New Strays Don’t Sleep in U.S.
It took a while, but Strays Don’t Sleep‘s debut album will finally see its U.S. release next week (June 13th). Being a fan of Matthew Ryan’s work, I eagerly bought the UK import late last year and wasn’t disappointed. There’s something very fulfilling about Ryan’s music & lyrics. His solo work is full of quiet acoustic moments building up to blinding, power-chord crescendoes. Everything seems to fit into the right place. He knows just what note to hit, and just the lyric to plug in. Add the raw power of his singing voice, and I’m a happy listener.
My favorite song of his is probably “Chrome”. It’s heartache, desperation, and hope. But it’s all of those emotions being released, and by the end of the song, you’ve gone from tense to feeling like a load’s been lifted. Like Springsteen, it’s so easy to step right into Matthew’s songs and feel like he’s singing about your own life, your own experiences.
Chrome (music & lyrics by Matthew Ryan)
It’s not the things that I can’t change, that bother me
It’s not the things that I don’t know, that undermine me
It’s not the thing that I can’t hold or the balancing wire that broke, that throws me
It’s not the fact that you walked out, that bewilders me
It’s not the sleep that I can’t steal, that wires me
It’s not the coffee or the pills it’s not this space that I can’t fill that kills meWell in case you didn’t know I’ve got a heart made of chrome
It’s been bent ’til it was twisted
And in case you didn’t know I’ve got a heart made of chrome
It’s been burned, but it’s still willing to try
And shineIt’s not the drunks and their devices, that provoke me
It’s not the politics of love and distance, and all that that shit evokes in me
I’ts not the Sunday morning fights or this soul on ice, that numbs me
It’s not the passing of another Indian summer, that saddens me
It’s no the shutter in the undertow, that bears down on me
It’s not everything ending as it begins or the loneliness that grins that destroys meWell in case you didn’t know I’ve got a heart made of chrome
It’s been bent ’til it was twisted
And in case you didn’t know I’ve got a heart made of chrome
It’s been burned, but it’s still willing to try and shineI came across this live recording recently of Matthew and his band performing their last show on the European leg of their 1998 tour. It’s a great recording, thanks to a very quiet German crowd (sounds like a very small club show) at the Kultufabrik Krefeld (I assume that’s the name of the club? I can’t tell for sure from their web site. A little help, German readers?). Give these a listen, and see if you don’t understand a little of what I’m talking about.
Matthew Ryan – Live
June 28th, 1998
Kulturfabrik Krefeld, GermanyComfort
Watch Your Step
Irrelevant
The Dead Girl
Beautiful Fool
Me & My Lover
Railroaded
ChromeStrays Don’t Sleep is basically a collaboration between Ryan and Neilson Hubbard, who is an accomplished artist in his own right.
Hubbard is a Jackson, Miss. native who teamed up with Ryan in Nashville. I like what I hear from what’s available on his web site, and also judging from earlier comments on a previous Strays post, I need to get around to listening to his albums.
Here’s a couple that I like, available from his site:Neilson Hubbard: Just a Guy (mp3) | The Girl That Killed September (mp3)
What they’ve come up with is a sound that is subdued and fresh. It’s nice stuff. One of the songs, “For Blue Skies”, made its mark last year when it was featured on the TV show ‘One Tree Hill’.
So here comes the U.S. release. Here’s the tracks, with one preview:
Strays Don’t Sleep
Track listing:
Love Don’t Owe You Anything
Pretty Girl
Martin Luther Ave.
Night Is Still
For Blue Skies
Spirit Fingers
April’s Smiling At Me
Cars And History (mp3)
Falling Asleep With YouBONUS TRACKS (CD Only):
You Belong To Me
StayThe package also includes a DVD with 9 short films inspired by the music. Strays kicks off their tour schedule this weekend with a record release show at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville. Check out their site for the dates. Unfortunately, they don’t go further west than Minneapolis.
- Order/buy Strays Don’t Sleep’s debut
- Strays Don’t Sleep’s MySpace Page and Official Site
- Matthew Ryan’s MySpace Page and Official Site
- Neilson Hubbard’s Official Site
June 16 UPDATE: Not so great news from Matthew Ryan’s blog regarding the upcoming tour:
Friday, June 16, 2006
Shows Cancelled
Hello Everyone
First bit of bad news in a long time. Strays needed to take a break from eachother for a minute. Neilson and I are at each other’s throats. I’m sure a couple weeks off will go a long way. I’ll keep you posted as things settle down.
Apologies to anyone that was looking forward to these shows. I’m hoping that we can pull it together for Conan O’Brien.
Best
MPrince at 48
June 7th marks the big 4-8 for Prince. Let’s listen to some guitar work, shall we? It seems like Prince always surprises people when he tears it up on the guitar. Remember the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame ceremony a few years back? Prince came out to solo on the all-star performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, and stole the show. I remember Tom Petty looking over in amazement. SNL’s “Fury” performance a few months back is another example. I guess people forget about his talent on the guitar, and need to be reminded every now and then.
‘The Undertaker’ definitely showcases his guitar skills. According to Wikipedia, “Prince originally intended to give this live CD away free with 1,000 copies of Guitar Player Magazine in 1994, but he was told by Warner Brothers Records that he couldn’t. Some rare copies were leaked and heavily bootlegged.” Whether this is true or not, who knows. But it never found its way on to store shelves (to my knowledge). So take a listen to a few of these live tracks… the ten minute blues jam that is “The Ride”, the driving rock guitar of “Bambi” (originally released on 1979’s ‘Prince’), and the bass-driven dark funk of “The Undertaker” (with some killer guitar effects, and a blistering solo six minutes in).
Prince:
The Ride(mp3) |Bambi(mp3) |The Undertaker(mp3)Now go make the birthday boy happy and visit his web site to snatch up all the music you don’t have.
HABOOB!
I have to pass along a photo of the Great Haboob of 6-6-06. Living in the Arizona desert, we miss a lot of the weather phenomena you see in other parts of the world (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.). But haboobs? Oh we’ve got your haboobs. A haboob is basically a very tall wall of dust that crawls along the desert floor, reducing visibility, coating everything in dirt. It’s usually followed up by a little rain, but not last night (at least where I was). Yeah, we get a little excited about weather around here.
Rag Mama Rag
For those curious to hear the Seeger Sessions take on The Band’s “Rag Mama Rag”, look no further! Bruce debuted it May 30th in Columbus, Ohio. I also heard it in Phoenix on Saturday night, and to be totally honest, I wasn’t that blown away by it. It was enjoyable, but I think it paled in comparison to “Ramrod”, which preceded it, and had the whole joint going crazy. But still very cool to see and hear Bruce pull out these gems along the tour.
Bruce & The Seeger Sessions Band:
Rag Mama Rag(mp3) – Live from Columbus, OH, May 30th, 2006The song, written by Robbie Robertson, originally came out on the Band’s second album, ‘The Band’, in 1969. All Music has this song review:
One of the most popular songs in the Band’s catalog, “Rag Mama Rag” is a wonderful, swinging song with some of the Band’s most perfect playing (which is saying something) and great, funny, almost nonsensical lyrics. The success of this song, unusually on The Band, is not due to Robbie Robertson’s lyrics but to the music. Garth Hudson creates an amazingly intricate rolling piano line, while bassist Rick Danko plays a wonderfully country-influenced fiddle, weaving in and out of Levon Helm’s always subtle drumming. Indeed, singer Helm believed the song could have been a hit single, arguing that it “swung like ‘Blue Suede Shoes’.” Although it was not a hit, and is not one of the deepest songs in the Band’s repertoire, it is enormous fun, and the group played it regularly in concert throughout the 1970s. The song received a reverential cover version from Little Feat, although there are no other major recordings of the song.
The Band:
Rag Mama Rag(mp3) – from The Band- Reader Britt clued me in to a full show download available over in the Backstreets forums. If you care to hear the infamous Main Point show from Feb. 1975, go and get it while it’s hot.
- Someone posted a Youtube video of Bruce and the band doing “Johnny 99” in Phoenix the other night.
- And by all means, if you’re digging the sounds of the Seeger Sessions Band and you haven’t bought the CD, go…do….it….now.
RIP Vince Welnick
The curse of the Grateful Dead keyboard player continues. Vince Welnick, who started with the Tubes, and ended up being the last keyboard player for the Dead (1990-1995), has died at his home in Forestville, California (apparently of suicide). I saw the Dead ten times between ’94 and ’95, so Vince was the only keyboard player I ever saw. After Jerry Garcia’s death in ’95, Vince eventually formed his own group, Missing Man Formation. He would also sit in with other bands from time to time. Vince actually sat in with my friend Evan Jones and his band Xtra Ticket, a Dead-influenced band here in the Phoenix area, a number of times. Speaking of a number of times, I spent every Thursday for about 4 straight years watching Xtra Ticket play at Boston’s in Tempe. Goood times were had my friends, good times were had.
Three of the five other Dead keys players also passed too early: Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (virtually drinking himself to death at the age of 27), Keith Godchaux (car crash), and Brent Mydland (drug overdose in 1990).
I had a really good Missing Man Formation performance from a Grateful Dead Hour I taped years ago, but of course, my search came up fruitless. However, I checked out Xtra Ticket’s site, and they have a full Vince / Xtra Ticket show from Vince’s Birthday just last year at the fabled and now former Sail Inn in Tempe, AZ.
Vince Welnick & Xtra Ticket:
Watching the Wheels > The Wheel(mp3) – from Vince’s Birthday show, 02-19-2005You can download the entire show (in Mp3 or Zip) on this page at Xtra Ticket’s site.
Grateful Dead:
Way To Go Home(mp3), Vince on Vocals, from 06-25-1994 at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas (I was there!)- Xtra Ticket’s MySpace Page
- NY Times Article about his passing.
- Vince Welnick’s Official Site
Recap: Bruce and the Seeger Sessions Band in Phoenix
Music lovers, whether you’ve enjoyed Bruce Springsteen’s work in the past or not, go see this show when it stops through your town. Seeing Bruce and his 17 piece Seeger Sessions band tear through those great old songs last night was something to behold, and never to be forgotten. It’s a total assault on the senses: juke-joint, carnival, revival, you name it…
A favorite part of the show for me was THE HORN SECTION: Eddie Manion on sax, Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg on trombone, Mark Pender on trumpet, and Art Baron on tuba. Those guys in many ways made the show for me. The songs are teeming with life without them, but add them to the mix, and it’s goosebump time. Amazing. They’d parade around the stage, dance jigs and circles around eachother, point their instruments at the drummer and wail… man, it was something to see. If (or when) Bruce tours with the E Street Band again, they HAVE to come along.
Other highlights were Greg Liszt’s banjo, and Marc Anthony Thompson’s vocals. Marc joined Bruce on “Eyes on the Prize” and the closer, the bittersweet and emotional “When the Saints Go Marching In.” He has an amazing voice, low, raspy and soulful. Look for a feature on him in the weeks ahead.
Liszt was great on the banjo, and comes across as quite a character. He’s got a big poofy fro’, and has a cool, laid back stage presence. If you’re familiar with Phish, he reminded me of bass player Mike Gordon with his stage mannerisms. Great stuff. Liszt is in a band called Crooked Still. Look for a feature on them in the weeks ahead too. You can see Liszt open “Jesse James” on AOL Music. They already have the video up from last night’s show.
And on to Bruce himself. It was such a kick to see him having such a genuinely good time. How could you not, leading a band like that, unleashing those great songs in such fashion? I’ve been listening to the bootlegs of the tour so far, and l’ve listened to the CD a bunch of times, but nothing compares to experiencing this music live. Of the set list (listed below), highlights for me were: the opener “Atlantic City”, “Open All Night” (reworked like some sort of 50’s rock n roll sock hop revival), the Tex-Mex, polka infused “Ramrod”, “Saints”, and of course “Pay Me My Money Down”, which wasn’t the same without our 2 and a half year old. She demands to hear it or see it on DVD every single day. She knows it as “Me Me”. “Me Me Dada, Me Me!!”.
Here’s the full set list:
1. Atlantic City
2. John Henry
3. O Mary Don’t You Weep
4. Johnny 99
5. Old Dan Tucker
6. Eyes on the Prize
7. Jesse James
8. Erie Canal
9. My Oklahoma Home
10. Bring Them Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam)
11. Mrs. McGrath
12. How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
13. Jacob’s Ladder
14. We Shall Overcome
15. Open All Night
16. Pay Me My Money Down with Nils Lofgren17. My City of Ruins
18. Ramrod
19. Rag Mama Rag
20. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
21. When the Saints Go Marching InI’ll leave you with their New Orleans performance of “When the Saints go Marching In”, as Bruce and Mark Anthony Thompson trade the vocals. Like I said folks, anyone who loves music should make it a point to see this show.
Live from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, April 30, 2006:
Voices from Heaven
Here’s something powerful to wrap up your weekend in fine fashion. I heard this on my way into work last week on Sirius. I cranked it up and took it all in. Short, powerful, and exhilirating, another one of those tunes that makes believers out of skeptics like us.
Soweto Gospel Choir:
Thina Simnqobile(mp3) – from Voices from Heaven115 Degrees and Bruce
No, you’re not hallucinating, it’s going to be 115 degrees here in the Phoenix area today. This is the time of year when we desert dwellers seriously question our sanity. On top of that, it’s Springsteen time tonight at the Glendale Arena, and having General Admission floor tickets, my wife and I get to line up early for the ol’ wristband lottery! The show should be great if the entire GA floor isn’t passed out from heat exhaustion. Ahhh summer time.
Some Springsteen items….
- AOL Music is featuring a video performance from each stop on Bruce’s US tour. You can check out what’s up so far right here.
- Reader Brad from Bristol forwarded me this link showing what is undeniably Bruce Springsteen busking in the street in Sweden (I think) in 1990, singing “The River” in front of a stunned and appreciative crowd. I can’t read French, so if anyone cares to translate some of it, great.
Anti War Mix
I don’t mention the politics and events of the day too much, but I must say, like most people, the war in Iraq makes me sick to my stomach, and I believe we were misled into it by the war-mongers surrounding our misinformed bozo of a President. Believe me, I want to, as an American, be able to be proud of and stand behind our president, but when it comes to Iraq (and other policies of this administration), he’s lost me.
I see no justification for the deaths, maiming, and permanent psychological damage to the brave troops put in harm’s way. It is sickening, profoundly sad, and completely unnecessary. To those who argue that this stance is “unpatriotic” or not in support of our troops, you’re wrong. How could you support the troops more than wanting them to come home alive from a living nightmare? Lives are being destroyed as our prez “the decider” and his puppetmasters joke it up at the black tie Republican fundraisers. And the Democrats are no better. There should be accountability, and there should be outrage. Meanwhile we Americans drive around in our gas guzzling Hummers and sit glued to our televisions, casting more votes for American Idol than for any presidential election ever. Oblivious.
Ickmusic (Anti) War Mix(mp3)- My Strange Nation (Susan Werner) – a novelty of sorts, but the lyrics are dead on at points, though she does call ol’ Abe Lincoln gay
- Rich Man’s War (Steve Earle) – raw truth from a true rebel poet
- Bring them Home (If You Love Uncle Sam) (Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band) – ’nuff said
- Oil Well (Carbon/Silicon) – Mick Jones makes his case about the state of current events
- Road to Joy (Bright Eyes) – Conor Oberst’s brilliance: The sun came up with no conclusions / Flowers sleepin’ in their beds / The city cemetary’s hummin’ / I’m wide awake, its mornin’
- No Mother (Old 97’s) – a sad and beautiful dirge