Yes, loyal reader, I’ll admit that I am one of those guys. At least some folks routinely make fun of me for my lack of movie knowledge. You can quiz me about any movie in the last five years or so, and frankly, if I’ve heard of it, that’s a win for me. I haven’t always been this way. I used to love going to the movies. Now, I generally don’t even rent them from Redbox to watch in the comfort of my own home. So what changed? Well, here are some of the reasons I don’t watch more movies.

  • A two-hour (or more) block of time is as rare as a Yeti sighting on my couch. I’m not alone in this. Lots
    Have you seen this creature...on my couch?

    Have you seen this creature…on my couch?

    of parents don’t have blocks of time to squeeze in a movie. Now, I could stay up later than usual some night and watch a movie, but I already sleep about 5.5 hours a night and then I go to a job where on most days it takes a Guayaki energy shot to keep me from falling asleep on my keyboard. I guess the other possibility is that I could watch about 30 minutes a night over the course of four nights.

  • When the lights go down… I’ll just say it for the record. If you put me in a dark room without my sons, chances are pretty good I’m going to fall asleep. The first five minutes might be the only chance the filmmaker has to grab my attention.
  • When does this thing end? I have been to the cinema exactly twice in the past five years. In both instances, I wondered when the movie was going to end…for different reasons. When I saw The Dark Knight, I was wondering when it would end because the movie is soooo long. Then last year, I did a guest blogger spot on 3guys1movie and the film we saw and reviewed was Martha Marcy May Marlene. It’s not an incredibly long film, but I regularly checked the time on my phone because I kept waiting (and waiting) for something interesting to happen. By the way, I’m still waiting for something interesting from that film.
  • I paid $13 for that? I’m not alone in thinking that $13 seems like a lot to pay for a couple hours of entertainment. Although a movie is still way cheaper than any professional sporting event except baseball. The real trouble, however, is that when I do go to a movie, I often end up with more questions than answers. Look, maybe I don’t need all the answers. Maybe that’s part of the magic of movies. However, if I lay $13 down on a movie, is it too much to ask that the filmmaker answer some of my questions? So why not just wait and see it as a rental? I guess that’s because I rarely feel like I need to see a movie.
  • Alien drone: "Boss, you may want to rethink invading a planet that's covered with the thing that kills us." Boss: "Silence!"

    Alien drone: “Boss, you may want to rethink invading a planet that’s covered with the thing that kills us.”
    Boss: “Silence!”

    I can suspend my disbelief but not kill it. I know part of the magic of movies is that you realize you’re watching a story unfold. Not everything in it has to be believable. The trouble is that too many Hollywood folks put way too much stock in that. I know it was a while ago, but the movie Signs is a good example. So, these aliens are advanced enough to build ships to come from their world to ours. But…no alien in the development of this project said, “Boss, this planet you want to invade? Yeah, the thing is, most of that planet is covered with the thing that kills us.” Think about that. Excellent design, but no common sense. Shyamalan is basically asking us to accept that earth was overtaken by a bunch of engineers. Oh, and the fact that these aliens are completely stymied by plywood on the windows and doors. To quote Lisa Simpson, “You can’t expect us to swallow that tripe?”

Yeah, I don’t see a lot of movies. You could easily stump me on the topic. That being said, I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I will go to the movies with you…if I can bring my pillow.

Soulful ska from Nashville

Soulful ska from Nashville

I came across this band while randomly browsing music (as I frequently do) on ReverbNation. I was immediately smitten not only by the catchy melodies, but the soulful feel in “Pressin’ On,” the first song I heard from this band. Dani Casler sings with soul to go along with some excellent horns and a really cool bass line. Let’s face it. There is just something about a woman who sings with soul. Sure, there have been a lot of great male soul vocalists, but for me there’s just a little something extra when that soul comes from a woman. If I had to compare her to anyone, I’d put her somewhere between Elyse Rogers of Dance Hall Crashers and Ruby Velle.

Quick, loyal reader. What’s one of the best things about ska? That it gets you moving. I’ll tell you one thing. If “Down to the Hall” doesn’t get you moving your two-tone wingtips, I’m not sure what will. This is an upbeat treat with a great sax solo. Some of the lyrics in this song are “Everybody gonna skank til they fall.” This song alone might get you to skank until you fall.

Now, if you don’t have enough reason to love this band, consider this. This band has an anti-love song that is not just great for Valentine’s Day. Instead of lauding love, this song calls love the worst thing to happen to anyone and blames love for ruining everything on the radio. Let’s face it. There is never any shortage of sappy love songs on the radio. Do I wish this band had more songs available on ReverbNation? Of course. This band has left me wanting more. Do I really like the songs they do have available? Absolutely. And if you like rocksteady, you’ll like what you hear on ReverbNation too.

Funk...and then some

Funk…and then some

Yes, I know we already had one dose of funk this week, but I really think you can never have too much funk. Besides, since I first heard this band, I have not been able to get enough of T-Bird and The Breaks.

My introduction to this band came when I was doing a search on Bandcamp for drinking songs. That led me to the song “Somebody Had a Drinking Problem.” Now this song isn’t strictly a funk song. It’s leans more toward R&B and doo-wop, but I’ll say this much. It’s not easy to find a drinking song more catchy than this one. In any case, that led me to explore more of this band.

That further explanation led me to some excellent funk like Never Get out of This Funk Alive. This album features the essentials of funk: horns, bass, and some excellent organ. But that’s not all! No, loyal reader, it also has some great vocals. T Bird’s vocals are a raspy growl that remind me of Dr. John and Jon Spencer. If you want a really good example of the funk this band lays down, check out “Spread the Love.” It’s a pretty easygoing melody, but it has some serious funk. This is one where the vocals really remind me of Dr. John.

T Bird and The Breaks is not a funk band exclusively. The band’s sounds also include soul, and R&B, and hip-hop. That being said, there is enough funk in  this band to get you to move your backside and get sweaty…particularly on Never Get out of This Funk Alive.

 

 

This hard rock band runs on Dunkin'

This hard rock band runs on Dunkin’

Mongrel is a hard rock band from Boston. Guitarist Adam Savage discusses the band’s sound, the artists whose music is not allowed in the tour van, and what keeps him going.

Describe Mongrel for someone who has never heard the band.

Mongrel is an aggressive rock band with punk and metal influences and a badass female singer who can truly hold her own on both the melodic and aggressive fronts. Think Guns N’ Roses, Motorhead, Misfits, old Metallica, Danzig, etc. but with a female singer that invokes Janis Joplin, Wendy O. Williams, and Otep.

What is it about Massachusetts that it produces so many hard-rocking bands?

Not sure really, I was a transplant to the area a while back (originally from upstate New York)…but I would guess that it builds upon the success stories such as Aerosmith, Tree, Shadowsfall, etc. over the years.

What is one artist or band you absolutely would not allow in the tour van? What would be the punishment for bringing that artist aboard?

Hmm…Creed. As much as I love Slash…anything with Myles Kennedy. Scandanavian death metal flute-core? The obvious and natural consequence would be sitting on the roof rack listening to your own CDs/iPod of said offending music.

What is the perfect beverage for listening to Mongrel? Why?

Iced coffee because that’s what keeps me functioning day in and day out! Mongrel runs on Dunkin!

What would you be doing if you weren’t making music?

I probably wouldn’t be doing this interview in that case (laughs). I’d be trying to find a job where i’m helping to let people be themselves and be more independent. I’d probably still be involved in the scene anyway whether as a club booker or as a publicist.

Check out Mongrel on ReverbNation.

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview The Venetian, a Los Angeles music artist whose music emulates the theatrical rock of Queen. See for yourself.

The Venetian is currently working on a new EP that tells the tale of a man who comes across an abandoned town that is both familiar and strange to him. In the meantime, if you like the sound in the video, you can download the debut album I Wanna Tell You a Story available on Bandcamp.

Well loyal reader, here we are again. It’s our weekly Dudesday celebrating the ethos of one Jeffery Lebowski (at least that’s the handle his lovin’ parents gave him). Yes, I know I didn’t do a Take ‘Er Easy Thursday post last week, but that was only because I was working on publishing the May issue of the magazine. But enough of that. Let’s get on with takin’ ‘er easy.

Will you just take it easy, man?

Will you just take it easy, man?

The Dualers is a band I featured once upon a Ska Saturday, but this band has a song that fits right in there for our theme. Before writing about the song, I should say that this post is largely inspired by my four-year-old son who discovered The Dualers in my iTunes and really grooved to this song. “Take It Easy” (no, it is most certainly not a cover of The Eagles, man!) has the perfect combination of melody and message. The melody is a real easygoing one that is perfect for just relaxing. Then you get the message and it’s just one great line after another. The chorus states, “Take your time, no need to hurry. Take it easy, there’s no need to worry.” Is that Dudely or what? After a brief freakout in which The Dude and Walter don’t make the exchange for Bunny, The Dude realizes that the whole thing is out of his control and he just needs to take it easy.

Then chew on these lyrics:

If you fall from the race

there’s no disgrace

just pick yourself from off the ground.

Sure, those are words we should all live by. When you look at The Dude, he gets knocked out, drugged, and hit in the head with a coffee mug. But he just keeps abiding. And really, isn’t that how the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuating itself? You fall, you pick yourself up, and ultimately you abide. I take comfort in that. That about wraps ‘er up, don’tcha think? Until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know that you will.

Cryptic is available now

Cryptic is available now

Loyal reader, I hope you don’t mind that I’m doubling up on the funk this week. Yes, I have the weekly Funk Friday feature, but what am I supposed to do when a new album from Here Come the Mummies is available this week? Besides, can anyone legitimately complain about too much funk?

The album kicks off with “You Know the Drill.” This song begins with some funk that brings Average White Band to mind. It will get your head and your hips moving. Then it breaks into the sort of guitar solo you’d expect from Living Colour. It’s an interesting blend of funk, hard rock, and psychedelia.

Funk is the meat and potatoes of this band, but it does a good job varying the sound from one song to the next. “Chaperone” is a blend of 70s R&B with some hard rock guitar. “Devil Better Run” sounds like it should be the anthem for some underdog movie. It has that sound that would go perfectly with the underdog overcoming all odds to accomplish what seems impossible. “Cruel Old Sun” has a good funk base, but it also has a good reggae groove. So, just to recap, this band covers funk, hard rock, psychedelia, anthemic rock, and reggae. Did I mention that’s all in the first five songs of the album?

If you asked me to pick one favorite song on the album, I’d say “Petting Zoo.”  As you might imagine, it’s not about a place you take the kids. The lyrics in this song are genius. Rather than detail the lyrics for you, I’ll just invite you to listen for yourself.

If you like to get funky, Cryptic from Here Come the Mummies is a must to add to your collection.