the simple mission

Same Photo, Different Text

Before she began her first song last night, Bat For Lashes started hitting this wind chime-type thing and the lights went dim. At that point, I thought I was in for some freaky-deaky, over the top show where everyone, the band included, would be super uptight.

Fortunately, I was totally wrong. Perhaps what I loved best about Bat For Lashes was her refusal to hide behind any of the cliches she could easily play into (freak folk songstress from the UK, "the next Feist", critically acclaimed weirdo ala Bjork, etc). Watching her perform live, you do get a true performance, but it's one based on the music and the mood, nothing more and certainly nothing less. There's something really cool about how she arranges her songs. They sound like they were either recorded with a symphony or in her bedroom with a beatbox. Either way, I think she has the makings of a star. And by that I mean a real artist that real people could like.

WIN SOMETHING: A Pair of Bat For Lashes Tix for Wed Night At Knitting Factory

Hey Dudes,

The Knitting Factory was nice enough to offer up two (2) tickets to Wednesday night's Bat For Lashes show—no strings attached, except that you need to email me with your name and a good reason why you'd want to go to the show. A winner will be chosen at random on 2PM on Wed, so hit me up and roll them dice!

Also, in the interest of being totally transparent, here is some useful information the Knit asked me to tell you about. I'm a texting freak and I think it's actually pretty cool, so here goes.

"The Knitting Factory is one of the first venues that allow you to buy your tickets by merely sending a text and you’ll save some change – up to $1.50 less fees.  You can do it now, just text BATLAS to 467467 and you are good to go!"

So yeah, this looks to be a great show. No guarantees that Batty will ride in on a pony or whatever, but I am sure it will be fun and weird. And she will def sing "Prescilla". That's reason enough to want to go.

More More More:

Bat For Lashes website
And MySpace

Everyone Looks Good On TV

Yo! My boys White Rabbits landed a gig performing their smash single "the Plot" live on Letterman tonight! Tune in dudes. Not like it won't be on youtube in ten minutes, but hey, there's nothing like the magic of seeing your friends play live on national television.

Les Aus

A little while ago, I received a nice goodie bag from Molly Neuman's new label Simple Social Graces and began shuffling through some releases from this year and last. The one that really stuck with me was from a band from Barcelona called Les Aus. At first pass, I would describe what they do as internationalist math rock. What that means in real terms is that the band specializes in jittery instrumentals peppered with pinches of punk, flamenco and lo-fi psych. Me likey!

Their latest, Harrana Hanne has been getting some love on the Simple Mission stereo and so I wanted to pass along the good word that you should check them out. A few jams are available to stream here.

Also props to SSG for jacking the font from Oasis' Standing On The Shoulder... I see you!

I Missed The Casting Call, But I've Seen The Movie

Sorry to hit you with so much You Tubbery, but this clip from the new Dylan bio-pic is pretty fantastic. A lot of it was taken from the infamous Dylan/Lennon cab ride where Dylan pukes at the end. I must say, Cate Blanchett plays a pretty convincing Bobby D. The body language is spot on. Also, you can't not love David Cross' performance as Allen Ginsberg. Thanks to Daily Swarm for the heads up on the link.

Friday the 13th: Misfits Live

Been a very busy week, but any week that ends with a Misfits live gig from '82 can't be too too bad.

Interview: Hisham Bharoocha, musical director for 77 Boadrum

I was so jazzed about Saturday's Boredoms drum performance that I had to get a hold of longtime Simple Mission bud Hisham Bharoocha to get some more deets on how it all came together. Thanks to Hisham for taking some time for this quick chat. I hope you all enjoy it.

Can you take us through how the drummers were chosen for the performance and how everything came together?

Hisham: More so than finding people through word of mouth, I wanted to work with drummers I knew and respected and find performers who would be really excited to work with the Boredoms on a project of this scale. The Boredoms had been talking to Steve Shelley (ed: from Sonic Youth) about doing this piece and he posted my email address on a Myspace bulletin asking if anyone was interested. From there, Pitchfork and a million blogs wrote it about, so I had about 3,000 emails from different people who wanted to be involved.

How much of the Boadrum was planned in advance? I am guessing from the scale of it you couldn’t rehearse the entire thing with all 77 drummers before the actual event.

Hisham: I started off by being in constant communication with the Boredoms about the piece over the course of a few months. We talked a lot over the phone and through email, really fine tuning things. It was their idea so my job was to help translate their vision. From there, we had a small group of drum leaders, who we met with the week before the show. They played a big role in tying things together and getting everyone focused.

So the drum leaders sort of directed the other musicians who hadn’t really heard the whole piece before?

Hisham: Right. We set them up so that the other drummers could always physically look to them during the performance in case they lost their way. Playing the same beat for ten to twenty minutes pieces really tests anyone’s sense of timing. Plus, since the circle was so long and winding, there was actually a delay between when drummers in the center would play a beat and when the drummers at the edges would hear it. It was slight, but it definitely affected the final sound.

What did you personally take away from the event?

Hisham: I was honored to have the Boredoms really trust me and listen to my ideas and more importantly, I felt like I was able to connect with every musician who took part in the piece. It was a fantastic feeling to be able to work with so many talented musicians and spread that energy to everyone watching. Once every drummer showed up on time, I knew it would all work out.

A collection of great pics here and here. Photo cred for opening photo is here. Thanks again to all who were involved.

I See Colors: Snapshots From The Boredom's 07.07.07 Boadrum

Look at those people!

This was shot during the opening movement, which sounded like sheets of steel rain. So many drummers! There were a lot of indie rock superstars playing—members of Unwound, Come, Gang Gang Dance and a ton more I can't remember right now.

This was the crazy guitar contraption Eye used during the set. It produced big, thundering chords. He used a Trident-looking sceptre to cue in the musicians. It was so major to watch!

I Don't Wanna - A Treatise On The Degenerics

After 50 sweaty minutes spent losing my mind thrashing, finger pointing and laying waste to a New Jersey mosh pit on Saturday night, a friend from high school asked me if the Degenerics were really that a great a band or if their music just had special meaning for us since we spent countless weekends seeing them, talking music and politics with them and generally geeking on them during our miniature days as pre-college punk rockers. The answer to both I told him, was yes.

The Degenerics' make music that can turn you into a hyper charged, unaware mess of a dude. Deadly fast like the Bad Brains, as musically precise as a smart bomb and totally real. This wasn't music made to sell records, tho I hope they do now that they have a fantastic new discography CD out.

Punk rock has that rare quality where if you weren't around for a particular era, you get a sorta warped sense of how good bands actually were. Aside from the bands everyone tells you need to like, the rest almost always don't stand the time of the time, only the test of sentimentality. I can smile and say weren't the so and so's cool, but none of them would make me slam dance like a fucker in a New Brunswick club in 2007.

But holy shit if I was not on planet earth when the mighty Degenerics played last night. If any of you know me, you'd prolly think it a funny sight to see me (5 foot 6, Ted Baker loafers) throwing down with hulking skinheads, crusty kids and the rest and best of em. But I did. Even got hit in the balls. No biggie. Next song, please.

I feel sorta strange posting this emo-tronicness on my blog, but to not make clear the degree to which I hold that band's music sacred (more sacred than Minor Threat. Or Negative Approach, whose singers I never tackled and screamed "I Don't FUCKING WANT IT" at the top of my lungs) would be doing myself and all y'all a disservice. Dudes, I wouldn't be doing what I do now if not for these cats.  Thank you, thank you, thank you sirs, thank you.