After 21 years on the Sunset Strip, the world famous Viper Room is celebrating its birthday with a week-long bash.
The world-renowned black building opened in 1993 and was celebrated with a invitation-only bash that included Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton and Christina Applegate. I was there and RajiWorld helped book many provate and public events that first year. That first year, actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose at the club, but the Viper Room continued to be a popular hangout for Hollywood’s elite. Co-owned by Chuck Weiss and Johnny Depp until 2004, the club has been a launch pad for bands like Muse and Kings of Leon since its inception. It is a venue close to my heart as a friend, agent and in a cute story mother! We are proud to have client Louise Goffin partake in the celebration with songs from her brand new record!
The birthday bash kicks off Monday with R&B soul legend Bettye LaVette. The anniversary party continues through Saturday with shows featuring Steve Stevens, Billy Morrison and Billy Duffy. For more information, go to viperroom.com.
Polly Parsons and RajiWorld are proud to present the first event in The Twilight Series.
We are honored and touched to welcome Louise Goffin to Austin, please join me in showing her love during her stay here. Gerry Goffin 1939-2014
There are no words.
Please listen in June 20, 2014 on KUTX live with Jody Denberg in Studio 1A at 11 AM to hear some insight and a musical preview then join us live June 21, 2014 for a Summer Solstice house party with the one and only Louise Goffin at Hickory Wind Ranch. We imagine an 8PM set time. Sunset is 8:38 PM that night. Louise will play 45 minutes of songs from her upcoming release Songs From The Mine. (Read more below).
We are affiliated with the Gram Parsons Foundation for this series and we are accepting a $20 donation at the door for Louise with additional donations to the foundation accepted as well. THE GRAM PARSONS FOUNDATION. A NON-PROFIT 501C3 ORGANIZATION. 33-1089879 You may pay for your advance tickets via Paypal with roggie@rajiworld.com
We will be able to hydrate and libate you with donations from our sponsors Coco Libre, Maine Root, Bone Spirits and Real Ale. We welcome new sponsor Christy Seguin with Cakes ROCK!!! ROCKING Custom Cakes.
Yes, she has iconic, famous parents, but that story long ago got sick of being told. And besides, it isn’t even the most interesting story to tell about Louise. You wanna hear a great story? Try this: Six years go by with no new albums from Goffin, and then suddenly at the end of 2013 she decides she simply must get one recorded right the hell now. “It was a little like those stories you hear about those pregnant mothers who haven’t got time to go into a fancy hospital with a nurse saying, ‘What number are you on the pain scale from 1- 10?’” she says, describing the birth of Songs From The Mine. “It was more like, ‘What are you talking about? I’ve got no time for this—I’m having this baby now!’” This is also the story about how Songs From The Mine turns out to be, as music writer Jon Kanis wrote, the “high point of Goffin’s professional career.” So far. Making a record wasn’t even on Louise’s radar in October 2013. Rather, she’d been “preoccupied with songwriting and playing live the last year and a half.” Then in November, two months before Louise was to perform at a MusiCares event honoring her mom, that all changed. “What made me go into the studio,” she explains, “was someone saying, ‘Hey if you’re playing at MusiCares it’d make sense for you to have some product out,’ and I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I probably could pull out an EP worth of good songs.’ I was invited to a friend’s house to play songs and it was like, ‘What’s this one?’ and then, ‘That song needs a sister song.’ By the end of the day I realized I had a full album waiting to be created.” Galvanized by this discovery, Louise was recording within days. “The quickness with which I acted was because I had produced A Holiday Carole, so I had had the recent background of me producing a whole record tip to toe and feeling fulfilled by both the experience and the result,” she notes. “I just rolled up my sleeves and said, ‘Let’s do this.’” Released on Goffin’s own Majority Of One Records, Songs From The Mine was predominantly recorded in December 2013 and early January in Los Angeles, with some recording done at the Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Holiday Music Motel. Goffin produced and played piano, B-3, ukulele, and guitar, and added a touch of snare drum and tambourine. With a lifetime spent soaking up the finest music of her generation and a love of songs that “put you in a movie lyrically, or ones that sound so full of raw attitude that you could forget your insecurities,” Goffin employed a rich palette to fashion Songs From The Mine. Pure nirvana for pop melody freaks, the CD is stylishly arranged and lyrically erudite, with stand-out songs throughout; beginning with the reassuring “Everybody But You” and continuing all the way through to the buoyant “Good Life,” the light and wispy “Follow My Heart,” the playful “Watching The Sky Turn Blue” (featuring Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp on backing vocals and handclaps), the soaring “Get With The World,” the ballsy guitar rocker “We Belong Together,” and the plaintive “Some Of Them Will Fool You” contribute to an album with zero weak spots. Songs From The Mine is the latest example in a career that has been shining ever since Goffin took up the family profession at an early age. At age 14 she first sang on her mom’s record Really Rosie (the musical based on several of Maurice Sendak’s children’s books), and they later dueted together on a new version of King’s “Where You Lead” for the theme song of the hit ’00s TV show Gilmore Girls. As a songwriter and producer of A Holiday Carole, Goffin helped bring her mom back home to her love of making records and put Carole at ease in the studio. Over the years Louise has released five previous albums of her own, the last one coming in 2008, and the highly sought-after producer and go-to songwriter has also toured the world on electric guitar in Tears For Fears. “Years from now, when I conjure up memories from the spring of 2014 I will smile sweetly and remember the profundities evoked by Songs From The Mine,” wrote Kanis. With such an inspired work to offer in 2014, one can be forgiven for hoping Louise Goffin doesn’t make us wait six long years for the next one. Learn more about Louise Goffin at www.LouiseGoffin.com.
First albums. First concerts. That song you can count on to change your headspace. The band you were first on your block to like. The soundtrack to your first wedding dance. Your patented karaoke go-to.
Reports on the death of music are greatly exaggerated. Music will always be more than sales figures. Spreadsheets don’t reflect the music that lives on subway platforms. Or music that’s played at a second line jazz funeral in New Orleans. Also not quantifiable: the song you never want to hear again because it reminds you of her. A chart will never reflect that moment when a four-year-old asks his father from the backseat to play “Yellow Submarine” again. And music is most certainly, unequivocally, more substantial than ones and zeroes, even if that’s how it’s delivered to us these days.
High-speed internet. Smartphones. A cloud containing every album ever made. We’ve gone from Thomas Edison to Beats by Dre. From churches and campfires to server farms and satellites.
Every sea change brings in high tides and low tides. At risk is the tacit contract between artist and audience, between those who create and those who consume.
We’re letting social media fundamentally change what it means to be a music fan.
We’re spending more time talking about what we don’t like than being evangelical about what we love.
We need a refresher. We need to be defensive. But we should be proactive. We need to rethink what it means to call yourself a music fan.
He knows about the crossroads. He knows Little Richard. And CBGB. And at least one probably apocryphal story about Stevie Nicks. Wikipedia is your friend.
A music fan knows immediately when Amazon’s “If you like this…” algorithm has it all wrong.
Fact: A basic sustaining membership at your public radio station costs less than a year of Pandora. Pandora’s pretty great though.
A music fan knows most of the words to “My Way.” And at least half of “Like a Rolling Stone.” He can also make the “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” hand gesture. But only when asked. Preferably on a bet.
And there’s no shipping and handling. Until a drone can deliver Beck’s new album to your door, record stores are still the best instant gratification money can buy.
Plus, record store clerks know what song you’re talking about when you hum them a few bars. See how that goes with Siri. Or a Starbucks barista.
Only we can stop record stores from becoming record museums.
A music fan recognizes that escapism isn’t real culture. Culture is a commitment. Beatlemania was commitment. And say what you will about Deadheads and Juggalos, but you have to respect the commitment. Hitting “Like” on a Facebook fan page isn’t commitment.
A music fan knows instantly when a musician’s Twitter account is being handled by a social media intern.
A music fan shares links to music they love on their Facebook page. It’s never about the number of likes those posts receive. It’s simply that you shared.
Rule of thumb: Every time a friend posts a cat video on your page or comments on an Onion article like it’s a real piece of news, post two pieces of music.
Imagine a concert where everyone keeps their phones in their pockets. Imagine a flying car. Same likelihood. But it doesn’t make the guy shooting photos with an iPad in front of you any less annoying. And yeah, iPad. Jeez.
The Dead had the right idea with taping sections. Cell phone sections are the inevitable next step. So are yet more blurry pictures and shitty videos.
…But for better or worse, taking a photo at a show to document that you were there is part of being a music fan. You want to show friends. You want to prove down the line that you saw Jay Z play a small club show. We get it. One and done though.
It doesn’t take a trained eye to look at the thumbnail of a YouTube video and know whether the rest of it’s going to be shaky and distant. Every time you click on bad video is a vote for more bad video.
Social media has given us the false impression of a two-way street. A music fan knows the difference between performer and spectator. The stage is elevated for a reason. You’ve paid for a performance, not a conversation. You bought a seat, not a megaphone.
Artists make set lists. Music fans don’t shout requests. Ever.
“Freebird” as humor/irony is 25 years past its sell-by date. You may as well be yelling, “Take my wife, please.”
Red Rocks, The Hollywood Bowl, and Madison Square Garden are holy places.
Even if you’re kind of over being told to throw your hands up in the air, do it anyway.
Tall music fans to the back of the room.
Pro tip: Follow your local music venues on Twitter as a reminder of when that show you wanted to see is about to go on sale. Or when a batch of last-minute tickets to a sold-out show just got released. Happens more than you think.
A music fan uses Shazam to identify the song playing over the end credits. And he rushes home to buy it.
They’ll change the way you listen to a song. And never for the better.
Some of the most dedicated music fans we know are anglophiles. They read Mojo. They listen to the BBC. They watch Top of the Pops. These days, the answer to “What’s next?” can often be found first across the pond, because the UK has more music influencers — DJs, television hosts, and journalists — than we have. They’ve prioritized music in the culture the way we used to. And with the Internet, it’s all accessible to us, too.
A music fan is immediately suspicious of a musician with a long IMDb entry. It’s also natural to approach with caution people who came to us via a singing contest.
Armed with the same team of talent scouts and producers, you’d have exactly the same chance of picking America’s next big pop star as Simon Cowell.
Spotify shouldn’t replace your desire to buy albums. But it sure makes binge-listening easy. You can listen to four albums each from Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Randy Newman in less time than it takes to watch a season of House of Cards on Netflix.
What’s happening right now on country radio should embarrass you. But saying “I don’t like country music” makes you no less shallow than saying “I don’t like hip-hop.”
People who say “I don’t like hip-hop” are like people who say “I don’t watch television.” They are immediately suspect.
A music fan stops for buskers. He puts in the guitar case twice as much for an original song as he might have for “Me and Bobby McGee.” Three times if it’s being banged out on pickle jar drums.
Most of what we know about hip-hop terminology we learned from Rap Genius.
We’ve never learned anything about music from TMZ.com
There are no bad Daytrotter sessions.
Music fans are patrons.
Music fans never find their names on guest lists. Instead, music fans have stories of how they’ve grossly overpaid scalpers. Or got scammed on Craigslist.
$125 to hear Paul McCartney sing Beatles songs is also a bargain.
A music fan asks, how can I ensure there’s more music? A music fan understands that as a patron, his role is to put money in the artists pocket.
“Pay what you want” should be read as “pay what you want over fair market value.”
Did we mention music fans are patrons?
The best place to buy music: direct from the artist’s merch booth at a concert. The worst: any site with a URL that ends in .ru
We’ve never met anyone who regrets investing in a good turntable.
A music fan recognizes crowdfunding as a necessary evil in the face of the collapse of the traditional music business. But a music fan only buys from a Kickstarter campaign what he would have bought anyway — the new album, a t-shirt, a remix. It’s okay not to pledge, too, to remind a musician how capitalism works.
Twitter and Facbook are great ways to get a window into what an artist believes. What inspires him. And what restaurant he likes in Chicago. It’s okay to find that interesting.
Then again, a blog post from an artist will never be more revealing than that artist standing in front of a microphone onstage and explaining why he wrote the song he’s about to play.
The exception: David Byrne. He can really write.
House concerts are brilliant. And intimate. No shady promoter. No bouncers. The musician leaves with money nobody is taking a cut of. It’s among the best things you can do with your house. And a few shades safer than pitbull rescue.
A music fan can separate the artist and the music, except when misogyny, racism, or homophobia seep into the music itself. But music fans also believe in second chances. And redemption. For everyone but R. Kelly.
In retrospect, we should have deported Ted Nugent, not the Dixie Chicks.
99 cents was, is, and will always be a bargain.
Incalculable: the number of times daily Lars Ulrich has to fight back the urge to say, “I told you so.”
A music fan doesn’t cry “sellout” until he’s looked long and hard at whether he’d take $100,000 from Doritos for a day’s work, too.
Box sets will always make better presents than iTunes gift cards.
Fallon. Kimmel. Letterman. Conan. Each wants to get the new names. Each wants to claim credit for breaking bands. Appearing on those shows might not drive sales the way it used to, but it’s great exposure and an easy way for us to discover new music. The music fan even watches bands he doesn’t like or know. Each program gets ratings data that shows when we collectively tune out. And if music is a tune-out for these programs, they’ll put more comedians in those slots. Television bookers tell us we stay with comedians we don’t know longer than bands we don’t know. That has to change.
The music fan values the critical eye of gatekeepers and influencers, but also knows that stars and numbers are just stars and numbers.
And while those tastemakers may be self-appointed, only the medium has changed — music has always been best shared by word of mouth, fan to fan.
We’ve found dozens of songs we love from top-ten lists and year-end polls. The more random the list — i.e., 10 Songs About Take-Out Chinese — the better the chance of discovery.
Any online playlist with “Greatest of All Time” in its title is just clickbait. Ignore it.
RajiWorld loves Nashville! I was blessed to be present again this year for one of my favorite tradition’s Manuel’s (81st) Birthday party. It featured The Mavericks and let me see many old friends like Alan Messer who reminded me that we met with Joe Ely not June Carter as I had remembered. In other Nashville: Carter news my dear friends Julie Christensen and Rosemarie Mincey raved about the new music history documentary The Winding Stream they had just seen. They were happy to see my name in the credits and I was again reminded that I have been asked several times to consult on a music related film. I love to be a connector and I hope to work in Nashville much more this upcoming year. Let us know about your projects and where we can help. RajiWorld matches art and fans and Compass – SS matches art and business and World Beauty reps the artists who make it all look good under the lights.
We are thrilled to begin a long and successful relationship with the lovely Louise Goffin. It feels destined and bringing her to our favorite venues all over the US will be our pleasure!
Stay tuned as we acclimate her to RajiWorld in the next few weeks.
We are so proud of our roster, representing with class and grace and much rock and roll in the midst of utter chaos! What a wild ride this year.
AKINA ADDERLEY & THE VINTAGE PLAYBOYS “Just a few moments of unforgettable jam “Attitude” and you’ll be hooked on this nine-member Austin soul band. Frontwoman and songwriter Adderley is a commanding, joyous force. ” – DEBORAH SENGUPTA STITH – AUSTIN 360
“An amazing triple bill on Saturday with Nakia Reynoso of TV show, The Voice, SXSW performing artist, Akina Adderley and the consistently amazing, Hard Proof playing original Afrobeat songs joined forces at The Mohawk for an extended dance party. An unusually pleasant Texas evening segued into a an all-out jam beginning with Hard Proof early to get the crowd moving, then Akina Adderley and the Vintage Playboys then headliner, the always entertaining, Nakia. ” – GREG ACKERMAN – AUSTIN CONCERTS EXAMINER
“Their guitarist, Steven Schayer, is really, really good and really fun to watch.” – ROBIN SINHABABU – OVERLOAD
THE FLESHTONES “The Fleshtones demolished the divide between stage and audience during “Real Good Time Together,” with band members stepping deep into the crowd and leading it through the song’s chorus well after they stopped playing their instruments.” – GARY GRAFF – BILLBOARD
“The ageless Fleshtones marching up the down the theater’s aisles leading the audience in a singalong to “Real Good Time Together”” – JIM TESTA – jerseybeat.com
NAKIA “20 Artists You Must See at SXSW This Week” – PLEDGE MUSIC
RAINA ROSE “On Instagram, Steve Poltz summed up the highs and lows of a beautiful night gone horribly awry: SXSW- hectic. 1-saw Raina Rose play her official showcase last night. She had a full band and it was REALLY good. Loved it. Her voice equals beauty.” – MATTHEW T. HALL – UT SAN DIEGO
South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference, the world’s leading music industry event, offers attendees the opportunity to explore the future of the music industry during the day at panels, talks, the Trade Show, Music Gear Expo and other conference activities at the Austin Convention Center. At night, the absolute best mix of musical performances from over 2,200 regional, national and international acts take place at the SXSW Music Festival. Altogether, SXSW presents unmatched networking opportunities, career-building conference programming and over 100 stages of music for showcasing bands and conference attendees. SXSW Music is now in its 28th year.
RajiWorld has been active with SXSW for 24 years! It is our favorite time of year and we have booked shows for families, badge-holders, locals and more. Please feel free to write for additional information roggie@rajiworld.com.
The Stars at Night are really going to be Big and Bright on Thursday, March 6th at the 14th annual Texas Film Awards and its after party, the Texas Party!
Tickets to the Texas Party are available for only $50 each, and VIP tickets are available for only $150 each. Tickets can be purchased here:
http://www.austinfilm.org/
The event is held on the eve of SXSW and kicks things off with a cool night of celebrity guests and swanky party attendees. The “Texas Party” immediately follows the awards and is a local celebration for our hometown heroes inducted into the Hall of Fame, with 1,000 guests expected.
Tickets include open bar, food, live entertainment from Money Chicha an DJ Mahealani, and an all around awesome time.
• Luke Wilson (will be the Master of Ceremonies)
• Amber Heard (Rising Star Award, recently starred opposite Johnny Depp in The Rum Diaries and now they are engaged)
• Danny McBride (writer/star of the HBO show Eastbound and Down)
• David Gordon Green (writer/director extraordinaire)
• Mac Davis (Sountrack Award, wrote for Elvis and had his own variety show)
• Priscilla Presley (wow!)
• From Dusk Til Dawn (award accepted by Robert Rodriguez, cast members present TBD).
Compass – SS and RajiWorld want to personally thank our event partners and sponsors Arlyn Studios, The Austin Bike Zoo, Austin Cake Ball, Bone Spirits, Evel Knievel Enterprises, Maine Root, NadaMoo, Nakia, ROT Rally and Woody Price Limo. Our events would not be the same without your support!
I will be joining many clients and friends this week at the 26th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FOLK ALLIANCE CONFERENCE
February 19th-23rd – Westin Hotel, Kansas City, MO .
You can find me at the hotel all weekend and I will be sharing the wonderful Bone Spirits Moonshine and gin! The gin is the only gin made from scratch in Texas, using Texas juniper berries (handpicked by friends of mine)! And Texas citrus zest, hand zested by those same pals.
They recommend gin & tonic, gin & juice, gin & ginger beer, gin martinis, I would like to step it up a notch and invite you to play mixologist with me. Let’s be creative! I am counting on you.
Meet me in the following showcases with your mixer of choice and your own glass/cup/mug/shoe….and let’s celebrate that we work in a field we adore!
Elizabeth McQueen
Julie Christensen
Raina Rose
We love everything about music everyday but YOU can show your love all month but supporting local artists. It is the fastest road to happy I know. “Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.” Frank Zappa
RajiWorld’s intern Emily and Roggie attended a Concert Club taping at KUTX Radio station this week and were thrilled to hear RajiWorld client Elizabeth McQueen mentioned on air as one of Culture Map’s top 10 to watch. We found the piece and she is actually NUMBER 1!! You can listen yourself here.
“Austin is positively bursting at the seams with creative talent. As the rest of the musical world organizes SXSW showcases and speculates about the next international star to surprise us with a visit, those hometown heroes are busting tail to build a little momentum. With 2014 in full swing, Culture Map Austin is spotlighting 10 local luminaries planning big things for the year ahead.
1. Elizabeth McQueen
Eight years after joining Texas swing kingpins Asleep at the Wheel, Elizabeth McQueen has finally decided to go her own solo way again. It was an amicable split, of course. McQueen and husband Dave Sanger, who’s still a spoke in the vaunted Wheel, are now focused on their two young children — and McQueen’s burgeoning solo career. Earlier this month, she released her The Laziest Remix EP, featuring noise-rock, hip-hop and R&B-influenced tracks from 2011’s The Laziest Girl in Town, re-recorded with St. Louis avant-soul band Brother Lazaroff. McQueen is anchoring Sundays January 19-February 9 at the Austin Artist Series, hosted by St. David’s Church on East Eighth Street.”
Join us for a soulfully elegant evening on February 15 for the SIMS Foundation’s annual benefit concert. Heart of the City: A Celebration of Soul features 70s soul legend Bobby Patterson, Queen Bee Tameca Jones, the gospel-tinged artist Dan Dyer, The Voice’s Nakia, and Daniel James Leopold of Leopold and His Fiction.
Our musical director, Grammy-winner Adrian Quesada’s all-star band is highlighted by Grupo Fantasma Horns and some of Austin’s best musicians. Emceed by the city’s very own soul encyclopedia, Rick “Daddy” McNulty with vinyl mood setting by DJ Mahealani, it is sure to be a glittering night of hip-shaking soul, pretty cocktails, VIP lounge, luxury raffle and other tantalizing surprises. Doors open at 8pm for a Cocktail Hour with music starting at 9pm.
Heart of the City: A Celebration of Soul benefits the SIMS Foundation and its 650 client musicians. Formed to support musicians by providing access to mental health and addiction recovery services, SIMS puts the heart and soul back into musicians. Thank you for keeping Austin music alive!
Event Chairs:
Noël & Will Bridges
Host Committee:
Amanda Garcia
Angela Salas
Ann Riopel
Ashley Welch
Celine Adams
Chelsea Grace Singh
Darlene Starr
Gilda Tirado
Haley Cihock
Nichole Filson
Ramona Cruz-Peters
Reenie Collins
Rich Vázquez
Rikki Hardy
Roggie Baer
Rose Reyes
Sally Fatigato
Sam Elkin
Suzee Brooks
Tiva Rose Allan
Terra James Tucker
VIP AND GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT WWW.SIMSFOUNDATION.ORG/
FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT ROGGIE BAER AT ROGGIE@SIMSFOUNDATION.ORG
Celebrated Austin artist Elizabeth McQueen is proud to announce the release party for her forthcoming EP entitled The Laziest Remix taking place on Saturday, January 11 at Lamberts located at 401 W 2nd Street Austin TX. Doors will be at 9:30 p.m. with Elizabeth McQueen Meet Brothers Lazaroff performing at 10:00 p.m. and Nakia closing the show at 11:30 p.m. Other special guests that evening will include Jazz Mills, Erin Ivey, Sarah Sharp and Katie Holmes. Tickets will be $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Part of the event proceeds will benefit Black Fret, a new Austin non-profit that provides grants to local musicians enabling them to create new music.
Thanks to a new sponsor, Everyone who comes to the show gets 10% off a pair of STARLING glasses!
I am grateful for all of the experiences and new people I have met this week. Between IMFCON and AMF’s Booking Panel it has been a busy and fufilling week. I was able to be both student and teacher and it was wonderful.
We are so proud to invite you to the free 2013 Cherrywood Art Fair
December 7 & 8, 2013
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm
Maplewood Elementary
E. 38 1/2 St. & Maplewood Ave.
We are proud to present the first US dates for The Dream Syndicate since 1989!
The first show is in Cleveland this Friday 11/22 at Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, 15711 Waterloo Road
Tickets: $22 – $25, call 216-383-1124, or available at the door. And our very own super group The Split Squad opens!
Here is a show preview By Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer
updated November 19, 2013 at 9:06 AM
“The first time we drove into Cleveland on tour we had this really great experience,” says Wynn, calling from his home in New York City. “We had the radio on WMMS and we just happened to hear our song ‘That’s What You Always Say’ seguing into Free’s ‘Mr. Big.’ I remember thinking this was a really big deal.”
Wynn’s other vivid Cleveland memory also involves WMMS.
A year or so after their first visit, the Dream Syndicate was given the rare opportunity to play a WMMS Coffee Break Concert in June, 1983. They were probably the most underground band to be asked to take the Agora stage for the legendary series that featured such acts as John Mellencamp and Peter Frampton.
“We met a lot of people in Cleveland and they liked us and they booked this show,” says Wynn. “Then we played the show, and the fallout was they said we were terrible and noisy and we were out of tune and had a lot of feedback and they got complaints from callers.
“We were sad, they said ‘we’ll never play your music again. It was sad, but that’s life. Years later, I finally heard the show and it was great, it was the band in fine form. It just showed how unprepared people were at that time to hear that kind of thing, guitars and feedback.”
Cleveland musician Dave Swanson, who was at the show, agrees.
“They were absolutely great that day,” he says. “Raw and very energetic.”
The Dream Syndicate formed in 1981 in Southern California as part of the Paisley Underground movement. They became known for their driving guitars and almost dreamy feedback, paired with Wynn’s poetically angst lyrics. In short order they moved from college clubs to a major label, touring the world with R.E.M. and U2, and getting mainstream radio attention, as with WMMS.
But despite the harsh words after that fateful concert, WMMS couldn’t break the band’s spirit.
“The reaction was a disappointment to us,” says Wynn. “When we were together would see the Bangles and R.E.M. and bands we had come up with getting more popular. But, we didn’t feel we weren’t getting our due. I felt like we were living the dream and making records and touring. We were designed to be a cult band, our heroes were the Velvets and the Gun Club and Modern Lovers – bands who never made it that big.”
“The only time we derailed is when we had aspirations beyond our design.”
He’s referring to 1984, when the band temporarily broke-up after the release of their major label debut, “The Medicine Show.” It failed to achieve the critical success of their lauded 1982 guitar epic “The Days of Wine and Roses” — or commercial success. They eventually regrouped, but without founding bass player Kendra Smith and guitarist Karl Precoda.
The Dream Syndicate went on to release two more studio albums before finally disbanding in 1989: “I just felt it had become the same thing over and over again,” says Wynn.
Now, “the same thing” seems new again. Cleveland, you see, has another significant role in the history of the Dream Syndicate. It’s one of only four American cities who will see a reunited Dream Syndicate , when the band plays the Beachland Ballroom at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
“I wouldn’t call it a reunion tour,” says Wynn. “The Dream Syndicate doesn’t tour. We just get together and do shows that seem like they’ll be fun. We take it gig by gig, and I love the Beachland.”
The line-up will not include Smith, who Wynn is still friendly with, or Precoda, who he says he has not talked to in years.
“There’s always a protectiveness of the original lineup and I get that, I’m a music fan too,” says Wynn. “But the only two people in band whole time have been me and Dennis (Duck). Not once have we played and have said someone say ‘Wow, that was OK but I wish it was the original lineup.”
Wynn says he didn’t take the idea of reuniting lightly, though.
“I’m really proud of the Dream Syndicate and our role in music history,” he says. “It makes me think it’s a shame if someone hadn’t seen us. But it would also a shame is someone would see us and say ‘What was the fuss all about?’
“We did something at the time that almost nobody was doing, doing music with a guitar was kind of a radical crazy thing . … The nice thing about the reunion is that in the ’80s we were trying to evolve and get new fans. We don’t care about that anymore. We just want to make ourselves happy, and our fans happy. We are what we were.”
We are getting excited to present our first West Coast run of dates for The Fleshtones AND The Split Squad togther. They will be in San Diego, Long Beach, LA CANCELED, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. The “West of Wherever Tour 2013”!! We are booking more markets now!
For tickets and more information please visit www.DarkSideofTheRainbow.NET
Halloween Weekend Fri. November 1, 2013 at Austin Music Hall
Concert Start Time: 8 pm / Door Time: 6 pm
• 3+ Hours of live music
• Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety
• Costume Contest
A truly unique Halloween experience
A show that merges inspirations from Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyd’s epic album, Dark Side of the Moon, into a stunning live rendition of the cult classic concept Dark Side of the Rainbow. For the first time in Austin history we’re taking the cult classic concept Dark Side of The Rainbow out of the living room and onto the stage.
3 hours of live music and two sets of Pink Floyd favorites from The Wall, Wish You Were Here and Animals as well as rarely heard cuts from the bands early years culminating in a dramatic performance of Dark Side in its entirety. We have once again brought together some of Austin’s best studio and touring musicians to pay tribute to one of the greatest rock bands in history. As expected and amazing light show, video, and laser show will accompany the music.
Costume Contest
Costumes are encouraged with cash prizes and VIP upgrades for the winners. Best Overall Costume, Best Group Costume, and Best Pink Floyd or Oz Related categories will be rewarded.
This is the 2nd Pink Floyd Concept Project from producers, The Electric Company, and first since Which One’s Pink at Seaholm Power Plant that received rave reviews from Pink Floyd fans. See that performance here:
Band Members Include:
• Darin Murphy (Vocals, Guitar) (Skyrocket & many more)
• Bruce Hughes (Bass, Vocals) (Jason Mraz, Bob Schneider, The Scabs, & more)
• Benjamin Hotchkiss (Vocals) (Skyrocket & many more)
• Stewart Cochran (Keys) (David Garza, Abra Moore, Jimmy Lafave & more)
• Dustin Bozarth (Keys, Synth) (Moving Matter, Grooving Ground)
• Jake Langley (Guitar) (Rufus Wainwright, Cindy Cashdollar, Joey Defrancesco Trio)
• Ulrich Ellison (Nakia, Abra Moore)
• Topaz McGarrigle (Sax) (Mudphonic, Topaz)
• Ed Jarusinsky (Drums) (Kevin McKinney, Magnificent 7, Nakia)
• Teal Collins (Vocals) Whiskey Sisters, Mother Trucker & more)
• And More TBA
Be sure and check out our last Pink Floyd Project, Which One’s Pink Live from Seaholm Power Plant in 2011.
Press Inquiries: Roggie Baer roggie@rajiworld.com
Other Inquiries: Jason Hicks Jason@ElectricCompanyLive.com
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RajiWorld is proud to congratulate client’s Nakia and William Harries Graham for their TOP work.
The Good Music Club‘s top ten for August 2013…Nakia jumps in there very fast! And the annual Austin Chronicle’s Best Of Awards feature Proper Nang and Maria’s Taco Express for Teen Bands.
