Show Review & Photos: Brent Amaker and the Rodeo @ the Tractor Tavern

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Brent Amaker and the Rodeo plus Bunny Monroe messed up the Tractor Tavern really nice and dirty for a Spark & Shine (that’s their label) showcase. I also like to think they played extra well for me, because I extended my birthday celebrations last month to include seeing five cowboys play some sexy, perverse country music with marvelous babe Bunny Monroe. The band played new songs “Captain of the Ship,” “Tiger Inside,” and “Tequila Cerveza” (also now known as my new favorite song). They played a great combination of previously released material too, including “Break My Broken Heart,” “Sissy New Age Cowboy,” “Blood Dripping Blood,” “Doomed,” “Man in Charge,” and a stirring cover of Kraftwerk’s “Pocket Calculator.” The Tractor is an especially good venue for the band – it’s got great visibility and of course a country vibe to it. It also has great sound so you can hear the lush vocals, and the crispness of both lyrics and music. Germany gets plenty of Rodeo shows – and Denmark gets one – starting in September.


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Show Review & Photos: Ty Segall, The Audacity & Idle Times @ the Crocodile

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“Ty always draws a sausage fest!”– Matt Schmalfeld of The Audacity, post-show.

Well, to be fair and balanced, that was not totally in evidence at Seattle’s Crocodile on July 29th – there were definitely lots of girls in the audience. But, sure, the vibe was a little testosterone-y, but in a good way. An evening spent with garage rockers Ty Segall, The Audacity, and Idle Times is a bit like hanging out with a pack of giddy and hyper junior high school boys, each one urging the others to do something really cool and/or stupid, because cool and stupid is really fun. We were all one big collective 14-year-old boy at the Croc, smashing around and dancing to 3-minute, 3-chord odes to post-pubertal fabulousness.


Ty Segall– photos by Marianne Spellman


Ty Segall – photos by Dagmar

Seattle’s own Idle Times opened with a harder, heavier take on the garage. The trio, fronted by Brian Standeford on guitar and vocals, also brings in touches of the noisy regalia of pre-‘80s metal – just touches, mind you – with longer, winding guitar solos reminiscent of mid-‘60s psychedelia. Standeford was an expressive and charismatic frontman and Idle Times easily gained some new fans.


The Audacity – photo by Dagmar

Sunny strip-mall-and-Disney-soaked Orange County, California was represented gloriously by Audacity, a group of shaggy pals who are not long out of high school themselves, and who definitely retain the teenage punk spirit. Their complete youthy adorableness aside, most of the band members have been playing together since elementary school wherever and whenever they could, so their experience shows in a set that built confidently with just the right amount of swagger and grime, and ended with joyous tumult and smiles from all. I was further mesmerized by guitarist/vocalist Mat Schmalfeld’s glowingly-bright blond hair; it’s kind of a “Surfer Cobain” look he’s got there.


Idle Times – photo by Marianne Spellman

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Interview & Show Preview: Piggy D. of Rob Zombie (Rob Zombie & Slayer Play WaMu Theater Sat. 8/6)

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Bassist, singer and songwriter Piggy D. chatted with me earlier this year via telephone and was awesome enough to answer questions I had about his life and interests. Piggy D. plays bass in Rob Zombie and also has a really cool solo project, plus he’s working as one half of the band Black Foxx. He’s also a graphic designer and artist. His debut solo album, The Evacuation Plan is absolutely worth checking out, and new songs “Locust Dance” and “God Save the Queen Bee” floor me. You’ll be able to hear and see his bass playing prowess this Saturday, August 6th at WaMu Theater when Rob Zombie co-headlines with Slayer.

The song “God Save the Queen Bee” is fantastic. Are you going to be releasing more songs one by one?

Piggy D.: Thanks. I seem to be one of the only people that bought into this philosophy, as much as an album nerd as I am, especially with other bands, I think for lesser-established solo artists that’s 100 percent the wrong way to go. I’m kind of following my own BS theory. I just don’t think in 2011, technology the way it is, people have the attention span to listen to a 10 or 12 song record.


Piggy D. – photo courtesy of Piggy-D.com

I really liked your first solo album. “Roll Call” is very moving.

PD: Thank you, that’s one of my favorites.

How did you decide on your look for touring with Rob Zombie?

PD: It’s been a constant evolution. I think anybody who has the remotely artistic disease just kind of puts the paint to the canvas and whatever happens, happens. “God Save the Queen Bee” was a lot like that. That was the first time I’ve actually done stream of consciousness writing. I was up at 4 in the morning and I just started writing, and I didn’t stop. I didn’t think about what I was writing. The makeup kind of happened the same way. I didn’t sit down with Photoshop. I just kind of put the brush on my face and that’s what happened.

Kind of a natural thing then. Your family are musicians too?

PD: Before I was born my older brother played drums, my dad played bass, my mom played guitar and they’d play country and gospel songs. I grew up in Texas and was raised on that music. When my brother got into KISS and Van Halen I didn’t really stand a chance. I had Dolly Parton records, The Oak Ridge Boys records, and then I had Diver Down. I was screwed.

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Photos: Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers with Béla Fleck and the Original Flecktones @ Chateau Ste. Michelle

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Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers headlined at Chateau Ste. Michelle on Saturday evening. The band has released five CDs since its inception, including the live June 2011 Bride of the Noisemakers. They also brought Béla Fleck and the Original Flecktones with them for support. Photographer Alex Crick was there for the outdoor event:


Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers


Béla Fleck and the Original Flecktones

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