Author Archives: Jon Pacella

Every vinyl lover has been in this situation before: you are at your local record store digging through the crates. You have already picked through the good stuff like Beatles mono releases and original pressings of Ummagumma by Pink Floyd. You make your way over to the bargain bin—the cheap stuff—we’re talking $1-$3 here, and that’s when you find it. That one record you might not normally buy, but for $2? Why the hell not. It may have those familiar words on the price tag, Surface Noise. It comes with the territory in the bargain bin—wear and tear means a lower price tag, but it is here that we discover new things, whether they be amazing, horrifying, or sometimes even stupefying.

That’s what this column will be dedicated to—those wonderful bargain bin gems that we find while crate digging, the albums we might not give a second thought to, but for the low price, it’s suddenly worth it. With every installment of Surface Noise, I will explore the overlooked, eclectic, wacky, and just plain weird. Soundtracks to ’60s biker movies. A double LP of Polynesian Fire Dances. Maybe even some long-forgotten rock albums, like Head East, or the Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack. I will find the best of the bargain bin, and I won’t spend more than $5 doing it.

Now that you’ve got where I’m going with this, let’s take a look at this week’s pick. Flipping through the $1 bin at Som Records one day after work, I came across this gem. From 1994, Tchan Nan Nan Nan Nan was D.F.C.‘s debut album. I had never heard of them, I just saw the outrageous cover art and had to at least give it a listen. I took it over to the in-store turntable, dropped the needle, and was floored by what was assaulting my ears.

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The genre of stoner rock has roots in bands like Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, but few bands contributed more to the modern era of stoner rock than Kyuss. When John Garcia started the punk/metal influenced Katzenjammer with his buddies Josh Homme and Brandt Bjork back in 1987, they had no idea that they would turn a whole genre on its heels. Not only did Kyuss help define modern stoner rock, but they took the age-old heaviness of their predecessors, hauled it out into the arid heat of the Palm Desert, and baked it into a whole new genre. Desert rock was born and began what became known as the Palm Desert Scene. 

All good things must end and Kyuss split in 1995 and went their separate ways. Homme formed Queens of the Stone Age with Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri, and singer Garcia forged his own path. Building a resume of strong bands and varied guest appearances, Garcia has maintained a steady journeyman status…until now.

In 2014, John finally releases his opus, the album he always wanted to record but didn’t. (Spoiler alert: the album kills.) I found John to be like a spotlight—bright and beaming for all to see when we talked about his new album and his family, but leaving the stage a bit dark when the subject of the past came up. This is a more mature, focused John Garcia than I’ve ever seen, one who is ready to rip the rear view mirror off of the windshield and haul ass into whatever the future holds.

Hi John! How are you doing?

I’m doing good, doing good! They’ve got me doing a little bit of press today, they didn’t slap it on me too heavy, so that’s good. Things have been alright here. Where are you calling from?

I’m right outside of DC.

Oh alright, cool.

Just got back from a wonderful weekend in LA, and I miss it already.

Yeah, I was at the beach yesterday with my kids and it was just beautiful. Today’s a little overcast, but you can’t beat California weather sometimes.

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The Spaceman. Say those two words to almost any rock and roll fan and the instant recognition of Ace Frehley will be met with a still vital memory from a childhood love of Kiss. For some, it might be a funny story—like the now infamous interview on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder—or how nearly getting electrocuted on stage inspired Ace to write Kiss’ classic, “Shock Me.” Maybe you’ll hear they too, along with many others, stood in front of the bedroom mirror pretending to play “Deuce” or “Love Gun.” The former cab driver from New York City is in an elite group of rock guitarists who have made such an impact on people.

During his time with Kiss, Ace crafted some of the most memorable riffs in rock music. His live stunts in the ’70s became the stuff of legend—the smoking Les Paul that floated up to the top of the arena, the guitar that lit up or shot fireballs from its headstock. These and other over-the-top aspects of Kiss’ stage show would change the face of rock and roll and would become ingrained in the minds of every Kiss fan for years afterward. Unfortunately alcohol would become a monkey on Ace’s back which led to his exit from the band. This burden stayed with him throughout his post-Kiss career, both solo and with Frehley’s Comet.

Presently enjoying a life of sobriety, Ace made his comeback in 2009 with the critically acclaimed Anomaly. Now, in 2014, Ace is about to unleash his first new album in five years, the aptly titled Space Invader.

This new life hasn’t been without its own public trials however—mainly with his former bandmates. After a media circus surrounding Kiss’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, there’s been a tug of war in the press, ending the induction celebration on a sour note. Looking past this and forward to the arrival of Space Invader on August 19th, we took the opportunity to talk to Ace about the new album, sobriety, and sure, vinyl.

Hi Ace! How’s it going?

Great! I’m in San Diego, looking forward to going to New York next week. I’m doing Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night. I’m sitting in with The Roots.

I heard about that. Sounds like that’s going to be pretty awesome.

Yeah! I’m doing some signings and other press, radio and stuff. It should be a great week.

You’ve been clean and sober now for, what about eight years?

Yeah, it will be eight years on September 15th.

Congratulations, that’s amazing.

Thanks.

What has been the most surprising aspect of sobriety, for you personally?

I think it shows in this new record, I was really focused when I went in, I knew what I wanted and I went after it. It’s nice to wake up the next day and remember what you did the night before. There’s a lot of plusses to sobriety.

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Over the past few years, I have managed to broaden my musical horizons by leaps and bounds. I began discovering artists entrenched in the roots who reflected a time-tested aesthetic in American music. This aesthetic is one where the pomp and frills are left in the rear view, and what moves forward is pure, passionate, gritty, and real music.

Standing in stark contrast to the enormous commercial festivals around the US in the summertime, the annual Muddy Roots Music Festival in Cookeville, TN exists almost as an anti-festival, a place where this style and ethic is celebrated. A wonderland where, upon entering the grounds of the ranch, the outside world is left behind and all that matters are the people you are with and the music you are listening to. This year, I will be travelling to Cookeville, and will bring back to TVD a first-hand account of Muddy Roots. To put it simply—I can’t wait.

A year ago, TVD’s Charles Gray talked to Jason Galaz, the man behind Muddy Roots. We had the opportunity to revisit with Jason and catch up and he told us a bit about the fifth installment of his ever-growing annual hootenanny. After reading what Jason has to say, read on to find out how to win an exclusive, limited edition Muddy Roots Records 7″!

For those that don’t know, tell us a bit about the Muddy Roots Music Festival.

It sucks. There are no big names like Kanye West or Mumford & Sons. You have to pay $125 to watch a bunch of bands you never heard of plus camp with them. They stink. It’s like way out in the middle of nowhere. Yeah sure there is a bar but you have to bring your own liquor. There is no McDonalds! I mean, there isn’t even carnival food. We are stuck eating food cooked by real people at vendor booths all weekend. There even vegan vendors. YUCK!

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When I first listened to Zepparella, I wasn’t sure what to think at. I hadn’t previously given a lot of thought to tribute bands, but I hearing these ladies just crush some Led Zeppelin, I was blown away. I always dug the fact that they weren’t a carbon copy of Zep. They played it close enough to pay tribute, yet put enough of their own flair into it to really stand out.

Currently on a tour of the US, Zepparella had a show coming up at Jammin’ Java, and I was asked if I would interview guitarist Gretchen Menn, and drummer Clementine, the founding member of Zepparella. Their love of Zeppelin’s music goes deeper than your typical horn-throwing rock fanatic, and they are each outstanding musicians in their own right. I jumped at the opportunity, and after sound check was over, I was privileged to sit with Gretchen and Clementine, and among other things, ponder the possibility of a Loverboy tribute band.

What’s the latest with Zepparella?

Gretchen Menn: Well, we are a little more than halfway into this first kind of big, nationwide tour. Busy, playing a lot, driving a lot. Meeting new people. A lot of people have been supporting us for a long time.

Take us back to the beginning. Did it all start as a jam that grew into something bigger, or was the intent to pay homage all along?

Clementine: Gretchen and I were in a band that wasn’t playing as much as we wanted to play. I told her that I had always wanted to learn the catalog of Zeppelin, and she said she had wanted to do that too. We decided that we were going to get together and learn Bonham and Page stuff, and then pretty quickly we said “If we’re gonna do this, we should do it on stage.”

It’s not an easy feat, learning Bonham and Page. You say it very casually, “Oh, we’re just gonna learn some Bonham and Page.”

[Laughs all around] GM: Well, part of it is that we knew if we did it on stage, we’d be a lot more accountable. It’s one thing to get together and jam on stuff, but if you really want to go the distance and really make a study of something, it’s really helpful actually, to have the response of other people and the accountability of other people to make sure you’re really taking it seriously.

C: Plus, to be able to play with not just Page, but to play with John Paul Jones’ parts, and Plant parts too, I understand more fully why Bonham played what he did. What he was supporting, what he was hearing at that moment. It becomes really, kind of a deep musical experience.

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Lionheart. Y2J. Moongoose McQueen. The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla. Whatever name he’s gone by, the one thing that has remained a constant for Chris Jericho is entertainment.

First, he made a name for himself in the ECW, WCW, and WWE as one of the top wrestlers of his era. His musical passion saw the light in 1999 when Jericho joined guitarist Rich Ward in the cover band Fozzy Osbourne. Shortening their name to Fozzy in 2000, the band took off. Five albums and fourteen years later, Fozzy is preparing to release their sixth album, Do You Wanna Start a War this week. We had a chance to talk to Chris about the new album, Abba, doo-wop Slayer songs, vinyl, and much more.

You’ve been busy! Dates with Fozzy coming up, a new album coming out, and a big return to the WWE a week ago…

Yeah, it’s just par for the course for me, man. The WWE thing kinda just came about at the last minute because we were off the road with Fozzy for a couple of months. The timing just really worked out well. Always busy, man.

What’s your take on where the WWE is nowadays?

It’s great man. It a very reciprocal business. Characters come in, and take control, take charge. The WWE will never die, man. It continues to grow. As it grows, new people come in and freshen the scene up. It’s always a very exciting time.

Way back when Fozzy Osbourne was something you did for fun, doing covers, did you ever think it would morph into Fozzy and go as far as it has?

At the time, when we started, it was just a fun thing. It was a good way to get my feet wet in the music business. I had been a musician since I was twelve, but had never actually made a record or done tours. I think once we started doing our own thing and becoming an original band, especially when we made Fozzy the priority back in 2009, that’s when I would totally say, “Yes, I expected this,” because I wanted to be the biggest band in the world.

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When you say the phrase “live rock album,” one of the first albums on the lips of many a music fan is always Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive! From his early days with Humble Pie, to recording one of the best-selling live albums of all time, Frampton has established himself as in influential icon to many guitarists around the world. Now in the third act of his career, which involves everything from writing music for ballet to a traveling jam session with other guitar luminaries, Frampton is showing no sign of slowing down.

As he gears up to make 2014 a busy year, Peter took some time to talk to us about the past and the present, and even got surprised by an old review that he had never heard. What struck me most is the fact that Frampton, while fully embracing his past, has greeted the present with open arms, always looking to try something new and finding inspiration from artists of yesterday and today. If time had permitted we could have gone on for another hour.

You’re bringing Frampton’s Guitar Circus back this summer, along with a solo tour and a tour with the Doobie Brothers. You’re definitely making this an interesting year!

Yeah, it’s a three-pronged attack. It’s a solo tour, solo dates, Doobies date, co-headlining with them, which is an honor. Then the Guitar Circus, which will be in California only, I believe, in August-September.

Your new album, Hummingbird in a Box, is described as “Inspired by the Cincinnati Ballet.” That’s not your typical inspiration for a rock guitarist.

No. It came from writing some pieces of new music to be part of this performance we did in April of past year. In Cincinnati, three performances, we did older music in the first act, and the third act, but the second act, I wrote these seven pieces of music with Gordon Kennedy, my writing partner for many years now. They wanted to do just old music, and when I suggested that I actually write a half an hour of new music, they went berserk.

That’s where this came from, that’s why it’s inspired by them, and that’s why it’s a little different. It’s not like my normal type of stuff. It’s still me, it’s still got my flavor, but it’s definitely something that was very freeing to write, because there was no format to follow, as far as songs or instrumentals.

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