Oh, Moby. You always do manage to set the mood, eh?
I’ve been listening to Moby since I was a teenager and, I must admit, I stopped following his music for a while. I’m not quite sure why because I’ve never met a Moby song I didn‘t like. Perhaps I felt as though he’d entered into the realm of that which is, for lack of a better word, ‘mainstream,’ and being the rebel-without-a-cause that I am, I tend to resist a lot of popular music. Well, I’ve been missing out, and I do happen to dabble in the industry of mainstream media so shame on me for being a hypocrite. I’m listening to his “Wait For Me” album as I sit here and type this, and I’m being whisked away to a magical place just as I always have whilst listening to his magnificent sound creations. Thank you, Moby, for being consistently perfect.
I had the privilege of meeting Richard Hall, aka Moby, for the first time ever at an event in Beverly Hills, Ca., on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in mid-March. We shared a brief chat and he was absolutely delightful. His attitude is far from mainstream, and his music is popular because, well, it’s just really good. We dished on music and his new book, “Gristle.” Proceeds for the book go to animal organizations.
Musicwire TV: Tell me about the book that you‘ve got coming out.
Moby: I’m putting out a book in a week that I just edited, and it’s not a fun book. It’s called “Gristle” and it’s about the consequences of animal production. There are fifteen different contributors - scientists for the most part - writing about the affect of animal production on communities, on health, on children’s health, on the environment, on global warming, so it’s more factual than fun, but I’m here just trying to draw attention to that.
MWTV: How long did the project take?
M: One of the things about editing a book is that it’s not that much work. It’s for a small non-profit book publishing company and whatever money is generated by the book goes to animal charities. All together, it took about three years of sort of slow steady work, but there’s actual contributors who did all of the writing.
MWTV: Oh, ok. So you just put the ideas together.
M: Yeah, and then we compiled the different people who contributed.
MWTV: I’m looking forward to reading it.
M: Like I said, it’s informative but it’s not fun.
MWTV: Sometimes I prefer that. And what can we expect musically from you right now?
M: Well there’s my album that I put out last summer and I’ve just been on tour for the last fourteen months, but at this point even though I live in the states, ninety-five percent of my touring is outside of America because I think the music scene in America is awful, so I spend most of my time in either, like, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and I almost spend more time touring Canada than I do in the states.
MWTV: What are some other artists that you’ve been listening to recently?
M: I listen to a lot of old punk-rock and old blues.
MWTV: You've collaborated with so many amazing artists over the years. Is there anybody in the music industry at this point that you’ve never worked with that you’d like to work with?
M: I mean, I really just like working with people that can sing well and so it doesn’t matter to me whether they’re famous or unknown. In fact, the truth is I’d rather work with unknown artists because they’re not pains in the asses yet. You know, you don’t have to go through the layers of management, etcetera, etcetera.
MWTV: Or ego.
M: Yeah! It’s just generally easier and more fun to make records with your friends than to work with celebrities because celebrities are annoying by definition.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Bullet & Snowfox take over Crazy Girls!!!
The stellar Indie-electro duo that is Bullet & Snowfox performed their third ever live show on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at Hollywood’s “Crazy Girls.” Those of y’all who live nearby in La La Land know that Crazy Girls is synonymous with tiny dancers, silicone, and booze, but who would’ve pegged this place as the go-to hot spot for up-and-coming musicians?
Bullet & Snowfox hit the Crazy Girls stage a little after 9:00PM and were joined by a handful of ladies prancing around in barely there bikinis, but that didn’t stop the audience from focusing their attention on Bullet & Snowfox’s adorably sexy front woman, Kristen Wagner, who’s fierce vocals and firecracker energy made the dancers seem almost invisible. Throw in some super-sick guitar riffs from the other half of the uber-talented duo, Josh Shapiro, and you’ve got yourself one hell-of-a badass show. Also joining Kristen and Josh on stage at Crazy Girls were Baron Von Luxxury on bass and Pablo Amador on drums.
While Los Angeles is certainly inundated with some exceptional bands, Bullet & Snowfox stand out in many ways. They have a truly unique sound that’s just the right blend of notable influences like New Young Pony Club, The Breeders, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and other electro and rock groups, along with, of course, their own signature sound. Kristen essentially writes all of the lyrics and Josh the music, and while they admittedly have very different taste in music, they still manage to create the perfect marriage between vocals and guitar.
The song, “Neuroric Nancy,” was an audience fave at the Crazy Girls show, and also the track that the band opened up with. It‘s a really catchy tune that‘s really Kristen poking fun at herself for her various girly neuroses that many of us chicks can relate to, like wishing we‘d curled our hair before leaving the house, or worn a different pair of shoes, etc., and many-a-girl in the ladies room were overheard from behind stall doors singing the lyrics, “crazy, psycho bitch I’m getting’ antsy. All my friends call me Neurotic Nancy!” B & S played a number of other great tracks and kept the audience singing and dancing throughout.
Josh and Kristen formed the band less than two years ago, and they have managed to put together an impressively long song list in this time without sacrificing quality or originality. The show was virtually flawless, and considering that it was only Bullet & Snowfox’s third time ever performing for a live audience, I’d say that you had better keep an eye out for ’em because it’s only a matter of time before these guys go viral!
Bullet & Snowfox hit the Crazy Girls stage a little after 9:00PM and were joined by a handful of ladies prancing around in barely there bikinis, but that didn’t stop the audience from focusing their attention on Bullet & Snowfox’s adorably sexy front woman, Kristen Wagner, who’s fierce vocals and firecracker energy made the dancers seem almost invisible. Throw in some super-sick guitar riffs from the other half of the uber-talented duo, Josh Shapiro, and you’ve got yourself one hell-of-a badass show. Also joining Kristen and Josh on stage at Crazy Girls were Baron Von Luxxury on bass and Pablo Amador on drums.
While Los Angeles is certainly inundated with some exceptional bands, Bullet & Snowfox stand out in many ways. They have a truly unique sound that’s just the right blend of notable influences like New Young Pony Club, The Breeders, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and other electro and rock groups, along with, of course, their own signature sound. Kristen essentially writes all of the lyrics and Josh the music, and while they admittedly have very different taste in music, they still manage to create the perfect marriage between vocals and guitar.
The song, “Neuroric Nancy,” was an audience fave at the Crazy Girls show, and also the track that the band opened up with. It‘s a really catchy tune that‘s really Kristen poking fun at herself for her various girly neuroses that many of us chicks can relate to, like wishing we‘d curled our hair before leaving the house, or worn a different pair of shoes, etc., and many-a-girl in the ladies room were overheard from behind stall doors singing the lyrics, “crazy, psycho bitch I’m getting’ antsy. All my friends call me Neurotic Nancy!” B & S played a number of other great tracks and kept the audience singing and dancing throughout.
Josh and Kristen formed the band less than two years ago, and they have managed to put together an impressively long song list in this time without sacrificing quality or originality. The show was virtually flawless, and considering that it was only Bullet & Snowfox’s third time ever performing for a live audience, I’d say that you had better keep an eye out for ’em because it’s only a matter of time before these guys go viral!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Campy? Certainly not! Camp Freddy's as GREEN as they come...
This year's pre-Oscar Global Green event at Avalon Hollywood on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010, brought out the likes of some great talents, including Mia Maestro and Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden, but in my opinion, nothing tops a good Camp Freddy show. I've had the privilege of seeing these bad boys perform on numerous occasions and they never fail to entertain and provide the audience with some damned sexy vocals thanks to Donovan Lietch and Mark McGrath, sick shreds by Billy Morrison (also vocals), Billy Gibbons, and Steve Stevens, and last but not least, killer guitar and base lines that flow seamlessly from one song to the next bought to you by one of the band's core members, Dave Navarro. Oh, and let's not forget Matt Sorum on drums. I mean, could you ask for a better team of musicians? Most of these guys make up the core crew of the supergroup, but it never gets old watching some of the greatest musicians of our generation get up on stage and play all of your favorite rock n' roll covers.
The boys graced the audience with their presence at Global Green on Wednesday, following Joel and Benji's performance, and played an awesomely bad-ass set filled with faves like Cheap Trick's "Surrender," and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," and I've gotta say, it really doesn't get any better than "Rebel Yell" performed live with Steve Stevens on guitar. He's still got it! Oh yeah, and Juliette Lewis joined the band as well, belting out some bitchin' vocals at the end of Camp Freddy's set. The entire show from start to finish was as high-energy as it gets, and lucky for us Los Angeleans, Camp Freddy performs often and are a pretty accessible band if you know where to look for 'em. So basically, if you live in Los Angeles and you haven't seen Camp Freddy yet, what the hell are you thinking?! Get out from under that damn rock and go catch a show!
http://www.myspace.com/campfreddy
The boys graced the audience with their presence at Global Green on Wednesday, following Joel and Benji's performance, and played an awesomely bad-ass set filled with faves like Cheap Trick's "Surrender," and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," and I've gotta say, it really doesn't get any better than "Rebel Yell" performed live with Steve Stevens on guitar. He's still got it! Oh yeah, and Juliette Lewis joined the band as well, belting out some bitchin' vocals at the end of Camp Freddy's set. The entire show from start to finish was as high-energy as it gets, and lucky for us Los Angeleans, Camp Freddy performs often and are a pretty accessible band if you know where to look for 'em. So basically, if you live in Los Angeles and you haven't seen Camp Freddy yet, what the hell are you thinking?! Get out from under that damn rock and go catch a show!
http://www.myspace.com/campfreddy
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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