Potential t-shirt design

From Taylor. Nice.

Cake, concerts, and cameras

Last Tuesday I went to see Cake at the SF Fillmore with the gf. I have to say, I saw them a few years ago at the Fillmore and thought they were pretty mediocre--surprisingly, given that I love Cake and had heard only good things about them.

This time, they didn't disappoint. They played some really welcome but unexpected treasures ("Mexico," "Jolene," and even "Comanche"), their singer John McCrea was pretty hilarious, and they jammed in surprisingly funky ways (especially on "Jolene"). Unfortunately, they didn't play one of my very favorites:



Anyways, one of the most interesting parts of the night was when the gf tried to take a picture of the stage with her iPhone. On the way in the door, they had asked us whether we had any cameras, etc., and of course we said no. Pretty standard.

It did strike me as odd that no one was taking pictures--normally at a concert, you can see the phones of everyone in front of you as they frantically snap photos. I hadn't seen a single person try yet. And within seconds of hoisting her phone up, the security dude was in her face with his flashlight, (politely) asking her not to take a picture. The same happened to a few other people during the show. As I understand it, a venue's strictness with stuff like this is generally based on instructions from the band.

While I do understand that artists are wary, I couldn't help be puzzled a little. Audio and video recording? Sure, you might not want bootleg live recordings floating around. But photos? They don't really steal any of the show, except a personal memory of the stage and the room.

But, then again, Cake isn't your typical band. Their website has an "Advice" page where fans can write in with questions. When I checked just now, the answer was to a father concerned that strangers like to oggle his hot daughter. They also have a weekly poll: "Would you rather die doing something you love or die doing something you're not so crazy about, but two years later?"

Cake is definitely old-fashioned, musically and otherwise. I definitely respect them a lot of their music, but this confused me.

Too late at night for me to speculate on a rationale, so suffice to say for now that I loved their set. They started exactly on time (8:00 pm on the dot), didn't have an opener, played two sets with an intermission (like taking a break between sides of a record, McCrea explained), and they rocked. Word.

-Dean

A Rediscovering of Funk

What's up Jupsters,

Every musician remembers the first songs they thought would be the absolute coolest to play when they first picked up their instrument. Even to this day, millions of teenage boys hilariously attempt to learn the guitar just so they can play "Wonderwall."

I remember when I first started learning bass which bass lines sounded so cool and unique and distinctive and all that before I learned what scale degrees were, but I thought, at the jaded age of 22, I was past geeking out about simplistic bass lines.

Cue me taking my favorite class of all time: The Soul Tradition in African-American Music. It's a class on soul music. Listening to Motown, Stax, Sly and the Family Stone, and P-Funk is part of my homework. I always considered myself somewhat well-read/listened when it comes to matters of funk and soul, but for some reason I had missed this gem of a classic. Way back from 1973, it's "For the Love of Money" by the O'Jays.

When I first heard this bass line, both with and without the flange, my inner 12 year old raged again. It's just so damn funky, but what was awesome was that I was also able to figure out what it was within 5 minutes since my ears were still 22.

I may try to work it in the next time there's an opening in a song, but mostly I was just happy that such a simple bass line could still have this much effect on me without the aid of any mind-altering substances. It really reassured my belief in the power of music.

Keep on rockin' in the free world,

--Peter