Kind of a slow news day around here so I’m going to feature another group who I feel deserves a little more credit than they’re given…..The Sleepy Jackson.  I suppose I should say “he’s given” since the band is basically Luke Steele and whomever is performing with him at the time.  The story goes that Luke is difficult to work with, an egomaniac, and has gone through something like 27 different band members over the years.  I can’t vouch for all that; I’ve only hung out with the guy once at a party and he seemed perfectly pleasant to me.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ami7nmw2e8U]

His music is certainly derivative of a lot of 70’s AM pop, but it’s done in a way that isn’t simply a generic rehash.  Sure, that guitar riff is straight up George Harrison, but how many times have you heard a band pull that sound off so well?  Luke doesn’t half-ass the songwriting or production.  Everything is over the top, but not in a bad way.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4w_yIAkHlU]

I got to see them perform live at The Dame in Lexington, KY in 2004.  Great show, but sadly there were only a handful of people there, perhaps fifty at the most.  I suppose an Australian band touring a recently released debut album playing a small mid-west club shouldn’t expect more, but I still felt let down about the turnout.  I was the publicist of the club at that time and it was my responsibility to get folks in the door.  Sorry, guys!

As usual, I took in my fair share of free rum and coke at the show so details are blurry.  It was one of the few times I left my usual spot to go to the very front of the stage and rock out, though.  The band returned the favor by playing a surprisingly energetic set full of emotion and lots of feedback.  Small crowd be damned, they put on a hell of a show.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwbzpWK9aCQ]

So far, The Sleepy Jackson has only released two full length albums, 2003’s Lovers and 2006’s Personality – One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird.  I imagine that it takes some time for Luke to get the tracks the way he wants them, so who knows when we will see another album.  In the meantime, Luke is doing a few solo dates across Australia.  Dates are below…

I’ll leave you with The Sleepy Jackson song that first got my attention.  I’m a huge George Harrison fan, so I was hooked after I heard that intro guitar….

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjNCSw41QSA]

The Sleepy Jackson – Good Dancers

TOUR DATES (LUKE STEELE SOLO)

TUE AUG 5 – Toff In Town – Melbourne, Victoria
WED AUG 6 – The Basement – Sydney, New South Wales
THU AUG 7 – The Brass Monkey – Cronulla, New South Wales
FRI AUG 8 – Sol Bar – Coolum, Queensland
SAT AUG 9 – Globe Theatre – Brisbane, Queensland
FRI AUG 15 – Devilles Pad – Perth, Western Australia

In a fair world, Bobby Conn would already be a star.  As it is, however, only a select few are in on the secret.  Well, it seems that an old video of his is making the rounds on the net and getting some attention…

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=rm9dzLxLvxc]

I’ll let Bobby explain this for himself (taken from Bobby Conn’s myspace post…)

For all the people who have discovered me recently from the “Never Get Ahead” video currently posted on many blogs & You Tube, here’s some facts you make be interested in:

1.  The video is from an unrehearsed live appearance on “Chic-a-go-go” in 1997 or 1998 (ten years ago, shit!).  Chic-a-go-go is a brilliant children’s dance show on cable access here in Chicago; it’s sort of like American Bandstand or Soul Train but for little kids.  Every week there is a random collection of kids and parents dancing to pre-recorded tracks and usually there is a special guest from the independant music scene.  The guest can be local or touring acts, ranging from totally obscure noise bands to bigger acts.  There is no budget and no rehearsal; they usually shoot two or three episodes in about two hours.  The host is a punk rock rat puppet named Ratso and his lovely partner, currently Miss Mia Park.

2.  I was asked to do a tune, and as the song was “Never Get Ahead” I re-cut the vocals to remove references to fellatio.  It is a kid’s show, after all.  I recut the tune the night before and really didn’t have time to rehearse the lip sync.  I figured my sync would be terrible, but didn’t care too much about “fooling” people into thinking it was live.

3.  The original version of the tune is on my album “Bobby Conn” available through Atavistic/Truckstop Records.  I think it is on iTunes, Amazon, etc.  It’s my first album; please buy a copy as I haven’t seen any royalties from those people for a long time.  There is also a live version on my album “Live Classics, Vol. 1″ released on Thrill Jockey Records.  It is considerably more rocking than the original which may or may not be an improvement.

4.  This video clip was voted “Worst Video Ever” in a VH1 contest and has been broadcast in the UK and Europe pretty consistently for the past ten years.

5.  The video was shot at 10 AM on a Saturday morning; I was not “coked out of my brain” as many people have suggested.  If my performance seems exaggerated, well, perhaps you need to enjoy life a bit more.

6.  Micheal Jackson & Motown are a huge inspiration for me, and I’m not embaressed to admit it.  I’m not really ashamed of much, really.

7.  The woman in the blue dress is my friend Emily; you can see clips of her playing bass in another tune on YouTube, ”Passover”.  The woman in the plaid skirt is Monica BouBou; you can see her in most of my videos as she has played violin with me for over ten years and is my partner in crime.  I can guarantee any dude that is interested in Emily or anyone else in the video that they are not interested a scumbag like you.  Everyone else in the video, all the kids, etc. are just random people who showed up that day.  Obviously, many of them were confused by my antics.

8.  I am “for real.”  As in I am a real person.  Is my hair real in the video?  Is that a measure of my integrity?  These are all questions for you think about; but frankly, I am amazed at how much people seem to care about these things.  It’s a sign of progress that we have the time to debate such issues over the internet.  I guess that means that the larger issues confronting humanity have been pretty much taken care of.  Hallelujah!

9.  I have noticed that Americans have a harder time with sarcasm & irony that other cultures.  We find sarcasm threatening in some way; I, on the other hand, find the emphasis on the illusion of integrity to be more frightening.  The lyrics to the song both celebrate and mock political songwriting.  The concept of “the man” is a juvenile simplification of oppression.  But the impulse behind it is still valid.

10.  Finally, thanks for watching!  I am very proud of this video, as it captures almost everything I love in entertainment.  It is FUNNY, even ten years later!

So there you go, I guess.  Bobby Conn’s introduction to himself.  I can see how people could get the wrong idea about the guy from that one clip.  In fairness, then, I shall present a proper video for your pleasure.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=emdbv2qCkHk&fmt=18]

To round things out, here’s Bobby in live mode.  I’ve probably seen thousands of shows over the past decade and Bobby Conn live in 2002 still stands out as one of my favorites.  Bobby has a way of bringing the show to you that I’ve not seen in any other performer.  The image of him swallowing my friend Claire in his gigantic bear paws is not one I’ll forget.  His violin player/wife, Monica BouBou, has these all-seeing eyes that seem to be staring at you no matter where you are in the room, like one of those freaky Jesus postcards.  To top it all off, there were a couple of metal dudes wailing away.  In 2002, before bands like The Darkness came along, long haired metal-heads were about the last thing you’d expect to see in an indie rock band.  I ended having an epic night with those dudes after the show; I remember some bar hopping and then a visit to a strip club where they seemingly blew a weeks worth of tour cash.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=4MmquGW5ZDA]

Gotta have an mp3 in here somewhere, I suppose.  I’ll leave you with “No Revolution” off of the 2002 release The Golden Age.

Bobby Conn – No Revolution – The Golden Age

I should preface this review with the acknowledgment that I’m quite the Led Zeppelin fan.  I still recall the first time I ever really listened to Zep;  I was 16 years old and on acid, naturally.  My trip buddy for the evening brought over some sort of Zeppelin collection to check out.  Needless to say, I was totally blown away.  Acid rock, indeed!

On the other hand, while I can’t say I’ve ever really listened to an Alison Krauss album, I did catch one of her concerts a few years back when I was working at the Kentucky Theatre.  She has a nice enough voice, but I always felt something was missing.  Her music never grabbed me.

When I heard that this show was coming to Rupp Arena, I was excited at the chance to be able to walk down the street and see Robert Plant appear before my eyes.  After I checked out “Raising Sand”, the duo’s album, my enthusiasm waned a bit.  The new-folk they’re going after is a good enough concept, but it never really takes off.  I blame T-Bone Burnett, the producer.  Beginning with “O Brother Where Art Thou”, he’s been bringing watered down versions of Americana to the masses to devour, all the while receiving heaps of praise for resurrecting this supposedly lost genre.  Gimme a break.

You may be thinking, well this guy just doesn’t like Americana….he must be an ignorant Zeppelin fan.  Well, you’re wrong, friendo.  I have an appreciation for alt-country, roots music, Americana, whatever you want to call it.  I’m especially fond of bluegrass, which is perhaps why Alison Krauss irks me.  Calling her music bluegrass is like calling Kenny G’s music jazz.  She does indeed possess an angelic voice, but I’ve yet to sense any sort of spirit or personality from her.  Bluegrass, to me, is 100% spirit.

Pairing Robert Plant with a true bluegrass band, now that would have been something.  As it was, however, the concert was predominately a bore, with a few exceptions.  Alison Krauss did her best Sandy Denny impression on “The Battle of Evermore”, and Plant felt free to really let loose on the number.  “Gone Gone Gone” was nice enough, but was one of only a few upbeat moments throughout the show.  Everything felt forced and artificial.  Far too clean.  Starbucks approved decaf.  Gone gone gone, indeed.  Really gone.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)

There are a few remaining dates in the tour…

SAT JULY 19 – Sommet Center – Nashville, Tennessee

TUE ZEPT 23 – Starlight Theatre – Kansas City, Missouri

WED ZEPT 24 – Fox Theatre – St. Louis, Missouri

FRI ZEPT 26 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, Texas

SAT ZEPT 27 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, Texas

TUE ZEPT 30 – Theatre of the Clouds – Portland, Oregon

WED OCT 1 – WaMu Theatre – Seattle, Washington

FRI OCT 3 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival – San Fransisco, California

SAT OCT 4 – Konocti Field Amphitheatre – Kelseyville, California

SUN OCT 5 – The Mountain Winery – Saratoga, California

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The Beatles – Someone gave me a mix tape of Beatles songs. I remember learning all the words and running around singing the tunes and telling everyone that I sounded just like The Beatles. Guess some things never change.

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The Carpenters – We used to have one of those huge 70’s console stereos with a tuner, record player, and of course, 8-track player. I kind of wish I still had that thing….

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I’m not sure why, but the only record I ever played on it was The Carpenters’ Greatest Hits. Great jams for a three year old.

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The Stray Cats – Even though we didn’t have a lot of money, my family did splurge on cable which enabled me to spend most of the 80’s glued to MTV and Nickelodeon. The first video I have any recollection of was Stray Cat Strut. Singing along to this is probably one of my earliest and strongest memories.

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Wow. I probably haven’t seen that video in 25 years. Watching it just now, it occurred to me that as a toddler I seemed to take the lyrics literally and thought that the Stray Cats were actual cats……Beyond Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town, I’m really not too familiar with the rest of The Stray Cats’ material. When Lee Rocker, bass player for The Stray Cats, came through The Dame last night I was excited to see my childhood favorite video brought back to life before my eyes, but didn’t know what to expect beyond that.

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Crown Electric, the opening act from right here in Lexington, blew away Lee Rocker. Mike Tevis performed with 300% more energy, digging into the songs like a man possessed with the spirit of 1956. When Lee came on, therefore, it was striking how subdued everything was. It was a good show, don’t get me wrong, but the contrast really made me realize what a treasure Lexington has in Crown Electric.

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Lee had a couple of stories to tell, the kind that you imagine they repeat night after night. One was about how The Stray Cats first album was recorded and came out in Britain in 1980 but didn’t get released in the U.S. until a year or two later. When it did, they shot up to number two and stayed there for 26 weeks, right behind Michael Jackson. “After thinking about this for many many years, I realized that I’d rather be behind Michael Jackson then in front of him.” It took you years to come up with that? Jeez.

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Stray Cats – Stray Cat Strut

Click here to purchase Stray Cats – Greatest Hits

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Remainder of Lee Rocker’s tour dates…

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Feb 8 2008 8:00P Cal Expo Sacramento, California
Feb 9 2008 8:00P Fishlips Bakersfield, California
Mar 19 2008 8:00P Schüür Lucerne
Mar 20 2008 8:00P Chez Paulette Nancy
Mar 21 2008 8:00P 013 Tilburg, Holland
Mar 22 2008 8:00P Druckerei Bad Oeyenhausen
Mar 23 2008 8:00P Tattoo Convention After-Show Party Hamburg
Mar 24 2008 8:00P Tattoo Convention Hamburg
Mar 24 2008 9:00P Stengade 30 Copenhagen
Mar 25 2008 8:00P FZW Dortmund
Mar 26 2008 8:00P Zwölfzehn Stuttgart
Mar 27 2008 8:00P Birdland Vienna
Mar 28 2008 8:00P Café Libella Munich
Mar 29 2008 8:00P Gabbia Club San Georgio in Bosco
May 17 2008 8:00P Texas Rockabilly Revival at Stubb’s Outdoor Amphitheater Austin, Texas
Oct 3 2008 8:00P Ørland Bluesfestival Ørland