Wanted to post this morning, sitting on the tarmac at DIA. Frogs played the last two nights in Vail and scurried home to Denver for an hour, just long enough to shower and head to the airport. Life is crazy right now, to say the least. After playing the Maple Leaf tomorrow night, we'll cruise around New Orleans, enjoying a much needed psuedo-vacation. Returning from NOLA on Fat Tuesday will hardly be the end of what we are calling "Marchdi Gras". Our amazing, multi-purpose road homie, Double A, will pick us up where he dropped us off just days before, for the trip back to the valley for CarniVail, playing to a blocked off street of 500 people or so. The next day I turn 25 and we open for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Later in the month we team up with heavy-hittin' Ivan Neville and his Dumpstaphunk. I'm blessed to have so many friends and fans across the country and I cannot wait for this plane to take us to New Orleans, my home away from home. Thanks to everyone who supports me in this entrepreneurial, oftentimes stressful and hectic, job. Happy Mardi Gras!
*forgive all spelling and grammar errors as this was composed via blackberry on flight 1222, with a southwest stewardess breathing down my neck...
Showing posts with label Vail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vail. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5
Monday, December 21
What Happened To Rock and Roll???
The following appeared in the December 12 issue of The Vail Mountaineer. I will be starting a weekly column with the paper, beginning early 2010.
What Happened to Rock and Roll?
Trevor Jones for the Vail Mountaineer
Snow Daze is in full swing and once again we can be grateful for a thriving and growing music scene here in the valley. I'm consistently surprised with the quality and diversity of music available in the valley, especially with regard to the live music scene. We even have access to some great local radio. One thing that has always flabbergasted me however, is the lack of quality music on popular radio today. The landscape of pop music has changed dramatically over the course of three generations since Elvis Presley released “Hound Dog” in 1955. For years, rock and roll and its close cousin jazz were America’s primary cultural contribution to the world’s popular music.
Then something happened. In the thirty years since the late 70’s, our popular contribution to the world has gone from the soul searing music of artists like Miles Davis and Led Zeppelin to pre-fab, generically predictable pop singing by artists who use technology, rather than creativity, to bolster their inevitably short careers. Rock music used to be dangerous, sexy, at times downright hedonistic .We’ve all heard about the Zep’s propensity for sharks. Something primal in me still wants to see Robert Plant scream like a banshee and not simply for the impressive range of his voice. When I first heard “No Quarter” for the first time I felt like I was getting a clear glimpse of what hell might be like, without ever having to go there myself, of course. When Plant sung “Walking side by side with death/The devil mocks their every step”, I believed him, which in turn scared the dickens out of my little 15-year gourd!
I turn on the radio today and get a clear glimpse of, well, nothing. Which constantly brings me back to the question of exactly what it was that happened, what it was that produced this puddle of amorphous goop we call pop music on the radio today.
A little history might help us find our answer and the beginning of the end started in a decade many of us would love to remember to forget, the 80’s (although I was no more than a fetus by the time rock had collapsed, absolving me of any blame for this mess). Remember those turquoise and neon-green ski jackets, made out of what seemed to be wind-breaker material? Those garments were undeniably awkward and really serve as an analogy for the entire decade. Things got a little weird for a while and music was no exception. Take a look at the aesthetic principles of artists like David Bowie, Rick James and bands like Poison or Whitesnake and you’ll quickly start to see how music which was once fueled by testosterone and a universal, pagan energy became tame and packaged in a shiny little box. As the once virile funk scene morphed into disco, the deal was sealed. Led Zeppelin had long hair. But they weren’t effeminate, they were just dirty. Kurt Cobain and the rest of the flannel-touting Seattle rocksters tried a valiant thing by leading an early 90’s movement that once again promoted a hard, dirty image that their blond-bombshell predecessors in the 80’s couldn’t see through their eye-liner. The byproduct of a fiery punk scene in the 80’s (admirable in its ideology, but failed in its sustainability), the legacy of Nirvana was quickly consumed and spat back out by the execs at MTV, a channel which promoted the biggest music industry travesty to ever occur in the history of the world: ‘N SYNC and The Backstreet Boys.
As the country enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom in the mid-90’s it was prime time to flip on the radio and enjoy some pop music, so sugary it made Jolly Ranchers look like organic granola. A short, fat, bespectacled business-man named Lou Pearlman saw a wealth of opportunity in producing polished, boyish, auto-tuned bands, never mind the fact they didn’t play any real instruments. To make a long story short, Pearlman masterminded the likes of 'N SYNC and those adorable Backstreet Boys, ruining the musical futures of countless young Americans by exposing them to songs produced by computers, not people (more on auto-tune in later columns). Not to mention Pearlman was convicted of conspiracy and money laundering and was the impetus for books like “The Hit Charade: Lou Pearlman, Boy Bands, and the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. History." Thank god for Bernie Madoff, eh Lou? Finally, Pearlman is credited with a practice some people have labeled "PervGate" while managing his boy bands. I'll let you Google that one.
Most of us are vaguely aware, if not completely ignorant of people like Pearlman. We go out to see music at the bar and after playing music all over the country I can tell you, the Vail Valley loves its musicians, and we love the valley right back. Thankfully, live music still lives on at Finnigan's, or Main St., or Snow Daze or Hot Summer Nights and radio doesn't really affect our overall listening perception, other than serving as some tolerable filler while we drive to the club. It is stand-up individuals like Lou Pearlman and greedy corporations like Clear Channel who have wrought the filth that we listeners now languish in when we turn on the radio. Clear Channel started as a car dealership, bought an ad agency, and finally realized that by putting more ads than music on the radio, they could construct a monopoly in the radio world. Now, if you like Poison or N’SYNC or disco… great! All analysis aside, everyone should enjoy whatever tunes tickle their pickle. Besides, no single band could ever bring about the cultural and societal changes which affect how entire industries, like radio, are structured.
In addition, there has always been a plethora of amazing music to explore, outside of radio. Pop radio feels good, but make sure to get out there and explore different artists with the vigor of exploring a new ski trail. There’s a mountain of music out there.
Trevor Jones is a writer and musician based out of Denver and Vail. He currently spends time recording and touring with his band, Frogs Gone Fishin'.
What Happened to Rock and Roll?
Trevor Jones for the Vail Mountaineer
Snow Daze is in full swing and once again we can be grateful for a thriving and growing music scene here in the valley. I'm consistently surprised with the quality and diversity of music available in the valley, especially with regard to the live music scene. We even have access to some great local radio. One thing that has always flabbergasted me however, is the lack of quality music on popular radio today. The landscape of pop music has changed dramatically over the course of three generations since Elvis Presley released “Hound Dog” in 1955. For years, rock and roll and its close cousin jazz were America’s primary cultural contribution to the world’s popular music.
Then something happened. In the thirty years since the late 70’s, our popular contribution to the world has gone from the soul searing music of artists like Miles Davis and Led Zeppelin to pre-fab, generically predictable pop singing by artists who use technology, rather than creativity, to bolster their inevitably short careers. Rock music used to be dangerous, sexy, at times downright hedonistic .We’ve all heard about the Zep’s propensity for sharks. Something primal in me still wants to see Robert Plant scream like a banshee and not simply for the impressive range of his voice. When I first heard “No Quarter” for the first time I felt like I was getting a clear glimpse of what hell might be like, without ever having to go there myself, of course. When Plant sung “Walking side by side with death/The devil mocks their every step”, I believed him, which in turn scared the dickens out of my little 15-year gourd!
I turn on the radio today and get a clear glimpse of, well, nothing. Which constantly brings me back to the question of exactly what it was that happened, what it was that produced this puddle of amorphous goop we call pop music on the radio today.
A little history might help us find our answer and the beginning of the end started in a decade many of us would love to remember to forget, the 80’s (although I was no more than a fetus by the time rock had collapsed, absolving me of any blame for this mess). Remember those turquoise and neon-green ski jackets, made out of what seemed to be wind-breaker material? Those garments were undeniably awkward and really serve as an analogy for the entire decade. Things got a little weird for a while and music was no exception. Take a look at the aesthetic principles of artists like David Bowie, Rick James and bands like Poison or Whitesnake and you’ll quickly start to see how music which was once fueled by testosterone and a universal, pagan energy became tame and packaged in a shiny little box. As the once virile funk scene morphed into disco, the deal was sealed. Led Zeppelin had long hair. But they weren’t effeminate, they were just dirty. Kurt Cobain and the rest of the flannel-touting Seattle rocksters tried a valiant thing by leading an early 90’s movement that once again promoted a hard, dirty image that their blond-bombshell predecessors in the 80’s couldn’t see through their eye-liner. The byproduct of a fiery punk scene in the 80’s (admirable in its ideology, but failed in its sustainability), the legacy of Nirvana was quickly consumed and spat back out by the execs at MTV, a channel which promoted the biggest music industry travesty to ever occur in the history of the world: ‘N SYNC and The Backstreet Boys.
As the country enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom in the mid-90’s it was prime time to flip on the radio and enjoy some pop music, so sugary it made Jolly Ranchers look like organic granola. A short, fat, bespectacled business-man named Lou Pearlman saw a wealth of opportunity in producing polished, boyish, auto-tuned bands, never mind the fact they didn’t play any real instruments. To make a long story short, Pearlman masterminded the likes of 'N SYNC and those adorable Backstreet Boys, ruining the musical futures of countless young Americans by exposing them to songs produced by computers, not people (more on auto-tune in later columns). Not to mention Pearlman was convicted of conspiracy and money laundering and was the impetus for books like “The Hit Charade: Lou Pearlman, Boy Bands, and the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. History." Thank god for Bernie Madoff, eh Lou? Finally, Pearlman is credited with a practice some people have labeled "PervGate" while managing his boy bands. I'll let you Google that one.
Most of us are vaguely aware, if not completely ignorant of people like Pearlman. We go out to see music at the bar and after playing music all over the country I can tell you, the Vail Valley loves its musicians, and we love the valley right back. Thankfully, live music still lives on at Finnigan's, or Main St., or Snow Daze or Hot Summer Nights and radio doesn't really affect our overall listening perception, other than serving as some tolerable filler while we drive to the club. It is stand-up individuals like Lou Pearlman and greedy corporations like Clear Channel who have wrought the filth that we listeners now languish in when we turn on the radio. Clear Channel started as a car dealership, bought an ad agency, and finally realized that by putting more ads than music on the radio, they could construct a monopoly in the radio world. Now, if you like Poison or N’SYNC or disco… great! All analysis aside, everyone should enjoy whatever tunes tickle their pickle. Besides, no single band could ever bring about the cultural and societal changes which affect how entire industries, like radio, are structured.
In addition, there has always been a plethora of amazing music to explore, outside of radio. Pop radio feels good, but make sure to get out there and explore different artists with the vigor of exploring a new ski trail. There’s a mountain of music out there.
Trevor Jones is a writer and musician based out of Denver and Vail. He currently spends time recording and touring with his band, Frogs Gone Fishin'.
Tuesday, November 10
WTF People?!?
After a string of shootings in places far, and way too near to myself and loved ones, I have only one question to ask.
WTF America?
Gun violence is nothing new, even in (typically) quiet, suburban Denver. I can still vividly remember that day, before school lock-downs were commonplace, when our middle school class was told that students had been shot right down the road at Columbine High School.
Gun culture has always been pervasive in our society. The American Revolution, Frontiersman and Settlers, Cowboys and Indians, GI Joe... the list goes on. All of these inherently American institutions involve fire-arms and I don't see the trend going away any time soon. The NRA, military-industrial complex and a strong Washington gun lobby will make sure that gats and 9's are here to stay.
But still, WTF last week??? First, a psychologist goes psycho on those he was sworn to help at a military base in Texas. A laid-off engineer in Florida goes ballistic. A recent college grad gets shot in the chest in the Denver suburbs. A 20-year local in Vail lets loose with a hand-cannon in a bar. Not to mention a hostage situation at the same hour that night, just down the road in Beaver Creek, and a Seattle police shooting which occurred just as officers were filing out of a funeral for the last police officer who was slain.
I've never been a sensationalist and I do think the media over-covers negative news. But I think several of the events mentioned above hit a little close to home last week. Our band, Frogs Gone Fishin', played at the very bar where the Vail shooting occurred, exactly one week beforehand. The dude who was murdered in South Denver lived less than a mile from my house. Oh yeah, he played guitar and was in my high school graduating class, too.
I believe serious thought needs to be applied to gun control by the Obama administration. In the past, his attorney general has said there are "only a few gun related changes we'd like to make". And of course, I'm all for people doing whatever, and I mean whatever, they like to do. But let's think about our society and how all of us are prone to make momentary mistakes which we later regret. Mistakes made with guns, however, are oftentimes irreversible.
WTF America?
Gun violence is nothing new, even in (typically) quiet, suburban Denver. I can still vividly remember that day, before school lock-downs were commonplace, when our middle school class was told that students had been shot right down the road at Columbine High School.
Gun culture has always been pervasive in our society. The American Revolution, Frontiersman and Settlers, Cowboys and Indians, GI Joe... the list goes on. All of these inherently American institutions involve fire-arms and I don't see the trend going away any time soon. The NRA, military-industrial complex and a strong Washington gun lobby will make sure that gats and 9's are here to stay.
But still, WTF last week??? First, a psychologist goes psycho on those he was sworn to help at a military base in Texas. A laid-off engineer in Florida goes ballistic. A recent college grad gets shot in the chest in the Denver suburbs. A 20-year local in Vail lets loose with a hand-cannon in a bar. Not to mention a hostage situation at the same hour that night, just down the road in Beaver Creek, and a Seattle police shooting which occurred just as officers were filing out of a funeral for the last police officer who was slain.
I've never been a sensationalist and I do think the media over-covers negative news. But I think several of the events mentioned above hit a little close to home last week. Our band, Frogs Gone Fishin', played at the very bar where the Vail shooting occurred, exactly one week beforehand. The dude who was murdered in South Denver lived less than a mile from my house. Oh yeah, he played guitar and was in my high school graduating class, too.
I believe serious thought needs to be applied to gun control by the Obama administration. In the past, his attorney general has said there are "only a few gun related changes we'd like to make". And of course, I'm all for people doing whatever, and I mean whatever, they like to do. But let's think about our society and how all of us are prone to make momentary mistakes which we later regret. Mistakes made with guns, however, are oftentimes irreversible.
Thursday, January 22
Late Winter Update
Although it's been a balmy 67 degrees in Denver for the past two days, winter is still dormant somewhere over the mountains and will show its hoary face again. The break in the cold seems to coincide with a small break in performing the Frogs have this week. For the first time in a month or so, we don't have at least 2 shows per week. That is, until Monday when we play Sancho's in Denver, that bastion of dreadlocked revelry on illustrious Colfax.
This lull in performing has allowed for other activity to take place around the house and elsewhere, oftentimes leading to more performing, but a deviation from the norm regardless. We get to rehearse intensively, leaving our equipment set up to play "at our our every whim", as Steve put it in an interview the other day. Several of us are sitting in with other bands in Boulder and the mountains. In an extraordinarily weird situation, my sit-in time with our Boulder buddies Springdale Quartet has been lengthened because their opening act, Bill "Kobe" McKay, has been put in jail after a show he was playing near Vail. We get to cook (clean) and sleep on a schedule resembling normalcy.
The down time is refreshing, but not leisurely. For/Sure Production's work pace is at record high, as our artwork and website will hopefully be available to you, the public, in the next couple weeks. Making our artists happy, our venue happy and gathering sponsorship dollars are all of top priority right now, in order to make our festival a success.
Check back in coming days for the announcement of exactly which artists will be jamming out at Mountainside Mardi Gras, and the last couple installments of Lay It Out, So You Can Play It Out.
This lull in performing has allowed for other activity to take place around the house and elsewhere, oftentimes leading to more performing, but a deviation from the norm regardless. We get to rehearse intensively, leaving our equipment set up to play "at our our every whim", as Steve put it in an interview the other day. Several of us are sitting in with other bands in Boulder and the mountains. In an extraordinarily weird situation, my sit-in time with our Boulder buddies Springdale Quartet has been lengthened because their opening act, Bill "Kobe" McKay, has been put in jail after a show he was playing near Vail. We get to cook (clean) and sleep on a schedule resembling normalcy.
The down time is refreshing, but not leisurely. For/Sure Production's work pace is at record high, as our artwork and website will hopefully be available to you, the public, in the next couple weeks. Making our artists happy, our venue happy and gathering sponsorship dollars are all of top priority right now, in order to make our festival a success.
Check back in coming days for the announcement of exactly which artists will be jamming out at Mountainside Mardi Gras, and the last couple installments of Lay It Out, So You Can Play It Out.
Friday, January 16
Television
I got up very early this morning. For the second day in a row, Frogs Gone Fishin' performed for the Vail morning news. Channel 8 and Plum TV (ch. 16) have both been more than accommodating toward our music and have provided ample publicity for the shows we are also playing while in the mountains this weekend. Some of our clips will air time after time throughout coming weeks in the valley.
But it is the very shows which we are on TV publicizing that make the interviews and performances exceedingly stressful. For example, we returned from our gig in Beaver Creek at 3 30am last night, went to sleep for 3 hours before waking up and struggling deeply to drag our hungover carcasses to embark on the 20 minute drive to the TV studio. Once at the studio, our time was characterized by much waiting and anticipation under lights that are so bright, we were told they retain UV properties.
TV personalities are unbelievably caffeinated and energetic in the morning. They have to be to compensate for the sleepy interviewees who stumble in for the morning show. I suppose the guy from the winery, showing off his new vintages in the segment before we played, went to sleep sometime before 3 30 last night. Nobody ever said bands are supposed to be morning people.
After two morning news performances, two interviews, and a raging show last night, I figured writing a post this afternoon would help me comprehend the last 24 hours, move on and take a nap with all this TV business behind us for now...
..Until waking up at 3pm to drive over to our last interview of the weekend, before loading-in for the show tonight. I suppose sleep can wait.
But it is the very shows which we are on TV publicizing that make the interviews and performances exceedingly stressful. For example, we returned from our gig in Beaver Creek at 3 30am last night, went to sleep for 3 hours before waking up and struggling deeply to drag our hungover carcasses to embark on the 20 minute drive to the TV studio. Once at the studio, our time was characterized by much waiting and anticipation under lights that are so bright, we were told they retain UV properties.
TV personalities are unbelievably caffeinated and energetic in the morning. They have to be to compensate for the sleepy interviewees who stumble in for the morning show. I suppose the guy from the winery, showing off his new vintages in the segment before we played, went to sleep sometime before 3 30 last night. Nobody ever said bands are supposed to be morning people.
After two morning news performances, two interviews, and a raging show last night, I figured writing a post this afternoon would help me comprehend the last 24 hours, move on and take a nap with all this TV business behind us for now...
..Until waking up at 3pm to drive over to our last interview of the weekend, before loading-in for the show tonight. I suppose sleep can wait.
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