originally recorded upstate for our demo, then J&R's music word in 2005, by the time it was burned onto a CD-R it was part of our debut EP as A Black Tie Affair alongside 'Summer v. Winter', 'Plan B', 'Clean Disease, 'Pornography', 'Tragedy' and the 'Daze of Our Lives'
the Daze of Our Lives was the first to go.
A foul smelling 16 year old replied to my craigslist ad for bass
he showed up, and stunk up, my chair and instrument in Park Slope
but this kid, (he said he was just turning 18- when in reality he was soon turning 17. Worked out to his advantage, we didn't hesitate to play with him and a photo of our first show with him became the centerfold of the VERY FIRST book and project to be crowdsourced by Kickstarter. Yes, the JSE was in kickstarter โ 1. As bad as he smelled, (a friend once complained of a hug that stayed on her for days following) it all worked out for him as he got to celebrate turning 21 with us twice, two years in a row and we, of course, celebrated with shows, gigs and parties at open bars. His bass playing was not to be fucked with. The day I met him is the day he tracked the bass for "the Daze of our lives" and as uncertain as it is at times (that i can hear, at least... the tiny hesitations and uneasyness of not being quite 100% confident in a new environment, auditioning for a band - of ADULTS - while you're in a strange, gay mans bedroom- I'm sure it was all a little daunting for him, despite how easy or uneasy I may have been trying to make him in the moment. Still, he shone, and I used that take and never replaced it. I feel, to this day, you can still hear all of the above baked into the digital RMS and peaking amplitudes and it does nothing but make me smile- at the time capsule or time machine that recorded music is, after all.
Nappy wanted to play in A Black Tie Affair, being the metalhead that he is, but when we turned my GarageBand in my new brownstone bedroom apartment into Aphex Twin, Nappy knew exactly what to do and he laid down a few takes, but exponentially increased their value by a few HUNDRED when he EQd, effected and tweaked some six or seven basslines, overlayed, overdubbed and over done, one after the other, to make the final lead-ending sections of "Afterall" the first song, on the first JSE album, really something special.
Actually, Afterall would wind up releasing on the 2nd album, but at the time, we had no idea. It was still and always was designed to be part 1 of a 12 part story and just because we (Nappy, Natalia and eventually Joe and I) finished up the 20-song b-sides record "the Trouble with Neith" (which includes, or rather, NOW includes, it always should have, a definate mistake and glaring omission if ever) first.
So, when all is said and done, Alex "Nappy" Gonzalez was basically bribed and blackmailed into being the bass player for my precious JSE, as it was the only way HE COULD also be our bass player in A Black Tie Affair. This situation, unfathomably so, would remain effective until his relocation to Kissimmee, Florida some several years after his aformentioned 21st
lyrics
the Departed Grates
yea-yeah
ahuh nah-uh
you know the sound it makes when
the baby's rattle breaks
why you gotta go an' spit in my eye?
you've got 1 life to live,
yer fractions' gotta give
you've got to try to tell a convincing lie
yea-yeah
ahuh nah-uh
i know the voice inside yer head
coz some nights
i swear i hear it too
you leave a trail
of breadcrumbs to find me
as for you -
I'll make you come , yea
ahuh nah-uh
Even if you try
the children'll just deny you are
the reason i wrote this fucking song
you know the sound it makes
the church shutter breaks
I'm feeling like I've just been kicked in the eye
Dear John, don't be cold
Purple Girl meets the Green Boy
Please don't be afriad, you've still
got what it takes-
even modest people can kick "it" and die
Bruising rock songs with the overdriven guitar glory of shoegaze, this Sydney band submerge irresistible hooks in oceans of distortion. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 27, 2021
The Shivas deliver a set of righteous three-chord wonders with a mean streak that will always be to the tastes of a certain doomy subset of โ60s rock fans. Bandcamp Album of the Day Oct 29, 2019
On this Spaghetti Western soundtrack minus the movie, LA surf band Trabants pay tribute to iconic scores of 60s Italian exploitation films. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 16, 2018
Mystical new single from Australian psych project the Dandelion features twisting Farfisa lines, ghostly vocals, and spaced out atmosphere. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 16, 2018
Two girls and two guys from Geneva, Switzerland, make raucous and danceable Slits-esque punk songs with lyrics in English. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 30, 2016