Alpha Males En Parade

A band I was once in it called, Alpha Males En Parade, well , we just a bunch of goofy dudes. From synchronized dance moves and matching costumes, we received numerous amounts of questions and criticism.

Besides people being a little confused when they saw our performances, our front man and lead guitarist had a very unique way of writing lyrics, using odd metaphors to describe life situations.

For example, “Go ahead and shake hands with yourself.” It’s a jerking off reference. Or, “I’m not your dinner, but I’m on your plate. I do it all for the thrill of the chase. You make me feel like when I eat too fast. But then again, I like it like that.” This was a very odd way of making fun of a typical love song.

So, we often got criticisms because no one understood our lyrics; whether it was their bizarre connotations or just because no one understood what Kevin (our front man) was saying. So here you go world! A meme responding to the criticisms we got.

To fully understand these great memories I have, check out this performance we did a few years ago at a venue called, The Coach House, in Southern California. The performance is split into three parts and for the holidays, we all decided to dress in a solid color. As the performance continues, you will see dance moves that we rehearsed for hours on end. It starts off blurry, but clears up a few minutes in. Enjoy!

 

 

Vinyl sales increasing

As you can see by my beautiful chart, since about 2006, vinyl sales have been steadily increasing. From 2011 to the present, sales have gone up about 16.2 percent. Presently, about 3.2 million units have been sold, with the projected total sales for 2012 being 4.7 million.

“I usually buy the vinyl and then download the album. If you’re going to spend $10 – $12 to download the album you might as well spend another $5 to have a collector’s item”-Vinyl Guy

Data collected from Digital Music News.

Vinyls and the holidays

Ever get so inebriated off of red wine while decorating for Christmas that you actually sit down, watch SNL and convince yourself that Saturday Night Live is funny when in reality, it’s not? 

I DID! And I had the headache the next morning to show for it! Speaking of red wine, check out the song, Red Wine by the late, The Starvations. Now all hangovers aside, let’s get to the point of this post.

My girlfriend’s mom gave us a ton of old fashion christmas vinyls and I have to say, I haven’t had that much decorating for Christmas as I did this past Sunday night. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember everything we listened to and no, it is not because of the wine.

Some of it ranged from classics tunes being sung by old crooners and various religious choirs singing away. It was quite nice. We tried to be very old fashion and reflect on a time where mp3s, computers and that big HD television you see in the background didn’t exist and I think the records helped.

The crackle of the needle before Jingle Bells or whatever started to engulf the room made the whole process so much more unique. We tried to pretend that we were super cool by being in the 1960s’ and decorating to shitty turntable speakers. 

I really don’t know how to explain the whole night without sounding too corny or preachy, but it made me appreciate records that much more. So this holiday season, go out and buy a fucking turntable already.

 

 

Vinyls and Musicians

It’s been beaten over the head to death that this blog is about vinyls. So, I decided to go out and talk to a few musicians and get their opinions on vinyls.

Vinyls are becoming increasingly popular so the whole point of the project was to hear their perspective. This video also features a band called The Mallard, who is a strict, vinyl only band.

Records Break My Wallet

I don’t know what it is about these tangible music outlets, but they destroy my finances. Whether it is my being addicted to music or not knowing my personal limit sometimes, I just get overly excited when I make extra tips at my job and go on an Amoeba spree.

It has been said before that many people find records appealing because the artwork is bigger and I can relate. The larger artwork has often times determined how I was expand my music collection. Bon Iver’s Self-Titled album is a great example of this. I purchased this record a while back, strictly because I enjoyed the artwork. The record itself is decent, but I was consumed by the cover.

Pretty much the same thing happened today. I took another trip to Amoeba after having a successful weekend at work. I enjoy looking through the clearance LP section as well finding what old selections are “red tagged.”

I looked through some Frank Sinatra and basically picked the one with the coolest cover. I’m sure this could be the same with CDs. But it became more of an experience; almost like choosing what painting you’d rather have hanging on your wall. It’s another great thing about vinyls; they work as apartment decorations.

It is this experience that depletes my money. Not only am I getting some great music, but I’m getting an object that I could stare at, decorate with, cuddle with and reading along with the lyrics on this platform reminds me why I buy music in the first place. It’s not just to create background noise but to appreciate the musicality behind everything.

So in total,this experience cost me $100. My other purchases included Green Day’s second installment of their record trilogy, ¡Dos!, Against Me!’s debut album, Reinventing Axl Rose, a bargain Blues Brother’s record that I’m currently too lazy to get  up and grab and to throw you a curve ball, the first season of American Horror Story. Ever seen it? It’s creepy as shit.

 

Turn That Record Over #3

I recently had a birthday and didn’t really ask for much…except money….so I could expand my music collection.

Let’s start with that non-vinyl object that looks a lot like a t-shirt. That shirt belongs to a band called White Wives. The shirt is part of a larger package that included a live six song EP from the band, as well as a digital download for their newest single; Cardinal Bird. 

On a larger picture, this band is fantastic. Including two members from the band Anti-Flag, White Wives really create a unique blend of poppy choruses mixed with alternative riffs. Check out their first release, Happeners if you ever get the time and their single, Sky Started Crying from the album.

On the right is Against Me!’s 2010 release, White Crosses. I’ve owned this CD since it came out before I was introduced to the vinyl world.

Let me start off by saying, this is one of my favorite records of all time. Many Against Me! theorists would call me not a “real fan” because this is the final nail in the coffin of them selling out. I really enjoy Against Me!’s earlier work like T.S.R. from their sophomore release, As The Eternal Cowboy, but White Crosses really expands into a different musical realm.

Songs like I Was A Teenage Anarchist or High Pressure Low  display more maturity from Laura Jane Grace’s (formerly Tom Gabel) earlier stages of an anarchist ideology into a more mature approach to the world. Owning this album on vinyl was a no brainer. I can listen to it everyday and I usually do.

On a side note, this is also Grace’s last album produced as Tom Gabel before she came out as transgender in May. Check out this article by Rolling Stone about the whole process of coming out. Very well written and a great insight to the band in general.

Calling On Pplz

Hello limited audience!

I’m currently working on a video project about a band that makes their money strictly from vinyl sales. The band I initially had planned to interview changed their minds and only three-fourths of them do not want to speak as much as the drummer.

If anyone out there knows someone, or is associated with a band who has this philosophy, please hit me.

Turn That Record Over #2

Two vinyls for only $10? Yessir.

It’s been a while since I have been able to purchase another record, but the family has just received twins! Let me introduce you to Propagandhi’s first two albums; How to Clean Everything and Less Talk, More Rock.

Now for all two of you that has been following my blog, you’ll remember my first installment of “Turn That Record Over” I purchased Propagandhi’s most recent album, Failed States. Propagandhi recently announced that the latter is finally available on vinyl so after hopping on the 71 and avoiding temptations to buy drugs from crust punks, I made it to Amoeba.

I immediately headed over to the punk section to try and find Failed States on vinyl. To my surprise, while it was no where to be found, their two first releases were staring me in the face. At $5 a pop, it was a no brainer and now I don’t feel so bad downloading them anymore.

These earlier releases brings us back to Propagandhi’s roots, as opposed to their more melodic, punk metal sound they have today. With songs like Ska Sucks and Anchorless brings us back to their early skater punk sound.

It’s not as aggressive as their most recent work, but it is still as catchy and fun. A little more on the light hearted side as well. To fully grasp their evolving of sounds listen to Showdown released in 1993, the listen to Lotus Gait and see for yourself.

Vinyls in a Digital World

Vinyls have recently become my new addiction. As a musician, I can appreciate the gargantuan physicality of records that creates an intimate musical experience.

I talked to various musicians in local Bay Area bands to hear their perspectives on records and why they seem to be on the rise.

Star Wars, Vinyls, Nerdgasms

On a recent excursion through what I like to call, “the Internet,” I found myself landing on Amazon. Now while sometimes this source for purchases can be a bit pricy, I’m still surprised on some of the quality items I found.

Well, coincidentally I found THIS! Click the link yet? Yeah, no big deal it’s just the original soundtrack to one of the greatest trilogies of all time on a vinyl platform.

Being a huge fanboy, this was a very fun find. I think it will go well with my vinyl family, considering I have these posters above my tv.

 

John Williams is the man. He’s scored some of the biggest blockbusters including the ominous theme to Jaws, that catchy Jurassic Park and of course Indiana Jones.

Let us not forget that this man made the Star Wars prequels, however dreadful they are, somewhat watchable because of his great score. Particularly this song, (that link is live and it’s incredible) and this song.