Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon (life partners and musical deviants of Sonic Youth, a respectable music collective) have announced that they will begin working with Yoko Ono (not a respectable music collective).

Thurston Moore

For anyone who knows anything about anything, Yoko poopno broke up the Beatles. Both her and the faceless, over-produced, egnima that the Beatles have become in (most of) their posthumous carrer’s are … well … what’s the word? Hyperbole?At least for everyone who’s not forty or in middle-school sadly being souly exposed to the Beatles because of their forty-year-old parents.

The Beatles may or may not be overrated and there may always be the argument over the_best_one, but don’t get me wrong. I love what they’ve done with marketing. Rock Band may have never been as cool without the Rickenbacker and Tele controllers.

But back to topic … Sonic Youth and Yoko Ono? Wiggidy What? There has never been a more undesirable supergroup collaboration ever heard of, except for maybe Wolverine and Shin’s frontman James Mercer. God knows he’s done it with all the other X-men and failed miserably.

Point is, awful electronic loops of Yoko’s voice is not what I want in my my 80′s alt-rock cereal. But apparently somebody does, or maybe the musicians are doing it for fun and fulfilment and they might just have no concern for consumers or angsty bloggers on the internet. But I doubt it.

The problem is a matter of algebra.

This + This = Music I will buy?

Untrue.

And I’m fairly certain most of the population agrees with me. Although this is all just speculation. It would make me so happy if Yoko Ono made noisy,  sonicy, house music and they got a ton of respect and success for it.

 … maybe not.

 Unfortunatly you don’t get to here my wonderful musings and fact-pinions (opinions of mine that are right and therefore facts) on music like in my reviews. But I know these guys. They’re cool dudes.

 Local bands, local charity– the cuteness factor alone would have to win me some kind of fans.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/082008/08212008/404197

Three young bands put their talents to good causes

Date published: 8/21/2008 By John Kovalchik 

From 1971′s Concert for Bangladesh to last year’s Live Earth, benefit concerts built on the idea that celebrities can use wealth and fame to benefit particular causes have thrived. 

Yet even on a smaller stage, it’s possible to make a difference in our own community. Kids Jamming for Kids was spawned from the idea of another Fredericksburg charity music show called Santa Jam. Brittany Frompovich, a music teacher in the area, took Santa Jam’s idea of donating to homeless shelters and applied it to her own students playing the music they have learned from her in a concert atmosphere. 

Thus, Kids Jamming for Kids was born. Although it is still young, the small organization made the large donation of 240 pounds of food to the local food bank with its first show. For KJFK’s next show, it has decided to create an alliance with another nascent charity group in Fredericksburg called Guitars Not Guns. The idea is somewhat similar to Vh1′s Save the Music Foundation, which gives musical education to underprivileged children in urban settings. Guitars Not Guns takes guitar-savvy volunteers and has them give lessons to at-risk kids. 

With these two organizations working together, not only will the organizers of Saturday’s show at Four Winds Campground (off U.S. 17 south in Rappahannock Academy) be collecting nonperishable food items, they will also be donating the money collected from a $5 entry fee to Guitars Not Guns. 

The event will feature a diverse group of kids jamming their hardest to provide a positive outlet for Fredericksburg youths. The bands performing are No Sign of Mourning, playing bluesy classic rock; Anything Ceol, jamming to Celtic rock; and The Red Light Effect, playing their brand of experimental indie. 

“I definitely think it will be a unique show,” said Dylan Vasey, the guitarist and lead singer for The Red Light Effect. “I’ve never played a gig with this big a tie with a well-known charity organization.” 

So come out and enjoy some music and the last great days of summer by dancing around outside–and as an added plus, you will be helping out a wonderful cause. 

John Kovalchik is a rising sophomore at Stafford High School.

Pitchfork has recently announced, the comming of a Cribs/Thermals split.

First things first, I’m very excited. I love both the Thermals and the Cribs  very much. But, what I do not love is Pitchfork. It’s true Pitchfork has introduced me to a lot of great bands I now love, maybe even more than the Thermals and the Cribs if thats possible, but I have a few gripes about Pitchfork. It’s on top of new music so much and so quickly that it may be a bad thing. I’m all for staying current and timely, but I am not for what John Davis called (in my last blog) as disposable music or as Henry Rollins has called it soft serve. Here’s your CD!  

Not only do people rely on these types of sites too much for their source of music, but they’re are two faced. The sites that is. “The New Fellas” by the Cribs was a fantastic album and what I believe as their best. Simplistic, scratchy, Brit-pop — the Cribs. Right? (Pitchfork awarded this album a three.)

A while back I wrote a review of the Cribs’ fourth Album “Ignore the Ignorant”. It was unfavorable. The review that is. (Pitchfork awarded this album a seven.)

But to stay on topic, I’m hoping the split will renew my faith in the now four-piece punk group.

I support my reasons for disagreeing with Pitchfork in the following article as it was published in the Free-Lance Star.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/012010/01152010/520663/index_html

The addition of veteran alt-rocker Johnny Marr doesn’t improve on The Cribs’ sound

Date published: 1/15/2010BY JOHN KOVALCHIK 

Say what you will about hokey family acts such as The Osmonds or The Jonas Brothers, but there is a chemistry in a trio of siblings that other groups simply lack.

The Cribs, founded by brothers Gary, Ryan and Ross Jarman, are defined by their simplistic song style and scratchy post-punk guitar riffs.

Their past three albums embody the energetic live performances and catchiness of the band that has put them on par with more notable Brit-pop acts such as The Libertines or the Arctic Monkeys.

Although it was no coincidence, when the group recorded its fourth album “Ignore The Ignorant” new member Johnny Marr seemed more out of place than ZZ Top would jamming with The Partridge Family.

Marr, former guitarist of The Smiths and current guitarist for Modest Mouse, officially joined The Cribs in 2008. He is considered by some as one of the most influential guitar players of modern music for his work combining rockabilly sounds (as well as many others) with pop music.

Just as “Ignore The Ignorant” marks a departure for The Cribs from their former style, the other acts that Marr is associated with stand in stark contrast, stylistically, with his new project.

The first single from the album, “Cheat On Me,” incorporates Marr’s down-tempo and warm guitar tone into the brothers’ song structure. But this is one of only a few songs that manages to do so appropriately. Unfortunately, most tracks on the album are a motley crew of drudgingly long, uninteresting instrumentation.While some may have hoped (most likely The Cribs themselves) that the addition of Johnny Marr would bring more success and fans, veteran listeners will be disappointed in the band’s new direction.

John Kovalchik is a junior at Stafford High School.

Another lucky interview I got as a sophmore in High school was one with Drummer/Guitarist John Davis. He was going to headline an FAA (Fredericksburg All Ages, see ‘links’) show with Georgie James. At that point in time I thought Saddle Creek Records was from the utopian future where everyone had prefect indie-pop melodies broadcast to their brain 24/7 and Tokyo Police Club was the band that built the time machine that brought them to this dismal time period. I have since reconsidered. Although that doesn’t mean that I still don’t love just about everything they put out (i.e. Land of Talk, Two Gallants, Cursive).

Despite my mad love for Saddle Creek, I was most excited about about the interview because I could talk about his connections with DC cult label Dischord. Q and Not U (for who Davis had played drums for) was a very influential band, especially here in Fredericksburg because as with most DC bands their tunes tend to resonate a little farther south. Occasionally we’ll get them to pass through and it’s always a party (specifically and debatably the most party-able would have to be Travis Morrison and the Hell Fighters. But thats a different blog)

Georgie James in Fredericksburg

I think Davis was a little taken aback when I asked him so much about his past expiriences with other bands. It was a little off-topic but it was what I was interested in and it made for good quotes. Another tangent that I decided to travel down was the subject of the internet, illegally downloading and even things like this and their affect on music. He got a little, I wouldn’t say worked up about it, but he had some strong feelings on the subject. I thought it was nice that there are people so passionate about such things, but again a different subject for a different blog.

Just to test out a few of the features that WordPress has to offer I think I am going to incorporate a poll up in this blog. As I said before, although I have mad love for Saddle Creek and even though there is a Georgie James 45 on my desk I would have to say that I enjoy John Davis’ work with Dischord much better. Not only as a Drummer in Q and Not U but also as a guitarist in the Title Tracks (also currently on Dischord). What is your opinion?   

The article as it was published follows.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/042008/04032008/368048/index_html

First Person

An interview with indie music persona John Davis, focusing on trends in the music scene and the transitions in his musical career

Date published: 4/3/2008

BY JOHN KOVALCHIK 

On Saturday, Saddle Creek Records group Georgie James will headline an all-ages show at The Third Floor. The band is a collaboration between John Davis, formerly the drummer of Washington indie band Q and Not U, and singer-songwriter Laura Burhenna. Davis spoke with it! recently about his transition of bands and record labels and his feelings on the current music scene. The edited transcript is as follows: 

it!: How does Q and Not U compare with Georgie James? 

John Davis: I didn’t write as much with Q and Not U in terms of main parts. Later on in the band I tended to contribute more. But with Georgie James, I was a lot more involved in the songwriting. 

it!: Do you like playing drums more or being the frontman? 

JD: I definitely like playing guitar better. I like the drums, but guitar was my first instrument. It’s what I’ve really always played. I didn’t really play drums until Q and Not U. Chris [Richards], the guy that was putting the band together, needed a drummer, and I played a little bit and I thought, “Sure, why not?” not thinking it was going to turn into the full-time band that it became. 

it!: What major bands does Georgie James pull their influences from? 

JD: It’s more “rock canon” type of stuff, like The Kinks, The Beatles, Beach Boys, Zombies, Simon and Garfunkel Buts it’s just as equally influenced by The Gems [and the] Flaming Groovies. But also country music–I’m a big fan of George Jones Jim Reeves. I like a lot of soft-rock type of junk like Bread and America. A lot of the easy-listening stuff of the late ’60s, like the cool jazz of the late ’50s, some Memphis soul, all types of stuff. 

it!: How does [former label] Dischord Records compare with Saddle Creek Records? 

JD: They’re both coming from the same place–that is, in the D.I.Y., independent punk kind of subculture, and they keep those ethics in mind. 

Saddle Creek is much more of a normal record company. They heavily promote their records and they push it through all of those media outlets out there. But they also keep in mind that they do it tastefully, which a lot of labels don’t. Dischord is more “organic,” where they say that it’s out there and make it available, but [are] not going to really push it upon people. 

it!: Do you think you could get any more Saddle Creek bands to play in Fredericksburg? 

JD: I would think so–I think they all would. I mean, I don’t know one that wouldn’t. But some tour more than others. In many ways, I’m still getting to know the bands and the roster. 

it!: How does the D.C. environment stack up with other indie scenes around the county? 

JD: Well, it’s certainly unique. But I feel the D.C. [scene] has changed since the time I grew up in it. I feel like there’s less of a focus [on] D.I.Y. and punk. I’m not sure–I may be out of touch. 

it!: What made you choose the name Georgie James? 

JD: You know, I’m not that big of a believer in band names. I don’t want it to be horrible, but I feel like we should just do it and get it out there. 

Lauren and I were talking for months about a name while we were writing all the songs, and we both liked the idea of it being like a person’s name. I said I really liked the names like “Georgie Fame” or “Chris Rainbow”–one of those names that are obviously a stage name. And we were saying we really liked Georgie Fame, who had been a singer in the ’60s. I had recently read a biography of James Taylor, so I was thinking, “What about ‘Georgie Taylor’ or ‘Georgie James’?” Then everybody thought, “Oh, ‘Georgie James’ is OK,” and that was pretty much it. 

John Kovalchik is a freshman at Stafford High School.

This is my first blog and to test it all out I’m posting a slew of my old articles that I am very proud of. 

I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to interview Tommy Ramone, and not only that but then win an award for it. I was happy just to have voice on tape, just to feel like I was “in the biz” or some sort of big shot that I wasn’t. It was a pretty cool chain of events for then 15 year-old John. It’s only the cherry-on-top that I happen to idolize the teenagers who took that rocket to russia. Now I’ve got a conversation of ours on cassette. “Ramones Mania” was the first CD I ever owned, and it was a burned copy at that. The compilation disc was the best thing, in my fourth grade mind, to have ever come out of headphones. 

This first article won first place in the youth division for feature writing at the 2009 All-Star Jounalist awards hosted by The Free-Lance Star. 

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/102008/10022008/414436 

Cover Story

Tommy Ramone speaks on his migration from punk to bluegrass

Date published: 10/2/2008 

BY JOHN KOVALCHIK  

It’s New York, 1974, and you’re a strapping young man of 22. You could either:  

(A) work hard on your master’s degree to climb your way up the corporate ladder;  

(B) travel down to Southern California, enjoy a cool beverage in a coconut and partake in some soul-searching; or  

(C) decide to manage an up-and-coming group of young musicians and spearhead a revolutionary movement that will shape most of modern music; lie low for a couple of years; and, from there, take the obvious route of starting a bluegrass duo.  

The third choice is the one that led Thomas Erdelyi–better known to legions of punk fans as Tommy Ramone–to where he is today. Erdelyi, the last surviving member of punk’s legendary Ramones to have been in the band during its ’70s heyday, will visit Jammin’ Java in Vienna next Tuesday as part of his current project, Uncle Monk.  

Thinking back to his early days, Erdelyi said in a recent phone interview that it was seeing another band perform that shaped the Hungarian-born recording engineer’s future as one of the founding fathers of American punk.  

“What had happened was that I saw the New York Dolls,” he began.  

“And at that time, what was happening in the mainstream music was progressive rock–and the New York Dolls were such a refreshing change from that. And I saw that even though they lacked virtuosity, their ideas were fresh and interesting. So, I thought about the guys I knew from my hometown of Forest Hills, N.Y.–a bunch of neurotic, fascinating people that I thought would make an interesting band, [and] I put them together.”  

HEY HO, LET’S GO  

At first, the lineup included guitarist John Cummings, drummer Jeff Hyman and bassist/vocalist Douglas Colvin, with Erdelyi acting as the band’s manager and producer. But, in keeping with the band’s “anything goes” attitude, several changes came about that would soon be etched into the musical consciousness of millions.  

Cummings, Hyman and Colvin changed their names to Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee Ramone, respectively. And the band moved Joey up to take Dee Dee’s place on vocals, opening the drummer’s seat for Erdelyi, who became Tommy Ramone. 

Even with the band’s name and instruments settled, though, Erdelyi never would have imagined that he and his bandmates could invent their own style of music.  

“It was like a good concept–I didn’t actually know that they would show up with original songs,” he said.  

“They showed up with these really strange songs, so it was even better than I expected. So, right from the start, it was very promising, and it grew from there.”  

BEHIND THE SCENES  

With his new band rocketing forward, Erdelyi resumed his promising career as a producer. Although he was in the Ramones for only four years, it was during their golden era–and Erdelyi, who brought a wealth of prior recording knowledge to the table, can be credited with a lot of the band’s studio success.  

Though drummers rarely get their due, Erdelyi’s work behind the scenes–including laying down many of the band’s guitar solos–helped shape the sound.  

“I was very heavily involved in the aspects of the recording of it. Pretty much, the guys would lay down the basic tracks in one or two days, then we would do the vocals for another two days, then we would spend a month or more just me, by myself, with the engineer and co-producers, working on the rest of it. It was a very creative time, and that’s kind of how we made the records. And I’d stick to myself and do the guitar parts that John didn’t feel like doing.”  

Erdelyi’s production talent shone through on four Ramones albums, including their 1976 self-titled debut and 1977′s “Rocket to Russia”–the band’s third album and Erdelyi’s favorite, he said. “That was just a fun project to do, and it was the Ramones at their peak.”  

After leaving the band, Erdelyi lent his production talent to other projects–most notably The Replacements’ 1985 album, “Tim.”  

FROM PUNK TO MONK  

From this long, legendary musical resume, where do you go? How do you build upon the ultimate punk success?  

The only logical answer is the creation of a bluegrass duo, of course.  

“I’ve always been into bluegrass since I was a kid,” Erdelyi said. 

“When we came to this country [from Hungary], my father would bring home records from the library and we would make tape copies of old-time music and bluegrass and string-band music and folk music and things like that. So I sort of grew up listening to it, and it’s always been a favorite.”  

With his most recent project, called Uncle Monk, Erdelyi and collaborator Claudia Tienan have been able to play the music he has been listening to for so long. Like so many things in Erdelyi’s career, though, the project has seen changes from its initial concept–and a few surprise twists along the way.  

“About 15 years ago, I got a banjo and a mandolin, and I just fell in love with the instruments,” Erdelyi said.  

“We started incorporating it into the band I had at the time, which was also called Uncle Monk–it was sorta like a jam-band trio. Then we started incorporating bluegrass elements into it–and then it evolved into what we’re doing now, which is like a duo at the present time. Then it became acoustic, and we just love the sound of acoustic instruments.”  

In addition to old-time and bluegrass influences of the early 20th century, Uncle Monk also draws from more modern country and Americana singers, such as Steve Earle.  

“A lot of the song structure is very modern. Songs’ themes are pretty modern,” said Erdelyi.  

“We use bluegrass instruments and maybe some bluegrass feel–but the songs are tinged in modern ways. We aren’t one of these bands that say, ‘This song is about having a good time.’ We’re a serious act that uses string-band instruments to create what we’re dong.”  

Erdelyi also said that, at this phase in his life, he prefers the laid-back atmosphere of Uncle Monk shows to that of the Ramones.  

“Since we’re a duo it’s less chaos involved in everything. I’m enjoying it much more now. We’re sort of playing the same cities now–I just have a different perspective. It’s much calmer and more pleasant, actually.”  

STILL A REBEL 

While bluegrass may seem like the antithesis of the rebellious punk movement in which Erdelyi played such a large role, the two genres aren’t really that different, he said. Both support home-grown, do-it-yourself ethics, community building and musical fun. (Ironically, CBGB’s, the famous lower Manhattan club that gave birth to the Ramones, is short for “Country, Blue Grass, Blues.”)  

“Of course, punk is electric and loud and things like that–but underneath the framework, the type of songs involved and the topics they deal with, they are really very similar,” said Erdelyi.  

“I’m just in a stage in my life where I like acoustic music. If the punk fans would listen to the music, I’m sure they’d like it, too.”  

Even so, Erdelyi cautioned Ramones fans not to show up at an Uncle Monk show expecting to hear their old favorites–or anything that resembles them.  

“We try to make it clear that what we’re doing now is, although related to what we were doing, not punk rock,” he said.  

Instead, fans should bring an open mind and be prepared to hear something different and new–much as Erdelyi did when he first heard the New York Dolls more than 30 years ago.  

“The audiences like what we’re doing, and the Ramones fans like it, too. They may not understand why they like it–because a lot of times they haven’t really heard music like this–but I think they like it because it’s really a continuation of what I’ve always been doing, really. Lyrically and scene-wise, the songs are basically from the same sources–it’s just acoustic and not so frantic.”  

John Kovalchik is a sophomore at Stafford High School.