Medleyville

Reflecting on a life shaped by rock 'n' roll

In his music, Tom Petty can be vague or specific in his lyrics, and he also can tell a good story. Petty can be just as general, detailed and engaging when talking about his life, too.

He's all that in Conversations With Tom Petty (Omnibus Press), a recently released book featuring interviews that American Songwriter senior editor Paul Zollo conducted with Petty in 2004-'05.

Like many musicians, Petty was influenced by Elvis Presley, but not too many had the good fortune to meet Presley. Petty did, and early on in the book, there's a great story about 11-year-old Petty visiting the Florida set of Presley's film Follow That Dream. Petty remembers that Presley "seemed to glow and walk above the ground" and that the star's hair was so black "it shined blue when the sunlight hit it."

Petty's love of The Byrds, The Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield influenced his decision to leave the music scene in and around his hometown of Gainesville, Fla., for Los Angeles. Naïve and nervy, he shopped demos of his then-band Mudcrutch to the big labels.

Petty recalls, "There were literally record companies all down Sunset Boulevard. You could see them, with their names on them. There'd be A&M, MGM, RCA. You just saw them down the road. So we would just go in the front door of every one with a tape and say, 'Hi, we just got here from Florida, can we play you this tape?' We didn't know that that just wasn't done. So I think just having the balls to do that got a lot of people to listen to us."

Eventually, Mudcrutch signed with Shelter Records. The band evolved into Petty's Heartbreakers and the rest, as they say, is history, and Zollo asks Petty about his life and career in mostly chronological order.

Some of the best segments are about two former Heartbreakers -- drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Howie Epstein. Of Lynch, who left in the 1990s after the session for "Mary Jane’s Last Dance," Petty says with respect and humor, "He had his own style of playing, and we butted heads a lot for 20 years."

A short chapter is devoted to Epstein, who died Feb. 23, 2003, of a heroin overdose at age 47. Toward the end of Epstein's tenure with the band, Petty remembers a few concerts where Epstein arrived at the last minute, in bad shape, yet he still managed to get through the gig. Eventually, band manager Tony Dimitriades fired Epstein with the promise, Petty says, that he could return if he could get clean and sober, but Epstein died not long after his dismissal.

Petty also talks at length -- and for the first time ever, he claims -- about the fire on May 17, 1987, that destroyed his home. It was arson, Petty says, and he, his then-wife Jane, their one daughter who was home and their housekeeper just made it out in time. Petty, who "had run out of the house in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt," is forever grateful to Annie Lennox for buying the entire family a new wardrobe.

The only area of his life that Petty doesn't delve into is his divorce from Jane; he only goes as far as to say the proceedings were "really miserable." Petty does make it clear that he legally can't reveal specifics about their divorce, and he takes the high road throughout by not badmouthing his ex-wife in any way. He's proud of their two daughters, Kim and Adria, and he's over the moon about his current wife, Dana, and her son from a previous marriage, Dylan.

Zollo, obviously a Petty devotee (and an informed one at that), keeps his fandom in check for the most part. A singer/songwriter himself in addition to being a journalist, Zollo asks Petty insightful and easy-to-follow questions about composition and guitar chords/structures that result in answers even non-musicians can understand.

Petty writes in the forward that Conversations With Tom Petty is not an autobiography. That's merely a technicality -- guided and prompted by Zollo's questioning, the book really is an "as told to"-type memoir, in Petty's own words and voice. And in the end, that's what an autobiography is all about.

-- By Chris M. Junior

Posted by Medleyville at 10:13 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

It's time to recap the best discs of the year, and here are the picks from Medleyville staffers.

Joe Belock's Top 10

1. Outrageous Cherry, Our Love Will Change the World (Rainbow Quartz)
This veteran Detroit quartet is still the perfect psychedelic power-pop act after all these years.

2. Paul McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Capitol)
Nigel Godrich's stripped-down setting suits Sir Paul perfectly on the ex-Beatle's best post-Wings album.

3. Ribeye Brothers, Bar Ballads and Cautionary Tales (Times Beach)
Rowdy Jersey Shore rockers deliver knockout punch of a second album.

4. The Flakes, Back to School (Dollar Records)
Rave-up from Bay Area garage-punks is an instant party!

5. Crack Pipes, Beauty School (Emperor Jones)
Austin, Texas combo drags blues and funk through the garage and back to the junkyard where it belongs.

6. Royal Purple, Instant Analysis (Umbrella)
A far-out studio project with members of the Insomniacs and Creatures of the Golden Dawn.

7. Subsonics, Die Bobby Die (Slovenly)
Best all-original Velvet Underground tribute in years.

8. Downbeat 5, Victory Motel (Hi-N-Dry)
Boston rockers driven by the blistering lead guitar of punk legend J.J. Rassler and dynamic vocals of the female Bon Scott, Jen D'Angora.

9. Gentleman Callers, Don't Say What It Is (Wee Rock)
Ringing guitars and fab hooks set this St. Louis band apart from the garage-rock pack.

10. High School Sweethearts, Heels n Wheels (Get Hip)
Blondie-influenced punk-rock kiss-offs from this New Jersey sextet are propelled by ex-Feelies drummer Dave Weckerman.

The best of the rest:
BBQ, Tie Your Noose (Bomp)
The Fleshtones, Beachhead (Yep Roc)
Volebeats, Like Her (Turquoise Mountain)
DMBQ, The Essential Sounds From the Far East (Estrus)
A-Lines, You Can Touch (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves, Shortly After Takeoff (12XU)
The Time Flys, Fly (Birdman)
Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell, Begonias (Yep Roc)
Sights, s/t (New Line/Scratchie)
Turpentine Brothers, We Don't Care About Your Good Times (Alive)

Michael Corby's Top 10

1. The Redwalls, de nova (Capitol)
When you get past how much Justin Baren sounds like John Lennon or that this band sounds very similar to The Beatles, this is a very smart, socially aware album.

2. Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams (Universal)
Johnson doesn't stray from the formula that has made him a favorite on the college circuit. This disc features a strong set of songs that can uplift listeners, even on a rainy day.

3. The Wallflowers, Rebel, Sweetheart (Interscope)
If only this were the album the band released after the 1996 smash Bringing Down the Horse, then maybe more people would remember these guys. Jakob Dylan takes control of the guitar work and blends it brilliantly with the band's signature sound.

4. Foo Fighters, In Your Honor (RCA)
This two-disc set displays the band's full range of talent. The first disc is filled with 10 hard-rockin' tracks, while the second has a more acoustic feel.

5. Amos Lee, Amos Lee (Blue Note)
Lee is the male version of Norah Jones, but instead of piano he plays guitar.

6. Death Cab for Cutie, Plans (Atlantic)
The Seattle quartet's fifth album is filled with mature lyrics and an indie-pop sound that is being pushed to the more immature O.C. crowd. It's a very solid album while still being radio friendly.

7. Porcupine Tree, Deadwig (Lava)
Mixing metal guitar riffs with synthesizers, these cats from England keep us guessing where they are going next.

8. Neil Young, Prairie Wind (Reprise)
Creatively mixing gospel, blues and country, Young seemingly offers something for everyone on an album that recalls 1992's Harvest Moon.

9. Audioslave, Out of Exile (Interscope)
Produced by Rick Rubin and mixed by Brendan O'Brien, this album allows the band to shake the "side project" rap it sometimes undeservingly receives. Tom Morelloexpands his guitar work and Chris Cornell finds himself lyrically.

10. Various Artists, Verve Remixed 3 (Verve)
A cool collection of jazz rarities remixed by some of today’s innovative DJs. For one, Sarah Vaughn's "Peter Gunn," remixed by Max Sedgley, is sure to get people moving.

The best of the rest:
James Blunt, Back to Bedlam (WEA)
Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Sony)
Bossa n’ Stones, The Electro Bass Songbook of The Rolling
Stones (pmbmusic/Europe)
Coldplay, X&Y (Capitol)
Cream, Live at Royal Albert Hall (Reprise)
Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)
Madonna, Confessions on a Dance Floor (WEA)
Paul McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
(Capitol)
Marah, If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry (Yep
Roc)
Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation, Mighty Rearranger
(Sanctuary/Sony)

George Henn's Top 10

1. Frank Black, Honeycomb (Back Porch)
Pixies front man gets personal, allowing listeners to wallow with him on what amounts to being a soundtrack of a mid-life crisis.

2. Mando Diao, Hurricane Bar (Mute)
High-energy punk-popsters from Sweden unleash a hook-heavy assault that never lets up.

3. Teenage Fanclub, Man-Made (Merge)
Melodic pop vets return from oblivion and surprisingly emerge with an expanded sound on their seventh album.

4. John Davis, John Davis (Rambler)
Ex-Superdrag leader tackles new lyrical ground -- life as a born-again Christian -- and crafts a majestic, melodic masterpiece.

5. Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell, Begonias (Yep Roc)
Cockrell's twangy troubadour stance is a fine foil for Cary's country sweetness, at times recalling her partnership with Ryan Adams in Whiskeytown.

6. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
This double disc is a lot to digest, but thankfully Adams' most mature, versatile record also is his first that doesn't leave you wanting to lop off a couple of tracks. (For more of his usual overkill, see the hastily released follow-up, Jacksonville City Nights).

7. Son Volt, Okemah and the Melody of Riot (Sony Legacy) --
Jay Farrar dusts off the Son Volt name for its first release in seven years -- even if it is with a new set of players backing him -- and sounds more vital than ever on shimmering songs both personal and political.

8. The Dipsomaniacs, Whatever Planet (Facedown)
This band's name may be a reference to throwing 'em back, but beneath this quartet's loose power-pop sound lie level-headed songs about life's sobering realities.

9. Crooked Fingers, Dignity and Shame (Merge)
On his fourth album under this moniker, Eric Bachmann impresses by shifting easily from edgy power pop to impassioned ballads and even instrumentals.

10. John Hiatt, Master of Disaster (New West)
Venerable singer/songwriter settles into bluesy southern grooves courtesy of guest backing band North Mississippi Allstars.

The best of the rest
Beck, Guero (Interscope)
Brendan Benson, The Alternative to Love (V2)
The Brokedown, Dutchman's Gold EP (self-released)
Dramarama, Everybody Dies (Harvey*/33rd Street)
Louis XIV, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept (Atlantic)
Mark Mulcahy, In Pursuit of Your Happiness (Mezzotint)
The Posies, Every Kind of Light (Ryko)
The Stands, The Stands (Echo)**
The Volebeats, Like Her (Turquoise Mountain)
The Waco Brothers, Freedom and Weep (Bloodshot)

** -- released in 2004 internationally, 2005 in U.S.

Mike Madden's Top 10

1. My Morning Jacket, Z (ATO)
Far and away the album of the year -- and quite possibly one of the best albums from the past five years or so. The production alone is a huge step forward for the band; combine that with Jim James' powerful voice and the tight musicianship, and the result is mind-blowing.

2. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
The quieter of the two albums released Use Your Illusion-style by singer/songwriter Conor Oberst. For those who don't believe the hype, chuck this one on and jump onboard. There is song after song of heartbreak, revelation, and passion without pretense or parody.

3. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
Sure, this album is entirely too long and could be cut by about three or four songs, but what ranks this one so high is the fact that it's a return to form. Adams has come back to the music that he is truly gifted at writing and performing.

4. The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday (French Kiss)
The voice here, Craig Finn, doesn't actually sing: He merely rants and raves while his band mates play some damn good arena rock behind his words. It’s certainly interesting and terribly infectious.

5. Frank Black, Honeycomb (Back Porch)
When Frank Black sets out to make a musical milestone he usually hits the mark. Equal parts somber reflection and celebratory brilliance surrounded by a rich, roots rock feel.

6. The Blue Van, The Art of Rolling (TVT)
This year's tops in the garage revivalist category. This album has a wreckless charm that erases all the technical mistakes the band may be making.

7. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Naturally (Daptone)
Soul music for people who like soul music. The album is so well produced you'd think it was a reissue. Just right to listen to when you think R&B music has lost its way.

8. The Magic Numbers, The Magic Numbers (Capitol)
A clever album that packs on the power pop and remains catchy after repeated listens. It makes sense to think this foursome would have been huge in the early '90s.

9. Danko Jones, We Sweat Blood (Razor & Tie)
This band pulls no punches and doesn’t seem to take itself seriously; the album is tough and loud.

10. Marah, If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry (Yep Roc)
Brothers Serge and Dave Bielanko still haven't matched the might and passion of 2000's Kids in Philly, but this album has a great live feel that they've been striving to achieve.

The best of the rest:
Dwight Yoakam, Blame The Van (New West)
The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan (V2)
The Wallflowers, Rebel, Sweetheart (Interscope)
Paul Weller, As Is Now (Yep Roc)
Little Barrie, We Are Little Barrie (Artemis)
Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)
Rodney Crowell, The Outsider (Sony/Nashville)
Dramarama, Everybody Dies (33rd Street)
Louis XIV, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept (Atlantic)
Susan Tedeschi, Hope and Desire (Verve Forecast)

Posted by Medleyville at 03:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

They're the songs that, despite one's best efforts, enter the brain and take up unoccupied space for a long time. Chris M. Junior reveals the five hits from 2005 that he secretly hoped to hear on his car radio.

1. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson (above)
It's still hard to accept that Clarkson took a shortcut to stardom via American Idol. The quality of this song -- great chorus, powerhouse singing and rock-star drumming -- makes it a little easier.

2. "Lonely No More" by Rob Thomas
A great rhythm track and a catchy “whoa oh” section aren’t enough to erase his Matchbox Twenty mistakes, but "Lonely No More" shows that, like the Santana smash "Smooth," Thomas does his best work away from his band.

3. "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban
Any artist who can sell a line as cringe-worthy as "Take your cat and leave my sweater" deserves a pat on the back.

4. "We Be Burnin' " by Sean Paul (above)
Who the hell knows what the lyrics really are -- one line seems to say, "Just gimme the geese and we be clubbin,' yo" -- but the hooks are hard to miss.

5. "When You're Gone" by Bryan Adams and Pamela Anderson
Forget about making a joke along the lines of "Sure Anderson can sing: She has a great set of lungs." She sticks mostly to cooing in the background and sounds just fine on this better-than-expected Adams rocker.

-- By Chris M. Junior

Posted by Medleyville at 03:08 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

What’s in store for 2006? George Henn and Chris M. Junior take a look into the future.

George Henn predicts:

1. Reality show producer Mark Burnett creates a sequel to the Rockstar: INXS series, this time setting out to find a replacement for the late Joe Strummer of The Clash. Judging the competition will be singers who have experience replacing famous (and sometimes dead) singers: Todd Rundgren (the new Cars), Paul Rodgers (Queen + Paul Rodgers) and AC/DC's Brian Johnson.

2. Fresh from its collaboration with Sugarland and even an appearance on the country chart, Bon Jovi (above) appears at Farm Aid, where it performs rewritten versions of its biggest hits to suit the occasion. Selections include "Lay Your Calves On Me" and "Slaughtered Dead or Alive."

3. Hundreds of thousands of musicians who have posted their music on Myspace.com web pages are horrified to learn that their "friend" Tom now actually owns the rights to the master tapes.

Chris M. Junior predicts:

1. Guns N' Roses will finally release Chinese Democracy. (Hey, it has to come out one of these days, right?)

2. There will not be remastered/expanded/remixed/ 25th anniversary editions of Rick Springfield's Working Class Dog, April Wine's Nature of the Beast or Olivia Newton-John's Physical.

3. MTV will celebrate its 25th anniversary by deciding to stop playing music videos altogether.

4. Radio stations will begin playing Christmas music immediately after Labor Day weekend.

5. Now that he's done exploring the Great American Songbook, Rod Stewart -- inspired by the birth of his latest child -- will begin releasing a series of nursery-rhyme albums.

Posted by Medleyville at 03:01 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Memorable lines as told to www.medleyville.us during 2005.

* "We worked hard. When we're all granddads, and dead and buried, those records will still be around. That's the only legacy we have." -- Former Superdrag frontman John Davis

* "There's the business side of the music business, then there's the artistic side. And the thing is, I can look back and regardless of the business things that could have happened better for me . . . I'm never embarrassed by [my previous work]." -- Dwight Twilley

* "He was kind of a one-take guy. We did do a couple of comps, but I particularly remember him doing a bunch of takes, and then just saying, 'That one's the one.' " -- Producer/mixer/engineer Ed Stasium on working with Mick Jagger

* "You don't have to pay Barnes and Noble $1,500 each to carry your book. There's no $100,000 video of yourself reading your book. Traveling, you're just by yourself. You don't have to rent a tour bus." -- Semisonic drummer Jacob Slichter, author of So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer's Life

* "I think there's a danger that people can get tired of you, but it's going to happen more so if you're playing the same songs around the world for a few years. We're giving people new stuff every year. As a fan of music and of bands myself, a lot of the time I wished that bands had moved on and got their act together and made more records. We're just doing it the way we think it should be done.” -- Bill Ryder-Jones of The Coral

* "Here's a funny anecdotal thing -- throughout ["Born Too Late"], Scott [Blasey] names [important people] from history. When he gets to the line "Jerry, all the joy and love you bring/I was born to sing," people often had asked if he was singing about Jerry Lewis, [not Jerry Garcia]." -- Clarks guitarist Rob James

-- Compiled by Chris M. Junior

Posted by Medleyville at 02:54 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Robert Pollard and band let it all hang out one last time

Much like the band's career itself, the final Guided By Voices performance was an exercise in excess and stamina. As captured on the concert DVD The Electrifying Conclusion (Plexifilm), the group's swan song from New Year's Eve 2004 in Chicago proved a fitting finale for the legendary indie-rock heroes.

The film fully illustrates the dynamic that gave Robert Pollard's project such a devoted cult following: crunching power chords and meaty choruses, free-flowing booze and, most prominently, the mad-genius musings and stage antics of lead singer and principal songwriter Pollard, the band's visionary and lone mainstay through its 21 offbeat years and countless releases.

GBV unleashes a staggering 64 hard-charging tracks from its absurdly deep catalog, and finally calls it a night some three-plus hours later with the appropriately titled closer to the second encore, "Don't Stop Now." Even with such a marathon performance, director Matt Monsoor manages to keep things fresh with varied camera angles and shots, including some hand-held close-ups that capture the emotion and energy of not only the performers (Pollard, guitarists Doug Gillard and Nate Farley, bassist Chris Slusarenko and drummer Kevin March, plus a cast of former GBV members making cameos) but also the jam-packed crowd of devotees, who are shown at various points singing essentially every word and often pumping their raised fists proudly. (The DVD also contains essential extras for GBV maniacs: rough footage from a sparsely attended 1994 performance and a couple of studio demos showing Pollard on guitar.)

More importantly, Monsoor never misses a beat with Pollard, one of the most colorful front men in rock history. Whether staggering around the stage, swilling beer from the band's stash, downing shots with onstage bartender "Trader Vic" or playfully bending forward to allow an audience member to light his cigarette, Pollard seems to be having the time of his life.

His intake does catch up to him eventually. He clearly slurs frequently during "Cut-Out Witch," around the two-and-a-half hour mark, but rebounds to nail the rave-up "Buzzards and Dreadful Crows." A short time later, however, he plods awkwardly through "Glad Girls," forcing the band to take that tune a step slower.

Remarkably, even as he grows more sloshed, Pollard somehow can recall which tracks are from which records -- no easy feat -- as he announces most numbers and their corresponding release (as if the audience members don't already know). Still, even he gets crossed up at one point, saying of the forgettable and brief "Tropical Robots," "I think it's an outtake from Do the Collapse." Actually, it's included on two EPs and a B-sides collection, and that fact, plus its inclusion in the set to begin with speaks to GBV's tendency to commit overkill. (Likewise, the 10-minute pre-show montage of still photographs of the band through the years is entirely too long.)

Pollard hardly seems concerned about that possibility, as midway through the concert he announces that "this will be the longest show of all time." At times, it sure does feel like it, which is precisely why this DVD is sure to thrill Guided By Voices die-hards.

It may even win some belated converts, among those who may not necessarily end up worshipping at the altar of Robert Pollard, but simply hate to see a buzz this good wear off.

-- By George Henn

Posted by Medleyville at 04:53 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)