[Live MP3s] James Kochalka Superstar in Cambridge – August 2006
Posted on September 27, 2006 at 1:19 pm | No Comments
September’s been a banner month for the two sides of James Kochalka, both the cartoonist and the musical Superstar: His band’s long-delayed Rykodisc album, “Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly“, was finally released on September 12th, just a few days after he was honored with his first-ever comics industry Harvey Award. During the September 9th ceremony at the Baltimore Comic-Con, James was granted the 2006 “Best Online Comics Work” title for his daily diary strip, American Elf.
But as good as AE and his printed comics work is, this here post is about his music, which I’ve been all-too familiar with since his days in the casio/saxophone/JK combo Jazzin’ Hell back in his (and my former) hometown of Burlington, Vermont. (trivia: Jazzin’ Hell included Philistines Jr./Zambonis member and ace Interpol/The National recording engineer Peter Katis, as well as Thicker Magazine main-man Eric Bradford). After a few years fronting Jazzin’ Hell, James eventually started releasing songs under the prescient name of James Kochalka Superstar, an umbrella under which James has invited a long list of friends to record and perform. (more trivia/disclaimer: I was fortunate enough to have been one of these random members, in a short-lived live lineup that included Colin Clary, Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, and Pistol Stamen of the Pants. We were not, some would say, ‘the tightest’ incarnation of JKS, but we sure put on a show).
JKS’ songs actually have a fair amount in common with his comics work: deceptively simple and insidiously catchy, childlike wonder combined with the subtle (and not-at-all subtle) hints of naughtiness. It’s kids music for grown-up kids: kinda goofy at times, insightful at others, and occasionally all at once. There’s no middle ground with James’ stuff… you either dig it or you don’t, much like other bands that get name dropped in his reviews (TMBG, King Missle, Ween, etc.).
After several albums on a variety of small labels (including the 1995 Dot Dot Dash debut, “The True Story of James Kochalka Superstar”, 2000’s “Carrot Boy the Beautiful” on Sudden Shame, and the self-released “Don’t Trust Whitey” in 2001), James inked a deal with Rykodisc that started with the release of a best-of compilation, last year’s “Our Most Beloved”. While Ryko initially seemed reluctant to nail down a release date for a follow-up of all new material, that changed quickly once his song “Hockey Monkey” (co-written with the Zambonis) was chosen as the theme song for the Fox sitcom “The Loop“. The amped up exposure not only put “Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly” on their fall release schedule, but resulted in the four-song iTunes-only “Hockey Monkey” EP.
To mark the unveiling of “Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly”, James played a few stripped-down shows with his bandmate (and frequent American Elf cameo canine, and Icebox Records co-guy) Jason ‘x-12’ Cooley on guitar. They ended in New York after stopping in Philly, but the first show was here in Cambridge, MA on Friday night, August 25th with comedians Neil Hamburger & Morgan Murphy, and the World’s Greatest Sinners. Despite the fact that JKS was on first, the placed was packed from the get-go. Here’s their entire set…
Live at The Middle East Upstairs
Cambridge, MA
Friday, August 25th, 2006
01. Ringo Starr
02. Magic Finger
03. Fascist Bikes
04. Even The Clouds Get High
05. Why Is The Sky Blue?
06. Wash Your Ass
07. Rainbow Love
08. Mummy Song
09. Bad Astronaut
10. Don’t Confiscate the Beat
11. Britney’s Silver Can
12. Cocaine
13. Hot Penis story
14. Hockey Monkey
15. Old North End
16. Monkey vs. Robot
Some Kochalka-quality links…
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link on left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
Mp3s: Snowden live in Boston
Posted on September 18, 2006 at 7:41 am | No Comments
Atlanta four-piece Snowden came to town a few weeks back for a single-band show at Allston’s Great Scott, and had me by the throat from the very first note. Already a fan of their Jade Tree debut, “Anti-Anti“, they did what any live band only hopes to do: take some great songs and improve on them, serve ’em up with seemingly effortless stage presence and all-out urgency. No warm-up act, no encore, just 34 too-short minutes of wow-inducing intensity.
While singer/guitarist Jordan Jeffares’ vocals can feel emotionally distant, the propulsive, menacing, music underneath is far from it. David Payne’s tasteful guitar atmospherics sit atop a rock-solid bed of bass and drums, a rhythm section that is one of the best I’ve seen in months. Drummer Chandler Rentz’s razor-sharp style is never flashy, and bassist Corinne Lee’s own playing and presence made it hard to pay attention to anything else. A true talent, she’s got instant rockstar written all over her, and I mean that in the best sense of the word.
If you’re at all into their songs (links below), just go see them. Trust me on this. For now, here’s their 8-song Allston set… (live mp3s removed at the request of the band’s management.))
update 9/19/06: In lieu of live recordings, I’ve been given links to a couple of Snowden videos (including one new exclusive clip). Check out the details in the links section below.
“music is not a fasion statement”
Live at Great Scott
Allston, MA
Friday, August 25th, 2006
01. intro
02. Like Bullets
03. Anti-Anti
04. Counterfeit Rules
05. Filler Is Wasted
06. Stop Your Bleeding
07. Between The Rent And Me
08. Kill The Power
09. Black Eyes
Now get out your calendar and mark down the closest one of these Snowden dates…
Sep 18, 2006 – O’Leavers Pub, Omaha, NE
Sep 19, 2006 – Subterranean, Chicago, IL
Sep 20, 2006 – Alchemize Bar, Cincinnati, OH
Sep 21, 2006 – Z:Lounge, Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 22, 2006 – The Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
Sep 23, 2006 – Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
Sep 25, 2006 – The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
Sep 27, 2006 – The Talking Head, Baltimore, MD
Sep 29, 2006 – The Nick, Birmingham, AL
Oct 06, 2006 – Pure Nightclub, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 12, 2006 – WRAS studio session, Atlanta, GA
Oct 12, 2006 – Caledonia Lounge Athens, GA
Oct 18, 2006 – The Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA
Nov 01, 2006 – Gothamist acoustic set, New York, NY
Bostonians, you’ll notice they return to our area next Monday night, September 25th when they play the Middle East Upstairs with Stab the Matador, Karate High School, and Sweet Irony. On November 10th they kick off a UK tour, and later that month they return for some U.S. dates with iForward, Russia!.
Some Snowden links…
A couple of Snowden QT video clips: Frontman Jordan Jeffares and engineer Erik Wofford get jiggy during the recording of “Stop Your Bleeding” (exclusive – 11.31 MB), and a 5 minute clip from Snowden’s last tour (49.78 MB), put together by guitarist David Payne. Their MySpace page (four streaming songs, one mp3). Download the title track from ‘Anti-Anti‘ courtesy of Jade Tree. More Snowden mp3s can be found on the band’s own media page, including songs from their 2004 self-titled EP. No longer linked, but still available, is a cover of the Zombie’s “Time of the Season“, as well as two songs from their “Licorice” EP: “Happy Christmas” and “China Light“. After their Great Scott show, Snowden headed down to Brooklyn to play Southpaw the next night. Stereogum was there. BohemianPlayboy offers up the ‘Le Castle Vania Disco Remix’ of the song “Black Eyes“. Another mix via ezarchive thanks to Bricolage Fantasy: “Anti-Anti (Jordan’s Stutter Remix)“
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link at bottom left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.