Nuclear Rays From My Halogen Haze

music, politics, art, Elvis apologism

I almost feel guilty. But Jason Heath, your record earned this… August 27, 2012

Filed under: Bands,Country Rock,L.A. Record — orangehairboy @ 3:41 am
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First of all, let’s get this out of the way: I have a great old friend named Jason Heath who I used to DJ for back in the day at Club Snack Sac at Zen Sushi. I have many fond memories of hoisting entire crates of records up a wooden ladder into the quasi-tree fort sound bay thing they had there in the upper room. He’d book bands like Sex Pistols tribute bands and weird math rock thingies and the Partridge Family Temple, and I’d spin records between his bands. I think I got him laid once. This review is not about that Jason Heath.

It’s about Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls, and ironically Heath is not a greedy soul. He’s actually a stand-up, righteous dude who loves charity and community and by all standards, he probably has a killer playlist on his iPod.

But somehow, through friendships with Hollywood types, perhaps, or because he has his eyes set on fame, he’s come out with an embarrassment of an album, and I cannot in good conscience say anything good about it at all. It would be better if the album was full of mistakes and songs that attempted grand things and spectacularly failed, but instead what we have is warmed-over retreads of 80s rockers. It’s sad. Sad sad sad. And I couldn’t help but say so in no uncertain terms:

… it hurts me, after hearing so many great country and country-infused bands this month, to know Jason Heath is oblivious to the fact that he’s reinvented the same sound John Cougar Mellencamp made on his late 80s hit “Cherry Bomb” except, you know, with less oomph to the lyrics and spread over an entire album. Hey, dude, Jason, when you find yourself in a studio doing things like smoothing out the shrillness of an accordion line and making sure the snare drum isn’t too bombastic, it might be wise to take a step back and make sure you’re not ironing out the peaks and valleys and leaving us with nothing but Kansas. (Do I mean the state, or the band? It doesn’t matter.)

Anyway, the review is here.

 

my review of the New L.A. Folk Fest at Zorthian Ranch is up. August 11, 2012

Filed under: Country Rock,Folk,Los Angeles,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 2:45 am
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Have you read the history of the Zorthian Ranch? It’s pretty fucking incredible, even by L.A./hippie standards. And this link doesn’t even get into the naked human statuary or Richard Feynman…

Anyway, yes, I wrote a review of the marvelous time I had on Saturday, and sadly it’s not even fully inclusive, since so many wonderful things were all happening at once! Below is a tiny tidbit from the long form review, an almost snide snippet about Tom Brosseau (though I meant everything with a big bunch of love!): go here for the rest.

… lithe blondie Tom Brosseau is exactly like 80s folk icon Phranc. Okay, actually he’s way weirder, all angelic with his blond hair and not a sign of beard or sideburn or out-of-place speck of dust, tanned like a man who works in the corn fields of a cinematic past yet completely immaculate, his jeans and billowy white tee hanging off him like he’s in a Levi’s 501 commercial from the 90s. Even his high-register voice is… otherworldly, that’s the only way to put it. His songs about oil field disasters in North Dakota and loved ones leaving (“I’m drinking malted milk with my eyes shut tight … I’m not expecting you to be there when I open them”)seems even more true, because they’re not songs, they’re the declarations of seraphim.

Oh shit, I forgot to mention that I introduced Stephen Kalinich to an audience of hundreds, right before Beachwood Sparks went up (so it was almost like I introduced Beachwood Sparks!). Here I am doin’ it, in all my dashiki-donning glory:

And here’s footage of Stephen reading!

 

EARL SCRUGGS R.I.P. March 28, 2012

Filed under: Blogs,Bluegrass,Celebrities,Country Rock,Obituaries,Performers,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 6:36 pm
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Banjo picker and bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs passed away today in Nashville.

Scruggs’ son Gary said his father passed away Wednesday morning at a Nashville, Tenn., hospital. Gary Scruggs said his father died of natural causes.

He was a titan in his field, an innovator, and it was a supreme pleasure to interview Mr. Scruggs and his son Gary many years ago, as one of my first assignments for L.A. RECORD. He will be missed.

 

Earl Scruggs is the best banjo player EVER! March 31, 2009

Filed under: Bands,Country Rock,Folk,Personal Shit,Religion — orangehairboy @ 5:54 pm

Well, you could argue on Bill Monroe’s behalf.  But Bill never did this:

 

the eagle never hunts the fly March 13, 2009

Filed under: Bands,Books,Country Rock,Folk,Garage Rock,Los Angeles,Performers,Personal Shit,Songwriters,Television — orangehairboy @ 1:31 pm

I just finished reading Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood.  While it was cool to read about Frank Zappa’s log cabin and Joni Mitchell living with Stephen Stills, I have to admit that in my heart, I still prefer balls-out rockers to any of these hippie fucks.  What the fuck can Stephen Stills tell me that the Music Machine can’t blow out of the water?  You can FEEL this music.  In your groin.

 

As for Laurel Canyon, it was a decent read, though there was a whole chapter and a half about the Troubadour that had very very very little to do with the book’s thesis statement.  For the record, I love a good chunk of the musicians who lived in Laurel Canyon back in the day.  The ones who live there now suck ass, though.

 

Winter Flowers and Schoolhouse Rock! July 3, 2008

Filed under: Bands,Country Rock,Folk,Los Angeles,Performers,Personal Shit,Politics,Shows,Television,Winter Flowers — prodigalsonnybono @ 8:08 pm

I had a blast at 3 Clubs last night, drinking tons of liquor and watching scores of rawkers do America-themed covers, some of them solo on them there acoustic-type instruments, as part of the Christof Certik curated “1st Annual Preindependence Day Musical Extravaganza”.  Whilst Darren Grealish’s anti-Bush tune and Sara Melson’s folk sing-alongs inspired a lot of hoots and hollers, by far the best portion of the night was when Winter Flowers (just a trio this time–Astrid, Gavin, and Christof) got on stage with a banjo and did a cover of Schoolhouse Rock’s “Preamble!”

Their performance was so amazing, I woke up in my car at six in the morning in a Hollywood parking lot!

 

the Zabriskie Point soundtrack June 9, 2008

Filed under: Albums,Bands,Country Rock,Farfisa,Folk,Movies,Other Stuff,Personal Shit,Shows,Winter Flowers — prodigalsonnybono @ 8:06 am

Yesterday, my baby and I rolled on out to the High Desert to Pappy & Harriet’s to see Winter Flowers, the Chapin Sisters, and a bunch of really amazing bands at the Manimal Festival.

We left L.A. early, didn’t hit much traffic, and about an hour in I put in the first CD from the Zabriskie Point soundtrack, which was recorded in 68 and 69 and had songs by Pink Floyd, the Youngbloods, the Kaliedoscope (U.S.), and even, gasp, Jerry Garcia solo (yes, I have finally made the fifteen year transformation from spit-gobbing punk rocker to road-trippin’ hippie. Jerry Garcia’s solo stuff was the final threshold I needed to cross. Good morning, Starchild!).

Anyway, all the tracks sounded remarkably good coming out of my car’s speakers as we cruised through the desert, but once we got off the Interstate and were zipping up and down through boulders and burnt-out cacti, Pink Floyd’s “Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up” started coming through my speakers.  Maaaaan, there is nothing better for boulder-hopping than a good strong case of Rick Wright’s farfisa playing and the groovy sound effects from the Space-Rock era of Pink Floyd. Fuck Dark Side, this song is where the gettin’ is good.

The next day driving back, lysergic delights now dimmed but not fully dissipated, and sleep and refreshing coolness being only distant memories, the CD worked even better, though this time it was the country-rock that really helped us take a load off. The cool, alienated feeling of these songs felt so similar to what was rattling around in my head, that it made me feel like “okay, I’m normal, this music is normal, my environment around me is at peace with my mental state, so who cares that I have to drive two hours to Los Angeles with no sleep and a belly full of gross?”

On another note: aside from the Burrito Brothers, this album seems to be where Beachwood Sparks got all their ideas.  And I love them for it.

 

 
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