The Days of Lore

KISS WEEK! Alive MCMXCIX

Friday, November 20th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

Live: KISS and Buckcherry at the Rose Garden, 11.17.09

It’s interesting to think about the pre-show rituals for a KISS concert in 2009. There’s less beer swilling and doobie smoking in the parking lot, and a lot more face-painting with the fam before packing into the mini-van to head down to the arena.

I was standing in front of the stage with four other (real) photographers right before the show. I stared out into the large crowd … well, not just any crowd—the KISS Army! KISS Nation! Which is sort of the equivalent of Fast Food Nation (OK, maybe Applebee’s Nation). Lots of makeup. Lots of KISS shirts covering portly bellies. Lots of middle-agers and their kids. They forked out their dough (tickets are anywhere from $20-$126) and were ready for that 60-foot curtain in front of the stage to drop. As the final chords of Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” rang through the house speakers, those famous words cut through the darkness and the curtain fell. I immediately turned into a teenager.

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are large men—even without the heels. And 35 years in, they play their parts like seasoned actors in a Broadway production, rarely deviating from the script. If you’ve been to a KISS show before you know you’re going to get the classics: “Strutter,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Cold Gin” (which these days is preceded by a PSA from Stanley telling audience members not to drink and drive) and “Detroit Rock City” (a song whose narrator meets his end after drinking and driving). All great songs. But how about “Love Theme From Kiss”? Or “Plaster Caster”? “The Oath”?

I’ve seen hundreds of KISS performances—four in person, many more on VHS and DVD—and I’ve heard the same between-song banter over and over and over. So I’m always looking for that rare break in the script. I finally got it about two-thirds into the show at the expense of a hooligan in the upper deck. Paul was about to go into his spiel about extended encores, when out of nowhere … “Y’all are gonna get to see me shove a light pen up a muthafucka’s ass.” Whoa. Paul, don’t forget there are children in the audience. Anyway, doesn’t this guy know that Stanley Eisen doesn’t tolerate lasers in his eye? After a short, one-sided exchange, the Starchild snapped back into character as if nothing happened.

KISS is a tighter band today than perhaps it’s ever been. Yes, it’s incredibly lame that drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer are wearing Peter Criss and Ace Frehley’s makeup (couldn’t they have come up with new characters? Perhaps some sort of exotic bird? Maybe a panda?), but KISS’ new lease on life wouldn’t be possible without them. Especially Singer, who drums circles around Criss. Thayer’s a fine musician, too, though everything that came from his fretboard was lifted from the Space Ace.

Not to mention letting Thayer sing “Shock Me” is fucking sacrilege.

But it’s about recreating that classic show, which is still big and loud and fun. KISS has retained the best and most campy elements from the ’70s—fog, fireworks, ticker tape parades, blood spitting—brought into the aughts with banks of video monitors that flashed images of old album covers and graphics that followed along with the songs. At one point, the cover of Sonic Boom appeared overhead as Stanley directed those in attendance to head down to Wal-Mart and pick up a copy. A commercial? I guess it’s the KISS version of an indie band telling a crowd they have a merch table with shirts and 7-inches? Can we go with that?

But hand it to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for still knowing how to rock ‘n’ roll all night—performing hundreds of shows a year, for more than two hours a night. And for a couple of guys approaching senior citizenship, they still get around pretty well in those 7-inch heels. These guys are the Kings of the Nighttime World. The Knights in Satan’s Service. And though I found myself cringing a few times, a KISS concert is still the greatest show on earth.

Photos by Mark Lore

In memory of Mark Louis Arnone, Feb. 24, 1973 - Oct. 21, 2009

Tags: Ace Frehley, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons, KISS, KISS WEEK, live review, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Portland, Sonic Boom, Tommy Thayer

Lips and assholes, pt. 3

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

About a month and a half ago, I biked (and walked) up to the top of Mount Tabor—nearly giving myself a heart attack in the process —with the intent of possibly participating in a video shoot for The Flaming Lips‘ “Watching the Planets.”

The good news is I didn’t have a heart attack. The even gooder news is that I didn’t get naked … but it turns out Lips frontman Wayne Coyne did. It was anybody’s guess as to how the video would turn out (“Like with Christmas On Mars, we had no idea what it was about until it came out,” drummer Kliph Scurlock told me). Well, the video for “Watching the Planets” debuted today at NME, and you can watch it here. Lots of breasts and penises and vaginal fur ball thingies. I guess I don’t need to tell you that it’s NSFW.

The best news of all? I recycled the above headline yet again.

Tags: "Watching the Planets", Portland, The Flaming Lips, video shoot, Wayne Coyne

Writing the rongs

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 | booX, pdX | 1 Comment

Everybody’s a writer. Me. You. Him. Her. It. Them. Us. Am I write?

And they all descended on Wordstock—a place where authors petal they’re wares and aspiring righters wish they were pedalling their where’s. There are a couple of things too keep in mind when attending Wordstock: No. 1: You must look the part of a writer—which means some sort of polyester coat/vintage sweater/(if you’re a mail) funny facial hare combination … elbow patches are a plus. No. 2: Always keep a Moleskin handy to take notes during panels and talks, or to simply look as if you’re taking notes during panels and talks.

I made my whey around the 150-some exhibit tables, neatly arranged in their own little cubicles. I talked to a lovely woman about an MFA program at Pacific University. I was invited to attend the 7th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest coming up in April 2010. And I decided that I wood attend an upcoming panel put on by the University of Oregon called “Words Worth Paying For? Publishing in the Age of Electronic Readers.” I scored a Red Vine from Willamette Writers (which paired surprisingly well with the peppermint gum in my mouth), and I eight a complementary chocolate chip cookie from Indigo Editing & Publishing. I observed the word complimentary used mistakenly in place of complementary, and advisor used instead of adviser. All this over the coarse of an our.

Like I said—everybody’s a writer. But is anybody a reader? When asked recently by the Willamette Week if he would keep writing even after people stop reading James Ellroy—the feisty crime novelist who spoke that day at Wordstock—responded: “Don’t be a dipshit; people will always read.”

I like his confidence. Me? I lost hope on Aug. 28 when PBS announced that it would stop airing reruns of Reading Rainbow due to lack of funding. Now that is a crime … solve that won, James Ellroy.

“Reading Rainbow Theme” - Tina Fabrique

Tags: James Ellroy, Portland, Reading Rainbow, Stumptown Comics Fest, Tina Fabrique, Wordstock

Like music? Go This-a-Way

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

I like the word “collective”—especially when it’s preceded by “art,” or “music,” or “recording” (but not when succeeded by the word “soul”). Say it with me: “Collective.” Feels good, eh?

For the past 15 years Mistina Keith has stuck to her DIY ethos with Portland’s The Prids. So it’s not the least bit surprising that the bassist/vocalist has started her own record label. This-a-Way Records is actually a recording collective (say it again; enjoy) that includes The Prids along with fellow Portland bands LookBook (pictured below), Soft Tags and We Miss the Earth. Essentially Keith has surrounded herself with a creative gang—musicians, screen-printers, bookers, producers, etc.—all hell-bent in helping bands get their music out, regardless of genre.

The label will have a grand kick-off Friday, Oct. 9 at Mississippi Studios with performances from The Prids, Soft Tags and LookBook, the latter of which will also throw down their new album for the label, The Look and Feel.

I actually just got my grubby little paws on The Look and Feel. It’s a bubbly new wave record loaded with hooks and just the right amount of noise and rock-’n'-roll grime. Hmm … I think rock-’n'-roll grime might be just as fun to say as the word collective.

“Edie Sedgwick” - LookBook

Tags: LookBook, Mistina Keith, Portland, Soft Tags, The Prids, This-a-Way Records, We Miss the Earth

The Shaky Hands spin a yarn

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

My what a busy week for Portland’s The Shaky Hands. The band just released Let It Die on Kill Rock Stars, cut a new video for “Already Gone” and will throw a dual CD release party Thurs., Oct. 1 at Berbati’s Pan along with labelmates Panther.

The video is fantastic—put together by Seattle filmmaker Clyde Petersen using stop-motion—and tackles a mountain of environmental issues using only yarn and a few Lincoln Logs. Let’s just say Mother Nature (or a weird yarn monster, let’s call it a yarnster) will always take care of her own. “Already Gone” is very—and I mean very—reminiscent of early Dr. Dog. OK, it sounds like Dr. Dog. But it’s The Shaky Hands. Promise. I mean it! OK? No, really. Believe me. Seriously. Stop it. OK, I’m leaving now.

Tags: "Already Gone", Clyde Petersen, Kill Rock Stars, Let It Die, Portland, The Shaky Hands

Lips and assholes, pt. 2

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | musiX, pdX | 3 Comments

Well, I didn’t get naked. I know, I know—it’s very disappointing. But I did recycle the headline above. Are we cool?

The Flaming Lips‘ Wayne Coyne and drummer Kliph Scurlock showed up at Mount Tabor along with a modest crew to greet the 50 or 60 cyclists eager for a naked stroll atop their aluminum stallions. Coyne, of course, was sporting his usual snug-fitting gray suit … and nothing else. The video shoot for “Watching the Planets” (from the forthcoming Embryonic record) had it all: mystery, intrigue, suspense … the latter of which came in the form of a park ranger threatening to shut the whole thing down and seize the equipment if the budding nudists/video stars didn’t keep their bottoms on their bottoms … breasts OK; buns and balls not OK … only in The Prude-nited States of America.

Fortunately by the time the fuzz arrived, the full-nude scenes had already been shot and given the OK by director Coyne, who understandably was more concerned with the bikers’ safety. “We don’t want anyone to crash … we don’t want any scraped-up boobs,” he told the clothes-less posse.

Coyne looked more worried about his own safety once he was inside of his space bubble, which was propped on top of a stack of milk crates inside of a bicycle rig. But the faithful volunteers held Coyne in place through the six or seven runs.

Scurlock, meanwhile, spent most of the morning chatting with onlookers and press, talking to park rangers who threatened to shut them down, and cueing up the music on a beat-up orange amplifier. His guess was as good as anyone’s as to what would come of the day’s shoot: “Like with Christmas On Mars, we had no idea what it was about until it came out.”

Photos by Mark Lore

Tags: "Watching the Planets", Embryonic, Flaming Lips, Kliph Scurlock, Mount Tabor, Portland, video shoot, Wayne Coyne

Lips and assholes

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | musiX, pdX | 3 Comments

No one ever said this was a family-friendly blog so just pipe down about that headline.

This one’s a bit of a head-scratcher … even for the Flaming Lips. The new video for “I Can Be a Frog” features a bikini-clad woman impersonating animals for two minutes. That’s it. The song itself (with animal sounds phoned in by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O) is only so-so … so let’s look ahead to the next video, shall we?

The Lips will descend on Mount Tabor today … that’s TODAY, right here in Portland to film the video for “Watching the Planets. As sort of a nod to the World Naked Bike Ride, the idea is to get a large group of people together for an exhilarating (and slightly chafing) bike ride in the nude while Wayne Coyne rolls around in his giant space bubble. Or as Coyne explained to BikePortland.org:

“I’m having one of my giant space bubbles covered in fake fox fur. It’s going to look like some giant fur egg, and the people on bicycles are gonna sort of be born and erupt out of this fur, vaginalistic thing.”

You can’t go wrong with fur, vaginalistic things. The shoot will go from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (although no one has to stay for the entire thing), and the entire event works on a drop-in basis. Just show up at the basketball courts near the top of Mount Tabor (the earlier the better), sign the release papers, drop your clothes, shake hands with Wayne, and hop on your bike. More details here. The vid should be released in a couple of weeks, while the much anticipated new record Embryonic is out Oct. 13.

That’s it! I’m in. I’d better get out the hedgers and perform a little routine maintenance … sorry, I told you TDoL isn’t about being family-friendly. Or mature.

Video for “I Can Be a Frog”

Tags: "Watching the Planets", Embryonic, Flaming Lips, Mount Tabor, Portland, video shoot