Get Your Fest On

Tonight the Wisconsin Film Fest opens. So exciting!

I'm gonna check the Beastie Boys film "Awesome. I Fuckin Shot That!" tonight and it sounds great! The boys gave 40 hi-8 cameras to members of the audience for one show at Madison Square Garden and edited all the footage down for this concert film. In an interview recently in Wired the Beasties even claim to have returned the cameras to the stores after they shot the film. Pretty punk rock of them I must say.

Friday I'm gonna check "Kill Your Idols" about the early art-punk movement. Motor Primitives friend Ruth Goldman is showing her film Friday and Saturday "And We Were Jews" and VO5 is playing the Orpheum with Matthew on cowbell late Friday night.

Saturday the MPs are rockin the Orpheum! It is a bit expensive, but it promises to be a great party! We have a surprise for ya, so try not to miss it!

Madison really buzzes this weekend and it's really worth getting your Chuck Taylors out of the back of your closet and getting your slovenly butts out the door and see some films and mingle with the Madison cultural non-elite. You rarely see State St. so energized. Be the Engine dorks and get your fest on!

Drunk in Arkansas!

We just got a ride from North Little Rock to Little Rock.

Gosh! The Police are aweful friendly! Even to drunk tourists.

The 11:59 train to Chicago is 2 hours late. Guess we'll just have to drink more!

Brace yourselves! We'll be rockin' the film festival in 2 days!!!!

Speaking of awards...

This is such a steaming pile of sh!t. I can't help but comment on the recent induction of Miles Davis and the Sex Pistols to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What the hell are they thinking?!? This is like driving a Hummer in a Critical Mass ride. Sid Vicious next to Simon and Garfunkel! Miles next to Stevie Nicks! This is shameful!

I love this purportedly real response from the Pistols:

MAMA said knock you out!

My take on the MAMAs if anyone cares.

This is Madison not LA. I was super bored by the production. I thought most of the presenters were lacking in personality and I thought most of the performances were pretty poor. I am proud of Rick for putting on such an event, but honestly the $40,000 that went into the show could have gone straight to the schools. When the first act to get an award said "You probably haven't even heard of us." and multiple no-shows at the podium occured in the first five minutes, I was suddenly reminded how insignificant the "awards" were. These are not sour grapes. I was very happy for my friends that got awards. I think the Gomers were phenomenal as usual. I have never been too great at sitting around. In class it was always so hard to sit still for 50 minutes. This was three hours and I must have left the room 10 times. On one restroom visit I found myself peeing between Blues (smokin' a butt) and Chris Plata, we all just cracked up in the ridiculousness of the event upstairs. I had way more fun drinking in the lobby and chatting with other folks. The scene at the Rat was what the whole event should have been like. Madison musicians supporting each other through beer drinking. The fact that the nights most talked about performance was East High Schools Show Choir just exemplifies my point (btw- what is up with those guys? When I was in high school those kids would have been beat up daily in the hallway and now those kids are little celebs... wtf?!) Why bask in the video glow of Butch Vig when we can rejoice at the absurdity of a bunch of high school kids performing a bad Journey cover? Rich Albertoni has a gushing review at Isthmus and I understand his enthusiasm, but honestly, who do we think we are? We can celebrate our "scene" but we should do it with more cheese and less glitter.

I can't just take pot-shots. Let me provide an alternative. Preface: All my music teachers in school SUCKED! I learned way more about music and music appreciation listening to my parents sing and watching Rock'n'Roll High School and Rust Never Sleeps and going to Ocayz and daring to pick up a bass even though I flunked guitar lessons. In general music in school pretty much stinks! I bet every one of you sang Joy to the World by Three Dog Night and thought "How stupid is this?" Let's give awards to the great music teachers out there. It is important that kids can take strings in fourth grade, but if the teacher kills their spirit or tells them they can't play the viola "that way!" Then they are poison. Madison musicians should rally for the great encouragers. The teachers that develop creative talents, not the "I'm Miyako, I play piano recitals every year at class concerts because I'm a phenom" kids. Again not sour grapes! Just one kids reality.

In retrospect I'll continue to support the MAMAs because it is a good Madison musicians unifier and if I don't like the show I can just stay home. I just wish Madison could show our enthusiams for music and youth programs in Madison style. The day that the Motor Primitives get invited into a school to perform is the day I believe music programs have turned the corner from stuffy big haired windbags promoting prodigies(Mrs. Brendemule) to true musician enablers.

Give em hell!

Wisconsin is SO proud of Russ Feingold!

You Make a Difference!

We didn't win...But we looked damn good trying!

Thanks to everyone who voted for us in this year's MAMAs. The effort raised some good cash for the school's music program. And YOU should feel good about that.

We would have to do this if truly 'no child was being left behind.' Speaking of 'behinds' have you heard any good presidential jokes lately?

It's Time!

A Public Service Announcement

Three words:
"Ray Freakin' Davies!!!"

Another Review of Be The Engine

We got another good review in the March issue of Rick's Cafe.

CD Review: 'Be The Engine' (Boat Records)
by Rick Tvedt
Rick's Cafe, March, 2006

Last summer's debut CD by the Motor Primitives was one of the year's highlights; singer Pam Barrett crooned and snarled her way through twelve tightly constructed rock tunes. Be The Engine is a five-song EP cut over a single weekend at Coney Island Studios just before Christmas. Be the Engine follows somewhat closely on the heels of the debut album which received glowing reviews. These could be songs left over from the first disc or brand-new ones but either way it's another fine collection of confident performances and the growth in the band is measurable, even if the blue-print is similar.

The move to Coney was a good one; the guitars shimmer and the rhythm section packs much more punch. The first release was also a bit over-compressed and Be the Engine sounds freer and more open. Given the limited time to record, the EP doesn't have much in the way of vocal harmonies; Barrett's singular voice plays through much of the material. "Sundown" is another story, however, a gorgeous piece of minimalist Americana. Barrett's vibrato fits the pulse of the song and there is a very cool backing vocal track. The guitar tones are sweet and the melody infectious - a great piece of music.

Guitarist Kat Spring gets a bit more daring on these songs as well, turning in a gutsy solo at the end of the opening track. She comes up with several nice parts to augment Barrett's rhythm guitar, especially on "Canopy," another strong song.

The title track is "Be the Engine, Part 1," a cool acoustic guitar statement that is driven home by relentless rhythm and a thick bottom end. "Part 1" begs the question of whether there is a "part 2" in the making and either a full-length that may include some of these songs, or a continuation of the band's evolution in the form of all-new material. My bet is on the latter as this band is far too confident about what they have to offer to look back.

Your MAMA gets down!

Great times at the King Club last night! We did a benefit show for the MAMAs and had two fine bands on the bill with us. We played first. We were supposed to go on at 10pm but the King Club guy wouldn't let us. That club has a terrific fear of bands starting too early and then finishing too early. Their theory is that, if you keep 'em out 'til 2am they'll make more money on beer sales. I say, if you start an hour later than you say you will, people are gonna get pissed off and go home. Between the three bands, we certainly had enough material to rock from 10pm 'til 2am. Geez!

Anyway, we finally got going and had a blast. We did a ~45 minute set of only the fast stuff. Then, My Firefly came on and played some great, melodic stuff. Nicely arranged! Awesome Car Funmaker (always a crowd favorite) stormed the stage and brought the whole thing full circle.

Next up...The Wisconsin Film Festival Party (Saturday, April 1st).

Music teachers are people too!

This is what my music teachers used to look like when I was finished with them.

It's not like I meant to drive 'em nuts. But good God! Part B of any violin piece is going to be so boring that nobody in their right mind would want to practice. I know that practicing would have made it a lot easier on everybody else's ears but, why torture just myself?

Now it's time to "give back!"

Come to our show at the King Club this Thursday, March 9th at 10pm. We kick off the festivities and are followed by My Firefly and Awesome Car Funmaker. This is a fundraiser for the MAMAs and the $5 cover goes to the Madison School District Music Program.

More Evidence Clear Channel Sucks!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a challenge recently to an "illegitimate" patent from Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel claims that its patent creates a monopoly on all-in-one technologies that produce post-concert live recordings on digital media and has threatened to sue anyone who makes such recordings with a different system. They've filed the patent despite the fact that Texel developed similar technology over a year prior to CCC's patent application.

We've witnessed the destruction of our airwaves by Clear Channel. Variety has given way to endless repetition of pure formulaic drivel. Even the oldies stations play the same white bread songs over and over again. Popular music is getting older. There should be more to select from, not less!

Now Clear Channel is gunning for complete control of digital media live recordings. Look out podcasters, YOU ARE NEXT!

Hopefully the EFF will win this round.

For more details: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_02.php#004406