BLOWFLY (Miami, FL, U.S.A.)
Ponedeljak, 8. oktobar @ SKC, 22:00
Crni umetnik Clarence Reid a.k.a. Blowfly već više od 40 godina provocira puritansku Ameriku krajnje eksplicitnim pesmama o seksu, na karakterističan, duhovit način kojeg danas skoro da nema u popularnoj muzici.
Pod pravim imenom potpisao je hitove za cenjene autore poput Betty Wright, Gwen McRae, KC & The Sunshine Band, Sam & Dave. Blowfly pseudonim služio je za ‘prljavštinu’, koja je započela ‘65. sa, smatra se, prvom rap pesmom u istoriji pop muzike – Rap Dirty. Tokom poduže karijere snimio je preko 40 albuma, najčešće duhovitih obrada R’n’B i pop hitova, upakovanih u funk ritam i jedinstven Reidov talenat da poznatu pesmu zasladi seksualnošću u promenjenom tekstu. Još jedan od razloga zbog kojeg ga rap elita godinama s pravom smatra jednim od prvih koji su utrli put za ostalu braću, a njegove pesme sempluju Jurassic 5, Ice Cube, Puff Daddy, Atmosphere, Wu Tang Clan, Beyonce, Scarface, Slim Thug, Method Man & Redman…
Blowfly je bio zabranjivan na više radio stanica kasnih 60-tih zbog nepriličnih tekstova pesama, a nijedna kompanija nije htela da objavljuje ploče takvog sadržaja, te početkom 70-tih osniva sopstvenu izdavačku kuću pod nazivom Weird World i izdaje album «Weird World Of Blowfly». Oblačenje u komične super-antiheroj kostime postaje redovno i na živim nastupima nakon što se pojavio na omotu ploče koji ga prikazuje u jednom od mnogih iz njegovog ormana. Javnost je opet bila šokirana, ali su zato kulminacije svih žurki bile rezervisane za Blowflya i njegova rimovana rapovanja iz pesama poput Shake Your Ass, Let Me Cum In Your Mouth, Fuck The Fat Off, Who Did I Eat Last Night, Spermy Night In Georgia, Baby Let Me Do It To You i druge.
Znajući da je ‘zabranjeno voće’ uvek slađe, Blowfly se u potpunosti posvetio rušenju tabua i guranju prsta u oko konzervativne javnosti SAD. Tokom godina koje slede snimio je hrpu albuma, najčešće uživo u studiju sa dosta stimulansa i zabranjenih supstanci za uspešnu žurku i nesumnjivo bar par zgodnih devojaka bez kojih ne bi bilo ništa od od dobre zabave.
Kao decenijska pretnja ograničenim umovima Amerike, Blowfly je bio predmet pažnje ne samo crnih i isključivo hip-hop muzičara. Poznato je da su Cramps obožavali da sviraju sa njim, a ‘91. Flea iz Red Hot Chili Peppers i Fishbone zajedno sa crnom legendom snimaju provokativni singl «Shake Your Thang (clean) / Shake Your Ass (X-rated)». Nakon singla Flea i Fishbone su bili česti gosti na njegovim koncertima.
Poslednja zanimljiva saradnja razvila se pošto je pre dve godine frontmen Dead Kennedys, Jello Biafra, uspeo da pridobije našeg antijunaka za svoju nezavisnu etiketu Alternative Tentacles Records i objavi mu za sada i poslednji album – «Blowfy’s Punk Rock Party!». Malo neočekivano za šampiona funka, R’n’B-a i sličnih formi, Blowfly i njegov bend na ovom albumu ‘obrađuju’ punk rock hitove, od Billy Idola, Ramones, Clash, preko Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, do Offspring. Naravno, i oni su podlegli osobenoj ‘preradi’ crnog majstora te se poznati hitovi sada izvode pod sledećim nazivima: «Should i Fuck This Big Fat Ho?», «V.D. Party», «R. Kelly In Cambodia», «I Wanna Be Fellated», «Playing With Myself», «Gotta Keep Her Penetrated».
U okviru svoje evropske turneje ovaj provokativni umetnik nastupiće i u Beogradu u ponedeljak 8. oktobra od 22:00 u sali SKC-a. Ispred njega, kao gosti, pojaviće se Tokyo Sex Destruction, eksplozivan soul/punk sastav iz Barselone da svojim vrućim nastupom dovoljno otkravi prisutne i opusti ih za velikog majstora i njegov prateći bend.
Karte se mogu naći isključivo na blagajni SKC-a. Pretprodaja – 800 din, na dan koncerta – 1000 din.
muzika:
BlowFly – Punk Cock Is Rock
blowFly – I Wanna Be Fellated
BlowFly – Gotta Keep Her Penetrated
BlowFly – Shake Your Ass
BlowFly – Hole Man / Cleanup Woman (medley)
BlowFly – Rap Dirty
BlowFly – Porno Freak
BlowFly – Girl, Let Me Cum In Your Mouth
BlowFly – Zodiac BlowFly
BlowFly – Too Fat To Fuck
TOKYO SEX DESTRUCTION (Barcelona, SPAIN)
Nedelja, 7. oktobar @ SKC, 22:00
gosti: S.U.S. (Beograd), Šmajser (Beograd) + Concrete Worms (Beograd)
Španski kombo Tokyo Sex Destruction dobar su i redak primer da radikalni politički stavovi (u ovom slučaju leve orijentacije) kod jednog rokenrol benda mogu da rezultiraju vanserijskom atraktivnošću. Za samo 4 godine postojanja izbacili su 3 albuma i više singlova, a pored svega uspeli su da Evropu obiđu više puta, te su imali i zapaženu američku turneju, koja je za bend van engleskog govornog područja u gro slučajeva misaona imenica, ako ne računamo nekoliko skandinavskih rok grupa.
60’s soul, garage punk i detroitski high energy R’n’R (Stooges/MC5) prve su asocijacije kod slušalaca, a više nego prisutni duh legendarnog menadžera MC5, Johna Sinclaira i njegove subverzivne organizacije White Panther Party dodatno pojačavaju utisak, ionako dovoljno snažan u numerama ovog benda. Svaki je od članova četvorke iz Barselone «uzeo» Sinclairovo prezime jasno stavljajući do znanja o čemu se ovde radi, a radi se o pobuni i revoluciji, baš kao u doba poznih 60-tih kada su MC5 i Sinclair bili redovna meta američke konzervativne javnosti, policije, čak, nacionalne garde i predvodnici nemira na ulicama Detroita. Bend ovako čvrstih uverenja samo je za poštovanje i kada svemu ovome dodate jednaku srčanost, žar i, na momente, mahnitost u izvođenju žestoke muzike za mrdanje u transu, jasno je da se radi o nečemu što umnogome odudara od prosečne ponude na nezavisnoj sceni. Zaista, nije ni čudo što im se sam Michael Davis (basista MC5) obratio sa molbom da producira par pesama!
Naziv benda Tokyo Sex Destruction u potpunosti odgovara onome što se može čuti na pločama Španaca: egzotika, strastveno šibanje instrumenata i jednog od najboljih vokala danas i: seks, seks, seks!
Kao koncertna atrakcija više puta su postideli, a ne tako retko i preoteli sam show (ili ih makar naterali da se razbude i potrude da budu bolji), mnogim velikim imenima moderne garažne produkcije, od Blues Explosion, preko Fleshtones, do Mooney Suzuki i Zen Guerilla. Kako lepo reče Michael Davis: «This band is SEX by all means, both in sound and appearance».
Beogradska publika ponovo će posle godinu dana imati priliku da se uveri u istinitost ovih reči u nedelju, 7. oktobra u SKC-u gde Tokyo Sex Destruction nastupaju zajedno sa par lokalnih punk/garage atrakcija: S.U.S., Šmajser i Concrete Worms. Ulaz 400 din, na dan koncerta 500 din.
muzika:
tokyo sex destruction – break-out town
tokyo sex destruction – black money
tokyo sex destruction – don’t make try your love
tokyo sex destruction – le red soul comunnitte
tokyo sex destruction – yesterday is gone
tokyo sex destruction – two years ago
tokyo sex destruction – (unreadable) no.2
tokyo sex destruction – black cold heart
Jack Oblivian & The Tennessee Tearjerkers + Harlan T. Bobo & The Chimps (Memphis, TN, U.S.A.)
Subota, 15. septembar – Beograd @ SKC
Nedelja, 16. septembar – Pirot @ Dom kulture (Jazz Cafe)
Ponedeljak, 17. septembar – Zagreb @ KSET
Jedan od najuticajnijih garažnih rokera u poslednje dve decenije. Osnivač Oblivians, Compulsive Gamblers, Cool Jerks, Limes, Golddiggers… Svirao i u South Filthy, Impala… Poslednjih par godina predvodi Tennessee Tearjerkers, vrhunski spoj Rolling Stones, 60’s punka i soula.
Since 1999, when Jack Yarber formed the Tennessee Tearjerkers, the group has morphed from a lean, coulda-shoulda-rocked-CBGB’s unit into a sprawling, Stones-influenced bar band. However, as evidenced on the Tearjerkers’ latest record, Jack O. Is the Flipside Kid, Yarber himself — veteran of legendary local groups including the Compulsive Gamblers and the Oblivians, — has hardly changed a bit. “I feel like the same person,” Yarber says of the evolution, which has also found him playing in countless small garage combos, such as Loose Diamonds and the Knaughty Knights. Just before Thanksgiving, Yarber returned from a six-week European tour with Harlan T. Bobo, which took the Memphians from Paris to Linkoping, Sweden. For the trip, which also included keyboard player Adam Woodard, Yarber temporarily replaced the Tearjerkers’ precision rhythm section of Terrence Bishop and John Bonds with Bobo and drummer Paul Buchignani; during Bobo’s sets, Yarber traded his guitar and lead mic for the bass. Bobo and Yarber replicated those overseas performances during Memphis Roller Derby’s Ho Ho Ho Burlesque Show at the Hi-Tone Caf� last Saturday night. True to form, Yarber alternately snarled like Iggy Pop, crooned like Nat King Cole, and drawled his lyrics like a down-on-his-luck Hank Williams. One song in, he even relinquished his lead position to Preacher’s Kids frontman Tyler Keith, who leapt from the audience to deliver a frenzied version of “Honky Tonk Women” before smashing the microphone to the stage. Unfazed and perfectly willing to be upstaged, Yarber just shrugged, picked up the mic, and soldiered on. Because he makes it look so simple, it’s easy to overlook the sheer talent that Yarber possesses, especially in a live environment, when the beer is flowing and the dance floor is shaking under the stomping of a hundred pairs of feet. Put on any of his albums, which include 2001’s Bad Mood Rising and 2005’s Don’t Throw Your Love Away, and you’ll be blown away by the diversity of material, which runs the gamut from well-worn R&B covers to a version of Van Halen’s “D.O.A. Blues.” Yet it’s Yarber’s originals that really shine: Listen to the dirgy “Flipside Kid,” the taut, western-influenced “Til the Money Runs Out,” or the fuzzy feedback that drives “Hong Kong Girl,” and you’ll hear the sound of a man who’s comfortable in his own skin. Replay “Golden Age,” which divulges just a few seconds in that “she’s a tragedy,” or the next song, which opens with the line, “Well, let me tell ya about Knick the Knife,” and you’ll get sucked into his pulp-fiction world, which is populated with human Frankensteins, cemetery freaks, and bad girls galore. Yarber’s songwriting skills make the album, recorded in various locations in Detroit and Memphis, sound cohesive, whether tracks feature a full band, drummer Mark Sultan, or just Yarber himself. “Do you think that if I didn’t list the information [in the liner notes], people would notice?” Yarber wonders. “I recorded it over a long period of time. I found out that it’s hard to create an album over a single weekend. ‘Knick the Knife’ came from a Johnny Vomit [and the Dry Heaves, one of Yarber’s longest-running side projects, which dates back to his high school days in Corinth, Mississippi] jam session. Some songs, like ‘Golden Age,’ were instrumentals that I found lyrics for, and a few were cut after I got my four-track machine repaired and I was just trying to see if it was working. The real challenge is doing it live, going from one style to another. The band usually figures it out, knowing when to rock out and when to lay back and swing.” It’s a pretty nonchalant attitude for someone who’s toiled in the music business for two decades while watching friends rocket to success around him. Yet Yarber’s hardly the bitter type. It takes plenty of prodding to get him to talk about the time he persuaded Jack and Meg White to come to Memphis, where they would ultimately record their breakthrough album, White Blood Cells, or admit that MTV faves the Hives have been covering his originals onstage. When asked why he prefers to remain in town, where he’s often forced to pick up a day job to pay his bills, Yarber shrugs. “I’ve made a lot of trips to Detroit, and I thought about living there,” he notes. “But after being up there for a week, I couldn’t really see the difference between Detroit and Memphis. And besides, I did move away. I came from Corinth to Memphis. Here I am.”
Jack Oblivian @ MySpace
Jack Oblivian @ Wikipedia
Oblivians @ Wikipedia
Najtalentovaniji singer/songwritter današnjice pod snažnim uticajem Alexa Chiltona i Big Star, kao i Jonathana Richmana i Modern Lovers. Od ranije poznat po radu u American Death Ray i The Limes, a poslednjih par godina po sjajnim solo pločama od koji je poslednja, “I’m Your Man”, dobila više nego povoljne kritike. Jedna od tih je i sledeća sa uticajnog Pičforka:
Harlan T. Bobo
I’m Your Man
[Goner Records; 2007]
Rating: 8.1
Not too many people can make maturity and mundanity sound attractive or, god forbid, sexy, but Harlan T. Bobo, age unknown, certainly can. I’m Your Man is only his second album, but already he manages to sound genuinely world-weary, if not (he’ll admit) particularly wise. On the jauntily strummy title track, he seduces a woman by saying he’ll treat her kids like his own– an almost comic understatement of a traditional blues come-on. Bobo doesn’t even try to pass himself off as anything but a fixer-upper: “I skip parties and dodge all your friends,” he sings candidly, the line evoking a scene of desperate passes and lowered expectations. Likewise, the remark “A pragmatic woman is the only kinda woman can make a good man outta me,” from “Pragmatic Woman”, implies overdrawn checking accounts, messy rooms, and a woman with a big job on her hands.
Singing in a grainy barroom tenor that barely suppresses his ironies, irritations, and mannish-boy insecurities, Bobo sees the humor in these lyrics, but never plays his songs strictly for laughs. The album suggests that he knows he’s been wasting his time and has fewer opportunities because of it: “I don’t do what I should,” he sings on “My Life”, “to make my life good.” As his opportunities dwindle, he sees death looming just beyond the reach of his lyrics. “My Life” and “Last Step” worry over the inevitable end, but such gravity bumps elbows with winking levity. “Baptist Memorial”, with its doo-wop backing vocals and organ pulsing like a heart monitor, finds him hospitalized; as his doctors warn against strenuous movement or overexcitement, all he can think of is the hot RN and “a time when you dressed as my nurse/ It really turned us on.”
Bobo may be trying to settle down, but musically he’s still playing the field. I’m Your Man is all over the place: muddy guitar rock, acoustic folk in the Leonard Cohen vein (of course), hell-bent country that pours some out for Townes Van Zandt. There are some specifically Memphis notes as well, such as the Reigning Sound guitars on the chorus of “My Life” and the slightly-higher-than-lo-fi Grifters scuzz on “God’s Lamb” and “Sick of It”. That’s appropriate considering the local who’s who that guests on the album: there’s a Grifter (Dave Shouse), two Reigning Sounds (Alex Greene and Jeremy Scott), and a former Afghan Whig (Paul Buchignani), as well as Doug Easley, Alicja Trout, and local horn players Jim Spake and Scott Thompson. Bobo seems game for any direction they want to take him, amiably presiding over the crowded proceedings as if holding court at the P&H. The result is a homegrown album that ably exploits Bobo’s local connections, his musical eccentricities, his grim self-reflective humor, and his painfully heightened sense of irony.
After he finally pledges his loyalty to that pragmatic single mom, she promptly dumps him. The final two songs allow him to vent his resentment and lick his wounds: “One of These Days” might sound particularly nasty without his resigned vocals and the song’s airy Morricone vibe, and closer “Pretty Foolish Things”, recorded live at local indie station WEVL, is the lesson learned: “I can’t be trusted with cash,” he sings, then later: “I can’t be trusted with love/ I always throw away my love on pretty foolish things… like you.”
-Stephen M. Deusner, July 31, 2007
Harlan T. Bobo @ MySpace
Harlan T. Bobo @ Goner Records
NAJAVA:
Rokenrol prestonica, Memfis, poslednjih 10-15 godina gospodari modernom garažnom scenom u SAD. Čini se da, pored Detroita, jedino još tamo bendovi niču kao pečurke posle kiše i sviraju dobar rokenrol neopterećen težnjom da se ‘proda’, unovči ili doživi furiozni uspeh snimanjem preskupih spotova za MTV. Možda je razlog tome dolazak velikog maga Jeffa Evansa (Gibson Bros) koji je oko sebe okupio većinu lokalnih punkera i naučio ih nekim starijim formama kao što su blues ili soul, pa su se momci utrkivali koji će bend bolje da savlada domaće zadatke, a možda i zato što je u većini jedna od glavnih uloga po pravilu bivala rezervisana za Jacka Obliviana (pravo ime Jack Yarber).
Jackov prvi zapaženiji bend su svakako Oblivians, osnovani u prvoj polovini 90-tih bili su pravo osveženje sa neobičnim konceptom 3 pankera sviraju blues, nema basa i sva trojica se smenjuju na gitarama, bubnjevima i vokalima. Snimili su 3 albuma za Crypt Records, par mini albuma i jednu kompilaciju neobjavljenih snimaka za SFTRI + malo brdo singlova za nebrojene etikete. Jedini pravi naslednici The Gories i bend za kakav Jon Spencer nikada nije imao petlju, raspao se iznenada i bez svađe. Eric Oblivian se posvetio svojoj maloj izdavačkoj kući Goner Records, Greg Oblivian na kratko je lutao da bi se skrasio sa Reigning Sound i ove godine uspeo da snimi album sa 60’s legendom iz Shangri-Las – Mary Weiss, a Jack je snimao što solo, što sa prijateljima iz grada, te se obreo i u par lokalnih all-star bendova. Zapravo, nastavio je tačno tamo gde je stao sa Oblivians – istraživanje na temu interakcija punk estetike i snažne emocije blues/soul pesme. Zajedničko za sve bendove sa kojima je sarađivao su po pravilu visoke kritike albuma i pomanjkanje želje da se u vreme White Stripes uspeha neki od njih i ‘okoristi’. Verovatno je i to njegova zasluga jer ga takve stvari očito nikada nisu zanimale. Malo je poznato da je on nagovorio Jacka Whitea da u Easley studiju snime album koji će ih poslati u orbitu, a još manje da je legendarna crvena gitara koju White svira u spotu Seven Nation Army nekada krasila kolekciju Jacka Obliviana.
Poslednji bend koji je naš junak formirao jesu Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjekrers. Objavili su tri albuma za SFTRI, a prošlogodišnji, «The Flip Side Kid», po običaju ubire pozitivne ocene nezavisne muzičke štampe, ali i magazina koji prevashodno tretiraju komercijalnu muziku. Zvuk Rolling Stonesa iz vremena «Exile On Main St.» i «Sticky Fingers» izmešan sa lokalnim nasleđem bele i crne muzike i propušten kroz Yarberov punk rock filter na samom kraju je svež, dok svo blues i soul prisustvo u pesmama ovog benda dođe poput neizostavnih začina bilo kojeg jela. Uvek dobra, a uvek drugačija jambalaya. Uopšte nije iznenađujuće da The Hives redovno na koncertima sviraju jednu od Yarberovih pesama iz Oblivians perioda jer je stariji kolega takoreći doktorirao garage-punk i to odavno.
U paketu sa novim bendom Jacka Obliviana stiže i Harlan T. Bobo sa bendom The Chimps, ne još dugo samo lokalna singer/songwriter atrakcija grada u Tenesiju. Ovaj momak jedno vreme je svirao sa American Death Ray (docnije poznati kao Viva L’American Death Ray Music), ali je pre 4 godine napustio grupu i posvetio se solo karijeri. Njegov prvi album, «Too Much Love», je dugo čekao na regularno izdanje no to Harlanu nije smetalo da ga umnoži u hiljade primeraka i prodaje na piratskim diskovima, od kuće. Otuda i bar 3 različite verzije omota ploče. Ovogodišnji LP – «I’m Your Man» – već je napravio pravi mali metež na singer/songwriter sceni i to nije moglo da promakne oku kritike, čak ni one koja talenat ne bi primetila ni da im se ispred nosa pojavi. Zanimljiv i izuzetno neobičan spoj Modern Lovers, Big Star i lokalnog nasleđa, odlično snalaženje na terenu ne tako redovnom za jednog bivšeg garažnog rokera, jasno artikulišu Harlanov dar za pisanje pesama. S druge strane i on, kao i Jack, boluje od manjka uobraženosti i sujete, danas na žalost neophodnih da se dođe do znatno šire popularnosti. Otuda će put ka slavi i ovog macana biti naporan, trnovit i, najverovatnije, duži nego što takav talenat zaslužuje. No, to je ono što su sami izabrali – da se više bave muzikom, dakle, onim što znaju i za šta su nadareni, a znatno manje marketinškim trikovima u koje ne samo da nisu upućeni, već ni ne haju za iste. Upravo zbog ovoga biće beskrajno dragi svim pravovernim rokenrolerima, a takvih je uvek u dovoljnom broju.
Jack Oblivian & The Tennessee Tearjerkers i Harlan T. Bobo & The Chimps u okviru evropske turneje sviraju u beogradskom SKC-u u subotu 15. septembra, u pirotskom Domu kulture (nedelja, 16. septembar) i u zagrebačkom KSET-u (ponedeljak, 17. septembar).
Tek nešto malo posle tridesetogodišnjice od Elvisove smrti imamo priliku da pogledamo dva izuzetna rokera iz Memfisa sa pratećim im bendovima. Ako mislite da je to slučajno, grdno se varate.
Harlan T. Bobo – God’s Lamb
Harlan T. Bobo – Baptist Memorial
Harlan T. Bobo – My Life
Harlan T. Bobo – Last Step
Harlan T. Bobo – Too Much Love
Tearjerkers – White Lie, Black Eye
Tearjerkers – Wire Tapper Calling
Tearjerkers – Teeny Weeny Little Bit
Tearjerkers – Earthquake Date (Pretty Bad Baby)
Tearjerkers – D.O.A. Blues
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Ain’t Got No Money
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Too Hard To Hold
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Flash Cub
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – A Bullet For Ramona
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Fire
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Flip Side Kid
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Hong Kong Girl
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – Chills & Fever
Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers – John Holmes Blues
Cool Jerks – For A Little While
Cool Jerks – Friend Of A Loner
Cool Jerks – Can’t Quit
Cool Jerks – Skip A Bit
Cool Jerks – Certified Fool
Cool Jerks – Why Can’t I…
Oblivians – Indian In Me
Oblivians – Don’t Haunt Me
Oblivians – Robot Blues
Oblivians – Trouble
Oblivians – Do The Milkshake
Oblivians – Strong Come On
Oblivians – Show Me What You Like
Oblivians – Show Me Again
Oblivians – Blew My Cool
Oblivians – Never Change
