Rock Candy: July 2008 Archives

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Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 14:21:07

Thursday: Ace Spade and the Whores of Babylon, TRUSTcompany and more

I'll never tire of posting this picture.

Our favorite stylish punk pillagers of early rock 'n' roll, girl group sounds and the Cramps, Ace Spade and the Whores of Babylon, play Vino's before the sun goes down, 8 p.m., $6.

At Cajun's, popular soul cover band Memphis Soul Revue headlines, 9 p.m., $5.

Ted Ludwig opens the night with bassist Joe Cripps at the Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free, then joins his trio (which includes Cripps) at the Afterthought, 8 p.m., $5.

Popular Alabama-based alt-metal group TRUSTcompany headlines a gig at the Village that includes One Less Reason and Foundation, 8 p.m., $10 adv., $14 d.o.s.

Red Octopus returns to Easy St. with “Summer Like It Hot!” a sketch comedy show about rapping hustlers, Bush administration’s exit strategy and summer flus, 8 p.m., $10, $8 students and seniors.

At the Loony Bin, Michael Mack and the Faces of Rock try to be funny, 8 p.m., $6.

The Travs take on the Springfield Cardinals at Dickey-Stephens, 7:10 p.m., $6-$10.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Gold Robot Records

Art by Hunter Mack.

Rogers native Hunter Mack took a novel approach in securing the latest release on his limited edition vinyl label, Gold Robot Records. He wrote Will Oldham a letter. And he included some of cousin (and longtime man on the scene in Fayetteville) John Harmon's poetry. An email correspondence between Mack and Oldham followed and, as Mack says, "without asking or even hinting" Oldham, using his Bonnie Prince Billy handle, put some of Harmon's lyrics to song and agreed to let Mack release them on his imprint. What a coup!

Reached by phone in Oakland yesterday, Mack, who's doing post-doctoral work in mechanical engineering at UC Berkley, said that 300 of the 500 copies of the single are gone. They went on sale on Monday. Better hurry.

This is the ninth release on Gold Robot, which Mack started almost a year and a half ago. Mostly, he's released Bay Area projects from friends. In the coming months, he'll put out a record from a young band from Idaho, an EP from a San Francisco band called Railcars that Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu produced and a six song EP from Lady Genius, a Bay Area pop band that's starting to blow up.

He says he's committed to limited runs, "because it’s a side project—no one’s making any money—it’s easier to sell 500 of something than 5,000." All his releases thus far, save the BPB record, are also available digitally.

You'll notice, from the caption above, that Mack supplied the artwork for the BPB release. He's currently also got a show in a prominent Oakland Gallery. Check out his work here.

Check also, Macktronic, the mp3 blog Mack's run for years.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments [2]

Thursday To-Do: The Moaners

"Brainwash"

THE MOANERS
9 p.m., White Water Tavern. $5.

There's an open letter on the website of the Moaners' record label, Yep Roc, where the Chapel Hill indie-rock duo spend a lot of time reflecting on their time in Mississippi recording their latest record, “Blackwing Yalobusha,” at Blackwings Studio in Water Valley, where R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and other North Mississippi greats recorded. The duo, Laura King and Melissa Swingle, write, “We wanted to capture the atmosphere of the blues and the feeling of the South, Faulkner's South, O'Connor's South, but play with the form and take it somewhere new.” Before you get all “Carpetbaggers!” on the ladies, consider the “play with the form” bit. Indie rock, like most rocks, has occasionally, often egregiously, been blues obsessed. There's a small helping of Jon Spencer's career, the Black Keys and the White Stripes, but if you dig too much deeper, the well gets barren pretty quick. So, bravo to the Moaners, who sound an awful lot like Sleater-Kinney if Kenny Brown were playing guitar. Swingle, who spent a fair number of years leading the band Trailer Bride, plays a pretty mean slide guitar, alternating between dirty, feedback-laden runs and more hypnotic atmospherics. King isn't a slouch either; she plays spare enough to let the groove take the lead and, when the song dictates, rambunctious enough to get the kids bouncing. Local new-wave rockers the Reds open.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Thursday To-Do: Elise Davis

ELISE DAVIS
9 p.m., Juanita's. $6.

It's not 15-year-old Tanya Tucker singing “Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone),” but when 19-year-old singer/songwriter Elise Davis sings, “I tried my whole life to be someone who you would love,” a blip of skepticism passes through. Really? Your whole life? But then again I've got Davis' bio. Judged only by her rich voice and breezy, open-road arrangements (courtesy of the fellas at Blue Chair Studios, who've put out a diverse handful of some of Arkansas's strongest releases in the last couple of years), Davis sounds mature well beyond her years. And judged even by her resume — two albums already under her belt and a third, “Another Lonesome Romance,” releasing on Thursday — she's farther down the road to Sheryl Crow-dom than virtually all her 19-year-old peers. Fittingly, the show is open to all ages.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 16:10:23

Tune In: 'Project Runway'

From this week's Televisionist column in tomorrow's paper (now up on the web).

PROJECT RUNWAY
Bravo (Comcast Ch. 50)
8 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 6.

I got tired of reality TV when it became obvious contestants were 'roiding on “Road Rules/Real World Challenge.” I've never watched “American Idol,” “Wife Swap,” “Baby Borrowers” or “Denise Richards: It's Complicated” (I get all the best moments in 30-second bursts of hilarity on “The Soup”). But I'm hopelessly and completely addicted to “Project Runway.” I even cancelled a dudes' poker night this week because it conflicted. Heidi Klum hosts and that helps. Tim Gunn, the on-air mentor, is casually hilarious. Korto Momolu, who's been featured in the Times and has been a part of just about every fashion show in Little Rock for the last several years, is a contestant and possibly a strong one, though Gunn, last week, suggested that her dress was on its way to becoming a “hot mess.” The other contestants, too, have strong, often funny and catty personalities that add to the drama. But more than anything, what sets “Project Runway” apart from the vast, vast majority of reality shows is that the contestants are actually really talented. Even if, like me, your interest in fashion doesn't stretch much beyond your T-shirt drawer, it's pretty amazing to see people, say, fashion a good-looking cocktail dress out of only blue Solo cups.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments [0]

Wednesday: 'Caddyshack,' Benjamin Del Shreve and more

Movies in the Park winds down its season tonight with "Caddyshack," sundown, free.

Benjamin Del Shreve, who's a person and a band, plays a solo show at Sticky Fingerz, 9 p.m., $3.

Early at Juanita's, as part of Buzzaritaville, singer/songwriter Barrett Baber plays an acoustic set, 6 p.m., $5.

Coopers Orbit front man Chris Henry plays the Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., free.

As usual, Carl Mouton and Gerald Johnson hold it down at the Afterthought, 8 p.m., free.

Posted by Lindsey Millar at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments [0]