Squidmonk Music

Great Article on John "Speedo" Reis

2008-08-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

From last month, but it's a great read about Reis and his impact on the San Diego music scene.

He goes by four names – John, Speedo, Swami and Slasher. (Slasher!)

He named his kid Tiger.

He owns a bar. And a record label.

And most important, he pretty much put San Diego on the underground musical map.

Link

New Calexico song available for free.

2008-08-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

Two Silver Tree MP3
Supposedly a new album is coming out in September and this is one of the songs. I like it much better than a lot of what was on Garden Ruin, which was a big disappointment for me.

Lucero

2008-07-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

I recently was turned on to these guys and I am digging them. If you like the alt-country or punk country stuff, they'll be right up your alley.

They're a band that has been tagged as alt-country and punk country. They're a band that has written plenty of songs about girls and guitars, and about life, love, drinking, and life, love, and drinking while on the road. They expanded their lyrical palette on 2005's critically acclaimed Nobody's Darlings and in 2006 they re-released the hard-to-find home-recorded gem, The Attic Tapes.

But on Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, Lucero prove themselves to be something much simpler than that: a tried n true American rock n roll band.

Tom Waits Show Review

2008-07-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

Times Online

Sounds as though he put on a helluva show. Too bad he isn't coming to the west coast on this tour.

During the two-hour performance that followed, Waits wove a spell as intricate and engaging as that of any performer I can remember seeing on a musical stage.

My top 5 Clash songs

2008-07-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

In no particular order:

Night Marchers Album Review

2008-07-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Pitchfork has a review of See You In Magic. I pretty much agree with it, it's a good, but not great album.

Try the Google Search above.

2008-07-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Supposedly it will give results that are geared towards the music we have on the site. Who knows, but if it works, that'd be cool. I also added a video player. It has a bunch of ads, but so far I've browsed the videos and it has shown Swinging Utters and Youth Brigade - not too shabby.

San Diego Street Scene Lineup

2008-07-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Quite a few bands I'd like to check out. September 19th and 20th in Downtown San Diego:

The 2008 STREET SCENE line-up is as follows: Beck, The Black Crowes, Justice, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Michael Franti & Spearhead, The National, Spoon, TV on The Radio, Atmosphere, Cat Power, Hot Chip, Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, X, Vampire Weekend, The Hives, Cold War Kids, Ghostland Observatory, Spiritualized, Antibalas, Man Man, The Mother Hips, Tokyo Police Club, DeVotchKa, The Night Marchers, Nortec Collective presents Bostich + Fussible, Does it Offend You, Yeah?, Del The Funky Homosapien, Eagles of Death Metal, Foals, The Muslims, Dengue Fever, MGMT, Sea Wolf, West Indian Girl and Chester French.

Speedo Speaks

2008-07-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Where the hell is everybody???

2008-07-23T17:00:00.001-07:00

C'mon, let's get this thing going again!

The Sound LA - 100.3

2008-06-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon this station one day when I forgot my iPod and couldn't find anything on the radio. It isn't the best station ever by any means, but it is definitely different from the usual suspects we have to listen to these days. The first time I listened I heard Death Cab for Cutie followed by Fleetwood Mac. I've also heard Vampire Weekend followed by Neil Young. Quite the mix - here's a snapshot of a playlist from their website:

1:02pm - Hope by Jack Johnson
1:06pm - Under The Milky Way by The Church
1:11pm - Old Man Down The Road by John Fogerty
1:14pm - You're All I Have by Snow Patrol
1:19pm - Runaway Train by Soul Asylum
1:23pm - You're All I've Got Tonight by Cars
1:27pm - Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson
1:31pm - Lightning Crashes by Live
1:36pm - Lost In The Supermarket by The Clash
1:40pm - Won't Let Me Go by Amos Lee
1:44pm - Is This Love by Bob Marley And The Wailers
1:48pm - No Myth by Michael Penn
1:52pm - Better Now by Collective Soul
1:58pm - One Sweet Love by Sara Bareilles

The only real problem I have with them so far is that I saw they played Linkin Park, and Linkin Park is a horrible, horrible band.

Big Drill Car reunites!

2008-05-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

And not only that, they are also playing with Supernova!

Of course, I am against all reunion shows on general principle, but still, Fitzgerald's is barely 5 minutes away and it would be cool to see them there...

The Hold Steady - New Single Released

2008-05-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Check it out here. It's from their new album Stay Positive that will be available July 15th. Has some more horns than previous stuff, but still sounds good to me.

Nick Cave - Heineken Music Hall

2008-05-08T16:09:00.001-07:00

I just got back from Amsterdam! It was my first time seeing him and was easily one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

He played almost the whole new album.
- Dig, Lazarus, Dig!
- Today's Lesson
- Night Of The Lotus Eaters
- We Call Upon The Author
- Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)
- Jesus Of The Moon
- Midnight Man
- More News From Nowhere

I would have liked to here Albert Goes West instead of a couple of those songs but oh well...

He also played.
- Deanna
- Tupelo
- Papa Won't Leve You Henry
- The Ship Song
- Lyre Of Orpheus
- Red Right Hand
- Your Funeral, My Trial
- Hard On For Love
- Into My Arms
- Stagger Lee

He played two encores and closed with Stagger Lee!!!!

Tom Waits announces tour

2008-05-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

No dates in Southern California! Sucks.

06/17 - Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum
06/18 - Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum
06/20 - El Paso, TX @ Plaza
06/22 - Houston, TX @ Jones Hall
06/23 - Dallas, TX @ Palladium
06/25 - Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theatre
06/26 - St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theatre
06/28 - Columbus, OH @ Ohio Theatre
06/29 - Knoxville, TN @ Civic Theatre
07/01 - Jacksonville, FL @ Moran Theatre
07/02 - Mobile, AL @ Saenger Theatre
07/03 - Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre
07/05 - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre

The Nomads

2008-04-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Check these guys out - The Nomads. I just picked up their cd - Nomadic Dementia: The Best Of The First 25 Years. Its gotta be one of the best cd's I've picked up in a long time.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=58536374

Check out Monomen too. Another awesome band I just started listening to.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=179086889

New Barry Adamson Album out

2008-04-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Barry Adamson's newest album Back to the Cat is out now. I downloaded mine this weekend and it is a damn fine piece of work. You can hear a sample on his Myspace page. The album is kind of a mix of all his styles so far. Some jazz-noir, some funky soul, some movie soundtrack sounding songs, and a little bit of everything else.

I also found this little video on youtube - Barry and Nick Cave performing together:

A bit of this, a bit of that

2008-04-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Been a while I know but some new stuff out there thought you all may dig...

Another Swedish import... Miss Li has some of the catchiest tunes out there. Her influences are many and her sound is unique. Check out some videos and streaming audio on her MySpace page. Don't listen to Oh Boy unless you want it in your head for the next 5-6 WEEKS. Playing at the HOB Los Angeles on April 28.

Also from across the pond is Frank Turner. Some really funny, bitter and intelligent songs from this Englishman. If I had to compare I would say he's similar to Steve Poltz in song composition but his view of love and life is even more askew. Askewer? Kabobs? I digress. Check out some videos and streaming audio on his MySpace page. The Ballad of Me and My Friends is probably one of my faves. Playing at the HOB Los Angeles on April 29.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds WILL be at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday, September 17. Tickets go on sale May 10. If you're looking to fit in with the crowd, maybe a good day to start soaking your clothes in patchouli. Or, or just bathe in it for a couple weeks prior to the show.

Speaking of filthy hippies, The Polyphonic Spree has a new video for "We Crawl." The concept for the video was this: Each member of the band got a camera to film themselves doing regular stuff while singing this song. An editor's nightmare no doubt but I really expected more psychadelic crazy shit from theTexas menagerie.

Iron Balls out.

Good Nick Cave interview

2008-04-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Pitchfork Interview
Check it out. A good interview with Nick about the new album, Grinderman, being inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame, and more.

Nick Cave: Yes, that's another thing that's happened because of Grinderman. Grinderman embraced a lot of that stuff. Maybe it had something to do with Blixa [Bargeld] leaving the Bad Seeds too, I don't know. Blixa had an absolute disdain for anything like that, anything that was kind of conventional in terms of rock and roll. His whole approach to music was just different from that. With Blixa leaving, I think that Warren moved forward a little bit more. And he loves rock and roll, although he approaches it in a unique way as well. I think that came out in Grinderman, and there are elements of that that have come through to this record.

Mando Diao

2008-03-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

They're from Sweden and they kick ass!

http://www.myspace.com/mandodiao

Demons

2008-03-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

Check these guys out - Demons.

http://www.myspace.com/demonssthlm

I got most of their cd's...I think. Their hard as hell to find. They just released a new EP "Her Name Was Tragedy." You can check it on their myspace page. It sounds really, really good. It's too bad I have no idea where to pick it up from.

The best video ever?

2008-03-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Probably not, but it is Hanging Ten in East Berlin, so the fact they even made a video has to be worth something!

Henry Rollins

2008-03-23T16:42:00.001-07:00

We met Henry Rollins after the show last weekend. It was a really, really good show. He was on for three hours and it was funny as hell!

Misc. Debris

2008-03-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

So here's what's coming up that y'all might be interested in checking out.

Slim Cessna's new album, Cipher, is coming out on March 25th. You can download a couple of songs from their website here. From what I've heard, it's vintage Slim Cessna, which means it is damn good!

The Rocket from the Crypt R.I.P. CD/DVD is out and available. I ordered mine yesterday and am anxiously waiting it's arrival.

The Night Marchers release has been moved back to April 22nd, but keep your eyes out for them because they are touring.

And of course, if you haven't bought it, or ordered it, there is Dig, Lazarus, Dig! I got my copy and it is a must have. Many reviews are already calling it the album of 2008, which ain't bad considering it is only March.

We're lagging losers!!!

2008-03-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

OK, time to get this place moving again. Let's get on it sucka-fools!