Flashback 2015: The Devon Allman Band Rips Up Coach House

DEVON ALLMAN BAND

DEVON ALLMAN BAND played The Coach House Sep. 9

With all live concerts on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to re-run this Devon Allman concert review from 2015:

There was a moment on Wednesday night at The Coach House, when bluesman Devon Allman (yes, of those Allmans) left the stage, wandered through the crowd, ordered a drink, came back on stage, took a swig, launched into a towering solo. The crowd may have come out of curiosity, wanting to see if Gregg Allman’s son has any chops, or because they were fans of his dad’s old band, but in that moment, it was clear the people in the crowd were going to leave as fans of Devon Allman.

Allman took to the stage all in black, and used the same guitar the entire show. His band also has an understated presence. They’re unassuming looking guys, but boy do they know how to play. Students and purveyors of the blues, they ripped the lid off of one song after the next, ranging from Allman’s days in Honeytribe and Royal Southern Brotherhood, to his solo albums and covers.

The opener, “Half the Truth” off of Allman’s latest album, Ragged and Dirty, set the tone for the night. A real southern foot-stomper with a menacing guitar riff, it got the crowd’s attention. It wasn’t until the fourth song, an instrumental jam that Devon really began to show his stuff. He put on a clinic, making the guitar shudder and cry. He brought it down to a whisper, then rammed it back up again, looking out at the audience as if to say, “What about this?” The kid came to play.

Showing respect for blues hero Eric Clapton, the band played an impressive cover of “Forever Man,” and even payed tribute to Allman’s heritage with wonderful covers of “Melissa,” and “One Way Out,” a blues standard made famous by the Allman Brothers Band in the 70’s. Interestingly, it was the band’s cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” that was the real showstopper. The iconic song had everyone swaying, and the band played it with just as much soul as the original. Bobby Schneck Jr., the band’s other guitar player played one of those solos that could make you cry, then Allman brought it home with a solo that went so quiet, he had the crowd hanging on every twitch of this finger.

The band played until midnight, taking a short break which thinned out the crowd to nearly half, making the small setting even more intimate, and appropriately bluesy. The band closed with “Midnight Lake Michigan,” a “spooky blues” instrumental track that Allman introduced by addressing the crowd, saying, “Thank you for supporting real music, made by real people, not drum machines and robots.” The crowd hooted in approval, as Allman made his way through the crowd mid-song, shaking hands and playing another transcendent solo. If you want to see a great guitar player, go see Devon Allman.

Flashback 2017: Mike Peters Presents The Alarm

MIKE PETERS presents THE ALARM Jul 9 Belly Up, Jul 11 The Concert Lounge, Jul 12 The Coach House; photo James Christopher

MIKE PETERS presents THE ALARM Jul 9 Belly Up, Jul 11 The Concert Lounge, Jul 12 The Coach House; photo James Christopher

Mike Peters, or The Alarm, or Mike Peters presents The Alarm, how ever you want to put it, the music has been saying it all since the 80s. Three SoCal dates are on the books for July so we thought we’d re-run an interview with Mike from 2017.

The Alarm have been crazy busy in America this summer with a ton of live shows including dates on Vans Warped Tour as well as their own headlining gigs not to mention a new documentary.

“It’s great, we love being on tour and playing our music,” founding member, Mike Peters said. “We’re lucky to be alive and playing music in 2017.”

With a multitude of dates in SoCal, it’s The Coach House that Peters has a great affinity with in Orange County.

Mike Peters/The Alarm; photo James Christopher

Mike Peters/The Alarm; photo James Christopher

“It’s a special place in some ways ‘cause it’s where the last Alarm gig with the original lineup took place,” Peters recalled. “The audiences have come with all the changes that have gone on and rallied round and supported me as a solo artist and have been there for me. It’s a bit of a home away from home.”

This time The Alarm is performing as a full band with Peters’ sons helping the crew with the show and setting up equipment.

“They’re on the summer holidays and they’re both musicians,” Peters mentioned. “They’re having an amazing time. They’re loving it.”

Vans Warped Tour has a certain reputation of bands and genres that at first glance seemed at odds with a group such as The Alarm. However, the audiences have been very receptive, and they’ve increased their social media followers.

“It’s been a challenge, of course, but we’re still a modern band and can mix it up,” Peters explained. “It’s breathed a lot of life blood into the group.

Jules Peters/The Alarm; photo James Christopher

Jules Peters/The Alarm; photo James Christopher

“Seeing how young bands play and react in modern times has been good for us. It’s never good to re-tread old ground. It’s always great to take up challenges. And I’m sure the Vans Warped Tour will really inform the future of the group and keep us relevant. It keeps us in the modern context which is what we always strive for.”

For a band that first toured America in 1983, creating a 25-minute set out of their huge wealth of music required great discipline.

“It’s a really good opportunity for us to get together and think about how we put our music across and I think we came up with a great set,” Peters said. “We get 11 or 12 songs in, a really good representation of where we came from. It comes over great as far as I’m concerned.”

Peters often refers to a 1976 Sex Pistols concert and hearing “Anarchy in The U.K.” as inspiration for wanting to learn how to make music himself.

“I got a guitar from a guy that my sister was going out with and he showed me how to play a couple of chords and I never looked back,” Peters recalled. “I just played along to records in my bedroom and tried to go see bands when I could.

Mike Peters/The Alarm; photo James Christopher

Mike Peters/The Alarm; photo James Christopher

“I grew up on glam rock – David Bowie, Marc Bolan and TREX, Slade, Sweet, those kind of bands in Britain. And when it became Punk rock it was The Clash, The Pistols, Joy Division, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Buzzcocks. The purest song would be a three-minute punk rock single, that was what I loved the best.”

Today, the songwriting is inspired by his life and what he’s been through. Both Peters and his wife are Cancer survivors and he has been living with leukemia for 21 years.

“Music has kept me strong, kept me one step ahead of the disease and allowed me to become a father and a musician. I have a charity called Love, Hope, Strength, we give a lot back through that to society and like I said, I’m very lucky to be alive and play music in 2017.”

When it comes to the actual songwriting, it’s usually the music that comes before the lyrics. But it’s all jumpstarted by a phrase.

“Somebody says something to you or you read something or hear something and that triggers something in your imagination that makes you want to say something and that becomes the title and then the lyrics flow from there.

“I think after you have a phrase then the music instantly follows. You can hear it all in your imagination straight away just because you’ve given birth to it.”

Following the exposure Peters has enjoyed being around a lot of modern bands and seeing a little bit of what’s going on with the next generation, Concert Guide Live was curious what sort of advice he had for bands starting out today.

“Stay off the internet. Go underground. Do it with posters and aim at your own audience. Don’t try to be global before you become local.

“If you’re gonna make it, you’re gonna make it. Don’t be on the internet a lot. You’re better off staying off the grid. Be punk rock, go underground, you go dark, people will find you.”

Flashback 2014: Wolfmother Rocks OC Fans At The Observatory

Wolfmother

Wolfmother plays the Observatory July 27

Wolfmother hits The Observatory on July 27 as part of a lengthy world tour to play songs from their innovative first two albums as well as some new hard rock and psychedelic gems from their latest release, “New Crown.”

“We have to play ‘Woman’, ‘Joker’, and ‘Dimension,’ otherwise I think people will be pretty pissed off!” lead singer / guitarist, Andrew Stockdale laughed.

Those songs are all part of the Australian natives self-titled debut album which came out in 2007 with “Woman” receiving a Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance.

Stockdale said their latest album was written to sound good for a band to play live.

“It was all about just trying to get the energy levels to the point where you would be at 9 o’clock at night, going out to a gig with your friends, after 3 or 4 beers, or whatever.

“When you’re in that state, you need a certain type of high-energy, rough around the edges, rock-n-roll that you want to hear, at that time.”

The album came out through Bandcamp and SongCast and has been available on iTunes around the world. It’s been hitting the top 10 on the iTunes rock chart in many countries.

“It’s kind of incredible that we’ve been touring for about seven months around the world and we don’t have a record label,” Stockdale mused.

“Times have changed for music and how people buy music. Things have changed so much in the last 5 years in the music business.”

While Stockdale is trying to make sense of the changes in the music industry he can’t help but notice that more and more people are streaming music and going to You Tube to hear new music. However, checking the number of views a band has on You Tube can be misleading and mind-boggling.

“It just kind of blows me away when I look at a Jimi Hendrix song and it’s only got 50,000 views or something. In my mind he’s like a legend. Then I see some weird Eurovision Soccer theme that’s got like 20 million views. It breaks your heart.”

Following the upcoming tour dates, which will take the band to South Africa and back to Australia, they’re looking at recording another record to release early next year.

In fact, they recently recorded a few songs in Berlin at the band, Kadavars’s studio.

“They’re like a German, stoner-rock, metal rock, sort of groove rock-n-roll band. We just jammed on a few ideas and recorded a couple of songs in their studio,” Stockdale said. “And ate sausages and drank German beer.

“There’s this sausage place out in front of the studio, where they have different levels of chili that you can put on the sausage. They had all these photos of people who’d had the strongest chili.

“This one guy went in and had the strongest chili and the sound he was making whilst he was eating was so disturbing. It sounded like hiccups while he was crying but sort of groaning. It’s pretty weird. “

Joining Stockdale on tour and also on “New Crown” are Ian Peres on bass and keys and Vin Steele on drums.

Sun Worship With Allah-Las (2017 Remembered)

ALLAH-LAS

ALLAH-LAS play Music Box Oct. 18 and The Regent Oct. 21; photo James Christopher

ALLAH-LAS 2017 interview remembered…

Local scenesters Allah-Las play their unique, psychedelic, dream pop at Music Box Oct. 18 and The Regent Oct. 21. The group is known for playing their interpretation of retro 60s rock a la The Troggs, The Standells and The Grass Roots, full of catchy choruses and guitar hooks.

Now with three albums under their belt, the songwriting continues to evolve while hinting at previous influences. Songs such as “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind” and “Don’t You Forget It” are crowd favorites from their self-titled 2012 debut, while newer tracks “Could Be You” and “Famous Phone Figure” are quickly catching on.

Although notoriously a band of few words, Concert Guide Live managed to get a few words out of them in a previous interview prior to the release of Worship The Sun and this is what they had to say:

CGL: It looks like you have a handful of dates lined up so far this year. What else is in the works?
A-L: We’re working on finishing our second record, new songs etc.

CGL: Is there a particular song the band looks forward to playing live and why?
A-L: Yeah. We have some new ones we’re excited to try out live. See how they change and adapt as we play them for an audience.

CGL: How did everyone in the band meet, did some of you meet while working at Amoeba Records?
A-L: Matt (Correia, drums) Miles (Michaud, vocals/guitar), and Spencer (Dunham, bass) went to high school together in Los Angeles. Later on Matt, Spencer and Pedrum (Siadatian, guitar) all worked together at Amoeba. We had a lot of interest in various types of music back then, working at Amoeba allowed us to spend time digging for more.

CGL: What is everyone listening to these days?
A-L: Aww lots of stuff. The search never ends.

CGL: Working with Nick Waterhouse sure seems to be a good fit for your sound. Do you record your songs then give them to him to produce, or do you all collaborate on the production?
A-L: We always work together. I’m sure it’s annoying for Nick to have to listen to us argue our points on the mix but he’s patient. He’s an amazing producer and a great friend.

CGL: What is the status of a new album?
A-L: Should be coming out on a Tuesday sometime.

CGL: it seems like you play quite a bit and all over the place, any good road
stories you can share?
A-L: Nothing to mention really.

CGL: Is there a particular song the band looks forward to playing live and why?
A-L: Yeah. We have some new ones we’re excited to try out live. See how they change and adapt as we play them for an audience.

CGL: How would you describe Allah-Las to someone who isn’t familiar with your music?
A-L: Aww well. I try my best to avoid it and let people decide. We get some pretty funny comparisons though.

Dramarama Does ‘Anything, Anything’ To Rock HOB (2013 Remembered)

Dramarama

Dramarama opens for Berlin at the House of Blues Anaheim Sat., April 13th

JOHN EASDALE / DRAMARAMA 2013 interview remembered… This was one of the very first interviews for Concert Guide Live!

Alternative rock group, Dramarama may have formed in New Jersey, but they call Southern California home and Orange County their base of operations. They will be playing with Berlin at the House of Blues in Anaheim on April 13.

Since this is a co-headlining show, Dramarama won’t be able to do their “Grateful Dead four hour marathon jam” according to vocalist John Easdale. “Unfortunately we’ll have to wait until we have a show all by ourselves.”

They still promise to do an entertaining mix of old and new.

Dramarama have been recording a much anticipated new album for the last couple of years. It will be ready to go after some final mastering and artwork touches. “We’re hoping to get it out before the end of the year but we were hoping that last year, too,” Easdale said.

With the internet, many artists self-release their material. “There’s always that option, “said Easdale,
“We’ve been doing it ourselves since our first 45 in 1982.”

“There are a thousand bands selling a million records and a million bands selling a thousand records,” he added.

The mid-80s radio hit “Anything, Anything” seems to have defied time becoming a “classic rock” song in its own right. “It is truly gratifying and rewarding. I wish that every song I wrote had that kind of impact and that people accepted it in the same way,” Easdale said. “My purpose with every song is what happened with that song.”

Three of the original Dramarama members Peter Wood, Mark Englert, and John Easdale continue to be in the band. The other two members bassist, Mike Davis, and drummer Tony Snow, have been part of the group for over fifteen years.

As a final thought, Easdale mentioned, “We hope that the people from the audience have as much fun as we do!”

New Years Eve With A Local Favorite At The Coach House

donavon frankenreiter

Donavon Frankenreiter will ring in the new year at the Coach House Dec. 31

American surf rock musician, Donavon Frankenreiter, ignited his professional life as a surfer initially. He’s also a good friend of fellow surf inspired musician, Jack Johnson, so how much cooler could he get?

Frankenreiter’s debut self-titled album was released on Johnson’s Brushfire Records label through Universal Music in 2004. He will be performing at one of his old local spots The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Dec. 31.

OC Concert Guide questioned Frankenreiter on his musical career, inspirations and future goals.

OCCG: What’s your most favorite part about doing music?
DF: Recording it and playing live and being able to take it where ever I go. I just love that u can play music with anyone anywhere at anytime.

OCCG: Why did you decide to pursue music as a career as opposed to surfing?
DF: I never choose one over the other. I still surf professionally and still make a living surfing with some amazing endorsement’s from Subaru, Billabong, Von Zipper, Sanuk, Hobie surfboards, Tea of a Kind, Martin Guitars, and more. It’s an amazing thing that both music and surfing work so well together. You can surf all day and play music all night; they just help each other for me. In so many ways and I am very happy that I never had to choose one over the other. I don’t know if I could of done that.

OCCG: If you weren’t doing music or surfing, what do you think you’d be doing instead?
DF: I don’t know. I am so full steam ahead with my music and surfing that I haven’t really thought of anything else.

OCCG: Who’s your inspiration when it comes to your sense of style?
DF: My wife has been an inspiration to me on so many levels and on so many things. I am a very lucky man to have met and married such a women.

OCCG: How do you balance out your family life with your work life?
DF: It’s one of those things in my life that I do struggle with. If I am out for more than 3-4 weeks and they are not with me it gets hard for everyone in my family. A lot of times they come with me and those moments are priceless to travel around the world together and share the moments together surfing and playing music.

OCCG: Where would you like to perform that you haven’t yet?
DF: The moon. That would be fun to jam in space and have a gig on the moon.

OCCG: Your mustache has become a part of your iconic look. Why do you think that is?
DF: I am not sure at all, Sanuk Sandals made a look-a-like stick on mustache which really made the whole mustache thing kind of get out of control. They would give them away at my shows. It’s been really fun actually. Who knows, one day I may shave it off, but it will just grow back.

OCCG: Are you happy with where you are today? What do you plan on doing from here on out?
DF: I feel like the luckiest person. I have an amazing wife, two boys and I am just having the best time in my life playing music, surfing, being a dad and husband. It all goes by so fast and you just got to hold on tight and enjoy ever moment!!!!!!!!!

OCCG: What advice do you give to struggling, aspiring musicians out there?
DF: Just have as much fun as possible and keep doing what you love. I truly believe if you are doing what you love that is a success in itself!!

Felov – Runaway EP [Transparent Audio]

Felov cover art

Felov cover art

Materializing seemingly out of thin air, Felov is a rising talent who has been bubbling underneath the surface for a couple of years now. Teasing tracks here and there, he has finally delivered a stellar EP of four fresh tracks straight from the dark side via Transparent Audio. A label revered for pushing the genre to unexplored territories, the Runaway EP firmly showcases why Felov is one to watch.

With a deep haunting atmosphere and enigmatic wisping vocals, “Runaway” quickly sets out to establish the vibe of the release. Using a thick chunky rhythm and a gravity warping bassline, the song charges ahead with the consistent force of a freight train. The hypnotic inflections of the bass growls flow intricately within each element, further solidifying the overwhelming intensity that characterizes this producer’s sound.

“Stimulus” employs the persistent click of a hat, creating a fixed point for the mind to dwell on as the driving force of the kick and snare drift into the track. This is a driving minimalistic track, subtly worming its way to the center of your brain. The ethereal vocals that waft in the stratosphere of this track only adds to the feeling of being whisked away on a ghost ship.

Linking with the man known as Framer, “Sinner” is a foreboding tune that wastes no time in turning you to the dark side. An intricate shuffle pattern dominates the song, precisely designed to get lost in; it counterpoints with the hypnotic vocals effortlessly, and reveals the infinite depths of sound that lay at it’s very core.

The infectious groove of “Tell Me” closes out the release; an intense collab with Sudley, it seduces the listener with a blissful vocal before delivering the menacing growls of distortion that characterize the track. It’s that choppy shifting effect which makes this one for the dancefloor, as the rhythm will instantly put anyone in a feverish trance.

Out now on Beatport, this is not one to sleep on. Cop it now!

Diving Into Mystery with Secret Service LBC and Kaleidoscope Productions

Kaleidoscope Productions

Kaleidoscope Productions

Live music is back! This has led to Secret Service LBC and Kaleidoscope Productions coming together to bring us a massive nights of flavorful beats and smooth grooves. Sal Lopez, a member of Secret Service LBC, and Ryan Dettmer, aka Zereticz and a founding member of Kaleidoscope Productions, took some time to detail the excitement and inner workings of this stellar show.

“I’m an Angeleno, born and raised, and have moved around Los Angeles throughout my life” describes Lopez. “I currently reside in Long Beach and am one of the founding members of Secret Service LBC, which is a Dj/art collective. We all started working around Long Beach and started banding together around 2018. In 2019 we had our first set of events, which went really well until 2020 hit.”

Summer Sessions

Summer Sessions

“Initially what we started doing was random pop ups, hence the “secret” aspect. We stuck with that and the branding just fell I to place. Originally it started with : Freaky Dealt, the project my girlfriend Sierra and I do, Dj Katrina from Russia who has been DJing in long beach for about six years. It just started growing; Jared aka Disco is from San Francisco and has been grandfathered in and also Chad, who goes by Martini, both joined up shortly after. Actually Martini we met at one of our first shows and he was dancing all night. He mentioned he was a DJ so we invited him to the next show and ever since he has been a big part of the team.”

“Nick nelson has also been there from the start,” he elaborates. “He is a producer and hip hop artist/rapper and goes by type one. He is our in house graphic artists who is a really talented filmographer. Anything that has to do with editing he is just a beast at.”

Fostering artistic talent is at the core of this collective. “We like to include artists background and feature them. Whenever we have events we try to have artists bring their work or do a live presentation of their work. In addition, we work with Inspired LBC who does alot of art and is on the city council as well.”

Taking place in Long Beach this very weekend, July 17 between 2-10 pm, this is a show not to be missed. As a day party bleeding into the night, it has everything you could want: groove heavy music, excellent people, the beach, epic visuals, top notch sound, and so much more.

“It’s a really big event on the Belmont shore,” says Dettmer. “We have been getting together with Secret Service to throw events; we met them though festival families that we have been rolling with the last few years. We did a silent disco in a backyard during COVID, and that’s how it all got started. It’s great to be able to work with them and do a show like this.”

Featuring a diverse lineup bringing all the best flavors of tech house and soul house, they have outdone themselves in terms of both the music and visuals and can barely contain their excitement. “It’s a really badass space,” reveals Lopez. “We are going to have two stages: there’s an upstairs room and there’s the open outdoor space. Lupe Fuentes and Lenny Kiser are headlining. Hitta and Suave are from Phoenix, who are up and comers that have been getting picked up by Space Yacht. The Dirtybird artist El Monk is also on this lineup. Finally, we got Zereticz joining us as well along with all the residents mentioned earlier.”

The visuals and overall production are laid out in intricate fashion, perfectly tailored to the vibe of this event. “We have also teamed up with Aftertraxx,” Lopez states, “who does production for EDC and Insomniac, and they are bringing out a whole pioneer rig as well an LED wall! I’m really excited because this place has never had this level of production before.”

“We are super stoked to be doing this event with them, excited to get out on the pier to enjoy some tunes with good friends!” exclaims Dettmer. “The chance to bring our positive Kaleidoscope vibes is an amazing and thrilling one!”

Get out on the beach and get down to some of the best live music you’ve been missing ever since the lockdown!

New Model Army’s Justin Sullivan Announces Solo Album

Surrounded cover art

Surrounded cover art

Justin Sullivan steps out from New Model Army to release his second solo album On May 28th. It comes 18 years after his first solo album — 2003’s Navigating by the Stars.

Surrounded is a collection of 16 new songs written in the first weeks of the 2020 lockdown. These songs are again stunning guitar and vocal compositions highlighting Sullivan’s love of storytelling, wide open landscapes, and unforgettable atmospheres. Pre-order it here.

“The stories of polar (and in particular Antarctic) adventurers at the beginning of the 20th Century have long been a fascination,” Sullivan explains regarding the new single. “On my first solo record, [the song] ‘Ocean Rising’ is, in part, the story of Ernest Shackleton’s epic voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia. The final race to reach the South Pole between Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen is another fascinating tale. Being raised in England, Scott and his ‘noble, tragic’ failure is a story written large in national mythology but the other man, a truly remarkable explorer, is rarely acknowledged. The battle over who gets to tell which version of a story is very relevant in these times of ‘culture wars,’ but the song is more a simple study of the man himself. I hope I have done him justice.”

Mostly recorded at home, Surrounded also features contributions from many other musicians including Jon Thorne on bass (Lamb), Tom Moth (Florence and the Machine and brother of NMA bassist Ceri Monger) on harp, plus string arrangements from composer friends Tobias Unterberg, Henning Nügel, and Shir-Ran Yinon. Also featured are the current members of New Model Army. The album was mixed by Lee Smith, co-producer and mixer of New Model Army’s recent albums, including 2019’s From Here, at Greenmount Studios in Leeds.

“Under the circumstances, it wasn’t particularly surprising that this was the moment to make another solo record and the songs came thick and fast in the first few weeks of the lockdown,” Sullivan shares about the album. “There is not so much about ‘what’s happening in the world.’ As with Navigating by the Stars, which was written in the aftermath of 9/11, I wanted to write about other things — some well-known stories, some less well-known, a few autobiographical, and more a landscape of the imagination than social comment. I’m grateful for all the many musical contributions I received from friends that helped create all the different atmospheres and places; it’s a long album, but it seems that all the songs belonged together in one collection. I hope people enjoy it.”

The release of Surrounded will be accompanied by the re-release of Sullivan’s only previous solo album. 2003’s Navigating by the Stars was released on CD but has been unavailable for many years. Described by The Independent as having “the warm organic quality of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks,” the audio of this new version has not been altered but carries two additional tracks: “Sooner or Later,” which first appeared on a B-side in 2003, and “The Wreck of The Essex,” a song written and recorded later that same year that has laid dormant ever since except for a few live performances. Navigating by the Stars will be available digitally and, for the the first time ever, on vinyl. In addition, the debut album will come in a CD digisleeve edition with an expanded booklet as part of a limited CD box set edition of Surrounded, followed by a standalone release later this year.

SURROUNDED TRACK LISTING:
“DIRGE”
“AMUNDSEN”
“COMING WITH ME”
“CLEAN HORIZON”
“STONE AND HEATHER”
“28TH MAY”
“AKISTAN”
“UNFORGIVEN”
“SAO PAULO”
“1975”
“SEA AGAIN”
“CLEAR SKIES”
“RIP TIDES”
“DAUGHTER OF THE SUN”
“RIDE”
“SURROUNDED”

Meat Beat Manifesto Celebrates 30 Year Catalog (2017 Remembered)

MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO

MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO play Cold Waves Festival at Regent Theater Nov. 11; promo pic

MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO 2017 interview remembered…

Industrial music legend Meat Beat Manifesto will be performing on Day 2 of the first Cold Waves Festival in L.A. along with Revolting Cocks, MC 900 Ft Jesus, Crash Course In Science, Boy Harsher and Not Breathing on Nov. 11 at The Regent Theater.

Original mainstay Jack Dangers has continued to create and evolve musically over the years, but for this performance, he will primarily play a lot of the older stuff.

“Some of the songs I haven’t played live, I’m not gonna say which ones, I’ll let that be a surprise, but some of them we haven’t played on stage for 25 years,” Dangers teased. “I had to get all new video for that. We use a lot of video and samplers live.”

Sampling has always been a part of the music since the beginning, often using spoken word samples from films. So, Dangers went back to the original source films where he got the samples in the first place.

“Like when the technology came up to speed about 12 years ago, you could miniaturize these bits of video into computers and have them to play live – project them,” Dangers explained.

“It’s even more fun being able to go back and get the film and turn that into a video sample and mess with it. You can speed it up, put it in reverse, you can chop through the sample itself. Originally, I would use tape machines and then when samplers became available I would be using those.

“We use the audio as well as the image. That always makes a difference as well rather than just spinning out images.”
For example, in “Helter Skelter” there’s a scream that goes off and on all the way through the song which is from the film “A Clockwork Orange”. It’s from the scene where the main character is experiencing the Ludovico Technique.

“I used that as just an audio sample,” Dangers said. “The Helter Skelter sample is Lydia Lunch. She’s saying that on one of her spoken word records she did back in the 80s.”

Another memorable sample from that song is “it’s in my brain now” which comes from “T.V. Mind” off Big Sexy Land by Revolting Cocks who coincidentally will be performing the album at Cold Waves.

“Maybe I’ll run on stage and have a mic,” Dangers chuckled. “You know Luc Van Acker was the guy who originally did that, so I’d have to run on stage and grab the mic off of him.”

As the song came together it included a bit of Lydia Lunch, a bit of Revolting Cocks and the famous beat from “Hot Pants” by Bobby Bird (produced by James Brown).

“I actually spent a day messing around with that beat making it sound different,” Dangers said. “If you played it next to the original you’d see that I changed it quite a lot.

“At that point, 1989, we didn’t really have the technology like a few years later what you could do with drum and bass and jungle. We’d cut the rhythm track up. So back then I was using different chunks and playing them back a different way and using effects.”

Considering the current political climate, one would think there would be a virtual treasure trove of samples to draw from, but Dangers thinks it’s almost too much and too obvious.

“It’s like this nightmare has happened,” Dangers stated. “I’m more interested in the way that Twitter and Facebook were used to make this all happen. Rather than the usual right-wing talking points and misinformation.

“It’s obvious all the misinformation and fake news that’s put out there by the Russians so Trump would benefit. It wasn’t the other way around. These things always take time to come to the surface.

“This is such a surreal level that I think you could address it in a surreal way more than an obvious in-your-face political stance.”

Impossible Star is a new album ready to be released in 2018 which Dangers has been working on for a couple of years but don’t expect to hear too much of the new stuff played this time around.

“We’re looking to do that next year,” Dangers promised. “We’ll be doing some live shows next year – me and Ben Stokes – that’s the lineup when we play live. The two of us. We use a lot of multi-media, a lot of video.”

Cold Waves Festival has been running in Chicago for a few years, bringing together classic industrial-type artists. It’s unique and thrilling for both fans and musicians alike.

“I’m excited to be playing with the other acts,” Dangers noted. “I’ve always liked Crashed Course In Science and I’m good friends with Not Breathing – worked with them on and off through the years.

“I’ve done some remixes for MC 900ft Jesus – got to see him [Mark Griffin] actually when we played in Dallas last year. He came to the show. That might have been some inspiration for him to get back on the road because we hadn’t been doing it for a while, like him. Not as long as him, though (laughs).”

“And Revolting Cocks – Big Sexy Land was a big album for me when it came out – getting to see that live. It should be a good night. It’s the hottest show in town!”

Indeed.