TVD’s The Idelic Hour with Jon Sidel

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I spent the early part of this week completely absorbed with the business of music. Here at Idelic Sounds/Sidel Services I work on what I call “artist solutions.” Basically as I see it, I help artists release records. It’s my life’s work and rock n roll journey. As I’ve written time and time again, my life, this column, and these mixes are really about two things—cool people and songs.

The origins of this week’s Idelic Hour muse “Please Stay,” started about a couple of years ago. I went to a very out of the way hip hop club in far east LA to hear a new band, School of Seven Bells. The band was amazing and much to my surprise was the brainchild of Ben Curtis former member of The Secret Machines.

I like the idea of having a company motto, so I of course have many. One of which is “for a cool band, I’ll do a deal anywhere, anytime, to anyone, for any price” Ha ha! And so through a small chain of events I brokered a deal for SOSB’s. Shortly after I was at a “7 Bells” show standing outside the Troubadour club with my guitar dealer pal legendary, Ricky “Chud King” Mahler, who introduced me to a friend of Ben and Brandon Curtis named Lu Lu.

The next thing I knew I was helping Brandon and Josh Garza release a single and plot The Machines’s next move. Crazy thing was Brandon had writer’s block, and in an ironic twist of fate, he joined Interpol two weeks after I brokered an Interpol record deal for Europe.

Ok yes, I’m feeling very self serving today. April Fools no joke—the “Idelic Family” of artists runs deep!

It was about that time drummer Garza mentioned he had been sitting in with Diego Garcia’s new band. I’ve always felt Elefant was a band that you wanted to hate but was great. I think delightful is a cool word for Diego’s music. Anyway, Diego sent me a song and I immediately fell in love with his new project. We quickly bonded over taste in music and style and we’ve been working together feverishly on the indie release of his album which comes out next week.

Funny thing is by mid-week, consumed with all things “Diego,” I had not been listening to much of anything. I thought, “Oh no where will my Idelic playlist come from?” Then it dawned on me as I was listening to “Stay,” the song I’ve been plugging.

What a classic rock n roll concept. It implies love and a longing and closeness and great songs from both Bowie and Pink Floyd. While Steve McBean and Mick Jones want to be free, Pains at Being Pure and the Gibb brothers are just happy to be alive. Ol Robert Zimmerman, Rod Stewart, Bob Hilliard , Lorraine Ellison, and seem to have someone specific in mind—and so do I.

Stick around and have a listen…