No Less America

Im sitting outside on the balcony of my fiance's los angeles apartment...deciding now might be a good time to blog it up...to be honest i normally would rather be doing something else other than blogging but these days mr. miller has convinced me that this is important...so i will try to maintain a genuine point of view and report as often as i see fit...

now...first off...that game was not a draw. oooh...im watchin you buffa.

second...alot of folks slag on the city of los angeles...and sure...there are plenty of things to attack about the place...there is a superficial surface enough to drive anyone to screaming vulgarities out car windows at the 3 miles of traffic down the 101...but these days i find more to love than hate...perhaps its the very thing that i came to hate about the city a year ago that i now love...there are thousands of people wandering around talking about who they know or who they saw or what they do at work or what car they drive...initially i was turned off by the constant chatter of the mid day shuffle...however...im reminded of my days in small towns talking to the same folks at the same shops every day...i loved those towns in the end and came to really appreciate the quieter side of life...often times there was the complaint that nothing was going on...or that they wanted to get out...then i moved to los angeles and everyone talks about how they they cant stand when folks brag about how successful they are...however, ive developed a certain appreciation for the fact that all of these people moved here to follow some romantic ideal of what they think they should be doing...i hated to see dreams dashed upon the rocks...but thats just it...these people came out for the opportunity to have their dreams dashed upon something other than their worried mind...out here there are real life sirens and rocks and tempestuous storms..to me, its just as valid as the quiet coffeeshop towns i came from...being a man who cant rightfully claim to be from anywhere in particular i can proudly state "i am from here" and feel ok about it...there are things to love and things to hate about anywhere you go...its a matter of seeing both sides of the fence...and maybe that little bit of mid day chatter is enough to make people feel like they are getting closer to something they are chasing...i dont need it...we dont need it...but it certainly makes for interesting table talk...its all just america...and its no less america than towns with a population of 500...in other words..."love your brother" or however that shit went...and if you dont love him...at least try to dig what a fucking weirdo he is...my brothers are all glorious weirdos.

third...why are bagels so delicious? i mean...they're just bread shaped like a donut. or are they?

m-

First US Review of the new record.

tAN Album Review:
Michael Mazochi - http://www.myspace.com/michaelmazochi
Volume 1: Until My Teeth Turn Into Sand ...
© 2006-2007 Roving Gambler Records

Michael Mazochi, currently residing in the Los Angeles, CA music scene and with his latest third album, Volume 1: Until My Teeth Turn Into Sand ... presents a masterful musical exploration that sounds of a traveler from present dipping into a bygone era, when the singer / songwriter was king on the charts and in the hearts of the mainstream consciousness. Familiarly original, with a comforting intimacy, and playful feel, Volume 1: … reverberates with the styles of country, folk, blues, and rock along a raw edge of punk / alternative that speak through on occasion. Michael crafts his songs of passion and observational love into a genuine expression of original viewing that ignites the imagination and memories within, like a good old friend visiting after a long absence. Invoking the music styling of Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, and Bob Dylan. Michael rises to the ranks on a sure footing with guitar and harmonica in hand, ready to speak his soul.

Volume 1: Until My Teeth Turn Into Sand ... is a 15 track album that starts out with Introduction, a two-minute instrumental track that sounds like a train traveling down the line on a moon lit evening, entering a world of time spent here and there. Lately I, invites the listener into a joyous romp with chorus and cheers in foreign lands and the friends made along the way. Georgia Line, steps up the pace with steam and a bluesy wailing harmonica, preaching a song of women. The Tide Of Earthly Deed, one of the highlights of this album and a personal favorite with its lush and plaintive voicing that stay with you pleasantly like the company of a dear friend with delicate guitar workings intertwined throughout. The Old Rails, calls to the listener to take notice of the happenings that came before with a straightforward tale of travel through the heartland alone but with many friends along the way. To Set You Free, pleats to heartache and loss with lyrics as "My lungs are wearing lines into my face …" When Will It End, is a rocking observational onslaught with band (the Widows) asking why … "Kids carry guns as they shoot out the sun. So they blacken their ties to the holiest one."

Volume 1: Until My Teeth Turn Into Sand ... is a masterpiece album that needs to be taken notice of and one of the best I have heard in the last few years. Michael Mazochi, is said to be working on composing a rock opera next, an artist to definitely watch and listen for, playing live or in the studio.

- David Leikam (reviewed, 30.01.2008)

This passage was a review of Volume 1 by David Leikam. In Fact its the first review of the new record by anyone nationwide. David Runs a website called "The Arts Noticed" or "tAN." The sites main goal is to promote art and to raise awareness for the artist. David doesn't just cover music but all forms of art. Either way, check out Davids work. Hes a good fellow for a good cause. You obviously dont have to, but if you would like to support The Arts Noticed you can donate to Davids cause by clicking here.

The Kinks - Face to Face

The Kinks - Face to Face -

To Kinks fans, "Face to Face" represents the start of the golden age. It is the first in a series of brilliant albums from the brothers Davies. However, before the album became legendary it was simply the new Kinks record. Released in 1966, the album represented a new direction for the brothers. Before Face to Face the kinks were (as many of the british invasion bands were) a good little R&B/Blues covers band with a couple of good singles. OK OK, they were great songs, but the band had yet to deliver a great ALBUM of original songs. On Face to Face, Ray Davies starts to develop the themes he would write about for years to come. Davies dealt with themes of British class, nostalgia, and quite simply...home.

I admit, ive never had the pleasure of hearing this album uninfluenced by critical reviews and 40 years of legend building. The album I bought 5 years ago had a slew of bonus tracks and a list of reasons as to why i should listen. The fact of the matter is that Im a stubborn bastard and its much easier for me to discount something that a few snotty kids tell me to listen to. That being said, Face to Face was impossible to discount.

The album starts with "Party Line." Its a great little pop song recalling the kinks earlier records. From there, the album maintains an unbelievably high standard of songwriting, melody, stylistic attitude, and genuinely heartfelt music. The now iconic "Hello, who's that speaking please" that begins the album was actually part of Ray Davies's attempt to make Face to Face into one of the first concept albums. Davies wanted to link the songs together with soundclips. Hence the ringing phone to start the album, the thunder and rain on "Rainy Day in June" and the waves in "Holiday in Waikiki." Although the idea was never taken to completion, it certainly does provide for some playful listening.

The album continues with "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home." The song was inspired by Ray Davies desire to see his sister again and keep his family together. Sure, it sounds mundane by this description, but the listener must understand that family was not a popular idea in rock n roll in the 1960s. It wasn't until the turn of 1969 that The Band made family cool again. This, however, was 1966.

"Dandy" jangles and bites with the best of the Kinks earlier singles but with a beatlesque sense of melody. Ray Davies writes, "Someday when you're old you will remember what they said. Two girls are too many, threes a crowd, and four your dead." "Too Much on My Mind" shows Davies growing increasingly introspective about the pressures of fame and art. These are not songs to hold hands to. Davies was starting to unwrap at the seams and he knew it. After all what do we do once we get where we were supposed to be going? What if we get what we so desperately want, and its not what we thought it would be?

A number of the songs on "Face to Face" are about the simple life. Many of the songs mock the ideas of what similarly parallels "the american dream." So what if everyone doesn't want the "House in the Country" or the "Holiday in Waikiki." Ray seemed to worry an awful lot.

This new direction even found The Kinks (like the Beatles) experimenting with the sounds of the eastern cultures. "Fancy" rests heavily on an Indian sounding foundation with the drone of guitar recalling that of a Sitar. The Beatles did it on a larger scale partly due to their level of fame and limelight but the Kinks were right there.

"The taxman's taken all my dough, and left me in my stately home. Lazing on a sunny afternoon." Thus begins perhaps the albums standout track. "Sunny Afternoon" is 3:33 of the best that pop music has to offer. The first 30 seconds of the song recalls Spoon 35 years before Spoon happened. Seemlessly drifting in and out of pop, rock n roll, folk, ragtime, americana, english dancehall, and blues in the course of one song, The Kinks deliver not only one of their greatest songs but one of the greatest songs by anyone.

One last song ("Ill Remember") and the Kinks leave you with a complete mindfuck of pop glory. However, the truely impressive thing about Face to Face goes beyond the 14 songs that compose the original release. The reissue i first purchased contained 7 bonus tracks. Thinking that outtakes and bonus tracks are for people who cant seem to find something new to listen to, I resisted letting the album play through to the end. One afternoon I left the stereo on and track 14 came and went. From there, once a song I found myself running to the liner notes to read about the bonus track I was listening to. I guess that this is where i learned that there was a time when bands didn't plug an album with 2 singles and a bunch of filler. The Kinks, like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who left us with a set of singles and B-sides as good as anything on their records. These weren't bands content with 10 songs of hipster vomit.

In the end, this is what i call gut music, The only music worth listening to. The Kinks were a hard working band fronted by pops great conflicting brothers (apologies to liam and noel). The music is not consciously cool or thoughtfully hip. These days, a band that makes 2 decent albums gets called the greatest band of our generation. That being said, I would hold up The Kinks "Face to Face" against either of the Arcade Fires "masterpieces" any day of the week. The funny thing, is that this isn't even the kinks crowning achievement. There were 5 more great Kinks records to follow "Face to Face" one at a time. Each of them, better than anything playing on our radio today. Either way "Face to Face" stands in my mind as one of the finest records of the British Invasion and in all of popular music. So go have a listen and feel bad that we get to choose between half baked indie rock and Nickleback.

Come on radio America! where are your guts?

"Face to Face" is one of the reasons i started writing my own songs.

and for the sake of us all "GOD SAVE THE KINKS!"

mm

The Beginning Of Something.

Hello. So It has been decided that each of us in the band need to blog so as to allow people to know who we are as individuals...So this is the beginning of something...Ill do my best to keep people entertained beyond the music that we make...Album reviews and general rants will be part of it...I figure it might be interesting to some of you to hear what someone making records actually thinks about records...so here goes nothing.

if you stumble upon this and dont know who we are...here!

www.myspace.com/michaelmazochi