Tunesday: King Tubby

Recently I was conversing with one the readers of The Tasty Morsel about the music we feature on our Tunesday posts. He seemed to think that we were lacking in diversity as to what music we have been posting. I find that to be untrue since we've posted bands from the likes of URTC to Look Mexico to Drag The River to Coconut Records as well as many others. So we'll delve into something a little more different.

With my recent acquisition of a new record player, the hobby of collecting of vinyl has been sparked in me and there are just some types of music that sound great on vinyl. One such genre is Dub music, and the artist we'll focus on here is one of the grandfathers of Dub, King Tubby.

Dub is a pretty awesome genre since it is one of the early forms of remixing music, a-la today's mashup. Pioneers of Dub in the 1960's and 70's such as King Tubby would take Reggae tunes and strip out the vocals, add delay, reverb, sample in lyrics, etc. Dub music allowed the dude behind the mixing board to be the composer as he altered tunes and gave them a whole new perspective.

Here's a little taste of the King at work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB28MKa7AiM

I find it a little funny that recently Alison and I have been sitting on our front porch playing King Tubby records on a Friday evening. From a distance if you heard some Dub playing, you'd expect to walk by and see two older Jamaican dudes sharing a spliff and sippin' on some Red Stripe, but instead you see a pale couple smoking cigarettes and drinking Miller Lite (when on sale).

That's the beauty of listening to music though. No matter what social stereotype has been labeled to the music, anyone can listen to and appreciate it. However, I do find that the performance of certain music best be left to the professionals...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTkreQgI5zk

Doing Work: Lucero Video

If you're a constant reader of 'The Tasty Morsel' you'd get the impression that all we do here is eat, drink and go to shows. With that kind of lifestyle, who has time to work when there's barely enough time to party? Well, we do work and sometimes our work brings us projects that pull our leisure and labor closer to each other. Recently, Bob applied to direct a music video for one of our favorite bands, Lucero. Needless to say, he got the job and after a month or so of toiling and animating until the wee hours in the home office. Here's what he came up with:

http://vimeo.com/6613272

Johnny Davis from Lucero on Vimeo.

Tunesday: Austin Lucas / Mike Hale / Two Cow Garage

We are proud to have another set of videos that we shot ourselves live at a gig to represent our fine Tunesday update.

This Tunesday will focus mainly on Austin Lucas, but in a few of the videos, he has some really good back up musicians. Last night we headed out to Hollywood to check out Austin Lucas, Mike Hale and Two Cow Garage at Crane's Tavern. Upon arrival, everyone was locked out of the venue since the hired help was running late, but after a short wait, we were inside on the back patio enjoying $1 Budweisers... not bad.

The first act up was some kind of rockabilly setup that all dressed the part, but was lacking in the originality / musically diversity category. Every song sounded the same, they even started a few songs with some really cool first couple of seconds, but then jumped back into their washed out sound once the time for vocals to show up came in. Funny thing is that most of the crowd was there to see them (all of which were out on dress-up night too).

Next, Mike Hale and Austin Lucas played an unplugged acoustic set out on the patio. Damn fine stuff... too bad many people that weren't watching the show decided that it was their right to be goofing off and making a bunch of noise about 5 feet from there Austin and Mike were performing. Roll tape...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH7P9REJyf0

Following Mike Hale and Austin's outdoor set, Two Cow Garage played inside. Now, this venue is tiny inside, lacks a stage, and was unable to stand up to the volume that Two Cow Garage played at. Needless to say, they could have had a bit of a stronger P.A., but either way Two Cow Garage really turned it on. These dudes play with so much excitement and energy, it is just fun watching them. We did shoot a couple of videos of them, but due to their sheer volume, the microphone on the camera wasn't handling the audio well. Maybe next time. They did play backing band to Austin Lucas for a few songs, which came across really well, especially since the only stuff I've heard of Austin Lucas is acoustic. Clip #2...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WnB-KoUzxo

After about a half dozen songs or so, Two Cow Garage left the stage and Austin Lucas played unplugged for the dozen or so people that were watching. All of which were obviously fans since they were singing along to the tunes and actually keeping quiet while Austin got to playing. The coolest part was that Austin made everyone that was watching him play stand really close in a circle around him. Everyone that was in the front of the circle was practically a foot away from him while he played, which brings the whole idea of an intimate show to the next level. A very cool feeling indeed. Enjoy this last clip and Austin Lucas' golden voice, beautiful song writing and impressive guitar playing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vsaqn41j78

After the gig was through, we got ourselves an Austin Lucas LP and headed home. A nice Monday night indeed. Sorry that the videos appear so red, but the lack of actual lighting and abundance of mood lighting don't help our little camera. You're supposed to listen to the music anyways.

You can check out music by all three of the above mentioned artists at Suburban Home Records. Best get on it!

Where's My Steak, Diane!

Gawdammit Diane! Shut those damn kids up and get to work in the kitchen! You think I spend all day workin' jus to come home to your screaming children and an empty table? I swear if you don't move that busted down ass into the kitchen, I'm gonna have to start drink'n that there whiskey. You know what happens when I start drink'n whiskey, now get!

Great! You found a book with pictures of food on it. Praise the Lord! Can you even read? I'm hungry and that there bottle is eyeballin' me. You better be fix'n me some shit from 1950!

Looks like you got it half right woman. I like the looks of that there steak Diane! Now what the hell is them 'shrooms and O-nee-ons doing next to my meat? Better not screw this one up, you're one mistake away from falling down the stairs again!

What is this here shit? Do I look like a beady-eyed, vegetable-eating rabbit? Am I a tiny lumberjack, Diane?

I want my meat Woman! Beef! The red shit that's inside dead animals. Not some Gawdamm steaming bowl of fungis and roots!

Gawdamn! That's the ticket woman! Steak, Diane!

What in the hell is that yellow shit? That better be cheese! Holiday sauce? What in the hell holiday are you talkin' bout? Everyday I bring home a paycheck is a holiday!

That's fine, real fine. Let me just move this shit off the top of my steak Diane and I can get to eatin'. You know what? Bring me down that there bottle. Nothin' goes better with meat than some of that there whiskey.

You're lucky Diane! Next time your ass is in real trouble if I have to come home to an empty table.

Now go make your own Steak Diane!

Tunesday: Cory Branan

Here's a little something different for the Tunesday update. This time around, we actually brought a flip camera to the last gig we attended and got a little footage of our own.

Last Saturday, we headed down to Hollywood's Knitting Factory and saw the rare and elusive Cory Branan. The guy doesn't make it out this way very often, so when he makes a stop, we try and attend. Cory says he's from Memphis by way of Austin, but I think most of the songs and stories in his songs originate from his roots in Memphis. Songs about white trash girls, roller rinks, and the like seem to have a wandering sense lyrically and musically, almost as if he is performing off the top of his head through stream of consciousness. Dude's got some pretty wild guitar chops and a voice to boot... and 'a way with words that will bring you to your knees.'

This particular show was kind of lame being that it was all ages and the other bands weren't really up our alley. It was kind of like being a chaperone at a high school dance: we could only sip a few drinks while watching and wondering what is wrong with the teenagers today. There were even a handful of parents there. I even witnessed someone's grandma getting a beer at the bar, and I swear she threw back half of it on her first swig.

I was quite amused when Cory realized that he was cussing up a storm at an all ages event. However, when he realized his crass dialect was caressing the ears of minors, he just kept on rolling and cussing a bit more. That's a dude that belongs in the bars...

You can view the video larger at our YouTube channel.

Eating at Jackie Chan's Favorite Food and Gawking Hipsters

Last Saturday we committed ourselves to a lot; transport to Chinatown, finding a restaurant to eat copious amounts of vinegar and cornstarch on a dime, cocktails and then making it to The F-No Fest to see Lucero.

Not only did we accomplish all of this, but we exceeded our own expectations. Usually we would jump in our car and find our way down the 110, but this time we decided we should take public transport. Our friend, Sean, convinced us that it would breed adventure since we were all L.A. metro virgins. But, luckily, it was pretty unadventurous except for the guy that jumped in at the Compton stop and gave a very convincing sales pitch for Coby headphones. So convincing that we decided to take him with us so he could convince security at The Fest to let us into the VIP lounge. No, this didn't really happen, but Sean (who is always looking to score a deal) really thought long and hard about it.

We arrived about an hour later at Grand Central Station. Our journey through the barrios of Los Angeles had us feening for Chinese food. Sean, in a previous trip to Chinatown, had been to the restaurant where they shot Rush Hour and said it was tasty and cheap. We decided to seek this place out again, not wanting to take a chance on sketchy Chinese that would leave us in an uncomfortable predicament...later...at the fest...in a long line...for a blue port -a- potty.

Fortune-ately, we found it "Foo Chow Restaurant Where Best Seller Movie By Jackie Chan Was Shot Here". We ordered Tsing Taos and the family meal, which came with fried rice, sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, chow mein, egg rolls and fried shrimp. Everything was delicious and only cost us $40 and we quickly decided that we should celebrate our tasty and cheap meal with cocktails.

Enter Chinatown's best dive bar - Hop Louie's. It was dark, there was some nice folk to talk to and the bartender, Sean, was a good bullshitter. We liked Sean The Bartender. He had the name of an Irishman and, more importantly, poured a drink like an Irishman, but we were in Chinatown - so, no he wasn't an Irishman.

After a round, or four, we made our way down to The FYF Fest.

Years before, The FYF Fest was called 'The Fuck Yeah Fest' and would be a series of shows spread across a handful of bars in the Hollywood / Silverlake area. The bands were underground and the concept was great. You just barhopped from gig to gig and enjoyed a weekend of music. Not this time. This year, the festival got a makeover. They ditched the 'Fuck Yeah Fest' and traded in the vulgarity for a simple 'FYF'. Pretty stupid I think, since the name 'FYF Fest' pretty much means 'Fuck Yeah Fest Fest'. The stupidity grows even larger once we got to the gig. It was at LA Historical National Park in downtown, a large and spread out lawn. Three stages were spread across the park and the whole thing smelled of Warped Tour Ugliness. Tons of shitty kids going to see even shittier bands. A bunch of 'Hardcore' and 'Crapcore'. The only bands we had any interest in seeing were Lucero, Japanther and possibly Tim and Eric. Oh, and in order to drink beer, you were caged into a small area of the park and couldn't even see any of the stages from the far-away drinkers corner. Oh, and it cost $7 for a Miller Lite. It looks like someone was making money hand over fist.

I'd love to rant about the kids there, but I don't have time. Lets just say they were of the 'hipster' variety. Pretty much a retarded fashion show. Ironic t-shirts that they found at trailer park garage sales, goofy neon glasses, man-shorts that showed enough pale skin to blind a deaf man, shitty hair cuts, bad facial hair, etc. You can study these ilk here and here.

So, those people were enough to drive us to our wit's end.

Needless to say, we could only stomach the gig for Lucero's set. They played well, we screamed all the lyrics as well as our drunk selves could and that was about it.

Verdict: Jackie Chan has good taste in Chinese food, FYF Fest has bad taste in becoming a commercialized mess with masses of people who believe they are not commercial even though they are just another giant mass of people trying to look different, yet looking all the same.