March 31, 2005
I have some absolutely horrible news to report, unfortunately. Hideaki Sekiguchi of Guitar Wolf (better known as Billy Bass Wolf) has died of a heart attack. Here is the message from Guitar Wolf about this terribly sad news.
3/31/05 Update - Billy’s Passing
This is never easy. Please excuse me if I start making no sense. Hideaki Sekiguchi, AKA Billy, has left this world this morning, due to a heart attack at the age of 38. Billy was a brother, one of the wolf pack. He rocked harder than anybody in the room, and I would feed off that energy. He was a great friend, and I can’t really do him justice when I’m like this. He was too young to go, he still had some rock let in him. Lately Billy was acting a little odd, he said nothing was wrong. That’s just like him too, the hardass. God damn it. Some of you may have had the chance to meet Billy, you know how awesome he really was. I just can’t believe it, he was there from the beginning. I know Billy’s up in heaven rocking out, keeping all those mother fuckers up at night. I bet he’ll start a band with Joey Ramone and Elvis. He would love that.
Sorry guys, but all shows are now cancelled. I hope you understand. Please don’t flood us with letters/e-mail asking us when we will continue. I just don’t know what I’m gonna do now. It was always me and Billy. He would want me to keep rocking, and I just might. Anyway, I’ve got lots of stuff to do, and think about. I love you Billy, god speed you.
Seiji, Guitar Wolf
More information from the Guitar Wolf website regarding funeral arrangements and vigil
We regret to inform you that Hideaki Sekiguchi, a.k.a. Billy has passed away by heart attack
in the morning of March 31st., at the age of 38.
Vigil and funeral information is as follows:
Vigil: 18:00p.m.(non-relatives 19:00p.m.) on Tuesday, April 5
Funeral: 10:00a.m.`11:00a.m., The Hearse to Leave at 11:00a.m. on
Wednesday, April 6
Place: Rinkaisaijo http://www.rinkaisaijo.or.jp
1-3-1, Tokai, Ohta-Ku, Tokyo
Phone: 81-3-5755-2833
*Since there is NO parking lot, we kindly ask you not to drive to the place.
We announce that all shows will be cancelled.
We hope to have your understanding.
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March 29, 2005
Claritin doesn’t cut it. Zyrtec won’t help. Benadryl doesn’t work AND it puts my ass to sleep. All the ginger and garlic and aspirin in the world won’t fix it. If you have allergies, you know what I’m talking about — it’s pollen season again, and I’m getting my ass whupped. It doesn’t matter how much I put into my body to try and fight it, I can’t seem to get settled. So far, the only drugs I’ve been able to take effectively to fight this are:
Needless to say, the cost of a doctor’s visit and a prescription are mutatedly prohibitive — I can’t afford to get sick, can you? If anyone’s holding free samples of these little bad boys out there, leave me a comment and show some love. Old E.J. is coughing and sniffling and sneezing and hacking until his respiratory system can’t take it anymore.
Is there a doctor in tha haus?
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March 27, 2005
Paul Hester was a world-class drummer, one whose value to the world of popular music is emphasized in the works of both Split Enz, which he joined in 1983, and Crowded House, a band which he helped to form along with brothers Neil and Tim Finn. Unbeknownst to millions of fans worldwide, Paul was suffering from a lengthy battle with depression. His mates, according to published news reports, were unaware of the depth of his depression. Tragically, Paul’s body was found in Melbourne’s Elsternwick Park in Elwood on Saturday, marking the end of a career that spanned two-and-one-half decades. He leaves behind a girlfriend and two young daughters.
From News.Com.Au:
Last night, former Crowded House members, singer Neil Finn and bassist Nick Seymour, said they were reeling from the tragedy.
“I am devastated,” Finn told The Daily Telegraph from London. “I have lost one of my best mates.”
Finn, on tour with his brother Tim, is due to start four dates at the Royal Albert Hall in London, but may postpone the performances to fly to Melbourne today.
As news of Hester’s death swept Sydney’s Cockatoo Island Festival last night, You Am I singer Tim Rogers dedicated a song to the drummer during his set.
Split Enz and Crowded House members were contacted by Peter Green, from Neil Finn’s office, yesterday. “I can’t imagine a sadder day than today,” Mr Green, Hester’s long-time friend, said last night.
“I feel for Paul’s little girls. We are still, all of us, asking why?”
Mr Green said Hester, a perennial joker on stage and off, had been in good spirits in recent times. “Paul had some dark moments. Some good days and some bad days, like all of us,” Mr Green said.
Hester had returned from Dublin two weeks ago, where he enjoyed an upbeat visit with former Crowdies bassist, Nick Seymour.
“It was all good,” Seymour said from Dublin last night. “The last words Paul told me were: ‘I love you, mate. See you in town [Melbourne] in a month’.”
I never knew Paul but certainly the music he crafted has had an impact on me and on many of those in my circle of friends. I send my condolences to his family and friends during this very saddening time. If you are a Crowded House or Split Enz fan, you can go here to find out more or to share your thoughts with others. Above all else, if you have a friend or loved one who is suffering from depression, I urge you to seek help.
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March 25, 2005
Ok, so, pretty soon the whole universe is going to figure out about this band El Pus. I’m as sick as all of you are with rock/rap, but I think that finally El Pus (pronounced L-poose) will change things back to how they ought to be. I figure they’re gonna explode very shortly because their video is being featured on MTV in April and I gotta hand it to them — it was about time someone made this song. My buddy Michael sent me the link to this video & all of you people out there who get tired of kids from the ‘burbs rolling up on you who are “fakin the funk” will appreciate the irony. The video for “Suburb Thuggin” (and the song) are just…well, see for yourself.
Hey, about last night: nothing personal to Clem Snide, but I’m not ever paying $10 cover to get into the Hi-Tone to hear you guys. NEVER. I like you pretty good, but I don’t like you $10 worth.
Okay, time to go suburb thuggin’ with El Pus, aiight?
[ Suburb Thuggin - Windows Media Player ]
[ Suburb Thuggin - Quicktime ]
[ Suburb Thuggin - Real Player ]
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March 22, 2005
Tonight’s adventure in Midtown had only one stop — The Hi-Tone. Although I wanted to see my friend Greg Faison’s band Circuit Benders, I managed to show up just in time for them to be finished. Slight bummer, but how could you do everything there was to do tonight in Memphis? We had Guitar Wolf in town playing with the band known as The Secret Service, there was a Filthy Diablo reunion show at The Buccaneer, and this little show. I really liked The Color Cast, but their set was only 20 minutes long! Make way for Swearing At Motorists, the Dayton two-piece who made a commendable effort performing songs from their current and back catalog. SAM’s Dave Doughman and Joseph Siwinski played a great set and were thoroughly enjoyed by the swimming crowd of twenty-somethings. But the story for tonight was definitely Enon.
My friend Shelby Taylor’s favorite band, she has frequently prodded me to listen to Enon & I have to confess: I never made the effort. Perhaps that is what made the whole affair so incredible. The band’s lineup has had several changes, but the current unit features Toko Yasuda, Matt Schulz, and John Schmersal. I knew I had met John somewhere along the way, and I somewhat made an ass of myself in the forgetting process. I came to realize it was in Seattle at the Crocodile Cafe when he was in the sadly too-short-lived Brainiac, one of the 1990’s most promising bands. The Enon show actually had many Brainiac qualities to it. The music is a divine combination of screaming guitars, unflinchingly solid percussion, and loops and keyboard plotted expertly to match Toko’s and/or John’s voice as they belted out these highly-danceable (and rangingly prolific) post-punk collectives. I cannot recommend seeing this band highly enough, it was a magical show.
Among the many faces in the crowd were Jack White and Patrick Keeler (the drummer for Cincinatti band The Greenhornes) who are in town working on two different records at Ardent. I have to admit, having had a chance to talk him last night and tonight, I’m convinced Jack is one of the most down-to-earth people working at his level of the industry that I’ve ever met. He doesn’t have any artifice about him. He’s just a guy who is really good at what he does. He loves Memphis, and we love him. Patrick, too, is an exceptionally cool guy. It was a bit awkward meeting him because of that interview I did with Brendan Benson a couple of months back (in which Brendan spoke in technicolor about his love of The Greenhornes’ record he had recently worked on). I got to talk to Patrick about the new Big Star album (which Jody Stephens had played some of for him earlier in the day). Patrick says it’s phenomenal and I’m sure everyone reading this cannot wait for Rykodisc to release it.
Also seen amongst the throng was Dave Shouse along with the other 2/3 of his Bloodthirsty Lovers (ex-Guided By Voices drummer Kevin March and Dave’s new bassist whose name escapes me, sorry!). Bloodthirsty Lovers had the night off after a solid performance Sunday night at the Young Avenue Deli, so it was time to get down and hear some great music. The Bloodthirsty Lovers have toured with Enon before, so it was cool to hear Dave sing the praises of how far Enon’s music has progressed.
Rachel talked to Jack for quite a while, bought him a couple of drinks, and when Jack accidentally knocked her Shiner Bock out of her hand, he kindly bought her another. Hipster Jenna and R.Y.A.N. were in the crowd, along with Rachel V2.0, Shelby Taylor and beau pop impresario David Brookings, Paul Taylor, Chris Swenson, my buddy Will, Shawn Apple, the very sweet Marianne and her friend (a really nice guy whom I only met at the end of the night briefly), Lauren Goler, Lisa and Brooke and so many youngsters I couldn’t keep up with them all! We managed to close down the Hi-Tone, and the rock stars took off to do whatever rock stars do at 3 AM in Memphis.
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March 21, 2005
There is some sort of unflattering gravitational pull that brings people back to Memphis. What is it exactly? I mean, nobody here seems to notice. We all live in the middle of the evenly-paced refuge of the quietude. We frequently take it for granted that Memphis is just a different breed from other major cities. It is only upon leaving that people begin to recognize the nuances of our town. Is it a big city with small town aspirations, or is it a little town with big city dreams?
Hard to know exactly what the reason is that people love it here, but how pleased I was to find out that two of the city’s favorite sons are on their way back. At the fantastic Bloodthirsty Lovers concert tonight at the Young Avenue Deli, I ran into one of the most talented musicians I know, Ross Rice. I had a chance to catch up with him briefly and learned that he would be moving home soon. Within minutes of that conversation, I learned from a couple of friends that Cory Branan, an emerging young songwriter who shold not be missed, will be rejoining the ranks of the midsouth’s finest in just a few days.
Regardless of the reasons, we’re glad to welcome you both back with open arms. I wouldn’t call it “homesickness” so much as “trustsickness”. At home, there’s usually someone on whom you can depend. I know that is true for me, and I’m grateful for being able to see it.
More later on today regarding tonight’s welcomed (and unexpected) visit from the lead singer of The Green Plaids The Black Paisleys some band you’ve heard of.
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March 18, 2005
Everyone in the world has a favorite love song, something so moving it wells you up with some kind of emotion — be it a memory, a feeling of hate or disgust, whatever — but it touches something in you that you can’t let go of. Click the link below to see how you can be a part of this really cool project that has attracted hand-written letters from all over the world. Give it to as many people as you can & encourage them to participate. Pass this flyer around to everyone you know. It’s something we’ve all done anyways — write down the words to our favorite love song on a piece of paper and send it to someone, only this time, Jeanine will be the recipient of the song that makes your heart grow fonder, brings tears to your eyes, makes you want to exact revenge on the one who got away, or just brings on the warm glow of a special time in your life.
All you have to do is this:
[1] Hand-write the lyrics (and nothing else) to your favorite love song. Write them on anything — a piece of notebook paper, a 3×5 or 4×6 card, the back of a flyer, anything that has blank space but is no bigger than 8.5″ x 11″.
[2] On a seperate sheet of paper, write the song title and the artist along with your name and address. You can include a phone number and email if you want, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
[3] Send your addition to:
Love Songs
999 Tanglewood
Memphis, TN 38111
Every entry received will become a part of this project.
What is mine, you ask? Check the radio blog about 9/10ths of the way down, I’m pretty sure it’s in there.
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