Medleyville

Yes, recently it was indeed that time of year again -- when what remains of the music industry gathered at New York's Waldorf-Astoria to eat, drink and act even more self-congratulatory than usual at the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

And while I must applaud the powers that may still be for inducting, at extremely long last, what remains of The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures, I couldn't help at the same time conducting a virtual poll of my own on that one dire musical question that more often than not goes unspoken:

Should Pat Boone be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

* R. Stevie Moore, DIY home recording iconoclast (whose father, Bobby, actually attended high school with Boone):
"Yes! Debate irrelevant -- 50 hits, reason enough!"

* Carol Kaye, renowned session bassist:
"I think that Pat Boone should be inducted in the RRHOF because, regardless of who he supposedly 'copied' or tried to 'sound like,' he did something no other singer of his time did: He brought pop-rock into the mainstream of music -- in a pretty good way, I'd say. P.S.: I played guitar (and then bass later) on many of his things. He was doing stuff back then that the ordinary pop singer didn't do at all."

* Jeff Tamarkin, former Goldmine editor:
"Of course not, but I don't believe James Taylor should've been (inducted), either. Neither one is a rock 'n' roll singer."

* Bob Brainen, DJ at WFMU-FM in New Jersey:
"It's all relative, and there are people nominated and selected (who) have less to do with rock 'n' roll than him. As far as his place in the scheme of things, he was someone who watered down rock ‘n’ roll, but I enjoy some of his records, so I'd say yes. For one, he put out a great record produced by Terry Melcher called 'Beach Girl' in '64 (written by Melcher and Bruce Johnston, who also did backing vocals). The flip-side was 'Little Honda.' "

* Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits fame:
"If he is inducted before Davy Jones from the Monkees and Tommy Lasorda, who surely are more to do with rock 'n' roll than Pat Boone, I will make little Jimmy Osmond the editor of Q magazine."

* Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle:
"I've heard Boone on this subject -- the popularizer vs. the innovator -- and while he's right about the significance of the popularizer, his records were too god awful to last. I'm sorry -- his 'Tutti Fruitti' doesn't hold up, while Bill Haley's 'Rip It Up' may out-rock Little Richard. I say vote for Fabian. When it comes to phony rock 'n' rollers, he's the real deal."

* Andrew Gold, perhaps best known for the 1977 Top 10 Billboard pop hit "Lonely Boy":
"Sure. Why not? Because he's a square? Besides, he wrote the words to my dad's hit of the theme from Exodus ('This Land Is Mine')."

* Brett Milano, Boston music journalist:
"Yes, but only by virtue of that cocktail version of 'Stairway to Heaven' he did a few years ago."

* Singer Lisa Mychols, formerly of The Masticators:
"The fact that Pat Boone even had even an inkling of a thought of changing 'Ain't That a Shame' to 'ISN'T That a Shame' makes me wonder if he even knows what rock 'n' roll is! When rock 'n' roll was fresh, new, and exciting -- where was he? He was singing adult contemporary! He wanted to make that song adult contemporary!"

* J.D. Considine, music journalist:
"What a non-issue. Seriously, Donny Osmond has a better shot of getting in than he does. It isn't just because he's a joke now -- he was a joke back then, when people actually bought his records."

* Chad Stuart of Chad & Jeremy:
"Why Pat Boone should not be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Because he didn't make a genuine contribution to the art form.
Because he made records which were a pale imitation of the genuine article.
Because he never poured his heart and soul into his recordings.
Because he was a pop singer, and they don't count."

* Musician/writer Gary Pig Gold is the co-founder of the To M’Lou Music label.

Posted by Medleyville at 08:30 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

First-time showcases by R.E.M. and Van Morrison, plus separate humor-filled interviews with Lou Reed and Mick Jones, were among the notable events of this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference/festival in Austin, Texas.

R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe in action at Stubb's.

Top 3 performances

* 1: X (March 14 at Austin Convention Center’s Bat Bar) -- Like The Police last year, X (from left: Billy Zoom and John Doe) -- back together celebrating its 31st anniversary -- is showing no signs of age.

* 2: The Whigs (March 13 at Austin Music Hall) -- Lots of instrumental muscle and urgent vocals from the Georgia trio, led by Parker Gispert (above).

* 3: My Morning Jacket (March 13 at Austin Music Hall) – The Kentucky collective played favorites from Z as well as cool-sounding material from the forthcoming Evil Urges.

Best gimmick: The Service Industry. This appropriately named band from Austin writes songs about what it knows, drawing from experiences working at bars and restaurants. The resulting tunes are fun but also have a serious undercurrent to them.

Best beard: This year, Austin was crawling with whiskered gents -- including ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons -- but nobody topped the growth sported by drummer Bryan Nelson (above) of the city's own Snake Trap.

Coolest stage setup: Austin's When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, which featured two drummers who faced each other as they played separate kits.

Biggest surprise: The small turnout for Bo Bice's headlining set at the Cedar Door. Apparently a pretty good run on American Idol doesn't mean as much as it used to. (Take note, Jordin Sparks.)

Liam Finn settles in for an interview March 13 inside the Austin Convention Center.

Texas music legend Roky Erickson presides over the start of the Rhino Musical Aptitude Test, held March 14.

Sharin Foo of the Raveonettes performs March 15 at the Rachael Ray event.

Louisiana's Red Stick Ramblers do their thing March 15 at Jovita's.

-- Text and photos by Chris M. Junior

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What began in 2006 as a folkie solo project for singer/guitarist Meric Long (under the billing Dodobird) has evolved into the San Francisco guitar-and-drums duo The Dodos, which also features Logan Kroeber.

* A different beat: While working on a paper in school about the history of American popular music, Long became interested in West African Ewe drumming.
"I had a friend who hooked me up with this Ewe drum master at Cal Arts in Valencia, Calif. We'd meet for a few hours, and he'd teach me the basic parts for each instrument. It was really hard to learn. I still know very little, but it really blew my brains for a year. I got a C on the paper."

* He'll drink to that: Long met drummer and Dodos partner Kroeber through a roommate.
"I asked him to come play 'a drum' for a couple songs at a show. [Sometime after that] I was going up to Portland [Oregon] to record our first LP, Beware of the Maniacs, and on a drunken walk home from work, I called him and asked him to come record with me."

* Finding their sound and common ground: Prior to hooking up with Long, Kroeber had been experimenting with progressive metal drumming.
"Logan's set started as just one drum, and it slowly grew to what it is now. I'd say that once we got a rehearsal space, which was in June of 2006, things started to come together because we had the freedom to play loud and long hours."

*The moment it all clicked: The song "The Ball."
"We both came to practice with the same beat bubbling through our brains all day at work. We started playing and that song just sort of popped out."

* The road to Visiter: Songs for the latest Dodos album, due March 18 on Frenchkiss, were written while on tour.
"There can be so much downtime while touring that it's pretty easy to want to respond to everything around you. You can start to feel like a robot if you just play the same songs every night without trying to create something new."

-- Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

The Dodos at SXSW '08 (schedule subject to change):

* March 12: Frenchkiss showcase

* March 13: American Songwriter day party

* March 14: Hot Freaks! day party

* March 15: SFxSXSW day party

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His real name is Jason Drake. But when it comes to his music career, the New York-based singer and multi-instrumentalist goes by the moniker Cassettes Won’t Listen.

Punching the clock: Since 2001, Drake has worked for the hip-hop label Definitive Jux. His current role is director of marketing.
"A typical day is spent on the computer and on the phone a lot. Meetings are a common occurrence and brainstorming sessions are happening all the time. It really is a great job, sort of like Tom Hanks in Big. It's very creative and we're always coming up with ideas on how to keep the business running and on top. That's the beauty of putting out quality music -- we can stay creative and not transform into a sterile machine trying to pump out crap CDs with our fingers crossed."

Onstage evolution: Drake continues to tinker with his concert presentation.
"It's evolved from a solo show into a show with guest musicians and then to a show with a set DJ and drummer. Now it's currently back to a solo show. I'm constantly changing the show partly to make it interesting and partly to push myself into new realms. With touring in mind, I've started working on a show that could travel relatively easily. I think my show will constantly change."

Feels like the first time: He's attended SXSW before, but this year is Drake's first as a showcasing artist. He'll be promoting the third CWL effort, the self-released Small-Time Machine, due March 11.
"I'm a pretty approachable person, so it'll be fun meeting a bunch of new people. . . . I may have some tricks up my sleeve."

Barbecue, beer, warm weather and, oh yeah, music: When he's not performing, eating or drinking, Drake will be checking out other acts this week while in Austin.
"The Def Jux showcase with Del the Funky Homosapian, Dizzee Rascal and El-P. . . . (and) hanging out with all the New York cats that are making the trek down there."

-- Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

Cassettes Won’t Listen at SXSW '08 (schedule subject to change):

* 1 p.m. March 12: SESAC Day Stage Cafe (Austin Convention Center)

* Midnight March 15: Lamberts Patio

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Cary Brothers readies latest Hotel Cafe Tour

He originally called it a crazy idea, Cary Brothers remembers. Now he describes his Hotel Cafe Tour as bigger and better than ever.

Brothers, a regular performer at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, came up with the concept a few years ago of an eclectic tour that resembled a typical Saturday night at the venue.

The tour's maiden version was in 2005, and by the second tour, things really started to jell, Brothers recalled. On March 6, the third Hotel Cafe Tour kicks off with a show at the Belly Up in San Diego. Artists scheduled to join Brothers on the road across the United States through mid-April include Ingrid Michaelson, Dan Wilson, Greg Laswell and Sara Bareilles.

Brothers said this year's Hotel Cafe Tour will be different from previous editions, yet similar. The venues are larger this time around, but the show structure -- a rotating lineup with each artist playing four songs -- remains the same.

"If you come to see one specific artist, you might watch two or three people before your artist plays, and to see your artist's second set, you have to wait through everything else," the 34-year-old Brothers explained. "It works in that if you find something you really love, then that's great. And if somebody’s playing a style that you don’t like so much, you wait 10 minutes and somebody else is up there."

Years before he founded the Hotel Café Tour, Brothers was a struggling singer/songwriter/guitarist just trying to make a mark in the Los Angeles music scene. After graduating in 1995 from Northwestern University in Illinois, Brothers moved to Los Angeles the following year.

About five years ago, Brothers went to the Hotel Cafe for the first time, attending a show by one of his favorite artists, singer/songwriter Gary Jules. The performance and the audience vibe, as well as the venue itself -- a tiny room with a rustic, burgundy wood finish -- made a big impression on Brothers, who after the show asked Jules about playing there.

Jules recommended that Brothers play at the Sunday night open mike show. Brothers did, and Jules asked him to open one of his shows two weeks later.

"It's really not like anything else -- in Los Angeles, especially," Brothers said of the Hotel Cafe. "Any night of the week, there's always some good music happening. In addition to that, there are 10 to 15 other songwriters or musicians hanging out at the back bar. It's a clubhouse as much as it is a music venue."

After issuing EPs in 2004 and 2005, Brothers released his debut full-length album, Who You Are, in 2007. He has written new material since the album’s release, and there’s a good chance he will perform new songs during the Hotel Cafe Tour. Brothers added that there is an even greater possibility during the tour that he will include cover songs in his set and collaborate with other artists.

Brothers played a role in choosing venues and artists for the '08 Hotel Cafe Tour, and he describes his other nonperforming duty as "ambassador on the road."

"When you deal with that many artists on the road together who don't all know each other, sometimes there are various conflicts involved," he said. "You get a bunch of artists on a bus, something crazy is bound to happen, so somebody has to take care of that."

One task he will not be handling is driving the tour bus.

"I'll be sitting in the captain's chair next to the driver, smoking cigarettes," Brothers said with a laugh.

-- By Chris M. Junior

2008 Hotel Cafe Tour (schedule subject to change):

* March 6: Belly Up -- San Diego

* March 7: Stateside Restaurant and Lounge -- Santa Barbara, Calif.

* March 8: House of Blues -- Anaheim, Calif.

* March 9: Hotel Cafe -- Los Angeles

* March 10: Club Congress -- Tucson, Ariz.

* March 11: The Club House -- Phoenix

* March 13: The Parish -- Austin, Texas (SXSW showcase)

* March 14: House of Blues -- Dallas

* March 15: Red Room -- Houston

* March 17: Work Play -- Birmingham, Ala.

* March 18: Exit/In -- Nashville, Tenn.

* March 19: Center Stage -- Atlanta

* March 20: Cat's Cradle -- Chapel Hill, N.C.

* March 21: Ram's Head -- Annapolis, Md.

* March 22: World Cafe Live -- Philadelphia

* March 24: Fillmore at Irving Plaza -- New York

* March 25: Paradise Rock Club -- Boston

* March 26: State Theatre -- Ithaca, N.Y.

* March 27: Mr. Smalls Theatre -- Pittsburgh

* March 28: Park West -- Chicago

* March 29: High Noon -- Madison, Wis.

* March 31: Fine Line -- Minneapolis

* April 1: Record Bar -- Kansas City, Mo.

* April 3: Fox Theatre -- Boulder, Colo.

* April 4: Bluebird Theatre -- Denver

* April 5: Avalon Theatre -- Salt Lake City

* April 7: Big Easy -- Boise, Idaho

* April 8: Neumos -- Seattle

* April 9: Wonder Ballroom -- Portland, Ore.

* April 11: Great American Music Hall -- San Francisco

* April 12: Henry Fonda Theatre -- Los Angeles

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