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MyWeek in Music January 17th to 24thby Scott Zensen
Photos By Gina Bautista
Well its that time again! Unfortunately what do you do when you have been sick all week and never made it out to a show? You ask friends to contribute their impressions of a show that's what? This week MyWeek in Music is going to be short because I mostly just have pictures from one show taken by a friend Gina Bautista who was kind enough to do this for me while I was sick! She gave me some songs that were sung and what order and I will use that but I will try to extrapolate from past experiences while listening to these talented people.
Friday So since I was not able to go out the show? I only have info from one show at the Hot Java Cafe. You can find the Hot Java Cafe in Carmel Mountain in the shopping center there next to a large Barnes and Noble bookstore between it and a Jamba Juice on the south side of the mall. But I could be wrong about the orientation because I have always been given a ride to this venue and since I stopped driving I just don't pay attention to the routes as much as I used to? Hot Java Cafe is a cute coffee shop that is dedicated to introducing the best in local entertainment in the North County. Hot Rod Harris who won last years 2006 H.A.T. Awards for "Best Host" presents the shows. I have been there many times to listen to a lot of local musicians from all over
San Diego County.
They have wonderful coffee and tea available and the food is outstanding and the prices are pretty good too! They have a wide array of extra foods and products you can buy and I think I have even seen a few CD's for sale other than ones that might be presented by the artist when they are playing the venue. The area for the band playing is one of the largest as far as coffee shops are concerned but there are larger ones, but definitely smaller ones as well. But the area for sitting and listening to the music is wonderful. There are several couches and tables and depending on the size of the show extra chairs are sometimes put out. There are a few computers as well for getting online but most people who come for the music are not interested in it as an Internet connection spot. The decor is normal coffee shop decor but on the left half of the room there are paintings by local artist and many have to do with music. So when a musician comes to play for you it is a very intimate experience. Hot Rod even has a PA system and a local guy as a sound engineer.
The musicians available for this Friday nights entertainment were: Hot Rod Harris with Doktor Dave Sawyer and Brenda Panneton and Lee Tyler Post finishing the night. Hot Rod took the stage first as host and introduced himself and his accomplice in crime Doktor Dave. Hot Rod has a relaxed country sound he reminds you of Willie Nelson in voice and look but he is his own sound. Hot Rod does a mix of covers he likes and throws in a song here and there that he wrote himself. His first of five songs was written by Tom Waite named "House Where Nobody Live". The next was a Hot Rod Original called "Who Am I". Next we had "Sunday Morning Sidewalks" by Kris Kristofferson and the last two songs are Hot Rods as well. Those being "Coffeehouse Blues" and "Dying To Cross". I am told everyone enjoyed the set and Doktor Dave was indeed the consummate backup musician he has shown he is! He also won a H.A.T. Award for being "Best Backup Musician". Hot Rod did one more together called "Ode to LTP" but I never heard that title before and I never did find out what LTP stood for?
The next portion of the night was the set with Brenda Panneton. Brenda has a very sweet voice and her songs tend to be personal experiences and a little melancholy. But her voice is so pretty; she definitely has a country sound to her that reminds me of Loretta Lynn's style. She doesn't sound like her but its that style. She had songs where she was alone and some while backed up with Doktor Dave or Hot Rod or both. Of course I think of Brenda as one of my soul siblings we share the same birthday although she is not the same age as Billy Fritz and me who share our birthday and are the same age too! But soul sister? I do think of her that way! She is an easy going and mellow person who is a good songwriter. She did about four bluesy songs starting with "Daddy's Little Girl". Next was, "about her microwave" [great title that one!]. Next came "Very Dark Mood, I think I remember this one from other times I have heard her sing. But I might be wrong I am not as good at writing down song titles as my friend Gina. I hope to hear more from Brenda soon, I think she told me she is working on material for a new CD. We'll have to see how that goes. I hope I see her writing a song for Cathryn Beeks "The Game" sometime I think she would do really well on some of the titles they come up with!
The next and final portion of the night is with a guy by the name of Lee Tyler Post. A bluesy type of singer and by his looks he probably was influenced a little by Stevie Ray Vaughn who kicked ass when he was with us. His first song was called "Wondrous Life". He played about 6 songs or so some with various accompaniments of either Doktor Dave or Hot Rod but the rest of his song titles were never put down. Gina didn't know most of his song titles until she bought the CD. And maybe Lee wasn't big on giving his titles. I have heard plenty of musicians lately that either haven't given a song its title yet! Or they are just not as good with the in between talk between songs and he didn't give the titles. I don't know I wasn't there? Now I have never heard him live. Although Gina did play the CD of his she bought. So I do know what he sounds like now. But I am not going to presume that I know him from hearing that and reserve the chance to listen to him some other time live which is my favorite way to listen to music now! Don't get me wrong? I am still basically a headbanger most of the time listening to my corporate bands on my IPod bangin my head whenever I can. When I was a kid I just hated live records because in those days live just meant in concert and all you heard sometimes was just a lot of screaming like what happens most of the time in concerts by the fans who come to see them. And then sometime the live version of their song just wasn't as good as the studio version, but there were always exceptions. For the most part though I like studio versions because live music on a record wasn't really live at all when you think about it? So now as an adult I love live music. I like it so much that I listen to a larger amount of music I did not listen to before? I found out I liked it! Maybe what I get to hear on a day to day, week to week basis is better than most live music some people hear but so far I have heard very little I don't like.
Now if you get a chance to get up to Carmel Mountain and can get to the Hot Java Cafe then I am sure you will enjoy the music that is presented there. It is presented most every night and if Hot Rod isn't the host then Kyle Phelan is the host for the night. Usually there is at least one or two open mics a week and you always know you are gonna hear something great in between the smells of Java roasting or wafting to your nose. Don't hesitate when I say there is a gig at Hot Java Cafe. You'll be sorry you didn't go! I'm Out!
Ciao
Its about the Music AND the Scene
-Why corporate pop/punk is so much fun
by Kyra Zensen
So many different kinds of music and so many subcultures attached to them. How do you even begin to categorize them? But does it really matter? As long as you are rocking out and having fun, it shouldn't matter whether it is alternative, rock, pop, country, folk, punk, emo or metal.. Its all music! Still society likes to put labels on things so I have decided to introduce you lovely blog fans to a type of music that is very very popular with the younger audiences now days and explain why the sudden explosion of popularity. While the popularity of these bands might seem like a popularity contest, I ASSURE you there is musical and performance quality in what these bands do. They dont just look pretty but they are great at what they do!
You see, what these bands have done is learned to capitalize on what people are attracted to: performance. You can go see your favorite band in concert... but if the performance sucks, if the band looks terrible... you won't enjoy it quite as much. As vain as it seems, music is VERY much about image. And thats why poppy punk/emo/alternative music is so popular. Whether the category matches, you know what music I am talking about. I am talking about the suddenly talked about at every street corner bands like Panic At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Avanged Sevenfold, New Found Glory, +44, Angels and Airwaves, Rise Against, Red Jumpsuit Apparatas, AFI, and im sure you can think of many many more bands that fit this category. Their music is catchy... anthems for the youth. They all feature drums, guitars, lead vocals.. Some have awesome keyboard music, some are fast paced, some are slow and emotional (thus "emo").. But what do they all have in common? They know how to rock.. and they know how to look good doing it.
First off.. They have the perfect equilibrium between vocals and guitar.. (and drums too) which is hard to find nowdays. Most rock bands like to drown out the vocals by going overboard with guitar but most of these bands focus on their vocals (which really is what makes them unique) and uses guitar riffs to add to it. The vocals are usually younger males with an almost whiny sound to their voice that is very clear on top of the background music. They sing fast and catchy usually, a sound that you would recognize almost immediately if you heard. But they aren't afraid to use their guitars either. I have heard some of the best guitar riffs in this music... They really have the most origional mixes of sound. And most of them write all their own music! So musically, even though you may not be attracted to their poppy sound, you have to recognize the fact that there really is so much to the music they made. I was sitting down listening to AFI the other day thinking "I wonder how they even thought of this song, its so complicated, i just can imagine someone picking up a guitar and writing this in one session." And I haven't even scraped the surface of the often almost poetic lyrics alot of these bands feature. Some of them are more straight forward but they are well written lyrics no matter how you look at them.
The other thing that makes these bands so popular and the reason why Panic! At The Disco is one of the most popular bands in America right now (they are 18 and 19 year olds new to music who just released their first cd!!!) is because of performance. Panic! has a kind of circus appeal... they dress up in their videos and performances to make it look like a circus or an old fashioned theme depending on their music. They have an interesting catchy piano that goes through most of their songs that Scott and I cannot seem to describe (we've used the following descriptions: rag-like, zuit suit daddy -like, rock-a-billy, like brian seltzer from the days of stray cats... lol) all in the background of the guitar.. which gives their entire CD its own unique theme that sets it apart. They are not afraid to wear circus makeup and really interesting eye shadow and give people a fun performance that you wont forget. Bands like AFI are known for their concerts and the sets they use. They use alot of images to portray their music, and the lead singer's feminity really adds to the band. Alot of these guys dress with eye makeup, tight clothes, and outfits which OFTEN time look very feminine or unusual. They go out of their way to intrigue us with image and show us something we have never seen before. It makes them... just... FUN! And that is why people continue to talk about Panic!.. They are DIFFERENT! They aren't the same run of the mill band. They dress different, act different, have different concerts, sound different. Same with AFI, same with Fall Out Boy... And alot of these bands may sometimes seem alot like each other, but they are still completely original compared with other genres. Its the one genre that is going to surprise you almost every single day. Just as soon as you think you have heard and seen everything, a new band or CD comes out.
Its an amazing experience to not only absorb music but have such an image and such a subculture to go with it. It really makes you feel as if you are enwrapped in the music. They play good, they look good, they are original, catchy and they are easy to show your support for. They are just fun! So while I know some of people are not interested in this kinds of music, I just wanted to assure everyone that there is ALOT of musical and performance worth to this music. Its not just a pretty boy contest. A bunch of boy happy girls did not pick these bands just because the guys are cute. It is about so much more than that. Just like loving someone makes them more attractive... Having an awesome cd, concert and image can make a band more attractive. So screaming AFI fans aside, I encourage everyone who has ever thought badly of this music because of its fan base to pick up an album or watch a concert feed. And even if you dont like the music, at least you might have a better understanding of what all the talk is about!
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