So, how's everybody doing? I guess you've noticed that
I haven't done a newsletter for the past few months.
What can I say, I've been lazy again. I did, however,
clear out my inbox and I'm finally going through my
CD pile and getting some reviews done. I'm also
working on the interviews that I have on tape.
I know some of you have been waiting to see
those and I apologize for taking so long.
But, I'm only one person and it does take me
some time to get stuff done. Not to make excuses,
but, I really do have a serious concentration problem.
If I spend more than a few minutes doing something,
I tend to get tired of doing it and I go off and
do something else. It's a problem I've had all my
life and, lately, it seems to be getting worse.
I kind of know what the reason is, but, I won't
get into it now. I do plan on working a little
harder to change that. So, hopefully, I'll be a
little more consistent with the coming of the
new year. I thank you all for your patience.
Okay, well, I know it's a little late, but, I've gotta
mention this. Congratulations go out to Pete and Cathy,
who were married on October 31. It was an honor to
attend their wedding because I consider them to be
really good friends. I'm glad I know them because
they're both really good people. Plus, they're
both into the same style of music that I am,
for the most part, so, that's a big plus.
We have a lot in common there. Anyway,
there's no doubt in my mind that they're gonna be
together forever and I wish them all the best
for the future. Finding someone you know you're
gonna spend the rest of your life with seems
to be a rare thing these days. So, when you
find that special someone, remember, you might
not have a million dollars. But, you found true
love and that's something that no amount of money can buy.
Since it's that time of year, spread a little kindness. Find
someone you care about, your spouse, a boyfriend/girlfriend,
a parent, a child, a relative, a friend, doesn't really
matter who...just take a moment of your time to say,
"I love you." I know it's not gonna change the world,
but, if you could make someone's day a little brighter,
it's a start right? Yes, I know, some of you are
probably thinking, "Wow, what's up with Paul today?
This is a side of him I never saw before." Well,
it's something that I feel needed to be said.
Take the time to get to know someone. What
you see in these newsletters and my writing
is only a small part of who I am. There's more
to me than what I rant and rave about once a month...when
I'm not being lazy that is. Let the assholes be negative
all the time. It's not my cup of tea. I tend to stay
away from people like that because all they wanna do
is bring you down with 'em just because their life is
in the crapper. So, tell someone you love 'em and
be a better person. 'Nuff said.
I know you haven't had your fix in a few months. So,
before I turn into Dr. Phil here, let's get into
some music, shall we?
Yes, indeed. It's that time of year again.
'Tis the season to mention Clashing Plaid
and their now classic holiday tune, "All I Got
For Christmas Was Drunk," which is a tune
I've mentioned for the past few years
in order to offer up something different
for all my new readers. This is a tune
that every rock 'n' roll fan should
have on Christmas day. It's a short
song. But, it's got quite a punch and,
once you hear it, you won't forget it.
On top of that, there's more to Clashing
Plaid than a single holiday tune. They've
got a few albums worth of original material
for you to sink your teeth into. They serve
up a healthy dose of feel good rock 'n' roll,
it's as simple as that. They're the kind of
band you listen to when you wanna kick back
a few cold ones and have a good time...and
the best thing about it...they do it all year,
not just on Christmas. So, be sure to check 'em out.
While I'm on a Christmas kick, there's another
tune I'd like to mention. I first heard this song
on the Dr. Demento show many years ago and I always
thought it was cool. I finally found out the name
of the band who did it and, wouldn't you know it,
they have a copy of the song online, which you
can download for free. The Sponge Awareness
Foundation is the name of the band and the
song is called "Axl Christmas," which is a
holiday tune about Guns 'N' Roses front man,
Axl Rose. It's a really cool song, at least
in my opinion, and since you can download it
for free, why not check it out. Here's the link.
Finally, Christmas wouldn't be complete without
The Central PA. Christmas Compilation, which features
a collection of Pennsylvania musicians doing
their best to contribute to the holiday season.
The line up includes Martini Bros., The Corral,
Emily's Toybox, Flint, Negative Space, The Jellybricks,
Sweet Pea Felty, Darcie Miner, Poptart Monkeys, Plus 3,
JR Mangan, Bobby & John Tombasco, Sherri Mullen,
Thom Palmer Band and Lykens Valley Bluegrass Boys.
I know most of the bands that are featured here
and they all have something special to offer.
Poptart Monkey's are a great band, The Jellybricks are cool.
I've never been in touch with 'em, but, I have a few of
their releases and they're quite good. As far as this
release, it's not something I'd listen to on a regular
basis...just around the holidays, of course. I bought
this one more or less just to add it to my collection.
However, the tunes that I really got into were
"Please Come Home For Christmas, which was performed
by Sherri Mullen, who's a fantastic artist to begin
with. Her full length CD, "Mask," is simply amazing.
The other tune I really liked was JR Mangan's version
of "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch." It's just a cool
song and JR does an excellent version of it. Anyway,
this album would make a great gift to anyone who's
into Christmas music and/or local music. So,
be sure to check it out.
One more I'd like to mention, only because
I've had it in my collection for quite some time and
I don't think I ever wrote about it. Halestorm released a
CD single called "Tempest Holy Night" some time ago and this
is their version of "O Holy Night," which they used to do live.
This is a really cool tune and, if I remember correctly,
I was at a show in Harrisburg once and the band did the
song and, it went over so well, the band had to perform
it a second time. How often do you see that happen? I'm
not sure if the band has any copies left or not.
But, if they do, I'd suggest getting a copy. Trust me...it rocks!
Not sure how many of you are into Weird Al Yankovic.
I happen to enjoy his music because he has some great
stuff and, to be honest, he has a few stinkers as well.
Anyway, his current release, "Poodle Hat," has what
it probably the best song he has ever done, "Couch Potato."
It's a parody of an Eminem tune and, after hearing it,
I was a bit curious to hear the original. So, I went
online and downloaded it. I really hate Eminem to
begin with and when I heard his tune I couldn't
believe how crappy it really was. Weird Al not
only came up with some brilliant parody lyrics,
he also improved the music as well. Maybe that's
why Eminem wouldn't let him do a video...Weird Al
took one of his tunes and made it better...a lot
better. Another great song on this release is "Ode
To A Superhero," in which he takes Billy Joel's
"The Piano Man" and turns it into a song about
the first Spider Man movie. His original material
wasn't really up to par on this release. "Genius In France"
was okay, probably the best of the bunch followed by
"Why Does This Always Happen To Me." I'm diggin'
on this release right now, as well as his first two
releases. But, I'm waiting for the day when Al does
a hard rock/metal album. That would be sweet.
Okay, well, I haven't been totally lazy these
past few months. As most of you know, I've been
doing some articles for BandsBackstage for quite
some time now. They recently set me up with my
own page, which I was really happy with.
I know a few of you have checked it out
and signed the guestbook, which I really
appreciate. But, for the rest of you who
are hearing about this for the first time,
be sure to drop by and check it out.
BandsBackstage has done a wonderful job
with it and, hopefully, you'll enjoy it
as much as I do. And, so you know,
if you take off the word "spotlight" from
the link below, you'll be able to check out
the main BandsBackstage page, which features
a lot more stuff for you to check out. But,
I guess you knew that already, huh?
The Spotlight Yahoo group, which I more or less use as a message board,
has been updated. We were getting hit with messages that
had nothing to do with music. So, I changed it to
where all messages have to be approved first.
I usually check for new messages twice a day,
so, be sure to check it out to keep up to date
with a lot of the people that are featured in
these newsletters. For those of you who haven't
done it yet, be sure to add spotlight_magazine@yahoogroups.com
to your mailing list. When you send a message to that address,
it will post on the board...after I approve it, of course.
Also, I've been doing a lot of CD trading lately and I
figured it would be a good idea to start a group where
people can hook up with each other to share their CD
list and stuff like that. Same thing as above,
check it out. It's been up for quite some time, but,
I haven't really done anything with it yet.
Once again...I'm lazy, what can I say?
While we're on the subject of trading, I'd like to mention
that I finally discovered the joy of file sharing.
Yes, I know, I'm a day late and a dollar short.
But, anyway, I've been able to find a lot of music that
I've been searching ages for and I'm quite thrilled
with that. For those of you who might be interested
in this sort of thing, I suggest using either Bear Share
or Lime Wire. I happen to use both. I really don't
have an opinion as to which one is better...although
I'm leaning more towards Bear Share because, when I do
a search, a lot more comes up and they also have
a chat room, which I thought was cool. As for Lime Wire,
I use that when I wanna do a more specific search.
You can search by artist, song title, album title,
year of release, stuff like that.
Anyway, check 'em out and give 'em a try. Also, if you're
gonna share music, don't share the popular stuff
that you can walk into a store and buy. There's
too much of that junk floating around out there.
Share something that's exceptionally hard to find,
something that you just can't go out and buy.
Or, if you're in a band that's no longer together
and people can't get your CD because you don't have
anymore or whatever...put it online because it does
mean something to somebody. I'm a firm believer
that just because a band is no longer together,
it doesn't mean they should be forgotten. If you
can turn someone new on to something you did
years ago...do it. You make music for people to hear,
not to forget about it. That's what I think.
One of the bands that I discovered using these services was
Hayseed Dixie. Actually, I knew about them for quite some time.
I just finally got a chance to hear some of their music.
They do bluegrass versions of AC/DC and Kiss songs, as
well as some other stuff. I downloaded both CD's and,
to be honest, they're a trip to listen to. It's something
different, that's for sure. I'm eventually gonna pick up
a copy of these albums because I'm a fan of both bands,
especially Kiss. Now that I've heard what they have to offer,
I know I've gotta add 'em to my collection and, once you hear 'em,
I'm sure you will as well.
Also, to give Bear Share an additional plug, they have a cool
feature, which I just started to check out, that features
up and coming artists, which is something I'm really getting
into. It's always a good thing when you can discover new music
and, when you launch Bear Share, they have a number of pages
you can sort through, each one with about ten different artists.
There's a brief description, links to their website and a sample
of their music. Don't have anybody to tell you about yet. But,
I did find three artists up there who we've either written
about or we're in the process of writing about. So, this might
be something you might wanna look into if you're in a band.
I've already turned some of you on to this and, hopefully,
we'll be seeing some more people we know up there.
If you decide to hook something up, let us know and
we'll be sure to tell people about it.
Actually, I do have someone I can tell you about.
It's a band called Glister and they're from Australia.
I first heard them on a compilation CD and the tune
they had on there really stood out, so, I got in
touch. A short time later, I got a copy of their
four song CD, "Queensland," to check out and I
was floored. It's only twelve minutes long...not really
a lot of music when you think about it. But, for
those twelve minutes...you're in heaven. Bear Share
has them listed as a "sparkling pop rock band" with
"hypnotic female vocals" and that pretty much hits
the nail on the head. They've got a great sound that
you can't help but fall in love with. Believe me,
"Queensland" is a disc that's well worth picking up.
It's full of positive energy and it puts you in
a good mood when you listen to it. We need more music like this!
On their debut EP, "Too Young, Two Old," Control Council
cranks out four songs of raw, garage rock. This release
has the sound quality of a bootleg demo and I think that's
part of the appeal. Although some people might not go for
something like this, I happen to think it's pretty cool
to listen to every now and then. This is the kind of
band that's probably a lot better in a live setting.
However, since I'm not able to make it to any of their
shows, this disc will have to do.
CONTROL COUNCIL: http://www.controlcouncil.com
Only six more months to go until the 9th annual
Millennium Music Conference. I can't wait.
I went the past two years and I had a great time.
Made some new friends, caught up with some old ones
and, of course, I got to take in plenty of rock 'n' roll...and
other styles of music as well. June 23rd to June 26th...mark your calendars!
MMC9: http://musicconference.net
Here's a cool website that I happened to come
across. No explanation. Give it a look if you
wanna see what it's all about. Also, don't
forget to swing by Motor City Rock, where
they have a ton of music that you can download,
including some stuff that has never seen the light
of day on CD, like the classic Madam X album,
"We Reserve The Right."
On a final note...we should be switching to DSL sometime in the near future.
Not sure if my e-mail address will change or not. I'll know before
I make the switch, so, I'll be sure to give you a head's up.
Also, for those of you who have been having a hard time
reaching me on the phone due to it being busy for days
on end because I'm online all the time, well, that will
no longer be a problem. I might end up changing my phone
number as well. I've had the same one for the past ten
years and I think it's about time for a change.
I think that's about all for now. If I put off sending this
issue out any longer, I know I won't get it out by the end
of the month. Besides, there's enough stuff here to keep
you busy for a few hours, especially if you decide to go
download some music. I wanna get an early start on next month's issue
anyway. Got a lot of stuff sitting here that I need to write about,
interviews to do, people to get back in touch with.
I wanna start the new year off fresh because I know
I have a habit of keeping people waiting and that's
something I plan on changing. I've been major lazy
this year, somewhat out of the loop so to speak. So,
I'm gonna cut the crap, get down to business and try
to be more focused on what I'm doing...or supposed to
be doing. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a very
short attention span and distraction is something
that I have a major, major problem with. I know a
lot of people out there care about what I have to say and,
believe me, I appreciate that more than you'll ever possibly know.
So, I'm gonna do my best to make 2005 a year to remember.
I also wanna thank each and every one of you who continue to read my
stuff and offer your opinions, be they good or bad. I know I tend
to go off on a tear every once in awhile and, sometimes
people agree with me, sometimes they don't. But, everyone
on this list at least responds with intelligent feedback
and I admire that. I've had a few assholes on this list
and I got rid of them long ago and it seems that the only time
anyone really has anything negative to say, they do so on a
message board or behind my back. Not that I care because,
as I've said before, being negative all the time isn't my
trip. Those people need to take a pill and get over it.
I hope you all have a great holiday season, one that's filled
with joy, love and all that other nice stuff. Having said that,
I'm out of here. See you next year after we all sober up!
SPOTLIGHT
c/o Paul Autry
P.O. Box 227
Shamokin Pa. 17872