Thanksgiving Soul

We're going old school with this Soulful Sunday Video. Cab Calloway, the scat master, cameos in Betty Boop's Snow White. He turns into a skeleton/ghost figure, and I think he also moonwalks. If anyone should ask you, tell them I got the St. James Infirmary Blues.

Straw Poll!

As the new year approaches, we've been discussing our plans to help push our group along and grow. As you can imagine, increasing our exposure and fan base is at the heart of those goals. So while we need to incorporate all sorts of ideas and hard work, there is one area that has already been established but needs constant attention: live performances.

We've been lucky enough to put on shows at 6 different venues in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area. In just a few weeks we'll be adding a 7th to that list (Tiger Lounge in Georgetown on Dec. 12th). Now that we have that experience under our belt, we feel comfortable enough to take the stage at just about any local club . . . but there's a dilemma.

High profile venues such as Neumo's and the Tractor Tavern would surely give us the opportunity to play (the Tractor already has) but we're talking about Sunday-Wednesday nights at a cover cost of anywhere from $6-$10. Meanwhile, places like the Redline and the Skylark Cafe offer us Fridays and Saturdays with no cover. That sounds great except the Redline and the Skylark are in West Seattle which might as well be Portland to those who live on the other side of downtown (Boo-fucking-hoo). Because the big clubs charge cover and only offer weeknights, we end up playing in front of 40 people, none of whom seem really excited to be there or have the guts to get down on the dance floor. At the Redline on the other hand, well . . . it couldn't be any more different.

So far our model has been to focus on those gigs at the Redline because A. we seem to always have a great crowd 2. they're fun shows C. we live 3 blocks away from the bar and IV. drinks are cheap! But I can't help but worry: How are we ever going to get those weekend opportunities at Neumo's and the like if we don't take a stab at impressing them on a weeknight?

Obviously we're not ready to play a weekend gig at a major club right now but in the words of the late Ahmet Ertegun: "If you think pennies, Mr. Charles, you get pennies. If you think dollars, you get dollars."

So now I'll put the question to you! Where would you like to see us play? Which would you choose between a gig at a cool club in your hip neighborhood (i.e Ballard, Fremont, Capitol Hill, etc.) at the price of $8 or a free show at a dive all the way in West Seattle? Are there any venues you've been to that you'd like to see us perform at regardless of the night of the week?

We're all ears.

-Big P

SOULFUL SUNDAY!

Hey folks,

Sorry we've been missing lately here on the blog. To make up for it, we've got an extra long Soulful Sunday video. Check it out and let us know what you think of "Stevie".

-Pete

Soulful Sunday Video of the Week

Ain't nothin like Etta James' recording, but ain't nothing like Beyonce's neitha.
I was turned on to Etta's version on "Blending the Blues - Volume 2," a Blues and Soul compilation put out by Chess Records and Starbucks. Other tunes you gotta hear off this thing are Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee playin "Walk On."



Performed by Beyonce
Written by Ellington Jordan-Billy Foster


Have a Soulful Sunday ya'll,
- J-Money

Bad news: Time to pay rent. Good news: Time to rock the Redline!

Hey people of pleasure,

Hope y'all can make it out to the Redline on Saturday. Music starts at 9 and I'm sitting in on drums for Sans Absol, the opener. I guess their drummer has the flu (vaccinate people!). Alex Ayala is back from Mexico (sans flu) so we got the soul knob turned up to 11. You see, when you want to be really soulful, you make your instruments soulful and you sing soulful. But where do you go from there? Well, we go to Alex.

. . . or Steve Winwood.

-P

Christmas in the Heart

Album Review no. 3 of 10,003

Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Christmas In The Heart

Let me start off by saying this: I love christmas music. The cornier the better. This is one of my favorite songs, ever. I also like Bob. One of my favorite concerts was Bob, Van, and Joni. So shouldn't I be ecstatic to see the fusion of these two cultural juggernauts?

When I first heard about it, I just laughed like most people probably did. But for decades, christmas albums have been a staple of this season, and most of them I would never want to listen to, ever. Dylan has recorded fifty three albums before this most recent one - that's more weeks than there are in a year! I guess a christmas album was just about due for him.

So how do I feel about this one? I feel good, and I think this is where Bob has hit the nail with the tool. Christmas In The Heart is dripping with nostalgia, and it feels as good as a glass of egg nog does in between sledding marathons. I put the album on at a dinner with some family friends, and it was hugely entertaining. It feels like an inside joke that somehow includes everyone. I don't know if it was a round of would you rather, a triple-dog-dare, or some sort of twisted drinking game that made Dylan decide that '09 was the year of the christmas album, but I think I know what I'll be rocking on the morning of the twenty-fifth as I play with all my new toys.

Oh, and all proceeds go to charity - or some other cheezy-ass statement.

-Homefry