Mid April
Been a few weeks, sorry. Backlogged with a lot of info to pass along so I’ll try and do another short post in a few days along with this one. Let’s get to it!
JELLYFISH NEWS:
First off, the long-threatened official biography(written by Craig Dorfman) is starting to bubble and move in the direction of completion. This is massive news for any fan of the band! Every single, major person connected to the band’s history has been tracked down and interviewed, many of them numerous times. In the works for 3 years, I’ll have more substantial news to share in the coming months but hoping to have this done and available as a Christmas/Holida present to yourself(and loved one – why not, right?!) before 2013 expires.
Second, if you are fan, prepare to FREAK OUT and enjoy everything at THIS LINK.
Make sure you go through the entire page but key up on the section that cover this: “Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of SPILT MILK and the Jellyfish Army, the Gauntlet crew dives back into the ArenA to wipe the tears away and dissect one of the most creative and brilliant power-pop albums ever made. Featuring rare interview clips from Andy Sturmer, Roger Manning Jr., Demos, Live Acoustic and Electric tracks, with a few extra jelly surprises packed inside an epic length discussion.” THEN, make sure you download the interview they are talking about HERE and then the ‘study guide’ at THIS LINK. This might be the absolute coolest post on the band I’ve ever seen, it’s that great!
Third, in talking with a few serious Jellyheads the last few weeks, it’s clear that a lot of folks missed hearing about the “Live at Bogarts” LP and the “Stack A Tracks” release, both from the most excellent ‘n awesome Omnivore Records label. The former is self-explanatory and the later is a limited two CD set containing the original instrumental mixes of the Power Pop band’s two studio albums. While recording 1990’s Bellybutton and 1993’s Spilt Milk, instrumental mixes of each record were created by Jellyfish and their producers. Info on Amazon at THIS LINK and THIS ONE.
THE TOMS: Not Lame reissued the TOMS album on CD two different times, once in 1997 and then again, as a 2 CD set in 2004. Now, in 2013, a reissue of the original album on vinyl is arriving. One of the absolute true indie power pop albums of all-time, “The Toms” is a must own for almost everyone reading this, right here, right now. http://capturedtracks.com/catalog/ct-picks/the-toms-st-lp/
“Let’s Be Friends”
A FEW NEW COOL BANDS I’VE COME ACROSS IN THE LAST WEEK:
WARM SODA – might be my favorite release of 2013. Certainly, not ‘power pop’ in the purest sense but if you dig Redd Kross and new wavey punk from the late 70s, you are gonna be amazed.
http://warmsoda.bandcamp.com/album/someone-for-you
JAILL: They have an indie-pop sound that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but half of the songs on this album are really, really great. http://www.amazon.com/Traps/dp/B0086S8BKO/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1365783543&sr=1-1
A GREAT BIG WORLD – an industry friend passed this one along to me and I just could not get enough of all the songs are heard at the links below, as well as the very, very simple but effectively human, enjoyable video.
https://soundcloud.com/agreatbigworld/
“THIS IS THE NEW YEAR”
“ROCKSTAR”
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LIARS CLUB: This Seattle band released a few albums in the early/mid 90s that had power pop geeks ears drooling and early 90s AOL power pop boards buzzing. Two of the main guys in the band disappeared for a bit but arrived back on the power pop scene in the mid 00’s, both with releases that will be featured in the next “Power Pop Prime – Volume 3” book(arriving, finally, in May..) . Jayson Jarmon with a band called, VANILLA and then Scott McPherson with his band, TINY VOLCANO. Absolutely stunning releases by both of those men! Well, Liars Club is active again and you should be aware.
Story on the band: http://148.ca/frank/artistreview-liarsc.html
New album on CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/liarsclub
Tiny Volcano: https://soundcloud.com/tiny-volcano (sorry, can’t find any active links of VANILLA but they’ll have a track on the CD that will come with the “Prime” book.)
THE SMITHEREENS: They have snagged six opening slots on the upcoming Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers tour. Read about the shows:
http://officialsmithereens.com/3349/special-guests-of-tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers/
GOLDMINE MAGAZINE & DAVE THOMPSON: How I love the new Goldmine magazine and almost every written word by rock scribe, Dave Thompson, let me count thy endless ways. Thompson wrote a great article about the love of vinyl at THIS LINK. If you’ve not seen GOLDMINE in the last 18 months or so, it’s time to check it out again – it’s a supremely readable magazine that contains the best articles its every done in its many decades existence. Info HERE.
WHAT THE INTERNET LOOKED LIKE IN 1995: The VIDEO at THIS LINK will crack you up if you have the time to watch and really take you back to those early internet days. If you remember my old label and web site, NOT LAME, then go HERE and take a look at what the Not Lame site looked like in 1996! Those were (not) the days! ;-P
OBSCURITY OF THE MONTH: A fellow Pop Pioneer emailed me two weeks ago asking about the band and video below, to see if I had any information about the band. He’s offering a $10 PayPal reward for any further enlightenment. Contact me or post on YouTube if you know anything.
THE JETS – “Low Life”
That’s it for now. Will post some more news later in the week and continue to catch up with information to share with you all…….BRUCE
