Upcoming shows:
1/29 Grand Tarantula at Soda Bar $5
Local power pop band
http://www.myspace.com/grandtarantula
2/1 -- Vijay Iyer at The Loft $16-$26
The latest and greatest jazz piano young lion
http://www.vijay-iyer.com/
2/8 -- Eli "Paperboy" Reed Duo at The Casbah $12
Throw back soul
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=92130750&m=92983937
2/14 -- Ana Tijoux at The Casbah $8
Hip-hop en espanol y francaise
http://www.myspace.com/anitatijoux
2/19 -- Man or Astroman? at The Casbah $16
Supposed to be an insane live show, sci-fi surf rock
http://www.touchandgorecords.com/songs_videos/media.php?id=2247&type=audio
http://www.touchandgorecords.com/songs_videos/media.php?id=2210&type=audio
http://www.touchandgorecords.com/songs_videos/media.php?id=2280&type=audio
2/13 -- The Decemberists at House of Blues
indie rock
http://www.myspace.com/thedecemberists
2/23 -- Beats Antique at Belly Up
World music influenced downtempo, cool stuff
http://www.myspace.com/beatsantique
2/27 -- Justin Townes Earle at The Casbah $15
Rootsy country-tinged singer-songwriter
http://www.myspace.com/justintownesearle
3/8 -- Morcheeba at House of Blues $20.50
Reunited with original singer, new album a step back in the right direction
http://www.morcheeba.co.uk/
3/11 -- Asobi Seksu at The Casbah $12
Female vocals, dreamy indie pop
http://www.myspace.com/asobiseksu
3/24 -- Sharon Van Etten at Soda Bar $10
Mellow folk, beautiful voice
http://www.myspace.com/sharonvanetten
4/29 -- Maceo Parker at The Belly Up $22
Melt your face funk
http://maceoparker.com/
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Aloe Blacc tonight at The Casbah
I'm checking out the estimable Mr. Aloe Blacc at The Casbah tonight. He's supporting this year's release of "Good Things" on Stones Throw Records, in my opinion one of the best soul albums of the year. Blacc has a style similar to John Legend, but he's got a bit more range in his pipes and better production on his tunes. "Good Things" has a nice '70s analog feel to it, full of the warm sound and rounded edges you used to get in the studio when recording to tape. Looking forward to the show tonight. I'll check back with some thoughts post-Casbah.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Bonified Bonnaroo vs. languishing Langerado, and where Coachella stands in comparison
To give a little perspective to the Coachella lineup this year, let's take a quick look at two other big music festivals: Langerado and Bonnaroo.
Scheduled for March 6-8 this year in Miami, the Langerado Music Festival announced today was "cancelled due to sluggish ticket sales." Co-Promoter Ethan Schwartz said: "Langerado has always put the fan experience first. Unfortunately, during these difficult economic times, and facing a first year in a new venue, it's become apparent that we cannot execute a production that lives up to the high standards of our past events. Putting Langerado on hold was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. We are very grateful for the support of the greater-Miami community and the music community during this difficult time."
Too bad. The festival had some nice lineups over the years. This year's lineup was scheduled to include: Death Cab for Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Dashboard Confessional, The Pogues, Matisyahu, Flogging Molly, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Broken Social Scene, Café Tacuba, Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Pepper, The Faint, Cold War Kids, Steel Pulse, Public Enemy, Gym Class Heroes, Tricky, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Mute Math, Bad Brains, Ozomatli, Against Me!, George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic, Tortoise, DeVotchKa, Black Kids, Grupo Fantasma, Holy F*ck, Budos Band, Tokyo Police Club, Lotus, The Virgins, The Gaslight Anthem, King Khan and the Shrines, Lucero, Murs, Ra Ra Riot, Tortured Soul, Rebelution, K'Naan, The Egg, Zac Brown Band, Tigercity, The Aggrolites, Cloud Cult, Spam Allstars, Rachel Goodrich, Blue King Brown, The Heavy Pets, Awesome New Republic, The Postmarks, Suenalo Sound System, Live Painting by LEBO, Modest Mouse, Gene Ween Band, Deerhunter, Alberta Cross.
That's a pretty nice lineup, but there's probably not the big name headliners to anchor the whole thing... Sound familiar?
On the other end of the spectrum lies Bonnaroo. The eighth annual four-day festival will be held June 11-14 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., 60 miles south of Nashville. The lineup is slightly more rootsy and mainstream than Coachella, but Bonnaroo pulled off what the Southern California desert could not: nail down some bonafied headliners.
Check out the list of bands playing Bonnaroo this year:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 Shows), Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello Solo, Erykah Badu, Paul Oakenfold, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gov't Mule, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Merle Haggard, MGMT, moe., The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Galactic, The Del McCoury Band, of Montreal, Allen Toussaint, Coheed and Cambria, Booker T & the DBTs, David Grisman Quintet, Lucinda Williams, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Down, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Robert Earl Keen, Citizen Cope, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, The Ting Tings, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Kaki King, Grizzly Bear, King Sunny Adé, Okkervil River, St. Vincent, Zac Brown Band, Raphael Saadiq, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Crystal Castles, Tift Merritt, Brett Dennen, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, Toubab Krewe, People Under the Stairs, Alejandro Escovedo, Vieux Farka Touré, Elvis Perkins In Dearland, Cherryholmes, Yeasayer, Todd Snider, Chairlift, Portugal. The Man., The SteelDrivers, Midnite, The Knux, The Low Anthem, Delta Spirit, A.A. Bondy, The Lovell Sisters, Alberta Cross.
Pretty impressive. So you have one festival kicking some serious ass, booking the big names needed to sell tix, and then you have another festival closing its doors. The decision is yours Coachella: follow suit on the former (add a few more bands), or suffer the fate of the latter.
Scheduled for March 6-8 this year in Miami, the Langerado Music Festival announced today was "cancelled due to sluggish ticket sales." Co-Promoter Ethan Schwartz said: "Langerado has always put the fan experience first. Unfortunately, during these difficult economic times, and facing a first year in a new venue, it's become apparent that we cannot execute a production that lives up to the high standards of our past events. Putting Langerado on hold was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. We are very grateful for the support of the greater-Miami community and the music community during this difficult time."
Too bad. The festival had some nice lineups over the years. This year's lineup was scheduled to include: Death Cab for Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Dashboard Confessional, The Pogues, Matisyahu, Flogging Molly, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Broken Social Scene, Café Tacuba, Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Pepper, The Faint, Cold War Kids, Steel Pulse, Public Enemy, Gym Class Heroes, Tricky, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Mute Math, Bad Brains, Ozomatli, Against Me!, George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic, Tortoise, DeVotchKa, Black Kids, Grupo Fantasma, Holy F*ck, Budos Band, Tokyo Police Club, Lotus, The Virgins, The Gaslight Anthem, King Khan and the Shrines, Lucero, Murs, Ra Ra Riot, Tortured Soul, Rebelution, K'Naan, The Egg, Zac Brown Band, Tigercity, The Aggrolites, Cloud Cult, Spam Allstars, Rachel Goodrich, Blue King Brown, The Heavy Pets, Awesome New Republic, The Postmarks, Suenalo Sound System, Live Painting by LEBO, Modest Mouse, Gene Ween Band, Deerhunter, Alberta Cross.
That's a pretty nice lineup, but there's probably not the big name headliners to anchor the whole thing... Sound familiar?
On the other end of the spectrum lies Bonnaroo. The eighth annual four-day festival will be held June 11-14 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., 60 miles south of Nashville. The lineup is slightly more rootsy and mainstream than Coachella, but Bonnaroo pulled off what the Southern California desert could not: nail down some bonafied headliners.
Check out the list of bands playing Bonnaroo this year:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 Shows), Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello Solo, Erykah Badu, Paul Oakenfold, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gov't Mule, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Merle Haggard, MGMT, moe., The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Galactic, The Del McCoury Band, of Montreal, Allen Toussaint, Coheed and Cambria, Booker T & the DBTs, David Grisman Quintet, Lucinda Williams, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Down, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Robert Earl Keen, Citizen Cope, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, The Ting Tings, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Kaki King, Grizzly Bear, King Sunny Adé, Okkervil River, St. Vincent, Zac Brown Band, Raphael Saadiq, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Crystal Castles, Tift Merritt, Brett Dennen, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, Toubab Krewe, People Under the Stairs, Alejandro Escovedo, Vieux Farka Touré, Elvis Perkins In Dearland, Cherryholmes, Yeasayer, Todd Snider, Chairlift, Portugal. The Man., The SteelDrivers, Midnite, The Knux, The Low Anthem, Delta Spirit, A.A. Bondy, The Lovell Sisters, Alberta Cross.
Pretty impressive. So you have one festival kicking some serious ass, booking the big names needed to sell tix, and then you have another festival closing its doors. The decision is yours Coachella: follow suit on the former (add a few more bands), or suffer the fate of the latter.
Monday, February 02, 2009
¡DEVOTCHKA!: 'Tuba dance party'
Arrange the uppercase letters anyway you want: Devotchka, or DeVotchKa ... but more like ¡DEVOTCHKA! The band and their excellent label ANTI- prefer DeVotchKa, so we'll defer to them (despite the extra key strokes).
The Denver-based quartet is coming to town for a show this Wednesday at the Belly Up, so I thought I'd get myself pumped by delving into their music a bit. I'll try to write a few words as a follow up to the live experience. They were one of my favorite bands at last year's Street Scene in downtown SD, so I'm excited to check them out in a smaller venue with a more focused eye and ear.
In the wake of the heralded "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack and signing with a major label, DeVotchKa released a shiny new album in 2008 "A Mad and Faithful Telling" with the help of Craig Schumacher at Wavelab Studios in Tuscon (see the cool video press release from ANTI- below). He's produced some of my favorite artists from recent years (Calexico, M. Ward, Richard Buckner and Neko Case to name a few), adding a desert-inspired, feverish shimmer to the record.
Sound
Sidestepping all the Eastern Euro-gypsy-mariachi-desert noir lingo, this is what I hear:
Sweeping strings sing and dual mariachi horns blare, like a wide angle sepia-toned photo of flat arid land as far as the eye can see...
... And then the sousaphone stomps into view on the tune "Twenty Six Temptations" like a hairy Hungarian strongman lifting a 300 dumbbell in one hand while grabbing the song by the scruff of the neck and tossing it to and fro with the other hand.
... And then the accordion sweeps you off you're feet in a song like "Strizzalo" with Parisian street busker flair.
But the real gem at the heart of DeVotchKa is the songwriting: sweet and sad and longing for a homeland that's anywhere but here. Flesh of my flesh/Soul of my soul/Come back home sings Nick Urata on "Dearly Departed" in his high-pitched plaintive voice.
One listen to Urata's voice and his crystal clear songwriting, and you're transported into his world of doe-eyed longing for the places you've been and a sense of wonder for the small things surrounding you now. DeVotchKa's music is about movement, not only the journey through the dizzying array of genres they inhabit, but the inherent feeling of missing places you've never seen.
Lineup
Nick Urata: Vocals, guitars, piano, Theremin, trumpet
Jeanie Schroder: acoustic bass, sousaphone, vocals
Shawn King: drums, percussion, trumpet
Tom Hagerman: violin, accordion, piano
Clips
Here's a live clip featuring the song "The Enemy Guns" from Twist & Shout, a record store in the band's hometown of Denver:
"Along the way" live at a SXSW showcase last year in a clip produced by their record label:
Another clip produced by the label, on the making of their last album:
The Denver-based quartet is coming to town for a show this Wednesday at the Belly Up, so I thought I'd get myself pumped by delving into their music a bit. I'll try to write a few words as a follow up to the live experience. They were one of my favorite bands at last year's Street Scene in downtown SD, so I'm excited to check them out in a smaller venue with a more focused eye and ear.
In the wake of the heralded "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack and signing with a major label, DeVotchKa released a shiny new album in 2008 "A Mad and Faithful Telling" with the help of Craig Schumacher at Wavelab Studios in Tuscon (see the cool video press release from ANTI- below). He's produced some of my favorite artists from recent years (Calexico, M. Ward, Richard Buckner and Neko Case to name a few), adding a desert-inspired, feverish shimmer to the record.
Sound
Sidestepping all the Eastern Euro-gypsy-mariachi-desert noir lingo, this is what I hear:
Sweeping strings sing and dual mariachi horns blare, like a wide angle sepia-toned photo of flat arid land as far as the eye can see...
... And then the sousaphone stomps into view on the tune "Twenty Six Temptations" like a hairy Hungarian strongman lifting a 300 dumbbell in one hand while grabbing the song by the scruff of the neck and tossing it to and fro with the other hand.
... And then the accordion sweeps you off you're feet in a song like "Strizzalo" with Parisian street busker flair.
But the real gem at the heart of DeVotchKa is the songwriting: sweet and sad and longing for a homeland that's anywhere but here. Flesh of my flesh/Soul of my soul/Come back home sings Nick Urata on "Dearly Departed" in his high-pitched plaintive voice.
One listen to Urata's voice and his crystal clear songwriting, and you're transported into his world of doe-eyed longing for the places you've been and a sense of wonder for the small things surrounding you now. DeVotchKa's music is about movement, not only the journey through the dizzying array of genres they inhabit, but the inherent feeling of missing places you've never seen.
Lineup
Nick Urata: Vocals, guitars, piano, Theremin, trumpet
Jeanie Schroder: acoustic bass, sousaphone, vocals
Shawn King: drums, percussion, trumpet
Tom Hagerman: violin, accordion, piano
Clips
Here's a live clip featuring the song "The Enemy Guns" from Twist & Shout, a record store in the band's hometown of Denver:
"Along the way" live at a SXSW showcase last year in a clip produced by their record label:
Another clip produced by the label, on the making of their last album:
Friday, January 30, 2009
Coachella Lite
Coachella just announced the official lineup. The first thing that stands out: Paul McCartney? Another out of touch artist tries to use Coachella as a comeback kickoff, a la Madonna a few years ago. I would rather he show up and play an acoustic set in a tent rather than try to claim headliner status.
Glad to see SD represented by the excellent Night Marchers. I'm intrigued by Patton & Rahzel, Glasvegas, Los Campesinos!, Okkervil River and what exactly is Shepard Fairey doing? But is there a bona fide, cant'-miss headliner? I don't think so. I'm hoping a bunch of bands swing through SD before or after, so we get to check the bands without the dust, heat and crowds (and high tix prices). And I get to sleep in my own bed. Wait, I'm starting to sound old and boring. I hope they add a Wilco/Pixies/Jane's Addiction/Smiths/Led Zepp-type of band, or maybe a couple so I want to go this amazing festival in the desert. Do the organizers really think The Killers can headline Saturday night?
Here it is:
FRIDAY APRIL 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.
Tickets for COACHELLA go on sale Friday, January 30 at 9:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations. Three-day weekend passes are $269.00 +$3 charity + $9 facility fee ($1 charity/$3 facility fee per day) and single day tickets are $99.00 +$1 charity + $3 facility fee. The same layaway plan that Goldenvoice successfully implemented for STAGECOACH: California’s Country Music Festival will be available for weekend passes ONLY for this year’s COACHELLA. Festival goers now have the option to purchase 3-day festival tickets and onsite camping tickets on a payment plan.
Glad to see SD represented by the excellent Night Marchers. I'm intrigued by Patton & Rahzel, Glasvegas, Los Campesinos!, Okkervil River and what exactly is Shepard Fairey doing? But is there a bona fide, cant'-miss headliner? I don't think so. I'm hoping a bunch of bands swing through SD before or after, so we get to check the bands without the dust, heat and crowds (and high tix prices). And I get to sleep in my own bed. Wait, I'm starting to sound old and boring. I hope they add a Wilco/Pixies/Jane's Addiction/Smiths/Led Zepp-type of band, or maybe a couple so I want to go this amazing festival in the desert. Do the organizers really think The Killers can headline Saturday night?
Here it is:
FRIDAY APRIL 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.
Tickets for COACHELLA go on sale Friday, January 30 at 9:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations. Three-day weekend passes are $269.00 +$3 charity + $9 facility fee ($1 charity/$3 facility fee per day) and single day tickets are $99.00 +$1 charity + $3 facility fee. The same layaway plan that Goldenvoice successfully implemented for STAGECOACH: California’s Country Music Festival will be available for weekend passes ONLY for this year’s COACHELLA. Festival goers now have the option to purchase 3-day festival tickets and onsite camping tickets on a payment plan.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Eyes on the horizon: SD spotlight shows
Here are a couple of San Diego shows I'm looking forward to in the near future:
Ozomatli with Chali 2na
Three nights at the Belly Up
Why it's important: Reuniting with MC Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) represents a much-needed return to this seminal SoCal rock en espanol band's roots.
Show: Jan. 22-24
Devotchka
Totally rocked Street Scene last year
Belly Up
Why it's important: Great songwriting embedded in Eastern European and mariachi desert noir bittersweet music
Show: Feb. 4
The Bird and the Bee
Inara George (Lowell George's daughter) sings sweet indie pop with Greg Kurstin (Geggy Tah)
The Casbah
Why it's important: One of the freshest voices in indie pop
Show: Feb. 5
Andrew Bird
My favorite singer songwriter from the past few years
SOMA
Why it's important: Multi-faceted classical musician skilled with violin, guitar, voice and his world-class whistling skills
Show: Feb. 15
Hank Williams III
A REAL maverick
4th&B
Why it's important: Master of all styles country from traditional twang to hellbilly, 'III' is touring on a new album
Show: Feb. 24
Ozomatli with Chali 2na
Three nights at the Belly Up
Why it's important: Reuniting with MC Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) represents a much-needed return to this seminal SoCal rock en espanol band's roots.
Show: Jan. 22-24
Devotchka
Totally rocked Street Scene last year
Belly Up
Why it's important: Great songwriting embedded in Eastern European and mariachi desert noir bittersweet music
Show: Feb. 4
The Bird and the Bee
Inara George (Lowell George's daughter) sings sweet indie pop with Greg Kurstin (Geggy Tah)
The Casbah
Why it's important: One of the freshest voices in indie pop
Show: Feb. 5
Andrew Bird
My favorite singer songwriter from the past few years
SOMA
Why it's important: Multi-faceted classical musician skilled with violin, guitar, voice and his world-class whistling skills
Show: Feb. 15
Hank Williams III
A REAL maverick
4th&B
Why it's important: Master of all styles country from traditional twang to hellbilly, 'III' is touring on a new album
Show: Feb. 24
Monday, January 19, 2009
M-A-C-E-O: Shake Everything You Got
Let's stay on the funk tip and hang with Mr. Maceo Parker for a while. This clip features "Shake Everything You Got," a Maceo staple recorded for a live DVD titled "My First Name is Maceo." This is a great clip with the original Horny Horns (James Brown's legendary horn section): Fred Wesley on trombone (giving an amazing solo that sounds like butter sliding off hot mashed potatoes), Pee Wee Ellis on tenor and Maceo on alto. I believe this was filmed in '94 (as proven by Maceo's abundance of hair and sideburns). Maceo's brand of funk is much more subtle than JB's, slowly evolving through long jams to create a feeling. I always crack a smile when I listen to live Maceo:
I was sniffing around the Interweb when I came across this bio of Maceo (which happens to quote yours truly):
http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003969/Maceo-Parker.html
Here's the quote:
Throughout the 1990s, Parker continued to tour, record, and collaborate. Parker told Chris Nixon of the San Diego Union-Tribune, "I still love the work, I love my job and I love the people. At the same time, it gets a few bills paid as well."
Here's the article I wrote:
http://chrisnix.blogspot.com/2004/01/father-of-funk-sax-and-ghostly-country.html
I'll try to post a few soundclips from the interview in the next day or two.
Lastly, a non-music related note. My wife and I are attempting our second half marathon next Sunday in Carlsbad. I think our training looked a little something like this:
I was sniffing around the Interweb when I came across this bio of Maceo (which happens to quote yours truly):
http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003969/Maceo-Parker.html
Here's the quote:
Throughout the 1990s, Parker continued to tour, record, and collaborate. Parker told Chris Nixon of the San Diego Union-Tribune, "I still love the work, I love my job and I love the people. At the same time, it gets a few bills paid as well."
Here's the article I wrote:
http://chrisnix.blogspot.com/2004/01/father-of-funk-sax-and-ghostly-country.html
I'll try to post a few soundclips from the interview in the next day or two.
Lastly, a non-music related note. My wife and I are attempting our second half marathon next Sunday in Carlsbad. I think our training looked a little something like this:
Friday, January 16, 2009
Video du jour: Godfather teaches you his moves
I love this kitschy little clip of James hamming it up for the camera.
Here's another JB clip I love:
That's JB at the Olympia in Paris circa 1971. Bootsy Collins on bass, Bobby Byrd on organ, and that's a ripping trombone solo by Fred Wesley. The only thing that could make this better is a hot Maceo solo (but he wasn't on this date). Awesome, awesome band at their peak.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Boom Boom's in town
Tony Hawk brings his Huckjam to the Q
By Chris Nixon
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
After six years of touring the states and spreading the gospel of skateboarding to all corners of the country, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam continues to showcase the lighthearted side of skating, BMX and FMX (motocross) in a noncompetitive environment.
But what is this Boom Boom Huckjam, and how did it get its unusual name?
Tour namesake Hawk explained while on the road somewhere in the Midwest, his 2-month-old baby girl, Kadence, sitting on his lap as he talked: “We use the term 'hucking' to refer to launching ourselves in the air. And it's a 'jam' as opposed to a competition. And I just threw the 'boom boom' in there for a little Japanese kitsch flavor.”
Basically, the Boom Boom Huckjam is a chance for Hawk to hang out and skate with a bunch of his professional skater friends, spreading the joys of hucking throughout the land. The tour is a culmination of Hawk's 26 years as a pro skater, giving credence to his status as the Tiger Woods of action sports.
Hawk started his journey as a skateboarding icon in the local community of Tierrasanta. His dad, Frank, was in the Navy, and the skinny kid found an outlet for his energy and high level of focus in skateboarding.
“It wasn't cliché California, because it wasn't like we got to go to the beach all the time,” recalled the 40-year-old Hawk. “But the fact that there was support for skateboarding back when it wasn't an acceptable activity for kids was pretty major. There were skate parks and my dad was supportive, if I had lived somewhere else, I wouldn't have that support.”
Since his days learning moves in the few local skate parks in the early '80s, Hawk has transformed himself into the face of action sports (skating, snowboarding, motocross and BMX). He has clothing lines and video games and all the accouterments of top-echelon sports celebrities.
But the accolades mean nothing without the cred, and Hawk has earned his street credibility through gold medals at the X-Games and achieving the previously unachievable in skating.
The legendary Dogtown team sponsored him at age 12. He was pro by age 14. He owned his first house at age 17. During his 17 years as a pro skateboarder, Hawk entered 103 pro contests. He won 73 of them, and placed second in 19. He landed the first 900 (2.5 revolutions) in competition during the 1999 X-Games, and has climbed over every hurdle offered by his sport.
Every athlete has to make decisions in their career about when to hang it up. In the afterglow of the 900 at the X-Games, Hawk decided to step away from competition.
But the drive and focus that propelled the skater to the top of his sport kept his creative juices flowing, and Hawk couldn't stay still for long. Hence, the Boom Boom Huckjam.
“Basically, I stopped competing after '99 and I really enjoyed performing still,” said Hawk. “It felt like the only time I got to perform at big venues was on the coattails of some other big events: a concert tour or a halftime show. It was never focused on what we did. I felt like we had come far enough and had the merit to headline our own tour. I just decided I wanted to make a tour exclusively designed around arenas, hire some of the best talent and make a show out of it as opposed to competing.”
Starting in '02 with a one-off show in Las Vegas, the tour has grown into a 30-date annual tour. This year, the Huckjam features skaters Hawk, Jesse Fritsch, Kevin Staab, Neal Hendrix and Sergie Ventura; BMX-ers John Parker, Dennis McCoy and Kevin Robinson; and FMX-ers Sean Nielsen, Greg Garrison and Drake McElroy. Jason Ellis will be your master of ceremonies. Also featured this year are the scratch skills of Mike Relm.
A self-professed DJ nerd who never really skated growing up, Relm has been impressed with Hawk and his work ethic.
“Skating isn't like the Ice Capades, where everything is razor sharp and if you fall it's a rarity,” said Relm. “People fall. It is what it is. They are constantly pushing themselves. And when you do that, you'll fall because you're trying things you've never done before. And he does that at the show.
“He can say: 'I'm Tony Hawk. I'm going to do a perfect run right now.' Bam-bam-bam, do a perfect run and all the kids love him. But he'll do his run and he'll nail most of the tricks. But every once in a while, he'll try stuff and he doesn't quite make it. But he'll keep doing it. He'll even do it while the credits are rolling, until he lands the trick. It's crazy. I think that's great for the kids to see.”
Tony Hawk's fond memories of Boom Boom
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
Cue the string quartet – Tony Hawk is going down memory lane. Actually, scratch that. Hawk isn't the melodramatic type. But he does have a few choice memories from the past six years of Huckjams.
“The tour keeps evolving, but definitely there are highlights for me,” said Hawk. “One highlight was our very first show, our sort of test show in Vegas in '02. We had Shawn White come out at the last minute as our special guest rookie. And you know how far he's come since then, so that was pretty cool.”
And here's another from the Hawk archive: “One of my favorite memories was from our first tour year in '03, we had Devo play at our San Diego show. Devo is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I'd never seen them live before. And they're playing our tour. It was like Spicoli throwing the birthday party for himself with Van Halen.”
– CHRIS NIXON
Mike Relm: Scratch DJing with eye candy
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
“I never skated,” admitted DJ Mike Relm, the resident audio and video technician for this year's Boom Boom Huckjam tour. “I was a hardcore DJ nerd. Once I got turntables, I've had blinders on since.”
Sporting his trademark horned-rimmed glasses along with the old school skinny tie and Men in Black/Reservoir Dogs black suit, the Bay Area DJ continues to redefine the boundaries of scratch DJing. With a playful party vibe, the mix master takes scratching to the next dimension: video.
Juggling pop culture clips from films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Office Space,” quirky obscurities like “Pee-wee's Playhouse” theme and old Lucha Libre videos, random kitsch from the likes of “Napoleon Dynamite” and forgotten '80s groups like The Outfield, Relm literally scratches video.
Here's how it goes down at a Mike Relm show: While the DJ scratches traditional turntables, DVD and CDs, a large screen shows synced images bouncing to and fro: everything from Bjork hopping about in her video “Human Behavior” and the “Peanuts” characters dancing to the sounds of Vince Guaraldi's classic soundtrack to mash-ups of Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” and Jimi Hendrix's “Fire.”
His original style has led to gigs with Lyrics Born, Money Mark, Gift of Gab, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and most recently the Blue Man Group, and solo shows at high-profile music fests like Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Bonnaroo.
For Relm, the technique is secondary to keeping the party vibe to his shows: “I did parties for so long that it was always in what I did. But I always scratched. That's for sure what I do. I've seen guys that can scratch better than most of the top-notch DJs. But if you don't have the instinct of playing a party or a show, then it really doesn't sound like much. It comes out sounding technical.
“You have to apply (technique) to entertainment, which is what this is,” continued Relm, speaking from a recent Huckjam tour stop in St. Louis last week. “It's like in skating: You can do all the technical tricks, but if you can't present it as a show, then you're just doing it for yourself.”
Relm adds a live element to the show lacking in year's past, according to tour founder Tony Hawk.
“Once we lost live bands in our show, we basically just had a soundtrack every year,” Hawk said. “That's fine, but I really like the element where he could mix stuff on the fly and change up the show right in the middle of it.
“In the past (when someone took a fall during a run), the music just stopped and we had to wait and figure out what we're going to do next, and now Mike really keeps the flow going.”
Relm is also scheduled for a local solo show Oct. 23 at The Casbah, ($12, casbahmusic.com).
– CHRIS NIXON
By Chris Nixon
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
After six years of touring the states and spreading the gospel of skateboarding to all corners of the country, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam continues to showcase the lighthearted side of skating, BMX and FMX (motocross) in a noncompetitive environment.
But what is this Boom Boom Huckjam, and how did it get its unusual name?
Tour namesake Hawk explained while on the road somewhere in the Midwest, his 2-month-old baby girl, Kadence, sitting on his lap as he talked: “We use the term 'hucking' to refer to launching ourselves in the air. And it's a 'jam' as opposed to a competition. And I just threw the 'boom boom' in there for a little Japanese kitsch flavor.”
Basically, the Boom Boom Huckjam is a chance for Hawk to hang out and skate with a bunch of his professional skater friends, spreading the joys of hucking throughout the land. The tour is a culmination of Hawk's 26 years as a pro skater, giving credence to his status as the Tiger Woods of action sports.
Hawk started his journey as a skateboarding icon in the local community of Tierrasanta. His dad, Frank, was in the Navy, and the skinny kid found an outlet for his energy and high level of focus in skateboarding.
“It wasn't cliché California, because it wasn't like we got to go to the beach all the time,” recalled the 40-year-old Hawk. “But the fact that there was support for skateboarding back when it wasn't an acceptable activity for kids was pretty major. There were skate parks and my dad was supportive, if I had lived somewhere else, I wouldn't have that support.”
Since his days learning moves in the few local skate parks in the early '80s, Hawk has transformed himself into the face of action sports (skating, snowboarding, motocross and BMX). He has clothing lines and video games and all the accouterments of top-echelon sports celebrities.
But the accolades mean nothing without the cred, and Hawk has earned his street credibility through gold medals at the X-Games and achieving the previously unachievable in skating.
DETAILS
Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: AEG Live Concerts on the Green, Qualcomm Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley
Tickets: $24.75-$39
Phone: (619) 641-3100
Online: ticketmaster.com
The legendary Dogtown team sponsored him at age 12. He was pro by age 14. He owned his first house at age 17. During his 17 years as a pro skateboarder, Hawk entered 103 pro contests. He won 73 of them, and placed second in 19. He landed the first 900 (2.5 revolutions) in competition during the 1999 X-Games, and has climbed over every hurdle offered by his sport.
Every athlete has to make decisions in their career about when to hang it up. In the afterglow of the 900 at the X-Games, Hawk decided to step away from competition.
But the drive and focus that propelled the skater to the top of his sport kept his creative juices flowing, and Hawk couldn't stay still for long. Hence, the Boom Boom Huckjam.
“Basically, I stopped competing after '99 and I really enjoyed performing still,” said Hawk. “It felt like the only time I got to perform at big venues was on the coattails of some other big events: a concert tour or a halftime show. It was never focused on what we did. I felt like we had come far enough and had the merit to headline our own tour. I just decided I wanted to make a tour exclusively designed around arenas, hire some of the best talent and make a show out of it as opposed to competing.”
Starting in '02 with a one-off show in Las Vegas, the tour has grown into a 30-date annual tour. This year, the Huckjam features skaters Hawk, Jesse Fritsch, Kevin Staab, Neal Hendrix and Sergie Ventura; BMX-ers John Parker, Dennis McCoy and Kevin Robinson; and FMX-ers Sean Nielsen, Greg Garrison and Drake McElroy. Jason Ellis will be your master of ceremonies. Also featured this year are the scratch skills of Mike Relm.
A self-professed DJ nerd who never really skated growing up, Relm has been impressed with Hawk and his work ethic.
“Skating isn't like the Ice Capades, where everything is razor sharp and if you fall it's a rarity,” said Relm. “People fall. It is what it is. They are constantly pushing themselves. And when you do that, you'll fall because you're trying things you've never done before. And he does that at the show.
“He can say: 'I'm Tony Hawk. I'm going to do a perfect run right now.' Bam-bam-bam, do a perfect run and all the kids love him. But he'll do his run and he'll nail most of the tricks. But every once in a while, he'll try stuff and he doesn't quite make it. But he'll keep doing it. He'll even do it while the credits are rolling, until he lands the trick. It's crazy. I think that's great for the kids to see.”
Tony Hawk's fond memories of Boom Boom
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
Cue the string quartet – Tony Hawk is going down memory lane. Actually, scratch that. Hawk isn't the melodramatic type. But he does have a few choice memories from the past six years of Huckjams.
“The tour keeps evolving, but definitely there are highlights for me,” said Hawk. “One highlight was our very first show, our sort of test show in Vegas in '02. We had Shawn White come out at the last minute as our special guest rookie. And you know how far he's come since then, so that was pretty cool.”
And here's another from the Hawk archive: “One of my favorite memories was from our first tour year in '03, we had Devo play at our San Diego show. Devo is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I'd never seen them live before. And they're playing our tour. It was like Spicoli throwing the birthday party for himself with Van Halen.”
– CHRIS NIXON
Mike Relm: Scratch DJing with eye candy
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
“I never skated,” admitted DJ Mike Relm, the resident audio and video technician for this year's Boom Boom Huckjam tour. “I was a hardcore DJ nerd. Once I got turntables, I've had blinders on since.”
Sporting his trademark horned-rimmed glasses along with the old school skinny tie and Men in Black/Reservoir Dogs black suit, the Bay Area DJ continues to redefine the boundaries of scratch DJing. With a playful party vibe, the mix master takes scratching to the next dimension: video.
Juggling pop culture clips from films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Office Space,” quirky obscurities like “Pee-wee's Playhouse” theme and old Lucha Libre videos, random kitsch from the likes of “Napoleon Dynamite” and forgotten '80s groups like The Outfield, Relm literally scratches video.
Here's how it goes down at a Mike Relm show: While the DJ scratches traditional turntables, DVD and CDs, a large screen shows synced images bouncing to and fro: everything from Bjork hopping about in her video “Human Behavior” and the “Peanuts” characters dancing to the sounds of Vince Guaraldi's classic soundtrack to mash-ups of Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” and Jimi Hendrix's “Fire.”
His original style has led to gigs with Lyrics Born, Money Mark, Gift of Gab, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and most recently the Blue Man Group, and solo shows at high-profile music fests like Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Bonnaroo.
For Relm, the technique is secondary to keeping the party vibe to his shows: “I did parties for so long that it was always in what I did. But I always scratched. That's for sure what I do. I've seen guys that can scratch better than most of the top-notch DJs. But if you don't have the instinct of playing a party or a show, then it really doesn't sound like much. It comes out sounding technical.
“You have to apply (technique) to entertainment, which is what this is,” continued Relm, speaking from a recent Huckjam tour stop in St. Louis last week. “It's like in skating: You can do all the technical tricks, but if you can't present it as a show, then you're just doing it for yourself.”
Relm adds a live element to the show lacking in year's past, according to tour founder Tony Hawk.
“Once we lost live bands in our show, we basically just had a soundtrack every year,” Hawk said. “That's fine, but I really like the element where he could mix stuff on the fly and change up the show right in the middle of it.
“In the past (when someone took a fall during a run), the music just stopped and we had to wait and figure out what we're going to do next, and now Mike really keeps the flow going.”
Relm is also scheduled for a local solo show Oct. 23 at The Casbah, ($12, casbahmusic.com).
– CHRIS NIXON
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A pair of 'kindred spirits'
Twist of fate linked Marc Brueland, Tuomas Holopainen – and created a life-affirming friendship
By Chris Nixon
May 22, 2008
“Higher than hope my cure lies,” reads the gravestone of Marc Christopher Brueland, a San Diego DJ, artist and animator who passed away in 2003 after battling liver cancer for seven and a half years.
In a strange twist of fate, three disparate elements have combined to create a powerful story: a British cartoon from the 1980s, a Finnish metal band and Brueland's battle with cancer. The story has inspired a song, numerous YouTube video tributes and music fans around the world.
Brueland grew up in Tierrasanta, a kid fascinated with both music and art. He started his own comic book company, Invincible Studios, and later worked as an animator for The Lightspan Partnership, a local computer animation studio.
Brueland also DJed every Saturday night at Club Sabbatt, a goth/industrial club in Hillcrest. At age 22, he was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer, fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
During his formative years, Brueland fell in love with a 26-minute, animated piece called “The Snowman.” First shown on the BBC, the cartoon includes the haunting song “Walking in the Air,” which reached No. 5 on the United Kingdom pop charts in 1985.
Halfway around the world from San Diego, the young Tuomas Holopainen watched the animated film at his home in Finland. In 1996, the musician formed Nightwish, a Finnish prog-metal band. On its 1998 album “Oceanborn,” the group covered “Walking in the Air” from “The Snowman.”
Brueland discovered the song on a compilation he found at Tower Records in San Diego. Marc's mother, Georgene, remembers the day Marc brought home the compilation: “The music brought us together as a family once again as it did in Marc's childhood, especially at this difficult time in Marc's life.”
Says Marc's sister Erin: “It was one of those moments that just changes you forever. It was just fate or chance that he found the song on a compilation.”
Over the next four years, Holopainen would get to know the Brueland family through correspondence and visiting San Diego. Each time the musician visited San Diego, Marc was too ill to meet him. Terminally ill with cancer, Marc decided he finally needed to meet Tuomas.
So the Brueland family traveled to Atlanta to see Nightwish perform “Walking in the Air” onstage at the ProgPower festival.
“When he flew to Atlanta, he had metastasis all over his abdomen and all over his lungs,” remembered Georgene. “He was in severe pain. But he wanted to do this for Tuomas and for the band. I'll never forget the flight there. It was terrifying for me as a mom to watch, because his body was wracked with this disease. But that's the kind of person Marc was.”
In front of thousands of fans at the ProgPower V festival, Nightwish performed with the Brueland family watching from the wings. Before launching into the song, Tuomas dedicated “Walking in the Air” to Marc. Even in his weakened condition, Brueland was able to get out of his wheelchair and walk to the stage to hug Tuomas.
A month later, as Marc Brueland lay on his deathbed at the San Diego Hospice, Erin and Georgene called Tuomas so he could say goodbye to Marc. Georgene thought to call the Finnish musician: “Tuomas was on the phone with Marc a few minutes before he died.”
Erin added; “We called Tuomas from the hospice just so he could say goodbye. Marc couldn't talk. He was wheezing from all the fluid in his lungs. But Tuomas got to hear him breathe.”
Touched by Marc's life, Holopainen wrote the song “Higher Than Hope” as a tribute. The song includes an excerpt of Marc's voice recorded in an interview with local television reporter Sandra Moss for News 8 KFMB. Brueland's gravestone inscription is the chorus in “Higher Than Hope.”
In the years following Marc's death, the Brueland and Holopainen families have become more intertwined. The friendship between the families has helped Erin and Georgene cope with the passing of Marc's father, Eric, also from cancer, in 2007. Tuomas' parents Kitia and Pentti were in San Diego when Eric passed away.
“To this day, Tuomas has joined our family,” Georgene said. “I lost my husband now. So there's nobody left but Erin and I. We have an adopted family now in another country. And the kinship of these metal fans is so loving.”
Nightwish will be playing its first show in San Diego tomorrow at the House of Blues downtown, and it's going to be a special night for the friends and family of Marc Brueland.
“They're two kindred spirits that met just the one time, but their story has really touched everybody who hears it,” said Erin Brueland. “The fans of Nightwish still remember him. They still talk about him on the forum of the Web site. When we go to gigs all over the country, people know who we are and they remember Marc.
“That's why it's a very special day when they finally play his hometown. We've been waiting for this forever. It's really a celebration of Marc and the band.”
Georgene Brueland said it best: “This is a beautiful thing that came out of a horrible tragedy.”
MARC WAS ALWAYS A HEAVY METAL FAN
Drawing inspiration from fantasy novels like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Dragonlance series, Holopainen creates fantastic imagery in his lyrics.
The band is currently touring behind its 2007 release, “Dark Passion Play.” Tomorrow's show at the House of Blues will be the band's first appearance in San Diego.
Erin Brueland on Nightwish's musical appeal to her family: “Marc (her brother) was always a heavy metal fan. And this European style of symphonic metal, with the orchestra and the female vocals, was somewhat new to us at the time. We got the best introduction to it with Nightwish.”
The Nightwish lineup includes Holopainen (keyboards, vocals), Anette Olzon (vocals), Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen (guitar), Marko “Marco” Hietala (bass, vocals) and Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen (drums).
Learn more about Marc Brueland at invinciblestudios.com and see more photos of Brueland and Nightwish at invinciblestudios.com/marcphotos.html.
By Chris Nixon
May 22, 2008
“Higher than hope my cure lies,” reads the gravestone of Marc Christopher Brueland, a San Diego DJ, artist and animator who passed away in 2003 after battling liver cancer for seven and a half years.
In a strange twist of fate, three disparate elements have combined to create a powerful story: a British cartoon from the 1980s, a Finnish metal band and Brueland's battle with cancer. The story has inspired a song, numerous YouTube video tributes and music fans around the world.
Brueland grew up in Tierrasanta, a kid fascinated with both music and art. He started his own comic book company, Invincible Studios, and later worked as an animator for The Lightspan Partnership, a local computer animation studio.
Brueland also DJed every Saturday night at Club Sabbatt, a goth/industrial club in Hillcrest. At age 22, he was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer, fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
DETAILS
Nightwish
When: Tomorrow, 9 p.m.
Where: House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., downtown
Tickets: $25-$60
Phone: (619) 299-2583
Online: hob.com
During his formative years, Brueland fell in love with a 26-minute, animated piece called “The Snowman.” First shown on the BBC, the cartoon includes the haunting song “Walking in the Air,” which reached No. 5 on the United Kingdom pop charts in 1985.
Halfway around the world from San Diego, the young Tuomas Holopainen watched the animated film at his home in Finland. In 1996, the musician formed Nightwish, a Finnish prog-metal band. On its 1998 album “Oceanborn,” the group covered “Walking in the Air” from “The Snowman.”
Brueland discovered the song on a compilation he found at Tower Records in San Diego. Marc's mother, Georgene, remembers the day Marc brought home the compilation: “The music brought us together as a family once again as it did in Marc's childhood, especially at this difficult time in Marc's life.”
Says Marc's sister Erin: “It was one of those moments that just changes you forever. It was just fate or chance that he found the song on a compilation.”
Over the next four years, Holopainen would get to know the Brueland family through correspondence and visiting San Diego. Each time the musician visited San Diego, Marc was too ill to meet him. Terminally ill with cancer, Marc decided he finally needed to meet Tuomas.
So the Brueland family traveled to Atlanta to see Nightwish perform “Walking in the Air” onstage at the ProgPower festival.
“When he flew to Atlanta, he had metastasis all over his abdomen and all over his lungs,” remembered Georgene. “He was in severe pain. But he wanted to do this for Tuomas and for the band. I'll never forget the flight there. It was terrifying for me as a mom to watch, because his body was wracked with this disease. But that's the kind of person Marc was.”
In front of thousands of fans at the ProgPower V festival, Nightwish performed with the Brueland family watching from the wings. Before launching into the song, Tuomas dedicated “Walking in the Air” to Marc. Even in his weakened condition, Brueland was able to get out of his wheelchair and walk to the stage to hug Tuomas.
A month later, as Marc Brueland lay on his deathbed at the San Diego Hospice, Erin and Georgene called Tuomas so he could say goodbye to Marc. Georgene thought to call the Finnish musician: “Tuomas was on the phone with Marc a few minutes before he died.”
Erin added; “We called Tuomas from the hospice just so he could say goodbye. Marc couldn't talk. He was wheezing from all the fluid in his lungs. But Tuomas got to hear him breathe.”
Touched by Marc's life, Holopainen wrote the song “Higher Than Hope” as a tribute. The song includes an excerpt of Marc's voice recorded in an interview with local television reporter Sandra Moss for News 8 KFMB. Brueland's gravestone inscription is the chorus in “Higher Than Hope.”
In the years following Marc's death, the Brueland and Holopainen families have become more intertwined. The friendship between the families has helped Erin and Georgene cope with the passing of Marc's father, Eric, also from cancer, in 2007. Tuomas' parents Kitia and Pentti were in San Diego when Eric passed away.
“To this day, Tuomas has joined our family,” Georgene said. “I lost my husband now. So there's nobody left but Erin and I. We have an adopted family now in another country. And the kinship of these metal fans is so loving.”
Nightwish will be playing its first show in San Diego tomorrow at the House of Blues downtown, and it's going to be a special night for the friends and family of Marc Brueland.
“They're two kindred spirits that met just the one time, but their story has really touched everybody who hears it,” said Erin Brueland. “The fans of Nightwish still remember him. They still talk about him on the forum of the Web site. When we go to gigs all over the country, people know who we are and they remember Marc.
“That's why it's a very special day when they finally play his hometown. We've been waiting for this forever. It's really a celebration of Marc and the band.”
Georgene Brueland said it best: “This is a beautiful thing that came out of a horrible tragedy.”
MARC WAS ALWAYS A HEAVY METAL FAN
Drawing inspiration from fantasy novels like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Dragonlance series, Holopainen creates fantastic imagery in his lyrics.
The band is currently touring behind its 2007 release, “Dark Passion Play.” Tomorrow's show at the House of Blues will be the band's first appearance in San Diego.
Erin Brueland on Nightwish's musical appeal to her family: “Marc (her brother) was always a heavy metal fan. And this European style of symphonic metal, with the orchestra and the female vocals, was somewhat new to us at the time. We got the best introduction to it with Nightwish.”
The Nightwish lineup includes Holopainen (keyboards, vocals), Anette Olzon (vocals), Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen (guitar), Marko “Marco” Hietala (bass, vocals) and Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen (drums).
Learn more about Marc Brueland at invinciblestudios.com and see more photos of Brueland and Nightwish at invinciblestudios.com/marcphotos.html.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)