destiny, but it’s more important to find your purpose, and you can think, ‘Well mine is to have kids, or not have kids and help others, enlighten everyone with my music.’ A lot of kids, and even adults, get impatient. They want things too fast, and then never achieve them.

What’s your plan now? How many bands are you working with these days?

Morgan: There’s an average of five bands that are pretty regular, and there are a couple more here and there that are semi-regular. I’ve been getting a lot of people calling about recording, and people want to know how much, and what do we do? It’s tough to say how much, so I just go by the hour. So I’ll have people come in and record for three hours, and sometimes they can’t make it all the way through one take. That’s when I started telling people to come in and rehearse, I can listen, and when you play the song through, then we’ll record you. So a lot of people call and but then they lose interest, or they’re not together enough. You gotta think, well I’d love to do it, but I’ve gotta make money, how do I make money? And it could be from the production-side. I never made any money being a musician. But being a technician and a sound-man, I’m doing pretty good.

Aloe Blacc Plays Detroit Bar

A line waiting for the Aloe Blacc show stretched clear past the doughnut store at the edge of the Detroit Bar parking lot, waiting eagerly to attend the sold-out show. The Laguna Niguel local artist attracted over 350 people through the threshold of the Costa Mesa bar this evening

Opening for the headliner was Tutu Sweeney & the Brother Band, another local act based in Los Angeles. On drums was Blacc’s talented drummer Te’Amir Sweeney, who eventually played back-to-back sets. The mix of reggae, jazz, and soul was enough to warm up the crowd that was beginning to secrete sweat because of the close quarters.

Aloe Blacc jumped onto the platform in front of his many fans, and kept a fluid movement on stage all evening. Adorned in a bright tangerine button-up collared shirt and fedora, Blacc radiated a positive vibe during his whole set. Reaching out to his many fans, Blacc crooned, “Give me a soul clap!” Shadowy hand immediately shot into the air, clapping to the beat. As the night continued, Blacc’s political passion rang loud during his hit, “I Need a Dollar,” so much that the crowd began passing dollar bills towards the stage and into Blacc’s empty hand.

By the end, the venue was filled to the brim with soulful fans who couldn’t help but lean and bob and dance to the beat of a heavy bassline. After a brief interlude from the talented band backing Blacc, the vocalist returned to stage one more time to offer an encore of two songs, including one of the most soulful remixes of, “Billie Jean,” ever heard before. The night ended short, right around midnight, but the groovy tunes of Blacc quickly shifted towards the DJ’s funky disco dance music that collided with colorful beams of flashing light on the thinning dancefloor. A few disgruntled members of the crowd wanted more from the musician and his set, but most went home with some vinyl, a t-shirt, and a smile on their face.

Set list:

Intro

Hey Brother

Hey Brother Reprise

You Make Me Smile

Femme Fatale

Green Lights

Good Things

Miss Fortune

If I

Politician

Soul Train

Dollar

Encore:

Billie Jean

Loving You Is Killing Me

Songwriters: Snakebit Drifters

How did you guys start as a band?

Tim Willis (guitar, vocals): Well…it was more of an anti-start then anything else… It was more of a lack of a beginning…

Robin San Jose (bass): Ok, Darby Crash… (laughs)

Willis: I’m just making Kevin Yoches laugh…

San Jose: They played for awhile, but not that long. Couple months, huh?

Kevin Yoches (drums): We started as a two-piece.

Willis: I had a broken, borrowed acoustic, and I was playing a horrible song, and Kevin was drumming on a counter at a party.

San Jose: It was the best gig you guys ever had, huh?

Willis: It was a song about a Tijuana sloo, that turned into our “hate” song. So then I hit him up on Myspace, and he was in San Francisco with Hello Evening on a trip, and he said he’d get back to me for sure, which he did, and he was very prompt, very on time. We had a couple practices, we fuckin’ shredded, and we found Robin and it was over with.

San Jose: I answered an ad in the recycler. Or was it Craigslist? I don’t know, it was some ad, and all of a sudden it was “Want a Bass Player.” I was just looking for something to do.

Yoches: I remember standing there talking, and I was like, ‘So, I don’t know how you feel about this, but I think we should probably do this like two days from now.’

Willis: And we were die-hard. We went three practices a week, no matter what, even when it was just the two of us, just fucking around.

Yoches: We’d film them, and then we’d get wasted and go back to the studio and watch them.

Willis: So we had this trippy sound that was probably way too fast to be listenable, and then Robin comes along with his weird off-beats that finish it off.

San Jose: I never really planned on playing fast, ‘cause I bought an upright bass to learn old Hawaiian music, and rock-a-billy. I said, ‘You’re never gonna see me playing no punk rock.’ The first time I played ‘C.U.N.T.,’ I was slapping as fast as my shoulder could possibly go for a frickin’ old man, and I was thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing here!?’

You already had songs written before Robin came?

Willis: A few songs. I didn’t even know how to play guitar until I was in the Coast Guards, stuck on a boat with nothing to do with a bunch of people from the Appalachian Mountains, and people from all over who were forcing me to learn chords. Age 15 to 25, I spent ten years on straight up gutter punk, skate punk, and that’s it. I thought it was the only way to go. So yeah, I had a few, and then Kevin hears them and goes, ‘Ok, well let’s do this and this.’ And when he’s doing some quadruple-double-handed-train-beat, I guess I’m gonna listen to your suggestions. If I have a place to put my fingers, which is called ‘G’ in some songs, he’ll be like, ‘Actually, that doesn’t make any sense. You should probably put your fingers here where the chord makes sense,’ and I’ll be like, ‘ahh, yeah.’ I get some crazy ideas, and then he’s like the ‘producer,’ and Mister-make-shit-musically-sound.

San Jose: Well Kevin knows music too. He knows it very well. It’s lucky to have a guy in the band who knows music.

Willis: Music is like his crazy uncle that showed him how to party. But he also showed his crazy uncle a thing or two, ‘cause he’s like a young Jedi.

Tim, I have to say, you give the best analogies. It’s pretty amazing. Robin, you had mentioned that you also know about music too?

San Jose: I know it, but I don’t know that I know it, because Kevin will tell me that I know it.

Why do you know it?

San Jose: Because I hear it.

Yoches: He’s just played enough music to where he knows the scales without knowing them.

San Jose: But I can’t name what I’m playing.

Yoches: He’ll say, ‘Well that’s a run in G.’ And I’ll say, ‘Well actually, that’s the entire G Major scale from top to bottom.’ He’ll be like, ‘Ok, cool…right over my head bro. Let’s keep going on the song.’

Willis: Robin’s standard quote is, ‘I’ll find you.’ Normally, you’d be like, ‘No, you’re dismissing what I just said and you’re full of shit, but when he says it, he will find you, so just go. It’s not even a problem.

Must make it easy to keep playing while you’re at a show, and it’s sounds like you can jam together pretty easily.

Willis: Kevin has a solid drum beat, and then Robin ties it together.

San Jose: Our first practices weren’t awkward at all, it was just fun jamming, cold beers, their friend Sage cooking on the bar-b-que. Those early days, they made it really fun.

How did you start writing?

Willis: I pitched them creepy poems, and then figured out which kind of music made sense with them. I had a bunch of songs, but it was just me and an acoustic guitar. I got an ‘F’ on essays, and an ‘A+’ on poems forever. I usually have a poem or idea, and then I’ll show Kevin with an acoustic guitar, and he’ll be like, ‘Sounds good. Okay, what we can do here is change this or bring this chord up…’

Yoches: Or it needs a B part…

Willis: ‘Or it needs this.’ So then I just fill in a gap or two from the weird poems I write, ‘cause I’m crazy.

So it stems from the lyrics?

Willis: Totally. Lyrics come, and it’s just a capture of a moment in time.

Why do you think certain people able to capture those moments, and others don’t get it?

Yoches: Some people are just like that. Tim is fucking hilarious. I don’t know, something about his personality is charismatic. I think there’s a certain characteristic in a person that is able to do it. ‘Cause for me, the music writing capabilities that I’ve gotten are from studying music, and almost learning it like it’s a math equation.

So you’re mathematical, Robin is by ear…

Yoches: And Tim has the charisma. We all trust each other when it comes to that element. Tim will come up with something, like he called me up today and was like, ‘I thought of something while on my break at work today. It’s this poem about how people, when I’m dead, and when they visit my grave--I want them to pat the dirt and keep the flowers nice and stuff.’ I can’t just come up with that image, but if he came up to me with just the words, I could probably write a chord progression to it. Tim writes about common feelings, but not in a common way. He’s got that something.

It so strange, I feel like I’m coming to the end of this Songwriters Collection, with you guys being the last interviewed. I’ve asked everyone about lyrics, are they playing for the audience, or are they playing for themselves? Where do you guys stand?

San Jose: I’m playing for these two guys. Because I can play with these twos guys in front of just a bartender, and I still have a great time. And it’s really fun when his friends come out. They have a good following in Costa Mesa. I’ve been in a million bands, and I’ve played in front of nobody, and the band’s been really good. So when the crowd is into it, and they’ve seen our shows a lot, so they know what we’re gonna play, but they still lose their minds. That’s amazing to me, it’s like brand new to them. So it makes it totally fun, and when you can do that with some of your friends, that’s all better.

Willis: We just try to promote this big excuse for everybody to get shit-faced like it’s your birthday.

Yoches: We’re having good times, and that’s Snakebit. Get Snakebit and travel around for a little while.

San Jose: I think musicians forget to have fun sometimes, I think that’s what it is. You can sit there and be the deepest cat, but why not have some beers, have some laughs, make some music, and have a good time?

Yoches: The minute we take ourselves serious, this whole thing will kind of slow down. Tim’s got a gnarly job, Robin’s got his family and a crazy job. I’ve got a few bands and a job. It’s like Snakebit is our escape. Like a big, safe place to go.

How many songs do you have recorded now?

Yoches: 27.

And how long did it take for you to record them?

Yoches: A few days.

Willis: Me and Kevin were yelling at each other at the end. It was really funny though.

Yoches: He’s like, ‘I know what you want me to do, but my hands hurt.’ And I’m like, ‘We’ll that’s cool. So why don’t you be a bigger pussy and we’ll never get this song recorded.’

San Jose: I remember hearing in the headphones, Kevin goes, ‘Go tell Robin your hands are sore!’ (laughs)

Willis: Or he would start talking and I’d go, like three-year-old style, ‘EEEEEGGGHHHHH! YAAAAHHHHRRR! Huh? Oh, sorry, I couldn’t hear you Kevin.’ Like, I didn’t know what else to do, I was like a monkey throwing shit. I’m tired!

So was that the point when 27 songs were enough?

Willis: No, we played a lot more songs after that (laughs).

Yoches: That’s when our best material came. That’s part of being Snakebit Drifters, you know?

Want to explain Snakebit Drifters?

Yoches: Tim wanted it to be Whiskeydick Dragons, and I was like, ‘Meh, you gotta give me something better than that.’ It would have been acceptable if we sucked, but once we played a couple of days, I knew that we needed to have something with something to it.

Willis: Drifters is a pretty standard, Wild-West, crazy desert, aimlessly going somewhere kind of notion. The definition of Snakebit is having a life characterized by a series of misfortunes, and it’s like you can’t fucking win. Also, alcohol and drugs coursing through your veins is kind of like being bit by some kind of venomous snake I’d imagine.

Yoches: So then Tim was like, ‘How about Snakebit Drifters?’ Ding ding ding.

Songwriters: The Growlers

When did Hot Tropics come out?

Brooks Neilsen: Middle of October (2010) sometime. Yeah it was cool, it was the last one we had made here (at the studio). It was kind of older material, but we had to put it out before it got too old.

When you write lyrics, what are you drawing from? For that album in particular? For those songs originally, and then to fit into the album?

Neilsen: I don’t know. A lot of the songs are written in a really short amount of time, like some of them, an hour, some of them a few hours. We were doing the Couples, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time to think about it. I usually don’t spend a lot of time about it. I just kind of like jot it down. A lot of it ends up being like rap, and rhyming. And then it’s, ‘Oh, it kinda seems like that,’ and, ‘They’re gonna think that…oh cool.’ I don’t really get that deep. If I catch myself getting really into it, I’m like, ‘quit being so artsy.’ But I don’t know, at that time, I was working, and driving around in my work truck all day. I was listening to this guy Dennis Prager a lot and his Happiness Hour and hearing a lot of Judeo-Christian values stuff. Thinking about stuff like that; good and bad, right and wrong.

So what did you think about all that? Obviously you were intrigued by it.

Neilsen: Yeah I like it, I mean, gotta keep on making more music so I don’t have to beat the shit out of myself everyday. Just like, shit it out and make more.

Artists around here get 4-5 songs on their EP, and then live off of those songs for the next year. Eventually it becomes, “What’s new?”

Neilsen: It’s weird. Luckily we made it a point to make a shitload. Cause we’re doing basically the same fuckin’ thing right now, it’s just a lot more songs.

Do you think that’s part of the success?

Neilsen: Yeah, to give us more to choose from. And to keep us motivated and happy. Playing the same shit is a real wear and tear, especially when you’re tired. When it’s everyday it’s tough. But the whole thing is pretty mapped out for you. When we were doing it on our own, it’s not mapped out, we can do whatever the hell we want. But now, we’ve started adjusting to being on a label, there’s timetables for everything; when records should be released. And you gotta know a lot earlier, cause you gotta get it done two months, three months before that deadline, and have the art done. And at the same time, the tour is starting to become something, and you’re like, ‘ugh.’ But luckily you’re still making something that you like, so that’s cool, but it’s kind of weird getting into the swing of deadlines. I failed miserably in school. To go back into that mode of, ‘Oh shit, gotta get this done or dad’s gonna be pissed.’ It’s kind of crazy. And that’s when the decision to take a break comes in. If we were on it, the 7” we are releasing would be a full-length album. But it’s not, so we’re not going to have a full-length. And then we can put it out at the end of Summer, but that’s not exactly the time to put out a record. We’ll put it out next February, so there’s gonna be a huge gap here without music. So then you start thinking, ‘aw, well fuck man.’ Luckily we’re going across the country to all these places where nobody knows us, they’re tiny, and everything is brand new to them. The people around here are probably like, ‘same fuckin’ Growlers show.’ So that’s why we don’t really play here too.

You guys don’t play here that much, and I don’t think people are bummed on it. From an outsider’s perspective, you could probably turn around and play another one.

Neilsen: Yeah, I like playing at home a lot more. But when we were playing a lot, it felt like we were dragging people out every time, and it was kind of more of a scene, and less of a ‘come see the Growlers’ thing.

So where do you like to play when you’re home?

Neilsen: Alex’s Bar in Long Beach is cool. Yeah I don’t know a favorite place, we need to find some. The best place is at a big warehouse basically. And a house party is cool, but you can only fit so many, and it’s easily broken up. A warehouse, they tend to go all night, and little kids get to get drunk and have sex in the corner, and pee everywhere. They’re more fun, compared to the venues.

So are you guys writing at all right now?

Neilsen: Yeah, Matt’s got a shitload of songs, Kyle’s got a bunch of songs, Scott’s got some basslines, I have some. So we just need to kinda start combining, just do a little bit you know.

Do you write yours as vocals?

Neilsen: Yeah, separate. And then on their stuff I just create a melody to it over the top. The 7” is gonna be in April, and the full length won’t be until the end of Summer. We wanna get a massive amount of songs to narrow it down and do a small amount. Maybe like 50 songs, and then do ten songs or whatever.

Do you have a certain vibe you’re going for, or do you just kind of create as much as you can?

Neilsen: Yeah, we tend to do that. That idea is just weird to me, too contrived. Like putting yourself in a box. It’s like how do you map that out, ‘Let’s get more Motown or something?’ I don’t know what the hell to even say. I mean the guys have said stuff like, ‘Hey maybe let’s not be so death’ (laughs). But we write songs all in Minor, it’s kind of what the vibe is.

http://thegrowlers.com/

Micah Brown Releases Video: "Finally Free"

OCMA Best Blues Award Recipient MICAH BROWN releases his newest video today! "Finally Free" was directed by Eli Green, and produced locally at 17th St. Records in Costa Mesa. Brown appears to take the upper-hand on this unfaithful lover in this one....take a look!

http://www.reverbnation.com/micahbrownmusic

Catch Micah Brown at House of Blues Anaheim this Friday, April 1st, with The New Limb, Kiev, Ethan Hulse, Chasing Kings, and DJ Velvet Touch.

http://www.houseofblues.com/tickets/eventdetail.php?eventid=67886

A Week at Detroit

Every night there is something to do at Detroit Bar, the music venue hiding in the corner of the Vista Center located in Eastside Costa Mesa. Drive on 19th street past Placentia Ave., past the old eVocal, past Avalon, turn left at the brightly lit marquee, and in towards the corner of the parking lot. There, you will find one of the most vital contributing venues in the underground Orange County music and art scene.

Throughout the venue, the reoccurring theme is an aged, yet chic style of Mod. Knitted pieces of tangerine-colored pillow art litter the walls of the dance floor, bar area, and pool hall; buffering the music that spews from speakers. Every piece of interior has rounded corners, whether it is the stools, tables, or booths. The establishment is split into three tiers; the first being the open concert hall, the second the bar, booths, and DJ arena, and the last being the pool room that possesses a digital jukebox, a classic joystick Pacman arcade game, and more lounge seating.

For nine years, the stage has featured thousands of bands; some good, some great, and some to forget. But each performance always shines in it’s own distinct way. From a wooden beam above and away from the stage hangs the modest light system and fog machine. To the right and left, suspended with a tilt towards the audience, are two substantial house speakers. Monitors litter the extension of the platform that was built into the existing frame of the stage just a few weeks ago, providing a little extra space for the performers. Surrounding the musicians are three walls of orange-painted concrete hidden behind a perimeter of deep red curtains. In the back, centered in the drapery, is an oversized smooth metal replica of the Detroit Bar logo, always beaming in the glow of shifting red, blue, green, and yellow beams of stage light. For those who see the merit in discovering new and upcoming musical acts to add to their life playlist, it is the perfect place to reside every night of the week.

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Today the week starts with Resident Live Music Monday, and for the first evening of the Billy Kernkamp Mysteresidency, the sounds of The Relative Strangers are booming out of the doorway of Detroit. “The feeear of taking you for graaanted, the feeear of letting yooou go,” has wandered into my head a lot over the last month. This Thursday will be their first appearance at the House of Blues in Anaheim.

Pleasant surprise is the second mystery band, Wake Up Lucid, hailing from Los Angeles. This three-piece played a healthy set of psychedelic Southern rock to impress the crowd. Tonight, the three-band-lineup is letting each group take advantage of extended time on stage. Wake Up Lucid took advantage, showing a great extension of their musical range, including an impressive drum solo transitioned seamlessly into an intense song finale. Definitely downloading their new EP as soon as possible.

Gossip of the night is all about unveiling the Ruffian music blogger, whether or not he was there, and who it may be. It is still unclear if they are male or female, one person or many, and what crowd they seem to run with. But the consensus seems to be that, whoever it may be, he or she is probably not much of a musician.

Billy Kernkamp, accompanied by Justin Deckert, Brendan Murphy, Teddy Duran, Justin Morales, minus organist Dallas Kruse, takes center-stage. In the spotlight after a few weeks of hiding out, Kernkamp graces his many fans, singing their favorite songs with deep passion and romantic fervor. A month-long residency is good practice for the group, as they will be entering the Red Bull recording studio in a few weeks to claim their OC Music Awards prize. Nearby, Trisha Smith and Ryan Radcliff of Honeypie enjoy the music. They will be playing next Thursday at Detroit with Melanoid, Preacher’s Sons, and May McDonough.

At the end of the night, it is necessary to swoop out undetected, otherwise goodbyes would last on through the night. Always a good time seeing friends at Billy’s shows. Looking forward to the rest of July Mysteresidency.

For local artists, the Monday night residency spot is coveted, and reserved for the most legit Orange County musicians. Over the last year, bands like The New Limb, Railroad to Alaska, and Blok have chosen their favorite openers to join them in filling up the Detroit dance floor for four weeks in row. Not only is this Residency one of the best ways for a band to gain exposure, but it is also a challenge that truly shows a group’s stature and following in the Orange County music scene.

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Started off this Tuesday night Everyday Noise event by walking into Detroit to the words, “People get goofy to this song.” The Tail, a group of four, sounded reminiscent of a modern-day Beach Boys or Dr. Dog, but with more quirky and intellectual lyrics.

Near the DJ booth, Everyday Noise founder, Ash Eliot, works away on her laptop, while her partner, Albert Ching, runs to and from the stage area to observe the show. This duo is running the Local Indie Night every first Tuesday of every month at Detroit.

Next up is another four-piece hailing as the California Condors. Each member, with their own personal microphone, stood up to sing his own song, with only a few truly being memorable for the night. This is an Indie band with excellent musicians and democratic songwriting style.

A faux-redheaded female takes the stage with her psychedelic rock band. Spirit Vine had made the rounds through Los Angeles and now enters Orange County, with the possibility of a memorable show tonight. With red lights turned low, a few riffs from the lead guitarist, and the occasional harmonies hit just right, Spiritvine was unforgettable.

Peyote Players closed out the night as the population dwindled to the final few. This funky, hip-hop, soul, psychedelic rock trio, featuring lead bass, is the most entertaining of the evening; enough to earn fog and a technical light show from the house. A mellow evening at Detroit with a full range of Indie bands.

While the local musicians usually host Tuesday evenings, the final one of the month is reserved for Dubtroit, a night filled with the heavy basslines of dubstep music. The crowd has been anticipating this Tuesday all month, checking in with friends days in advance to make sure they are attending. Every time Dubtroit rolls around, the bouncer knows it is time to prepare for that long line that always builds in front of his station. One by one, he checks ID’s, always attempting to tame the orgasmic electricity shifting though the crowd, and the smell of hydroponics in the air on the patio.

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Dolphin City is glowing in raw projector light, laced with flecks of digital color. Dressed in all white, perfectly puzzled together on stage like opaque tetris blocks. The stellar musical experimentations radiate over the snug audience that consumes the concrete dance floor. And the standard is set high for the musical acts of the night.

For The New Limb, tonight is the ultimate homecoming after a two-week tour up the veins of the West Coast. A new maturity, wisdom, and confidence pulses in musical succession from the five members. Time apart results in a sense of nostalgia, and a new excitement for the group that I’ve seen so many times now. Welcome home.

Young the Giant, previously known as The Jakes, sets up and briefly checks their levels. “It’s time to start a fight,” flows from the romantic vocals of the lead. These young men, previously known as The Jakes, exemplify the Indie scene perfectly in Orange County, with charismatic tunes bouncing throughout the establishment. The promoters have changed up the schedule for the month of August, with Young the Giant taking a slot as Resident band. Any other Wednesday night would consist of a DJ set, and completely different kind of crowd than musical hipsters. Go through the door of Detroit on hump day, and be greeted by a dance floor that hosts twirling bits of colored lights moving to the beat of the pop, ‘80s, house, and techno beats that inspire the crowd to drink, pick up on each other, and dance all night long. Refreshing to have a Costa Mesa venue with bands on a Wednesday for a change.

When Detroit was first introduced to the public after purchasing the punk venue, Club Mesa, in 2001, the entry line on a Wednesday evening shoot down the sidewalk, stretching past the neighboring businesses, all the way to the parking lot entrance near Alejandro’s Mexican food. Although the initial charm has worn off a bit, Detroit still boasts lines like this for Tuesday night Dubtroit, and national headliners like Cold War Kids, Crystal Castles, and Autolux.

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Thursday night; semi-official start to the weekend. That means there is probably a cover, with a touring band or special-event taking place. On this specific evening, it is Chainsaw’s Birthday Massacre featuring Railroad to Alaska, The Vespertines, Strange Birds, and Names In Vain.

Names In Vain are setting up, lights turned low and a thin starting crowd. Railroad members are split between the front door patio and the concert hall. Members of Strange Birds line the bar, with an occasional glance at one of the three televisions that float in orange encasings over the back bar. Each screen usually displays cult classics, eclectic music videos, or an occasional sports game. As the night wears on, The Vespertines enter the scene, with local musicians, scenesters, and surfers following. And the smoking patio fills.

By the end of the evening, the crowd is stretched full with booze, and an itching desire to get rowdy. Perhaps it was the booming voice of Vespertine’s lead female vocalist, crying low tones of Change, with a solid band of brothers behind her, matching her intensity in great harmony. Perhaps it was a particular crowd of fans, including birthday girl, Vanessa Barnes, that shot the rest of the audience up with adrenaline with their violent dancing, pushing, and rhythmic screaming.

As the people begin to exit the venue, friends and acquaintances continue to linger out front. But a few super drunk buddies, led by the-most-plastered-king-of-the-night, begins looking for some trouble. A fight quickly flames and fizzles, but a row of Detroit regulars, Railroad guys, and bouncers now line the patio, guarding the entrance to the establishment, making sure there’s no more trouble for the night.

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On Friday evening, everything changes. The crowd, the music, the mentality. A full set of DJ’s take over the venue, transforming it into a club with men and women on the prowl. Pay five bucks at the door, and enter into a world of lights, lazers, and the sound of MSTRKRFT, Justice, and Daft Punk remixes. Club attire is more prolific tonight, with the men in button-ups, and the female’s skirts being tighter and shorter than any other night of the week. All three tiers of Detroit are bustling with young adults looking to throw a few drinks back and officially welcome the weekend.

Around the establishment, a cocktail waitress dressed in a black ruffled skirt and tank hustles from room to room, checking constantly for drink orders. At the bar, tequila shots are being shared. On the dancefloor, club-goers assimilate in drunken dance movements, while local photographers shoot from all angles, bending the perspective and light in every which way. Friday’s are reserved for the crowd that wants to absorb entertainment and alcohol from all sides.

However, any weekend the schedule may change, depending if a band like The Growlers, the GZA, Matt Costa, or Valient Thorr is coming through town. But no matter the night, Detroit supplies a hub for local music, socializing, and an escape from the work-week.

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It’s Saturday and the crowd consistently wanders in for the Echo Echo CD Release (with vinyl!). Tonight, the group shares their new album,Fall Like You're Flying. Through the main entrance, and towards the merch booth to find sprigs of delicate faux cherry blossom branches twinkling, each laced with tiny bulbs of light inside rice paper flowers. A few line the stage, with the rest set around the brown suitcase at the table. Inside the gaping mouth of the case, copies of the album are joined by digital download cards.

National act, Film School, under code name Fission, takes stage at 9:15pm sharp, making it an early start to the night for the venue. It has been two years since the foursome have played on stage together, and the Detroit stage is the first of many on their Fall tour schedule. The electro-indie band, with wedding rings and a hint of maturity on their faces, run their set and check the response of the crowd every song or two. Nervous to reply, the crowd keeps a distance, but continues listening closely.

To follow is Semi Sweet, a local bitch pop group, boasting the ratio of three females on vocals, keys, and drums, to the two men playing bass and guitar. A crowd gathers to the breathy croons of the lead vocalist; a seductive female with Fender in hand, sharing dramatic lyrics with the band’s followers. A fan posted up front grabs a prop bubble machine that had been implanted at the foot of the stage. He points and shoots, scattering a rain of gleaming orbs amidst the melodies of songs titled “Sleazy” and “Sugar Free.”

Third for the night is The Relative Strangers. As they play, more people wander into the establishment, proving the band is the perfect buffer for the headliner of the night. The two pairs of actual relatives finish up, allowing plenty of time for Echo Echo to share a full set of their new record before last call. As the band begins, a darker and more emotionally rattling mood begins to linger in the air. The four members, comprised of music locals, Steve Carson, Jameson, Darren Carr, and Bruce Yoken, escape to a place of broken romances. Carson, with his sorrowful voice resonating strong, leads the group in an epic set that extends into the wee hours of the morning.

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Last chance to enjoy the weekend, and this specific Sunday, the crowd stumbles through the door, drunk from the events of Labor Day, ready for some top-notch karaoke. First stop: the bar. Second stop: the Book. Within the plastic covers of the karaoke binders is a thick selection of the classics, the current, and everything else in between. On stage, Lester Trombone, the host of the affair, is dressed in black and red pin-stripe pants, slicked back hair, and one of his t-shirts that simply states, “Organic Robot,” “Love Songs for Everyone,” or “ I Like Stuff.” He hunches over his karaoke stand, tucked away in the corner, his table littered with white strips of music selections. Scrolling through thousands of songs in his database, Lester hollers song titles from the likes of Danzig, Nirvana, Fiona Apple, and Weezer.

A swarming crowd ripe with booze serenades loudly along with a hip young man basking in the fog and lights of the red-carpeted stage. Tonight, owning the platform for a few minutes is difficult, with a growing crowd steadily throwing their favorite tunes towards the host. In the back corner of the dance floor, the sound technician adjusts vocal levels and lights, with fog and green beams of lazer reserved for only the finest acts of the evening. With a tempo change in lights and a puff of swirling smoke, this young man has achieved his acceptance from the establishment, and the crowd roars on.

Tomorrow each individual may regret the song selection they made, the amount of alcohol they consumed, or the decision to hit on that plastered guy or girl at the bar. But no matter what experiences were had, karaoke is the best way to close out the week at Detroit.

http://detroitbar.com/