In less than a month I will finally have this…
This might be one of the most exciting box sets I have been looking forward to in years. I know I will not be disappointed.
Ben Folds Your Clothes
The other day I left a FaceBook comment for my non-manual vehicle driving pal Matt. He had tweeted (yes, tweeted on Twitter) that he was listening to Ben Folds. I thought I would be witty and clever and posted the following:
“Ben Folds Your Clothes”
The statement was funny and bold. I am sure Matt got a laugh out of it or cried himself a bit that night to sleep. Regardless I chalked one up on the board for being funny.
Today he tweets that Ben Folds is playing in Lakewood, OH on 3/22…
Coincidence? Hell yes it is. I am sure Ben Folds was looking at both of our FaceBook pages this morning and thought to himself “man I really need to visit these two lame-o’s…maybe I’ll play a show in Lakewood.”
Good idea Ben Folds… Thanks for extending your tour to the cool city of Lakewood on a Sunday. I have got to find tickets for this.
-Check out the tour dates on Ben Folds’ website. (note, I am not seeing that Lakewood date but I know Matt would not lie about this…)
-Did you know another Ben Folds CD was released? It is called Stems & Seeds and Amazon.com has is for a nice price. I am very interested to hear the remixes as I was not a huge fan of Way To Normal.
Weekend End Wrap Up
I end my weekend tonight watching The Rock on TNT, you know Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery and bio-hazard chemical warfare fun. I am not interested in the Oscars one bit and NASCAR has overlapped on to my Seth MacFarlane Sunday night ritual… Not as exciting as I wanted tonight to be but I will deal with it.
I watched a couple of movies over the weekend that really entertained me…
First up was Zack & Miri Make A Porno. This movie was rude, crude, and hilarious. If you have not seen it and are a Kevin Smith fan, or even a Seth Rogen fan, check it out. I laughed my ass off. After the movie my wife went to bed and I decided to check out the deleted scenes. While funny they lasted almost 2 hours!!! It was longer than movie itself.
This morning I checked out Jason Statham in Death Race. The glorified Fast & The Furious kept me entertained with the dark action, but that was about it. I liked the concept of the movie and it kind of freaked me out because I could totally see it happening one day…
My weekend was not spend in front of the TV entirely. I admit it was relaxing and I could have gotten more accomplished but sometimes you need a weekend off.
In an attempt to be productive I went to Big Lots! this morning to get some dog treats and just see what junk was around. I walked past what looked like a bn of junk DVDs and thanks to curiousity having the best of me, started looking through the titles. Good thing I decided to do that because I found Singles and Reality Bites for $3.00 a piece. Score.
I also have been cooking/baking a lot. In an attempt to save money I have been trying to eat out less and make interesting meals at home. Some of my meals have been next to delicious while others need some help by yours truly. For example the chilled peanut Chinese salad was ruined when I added a wee too much garlic salt into it but the oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies were a great success. Earlier in the week I fried up tofu and added it to a spicy dirty rice…delicious. Next up I am trying what Kelly & Jose over at Sensory Overload had the other day.
This week looks to be a good week. I am getting a free meal at the Texas Road House thanks to my employer. I helped move some 300 computers last month and as a thank you they are taking me out to eat with some of the other guys that helped me out. Good deal. Friday I am going to my first hockey game ever and hope to see the Lake Erie Monsters win.
So that ends my weekend. Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage saved the day…
Good night Cleveland and the rest of the internet world.
Last I Checked April Fool’s Day Was In April
This blog belongs in the WTF catagory for sure… I just learned today of a super group of sorts forming featuring members of bands you would never suspect.
What band members do I speak of? How about former Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, singer/Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger. Supergroup indeed. The band is called Tinted Windows and they should be releasing an album on April 21st, 2009.
Read on…
(Taken From Pitckforkmedia.com)
WTF: Members of Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, Cheap Trick, and Fountains of Wayne Form Band
According to Billboard.com, there’s a new band that exists on earth called Tinted Windows featuring former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, handsome Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger.I am looking at my calendar right now. It is not April 1.
A couple things while my mind is still barely stuck together: You put together one of the most random something-groups ever and the best name you can come up with is Tinted Windows?! Is that a play on the secretive nature of the group? Do they all wear Men in Black shades on stage? Is this a Blues Brothers revival act? But, really, if you’re going to go “Tinted” why not go all the way, like Blacked Out. Or Smashed Windows. Well, maybe not “Smashed.” Hm. At least a moniker with some confidence, some commitment. As of now, this band is like the transition lenses of something-groups.
The union sort of makes sense considering Iha and Schlesinger co-own a studio and Taylor Hanson seems like an all-around good guy…but still.
Apparently, the band have already recorded their debut album in New York and are set to make their big time live splash at Billboard’s SXSW showcase March 20 in Austin.
If this is Billboard’s idea of a gag, I have to hand it to them– it could be an incredible gag.
UPDATE: It’s not a gag. Tinted Windows is very real, their publicist assures us. And their album is coming out April 21.
WTF indeed… I will be researching this in the upcomming weeks and hope to find out a little more about this including WHY.
The Bakerton Group – El Rojo – CD Review
Rock band Clutch collectively released a new CD from their side project band, which some claim is an alter ego of sorts called The Bakerton Group. Focusing mostly on instrumental music, the four-some recently, with help from Per Wibeg of Opeth, released El Rojo. The outcome of this CD strays slightly from the stoner rock but travels more so down the jam band style of music with elements of jazz and blues.
The Maryland rock act Clutch has been rocking out since 1990 and although they never reached the mainstream level, they have a huge fan base and have sold tons of albums as well as toured the world. Their hard work over the years got them where they are today including a following of fans, more of a cult following as Clutch does not get played on the radio much nor do they have countless music videos for their material. The band, which barely slows down, tours constantly and has eight albums under their belts.
The Bakerton Group was formed around 1999 by the members of Clutch perhaps to just try something different and expand their musical creativity. Their first EP titled Space Guitars was released in 2000 and is still available for free download on the band’s website. It was not until 2007 when a full length self titled album was released on River Road Records. El Rojo marks the second release by the band and this time has been released on Clutch’s very own label Weathermaker Music.
The Bakerton Group is more of a rock jam session that will appeal to more than just one type of fan. It’s easy to compare the sound to Clutch as all four members contribute. I admit that while listening to some tracks I was waiting for Clutch lead singer Neil Fallon to bellow out over the music. While listening though I had to keep reminding myself El Rojo is an instrumental project full of a surplus of music types.
With El Rojo being my first taste of the Bakerton Group, I did not know quite what to expect other than instrumental songs. Starting off the CD was “Time Horizon”. All I could think of was how Clutch sounding the track was. Being as big of a Clutch fan as I am, I was glad to hear the music, and it rocked, but my first taste of this side project was nothing out of the ordinary to me.
The CD really didn’t hit me until “Bien Clasico” played with intermittent crazy saxophone playing that even John Zorn would smile at. The song had sort of a Disco Biscuits feel at times sans the electronics blips and bleeps. The potent organ solo on “Life On Lars” was something worth listening over and over again. “M.(F).H.S.” became predictable sounding at times but turned out to be one of my favorite jams on the entire album.
I could not help but smile while listening to “Work Em” as perhaps Neil could not control himself as he just screamed out in the middle of the song finally giving me that total Clutch fix I was yearning for. Whispering robot sounds added to the fun of this track not to mention the length of the song. If there is any song on the album you want to preview to get a taste of what the Bakerton Group sounds like, this is a perfect song to start with.
For those of you who think the songs on El Rojo might be Clutch songs that never made it to one of their CDs, you are to a degree correct. El Rojo to me was more intimate Clutch music that usually only can be heard behind closed doors when the band just feels like rocking out and not going to plan. This is the music you only wish you could have heard before perhaps as a b-side or as filler at a live show. The music is solid, composed, and extensive at times making for a great CD to just sit back and listen to.
The Bakerton Group will be touring with Clutch in support of El Rojo. Technically speaking Clutch will be touring as The Bakerton Group opening for Clutch. Does that make sense? Who cares. If you are a fan of Clutch you will love the Bakerton Group and should not pass up the opportunity of a full forced night of music when they hit your city. If you are not a fan of Clutch but appreciate good musicianship, you too should at least sample the CD, you might just like it.
-For more info on Clutch and The Bakerton Group check out www.pro-rock.com
-Head over to The Bakerton Group’s website and download the Space Guitars EP for free.
-For some extra content plus info on The Bakerton Group plus other Clutch projects check out Brooklyn Vegan.
-Here are some videos of The Bakerton Group from past shows: