One’s 30th birthday is typically the staging ground for life crises and philosophical introspection, and Jenny Lewis’ own impending milestone has given birth to Rabbit Fur Coat, a quiet solo departure from the power pop of Lewis’ other band, Rilo Kiley. Backed by the literally named Watson Twins, Lewis abandons keyboards and thundering drums for three-part harmonies and barely-there guitar…
Tunnel Vision Brilliance could prompt purchases with its cover alone, as long as designers supplement its disturbing imagery (lumberjacklike Scott Reeder floating shirtless in embryonic fluid) with a sticker that reads: “The solo debut from the bassist of Obsessed and Kyuss.” Like a more intimate expression of the latter band’s psychedelic side, Tunnel Vision Brilliance combines trippy guitar leads and…
This San Francisco quartet’s new album, Taught to be Proud, opens with a song that’s delightfully reminiscent of the Band’s “The Weight.” As the album progresses, it becomes increasingly easy to dismiss its traces of Phish, the Allmans and (the more whimsical, song-oriented side of) the Dead as too obvious, but the flat-out ear-pleasing appeal of Tea Leaf Green’s gentle…
2005 was big for the Appleseed Cast. Despite having members venture off occasionally to play with the likes of Chin Up Chin Up, Coalesce and Old Canes, the Cast not only ticked off an eight-week West Coast tour with Minus Story but also signed with Militia Group and managed to record an album before the year was out. Slated for…
“Carnie rock” is a genre repeatedly overlooked by the most discerning of music listeners — or anyone with ears, really. The three grown-ass men of Wylde Chipmunck & the Cuddley-Poos are looking to call more attention to this oft-ignored sound, bringing to mind day-old funnel cakes, snake-oil peddlers and rickety Ferris wheels. Made up of players from KC acts…
Bar Trivia rule No. 618: Faced with a Ron Carter question, always go counterintuitive and choose “all of the above.” Bassist for Miles Davis Quintet’s seminal mid-’60s records? Yep. The man jousting with Herbie Hancock’s left hand on V.S.O.P. recordings such as “Cantaloupe Island”? You bet. Featured in both Robert Altman’s Kansas City and the Dexter Gordon showcase ‘Round Midnight?…
In the spirit of great Texas machismo traditions such as rodeo, politics and barbecue cook-offs, Dallas-based hard-rock band the Feds are as heavy as Texas crude is black. On the band’s first official, self-titled release after three years of touring and earning accolades, the dual-guitar attack of Jason Jones and Matthew Wright thunders with technical prowess and garage enthusiasm. On…
That’s it — we give up. If we spent every waking moment thinking about it, we still couldn’t give you a reason not to see Cake in concert, or at least not one that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. If you haven’t already been, an evening with John McCrea and co. is exactly what you’d expect — an…
The novelty song, be it “The Monster Mash,” “Fish Heads” or “Eat It,” has always been a staple of the adolescent male. But sometimes the funniest songs are made by stone-faced men — and these men should not be congratulated. When Disco D (working with a collaborator we shall call “Mr. Britney Spears”) released the song “PopoZao” at the stroke…
With snarling punk hooks, Clash-saluting reggae backbeats, wall-banging disco and lyrics about the continual series of disappointments that is life in proletarian England, Hard-Fi, a rock quartet from the far reaches of West London, puts the kickass back into working class. In fact, we at the Pitch were so inspired by Hard-Fi’s desperate, pub-smashing sound on its debut record, Stars…
In a simpler world, the Kansas Music Hall of Fame would already have a home. It might have the feel of the legendary Red Dog Inn, the mid-’60s incarnation of what’s now Liberty Hall in Lawrence. Bill Lee, KMHOF president and the man whose enthusiasm for a bygone era of Kansas rock and roll keeps the dream alive, would…
The song begins with a reverb-soaked solo guitar riff, ringing, open strings coated in trebly twang — a sunny lick that sounds straight off a midcareer R.E.M. record or a recent Ryan Adams disc. A chorus of acoustics brings the riff into a countrified groove. Then a voice comes in, a guy who sounds carefree but determined, like it’s the…
To outsiders, the life of a DJ is a charmed one. These lords of the dance get to spin records, preside over sweat-slickened club floors packed with gyrating bodies, remix classic tracks to make them even more funky, drink Red Bull and vodka at 2 a.m., sleep ’til noon and generally live a life steeped in hip music. But DJs…
Cause and affect: I read Nadia Pflaum’s article on Esmie Tseng (“Is Esmie Evil?” January 5). And by sending this e-mail, I am in no way saying the story was bad or not needed. However, I think that you, being the press, believe that you have every right to publish things that people such as Mark Harvey or Ashley say….
Hip-hop MC Priceless Diamonds describes herself as a “boss bitch” who grew up boosting clothes and turning the occasional trick. She’s no angel, but she’s got advice. So listen up, y’all. All of my girlfriends are getting pregnant. I’m horrified … maybe there’s something in the water? What’s the most effective birth control? Abstinence. All them birth control, all that…
Well, Kansas City, at least we’re No. 1 for something. You see, while the Royals and the Chiefs were screwing up this year, Kansas Citians were busy screwing each other. The result? By December, the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department had clocked a 150 percent increase in syphilis cases over the previous year. Meanwhile, cross-state rival St. Louis was noticing…
Ever since the Monday after Thanksgiving, when Sundance Film Festival organizers called to say they wanted to show his 20-minute movie along with work by directors Gwyneth Paltrow and Bob Odenkirk (of HBO’s Mr. Show), Gary Huggins has been puzzled. “How did I get in?” asks the 38-year-old part-time librarian. “I like my short. It’s good. But I can’t believe…
Clad in desert fatigues and clutching M-16 rifles, four soldiers circle a wounded dog in the desert wasteland. Its hind legs are crushed. It has been slowly baking in the 120-degree heat. The men decide to rush its fate. Backed by a dozen men and four Bradley tanks, the soldiers have blockaded a road to search suspicious vehicles a few…
Spoken-word nights can be mostly about hip-hop bravado, but Raenaldo Torres sticks with a self-deprecating approach — and his content usually surpasses that of his confident competitors. Torres has taken home more cash than almost anyone on the local slam scene, but this self-proclaimed “25-year-old who’s made 50 years of mistakes” is in it for the expression. His poems suggest…
North Kansas City’s Harley-Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations plant (11401 North Congress), which opened in 1998, has the distinction of being the only H-D facility to produce an entire motorcycle from start to finish. As the company’s Web site succinctly puts it, “People and process converge in Kansas City to transform raw materials into custom American muscle.” Hear that? Custom…
Meditation seems like such a healthy thing to do — but logging off the iBook for an entire hour seems like, you know, such a waste of time. Now stressed-out Internet addicts everywhere don’t have to. Former KC resident and Center for Enlightenment founder Jane Hart leads an online healing meditation service at 6 p.m. each Tuesday. It’s based in…
I wasn’t surprised that my column on how much to tip for a bottle of wine (“Wine Whine,” December 15, 2005) led to a flurry of e-mails. These included, of course, a couple of rants from the cheapskate anti-tipping contingent, who always trot out that same tired argument, “If restaurants paid their servers a living wage, we wouldn’t have to…
Not long after I moved to Kansas City in 1984, I was introduced to a woman who asked if my last name was Italian. When I said yes, she smiled and said, “I’ll bet you really like spaghetti and meatballs.” It was such a bizarre comment, I let it slide. But a month or so later, I met another…
Beautiful Fractals Barista and visual artist Leto Blackman apparently isn’t shy about self-promotion. As the general manager of the coffee shop that exhibits his work, Blackman has taken advantage of the position’s perks. One of them is the response he hears from behind the counter as customers — primarily coffee drinkers, not necessarily art enthusiasts — react to his…
