Local Rabbits---You Can't Touch This--Auspicious Debut Album from Montreal

Sometimes I hear about interesting bands from unlikely places. In this example, I first heard of Montreal's Local Rabbits because they were mentioned in a book by Dave Bidini of the Rheostatics called Around the World in 57 1/2 gigs. Apparently Bidini and Peter Elkas are friends, and at some point in a hiatus of the around-the-world-on-a-shoestring tour, he winds up at some rural lake with Elkas, friends and family members, fishing, hanging out, and taking turns singing tunes. It was a nice moment in a very recommendable book, a book where Bidini ends up in places like Finland and China, playing gigs and discovering how rock music is perceived and accepted around the world. But mostly its a lot of self-deprecating humor and awkwardness. Definitely a good music read.

Later I read some more on Local Rabbits in Have Not Been the Same, a pretty hefty book on Canadian Rock, which would probably useful if your interests lie there. So with a little more knowledge on my side, I made the mouse click and gave the band a listen.

Fresh New Kicks, Advance!

You Can't Touch This is Local Rabbits' debut album from 1996 on Murderrecords, and it seems somewhat disjointed. When I saw the album cover for the first time, my first impression was that these guys are the ZZ Top of sideburns. But look past this, and you will find a musically accomplished bunch who most definitely sport their own unique sound. If you put the album on and listen to the first song, your impression is that these guys sound like 80's post-punk, pre-Franz Ferdinand. But they mostly don't sound like that here.




Pete Elkas: singing, guitars, etc.
Ben Gunning: singing, guitars, etc.
King Johnny Starr: singing, bass, etc.
Brian Waters: singing, drums


On this record they sound kind of like a blend of Pavement and Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The songs are filled with loads of interesting somewhat discordant guitar runs, with mostly tuneful harmonies laid across the top. There always seems to be a lot going on these songs, and the songs don't rely much on cliches. What seems odd is the number of blues or country numbers interspersed (not to mention a little Klezmer or Pop's & Company's Haircut 100esque stylings) in between the alternatunes, but in all honesty those are done well too. People seem to have a huge problem with things like this, but I certainly don't. It seems like they had the chops to do mostly everything. What is equally remarkable is the upbeat nature to this album--no wallowing in misery for these guys.



These guys went on to make 2 more albums which I'm told are more accomplished than this one, but I haven't heard them yet. Their 2nd album Basic Concept even hit number 1 on the Canadian College Charts in 1998. Even from this stage, it is clear that these guy began with their own pretty unique music. Certainly I think their music lies in the tradition of modern guitar bands like Television, The Feelies, Wipers, Built to Spill, Dinosaur, Jr., that aren't afraid to air out the leads. But they never let the songs drag on to tedium--they change gears well.




Since the band split up, Elkas has put out 3 solo albums, and in 2010 Ben Gunning put out Mal de Mer, his 2nd album, which is described as a concept album about living and working on a cruise ship.

This album is a pretty cool one, especially considering this is a debut album from pretty young guys. Maybe a little more falsetto than I like, but overall a big winner. A very interesting guitar album. And a lot of happiness here, I must say.

Magic in Here....The Go-Betweens--Live in London!! and Goodbye Maxwells....

I'd like to say I saw Australia's songwriting laureates The Go-Betweens live once, but I can't....

I saw them 2 times. On consecutive nights. But let me digress a little.

I miss Maxwell's, the club/restaurant located in downtown Hoboken New Jersey. The restaurant remains open, but this summer they stopped booking bands. I hadn't been there in a while--I almost went to see Sloan play there in June. Yeah, that's right Canada. Sloan, your alternative-era version of the Beatles in a place where the fire code limited attendance to 175 people. Hard to believe. But it's why Maxwell's will always be regarded by me as a legendary venue.

Though I didn't make the trip there often, it was my favorite place to see a band. Tiny room with an amazing sound. And a restaurant/bar attached to the performance area. A great roster of bands have played there over the years. Ticket prices were cheap too. I've heard so much press and bemoaning about the closing of CBGB's, but really, Maxwell's really deserves more than it got. Give CBGB's credit for it's place in punk history, but for many years it was a shadow of the joint it once was. It was kind of a dump when I first went there, but eventually when I looked at the music ads in the Village Voice there would almost never be any interesting bands playing there anymore. But the club business seems to be a pretty hard way to make a living, and small venues have an even tougher time competing with larger places. Maybe its not a surprise, then, that places like Maxwell's have stopped booking bands, given the economic malaise and the sort of economics of scale we have in the US, where small fish ultimately get gobbled up by the bigger fish.



So, I saw the Go-Betweens for the first time at Maxwell's---It was the reunited band, probably their 2nd tour here after Forster and McLennan got back together. I have to say that the show was fantastic, probably perfect. The two guys and I think Adele Pickvance on bass. Nope, I'm wrong. It was in fact Carrie Brownstein, formerly of Sleater-Kinney. No drums. Though they both composed their own songs, it was remarkable seeing Grant and Robert's synchronous performance, how their two guitars meshed together while playing altogether different parts.

And it was pretty amazing seeing them perform from about 8 feet from the stage.

Something kind of weird happened early on at the show. No, not a riot---seeing the Go-Betweens is a lot like seeing Simon and Garfunkel--but apparently a tall lanky guy in front of me was up to something. He was right next to the front of the stage in front of Robert Forster. A security guy came up to him and told him to cut it out. I don't know what it was that he was doing. Honestly never really noticed anyone doing this sort of thing at Maxwell's before. About 5-10 minutes later the security guy came back and spoke to him again. The guy remonstrated with the bouncer a little and suddenly the guy wrapped his arms around the guys arms and torso, picked him up and carted him out of the concert while the Go-Betweens were in the middle of a song!! When the song ended, Forster had this incredulous look on his face, and said something like "I wonder what that was all about?"

When the show was over the band left the stage. If you know Maxwell's, you know that there is no rear exit from the stage. The band goes through room to get on stage, and departs through the crowd at the end. So that same bouncer was escorting the band through the mostly rapturous audience. Then they went past me. I was just standing there with my arms down looking at Forster when the bouncer guy gives me a big open handed shove to my chest. Kind of caught me by surprise and completely unnecessary. It wasn't like a mosh pit opened up during Cattle and Cane.....Maybe the other guy was out of line, but its funny how people behave when get an iota of power bestowed on them...

I was excited about the concert that I tried to see them the next night. They were playing at the Knitting Factory when they were still in Manhattan. Sold out. I actually called the place and discovered they had a few tickets still. It was also a good concert, but not the same as at Maxwell's. There were a few drunk overly rowdy people shouting stuff at the band way too much, which wasn't really appropriate. I mean are you there to watch a show, or be the show?



If you have never seen the Go-Betweens live, I have located an unsatisfactory substitute, for there really are no better options anymore. A great musical partnership was permanently sundered eons before its time. Recently, I noticed people selling a live CD of the Go-Betweens for pretty extortionary prices on-line. Well, I went on the Go-Betweens' offical website and discovered that Live in London, a 2 disc greatest hits live collection is available for only 10 Pounds. 28 songs in total, very well recorded, and the songs on the 2nd disc mostly have strings on them. You can't beat that.

The greatest hits album that was recently released entitled Quiet Heart also has a bonus live disc from 1987 from Germany, I think. But if you aren't familiar with one of Australia's greatest exports, the Live in London discs would not be a bad place to get acquainted! Just listening to the 2 disc reminded me that they made a ton of terrific songs. And there were still a lot of great songs that I wished were included.

And the disc brought back a lot of great memories.

Happy Halloween! Dream Syndicate, Go Groovie Ghoulies and The Cramps that Bind!

Happy Halloween! Here's a few super songs from the Kings and Queens of Halloween!

Groovie Ghoulies! This is the Ramones on Halloween!


I will relate a spooky story that happened in my own home town probably 10 years ago. It is a true story and could probably only happen here. A couple was handing out candy for Halloween. At some point the wife decided to take out her false teeth for a little bit and left them on the table. Later that night, when she went to retrieve them, she couldn't seem to find them!

The next morning, I hear her husband's voice on the radio, telling their story, and imploring the kid who found dentures in their candy sack to please return them! Dentures are expensive Halloween treats, after all.

Reality is a lot scarier than anything even Steven King could dream up!


Here's my favorite Halloween song from Lux and Ivy. It's not about Hockey goalies.





Have a fun and safe Halloween! From the Days of Wine and Roses.....

Goodbye Sweet Lou......The Velvet Underground spawned Multitudes

Not a lot to say here, since its so very obvious to most music fans. The Velvet Underground were a very important band to me. As I listened to the new music back in the 80's, I looked back and acquainted myself with the Velvet Underground.

Sure they were a contrast to the Peace and Love era of the 1960's, revealing a grittier, less idealistic, and more realistic view of the world. But they also were incredibly poignant, sad, remarkably astute.

I guess to me they revealed an intellectual side to rock music that I hadn't seen or noticed before. They were artists in the highest (and lowest) sense. And while they rocked out, I also appreciated both their incredible subtlety and experimentalism. And while they did not move sales like their predecessors, but they were the inspiration to several generations of great bands and musical movements.

Lou Reed will be greatly missed. My last memory of him was being on stage with Metallica and truthfully he looked like a fish out of water. Maybe it was the best pair up they could put together that day.

Not being a a master of the obvious, here's a nice cover of a Velvets classic. From the box set.
Back in February I also posted Whipping Boy covering Candy Says (one of my favorite songs), if anybody is interested.

Huw M---Os Mewn Swn---Welsh Language Chamber Folk

By chance I found a lovely album for sale in the Sain Records Shop. My original reason for visiting the Sain website was not for this album. But as I checked out their inventory I saw the interesting looking cover, and so I stopped to take a look at the description of the disc and I wanted to hear it.
Hey I'm a human being like everyone else. Why do you think casinos are so shiny inside? Since I'm discussing it now, you may have guessed already that I found a good one here. And you would be correct. And I have not yet posted anything about the record I was actually seeking out at the time!

Huw M, aka Huw Meredydd Roberts is a musician from Bangor, Wales, and it is pretty clear from the liner notes that he can play a lot of musical instruments! Guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukelele, sitar, bass, piano, piano organ, Hammond organ, melodica, percussion, and harmonica. Note: in welsh ukelele is spelled iwcalili, which for I find interesting for some reason.

On Os Mewn Swn translated as If In Sound, his first record, recorded in Cardiff in 2010, he is joined by Bethan Reynolds on vocals and clocsio "clog dancing". I think that's his wife. Frank Naughton produced and plays a whole slew of instruments too, including the Maui Xaphoon. It's described as a "bamboo sax", and is somewhat similar to a clarinet. I never heard of one before and just looked it up. The first one was made in 1972. Lucello (aka Lucy O'Connor)plays cello on this recording, and she may in fact be the secret weapon on this album, as the cello work is superlative.




The music here is very sweet sounding folk music, with beautiful harmonies, all in the Welsh language. I don't know what they are singing about, but that's never stopped me before. Most of the songs are originals, but 2 are reworkings of traditional Welsh songs. It's a nice album for a quiet Sunday morning. If you are into Belle and Sebastian, Velvet Underground, or Nick Drake, I think you will find this appealing. And certainly if you enjoy the solo work of Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, or Meic Stevens or the Welsh folk music scene  of the 60's and 70's in general you will need to have this near you at all times.




The album is described as being influenced by Brazilian and French music. Maybe those descriptions are a little beyond my knowledge. The second song Ond Yn Dawel Daw y Dydd has an African sounding riff at the beginning, like maybe Soukous being played at half-speed. The album is fairly laid back and it really allow you hear the Welsh language, which I think sounds so beautiful here. In the mad scramble of the 90's, when record industry people scampered to all corners of the world to find a new scene after every single band in Seattle got a major label contract, Wales was a gleam in someones eye for a few nanoseconds. I don't know if its loyalty, or just stubborness, but I investigated a little myself when bands like 60 Foot Dolls and Catatonia were being marketed, and I continue to find great music even after the Music Industry's all-seeing eye moved on to other places. It should be no great surprise. And I think that its great that in a small country of only 3 million people they are keeping their heritage alive.



After listening to this album 5 times, I have to say that Os Mewn Swn is flat-out beautiful. Very glad I found this, a very special surprise. I've already decided that I need to hear his second album, Gathering at Dusk, which was made in 2011. People at SainWales seem like really nice people. I had trouble ordering on their site and they straightened things out fairly quickly for me. And they seem to have a lot of items at very very reasonable prices.

What was the name of the place?--The Morells---Shake and Push

One of the benefits of having a College roommate who DJed back in Wormtown was being introduced to some unusual recordings. One such record was by The Morells, a rockin' little band from Springfield, Missouri.

Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Lettuce & Tomato!

Being a freshly converted Punk hipster in the early 80's, I was a bit incredulous. Shake and Push seemed to be a fish out of water, perhaps a little old fashioned and corny for 1982. I think I thought this was some sort of goofy parody. But the more I listened, the more I liked. Turns out at this album is a a lot of fun. But probably just a shadow of the live experience.

I almost feel like I went to a flea market and made a mix tape of assorted obscure old vinyl releases. Or found a soundtrack to an unreleased John Waters movie. Or probably they simply know a lot more about music than I do.

But this is the good stuff, played with love. The band is having a blast and they invite you to share in the good times. And though the atmosphere is loose, these guys have some pretty impressive musical chops. And though Punk Rock was the music of choice for us, it was also true that there was a bit of a rockabilly revival going on, with groups like The Blasters and The Stray Cats. So maybe it really wasn't the worst possible time for this album.




The cover of course features Red's, aka Red's Giant Hamburg a local legendary restaurant on Route 66. Supposedly it was the first "Drive-Thru" Restaurant. I think Morells insured that Red's would be remembered forever with their homage to the restaurant. It's a great song that makes me smile every time I hear it. It makes me want to hop in a time machine and eat there! Unfortunately, Red's closed down shortly after the release of Shake and Push. I still miss it, and I never was there.....

The Morells are:
Lou Whitney: Vocals, Bass
D.Clinton Thompson: Guitar
Maralie: Piano, Vocals on Go Ahead
Ron Gremp: Drums

Comparisons can also be made to NRBQ and Austin's Brave Combo I suppose. Infectious 50's rock like Push, Kick, Shout! You have a tune like That Mellow Saxophone, which sounds like they are doing a cover of a song by some guys who wanted to sound like Louis Prima. They do a cool version of Bumble Boogie featuring Maralie, I guess. Ugly and Slouchy is a country novelty tune that would fit in on Hee Haw, and Growin' A Beard could have been a weird rockabilly number from an Elvis movie. But listen to that guitar. D. Clinton knows his way around a fret board!

Before The Morells did Shake and Push, Whitney and Thompson were in a band called The Skeletons, who put out a couple albums in their day. The Morells reunited eventually have put out a few more albums, including some live Cds, which I haven't heard.



You know an album is special when the first song Gettin' In Shape segues into the Village People's YMCA toward the end. Perhaps Shake and Push is an album that won't change your life, but it's an album that still amazes me. In a country where technology is homogenizing culture to such an extent, it's great to hear an album that is a poster child for American regionalism and diversity.

Minneapolis on the Mersey!!! The Beatifics--The Way We Never Were!

I think that I first found out about The Beatifics on AllMusic by seeing them as being related to another band I was getting info about. I picked both of their albums a while ago, and they are definitely manna for the pop aficionado. Minneapolis seems to have a knack for growing great bands.

It would be a little unfair to characterize these guys as merely competent musicians playing around in the Beatles sandbox. As to the Beatifics' sound I referring specifically to the influence of the early Fab variety Beatles, rather than their beardy later years. Certainly, the songs are really much more than that of course. But there is a sort of that Liverpool vibe to their songs---perhaps its Chris Dorn's voice. The album I am discussing today is The Way We Never Were, the band's 2nd album, released on The Bus Stop Label in 2002.



Certainly they can be compared very favorably to bands like 60's influenced groups The Smithereens, Teenage Fanclub, or Velvet Crush. Dorn knows his way around a pop hook. Some of the songs are quite reminiscent of the first Pernice Brothers album, melodious but melancholy and bolstered with strings. But probably not recorded on a big budget. Actually, the liner notes reveal that it was recorded in a variety of studios and homes. But the album sounds better than what a lot of big label acts have done.

This album came out 6 years after How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and by that time The Beatifics were were more of a one man show. People who collaborated with on this album are Jacques Wait, Randy Seals (Beatifics drummer), Keely Lane, Eric Kassel, and Andy Schultz.

The song below is actually from their In The Meantime ep:



Don't know what became of Chris Dorn after The Beatifics, but I am happy that these albums found their way to me. I like groups like the Gordons, Albert Ayler, or Tuvan throat singing as much as the next guy, but I grew up listening to massive amounts of AM Radio. To this day, I find a great pop song irresistible. These songs may not change the world, but they definitely can change your mood for the better.