Deal's Gone Bad

Deal’s Gone Bad

The year had to be somewhere around 1998, and I found myself at the Kemper Center in Kenosha Wisconsin. They were filming a shitty movie there called The Smokers. The stars of the movie never really went on to do anything else worthwhile, and the director of the movie went on to become a porn director.

But that was not why I was there. No sir, I was there to see live music,  in the gym of the giant sprawling, haunted campus.   I don’t remember who it was that was the headlining band. Probably one of the local bands like Skadatel or Liquid Schwartz. 

But out of nowhere one of the early bands to play that night was Deal’s Gone Bad. A reggae/ rocksteady/ska band from Chicago .

They played half of their set with limited power because the people that were making the movie were being dicks. (They didn’t like the noise-even though my friends clearly paid to rent the gym and use it that night. )

 I remember looking up and seeing Mike Park singing through a piece of cardboard rolled into a make shift megaphone. And he was standing next to one of the wildest, punkest guitar players   and notable because he was one of the shortest dudes that I had ever seen.  It was one of the coolest moments of my high school life.

One of the songs that stuck out that night for me was  Mad at The World

Really quickly the band pictured in the above clip is not the band that you hear performing in the abovie clip, but the song is great, and we will cover the changes later.

So I spent subsequent  evenings in my life going to see local bands, hell that was all I did in my high school days.  So almost every weekend I was off seeing either some ska show or punk show,  sometimes they were even combined.

I became a Deal’s Gone Bad junkie, If I saw they were playing anywhere near by I would be there.  I bought all of their merchandise, 45’s cd’s t shirts pins. You name it I had it. It was such an obsession that my senior pictures even  have me wearing a Deal’s Gone Bad, Large and In Charge T shirt. (It looks like the logo from A Clockwork Orange, but it’s not.)

So that is where it all began for me. Deal’s Gone Bad’s first cd that I owned was Large and In charge and it had so many great songs on it. Mike Park’s voice came out of my cd player and sort of had me tranced. And the words to the songs were great.

I wish I could show you  all of the songs from Large and In Charge, but those videos do not exist.  But if you come over I will gladly play the whole cd for you.

One last one though because at the time this last one was like their theme song, I was even pulled onstage once to dance while they played it.  This was an awesome song, so here is Pirates.  Listen to the bass in this one, it walks up and down so awesomely.

So a year later the band continued along their pirate theme and released another  CD called Overboard. Again to me, it was cooler than sliced bread.

I am completely unable to find videos or anything from the era of Overboard. But I can link up to a few of the songs.  

Obviously with a title like Overboard they continued their nautical voyage through sound. The stuff they were putting out all sounded great.

Shiver Me Timber from Deals Gone Bad on Myspace.

They even took time to cover Joe South’s song Games People Play

Games People Play from Deals Gone Bad on Myspace.

Then something happened.I fell out of love with Deal's Gone Bad.  It was my fault really. I moved, I lost touch of what was going on in the ska scene in Kenosha Wisconsin and Illinois for that matter.

Deals gone Bad went through some changes and they put out an ep in 2002, I actually did not get it, and cannot verify it, but I have read about it but not heard it either. That actually kind of saddens me.

Then they put out Guide To Boat Drinks and Cruise Cocktails in 2002 and A greatest hits cd in 2003 (both of which I did not hear until after the fact and have heard now, and I basically regret having moved away and losing touch with the band.

Be Mine Tonight from Deals Gone Bad on Myspace.

I guess I never thought anything more would come of it, Or maybe I just sort of grew up and lost touch with what was happening.  I had kids and got married and divorced I was living the life so to speak.  I grew up and my musical interests grew and things that I liked or was once  interested in seemed to not really fit the bill of what I wanted.

But I had no clue about what was going on somewhere near Chicago. Deal’s Gone Bad was changing, they were expanding their line up they were changing, they were growing up with me.

It was somewhere in the middle of 2007 that I saw Deal’s Gone Bad would be playing at a club in downtown Green Bay.  I about flipped my shit, got on the internet to see if this was true, was the same band that I had loved 10 years prior, making some sort of a comeback and playing in my area?

I was half right, and shocked and excited by what I found on the internet.

Deal’s Gone Bad had grown with me. They went through a serious overhaul. The main switch was that the smooth Regaee inspired vocals of Mike Park were gone, but instead the band had  found a much more solid and soulful vocal leader in Todd Hembrook.

So I set out to see the band, and they were barely recognizable but there is no mistaking Dave Simon.(The awesome guitar player mentioned above) And  the energy was still there. The drummer Mike Corcoran remained from the original incarnation of the group.  And when I saw Todd Hembrook grab that microphone, I knew that Deal’s Gone Bad was back and meant business.

They made a CD in 2007 called The Ramblers and it is very different from what was heard on previous releases. The Ramblers added more roots to the Rocksteady and added blends of funk and soul into the mix. Smooth vocals and guitar parts that blended with a keyboard that was so beautifully refined.

Seriously the sound that you hear while listening to The Rambler is what you would hear if Jimmy Cliff and James Brown and Otis Redding had a one night stand and gave birth to a band. Now while I wouldn’t want to see such a thing, I do like the result.  I mean listen to this stuff.

They can even embrace a slight bit of country twinge if they need to, and even that sounds good. 

I could play you videos and songs all day. In fact writing this is taking longer because I am drawn into just listening and talking to Rivers (My 8 year old) about it. Plus I am teaching him how to dance to the music.

But I digress.

After the release of The Ramblers, Deals Gone Bad went on and did some extensive touring and played with many other great ska bands, played all the festivals they could and kept  people dancing and having fun.

 

Deals Gone bad is stronger than ever. In 2001 they put out an EP around their song Far From Home.

So the band continues to play shows all over including Riot Fest this past September.

Now they are planning a new album entitled Heartbreaks and Shadows, and I am excited about that, but don’t take my word on the subject. Check this out….

So do what you can go out and support Deal’s Gone Bad. A band that I have always lovesd and has grown with me and changed just the way I needed them to.  I think I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Deal’s Gone Bad. 

Find their myspace page     HERE

And Facebook    HERE

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY SUPPORT THE NEW ALBUM        HERE

By the way I was not asked by the band to post this or anything. I just saw their fund raising video last night and decided to bring some attention to them.  I love them and think you should too.

But maybe you guys can help me convince Woman of The House that we need to send them $2000 to come play in our back yard.  (Pretty Please with Sugar On Top)  

BEN FOLDS

Beyond Brick

Or

Why you should stop everything you are doing and give Ben Folds all of your money (Or at least buy one of his CD’s)

If all that you know about Ben Folds is the song Brick, well that’s ok.  I won’t chastise you for that. I mean he doesn’t twerk or make crazy music videos. He doesn’t dress oddly, there are no sex scandals, He might smoke pot, but no one is going to cut themselves over it. So really, it makes sense to me that you haven’t heard much about him.

Maybe you have seen Ben Folds on the Sing Off, and thought that guy is smart and seems to know a lot about music.  But Ben Folds is so much more than that.  He is a rocking dude. He is ironically funny and he makes relatable music.   The man has no problem with swearing and will drop an f bomb right in the middle of a beautiful fucking song.

If that turned you off, or made you no longer interested, then you are silly.

So where do I begin on this journey of how cool Ben Folds is.  I mean I am not going to give you a biography of his career. I mean that would take a while plus I assume most of you have at least heard of him.  I really just want to point out some of the super cool things that I don’t think you realize he has done; or may have forgotten.

Really quickly before anyone gets confused go back and read What is That Band Called, to discover the quirky irony of Ben Folds Five’s name.   I don’t want to ruin it for you, but if you continue on  without knowing you might get lost.

Brick

I am going to start here, otherwise, taking you beyond it then bringing it up would seem weird.  So we will start here, with the song that made Folds, and his group Ben Folds Five a somewhat household name.  I mean plenty of soccer moms got down to that song. Right?

But I don’t know if everyone really knew what the song was about. Sure the video gave some glimpses into what was going on.  But for those of you that do not know. The song was a very somber look at abortion.  Folds  high school girlfriend actually went through an abortion and the songs verses were written by Folds and they reflect the events as he saw them.  The chorus was written by the bands drummer; which helps the song have that twinge of ambiguity and disconnection that the song needed to be an adult contemporary hit.  

This song made a good portion of his fans feel like he sold out, because realistically the band was a sort of punk rock/piano band.  And this song took them way out of their element. Folds once mentioned that they couldn’t even fit the song onto their set lists because it had such a different vibe.

So here it is for you a nice melancholy way to start today…….

Army (Live)

In 1999 the Ben Folds Five released the song  Army.

The song was a straight up tell all written by Ben Folds after he had lost a scholarship and considered joining the Army. If you have heard the song then you know how his dad felt about it.

Folds has said that the only thing that he made up in the song was about him having a mullet. He apparently never had a mullet.

So the reason why this song is so cool when performed live is that in the studio version the band brought in a horn section. The horn section is a fun awesome part in the song.  When the song is performed live, there typically is no horn section so Folds divides the audience up and teaches them how to do it.  He sometimes refers to them as bitches and whores which is a play on the phrase “bitchin horn section”. 

So that is the moment that I want you to see and be a part of….

Bitches Ain’t Shit

If you are following along with me in time, you would know that I enjoy all types of music, and you know that somehow I was pulled into the west side gangsta rap side of things for a while.

No one can deny that Dr Dre’s album The Chronic was an awesome fucking album, I mean seriously this was an awesome album.  At the end of the CD was this sorta secret song after the outro.  It was an awesome song talking about well, bitches and hoes, (sorry ladies, not my words, I prefer cooks and maids, but .._)  

So anyways Dre and his pals made a great song that other rappers have covered and remade and had their fun with.Check out Dre's version Right Here!!

Ben Folds decided, why not do it with a more serious tone, which he did and the song actually was so well received that  it made its way onto the billboard hot 100. 

The beauty of the song is that Ben does it as just a straight fucking song.  Melodically and harmoniously it is a beautiful track.  I mean if you did not listen to the actual lyrics, you might think you are listening to something completely different.

  So here it is  live and uncut…

William Shatner Has Been

If you have never heard William Shatner’s work as a music artist, you are missing a big treat.   

William Shatner has his own musical career that has spawned  like 7 different albums.  And I am not lying they are all good in their own way. Mostly spoken word  and oddness  but it is seriously good fucking stuff.

The beauty of Captain Kirk’s 2004 album, and why I am talking about it now is that Ben Folds produced it and helped him put the whole thing together. I mean Shatner and Folds wrote all of the songs together and everything.  Ben plays on all of the tracks.

The album had duets and guest artists amuck. And was critically acclaimed.  It made it’s way to number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.   That means it was hot shit.  AllMusic.com gives the album 4 out of 5 stars.

So I give you my favorite track off the album, a fan made video of  William Shatner’s cover of Pulp’s Common People; which features guest vocals by one of my favorite singers of all time- Joe Jackson.

Over the Hedge

Ben Folds provided all the singing in the movie, I say it like that because the actual score was written by someone else.  But Folds has 5 songs on the soundtrack ; including his cover of Lost in the Supermarket by The Clash, and a rewriting of his song Rockin’ the Suburbs

I don’t know how it came to be that Folds got to work on this, but I think it had something to do with the fact that William Shatner is in the movie.  I wish I could tell you which collaboration came first  but it seems as if they were almost simultaneous.

Either way, this is my favorite movie to watch when the kids want to watch a cartoon.  It is not the greatest movie in the world, but soundtrack wise it is top notch baby.

I don’t know maybe it’s weird that he did a soundtrack for a kids album, but I think it’s fucking cool as hell. It gives me a way to interact with my kids Sure he bastardized Rockin’ the Suburbs, and took all the swear words out.  But now I can enjoy Ben Folds with my kids and not get glared at by other people.  

So below is the PG version of Rockin’ the Suburbs, check out the R one here.

The Leaked version of Way to Normal

In this day and age, every artist over protects their album. Ben folds gets that but he found a different way to protect his work.

In  September of 2008 Ben Folds released the album Way to Normal, and it was one hell of a good album, but in July of that year Ben Folds released a fake leak of the album.  The songs had the same titles, and Folds was singing them.

I mean, come on that is fucking genius. Eminem’s crew doesn’t even think of shit like that. I mean who has time to make not 1 but 2 albums especially when one is nothing but fake.   They wrote all the songs in days recorded it in 1 day and then leaked it.

And the best part was that the shit was good.  I mean so good that Folds would perform some of the fake songs while on tour his fake version of Bitch Went Nutz actually got popular amongst fans.

Maybe I am a dork of a fan, but I think it’s cool as hell. So here is the fake followed by the real.  The real one is a shitty video, but it has the full opening which is key to what the song is about

The Fake Version

The Real Version

Chatroulette Live

If you are unfamiliar with Chatroulette consider yourself somewhat lucky.  Basically Chatroulette is a chatting service but it works via webcam.  So you just log on and push talk and end up talking to a random person without ever knowing who it is that you are going to be talking to.

So there was this dude named Merton who would sit on Chatroulette and play the piano for people, and he would just improvise things for people.

People initially thought that Merton was Ben Folds, but in reality he wasn’t, and at one point Merton and Ben Folds appeared in a video together.

So on a few occasions at concerts Ben would hook up his laptop to the giant video screen behind him, and he and the audience would have an impromptu jam session with whoever came up via the Chatroulette feed.

It is awesome as hell…

University A Capella

Ben Folds heard  a group performing his song brick via A Capella and realized that there were a lot of people doing his music  in A Capella versions.

So he went out and found  a bunch of them and put them together to create a CD of all his music done A Capella. His love for A Capella music and this album got him is job on The Sing Off .

To top it off Folds himself performed a few songs a la A Capella  so the next and last thing that I have for you is Ben Folds backed by himself performing Effington.

I hope you have learned a thing or two and I hope you have learned to love Ben Folds the way that I do.  He really is a talented dude. Look him up, I swear it is totally worth it.

Peace Out. 

Cover band Songs (A How To)

 9 Songs that every cover band should know.

   

And 4 that they should forget.

Ok this is going to be a weird list and a hard list to make sense of.  Keep in mind this is my own personal list, and these are my own personal feelings.  Some of these aren’t even  clearly about 1 song but I picked a song by certain   artists that cover bands should try to play at least one song by.

At the end of this I will also name a few songs that cover bands should stop doing. 

The Joker – Steve Miller Band

Why not? I mean it is a 3 chord song essentially, plus it features a great bass line that just stays true throughout the song. It’s heavy on the wah wah. And has a sweet solo.

Realistically you can change to any key to fit anyone’s vocal capabilities.

Not to mention something about the lyrics really turns on a lot of women. No joke. Next time you go out just walk up to a random girl and say “I really love your peaches I wanna shake your tree.” I swear on my life you will get a date.

And honestly, if a cover band does any song by The Steve Miller Band that is good enough for me.  The band as a whole has a great amount of hits: Jet Airliner, Take the Money and Run, Swingtown.  But with the simplicity of The Joker there is no excuse not to play it.

 Seriously!

Louie Louie – The Kingsmen

Another 3 chord song, this time with a minor thrown in, but nonetheless another very simple song.

The part that makes it ridiculously simple is that no one really knows the actual lyrics. There was an FBI case to find out the actual lyrics of the song.  But even the smart hard working men from Washington DC could not figure it out.  (There is a yelling of the word Fuck in the song too. But the FBI missed that as well)

This is a good thing because all you have to do is come close. Plus if you really want you can have anyone from the audience come and sing it when your vocalist has to pee or wants a cigarette.

Even me in the drunkest state of mind, do I still know the melody of Louie Louie, and as long as the Louie Louies hit at the right time. Then you will be fine.  Hell the lead singer of The Kingsmen doesn’t even start the third verse at the right time. (Extra brownie points to any cover band that recreates that moment.)

Ok Let’s give it to em Right Now!!

Rock N Roll all Night – Kiss

Still another fairly simple song. Are you beginning to see a pattern?

The drums on this song are the best part so why not let your drummer get wild for a while and play some nasty fills.

 The lyrics are simple but the cool thing about this song is that you can use it as homage to your audience. When the bass and guitar drop out, just let the audience sing the words, they are just on repeat at that point.

Sure most cover bands don’t have the funding to pull off all the theatrics that Kiss could afford.  But just wear some heels a little facepaint and maybe your crowd will get the idea.

Kiss is another band that you can really play any of their songs and have it go over well. (Except Beth- Fuck that pussy ass song!!)  If you are in a town with a 2 syllable name, you can always do Detroit rock City.  Calling Dr. Love is another good and easy one. As is Love Gun.  

But if you do Rock and Roll all night, try to emulate this, (except for Paul Stanley’s screeching!)

I’m a Believer – The Monkees

I say the Monkees version because realistically theirs was the most known version until Smash Mouth came along.  So if you know their version you can easily branch out onto other versions.

 But unless you are playing for a group of ten year olds, odds are your crowd will still remember this version.

Plus this version is the most soulful to the point that Mickey Dolenz almost sounds like Aretha Franklin at the end.  It is also relatively an easy song to learn and play, so there is no excuse.

The Monkees catalog of songs is so big, and so good that I think they are another band that every cover band should take a crack at. I mean realistically, look them up on your own time, but they were pretty huge in their day and have a lot of hit songs. (And if I ever hear a band play zilch that would be the coolest thing ever.)

Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime

So this is an awesome song and it is a lot of picking and playing but tons of fun.

I have no idea really why I have never heard a cover band do this, but I haven’t.   I really think they should.

Yes part of me just wanted to listen to this song and have a reason for you to see how cool of a song this is. Plus the guys are really good looking.

Seriously though if you are in a cover band, and don’t consider this song once in your career, then you are taking yourself way way too seriously, come on just bust out the bottle. 

 Yes I think this can be done without a banjo, plus most lead guitar players have some effect that they can use to sound like they are playing the banjo.

                Also, this song gives your drummer a break unless they are the only person in your band that knows how to make a ch sound.

This is a fun- very fun song and a happy tune. So learn it!!

Cheap Trick – Surrender

You probably are thinking why not I Want You to Want Me.  And that is a great question with a simple answer - I have heard too many bands butcher it.  If there is one thing I hate in the world more than anything it is hearing a cover band play a song horribly.

Not to mention, Surrender is a bad ass song that deserves to come to prominence.  I will tell you this, I don’t think every Cheap Trick song is worth covering but this is a great one that is. 

Cheap Trick has always been a great band in my mind, but they play kick ass simplistic yet epic songs.  I mean their cover of Ain’t That a Shame is awesome as sin.

The band is still truly popular in the Midwest, where they got their start, so if you live in the Midwest odds are your fans are going to love this song. If they don’t--- Fuck them!

Wild Thing – Sam Kinison

I have never heard any band try to touch this, but I honestly think it would be the coolest thing in the world if a band covered this version of the song.   I have heard a lot of bands do the Troggs version, and that is cute.

But hardly anybody does a cover of the version of the song by X which is the version associated with Rick Vaughn in the movies Major League and Major League 2.  So even that version would be appreciated.

The original song was just a 3 chord or so ditty, so realistically just add a little bit of a hard rock twist to it and you have this version of the song.

But Kinison’s version of the song is fucking incredible.  It is actually a pretty hard edge song and a total reworking of the lyrics. But in my opinion Kinison has the perfect voice to shout this thing out. And really that is one of the things that he was known for.

The video depicts his band as one of the greatest super groups of all time. I have no idea who actually plays the music on the song but the video makes it look like it was an incredibly awesome party.  Jon Bon Jovi and Rodney are great in the opening and then I don’t have time to name all the people that are hanging around for the song.

Seriously though if you have a singer that can scream and sound good, you should consider this song. And if you are in a band that decides to do it please invite me to one of your shows, I want to see it.

Until then I will just watch the video on repeat…

Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones

Well let’s stick with the loud stuff for a while.  Another simple song. The Ramones were never known for wildly difficult guitar parts.  But I will be damned if they didn’t fuck shit up with some of the greatest 3 chord punk of all time.

So listen first thing first. Don’t try to emulate Joey’s voice you won’t ever sound like him and it is sort of Punk Rock sacrilege to even try.  Everyone will hate you for it. Even if you do it perfectly.

But most people know this song; it is probably one of if not the most known Ramones song.  This song will turn even Grandma Ethyl and Grandpa Leroy’s 50^th anniversary into a wild mosh pit. (Can you imagine getting hit by a walker?)  

Lyrically the song doesn’t change and the whole crowd is ready to scream the Hey Ho Let’s Go part so seriously turn the volume up and knock this bitch out.  1-2-3-4

Free Bird - Lynard Skynard

I am absolutely serious.  Why the fuck not.  You know damn well that some drunken guy or group of them, or any one of my dad’s lame friends just trying to be funny is going to scream it out.

Maybe you are not interested in indulging them, and find it annoying. But what would really shut them up is if you not only play this song, but if you play the ever loving fuck out of it.  I mean especially when you get to the end, by that point the assholes will just be staring in awe.

The other thing to think about is, who are you there to entertain?  I mean after all as a cover band if you book yourself into the kind of gig where people are shouting Freebird at you, then you should be prepared for it.

I have only heard a few bands actually do it and most of them sucked at it.  Some bands can do the ending but not the beginning but mostly it seems no one has the patience to play what ends up being a 9 minute song at the least. (And if anyone plays it in less than 9 minutes then they are cheating)

So seriously, check it out. Learn it and if you are at a concert scream it out. 

 So there you have it the 9 songs that I think every cover band should be playing or at least know and be able to add to their set list on a whim.  Maybe you disagree, maybe you don’t want to learn any of those songs, but I highly suggest learning at least one of them.

Now onto the songs that I think every cover band should forget.  Or at least never play again.

Twist and Shout – The Beatles

Everyone knows this song and it jumped the shark when it was in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  I mean that movie put the song back in the Hot 100.  That’s silly. I love the Beatles but the fact that one of their songs was in the top 25 of the Hot 100; 16 years after the band broke up, that’s messed up.

I mean first of all, The Beatles version is a cover version, and  beyond that it has been covered by so many artists and too many.  Seriously look it up, it is sad how many mainstream artists have done the song.

 And I don’t care what sort of spin you put on it; it will never be as cool as this….

Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Ok first of all, I am guilty of this one, but I will admit that when I do this song it is a softer slower version of the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ version.  And anyone else doing that version is allowed a pass, as is anyone covering Judy Garland’s version. (Realistically a lot of people have re done the Judy Garland version, and that’s ok by me.)

The key way to tell if someone is doing this version is listening to the tempo they sing at and you will notice the melody is a bit off. The even worse thing that some people do is they take off the s at the end of chimney tops.  Also listen to see how many syllables there are in Chimney

That really only works if you are a 700 pound man from Hawaii and let’s face it you aren’t.

Also, just because someone in your band knows how to play ukulele doesn’t mean they should get it out and play this song.  I once saw somebody do that the worst part was it was honestly right before they played like an 80’s hair rock song. I can’t remember if it was poison or Motley Crue, but you get the picture.

Either way, just stop. You can’t do it as good as IZ and you also are probably unable to do this…

Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard

I mean, come on, strippers don’t even dance to the song anymore.   The only people that want to hear it are the ladies in the back that nobody laid in the 80s and sure as hell no one would touch them with a 39 and a half foot pole now.

Another reason why I don’t particularly like hearing cover bands so it is because I have seen Def Leppard live and guess what I don’t care who you are, you cannot drum this thing with half the heart that Rick Allen has.  (The fucking guy only has 1 arm)  Sure it’s not crazy drumming but come on!

Really those are the main reasons.

I like the song I just prefer to hear the original. Maybe that’s a crazy preference; I just have never heard anyone really give the song any justice

Hell Def Leppard barely does the song justice anymore…

You Never Even Called Me by My Name – David Allan Coe

If you know who wrote this song then you have already heard it way too many times. (Some of you are trying to remember the talking part and remember who did write it)

First things first this is not the perfect country and western song, and if you really think so, then you need to broaden your musical horizons.  But that being said, it is a country song, and in my opinion like 65% of your set better be country if you plan on even trying this. (Most of the time it isn’t)

I hate when I hear cover artists do this, and mostly they are solo guys, I mean come on there are like 4 different guitar parts on the song. Not to mention, I hate when they do speak the spoken part as if they actually know Steve Goodman. 

The other thing that the cover artists try to do is match all the different vocal styling’s when mentioning all the other singers.  (You do a shitty Merle Haggard; please give me money back I just spit out all my beer.)

This is the only worthwhile cover of the song because of the appearance of the guys named….

So Please if you are in some sort of cover band and are looking for material, Learn the first set of songs and don’t you dare touch the last 4.

If you are thinking about starting a cover band, make sure you see enough of them. Make sure you are different enough from all of them but close enough to them that you will still get gigs.  

Have fun Rock On!! 

My Wishes for 2014

My 5 Musical Comeback Wishes for 2014

So maybe it’s a beloved group or just a solo guy, but there are many wishes that I have and maybe if I am lucky I will get to see at least 1 of these things happen in 2014.  So I wrote them down and here is my list of people or bands that I want to see make a comeback.

Billie Joe Armstrong

I have always thought Mike Dirnt was pretty laid back and cool from the get go, and Tre has always been crazy so those two get a pass

It seems like an easy yet mean place to start but seriously, what the fuck happened.

In 1994, the punk scene became so disgruntled with Green Day.  The band spent most of the mid to late 90’s trying to prove everyone that called them sell-outs wrong.  I mean the huge giant mud fight at Woodstock 94 was so awesome. Billy Joe throwing mud, Mike Dirnt getting tackled.  Dirnt even opened the show calling the audience “Rich Fuckers”  I mean there were people on stage everywhere, it got so crazy.

Then the band had a hard time finding a decent follow up for anything off the Dookie album. But then the world ate up Good Riddance(Time of your life) It is now a go to song for anything memorial related.

But the band stayed quiet for a long while after that.  I mean it wasn’t until 7 years later that they released American Idiot.  Which, was their sort of anti-establishment comeback. They toured this album for what seems like an eternity.

But come on then to follow up with another “punk rock opera”  and then the release of the video game Green Day Rock Band.  Ok So if that doesn’t mean that you have officially sold out, then I don’t know what does.

Oh wait, that’s right, Then Billie Joe endorsed Barrack Obama for president and turned American Idiot into a Broadway musical.  Most recently releasing an album with Norah Jones.  Now that is completely sold out. 

I mean maybe there are different genres of punk, and what I consider to be punk and what you do might be different. There are also bands that just sound punk, but aren’t really, and a lot in between.

But for what Green Day claimed they were in 1994, Billie Joe killed when he endorsed Obama.  The kind of punk that is anti-establishment, endorses no one because politicians are all assholes in their mind.

Then to make a musical. A Broadway Fucking Musical? What is That?

I just want Billie Joe back to being fun and cynical. I don’t care if he never has another hit song as long as he says what he means and fucks shit up.

Please Billie---Come Back

This is the only thing remotely punk that Billie Joe has done in 20 years……….

Phil Collins

This won’t take as long because I don’t really think that anyone would argue that new Phil Collins sucks.

I don’t even care if Genesis gets back together, because realistically Sussudio and Take Me Home are good solo songs . And I don’t think that anyone is against me on how great of a song In The Air Tonight is. 

But Now Phil Collins is a retired musician. And that is not what I mean by a comeback. Not ony do I want him to unretired, but I also want him to stop making Shitty Disney music. 

That is his biggest offense to me.  Don’t go from being a cool ass dude to writing theme songs for Disney. Hell I don’t care what they pay you. I wanna hear some Rock shit, and not You’ll be in my heart.  If I teach my boys about Phil Collins I don’t want to have to reference The Jungle Book, or any other Bull shit.

Please Phil – We Need you

I would rather see Phil Collins Music in Movies like this……

Sting and The Police.

I want this…

Not This…

Say what you want, but I hate that Desert Rose song.  Again, just like with Phil Collins, I don’t think that all of Sting’s music is shit. In fact most of it is great but I just want the Police to get back together once and for all.

I know I should respect them and I know they don’t get along. But Come on Some of Sting’s current work is just plain crap. And I have always hated Sting for Desert Rose, Not because I don’t like it, well Yeah. I hate it. It’s not a horrible song, just not what I want from Sting.

So yes I do hope that the Police get back together I mean, they were not “Punk” but they were part of the punk scene, again the term punk is a loose term, but  either way The Police were one hell of a band who don’t really get along anymore, but when they had a brief reunion in 07 and 08 they made 358 million dollars for 1 tour. That is a big chunk of change people are willing to shell out  to see these guys. I hope they get the hint

Give me this just once more please ……

OutKast

I never thought anything bad of OutKast, and In fact I love them, for me they are one of the Rap groups that pulled me in and I love both sides of the duo. Andre3000 is wild and Big Boi just plays it cool and holds down with fresh beats and smooth rhymes.

But what happened to them?

In my opinion they realized that they didn’t really need each other  In 2003. They released Speakerboxxx/The Love Below  as a two disc set.  One disc was Dre’s  and the other was Big Boi’s

But I am sure you knew that already.  But  my opinion is that that is why they are gone.  I mean they won a grammy for that album. So in my mind they each grew tired of the other and went solo. It makes sense to me but I just wish they could do something big together again.

  I think everyone is waiting for it…

I mean why can’t they do this again…..

Rivers Cuomo/Weezer/Matt Sharp

 That’s right I said it!

How could I not, I mean I have to be true to the subject, and the current incarnation of Rivers Cuomo is weird, geeky and almost nuts.

Let me also say that I hold no grudges to Scott Shriner and in fact I think He is a better bassist than Matt Sharp. But Bass playing ability aside. After Matt left the group Rivers sort of lost control of himself. 

Or Maybe he didn’t.

I mean after all, the Blue album is now almost 20 years old.  It is safe to say that a 44 year old man probably doesn’t pine for the things that he once did.  Which I totally understand. After all  Cuomo is married now and has kids. So if he has grown up that makes sense.

But then what is with all the theatrics, the Trampoline, singing pokerface in a girls wig and covering Pumped up Kicks?

What is with doing Magic with B.o.B, and the weird thing with all the vests .  I mean is he trying to recreate his youth? 

I love weezer and hold Rivers Cuomo in the highest regards  but I cant take all the Double Speak.

I mean if we are all Little Bitches as Cuomo claims we are, then what does that make him?  I guess I have all but given up hope that weezer will return to its pre 2000’s era and that’s fine. So I will never get my Pinkerton 2 and you will never get a second Blue album.

But is it fair to say that Rivers is trying to relive his twenties and is almost erasing and ridding himself of his 94-99 persona ?

I personally feel that Matt was almost a bit of a guidance figure for Rivers and that their collaborations were incredible.  Sure Rivers gets the majority of the songwriting credits, But Matt helped work his influence into the music. Did Rivers change- For sure but why? Who knows. They teased us with a reunion in 2004, but nothing sense.

All I have to say is I wanna Go Back…..

So There it is, 5 things that I want to see in the new year.

I tried to be objective and non negative. I hope you understand that all of these wishes are for things that I think are good.

Oh and Happy New Year- Be safe Have Fun and go listen to some awesome live music, I recommend it.

See ya Next Year!!! 

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Smoking Popes

1/3/2014 -----Yesterday I spent nearly an hour talking to Josh Caterer. It was a magical moment for me. He was an awesome awesome gentlemen and he enlightened me in many ways.  He let me ask all of the questions I had and answered them all.  So this post is now completely re updated to show that. I added 2 more videos. Both  of which are great songs that I was able to talk to Josh about.  So please enjoy the redone. format. 

Smoking Popes

What do you get when you mix the hard pop punk edge of Green Day with the lyrical style of Robert Smith (of the Cure) and the voice of Bing Crosby?  You get the Smoking Popes- obviously; otherwise that question would be dumb to ask, given the title of this post.

Mrs. You and Me was the first Smoking Popes song that I ever heard.  It was on the soundtrack to the movie Angus.  If you remember my blog about the best soundtracks, then you remember the conversation. If not, go back and read it. (I don’t have the time to re hash it, plus I personally think that all of my blogs are great, here is a link to that specific blog {http://musicnotesfromthepast.blogspot.com/2013/11/best-soundtracks-ever.html} So if that didn’t make it easy enough for you then you have issues.)

So by the time I saw the movie and started showing interest in the Smoking Popes; they had already been around for 5 years, and would be breaking up in the next year.  But don’t worry, they are back together now, albeit with a new drummer; and they still sound as good, if not better than they ever have before.

In the beginning they were just three brothers. The Caterers: Matt was the oldest, Eli was the youngest, and the man with the golden voice Josh was in the middle. 

Of playing with his brother's Josh Caterer had this to say

                      "Being brothers made it easier because we started playing together  at a young age. We were able to develop a distinct style of playing together, a kind of musical identity very early.That helped with arranging music, we don't have to talk it to death. I can bring a song in and just play it  and they know what to do. I thought Capitol would have tried to use that and advertise 3 brothers in a band, but they never did.  It could have had a novelty appeal."


They formed a band together and called it Speedstick. They added drummer Dave Martens and soon after, Speedstick recorded a few songs, most notably, Brand New Hairstyle; which the Popes would later record. (This is a fantastic song that I get stuck in my head every time I get my hair cut.)

Soon after The band sort of changed styles, and names:  As Speedstick, they provided a little bit of a crunchier sound with a punk sort of feel; all whilst keeping your underarms fresh.  When they became Smoking Popes they got a little quieter with an indie folk pop vibe.  All whilst Still adding crunchy guitars and kick ass guitars when needed.

(For the record, at some point for a while Eli was not in the band, and is not noted as in the band for the first couple of EP’s, But I don’t know when he left, but it appears he came back in February of 92.  I am sorry I can’t find a real good History of the band, but while researching I did find this interesting article  http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1762/in_the_habit_a_history_of_catholicism_and_tobacco.aspx#.Ur3JjPRDvAQ  )

Martens left the group, supposedly because he didn’t like the direction that the band was heading, and realistically, when you are in a band with a bunch of brothers, you probably get outvoted a lot. You can still hear him on tracks from the Inoculator EP. Check out Sandra, its hard beautiful, and is about Sandra Bernhard, and Ralph Nau.

Josh Caterer on how Sandra came about:

                    "This guy was a stalker and his main obsession was Olivia Newton John. He was from our area   in the northwest suburbs; so his picture made the front page of the local newspaper. His mugshot; and he looked like a total maniac in the picture. My brothers and I saw that and were amused by the crazy look in his eyes in the mugshot but it got us thinking about the concept of stalking.  I tried to get inside the mind of the stalker and thought that it would be funny to switch the object of that obsession over to a less likely candidate. It takes a very special kind of stalker to want to stalk Sandra Bernhard."








So while looking for a new drummer they ended up getting a cool dude by the name of Mike Felumlee; who is an awesome as hell drummer.  (If you can find a copy of the EP titled 2, listen to Under The Blanket, and not only is the song awesome, Felumlee’s drumming on that track is incredible.)

From 92- 94 the Smoking Popes would be one of the hardest working groups of dudes aspiring to be musicians recording EP’s of their own and adding music to compilations and split EP’s with other bands  and  in 1993 they released an incredible Debut LP titled Get Fired.

Right off the bat let’s talk about the coolness of the title. Think about the fact that Josh Caterer croons like he is the son of Sinatra; he then releases a 60’s sort of titled album which reads “the Smoking Popes get fired”.  I don’t know, if you can appreciate how cool that is.  I can tell you for a fact that every song on that album is incredible and if you want honesty, I considered it for my list of Greatest albums, but because, I didn’t hear it until years after its debut I decided to cut it. (Sorry Josh)   The songs on the album range from the short but loud Let Them Die, to the long epic brilliant masterpiece that is Days Just Wave Goodbye.  But my favorite from that album is Off My Mind

A year later they were opening for Green Day who were actual fans of the band and invited them because they realized how good the music on Get Fired was. (Insert mean comment about Green Day here)  As 94 went on The Smoking Popes released another album which was titled Born to Quit. (Sure not as stylistically cool as get fired, but still about losing a job in a way.)

Born to Quit garnered some attention and ended up helping the band get signed to Capitol Records.  Capitol would soon re-release the album and focus on introducing the band to a national audience.  Songs were issued as singles and Need You Around was featured on the soundtrack to Clueless. Which helped DJ’s to play the song sporadically (If you get the joke kudos!)  Another song was on the Tommy Boy soundtrack and of course Mrs. You and Me was part of the Angus soundtrack.

Need You Around was the only song by the popes to ever chart and Born To Quit was the only album to chart. It reached #37  on the Heatseekers Album chart  (The Heatseekers chart is like a chart for new and up and coming bands and has weird rules, nonetheless, it is awesome for any artist to be recognized by Billboard)

So now the band had National exposure, they were touring with Jimmy Eat World, and Goo Goo Dolls and Jawbreaker.  Hell they now had me as a fan and the world was alright. Sure none of my friends enjoyed it, but these were the same people that were not ready for Pinkerton the way I was.  Sadly my friends were influenced by Rock critics and Rolling Stone. This meant that the critics were not ready for the Popes either.   (Writing that sentence literally caused an anguished feeling begat from anger and sadness in the Smoking Popes honor.)

In 1997 the band released Destination failure (this time not about job loss but still negative) Holy Shit is this a fantastic album.  It was produced by Jerry Finn for Christ’s sake, how could it not be a success?  This was a very pop punk album, and lyrically was beautiful. This album contains most of my favorite smoking Popes songs.   Pretty Pathetic, Megan, Paul, Let’s Hear it for Love, No More Smiles….. Ok, maybe I should just stop before I list every song. 

So if you have never heard the song Pretty Pathetic, read Stages of a Relationship Through Music.  That song is so fantastic,It truly is my favorite Smoking Popes song, and means the world to me.

 Josh Caterer explains Pretty Pathetic:

                 "Yeah that one was pretty autobiographical, more so than a lot of our songs. That song was very straight up in its depiction of a horrible experience in my life. It was difficult to write. There was a period of a couple months that I was stuck on that song. It was just within me waiting to come out. I sensed that it would be deeply personal and emotionally epic but it would also push the boundaries of my songwriting.  I spent a couple months grasping at straws trying to find it. I even went on a couple of trips by myself where I got into my car and for days at a time I just went off and stayed in hotels by myself where I just sat there with a guitar and a notepad and tried to come up with this song."

                 "I had given up on the idea, and then one night as I was going to sleep this idea just emerged in  my mind. The whole evening where I was trying to get back together with Stefanie came back to me, so I just wrote out in prose like a journal entry, because I had no concept of what the music would be and the next day I just put it almost  word for word to music. That's why the song just basically has a 3 chord pattern and allows the melody to freestyle over the top of it.  So it comes across as a stream of consciousness sort of thing."

                 "Now I have had a ton of people tell me that that song encapsulates an almost identical experience that they have had.  Which I am glad to hear because it is encouraging for me to hear that that sort of thing happens to a lot of people, and I think it is encouraging for other people to discover that it is pretty universal."













Also  check this one out, this one is also on the album….

This was the beginning of the end, as that song is a reference to Josh Caterer’s newly begun turn to Christianity. (Which I want to point out in a weird way I have always looked at this as a good thing, albeit for selfish reasons that I will explain later, so please do not think that I am knocking religion or anything at all.)

Capitol Records didn’t believe that there were any singles on the record so they were a little unhappy.  I believe the band made the above video on their own and that and Before I’m Gone (which is another awesome-awesome song) were the only actual singles from the album. Mostly due to the band pushing them out. 

So the band sort of just slowly waned out of the public eye due to Capitol not doing much with or for the band.  Capitol even rejected the album they recorded in 1998 titled The Party’s Over. (Another sort of negative title). But Josh Caterer says  they made the album in an attempt to get out of their contract with Capitol.

                  "We had one more album that we were obligated to make with our contract to Capitol.  So we went in quickly recorded this album and submitted it to Capitol expecting that they weren't going  to be satisfied with it, and they weren't.     So they said we don't want to put this out so we said OK can we get out of our contract and they said yes. "


                   "We had recorded it on our own so they never owned the masters but they didn't hold onto     those after we gave them  to them. so we were able to release it on our own"

It was a cover album of some great songs ranging  from Burt Bacharach  songs to Broadway musicals, Willie Nelson, all just great lyrically inspiring music, that the Smoking Popes did in their own sort of way. And I will tell you something Capitol made a huge mistake in my opinion (The band would later release the album on Double Zero records, which was basically their own label.

Truthfully the album title was fitting as the party that was the Smoking Popes was over.  Josh Caterer has stated that the popes and his Christianity just didn’t gel together.

Josh Caterer on The smoking Popes break up:

                   “It was a drug related incident for me that kind of was the turning point to get me started on my   road to Jesus. I think we toured with Morrissey after that happened, and I was coming into this relationship with God through Jesus Christ and re assessing my values in life.  So I had this perspective about the fact that the goals that I had been striving for and Morrissey was the embodiment of the same goals that I was going for. But I noticed that he didn’t seem any happier or more fulfilled than I was. That’s just the universal truth that fame and success and money don’t really make you happy or answer any of the big questions in life.

                   “The break up ultimately was because of my conversion to Christianity. I would put it all under that heading. That’s something that happened in May of 1998 I put my faith in Christ and tried  to incorporate my faith into what the Popes were doing.  I would give these mini-testimonies and then play I know That You Love Me acoustically and that’s how I closed out the set. After about 6 months I felt like that wasn’t being received well. I felt that instead of not doing those testimonies I needed to quit the band and focus completely on my relationship to Christ, so I announced that in January of 99."

The end of the 90’s saw nothing new from the Smoking Popes, and Caterer became more and more involved with his church activities and he became involved with the group World Relief.  I even think that he put out a short EP of Christian music in early 2000, but don’t quote me on that.

Then in 2001, it happened.  No the Smoking Popes didn’t get back together, but they kind of did, Josh Caterer and Mike Felumlee and a rotating cast of 3^rd men including Eli Caterer,  recorded and performed as a group called Duvall.  

 Caterer reflected on Duvall coming together-

                   "This was back in the day when people actually wrote letters. I had a PO Box and at that time I was just playing in my church in Chicago.  I would get these letters from other Christians that would ask me to talk to their friends about Jesus, because their friends wouldn't necessarily listen to them, but they might listen to me. I got alot of these letters and thought it could be a good thing to come out of hiding and play music again." 

Want to know the coolest part.   I saw what I believe was their first major concert.   They opened for Tenacious D and Weezer in Madison, and I was in the front row.  I was like 15 feet from Josh Caterer and it was amazing.  I will tell you this; I don’t remember their set at all.  I think they did a few popes songs but I could be wrong.  I clearly remember loving every minute of it.  

Josh Caterer on playing that concert

                      "Can you believe that we were even on that bill? That was a last minute thing for us. The Popes had played with weezer in the past, and we had met a couple of those guys. Rivers actually came and saw us in Minneapolis one tiime, so he was kind of a fan of ours.  But he had to settle for this new version of the Popes called Duvall. But looking back at it now it seems funny that a Christian Rock band would open for Tenacious D." 

 I thought I bought their EP there, but I can't confirm where I actually bought it. . But I do have it it was a split EP with the band Seville. Each band has 4 songs on the CD and it is very worth the listen . 

Either way Duvall made a full CD called Volume and Density and it was a killer CD a little slower than Popes music but still as good and still very true to the heart. Caterer’s lyrics have never been crappy or cliché, always on the sleeve and great.  The Cd even had a cover of True by Spandau Ballet on it.  You can’t go wrong there.  But being a Wisconsin boy I always liked the song Racine.

That alone was enough to keep me happy for a while, even though they never made another album. I at least had some music to enjoy for a while and had finally seen Josh Caterer sing live.  (To this date, that glorious day in Madison has been the first and only time that I ever got to see Josh Caterer live.)

Josh Caterer thinks that Duvall never took off because of what it really was.

               "The idea was for Duvall to be a Christian version of the Smoking Popes, but we were on the fence of being in the general market and the Christian music market, but we were too much in the middle of those things to really succeed in either market."

But then it happened.  Yes in 2005 the Smoking Popes came back.

Josh Caterer sees it like this

                "After a few years of Duvall, I felt ready to do the Popes again, Now that I had been in the same clubs that the Popes had played and gotten back into the swing of being in a rock band, I had gotten over my issues of Rock music itself that made me renounce it and walk away from it."



 They got a new drummer but hell it was still the Smoking Popes.  They announced a show at The Metro and sold out the show in a little over a half an hour.  I was raising a 10 month old, and wanted to go really badly but it just didn’t fit in to my schedule, but lucky for me they recorded the show, and the dvd is spectacular. 

Then the Popes started hanging out with another band I loved, Bayside.   They even went on a tour together with, another new drummer. And they started to play new songs and in 2008 they got another new drummer and more importantly released Stay Down; their first new album in like 10 years.

Stay Down (still sorta negative) is killer and it picks up literally, I mean literally right where they left off they rock hard they pull at your heart strings, they tell of love, they sing of life, and they added a lot of cool harmonies.  Welcome to Janesville is a great song and Wisconsin based too.  Grab Your Heart and Run could have been on Born To Quit.  It’s just a great album.  Caterer’s voice hasn’t changed a bit.  And check this out.

So the band is back in full swing, touring and playing Lollapalooza and Riot Fest and has released another album called This is Only A test( Not quite as negative, but seems less serious)  This is only a Test is a little louder than previous releases, but it is fun as hell. 

The album is a concept album whereby in which Josh takes on the persona of a Teenage boy, It is actually a really cool idea, and It made me feel young as hell again.  There are some experimental sorts of songs that are awesome, and a little different than anything the popes have done.  Excuse Me Coach is hilarious, Punk Band is fun, and about rocking Honestly every song is good.   But College actually pulls at my personal Heart strings and still brings a tear to my eye.

The band recorded a session for Complete Control sessions by SideOne Dummy records and it is awesome as hell.  2 songs I have not heard and sick new versions of Grab Your Heart and Run and Writing A Letter.  I am not going to lie- Writing a Letter sounds better than the original.  They also did this song….

The Smoking Popes are currently getting ready for their New Year’s Eve performance with Jimmy Eat World at House of Blues in Chicago.  If you are in the area and have the cash I say check it out. I sadly will not be attending but I wish I could. (If anyone wants to get me a late Christmas present, some tickets and a place to stay in Chicago for New Year’s would be an incredible gift) but check it out you can find more info----here.

So that is the history of the Smoking Popes as to the best of my knowledge, now I want to say a few things about them. 

The Smoking Popes music has never changed; it has always been true to itself and to its fans. Unlike weezer, I have never waited for them to make an album “like they used to.”  Sure they experimented on This is Only A Test but that was good, and from the point of view similar to most of their music.

All of their album titles as I noted, had a somewhat negative connotation to them, and I always thought that was a hilarious tongue in cheek gesture, I never knew if it was a stab at themselves or at the music industry, but I always like it. I await for their next album and who knows what it will be called, but it will probably have some self deprecating humor involved.   

And so another thing that I need to go back and discuss the fact I never faulted Caterer for finding spirituality. I think spirituality is a good thing and I was once a very Catholic boy, and just as I was falling out of love with God; Josh Caterer was finding him, and maybe it did lead to the initial breakup of the band, but really it was a hiatus. 

I think that had they not gone on hiatus, they would have hit the big time.  But in a bad way.  Honestly. I mean they were signed to Capitol Records; one of the greatest labels of all time.  They were touring and befriending bands that were heading to the top. 

They are a great band, and in my opinion in the early 2000’s their music would have been the backbone of the pseudo emo era. Many bands of that era list the Smoking Popes as influences.  But they stayed quiet until late 2005, and at that point that scene had died out, most bands of that era being obscure and forgotten.

So I am glad that that didn’t happen to the Popes.  When weezer put out the song Beverly Hills, it was a fly by night success and soon the concerts that I loved to go to were overrun by 12 year old girls and their aged parents doing Sudoku in their seats.  

That never happened to the Smoking Popes, and that means a lot to me.  So for that I am so so happy.  The Smoking Popes came back when they needed to and they were still “mine”

But now I share them with you, I hope you love them the way that I do. I hope you try to live out their songs the way I have. I hope you connect to them and I truly hope you find them in your heart and look them up and let them become a part of your life.

If you are looking to get more Josh Caterer in your life. You can find him every Saturday at the Village Church of Barrington.  As far as the Popes he says they only play when asked and aren't really touring at the moment. So if you really want to see the Popes, invent a festival, I will help you promote and we can invite them. Also you can read more of Caterer's thoughts on his website. 

I hope their music makes you want to Do Something, makes you want to scream makes you want to throw stuff around.


  Do Something