Scott Andrew - lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!

Well, Alex Chilton died, fer Pete’s sake. Seems that Big Star was the band that influenced every band I’ve been involved with, ever.

Bob Lefsetz’ thoughts really resonate with me:

And that’s why Big Star is so important. The band expressed emotions, both musically and lyrically, that squared exactly with ours.

This made it tough for radio. Radio plays to a theoretical everyman. And Big Star was personal.

But that’s why Big Star lives on. You may not recall who scored the winning goal at the basketball game, but you can never forget with whom you shared your first kiss.

And then, this:

We have a fantasy that our heroes live on a higher plane, live a better life than us…that they’re surrounded by bucks and babes.

But watching Alex Chilton perform you were struck that his life was much more difficult than yours. He had to go from town to town, playing to appreciative, but tiny audiences, who loved him, but that love won’t keep you warm at night, it won’t pay your bills, it won’t pay your health insurance.

My internist told me heart attacks are preventable. If you get treatment. Change your diet, take the appropriate drugs, get monitored.

But I doubt that Alex Chilton had the cash, never mind the wherewithal.

And now he’s gone.

Never to be forgotten by a small coterie of fans.

Is that enough?

I don’t know.

Vic Chesnutt, Mark Linkous, now Alex. It’s a sad year for songwriters thus far.

In Explone news: Thor Radford shot a handsome-looking video for “St. Yesterday.” I’m a little startled by the excellent production quality:

Watch the video (in larger size) at YouTube.

Word is that Thor shot the whole thing on a Nikon D300s. Kids these days with their gadgets! Lead singer Patrick has more to say here.

So yeah, things are cookin’ on both the Explone and Kirby Krackle front lines. With any luck, I’ll have something wholly Scott Andrew-related for you next week.

I’m off to a mythical land called “France” for a few days. In the meantime, please enjoy these photos from Explone’s gig at the Crocodile Cafe last month.

One of the bummers about taking photos at the gig is they’re almost exclusively done onstage, during soundcheck, to an empty room, and I end up searching Flickr and the rest of the internet for weeks after the gig hoping someone in the crowd posted a few snaps. The Croc was filled all night, rare for a rainy Thursday after New Year’s.

Headlining act The Globes soundchecking (they were particularly awesome live, as were Eighteen Individual Eyes):

We even had our own smoke machine! Meet “The Hazer:”

“So are you guys gonna want the Hazer? Yes, you’ definitely want the Hazer.” — Croc lighting tech guy.

The new single from Kirby Krackle’s sophomore release E For Everyone is out today. It’s called “On And On” and it’s about — wait for it! — Wolverine.

You know, Wolverine. The X-Men guy. Hugh Jackman. With the claws? What, I have to explain everything?

(NB: I don’t play bass on this tune. I play with the live band when circumstances require.)

Congrats to Kyle and Jim for getting this out the door so quickly. Let’s see if this Reverbnation Flash player thingy works here:

I always heal
but I never stop hurting…

A digression:

If you follow rock/metal at all, you probably know that Alice In Chains, one of the “big four” rock bands to break out of the Seattle scene as part of the whole “grunge” thing in the 90s, has a new lead singer, William DuVall. They’re currently touring with a new album.

I was reading a little bit about DuVall online. He’s from Atlanta, he’s founded and played in a bunch of notable hardcore bands, and he’s worked with some decidedly non-hardcore artists like Dionne Farris and Michael Tolcher.

Wait, Michael Tolcher? Didn’t I see him play a gig at the day job a few years back? With a band? Didn’t I snap a phonecam pic? I did a quick search through my Flickr stream:

That’s DuVall on the right. Yeah!

Two new songs, a photo shoot, a video shoot, and a website relaunch. Big week for Explone! Gonna be hard to go back to reality tomorrow.

(Feed reader? You may have to visit the post to see these pics and videos.)

(Feed reader? You may need to visit the post to see these videos.)

I love this photo! MOAR AMPS PLZ.

Explone is at Studio Litho this weekend to cut one final song for the new record and finish any overdubbed parts. Mixing starts in March. Yes, we’re already writing tunes for the next one. So?

My sources tell me we’re also going to record some sort of performance video thingy that weekend. Also, a website redesign (confidential: ASP makes me weep).

Kirby Krackle just finished up a new CD titled E For Everyone and it drops just in time for the 2010 con season. The new record — it sounds huge. No nerdcore act rocks harder than KK. Unless maybe you count Blöödhag. I’ll be playing some live shows with them this year starting with the Emerald City Comic Con in March. There are also shows scheduled for Chicago, Phoenix and possibly elsewhere.

Also: it’s time for RPM and FAWM! Good luck to everyone participating this year. I’ve never done so myself, but there always seems to be residual creative energy crackling across the tubes that makes February one of my more fruitful months for songwriting. Shame-based productivity: it’s the best!

Remember Pat DiNizio: ass in chair. And stay the hell away from the internet.

Coming soon: a long-belated recap of Explone’s show at the Crocodile last month.

Here’s a quick demo of “Note To Self” (I posted a video of this song a few weeks back):

Download MP3 (128k, free, login required)

(Like this song? Post it to Twitter!)

One guitar, one shaker, a few overdubs, some flurbled chords and the roughest of rough vocals. And a hippie guitar solo I spent all of five minutes composing. Also, my first recording done with REAPER.

Read on for lyrics…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is news: my band Explone is playing the famously famous Crocodile Cafe tomorrow night (that’s Thursday 1/7) with a stellar lineup of fresh local bands. (I’m especially keen to see all-girl prog rock outfit Eighteen Individual Eyes.) It’s one of KEXP’s Recommended Events this week.

The Croc has long been on my list of A-list Seattle clubs to play before I die (score so far: Neumo’s (done, solo), the Showbox (done, w/ Kirby Krackle). I thought I missed my chance when it closed down a few years back, but new ownership and a sweet remodel have restored it to first-class status. The stage has been redesigned, sight-line-blocking support beams removed, a Via Tribunali pizzeria installed in the former back bar area.

Can. Not. Wait.