The Pick of Silent Awesome

Honey White frontman Bryn DuBois checks in with yet another brilliant anecdote:

At long last, here is something I had meant to document weeks ago.

This is the coolest gift I received from my students this year: I have dubbed it the Pick of Silent Awesome. Conner and Ian from my 6th period class presented it to me on the last day of school so that I could use it to "shred it up with the band."

Which is, of course, yet another reason that the band should get together some time in the not-too-distant future. There has not been enough shredding in the world of Honey White recently, in my opinion. The upside, of course, is that the lack of shred has given me the time to become a Teacher.

Fine work all around, gentlemen.

Bryn ("Mr. DuBois")

The Three-Decade Mark Marches On!

Another denizen of the My Band Rocks world has passed the age of 30: erstwhile Mojo Wire frontman Adam Hill did so this week. Happy birthday Adam!

This spate of inexorable shattering of the 30-mark has been going on ever since Bryn smashed it back in October, and Billy demolished his own marker earlier this month. It will continue apace late next month, when it'll be Brian's turn, and then (I believe) Joe is next up after that in September. I, of course, pioneered this ugly reality almost three years ago. Ye gods.

But right now belongs to Adam—because he is also the only one of us degenerate rock stars to choose fatherhood. I met baby Sarah for the second time last weekend and she is already a budding rock star. Adam and Marie will have much Sarah-related stardom to contend with in the future.

Honey White Drummer Takes Out a Rabbit's Heart

Because that's what you do when you're a professional kick-ass mechanic with some free time. What, you thought this would be his Ozzy moment? Well...we shall see. Happy birthday Billy!

Ten YEARS Man! ("Seaside Hamlet Skids" Edition)

The auspicious date of April 20 is a legendary one here at My Band Rocks World HQ: the first Honey White show in history took place on this date in 2002 (Roma's in Santa Barbara, with Norm and Johanna Reed's mighty Buttcheek Doofus), and one of the best Honey White shows ever also happened on this date in 2005 (Nicholby's in Ventura). However, ten years ago, on 4/20/99, my first band the Mojo Wire released its third album, Seaside Hamlet Skids. For whatever reason, that poorly-recorded, muddy little album still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and this third entry in the "Ten YEARS, Man!!!" series highlights the Mojos on that goofy acoustic slice of surf-noir. Click on the link below for a self-congratulatory, pretentiously vain essay by yours truly. Listen to some audio below that.

The History Mix #2: No Lifeguard On Duty

Let's face it- "trouble in paradise" is probably the oldest and most banally superficial cliche in the history of popular songwriting. It is initially, however, a real kick in the head when you happen to notice it. Exposing the nasty, poisonous underbelly of some idyllic Shangri-la is one of the first rebellious impulses that anyone learns, and if they're lucky, they won't forget to apply it to any subsequent promise of perfection. Righteous anger doesn't exactly have much of a half-life, of course, but it tends to go down easier with a nice slathering of sweetness on top. That was the eventual modus operandi of the Mojo Wire on their third album, but the mostly acoustic, folky surf-noir of Seaside Hamlet Skids doesn't easily place itself in the canon of pretentious bubble-bursting, despite some loosely-focused effort. More...

Play this album (with 4 bonus tracks!):

Unrepentant Fanboys, Part 7: Keir's List of Listyness

OK, my turn for a top tunes list in Bryn's and Brian's categories and then some. You may guffaw and cringe whenever necessary. I decided to not use the same songs from my last list, and ended up careening through my iPod in a roller-coaster ride so great that it reminded me how much of a rut I can get stuck in, listening-wise.

Guitar
"Left On," Sea and Cake. S&C does a Mermen-goes-to-Gaviota impression.
"Took out a Loan," BRMC. Great first riff/note/song on a hit and miss album.
"Zoo Station," U2. Edge tries to make his guitar a percussion instrument. And fails.
"The Rolling People," the Verve. Nick McCabe almost makes up for Richard Ashcroft on vocals.
"Waka" and "Sweethearts," Camper Van Beethoven. Viva Greg Lisher.
"Lief Erikson," Interpol. The proverbial reverb-nostalgia sound.
"Skin Diving," James. The wettest guitar that's not surf guitar.
"Top Yourself," Raconteurs. Acoustic slide awesome from Jack White.

Drums
"Seven Days," Cracker. Just my favorite drum sound is all.
"Dress," PJ Harvey. It's the semi-syncopation that gets me here.
"Murder by Numbers," the Police. Obligatory Stewart Copeland entry.
"Song for the Dead," Queens of the Stone Age. Obligatory Dave Grohl entry.
"Brecon Beacons," Supergrass. Another favorite drum sound song.
"Finest Worksong," R.E.M. From back when Bill Berry powered the engine.

Bass
"Spiderwebbed," Tortoise. I can't have a bass list without Tortoise, that's why.
"Lipstick Vogue," Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Bruce Thomas was so good that Costello couldn't stand it and kicked him out.
"Iiieeee," Tori Amos. Big, thick, and creamy. Mmmmm.
"The Way," "Quentin Mack," and "Dead Nigga Blvd.," by Meshell Ndegeocello. See note on Tortoise above.
"Jeremiah Blues Pt I," Sting. Yes, I just put Sting in there. No, I'm not sorry.
"Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come," U2. Obscure B-side that rocks the echo-bass. Seriously!
"Three Days," Jane's Addiction. Prototypical circular bass line in 10-minute epic form.
"Rain," the Beatles. Perfect B-side to guitar-driven "Paperback Writer" single.
"All Your Way," Morphine. Same as Meshell and Tortoise. Great Morphine riff.

Vocals
"God is in the Radio," Queens of the Stone Age.
"Isla de Encanta," Pixies. Black Francis + Spanglish + screaming = awesome.
"Switching Off," Elbow. Guy Garvey is my favorite singer these days.
"Comfort Eagle," Cake. Truly the fusion of epic and deadpan. Genius.
"It Wasn't Me," Jenny Lewis. "It wasn't me, I wasn't there, I was stone drunk, it isn't clear."
"Prison Girls," Neko Case. Neko got good once she stopped trying to be Patsy Cline.
"The Seed 2.0," the Roots. Both Cody Chestnutt and Black Thought effortlessly kick ass.
...and every Tricky song that features Martina Topley-Bird, just on general principles.

Keys
"St. Petersburg," Supergrass. Shuffly piano drives the whole song.
"100% Dundee," the Roots. Wet echoey keyboards = win.
"Chopsticks," Liz Phair. It's the inverse of the Chopsticks scene in Big. In a good way.
"Emily's Theme/White Rabbit," Nathan Johnson. The "Brick" riff on piano. Gorgeous.

Random Crap
"Tania," Camper Van Beethoven. For Jonathan Segel's violin.
"15 Step," Radiohead. For the sample of the schoolkids. This could go on the bass one too.
"Turd on the Run," Rolling Stones. For Mick Jagger's harmonica.
"Tonight," TV on the Radio. For the wind chimes.
"The Devil You Know," Jesus Jones. For the backwards-loop sitar sample. Good vocals too.
"I Miss You," Bjork. For the accordion sample.
"The Birth and Death of the Day," Explosions in the Sky. For the whole band's warm-bath-of-noise intro.

Honey White stuff:
Guitar: Brian on "Dead Man" and "Oblivion," Bryn on "Keep Moving" and "Let Go," both on "Blacking Out."
Drums: "Lighning Rod," of course, but I really like how the "Blacking Out" drums worked out. And "Sandman" too. Having Bill as a drummer definitely made me a better bassist.
Bass: Personally I really like my simple "Nightfall" line a lot these days. It's so much fun to play. I'll also take both versions of "Lightning Rod" plus a side of "Island" and "Mercy Rule."
Vocals: I agree with Bryn—getting bent definitely helped him pull off a great "Island Fever" take.
Keys: I think the aforementioned "Let Go" and "Keep Moving" entries have this one covered.
Random: What else could it be but the "Sean Goes to Africa" theremin?

Unrepentant Fanboys, Part 6: Brian's List of Listyness

In which Brian takes the bait and responds to Bryn's List of Listyness:

Awesome! After a long day, I've been looking for something fun and non-sciencey to think about. My list:

Guitar:
"Cortez the Killer" Neil Young... I'm thinking of the Weld version, but all versions of this song I've heard are tremendous
"Dead Man Theme" Neil Young... the perfect blend of distorted messy echoey guitar with acoustic strumming
"Shine on you Crazy Diamond" Pink Floyd... nearly half an hour of awesome guitar playing
"Time Trap" Built to Spill... the intro to this song is one of the best 30 seconds of music ever
"Contra - Alien's Lair and Boss Music" The Advantage... I realize it's a little ridiculous to have Nintendo music on this list, but I'm doing it anyway

Drums:
"Night Light" Sleater Kinney... there are half a dozen tracks on this album that could go on this list. Janet Weiss is awesome.
"The Funny Bird" Mercury Rev... big loud reverby drums of awesomeness
"Are You a Hypnotist??" Flaming Lips... drum machine / drum hybrid, but it sounds great... all produced by Dave Fridmann so far
"Y Control" Yeah Yeah Yeahs... something about the slightly-off timing of the rapid-fire high-hat sounds just awesome
"National Anthem" Radiohead... straight-forward drumming, but it sounds so nice

Bass:
"As Sure As the Sun" BRMC... bad-ass riff. enough said
"Airbag" Radiohead... ultra-minimalist, but perfect for the song
"Gronlandic Edit" Of Montreal... love this band's poppy basslines and dance beats
"Hanging On A Curtain" Morphine... I agree with Bryn, the bass on this song rules
"Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell" Flaming Lips... the whole Yoshimi album revolves around awesome bass lines

Keyboards/Synth:
"The Past Is A Grotesque Animal" Of Montreal... the keyboard solo at the end is so amazing that I had to include this category
"Zero" Yeah Yeah Yeahs... holy shit, their transition from hard rock to dance pop actually worked
"Everything in its Right Place" Radiohead... one of the coolest keyboard sounds ever
"The Rip" Portishead... the second half of the song has such a beautiful keyboard sound
"Old Shit New Shit" the Eels... love the keyboards in the chorus, though I could say that about a lot of Eels songs

Vocals:
"Do the Evolution" Pearl Jam... best voice in the business, I still think
"Zero" Yeah Yeah Yeahs... sexiest voice in the business. I've been kind of obsessed with this song recently.
"The Penalty" Beirut... for a crooner, he ain't half bad
"For Reverend Green" Animal Collective... rapid switching between subdued, yelling, and falsetto, and it somehow works
"Half Day Closing" Portishead... great vocal sound, and that reverb-coated wail at the end sounds amazing

Honey White:
Guitar - Bryn on Let Go. I love tremolo. I should have used it more.
Drums - Drumbot 3000 on Lightning Rod. I love the rapid high-hat hits. No, I mean I LOVE THEM. Runner up: Polarity, I love where the drums took that song.
Bass - Blacking Out. The bass has such a dark vibe that is absolutely perfect for the song.
Keyboards - Keep Moving. I still love tremolo. Plus, it's me!
Vocals - Keep Moving. I think it has the biggest dynamic shifts and the most feeling. Runner up is Let Go when the backing vocals show up in the last chorus. Man, that sounds awesome.

So there you have it. I was tempted to add a "theramin" category, but I could only come up with three songs. Unless you count that guy on youtube with the bow tie playing that song for his mom. That guy rules. Seriously, he does.

So far Bill and I have resisted the temptation to yet again listify ourselves, but I already feel my willpower growing slack and flabby.

Unrepentant Fanboys, Part 5: Bryn's List of Listyness

In which Bryn checks in with yet another fanboy list of his favorite musical music, "High Fidelity"-style:

I put this together the other night on the way home from UCI after 4 hours of teaching and 6 hours of sitting in college classes; basically, with my mind wandering helplessly from overwork the thought occurred to me that a few of the songs that had been playing had, for example, one of my favorite guitar or drum tracks. So I decided to expand upon that and come up with my top 5 for guitar, drums, bass and vocals.

Guitar:
"Time," Pink Floyd. (On the strength of the solo alone.)
"Goin' Against Your Mind," Built to Spill. (There is no guitar in this song that is not awesome.)
"And the Flowers They'll Bloom," the Mermen. (How does he control feedback so well?)
"Either Way," Wilco. (How had I never heard of Nels Kline before?)
"Little Wing," Stevie Ray Vaughan. (Regardless of what you think of his other stuff you should give SRV's version of this a listen. It's amazing.)

Drums:
"Driven to Tears," the Police. (Best! Drummer! Ever!)
"When the Levee Breaks," Led Zeppelin. (I don't care that the drum tone & speed was changed in the studio -- they still sound great.)
"Hornet's Nest," Los Straitjackets. (Jimmy Lester is a fucking monster.)
"Secret for a Song," Mercury Rev. (Perfect drum tone, in my opinion.)
"All There Is," Bad Religion. (Precision & speed.)

Bass:
"Fear of Fireflies," Calla. (Hypnotic!)
"Lipstick Vogue," Elvis Costello & the Attractions. (This almost made it into the drum section too.)
"W.M.A.," Pearl Jam. (Simple bass lines can still be badass when played right!)
"Hanging on a Curtain," Morphine. (Best! Bassist! Ever! ...Also, his voice is pretty awesome. This was a contender for the vocal category too.)
"Cheapskate," Supergrass. (A cool circular-sounding bass line.)

Vocals:
"Exit Music (For a Film)," Radiohead. (More or less the full range of Thom Yorke awesomeness.)
"Mojo Pin," Jeff Buckley. (More or less the full range of Jeff Buckley awesomeness.)
"I Know," Fiona Apple. (Mmmmm.....)
"Prenzlauerberg," Beirut. (I have no idea what the words are here. But it doesn't matter.)
"Grounds for Divorce," Elbow. (Guy Garvey = amazing vocalist.)

And just for the hell of it, I'll include a special Honey White section. Because really, why not?

Guitar: "Dead Man." You probably guessed this already.

Drums: "The Lightning Rod." What else could it be? Bill, you fucking rock on many other songs too, but I gotta defer to Owen on this one. You do sound like "a drumbot 3000 from some awesome rock future"!

Bass: "It's Quiet Up Here." Runner up: "Sweet Oblivion." The track from your Low Tide soundtrack is just effin' sweet, Keir. The backup bass lines that you do seal the deal, for me. Though I have always loved that "Oblivion"'s bass line reminds me of a ship rocking back and forth at sea.

Vocals: I think I have to go with "Island Fever." I was pissed off over some pointless argument we were having in the studio regarding the vocal melody ("pointless" as in, I was completely wrong in the first place and shouldn't have argued) so when it came time for the final chorus after Bri's solo I just yelled it as powerfully as I could into the mic. And what do you know, it turned out pretty well.

And by the way, Brian took the bait. His entry will be posted...soon.

Because Not Enough Writers Play Fender J-Bass Guitars

So about a year ago I released a CD for my Low Tide side project. It was nominally a soundtrack to a novel I was (and still am) writing. For a while there I thought the tunes would be the only worthwhile thing I got out of the whole process, but some of the chapters in this first draft are surprisingly non-awful. Some are pretty bad, too—but who cares. It's a first draft. Anyway, CD Baby just informed me that the "Weapon of Young Gods" disc has sold out, and that I should send more. Well, I hand-made those, so I'll send more when I feel like it. I mean, the thing is on iTunes, and it's not exactly chart-busting material, so I won't bust my ass pressing more CDs when there's a book to finish. You'd think that would be easy, when 44 of 48 chapters are done, but it's really not, so in the meantime, why not listen to some weird ambient post-rock echo-bass instrumental noise from your favorite egomaniacal bass player? Ably assisted of course by his genius friends the guitarist and drummer. No, really—give it a whirl. It's right down there in the Flash player:

When In Rome, Part II

We could have totally rocked the Lincoln Memorial.

Audio Archives 21: Alone & Bored Edition

Honey White frontman Bryn DuBois checks in for a second go-round with Audio Archives (first one is here), this time highlighting his garage days on Sabado Tarde. Play the tunes and read on for exclusive liner-note commentary from the man himself:

Audio:

I recently stumbled across a handful of self-produced recordings I made during the spring of 2001 which, as always, have proven to be an interesting (to me, that is) audio record of what I was up to at the time, what I was listening to, and what my musical skills were like. Half of the material here is made up of covers, and the other half re-recordings of preciously written material, so there is nothing new, really, and nothing mind-blowing either. But it's not bad, and with the exception of one song it serves as an excellent offering to serve up at the eternal altar to my own ego, since every single instrument was played by me.

These were recorded in my "room." It had been a garage originally, had no insulation and it wasn't legally permissible to rent it out as my landlady was. Ah, those college days of hedonistic luxury! Come to think of it, that was the last place I could keep my drum kit permanently set up, since few neighbors worried about noise violations in I.V. I have dubbed the collection "Alone and Bored," which seems to capture a college student's reason for doing most things pretty well. (Another reason being typified by "Drunken Peer Pressure," I suppose. But that would be a whole different set of songs!)

I Fly Free
This is probably the gem of the songs here. It's played reasonably well and captures a lot of what I'd originally had in mind for the song. It's only comparable to the Mojo Wire version from "Seaside Hamlet Skids" due to the latter's recording quality, though—my general Rule regarding my own recordings is that they are always better when played by a band rather than just by me. But this one makes me proud nonetheless, and is one of the few recordings where I'm actually pleased with my backing vocals, since harmonizing is one of my weaker areas.

Love Sick
A Bob Dylan song I still love. I sang it an octave high (you can tell I'm still learning how to sing here) and played it twice as fast, but trying to out-do Bob on his own material just doesn't work. Unless your name is Jimi Hendrix.

Whitecap
This one is a pretty solid version of my ancient instrumental. (I wrote this my senior year in high school, if I remember right, so it's about twelve years old now.) I'd still put the Mojo Wire version as the definitive one, 'cause hey—I'm no Brandon Klopp. But this represents pretty much the apex of my drumming skills, which makes it an interesting listen.

Kite
The redeemable song from U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind." I probably should have left this one behind myself, but it was fun to play at the time.

Wayfaring Stranger
This is the first time I ever attempted to record it. It's not bad, though the Honey White version would turn out better. It's interesting, though, to see which aspects of it remained the same and which changed.

Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen's old tune, which was masterfully covered by Jeff Buckley. My cover is less than masterful, but it's not too bad as long as you don't compare it to Buckley's version.

My Second Shipwreck
This one is, unfortunately, incomplete—the last third of the song is still on a CD buried somewhere in our storage unit, if the files still exist anywhere at all. Which is too bad, because otherwise it might have become an exception to my Rule listed above. Fun to listen to: the heavy, out-of-tune drums and echoey clang of the cymbals work pretty well, and the guitar tone is surprisingly good (in my opinion) considering the equipment I was using at the time. No fancy echo pedals were at my disposal back then; if I remember right I used an old multi-effect pedal given to me years earlier by my uncle. I think I still have it somewhere, actually.

The Lightning Rod
A proto version of the first Honey White attempt on this song. That is, its lyrics were nearly completed to Keir's satisfaction (after, like, three years), it has yet to acquire the "Whatever Gets You Going" badass echo bass intro, and doesn't end on the chorus. But it is still an interesting listen, and Keir somehow got a really cool sounding echo on the drums during the verses. Keir sang it and provided bass, making this the only collaborative effort here.

More Audio Archives will be on the way in 2009, gang, so stay tuned...