Winter's Hush

The calender says December, yet somehow it doesn't feel like it. Perhaps it's the unseasonable warmth, the lack of snow, or something else. Xmas has come and gone. We now dread the week between holidays, cause we don't want to work. We want to play with all our new gadgets, spend money, stimulate and pleasure the economy. In any case Winter tends to depress the hell out of some as it tends to do with me. More so now probably since I've relocated back to the Midwest, I have to deal with the dreaded snow. Perhaps for some it's not bad, but growing up on the West Coast it seems to dampen my mood.

As the year draws to a close most of us tend to look back at the year in review. As always there's a mix of the good and the bad. Society as whole continues to make me wonder where the hell we went wrong at. Music continues to expand and evolve and devolve in some instances. It's been a fickle year for music. Maybe 2012 will change that and we will get a return to the good stuff.

As with the seasons I tend to listen to more melancholy stuff during the winter months. The album I'm posting sort of can fall into that category. Agalloch hails from the Pacific Northwest and is a delightful breath of fresh air. Releasing only a handful of material over the past decade and rarely playing live, the band somehow has made a name for itself in the metal world. First listen to any of the albums or EPs will let you know why. I got into the band shortly after 'The Mantle' came out. There was just something so awe inspiring about that record. It took you on a journey it seemed. While I considered posting that, I'm going with the 2nd EP if you will in a set. The lighter of the two, 'The White EP'. A more subdue acoustic neo folkish metal record. It's really hard to pigeonhole the band into any one genre. In any case this EP is good for a night by the fire with a nice heavy beer and a open mind.

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Waves

I recently came back from a week in California. It's always nice to go back home from time to time. The familiar faces, the familiar places. It clears my head from whatever noise is currently polluting it. The last few trips out home over the years haven't always been the smoothest or the most comforting. Time doesn't stop for anyone or anything, things have changed pretty drastically in the last five years. I went from being happily married to becoming a statistic and alone, I lost my father, my mother remarries, and my now once independent grandparents are in assisted living. While all this has sometimes been a tough and bitter pill to swallow, I'm reminded how good it feels to set foot once again in crazy Southern California.

Everytime I go back home I make it a point to go to certain places, see certain things, shove my face at certain greasy restaurants, shop at certain record stores. Each place in it's own weird way has a connection to a point in my life. I went to Laguna Beach for the first time in I'd say close to twenty years. As a kid I used to go down there and run around and swim in that dirty ocean. Oddly enough it was there my love for Nintendo started. I recall going into some deli shop and the had the arcade version of Mario Bros. there. I played it, and was hooked. Walking the shoreline there, I came across the old toy store I used to go to everytime I was down there. Twenty odd years later it's still there, and while I didn't go in, it did make that connection.

Southern California is a melting pot of cultures and musical styling. When I'm in town, I make it a habit not to bring along my CD collection, but to listen to the radio. I'll tune into the famous KLOS for my rock and The Wave for my smooth jazz fix. It's a strange mix I know. But when you grow up listening to both it makes sense. Now I know smooth jazz isn't always the most popular in the jazz genre, Most people tend to think of Kenny G or Michael Bolton. Both of which of late have poked fun at themselves, Kenny with the Audi commercials, and Bolton with The Lonely Island.

Somewhere along the lines, I got into Jazz. The smoother end used to put me asleep as a kid. Well played folks. I more recently got into the traditional forms of Jazz. Few years back my Dad had me track down a copy of 'A Day In The Life Of' from Wes Montgomery. I of course did, and played it. My Dad said this was hands down one of the best records ever, just not in Jazz but in a Rock sense as well. I have to agree this is just the cream of the crop from a well talented musician that was gone from us too soon.

Jazz is one of those genres where a lot of people just don't get it. Maybe the mind isn't open to new things, or they think they have to be strung out on smack to get it. This is one of those albums I think that everyone could get. Great guitar player, great bass lines, smooth yet with a little bite. So to all the people on the fence give this one a shot.

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The Tolling Of Demon Bells

In the purest sense, rock n roll isn't wholesome by any means. It's rebellious, chaotic and downright evil. Least to some groups. But what Elvis did all those years ago is tame by today's standards. When rock first started some people were scared that it would corrupt the youth leading them down the devils path. Sadly some fifty years later people still believe than non-sense.  Music in general should be a little dangerous, hell even some classical music was considered evil. Music continually evolves, sometimes going in crazy new dimensions, while others sometime return to a simpler sound and time. The day music stops evolving will be the day the music died.

In my last post I mentioned Metallica opening the heavy metal doors to me. Eager to explore what was out there, I got into some older metal, bands like Motorhead, older Iron Maiden and Diamond Head. Now if you're familiar with Metallica, you know they've always done cover tunes. In fact early shows from them included covers from Savage, Diamond Head, Misfits, and a handful of other New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands. In '98 they released a follow up if you will to their 'Garage Days' EP, which was an EP of covers. Two covers of Diamond Head and The Misfits, and a cover from Killing Joke and Budgie. 'Garage Inc' was a double album of covers. The first CD was new covers from Sabbath, Bob Seger, Diamond Head, Discharge, Blue Oyster Cult, etc. The second CD was old stuff, the original 'Garage Days' EP, mixed in with B-sides of covers from the past.  Lot of people panned it, wanting a new album of original material instead of covers. I see the point, but I've always been a fan of covers. There's a few out there better than the originals.

The album gave me a chance to explore the original versions some more. I went out I picked up some Motorhead CD's, dusted off the Blue Oyster Cult, fell in love with the NWOBHM bands. Probably the most played cut off the record is 'Turn The Page' an old Bob Seger classic. Personally I have a love/hate thing with the song, but just my opinion. I remember the original getting more airplay on the rock stations and my Dad making it a point to tell me that's the real way to play that song.

There was one track that stood out to me. The 11 minute opus 'Mercyful Fate', a medley of old Mercyful Fate songs from their first EP and album. Strung together it's 'Satan's Fall', 'Curse Of The Pharaohs', 'A Corpse Without Soul', 'Into The Coven' and 'Evil'. The first time I heard it, I thought how delightfully evil. How Satanic is this, there was a band the embraced the devil? I didn't really know of any bands that were so evil at the time. Now of course I can't help but chuckle at em. Musically it was just epic, so much going on, I kept listening to it over and over again. I wanted to hear the original and began thumbing through mail order CD catalogs and local record shops, but to no avail. I waited for a while and kinda forgot about it.

Living in the desert you didn't really have access to a whole lot of record shops, you had to travel down into the valley to find anything good. One trip down we had stopped at a Border's Bookstore. I had made it a habit to always pick up something worthwhile there, since oddly they had a decent metal selection. Thumbing through the CD's I found a copy of 'Melissa'. It was like finding gold. I didn't realize the album at that point was over 15 years old, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. Remember this was pre internet days, didn't have the luxury we do now. I bought it and we headed back up. I always traveled with a portable CD player as a teen, kept me occupied and I had a tendency to sleep on long car rides. I opened it up and dropped the CD in. The cover, just a glowing skull almost, couldn't really tell what exactly it was. Opened up the booklet, 7 songs, strange looking pic of the singer in corpse paint with an inverted cross. Oh boy I thought, this is going to be different. Even the singers name, King Diamond, wow I thought. I pressed play and it was just so different from anything I ever heard. The opening riff to 'Evil' the scream, the lyrics. Then the scream, the falsetto. What the hell I thought, his nuts in a vice, getting kicked in the balls as he sings, what the hell is this. I couldn't stop listening, it sucked me in, threw me against the wall and left me in awe. Every song more and more evil and musically epic. Leading into the final two tracks, the epic saga of 'Satan's Fall' and the haunting 'Melissa', sealed it for me. This was the dark side, this is what I was told to stay away from. From there on out I embraced the darkness. To this day I am still a fan, even though it's been 12 years since the last Mercyful Fate record. Yes the 'new' versions of 'Evil' and 'Curse Of The Pharaohs' are great and I'm glad 'Evil' was included in the Metallica Guitar Hero game. Years ago now I had the pleasure to meet King Diamond before a show in Los Angeles and he is one of the nicest musicians I've had the pleasure to meet.

So for tonight's cut, it's 'Melissa', the debut album from Mercyful Fate. Now there are a few different versions floating around out there. The only version for me is the Megaforce Records version. Which as I type is currently spinning on vinyl. This version doesn't add extra vocals on the final track. Useless fact, which ties it together, Metallica thanks Mercyful Fate in the liner notes of their 'Ride The Lightning' album.

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Frayed Ends

Some people come out of the womb banging their head. I wasn't one of those. My journey through music was and continues to be a diverse one.But for the majority of people that know me, know me as a metal head, a head banger, etc. I wasn't always one though.

I got into Metal around my Freshman year in High School. I was into the grunge and the alternative stuff still, didn't real dig the heavy stuff. During the year I became friends with this transfer kid who was into punk and metal. I remember walking home one day listening to The Misfits and Iron Maiden. From there it was all downhill. I fell in love with the music, the complex rhythms, the bass lines, it was like discovering the best thing ever. I'm not even sure what Misfits record it was, might have been Collection I, and I think the Maiden record was Number Of The Beast. Over time I started to get into other Metal bands. Eventually I stumbled onto Metallica and that's where the beast grew.

I was aware of Metallica for some time now, their monster 'Black Album' was still being played in heavy rotation some 4 years after it's release. Now of course any metal head has a point where Metallica started to suck. Most people say the 'Load' era, others the 'Black Album', for me I don't really have a point. Each record has a high point and a low point. I got more and more into the band and started to abandon listening to grunge and alternative. It was time to update the collection some. The first Metallica record I bought was '...And Justice For All'. Bought it at one of the best record stores in the states, Poobah's. Seriously if you ever find yourself in California, do yourself a favor and check out Poobah's. Used to be a little house out in Pasadena crammed wall to wall with vinyl and CDs. I haven't been to their new shop yet, the old one was a trip. I came home threw the record on and I think my jaw hit the floor. I memorized the lyrics, I played the shit out of that CD, so much in fact I actually had to replace it a few years back. From there I was hooked, I got into many other bands because of Metallica, too many to name. I'm still a huge Metallica fan and finally got around to seeing them a few years back in AZ. Great show, great band.

So the selection is sort of a play on my first metal record. The great complaint about the Justice record was you couldn't hear the Bass. Granted this was the first album after Cliff died and they had a new Bassist in Jason Newstead. Whether or not the bass was purposely turned down remains up for debate. But years ago a bootleg surfaced called '...And Justice For Jason'. It was the same record with one adjustment, the Bass was turned up so you could hear it. Record actually sounded better too. Useless fact for the selection. The guy that apparently put this together is a roadie for System Of A Down. Enjoy...

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Chops

Everyone has that one defining feature about them. For some it's obvious, others maybe not so much. Mine happens to be my chops, my sideburns, the ol mutton chops, etc. People are amazed by them at times I swear. Kids lock on to em and stare vacantly into my soul. I get asked quite often why and how long have ya had em. Truthfully they've been there a while. I started growing them my sophomore year of High School, so what over a decade now. Why is probably a better question and therein lies an odd story.

So back when I started to appreciate music and get into it more is where the story begins. Before I started middle school we moved out of the LA valley and up into the desert. It was definitely a change. I went through middle school pretty quietly, then you know the best years of your life hit, high school. I got into different bands, more into the metal scene, but still was riding the grunge wagon. One night we were bored and we stumbled onto watching VH1, you know back when they played videos and not this stupid 'reality' shows. Anyways, they were showing some old Neil Young videos, and those of you familiar with Neil will realize throughout his career, he's has some pretty epic chops. I was digging the music, after all this is the godfather of grunge we're talking about. So as I got more into the works of Neil, I found out he did a record with Pearl Jam called 'Mirrorball'. Yeah you read that right, but then again, his albums are pretty diverse. So like I said grunge was still kinda relevant, we were still mourning Cobain, Pearl Jam put out the last good record in 'Vitalogy' and Soundgarden was still cashing in off 'Superunknown' and somewhere Layne was still keeping it together with Alice In Chains. So I went off to the local record store and picked up 'Mirrorball', it was kind of a dirty grunge record. Then again I've always favored Neil's more rocker albums. And on a side note, best version of 'Keep on Rockin' In The Free World' was done with Pearl Jam at the VMA's, seriously go you tube that, that was a kick ass version.

So what does this all have to do with chops? Well in the following weeks I grew tired of my hair and decided to change it up some. So I chopped it down and decided to see if I could even grow em. Few months later they took shape and the rest is history. In the decade or so I've had em, I've shaved em off completely only twice. I tend to look like a chubby teen when I have shaved em off. And yes they are currently long and are starting to make a comeback. It's funny, in my old job I inspired people to try and grow em. It was told they were my source of power and knowledge and that they generally kicked ass. I continue to let em grow and on occasion they do drive my mother crazy, they will continue to be a part of me for many years to come.

A lot of things with me come full circle with music. This is just another example. I still have yet to see Neil in concert, but the man has so many archives to release, it's pretty well guaranteed his music will live on for many years. Interesting bit of useless knowledge, Neil played with Rick James in his early years, yes that Rick James. So for the jukebox selection, it's Neil's 'Greatest Hits' album, a really good selection of his work. Enjoy!

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The Birth Of Cool...

Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music. ~Jimi Hendrix~ Fitting way to start things, after all it's Hendrix who started me down this path of obsessing over music. As far back as I can recall, and sometimes it's not that far back, music has always had a place in my life. Growing up it was a soundtrack to my weekends and my sleepless nights. I grew up listening to everything from Motown to rock to jazz and what seems like everything else in between. Those who know me, know I have a rather large amount of music, whether it be on CD or LP. I have just about everything from early blues, to punk, to jazz, to genre defying heavy metal. It's been somewhat of an obsession since my teens. I love discovering new bands and unearthing classics. I grew up with parents who believed music was an essential part of life. My mother always playing jazz, oldies, and some classic rock. My father on the other hand was more of the rocker. When it was me and him the playlist usually included the likes of Hendrix, Joplin, Clapton, and Zappa. Somewhere in my teens I started to appreciate the music more and more. I found myself immersed in Hendrix. The way the guitar sounded, the way he made that guitar wail so beautifully. My father was a huge Hendrix fan. Every year we found different and sometimes odd Hendrix things to get him. One Xmas I got him a cassette of 'The Ultimate Experience' from Hendrix. It was the latest greatest hits package the family had issues at the time. From the album, I knew music was gonna be an obsession. I recently stumbled upon that album and after turning it to 11, I realized how much I loved that album. I thought back to all those times we played that tape on the weekends and just jammed out to it, like there wasn't a care in the world. Three years ago I lost my father suddenly. I remember coming home and listening to 'The Wind Cries Mary', I couldn't keep it together. Somehow through it all music got me through all the dark times. Few months after his death I was in my local record shop at the time in AZ, Zia Records, and on the wall the had a huge framed poster of Axis:Bold As Love. I really didn't have the money to buy it, but I did anyways. I thought what better way to honor him then that. I went back to my apartment and hung it on the wall so the first things you saw was that giant poster. I've moved around some and the poster currently sits in a closet until the next move. But it will always serve as a reminder to the man who opened my eyes and my ears to a world of great things. So welcome to a place where the jukebox will always play something new and something old. Grab a cold one and enjoy the tunes.

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