Your Mental Health Break

Take a minute to watch someone else’s smooth moves. Then teach everyone at your office how to do the Backwards Swim. We hear it was all the  rage.

This is one first class top drawer music videography.

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The Famous Characters & The Sheeps Live

If you’re in Austin, and out and about tonight, come out to The Carousel Lounge and check out my band.  Oops, I mean my bands.  Yep, playing in two bands and they are both playing tonight.

The Famous Characters are basically pretty poppy.  I play guitar in this band.  Check out the MySpace page HERE.

The Sheeps are pretty twangy and poppy, but a definite countrified note in there.  I’m on the drums in this band.  Check out the MySpace page HERE.

Also, this will be the first time that I’ve played in two bands playing two different instruments in one night.  Should be fun.

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Ambition is…(SXSW Roundup)

All hail Paul Ford! – He did the impossible. He did the unthinkable. He did the why-would-anyone bother?

He downloaded the entire SXSW torrent file which contains more than 48 continuous hours of music, representing 763 different bands (which is less than half the bands that played).  Are you beginning to comprehend how ridiculously large the scale of South by Southwest is???

And he listened to each song in its entirety. And he reviewed each band. Succinctly. In 6 words or less.

He also provides a link where you can download their songs. Check it out. Comprehensive and kinda handy, huh?

Also, for those who care, The Raconteurs release their second full albun next Tuesday.

And NPR had some really good coverage of SXSW as well. Archives of concerts (some videos), including REM, Yo La Tengo, AA Bondy, Bon Iver and more. And really good blog coverage too.

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And a fair amount of amps too. UPDATED 2/2/09

This is the is the companion article to “Good Lord, that’s a lot of guitars.”, but with the focus on amplifiers this time.  Granted, I’ve not owned as many amps as I have guitars, but there are fair amounts, as the headline indicates.  Also, this article further supports my claim to total embarrassing guitar nerd-dom, so don’t be thinking that is new news to the Jeddler.  Here we go basically in chronological order as best as I can remember…

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Who was first? Who cares. (Nirvana vs. Weezer)

Just re-visited Nivana’s video for “In Bloom” where it is all retro, Beatles-on-Ed-Sullivan looking. 

 Great song and fun video.  But there is also the Weezer Buddy Holly video where they are rocking for the kids at Arnold’s ala Happy Days.  Which came first?  Which is better?  Who cares, they are both fun and great.

Although, Nirvana does deconstruct the stage a little which is more in keeping.

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Thoughts On Revisiting Pearl Jam’s “Evenflow”

The best hype man Eddie Vedder could have ever hoped for was Eddie Vedder.

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Did The Sheeps Rock Austin?

Oh. 

Oh. They most certainly did.

How many other bands debut to a full crowd (small bar but, probably 75 people) and have a crowd that begs for an encore even after the singer informs them that they don’t know anymore tunes???

“Well, Play ones you already played before!” the crowd demanded.

The Sheeps obliged.

Glory Story was great. Some Honey Pot ladies were rocking in the audience. And there was even The Lone Dancer.

How can you beat that shit?

The only way is to play again real soon.

Jeddler Update – Carousel Lounge calls this AM to let us know that they loved us and we can play again any time we like.  Maybe even a regular gig if we want it.  Who rules?  The Sheeps rule?  And Glory Story, of course.

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The Sheeps

 

I would say “Come see my band” but with most of ya’ll in North Carolina, that’s just not happening.  But you can enjoy the flyer anyway.  I always like checking out band flyers.  Our first gig is Wednesday.  I’m hoping Gator will take some snaps that we can post, she’s a good picture-takerer.

But anyway, my band The Sheeps is finally up and running and doing something other than rocking Wes’ RockLodge (the garage where we rehearse).  I’m playing drums in this one, and it’s a new kind of drumming for me.  A little slower.  Less Rock, more roll.  Maybe even less roll too.  It’s a kick-back vibe with Wes playing rhythm and singing in his signature warble, Brian on twangy tele or lapsteel, Michael on Rhodes piano, organ or vintage Roland Juno, and Zach on Jazz Bass.  Good guys all around.

We did some recording at The Brain Machine Studios on Sunday which went very well.  We tracked six songs and got everything down except backups on four of the songs.  We’ll finish that up next week and mix it down to be a nice six song demo.

Check out our myspace page to sample the songs and see what Wes comes up with content-wise. 

More on The Sheeps at it develops.

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Worst Band Names of 2007

Throughout the year, the AV Club keeps track of some of the dumbest band names they come across and at the end of the year they let us in on what made the rather puerile list.

Some of my favorites include:

Garrison Killer. - It’s a play on a name that mostly your grandparents will recognize. Not the way to go.

Malice in Wonderland. - I’m pretty sure I came up with that one. In first grade.

Penguins with Shotguns. – Well, last year was the year of the penguin, I guess they thought they would capitalize on that.

I Sank Molly Brown. -  The girl is unsinkable, but this name is not.

ButtStomach. – I’m sure it refers to a trick they perform on stage. Otherwise, their combined age best not be over 45.

The House that Gloria Vanderbilt. - We all get it. You’re cute. But no one in your target market knows who Gloria Vanderbilt is, not even that she is Anderson Cooper’s mom. No one. (Hint: The house is made of snugly fitting denim).

Wookie Hangover. – Alright, I see your thinking…you love Star wars and you just discovered drinking. Okay.  Keep trying.

The Cornish Gay Men- You’re really punny. But, I bet you’re not really gay.  (Note: This may have an entirely different meaning in Cockney).

BiFurious - I wish it ended with, “:The Reckoning.” Regardless, they’re probably twice as furious.

General Patton and his Privates. – Too quickly rejected was the original: “Old Blood and Guts and His Nuts”

The Pussy Pirates. - (First line of their bio: “First off, we’re an ideas band. I think we proved that with Fuck Mountain.”)  Wow.  Only an ideas band would “concept” such a lame name.  It’s got a little Pirates of the Carribean, plus a bit of “down-there” humor from the playground set.  I hope the first song is called Fart Police.  Nope.

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