Speaking of history lessons, I'm about to become a lady of a certain age. And I know it's early, but if you're a fan of Some Candy Talking, then you're probably a fan of the Jesus and Mary Chain. If you're a fan of that band, then you'll want to mark your calendar for Thursday, June 10, when Neumo's will host a night of awesome bands (a shitload, you might even say) doing covers of classic Jim and William Reid collaborations. The night was organized by one of the sweetest guys in the city, Ryan Davidson of SPIDeRBITeS (former frontman of eXBeSTFRIeNDS), who, with the help of Neumo's and Jason Lajuenesse, so far has snagged so much local talent I get all misty-eyed just thinking about it. Songs currently being learned include "Here Comes Alice," "Blues from a Gun," "Fall," "Gimme Hell," "Head On," "Birthday," "Sidewalking," "UV Ray," "Psychocandy," "Some Candy Talking" (of course!), as well as what I'm told will be a surprise trio of songs played in an unorthodox way. It's open to the public with doors at 9:00 p.m., and the cover is a mere $6. I love rock and roll!
***
Most depressing/kinda funny thing I've read in a while on the state of classic rock? "Who needs Sinatra when you can listen to Journey?" Ouch. In a few years might we say, "Who needs Queen when we can listen to the Darkness?" Not half as much of an ouch, there.
Another depressing thing I read was in an article in the May 2 issue of the Washington Post about the way that major labels are taking advantage of technology in order to sign indie bands. Instead of hanging out in bars and watching groups play live sets, there are talent scouts or, in old-timey parlance, A&R guys, who use things like Google instead to type in broad queries, hoping to find new unsigned acts. Writer Frank Ahrens says that's how some unknown New Zealand group called Steriogram got a five-album deal with Capitol recently. How fucking lazy ass is that? Over the years I've watched a lot of friends in the A&R business get fired due to budget cuts, and the scouts sure don't make it out to Seattle as much as they did a decade ago. (The A&R guys had fat expense accounts that blew my mind--one that I saw from the now swallowed up Atlantic label equaled six figures. And that's in excess of the actual salary the guy was making!) These days, in my opinion anyway, no one needs a five-album deal from anyone, let alone a major label. There are more than a few local bands, signed to out-of-town labels, who are singing the blues right now--even the ones who signed to indies with lots of cred. Talk about your giant sucking sound. And that's no slight toward the bands.
