1.28.2007
RETURN OF THE LOUP The last night in the studio with Cosmopolitants was an epic 20-hour session where we did two lead vocals and all the backing vocals for the album, and made rough mixes. I staggered out of the studio at 8.30am Saturday...the streets were just starting to be active, and the sky was clear and pale blue. It was frigid. The walk to Natxo's flat, which is normally very pleasant, seemed like an endless slog. I couldn't get undressed fast enough. But by 9 I was asleep. I got up just before 3, and had a quiet afternoon. We all had lunch at home, and *then* I went and had breakfast--my last visit to L'Aroma. They gave my coffee for free! As I had ran out to buy soy milk for them when they ran out...and, in two weeks' time I had become a regular. I spent hours in a net cafe, with the delicious feeling that I had nowhere to be. I went back to the studio in the evening to finalize my affairs there, say my goodbyes, etc. That night I went to Natxo's band, Poet in Process, play at the Sidecar (where I played on the Soft Commands tour in 2004). They did a great show--I was dog tired but I propped myself in a corner and watched. Natxo is the bass player, and there's a guitarist, a very virtuoso-style drummer, and the anglo-iberian Lynne Marti sings and plays acoustic guitar. She has a soulful, pliable and dynamic voice. I was trying to explain to them after the show that some of their songs sound like Rush and that this was a good thing...anyway, the splashy drumming, stereo-chorused guitar, counterpoint bass lines and stratospheric vocals (and lofty, anthemic lyrics) would be instantly familiar to any fan of Signals. I hung out for a bit after the show, but certainly wasn't in a party mood, and eventually (knowing that cabs on La Rambla would be impossible and that the metro was finished) I walked back to the flat. I woke up this morning at 10.46--I was planning on getting a cab to the airport at 11--and thus I got ready in a hurry (I had been smart enough to pack the night before). I had a cab in about 30 seconds after getting downstairs, and had plenty of time to take care of business at the airport. I had breakfast, etc. The flight wasn't that full so I had a row to myself (= zzzzzzzzz) and had my suitacse quickly and by 4pm I was home, with Aden and Dom. Aden had ben waiting by the door for me all day. Only because she knew I was bringing cadeaux! This evening we stopped by Studio de La Seine, just 100 meters from our flat, to hear the new album by No One Is Innocent, old friends of Dom's. I recalled that the Posies had recorded a demo here in 1995 or 6, to be submitted for the film "That Thing You Do". We didn't make the cut, obv. but I did also submit what I thought was a great fake 60's song, "Runaway Girl" (which appears on the Chariot I Am Ben Hur album). It didn't make it either, and then I realized that they weren't looking for 60's song, they were looking for fake Raspberries songs, and calling that the 60's. It's like making a film about the Roman empire and having Nero look at his watch. I listened to Sarah Shannon's new album "City Morning Song", which is being released by Minty Fresh soon. She has the dudes from Seldom/Crystal Skulls behind her and she sings as beautifully as ever. Last item--Lydia Lunch forwarded this article in the NY Times, an interview with Lee Hazelwood, who has a new album out, and is presumed to be in the last months of struggle with cancer. Gave me a little tear. I am very lucky that I got to see Nancy & Lee at the Fillmore about ten years ago. New York Times ArticleLove KS Paris
1.23.2007
GALLEYGOW ROWING This is gonna be a short one…I’m working too much to have time to post much of a story here. I can say with great confidence that I _didn’t_ make it to Redd Kross. We worked until about 11.15 and grabbed a metro to the Sala Apollo, and found the show was already over. We came in for a bit to say hello, and then the band went to the hotel and we went for a nightcap at the absinthe bar Marsella. Now, Marsella has really cleaned up its act in the last year or two, it’s kind of…well, a normal bar now. In fact all of the Ramblas area looks cleaned up and touristy to me now. It’s not the place that I want to hang out. Gracia is touristy too, but, somehow it wears it well. There’s plenty of local action going on. Me I’ve been working hard on the Cosmopolitants’ album, and that really has consumed all my waking time. Dominique came to visit this weekend, and we managed to have some great moments—having tapas after the studio time, and we took lunch at an old standby in Barcelona, the restaurant Botafumeiro in Gracia. Dom and I had a fantastic lunch there; the place is really old school, kind of an 80’s nautical theme inside. I introduced Dom to percebes, which are gooseneck barnacles (once you figure out the method for eating them, it gets really efficient and tasty, but at first…), and we also had perfectly cooked seiche and I wrangled a huge crab, the kind which is called a “torteau” in French and in Spanish is called a “Buey de la Mar”, an ox of the sea. We shared a bottle of white wine, a high-class Albariño called “San Amaro”, which was outstanding, it really came to life after about 20 minutes into the meal. Hmmm. Other news? None! Dom and I were giggling about the two drunk Scottish blokes at the tapas place last night, they were well on their way, and in fact we had seen so many UK tourists in Barcelona—thank you, EasyJet. Well, it paid off—I found a £1 coin on the ground today on the way to the studio. Have I mentioned the café L’Aroma already? It’s a fantastic gourmet coffee shop between Placa del Sol and Placa de Reus y Taulets in Gracia. They make an incredible soy cortado…and they have croissants and pains chocolats (which are called Napolitanas here) which are much more indulgent than their French counterparts—the croissants are even more saturated with butter, but also are clearly salted as well in the recipe; the pains chocolats are practically bursting with chocolate, which forms more a less a layer of heavenly goo in the thing—in the French version the chocolate is a hard stick in the center (I am not complaining). Also—the staff are incredibly friendly and sassy. OK, I am going to enjoy Dom’s company for her last night in town. Last thoughts—check out www.unpopart.org for some double-take worthy manipulations of iconic items displaying juxtaposed thematic elements—the Dutch ceramic hand grenades are pretty memorable, and the “Chef Boyadolf” can…well…check it out. They take popular commercial imagery and twist it with controversial subject matter. And, R.I.P. to Momofuko Ando, who in the 1950s invented the ramen noodle packet—by his company’s own estimation, they feed 100,000,000 people a day at an average cost of $0.20. That’s a massive, for-the-people product of brilliant simplicity. Mr. Ando was 96. Love KS Barcelona SPAIN
1.18.2007
I don’t know when I will be able to get this posted, I don’t have reliable net access at my accommodations or the studio, and the long studio hours mean I will have just a few minutes each morning to quickly compile a few thoughts. In the interest of trying to maintain my weekly posting routine, I’ll possibly not have to time to elaborate ad nauseum, infinitum, hoc or any other ad possibilities that you’ve become accustomed to from me. Produced by Ad Stasium. The Duloks: I spent 2 outrageously fun days in London working with the Duloks, producing 3 songs in a bubbling burst of fun. The Duloks are a band with no weak points—the songs rock; the are minimalists making a lot of joyful noise with just one keyboard, an electronic drum kit, and voices; they are intelligent and charming; they have that Beatles thing where, should you become a fan (and you will, soon, my friends) you can discuss which one is your favorite Dulok; Mar Dulok is from East Van., yo!; they temper their songs with (one might even say propel them with) humor that is both goofy and witty; they are all three sweet as pie but also highly sassy cityfolk; etc etc et fucking cetera. Peter fucking Cetera. We had a super time, and the songs turned out very well, I gave ‘em a few suggestions but mostly just let ‘em rip. Natxo and Caro: these are my hosts here in Barcelona; Natxo is the brother of a friend of mine, the tres celebre chef Sergi Arola, on Sergi’s good word Natxo and his g.f. Caro took me in sight unseen and have been absolute dears. We went to a fantastic kind of Catalan bistro on the night I arrived, the place is called Cal Boter and it’s where Sergi got his start, evidently. It’s here I discovered grilled pig’s feet, which I have had a couple of times on this trip, now! And Catalan-style Escargot. Well. C & N have been just brilliant, lovely people. And they have a great cat. Natxo also plays in a band called Poet In Process who will be releasing their first CD soon. They are playing soon here in town, we might take a break from our work to see them. Lydia Lunch: Lydia I have known for a decade or so, since we did a reading together in Seattle. She has settled here in Barcelona, in some part as a total rejection of the American system and in some part as the city suits her aesthetic senses. We had lunch this last weekend, and among other things she showed me many of her recent photographs, including some jaw-dropping photos of an abandoned Spanish town called Belchite. Belchite was carpet bombed in the Spanish Civil War, and left as a standing ruin. Belchite’s former opulence is grotesquely still evident. The distinction of Belchite is that it is the only city carpet bombed by its own countrymen. Perhaps Lydia has some of these photos on her website lydialunch.com, but at the very least she will have compelling images and words to peruse. Redd Kross: are playing here tomorrow night. We are hoping to go see them if the studio hours permit it. Steve McDonald joined us for lunch yesterday however and it’s always a pleasure to see him. It’s kind of amazing that I’ve known him for 17 years, and been a RK fan for almost 20. The Cosmopolitants: thought I’d never get around to * what * it is I’m doing here in Spain, didn’t you? I am here producing a local band called the Cosmopolitants. I was originally going to do this recording in September but it was postponed until now, they have been superbly gracious about accommodating my insane schedule. We have been cutting tracks at tiny studio in the Gracia neighborhood. Gracia is a tight little honeycomb of alleys and squares, packed with incredible bars, restaurants and interesting shops. We have eaten lunch at different spot nearly every day (I had to go back to one spot a second time as they were out of conejo the first day. They had it today, and, my oh my, was it worth the trip. As for the music of the Cosmopolitants, they have some great songs, and they are starting to take shape. The studio we are working in has a blue “Vistalite” drum kit, made by Ludwig in the 1970s—these are the drums made famous by John Bonham. The kit kinda made Jonathan, the drummer sound a bit like Bonzo. And, in fact, I saw him drink 18 screwdrivers before driving a Bugatti into a trout pond after playing that kit. A Certain Kind of Death: is a documentary I watched the other night. It’s about the process of dealing with the remains and effects of deceased persons who have no apparent next of kin. Something I know you haven’t thought about, ever. The film is more sad than gruesome but it does have its moments of unsettling imagery. Miss Shapen Fingers: is the nom de plume of a young man from near Angouleme, France (he supported my show there this spring in fact). He has covered my song “Spanish Waltz” and has it available as a free download on miss-shapenfingers.com or you can order a CD of this and various other original and cover songs, called “Kissed or Killed but Living and Loving”. Phone cards and call centers: I have been using these multiple times a day to keep in touch with Dom and Aden. If I call from a land line to a land line with the “EuropaTaxi” card I got at the call center next to the studio, I can get 1500 minutes for €6. Slovenian Euros: I believe Slovenia is now on the Euro. I have yet to see a Slovenian Euro coin, tho. Dom and I have a bet as to whether one will turn up in our change in Paris before or after August. OK, I now face the very real possibility of getting 8 hours of sleep…unheard of during the recording process… Love KS Barcelona SPAIN
1.07.2007
NEW PHOTOS IN THE PHOTOS SECTION--PLUS, I PROPERLY CAPTIONED ALL THE "OLDER PHOTOS"...YOU'LL SEE WHEN YOU GO TO THE PHOTOS PAGE ON THIS SITE... SANTANDER 1/5 I flew into Bilbao the night before the show, and was picked up by David, local good egg, musician of note, and helpful guy. It takes about an hour to drive from BIO to Santander. Santander *does* have an airport, but it's served by a very number of significantly more expensive flights, and nothing direct from Paris that I could find. Santander, which has been a small but important port city since Roman times, has been burned twice--in 1893 a ship carrying TNT exploded in the harbor, killing 500 people; and in 1941 a fire burned almost the entire center (but incredibly only killing one person, a firefighter). Thus, the medieval center has long been lost. Nowadays, Santander is long strip of city which runs along an industrial port. at one end, a strip land lay across it, making a 'T'. The outside of the 'T' is a beautiful beach, the Sardinero, and out on the edge of the 'T' there is the king's summer palace, and more beaches. In the center of Santander there is a very steep hill, I mean this rises up directly in the center, cutting an already narrow city in half for quite a ways. To make navigation easy there is a tunnel for cars and pedestrians going thru--it makes a slight 'S' curve inside, for a total length of about 100 meters. The city's vibe is that of a typical small city in Spain, which is very enjoyable--social life is centered around tiny bars, where you can take a coffee, a beer, and/or tiny sandwiches or plates of food. It's cheap, too--I asked the bartender if he was sure he was charging the correct price after I had a glass of wine and a coffee for less than 2 Euros. My show was put on by the government of Cantabria (the region of Spain of which Santander is the main city), it's a cycle of shows for young people (in name only--the concerts are of course open to all--they are free, in fact). Mine was put on in a lecture hall in a building operated by Cantabria University downtown. No support act, so I could set up the stage to my liking and leave it in place. Good equipment, good lights, it was put together in a highly professional manner by the promoters--Mara and Natxo, who put on all the tasty shows in the region (they are bringing the Supersuckers to town later this year). Again, like David, they are just superbly kind people trying to bring things of the highest quality to their town. I spent the day walking around town, window shopping, and the aforementioned visit to a tiny bar. My show was at 10.30, and I received a pretty encouraging round of applause from the 200-300 people there. I couldn't help but smile, with a mix of gratitude and embarrassment. Folks were totally respectful and quiet, enough so that I could hear that about 45% of them had coughs! I have been fighting the cold that's been going around Paris (Dom and Aden have both been sick), successfully so far. I can feel it trying to get its greasy fingers on my lungs, tho. The show went by like it was 30 minutes in length, tho it was almost two hours; afterwards I flopped my suitcase open, which contained CDs/7" singles of KS, Posies, Chariot and Twin Princess. People had been asking at lots of shows about vinyl records so I had some sent from Seattle and did indeed sell a few. Sold lots of CDs, and went out a for a drink with the promoters and a few fans, but before I was even done with my glass of wine I was falling asleep and went back to the hotel--by then it was already 3am tho--it was after 1am by the time I was done selling CDs, and then I had to sort the money, and it was 2 by the time we got to the bar. The next morning David, bless his heart, brought me a piece of the cake that goes with the holiday--the night of the 3 kings, which commemorates the arrival of the magi. They look a lot like Santa Claus, and they parade thru Spanish towns on camels, bearing gifts for children. You can see that the workaholic WASPs compacted all the holidays around that time into as short a time as possible...time to get back to work. I flew back to Paris and that night (last night) Dominique and I went to see Christian Vander, a jazz drummer, and his trio in a pakced jazz cellar in the center of Paris. Vander looks like an ogre, with big fat hairy arms (he was wearing a black T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, I couldn't help but notice) and he looks like he's being attacked by someone from the film "Scanners" while he plays, but he and his trio are great, playing a chord-heavy kind of post-bop that has strains of Coltrane and Mingus. Recommended listening this week: Asha Ali--from Sweden, playing what seems like very pure and sweet music, but it far more subversive than it initially lets on. The Holland/Dozier/Holland story -- you sing one of their songs in your head every day. Antibalas "Who Is This America" -- they're from Brooklyn, but they sound *exactly* like Fela Kuti. Best band name in a long while--it means "bulletproof" in Spanish. Field Music -- myspace buddies from the UK. The Lyrebird "Blood Diamonds" -- I produced this one man band from Michigan in 2004. I was just revisiting it the other day, and you know, it's really good mix of songs. This is just an EP, which are easy to have slip thru the cracks, but it's worth checking out. Darius from the Posies plays drums on it; Scott McCaughey adds some blues harp; and I add guitar, bass, keys, backing vocals, drum programming and some sort-of drumming to the proceedings. You can get it on Itunes or get a CD at
The Best of the Runaways -- "Born to Be Bad" is an amazing arrangement, what a killer song.
Love
KS
Paris
1.01.2007
 BONNE ANNEE 2007! I was going to write this essay about how a new year is like a naked model playing a bassoon but then I found this photo and I thought, that says it all. Really. This is how I want to feel in the coming months. Like all is well in the world, I'm beautiful, healthy, and can play all pieces of score in the Bugs Bunny cartoons that indicate when someone is sneaking around. I recommend for listening: Shinri EP--myspace.com/shinri Turn Back the Years: the Essential Hank Williams Collection The Wrens: Meadowlands NRBQ Live WHFS Broadcast from 1978. This is a 'fan' recording...look around Deerhoof: The Runners Four on Kill Rock Stars Tapes 'N Tapes: The Loon Lee Scratch Perry -- Best of...which is actually a collection on Island of his productions, so technically it's a comp. Is Police N Thieves by Junior Murvin the best falsetto vocal of all time? I think so. Carpenters--Gold --I should take offense at the fact that this is revisionist history, Richard C. went back and overdubbed and remixed and thus tainted the historical record...but...I had this handy. The gripey song about Richard's boss at Disneyland, "Mr. Guder" is pretty cool...it's like the least aggrssive protest song ever...truly a bizarrely American occurence. By the way...they are associated with Downey CA...they prob. were just slightly off in their searchin' USA for the Beach Boys' hometown (Richard would say the Carpenters were an homage to the 3 B's...Beatles...Beach Boys...and Bacharach!--which really could be called the 5 B's, no?) but these two kids were from CONNECTICUT! Yes, they are east coast marble mouth preps...it makes so much more sense when you listen with that perspective. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise... Love KS Paris Such joyous sounds swelling with life!
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