+ Vice President Dick comes to your door (early morning) and asks for your vote for 4 more years of "them". Your response:

.. . .well, since he's at my door, I have some barbells that need to be hauled up to the attic, and then my van needs a new transmission installed. Plus the yard is looking a little shabby. Also, my shoulders are feeling a little tight. My question, dick, is 'what are you gonna do for ME?'.. .. .

+ Bush, Kerry or Nader?

Beyonce.

+ Is there ANY talent in The Strokes?

Someone is a genius for lifting the name from a Billy Squier song.

+ is there any particular band/artist you know of & love that we the people should invest more time in hearing?

Beauty Pill (Dischord Records)

+ Mac or PC?

Funny you should ask. I’ve used PC’s for years, but I just bought my first Mac - A Powerbook. It hurt my Amex balance pretty bad, but it’s an astonishing piece of gear. And I hope I have escaped from all the incantations and arcane lore required to keep my dying Windows machine from kicking off. I’ve wanted to throw it in the river more times than I can count.

+ What was the last show (other than your own band) you attended?

In the last two weeks alone I have blown off TV On the Radio, Xiu Xiu, and British Sea Power. I think the last show was on St. Patrick’s Day, the band was Rose: three ex-punk girls with brightly dyed hair who play heartbreaking country tunes.

+ Which band would you most cherish a reunion of (any band, whether members are alive or not)?

It still kills me that at age 16 I was forced to sit outside the doorway of the bar where the Bad Brains (circa “I Against I”) were playing. My ears suggest it was an amazing show.

+ You have to rid of every piece of vinyl in your record collection but ONE, who stays?

Indeed I have done this very thing. I kept a few singles, but the only album I have left is by Scott Walker. It looks good on the wall.

+ What is "Talent"?

“Talent” is a euphemism for some pretty young thing whose publicist has scored him/her a trailer and a name credit below the title. These people are not to be spoken to because you may discover they are not real.

+ If you could be 18 years young at any point in history, what time from the past would you choose to live in?

Right now. Today. And I would ban all 80’s dance nights because there are amazing sounds being created right now and this is the very best time to be alive and enjoying them. Get hip.

+ Is the "low-carb revolution" out of control?

Did you know that if you regurgitate frequently your teeth crumble from digestive acids?

+ What question do you get asked the most that you feel should be erased from all human thought?

A: she’s an actor who was married to John Cassavetes, and, yes, she will probably sue me eventually even though the appropriation is an homage.

+ Morning fuel: coffee or orange juice?

Both is best, but coffee.

+ Best band name of ALL TIME:

The Very Idea of Fucking Hitler. No, wait, Her Majesty’s Secret Cervix. …Oh, sorry, you said BEST... . .

(stolen Q splendid) We're considering lobbying the government to pass a law banning the use of certain overplayed words --for example, "new", "flaming" and "electric" -- in band names. What other word(s) should be banned?

The appropriation of celebrities names for bands.

+ Photo shoot - film or digital?

Thus far I haven’t seen anything as wonderful as film, but I’m willing to look. The photographer matters more than the medium.

+ Is it swift to pay $15 for 15 songs from napster now that major hands have control? Is it to make us feel less guilty or make the fat man fatter?

I’m a partisan of iTunes, personally.

+ The house is on fire - what non-living item comes to mind to save?

Easy. My guitar. It’s an odd custom Schechter I bought off a friend and it’s an ox. I could throw it down the stairs and it would stay perfectly in tune.

+ What scares you?

The National Mall is a lovely place for a walk. It has big open grassy spaces where dogs catch frisbees, cute women jog there, it’s bounded by the Washington Monument, the Capitol, and various Smithsonian museums. But every time I look at the sun reflecting off the Capitol dome I see crosshairs. It only takes one dirty bomb and the real estate bubble in this town is history.

+ Have you ever travelled through / to Lynchburg, Virginia? If not, have you heard of it? [see: Jerry Falwell]

I have travelled through. I know of Mr. Falwell though I've never met him personally. Two of the raddest, kindest, toughest, coolest women I ever met went to Liberty University. Both, incidentally, were single moms who got knocked up at school. They are both fantastic mothers, unflinching christians, and punker than anyone else I know.

My understanding is that one of the highlights of "Lunchbag," as my native friends call it, is Weenie Stand #3. Something to look forward to.

the Gena Rowland Band
(trailer)
(autoclave); 2003

"And every song I know is from a car that's passing by"

With 4 highly original compositions at just around 16 minutes - I recently placed all my chips on the number that corresponds to Bob Massey's upcoming full-length album. The Gena Rowlands Band - that's the fancy actress name Bob has chosen to release his tunes under - blend a fine combination of songs that brings to mind what Coustea lead crooner Liam McKahey may have sounded like fronting Joan of Arc around the Gap-album, had JOA not tweaked the Pro-Tools beyond listenability that is. I had the first listen to TGRB on this fine compilation last year, and was completely taken with awe with "The Last Words of Lesley Gore". As if Bob was at a shindig celebrating the final night of this planet's existence, one where no one really gives a damn, 'The Last Word's.. ' is a song that will enter the head on a one-way strip and quite possibly never exit. A brilliant patchwork of a tune, with it's live instrumentation and subtle experimental undervibes - it's the way that the vocals are delivered in such a lethargic tone that adds the crowning touch to one of four incredible songs. Following track, 'Garofalo, C'est Moi', continues in this unique delivery as Bob describes how "everything in this house is on fire", again as if the entire neighborhood could ignite and he would simply find another place to relocate. The musicians that round out the Gena Rowlands Band album (I've read that the touring lineup is not a constant) are nothing short of absolute wonder, never a note overdone nor one player trying to outshine the other.

As much a lyrical mystery hinting at Hollywood glam & power of decades past, there is more than enough bizarre& original content here to count the days until the long player hits later this year.

kaleb. 03.29.04

visit : the GRB