Medleyville

Sweden's Sister Sin draws selectively from '80s metal

The drummer stool for Counting Crows has seen its share of players, while second guitarists have come and gone for The Black Crowes.

Sister Sin can relate to that kind of turnover: The Swedish hard-rock act just can't seem to put its "bassist wanted" sign away for very long.

When bassist Chris Martensson left the group in 2008, Sister Sin singer Liv Jagrell's boyfriend, known simply as Ricky, filled in on an interim basis.

Martensson was officially replaced Benton Wiberg, but he has since left the band, too.

"It was a bit of a surprise," Jagrell says of Wiberg’s departure. "He fit the band well. But he had a job and a [new] baby at home, and he couldn't quit his job [to tour with us]."

With his regular band, Babylon Bombs, having a little bit of downtime, Ricky has temporarily returned to the Sister Sin fold – just in time for U.S. tour dates to support True Sound of the Underground, available now through Victory Records.

Not being able to lock down the bass slot has been draining for Jagrell, guitarist Jimmy Hiltula and drummer Dave Sundberg.

"You lose a little bit of hope each time," Jagrell says. "But me, Jimmy and Dave are so close. We’ve been together for quite a long time, and we feel like we're a family, so we know that we will keep on going until we find the right person who fits our family. We're the core of the band – we just need to find the right bass player."

Their search continues, but meanwhile, the core is committed to playing simple, straight-ahead hard rock/metal. And while Jagrell admits her band has drawn inspiration from what came out of the 1980s, what Sister Sin is doing is nothing like that of full-fledged revivalists Steel Panther.

"I like Steel Panther; I think they're hilarious," admits Jagrell. "They're taking it over the top, so it's not offensive to me. Our music is not like their kind of ’80s-style. I think it's a little more timeless, and we don't do the whole spandex-and-hairspray thing."

Adds Sundberg, "I think it's important to bring back that type of music, but do it with an up-to-date sound and attitude. I think kids need to hear that as an option to everything else that's been going on for the last 10 years."

-- By Chris M. Junior

Sister Sin on tour (schedule subject to change):

* July 31: Fillmore at Irving Plaza -- New York

* Aug. 1: The Crazy Donkey -- Farmingdale, N.Y.

* Aug. 2: Eleanor Rigby's -- Jermyn, Pa.

* Aug. 3: House of Blues -- Cleveland

* Aug. 4: Scatz Nightclub -- Middleton, Wis.

* Aug. 6: Club Vegas -- Salt Lake City

* Aug. 8: Tower Theater -- Fresno, Calif.

* Aug. 11: Studio 7 -- Seattle

* Aug. 12: Dante's -- Portland, Ore.

* Aug. 13: Last Day Saloon -- Santa Rosa, Calif.

* Aug. 14: Pepperbellys -- Fairfield, Calif.

* Aug. 15: The Avalon -- Santa Clara, Calif.

Posted by Medleyville at 08:31 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Unauthorized Bon Jovi book revisits band's rise to stardom

Debauchery, drugs and drinking went hand in hand with hair metal throughout the 1980s. And whether by design or accident, with tremendous pride or with great shame, evidence of the artists’ real or fabricated rock 'n' roll behavior reached the public during those years.

Bon Jovi pretty much avoided having anything of that sort connected to the band's image — until now.

Former Bon Jovi tour manager Rich Bozzett has written a book about the band's early days and its ascent to superstardom called Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi.

As Bozzett says in his book (which includes some rather racy photos involving singer Jon Bon Jovi), a series of recent, independent Bon Jovi-related events led him to write Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi, which was released July 26 through Blumberg Corporate Services. The following day, Bozzett checked in with Medleyville.us to talk about his book.

Medleyville.us: How long were you Bon Jovi's tour manager, and when and why did you part ways?
Rich Bozzett: "I worked for Doc McGhee first, and he signed a band called Bon Jovi. I met with Jon and the guys, and I was delegated to be their tour manager. I was the guy who took Jon out of his mom's house, through the early days all the way through the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey tours.

"I was cut out by McGhee, the band's manager, because he didn’t want to pay what was owed to me — what was promised to me. It happens a lot in the business. Many guys get promised things; you’re young and naïve and don’t get it on paper."

In an interview with WYSP-FM's Danny Bonaduce, you said your book was "very Bon Jovi-friendly." How so? The title alone suggests otherwise.
Bozzett: "It goes into the making of the band — from selling a few tickets to millions of tickets and albums. I tell the whole story about that, which is obviously Bon Jovi-favorable."

A lot of hard-rock bands in the 1980s benefited from their well-publicized rock 'n' roll lifestyle. If Bon Jovi did indeed party it up back then, why do you think Jon and the rest of the band kept everything under wraps?
Bozzett: "Well, the band Bon Jovi was kind of softer; they weren't a super-heavy metal band. They were more of a pop band … so that squeaky-clean image kind of stayed with them."

Why do you think nobody else from Bon Jovi's past has written a book like yours?
Bozzett: "Because nobody really knows him like I do. I was with him every second of the day, 24/7. Many people weren’t around Bon Jovi on the first two albums, which [covered] almost four years: 1983 to 1986. I was the person with them all the time, so there's no insider like me. In theory, I was almost considered a sixth band member — on the pension, the health insurance. I was in on everything the band was in on, [but] I wasn’t in on a personal percentage that Jon gave the band. No other people were that close to Jon."

Have you heard from Bon Jovi's lawyers about your book?
Bozzett: "Not yet. I heard that they ordered one right away when Howard Stern [talked about it] on his radio show. He was doing a standby with Mike Walker from The National Enquirer, and Howard was humming 'Livin' on a Prayer' during the commercial break. And Mike says, 'You like Bon Jovi?' And Howard says, 'I love Bon Jovi.' And Mike says, 'I got an early release of [Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi]. I was reading it, and it's great, and it's got you and your daughter in it.' And Howard says, 'What’s my daughter doing in Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi?' … and they kept dragging it out on the air for like three minutes."

A little mention on Howard's show can go a long way.
Bozzett: "Yeah, exactly."

— Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

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OUT OF EXILE

For an album that received such a lukewarm-at-best reception upon its initial release (even the almighty Rolling Stone magazine used the words "overdone blues cliché" whilst making snide comparisons to Tommy James), the lone double-studio album produced by The Rolling Stones has certainly enjoyed a critical reappraisal (and then some) over the ensuing 38 years.

Why, even Mick Jagger, who in '72 complained, "This new album is … mad. It's very rock ‘n’ roll. I didn't want it to be like that. I mean, I'm very bored with rock 'n' roll," today insists the recording of Exile on Main St. "was a wonderful period; a very creative period."

And of course Rolling Stone now places those very same blues clichés near the tip-top of most every Greatest Album of All Time list it regularly publishes.

Now, come 2010, the (in)famous Exile has been fully refurbished, restruck, and reconstituted through and through by a crack crew of audio surgeons headed by honorary Glimmer Twin Don Was, digitally polished to an immaculate sheen, "correcting" the original soupy subterranean mixes (“The cymbals sound like dustbin lids” Jagger again complained as "Tumbling Dice" was first being readied for release) so as not to have the album stand as too sore a sonic thumb alongside Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, I suppose. Personally, I much prefer dustbins to "Just Dance" ... but I digress.

Meanwhile, as part of this gala Exile resurrection comes an accompanying behind-the-scenes documentary film, Stones in Exile, which was released in late June on DVD (and contains an hour-plus of bonus footage not seen in the TV broadcast version). The documentary gathers together all five early '70s Stones within a wealth of vintage studio (meaning the basement of Keith Richards’ villa on the French Riviera, where most of the album’s basic tracks were recorded) and onstage footage (via the post-Exile tour film Ladies and Gentlemen… The Rolling Stones, which itself is due for re-release later this year). Why, even snippets from the beyond-cult 1972 road-film-from-hell Cocksucker Blues are cunningly slipped between shots of various waterskiing and overdubbing Brits-in-, yes, exile.

Not so surprisingly, however, some subjects (such as the rampant drug use which eventually resulted in Richards' total submission to heroin) are only delicately alluded to, whilst other key players in the scenario — houseguest Gram Parsons, most obviously, who schooled Richards especially in nuances of the country blues which permeate the entire Exile album — are ignored altogether. Plus, the Stones in Exile bonus footage could have been much better filled with, say, a complete study of the original, highly innovative Main St. record cover shoot by Cocksucker director Robert Frank, as opposed to rambling heads the likes of Caleb Followill and Sheryl Crow.

Still, the contemporary footage of Jagger and the immaculate-as-ever Charlie Watts wandering around Olympic recording studios and Jagger’s former Stargroves estate – sites of the initial Exile sessions – are both fascinating and entertaining. Of course, Richards appears throughout the proceedings in ghostly, stark black-and-white, the multitude struggles of '72 still etched deep into his face, whilst good ol’ Bill Wyman remains ever the Stone Alone with the most revealing, reproachful, yet detailed reminisces of the bunch (a man still upset, it seems, at not being able to locate a proper brew of British tea in the south of France, for example).

So while I may indeed have my doubts over the, um, validity of a vintage-2010 Exile on Main St. album per se, this Stones in Exile film, far on the other hand, is a perfectly under-polished production that more than succeeds in placing one square down the very depths of Richards’ basement during the festering summer of '71 … yes, with all the horror and gorgeous excess, not to mention utterly magnificent, guttural music such a locale entails.

And somehow, still, continues to inspire.

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

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It's full speed ahead for AM Taxi

Talk about good timing. Chicago-based AM Taxi's debut album, We Don’t Stand a Chance (Virgin), was released June 8—just a few weeks before the pop-punk quintet joined Motion City Soundtrack, The All-American Rejects and others for the start of this year's Warped Tour.

Singer/guitarist Adam Krier checked in from the road to talk about AM Taxi's origins, recording the band's full-length disc in Texas and his thoughts on the Warped Tour so far.

Medleyville.us: So how exactly did Sublime producer Miguel Happoldt play a role in the forming of AM Taxi?
Adam Krier: "Jason [Schultejann] and I had worked with Miguel years ago, and I called him when my old band quit touring. He asked me to bring a drummer and come to Long Beach [California] to track something for him. I told him me and Chris [Smith], our drummer, would need to practice together before coming out there.

"So he got us a practice space and said, ‘Use it every day. I don't care what you do; play covers, work on your own songs. Just be tight when you get here.’ So we practiced every day and Jason joined us. I showed them all my tunes, and we continued jamming after Chris and I returned from Long Beach."

How would you describe the taxi system in your home base of Chicago, and which American cities would you say have the best and worst taxi systems?
Krier: "Big cities have it down almost always. They know what they are doing, even if some of the drivers are a bit insane."

Talk about how you hooked up with Mike McCarthy to make your band's Virgin debut in Austin, Texas, and what the overall recording experience was like.
Krier: "We talked to a bunch of great producers who wanted to do the record -- big names, some of them. But Mike was one of the only ones who wanted to record the way we wanted to: live to tape, the way they made real rock 'n' roll records. Of course, we did have overdubs later for vocals, piano, etc.

"Austin was great. Every day we would record, eat barbecue, record more and then drink by the pool -- can't complain."

The first video from We Don't Stand a Chance was "The Mistake." Let's get it out in the open: Which member of the band made the most miscues during the filming of that video? And how about for "Fed Up," the second single?
Krier: "They got us pretty loaded for 'The Mistake' video, so I don't recall. 'Fed Up' was fun, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. However, I found out while trying to lip-sync that I had changed some of the words between the recording session and the shoot."

What have been some of the highlights so far for you and the band on this year's Warped Tour
Krier: "Not showering rules. And we have a shower in our ride, so that's just sad, I know. Not shaving is also fun.

"Most of the other bands are great, and it's nice to be fed once or twice a day. But the best part is all the music fans everywhere checking out all the bands and having a great time."

-- Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

AM Taxi on tour (schedule subject to change):

* July 14: Darien Lake Performing Arts Center -- Darien Center, N.Y.

* July 15: Toyota Pavilion -- Scranton, Pa.

* July 16: Susquehanna Bank Center -- Camden, N.J.

* July 17: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum -- Uniondale, N.Y.

* July 18: Monmouth Park Racetrack -- Oceanport, N.J.

* July 20: Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, Md.

* July 21: Virginia Beach Amphitheatre -- Virginia Beach, Va.

* July 22: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Charlotte -- Charlotte, N.C.

* July 23: Vinoy Park -- St. Petersburg, Fla.

* July 24: Cruzan Amphitheater -- West Palm Beach, Fla.

* July 25: Firestone Amphitheatre @ The Lot -- Orlando, Fla.

* July 26: Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood – Atlanta

* July 28: Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati

* July 29: Marcus Amphitheater – Milwaukee

* July 30: Comerica Park – Detroit

* July 31: First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre -- Tinley Park, Ill.

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Mark Olson, The Constellations, The Blue Shadows and more

* Mark Olson -- Many Colored Kite (Rykodisc)

Jayhawks founder Mark Olson is in a mellow mood throughout his latest solo album, Many Colored Kite (due July 27). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the stripped-down disc eventually falls into a sleepy rut. Kite does have its standout moments, though, most notably "Little Bird of Freedom" and "Scholastica."

* The Constellations – Southern Gothic (Virgin)

Hats off to Constellations leader Elijah Jones, who not only piloted a cohesive, accessible album featuring myriad styles and influences but managed a small army of musicians in the process. Southern Gothic, the Atlanta collective’s debut, covers a lot of ground: Imagine a broader-sounding Beck album. Cee-Lo makes a guest appearance on "Love Is a Murder."

* The Blue Shadows -- On the Floor of Heaven (Bumstead)

Featuring a vocal blend reminiscent of prime The Everly Brothers, an instrumental approach like that of Foster and Lloyd and songs that either act would proudly call their own, Canada's The Blue Shadows certainly deserved a better fate back in the day. Hopefully the reissued On the Floor of Heaven (out now), a pairing of the Billy Cowsill-co-fronted band's 1993 album and 12 previously unreleased songs also recorded in the '90s, finds a belated audience. Highlights include "Coming on Strong," "The Fool Is the Last One to Know" and "A Thousand Times."

* We Are Scientists -- Barbara (Masterswan Recordings)

Don't let the nerdy, prog-rock-ish name fool you: We Are Scientists actually make crafty, commercial, pop-rock music that’s suitable for the masses (and that’s a compliment, not a dig). Not quite as good as the New York band’s debut album, 2006's With Love and Squalor, but better than the 2008 follow-up, Brain Thrust Mastery, Barbara (out now) features its share of hooky singalongs, particularly the opening one-two punch of "Rules Don't Stop" and "I Don't Bite."

Gwyneth and Monko -- Good Old Horse (self-released)

Yes, Gwyneth and Monko is a male/female act, and yes, there have been plenty of them popping up in recent years. The folky pair's charming five-song EP (due July 20) is sensitive and sparse, with the youthful-sounding Gwyneth Moreland leading the way as both singer and songwriter.

-- All reviews by Chris M. Junior

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Christine Lavin serves up Cold Pizza for Breakfast

Babysitting Rex Ryan, meeting Bob Dylan, opening for Joan Rivers: These are just a few of the memories folk singer/songwriter Christine Lavin, best known for her work with the Four Bitchin’ Babes, covers in her new book, Cold Pizza for Breakfast: A Mem-Wha?? (Tell Me).

Lavin recently talked about her approach to writing Cold Pizza, her thoughts on the head coach of the New York Jets and her latest music project.

Medleyville.us: Here’s an obvious but necessary question: When and why did you decide to write a memoir?
Christine Lavin: "I moved into an apartment that was $700 a month more than I could afford. What was I thinking? Hey, I'll write a book and maybe it will sell well enough that I'll make an extra $700 a month!

"P.S.: I've moved. But I’ve had a lot of funny little adventures as a musician — some I really do think were guided by fate, others happenstance, that I thought I should write them down. I wish I had taken notes along the way. I've forgotten as much as I've remembered. I guess if I'm to write another book, I'll have to go to a hypnotist to unlock the rest of the stories."

Talk about the writing process.
Lavin: "I would sit at my computer and think back. I only knew how I wanted to start — the story of getting booed offstage when opening for Joan Rivers in West Palm Beach, get that out of the way right away. It's the one story people close to me tell me I should never have told anyone, ever. Obviously, I ignored their advice.

"An advance version of the book went out to some reviewers, and that was very helpful because I found out I had some minor facts wrong — like the story of CBC announcer Bruce Steele and the streaker at the Owen Sound Folk Festival in Canada. It happened when he was introducing Archie Fisher, but I initially wrote that it happened during Fisher's set. Someone spotted that error and let me know so it could be fixed for the final printing.

"[On] my Web site, I have a page where I'm posting 'corrections' or simply someone else's recollection of a story that I told. I apologize right here and now to anyone whose details are incorrect in the book. If they will let me know, I'll post their version of events at my Web site."

Which parts of the book were difficult to write, and why?
Lavin: "I made a conscious choice to not write a gossipy trash-telling kind of book — but trust me, I could have. I followed Sing Out! magazine's philosophy: They only run reviews of albums they think are good; they don’t want to waste ink on bad music. I didn't want to bring up old slights or tell a lot backstage horror stories about other performers — hey, let them write their own book! And I didn't want to intrude on the privacy of people I’ve been involved with. So I ended up leaving out more than 100 pages that were in the original manuscript."

What type of feedback have you received from those you mention in the book by name and those people whose names you changed?
Lavin: "Everyone I’ve heard from so far has been really happy to be included. In the preface, I write, 'Google any of the names in the index or the song list at the back of the book and you’ll make wonderful musical discoveries.' I did hear from Tony R., my classmate from Lakemont Academy — originally I used his full name, but he asked me not to. He didn't want the attention, so I was able to take his last name out before the final editing. I didn't say anything negative about him — just the opposite — but for whatever reason, he didn't want his last name used. I was so happy to hear from him, though. I had given him a gift many years ago, and he told me he still had it."

Let's delve a little deeper into some of the areas you cover in your book. You were a babysitter for Rex Ryan, now the head coach of the New York Jets. What kind of leadership skills, if any, did he show at a young age?
Lavin: "If only I had known what was in store for him, I would have paid closer attention to his behavior in the sandbox. I was the babysitter for the Flood family, who lived downstairs from us. Tom Flood was the coach of the Peekskill Military Academy football team, and he became good friends with the coaches and trainers, so when they needed a babysitter, I would sometimes get the call.

"I feel certain that the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl very soon. The combination of Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez is magic. … when the Jets win the Super Bowl, I will beam with pride and feel partially responsible. If I had dropped Rex Ryan on his head as a baby, it might not have happened. And it will happen.

"It was Budd Mishkin of NY1 who figured out I was Rex Ryan's babysitter. I told him about living at the Jets' summer training camp and babysitting for the Jets' staff. He asked me what years that happened, and if I remembered any of the names. I remembered Buddy Ryan was one of then, and after I told him, Budd went and Googled 'Rex Ryan' and found out he was born in 1962. It never occurred to me that it was the same person. I remember his dad was very friendly and nice, a really dedicated coach. [It's] so great to see Rex making such a good name for himself in the same profession. I love reading about how proud his dad is of him."

In your early teens, during your first-ever performance, you played an original called "The World Is Coming to an End." That's a pretty heavy title. Was this song inspired by a teenage romance gone bad, or was it about something more serious, such as the Cuban missile crisis or the Cold War?
Lavin: "No, nothing as dramatic as that. I only remember one verse, [which was] inspired by the nervous anxiety the cadets would deal with when they had dances and area girls’ private schools would be bused in to dance with the boys. That verse goes: 'You’ve got a big date for the dance/ba bum ba bum ba bum/now you’ve got a hole in your pants/ba bum ba bum ba bum/the world is coming to an end!'

"A few years ago, a really wonderful music producer/medical doctor — that's quite the combination — named David Seitz organized a two-disc project of people singing my songs. Andy Breckman — creator of the TV show Monk, who started out as folksinger — sang a bit of that song over the telephone. The whole project was a surprise, and that performance by Breckman was a really funny topper!"

With Cold Pizza for Breakfast: A Mem-Wha?? in stores, what projects are you working on now?
Lavin: "I am in the final stages of Just One Angel, an alternative Christmas/Chanukah/Solstice/New Year's compilation subtitled 'New Holiday Classics.' [Actor] Jeff Daniels is track No. 1. Actor David Rasche is on it … so are Uncle Bonsai, Janis Ian, Lori Lieberman, The Accidentals [and] classical guitarist Hilary Field — hers is the title track. The album will be on Yellow Tail Records, arriving in October.

"My song on it is quite a departure. It's called 'When You’re Single at Christmastime.' I've been single all my life, by choice. I keep crazy hours; I often write from 1 to 5 a.m. I love the life I live. But when holiday time comes around, I have to stop being so selfish and do the family stuff. That's what the song is about."

-- Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

Christine Lavin on tour (schedule subject to change):

* July 4: Westglow Resort and Spa — Blowing Rock, N.C.

* July 26-30: Swannanoa Gathering — Asheville, N.C.

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