Music

I began my month certain that Metallica possessed the mother bread of justice. I feel they understand the human condition and have a special role in American culture. Everyone I know says, “I love the first three or four Metallica albums.” Metallica only got popular during the past 25 years.

In 2017, Monday is dedicated to Metallica. Tuesday is dedicated to bands influenced by Metallica. In 1989, they couldn’t even win the Grammy over Jethro Tull.

The month ended with me watching Metallica begin their set at Rock on the Range screaming in Columbus: “Hard-Wired to Self-destruct.”  This was in front of the largest crowd I’d even seen for music in Columbus. This is from Metallica’s platinum album of the same meme.

How do you interpret this meme?  Human death drive?  The condition of our country that appears to have spited themselves into Russian subterfuge? Who are the fall guys for the oligarchical revenge of the one percent?

If a FISA warrant falls in the Russian Mob’s woods does it record a sound? Do they reference technology that leaves issues of surveillance, hacking and electronic mishaps? 

I hit up Columbus Native Franz Lyons and asked him about his band Turnstile performing at the sold-out Metallica headlined Rock On the Range festival. Franz replied in regards to the size of the crowd. “I think it will make more sense when I get there…”

Franz was in Los Angeles with Turnstile for the “While We Were Young Festival.” The Baltimore, Maryland based hardcore band just played on a line-up that included Morrissey, the Descendants, A.F.I. and other bands that were too big to play the Legion, Bernie’s or the Hi-Five during Franz’s formative years.

Turnstile has also rocked stages with Sick Of It All, Madball, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Ignite and New Found Glory off the strength of previous releases Move Through Me, Non-Stop Feeling, Pressure to Succeed and Step To the Rhythm.

Turnstile begins recording an album for Road Runner Records, June 26th. They are recording with William Yip who has worked with Title Fight, Lauryn Hill, Braid and Schoolly D.

Spring break in Downtown Las Vegas. As is typical of my well rounded personality, I was calmly minding my own business and not causing any trouble. My serenity was even more impressive given a streak of rotten luck which included a closed video arcade and the tragic disappearance of DuPar's Restaurant. More significantly, the shark tank at the Golden Nugget pool was temporarily sans sharks due to “routine maintenance on the waterslide.” This caused a bit of tough sledding, given that said sharks were the major selling point in getting my family to stay at this particular hotel (along with the arcade and the restaurant).

You might think that my luck would be evened out by success at the tables, but you would be wrong. Despite a mathematically impeccable betting strategy, my one night out ended in swift defeat at the El Cortez craps table.

Nevertheless, I retained my composure and set a positive example for other downtown revelers like a good Ohio boy should.  I was comforted by the fact that I had intelligently insisted on a room facing the rear of the hotel instead of the noisy Fremont Street Experience.

Do you want to watch a rap documentary where you honestly say to yourself:  “I really like this guy?” If so I recommend, The World Has No Eyedea, a film about Michael “Eyedea” Larson, a Minneapolis rap icon who was widely known for his work with Rhymesayers Entertainment from 1999-2010. The World Has No Eyedea with be shown at the Gateway Film Center April 8th, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $10.50

“Eyedea” Larsen passed away October 16, 2010 after not surviving an accidental overdose in Minnesota. Eyedea’s death left a void in the hearts of his friends and fans.

I spoke to “The World Has No Eyedea” documentarian Brandon Crowson on the phone in anticipation of the film’s screening at the Gateway Film Center, April 8th. The movie shows Mikey’s development from a b-boying, working class Minnesota kid, to a world renown battle rapper, who eventually became compelled to champion individuality, soul-searching and experimentation.

So what is the world missing from Eyedea’s passing?

It is almost impossible to find a picture of Chuck Berry where he isn’t holding a guitar, typically a Gibson ES-350T or ES-335. Although the 335 is probably more common in the photo vaults, most of records that Berry made during his heyday in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s – “Maybelline,” “Johnny B. Goode,” “Roll Over Beethoven” etc. – were cut with the 350T.

The 350T is a semi-acoustic archtop, something of a cross between an amplified acoustic guitar such as the ES-150 and full solid bodies such as the Les Paul. A solid center block permitted electric amplification without too much feedback, while the hollow pockets on both sides of the guitar featured f-shaped sound holes which permitted the instrument to be played acoustically. Like most of the guitars of its era, it was intended for guitarists playing in the jazz orchestras popular at the time. Its arched body is a piece of craftsmanship, the work of a master luthier. They cost shit-tons of money.

I learned on the radio today that had he lived, Kurt Cobain would have been 50 years old on February 20, 2017. While it didn't really tug at the heartstrings or inspire a nostalgia trip, it brought to mind a conversation I had a few years back.

I was sitting at the Little Palace with a Dennison student who had some sort of connection with my Uncle Bill. She was taking a bus to NYC that would be picking her up down the street, and my wife had insisted that I stay with her she got on board. We got to talking about music. She was an enthusiastic proponent of the string band revival which at the time was approaching its high water mark, and in my view also approaching tedious. At some point she asked me what I was listening to when I was in High School, paused a split second, and said “Nirvana, right?” Well, I thought, that’s a really interesting question.

I learned on the radio today that had he lived, Kurt Cobain would have been 50 years old on February 20, 2017. While it didn't really tug at the heartstrings or inspire a nostalgia trip, it brought to mind a conversation I had a few years back.

I was sitting at the Little Palace with a Dennison student who had some sort of connection with my Uncle Bill. She was taking a bus to NYC that would be picking her up down the street, and my wife had insisted that I stay with her she got on board. We got to talking about music. She was an enthusiastic proponent of the string band revival which at the time was approaching its high water mark, and in my view also approaching tedious. At some point she asked me what I was listening to when I was in High School, paused a split second, and said “Nirvana, right?” Well, I thought, that’s a really interesting question.

“Everyone’s Name was Muslim” –  Lauryn Hill 1998

At 9:45 pm on a Tuesday, I sat in a Palace Theater chair. People were at the theater to see their favorite singer, Ms. Lauryn Hill. The men who were present were on a very wise weeknight Valentine’s related date. Women were dressed up like it was a special occasion to be in a theater on a school/work night.

On stage, the deejay played a mixture of Marvin Gaye, Chance the Rapper and current club bangers. I thought playing Chance was apt because I spent years describing him as all three of the Fugees wrapped into one human.

At 9:58 pm, Lauryn Hill’s full band took the stage. At 10:03 pm, we were on all of our feet singing along to “Everything is Everything” off the 1998 musical masterpiece, “The Miss-Education of Lauryn Hill.”

Between the choruses of “What Will Be/Will Be” leading into “Father Forgive Them/They Know Not What That Do?” there was a transcendence of the tension created from not my president’s desire to scapegoat the humans from past imperialist actions to divide America with the malicious intent of utilizing misunderstanding and ignorance for transgressions of greed.

Hey everyone, David Bromberg has a new CD out. It’s called “The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing but the Blues.” Do you think you’ll be able to appreciate it properly? Do you have a proper blues education?

Oh yeah, education. That’s how I was introduced to the blues; something you were expected to learn about if you wanted to know music. Like algebra or The Great Gatsby. Learn about it, respect it and insist that others do the same, because it is self-evidently great. When I was in high school, all of us wanted to play guitar like Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell or Sepultura’s Max Cavalera. But we all professed to be huge BB King and Eric Clapton fans, although their recordings secretly made us squirm with boredom. To say otherwise would show a lack of respect to the elders, the depressing but mystical spawning pool of Rock ’n Roll.

Run The Jewels ended their sold-out Columbus show by playing deceased Columbus icon and friend of El-P, Camu Tao’s “Hold The Floor.” It's a record produced by DJ PRZM who is another deceased Columbus Hip Hop icon.

Philly Phil entertainment is releasing DJ PRZM”s LLABTIPS 3 vinyl on Record Store Day. April 22nd.Philly Phil gave me the PRZM record last month. I’ve been so aghast in regards to the behavior of the President that I haven’t been much use for music.

Video ideas for 4 of the 11 songs on LLabtips 3.

Heavy Metal Maniacs:

The production has a sinister, slow march baseline that picks up with a small subtle melody, and a gritty vocal hook by PRZM. The video should start with PRZM hopping into a car in his leaving Native Detroit at sunset. It’s ‘Devil’s Night” so there are several teenagers riding bikes around a fire in the middle of the road.