ARTICLE JUMP
Spiderghost Pressgang
/ Grace Alley
(Sammy Winston)
What are your top five albums that were released in 2009? (In order 1-5)
- Rancid: Let The Dominoes Fall (Deluxe Edition)
- Sabertooth Zombie: ?And Your Fathers
- Morrissey: Years Of Refusal
- Skin Like Iron: All Human Failings
- Heavy Flow: The Definitive Bitchography
What band did you discover in 2009 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
There is a guy named Brent Jordan in San Francisco. My mother actually turned me onto him a few months ago. His new album "Blue Shout Blind" is great. A lot of it reminds me of Crooked Fingers and Tim Barry's solo work, but certainly not as depressing. It has an organic, upbeat vibe that reminds me of ?70s radio, like Chicago ("Saturday In The Park") and The Band ("The Weight"). His vocals are pretty Warren Zevon, and there is nothing wrong with that at all.
How will you remember 2009? (In terms of music)
Fuck music. The highlight of my year, culturally speaking, was the release of Beautiful Losers, an amazing documentary. It gives the history of what became a scene known as "Beautiful Losers", when Aaron Rose of Alleged Gallery began trumpeting the merits of a bunch of graffiti writers and skateboarders and other misfits who eventually became world-renowned fine artists without losing their street sensibility. Artists like Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, Chris Johansen, Stephen Powers, Cheryl Dunn, and a ton more. It just came out on DVD. Anyone with a single fiber of creativity and rebelliousness should own this film. The film itself is a work of art.
2009 was a huge year for reunions. What reunion excited you the most? What band that has not reunited would you love to see play/record most in 2010?
Most reunions bum me out. It seems that most of these reunions these days are questionable. Old dudes realize that their Britpop indie band didn't work out, so reunited their high school hardcore band that they had "grown out of" to sell t-shirts to kids who don't care if the band is full of shit as long as they play that one song that is on that one comp that that new band covers. I believe in a time and place for things, so even though I would love to see Operation Ivy or The Smiths reunite, at the same time, I'm glad that they don't. Besides, it's far more exciting to be at a Moz show when he does a Smiths song or at a Rancid show when they do an OpIvy song. That is more in keeping with the spirit of the original bands.
What can we look forward to from you in 2010?
I am curious as to what will come from Norcal in the future. We've had a pretty good run for a few years (Sabertooth Zombie, Never Healed, Ceremony, Dcoi, Catch Hell, Heir, Trash Talk, Streetwalkers, Skin Like Iron, et al). I'm wondering if the momentum created by these bands will continue. I hope that good things will continue to grow from this fertile soil.
What three records are you looking forward to most in 2010?
Davey Havok told me that he has been working on an acoustic project with some of the guys from Muse. It's traditional American bluegrass mixed with the Sicilian folk music that Davey was raised on, but done with a pop sensibility. I guess they are only in the demo stage now, but he said that Rick Rubin was interested in recording them. I'm looking forward to that, for sure.
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