My Top 5 Favorite Albums of the Year

So the wedding I went to was awesome! I love weddings where the couple is just being who they are and not trying to bowl people over with their ability to play dress up and faux fancy. We’re just people, people. Scott & Whitney's wedding was awesome!

So…here comes my Top 5 Favorite Albums of the Year! After that, I’ll add some random stuff to further stall until I see the other 3 films I need to see to round out my movies, then I can get back onto other random musings. Speaking of randowm musings…have I mentioned I’m on twitter??: http://twitter.com/petalumaFilms

Here we go…

5. RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS Cardinology
I had just about given up on ole Ryan. Always prolific but always in need of an outer and inner editor, he had just become too predictable and, well, boring. Plus he was in a serious Grateful Dead phase the last few albums and the only thing that sucks more than The Dead are bands trying to sound like The Dead. But “Cardinology” is a rock album…and a damn fine one. It’s funny because I didn’t really get it or like it the first few listens so I put it away. Then my favorite local radio station started spinning some singles that grew on me and I gave the album another chance. And, I love it. I should also note I seem to really, really love Ryan Adams music when it's raining. I have no clue why but it's been fairly dry of late so I was also not inspired to listen more. Anywho...TMI, I'm sure.



4. VAMPIRE WEEKEND Vampire Weekend
Try as I might, I don’t always fall for critical darlings. But, I always give them a chance and sometimes I’m blown away. I won’t say Vampire Weekend blew me away, but they’ve stayed in my CD player consistently and enjoyably for nearly a year. The thing with the album is, it’s awesome and tight. It’s not the frigging…second coming of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and it’s not post-modern African pop rock or whatever other crap critics placed on these kids. It’s just good music people. Sure, some of the songs feature African style phrasing and arrangement. Yes, there’s ska. But I find it funny critics and hipsters placed all these tags and meanings onto this band only to completely turn on them later in the year as they are now. Will V.W. ever make another album this good? Who cares! This one’s really good!



3. THE MOTHER TRUCKERS Let’s All Go to Bed
http://www.themothertruckers.com/
These guys and a girl are from my neck of the woods and when they up and moved to Austin, I thought it would be their death knell. “There’s already like, 100 bands like them in Austin,” I told a friend and fellow fan. I was wronger than wrong. Since moving to my favorite city in the world, The Mother Truckers have found their heart and soul and they no longer sound like a San Francisco band trying to sound like beer swilling Texans. They are beer swilling Texans who shred on vocals and guitar! And listen to what I’m going to say here as it's no B.S....

Lead singer Teal Collins is a mega-babe and I love her sexual energy and innuendo on this album. A few songs of hers I had listened to for weeks and then it suddenly hit me…they were about sex! I’m slow like that. Although she’s the front person of the band and rocks and stands out because of her pipes and great looks, it’s her husband Josh Zee who steals the show. In fact, I think his guitar work on here is some of, if not THE FINEST Americana rock-n-roll playing in the last ten years. I kid you not. I’m totally serious. He’s a bad mother-humper. Big words, but I mean it. Josh Zee and Will Kimbrough are the shit but for totally different reasons.



2. FIVE A.M. Raise the Sun
Yes, I manage them. So what. I’ve received endless amounts of shit from them about not including their last album (or maybe not including it “high enough”) but hey, I’m nothing if not honest. That being said, “Raise the Sun” isn’t a good album…it’s a great album. And I say that with all seriousness and all the frustration a person can have as I don’t see why the songs on this album are not embraced by radio when people like Matt Nathanson, The Fray, Sister Hazel and countless other really musically sound and all around solid bands do get embraced. It’s simply and honestly not fucking fair.

We’ve heard at least two DJ’s we don’t even personally know say upon spinning the single “Be Still,” “ I really don’t know why that song isn’t a huge hit.” It’s a nice sentiment, but really kind of salts the wound.

Grousing aside, this really is an amazing album and it’s really not the kind of music I typically listen to. But even if you aren’t into pop and rock, you can’t deny the sensitivity, intelligence, musicality and all around awesomeness that is “Raise the Sun.” There’s not a song on here I don’t love and again, that’s not based on any kind of friendship or salesmanship. This album is fucking great and I couldn’t be happier that it’s out there and being heard by people who have never discovered five a.m.



1. THE DRIVE BY TRUCKERS Brighter Than Creations Dark
http://www.drivebytruckers.com/

I simply cannot love this album any more than I do. I listen to it almost daily and it never gets old. It’s funny because as usual, I’m about 7 years too late on the love-in for a band, but the DBT’s last few records have made me love them while everyone else bitches for the good old days when they did “Southern Rock Opera,” a double album that I respect to death but never really liked. In fact, I was skeptical to even get their follow up “Decoration Day” but did and have been a DBT’ fanatic ever since.

Things I love about this album are as follows…
It rocks. Hard. But it’s also sensitive and sweet at times. And I like it either way.

The song “The Righteous Path” speaks to every middle income and below American better than any other song this year or hell, the last 15 years. By way of example:

I got a couple of opinions that I hold dear
A whole lot of debt and a whole lot of fear
I got an itch that needs scratching but it feels alright
I got the need to blow it out on Saturday night
I got a grill in the backyard and a case of beers
I got a boat that ain’t seen the water in years
More bills than money, I can do the math
I’m trying to keep focused on the righteous path

If people took writing or poetry as serious now as they did when Steinbeck, Whitman or whoever you respect as a great American wrote what they wrote, Patterson Hood would be recognized as a great voice in America. I just re-read that and it shows I am NOT agreat voice of American writing, but my point is in there someplace. Patterson Hood is an outstanding writer and a terrific voice for these modern times.

Other stuff I love about this album…

Jason Isbell (the #3 guitarist) split which left room for his ex-wife Shonna Tucker (who plays bass) to sing and when she does, DBT fans worldwide swooned a little and heaved a collective sigh of “where the hell has that been for the last 5 years!!!???” It's amazing and beautiful and fits in perfectly with the overall sound even though it probably shouldn't.

This album boasts the worst frigging song the band has ever done (to my knowledge) in “You and Your Crystal Meth.” I hear the opening chords live or on this album and I groan and get away from it. But, it’s seriously the only song out of all NINETEEN I don’t like and that makes it like one of those errors the Amish put on their quilts so they don’t show God up with their beauty and perfection.

I love that there’s 19 songs on this album, 18 of which I could listen to anytime, anyplace.

San Francisco.

So the trip home was, you guessed it, uneventful. My ass hurt from sitting and we all kind of dozed in and out of sleep on the bus. However I think this is a good time to let folks know why I do what I do with the band on things like these sorts of trips. I’m not “needed,” that’s for damn sure.

I’ve “managed” five a.m. for jeez, like 10 years. I’ve seen them go through so many changes and so many times where I (and they) thought it was all over only to see something keep them going. I’m not the greatest manager. My expertise lies in the Sonoma County region and somewhat beyond. I also am not good because I take rejection very personally when it comes to them. Be it a club that blows us off or a band talking shit, I don’t let it roll off my back. I file it away and await the day for retribution. Those days of payback rarely come.

Managing-or booking more like- a band is an exercise in frustration as well. The first band I managed was an 11 piece funk and soul outfit so that was a real trial by fire. Trying to get 11 free spirits together for a show is nucking futs. Five a.m. are much easier to corral and I think they’ve missed like, one gig in 10+ years which is amazing. No, the tough part of managing them is trying to kick down these doors only to have them be locked solid or slammed back in my face. I’ve seen more bands and clubs come and go in this area than most readers of this blog can name thriving bands and clubs. But we keep on persevering and there’s something to be said for that. I believe five a.m. is a great band and that the guys should be able to make a living playing music. Damn it.

My point that I’m getting to is that when the band gets a great gig or a big break that I had a hand in, I like to be there to see the fruits of my labor (or whatever) come to fruition. Such was the case with the Sister Hazel tour. I’m always scouring newspapers and the internet for bigger bands that are touring through so I can try and get five a.m. on the bill. There’s several classes of clubs here and probably everywhere and you would think that after 10 years in an area, the A-list clubs might cut the band a break but that’s never the case. The big, A-list clubs won’t book you unless you have a big draw. But the other clubs that will book you don’t really draw anybody because everyone seeing live music goes to the big clubs. For instance…if you have the choice to pay $8 to see 4 bands you’ve never heard of (and 3 of the 4 are guaranteed to suck) in a dingy bar or nightclub OR pay say $12 to see a big touring act with a hit song you might have heard…which would you take?

To me it feels like this scene in “Boogie Nights” where Dirk and Reed Rothchild are trying to get their demo’s back from the studio (only we aren’t coked out)





If these clubs would just give us a chance to play in front of a crowd that paid to see music, these people would like us and we could build a draw. Instead, we get relegated to meat markets and shitholes that will be closed within the year and thus mean nothing to an A-venue booking agent.

So again, back to my point. I’ve been trying to book five a.m. at The Independent for like, 4 years. Finally we got on tour with a band headlining there, so we got our chance. Oh, that’s the other thing. Most big bands that tour bring an opening band so local bands get squeezed out Nation-wide. It’s a fun business I tell ya.

The show in San Francisco was outstanding and we all saw a lot of familiar faces. I got drunk and then got home, slept 4 hours and woke up to be with my daughter. Very nice, but very weird feeling. Next stop, L.A.!

Portland.

So slightly buzzed and already road-weary, I headed to Portland, Oregon with the band at about 11:00 p.m. It was a short trip that ended up at some friend of some band members wife’s friends mansion. Yeah, a mansion. I slept on some big ass couch next to a clock that made a charming jingle every hour. I felt how Desmond on “Lost” must have felt when he got awakened every few hours. The other thing was, I’m a really poor sleeper (drunk or not) and after being awakened 4-5 hours in a row by some music box thing, I came to the realization….I had no idea where I was.

I knew the place was nice and was in the mountains, but it you asked me to find it again on my own, I’d have better luck finding D.B. Cooper in the Oregon hills. I’ve come to realize recently that I am really pretty anal about a lot of things and sleeping at a strangers house is one of them. I mean, jeez. What if they have some crazy teenage son who wasn’t expecting us and found me in the living room? What if the man of the house sleepwalks or hears me snoring and beats me with a 9-iron? What if the lady of the house sleeps naked and comes in to shut off that annoying clock? The list goes on and on in my head (and gets much darker as well) and pretty soon, I’m totally awake.

So after lying around terrified for 4-5 hours, the rest of the band got up. Turns out the people were at work and we were alone. Plus, they left us like 5 pounds of bacon! I looked at how much that bacon must have cost and it was like, $6.00!! Holy shit! Oregon’s lack of a tax kicks ass!

So after eating bacon and eggs, we sat around. Dum de dum. It was boring. I like to see new towns, the guys like to sit around. Which is fine, they need to be rested and focused for the show. But I get antsy and I love new places. So around 2:00 or so, we headed into town to find the Aladdin Theater where the show was to take place.

The theater was cool! Apparently it’s claim to fame is that “Deep Throat” showed there for like, 15 years straight! When told of this I said “sooo….you’re saying don’t sit in the chairs?” My old Petaluma buddy Brennan came down and had some beers and food then pretty soon, the show was on. The band was great but I think this was the low point of the tour.

The place was all seated for one and for two we were just in and out. Seattle was fun because we could catch our breath and see the Sister Hazel show. Portland was set-up, eat dinner, play, load-up hit the road. Between that and the day spent lounging around, it was almost like Portland didn’t happen. Plus we discovered that the problem with leaving right after an opening set is, you don’t sell merchandise or CD’s for shit. Ah well. We had a long drive to Yreka (again) and then another 6-7 hours drive to San Francisco. We loaded up and left Portland, vowing to come back soon.

Seattle.

My adventures started off in Seattle, WA. Well, technically they started in Santa Rosa where we drove 5 hours to Yreka, CA and passed out at Trent’s dads house. We awoke the next day and drove a good 10 hours to Seattle, but not before semi-breaking down just before Ashland, OR which was a convenient place for a breakdown for two reasons. One, Trent’s brother lives there so we quickly pulled off the road into his family’s driveway. Nothing like a big fattie 20 passenger airporter van arriving unannounced, huh? It was his nieces birthday party too so we hoped the problem wasn’t major because otherwise, Jed (our drummer) would eat all the cake.

The other convenient thing was, our new bass player Jason is a crackerjack auto mechanic. We recently got the brakes did and they were smelling funny and making a weird noise so Jason yanked off the tires and had a look-see. Turns out there was some grated metal crap rubbing and stinking. Basically, it was nothing so off we went.

As I mentioned in one of the other blogs, traveling with a band is remarkably similar to the Bon Jovi song “Dead or Alive.” We just frigging drove all day. It was uneventful and boring. We got into Seattle around midnight and desperately wanted some food and adult beverages. Who knew Seattle shut-down on Monday nights around midnight? We finally found this amazing singles night Mexican food place that had the best appetizers I’ve ever had. Fancy crap too but it was ½ off after midnight. Score! After eating and sucking down some drinks we went back to the hotel and conked out. I had to share a room with Jed because we both snore. Fine by me because last time I shared a room with other band members I woke up refreshed but covered in pillows and shoes that had been thrown at me throughout the night.



The next day me and Steve (our roadie) got out a little early and wandered around. We went to the base of the Space Needle then headed out to lunch. From there a bunch of us bummed around together and watched Jason get his head shaved by a nice Asian lady in a hair salon. Then we found this terrific guitar shop called Emerald City Guitars. Although I don’t play, I’m a total sucker for awesome guitars and this place was chock full of awesome. Our guitarist hammer even got to play a $250,000+ Fender Strat! Dude. Unbelieveable. If you look at the site you can see the store owner Jay holding them up. Neat.

From there we headed over to The Showbox for our first night opening for Sister Hazel. It’s no secret I love beer and they had 16 oz Pabst Blue Ribbons in cans. Plus, I was antsy to cut loose after being cooped up in the bus all day. I think we all were so we got a little buzzed. The guys played an awesome show and the crowd ate it up. I was really proud of them and proud to be a part of it. We also stayed and watched Sister Hazel who, aside from that monster hit (that I will refrain from talking about lest it re-enter my head for a month straight), I didn’t know much about. They were really, really good and put on a tight show. Plus, their fans are freeking rabid. They love them some Sister Hazel. After the show we loaded up and made the short drive to Portland, OR where we drove up in the hills and stayed at some huge ass mansion!

Here's five a.m. playing a brand new song at The Showbox

The lonnng and winding road....

As some of you may know, five a.m. (the band I manage) has gotten the opportunity to open for SISTER HAZEL on their west coast tour! Last Sunday night at 9, we drove 5.5 hours to Yreka and stayed the night at Trents dads. Bright and early-ish Monday, we drove 10 hours to Seattle where the tour started. We stayed in a hotel and hung around Seattle before checking into "The Showbox" where the gig was.



We were all champing at the bit to play after 15+ hours in the bus (it's a 15 passenger airporter style bus...not like, a luxury liner...just so you know) and it was a really, really great show. To be honest, we all like Sister Hazel but had NO clue what kind of draw they would have. Turns out...it's big. And the fans are SUPER cool. They were all really attentive and seemed to dig the band. Yay! You really can't ask for much more when playing a new city. Plus, The Showbox is an AWESOME venue.







After the show and many beers (they serve Olympia in CANS there as well as Pabst Blue Ribbon tall boys!) we drove to Portland where we stayed the night in this frigging huge mansion that one of the guys in the bands wife knows the people who own it. If that makes sense. That drive wasn't bad...only 3 hours. But it was really weird waking up in a mansion and you have no clue where you are. Seriously, I didn't know where I was, aside from Oregon. It felt like a weird drunken bender than landed me in rehab. I woke up in a nice and pretty place with 4 lbs of bacon waiting for us. We ventured down to the Aladdin Theater in Portland later on and set up. The Aladdin apparently has a claim to fame in that DEEP THROAT played there for 14 years straight. Gross! At this point, we've driven about 19 hours and played 45 minutes. Sounds lame, but that's the job.

Honestly, and don't laugh (well, you can) I can really see what Jon Bon Jovi is on about in "Wanted Dead or Alive." Having been on the road a mere 3 days and I was lost. Tired, sore, out of place...out of time. Focused on getting the guys to the gig on time and ready to play. Very different from regular day-to-day life. Although we never got far enough away to need to tell the day by the bottle that we drink, it was still all very...weird.

So Portland was another killer show. Five a.m. has really got their shit going on. Seriously. They were tight and fun and polished and again, people watched, danced and bought CD's. Unfortunately we had to bolt immediately after the gig to go to Yreka which was again, 5.5 hours away. It was a bummer because in Seattle, the longer we stayed, the more new fans wandered over and bought a CD, got an autograph, etc. It was neat. And, we could use the money. But our well being and rest was more important so we split Portland at about 9:30 and our bass player Jason cranked us into Yreka in 5 hours flat!

Slept in a bed (I forgot to mention, due to my newfound fat-assedness, I snore now. So, I had to sleep with Jed our drummer, the other snorer, in the living room on some couch. Well, he was on the floor and I was pretty uncomfortable on the couch.) and got up early to drive HOME to San Francisco, another 5 hours. Wheee! Time -vs- playing numbers at this point are as follows: Driven 28 or so hours, played 90 minutes. Ouch.

Again, I was in a haze. I had brought some books and a notebook to entertain myself (and you know, maybe write something? Since that's what I do. Or, did) but mostly napped uncomfortably, screwed around with the guys and stared out the window. I gotta admit, I love driving. I can just zone out and almost meditate. But still, my ass, back and neck hurt, my schedule for eating/sleeping/bathrooming was destroyed and I missed my wife, dog and baby (not in that order). We got to SF around 4:30 and loaded in.

I was psyched for the guys to play The Independent because it's a great SF venue. And, we've never played there. I think we put on a good show and saw alot of fans. I even managed to finagle a ride home with frequent blog commenter LJ...which was awesome. I was dying to spend a night at home and plus, I got to get drunk at the show! Mostly free beer in the dressing room but I still managed a fat bar tab. I was so happy to be home I was buying everybody drinks. We got back to Petaluma around 1:00 a.m. as we stayed to watch Sister Hazel put on another great show. And it was another packed house. Awesome. Plus, we were all in a weird malaise or mood early on and were worried the show would suck...but as soon as they hit the stage, it was on.

The next morning it was my turn to watch the baby at 7:30 a.m. So...after driving 30 hours through 3 states and waking up after 6 hours, it was time to be a dad. In all honesty, it was awesome. My wife went to work and me and my daughter hung out and then she took a 90 minute nap! whatta sweetie. I promptly konked out as well. Friday night we chilled and watched MAD MEN (best episode of the year so far....maybe ever for the show IMHO) and I passed out at 11:00.

Woke up at 7:30, got in the car....drove to L.A. where I write to you from now. I got a hotel on the Sunset Strip! I was going to stay with a friend but he had a change of plans. Plus, the guys are staying at our percussionists in-laws (which is a nice house and they're super nice) but I need to leave tomorrow and the band will carry on to close out the tour just outside San Diego.

I'm tired, but super stoked! The band is playing House of Blues on Sunset!! Anyone who grew up in the 80's came to know the strip as the place for bands. Sure, they were shitty, drunk hair bands, but those early influences stick with you. I'm drinking a beer now, gonna hop in the shower and then walk 3/4 of a mile to the show. I couldn't be more proud of the band for kicking so much ass this week. And, there were no arguments or crappy times. We only kinda sorta broke down once too!! I'm looking forward to a great night in my 3rd favorite city, L.A.

New five a.m. songs!!

Sorry for not posting....I've been soooper busy. Ugh. I long for the days of not having a job and writing stuff all day. Blogs, screenplays, movie reviews. Alas, it doesn't pay well and if you don't get paid, you can't buy beer. Plus, personally there hasn't been much going on. Or so I thought. Then I realized I neglected to announce that FIVE AM, the band that I manage (and that also consists of my friends) have "released" the 3 songs they recorded up in Cou-Town. Or, Vancouver, BC if you will. These songs are amazing All three. I definitely think the song "Be Still" is pop perfection and you'd have to be a totally cynical asshole to not like it. I AM a cynical asshole and I love it. It's beautiful.

Although I love all three songs, my second favorite is the song "Lillian." When I first heard it, it took me aback. Having heard it live I always had it pegged for a more Americana sound. Pedal steel, a harmonica....maybe a wurlitzer. But the bands producer, Jeff Dawson, took it and crafted it into an even more beautiful creature that I really love now. At first, it took time to dig it because I had it turning out differently in my mind, but that's why you pay good producers. To make something special.

Anywho, the guys are back and we're currently plotting our attack and that's no easy task. I once managed a band that had 11 members and trying to get them to agree on gigs, albums, set lists and who's sitting by who in the van was brutal. Now that our little "team" has started evolving, I see those days happening again. And that's fine. In fact, it's something I look forward to because it's alot like making a film. We're all hoping and thinking and plotting in our own minds and when you get together, you have to hash it out. But it's a good feeling knowing we're all pushing in the same direction. "What" direction that is...I have no idea...but we all want to succeed and that's what's important.

PLEASE listen to the new songs >>>HERE<<< and chime in if you get a sec.