Rockin' Roll Call

To any self-respecting cat, the only band more popular than Skinny Puppy would be Dead Puppy. These emaciated doggies have a new one - "Weapon," just out on Metropolis Records. Imagine the Predator slumming with a side project at the Sunday afternoon jam session. These slightly reptilian, slightly menacing growling vocals don't do much for me.

Ron D. is a sax player and the album is "Ron Dziubla's Nasty Habit" and it's on Rip Cat Records. The importance of the sax goes back to the early days of rock 'n' roll and all those great Lee Allen solos, and specifically Gene Barge on "Quarter to Three," whoever it was on "Bust Out" by the Busters" and Mickey Kipler of the Rockin Rebels on "Wild Weekend" or anything by Saxa with the English Beat - all sterling examples of the sax as an able substitute for the guitar. Dziubla obviously is a studly player but how well he is suited to be The Man as opposed to being the sideman is the issue here. These instrumentals that are fine, but as a stand alone rock? Probably not.

The debut from Rose Windows is "The Sun Dogs" and it's another home run for Sub Pop Records. This might be one of the Top Five albums of 2013 as these seven folks create psychedelic stoner pop sure to satisfy those that can't take their peepers off their shoes or else miss the Dead or Phish and/or smoked their lunch. As guitar player Chris Cheveyo so astutely noted, it's all about "the everyday blues that capitalism and its hit man, religion, bring on all of us." The second tune, "Native Dreams," is a symphonic, Middle Eastern, World Beat jam session smartly done with a great guitar solo by Cheveyo and the high pitched and perfect vocals of Rabia Shaheen Qazi. Never destined to be back ground music in the study hall in Slitherin, "Season of Serpents" is another trippy one, as is "The Shroud," out there to "Season of the Witch" dimensions of dopey dementia. But the best one is last, "The Sun Dogs II: Coda," which could've been a fitting companion to "The Gospel" by the Dandy Warhols, or something from the coolest church in a month of Sundays.

Rod Stewart is back with his first new album is 15 years, "Time," which is on Capitol Records. Evidently, Stewart has been keeping busy getting drunk and chasing women - good work if you can get it. Whatever. Stewart has always sounded like Donald Duck underwater to me and nothing he does or has done interests me at all. Stewart is in my Bottom Five and as to water fowl, I was always a Daffy sort of dude.

Wassup 805? Bill Locey here, neither in Studio 805 nor in Camarillo, but still gainfully employed by the Ventura County Star, at least for the next hour or two, kicking it at my house, multi-tasking, writing about rock 'n' roll, watching the Dodgers and Yasiel Puig do his thing as the Dodgers are still in last. Remember spring training when the Dodgers had too much pitching? How'd that work out? Can Puig pitch? Brandon League and Matt Guerrier should be reassigned as beer sellers at the concession stand - that way, they'll do less damage. Meanwhile, I'm typing away and petting my cat, Nope, who is on my lap and as usual, in the way and doing his fair share as part of the worldwide feline anti-literacy campaign.

Anyway, if I had a faster car, a richer girlfriend or even one with a job, here's where I'll be lurking in the back this week: 

OK, tonight, Friday night - it's a great one but you're gonna have to suffer, but it's worth it - the Dandy Warhols and the Shivas will be at the Wiltern Theatre in Hell-A. Now here's why you should go: the Dandys are gonna play "13 Tales From Urban Bohemia" in its entirety - so far, the greatest album of the new millennium. Ozma will be at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles - so what, you ask? So this: Hilarious, goofball pop punkers Nerf Herder out of Santa Barbara are opening. Their fame is assured - they do the theme for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Up here in the 805 where we like it, the Pretty Uglies will be at my favorite dive bar, the Red Cove, while downtown it's party time in the parking lot next to Winchester's, there's kid rock star to be, Cole Citrenbaum along with the Dan Grimm Band, D. On Darox with the Melody Joy Bakers and another "Man in Black" cover band, this one, Cold Hard Cash. There's a big party a few steps away in a little bitty place - the Ska Daddyz - sounding better than ever - will pack the Sans Souci and guitar wizard Alastair Greene will tear it up at Amigo's around the corner on Main Street. And down at the Bombay, a block from the once blue Pacific, it's hard rock from New Liberty and Sharks and Cobras, while down at Zoey's it's another Numbskull show with Catholic Spit and the Plague Vendors at Zoey's and Arthur Adams will play some blues at Yolie's.

On Saturday, it's '80s flashback time with New Wave heroes, ABC, who will be at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills. The Oakheart Music Festival will cater to the C&W crowd - they of the pointy shoes and big hats - it's all happening at Conejo Creek Park South in Thousand Oaks. In Ventura, you can't take them anywhere - it's local punk from the '90s by the Hymen Blasters and also Big Problem - all happening at Billy O's in Ventura. Winchester's will host another cool gig - this one with 50 Sticks of Dynamite, Rubberneck Lions and Hard Six, while down at the Bombay, Jeff Hershey & the Heartbeats are having a party to celebrate the release of their new EP and following - he looks like six o'clock - that would be Zachary James & the All-Seeing Eyes, playing some classic rock for the new millennium. Down at the Fairgrounds - it's yet another Commotion by the Ocean - this time the Roadshow Revival - a Johnny Cash tribute gig with bands all day, including the Blasters, reason enough to go. Todd Hannigan will be at Zoey's along with Lee Koch, and Bob Jones will play blues outside Los Caporales in Ojai and not so far away, John Elliot will play at another of Rain Perry's house concerts.

On Sunday - Father's Day - too much good stuff - my favorite band this week, the Water Liars will be at the Echo Country Store in Hell-A, while up here in the 805 where we love it, Teresa and Pat Russell will be at the Hollywood Beach Wine Company and all those Shoemaker Brothers and the patient Dodger fans in Fish Fry will be at the Bombay. There's a groovy pop rock show at Zoey's with the Parson Redheads, Tall Tales & Silver Lining and those Spires. Jonathan McEuen will do something cool at the Deer Lodge in Meiners Oaks, while up the coast to Santa Barbara, it's one of my favorite singer/songwriters - Rhett Miller, who should've been at the Roadshow Revival, instead will be at Muddy Waters, just a few blocks from Mac's. Indie rock heroes, Camera Obscura will be at SOhO.

Mickey Jones will have stories to tell at the Simi Valley Cultural Center and Teresa Russell will be up the coast at the James Joyce in S.B.

On Wednesday, Mark Masson will jam acoustically at the Good Bar in Ventura and the Privateers, which is most of Raging Arb, will rock out at the Green Art People thing on the Ventura Avenue and Teresa Russell will be up the coast at Pace in S.B. and probably no one's favorite significant other, Girl In A Coma, will be at Velvet Jones.

Wild Belle is what can happen when siblings actually get along - and here we have Natalie and Elliott Bergman - he's the hippie dude and she's not. This is pretty much, a showcase for the vocals of Natalie who has this original but oddball, nasal tone which is fine, but unfortunately, too many of the songs don't go anywhere. 

There's a vague reggae undertone on the first few tunes and "Another Girl" could be the hoped for hit and also a compelling reason why this one could've been a solid EP.

First of all, the True Blue will remember Wally Moon, a Dodger from the Coliseum daze when his famous inside out swing resulted in his famous "Moon Shots" over the left field screen - at one point in 1959, Moon had 10 homers when the next nearest guy had two. 

That was, of course, way before Willy, this retro futurist, was even born. The new Moon seems to be channeling Frank Sinatra, Chris Isaak and Harry Connick but he makes these tunes his own and his reverential covers of the Blasters"'Shakin"' and "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins"'I Put A Spell On You," are both outstanding. This is becoming an unfortunate and recurring theme - I just got the CD and figured out who Moon is - a few days after he played in Santa Barbara. 

Next time - and there will be a next time as this Moon will be hanging around for the foreseeable future.

Wassup 805? Bill Locey here, neither in Studio 805 nor in Camarillo, but still gainfully employed by the Ventura County Star, at least for the next hour or two, kicking it at my house, multi-tasking, writing about rock 'n' roll, watching  the Kings get smoked and petting my cat, Nope, who is on my lap and as usual, in the way and doing his fair share as part of the worldwide feline anti-literacy campaign.

In the Recurring Theme/Shameless Plug Department: The Local Rock 'n' Roll Picnic is June 8 at Plaza Park in Ventura, right across from the post office down on Santa Clara Street. One of the best writers in rock, Rhett Miller, will do a solo gig at Muddy Waters in Santa Barbara on 16 June - it's way smaller than Largo used to be and smaller than Zoey's is now. It would be even better if he played at the Johnny Cash thing at the Ventura County Fairgrounds the day before. His band - the Old '97s - was named for a Man in Black song. 

Also, the Warped Tour returns to the Commotion by the Ocean on 23 June and the Scheideck Music Festival - sort of an 805 Coachella - that one will be happening the last weekend in June - great music, excessive drinking and a campground to pass out in - clearly a cultural landslide up on Hwy. 33 in Maricopa.

So you're already the frontman of "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World," that would be the Supersuckers (or so they say), so how do you top that? 

Solo album. It's in your face politically incorrect (and pretty funny) country rock that rocks to the point where you're subconsciously reaching for a beer and digging for the appropriate lie to tell that temporarily significant other lurking at the bar. The incendiary guitar solos from Jesse Dayton are a plus.

This is a celebration of Sub Pop's 25 years of great music - and they make that annoying cliche come alive, "something for everyone." 

I like the Ruby Suns, fronted by Ryan McPhun out of Ventura, and the shoegazer/stoner pop stuff by Low and Still Corners and my new favorite Sub Pop band, the Baptist Generals. King Tuff is a gritty garage band rocker and Father John Misty scores with his tune but my favorite is the catchy "Lite Me Up" by Daughn Gibson. 

Every act gets one song, so it's over before you get tired of it, or in the case of Gibson, keep the "repeat" button within reach.

Probably the coolest band ever out of Redlands - it's old school blues with the trumpet player going overboard sometimes, and the jazzy guitar solos on tunes such "Crazy 'Bout The Girl," don't work for me. 

Then again, there's a swell description of the latest new low in the making, "Drink, Drank, Drunk." There's plenty of reasons to get the blues in the Inland Empire, the heat, the smog, the traffic - Big Papa can make all that go away temporarily.

Devendra Banhart's latest and eighth album is "Mala" and it's on Nonesuch Records. This guy is an acquired taste - one that I have yet to acquire. It's wimpy and weak, barely musical, scarcely logical - this one is pretty much, an exercise in grueling endurance. 

Evidently there is a genre for this stuff - New Weird America, Freak Folk or Psych Folk - how 'bout Suck Folk? All I can say about Banhart is that if he can not only get signed but succeed, then there's clearly hope for your crappy little band.

The band makes a lot of noise because each of the three guys does a lot of stuff - everyone plays a bunch of instruments and everybody sings in this art rock/what the heck explosion of jam band baroque excess, but in a really good way. 

Despite the fact, they're not so good at geography - the band is based in Portland, "Sand Talk" is this big, swirling, rockin' rock opera that makes you wonder why these guys aren't headlining at Coachella, which would be all the geography they'd ever need. 

It's mostly symphonic and swell - part Jane's Addiction meets melodic grunge and some Trail of the Dead maybe. Pretty darn original and destined to be one of the year's best.

The new one from Foals would scare the giddyup out of any number of baby horses, but biped rockers will be OK and then some with their latest, "Holy Fire" on Warner Brothers. 

Foals are a stylish BritPop band which sort of reminds me of the Cure and Traffic - not so much in sound but in talent and mesmerizing moodiness. Frontman Yannis Philippakis is first-rate and the musicianship makes these guys the equal of any band out of Scary Olde England. 

On "Inhaler," they create this snaky, percussive beat that Sly & Robbie would be proud of - if you're not a fan by the end of the third song, "My Number," you're either deaf or dead. I feel the stupidest about missing these guys at Coachella - Blur was right in front of me and my dogs were barking to the point they didn't feel like walking to the Gobi Tent. 

And on a real downer of an ending, useless eaters slaughter over nine million horses a year for food.