Drag The River - 2010 Demons

Wow. Life has been pretty crazy recently. It must have been, as I appear to have shot the trifecta of: not knowing there was a new Drag The River release and not posting about last month's Cory Branan and Drag The River shows. I'm pretty damn sure these demos were not on sale at the awesome Bar Nine show back on 10.1 (mail me for a recording), but on the heels of my previous admission, I think I'm guilty of being a less than reliable witness. Either way, 2010 Demons collects 10 of 24 demos Jon and Chad recorded this past Summer in anticipation of the new DTR studio release in 2011. My unhealthy Jon Snodgrass fixation precludes my speaking ill of this on principle, but know that the new Chad songs are also really good and the usual Drag The River standard of excellence prevails.

Was there any question really? You can (and should) get 2010 Demons in digital pay-what-you-will form from the Drag The River bandcamp page here. As I understand, the only tangible release will be a limited 500 piece vinyl run on the German Hometown Caravan imprint, 200 of which Luther at Suburban Home has for sale here.

R

Suburban Home Tour @ Mercury Lounge: This Sunday 8.16

I am as giddy as a schoolgirl to remind you all that what I'm calling the Monsters Of Suburban Home (MOSH!) tour is coming through town on Sunday. Featuring Two Cow Garage and Jon Snodgrass, along with the mighty Austin Lucas, I haven't been this excited for a show in a long time. I guess I should point out to the uninitiated that there should be no moshing whatsoever, even if the kids today are idiots that will shove their partners around to Celine Dion. The focus of the proceedings on Sunday should be songs, and damn good ones. My fantasy is that Two Cow will be backing Jon and Austin, but regardless of my stats pro leanings, this should be a hell of a great night. While I loathe the movie it references, I truly celebrate the entire Suburban Home catalog. See you front and center on Sunday!

R

Chuck Ragan and Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge

Ok, this is a little past topical, but JS-NYC has been dealing with some technological issues and is playing a little catch-up. You can take small consolation in the fact that JS-NYC HQ is now fully 5.1 surround compliant, a format tailor-made for those who lives are consumed with poorly recorded records and/or downloads. In smaller, but no less relevant issues, my R key is working again. Let's hope the number 5 is next.

That duly covered, Bristle Ridge is the first release on (sort of) ex-Hot Water Music singer Chuck Ragan's Ten Four Records. Co-ran with his significant-other, the record dropped last Fall. Rather than the throat shredding stuff that you would expect from HWM, Bristle Ridge is a bluegrass-inflected collaboration with current JS-NYC obsession Austin Lucas. Backed by Lucas family scion Bob, along with Jon Gaunt and Digger Barnes, Ragan and Lucas work through a dozen old-timey numbers with varying results.

Everything is proficient, with good harmonies and keening fiddle. I will add my far-from-new and/or original caveat regarding the boatload of older punks going folk to maintain continuity. I like Chuck. He is a hell of a nice guy, and his heart is in the right place, but his material pales a bit when compared to Austin Lucas. Live AL favorite Sun or Snow appears here, and it's as wonderful as you would expect. His high pure voice makes the track and Bristle Ridge for me. Songs like Cold Night show an odd Ragan vocal tendency toward Tom Jones that is mildly disconcerting for me, but I would venture that I'm one of the only old bastards that would associate the two. The duet stuff, like Hold My Bed and Simple Life, fares a little better to these ears, but you would do well to check Bristle Ridge out yourself. It's only $10 bones and you can get it here. 

It's been a minute since Bristle Ridge dropped and the gents have not been idle. Chuck's got a new record in this vein coming soon on Side One Dummy, you can keep track of it's progress here. Austin is on it, but while you're waiting for it to drop, pick up his latest Somebody Loves You from the good folk of Suburban Home and keep tabs on him here.

R

Tim Barry review up at The Tripwire

Hey Kids:

Review of the new Tim Barry record Manchester up at The Tripwire. You can peruse here.

Thanks to Derek Evers and Luther Dickinson at Suburban Home!

R

The Rhino Replacements Reissues - Installment #2: Pleased To Meet Me

Pleased To Meet Me is the record that had me falling head over heels in love with the boys from Minneapolis. Ryan Shadrin lent me a copy of the record in high school and from the buzz-saw guitar riff that opens I.O.U. , I was a believer. It's not the two records that preceded it, but Pleased To Meet Me is packed to the gills with great tracks: Valentine, Nightclub Jitters, Skyway, Can't Hardly Wait; I can almost guarantee that your favorite record does not have songs as good.

The big conundrum for me was Alex Chilton. While the Mats' song is a classic, Chilton and the rest of Big Star were way off my radar as a high schooler. This was also pre-Internet, so it's not like I could dash off to the computer and rapidly acquire some of the emporer's finest new clothes. I'm not sure when, although it was well past Pleased To Meet Me's release date, but I do remember hearing Big Star for the first time and being pretty confused that it wasn't Mats-approved rock. I figured Alex would be more of a Johnny Thunders character. While I didn't meet him until much later, it was hard to reconcile the bands adulation at that point, but I did surely want to be one of the millions who waited for Alex Chilton when he came round.

I saw The Mats twice on that tour. Once they were absolutely transcendent, the second time they couldn't have been shittier, musically or alcoholically. By that point, I'd read the Musician article that proclaimed them America's Finest Rock Band and had been filled-in about how the aforementioned 'ashtray floors, dirty clothes and filthy jokes' were much more of a lifestyle thing than rock and roll self-aggrandization. The fact that they were raging coke/speed addicts was still a mystery to me, but the picture of what it meant to be in a touring rock band was getting sharper and I was pretty sure I wanted a piece.

Pleased To Meet Me was recorded in Memphis, home of the aforementioned A. Chilton, with legendary producer Jim Dickinson. The sessions marked the formal departure (or booting, really) of Bob Stinson as well as Guru/Band Dad/Manager Peter Jesperson. Dad Dickinson had lobbied to get him in the sessions, as he had dealt with the likes of Chilton and Panther Burns previously, but sadly, it was a no-go. Allegedly, one Mat still managed to vomit on the ceiling at Ardent, but shenanigans were kept at bay for the most part. Paul handled the guitar parts admirably (see The Ledge, yowza!), save for the guitar solo he passed off to Dickinson's son Luther on Shooting Dirty Pool. Luther was but fifteen at that point, and a big Steve Vai fan, so don't tune in if you're looking for 'Clapton in the Roosters' type of guitar hero-ism, but it sure is pretty irritating that even Luther's quasi-embarassing early recordings ended up on a Replacements record. I hope he's thanked his Dad daily since for the opportunity.

For me, Pleased To Meet Me marked the beginning of the end. Soon Mars was booted from the band and, though we didn't know at the time, it moved closer and closer to solo record time for Paul and Tommy. Never underestimate the ability of label to totally negate any success a band has managed to build prior to signing.