BAD MEETS EVIL

Its a safe bet that some some serious sh*t went down at the Fillmore West April 9-12, 1970.

Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead on the same bill. A devlish combination.

To quote Wolfgang's Vault, "this concert was another example of Bill Graham serving the fans both what they wanted and what they needed."

Miles recorded "Black Beauty" on the 10th, with the Quintet riding out the dark magic of his Bitches Brew trip. This version of the band included all star alums Airto Moreira, Jack DeJohnette and Chick Corea. Legend has it that Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh watched in awe from backstage as Davis and Co. ran the voodoo down.

Like Miles, the Dead were also at one of their several peaks of artistic reinvention in 1970. Surely their run at the Fillmore was wicked as well. Hear it for yourself.

Viva Cinema Cinema

I break bread often, but I never break bands. That is, until now.

Alright, I'd be lying if I took responsibility for any success that Cinema, Cinema has. One because they're friends, and two, they aren't that succesful. So this whole idea of breaking them is a bit off the mark. Nevertheless, they are on Spider Roll not because I know them, but because I enjoy their music.

I recall seeing Evan Gold (lead singer, guitarist and songwriter) at age 15 on the stage at The Spiral* in the East Village, doing a great Eddie Vedder impression with his then band Rise. Through the years, Evan has steadily grown into a true musical force, with a voice all his own, haunting lyrics, great melodies, excellent guitar skills plus a powerful, arresting stage presence.

It doesn't hurt that drummer Pat Fusco and bass player Chris Tropeano are a fantastic rhythm section.

Last night at Lit I was reminded about why I keep coming back to see Ev and the band. Their too brief, four song performance gave the audience a small taste of a band on the rise. Look out for Cinema, Cinema, coming soon to a theater near you.

*Interesting sidenote: Though long since closed, The Spiral was located at 244 East Houston, a stones throw from the site of Nikola Tesla's NYC laboratory where (circa 1890) you could find him fiddling with the spiral coil of his high-frequency transformer.

Your Own Personal Zelig

Now, I'll admit I dont read AM New York, but its partially because I dont commute to work via the subway. When I do pick it up, I find the stories to be newsworthy and well written.

What I mean to say is, it's not the NY Post (they, of course, do not get a link).

Anyway, it was cool to see that the cover story from Friday's issue featured two of my favorite late-night anchors, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. What was exciting was that the story in AM was one that I wrote about right here on this blog earlier in the week (scroll down...all three of you).

It may seem like I'm tooting my own horn here, and I suppose I am. But I'm beginning to wonder...has Spider Roll finally captured the zeitgeist?

Sure, thats exactly what it means.

Respect The Architects

Between Video on Demand and the make your own salad bar, the modern world is surrounded with opportunities to "have it your way." Everyone from Restoration Hardware to Kodak are getting in on the "design your own" phenom. A friend of mine was recently telling me about a website where you could even build your own eco-friendly house.

Lately, Ive been seeing alot of sneaker companies follow in Nike's footsteps (ok, maybe "lately" is not entirely accurate, marketers have been sweating Beaverton for years), allowing consumers to click and pick, so to speak, creating their own footwear.

The latest to get in on the game is Converse.

And due to my recent obsession with classic Vans, Id recommend checking out their site too.

THE WORD

TRUTHINESS

I was recently talking to friends at Comedy Central and was compelled to share that I felt the Colbert Report had surpassed The Daily Show in humor and plain old fashioned entertainment.

As the words slipped out of my mouth I thought I'd committed some form of basic cable sacrilege...Jon Stewart has provided me with years of joy. He pulls great guests, regularly cracks witty jokes and always challenges the hypocries of humanity in only the way Jon can do it...and his coverage of the 2006 mid term elections, should not be missed.

But something is missing...

OK...not just something, Stephen Colbert is missing (and what about the hysterical Steve Carell, or Mo Rocca, Nancy Walls and a handful of other talented comics...even Samantha Bee and Lewis Black are stopping by less and less frequently). Yes, Rob Corddry has done a great job of carrying the correspondent load. Please, please go see the brilliant 'Grand Heft Auto' here on CC's Motherload)...but it just aint the old Daily Show no mo.

On the other hand, The Report (ponounced rapport) is cracking with energy. I find myself laughing out loud nearly every time Colbert opens his mouth. Its called "truthiness" and ya know what, it's damn funny. And that's today's word.

Hellthee

2005
Ian Dougherty

http://www.splay.com/harold/

Stick A Boom

they just have way, way better isht in Japan...

MISSION accomplished

In addition to chunks of smoked gouda, I also enjoy good music. This should come as no surprise to the three people reading this blog...

But it never ceases to amaze me how may folks out there know more than I do (not only about music, but let's focus on that, because its the topic of this post).

Ever since I started working at SPIN Magazine my access to and my interest in music has grown exponentially (God bless OurTunes). Dont get me wrong, I already had a broad palette and a big collection- but my ears (and iPods) have been opened, thanks in no small part to the good folks at The Simple Mission.

Brought to us by founder, Elliot Aronow aka Elz (the shadowy figure above), TSM is consistently educational, typically humorous, and always a great source for the sounds you wouldnt hear otherwise. Its sorta like having a little museum-style audio tour through Other Music (without getting vibed out by the staff).

Visit Elz on the web and get learned.

cheese

now we smokin gouda

THE CREATURE STIRS

Ive only been writing on the blog since June 2005, so the fact that Radiohead is making its first appearance here is not that abnormal. Readers should savor it. Because the moment the band's songs start leaking or their bus wheels rolling, they will be a regular subject on Spider Roll.

Its been over 2 and half years since 'Hail to the Thief' was released and the band has only performed together live 10 times since December of 2003. Needless to say, news has been scarce from Oxford's favorite sons.

So it was very exciting to learn that Radiohead will be playing in June at Bonnaroo. Whatsmore, there is some talk of a US Tour in the first half of 2006. The bees are buzzing and well, so are their guitars; the group has been in the studio recording since as early as May of 05'...

Frontman Thom Yorke's Tuesday blog post on Dead Air Space offers a very Radiohead update:

wish away the nightmare
wish away the nightmare
you got a light you can feel it on your back
you got a light you can feel it on your back
you just got paid
you just got paid

so here we are with spike stent in our studio which now looks like NASA.
and we are being taken to task.we are having to shake the dust off. no more bullshit.
stop answering the phones and thinking of excuses to leave the building.
instead get on with it.
jonny said today that since we were last radiohead, between us, we've had six children or rather our partners have, this may perhaps have something to do with our lack of focus.
but as this rock n roll we aint supposed to discuss this. deny it every happened etc.
what bullshit.
of course there are the other distractions, sitting in the garden with your 12bore shotgun,
large orchestras doing drum machine noises,
getting suits made,
puppies,
canal boats,
beer,
modular synthesis,
lego,
tax investigations,
global warming and the end of life as we know it,
traffic,
deafness,
insanity,
normality.

whatever.