Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers at the Black Cat!!!

Shilpa Ray @ the Black Cat.

I owe a seriously huge thanks to my friend Doug for first telling me about this band a couple years ago; he had seen them at a festival I believe, and one day mentioned that he thought I would be interested. He definitely hit the hammer on the head with that statement. Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers gave an energetic and exciting performance, as I was lucky enough to witness it firsthand on Memorial Day at the Black Cat in Washington D.C.

Shilpa Ray uses a harmonium. A harmonium is a neat free-reed instrument, with a a keyboard and a drawer in the back that you repetitively open and close in order to pump its bellows. Sort of like if you took the bass/button/left-hand off an accordion and then laid it down flat. It's certainly an interesting factor in part of the creation of their unique sound; it's not a common inclusion in a band, especially not often so heavily used when included. Although the harmonium is perhaps most commonly associated with Indian music, her usage of it in this band is rather separate from that-- and probably has more in common with Nico's (yes, the same Nico from the Velvet Underground) solo albums than the latter. 

Shilpa Ray has a rather peculiar voice, not dissimilar to the spirit and charm of Patti Smith or the soulful grunting and howling of Janis Joplin. Yet her voice is certainly strong enough to stand on its own, and only faint reminders of others artists come to mind; just enough to make it seem somewhat familiar, but just different enough to be exciting and fresh. This is also true of the music itself-- it's equal parts early first-wave punk, indie-rock, and sixties psychedelic/acid-rock; all thrown in with  time-signature curve-balls, grooving melodic bass lines, buzz-saw guitar galore, and a propulsive rhythmic drive.

At this particular performance, the group did I believe all or just about all four of the songs off of their latest EP, It's All Self Fellatio; along with a healthy handful of selections from their debut album, Teenage & Torture. One thing I noticed right off the bat and was immediately caught up in was their drummer, John Adamski. This dude is a seriously hard-hitter!!!! He also had some rather intricate ways of doing things; not necessarily out of the ordinary, but a bit uncommon. He held his sticks more like a jazz drummer than most in rock outfits, he performed at least the first several songs with no cymbals-- all toms, bass, and snare. He stops and starts on a dime, and pounds away like there is no tomorrow. He was truly an impressive percussionist.

Shilpa Ray at the Black Cat.

Nick Hundley the bassist, had some very interesting melodic moments, and some rather fanciful walking lines here and there-- occasionally switching roles with the guitarist and often doing some pedal-steel guitar himself. Guitarist Andrew Bailey gave the audience both the attitude and immediacy of punk with his rhythmic playing, but also the stylistic chops and skills of a lead blues guitarist in his shining moments.

Though there was no opening act, it was honestly wonderful to just skip to the main attraction right away. The group gave a performance nothing short of impressive. They filled the room with hauntingly beautiful melodic drones, danceable grooves, and a crunchy guitar assault; with Shilpa's voice leading the way through their hard-hitting, sweat-drippping, blaring unique blend of indie-rock-- all topped with a wonderful and very brief split-second of awkward silence at the end of each song. That perfect delayed moment of realization that they just made your jaws drop to the floor before the room erupts into applause.

A diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: Jo Basile & His Orchestra, "Play Music From The Hit Musical Cabaret"

Jo Basile's accordion covers of, "Cabaret"

I picked up this particular record on a special trip to meet my girlfriend/now fiance's parents for the first time, and also to help her drive her car back from Texas. On the way back we stopped to visit her brother in Missouri before coming back to Virginia, and while we were there we stopped at an antique place near her brother's house where I was lucky enough to score this Jo Basile album.

The title basically says it all, but for those who aren't familiar with Jo Basile and his albums; what is quite peculiar about this album is that he often just does accordion instrumentals of folk/world music and each album usually tends to just focus on one country/ethnic style at a time. Never before have I seen or heard of him doing a musical, usually he always sticks to a certain country as the basic theme per each album. So common was this particular stance of his, that I don't know if besides this and the, My World album (Jo Basile also played clarinet- but often did not mention, reveal, or perform any clarinet on any of his other albums much at all or possibly ever- except the My World album).

Basile continually churned out countless incredible albums with various standards from around the globe and performing them into beautiful arrangements for accordion from one album to the next. This album is no exception, except for its focus being on the musical, Cabaret. If you've ever seen the famous film verison of the musical with Liza Minnelli, then you already should be aware that its a perfect fit for the accordion; due to its usage of it in various scenes throughout the duration of the film.

The main theme itself soars beautifully as the record first starts spinning; the backing music of this manages to be both aligned with what you would expect and somewhat parallel to the film version, but somehow more energetic and sincere and minus the comedic aspects. Basile's version of the title track is in itself a showstopper, full of pizazz and excellent showmanship. Things then get to a finger-snapping groove with the swinging number of, "Don't Tell Ma". A transition into, "Pineapple" starts with a bouncy and circus-like introduction; flowing into a smooth calming moment before coming full circle where it started. "What Would You Do" is both mysterious and suspenseful; full of ticking and clacking in the backing percussion before fading into the cheery, "Meeskite". "Meeskite" is a particularly neat number, with equal amounts of swing and melody, both catchy, and also boasting a nice saxophone solo.

Back of cover.

As we flip to side B, the charm continues with, "Willkommen"- a rather addictive melody, and quite a climatic point of the album, appropriately placed at this middle moment of the record. Things take an exciting melodic turn with the enchanting moods of, "Married" with its bicycle-bells and light waltz backing rhythm, fluttering melody fills with the main melody re-inserted by the light and breezy lead guitar. This then blends like musical camouflage into, "So What?" where the chorus picks up with a loud crashing energetic rather fast waltz chorus, complete with a booming tuba as the backbone of the alternating bass line. The record comes to a close with the light, "Tomorrow Belongs To Me", a pretty little number that helps the record give this instrumental dedication to Cabaret the perfect touch with the final ring out being the closing curtain of another show well done. Jo Basile's albums are always a delight, never a dull moment. As far as accordion instrumental albums go, his are always a must. In fact, he's pretty underrated compared to say Frankie Yankovic or Dick Contino for example; his music is just as talented and just as skillful, and arguably is melodically and stylistically more beautiful.

A GINORMOUS diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: Gogol Bordello's, "Super Taranta!"

Gogol Bordello's Super Taranta!

This merry bunch of immigrant-punks have been knocking out their trademark sound of gypsy-punk since 1999 with their first album, Voi La Intruder. Gogol Bordello pulls from various forms of European folk music: Eastern European & Klezmer, Ukrainian, especially Balkan, and many others combined with intense heavy doses of various rock influences. A perfect pinch of each is put into mix, creating a glorious union of genres while creating a style that is truly their own.

Gogol Bordello has been building a steady fan-base along the way of constructing seven studio albums since Voi La Intruder. Though it was with their third album, Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, that the bands momentum truly took off. During the earlier period of the social-media craze with Myspace, each month a new band with a single and/or video was posted that millions of users would see/hear before logging in. Gogol Bordello was once featured on the front sporting their promotional single, "Start Wearing Purple" for the album and garnered the band even more attention.

Building upon this momentum, their next and fourth album to follow was Super Taranta! After the initial statement was made with Voi La Intruder, then stylistically harnessed with Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony, and then they were full embraced with the success of Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike. By that third album, and by switching to from Rubric Records to a more mainstream label with SideOneDummy Records; the group hit a critical turning point, they've gained both the attention, but now also the support they need and became truly limitless as a band. SideOneDummy Records being a bigger label, had the necessary muscle to provide better distribution for the bands records and related methods of support. At this point the band had mastered their craft; this album in particular, is arguably a creative high-point for the band and the results produced are arguably their best album up until that point-- or perhaps even yet!

Gatefold design containing two LP's.

The record is packaged brightly with a nice green background while portraying the band with nice cut-outs from live performances. What lies inside after you unfold the the stylish gatefold style cover, is an even more thrilling album properly dished out over the course of two LP's.

Things kick off rather bold with, "Ultimate" and then into a highly singable crowd-pleaser with, "Wonderlust King". Don't be fooled though, Gogol Bordello isn't a band that cares about playing it safe, things get to a wild chugging beat on, "Zina-Marina" and then explode with a brass-heavy chorus guest-starring Slavic Soul Party. Yuri Lemeshev then charms us his catchy and skillful accordion introduction on, "Supertheory Of Supereverything" with the energy constantly climbing before fading and wrapping side A of the first record.

The hard-hitting, "Harem In Tuscany (Taranta)" is ans infectious energetic tune, rich with melody and flaunting the bands instrumental showmanship; complete with an undeniably catchy chorus. The song gallops to an incredible climax and drop us out with an exciting transition into that irresistible chorus just once more before cooling things off just a tad with, "Dub The Frequencies of Love". The tempo keeps chugging along with the introduction of, "My Strange Uncles From Abroad" and possesses a dramatic fiddle line by the one and only Sergey Ryabtsev. Approaching end to the second side, Yuri belts out a fantastic and uplifting solo; followed by another solo by Sergey, and another chorus that has you shouting along in no time. As the first record comes to a close, the intensity has hinted the party has only just begun!

Back side & label.

 The second record jams out a fun shouting sing-along, "Tribal Connection" with just enough pace to keep things upbeat without losing any variety. Thomas "Tommy T" Gobena's bass line gives the song an incredible groove, and Yuri's reverb-drenched accordion provides a wonderful sense of atmosphere to the tune. Now that the band has given you a nice change of pace, they take you by storm with the thrashing speed of, "Forces of Victory". The flaring melodies jammed into the tight spaces of such a fast-paced song on this number is truly impressive. At the same time, you don't get the sense that they are simply trying to cram notes in or simply show off; it's a well written song full of melodic intensity-- the fact that they are showing off is merely coincidental. This song serves a great sense of purpose to the record in terms of tempo variations for side A of the second LP. They begin to wrap up side A of the second record with a calmer tone in, "Alcohol" ; and then conclude this side with "Suddenly... (I Miss Carpaty)" a high-voltage tune, where the band continually starts and stops on a dime.

The final side of the second record starts to spin with, "Your Country" is a neat song full of variety in changes, even featuring a neat synthesizer moment in the mid-section; this song really surprises you at every turn; it's kind of weird even, but incredibly fun and makes its mark as a unique number on the album. "American Wedding" sees the band launch into another gypsy-punk party, complete with another undeniably catchy chorus, and once again backed by the fantastic brass work of Slavic Soul Party.  The final closing song of the album, "Super Taranta!" features a brief return to the melody introduction from, "Supertheory of Supereverything" before launching into a world of its own full of rolling tribal-like percussion, and a highly danceable Balkan-like melody. The melody continues to build momentum, and the percussion continues to rumble with intensity layered by delayed guitar; the fiddle scrubbing away at the melody more, before rebuilding that intensity back up again. Finally exploding into a full blast of punk fury and dramatically ringing out, and then yet again fooling us and building us up yet once more; with those Balkan melodies still jittering above the surface before finally letting go.

For a band that single-handedly coined the term, "gypsy-punk"; who have mastered their unique fusion of these styles, and practically responsible for its creation altogether. Gogol Bordello really made an incredible album this go around, filled with rich melodies; ripe with hooks and strong choruses. It's an album that's loaded with fun, flare, and energy. It's put them on a fast-track to where they are today with the records that followed, "Trans-Continental Hustle" and most recently with, "Pura Vida Conspiracy" and proved them a force to be reckoned with.