SPB 2nd Anniversary

We’ve reached an important milestone here at Seattle Powerpop Blog: our Second Anniversary. To mark the occasion I asked Gary Miller if he would write something pertinent and he obliged me with this very heart felt reflection. Thanks Gary!

What can happen in two years? Let's see. You could earn an associate's degree. You could walk around the earth a couple of times. You could even potentially have two children, like my sister did (I wouldn't recommend it). You could also start a blog with humble intentions, watch it take root, and then pack up and move away a few months before it hits that two year mark!

Given how much fun it was to start, it feels odd that the blog was created and maintained through what was probably the most gut wrenching time in my life. In the same span that SPB has existed, my wife and I lost two pregnancies and that's what motivated our return to the East Coast. That's probably too much information. But, I'm feeling sentimental. Cut me some slack!

Today, however, I find myself missing Seattle. Don't get me wrong, I love being in North Carolina. I can see my family anytime I want to. I can drive to Atlanta or take a quick flight to Florida and in no time have a niece and nephew on each knee. That's a reward all it's own.

But, on random Friday nights, I long to see Greg Collingsworth, drunk off his ass, singing at the top of his lungs at the Sunset Tavern. On hot, sleepless evenings if I close my eyes tightly, I can just make out The Boss Martians crammed into the corner at the Comet. And when it's quiet in my neighborhood, I swear I can hear the Young Sportsmen practicing.

It's hard to get too worked up over this little blog, of course. I mean it started as a diversion at work on a boring afternoon. It's not like it is a Seattle institution or anything. That said, it certainly has its place and has achieved more than I had ever anticipated. So, I was thrilled that Andy wanted to keep it going after I moved away, and thrilled for the same reason I started it in the first place -- there are bands on the scene who don't get attention corresponding with their talents.

But, it ain't easy. Andy, like me before him, struggles to find time to post -- fitting it around work and life and family and fun. It's hard to post consistently, and you'd be surprised how hard it is to get information from bands sometimes. That said, in two years there have been over 1000 posts, focused on good, quality music, and I'm proud of it!

So, this rambling post isn't a call to arms, nor is it a lament. Through my muddled thoughts, this is meant to be a celebration of effort. You know, it's easier not to blog than to blog. But, we do it anyway. It's easier to not write great songs. But, the bands do it anyway. Heck it's probably easier to not read this blog than to read it! But, some of you do it anyway. So, yes, this is a celebration of effort. Thanks to the bands first and foremost for doing what they do. Thanks to Andy for keeping this blog going. And thanks for whoever is out there reading. Happy second birthday, SPB!

Thee Sgt. Major III play The Who's Greatest

What happened to the lovely and talented Carmella? Sgt. Major seems to have become Thee Sgt. Major III. Well I suppose change is inevitable and not necessarily evil. A note on the Thee Sgt. Major III MySpace page has this to say about that, “The onslaught of 2008 will ring in changes far and wide to this and EVERY OTHER rock band you know, love, loathe and detest” and further declares that “THE SUBVERSION SOCIETY will PREVAIL and you won't remember what you liked in the past, as even YOU know, you can't change what’s already past: the FUTURE.... YOUR FUTURE.”

Also on their MySpace page is this nicely produced video by Chris Force of Thee Sgt. Major III and several special guests, most of whom should look familiar to regular readers of this blog, performing a great set of solid gold Who songs at The Sunset Tavern on New Years Eve. It looks like a fine time was had by all. Wish I’d been there.

“Big Electric Light” NPR’s Song of the Day

[Here's another post from official SPB correspondent, Andy Miracle]



One of my favorite songs of 2007 The Tripwires' “Big Electric Light” was chosen as Song of the Day last Wednesday 1/2/08 on NPR.org. You can listen to a live stream of the song while reading Barbara Mitchell’s enthusiastic review, “…sounds classic to its core: Guitars chime, harmonies shine, and the rhythm section lopes along in an ode to making dreams come true. The result sparkles with such innocence and optimism, it's hard to believe it wasn't written 40 years ago.” on the Song of the Day site which also includes links to The Tripwires home page, their MySpace page and a link to Amazon.com where their fantastic new album Makes You Look Around can be purchased.

The Tripwires have also caught the attention of Joe Belock who has recently played several of their songs including “Big Electric Light” on his excellent Three Chord Monte show on New York station WFMU. You can check out his playlist and listen to an archived stream of the show here.

It’s great to see The Tripwires getting some of the national attention their music so richly deserves.

The Sonics Return!

Here's another report from SPB's occasional (and only!) correspondent, Andy Miracle.

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Arguably the greatest garage/punk/rawk/r&b band ever, Tacoma’s The Sonics played their first gigs in nearly four decades when they recently headlined the opening and closing nights of Cavestomp 2007 (The Garage Rock Festacular) in New York. By all accounts they gave amazing, scorching performances and Gerry Roslie still has his awesome blowtorch of a voice.

This video, though not the best of quality, gives a pretty good idea of how hard they rocked. As of yet there are apparently no plans for any further shows but wouldn’t it be great if they played somewhere in the Sea/Tac area?

Review: Roy Loney & the Longshots

Andy Miracle is fast becoming an official SPB correspondent. He beat me to the punch on a review of Roy Loney and the Longshots' new record.

If you don't know Roy Loney, he was a founder of the fabled Flamin Groovies, the mid-60s San Francisco powerpop progenitors. Loney left the group in the early 1970s, before the Groovies released the seminal album "Shake Some Action." His new record features a bevy of Seattle musicians, including Scott McCaughey, Jim and Johnny Sangster, Mark Pickeral, Tad Hutchison, and others.

Here's Andy's review:

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Roy Loney and the Longshots’ excellent new album Shake It or Leave It is a party waiting to happen, a trip through rock & roll history and a tragicomic tour de force.

Loney is an ace songwriter and for Shake It or Leave It he and the Longshots, his talented band of Seattle pop/rock luminaries, have crafted a dozen perfect songs full of humor, swagger and keen insight, that range stylistically from the supercharged Chuck Berry riffing of opening track “Baby Du Jour” to the swirling psychedelic shimmer of “Subterranean Waterfalls” a tripped-out ode to the joy of deep, deep massage that sounds like it could have been recorded at Abbey Road Studios sandwiched between session for The Beatles and Pink Floyd.

“The Great Divide” is plaintive, soaring folk-rock replete with chiming, twelve-string guitar and whining organ. Harpsichord and oboe add Baroque touches to the lovely “Hamlet’s Brother, Happy” a comic vignette of Happy, Prince of Denmark. Never heard of him? Well, he liked to keep a low profile.

You can really shake your mop top to “Danger Waves” an infectious Merseybeat number with joyous vocal harmonies that bolster Loney as he struts and boasts of his acts of brash belligerence in the face of danger: “Never been afraid of fire/I can bite down on live wire.” As tough as he may be Loney can’t help but let a woman get the better of him in the effervescent “Miss Val Dupree” which employs that fab Tex-Mex sound The Sir Douglas Quintet concocted shortly after the British invaded Texas back in the mid-Sixties. “Bahdang!”

“Raw Deal” is red-hot rockabilly that self-combusts in a minute nineteen. The song’s title is an apt description of both it’s sound and it’s lyrical content: “Got a raw deal, raw deal baby, baby/Wanna lay right down and bawl baby, baby.” The snotty garage rock of “Don’t Like Nothin’” with its fuzz-toned guitar rave-up courtesy of Radio Birdman’s Deniz Tek sounds like the Yardbirds fronted by Mark Lindsey.

Darker themes underlie the party spirit and raucous humor throughout much of Shake It or Leave It. “Looking for the Body” is a rocking metaphysical murder-mystery and the evocative country & (spaghetti) western number “Big Fat Nada” describes the heady liberation that can be achieved by embracing ones own mortality: “I never felt so free/Can’t believe that this is really me.”

A fitting epilogue to this outstanding album, “Hey Now” is pounding, straight ahead rock & roll with lyrics that describe the singers ascension to “Cloud No. 10” where he finds himself an Irish bar and sends his kudos and love back to the boys in the band. Kudos to Roy Loney and the Longshots, long may they rock.

Review: Heidi & Nick's Birthday Bash at Sunset

Andy Miracle (aka "Full English Breakfast" on myspace) posted a review of Nick and Heidi's birthday bash in the comments of a previous post here on the blog. I felt like it deserved its own space. So, I'm bumping it here. Great work, Andy. Thanks for the report!

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"Heidi and Nick's Birthday Bash" at the Sunset last weekend was incredible.

The Doll Test sounded better than ever (and they’ve always sounded great) with the addition of Nick Millward on guitar and vocals. Unfortunately I arrived late and missed most of their set. They closed with Gasoline and Banks (such a great song) and left the crowd yelling for more.

Next up was an unadvertised but well received performance from a band consisting of Heather Burnett on bass, Jason Toft on drums and Nick's older brother (I can’t recall his name) on guitar and vocals. They weren't bad, played all covers including a cool version of "River Deep, Mountain High".

The Small Change played a really great set despite the fact that guitarist/lead vocalist Greg Collinsworth had had at least one too many drinks before taking the stage. He actually played a whole song with absolutely no sound coming out of his guitar amp. It didn’t really matter though because the band is great and Greg is such a charismatic performer with a great voice and great songs like “Cheating a Cheat”. The highlight of their set was when Ryan Maxwell of Young Sportsmen joined them on guitar for an awesome cover of The Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait" and "Police On My Back" by The Clash.

The Riffbrokers were great but they kept their set short. Nick said he was getting tired of playing and wanted to get off and let the Tripwires take over.

The Tripwires where excellent per usual. They seem to really be hitting their stride, tight but at the same time loose in all the right ways. They opened with “Break It All” by Los Shakers (but I’d say the Tripwires pretty much own the song at this point) and proceeded to play a bunch of John Ramberg’s incredible originals including “Monument”, “Arm Twister” and the anthemic “Big Electric Light”. The crowd was very enthusiastic, dancing and shouting out requests that the band seemed happy to oblige. They played “She’s a Mod” after which John and Jim pontificated on whether or not one could be both balding and a mod, “One Note Joe” featuring an awesome one note guitar solo by Johnny Sangster, “Crawling from the Wreckage” and an NRBQ song, I think it was “It Comes to Me Naturally” but I can’t remember for sure.

John announced that their record will finally be coming out in November on Paisley Pop Records and that they will be playing a record release show at the Tractor on November 9th with The Young Fresh Fellows!

The night ended with Scott Sutherland joining the band for an impromptu rock ‘n’ roll version of “Happy Birthday” played in the key of A. Good times rock ‘n’ roll.