Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

Year 11

Monday Music: The Best In Philadelphia

by

I have some major musical links to unleash on you this Monday! The musicians are local to Philly, but they can rock you in any remote location due to the power of the internet.

Behold: The Best Songwriters in Philly & The Best Indie/Alternative Bands in Philly. You can spend your Monday (and many subsequent days) getting to know the eighteen artists on those two lists, all of whom are certified awesome by yours truly – both handy guides were written by me!

Now for the story behind the links.

A few weeks ago a national producer from CBS reached out to me to see if I would be interested in writing a number of “Best in Philly” posts for their newly-launched CBS Local guide to Philly. This is the mysterious “freelance assignment” I’ve been blogging and tweeting about.

It took awhile to nail down the topics I’d write, but from our first exchange it was clear that one of them would be “Best Songwriters In Philly,” and that I’d be restricted to 10 songwriters, tops.

The topic and accompanying restriction made me nervous. I have literally dozens of favorite songwriters in Philly. How could I fairly get them down to ten?

In the end I was working from a list of 20+ potential candidates to get down to a group of nine that felt right. I left off many favorites because I couldn’t explain them in 100 words, I wasn’t sure if my opinion was biased, or they simply didn’t fit with my final list – which turned out to be:

Since I have so many more words to expel about that nine and so many left-over favorites, I’m hoping to expand upon the article here at CK in fits and starts.

In the meantime, check out the CBS Local version, plus my Alt-Bands article, and these four other hyper-local music-lover guides:

28 years, 51 weeks: pt. 5

by

Friday, September 16, 2010. 28 years, 51 weeks, 4 days.

I awoke early and energized on Friday.

Our gig was good, if lightly attended, things at work were under control, and I had a Filmstar rehearsal in store for me in the evening. The only challenge would be leaving work early enough to pick up my repaired bass before the shop closed.Read more…

Rehearsal was, in a word, unfortunate. The different action on my bass was tripping up my fingers and a week sans rehearsal meant I had forgotten my nifty new transitions.

Oh, and the earplugs. I had vowed to start wearing them sooner or later, and after our first song left my ears ringing I decided the time was upon me. I donned them and suddenly I was rehearsing underwater ballet, my notes lingering a hair behind the rest of the band.

After the first song in our second set I pulled them out to hear the room booming with my final strike of the E string. “Was my bass that loud for the whole song?” E just glared in return.

Things were not going well. I pressed the earplugs back and managed to get my bearings for our second set of songs, but it was still my weakest rehearsal since joining as the fill-in bassist almost two months prior.

At the end of rehearsal E declared that the three permanent band members had to discuss the bass situation and I was summarily dismissed from the room.Read more…

Back in our rehearsal room Zina and guitarist/songwriter Glenn were making small talk while they packed up. A friend of Glenn’s had just texted him – could the band play a surprise gig the next night? It might be a good warm-up for recording to play some of the newer tunes in a bar with the new lineup.

E smiled. “Oh yeah, you’re still in the band. Do you want to go out for crab fries?”

I almost demurred, considering my freelance assignment, but then I remembered I had the entire weekend to knock out that final two thousand or so words. We adjourned to Chickie’s & Pete’s, each ordering a basket of crab fries, texting friends about our secret gig the next night, and talking about upcoming time in a recording studio.

That’s my life. I finished my freelance assignment with no issue many hours ahead of deadline, I made it to work on Monday at ten of seven to kick off our charity campaign, we had a rehearsal with Arcati Crisis + Zina on drums last night where we blasted through “Dumbest Thing I Could Do,” and tonight is the first night of rehearsal in my renewed run with Filmstar. I even found the time to mow the lawn.

Today I turned 29. I spent it at home from work, mostly napping. I would have rather had the sleep interspersed in the week of nights that proceeded today, but if that’s what it takes to be a successful professional in good shape with a happy marriage, an evening music career, a well-kept home, and writing gigs on the side then I’m game.

That’s my life.

28 years, 51 weeks: pt. 4

by

Thursday, September 16, 2010. 28 years, 51 weeks, 2 days.

When I packed meticulously for our gig I wasn’t considering the half mile walk up slight hill to the trolley.

Well, I was considering it pretty hard when I set foot out the door with my guitar, a canvas beach bag of clothing, a display box of free discs, and a boombox loaded with my voice exercises.

That’s my life. I mused it as I dragged my belongings uphill to the trolley line, and I mused it again nine hours later while singing my vocal warmups in an empty office while rain started to obscure my view of the city.

Backstage @ The Tin Angel, 9/16/2010

It felt a little odd to be singing my silly warmups at the office – they aren’t meant to sound good, and I was nervous that some late-working colleague would think I was actually a horrible singer despite all my crowing about voice lessons. By the end of the tape my voice felt good and sure – a welcome relief after being allergy-ravaged the day before.

Maybe the gig wouldn’t be so bad afterall.

Being me, I timed it perfectly – my voice tape would end and I’d have five minutes to pack up and catch a cab to our sound check at the Tin Angel.

So, of course, literally the second the tape finished our building’s fire alarm began to sound its klaxon. Between ear-splitting rings, a calm voice intoned, “Stand by for instructions. Do not use elevators.”

Do not use elevators. I was carrying 40+ pounds of personal belongings 38 stories above the ground. Stairs were not so much an option.

I sat on the ground in our elevator lobby, festooned with guitar, beach bag, display case, and boom box, as the klaxon rang on. Three minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Surely if it wasn’t a drill I’d be dead by now. [Read more…] about 28 years, 51 weeks: pt. 4

Monday Music: Arcati Crisis, live @ Tin Angel

by

Last Thursday my acoustic indie-pop duo, Arcati Crisis, made our fourth appearance together at the Tin Angel. It was our second as co-headliner, and first closing the show.

I think we were pretty awesome, and I have brought you video to back up my claim. Watch as we tear through “Holy Grail,” “Glam / Standing,” “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “Dumbest Thing I Could Do,” “Fisher Price,” and “Better,” all in one convenient playlist.

<

Did you like what you heard? Share it with a shortlink: bit.ly/actin1009

I’ll tell you more about the circumstances leading up to the show in my “28 years, 51 weeks” posts over the next few days. Until then, just enjoy the music.

Bad Good Gig or Good Bad Gig?

by

Gina and I played an Arcati Crisis set at Collingswood 2nd Saturday this weekend – an outdoor gig singing on the street to folks exploring the restaurants and events on Haddon Ave.

By any objective measure, it was a good gig. We played for almost two solid hours, we drew crowds of passers-by multiple times, we gave away half of our CDs, and we even reaped a significant amount of donations from our pseudo-busking!

Arcati Crisis playing Collingswood 2nd Saturday, as shot by Jay Donahue.

However, subjectively the gig sucked. I was angsty from the start when the band before us ran over a bit. I didn’t feel like our mics were balanced, and I couldn’t hear my guitar. I broke a string that’s only two weeks old in the middle of “Video Killed the Radio Star.” I was distracted when donations started to blow out of Gina’s guitar case. I completely forgot any semblance of chords to “Standing.” I lost the roadmap on “Hungerstrike.” I was a measure behind on the bridge of “Moscow, Idaho.”

In my musical life I have my off moments and flubbed changes, but I never miss entrances or get out of sync. I just don’t. Yet on Saturday I was so out of sorts that I literally stopped our set halfway through to play a solo song in a desperate attempt to regain my focus.

This morning I wrote Gina an email, partially stating:

My head was just in a completely other place, and I could not get completely centered again. It was really unprofessional and I feel shitty about it.

Then I stopped by my colleague Jay’s cube, and the first thing he said was:

You were really awesome on Saturday.

And, you know what? I don’t think it was just Jay who felt that. I feel like we got more smiles and complements during the set on Saturday than we’ve ever had at that sort of background music gig ever before.

What’s the secret?

I suppose there’s something to that reckless abandon of messing up and and moving on. A decade ago I was more apt to say “art is in the imperfections,” but now I prefer to deliver the same perfect performance every single time.

Decade-ago Peter would ask me, “What’s the point of that?”

In (and out) of Filmstar

by

I’m conflicted.

Today I am bolting straight from work to rehearse with E’s band, Filmstar. I’ve been filling in as the band’s substitute bass player for about a month now, and tonight is our final rehearsal before I my first gig with the band tomorrow.

(This gig which will also be my first real gig on bass and my first gig ever that involves a road trip).

(!)

I’ve been incredibly energized by playing with Filmstar, even in my temporary capacity.

When it comes down to it I am a rock fan at my core, despite all of my folk-loving and acoustc-playing. I love getting to a point when a song begins to move your body, whether it’s your hips or your banging head.

My favorite example at the moment is probably the outro of this newer tune, “Fall From the Sky”…

“Fall From the Sky” also displays the more intangible aspect of why I’m enjoying myself so much: Filmstar is the sort of band that I adore. I love riff-y, female-fronted rock. Garbage is my favorite band of all time.

Filmstar’s sound is a mashup of influences – from Glenn, the guitarist and songwriter, lots of 70s and 80s Brit Rock, like The Clash and The Cure. In that same period E is a fan of The Pretenders and Joan Jett, but there’s only so far she can push that icier delivery. She’s way more in line with current stuff like Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Eisley.

Add to that drummer Zina’s efficient rhythms, which sometimes have a girl-group swish to them, and the combined set of influences pretty closely resembles… Garbage. My favorite band of all time.

Here I am, in the position of playing a style I really like, with a sound I really like, with people I really like. Oh, and I really like many of the songs, especially the newest batch of them.

It’s temporary. We all know this. My contract states this. Actual bass-players who have been playing bass for more than a cumulative four-month span of their lives are auditioning to take the spot over full time.

And, thus, I’m conflicted. It’s Glenn’s band, and it’s Elise’s passion project, but having peered into it I realize that there’s something there that I don’t have anywhere else. And while I can find that rock for either my solo music or Arcati Crisis, I’m not going to get the Garbage vibe from either of those. I don’t have the right ingredients, and Filmstar does.

So, yeah. I’m conflicted. I’ll report back after our gig tomorrow, perhaps with some video of me as a Filmstar.