The Spaceshots, a band out of Boston, released a rollicking rock record called “Siren Sounds.”
I’m back on the West Coast today, but I have a couple of East Coast bands stuck in my head.
Up first is the indie rock outfit The Spaceshots out of Boston. The band actually disintegrated in 2005, but had a fantastic album called “Siren Sounds.”
Here’s “Offense/Defense.”
You can still pick up the band’s album at http://thespaceshots.com and stream the songs, too. “Misery Love Co.” is still one of my all-time favorites on my iPod.
I’ve also had Washington D.C.’s Fugazi stuck in my head since I listened to “13 Songs” on the flights back yesterday. “Waiting Room” is always my favorite.
Tickets start at $25 for the show and you can pick them up with way fewer fees from the Fox box office.
Here’s the title track from the his latest album, “Out of the Game.”
And now for something completely different, Midtown was a pop-punkish band out of New Jersey back around the turn of the century. Its members went on to create two distinctly different bands: Cobra “Snakes on a Plane” Starship and Senses Fail.
However, the band’s debut, “Save the World, Lose the Girl” is an album I still put on when I want to remember just how much fun the year 2000 was.
Riverside’s Summer Twins have toured with Matthew Sweet this year. (Joy Newell/Contributed Photo)
It feels like a power pop Saturday to me.
One of my favorite songwriters is Matthew Sweet. I love the guitar work on “Girlfriend.” I love the lyrics on “I’ve Been Waiting.” I think “Sick of Myself” is one of the most perfect pop songs ever written.
I interviewed Sweet a few years ago and asked him about writing “Sick of Myself” and he told me that song came out all at once, when he was leaving town to start recording “100 % Fun,” the album that has the song on it.
Fun fact: Sweet also makes pottery. If you’re looking for a present for the cat-lover in your life, check out his work.
Sweet has been on tour a lot this year and he’s been bringing Riverside’s own power pop outfit Summer Twins with him.
Check out the handclap power of “I Will Love You.”
One of my favorite SoCal bands in recent years is Suedehead. I first saw them open for Social Distortion for my birthday last year and then got to catch them rock it at Coachella 2012.
If you’re into the punk scene, you might recognize singer Davey Warsop from his old band Beat Union. And if you follow the ska scene, you might recognize the horn section from Riverside two-tone heroes The Debonaires. Here’s “Small Town Hero” and “Long Hot Summer” from Coachella 2012.
You can see Suedehead live Oct. 26 at The Fonda in LA with Tiger Army.
I mentioned The Debonaires before and they are yet another great Riverside band that deserves far more recognition than they have.
Here’s “Criminals” from a show at The Glass House last year.
I wanted to throw the spotlight on two of the bands playing. Up first is Lit, a band from Fullerton that broke nationwide in the late 1990s with the fantastic album “A Place in the Sun,” which had big hits “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Miserable” and “Zip-Lock.” I still rock that album all the time.
I picked up the band’s newest release “View From the Bottom,” after I caught their ridiculously fun set at Summerland earlier this year. It’s a solid record and if you’re a Lit fan, you will definitely dig it.
This one is one of my favorites, “Happy,” off “A Place in the Sun.”
Another band on the bill for the Merry Meltdown is P.O.D. out of San Diego. I interviewed them at Australian Rolling Stone back in 2002 at the height of their massive “Youth of a Nation” and “Alive” wave of popularity there in the Southern Hemisphere. Even though they were already massive in the United States by that time, they were four very down-to-earth guys who really just loved music and their families.
“Boom” has always been a favorite of mine from back in the day.
Which band are you the most excited to see at the Merry Meltdown? Vote below.
I mentioned it earlier, but I was at an incredible wedding over the weekend, a union of sight and sound while my friends behind Swampcandy and Sugar Farm Productions tied the knot.
The amazing thing about having artist friends is the creative and fun things that happen when they all get together.
For the music at the wedding, their friends The Black Cadillacs came up from Tennessee for some indie blues rock fun. They sounded fantastic. If you like The White Stripes and older Black Keys, you will probably enjoy this band.
They also did a killer cover of the INXS classic “Never Tear Us Apart.” That classic ballad, which also has an amazing saxophone solo, is off the band’s seminal album “Kick,” which was released 25 years ago. I remember rocking it on an old cassette deck.
I love TV theme songs. So do Jimmy Fallon and the cast of “Guys With Kids.” Check out this incredible medley from them that appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” the other night.
The theme from the “Greatest American Hero” was the point at which I started cackling.
However, there was one I felt was missing from this tribute.
I seem to be getting a lot of press releases about Whitney Houston (R.I.P.) lately and it’s started a megamix of her greatest hits in my head.
Also, I had the “Whitney” album on vinyl. I think “So Emotional” is my favorite song from the album, but “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” had the best video. I’m posting both today. What’s your favorite Whitney song?
