Louisville Is for Lovers Valentine's Day comp returns

It has been almost 5 years since the decade long Louisville is for Lovers Valentine's series came to a close, since then the Louisville label has released many other projects including the Summer 7" Series, The Summer Cassingles Series, and the Palace Brothers Tribute LP.
To mark the 15th Anniversary of the Louisville is for Lovers Label, the Valentine's Comp is being resurrected. The 10 volume collection worked with hundreds of bands including My Morning Jacket, Bonnie 'prince' Billy, Wax Fang, and many many more; with one compilation release having artists ranging from the ages of 3 to 83, with music as wide ranging as hip hop to classical.
This year's comp will be like past years, with an open call to any artist/band in the Louisville area with an unreleased love song to submit. Get started now, the deadline is in one month from today. the comp is slated for a Feb 2016 release.
Visit the LOUISVILLE IS FOR LOVERS website for more details and submission information.

Interview: David Bird of Rude Weirdo

A few weeks back, Rude Weirdo released a nine song album (recorded in 2009) called Barnyard Scratch at the Cathouse. I had a chance to sit down with the group's guitarist David Bird to discuss the release, other projects, and what's in store for Rude Weirdo's future. Listen to the full-more in deapth interview below and make sure to go out to Shotgun Fest for their next release, "Cream of the Crap."

37 Flood: John King told me you're in a band called American Lesions too.

David Bird: Yeah.

37: How's that going? I haven't see you guys. What've you been up to lately?

DB: Well we've only played like three or four shows, I guess. Just kinda' gettin' started. It's a lot of fun. That band started... it's been about... comin' up on a year. The guitarist, a guy named Nick Smith, he was putting together an OUT tribute band. A band I used to be in in the 90's. I didn't even know him, he just called me and asked me if I wanted to sing for it. Just for a Halloween show. And I did and it was great. I didn't even have to say anything to those guys, they knew the stuff backwards and forewards. Everybody was really good. We had a lot of fun and after that we were just like "let's do a band!"

37: I gotta' say, Rude Weirdo... you guys put out quality stuff at a pretty regular basis, but it is impossible to get a hold of.

DB: Yeah. I think mostly because we don't really care. (laughs) I mean we do. We like making stuff that we enjoy. But we do it all ourselves. We record on the cheap. We do it ourselves. We package it ourselves.

37: That's one thing that's really obvious when I listen to you guys' music is it just... it always sounds so fun. You know what I mean? From your guitar parts to the lyrics. You sound like you guys are having a really good time. Would you say that's the focus of the band?

DB: Yeah I'd say that's definitely... you know nobody has any pretensions or ambitions to be anything but to just have fun. We're not trying to get famous or anything like that, you know? We just like writing our silly stuff and having fun.

37: Let's talk about this new recording. The Barnyard Scratch album. Ever since the show, it's been the CD playing in my car. Both just preparing for this interview and because I really enjoy it.

DB: We recorded that in 2009. Been sitting on it for a long time.

37: Can I ask why?

DB: Well it was... you probably don't know Tony Bailey. He was an old friend of ours. One of my best friends. He died in September 2009 right after we recorded that, and it was his final recording. He was like, the best drummer I've ever seen or ever even been around. Just in a million bands around town, and that was his last recording. So we were kind of sitting on it for a while. Originally I think we were wanting to press it into vinyl, make a record, but it just kinda' got to the point where we were... just wanted to get it out there.

37: So it was a matter of just wanting to do it right because it was such an important recording to you guys.

DB: Yeah. On a personal level for me too, it's important. Yeah Tony, his performance on that too was really astounding to me. He'd had an overdose, he died of a drug overdose, but he'd had one like a week before we recorded that record. When he came to, the EMT guys were there, he thought he was being mugged so he started fighting them. He was a big guy. You didn't want to fight this guy, you know? (laughs) So they were doing this pressure point thing on him, holding his hands down, so he wouldn't fight, and the whole time we were recording that record he was complaining about his hands. We would play a song and he was like "man my hands are just killing me," and we were like, you know, "you're being a baby, whatever." But it turned out both his hands were broken. And he recorded.
That's something that still to this day when I listen to it it just blows my mind. If you were really familiar with his playing you might be able to tell, but all of his ferocity and stuff is there and he was playing with two broken hands. He was just an amazing person.

37: What are you guys working on right now?

DB: Well we've got another EP already done. It'll be at our next show, which is Shotgun Festival. Playing at Nachbar on the ninteenth, my birthday. That's called "Cream of the Crap." It just seems to work well this way: finish five or six songs, put them on an EP, Have a CD release.

New Video: "Paula Dean" by Goodbar

Today Local hip hop artist Goodbar (of the group Skyscraper Stereo) released a new video from his upcoming "Good N Filthy" EP  which is scheduled for a Black Friday release on the label Little Heart Records.

Review: Joan Jett 8/29/15

 

Joan Jett: five feet of pure Rock N' Roll

   5 years ago Joan Jett graced the Kentucky State Fair on my mother's birthday, August 19th, and when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday there was only one answer: Go see Joan Jett! Of course! it was great show, even when Joan was having health issues and had to take a brief break, she powered through, playing a masterful hour and a half set, read the review here.
   So when it was announced that Joan Jett and the Blackhearts would be playing again at the Kentucky State Fair, this time on my birthday, August 29th, it was a no-brainer, even though as many of you know for the last decade I have hosted the Louisville Zombie Attack on that day. The truth on that is, I had been coming up against internal disputes with the co-organizer over logistical aspects of Zombie Attack, so why be where you aren't wanted, when instead you can be with your loved ones at a Joan Jett show? I have heard that Zombie Attack this year didn't go smooth and all I can say about that is I wasn't involved, not really by choice, but still I was sorry to hear it wasn't what everyone expected, especially for the residents of the Highlands.
    When we arrived at Cardinal Stadium I could hear my name echoed on the walkie-talkies of the crew, and was asked to follow a security guard to the stage. My girlfriend and I were then whisked onto the stage where 2 chairs were waiting for us on the left side of the stage! Joe Site the head sound engineer at Zanzabar had set up a wonderful birthday surprise for me, and we got to watch the entire show from the stage!

      Joan Jett and company hit the stage promptly at 9pm starting with Bad reputation, from her debut solo album of the same name, followed by Cherry bomb, originally played by Jett's first band The Runnaways, written in 1976 by an 18 year old Joan Jett.
 For the 3rd song, Do You Wanna Touch (oh yeah), originally by the infamous and disgraced Gary Glitter, Jett led the Audience in a build up of the chorus before the band kicked in. It was one of those guided audience participation moments that actually worked. The crowd sang the chorus for Do You Wanna Touch through the whole song, to much delight. The band followed this up with TMI, Soul Mates to Strangers, and You Drive Me Wild;  The first song she ever wrote and originally preformed with the Runaways. Ambiguously sexy Joan Jett jumped all over stage with as much enthusiasm as ever, with no notice of her previous health issues.
 Jett and Co. also played new tracks, such as Make it Back, written about living through hurricane Sandy and seeing so many people working together to survive, as well as old hits including Light of Day written by Bruce Springsteen as the theme song for a movie Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett stared in by the same name. Recorded by Jett and the Blackhearts it reached 33 on billboard in 1987; credited as The Barbusters, the band name from the movie.
   Other songs included Fragile, Love is Pain, Hard to Grow Up, Sick Friends, and Any Weather written with Dave Grohl. After an hour Jett brought out the heavy hitters including I Love Rock n Roll and Crimson and Clover, in which the band drops out so the crowd can sing chorus before jumping back in for an explosive ending to their signature cover of the Tommy James song, before ending the set with Hate Myself for Loving You. After the band leaves the stage. The crowd chants Joan - Jett - Joan - Jett until she returns for the encore. The drummer, Thommy Price, comes out first to lay down a drum beat before the rest of the band joins him to play several songs in quick succession including Different and Real Wild Child before concluding the night with her cover of Everyday People.