I'm So Sick of Models by the United States of Erica

This is a great video/song by the talented Erica Wexler, whose MySpace site The United States of Erica was a pleasant discovery through XTC fans on MySpace. Various websites weave the story of Andy Partridge's relationship with Erica - which is as his longtime girlfriend or wife. Some great XTC songs have been written about Erica, including "Another Satellite" during the Skylarking album... at the time, her relationship with Andy threatened his marriage to Marianne who he has 2 kids with and a bitter divorce after she left him for another man. "Your Dictionary" from the Apple Venus Vol. 1 album is about that divorce, and it's an angry song. "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her, Kiss Her" from The Big Express album was a song written about imaginary encounter with Erica and the song also inspired a Japanese band, which I've heard is pretty good. Sorry to go on and on about "celebrity gossip," but I find it very interesting. Erica seems like a real sweet heart from her messages, so I'm glad they ended up together. Andy produced the songs on Erica's MySpace site, which explains why they stick in your head like glue! The lyrics are witty and biting, which shows Erica has a way with words. Check out the video and the songs and let me know what you think!

another fun music quiz (from Kayley)

nothing else to do on a thursday night...

Put your music on random, read the question, press next, and answer the question with the song titile... (use the song even if it doesn't make sense)

1. What is missing from my life?
Snowball - Test Icicles

2. Will I find love?
Callbacks - We Are Scientists

3. Will I become rich?
Stop - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

4. Does someone have a crush on me?
Golden Lights - The Smiths

5. What is my favorite sexual position?
Busby Berkeley Dreams - The Magnetic Fields

6. Am I good looking?
Believe (Feat Kele Okereke) - The Chemical Brothers

7. What makes me the most happy?
Dead Wrong - Frausdots

8. What is my biggest regret?
Cello - Slowdive

13. How will I die?
The Lights Went Out - The Cribs

14. Do I act my age?
Ant Music - Adam & the Ants

15. What type of tattoo should I get?
C'mere - Interpol

16. What is my spirit animal?
Country Gentleman - Ambulance Ltd.

17. Do I like pain?
Everyday - The Raveonettes

18. Is there anyone else like me out there?
Until the Morning Comes - The Tindersticks

19. Do I love to party?
The Tide That Left And Never Came Back - The Veils

20. Where should I move to?
I Found the F - Broadcast

21. Am I still in the closet?
For the Widows in Paradise, For the - Sufjan Stevens

22. Will I ever be president?
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - Manic Street Preachers

23. What is fun for me?
Red Right Hand - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

24. Will I ever learn to fly?
Sympathy - Goo Goo Dolls

25. What is my super power?
Shuffle Your Feet - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

26. What can I do to move on?
Somewhere In Texas - The Raveonettes

27. Is (s)he a good choice for me?
Firelight - Snow Patrol

28. Will I be happy in life?
Nowhere - Ride

29. What is the theme of my style?
Procession - New Order

30. What is the Meaning of life?
I Miss You - Bjork

B.R.M.C. @ The Fillmore 3/15/06

SETLIST:
Feel It Now
Fault Line
Restless Sinner
Shuffle Your Feet
Ain’t No Easy Way
Howl
White Palms
Stop
Six Barrel Shotgun
In Like the Rose
Weight of the World
Promise
Sympathetic Noose
Gospel Song
Shade Of Blue
Red Eyes and Tears
Spread Your Love
Punk Song

Devil’s Waitin’
Mercy
The Line
Heart + Soul
Open Invitation

The BRMC show at the Fillmore (3/15/06) was brilliant! It was the standard setlist with “Feel It Now” and “Mercy” mixed up with “Shade of Blue” – one of my favorite songs! It was great to see Jodi and Kimberly again, as well as Eric and Liam – our Berkeley friends. I first ran into Heidi at around 6 PM, we talked for like half an hour – I bought a Hershey’s bar with almonds for only 50 cents from some guy. Then, we went for some crepes from the Japantown Center – I had a tasty vanilla ice cream with Nutella! When we got back in line, Jodi, Kimberly, Eric, and Liam were all waiting together and introducing themselves.

When we got inside, we staked out our spots in the front and talked some more. Soon after, we found Jackie and Vietta – who is also Heidi’s friend. The left handed singer/guitarist of the Morning After Girls lit up some incense before their set. His pants were super tight over his thin but well-built frame. He really reminds me of Jason Pierce of Spiritualized because of his face and hair. The songs of MAG were excellent throughout – grooving and rocking at the same time. They never fail to please, especially that night. After they finished, that same Jason Pierce look a like gave Jodi a set list and the two still burning sticks of incense.

Elefant’s set was especially exciting because Diego chose Kimberly to focus on most of the time. First, he took her water bottle and drank a sip. Later, he took off his coat and gave it to her to hold. He took it back for the last song “Misfit.” Unfortunately, tonight there was no staring contest song despite Diego’s staring. The songs were actually pretty good: Sunlight, Bokkie, Uh Oh Hello, Black Magic Show, Lolita, Tonight Let’s Dance, Love, and Misfit.

That’s what I remember from the setlist Jodi got. Jodi and Kimberly were loudly making fun of Jeff from Elefant’s orange shirt and black vest combo before they played. Diego threw his water bottle and towel into the audience and often pointed at his band members when they played a solo. At the end of the night Kimberly really wanted to meet Diego and get their CD signed. Even though she didn’t, she still came out with Peter’s harmonica (in the key of A) and a gave him a hug!

Now for BRMC’s set, started with “Feel It Now” and “Restless Sinner” and went into cracking versions of “Shuffle Your Feet” and “Ain’t No Easy Way” – great songs to get people moving! The audience was much better than the GAMH show’s because no one heckled and it seemed less hipster-ish or maybe I didn’t notice them from the front of the stage. Some memorable moments include Peter during “White Palms” putting his foot out over Jodi. During “Heart and Soul,” Robert fell down on his knees right before he began singing the part about getting on his knees!

After “Heart and Soul,” Robert made up a totally new song which sounded like an old song or a cover of another song. He also added some lyrics to the end of “White Palms.” Robert came to the edge of the stage quite often and I saw noticeable smiles from Peter during some of Robert’s songs. After the show was even more exciting! We looked at the merch table for a long time – Ryan/Goldie the merch guy wasn’t at his usual post that night since the Fillmore had their own people.

Outside the venue, we waited and talked for quite awhile to see if any band members would show up. All we saw was Nick disappearing onto the bus, so Liam and Eric left. Jodi, Kimberly, and I decided to drop our BRMC posters from the venue in Jodi’s car, which was parked near Elefant’s bus. Kimberly knocked on the door to see if Diego was there, but there was no answer. So we went back to BRMC’s bus, and saw Peter on his cell phone. Alexander had called me as we were going back to the bus, so I was also on my phone.

When Peter got off his phone, Jodi and Kimberly went up to talk to him and get autographs. I noticed I had missed a call from Natasha’s brother Ivan so I called him back. When he gave the phone to Tash, Robert had also just walked out and was speaking with Jodi and Kimberly. I told Tash I was a little distracted because Robert and Peter were standing in front of me, so Robert took my phone and started asking Tash questions about who she was and said who he was. I’m not sure what they were talking about, but Robert said to say hi to Michele for him.

When Robert gave me back my phone, he said he’d return her to “the little one” – meaning me! Tash was slightly giddy from talking to Robert as I was from having him use my phone. We chatted some more and got some autographs and photos. I had Robert sign the Beggars DJ singles covers I brought and he drew all over his picture with the dreadlocks and wrote “things have changed.” He signed that one Robert Locke and the other Robert Been. He also signed my limited edition of HOWL and said it was the best thing they ever released.

Peter was looking for Robert after he left for the bus and as he was coming back to chat with us some more, he gave his harmonica to Kimberly which she gave him a hug for. He said that it’s in the key of A so she would need to play guitar in the key of E. As he was leaving, I got him to quickly sign my limited edition of HOWL next to his poem.

See more progress on: go see black rebel motorcycle club live

Just a quick drive by...

But I think that counts still, I saw the architecture of the building. I’m not too interested in seeing the interior. I can imagine that no one I’m interested performs there.

See more progress on: Walt Disney Concert Hall

It's pretty cool to podcast!

I haven’t made my own podcast, but downloading and listening to them is easy… there’s always good stuff out there to listen to from radio stations all over the world. So far, I’ve checked out Indie 103.1, KEXP, KCRW, and 94.9 FM in San Diego.

See more progress on: podcast

Robert Been of BRMC and me at the Fillmore 3/16/06

Robert Been of BRMC and me at the Fillmore 3/16/06
Originally uploaded by porcupiny.

This is just a quick post to a long night of fun, friends and great music! This photo of Robert is great because my last photo of him had both eyes closed. This time I asked him if his eyes were opened, and he told me one of them! Maybe some day I'll get both eyes!

B.R.M.C. @ Metro in Chicago 2-8-06

Restless Sinner
Ain’t No Easy Way
Shuffle Your Feet
Howl
Love Burns
Awake
In Like The Rose
Six Barrel Shotgun
Punk Song
Stop
Weight Of The World
Promise
Sympathetic Noose
Gospel
High / Low
Red Eyes And Tears
Spread Your Love

Mercy
The Line
Rifles
Heart + Soul

The Morning After Girls were good spacey droney psychedelic rock. Totally cool and they sounded a but like the Dandy Warhols and even a bit like Spiritualized. They played rocking and spaced out songs equally well.

Elefant were a bit of a one trick pony. All their songs sounded kind of the same. Diego, the singer, was funny because he seemed cocky scoping out the audience for cute girls. He was entertaining when he fell off the stage and made some guy sing. Then, near the end of their set, he held a girl in the front row’s hand for awhile. As attractive as he is, the way he went about strutting and kneeling on stage was quite silly. Still, it was entertaining!

B.R.M.C. were announced as a sold out show being broadcasted on a local radio station. The announcement made about the Grammys awarding the worst music was too true. The show began with just Peter playing “Restless Sinner” and later joined by Spike, Robert, and Nick. Peter had his hair slicked back, but still curly. The rest of the set flowed well with “Shuffle Your Feet” getting the audience to clap and sing along. “Ain’t No Easy Way” showed off Peter and Robert’s ever improving slide guitar playing and moved the crowd even more.

“Howl” slowed things down a bit with Robert’s emotive vocals and Peter’s falsetto chorus. “Love Burns” picked up the momentum again with more people recognizing the song. Highlights for me included “Awake,” “In Like The Rose,” and “Six Barrel Shotgun,” which were all amazing to see live. “Whatever Happened to My Rock n’ Roll?” was great as usual with Robert and Peter switching microphones and finishing on the opposite of their usual sides.

In between one song, Peter introduced his guitar tech Dave, who came out in a bear costume during the next song! This really made Robert smile more than Peter, who barely reacted to it. Next, Robert sang a block of songs “Stop,” “Weight of the World,” “Promise,” “Sympathetic Noose,” “Gospel Song,” and “High/Low,” which made me excited since I had never seen it done live before. I love the distortion that Peter does with his guitar and Robert’s vocals on that song.

“Red Eyes and Tears” is always a treat to hear and “Spread Your Love” was great despite a false start. For the encore, Robert came out alone and announced that Peter wasn’t feeling well and proceeded to play “Mercy” on Peter’s acoustic guitar. It was a beautiful version of the song. They ended the show with “The Line” which Robert had to restart after forgetting some lyrics, “Rifles” which is always a crowd pleaser, and “Heart and Soul” which was a cool as I thought it would be to see and ended in plenty of noise and distortion.

After the show, Elefant had a pizza and beer after party/DJ set. I met Michael Been who recognized me from the Tour Archive! He was nice and told me about how he grew up in Chicago. After that, I spoke briefly with Robert not getting my camera into the show despite it being somewhat crappy. Outside the venue, Robert got into a snowball fight with the Morning After Girls. That was pretty funny!

See more progress on: The Metro

INFP, no surprises here!

Introverted (I) 51.43% Extroverted (E) 48.57%
Intuitive (N) 56.76% Sensing (S) 43.24%
Feeling (F) 60.61% Thinking (T) 39.39%
Perceiving (P) 54.05% Judging (J) 45.95%

INFP - “Questor”. High capacity for caring. Emotional face to the world. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 4.4% of total population.

You scored as introverted and intellectually curious. I recently started a discussion forum for introverted intellectuals, if interested visit introspectives.org

See more progress on: find out my Jungian personality

BRMC Press Updates 1/15/05

BBC Manchester: Interview with Nick Jago of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
updated 29/08/03
Nick Jago of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Having replaced The White Stripes at Leeds, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are on a high. Drummer Nick Jago chatted to Chris Long about new album Take Them On, On Your Own and the future of the band.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/music/2003/08/29/brmc_interview.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/music/2003/08/29/jago.ram

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Interview: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

By David A. Cobb

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club garnered a bunch of interest with their major label debut, BRMC in 2001, and their sound echoed the fuzzed-out tunes of Psychocandy-era The Jesus & Mary Chain and modern spacey Britrock. During the tour for their second effort, 2003's Take Them On, On Your Own, the band performed several new songs and stripped-down versions of their hits. It was quite a departure for the band, and one that showed a gentler, countrified side of the band.


http://www.swizzle-stick.com/2005/09/interview-black-rebel-motorcycle-club.html

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Dark Howl
Shane Handler
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

In 1998, Peter Hayes and Robert Been, two mop-topped junkie looking rockers from San Francisco decided they’d had enough with the direction of rock music, so they started their own club - the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. And their plight couldn’t better be served than by their illustrative lyrics: “I have my heart to a simple chord/I gave my soul to a new religion/Whatever happened to my rock’n’roll?” They were a duo on a mission to save rock from itself, and when they added the fervent drumming of Nick Jago, BRMC flexed a new muscle in rock that hadn’t been heard in years.


http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles214.html

Ever since Michele started her new BRMC News/Press/Reviews blog, I've been lazy about updating on press. Well, at least here. This is my last update on BRMC press for the year. Ice Cream Man has a review and lots of great photos from the Hotel Cafe show.



Daily Texan Online
9/30/05
Been tries to shake line-up changes, label drop
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club arrives in Austin, returns to musical roots
By Craig Whitney
http://www.brmc-forum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=17954

No Depression: The Acoustic Motorbike
BRMC shifts gears and strikes a spark
by Allison Stewart
http://academics.sru.edu/communication/wrsk/brmc1.jpg
http://academics.sru.edu/communication/wrsk/brmc2.jpg
http://academics.sru.edu/communication/wrsk/brmc3.jpg


BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB [ September 6th, 2005 ]

If you read any recent article about Black Rebel Motorcycle club, you are sure to find mention of how the band has changed their sound for their latest album, Howl. This change has been met with various reactions and many fans wonder if this is the future of BRMC. However, the band insists it is merely a part of their music that has been there all along, just maybe hidden a bit.

Silent Uproar recently talked with the band's frontman Peter Hayes about the change in sound, what we can expect from the band on future records, and the problems with our throwaway consumer culture.
http://www.silentuproar.com/showinterview.php?ID=88

Howl - Action and Reaction with the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
by Andrew Lawless
threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_article_black_rebel_motorcycle_club_brmc_howl.htm
http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_printable.php?id=331



Tortured Genius
How BRMC’s Peter Hayes and Robert Turner Got Everything Wrong and Produced One of the Year’s Most Brilliant Guitar Albums
By Michael Molenda
Guitar Player, 10/2003
http://www.guitarplayer.com/archive/1003/1003_Features2.htm

Ticketmaster, Published November 2005
Interview with Robert
http://www.ticketmaster.com/artistsynopsis/806799
http://www.brmc-forum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=911&highlight=

Known for their Brit-flavored, supercharged rock, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club may surprise some fans with their latest album, Howl. A wide-ranging, heartfelt collection of songs, Howl proves that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are just as at home playing stripped-down folk, clap-your-hands gospel and blues as they are amped-up rock.

Robert Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club recently talked with Ticketmaster about the new album, the band's U.S. tour and how a group of rockers came up with such a soulful tribute to Americana music.

Excerpt from Sentimentalist Mag Interview w/Peter
BRMC/Peter Hayes (excerpt from cover feature issue 19)
http://www.asthetik.com/sentimentalist/sentmcdreviews.html



3 Voor 12 audio interview w/Robert
3voor12.vpro.nl/3voor12/magazines/news/index.jsp?portals=2534202&magazines=10719222&news=5419978

Restless Sinners by Paula G

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club could have broken up on numerous occasions. In just over a year, such events as dropping from record label Virgin, almost losing drummer Nick Jago and the uncertainty of where the music was heading almost made the band history. But it didn’t.
http://www.ambitious-outsiders.com/features/brmc/brmcint.html

My creation: a BRMC photo mosaic

My creation: a BRMC photo mosaic
Originally uploaded by porcupiny.

1. BRMC in Magnet Magazine Nov/Dec 2003, 2. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Ain't No Easy Way" single, 3. BRMC from NME July 12, 2003, 4. BRMC from LA City Beat, 5. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from Rock Sound, 6. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club back with Jago, 7. Nick Jago of BRMC w/glasses?, 8. Peter Hayes of BRMC, 9. Nick Jago of BRMC and his drawing, 10. BRMC from Littky Music Two, 11. a cute anime style BRMC drawing, 12. Nick and Peter of BRMC at some MTV event, 13. BRMC grumpy at the Q interview, 14. BRMC merch!, 15. brmc from Magnet Magazine, 16. Robert and Peter of BRMC!, 17. Robert of BRMC at a bbq, 18. Guilty pleasures, 19. Peter Hayes & Robert Been of BRMC w/Roger Daltry of the Who and Harvey Goldsmith, 20. BRMC in NME, New York, May 2002, 21. Peter Hayes (BRMC) and Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestown Massacre), 22. Nick Jago (BRMC) and Michael Been (The Call), 23. brmc copy, 24. Nick Jago of BRMC @ NME awards, 25. BRMC's 5 NME covers from 2002-2003, 26. BRMC in Magnet Magazine #61 Nov/Dec 2003, 27. BRMC from Magnet Magazine #69 Oct/Nov 2005, 28. BRMC at HMV Toronto 9.24.05, 29. Robert from BRMC, Repeat Fanzine, 9.2.04, 30. BRMC from No Depression #60, 31. BRMC's ultra rare Screaming Gun ep, 32. BRMC as 3 Kings from NME, 33. BRMC The Comeback Interview from NME, 34. BRMC's Fall North American Tour flyer, 35. Whatever Happened to my rock n' roll, BITCH?, 36. Coffret 2CD Original of B.R.M.C. and Take Them On, On Your Own