Hey Soul Mates,
yes, it's been two months, but now: Proof! We were in Liverpool! Tonight we uploaded our first live performance to You Tube. It's our blazing set opener Fall Out. The Cavern Club was such a tremendous venue: great sound, great vibe. There is more live video to come. And of course, later this week, we'll be posting our music video for A Talent For Loving. Nice thing about YouTube is that you can leave comments for the rest of the world to see. You can even add the clip to your own blog or myspace page, etc. So show your love for Rush Hour Soul.
There are obvious visual limitations in the format, but the audio quality is outstanding considering. We have lots of live footage that we want to share with you, so stay tuned.
It's must see tv: Rush Hour Soul TV! The new Fall lineup starts now. Fall Out, that is.
Love, Power, Peace
Happy Birthday, Elvis (Costello)!
Hey Soul Mates,
today is Elvis Costello's birthday. As a kid, I was always mystified as to why anyone else would be called "Elvis?" There was only one real Elvis, the king. But here was Declan MacManus from Liverpool calling himself "Elvis."
Now, I didn't know today was his birthday, but for some reason Costello was on my mind. He was all I listened to on my iPod this afternoon. I went through his Greatest Hits and the first few tracks from his collaboration with Burt Bacharach. While I was jamming (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea and walking around North Hollywood, I was thinking, I should write a blog about the nicest people I've met in the music industry and I'll start with Elvis Costello. But wait, was Blondie Chaplin nicer or was Prince? Well, Blondie probably gets most attentive; Prince most patient. Not to name drop, the purpose was to let you know who I thought was brilliant in person. If it wasn't Elvis, he's up there.
I actually met Elvis and Burt backstage at the Universal Amphitheatre back in '99 when they played a show there together. I managed to get behind the building and saw the two of them rehearsing with their small orchestra outdoors. When the session was done both of them were still chatting and I decided to approach them. Burt was simply California cool and all that implies. Elvis on the other hand was all smiles and happy to meet me. He vigorously shook my hand when I told him how much I enjoyed Painted From Memory. I was still DJing at a local record store and mentioned that I'd been giving it plenty of spins. His reply, "Good on you!" One could be cynical and say that was the reason why Elvis was personable. But I don't think so. He asked if I was into playing music and didn't mind taking time with a fan. When I told him I'd be up front for the show, he enthused, "I hope you like it." Quite humble for someone I would call a megatalent. Granted he is literally a foot shorter than yours truly, so I had a lot going for me.
[That makes me think of my favorite moments from Stardust Memories, as all kinds of nutty types ask Woody Allen's character for autographs. At least I didn't press Elvis for one.]
I've been told many times that my vocals are reminiscent of Elvis'. I can see that. Or rather hear that. I take it as a compliment. I certainly like enough of his music, although I didn't get into him until he did his collaborations with Paul McCartney. For those unfamiliar with Costello, he's worth checking out. Some numbers of his that I really like are: Veronica, Everyday I Write The Book, Chelsea, Pump It Up, Thirteen Steps Lead Down, Accidents Will Happen and Man Out Of Time.
Gotta give Costello props, too for working with Allen Toussaint on the Katrina benefit recordings.
So, when I saw this evening that it was his 52nd, I figured I had to give him a shout out.
Happy Birthday, Elvis Costello!
What's so funny about Love, Power, Peace?
Rush Hour Soul Wraps Up North American Dates [Show Recap]
Hey Soul Mates,
we had a fun weekend up North. Rush Hour Soul played its third International Pop Overthrow Festival of 2006 (5th show in the series this year) in San Francisco.
The venue on Friday was Thee Parkside. That second "e" is silent. The turnout for the local bay area bands was good. There was a rockabilly/new wave group, the Craze, from Palmdale that brought out some fans. Of course, we have to give mad props to the Soul Mates who made the trek from LA to see their Rush Hour Soul. It was truly cool to play to you all. Literally. On the drive into San Fran, we watched the car's thermometer drop from 88 to 56 by the time we parked the car on 17th Street.
It was a short set (festival setting, after all), but it was sweet. We always take a new audience as a challenge to see if our music and performance can hold their attention. After another nice introduction by MC David Bash, we started the night with Everyone's Ingenue. Bryan set the tone from the get-go as he stepped off the stage and into the audience to play the song's opening riff. The room quickly got into what we were doing. Our fellow musicians were particularly appreciative of our performance and sartorial flare. Why, thank you.
I Can't Cry For You went over very well again. That pleases us to no end to see our fans singing along after only one other performance of the song. We ended the set with A Talent For Loving and all the girls sang the refrain for us. Slamming.
Set List:
Everyone's Ingenue
Fall Out
I Can't Cry For You
Everything My Heart Desires
A Talent For Loving
Oh, and props to Tawei, the short order cook at Thee Parkside. He added some curry-kick to the burgers and spicy peanut sauce on the fries. Righteous. Normally, I don't eat within 3 hours of performing, but I made an exception for that.
We spent the yesterday further North, near Sacramento. Last night we drove into the capital to check out the State Fair. It was seriously hot when we got to the fairgrounds and after an extra half-hour sitting in the car's A/C we went in. Doug went to check out the rodeo, while Bry and I enjoyed the junk food. I hadn't been to a State Fair in years. The midway was packed with people and crazy, death-cheating rides. The expo buildings had all types of exhibits; I even saw the 1966 Batmobile and actor Sam Jones (aka Flash Gordon). My favorite part of the evening was the petting zoo. Have you ever chilled out with a pot-bellied pig?
After the Fair, it was back to Free Heart Farm and reclining beneath a seriously starry sky. You can actually see the Milky Way when you're that far out of town. I nearly fell asleep beneath the heavens.
I spent the downtime of the weekend reading Bob Dylan's Chronicles Vol. 1. He doesn't so much tell a story as describe points in his career in overflowing detail. That's one surreal dude. But it's cool to hear him deconstruct his legend and his mindset during career highs and depths. The book skips from his arrival on the New York folk scene to his rejection of being the "voice of his generation," then shifts to the late 1980's when he basically dismantled his music and m.o. to find a new audience.
As I wrote a few weeks ago, I've been listening to his Theme Time Radio Hour shows. We checked out a couple tooling around NorCal. So many lost musical gems he's unearthed; and I've been working on my Dylan imitation. It's getting there. (ed. note.: check out my live review of Dylan in Concert)
Well, now that our shows in the U.S. are done for a while, we've turned our attention back to Britain. All of the elements for our video are nearing completion. We approved a final audio mix today. We're getting very close to debuting our music video! You must stay tuned.
The 3 of us are confident that our team and our material is going open up big doors for us to storm through. I know that we have a lot of fans halfway around the world who are waiting for our next move, for our return. It's happening. We'll be seeing you all very soon.
Pictures from our show, Friday, will be posted on our website shortly.
Love, Power, Peace
