Vince Neil Feature From The Inlander

Winning. Everytime.

Why Vince Neil is the frontman we secretly crave.

Think about all the characteristics of your ideal rock ’n’ roll frontman. You’re thinking of Motley Crue’s Vince Neil, aren’t you? So, is Vince Neil the greatest frontman ever?

Heavens, no. There have been a myriad of more talented performers who were better singers and who made superior music. But that’s not the point. In fact, the argument here has almost nothing to do with music. Rather, Neil embodies more of the stereotypical characteristics of the rock frontman than any of his peers. In this sense, he is the pinnacle, a measuring stick by which we compare all other rock frontmen. Just look at all the categories he covers in the rocker checklist:

Bad-Boy Mentality: At its peak, Motley Crue was the walking, breathing definition of boys you wouldn’t want to take home to Mom. Tattooed, troublesome, and legitimately destructive (proof: countless hotel rooms), the band and Neil terrorized each city they swung through. But, amazingly, Neil is making debauchery pay off. Today, he owns a Vegas tattoo shop, his own vineyard, a tequila line, and he founded his own poker tournament and a chain of three bars called Dr. Feelgood’s Bar and Grill. Check.

Womanizing: According to the Motley Crue biography, The Dirt, Neil may be one of the few souls to approach Wilt Chamberlain’s illustrious claim of laying 20,000 women, often making his way through five or more groupies after each show. Failed marriages to mud wrestlers and Playboy playmates also score him points. But really all you need to know is Neil was Motley Crue’s chief lothario despite being in the band with Tommy frickin’ Lee. Check.

Booze & Drugs: While Motley Crue was a volatile cocktail of every substance imaginable, Neil was always an alcohol guy. Numerous empty bottles and empty trips to rehab were left in his wake. Check.

Showmanship: To be an elite frontman, one needs the ability to run around and fire up any crowd. This is why frontmen who play guitar or bass don’t compare. In his heyday, Neil could strut with the best of them. Check.

Success: How does five albums going platinum sound? Check.

Rivalry: An underrated aspect of frontman lore. The singer needs rival bands in order to elevate his standing. Not only did Neil and Co. have a beef with Poison, who they viewed as an inferior and fake version of Motley Crue, but he also feuded with Axl Rose. After a confrontation backstage at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, Neil famously and publicly challenged Rose to a boxing match. Rose never accepted. Check.

Internal Band Struggle: Be it McCartney and Lennon, or Morrissey and Marr, it’s hard to be an elite frontman if you aren’t at odds with your bandmates. Neil took it far enough to briefly get fired from Motley Crue because of his spats with Nikki Sixx. Check.

Hair: Long, big, blonde. Check. Read More…

January 12, 2012
Categories: Rock . Tags: , , . Author: Seth Sommerfeld . Comments: Leave a Comment

Courtney Marie Andrews Feature From The Inlander

Young Blood

By 18, Courtney Marie Andrews was a music industry vet

Courtney Marie Andrews is a freak among us. Where most teenagers have suffered through the agony of reading book reports in English class — sweat forming on the back of necks as they stumble through Twain, Fitzgerald or Salinger — Andrews started writing songs at 13 and began gigging a few years later. The indie-folk songwriter even had her first well-received album out (2008’s Urban Myths) by the time she was 18.

But even Andrews is still confused by how she did it. Onstage, she was willing to open her soul up to the world, yet she insists that in the day-to-day schooling grind she was a nervous wreck — just like the rest of us.

“I would definitely say I’m much better at getting in front of an audience and singing as opposed to talking,” she says, “When I was 14 or 15, I was one of the kids in class who was really afraid in front of people.”

Despite being the runt at the music venues around Phoenix, Ariz., Andrews’ wide-eyed innocence made her impervious to feeling like the outsider among older musicians.

“I’m sure it seemed weird to other people, but it didn’t seem weird to me. ’Cause when you love to do something you don’t really think about it. You just do it because it’s what you know.”

Andrews’ sound has grown fuller and richer over the years. She says her music’s evolution actually has nothing to do with how she sings or plays, but rather how she senses the music around her.

“When you start to know what sound is. You can’t really hear things well. You can’t really make out differences.” Read More…

January 8, 2012
Categories: Indie, Singer Songwriter . Tags: , , . Author: Seth Sommerfeld . Comments: Leave a Comment

Top 10 Albums of 2011

As I’ve gazed around the various lists detailing the best albums of 2011 these past few weeks it’s become more and more clear that I’m out of touch with the critical mass. The albums that are frequently lauding did nothing for me. David Comes to Life left me more preoccupied than fucked up. Bon Iver bored. James Blake made me long for the tennis player. House of Balloons was good, but not gripping. 21 simply wasn’t in my wheelhouse. Watch the Throne was just plain bad. Ect., ect…

So just keep that in mind. I’m apparently horribly out of touch.

Here are the 10 best albums of 2011…

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10. Capes – Tancred

Radiating a tranquil warmth, Capes, the solo debut of Now, Now guitarist Jess Abbott, is welcoming and easy to slip into. Abbott’s tiny voice barely breaks through the layer of sparse, lo-fi instrumentals, but the smallness is intentional and gives the album character. Unassuming and genuine, Capes is the coziest little album of the year.

9. Strange Negotiations – David Bazan

If the masses of Occupy movement had any sense about them, they’d adopt Strange Negotiations as their official album. David Bazan remains as downtrodden as ever, only now it’s the the greedy folks behind the recent financial collapse that have got him bumming. His lyrics are angrier than they’ve ever been, taking aim at those now known as “The 1%” (“Wolves at the Door,” “Strange Negotiations”). Bazan’s somberness on more personal tunes also rings true thanks to very atmospheric, moody arrangements that perfectly suit his melancholy vocals (“Wont’ Let Go”, “Virginia”). Strange Negotiations isn’t an album of hope, but it’s certainly an album of now.

8. The Big Roar – The Joy Formidable

The title of The Joy Formidable’s first LP, The Big Roar, is actually kind of an understatement. The album is a massive tsunami wave of rock noise led by frontwoman Ritzy Bryan’s manic energy. Appropriately, her distinctive guitar sound is a processed pedal attack drowning in guitar effects. In fact, the entirety of The Big Roar is lustrously produced in a manner that would be considered severe overproduction for almost any other act. Yet it totally fits The Joy Formidable’s sprawling sound; one that’s laced with heavy, chaotic instrumental outros. And as much as Bryan’s wailing and guitar flailing gets the attention, the album would be a failure without The Joy Formidable’s solid as stone rhythm section (drummer Matt Thomas and bassist Rhydian Dafydd), who keep Bryan in check and thunderously drive the songs forward. The Big Roar is loud pop rock music in all its shimmering, glistening glory.

7. 13 Chambers – Wugazi

This year’s best mash-up album is all about edge: the hard-edge delivery of the Wu-Tang Clan’s (and their members’ solo projects’) rhymes, Fugazi’s samples instrumentals which brood in the backdrop seemingly on the edge of erupting at any second, and the way that Cecil Otter and Swiss Andy brought it all together so that there’s seemingly no distinctive edge separating the two mashees. The Wu’s lyrics match the tone of their new found post-hardcore backing with shocking ease. The Fugazi element works, in part, because they’re not the most distinctively unique samples, allowing the vocals enter the mix more natural sounding way. The whole package blends together seamlessly, to the point where a listener coming in cold could legitimately think that this is a just a hip hop album where the rappers decided to use a live rock band to back it. And that’s the whole goal of any mash-up, right?

6. Oui Camera Oui – The Heavenly States

The Heavenly States continue to toll away in rock ‘n roll obscurity, but that just makes Oui Camera Oui (or 2008′s album of the year Delayer) an even more special gem. Perhaps the reason the band is an under the radar treat is because they don’t do anything “sexy.” The Heavenly States excels at simplicity – all ya need is a hook, great lyrics, balance in instrumentation. Boom. Done. Onto the next song. Whether it’s sweeping sing-alongs (“Berlin Wall”) or more downbeat numbers (“Monarchia”) frontman Ted Nesseth’s words come across with more sincerity than just about anyone in the music business today (especially when compared to his male peers). And if that’s not enough for you, Oui Camera Oui is far and away the best album of wolf-fucking music released this year.*

*Listen to the record…you’ll understand. Read More…

December 28, 2011
Categories: Hip-hop, Indie, Lists, Pop, Rock . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Seth Sommerfeld . Comments: Leave a Comment

Matt Hopper Feature From The Inlander

Fireworks

Alaska breeds isolation and oddity. Singer-songwriter Matt Hopper understands this well from his early days as a Last Frontier troubadour. One night Hopper might’ve played a rec center; the next night he would be onstage at some fisherman bar with a bartender named Future.

“There aren’t a lot of traditional music venues with a sound guy and a green room and all that stuff,” says Hopper. “It’s like, ‘Cool, here’s a bar in Talkeetna that you can play for $300, but you’ve gotta play for four hours. And all the locals are gonna come check you out. And if it’s not bluegrass, they’re just gonna keep drinking and ignore you in the corner.’” Hopper has been rambling around the country since starting his music career eight years ago in Anchorage. He’s lived in a spectrum of cities — from Los Angeles to Madison, Wis. — but currently calls Boise home.

Likely due to his tendency to relocate, Hopper’s backing band, the Roman Candles, has an absurdly high turnover rate. In fact, the band is more of a loose concept than a band, as multiple incarnations can exist at any given time.

“I’ve got a band in Alaska and a band in Boise,” he says. “And at one point I had a band in Austin, Texas. And Nashville. I know a bunch of guys in New York that will back me up.”

“That’s kinda how I roll, because I’m a songwriter. I’m not necessarily tied down by the fact that I need three other dudes or women to make my sound happen.” Read More…

December 24, 2011
Categories: Singer Songwriter . Tags: . Author: Seth Sommerfeld . Comments: Leave a Comment

Top 10 Songs of 2011

Songs! There sure were a lot of them this year, weren’t there? Like, at least 100 of them. Easily. Maybe more. Here are the 10 (+1) best of that bunch.

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Honorable mention: “Whirring” – The Joy Formidable

If I allowed The Joy Formidable’s spinning opus to be on this list, it’d probably crack the top half. However, I’m DQ’ing it for the following two reasons:

A) Despite coming to prominence this year as a single off of The Joy Formidable’s excellent debut LP The Big Roar, the song was previously released on the band’s EP A Balloon Called Moaning. That EP came out in 2008 in Japan, 2009 in the UK, and 2010 in the States, so claiming it as a song of 2011 would be somewhat disingenuous.

B) More importantly, aforementioned previously released version is better than 2011′s more known version. It’s rawer and shorter, doing away with the unnecessarily long instrumental outro. Since this is, after all, a great pop song, there’s no need for the excess fluff tacked on the end.

10. “Life’s a Happy Song” from The Muppets Original Soundtrack

You’re damn right The Muppets made this list. The entire soundtrack to the film is golden, thanks to songwriting by Bret McKinzie of Flight of the Conchords. The Conchords’ sense of silliness and fun is on display in this song (which essentially serves as the film’s main theme). “Life’s a Happy Song” is pure-hearted upbeat fun filled with simple, gleeful rhyme. If this song can’t bring a smile to your face, then you really need to get over yourself.

9. “Won’t Let Go” – David Bazan

There’s a surprisingly long lineage of rock songs about spacemen: Bowie (“Space Oddity”), Elton John (“Rocket Man”), and the Foo (“Next Year”) to name a few. But none of those astronaut tunes are quite as dour as “Won’t Let Go” – David Bazan’s take on the theme. With hushed ambient backing Bazan’s repetition of the refrain “I will not let go…of you” feels like a gut-punch. There may be a glimmer of hope in his hopelessness, but you have to mine through a poetically rough shell to reach it.

8. “Berlin Wall” – The Heavenly States

“Berlin Wall” is the best rock ‘n roll sing-along in some time. The song slowly and patiently builds layer upon layer of backing music to support its rallying cries that dream of a post-war machine world. Finger-picked acoustic guitar leads to keys, backing vocals, and a distant beat. The flourishes keep coming until a chorus of voices explodes into a of massive nebulous of jubilation. “Berlin Wall” begs the listener to belt along and is crafted in a way that makes anyone who doesn’t join in after a few spins seem foolish.

7. “Cruel” – St. Vincent

I would not have put my money on Annie Clark making a killer dance track, but that’s just what she did with “Cruel.” While the song starts with sweeping strings typical of a St. Vincent song, they quickly give way to a throbbing beat, vaguely Caribbean-feeling electronic twitterings, and a downright dirty fuzzy guitar line to accompany her woeful lines of causal cruelty. It’s enough to make all the indie tweesters that adore her stop staring for a second to shake their shoulders and hips.

6. “Bridge Burning” – Foo Fighters

After years of growing a little soft (eww…you got Norah Jones in my Foo and it’s gross), Foo Fighters quite literally roared back into rocking mode with “Bridge Burning.” The opening track to Wasting Light set a tone of unadulterated non-stop rock and the Foo never looked back. The song’s opening apprehensive string clangings quickly burst into furious drums, heavy guitars, and Ghrol screams. “Bridge Burning” condenses the essence of Foo into a powder keg and then throws a match it’s way. The resulting explosion is a sound to be heard.

Read More…

December 23, 2011
Categories: Hip-hop, Indie, Lists, Pop, Rock, Singer Songwriter . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Seth Sommerfeld . Comments: Leave a Comment

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