Archive for the ‘new music’ Category

Funk Friday: Kung Fu

Posted: May 24, 2013 in Funk Friday, new music
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Lethal Thinking-Man's Funk

Lethal Thinking-Man’s Funk

If ever there was a match made in heaven, it would have to be Kung Fu and Funk Friday. I mean, think about all those old-school kung fu movies and what kind of music was on the soundtrack? Funk. Ergo, this is the perfect marriage.

Now, before I get to writing about the music, I have to say one thing. It’s not often I take exception with how a band describes itself. It is after all the band’s description. That being said, I do take exception to the Sounds Like section on Kung Fu’s ReverbNation page. Why? Because there is no mention of Frank Zappa. Are you kidding me? That’s one of the first artists that comes to mind when I listen to Kung Fu. Seriously, just listen to “Rattlesnake” and try not to think of “Zombie Woof.”

This is funk music, but it’s not exactly the get sweaty on the dance floor funk that we normally feature here on Incognito HQ. This is thinking-man’s funk. This band can groove like anybody. The organ and bass in “Gung Ho” will definitely get your backside moving. However, the Frank Zappa comparison enters the picture because this band is completely unpredictable. The structure of the songs is definitely not traditional. In fact, if you’re not in the band or a serious student of music, you might have a hard time even figuring out what the structure is. Whether you analyze the song structure or not, this band is seriously funky and will get you groovin’. And isn’t that what Funk Fridays are all about?

 

I can’t live without it: an interview with Rafael Buga of Abraskadabra

Posted: May 23, 2013 in music interview, new music
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Abraskadabra is a Brazilian punk-ska band that we once featured on a Ska Saturday. Rafael Buga (guitar, vocals) discusses the album that made him want to play ska, Abraskadabra’s current projects, and what he’d be doing if he weren’t making music.
What bands or albums inspired you to start playing ska?

Man, I think it was first time I heard Life On A Plate from Millencolin, I dare to say this is the album I listened to most in my life – a big part of my skateboard life. Besides that, seeing Abraskadabra playing, before I got in the band, was what really made me want to play in a ska band and have fun with my bro’s.

What is essential to every Abraskadabra song?

Friendship, that’s the most important thing. First of all we are such good friends and we love what we do together. Then musically I think it’s the pair of vocals, the horn’s melody, and maybe our Brazilian energy.

What is Abraskadabra currently working on?

Now we’re focused on the tour of our first full-length album, called Grandma Nancy’s Old School Garden. In support of the album, we will be playing in a lot of Brazilian cities from now on. Then we have plans to tour U.S. and Canada and release our second video from the album. Our first was “Sing ’til The End”. And we just signed with a Brazilian label called Undermusic Records, home of Asado , Forus, and some great Brazilian bands: End Of Pipe, Running Like Lions. That’s a lot of stuff we’re working on. A lot of songs are just being composed for the second album we plan to release toward the end of the year or 2014.

If a flood wipes out your music collection, what are the first five albums you would replace? Why?

The first 3 albums of Green Day, Suffer from Bad Religion and Smash from Offspring. This albums got me into punk rock and made me what I am today. I have a lot of good memories hearing those albums.

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

Probably I would be working on stuff I don’t like and being a bitter and serious person (laughs). I don’t know. For sure I would be making another kind of art. My mother is a painter. I can’t live without it.

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: The Apple Scruffs

Posted: May 23, 2013 in new music
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The Apple Scruffs with a funky version of "Just Dropped In"

The Apple Scruffs with a funky version of “Just Dropped In”

Welcome again, loyal reader, to our weekly Dudesday, where we celebrate the ethos of The Dude and things related to The Big Lebowski.Not long ago, loyal reader, I featured Murder By Death’s cover of “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” for Take ‘Er Easy Thursday. Well, in perusing Bandcamp, I found another great version of this song.

Ask yourself this question. What makes a great cover song? If you ask me, a great cover song is where a band takes the original and puts its own stamp on the song. The Apple Scruffs most certainly have put their own stamp on this song by making it a funk song. I’m willing to bet this song has never made you want to dance like this particular version. I don’t know about you, but I wonder what kind of dream sequence The Dude might have had if this version of the song were used in the movie. Specifically, I wonder what kind of dance moves we might have seen from The Dude if this song were the accompaniment. But then, maybe that’s…lost my train of thought there. Anyway, I done innerduced the song enough. Give it a listen, and until next time, you take ‘er easy. I know that you will.

Incognito pick of the week: Piñata Protest

Posted: May 22, 2013 in new music
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El Valiente is available now

El Valiente is available now

OK, loyal reader. Let’s play a little word association. Just blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready? Accordion. Was punk rock the first thing that popped into your head? Well, it might be after you hear Piñata Protest. How to explain this band. Well imagine if you took the Tex-Mex sounds of Texas Tornados, and made them louder and faster. That’s a good start to getting a feel for this band.

“Life on the Border” is an interesting song. This one sounds more like the Celtic punk of The Mahones than the Tex-Mex sounds of “Vato Perron.”

Did you ever have one of those days or nights that you knew you would regret, but you didn’t care? Pinata Protest wrote a song about that. In fact, the song includes the lyrics, “tomorrow we’ll regret today.” The next time you’re going to have a tomorrow to regret, make this your anthem.

The band has two interesting cover songs on this album: “Volver Volver” and “Cucaracha.” “Volver Volver” is not quite the ballad done by Vicente Fernandez. Mind you, the tempo is slower than some of the other songs on the album…until the end where the song takes on a tempo that would make Three Bad Jacks proud. As for “Cucaracha,” I’m willing to bet you’ve never heard a version of the song quite like this one. It has the familiar horns, but it’s also loud both in the melody and the vocals, and like a lot of punk songs, it’s very short. It’s about as much fun as a one-minute song can be.

El Valiente (Cosmica Records, 2013) is available now.

Trashy Tuesday: Primitive Hearts

Posted: May 21, 2013 in new music
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For folks who like some trash in their pop

For folks who like some trash in their pop

It’s not often that a band can be both trashy and still somewhat pop. Obviously, that particular description begins with Ramones and it’s hard to live up to what that band did. But there are some bands out there that are both trashy and poppy. Primitive Hearts is one of those bands.

The album begins with a Clash-like guitar riff at the beginning of “Won’t Wait Around.” This is pure lo-fi goodness with some really trashy and fast guitar, an excellent bass line (ask yourself when was the last time you noticed the bass line in a poppy song), and ooooh and aaaahs in the backing vocals that provide a real 60s sound.

Some of the songs on High and Tight should come with a warning that these songs will get stuck in your head all day. One of those songs is “Falling Apart.” You’ll probably find yourself doing a couple things when you listen to this one: namely, moving your head, tapping your toes, and singing along. Oh, and did I mention the song is only a minute and 25 seconds? It is a whole lot of goodness to pack into such a short time. Short songs are definitely the usual for this band. The longest song on this album is the closer at 2:47. Yes, that’s right. The longest song is less than three minutes. Still, this album is filled with ultra-catchy songs that should put you in a good mood if only because you’re dancing and singing along. If you’re not singing the lead vocals, I feel pretty certain in saying that you’ll be providing the background vocals as you listen. But don’t just take my word for it. Give it a listen.

 

‘Billy Monday: Rhythm Dragons

Posted: May 20, 2013 in new music
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Pick up Rhythm Dragons albums on CD Baby

Pick up Rhythm Dragons albums on CD Baby

They say that if you do something like music or writing, you have to catch the attention of your audience immediately. Rhythm Dragons do that for sure. The first song I heard from Rhythm Dragons is “Flat Top Billy,” which begins with a deep voice shouting “Hey greaser!” The song is pretty much what you’d expect from something that begins that way. It is a swinging song that talks about a guy who looks like he’s from 1959 and his car. And it ends with “Let’s have a PBR!”

On ReverbNation, that song is followed by “I Can’t Swing or Dance.” This is a song with the classic theme of being mismatched with your girl. She likes to wine and dine, he likes drinking. She likes dancing, he doesn’t. The irony in this song is that it has a pretty swingin’ melody. Well, after all, the narrator doesn’t say he can’t play swing: merely that he can’t swing dance.

Now, one thing that makes a good band is if it can take a classic theme and make it seem fresh. In “Booze and the Hugs,” the narrator sings about a relationship that has gone south. In this case, the narrator says he’s not going to open the door for his girl who’s been coming home late from boozing. It’s pretty cool to hear a guy sing a song like this because usually the guy is the one who’s misbehavior is described.

This is pretty straightforward. If you like Reverend Horton Heat, Chances are pretty good you’ll like this band too. Even if you don’t like Reverend Horton Heat, you’ll like this band if you like songs about cars, drinkin’, and chicks that are trouble.

Ska Saturday: Soul Radics

Posted: May 18, 2013 in new music
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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 Friday: T Bird and The Breaks

Posted: May 17, 2013 in Funk Friday, new music
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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.

The theatrical rock of The Venetian

Posted: May 16, 2013 in new music
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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.

Take ‘Er Easy Thursday: The Dualers

Posted: May 16, 2013 in new music
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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.

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