Father Jon Misty Embraces The L Word

A musician quitting one of indie music’s biggest bands at their peak seemed like a weird move at the time, but for former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman, it seems to have paid off. Tillman recorded a slew of throughout his 20s, and as a way of taking himself less seriously, he created the Father John Misty character, a kind of druggy drifter-type. But while his 2012 debut, Fear Fun, in large part poked fun at his newfound L.A. lifestyle, his new , I Love You, Honey Bear, tackles something else entirely.

What makes Father John Misty unique is that it’s impossible to remove the man from the songs, since he draws so heavily from his personality (which is ironic considering the pseudonym). Each song plays like an esoteric inside joke that’s ripped directly from the headlines of his own life, with titles like “The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment” and “Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow” from Honey Bear.

If you’ve read interviews with Father John Misty, it’s hard not to notice a bit of grandiosity. He tends to mythologize his past. On the new album, he rips into a white girl for an annoying “soulful affectation” in her singing voice, but what’s that we hear in the verses of “Thirsty Crow”? And get a load of his album preview: “My ambition, aside from making an indulgent, soulful and epic sound worthy of the subject matter, was to address the sensuality of fear, the terrifying force of love, the unutterable pleasures of true intimacy, and the destruction of emotional and intellectual prisons in my own voice.”

But if you can get past the fact that this reads like some kind of cultural theory masters thesis, Honey Bear is an album of great ambition. In it, Tillman has done something that some songwriters strive for their entire lives: He’s written about falling in love in ways that are true to himself and never for a moment clichéd … kind of like he said he would.

“Chateau Lobby 4 (in C for Two Virgins)” shows how a simple connection can have profound results: “I haven’t hated / all the same things as somebody else / since I can remember.” In “The Ideal Husband,” Misty describes the moment he falls recklessly into the abyss, and the kind of rash thinking that it usually leads to: “I showed up at seven in the morning / I said baby, I’m finally succumbing / Said something dumb like I’m tired of running / Wouldn’t I make the ideal husband?”

“I Went to the Store One Day” is a folky rumination about the chance meeting that can set the blueprint for your entire existence. He imagines the rest of his life with the girl he just met at the store, all the way until he’s on his deathbed, and perfectly illustrates how your mind can’t help but scramble toward the future when you’re with someone you love.

But it’s not all about the lovey-dovey; “Bored in the USA” is a mournful balled lamenting the lack of feeling in our consumer culture and “True Affection” is about the difficulty to connect through so many different layers of technology.

The album also made musical strides. While his first release was straight-ahead Beatles-style pop, this one proves he’s really emptying the coffers at Sub Pop with great results. It’s chock full of beautiful orchestral flourishes that add a whole new dimension. And just as with the subject matter, it seems that he’s embracing the sappier side of things.

Criticizing consumer America or questioning our reliance on technology has been done many times, but finding an original way to say how you feel about a significant other is a creative achievement. Despite his pretentions, Father John Misty has really accomplished something great with I Love You, Honeybear.

Album of the Week: Dead Cats Dead Rats’ Raw Lately I’ve been hearing people talk about how much they miss the ’90s. Yeah — the decade was cool. Flannel, acid wash jeans, weird hair cuts, Surge (thank god it’s back) and Nintendo 64 were in style, and Seattle was the mecca of music for most of those years. There was also Milli Vanilli and a plethora of horribly catchy “boy bands” that really ended the ’90s on a downer. While I don’t like to romanticize the past, a spectacular punk trio from Boston that has a sound similar to Nirvana, Mudhoney and Bad Religion has a new album out and it definitely harks back to the music of 20 years ago. That band is Dead Cats Dead Rats and their new album, Raw, is one of the most badass albums to come out in 2014.

Relating to previous material I’ve heard from them, DCDR’s new release is loud with an abrasive angst. If you’re having a stressful day, crank this baby up, let it rip and rock the fuck out. Frontman Matt Reppucci has scorching riffs on guitar to go along with bassist Chris Wolz and drummer Travis Tenney crafting an electrifying rhythm section that is a musical force to be reckoned with. Press play on this bad boy and I guarantee you won’t stop listening.

People these days sometimes just have to chill out, stop and smell the roses. Life’s too short not to do it. While partaking in said activity, make time to bask in the top tracks of my Album Of The Week. Just relax and indulge.

A complete headbanger, “Warm Up” is my favorite track off of Raw. So much emphasis on rhythm and power really makes for a complete ripper of a song. With a particular jumpy quality, “Knockout” has Wolz’s bass serving as the backbone for the entire track. A great amount of intensity with this one gives it a classic structure and a lot of energy. For a sick riff, I suggest giving “Big Trouble” a listen. Reppucci’s guitar is a total beast, exuding ferocious sounds and highly amplified tones.

Dead Cats Dead Rats will be heading down to Dusk in Providence on December 11 to tear it up with local punks Ask The Dead, Public Policy and Pink Eye. If you like it loud, then I absolutely recommend you hit up the show. While you’re there, pick up a copy of Raw. It’s brain melting goodness that’ll ooze into your soul.

Dead Cats Dead Rats’ Website: dcdrband.com

CD Review: ’s Avonmore

Last Monday, former frontman Bryan Ferry released his 15th studio album, Avonmore. The album was produced by longtime Roxy Music/Ferry associate, Rhett Davies, but he also got some help from a long list of talented musicians, most notably Nile Rodgers of Chic (and everything lately) and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Nile Rodgers makes his influence known not only by his signature funky, choppy guitar sound that is featured in most of the songs, but an overall sleek tone to the songs and the production. The title track has a driving disco backbeat with impressive bass fills sprinkled throughout that can only be Flea. But occasionally the lushness goes a little too far. “A Special Kind of Guy,” for example, takes the smoothness to a sickly sweet parody level, complete with some tepid wah-wah guitar in the background.

Perhaps the overproduction is due to an overblown cast of characters; on “Loop De Li” alone there appears Nile Rodgers, Johnny Marr, well-known blues guitarist Neil Hubbard, Sex Pistols axeman Steve Jones, session guitarist David Williams, and jazz legend Marcus Miller on bass, and that’s not even everybody playing a guitar. Ferry’s status as a UK national treasure is definitely secure, but it seems like he may be a little too focused on partying with rockstars.

One of the elements (other than the top-tier musicians) that made Roxy Music so special in the ’70s was Ferry’s somehow-masculine cooing vocal technique. It’s undeniable that age isn’t the best thing for your vocals; unless you’re some kind of immortal weirdo like James Taylor, you probably won’t be hitting the high notes you did in your 20s when you’re 69 (Ferry’s age). But in some ways, like in the case of Johnny Cash at the end of his life, the discernable age in a singer’s voice actually works to enhance what made it so special decades ago. He uses his signature vocal vibrato effectively in the title track and “Driving me Wild,” but it’s never more prevalent than it is on the song “Soldier of Fortune,” the strongest original on the album. Ferry’s personal life seems to come through on the album, especially in this track. Earlier this year, Ferry was divorced by his 30-year-old wife of about two and a half years (“I’m a soldier of fortune, ambassador of pain / I had the world on a string and I threw it all away”). Ferry, with his English mansion, hasn’t exactly seen the dark underbelly of life, but his weathered voice gives the song an undeniable gravity.

Ferry’s never been afraid of cover songs, and Avonmore closes with a pair of the most eclectic and best covers of his career. The first is “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, originally part of the musical A Little Night Music. It’s been covered many times, but most of the covers are simple, with just a piano and some strings. Ferry’s version puts in all the theatrics of Broadway, and the song builds to a soaring chorus.

The second cover is Robert Palmer’s, “Johnny & Mary.” The modest 1980 single was itself a departure from the hard-driving, commercial MTV singles for which Palmer is best known; it’s a thoughtful, synthy new wave tune that sounds more like Devo or Echo and the Bunnymen. Ferry’s version, the highlight of the album, takes the punchy original and slows it down to a dark, ethereal pulse. The song is about a couple trying to break down the barriers between them to communicate, and Ferry’s fragile voice signifies that he knows about it all too well.

Although the album has some pretty strong originals, the covers are absolute gems. Perhaps Ferry, in his later years, has found a new talent in interpreting other people’s songs. Avonmore proves that even though it’s been over 40 years since Roxy Music’s first album, no one’s been able to replicate that voice.

Interview with Silverteeth’s Bill Bartholomew Photo by Sarah Rayne

When it comes to the music coming out of Rhode Island, The Ocean State’s rhythmic roots stretch far and wide. Take, for example, Brooklyn indie rock act Silverteeth consisting of Brazilian musician Gabriella Rossi and Charlestown, RI, native Bill Bartholomew. recently released a for the song “Shoes,” so I had a chat with Bill about the making of the video, life in Brooklyn compared to Rhode Island, performing in Brazil earlier this year and when fans can expect Silverteeth’s debut album to be released.

Rob Duguay: The video for “Shoes” was shot and recorded at The Columbus Recording Company, operated by Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky of The Low Anthem and located inside The Columbus Theatre. Who directed the video and what was it like working with Ben and Jeff?

Bill Bartholomew: The video itself was directed by Colleen Hennessy of SoPa Productions and Colleen is someone that I greatly respect. She’s done quite a bit of work in the area. She’s does the documentary for the Newport Folk Festival each year as well as a lot of other major festivals. She’s also done some really cool work with a lot of great artists including The Low Anthem. I was really excited to be able to work with her on this. As far as working with Ben and Jeff goes, it was great. They’re definitely one of those classic one-brain-two-body situations at this point where they really complement each other and are able to accomplish a lot both creatively and in more of the scientific side of recording.

RD: It’s pretty cool that you got to work with such talented professionals. What was the inspiration behind “Shoes”? Is there a story behind the song?

BB: I think it’s sort of a general portrait written with a little bit of tongue in cheek from looking at the area I’ve been living in North Brooklyn and how it’s changed and the sort of characters you see out there, who they are, how it makes me feel and potentially how it looks like if you were to take a photo of it. It’s also a song that from a musical standpoint started out as more of a purely electric rock song. It was one of the first songs that the current incarnation of Silverteeth kind of found home base in by utilizing an acoustic guitar as the engine of the song and putting a pick in Gabriella’s hand and having her almost play a Pixies style bass to it. That particular song really helped us find the next step in the sound we’re after.

RD: I think the song is awesome. I’ve already listened to it a bunch of times this week and I like the rhythm behind it. So how long have you been living in Brooklyn?

BB: I actually moved down here in 2006. I guess it was in July of that year when it really started, I came down here with a band I was playing in that was based out of Providence called Commas. All five of us decided to pack up and move to Brooklyn. We moved to a loft in East Williamsburg in a building that became fairly legendary called the McKibbin Lofts. The band lasted about a year or so, and slowly but surly everyone else trickled out either back to Rhode Island or elsewhere. I ended up staying in the city myself in the loft and began pursuing a new career as a solo artist.

RD: Being a musician from Rhode Island, did you notice any big changes when you moved to Brooklyn? What’s changed the most with you musically or personally since you moved down there?

BB: Well, I think it corresponded with the time period in life where I think everybody kind of goes through personal, social, political and musical awakenings. I really benefited from the timing of being here in Williamsburg & Bushwick in Brooklyn during the late 2000s. Just to be around basically a true bohemian scene that was entirely driven by art and the pursuit of something cooler. That was different than Rhode Island for me. In Rhode Island you sort of had to really work hard to find allies if you weren’t partaking in the mainstream. There’s certainly a great scene in Providence and there’s always has been, but just in my personal situation a new scene, a new group of people and the fact that it came across as a bohemian community really shifted my thinking. That’s the biggest difference other than the fact there’s no ocean and there’s no space here in New York where as in Rhode Island nearly every day you can guarantee yourself solitude.

RD: That’s definitely an interesting perspective on both places. Earlier this year, Silverteeth performed a few shows in Brazil. How did this happen? Where exactly did you guys play and how were you received there?

BB: Gabriella is Brazilian in the sense that she truly moved to Brooklyn just a few years ago. It’s not as if her family raised her in the States or anything like that. She has a lot of connections to ordinary, everyday people from living there and being around the music scene, political scene and things like that. We knew confidently that we could at least get a couple people to come out to a show if we went down there — it wasn’t a total shot in the dark. When we got down there we were really excited to meet and be taken in by some really great people, really great indie bands that have since broken fairly large on an international level. Through them we connected to other people down there who were really interested in music and indie music in particular. We were able to set up a couple of really cool shows, one was at a record shop called Fnac and it was amazing. It was a 250 to 300 person crowd. We worked very hard handing out flyers and it was very well received. It sort of left us in a spot where we got a nice chunk of ears and eyes ready for what we do next.

RD: It must have been an amazing experience to go down to South America and play in a different place to a whole new group of fans. Silverteeth are currently working on their debut album, so when can fans look for it on record store shelves and on the internet?

BB: We’re currently working on new and old material, recording demos and just getting prepared to go track in the studio this spring. I don’t have a specific date, but it’ll be next year that our debut record will be coming out. It’ll be a long time in the making and I’m very excited that it’s being taken down that route to really take the time to make sure we have the right songs on there.

Link to video: youtube.com/watch?v=pg4UnavVo24

Silverteeth’s website: planetsilverteeth.com

Album Of The Week: TV on the Radio’s Seeds With so many genres that have been established over the past half century, it can be very challenging for a band to keep it weird and create their own identifiable sound. One band that has always separated themselves from their contemporaries is Brooklyn experimental art rock act TV On The Radio. They have a brand new album out, Seeds, chock full of their trademark variety of styles and techniques with a ganache of energy and soul. A lovely combination of groovy pop, rigid rock and a dash of funk signifies Seeds as TV On The Radio’s triumphant return to the music spectrum.

Exuding perseverance after the passing of bassist in 2011, the force and vigor of TV On The Radio’s new release resonates strength and the will to carry on. Vocalist Tunde Adebimpe has described the album as “1,000 percent, without a doubt, the best thing we’ve ever done.” The melding of the act’s early synthpunk style and their more recent delving into soul and funk really makes Seeds a refreshing album, to say the least. It shows that TV On The Radio aren’t going anywhere and they will continue to be one of the best genre-bending bands out there today.

Some people think that music today is a big wasteland. Unfortunately, those people don’t read my Album Of The Week. Trek on through with the top tracks and approach the oasis of amazing tunes:

When ’s guitar shreds in “Winter,” your ears will warm up and when the sick beats from Jaleel Bunton on drums come, you’ll be raising your hands in the air rejoicing. Very dance-punk with an electrifying vibe, “Lazerray” has a fuzzy bass. It’s the backbone of the track that serves as the hip shaker. A number that has a lot of soul, “Could You” is reminiscent of ’60s pop along with a tinge of R&B.

TV On The Radio will be doing a two-night stay at The Music Hall Of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Nov 21 and 22. That’s going to be a party and all of the cool kids are going to be there. If you’re going to be at the bash, grab a copy of Seeds. It’ll get you acting weird, but you’re going to love every minute of it.

TV On The Radio’s website: tvontheradioband.com

Interview with Slug from

Ever since the start of their own record label with Rhymesayers Entertainment and the release of their debut album Overcast! during the mid-’90s, hip-hop duo Atmosphere has risen to be one of the biggest names in independent music. Recently I managed to have a chat the MC of the duo in Slug about the group’s North Of Hell Tour making a stop at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel on November 18, their new album Southsiders, life continuously on the road, and an inside look at one of the most talented rappers around today.

Rob Duguay: Atmosphere will be coming to Lupo’s on November 18 to once again set the stage on fire. You’ve performed in Providence numerous times, so what always makes you want to mark The Creative Capital on your calendar when you head out on tour?

Slug: We’ll go anywhere that’ll let us perform so there’s no real way to answer the question on why we keep coming back. The real question is why do you let us keep coming back? We keep coming back to Providence because you guys treat us like you love us. You guys treat us like we’re amazing and that’s the kind of validation you just don’t get everywhere. I’m a freak for validation, I love it, it’s like orgasmic. Technically we’ll go anywhere that lets us/ Estonia, Providence, Uruguay, anywhere.

RD: We’re all looking forward to the show at Lupo’s and it should be a blast.

Slug: I’m looking forward to it as well, I really like Lupo’s actually. There’s few venues around the world that get it the way that I get it. I grew up in Minneapolis attending and later performing at a venue called , so I was trained a certain way as far as how we work and how we do our job. Lupo’s definitely fits the way that I was taught, it’s very comfortable from the loaders to the sound engineers to the bartenders and the staff in general. It fits my view on how things should work.

RD: That’s awesome that you feel that way. Lupo’s is a great club that treats everybody right. You attribute a lot of Atmosphere’s success to going on tour relentlessly. If you had a story that comes to mind from being on tour whether it was a crazy girl or a crazy situation at a club what would it be?

Slug: There was a woman outside of the old Met Café in Providence back in 2001 across the street from an ice cream shop. This woman was out there after the show and the crowd pulled out into the street. Back then we weren’t that popular so there was probably only around 100 people. We’re all just kind of standing around and this girl just took her shirt off. She started kind of making a scene outside and she was yelling at us. I’m not totally sure what she was attempting in general, but she was trying to get everybody’s attention. She was asking “Am I the jezebel? Am I the jezebel? Am I the jezebel?” and there was this guy I’m sure a lot of people in Providence know named Sage Francis who pointed at her and said, “You’re the jezebelly!”

It stuck with me. I feel that there was something inside of that moment that kind of stuck with me forever just as far as how I work with people and how I interact with people. We all have our own interpretations, every action is entitled to some sort of intention. What the problem is that we all don’t necessarily interpret your actions as vain as nobody interprets my actions as vain. It’s the kind of thing at that moment where she was the artist, she wanted us all to see but she had no control of how we interpreted her art and that stuck with me as far as how I interact with my audience and I don’t have these expectations of people to interpret my art the way I mean it. On that particular night, whatever that woman was trying to get across, our interpretation of it was far more interesting than whatever she was trying to say with her actions. That’s my favorite part about art. I might write a song and there’s no way that it’s going to be as cool as how an audience member interprets it and that’s what gives the song its life. Otherwise, it’s just this linear path that I’m on as an artist.

RD: It’s crazy how much an event like that had an effect on your artistry. Speaking of art, this past May Atmosphere put out their seventh studio album, Southsiders. A lot of musicians and artists who have an extensive catalog like your own always manage to have at least one sub-par release, while on the other hand, Atmosphere has always put out a quality record. What do you think is the main reason why you and Ant have always managed to keep things so fresh?

Slug: Well, I have no idea. I’m not even sure, we may have fallen off but I don’t know how to measure that kind of stuff. I just know that we are fortunate that people allow us to continue to do this and therefore we just try to do our best. I don’t really know what I’m doing, I’m still trying to feel my way through. We just see it at eye level; at a higher level it’s just a matter of marketing, promotions and having business strategies. When you’re running on your own steam I don’t know if there is a secret, you just do your best to be yourself and do your best to do your best. If you’re fortunate enough to get the gig then cool, but if not then it’s ok, it’s not the end of the world. RD: Ever since the At It Again tour that you did in the mid-2000s, Atmosphere has been known to perform with a live band. When you first had this idea come to fruition, did you experience any challenges while you were teaching all of these musicians how to play hip-hop tracks?

Slug: At the time I thought that the reason to do it was to challenge ourselves. The reason I even started to go down that path was because I was becoming comfortable doing what I was doing with just a DJ. I felt that it was probably not ok to feel comfortable so when I started working with live musicians it was 100% challenging. Obviously hindsight is 20/20; when I look back on it I feel it was just a part of me that wanted to stretch, grow and to just make sure that I wasn’t allowing the audience to become complacent and allowing myself to become complacent. The challenge just wasn’t to challenge myself or just to challenge the musicians I was working with but it was also to challenge the audience. In underground rap it was kind of a no-no to work with a live band because that was what The Roots were doing and if you did it you were just trying to be like The Roots so there was a part of me that really wanted to challenge our audience.

RD: There’s nothing wrong with taking a risk, especially when people appreciate it. You’ve done numerous collaborations with the likes of Murs, Aesop Rock, KRS-One, Sage Francis who you mentioned earlier and even Minnesota indie rockers Lifter Puller who was lead by currently frontman of . Is there anyone else you’d like to do a project with in the near future?

Slug: It’s hard to say, I don’t really make a list of people for that kind of stuff. I did a song with Tom Waits a few years ago and that was kind of like the last big fish for me. At this point I’d love to do a song with someone like . He’s probably the last starfighter for me, I’d love to do a song with Willie.

RD: That sounds like it could be pretty interesting if it ever happened. What can fans of Atmosphere expect next year? Are you going to do another album? Are you doing a big tour? Will you be producing?

Slug: I’m not sure. I want to spend a decent amount of time with my kids. I do intend to do some traveling and go around playing music and writing songs. As it stands right now we’ll be definitely be doing another tour to hit up a few cities that we missed out on this time around, but other than that I just plan on enjoying my life.

Atmosphere’s website: rhymesayers.com/atmosphere

Album Of The Week: Team Spirit’s Killing Time People think of Brooklyn in different ways. Some refer to the place as the hipster capital of the world and others refer to the scrumptious pizzerias and steakhouses that inhabit the area. But no one can ignore the music, arts and culture that have been growing out of Brooklyn over the past 30 years. The next big thing to rise out of there could very well be power-pop act Team Spirit with their debut album Killing Time currently out. Mix the grit and intensity of The Stooges with the pizzazz of Prince and you’ll have a truly badass band that guarantees a raucous time.

The energy coming from each track is rivaled by few; before you know it you’ll become a human dance machine in your humble abode and you won’t care who is watching. A lot of groove from the guitars along with steady beats to go along with the madman vocals from Ayad Al Adhamy makes for a blissful rock ‘n’ roll experience. Knowing this is only their debut full-length, the brilliance of it all makes me excited to hear what Team Spirit has planned for their follow-up. If it’s as good as Killing Time, then be on the look out for big things coming from this crazy quartet.

The leaves are changing, you got your sweater on, the fireplace is roaring and you’re probably looking to snuggle. Get comfortable and relax with your favorite hot beverage while you bask in the top tracks off of my Album Of The Week.

The lead single “Teenage Heart” is very catchy with a fuzzy bassline and feverish guitars; definitely a track to spin at your next party to get everyone in the mood. A headbanger with “King Bruce” is bound to get you amplified and electrified as Al Adhamy channels his inner Joey Ramone. Reminiscent of The Cars, “Different Changes” has a pop tinge to go along with the rhythmic syncopation of the guitars and drums. It’s an absolute hip shaker that’ll get you jumping out of your seat right after you play it.

If you’re willing to make the trip, Team Spirit will be taking over Bar Le Ritz P.D.B. in Montreal on November 16, but let’s hope they roar on through New England sometime soon. Until Team Spirit brings the frenzy to your friendly neighborhood music venue, get your grubby little paws on Killing Time. It’s rock ‘n’ roll that’s bound to make you dance like you got ants in your pants.

Team Spirit’s website: goteamspirit.net

Interview with Mike Doughty

On November 12 at The Columbus Theatre, prepare for something a tad out of the ordinary. Mike Doughty (who you might know from his days as the frontman of ’90s alt-rock act Soul Coughing) will be putting on a show dictated by answering questions out of a jar along with performing music with his acoustic guitar and cellist Andrew Livingston. Along with that, he has a couple new albums out this year and a few things in the works. I had a chat with Mike about all this madness that’s bound to ensue.

Rob Duguay: On November 12, the World- Renowned Award-Winning Question Jar Show will be hitting up The Columbus Theatre in Providence. It looks like it’ll be a very unique experience as you and cellist Andrew Livingston will be answering questions between songs. What made you come up with this concept?

Mike Doughty: There’s a lot of speaking with the crowd in the shows. After a few months on the road, I would find that I was saying the same stuff nightly. So this was mainly an idea to force myself to mix it up. It’s also a great way to showcase the intensely delightful oddballness of Andrew “Scrap” Livingston.

RD: This past September you released your seventh studio album Stellar Motel; it’s your second straight release funded through PledgeMusic featuring special guests MC Frontalot, Moon Hooch and many others. What made you want to use PledgeMusic to fund the release your past two albums and how do you feel when independent artists are doing the same thing?

MD: I entered into it experimentally, with ideas about strange rewards for pledging. Things like private shows and songs recorded on ancient micro-cassette recorders. Recorder included! It turned out to be a fascinatingly rewarding experience, both as a source of funding, as well as its own kind of meta artistic piece.

Other artists on my level are doing great with crowd-funding. It’s a real innovation. But things are still tough for young artists looking for funding to get their careers started.

RD: Along with Stellar Motel you released a live album this year titled Live at Ken’s House, which was the end result from a tour you did last fall in support of Circles, Super Bon Bon and The Very Best Of Soul Coughing. What do you like most about touring and what do you like the least?

MD: Occasionally you have to move a bunch of boxes, which I don’t like a whole lot. But for the most part I enjoy the life. I enjoy being in motion, I love playing shows, and I have a 20-year-long intimate acquaintance with every big city, and most small cities, in North America.

RD: Being a musician that started out in the ’90s, in your opinion what is the biggest thing that has changed the music industry from then until now in 2014?

MD: It’s so easy to make records. You can start working on them on your laptop, and months later you’ll have a real, finished recording. You don’t have to plan so intensely, in terms of where to record, who to work with. There is a level of great spontaneity that’s possible.

RD: Speaking of 2014, the year is slowly but surely coming to a close. What can fans expect from you in 2015?

MD: I’m working on a rock opera based on the Book of Revelation. I’m working on a lot of drum machine stuff and I’m already starting to poke around with demos of new songs with my producer, Good Goose. You can check out the World-Renowned Award-Winning Question Jar Show featuring Mike Doughty & Andrew Livingston at The Columbus Theatre. It should be a pretty cool interactive experience for everyone involved so don’t be a square and I’ll see you there.

Mike Doughty’s Website: mikedoughty.com

Alt-Nation: Supersuckers, Elephant Wrecking Ball and Foo Fighters Discs

Supersu ckers – Get The Hell

The self-proclaimed “Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World,” Supersuckers, return to Rhode Island for the second time this year in support of their new record, Get The Hell. As much as I like the Supersuckers, it’s been over a decade since I’ve had the slightest interest in listening to any new material from them. Maybe they got in a rut when it came to writing rock songs. For a while they had their country phase, which just wasn’t as good as their barroom punk ‘n’ roll glory of their heyday. Their live shows were still fun, but the new material was pretty forgettable till now.

Get The Hell is easily Supersuckers’ best record since 1999’s The Evil Powers of Rock ‘N’ Roll. Get The Hell starts slow with the forgettable title track, but it doesn’t take long to get the party rolling with “Something About You” and “Fuck Up” with the trademark Supersuckers outlaw swagger. The latter even adds just the right amount of harmonica without overdoing it. Tracks like “Gluttoneous” and “Disaster Bastard” show the Supersuckers returning to curb stomping rock ‘n’ roll. “Never Let Me Down Again” and “High Tonight” keep the party stoned cold rocking. Are they really “the greatest rock ‘n’ band in the world?” Probably not, but Get The Hell is like their earlier records where it’s like okay, they may not be the greatest, but they are close enough that it isn’t worth splitting hairs over. The Supersuckers’ resiliency is best expressed in the chorus of “Pushin’ Thru” with the refrain of “No I ain’t done and I’m a keep pushing through.” On Get The Hell the Supersuckers sound like a band that is a long way from done.

Supersuckers and The Skinny Millionaires rock the Newport Blues Café on November 13.

Elephant Wrecking Ball – Barren Serenade (Ropeadope Records)

Elephant Wrecking Ball is an instrumental trio that pumps out heavy trombone-driven grooves. On Barren Serenade, the trio mixes in influences as diverse as avant garde jazz, dub reggae, and heavy metal over the course of eight adventurous tunes. Whether it’s the metal guitar solo on “Five Bucks” or the reggae beat of “Shiny Irony,” Elephant Wrecking Ball always seem to have something up their sleeve. I recommend them to fans of jazz, reggae, and jam bands as a great way to dance the night away.

Elephant Wrecking Ball, Secret Weapon, Chicken House Ghost Tribe are at The Spot on November 14.

Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways (Roswell Records)

Coming off their best pure album in over a decade with Wasting Light, the Foo Fighters for whatever reason decided to challenge themselves to record an album by going around the country and recording one song in eight different cities. That journey can be followed on their HBO series, “Sonic Highways.” But as for the album as a whole, it’s a mixed bag. Part of the concept of the album is Dave Grohl will go these cities and interview musicians of the likes of Buddy Guy, Rick Nielson (Cheap Trick), Ian McKaye, Roky Erickson, and Willie Nelson and then write lyrics based on their experiences.

Sonic Highways kicks off with “Something From Nothing,” which although it may have lyrics about Buddy Guy’s story, has a whole middle section of the song that is essentially Dio’s “Diver Down.” But just not as good. “The Feast and The Famine” is more of a typical Foo Fighters rocker with a big chorus that explodes out of the speakers. The lyrics make references to Bad Brains songs and early DC punk and hardcore. The problem with this is the songs these bands wrote were autobiographical about the now. Sometimes Sonic Highways has trouble measuring up because they read like a history book re- telling stories that have already been told. Though that said, Sonic Highways does out-rock any history book. Sometimes the songs veer from their intended influences like in the Austin episode Grohl interviews Willie Nelson, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), and Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators) yet somehow comes out with a tune in “What Did I Do?/God As My Witness” that sounds like a tribute to Queen. “Congregation” and” In The Clear” have all the loud guitars, big drums, and catchy hooks that have been the Foo’s calling card for nearly 20 years. The last half on Sonic Highways hits a roadblock as it seems less inspired. It may have been impossible to make a great record in the manner the Foos chose to make Sonic Highways. I can’t knock them for only making it halfway there because they at least had the ambition to try.

Odds & Sods:

The Mowgli’s, Satellites Fall, and We Built The Moon are at The Met Café on November 12. The Quahogs, Tapestries, Vudu Sister with The Dead Girls rock Dusk on November 12. Ask The Dead, Backstabbers. INC, David Carradine, I am become Death, and Power Whores are at AS220 on November 13. The New Orleans Suspects and The Steamahs are at The Met Café on November 13. Sharks Come Cruisin’ has their monthly Pvd Shanty Sing residency at The Parlour on November 14. The show starts at 6pm and is the perfect way to kick off your weekend or at the very least get you warmed up for karaoke that will be happening later on in the night at The Parlour. Soul Power returns to Dusk on November 14. DJ Ty Jesso and friends will have you movin’ and groovin’ the night away to the best of ’60s R&B and Soul. J. Robbins, Onelinedrawing, and Bill Keough (CD Release show) will be at The Parlour on November 15 for an early show that starts at 6:30pm. Deerhoof and Lightning Bolt are at The Met Café on November 15. is at the Providence Performing Arts Center November 15. The Safes and The Nymphidels rock The Parlour on November 16. The Wild Feathers, The Apache Relay, and Desert Noises are at Fete on November 16. Atmosphere, Prof, and Dem Atlas are at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel on November 18. Jessica Lea Mayfield, T. Hardy Morris The Hardknocks, and Dylan Sevey & The Gentlemen are at Fete on November 19. Joywave and Jetty are at The Met Café on November 19.

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Album Of The Week: Deerhoof’s La Isla Bonita

Believe it or not, there are a few bands that have been around for a while that I have yet to take a dive into. One of those bands are San Francisco noise pop punk act Deerhoof, and their new album La Isla Bonita has shown me exactly what I’ve been missing. One of those bands that have managed to stick around since the mid-90s, the variety of sounds and dimensions in each track off of the album is jaw dropping. One moment it sounds like a psychedelic j- pop song and then unpredictably these crunchy rigid guitars come in and obliterate everything. So many influences and styles being showcased in one sound, Deerhoof’s new release is simply amazing with its stunning originality.

The album was produced by former music journalist & ex-Mr. Dream drummer Nick Sylvester. For a band that has gained acclaim for being extremely DIY for self-producing their previous albums and self- managing, at first glance it could sound like a risk to make a departure from the norm with a different producer. Sylvester excels with excellent quality, and I also can’t get enough of Greg Saunier’s skills on drums. For all of this polish you might be thinking of, don’t fret. There are a good amount of ear- splitting riff rockers on La Isla Bonita as well.

It’s November, which means it’s getting cold and one of your friends is already complaining about it. One thing you shouldn’t complain about are the top tracks off of my Album Of The Week. Quit whining and dive in:

Kicking off the album is “Paradise Girls.” It’s got a little funk and a nice groove. The sweet strums from the guitars and the feverish drumming meld with a headbopping bass line to create something purely exquisite. “Exit Only” is a noise punk rage fest, immensely powerful and chock full of energy that’s bound to ignite a mosh pit at first listen. Another groovy track is “Big House Waltz,” it’s got a whole lot of fuzz going on with it, too. Bass and guitar excellence for days.

Deerhoof will be making their presence felt at The Met in Pawtucket on November 15 with Providence noise legends Lightning Bolt and Washington, D.C. no wave punks Priests. While you’re there, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of La Isla Bonita. Once you press play, you’ll get all sorts of crazy.

Deerhoof’s Website: http://deerhoof.net