Front Porch Musings

F*ck you, It’s Friday! Done, it’s been said. Yeah, we have been out of pocket for a while, and we apologize. It’s the same ol’ story; we’re a bunch of dings and Skeet carries around a Yoda stuffed animal. Yes, I’m serious, I’ll say it again, Skeet carries around a stuffed animal. Hahha, It’s so fucking weird, but man, it sure makes us laugh. Anyway, I want to give you guys some tunes because you’re good people. Hell, I appreciate you coming to this site after “another hiatus.”

give us your thoughts on the playlist….

F*ck You, It’s Friday! – Playlist 50

1. Dinosaur Jr – “Feel The Pain” – Everytime someone opens up a bottle of wine and makes that cork sound it immediately reminds me of this song. Cork sound or no cork sound, this doesn’t take away from it being one of my all time favorite Dino Jr. songs.

2. Life At Sea – “Your New Constitution” – Chris Broach, ex Braid guitarist, Firebird Band frontman, started a label called, Lucid Records and they released this bad ass EP by this bad ass band called, Life At Sea. Broach played in the band and they made good music. I haven’t heard about these guys since I purchased their full length in 2004.

3. Kevin Devine – “Ballgame” – Another bad ass who has been killing it for the last decade. This is probably my favorite track by the dude.

4. Mariachi El Bronx – “Cell Mates” – Stupid good song. My blurb wont give this song justice. Just take a listen.

5. The Holy Mess – “The Goodbye 3713″ – One of my favorite punk bands today, The Menzingers, cant stop tweeting about how good this band is, blah, blah, blah…yeah, I agree.

6. The Band – “The Weight” – I FINALLY saw the documentary, “It Might Get Loud” with Jack White, The Edge, and Jimmy Paige. Holy smokes this doc was awesome. The cover they did of this song at the end of the doc was so damn cool. I cant stop listening to it.

7. Local Natives – “World News” – Yup.

8. Kasey Anderson – “Walls” – Weird. Another Kasey Anderson song on the playlist. Sorry fools, we just dig his shit. Take a listen of this Tom Petty cover and try to think of a better cover. Yeah, I dont know who else covers it, but you get my point.

9. State Champion – “Bridgetown” – We have hooted and hollered about this bands 2010 album, “Stale Champion” for quite some time now. Well, their previous album, “Light Blues” has some monster jams as well. This track just flat out hurts feelings.

10. Foundation – “If I can say Goodbye” – Another ex punk guy going country. I have been jamming this album a lot lately and I think you should too.

11. Dusty Rhoads and The River Band – “Leaving Tennessee” - We saw these dudes open for Jason Isbell about 3 years ago and they absolutely brought it. Im not really sure where they are currently with the band, but I would be all about seeing these dudes play live again.

12. Big Star – “September Gurls – No question, Alex Chilton was such an influence to musicians everywhere. Its great to have a guy like Micah Schnabel carry on the Big Star torch on one of his new Two Cow Garage tracks, “Jackson, Dont You Worry.” Take a listen and you’ll get what I’m talking about.

Boom!

Oh yeah, here’s a video my co-worker showed me. It made me chuckle.

Have a great weekend, fools.

Keith

Hey Y’all out in Decatur Alabama, or those of you near enough to Decatur to drive your ass there. Some of our favorites are playing a show together on Friday night over at Java Jaay’s.

Don’t be busters, go see the show!

If you ask most folks, the best thing from the Napa Valley is the wine. Especially around here where people like to sniff their own farts out of wine glasses while talking with their eyes closed, Napa means wine. If you didn’t get that, you need to watch more South Park. I’m not a big wine guy, so I could give two craps, but if you ask me, these guys are way better than any bottle of wine I’ve ever tasted.

Formed quite literally in Lloyd’s Garage – cool way to come up with a cool name – this two-piece consists of Seth Heiltzmann on guitar and vocals, and Lloyd Llewelyn on the drums and keys, sometimes together. I know that you’re thinking that since this is another two-piece they’re going to sound like The Black Keys, and The White Stripes, and I’d be a liar to say that they don’t have some of the same qualities. But LG has some different sounds that really set them apart from their aforementioned counterparts. My favorite thing about these guys is that they remind me a lot of another local favorite, Leopold and His Fiction when they were just two doods, roughly 4 years ago. They’ve got a little retro feel, a little extra attitude, smart and meaningful lyrics, and a little fuck-off garage band mixed in there that really gets my motor running.

“From the Comfort of Your Home” was released in January of this year, and it starts out with the title track that is a short, mellow number. Just some simple scratchy guitar, and some great lyrics about unwinding, and sitting comfortably at home.
From The Comfort of Your Home

I mentioned a few other bands earlier to whom these fellas have earned some well deserved comparisons. On “Suitcase” I hear some cool folky influences (probably the mandolin in the back) and some vocal passion that reminds be a bit of The Avett Brothers. This is a great track about hitting the road and not looking back.
Suitcase

Up to this point I’ve mostly mentioned slower, folkier tracks, but these guys are capable of some serious face meltage in the form of rock ‘n roll. Such talents are quite beautifully displayed in “the Devil, the Matchmaker.” Like a lot of the bands that we enjoy, this song is about a man going to great lengths to please a woman, and a bad woman at that.
the Devil, the Matchmaker

This next track I’m gonna feature is the last one on the album, and it’s definitely my favorite. “Goodbye” is a fitting title for the last track on the album, and the tune has such a rad feel. The keys in this one combined with some awesome guitar work and a catchy beat just combine to make some kind of a crazy molotov in my ears that explodes and spreads throughout my body. That’s what molotov cocktails do, dummy. This one will definitely get some hips shaking at a live show, and Seth really busts out some heavy vocals that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up. Let’s be honest, most Sundays suck, but the ones in the Summer time are actually pretty cool.
Goodbye

So if you can’t tell, I’m pretty stoked on this whole album. As I sat down to write this review I had a really tough time fighting the urge to write about every song on it. Each track has something different to offer, all taking different avenues to arrive at the same place – the corner of awesome and badass. That exists, googlemap that shit.

Okay, so see the links below to find out more about the band, buy the album, and catch a live show or two. I’m bummed to be out of town for next weekend’s show at the Red Devil Lounge, but you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be at Cafe du Nord on September 11th.

But first, check out the kick-ass video they made for “Oh Lovely.” This is a great rocker about a car wreck and how it screws this dood up bigtime.

Buy The Freakin Album

See A Freakin Show

Official Website

MySpace

Facebook

Take it easy busters!

Brain

Thursday Motha F*ckin’ 3-pack, huh? Yup. Since we haven’t done one in a while, I figured why the hell not. And, it gives me a great opportunity to write up a couple blurbs on a couple bands I have been rocking lately. So I’ll just get right to it.

AM Taxi – We Don’t Stand A Chance

A couple months ago I was mosing around on the web; reading blogs, sites and junk and I came across this buzz band called, AM Taxi. I was Immediately intrigued as they were being compared to The Gaslight Anthem, The Clash, and The Hold Steady. Not a bad company to be compared to on a debut album, right?  Well, I definitely hear some of the same elements, especially with the Gaslight Anthem, but they just ain’t there yet. They definitely provide some hook laden tunage but at time’s I feel they’re just a little too rock pop. Either way, it’s evident they’re a good band but I look forward to their growth as they try to find their own sound. But, give them a listen I can assure you they’ll hook you in on a few of their tunes. Check out “The Mistake.”  Its a damn good tune.

“Dead Street”

“The Mistake”

Heartsounds – Until We Surrender

I found out about these guys when I saw they were heading out on tour with Nothington and The Riot Before. I figured they had to bring it if they were going to be rolling with two of the best punk bands in the game. And as time would take its course, they toured, they rocked and killed fools. Providing pop punk elements to the likes of Propaghandi, Smoke or Fire, and Dear Landlord. These guys are definitely carrying on that 90s punk rock that made me grow to love the genre. And, you gotta love a punk band to drop a F-Bomb on their first 3 tracks on their debut album. Party.

“Until We Surrender”

“10,000″

Marco Mahler - Laptop Campfire Speed

Folky, bluesy, lap toppy, is what you’re going to hear on this one. You’ll hear reminiscent sounds of bands like, Pin Back, Death Cab For Cutie and The Notwist. But, with every new listen, Mahler’s creativity expands a little more, and you almost feel the need to put this kid in his own category. It’s a very interesting album and may not be similar to the stuff we typically write about on this thing, but I can assure you’ll want to spin this album more than once. Get there!

“I’ll Just Find Another Million Things To Do”

“Soft as a Train”

Happy Late Thursday,

keith

I really like Soul music. There’s something about the horns, the rhythm, the booming vocals…it just makes me wanna dance around and be weird. Anyway, I really enjoy dancing around and being weird (I have an imaginary friend named Yoda for God’s sake), so it should come as no surprise that I listen to a lot of Soul music. One such Soul record that has been on repeat lately is the bitchin’ record from Kings Go Forth.

Kings Go Forth has a really interesting story. Ever heard of Black Wolf? Me neither. I guess this guy fronted some cool Soul acts in the 70′s but unless you have a shrine to James Brown in your house I doubt you ever heard of him. I mean, I like to sing the Eddie Murphy’s “Hot Tub” parody as much as anyone (“Will it make me wet!?!?! YEAH!!!!) but outside a g-hits record, I don’t have much James Brown. Shit, I’m getting off topic again….oh yeah, Black Wolf…what a stupid name…THANK GOD however, this guy can really do it when it comes to music. A few years ago he started Kings Go Forth with Andy Noble, owner of Lotus Records in Milwaukee and the rest is history. Somewhere, the Muzzle of Bees team just splooged…

“The Outsiders Are Back” is the first full-length from Kings Go Forth, but it comes with one of of those things that goes next to Barry Bond’s name ( * ). See, this isn’t an album from one recording session, but it is a collection of singles dating back from 2007. Yet, just like I don’t care about Barry juicing himself to him massive homeruns, I don’t give a flying “you know what” that this record is a collection of singles. You, my favorite reader shouldn’t either.

When I heard “The Outsiders are Back”, I was surprised that these are fairly new recordings. The record sounds like something you have to have an afro to jam out to while maybe rocking some sweet bell bottom jeans. And it’s a perfect “summer record”. You’ll want to throw this one on while you party with some fine-ass babes. They will be all “Wow, you like the COOLEST music ever. This is Ahh-Mayyy-Zing…” And then you will have sex with them. Just remember to wear protection. Unless of course she is rich. Then you should poke tiny holes in the condom before you have sex with her. Come on guys, this is simple…TRUST FUND!

Cool video for “One Day”

Check out some tracks, people!!!

“I Don’t Love You No More”

“You’re The One”

“Now We’re Gone”