Portland’s Michael Dean Damron began exorcising his demons about 12 years ago, and lucky for us, it’s still a work in progress. Both as a solo artist and with an assembled band of crazy local hotshots dubbed I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House, Damron continually succeeds, however, in enveloping his inner turmoils and …
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In this video for the Psychedelic Furs’ classic “Into You Like A Train,” brothers Tim and Richard Butler recreate the post-punk magic of their early days. In my interview on my website Intermittent Signals, Tim discusses the creation of the Furs’ landmark Talk Talk Talk, the album that spawned “Pretty in Pink.” Here’s the link …
One of the biggest NW music legends passed on today, after fighting cancer. I’ve met Kent Morrill of the Fabulous Wailers several times, and he had class and talent to spare. Mr. Morrill was 70, just a kid when he started turning Tacoma upside down. Hendrix was a fan, enough said. – Steve Stav . …
Here’s an unbelievably inaccurate, insensitive and racist episode of “Freeloaders” with John Stossel (on FOX) that attacked American Indians for being deadbeats and government leeches. The worst thing, I think, I’ve ever seen on a “news” program. Among other bizarre questions, Stossel asked why the isolated Mormons became wealthy while the isolated Indians stayed poor. …
Seattle’s legendary psychedelic band The Daily Flash on “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.”… The Flash crossed paths, once or twice, with notorious LSD cook/cultural icon Owsley Stanley, who died in a car crash today. This clip is so trippy, it would seem Owsley was dosing folks off-camera… but alas, no, just bad TV. Here’s the Youtube …
“At some point in young manhood, I fell in love with Sade’s stomach.” – from my upcoming autobiography, The Luckiest Unlucky Man. – Steve Stav
“Sting, the Jazz Man.” He DID have the sense to surround himself with the best jazzmen available. When this double LP came out, I played this song incessantly. Later, I find its mesmerizing-crescendo structure to be reminiscent of something Chico Hamilton would do. A great performance, Omar Hakim’s solo has become iconic in the drum …
YouTube has made critical commentary on Imelda May’s astonishingly obvious talent and beauty completely superfluous. However, the dozens of clips do prompt one vital observation: whether Ms. May and her band of hotshots are performing rockabilly in a nightclub or a blues standard in an arena — they always bring their “A” game. Seasoned pro …
Despite some great, great records, The Paladins never achieved the fame that their roots-rock, SoCal predecessors The Blasters and X enjoyed. Nevertheless, they remain an epitome of the hard-working, immensely talented, touring roadhouse band… and in the genre, you will find few guitarists more skilled than Dave Gonzalez. After spending a half-decade on hiatus, they’ve …
Nick Millward and his fabulous Riffbrokers have been providing sweet, crunchy audio candy to the NW for over 10 years now, from power pop to Americana. Nick explores the power and magic of the hillbilly spiritual on a great new song, available for free download. http://riffbrokers.bandcamp.com/track/leaning-on-the-everlasting-arms – Steve Stav
“Ground is too hard… if he wanted a proper burial, he should have gotten himself killed in the summer.” How many times in the past few years have I seen a film, and by the time I got home wanted to see it again? Not many… but I’m going to catch an encore of True …
I love the different interactions between animals and babies. Our cats run and hide when a visiting baby cries; I think they think it’s a wounded animal. When my sister was little she had a tomcat – the biggest damn cat I’d ever seen, looked like a lion. I wouldn’t want to have pissed the …
Neko Case has created a lot of compelling music in the last decade, both as an alt-country chanteuse and as a New Pornographer. However, my sentimental favorite is 2000’s Furnace Room Lullaby, the album that propelled her out of the Pacific Northwest and into international stardom. Furnace Room Lullaby firmly established a sort of trademarked …
Some have somewhat correctly labeled the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a “starting point,” where my point is that it shouldn’t have been a point at all. Holy Moley, when you step back and look at it, it’s amazing to note how our country goes so far out of its way to prove …
. At 21, she had a few years on me; nonetheless, I was sure that Maria McKee and I could somehow work it out. Oh, how I was in love with this girl during my last gasps of high school in 1985-1986. Coming along after X and the Blasters but years before the terms “Americana” …
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Portland actress hits it big in trashy bar comedy, by Steve Stav
. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? How scandalously profane! My favorite episode has to be the one about “freedom” at Paddy’s, where Danny DeVito’s character is allowing a Chinese poker game in the basement that soon devolves into Russian roulette. I get a kick out of how most of the actors are married to each …
It is truly amazing to realize that the retarded can type, let alone use a computer. The retarded seem to have been called out of the woodwork in recent, post-Bush months: they litter the comments section of any newspaper in the country, and their passionate, if not correctly spelled proclamations of patriotism, fury and resentment …
Nothing more painful to the pocketbook than being in love with a gold digging whore… especially when you’re short on bling. Cee-Lo (last seen in Gnarls Barkley) borrows heavily from Nilsson‘s classic, “You’re Breakin’ My Heart” and creates a soulful statement that I’m sure will be, in turn, borrowed by many a broken man. – …
Yes, the Joshua Tree was fabulous. Yes, they’ve had a great career since. But U2 was never more exciting, more glorious, more relevant than in this moment in time: – Steve Stav (http://www.stevestav.com) … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A few points to not talk about, for once 😉 It seems so many are working their little minds so hard in fruitless avenues, so it should be noted that: 1. The government will not be getting “smaller” – no matter what you define “smaller” as. Why? For one thing, the country is getting bigger, …
By Steve Stav China is urging the US to cancel a meeting between Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. This has gotten me thinking. If we’d only paid attention to MacArthur and dropped a bomb or two on these bastards, they wouldn’t be beatin’ up monks, imprisoning dissenters and executing retarded people today. But then …
The Latest From Steve Stav is Part Two of a three part series on the Seattle World’s Fair: http://www.stevestav.com/2012/04/elvis-jfk-and-it-happened-at-worlds.html
Steve Stav’s latest is part one of a three part series on the Seattle World’s Fair: http://www.stevestav.com/2012/04/50-years-of-wonder-and-counting.html
Someone’s comment somewhere has stuck with me: “Blue Oyster Cult’s Buck Dharma is the Edgar Allan Poe of rock.” “I Love The Night” is often interpreted as a great vampire song, and I concur. It’s also one of the most perfect ballads I can think of; I’ve loved it since I was a kid. One …
Laugh in the Dark by Tommy Keene catches you by surprise and reminds you of fun as would a county fair stop on your way to a funeral. On “All Gone Away” Keene delves into the brief, transitory nature of our existence and asks “27 minutes left for you, how do you want it to …
Here’s a fantastic 26 minutes of latter day Roxy. The first tune is the fabulous “Dance Away,” with the immortal line “You’re dressed to kill and guess who’s dyin’?” The second tune is their Avalon-era cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” Steve Stav, who viewed this particular tour in Vancouver, BC, called it, “awesome, mindblowing.”
I like the idea of an over-the-top gothic Gatsby for the 21st Century, and this version of Fitzgerald’s novel looks like it could be an amazing ride in 3D. I only wish they’d gone for period music in the soundtrack, or orchestral music simulating period music, or even electro dance pop incorporating period music. Gatsby …
Dominican-American singer, Leslie Grace, has a true crossover hit with her version of the Shirelles 1960 hit “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”which she sings in both English and Spanish. (A live clip of the Shirelles performing this tune in 1964, backed by a rough, rockin’, almost garage-like band, is here and embedded below.) According …
Hello, dear readers. August 5 proved to be another hectic day for Mr. Renton. Sunday began by covering the Seafair Cup races at Lake Washington, including another mindblowing aerial display by the Blue Angels. Nighttime found yours truly catching, simultaneously, JESSE SYKES at Gainesbourg and KASEY CHAMBERS at The Triple Door. In between, Mr. Renton …
Steve Stav reviews new film Prometheus in Ink 19.