Freaks Ball 7EVEN

I'm a lucky one. I came back to New York from the West Coast this summer and have been welcomed with open arms into the ridiculously active music scene here. The NYC Freaks have been on my radar for years and now that my zip code is in the right zone, I'm a proud member. With this membership comes the golden ticket to rejoice with fellow freaks at the annual "Freaks Ball." This year, the 7th ball, took place in my 'hood at Southpaw.

The organizers, our amazing Neddy and JR, put together a sweetly eclectic lineup for our enjoyment. The night began with The Dansettes - a new one for me! Doo-wop soul with a hot band... I would love to see them in a loungy kinda place next time with a martini in hand. Next up was the current incarnation of Chris Harford's Band of Changes, which included Scott Metzger on guitar, Joe Russo absolutely demolishing the drums, Diamond Dave Drewitz on bass, and, ahem, Mister Dean Ween on guitar. Ouch! This band was rocking so hard it hurt (in a good way). Here's a little taste of that sweet sweet pain:



Next up, SuperDee faves Apollo Sunshine. Great to see these guys in their shabby dapper digs. They've got such great songs and deliver with all their hearts, I just can't help but love 'em to death. Got my favorite "Flip!" which is funny because I now really am on the other side of the world! Here's a bit of them doing their "Magnolia":



It was a really really really fun night with great friends and music. Can't wait for FB8!

Super Saint is Back

Super Saint is back and a little sadder than before. But this film is strangely hopeful... And apparently, it wasn't a Saints loss anyway. Well anyway, here's our fallen hero:




Check out the previous blaze of glory.

SuperDee visits the Hidden Track + Podcast

Hey hey... I took a trip over to Hidden Track for the day to discuss Rotary Downs and their Studio 360 radio show that will be airing this weekend. Check it out...

Or go straight to the podcast here!

Soft-shelled crab po'boy, please.

It's been very NOLA-centric around SuperDee's House lately and that did not stop today with the announcement of this year's JazzFest lineup! Some standouts for me include Steely Dan doin' JazzFest with their Fez on, Jill Scott bringin' some sexy soul, Irma Thomas to make you cry, Ludacris for some crunk, ZZ Top with their beards (!), Van (the man) Morrison... New Edition?! I have to say that I'm kind of looking forward to hearing what (Downeaster) Alexa Ray Joel has under her fingers. My boys Rotary Downs will be playing the fest 2nd weekend - woo hoo! Bring on the brass, bring on the funk, bring on the jazz legends and the blues, gospel, and dixieland... Bring on the feathers and the Indians. Bring it on! I've got my flights...do you? More and more and more here: www.nojazzfest.com.

A Weekend of Glory for New Orleans

Rotary Downs blazed through New York City this weekend. As a band, you really have no other option than to bring it when you come play for New York City. So that's what they did. It was a complete whirlwind of a weekend between racing around town to pick up and drop off gear, multiple trips to Bushwick where no one (even the cab drivers) had any clue where they were going, soundcheck here, loadout there, meeting old friends and new, and getting the guys on a plane by 7am on Sunday morning so they could get back to watch their beloved Saints. Sigh... that game let the air out of the balloon a little bit but it was a fabulous weekend and no one, especially anyone from Chicago, can take that away from us!

I'd like to share a few videos from the weekend. The first is from the radio show they recorded on Friday for Studio 360 on NY Public Radio. This show will air on Saturday, January 27th. It was great to hear the stories behind the songs as told by songwriter/vocalist/guitarist James Marler. A teacher of English composition at UNO, his storytelling abilities and character creation are all right there in his songs. Here's a clip of them doing an acoustic version of "Sing Like the Sun" from the new album Chained To The Chariot with their friend Todd Gillespie:



Friday night's show at the Knitting Factory was just plain awesome. So many people came out and they rocked the house. Super dark in there and my video came out like crap so next are a few videos from Saturday night's show at Magnetic Fields Lounge in Brooklyn Heights. The first is a clip of their song "B/W" which has a great pop hook that's got all the kids and toddlers singing along:



Next up is the end of "Djinni Stomp" and I took this vid cuz they was just rockin' it!



And finally, Rotary Downs has got to be the only indie-rock band on the planet that incorporates bellydancing into their show. Check it out:



Alright, that's it for now. Rock on, my pretties!

Who Dat?!

Before I begin to retell the tales of this Rotary Downs weekend, I must share this ridiculous moment that materialized late last night. After RD's show in Brooklyn, we raced to drop off gear and get into the city to catch Skerik's Maelstrom Trio - our friends Skerik, Brian Coogan, and Simon Lott - at the Knitting Factory. This show was part of the NYC Winter Jazz Fest and we walked in like gangbusters to a room of sit-down-jazz-enjoyers. Things got a little more wild as our Zack began to yell "WHO DAT?!" to to the band. After the band was all done, chairs were cleared out, the loitering and shit-tawkin' were in full effect. Some NOLA Saints revelry ensued and Coogan started tapping out "When The Saints Go Marching In" at the keys. Like dogs responding to the smell of bacon, Simon and Skerik jumped up on the stage and we threw our stuff on the nasty floor and began to dance. Zack jumped on stage and started making some noise which lead into what I'm callin' the WHO DAT JAM:



Who dat think they gonna beat them Saints! Who dat! Who dat! Go Saints!

Rotary Downs in NYC This Weekend!

NOLA indie-pop in NYC

show details:
Friday, January 19th Knitting Factory Tap Room, NYC
with Amandla (feat. Claude Coleman of Ween) and Esque
Doors @ 8pm, RD @ 10pm, $10

Saturday, January 20th Magnetic Field, Brooklyn
with Ursula Points
Doors @ 8pm, $6

"Local space-rockers Rotary Downs have been together since 1999, and as one of the driving stalwarts in the under-praised genre of experimental New Orleans indie-pop, the band has been a consistent favorite of the WTUL set and those who hung out at the dearly departed Mermaid Lounge. After three wildly eclectic self-released offerings, they've emerged from their Katrina experience with a new lineup and a new 14-song opus, Chained to the Chariot, that's pretty much aces. Drummer Zack Smith and bassist Jason Rhein joined founding members James Marler (vocals, guitar) and Chris Colombo (guitar and pedal steel) before Katrina, when most of the project was written and partly recorded—the band reconvened and wrapped the album in Lafayette after the storm. The addition of more drums, more assertive basslines and especially the presence of Matt Aguiluz on keyboards and trumpet, gives their formerly soft fuzz-guitar and pedal-steel-driven sound an extra dose of texture; the rich layers of sound also make it great with the headphones. "g-7 hit!" is a sunny, sloppy, psychedelic march that's the gold-star track for the album. Marler's laconic vocals and Smith's upbeat drumming on "A Feast in Squalor" evoke Brendan Benson's warm power-pop. The stormy Western ballad "Body of an Outlaw" is a black cosmic gunfight with a dash of creepy circus music. It's a diverse album that ricochets from roots-tinged psychedelia to edgier synth-pop to excursions along the spaceways, but with a sure hand on the wheel." - Allison Fensterstock, GambitWeekly (Photo by Tracie Morris Schaffer)

rotarydowns.com | myspace.com/rotarydowns

Super Saint

Now, I'm not one to follow football at all, but I've got some friends in New Orleans that are pretty darn excited. It's bringing out the SUPER in them:

Photos from Jam Cruise... with a little help from my friends

Anything can happen at any given moment on Jam Cruise. This is when digital cameras come in handy. To tell the many tales of Jam Cruise 5, I give you some photo albums from my rockin' friends:

First, here's mine:

Second, another snap happy fellow, my dear friend, Aaron Benor from Relix:

Thirdly, from the man that only posts photos from the bestest ever events, my sweet Hogan, JC veteran, tight ship runner and...what the hell do you do, anyway?

And last, but most certainly not least, the woman behind it all... Julie McCoy herself:

Enjoy.

Wayne Says Yes to Calendars!

Hmmm.... The Flaming Lips! What an amazing visual spectacle!











And we're December! Gosh, does that mean.... I'M SANTA?!??!











This is the greatest calendar ever. And it's all about the KIDS!

Get a calendar today.



Photos by Jay Blakesberg

these are cute

Is your pencil holder lonely? Need something cute to look at when you give your eyes a break from the screen? If you've got a color printer, an extra few minutes and just a little patience (yeeeahhh), then check out these little guys. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, ya know. Thanks to Waldorf for the link.

Still Rockin (Back and Forth)

I'm sitting in my chair in my apartment in Brooklyn but someone must have put sails on my building because I feel the ocean beneath me causing my body and my mind to sway back and forth. You can take a girl off the boat but you can't take the boat away from the girl, apparently. This is most definitely a common physical aftereffect of being on a cruise ship for 5+ days but besides my body actually swaying back and forth like I was still asea, I still feel like my mind is trying to be back on that boat. After spending night and day with wonderful friends and music and silliness, it all still feels like a dream. Jam Cruise, makin dreams come true!

I've got about a billion emails to go through and what not but I couldn't not say "hello" to the blogosphere. Some top moments? So many to think back to as I look through my pictures but the top runners are when Peter proposed to Annabel on the pool deck during the awards ceremony, me sitting in with PGroove on "Only Always" and then being on the JamCruise tv's for the rest of the cruise, anyone and everyone from NOLA that was on the boat sitting in with Galactic, Led Zeppelin making it rain twice once during Galactic's "Kashmir" cover and once during UM's "Immigrant Song", Brownie's quick wit moderation of the JC Presidential debate... Obviously, this can go on for a while. I'll be back...

Fun lookin NYE Setlists

Let's start with our show:

The Slip - 12/31/06 Northsix, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Meowskers opened
(pretty darn sure this is accurate)

Set I:
Children of December
Airplane / Primitive
I Want to Get to Heaven Before I die (w/Meowskers)
Meowskers/Slip chant > NYE
Auld Lang Syne (meow meow meow meow meow meow...)
Eube (2nd half)
Weight of Solomon (new version! Brad on guitar! Rock Solomon!)
Wine and White Soda
Even Rats
I Hate Love
Dear Melina

Set II:
All I Saw Was You
Soft Machine
Changes (Bowie)
Paperbirds (w/ Love is a Battlefield quotes)
There's A Lie (?)
Wolof (w/ guest drummer named Dana I think)
It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) - AC/DC cover
> Poor Boy > Long Way to the Top...
Mary

Encore:
What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding (Elvis Costello cover)


Ok, and I just poked onto Phantasy Tour to see what some of my other faves did last night:

Umphrey's McGee - Aragon Ballroom, Chicago
Set I: JaJunk> Hangover, Out of Order> FF> Miss Tinkle's Overture> Bright Lights> JaJunk
Set II: Wife Soup, You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond, Farther On Down the Road, Slacker, Syncopated Strangers, Higgins, My Old School
Set III: Bridgeless> Auld Lang Syne, Partyin' Peeps, 2x2> The Triple Wide, She Caught the Katy, The Bottom Half, Mail Package
Encore: Dick In A Box, Pay the Snucka

Dick In A Box! Hilar! And man, that 2x2 to start the year off doesn't sound too bad to me!

The Disco Biscuits - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
Set I: Astronaut, The Great Abyss> Spacebirdmatingcall> 421> Spacebirdmatingcall, Trucker's Choice
Set II: Paul Revere, Bazaar Escape2> See Me Feel Me> Helicopters> Bazaar Escape> Munchkin Invasion> Basis For A Day> Bazaar Escape> Basis For A Day, Caterpillar, Therapy
Encore: Spaga

1 Inverted
2 With NYE COUNTDOWN

Just me and my horsie and a quart of beer! Sweet... Second set looks insane.

Trey Anastasio - House of Blues, Atlantic City
Set I: Drifting, Simple Twist Up Dave, Sweet Dreams Melinda, Peaches En Regalia> Air Said To Me, Last Tube, Cayman Review, A Case Of Ice And Snow, First Tube
Set II: Buried Alive, Plasma, Mr. Completely> Auld Lang Syne> Wanna Be Startin Somethin> Gotta Jibboo, Low
Set III: Curlew's Call, Small Axe, The Landlady, Flock of Words, Shadow, Money Love and Change
Encore: The Inlaw Josie Wales, Makisupa Policeman

Woke up this morning.... pharmies! Ha ha... Just kidding Trey, I love you!

Ok, time to go to Florida! Happy New Year!