Category Archives: Alt Rock

Don’t Miss The Inner Sanctum 18th Anniversary Concert On The Pier This Saturday!!!

Tomorrow, Inner Sanctum (as heard on Radio 92.3) will be celebrating 18 years of Pat The Producer and friends pimping out local music to Cleveland by throwing a huge festival downtown. 

Featuring live music by a bunch of great Cleveland musicians/acts like the Suede BrothersPrisoners,  Craig Ramsey, Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes and many more, this is going to be one hell of a day-long fest!!! 

The fun starts at 1pm on Saturday the 20th at The E. 9th Pier located next to the Rock Hall.  There will be plenty of local food vendors to keep your stomachs full and even an on site tattoo shop if you care to get that tramp stamp you always wanted (I actually told Pat that I would get Pat The P tattooed on me if someone else paid for it…).

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.  If you would like to purchase tickets now, click HERE and grab one!!!

See you there tomorrow!!!

Best Of 2010, At Least According To BHP…

It’s that time of year everyone (in case you forgot), the time of the year where I look back at all that defined 2010.  I am sure many of you can agree that 2010 was not that bad of a year and there were some pretty good releases / events that happened.

I had a good 2010 thanks to all of my great friends.  I went on two mini road trips to see bands I adore and had good times doing so without injury.  There were plenty of albums to keep me going and a good share of bands made their way to play Cleveland.

So, as a blogger I feel it is my duty to continue my “Best Of…” posts yearly.  I am sure I will miss something but here we go:

Best Punk Albums:
Iron Chic – Not Like This

-Hands down my favorite release this year.  Catchy punk rock at its finest.  They kick ass live too.

Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits

Easily my second favorite release of the year.  This band is going places.  I can not wait for a follow-up release.  They kick ass live as well.

Bad Religion – The Dissent Of Man

-It’s Bad Religion, need I say more?  30 years as a punk rock band with no sign of giving up any time soon.  It is as if getting old is cool…well it is if you are Bad Religion.

RVIVR – RVIVR

-It was brought to my attention that I overlooked this important release.  I knew I was forgetting something as I thought of what albums I really enjoyed…  Ex-members of Latterman as well as a few whose roots cross with members of Jawbreaker in a band?  Yes please.

Best Rock Albums:
J. Roddy Walston & The Business – J. Roddy Walston & The Business

-I’d be lying if I said that I did not listen to this album 3 times a week.  A few of my friends have been fans of J. Roddy for a couple of years now and thanks to them so am I.  This album is so fun to listen to and so well written that I am shocked all those mainstream music magazines failed to put them on their “Best Of” lists…  Jerks.

Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

-I am sure many of you know my slight obsession with this band.  Their new album slid more towards the rock and less of the punk but I am ok with that.  From start to finish this is an excellent release.

Against Me! – White Crosses

-Kind of funny how much I love these guys seeing how I used to hate them 5 years ago.  I love the direction they are taking with their new material and I am sure many will disagree.  Yes, it is not anything what they used to sound like and that is why they are considered to me now as a rock band.

The Black Keys – Brothers

-I have to give some love to this Akron, OH duo not just because I reside near the city they started in but also because they dropped a solid album.  If you have not listened to this album yet, do it.

Foxy Shazam – Foxy Shazam

-Here’s another album I almost forgot about!  Some might think these guys are going to just be another one hit wonder but I disagree.  Foxy Shazam kicks some serious ass!

Best Metal Albums:
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis

-Love this album.  So much better, to me, than their last release.  Heavy and full of energy.  They put on a killer set at the Warped Tour this past summer too.

Deftones – Diamond Eyes

-Nice to see the Deftones continue moving on.  I was super excited when this album dropped earlier this year.

Best Folk Rock Albums:
Frank Turner – Rock N Roll EP

-All I have to say about this EP is that if you are a fan of Rock ‘n Roll you need to hear the song “I Still Believe”.

Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

-Still in shock these guys are from the UK…  Not that it is a problem or anything, but they play Americana folk-rock as if they grew up in the mountains.  This album was a suprise listen for me in 2010.  Very addicting if you like this kind of music.

Best Indie Rock Albums:
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

-Never thought in a million years I would admit be being an Arcade Fire fan, but this album brainwashed me into one.  Catchy as hell and just a solid release.

Bars Of Gold – Of Gold

-I love surprises.  Bars Of Gold surprised me with how awesome they were.  Best underground album I have heard in a while.

Band Of Horses – Infinite Arms

-This album snuck up on me.  It took three listens and now I can not get enough of it.

Best Hip-Hop/Rap Albums:
Sage Francis – LI(F)E

-Oh Sage Francis…  You are a talented talented man.  I was not too sure about this album upon my first taste of it, but it is exceptional.  Love the way this guy puts words together.  I also really liked how he got some of the music for some of the tracks – he had indie bands work with him.

Eminem – Recovery

-This guy is good once again.  The end.

Best Film Soundtrack:
Tron: Legacy Soundtrack – Music By Daft Punk

-I had bee waiting for this release since early 2010 when it was announced that the French dup would be providing the soundtrack.  It is insane.  Insane as in good.

Best Shows I Attended:
The Avett Brothers @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH

Frank Turner / Social Distortion @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH

Bed Folds @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH (minus the douche I almost got into a fight with)

Dale Watson & His Lone Stars @ Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH

Most Fun Shows I Attended:
NOFX @ Madison Theater – Covington, KY

Gaslight Anthem @ Lifestyles Pavilion – Columbus, OH

The Facials as NOFX @ Now That’s Class  – Cleveland, OH
-Seriously, one of my favorite memories of 2010.  My pals The Facials practiced their butts off to do a Halloween-inspired NOFX cover set.  They nailed it. It was just one of those nights where I was surrounded by friends and felt like a kid. That right there is a show.

Worst Shows Attended:
Van’s Warped Tour
I did not even make it past 5 o’clock this year.  I got to see some of my favorite bands including Face To Face, but overall it was far too hot outside and I just was not feeling it as I had no clue who most of the bands were on the tour.  I guess a time comes one day when a punker gets too old for this shi-, not to mention, my circle of friends dwindled significantly (2).  After being at almost all of the Warped Tours since they started – I am done (I say this every year…).

Worst Albums Released:
Brokencyde
Words can not describe how I feel about this band.  I will not even go there.

3OH!3
Any band that collaborates with Keisha or however she spells it is instant THE SUCK.  I really liked the band’s first album but could not stand their recent effort.  Nice guys, but just not my cup of tea.

Album I Did Not Get Whatsoever:
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
-Why is everyone giving this album 5 stars?  I do not get it, am I missing something.  I do not think it is that good at all.  That is me of course…  Give me his older material any day.

Looking Forward To In 2011:
Social Distortion’s New Album

Those Darlins’s New Album
I got a sample of their new material when I saw them play at the Beachland Tavern and I must say…impressive.  I look forward to their new release as it appears as if they have changed up their sound a little.

The Bonnaroo 2011 Line-Up
This will be the ten-year anniversary and I am hoping for a line-up unlike any other)

SXSW
I think I am actually going to be able to make it this year finally…

Making new friends and hearing new music. I always look forward to something new.

What are your favorites of 2010? I want to hear! This comment section below doesn’t fill itself out you know!!!

Thanks to all my readers. 2010 was fun – here’s to 2011. Happy holidays everyone!

Let’s Talk About Weezer…

September 14th is right around the corner and if you are a Weezer fan like I am you know that it is the day that Hurley will be released on Epitaph Records.  This will be the band’s first release on an independent label in their 17 years as a band.  Focusing on the rock over the pop this round the album has grabbed my attention in a major way.  See for yourself – head over to www.myspace.com/weezer and listen to Hurley in its entirety.  You can also download their first single entitled “Memories” courtesy of Spinner.com.

The album title, if you have not figured it out yet, comes from one of the more memorable characters from one of the greatest TV series of my time, Lost, and might just be my favorite Weezer cover ever.  Have you even seen the cover for Hurley yet?

Yeah, that is great.  Jorge Garcia spoke to MTV recently on how he felt about being the inspiration for the latest release.  As much as I despise MTV I did get a kick out of reading his reaction on his mug being on an album cover.

Here is a video from Spin.com with what looks like a very happy Rivers Cuomo:

Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele

Wait.  What???

Yeah you just read and saw correctly…  Amanda Palmer most known from The Dresden Dolls has released an EP of Radiohead covers done her way with her ukulele.  The EP includes tracks such as “Creep”, “Idioteque”, “FakePlasticTrees”, “No Surprises”, “High and Dry” and a special live string-quartet version of “Exit Music (For a Film)”. Needless to say it is amazing, well at least it is to me.

The EP is now available digitally for a minimum donation of 84 centsYes, $0.84!

Palmer, a very vocal supporter of direct fan-to-artist support, has made the album available online through Bandcamp for a donation of 84¢ or more, 54¢ of which going directly back into Radiohead’s pockets for the legal use of their songs (with the remaining 30¢ going to PayPal to cover the transaction fee).  Of course you can donate more if you wish…

It will also be available available in extremely unique physical permutations starting Tuesday, July 20th at 3pm EST.

Interview: NYC Mash-Up Artist Max Tannone

Mashup

(as taken from Urban Dictionary):
v. To take elements of two or more pre-existing pieces of music and combine them to make a new song. n. A song comprised of elements of two or more pre-existing pieces of music.
2. I’m in the middle of mashing-up songs by Tom Jones and Michael Jackson. (verb usage)

1. I’ll play my mash-up of Tom Jones and Michael Jackson at the club tomorrow night. (noun usage)

Max Tannone might not a name you now until you find out that he is the man behind the mash-up that is called Jaydiohead amongst other music blending projects.  Years ago my pal Kevin shared with me a track called “Wrong Prayer”, a mash-up of Jay-Z and Radiohead.  This was around the time that Dangermouse‘s The Grey Album was getting some attention and being a fan of both Jay-Z and even more so Radiohead I was just impressed with what I heard.  Years later that track was released on Jaydiohead, a free downloadable mash-up album made available by Max Tannone.

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with the music manipulator.  He was more than kind to answer a few questions for me about mashing music.  Enjoy!

BHP: Your name might be unknown to some but it’s safe to say what you have done is talked about by many. Can you quickly introduce yourself?

MT: Sure, well my name is Max Tannone. I’m from New York City and I make music and remixes. I guess this is called a producer, although my definition of a producer is someone who works with other musicians in a studio setting developing a project…perhaps that makes me more of a beat-maker or a remix artist than a traditional producer.

I use the term “mash up” myself a lot in regards to what you do but I know most people prefer to call this form sound manipulation something else. What do you prefer it to be called?

It doesn’t matter to me. People shun the term “mash up” because of the negative connotations it carries. The term has transformed into a signification of a musical gimmick, mainly due to the availability of inexpensive computer software allowing people to experiment with music. I embrace this though. I love the fact that anyone can create a mashup, a remix, an original track, whatever – with little equipment or prior knowledge. I don’t necessarily enjoy everything that’s created, but the fact that it can be done is vital. So, that being said, you can it a mashup, a remix, whatever is easy for you.

To someone who is not familiar with mashing, how would you explain it to them?

In general sound editing is manipulating or combining different sounds together. I only have experience doing this in the digital realm, and have never physically cut and spliced tape like the originators of remix culture – but the principles remain. Its easier to picture visually. Imagine creating a collage, with the different pictures that contribute to the overall image representing different pieces or loops of sound. Pictures can be layered, altered, etc. Imagine having an image of the Mona Lisa and applying 40 consecutive Photoshop filters to it. You probably wouldn’t even recognize it at the end. This is an extreme example, but you get the idea.

How did you get into “mashing” music? Was it something you recently started or have you been toying with it for a while now?

I learned how to mix instrumentals and acapellas (which is just matching their tempos and starting them on the “1”…very easy) several years ago. From here I got heavily into making my own beats, learning how to sample and adding my own elements. At the time the producer group The Neptunes had been producing every R&B and hip-hop song and I was fascinated. It was the first time I began to think about how the music was actually created, rather than just listening to it. After a few years of just doing beats, I got back into the mash-up thing, but wanted to add my own elements as well. The first track I did was “Wrong Prayer” from Jaydiohead and made it into a full out project, just to see what would happen.

Who did you first “mash” and why?

Way back in the day I would just experiment. I had hundreds of acapellas and instrumentals and would just mix random ones together. I remember being really excited the first time I got something on tempo that sounded good. Soon after you realize that this is what DJs do, live, every night. I wanted to go beyond a basic track A vs. track B type thing. The first mash-ups aren’t anything special… Mash-Up 1 , Mash-Up 2 , if you want to hear them. They are perfect examples of something a decent DJ would do live all night. So I tried to expand from this.

How do you go about finding the right songs to mix up? I can not imagine that is an easy task.

For me it starts with a concept. Than I gather as many songs as I can from each artist or genre, and just start listening. I make notes on what I think would sound good together, and just test it out. When I find something I like, I try to make it a complete song. How I choose depends on the vibe of the tracks, their respective sounds, tempos, instrumentation, etc.

How long does it generally take to disassemble songs and recreate them to your liking?

Anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to do one track.

Have you experienced any legal issues yet?

I got a cease and desist letter from Minty Fresh Records. They said I had to stop using the name “Minty Fresh Beats”, so now I just go by my regular name. Maybe that’s a good thing because I got a lot flack for that name, haha.

Obviously you can not make a profit from this so you allow your work to be downloaded for free on various websites via P2P sharing. Which album has been downloaded the most?

Probably the original Jaydiohead album – but I don’t know for sure. Everything has been re-uploaded by countless people on many different sharing sites. Not to mention single tracks that have been downloaded via blogs and my soundcloud page. Its impossible to know. The Jaydiohead website has over a million hits but you really cant correlate that to downloads. It could be more or less.

Jaydiohead is genius to my ears. I adore the project and can not help but to think about the ever popular DJ/Produce Dangermouse and his project called The Grey Album. Did he provide any influence to you by doing what he did years ago or did you pave your own path?

Thanks I’m glad you like it. The Grey Album is great, and was just a stepping stone for Dangermouse. The work he’s done since then is amazing – definitely one of my favorite producers. That being said, I never really thought about the Grey Album when I was making Jaydiohead. Not to take anything away from it, I was just concentrated on making something sound cohesive and interesting – just like any piece of music.

So how did you come up with the idea of mixing Radiohead with Jay-Z? Seems so far fetched yet so perfect one you hear it.

I heard “I Might Be Wrong” by Radiohead and thought it would be a nice hip-hop beat. I made a few minor adjustments and it was ready to go. I am very familiar with Jay-Z’s catalog, so he was a natural choice for me. I wasn’t put off by the number of Jay-Z remix albums that already exist. That was one of the reasons I did it, maybe I could do something that would stand out.

Mos-Dub is your most recent work and I think it is brilliant to do what you have done by combining Mos-Def with reggae music many may have never heard of before. How did you come up with this idea?

[I] recently became heavily into dub reggae music and again, thought I could sample it. Like Jay-Z, Mos is one of my favorite MCs and the idea of working with him (obviously not in person) was exciting. Dub can be very political and socially conscious, and Mos Def’s lyrics often represent this too, so they came together nicely. There are a few other MCs that I’d like to do projects with…

Have you heard from Mos Def yet in regards to this? What about Jay Z or any other major artists?

Haven’t heard from Mos Def. Jay-Z wrote about Jaydiohead on his Twitter account which was pretty cool. The Beastie Boys were supportive of Doublecheck Your Head, and posted 4 of that project’s 7 tracks on their website. One thing I want to say about the Beastie Boys is that they have been supporters of remix culture from very early on. They uploaded a bunch of their acapellas on their website a long time ago, before the mash-up and remix culture got to the fevered pitch its at now…so props to them.

That is awesome to hear that about the Beastie Boys! They are indeed one of the biggest supporters of remix culture. How did you feel when you found out their posted your remixes on their website?

I felt honored. Doublecheck Your Head wouldn’t have happened without Adam H (Adrock.) He liked Jaydiohead and contacted me about doing a similar remix with their Check Your Head album. I jumped at the chance.

Seems as if you prefer to tackle on NYC MC’s. Is this something intentional?

I’m most familiar with their work, and they are some of my favorite artists. I grew up listening to them, so these projects are tributes in a way.

Do you make it to a lot of shows in NYC or are you mainly a club kind of guy?

I’m still developing my DJ sets and “live show” per se. But as far as a concert-goer, I see stuff pretty often. The best DJ set I’ve seen in recent memory was Rusko at Webster Hall.

What is your favorite mash up that you created?

I really like “December Backdrifts” from Jaydiohead: The Encore.

How about one that someone else created? Do you have any favorite mash up artists?

DJ Swindle has done some cool stuff. He did an album with Nas and Al Green that I enjoyed. I’m into kind of conceptual projects, or at least ones where every song isn’t 20 songs blended together. I appreciate that from a technical point of view, but its often musically uninteresting for me.

You started a DJ and moved to more of a producer, right? Have you produced many bands/artists you would like to mention?

Yes, although I want to get more involved with DJing. I would like to do some of this live. To be honest, my production experience outside of these projects is really limited. I haven’t been able to work with an artist or group from start to finish on an original project. I hope that’s on the horizon.

You are quite personable, more so than most artists out there. How important is it to you to be friendly to your fans on Twitter and Facebook?

It’s weird to think of people as fans. I don’t like to. I see myself like anyone else, just experimenting with music and putting it out there. I’m honored that other people are into it. Interacting with people is a great way to share ideas and get feedback. If people ever have questions or want to get into doing this stuff I try to help them.

Have you ever considered going your own way and putting out original material?

Yeah. I have a bunch of original beats, sampled beats, and more electronic dancey stuff online at my soundcloud page. I’m most comfortable with hip-hop, and would like to work with an MC on an album from start to finish. I keep coming back to this idea of a concept album where each track is part of a story or something, I don’t know why I’m into it. It could be really corny, I don’t know.

What’s next for you? Any new mashes you can hint on?

I’m working on some stuff now, I don’t want to say anything because I’m not sure how it will turn out yet. Still experimenting…I just want to keep going.

Jaydiohead – Wrong Prayer from Max Tannone on Vimeo.

DOWNLOAD THIS THESE!