My friend Mike Watt is an extraordinary person. And who doesn’t love this guy?
He’ll be playing with Kira as Dos, this Sunday at The Prospector in Long Beach.
Hope to see you all.

Sunday, December 20 at 9pm
at The Prospector
2400 E. 7th St.
Long Beach, CA
(562) 438-3839

Photo above by John Eder taken from Hootpage
San Pedro, CA - 1994
Watt with his Les Paul signature bass.

This weekend American independent music lost one of it’s greatest drumming talents, and many in New York, Atlanta, and elsewhere lost a true friend and exuberant, buoyant spirit. Jerry (Gerhardt) Fuchs died early Sunday morning from an accidental fall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

For the better part of the past two decades Jerry lent his drumming skills to a number of influential indie bands, including Atlanta’s The Maritans, Brooklyn’s Turing Machine, and most recently !!!, The Juan Maclean, and Maserati. For those who had the honor of hearing his music and, especially, of seeing him perform live, he will be remembered as one of those rare musicians whose ability moved from mere mastery into the realms of the the ecstatic and transformative.

He was also a gifted designer and illustrator, and a truly wonderful person. I am honored to have called him a friend. Godspeed.

New York Times
A 2008 Village Voice article on Jerry
A remembrance from Henry Owings at Chunklet

You are invited to attend:

CONTRA MUNDUM II
Sunday, June 7, 2009
7PM

Private Issue New Age (PINA)
Anthony Pearson, artist, discusses Private Issue New Age recordings
(PINA), the final unexamined genre of rare records.

The talk will be followed by a DJ set of related music.

Mandrake
2692 S La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034
(between Venice Blvd and Washington Blvd)

www.mandrakebar.com
www.osloeditions.com

Erstwhile Brooklyn archivist BJ Rubin has spent the past year digitizing his collection of rare and out-of-print vinyl and posting them to his blog. Scratches, pops, and all, there is some amazing material here to discover. I’ve particularly been enjoying the fantastic early singles by Glass Candy.

“Brittle Women” is a dark disco-punk classic. Get it here.

THE GOAT and the Occasional Others

Thanks Michael

Lately I’ve been listening non-stop to Emitt Rhodes, an L.A. singer-songwriter who released three LPs in the early 1970s. Rhodes wrote, recorded, and played all of the instruments, working from a home studio in the city of Hawthorne. It’s well worth tracking down his now hard-to-find material. At the time of the release of his self-titled album in 1970 rumors circulated that he might somehow figure into the ‘Paul is dead’ conspiracy or have something to do with the Beatles. Whatever the case, the songs can’t be denied, and Emitt stands on his own as true pop genius.

Check here for a good introduction. Discography here.

“electric stimulus to face”
thanks Johan.