Another diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: James White & the Blacks,"Off White".

James White & the Blacks, "Off White".

James Chance (in this case under the pseudonym of James White) altered his name/bands name a few times: he usually goes by James Chance & the Contortions (usually the name of his backing band)- but on this particular album its James White & the Blacks; same guy. James Chance was part of the, "No Wave"  music movement in New York in the late 1970's/early 1980's. For those unaware, it was a short-lived music scene and somewhat of an offshoot of punk if you will, but far noisier and much more musically nihilistic. No Wave is somewhat loosely defined, as it is difficult to categorize- is often characterized by often (though not always) repetitive and hard driving rhythms often, dissonant sounds, blending punk, jazz, blues, and dance music with noise. Though I'm not a firm believe in trying to sum up an entire musical movement in a few sentences, let alone one as little known and complex as No Wave- this paints a clear enough picture to give you an idea.

 In the case of James Chance in particular, a common stylistic foundation of his music is for the rhythm section of the bass and drums and horn section to provide a solid and surprisingly somewhat conventional form of funk music, quite similar and perhaps a reinterpretation, very derivative if you will, of James Brown; layered over top with the noisier section of the group featuring the spastic vocal work of the madman that is James Chance, with scratchy guitar, his trademark skronk saxophone, and sometimes piercing and wild keyboard/organ hits.

Back of the sleeve...

That being said, as most of you most likely are not familiar with this, be warned: this music is most definitely not for everyone. In fact, it most likely isn't going to be your cup of tea. Realistically, that's putting it very lightly. However, I've always found the No Wave movement highly interesting. This is a seriously challenging brew of music. It's got elements strangely familiar, elements of funk and disco- but with his incredibly defiant vocal attack and armed with his blaring saxophone over top, shattering the part you know, making it fun and almost scary too; all at the same time. James Chance is definitely a strange guy, but he's weird in a good way, it's very entertaining.

I was lucky enough to pick this little gem up while digging through the used bins in Birdland Records in Virgina Beach for $3. Which feels like a real steal since it goes for a pretty penny of Amazon and Ebay- I checked out of curiosity- other than two reasonably priced Amazon sales- one for $7 and one for $10- the average Ebay seller wants anywhere between $20-40 for it. This is definitely a specialty record for a very specific and specialty buyer. "Contort Yourself" is easily the best number and this is one of multiple recorded versions of this tune. "White Devil" is also a standout; the whole album is good and both represents and follows the sound  that Chance has created his unique style in throughout. James Chance is still going strong today and his discography has some really interesting and wild music for those daring to adventure to a music that even when punk rock was happening at the time, was often too noisy/crazy for a lot of punk rockers (that in itself- is kind've a very weird accomplishment!). If you do like this though, your in for a treat- and similar acts such as Lydia Lunch, the New York Noise compilations (on Soul Jazz Records), the No New York compilation, the Lounge Lizards, and many others will be up your alley too. Also, its definitely worth youtubing some interesting information from Thurston Moore's chats and interviews he did on No Wave after the book he released on it (really neat sometimes hour long talks- he did about several of them I've found on youbtube- just really interesting stories of his). He was a fan of and witnessed quite a bit of these groups in person; and the noisier half of Sonic Youth is obviously musically equivalent in some ways to the No Wave material. If your ears survive this and you find yourself craving more, start with the No New York comp. as it starts off with James Chance himself.

A diamond in the rough...... from my vinyl vault: Mel Brandt's, "Accordion Favorites".

Mel Brandt's, "Accordion Favorites"

I have to admit I don't know much about Mel Brandt, and I don't know if this is the same Mel Brandt as the SNL guy or not- which is who comes up when you google the name- I'm assuming probably not- but to be honest, I know nothing about the SNL Mel-Brandt to know if this the same person or not. I'm also not totally sure if this is his only record or not, but if there ever were others- I can't find any trace or record of anything else on the internet- and as far as I can tell, sadly this is the only one. However, on the bright side this record- is an incredible accordion instrumental and definitely a diamond in the rough in my collection. I often seek out various accordion instrumental records in thrift stores, as luckily they aren't in demand and usually go for cheap- typically $1 to $3- so if you happen to stumble upon a thrift store with a ton of vinyl, you can find a decent handful of some interesting finds for little money. This one though, was actually one I bought off Amazon for a change. I received mine in excellent condition- plays perfectly, very slight wearing on the sleeve. It's not necessarily rare, but I've never been lucky enough to stumble on it in person, so I got it fairly cheap for $7, which is slightly higher than I'd pay in a thrift, but then again no one else had it- and given it was incredible shape, it was a fair deal.I was particularly interested in it for its song selection, though I hadn't heard this one- I simply collect accordion instrumentals from the get go- on top of which, this one I noticed contained two favorites of mine, "Dark Eyes" a wonderful Russian tune, and though there are many countless versions of this song- both accordion versions, along with hundreds of others in general- it's always a song with hearing, no matter how many reinterpretations of it there are. Also, the song, "Fascination" which I had at the time recently started to play myself, and is also simply a song I really love. It's just a beautiful simple instrumental, but its very peaceful and memorable and well written, just soaring strong melodies- so I knew this recorded version of that song would be interesting, and of course it's beautiful! As an added bonus too, the version I bought (and it doesn't seem to rare- but neat nevertheless) the disc itself is a really nice looking bright transparent sorta gold and yellow color, I know its also out there in regular black too- I'm not aware of any other colors. Sometimes this costs extra, so it was just icing on the cake that it didn't seem to cost more because of this. Then again, its not like this record is in demand, but eh- fine by me- I really love it.

Beautiful transparent golden yellow disc

As for the material on the record itself- its wonderful. "Besame Mucho" was another reason the record interested me, its a Mexican song (I used to play it actually- and think I remember it too- or most of it)- I've heard one or two other recorded accordion instrumental versions of it as well- the record itself consists of: as mentioned before: "Fascination", "Dark Eyes", and "Besame Mucho"- and also: "Maria Elena", "You Belong To My Heart", "Perfidia", "Tico Tico", "Adios Muchachos", "Come Back to Sorrento", "Humoresque", "Barcarolle", and "Song of India". Sure as far as accordion instrumental records go, yes this is somewhat typical and these are basically standards if you will; not dissimilar to Ella Fitzgerald and a hundred other jazz vocalists doing countless versions of, "Makin' Whoopee", "Honeysuckle Rose", or, "Dream a Little Dream", etc.

It's not the fact that these have been done before that matters, its the fact that these are amazing versions- and quite possibly- arguably some of the best accordion standard versions recorded of these batch of songs around. The melodies prevail and don't fall short due to an over assertiveness of showmanship and cramming as many notes as possible- don't get me wrong- there is plenty of flair when it comes to the musicianship; just not showing off simply for the sake of showing off- and that allows the songs to breathe and be the gorgeous melodies that they are. That's what made this particular instrumental record stand out to me. Mel Brandt certainly didn't do anything groundbreaking or reinvent any wheels, etc. The bottomline is he made a fantastic and beautifully melodic instrumental record, one that will never leave my collection, as the melodies float freely and prove it worth of every spin the needle makes around it.

March Tour w/the Fighting Jamesons- supporting Lucero, Shamrockfest, & more!!!!

w/the Fighting Jamesons @the Norva March 15th, 2014

Just got home recently from the end of our tour for March with the Fighting Jamesons. Previously in late January and throughout February we had recorded our new album, "Every Day Above Ground"- and  then set out all across the country to tour supporting the new album- which yes, is available on i-Tunes and also available on our website or at any of our shows/as it was released at our hometown/release party show at the Norva a short while ago on March 15th. "Everyday Above Ground" is my first album with the band, and the bands second album altogether- and it consists of 12 tracks- 9 originals, and 3 covers (2 traditional Irish numbers- "Rocky Road to Dublin" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya" + 1 old Virginia folk-tune redone Jamesons style, "Mid the Green Fields of Virginia")- its got some of what you would expect I'd think in terms of the Irish folk-rock/punk that the band was already known for before I joined, but also this new album has some extra little surprises along the way such as our fiddle player Tim's bluegrass influences shining through and making an appearance on, "The Ramble Home" and a bit of a semi-gypsy vibe on the song, "Song For Letting Go" along with a few other ingredients added to the melting pot. You can get previews of it on Amazon and CDbaby as well. It was a really great experience recording it, and I had a great time in the studio with the guys doing my takes, hearing their takes, and watching Mark Padgett's process in terms of recording. It was definitely a memorable experience and I had a great time being a part of it. A huge thank you to my bandmates, Mark Padgett, and all of the indiegogo contributors who helped make it all possible, as well as my family and my fiance for their continued encouragement and endless support.

Billboard for our show in Vally Center, CA

In my opinion, some highlights of the tour in particular were the Hook's Irish Rock Festival in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, our stop at the casino in Harrah's Rincon Pavillion in Vally Center, California, our hometown show at the Norva celebrating the release of, "Every Day Above Ground", our three dates supporting Lucero, and of course ShamRockFest at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.!

I think I came to the conclusion that I really love playing outside when we were in New Jersey, I think I've known this somewhere in the back of my mind- but the light bulb went off that day and I was like ah! this feels so great out here! The Norva of course was bound to be fun as it was our hometown show, and it was great to officially release the record and see so many familiar faces in the crowd. The three dates with Lucero were spectacular: They are touring to support their new EP, "Texas & Tennessee"- I even learned quite a bit from watching them: everything from little tips of how I noticed Mary run their merch, their setup, and Rick Steff's piano/organ/accordion performances were inspiring and brought to light some interesting techniques. Rick Steff is actually a really interesting guy- he's recorded with Dexy's Midnight Runner's and been involved with Cat Power and some other really notable acts; though I didn't get to chat with him too much, he seemed extremely intelligent and had a really funny neat story he shared with us briefly one night about a tour he once did with Hank Williams Jr. in both the U.S. and Canada.

On top of all this- I had a complete blast at the show in Valley Center, CA. We had a really powerful performance that night, a wonderful response from both the audience and the staff there. I also was lucky enough to get to see my future-in-laws- my fiance's oldest brother Lee and his wife Mary- and had a great time chatting with them afterwards, it was really nice to see someone I knew in a place so far from home, and we had a great time hanging out after the show.

The Irish Sea (of people!) at ShamRockFest

ShamRockFest in itself is a truly amazing and spectacularly enormous event! We arrived early enough to get to watch a lot of other great acts: I feel perhaps most interesting was Black 47. Apparently this is their last ShamRockFest and they are retiring in a few months- but I really enjoyed the majority of their set (I missed just the first couple of songs)- they have a really unique blend of Celtic, punk, and reggae complete with horns, bagpipes (I saw possibly the most amazing bagpipe solo I've ever heard in my life that day!), tin whistle, and were also the only Irish band there you could both skank and jump around to. It was a really special set, it also dawned on me that their frontman is sort've like a Celtic-rock version of Richard Hell- which was really cool and unique. I am definitely planning on getting their final album, "Final Call" for my turntable in the near future!!
As far as having the honor and privilege to play at ShamRockFest, it was absolutely a thrilling and changing moment- it was just a sea of people- to have roughly 30,000 people singing along to our cover of the, "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme and then launching into the opening track, "Year Gone By" off our new album was a total rush. I'll never forget the ShamRockFest experience and am looking forward to hopefully returning to it next year (as I know the band has played it 2 or 3 times before I joined)- it's a remarkable festival and definitely a special occasion to attend both as a fan of the music and as a performer as well.

I've also very recently decided to start writing some material for a solo EP, as to what it will be called is currently undecided and I just have a song and half written so far- it will be a long journey and something I work on only in between my time with the Fighting Jamesons- it could easily be a year or two before it's all written, recorded, and released- but it's something I've decided to carry forward with and am excited to have begun gradually writing it. In the mean time, please check out the new Fighting Jamesons album, "Every Day Above Ground"- as I'd/we'd love to hear what you think of it and hope you enjoy it!  Until next time......