Morning After Girls @ Spaceland

TONIGHT at Spaceland with Gliss.
Photo by Angel Ceballos http://www.robotangel.com

Photo Show at Zero Zero in Seattle

Last week I opened a show with 2 other photographers at Zero Zero in Seattle. The night was pretty electric, we had good food, cheap wine and even some people getting their hair did :D

It was the most succesful opening at Zero Zero to date. I showed 29 photos, predominately bands, ranging from 20x30 to 8x8. Step inside and take a look!

Gallery is here. All photos taken by Kevin Kauer from Nark Magazine.

- Angel xo

White Nite playlist

It was a fun nite. Thanks to all the people who showed up. We are going to do a secret party in a few weeks.

WHITE NITE playlist
Medusa Lounge
August 27th, 2009

Clockwork Orange soundtrack
Siouxsie and the Banshees "Christine"
The Cure "A Forest"
Black Mountain "Wucan"
Can "Spoon"
Bowie "Scary Monsters"
My Bloody Valentine "When You Sleep"
Love and Rockets "Motorcycle"
Crystal Castles "Vanished"
Grace Jones "Pull Up To The Bumper"

Wire "Outdoor Miner"
Kraftwerk "Computer World"
Gary Numan "Metal"
New Order "Sub-Culture"
Joy Division "Heart and Soul"
The Duke Spirit "Lassoo"
Massive Attack "Special Needs"
Lene Lovich "Lucky Number"
Donovan "Hurdy Gurdy"
Echo and The Bunnymen "Rescue"

Dead Weather "Hang Me From The Heavens"
A Place To Bury Strangers "I'll Know I'll See You"
Primal Scream "Cant Go Back"
Oasis "Falling Down"
The Kills "URA Fever"
The Horrors "Do You Remember?"

Wendy Rose also played Murcof, Trentemoller, Fever Ray, The Knife, Royskopp, Bat For Lashes, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey and John Parrish, Ladytron, School of Seven Bells, Magic Wands, Sleepmask, Gutter Twins, A Mountain Of One, Dead Skeletons, Nick Cave, The Raveonettes, Roxy Music, Black Angels, and more....

your presence is required

(((+)))

Crocodiles @ The Echo August 27th

Photo: Angel Ceballos

Make sure you come to WHITE NITE afterwards!

Lucinda Williams @ The Greek

Lucinda Williams had the hard task of opening for Elvis Costello. Her show was very early, but people seemed to show up early. It was a busy week, with Flaming Lips and Depeche Mode also in town. Lucinda, who was lauded by Elvis Costello himself, as "The best songwriter in America" and "The best singer who isn't my wife." Williams brought her brand of rock and country to the stage. She was wearing bright red pants, and seemed to have a lot of presence onstage. She mixed it up: old songs and new. Her show was steady, interesting, and provocative. It was far too short. Luckily she came back onstage with Elvis to do "Jailhouse Tears." This funny and sad song was almost the highlight of the night. The reaction was amazing to this song, and everyone felt the emotion of this song. They did a second song: this was a cover of Rolling Stones "Happy." They plodded along and it was okay. Williams is definitely an interesting songwriter and a provocative performer. Hopefully people will check her out later this year when she does some 30 year anniversary shows.

The Octopus Project @ Troubadour

The Octopus Project are one of those bands from Austin, Texas that have been around for a while, but you wonder about them. The name is provocative, but what is the story? Once you finally see them all is explained. This is an amazing live band. They are a mostly instrumental band, along the lines of Battles and Stereolab. They are high energy. They got a lot of notice a few years ago when they played Coachella. But it may be finally their time. The come out and look like a lounge group. They switch instruments and jump around onstage. The girl plays a theremin. The drummer is awesome. They play songs from all their three albums, and they have existed for a decade. I guess they are a band that have definitely spread by word of mouth. It was definitely one of the best and surprising shows of the year. The LA band, Voices Voices, opened up, and were also entertaining. I am glad that their are new bands out their blowing minds every day.

Soulsavers Interview

SOULSAVERS
Interview by alexander laurence

Soulsavers are a UK production team that started out in 2000. They are Rich
Machin and Ian Glover. Over the years they have worked heavily with Mark
Lanegan, that he is often thought of as a third member of the band. The first
album was Tough Guys Don’t Dance (2003). The second one, with Lanegan, was
It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land (2007). Since then they
have become pretty well known, and Rich Machin has DJ-ed around the world. They
have also worked as film composers.

There is much excitement around their third album, Broken (2009). Not only
is Mark Lanegan the lead vocalist on most of these tracks, there are
appearances from many special guests. There are contributions from Gibby Hayes
(Butthole Surfers), Mike Patton (Faith No More), Jason Pierce (Spiritualized),
Red Ghost, Martyn LeNoble, Richard Hawley, and Rich Warren. Will Oldham sings
on one song “Sunrise” and Soulsavers cover a Palace Brothers song “You
Will Miss Me When I Burn.” It’s a very complex, dark, mysterious album. It’s
one hell of a journey.

I got to talk to Mark Lanegan and Rich Machin in Hollywood. Member Ian
Glover was not there, and will not be touring with the band.



AL: Is Soulsavers a band or a studio project?

Rich: It’s a little bit of both. It’s a studio project and then it’s also
a live band thing, which is a separate entity. The touring band are coming
to the studio all the time. The studio thing is what it is: we are making
these records without any limitations. The live thing is like an interpretation
of what we originally did in the studio.

AL: Are you involved in the DJ culture?

Rich: Not anymore. I used to. It’s something that I don’t want to be
involved in anymore. It doesn’t excite me.

Mark: The dough! (laughter).

AL: Yeah. Flying around in planes to wherever to DJ for an hour?

Rich: That was exactly the problem. At the end, I was just doing it for the
money. It got to the point where I didn’t look forward to the weekend
coming up. Oh god, I have to do this! As great as the money is for doing that,
and dumb as I am, for not doing it, it’s not something I want to do with my
life at the moment.

AL: Many of the people I first interviewed were bands like The Chemical
Brothers and Death In Vegas. They were these DJs who had a live show. I am not
sure what they were doing.

Rich: The Chemical Brothers were incredible live. To take what they were
playing and play to these stadiums was great. They always put on a great live
show. It was very much like Kraftwerk. They took that, and took it into
another decade.

AL: Have you seen Massive Attack?

Rich: I have seen them a couple of times. They had Horace Andy with them
the last time I saw them. They sounded really good. The guys in the band, 3D
and Grant, did most of the vocals. Dot Allison also sang with them.

AL: Is Soulsavers going to be like that, where there are many people who
come and go?

Rich: I think that there will always be fresh faces around. We are very
different from Massive Attack. They have their thing and it’s cool, but I
don’t see any similarities.

AL: In the world of Soulsavers, there are collaborations, but really on
this new album Mark Lanegan is the lead singer, Red Ghost sings a few songs,
and most of these other guests are there in supporting roles.

Rich: There is a big difference there. No disrespect to the people you just
mentioned. We are making a different record. I am not interested in making a
record with loads of guests on it. I don’t want to make a record where there
are individual tracks. I want to make an album that has a continuity, and
flows, with maybe one or two lead singers. I want it to feel like an album
from beginning to end. That is important to me.

AL: Was that how the previous one was?

Rich: That is how I have done every record. We have our friends and guests,
and they do little bits, here and there. It’s very different type a record
from those other guys.

AL: Also you do soundtrack stuff. Is that a separate thing too?

Rich: Not really. I do incorporate some instrument tracks. I see that as
part of what this whole thing is. Soundtrack music is a big influence on me,
from Ennio Morricone to Bruno Nicoli. I listen to a lot of instrumental bands
from now like Mogwai, and Explosions In The Sky. Instrumental music is
something that I really enjoy.

AL: How do you write the music when you and Rich are working together?

Mark: Rich and Ian generate the music. They send it to me. I listen to it.

AL: So the music is mostly done already?

Rich: I usually come up with basic ideas, and pass them on to Mark. Then
the decisions that Mark makes dictate the direction the tracks continue in
musically. It’s almost like a three stage process. There are the initial basic
loops of music. Mark will put his vocals to them. The third stage will be
completing the track.

AL: Is this how you like to work on music?

Mark: I would say the results are different for me. My part of the process
is, even if I am writing the song myself, and I have a guitar in my hand,
there is always a beginning, and working through it, till the end. If someone
else is doing the music, and I am adding vocals, my part is essentially the
same. The difference here is someone else is doing the music. This music
that Rich makes, and I am part of, is a unique experience.

AL: How do you usually write songs yourself?

Mark: When I am writing the music? I usually have a guitar in my hand.
Usually the lyrics come to me. I will make a sound with my voice. The sound will
tell me what the word is supposed to be. That word will tell me, what the
rest of them will be, if that makes any sense? If someone else wrote the
music: I am initially listening to the music and making sounds, in my head or
out loud. It’s the same thing.

AL: You are just making sound effects?

Mark: Oftentimes there is an odd word here and there. Maybe those words
don’t make it to the finished lyric. It’s not brain surgery. You are just
mapping things out and filling in the blanks.

AL: Then with Greg Dulli, you are writing together? How does that work?

Mark: Yeah. When I am writing lyrics with someone else it is a bit
different. It’s like high comedy. One of us will have a guitar. We will just make
each other laugh.

AL: Since there are two of you, you would be more critical. Point out a
line that is stupid.

Mark: Yeah, but I wouldn’t say it like that. You have to have a certain
amount of trust to write together. It hasn’t happened much in Soulsavers. If
Rich came up to me and said “That line is not working for me” I would have to
be thick-skinned enough to take it into consideration. And try something
else. If you are writing the words together, you have to be pretty good
friends.

AL: Sometimes people would want to collaborate with someone like yourself
or Greg Dulli, and when they collaborate, they see how this specific person
writes a song. That is how they do it! They are seeing how another person
approaches writing a song.

Mark: Are you saying that they are not going to be critical if they want
you?

AL: (laughter) No. I think they are inspired by the collaboration, and they
have first hand knowledge of those processes.

Rich: There is nothing better than finding someone that you respect.
Plugging into their mind to find out how they work. Sucking that dry, and steal
everything you can from them. It always feels good to drain someone
creatively.

AL: Do you feel that other people have sucked Mark Lanegan dry?

Mark: I have sucked myself dry.

Rich: It’s good. The more people you work with, the better it is for
everyone. It’s usually a very positive experience. It’s very rare that someone
who I hugely respect turns in something that sucks.

AL: Some bands today seem like they are referencing a few albums, and
adding a twist. They are saying that here are the four or five records that I
like, and here you go. What do you think of that?

Rich: It’s how I start off all music. I figure what I am going to rip off.
I take it from there. I have always been influenced by great music. That is
what music is: getting off on other music, and motivating yourself to do
something else.

AL: There are some bands that made some weird sound. That original noise
sounds different and original. That is the sound of that band. Don’t you think
the spirit of trying to do something original is still valid?

Rich: Of course.

Mark: Everyone that I know that does music started out because they were
fans of music.

AL: But maybe on your first album you were heavily influenced?

Mark: Sure. On the 50th one you don’t give a damn anymore.

Rich: There is a difference between being influenced and being, as you say,
a tribute act. There is more money to be made being a good tribute act. You
should just go for that, straight off the bat.

Mark: I think David Bowie said this. He said, “I don’t think I have
written a lot of good songs, but I have found a lot of them.” I think he said
that. The trick is if you are going to borrow from places, just make it your
own.

AL: On the new album, there is a lot of this bad ass guitar sounds. It’s
like, hey, what’s up with this, and how did these English guys pull this off?

Rich: What the fuck are these guys up to?

AL: It’s like a Guns and Roses thing?

Rich: You are the first person who said that it sounds like Guns and Roses.
I end up getting into a lot of music conversations. I really enjoy talking
about other people’s music. When you make music, people have a pre-conceived
idea what you must be into. Some of my favorite bands that I have always
liked are boogie bands like AC/DC, ZZ Top, and the Rolling Stones. I love
those bands. People look at me, and go “I wouldn’t think you would be into
that shit.” Those three bands are in my top ten across the board easily.

Mark: When you are making records, sometimes you want to give everything
you have musically. Crank the guitar up.

AL: Who played all those bad ass guitar licks on the record?

Rich: There are a couple of guitar players on there. The stuff that you are
referencing is Rich Warren. He played most of the really inspired guitar
playing. He is an awesome guitar player. He is one of the best that I have
ever seen. He was in fine form.

AL: How did you get Gibby Haynes, Richard Hawley, or Jason Pierce to play
with you?

Rich: They are friends. It is great to call up friends and have them come
in. It’s a great pleasure and a compliment that they would say “yes” as
well.

Mark: It’s great to work with people who you like their tunes, and having
there in the context of your music. It’s one of those whims to indulge.

AL: How many records have you done now?

Mark: Too many. But there are a shitload of people who I haven’t played
with, who I would like to.

AL: Who are some those people?

Mark: Jimmy Page. (laughter)

AL: Let’s make the call right now.

Mark: Joe Perry. Joe Perry has been having problems with his knee.

AL: So you are on vocals, with Jimmy Page and Joe Perry on guitars. Who
else is in this band?

Rich: Fucking Billy Gibbons. I am already envious of Mark, because he has
already done something with Billy Gibbons.

AL: How do you know when someone is not interested?

Mark: The people who are not interested just don’t get back to you. Have
you heard anything? That happens. You would be surprised.

AL: What happened with Isobel Campbell? There was a tour, and then you
canceled it. What happened there?

Mark: I was working on Soulsavers at that time. We were supposed to do a
tour in Spring 2009, but they had visa issues. She changed management. So that
didn’t happen. I have finished another record with her in the meantime.

AL: A third one?

Mark: Yeah. That will come out sometime soon. They just haven’t made it
over here yet.

AL: So you have been working on some band or project for over twenty years?
Did you ever take a break?

Mark: There was some time off in 1996.

AL: You are not the vacationing type?

Mark: I just had four months off this year. I get recharged very easily.
Motivation is paying the bills.

AL: So when does the tour start?

Rich: We are going back to England. We are playing a few shows and a few
festivals in August 2009. We are playing Reading and Leeds. Then we come to
the US in September.

AL: How many people are in the band?

Rich: Six. It’s stripped back for us. Times are hard.

AL: You will play the new album. Any old songs?

Rich: About half and half. We will throw some new things to keep things
interesting. Touring is like out of my comfort zone. I like being in the
studio. It’s a gradual thing.



Broken tracks

1. The Seventh Proof
2. Death Bells
3. Unbalanced Pieces
4. You Will Miss Me When I Burn
5. Some Misunderstanding
6. All the Way Down
7. Shadows Fall
8. Can't Catch the Train
9. Pharaoh's Chariot
10. Praying Ground
11. Rolling Sky
12. Wise Blood
13. By My Side

2009 US Tour

09.06.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
09.07.09 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09.09.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
09.10.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09.12.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
09.15.09 - Austin, TX - Stubb's
09.16.09 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
09.18.09 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
09.19.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft
09.21.09 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
09.22.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09.23.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09.25.09 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
09.26.09 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
09.27.09 - Chicago, IL - Double Door

Warpaint + Caroline Weeks @ Spaceland

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Manimal Vinyl Presents: WARPAINT/ CAROLINE WEEKS (of Bat for Lashes)/ CORRIDOR/ at Spaceland. Sunday August 9th, 2009. 21+ 8PM
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