Listening Room Blog

Tea Leaf Green takes their music seriously, and it shows. Their songs are tight, their lyrics are poignant, and after more than a decade on the road, their music has come to reflect the modern Americana experience.

Chatting before the show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn last week, Josh Clark, Scott Rager and Reed Mathis took me through their world for a bit, leaving me confident there’s still many exciting things to come from this band. (Trevor Garrod, meanwhile, was sleeping one off from the night before. So rock star! I dared not wake him up, for the sake of the show to come!)

While TLG has become one of the darlings of the “jam band” scene these days, the guys aren’t at all out to wow their crowds with virtuosic heroics. Instead of experimental tangents, they prefer to play as a more cohesive unit.  Sure they craft songs with plenty of room for fresh licks and clever lines, of which each band member takes full advantage of. But, they say, they always know where they want to end up.

 (Photography courtesy of John Ewing for The Listening Room Blog.)

And knowing where you want to end up has a lot to do with knowing where you want to start, which comes down to the set lists. Sometimes the guys just toss out songs in the van, one by one, building up the night’s repertoire. Other times they take turns writing the set for the night’s show, thinking of interesting transitions or unexpected turns. Either way, they say, it helps to all be on the same page. 

Mathis can especially attest to this. As a former member of the Jacob Fred Jazz Oddessy, he was used to playing night after night with no set list at all—which he said became a nightmare.

“Some people think a set list is ‘The Man’ trying to keep them down,” Mathis set. “When really, it’s a nice pair of shoes on a gravel road.”

That’s gotta be one of my favorite quotes of all time, without a doubt! 

I asked whether playing a tighter show has helped to propel the band to the level of success it is currently enjoying, and they said probably not. What has helped the band get to where they are is flat out hard work. 

“You gotta get off your ass and work,” Clark put it bluntly. Amen to that!

And work they do, playing shows across the country throughout the year, including the summer festival circuit. Lucky for all you Midwesterners, the band recently announced a string of March dates. Be sure to hit them up!

Setlist 1.23.09 

Set 1: Make A Connection > Devils Pay > Hot Dog > Kali-Yuga > Stormcloud, Let Us Go > Stick to the Shallows, Jezebel, Red Ribbons, Arise

Set 2: I’ve Been Seeking, California > Dragonfly, 7th story > Franz Hanzerbeak, Hangin From a Tree, Morning Sun, Innocent, Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey > Sex In The ’70s

Encore: Pretty Jane, Garden (Part III)

Many thanks to the band, the management and the venue for helping to coordinate the video coverage.

P.S. I have a bunch of extra video footage from both the concert and the interview, and I’d be happy to post it if the demand is there.

You’re not alone… See you in the lot at Jones Beach? 

Michael Schenker was 15 when he joined his older brother in the Scorpions, the band where he first played the Gibson Flying-V guitar that would come to be his trademark.

Four decades later, Schenker boasts a resume that includes more than three dozen albums as a solo artist and a member of the Scorpions, UFO and the Michael Schenker Group, known to fans simply as MSG.

Now 54, Schenker remains an iconic figure to a legion of loyal fans, who recognize the German guitar wiz as one of the earliest and most influential architects of modern heavy metal lead guitar. His latest effort, In the Midst of Beauty, is considered by most music critics to be his best work in years.

I caught up with the Mad Axeman himself by telephone today, when he was relaxing at home in Hanover while taking a break from his seemingly endless European gigs. He’s certainly earned a rest.

He told me today he wishes he had his business savvy when he was a younger man, but has no regrets about his music career. He treasures the freedom and independence that MSG affords him, and feels he would have lost himself musically if he had pursued opportunities to join Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and Ozzy Osborne in the past.

Schenker also says he does not listen to other guitar players, preferring to be his own artistic influence. And the chemistry of a band, he said, is both all-important and  ever-changing.

Well, he can tell it better. Click on the audio link to hear what Schenker had to say about his career, his legacy and his future.

SCHENKERinterview.mp3

For those that don’t know his music, here he is at a 2004 show with a previous MSG lineup:

Schenker joined his brother Rudolf in the Scorpions in 1970, where he also teamed up with singer Klaus Meine, a bandmate in the group Copernicus. Schenker made his Scorpions recording debut in 1972 on Lonescome Crow.

He caught a break later that year when the Scorpions were opening for up-and-coming British rockers UFO, who asked Schenker to fill in for their AWOL guitar player. Then they asked him to join full time. Anxious to flee the then-stagnant German rock scene, he accepted.

Schenker, who hand-picked neo-classical metal guitarist Uli Jon Roth to replace him in the Scorpions, threw himself into his new band. His first recording with them was Phenomenon in 1974, the first of five UFO studio albums he would record over the following years.

But by 1978, Schenker’s relationship with singer Phil Mogg and other bandmates had become strained. He walked away in October 1978, last appearing on UFO’s 1979 double-live album, Strangers in the Night, which was recorded during his last tour with the band. Future reunions would be short-lived and, he said, troubled.

In 1979, Schenker briefly rejoined the Scorpions for their album Lovedrive, ironically replacing Roth. But anxious to strike out on his own, he formed MSG and went on to a revived recording and touring career.

The Scorpions, meanwhile, went on to international success with the addition of new guitar player Matthias Jabs.

But there are no regrets for Schenker, who has released or appeared on more than 30 albums since leaving UFO. He has made occasional appearances with former bandmates in both UFO and the Scorpions over the years, but continues to tour and record as a solo artist.

He plans to release an acoustic album this spring and hopes to tour the U.S. later this year.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

What motivates four grown men to hang out on a rooftop? If you’re the Beatles, to play together — and for a live audience — for the last time.

Yup. It was 40 years ago to the day that John, Paul, George and Ringo played their famous gig on the roof of Apple Records headquarters near Piccadilly Circus in London. The often-mimicked stunt was captured on film for Let It Be, and has since become legendary.

Not much more to say. Just enjoy the moment.

More than three decades after England’s rude and raunchy punk rockers burst on the scene, the Sex Pistols seem serious about their recent re-emergence. After playing together on and off since 2003, the Pistols made a full-fledged return last year with singer Johnny Rotten, guitar player Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook going on the road with original bass player Glen Matlock. Matlock told Spin Magazine last month that the band wasn’t ruling out a new studio album in 2009. Then this month the band even launched its own MySpace page.

It must all feel particularly sweet for Matlock, who missed all the hoopla during the Pistols’ heyday under the tutilage of manager Malcolm McLaren — Matlock parted ways with the band before they achieved international stardom, being replaced by troubled and troublesome bassist Sid Vicious. (Matlock co-wrote most of the songs on Never Mind the Bollocks and played on Anarchy in the U.K. Vicious barely played on it, with Jones picking up most of the bass duties.)

The band itself was actually short-lived, and last appeared together on vinyl and film in Julian Temple’s 1980 mockumentary The Great Rock n Roll Swindle and its accompanying soundtrack. The album featured solo appearances by Vicious and a rare and odd collection of tunes and performers, including British punk musician and singer Eddie “Ten Pole” Tudor. The film also has Jones and Cook traveling to Brazil to track down legendary British train-robber Ronnie Biggs, who recorded two songs with them. Biggs, now 79, was part of a gang that pulled off Britain’s Great Train Robbery in 1963, then fled to Brazil where several extradition efforts failed — until he voluntarily returned home to be jailed in recent years.

Jones and Cook kept busy after the demise of the Sex Pistols as well, appearing on Joan Jett’s 1980 solo debut album, which was re-released in 1981 with the title Bad Reputation. In the late ‘70s, the Pistols’ drummer and guitar player also formed The Greedies, an unlikely and short-lived band with Phil Lynott, Brian Downey and Scott Gorham from Thin Lizzy, recording a Christmas video, of all things.

Now that they’re back, who knows what they’ll pull next. But no word yet on what’s in store for the aging but recharged Pistols this year. They don’t seem ready to fade away …. again.

It’s the masks. They’re just so damn creepy.

I’m talking about Slipknot here. The band will be giving a rare live interview this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on WVOX’s “Metal Mayhem.” Host Matt O’Shaughnessy will talk to the guys about their upcoming headlining show at Madison Square Garden and the success of their latest album, “All Hope is Gone.”

Check it out on 1460 AM or tune in online at WVOX.com

I’ve heard members of Slipknot chime in on debates about heavy metal and it’s always been insightful. Scary, yes. But interesting nonetheless, talking about things like how there’s not much to do in Iowa (where they’re from) and how it’s easy to become obsessed with death and darkness.

I certainly like my share of darker music, starting with Black Sabbath and progressing up through Alice in Chains and Tool. But I never got into Slipknot much. (OK, at all… I swear I blame the masks.)

Phish’s new seven-DVD set — “The Clifford Ball” — is due out in stores March 3 and is available for pre-order at Phish Dry Goods. Here’s some samples they just put out on the band’s YouTube channel!

(Thanks to AJ Keirans for the Twitter tip!)

“Fluffhead”

“Bathtub Gin”

“Punch You in the Eye”

“Sample in a Jar”

“Flatbed Jam”

Don’t look now, but while the hit flick Slumdog Millionaire is wowing critics and drawing huge audiences, the movie’s soundtrack is racing up the Billboard charts. The music is the work of prominent Indian composer A.R. Rahman, who worked with performer Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam. The British-born daughter of a Sri Lankan political figure, Arulpragasam uses the stage name M.I.A. Their soundtrack jumped to 16 on the Billboard 200 charts this week — jumping from 55 in one week. The score has already won a Golden Globe and is nominated for Academy Awards honors, as is the hit movie itself. Gaining the most attention is a video for the song Jai Ho, which features clips from the movie, particularly from a final Bollywood dance scene. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth giving it a look. You can check out the video through this link.

Singer-songwriter and political activist Steve Earle played to a sellout crowd at the Tarrytown Music Hall last Friday. The full-house is no surprise — the 54-year-old “hardcore troubadour” has a large and loyal following.

Here’s what our man at the scene, Journal News enterprise editor John Alcott, had to say about the show, which he was fortunate enough to catch:

Steve Earle is easily one of the most original American songwriters working today, and his performance Friday at the Tarrytown Music Hall once again proved the point, showcasing more than 20 years of great tunes and lyrics.

Allison Moorer, his wife, and accompanist on guitar and vocals on 2007’s “Washington Square Serenade,” opened the set with several folk and bluegrass numbers. Moorer has a starkly beautiful , often heartbreaking voice and the crowd gave her a well-deserved round of enthusiastic applause.

But it was Steve Earle they were waiting for. And when he took the stage, Earle delivered the goods again and again, pounding out the rhythms and runs of more than a dozen of his best songs on acoustic guitar. Singing in his well-worn and raspy baritone, he gave new life to “Guitar Town,” “Someday,” “Taneytown,” “Copperhead Road,” “Tom Ames’ Prayer” — and one of my personal favorites, “The Devil’s Right Hand.”
Whether you classify him as roots rock, alt-country, folk or twangy Americana (or all the above), his songs have undeniable staying power thanks to his ear for melody, catchy chord changes and smart lyrics.

A couple of times over the course of the evening Earle invoked Woody Guthrie’s name, and it’s clear he has much in common with the great Dust Bowl troubadour — including an extensive repertoire of genuinely heartfelt American songs.

Reid Genauer, currently the frontman of Assembly of Dust (formerly of Strangefolk), showed up at the Rye Roadhouse on Saturday night to join local jamband Gent Treadly for a night of mostly Grateful Dead cover tunes.

Gent Treadly had been on the Roadhouse’s concert schedule and Reid, who lives in Rye, RSVP’ed  on Facebook about a week before the show just to enjoy the music. Turns out he happily accepted an invitation to jam with the band and together they rocked the Roadhouse crowd from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

It was a great night of tunes and I was lucky enough to be among the small audience to witness the fantastic show.

Here is the offical press release from jambands.com:

“Reid Genauer is performing only limited dates for the coming weeks as he continues work on his latest studio recording with Assembly of Dust. The group is reporting, “We have snagged a few guest musicians who you may have heard of before. Some dude who played Woodstock? A guy who’s in a band that rhymes with dish? A living jazz legend? Kind of like a spot? Hmmm…” So while AOD will not gig again until a mid-February Southern run, Genauer will make an appearance tonight in Rye, NY where he will join Gent Treadly for a gig at Rye Roadhouse.”

Hard to believe, but the metal-axe wiz turns 54 today, and he’s still rocking it. He was a teenager when Van Halen formed in 1972, six years before their self-titled debut album. I actually saw them at The Palladium when they toured behind the album. It was an unlikely pairing of Van Halen with Fotomaker — a short-lived band made up largely of former Rascals and Raspberries members — and Irish-Celtic rockers Horslips. (Don’t ask). We all bought the Van Halen record the next day.

But here we are all these years later and Eddie and brother Alex are still doing it. They recently reunited with singer David Lee Roth and Eddie’s kid, Wolfgang, replacing Michael Anthony on bass. And despite the ups and downs of his own personal life, Eddie is still on top of his game. So, happy birthday, Eddie V.

I don’t know about you but I was brought up in a house where every Sunday morning my Mom & Dad would play their favorite artists albums for at least 2 hours. Our Sunday morning breakfasts included eggs with Elvis or Patsy Cline. Some weekends it would be Fats Domino or Roy Orbison but overall we were fed a heavy dose of Elvis and Patsy. As I became a teenager, my love for the Beatles had grown immensely and there use to be a radio station that did “Breakfast with the Beatles” (who knows it may still be going on). Now as I try to pass on the same tradition to my kids, it sometimes gets harder because they can easily run to their room and throw on their I-PODs if they don’t want to hear it. (I didn’t have that option). Recently I have “gone back in time” to one of my first “love’s” in rock music and they are KISS.
Being ridiculed as a teenager for liking KISS, I have re-discovered my affection for this band. Laugh if you will but I still say that they made some solid tunes. (Yes I too jumped off the band wagon back in the day when they recorded “I Was Made For Loving You” but that was because of my “youth.” I actually like that song today). Now for the past few months I have been blasting KISS around the house and I have now hooked my youngest son. He is now discovering more and more of their tunes through my library.
This morning’s breakfast focused on the 1976 album “Rock and Roll Over” album. Do you know the feeling you get when you haven’t listened to something in a long time and then when you put it on, it feels like the first time all over again? Wow!! How good is this album? This is when they were at the height of their career in my opinion. “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” sounds as fresh today as it did back in ‘76. How about “Baby Driver” with Mr. Criss on vocals? Or the rockin’ “Mr. Speed” with the classic vocal style from Paul? One of the “staples” of their live shows, “back in the day,” was “Makin’ Love” which has the blistering solo from Ace. I think this album was Frehley’s best with the band. So this morning’s pancakes didn’t need syrup as the sweetness from this album has kicked off my day right. Have a great day!!

This falls into the category of “get over it” news, but it’s been out there lately. Apparently the bad blood between the two A’s in ABBA—Anni-Frid Lyngstadt and Agnetha Faltskog—has spilled over into the headlines all these years later. But now there are numerous reports that the two singing Swedes have denied that they are at odds with each other. They even picked up a lifetime achievement award together. They also got together last year at the Swedish opening of Mama Mia!

Granted, those two could harmonize as well as anyone I’ve heard. But shouldn’t we just move on with it?

That says it all, doesn’t it?

With one final “Salute!” to his crew, trumpeter Willie Waldman set out to bring the funk to The Field last Friday in Bridgeport, Conn., and considering who stood up next to him on stage, it’s not too tough to imagine just how funky things got!

moe.’s Vinnie Amico and The Breakfast’s Adrian Tramontano traded off on drums and percussion, creating a powerhouse foundation along with Greg Koerner, of the band Gent Treadly, on bass. These guys are so damn good on their own, it would have been just fine by me to have a drum and bass night.

Tramontano’s style is fast and aggressive — think John Bonham reincarnated. Amico knows how to ride the grooves and seems to have an innate ability to make everything gel. Koerner is insanely versatile and is so on point. Together it just worked. 

“Jamming with Vinnie teaches me to relax and get in the groove,” Tramontano said after the gig. “Less is better than more, sometimes; the pocket is better than the kick.”

Now imagine adding Waldman on trumpet, Rob Somerville and Cyrus Madan of Deep Banana Blackout on saxophone and keys, respectively, and Brian Jordan of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Hot damn! What a mix!

This was the first time Madan had ever joined the WW jam session, but his solos stood out in my book.

“It just keeps our creative chops together,” he said after the gig. “There’s no set, it’s all free improvisation. It’s complete creative expression; ego-less expression.”

Jordan balanced things out with a bit of a mellow tinge, placing cool jazz solos amidst the funky grooves. Even his disposition was cool, with his long dreads and gentle aura radiating from stage right.

“You just don’t know what to expect, and then the music happens,” he said.

Special guests included Darian Cunning on guitar and The Brew bassist Joe Plante. These guys both are people to keep an eye out for, no doubt, and I’m sure they will make their way into the LR blog again soon. (Hint, hint…)

Cunning’s more bluesy edge added a great deal to the jam, right in the gut. Energy level noticeably went up a few notches with him on stage.

“I was really amped,” he said about joining the jam.

For the fifth year in a row, Gov’t Mule will headline Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain, topping an 18-band lineup so far for the three-day festival. Also on the roster for the shows, which are scheduled for May 29-31, will be the Allman Brothers Band, which is celebrating its 40th year together. That should make it a busy weekend for Warren Haynes, who shares time with Gov’t Mule and the Allmans. (He’s also on the reformed Grateful Dead.

Also on the Mountain Jam stage will be Ray LaMontage, Coheed & Cambria, The Hold Steady, Girl Talk, the Derek Trucks Band, Richie Havens, among others. Trucks, of course, will also be busy splitting time with his band and the Allman Brothers. Also atop the card will be Michael Franti & Spearhead, the hip hop/funk/reggea band headed by frontman and social activist Michael Franti. Basically, organizers are putting something out there for everyone. Should be a good series of shows all around.

Here’s Franti and Spearhead: