Our Winter 2014 issue is now available for sale on our Current Issue page. Here is a little taste of what’s inside the issue – an excerpt of our interview with Ian Cook (guitar, vocals) of Larry and His Flask.

It’s an impressive list of artists you’ve played with. What have you learned from playing with Wanda Jackson and other artists?

It’s an eye-opening experience. It taught us about getting our stuff together. At first, we were kind of all over the place and we didn’t know what we were doing. We learned a lot from acts that have become a production. It’s an organized situation for shows. You have to get everything together. It was an eye-opener for us to see how some bands run their show. It’s an interesting aspect. Some people don’t realize how much there is behind the scenes at every show and how many people worked to make it happen. A lot of times, it’s a well-oiled machine. Playing a show with a legend like Wanda Jackson keeps you doing it.

What’s the best advice you can give to bands about being on the road?

We’ve been doing this for a while. We went on our first tour as Larry and His Flask 10 years ago. After doing it for a while, I think the key is maintaining your sanity and not burning yourself out. It happens. We did that for years and years. We still tour a lot, but lately we’ve been making sure we have one day off every week. It’s easy to lose sight of why you do this in the first place. Doing things to maintain your sanity and morale within the band is a really important thing while you’re on tour.
The flip side of that is if you don’t know where to start, just get on the road and go. It’s kind of contradictory to what I just said, but you really have to hit it hard until it picks up a little momentum.

Kitana poses in front of an Impala

Our cocktails columnist Carin with Kitana

This song has the kind of message that you frequently hear in inspirational quotes: namely that the only person who holds your future is you. Of course what sets this apart from some inspirational quote is that it is set to a soulful melody that will get your toes tapping. But in the midst of that catchy tune is a message that encourages you to start your future now. Indeed. That is advice we would all do well to follow. Enjoy your Feel-Good Friday, everyone, and heed the wisdom of The Pepper Pots.

Ain’t that America: a beautiful woman, a PBR, and an El Camino

The first quarterly issue will be released by the end of the week. Here is just a little taste of what you’ll see: our lovely model Kitana Cross poses next to an El Camino while holding a PBR. Photo by George Swar

• Lay off the cliches – This is true regardless of what you’re writing. If you overload your writing with cliches, then whatever you write tends to lose its meaning. Why? Because the reader spends so much time sifting through the cliches, that he loses the sense of the message.
• Have someone proofread your stuff – Again, this is true no matter what you write. No matter how good a writer you are, you might have some spelling or grammatical errors in it. The last thing you want to do is leave some doubt about your abilities with something as basic as spelling and grammar.
• Have someone read your stuff (part 2) – Maybe you are a really good creative writer, and there is a place for creativity in press releases. It can be part of what catches the attention of whomever is reading it. But here’s the thing. A press release is not a novel. Whoever is in your audience is not expecting to read the next great American novelist. Your audience wants to learn about the music you’re promoting. So that’s what your press release should be: a straightforward description of the music you’re promoting. To quote Arthur Schopenhauer, “One should use common words to say uncommon things.” Yes, you can mix some humor in there, but have someone else read your press release to see if it makes sense to someone other than you. Your initial audience will help you know what is effective and what misses.

Oh, and if you need help writing in a clear and straightforward way, contact me. I can help you write a press release that will not have the reader rolling his or her eyes, and my rates are very reasonable.

Without broadcasting her entire email to you, allow me to say that Steph’s goal – with her music and in general – is to help people that are dealing with suicidal thoughts. That noble goal is what leads me to feature her here today. Sometimes you just have to go beyond the ordinary to present a bigger picture of things that are more important than music. After all, if we do nothing to help people in whatever way, then we are abject failures as failures as human beings. And let’s face it: music can be a powerful tooI, particularly for lifting the spirits of people. I don’t feel like I need to say anything more. I will just invite you to listen to Steph’s song “Her” (it’s a beautiful song) and to let her know that you support what she’s doing.

I should say that I don’t really understand any of the lyrics of this band…except for the word zombie in “Festa Zombie.” But then I don’t have to. Who needs to understand lyrics when you can hear fuzzy guitar, primal rhythms, and a Farfisa that transports you back to 1963?

Granted, any one of the songs on this EP are a good example of the trashy sound we love. But if you want a song that encapsulates what Trashy Tuesday is all about, check out “Quant de Fill de Puta.” (OK, so puta is another word I understand.) The guitar sound in this song is about as lowdown and fuzzy as you can get, and you will probably feel it somewhere deep in your gut. Just give it a listen and tell me if I’m wrong.

The band finishes the EP with another wonderfully trashy song made even trashier by the harmonica. Seriously, this is a call to all rock n roll bands out there…I don’t need more cowbell, but I sure could go for more harmonica. It is such a simple enhancement to rock n roll.

If you like some of the other Spanish garage bands we’ve featured here (Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!, Duo Divergente, etc.), you’ll like Bluesfuckers.

“Broken Heart City” is more of the same. If anything, it’s more psychedelic than “Killing Time” – and possibly more fuzzy. This tune also has a bass line that you’ll feel rumbling in your gut.

The self-titled EP from A Day As Wolves is available now on Bandcamp. If you like classic fuzz rock, this band will fit right into your collection.

Knocksville is a band that certainly fits the profile of bands we like, and it only took about three seconds for me to figure it out. I went to ReverbNation, and the first song I heard from this band was “Wait and See.” This song begins with a guitar riff that would make John Lee Hooker and Billy Gibbons proud. The rhythm section provides a boogie groove that would definitely get people moving on a dance floor.

Since this is ‘Billy Monday, this obviously is not just a blues-rock band. This band some pretty serious rockabilly and psychobilly influence too. Think Reverend Horton Heat…only trashier. The rockabilly sound is especially apparent in “Work It Out” and “Baby Stop.” When you hear “Baby Stop,” it’s pretty easy to imagine a scene of guys with pompadours swing dancing with beautiful rockabetties in dresses. The psychobilly sound really comes through in “Forever Young,” a song that reminds me quite a bit of Tiger Army.

If you’re a regular reader of our ‘Billy Monday posts, Knocksville is a band you should check out. It will sound great as you drive around in your primer-gray El Camino.

And bands out, use Knocksville as an example. Follow us on Twitter (@incognitomag). We may just like your stuff as much as we like Knocksville, which means that you could be featured here sometime in the near future.

You see the title of this, and maybe you think to yourself, “He thinks David Bowie is boring? What is the matter with this dude?” Well, it’s true. I find David Bowie pretty boring. I realize that he has had a long career in the music business. Furthermore, I realize that he has built his career by being different than a lot of other artists. Frankly, Bowie’s music is downright weird compared to lots of his contemporaries.

I’m not saying that his career is undeserved or that he’s some talentless hack that ought to thank his lucky stars that he had any career in music. All I am saying is that he doesn’t reach me. An excellent example of this is “Let’s Dance.” Nothing about this song makes me want to dance…not even in that awkward 80s dance style. If you’re going to sing about dancing, then give us something to dance to.

That of course is just one very specific example. More generally, his music just escapes me. What I mean is that there is really nothing about his songs that draws me in. While I don’t find his voice offensive, there is really nothing about it that grabs my attention. I can say the same for his melodies. Perhaps the best argument I can think of is to say that I can’t imagine the setting where I would think to myself that David Bowie would be the perfect soundtrack. Seriously. I can’t do it. I can’t think of a situation in which David Bowie would be the perfect musical accompaniment.

I know there are people out there who could tell me all the reasons why I should like David Bowie And by all means, if you’d like to do so, leave a comment). The guy definitely should be commended for the length of his career if nothing else. It’s just that I guess I can’t find room for him in my collection.