The Lucky Thirteen: 1/17/10

Standard playlist disclaimer: any artists, record labels, etc. who do not wish to be on the playlist for any reason whatsoever, email me at ghostofblindlemon@gmail.com and I will gladly remove the track. And if you'd actually like to be on the playlist, you can use the same email address to email me your mp3's. If I like the song, then odds are it'll wind up on a playlist.

1. "Red in the Morning", Menkena
   Menkena fans, this is your lucky week. Their new album, With You I'll Travel, hits iTunes this Tuesday. If you'd prefer a physical copy of the CD, go to Good Records on Thursday where the band will perform and sign copies of the CD. Then on Saturday, it's the big CD release show at LaGrange with Novaak and Mike Graff (ex-Course of Empire). I'm starting to drool just thinking about all this Menkena.


2. "New Hope PA", The Chemistry Set
   I got into a lengthy discussion with Scott Tucker from The Orange this past Friday night, and we discussed many bands that are no more, including Hi-Fi Drowning (one of his favorites EVER) and Chemistry Set (one of my favorites EVER). He was talking about what he thought was their last CD (their self-titled full length), but in fact he didn't know about their second full length, Blue Monsters. I told him about this CD, and how the opening track "New Hope PA" is one of my favorite album openers of any album. I figured I'd include it on the playlist for Scott and the rest of you to hear.


3. "Buy You", Spookeasy
   It's been a long time where I've been lured into a show while walking down the street, but that's exactly what happened to me Friday night. I passed Club Dada, liked what I heard, and paid cover for Spookeasy. Their live set is a little more rocking than the CD, which has a slight new wavish feel to it. The intro to this track almost reminds me of Cocteau Twins for some reason. But whether live or on CD, this band gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me.


4. "Tryin' to Have a Good Time", The O's
   I'm having a hard time buying this song. The O's trying to have a good time? The O's don't try to have a good time. To use the word "try" implies a possibility of not succeeding, and The O's NEVER fail at having a good time. Like I said, The O's don't try to have a good time. If anything, good times try to have The O's.


5. "Knife Fight", Calhoun
   Bet you enjoyed that O's song, didn't you? And I'll bet you're digging this Calhoun song too, aren't you? You're probably wishing you could see both bands live right about now, correct? Well good news my friends, because both acts will play this Friday at The Moon in Fort Worth, along with Taylor Craig Mills.


6. "Save Your Breath", Camille Cortinas
   I've been noticing a marked increase in shows by Mrs. Cortinas, and that's good to see. I'm hoping this means she's getting ready for a CD release show in the very near future. No word on that yet, but I can tell you that your next opportunity to see her comes this Saturday at Opening Bell Coffee. The OBC website says it's "Camille Cortinas & Friends". Not sure who the "friends" will be, but I feel safe in saying it'll be a good show.


7. "New Disco", Stella Rose
   If you listened to my podcast of my top 40 songs of last year, many of the selections were no surprise. This track, however, got very little attention on the blog, even though it charted at a quite impressive #21. I felt now might be a good time for my readers to become better acquainted with the track.


8. "Set Me Free", The Red 100's
   Last Friday found me wandering around Deep Ellum, going from show to show. Many sets that I wanted to see I either missed or didn't see near enough of the set. The latter situation is what happened for me with The Red 100's. But what little I saw of their set had me simply in awe of the band. Remember the name Red 100's, because you'll be talking about them this year. A lot. A whole lot.


9. "Beautiful Girl", Mr. Sleaze
   After hearing this song the past few weeks on The Local Edge, I've gotta admit that this song is really growing on me. And no, I don't know who Mr. Sleaze is. His identity, for now, remains a mystery.


10. "Flower on the Wall", Kerri Arista
    I must admit to an error on my most recent blog spot. Kerri Arista's show at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse was NOT this past Friday, but will instead be this Friday. My apologies if I sent anyone out to Uncle Calvin's only to be disappointed by there being no Kerri Arista there.


11. "to the 9's", hormones
    No interesting comments on my behalf or breaking news on the bad. I just like this song.


12. "Barn Burner", The Roomsounds
    Have I mentioned that there'll be a GOBL showcase coming soon? I'll give you more details very soon, but in the meantime, I'll say that The Roomsounds will be part of the fun.


13. "Japanese Space Opera", Mazinga Phaser
    I've been trying to dig a little deeper into the history of Dallas music and research artists I was not as familiar with. I'd heard about Mazinga Phaser and started checking out tracks from their CD Abandinallhope. I'm not sure how I missed out on the band the first time around, but I'm seriously loving their shoegaze melodies and dreamy vocals now.

The Lucky Thirteen: 1/24/10 - 1/30/10

1. "Everything Dies", Nicholas Altobelli
   Ghost of Blind Lemon readers, you should feel extremely special right now. The song you're listening to here is a Ghost of Blind Lemon exclusive. That's right; you will not find this song on his MySpace. He is slowly debuting songs from his upcoming album, The Regulator, on MySpace. This past Friday, he posted "Pretend It's the Sky" on his site, and if these two tracks are any indication, I think this could prove to be his finest album yet.


2. "Lush Life", Baboon
   Ah, there's nothing quite like the smooth transition from the simple, beautiful folk melodies of Mr. Altobelli to the relaxing and tranquil sounds of Baboon. Uh, scratch that. How about this? There's nothing quite like the jarring transition from the simple, beautiful folk melodies of Mr. Altobelli to the in your face noise rock of Baboon.


3. "You Know Nothing", Inner City All-Stars
   For those who want to see good live music and help the victims of the Haitian earthquake, tonight is the perfect opportunity to do both. The Prophet Bar is hosting a unique evening of world music, ranging from hip-hop to latin to polka to reggae to tribal and just about everything in between. Some of the highlights include Brave Combo, Spoonfed Tribe, and one of my favorites to see live, Inner City All-Stars. Their fusion of New Orleans jazz and hip-hop never fails to please. All the money earned through the cover ($5) goes to the Red Cross. And if you can't make it to tonight's show, I would encourage you find another way to donate.


4. "Jason Bought a Hatchet", Giggle Party
   On the band's website, Party to Death, the band will be debuting a new song each Tuesday which will be free for 24 hours. Don't be like me, who forgot to check the site on Tuesday. As a result, instead of sharing a new track from the band, I offer you this favorite from last year.


5. "All You Do Is Crazy", Fate Lions
   Happy Birthday to Fate Lions drummer Josh Hoover. By the way, if anyone from KXT is reading this, I like it when you play this song. Feel free to continue playing this song on a very regular basis.


6. "Bowling Green", The O's
   Speaking of birthday, Taylor Young will be celebrating his b-day this Friday at City Tavern, and yes, the O's will be performing. I don't know who else will be on the lineup, but still, it's a good excuse to go out, here some cool music, and buy Taylor some birthday shots.


7. "The Royal Me", Les Americains
   I have previously said that this song reminded me of Echo and the Bunnymen. While I still think there is some truth to that statement, upon further listening I think the more accurate comparison would be to The Cult. Either way, I regard both acts as pioneers in 80's music, and while Les Americains is by no means an 80's revival band, the comparisons are meant as high forms of praise. I'll bet they'll play this track Friday night at Prophet Bar, along with the incredible Tonite Tonite and Austinites The Criminal Kind.


8. "All Yesterday's Parties", Nervous Curtains
   One of my favorite's off of Gutterth's second compilation CD, available for free download at their website.


9. "Red in the Morning", Menkena
   It's been awhile since I've raved about Mark and The Local Edge. Now that Menkena is playing at The Local Edge showcase this Thursday Night along with Bridges and Blinking Lights and Dovetail at Trees, now might be a good time to resume the raving.


10. "Autumn Leaves", Danny Balis
    Fans of country, pay close attention. Boys Named Sue and The King Bucks (featuring Mr. Balis) will be battling it out at the "World Championship of Honky Tonk" this Saturday night at Sons of Hermann Hall. Who do I think will win? That's an easy one: the audience that gets to see two of Dallas' finest country bands in one night. Cop out answer? Perhaps, but don't expect me to take sides here. I think both acts exemplify all that country music should be.


11. "Shiver Me Timbers", Jokersdeck
    I routinely receive CDs in the mail. This week, however, was the first time I ever had someone FedEx a CD to me, and it was courtesy of the fine folks in Jokersdeck. The band obviously wanted to make certain I had the CD in time for this week's playlist, right before their big CD release show Saturday night at LaGrange. It's a short disc, only seven tracks long, and this track smack dab in the middle stood out to me as their best song.


12. "The Christmas Tree", Stella Rose
    Speaking of CD releases, I somehow missed the fact that Stella Rose recently released a new CD, Drag. The band has had CD release shows in Austin and Fort Worth, and as usual, has no Dallas shows even listed. I don't have the new CD as of yet, but you can listen to tracks on their MySpace page. In the meantime, this is still my favorite track of theirs. And please, Stella Rose, show some love to Dallas!


13. "So Much Better", Rahim Quazi
    I had already planned to post a song of Rahim's on the website simply because of his show Saturday night at Veritas Wine Bar. Yesterday, I received a text message from Rahim with some worrisome news. It read as follows: "Please pray for my dearest friend, Todd Keller, who is having brain surgery Sunday morning. And please pass this on to anyone that believes in the power of prayer." I do not know the status of the surgery, but my thoughts and prayers are with Todd Keller and his family as well as with his friend Rahim. And to those who believe in the power of prayer (or even positive thought), then your prayers (or thoughts) are both welcomed and encouraged. Here's hoping and praying this Saturday's show will be a celebration of Mr. Keller's recovery!

Stella!!!

Earlier this year, Fort Worth saw two of its biggest bands, Flickerstick and Black Tie Dynasty, call it quits. Yes, both acts are from the same city and each has a very large fan base. There is, however, a more significant common thread between these two bands. Both Flickerstick and BTD had the ability to reach out to a more mainstream crowd while still having a unique enough sound to appeal to a more indie rock crowd. That has always been a difficult act to pull off, but both bands were successful at doing just that. That begs the question: now that Flickerstick and Black Tie Dynasty are no more, who has the potential to fill in their footsteps?

To me, Stella Rose seems like the most likely successor to the throne. When the band played with Flickerstick on their final show, it was apparent to me that Stella Rose has the talent to become one of the biggest bands in Fort Worth, as well as the surrounding areas. The bands sound does share some definite similarities with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Lead vocalist Stephen Beatty sounds slightly like Peter Hayes, particularly on "Makin' It Easy", the opening track of Nine Caged Tigers, and "Fall Apart" definitely sounds like it could have been an album cut from Howl.

Stella Rose, however, incorporates a harder edge in many of their songs than do BRMC. Much of this can be attributed to Matthew Mabe's fierce skills on the drums. Mr. Mabe's skill is most noticeably fierce in the live shows. Ladies, take note: he often gets so hot in the live sets that he takes his shirt off. The band's energy is far more visible in their live set, where even the mellower songs have an added edge to their sound. The band draws a large following in their hometown of Fort Worth. I couldn't help but notice that it seemed the majority of the audience at Flickerstick's final show knew the words to most of the Stella Rose songs and were singing along. When an audience is that pumped for an opening band at another band's swan show, that's saying something.

My only beef with Stella Rose is that they spent TOO much time in Fort Worth. Some Dallas shows would be nice. In the meantime, they will be playing at The Moon in Fort Worth this Saturday night, along with Little Black Dress and RTB2. This is one of the best lineups I've seen in Funkytown all year, and Fort Worth residents would be smart to check this out. Heck, Dallas and Denton people would be smart to make a small road trip.

Oh, and while you're at it, you can vote for Stella Rose in the Fort Worth Weekly music awards, where they're nominated for Best Hard Rock.