Hello again, my followers!! ;) I feel like Mister Rogers with my greeting. Anyhoo, as I ended off my last, first, blog, I mentioned that I would explain how I got in a pic with Winona Ryder. Very simple, 1996, a gig by Seattle (actually Bellingham, WA) powerpopgods The Posies, NYC, late lamented club/venue Tramps, on 21st Street in Manhattan. This place was much loved, and all the cool bands played there over the years. One of the best, besides the Posies, was the reunited Big Star (with the recently deceased Alex Chilton)...with head Posies Jon Auer & Ken Stringfellow filling in, and opening acts Superdrag and Yo La Tengo...other key gigs were the Muffs and Aimee Mann, and the wildest was Shane McGowan & The Popes...as the Pogues were on hiatus...the whole place was a moshpit. Tramps was awesome, had great sound, and had so many memories for me over the years and I do miss it...the only downfall about that club, for those who do not know, is that there was this pole in the middle of the room. It was great if you were drunk or tired and needed something to hold on to, but on the other side of the coin was the fact that it got in the way and always blocked your view of the band on stage. However, it was part of the package and added to my memories of Tramps...lots of NYC clubs are closing these days but just as many seem to be opening, so there will always be live gigs by cool bands all over the city, and the scene will always thrive, like a cool cockroach. Anyhoo, back to my Winona story, I get to go backstage after the Posies finish their set...one thing that stood out besides a great, tight, set with lots of energy and even a song sung by one of their roadies in overalls...was that Ken Stringfellow had his hair dyed a pinkish purple and was actually wearing a white dress, really funny and total punkrock...anyhoo, backstage at Tramps was actually downstairs, so I get to go, the band's dressing room was open, so I pop in, and there was Winona and Ken...in that dress...intimate on the room's couch!! Other people were around but I was taken aback, like oops sorry, am I interrupting?? But they were cool about everything, and Winona was very nice and gracious, agreed to a photo with your's truly, and even signed my Posies "Randy Leasure's CD Sampler"...so that disc is signed both by the band AND Winona...I still have it as it has sentimental value.
I've had lots of similar adventures over the years I've been going to gigs.
Upcoming shows are co-ed UK electronic duo La Roux on Monday, alt-country/southern soul/singer-songwriter Tift Merritt on June 17th, and Lady Gaga on July 9th...looking forward to those. Plus that record release party by Jac & Jill on June 29th, and a local gig at the Union Square BestBuy by hotly tipped NYC band Skye Claire & The High Society on June 24th.
Recent CD acquisitions have been: Marina & The Diamonds' "The Family Jewels" (GREAT and highly eccentric Welsh/Greek artist Marina Diamandis and her revolving cast of players...think Kate Bush & Florence & The Machine meet Lady Gaga or Scissor Sisters...and Marina sometimes sounds like a female Robert Smith from the Cure), genreless female artist Janelle Monae...both her debut album "The ArchAndroid" and the preview EP: "Metropolis: The Chase Suite"...the EP from 2008 is Suite #1 and the new album is Suites 2 & 3...I love the way she combines punk, soul, soundtrack scores, new wave, funk, James Bond theme-music including vocals reminiscent of Shirley Bassey, Disney music...Janelle is all over the place but has a singular vision so she is able to seamlessly combine all these disparate elements into a really cool artful whole...she is kind of a genius. Lastly, hotly tipped Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells...taken under the wing of one M.I.A., this duo is reminiscent of UK duo the Ting Tings but with the guitars and noise levels recorded into the red, cranked into overdrive. You can tell that the album "Treats" was recorded loudly, so even if your volume knob might be on 6, it feels like it's on 20. The songs are cool and catchy and singsongy, but with the noise levels on assault, they are reminiscent of bands like My Bloody Valentine. I hear that Sleigh Bells are an exciting band to see live as well, which is as important as having a cool record, it's equal.
Lastly, with American Idol Season 9 over, Simon Cowell is signed off and free to set up his new US edition of his highly successful talent show "The X-Factor". The next step is almost in place, meaning nabbing one of the judges. In the UK, his main foil was Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole...Girls Aloud are the UK's most successful girlgroup ever, with no lineup changes, 5 albums, 1 hits collection, 8 DVDs, and 20 straight top 10 singles in the UK (out of 21, the 21st, 2009's "Untouchable" just missed the top 10, peaking at #11), not only do they have that wild success, but the group is critically-acclaimed, UK rock bands love em, and they were deemed the "pop group it's alright to like". Anyhoo, GA is on hiatus, and the 5 girls are pursuing solo careers...with Cheryl the most successful of the 5, with her debut 2009 solo album "3 Words", mostly produced by Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas, selling hugely and having 3 big singles, including 2009's best-selling single in the UK, "Fight For This Love". Besides music, Cheryl is a L'Oreal spokesmodel, she was married to soccer star Ashley Cole, who is playing in the upcoming World Cup games in South Africa later this month...they are getting a quickie divorce because Ashley was a serial cheat, he was like the Tiger Woods of the UK...once the divorce is done, Cheryl will be moving to the US and will likely sign up with Simon Cowell as a judge on the new US "X-Factor", in a deal worth millions, and Simon is convinced Cheryl will be a huge star in America. Besides being a fan of her and her music, I can see that because as a person, she is very warm, real, smart, funny, moralistic, has lots of heart, and she is quite beautiful-looking. People will fall for Cheryl, and her solo music is American-sounding, unlike Girls Aloud who's music is very English and would not translate so easily. I hope everything works out for Cheryl & Simon and we will get to really see Cheryl on US television. Who knows?? It could develop into a demand for Girls Aloud music on US shores. I know Cheryl's "3 Words" was supposed to get released here on Interscope, but she's about to start recording her "darker" 2nd solo record, so what gets released here will probably click.
OK, this is Powerpoplarry, signing off, be well and enjoy. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment