Andrews Rock Blog

Earlier this week I was talking about discovering bands or hearing things for the first time, which leads me to Secret Machines, a band out of Texas via New York City who are playing Lee’s Palace this Saturday night. Fans of U2 and Pink Floyd should definitely check the band out, as their sound is like some sort of twistedly good merging of the two. Throw in some Zeppelinesque drumming and spacious tunes and you’ve got one of my favourite bands of the last few years. Secret Machines released to albums on Atlantic Records but announced this week that they’d be going the indie route for their third album, a self-titled release due out this fall. These guys are so good that I’m breaking my cardinal rule of not going to a club show to check them out, even though they won’t be hitting the stage until sometime after midnight Saturday. Hopefully they’ll be worth it.

Check out the band below and then use SECRETMACHINES as your weekend bonus code. Have a good one!

Like most rock fans, I love the Who. “Quadrophenia” is one of my favourite albums of all time, and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” never loses its luster. As for their most recent album, 2006’s “Endless Wire”, I daresay that no band of their era has put out as strong an album as that one in the past 25 years (my friend Timmy B originally suggested that and I scoffed, but he’s right - it’s even better than the Stones’ stellar “A Bigger Bang). And while some would say that the Who is really down to The Two without John Entwhistle or Keith Moon there on stage, Townshend and Daltrey have continued to perform strong concerts, honouring their past and their bandmates.

But sometimes I just wish Pete Townshend would shut the hell up.  

Here’s some choice comments Pete posted on a fan site about the current status of the Who:

“I am no longer a member of a band called the Who,” he wrote. “I am Pete Townshend. I used to be in a band called the Who. It does not exist today except in your dreams. I am a songwriter and guitarist who — if I create the right setting — can walk onto a stage with my old buddy Roger Daltrey and evoke the old magic of the Who in the dreams of the audience. … There are many Who fans who have just as good a time watching one of the many fantastic Who tribute bands as watching Roger and Pete (and their supporting musicians) pretend to be who we used to be.”

Why does Pete have to have such existential angst about being in a freakin’ rock band. It’s always seemed like being a part of one of the greatest bands in history is always such a burden. At this point in his life, I wish things could be clearer for Pete. He’s either in the Who or he isn’t. “Yes, I think we’ll do a new album” or “No, I doubt it”. How hard are those decisions? And even if nothing transpires, why does he need to over-analyze everything when it comes to the band. You’re not pretending to be in the Who, Pete. You and Roger are the The Who.

The last Who tour and album were both artistic and commercial triumphs. Should they choose to record another album, I’m confident it would be a solid endeavour. If Roger and Pete choose to never record again, they’ve left on a high note. Whatever they choose, I just wish Pete would shut the hell up and make up his mind.

Long live rock! Now use WHO as today’s bonus code.

I’ve gone to many a concert over the years, typically with my concert going buddy Timmy B. We’ve seen virtually everybody together, from Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan to the Doors and the Rolling Stones, which makes the idea of seeing a concert with someone new always a little exciting.

For example, last night my wife accompanied me to Fallsview Casino at the last minute to see Brian Wilson. My wife is admitedly not a Beach Boys fan, so I was sceptical about how much she’d actually enjoy herself. Once the concert started and I realized this wasn’t going to be a typical Brian show (stripped down, missing band members, no teleprompter for BW) I thought it may not be the best first time experience for her. You can imagine how happy I was to see her enjoying herself throughout the evening and to have her tell me at the end of the night that she’d happily see Brian again. I guess you just can’t deny his charm and amazing catalogue of songs.

Tonight I may have a similar experience as my friend the Japer is going to his first Rush concert. No doubt he knows the big songs, but I don’t think the Japer is someone who would consider himself a huge Rush fan. But with all the bells and whistles that are part and parcel of the Geddy/Alex/Neil experience, I’m pretty sure he’s going to have his mind blown. Seeing a show for the first time - there’s nothing like it.

On that note take FIRSTTIME to the Jack Nation and score pointaroonies.

Ok, it’s not really discovering Coldplay, considering I’ve been listening to the band since before they broke big in North America with “Yellow” in 2002. In fact, I remember sitting in a theatre in Liverpool back in October of 2001 waiting for former Fleetwood Mac leader Peter Green to hit the stage, and Coldplay’s debut album was being spun over and over. It sounded good then, and the band has really just gotten better over the years.

“Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” is a hit across the world; in North America alone it’s sold 1 million copies in just about 2 weeks, and the band has even topped the Billboard singles charts with “Viva La Vida”, which is a great accomplishment for a rock band in this day and age. But with all the sales stats and sold out shows on the upcoming tour, the one question I think that’s worth asking is whether or not the new album is actually any good.

A friend of mine was saying last week that he thought “Viva La Vida” might be Coldplay’s best. Initally I thought that was a crazy statement, since the record’s been out for such a short amount of time. However, having given it quite a few listens over the last week or so I’d have to agree. With producer Brian Eno manning the board, the band takes their U2 fetish to it’s proper place, creating a 45 minute album of anthems that get stuck in your head. Literally. I catch myself all the time humming the beat to “Lost!” all the time (I’m sure I’m not the only), and the title track is undeniably catchy. I have to admit I wasn’t immediately sold on “Violet Hill” but that one’s grown on me as well. The album is immediate, but not obvious.

It’s great to hear a band pushing both themselves and their audience, and to see a great reception in return. If you’ve listened to the latest Coldplay, we’d love to hear what you think. Leave your thoughts and then  use VIVA as today’s bonus code.

I’m thinking that this week I’ll discuss some of the “newer” bands that I’ve been discovering over the last little while. That’s what I’m thinking anyway, but of course the blog is subject to change. 

When I was on my road trip to Chicago, one of the cd’s I brought a long for the trip was the latest album from Fountains of Wayne, “Traffic and Weather”. Fountains of Wayne formed back in 1996, but didn’t make a dent on a massive scale for a few years, though you may be familiar with member Adam Schlesinger, who wrote the Oscar-nominated title song for the Tom Hanks film ”That Thing You Do”. I think most of us had our first real taste of Fountains of Wayne with their huge megahit 2003 ”Stacey’s Mom”, a solid piece of power pop a la The Cars. Interestingly, rather than capitalize on their success, it was 4 years between 2003’s “Welcome Interstate Managers” and 2007’s “Traffic and Weather”, a life time for a band with one hit to their name. Not surprisingly, the new record didn’t really burn up the charts and none of the album’s singles have done well at all.

That’s all quite unfortunate because “Traffic and Weather” is one of the most appealing and catchy albums I’ve heard in a long time. First time through listening to it on our road trip, I caught one of my buddies singing along with the title track, a similar occurence when my wife heard the song for the first time. If you’re a Beatles or Beach Boys or Cars fan (and who isn’t, really) or someone who just likes really catchy rock tunes, you might want to check out Fountains of Wayne. Take a listen to the first single from “Traffic and Weather” titled “Someone To Love”, which features a guest vocal appearance from the lovely and talented Melisa Auf der Maur. Then use Wayne as today’s bonus code.

Yesterday I wrote about bands that had succesfully transitioned between lead singers. One of the greatest examples was Van Halen, who became more succesful commercialy when Sammy Hagar filled the spot vacated by David Lee Roth in 1985. Perhaps it was because of that success the band thought they could do it again when Sammy left Van Halen in 1996 (Ed says he quit, Sam says he was fired - I doubt we’ll ever really know the truth). The band thought wrong.

On paper, the idea of hiring former Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone wasn’t a horrible idea. He’s got the pipes, to be sure. The first time I saw the band was with Cherone back in ‘98 and he was a charasmatic frontman and could handle both the Van Hagar and Roth songs admirably. But the thing was, if Sammy Hagar wasn’t going to be the singer in Van Halen, the only other possible vocalist the fans would accept was Diamond Dave. The one and only album with Cherone, cheekily titled “Van Halen 3″ tanked, and ticket sales were pretty horrible too. Without question, the Cherone-era is a black mark on the history of one of the biggest bands in the world.

At least Van Halen fans knew what they were getting when they bought tickets to the Cherone-era shows. Back in 1980, Yes fans got a huge surprise when they discovered that the Yes they were seeing in concert that year was minus lead singer Jon Anderson. After having helped establish Yes as one of the biggest bands of the 70’s, Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman exited the band, leaving Chris Squire, Alan White, and Steve Howe to figure out what to do next. The answer came in the form of the Buggles, a duo consisting of singer Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes, hot off a worldwide hit single called “Video Killed The Radio Star” (I think you’re familiar with it). Whereas the two of them were simply interested in offering one of their favourite bands a song to record, the remaining members of Yes actually asked the Buggles to join! After some thought, they agreed and wound up recording the 1980 album Drama. And while that one remains one of the most consistent and appealing albums in the Yes catalogue, a hidden gem combining both punk, pop, and prog, if you will, at the time Drama was poorly received. The tour, which had gone on sale prior to the formation of the new line-up, was a success in North America, where Yes performed before sold out crowds who seemed to have no problems accepting a new lead singer. In Europe however, things didn’t go nearly so smoothly. Fans rejected Trevor Horn as singer and would often shout out for Jon Anderson throughout performances. Once the Drama tour was completed and it became clear Horn wasn’t interested in continuing on, the band went their separate ways.

 Of course there have been other failed experiments. Motley Crue canning Vince Neil and hiring John Corabi was a total failure (even if I did like Hooligan’s Holiday myself). Does anyone even know the name of the guy who replaced Sebastien Bach in Skid Row? And though I did enjoy “Summertime in the Void”, the first single from I Mother Earth with their new singer Brian Byrne after Edwin left the band, they were never able to capture their momentum again. Oh, and the less said about Boston carrying on these days without Brad Delp the better. 

Can you think of any other failed singer experiments? Or ones that really worked out well? Let me know, and then use SINGER for your weekend bonus code.

Yesterday I wrote about how impressed my pals and I were listening to Disc 2 of the new Journey album “Revelation”; that’s the one featuring the band’s classic tunes rerecorded with new singer and Steve Perry soundalike Arnel Pineda. The success the band is experiencing with their current line-up (top 5 debut, mass media attention) got me thinking about other bands that have replaced their lead singers, and the varrying degrees of acceptance that followed.

The most obvious success story comes when ACDC filled the singer spot left by the death of Bon Scott with Brian Johnson. Though both singers are distinctive, there’s no doubt that Johnson’s voice wasn’t too much of a stretch for the sound the band had already achieved with Bon. And while ACDC’s best selling album is “Back in Black”, their back catalogue featuring Bon’s vocals are all multiplatinum. I’ve never heard of any fans liking one version of the band over another. For most of us, ACDC is ACDC, regardless of who’s singing the songs.

The same can’t be said Van Halen. For many, the lines are clearly drawn between Sammy Hagar fans and David Lee Roth fans. Myself, I’m standing firm on the side of Diamond Dave. VH with DLR sounded like no other band on the planet, but with Sammy onside they changed their sound to something poppy and (to my ears) boring. Even though the band topped the charts with Sammy at the helm, a fear never accomplished with Dave, I think the massive success of the band’s 2007-2008 tour is proof that there’s only one version of Van Halen that will ever really matter, and that’s the one with DLR upfront.

Of course, even though Van Halen managed to sell records and sell out arenas with their second lead singer, there’s no doubt they struck out with Van Halen Mark 3. More on that, and some of rock’s notable replacement failures tomorrow. In the meantime, use DIAMOND as today’s bonus code.

Random Thoughts as I get back into the swing of things after being in Chicago for a few days for the Wizard World Comic-Con:

Paul McCartney is playing a free show in Quebec City:my pal Timmy B sent me a text this morning to let me know Macca would be playing his first Canadian gig since 2005 to celebrate Quebec’s 400th birthday. Tim was wondering whether or not I’d like to go to the show, which I may have considered some years ago. But having two trips so close together (Las Vegas/Los Angeles and Chicago) and with our big move coming up in just a few weeks, I wasn’t too interested in seeing “The Cute One” in concert, even if it is for free. I’m sure I’m among the minority though; a free show by a remaining member of the Fab Four is sure to be a big draw for a lot of people. I’ve seen Paul McCartney 3 times (including a first row experience at the CNE in 1993) and it’s always a great concert, though I sure wish he’d play Side 2 of Abbey Road in its entirety some time. THAT would be spectacular.

A Revelation about Journey: to all those Journey fans who took me to task a few months ago about my lack of love for the band, let me simply say that you were right and I was wrong. I hope you’re happy. The band has some seriously catchy and strong songs. I discovered this fact while on the road to Chicago last Thursday when my pals and I put on Disc 2 of the new Journey album “Revelations”. This was the rerecordings of classic Journey tunes with new singer Arnel Pineda. First of all, we were all impressed with Arnel’s uncanny resemblance to Steve Perry. The guy has the goods. The next thing that impressed me was just how solid the songs were. And it wasn’t just “Don’t Stop Believing”, which is timeless. It was tunes like “Wheel In The Sky” and “Lights” too, songs that I caught myself singing along to and humming once they were done. So there you go - you were right, I was wrong. I’ll have more on the new Journey album (exclusively available at Wal-Mart) later this week.

Your bonus code for today is ARNEL. Use it for lots of points, whydoncha.