March 31st, 2009

GOODBYE ETC. with the Cute Lepers, the Percocettes, and the Do Its

March 31st, 2009

GLEN TILBROOK AND THE FLUFFERS with Spring Standards

March 31st, 2009

THE GOURDS

March 30th, 2009

Bill Callahan Doing Free In-Store at A.K.A. Music

Indie-rock mainstay Bill Callahan — who used to record under the monikers Smog and (Smog) — is doing a free in-store performance on Friday, April 17th at A.K.A. Music (27 N. 2nd St.) at 8pm. It’s his sixth stop on the record store tour of the U.S. he’s doing in April, all in support of his forthcoming album, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, out April 14th. Listen to a new song: here

March 30th, 2009

Let’s Take Up A Collection!

For those unawares, here’s the skinny on Josh Freese: He’s an uber-drummer extraordinaire who plays full time for Nine Inch Nails, DEVO and pop punks the Vandals. On top of that, he plays the role of session drummer from everyone from the Dixie Chicks to Avril Lavigne, and Sting to Ween, etc etc. “Referring to Josh Freese ‘a drummer’ is like calling Jimi Hendrix ‘a guitar player.’ It misses the point entirely,” writes DEVO’s Jerry Casale in Freese’s bio on his website. In short, guy’s an equal opportunity mad man, pounding the skins for the shitty and the divine in equal measure. He’s the industry’s go-to guy for all things drums. (Not a bad gig if you can get it.) But there’s more: he also plays several other instruments, and occasionally gets together with friends and releases a solo album. His latest is called Since 1972, and it’s available at Freese’s website right now. You can purchase the album at several different price points, and the more you spend the more you get, naturally. And some of that “more” is pretty kick ass!

For instance, $7 will get you a digital download of Since 1972. $15 will get you a CD and DVD, plus the digital download. And then things get fun. Those looking to plunk down, say, $500, will receive the obligatory CD/DVD plus a signed cymbal and sticks, and the chance to “Meet me in Venice, CA, and we go floating in a Sensory Deprivation Tank (filmed and posted on youtube),” Freese writes. Lest you feel tired afterward, no matter. Freese is springing for dinner at Sizzler. “Get your $8.99 Steak and all you can eat Shrimp on,” he writes.

But fuck it. We like to do things Major at Make Major Moves. So we’re not eyeing the $500 package. We’re not even eyeing the $1,000 (highlight: “Have dinner with me aboard the ‘Queen Mary’ in Long Beach, CA.” “Get drunk and cut each other’s hair in the parking lot of the Long Beach courthouse filmed and posted on youtube of course”), $2,500 (”Pick any 1 member of the Vandals or DEVO—subject to availability—to accompany you and I to either the Hollywood Wax Museum”) or $5,000 (”I write a song entirely about you and put it up on Itunes”) packages. No, we want to go big and spend $75,000, where everything you receive is pretty mindblowingly epic.

To wit:

-Come out on tour with me for a few days.
-I write, record and market a 5 song EP about you and your life story.
-Take home any of my drumsets (only one but you can pick which one)
-*Take shrooms and cruise Hollywood in Danny from TOOL’s Lamborgini OR we play “quarters” and then hop on the Ouija board for a while.
-If you have a band, I’ll join it for a month….play shows, record a CD together, have a swim party, etc…. or none of the above. We could also just sit in yer basement and jam old Van Halen.
OR If you don’t have a band I’ll be your personal assistant for a month (4 day work weeks….10 am to 5 pm) and then we take a limo down to Tijuana and I’ll show you how it’s done (what that means I can’t legally get into here, right this minute). If you don’t live in LA but are in the USA I will come to you and be your personal assistant/cabana boy for 2 weeks.
-Take a Flying Trapeze lesson together in the San Fernando Valley and then Robin from NIN and his wife make us raw lasagna.

Yes! Let’s do this. Send money in any denomination to Make Major Moves c/o Philadelphia Weekly, 1500 Sansom St., third floor. Philadelphia, Pa 19102. We’ll get there eventually, and when we do, whoever’s donation puts us over the top, wins the $75k package for themselves. Get it? You know you wanna jam old Van Halen in the basement with Freese!

March 30th, 2009

Interview: Long Walk Home

Fresh off their gig last Thursday night at the North Star, Philly indie-rock quartet Long Walk Home — whose shaggy, off-kilter, occasionally explosive tunes may sometimes remind you of Pavement crossed with Crazy Horse and/or My Morning Jacket — plays the Delaware Music Festival at Dewey Beach this Friday, then concludes its North Star residency on April 22nd. We caught up with singer-guitarist Julian Booker, who talked about being an up-and-coming band in Philadelphia; how much he dislikes being compared to jam bands; and why it’s not really cool when music journalists write stuff like “whose shaggy. off-kilter, occasionally explosive tunes may sometimes remind you of Pavement crossed with Crazy Horse and/or My Morning Jacket.”

Give me three adjectives to describe your music.
Vociferous, sanguine and ashen.

If you had to choose, which is more satisfying: Writing and recording songs, or playing live?
Playing live; writing and recording songs is nerve-wracking.

Finish this sentence: “I always wanted to be in a band because…”
It’s a good excuse to make people think you are being productive.

What goes through your mind in the few minutes before you’re about to take the stage? What about the few minutes after you’re finished playing?
It depends. If we like the band who is playing before us then usually we are just enjoying their show. There is generally too much going on w/set-up and everything to think about much before we kick into the first song. After the show, which songs went well and which didn’t?

What are the pros and cons of being a band in Philadelphia?
There are a lot of bands in Philadelphia, it can be tough to make a name for yourself when folks have so much music to sift through. But also, people put time into music in Philadelphia, you have a shot to be heard, if only you try.

March 30th, 2009

Human BBQ XXXI On Tap For Saturday

It’s pretty much impossible to have a bad time at Pi Lam — Philadelphia’s long-running punk-rock “frat house” over at 3914 Spruce St. — which has hosted a pretty astounding array of shows and parties over the years (Husker Du played there back in the day), spotlighting both local bands and national/international touring acts, some of whose appearances have been absolutely epic. This weekend should be equally epic for Human BBQ XXXI — indeedy, it’s almost time for the 31st annual music/food/goodtimes extravaganza, which starts at noon on Saturday, April 4th, and will go well into the wee hours. Here’s who’s set to play so far (more bands to be announced this week):

THE SUBJECTS
MUGGABEARS
NOTEKILLERS
ROADSIDE GRAVES
MAKE A RISING
FLAG OF DEMOCRACY
CEREBRAL BALLZY
WOMEN
BEST FRIENDS
DEER FRIENDS
COLONEL GENTLEMEN
THE BONEY KINGS OF NOWHERE
CUNT FUCKULA
BROJOB
ARTIE VIERKANT
CAMPBELL DAVIS

Plus, afterparty with Finger Banger DJs, DJ Kaleb, and Pope John Paul II

It’ll cost you $12 to get in; eat hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers; and use Pi Lam’s porta-potty(ies). If you can’t make it to the festivities, Make Major Moves plans to be on hand for at least part of the day, taking photos of all the mayhem.