Swede in a Starship

People have been blogging about it for a year now, but I waited until today, its official day of release, to work-in my post about Snakes on a Plane.

The FEMALE FRONT angle to this story is minor, but genuine: Ever since I first heard the killer theme song "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship, I've assumed that the female vocalist who appears on the track must be Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds. Well, it's always nice to have your assumptions proven correct for a change: More information about the mysterious Cobra Starship has come out in the past couple of weeks (not to mention the music video), and I have confirmed that the sole female member of the project is indeed Ms Ivarsson.

I've been playing tracks from The Sounds' debut album Living in America since it was released; but if you're a fan of the band, you may be wondering why the hell you're not hearing anything from their recent album Dying to Say This to You on FEMALE FRONT. The answer, of course, is "Because I'm lame". Or perhaps more importantly, "Because I'm broke". They're basically interchangable states of being; one just leads into the other, much like the caduceus on the Snakes movie poster.

The upshot of all this is that I hope to get that album soon. Eventually.

In the meantime, and in an attempt to deflect attention from my lameness, here is a pic of Ms Ivarsson in action:

Pause for the Cause: Women Who Rock Benefit

If you live in the Southern California area (or if you're willing to travel for a good cause), then you may want to clear your schedule for Saturday, September 9. That's when the Women Who Rock benefit will be taking place at the Stardust Club in Downey, with proceeds going to NOW. The promoter emailed me the details and I promised to pass them along, so here you go:

Women Who Rock Benefit
National Organization for Women – www.now.org

RAFFLE: To take place during concert to raise money to support NOW

Date: Saturday, September 9, 2006
Time: 5:00 pm – 2:00 am
Location: The Stardust Club
7634 Firestone Blvd
Downey, CA
Admission: Free -- All money raised from the raffle will be donated to NOW



Local female-powered bands scheduled to perform include Transit Authority, The Jennifer Project, The Fabulous Miss Wendy, Lily Holbrook, Miracle Dolls, Mystery Hangup, Red On Strike, Xanimo, The Breakup, and Pretty In Stereo.

The promoter is still accepting items for the raffle, so if you have anything worthwhile to donate, contact me and I'll put you in touch.

Whether you donate or not, the show is FREE! So take advantage of this unheard-of price, and see a ton of local bands at one show!

Thanks to Glass Kitten Productions for the tip.

Shocker: Blogger.com Makes Improvements!

Yes, it's true: The folks at Blogger have actually upgraded the site's user interface and technology, with a new Beta version that makes the blog experience easier for both host and visitor.

If you're a repeat visitor, then the first thing you'll notice about FFB is the new look; I hope you like it. Also of interest to visitors new and old is the fact that you can now subscribe to posts via Atom! What the -- hey, this is starting to act like a real blog!

I've done my share of bashing Blogger.com in the past, but all I've ever wanted or expected is a simple-to-use blog hosting system that has decent uptime. They've nailed the first part of my wish with this new Beta version; now we'll see if they've worked on the second part.

As always, there is one thing that I can definitely say in Blogger's favor: You can't beat the price!

LOURDS: In Touch with My Feminine Side

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The J-Pop singer Utada has a song on her album Exodus called "You Make Me Want to Be a Man". I can't imagine why she'd want that, but fine.

And then there's me: I'm beginning to think that the main emotion that has driven my attraction to female artists for most of my life is not infatuation...it's envy. The fact is, they make me want to be a woman.

Wait, follow me on this: I'm not saying that I want to "become" a woman as my present self (and trust me, you wouldn't want to see that either). And I am well aware that in about 70% of the world, women are still treated like chattel, or worse. What I AM saying is that, in a free, progressive society...who would ever want to be a man? Being a woman is where it's at! Chicks have ALL the fun!

And if I were going to be a woman, I might as well go all-in: I'd want to be like Lourds Lane, frontwoman and namesake of the band LOURDS. Because to be like Lourds Lane is to be an ultra-talented, super-sexy, expressionistic, exhibitionistic, prodigious woman. I'd even live in New York if I could be a girl like Lourds Lane.

So there it is, I've outed myself: I have X-chromosome-envy. The sad reality, of course, is that chromosomes are the most I have in common with Lourds Lane. Hell, if I embodied any of the above-mentioned adjectives I would live happily ever after as a man. But Lourds has it all, and she has It.

Lourds Lane was a child prodigy who started training on violin at age three, and was performing concert hall recitals by age six. She found time to learn piano, too. However, like many Classically-trained artists, the constraints of Classical "propriety" eventually wore on her, and as a teenager Lourds' preferred form of expression was on the dance floor of New York's hottest clubs. Her popularity landed her a regular slot on MTV's dance show "Club MTV".

Her musical ambitions were far grander than that, however, and she began to take steps to make them a reality. But this time, Lourds' chosen genre was Rock, which gave her the freedom of expression and individuality that Classical could not.

Cut to the present time, wherein Lourds Lane is a New York diva known to some fans as "the Queen"; an electrifying performer whose band LOURDS has released a self-titled album on indie startup Breaking Records. As if that weren't enough, Lourds Lane also released a solo single called "Victory", a stadium-shuddering anthem that has been licensed by ESPN and ABC Sports. It is now Lourds' world, and we are just living in it.

LOURDS, the album, is a showcase of the artist's multitude of talents; however, it is first and foremost a Rock album by a Rock band. Lourds Lane handles lead vocals
photo: Shiran Nicholson

(with a beautifully deep, aggressive voice), electric violin, mandolin, piano, electric and acoustic guitar. Sarah Vasil handles the drums mightily, Gene Blank shreds the Les Paul sunburst, and Joey Sagarese provides tasty bass morsels. Watching the band's live videos gives one a taste of their extremely energetic, positively-charged shows, but apparently there's nothing like seeing LOURDS live, in person. (So how 'bout coming West, guys?)

Album highlights include "Astropop" (which is a reference to the popular frozen treat, not the popular video game); we called them "Bomb Pops" when I was a kid, but whatever you call them, the song is about getting past troubling times by reclaiming your childhood enthusiasm. "Soothsayer Lies" is a power-ballad about a girl in denial over a failed relationship. Both this and the song "Always" are two of the best tracks in which to hear Lourds' mad violin skillz. But don't expect a Vanessa Mae redux here; like I said, this is a Rock album (it may be a coincidence that her nickname is the Queen, but Lourds definitely has the spirit of Freddie Mercury in her). The violin is used sparingly, and is definitely not a gimmick.

"Kiss U Soft" is another song with a chant arrangement which, like "Victory", must be a huge crowd-pleaser at the live shows. "Last Day", one of my favorite tracks, is an upbeat song about armageddon, in which the singer advises, Throw away your fears / Don't think too much about it / Let's just fuck like it's the last day of our lives (I'm pretty sure that's from Revalations, too, so we have to do it). And finally, you can probably guess what the song "You Suck the Life Out of Me" is about.

If there is one minor criticism, it's that the songwriting seems to be geared towards the live performance. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that the songs don't quite catch fire on the CD the way they must do at the live shows; which may explain why LOURDS has a rabid following of habitual concertgoers. The live show seems to be where it's at -- and this is coming from a guy who LOVES studio albums.

But by all means, buy LOURDS if you're looking for energetic, positive, inventive Rock music...brought to you by the girl I want to be.


Sarah, Gene, Lourds & Joey (photo: Shiran Nicholson)

Let Slip the Hamsters of War

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You know why this is a great job? Because if I were, say, an accountant, then I would probably never have received an email from a band called
KK + The Flying Hamsters of Doom.

(Unless, of course, I happened to be KK + The Flying Hamsters of Doom's accountant, in which case I would almost certainly receive emails from them regularly; but I'm not. Ergo, this job is cool.)

Yes, that is the name of a band, and yes, they are even better than their amazingly fantastic name. Like their mutated rodent namesake, KK+FHOD are one part Ozzy, one part Evanescence and one part Tenacious D. Oh, yes: With an album entitled Defenders of Rock, it's a sure bet that these guys are down with The D.

It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that despite their awesome band name, this is not a novelty act. To their extreme credit, KK+FHOD still take the music seriously; and they seriously rock. Frontwoman KK, and band members Tom, Dmitri and Jason deliver the goods with a minimum of fuss, and without wearing silly costumes.

The band's hard-edged Rock sound is infused with Goth elements, which means that the music is nicely melodic, and generally more interesting than it would have been if it were just four people thrashing away.

For some reason, female-fronted Hard Rock has never really taken off in a big way. I mean, the number of female hard-rockers who've cracked the Top 40 can be counted on Roger Rabbit's left hand. Some unenlightened cretins might make the argument that the quality of the female artists in the genre does not compare to that of the men, and therefore the women don't "earn" airplay. Such an argument is inherently asinine, but I created this station to disprove it anyway. Defenders of Rock is well-produced, well-written and accessible...further proof that gender has no impact on how well you can rock.

KK (Photo: Dan Locke)

Chicago has always been a great music town, but lately it's been an embarrassment of riches: KK+FHOD are the third outstanding Chicago band I've added to the playlist in a row...and these have all been random submissions from the bands themselves, not the work of one local promoter. It's not done yet, either; I expect to add a couple more Chicago bands in the near future.

Check out KK + The Flying Hamsters of Doom at their website linked above. It's serious Rock from a band that hasn't lost its sense of humor.

Amy Gerhartz: First Ascent

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If you're getting tired of me saying what an amazing time this is for Indie-Pop, then: 1) Too bad, because I've just come across another gem in the genre, and I'm getting ready to gush about her in a moment; and 2) Could you try being a little more patient? C'mon, help a brotha out!

The aforementioned gem is Amy Gerhartz, who is currently making everyone in NYC feel stupid for not having heard of her earlier...one gig at a time. Soon, the entire world will feel that way -- at least if I have anything to do with it.

What Amy Gerhartz has done is to release a debut album, The Uphill Climb, which is so accomplished, you'll assume she's a veteran singer/songwriter/hit machine. I can not come up with enough superlatives to describe what a pleasant surprise this album is. From her strong, clear voice to her expertly-crafted songs to the polished arrangements on every track, Amy Gerhartz is poised to go from zero-to-superstar in one album flat.

Of course, there is that whole thing of commercial radio not playing artists like Amy Gerhartz anymore, which could throw a wrench into the deal. The album title could very well be referring to the difficulty most female singer/songwriters have getting airplay. But we're not going to allow a few ignorant radio programmers to stand in our way, are we?!

Amazingly, it wasn't until Ms Gerhartz attended university (Florida State) that she took up songwriting AND guitar. Yet The Uphill Climb skips the whole "Folkie with an acoustic" phase that most novice singer-songwriters go through, and cuts right to a "seasoned band of Pop veterans" sound. Although informed by genres such as AAA, Folk and Country, the album wisely avoids swimming into the deadly deep-end of any of them. It even manages to be spiritual without being -- well, an instant turn-off. (Memo to Country songwriters: Stop telling us how much more God loves you than He does us.) Much of the credit for the artistic success of the album must go to Ms Gerhartz's musical collaborators, Ryan Williams (Producer and multi-instrumentalist) and Jeff Hileman (drums).

So, to recap:

• Great time for Indie Pop, especially with the debut of...
• Amy Gerhartz, whose new album,
• The Uphill Climb, is really fantastic.

(Sorry, my writing doesn't always lend itself to bullet-points.)

For more information about Amy Gerhartz, visit her Myspace page (linked above).