07/18/05
The staff at Times Beach has been on a bit of a Rock kick in recent months, as
witnessed by the bands we've been seeing, hearing, signing. We have told you
about the
Muggs,
Detroit's favorite purveyors of Old-School Blues Rock. What we may not have told
you (but you may have noticed, if you're a semi-regular visitor) is that not
only is their first, self-titled album finished, it is ready and available for
purchase. Could we feel any giddier?
Another serious Rock Band we have "contracted" is England's Black
Moses,
and that came about a little bit like this... Music Conventions like CMJ and
SXSW are strange beasts, really. Commonly referred-to as "Music Exec Vacation" or "A&R
Spring Break," the main goal of industry attendees is to see bands they already
know, like, and work. We're as guilty of this as the next person, but every once
in a while, usually when the show you wanted to see is sold out or just plain
too crowded, people venture into other clubs to see bands they have never heard
of. At the risk of sounding overly cynical, most of the time there's a good reason
said bands have never and will never be heard of again. So it was at SXSW when
we couldn't see "Band X," wandered into a club on 6th Street, and got our trousers
handed to us by a band we had not previously known. That band was Black
Moses, and they
not only rocked us sense- and pants-less, they literally restored our faith in
the Beast we call Rock N' Roll (The Muggs did not play SXSW). Black
Moses is
Jim Jones (ex-Thee
Hypnotics), Graeme
Flynn (ex-Penthouse)
and David Axford (The
Morgans)-- three men with a hell of a R&R CV. Raw,
Inspired and Inspirational, Loud, Funky as Hell, and Raunchy, Black
Moses strummed,
strutted, and slammed their way into our hearts with an élan we hadn't seen since
the last time we collectively considered joining a religious cult. We left convinced
that the English are too damned lucky, that their album Royal Stink had
to be made available in the U.S., and that we had to be the ones to
get it. Some of us later went out drinking with the
Mosii, thinking we could
keep up... we couldn't, so instead
we went about securing the rights to Black
Moses'Royal
Stink. Times Beach will soon be making Royal Stink available for the U.S.A.,
which will take some weeks. In the meantime, however, while we wait on our good
people at the pressing plant, we are able to make a very limited number of British
CDs available. Do yourself a favor: click your way to the Black
Mosesartist
page, then on to their
webpage ,
and finally, treat yourself to their CD. If Evangelical revivals felt as good
as this band, we'd all be bible-thumpers.
On a quieter, if no less rocking side, we have signed and have waiting in the
wings for an October release Ypsilanti's own Vailcode.
Imagine Thom Yorke and Alex Chilton having a torrid love affair, and a jealous
Jeff Tweedy poking a tiny little hole in their "protection" (we're assuming one of them to be female... it's a stupid image, we know... bear with us). Anyway, Vailcode's artist
page will be up shortly, and we think you'll understand what we mean.
Also up for an October release are Asbury Park's favorite sons (well, maybe bar
one), the
Ribeye Brothers. Two founding members of Monster
Magnet,
one current member of Lord Sterling,
and we can't blame you for thinking "Times Beach done gone Stoner
Rock?" Well,
while we dig the heavy stuff... a lot, the story with The Ribeyes is
that they somehow managed to convince us that their Garage//Country/Swamprock
thing would shoot straight up the charts... Here we go! You can't blame us for trying...
Their upcoming album, Bar Ballads and Cautionary Tales is a psychedelic scorcher,
and includes an amazing re-telling of The Minutemen's "Working Men Are Pissed." Makes
us miss D Boon even more, for we think he would've really dug this...
05/18/05
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first... The Detroit music scene has
lost yet another brother, when Jim Anders,
bassist for local Stoner Rock legends Novadriver,
as well as Grinder
passed away of an apparent heart attack. Jim was a friend to us here and a regular
contributor to the goings-on at our sister company Rustbelt Studios, and our friends
at Small Stone Records.
Jim leaves behind a wife and 15 month-old son. His passing has left us all in
shock, and our hearts and minds are with Roberta and Avery Anders. The Detroit
music community has come together on this tragic occasion and some tributes have
already been set up, like a trust fund for little Avery... Donations can be sent
to Avery James Anders c/o Grinder L.L.C., 27387 Woodward Avenue, Berkley Michigan
48072, and, as per Jim’s wishes, Darrin McCarty’s Cancer Foundation
@ http://www.cancerfoundation.org/
. We are sick of this untimely-passing thing; let it be known that, effective
last week, we abolish all death, 4ever.
Now some good news, please... The Hentchmen
have recently completed a three-week stint opening for the
Black Keys, and all reports are that the tour was
an unqualified success. Our Hentchies
have been working awfully hard down south, and have earned a respite, if brief,
so they will be taking a week off before their homecoming gig here in the D on
May 21st @ the Corktown Tavern.
In other news, the Muggs,
our most recent signing, must be happy to hear that their forthcoming self-titled
album is being pressed as we speak. The national release date is July 19th, but
if you’re a Detroit-area resident, expect the album to be available earlier.
Other Muggs happenings
include an invitation to appear on Small Stone Records’ second installment
of Sucking the Seventies, with a cover of Humble
Pie’s I Don’t Need No Doctor. They recently
unveiled said cover at one of their gigs, and I would be remiss if I didn’t
tell you that it brought down the house at Detroit’s Shelter. Expect major
renovations in the near future...
And while we’re speaking of signings, word from all respective attorneys
is that we’re close to signing some new acts...
Firstly, from Asbury Park, New Jersey, one city in America that may have a worse
rep than our own Motor City, the Ribeye
Brothers have street cred that most bands would
kill for: singer Tim Cronin
and drummer Jon Kleiman
were founding members of Monster Magnet,
and Lord Sterling’s Jim Baglino
plays bass... The other two are pretty good, too. Think the
Creation meet the Gun
Club playing Monster
Magnet and you’ll have a general idea of what
we’re so damn geeked about...
Secondly, let’s talk about Powertrane.
If you’re a fan of Detroit rock, the name Scott
Morgan will set off alarms and sirens in your head...
The Rationals,
Sonic Rendezvous Band,
The Solution (with
the Helllacopters
backing him), etc... again, the word “cred” comes to mind. Now Scott
is busy with his new band, Powertrane,
and we are busily getting the legals together to bring this amazing piece of Detroit/Ann
Arbor style rock to you. We’re close… Oh, so close we can almost touch
it, goddamn it! Cursed
Lawyers!!!
Thirdly, we’re in “talks” with yet another cred-heavy band,
Black
Moses from the U.K.... Fronted by former Thee
Hypnotics singer Jim
Jones and including bassist Graeme
Flynn and drummer Dave
Axford, who honed his chops playing for the likes
of the Original Sinners
and Gang of Four.
We saw these guys play in Austin and were so blown away, our dear “president””
decided it would be a good idea to try to woo them by trying to drink them under
the table... Wrong move, these guys are seasoned Rock veterans, and we think he’s
in a way still paying for it... Anyway, Fates willing, we will be releasing Black
Moses’ heretofore only-available-in-the-U-K
debut album, Royal Stink, reasonably soon.
Another item of interest to y’all might be that Times Beach is taking advantage
of our automotive connections Detroit, get it?), and “collaborating”
with Dodge by providing our artists’ music for an upcoming website... check
back for more info on our big attempt at “Selling Out.” FOLLOW THIS LINK
FOR MORE NEWS AND ARCHIVES
The
word "eclectic" can be used to describe Vailcode;
with the band's lyrics saying anything from "dead dolls don't dance
anymore" to uplifting sounding songs that describe being "on a
silver cloud higher than the fields of grain", the CD is a bipolar
extravaganza. —Crystal Hughes, Inferno/Chicago Flame
The remnants of Monster Magnet (yes, thatMonster
Magnet) have reemerged in a foot-stompin', ass-kickin' rockabilly
jammy that leverages all the controlled force of Tim Cronin's stoner
rock vocals. You won't find any "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" on Bar Ballads,
but if you thought you were too cool for rockabilly (or just not cool enough)
you'd be surprised at how universal and accessible this Ribeye tastes.
And they have the best album cover of 2005 so far... —Arriviste Press
'Find Yer Own' is what country music would sound like if played by Garagers
(sic). For lack of a better cliché, The Ribeye Brothers turn...
old beef into melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon. —Free Press Houston
"Imagine going line-dancing after consuming large amounts of acid; that
would be close to describing the demented swagger of The Brothers’ stuff.
This is top-notch swampy garage-rock that will appeal to the snobs of both the
greaser and psychedelic scene." —Kevlar7, Slug Mag
October is Baseball-month, according to some, and
while our not-so-beloved Tigers may be on forced sabbatical due to extreme
sucking, we will nevertheless provide you, dear music lover, with our version
of a double play. Up for release are two records we think you will enjoy
intensely: Vailcode's eponymous album, and The
Ribeye Brothers' second outing, Bar Ballads and Cautionary
Tales...
First at bat (bear with us), Vailcode, the brainchild of one
Sam Vail, Esq... A true example of Americana as done by a band that realizes
that the genre involves more than simply covering or re-writing the Byrds' Sweetheart
of the Rodeo. On Vailcode, you will hear tinges of country music,
mixed with the more eclectic sounds of American rock and blues. Vailcode has
been compared to Wilco playing The Band on Radiohead's (granted,
not American, but again... bear with us) equipment... The resulting sound fits
perfectly into our label's modus operandi— "'eclectic' does not have to
mean 'shitty'"—like O.J.'s bare hand into a bloody glove. Dig it.
"On deck," so to speak, are the Ribeye Brothers: from New Jersey,
two original, founding members of Monster Magnet—Tim
Cronin and Jon Kleiman—accompanied by a varied (some might say "eclectic")
group of Garden State musicians ranging from indie darlings Butterflies
of Love to StonerRock sweethearts Lord Sterling... The
Ribeyes are that rare group of players who understand that Garage music
was once psychedelic (and vice-versa), that psychedelic music is really based
on roots-American music like Blues and C&W, and that good music and good humor
are not mutually exclusive. Bar Ballads and Cautionary Tales is a prime
example of what the Ribbies themselves call Garage/Country/Swamprock,
if you will. We like to think of it more simply as StonerBilly.
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