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Favorite Albums of 2009 by Chip Midnight

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Chip Midnight

Guess I’m not going to be looked at as a trendsetter this year. Believe me, I’m as surprised as anyone that my two favorite releases of the year were put out by bands that were active in the hair metal community in the late ’80s. But when I went back and scanned through iTunes to see what I listened to the most, these are the ones that were clear cut favorites.

1. Danger Danger – Revolve
The best CD of 1989 was released 20 years late! This b-list hair metal band brought original singer Ted Poley back for a reunion album filled with big hooks (“Hearts on the Highway”), bigger choruses (“That’s What I’m Talking About”), songs about girls (“Rocket to Your Heart”), guitar solos (“Ghost of Love”), and power ballads (“Fugitive”). Def Leppard and Bon Jovi’s recent efforts didn’t sound nearly this good.
Listen: Keep On Keepin’ On

2. Ray West – All Pointz West
Spread Eagle’s Ray West was my favorite singer from the sleaze-glam era (early ’90s). His solo debut may have been 15+ years in the making, but it was worth it as he updates Spread Eagle’s sound (which was similar to Skid Row, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue) by making it heavier and more aggressive (ala Godsmack, Disturbed, Killswitch Engage). I listened to this CD more than anything else this past summer.
Watch:Novacaine

3. The Damnwells – One Last Century
My fears that The Damnwells were done were unjustified and proven false when the band released this FREE album in February. The older carryovers (“55 Pictures”, “Bastards of Midnight”, “Down with the Ship”) were my favorites initially but I grew to love the collaborations Alex Dezen did with his wife, Angela (“Dandelion”, “Like it Is”), just as much as anything the band has previously done.
Download:One Last Century (full CD)

4. Jason Lytle – Yours Truly, The Commuter
Halfway through 2009, this album was my favorite. Though it’s billed under Lytle’s name, it’s really just an extension of the singer’s Grandaddy sound (spacey/dreamy indie-pop) and “Brand New Sun” may be one of the best, simplest pop songs released this year.
Watch: Brand New Sun

5. The Prairie Cartel – Where Did All My People Go?
Blake Smith and Mike Willison hinted at their electro-pop/sample fascination as members of the short-lived alt.rock band Caviar but bring that fascination to full fruition (along with Local H’s Scott Lucas) on The Prairie Cartel’s long overdue debut (most of these songs were on a demo CD the guys gave me at SXSW back in ’07). The versatility of the music allows The Prairie Cartel to perform it live as either a full band or in a DJ setting with Lucas singing over pre-recorded sounds loaded onto an iPod.
Download: Beautiful Shadow

6. Alberta Cross – Broken Side of Time
This swirling and noisy blend of dark, gothic southern-rock and psychedelic-tinged grunge evokes comparisons to artists such as Blind Melon, Dead Confederate, Mother Love Bone, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Kings of Leon.
Watch: ATX

7. Wye Oak – The Knot
Within the first 5 minutes of listening to The Knot, I emailed the band’s publicist and said something like, “Is it possible to fall in love with an entire CD before the second song has even ended? If so, I’ll drop to one knee and propose to Wye Oak on the spot.” With most songs going from soft to loud and then loud to soft, it’s little wonder that Wye Oak’s earned comparisons to Yo La Tengo, My Morning Jacket, and The Spinanes. The Knot is a beautiful sounding, and at time loud and chaotic, CD that knocked me out from the get-go.
Download: Take It In

8. Crippled Black Phoenix – The Resurrectionists / Night Raider
This collective of UK musicians was assembled by ex-Electric Wizard drummer Justin Greaves who was encouraged by Mogwai bassist (and CBP contributor) Dominic Aitchison to record the “endtime ballads” he’d been writing for years. Though you can pick up an abbreviated compilation of these 2 CDs boiled down into one package (200 Tons of Bad Luck), it’s worth spending a few extra bucks for both CDs that I’ve described as “Mogwai covering Pink Floyd for a movie soundtrack”.
Listen: Rise Up and Fight

9. Slayer – World Painted Blood
Tom Araya may feel like he’s closing in on retirement age but you couldn’t tell by the breakneck thrashing Araya, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo serve up on Slayer’s 10th studio album, their best since 1990′s Seasons in the Abyss. Typical subject matter is tackled throughout World Painted Blood (death, blood, war, evil) and Araya comes off as the creepy vocal counterpart to real-life villains like Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy.
Listen: World Painted Blood

10. Great Northern – Remind Me Where the Light Is
At it’s songwriting core (Solon Bixler, Rachel Stolte), Great Northern is still the same band that topped my “Favorites of 2007″ list; however, the departure of the rhythm section during the construction of this sophomore release may be partially responsible for the darker turn Great Northern took in 2009. If 2007′s Trading Twilight for Daylight was the soundtrack to a late Friday afternoon, then Remind Me Where the Light Is is the soundtrack to driving home after a night of indulgence.
Watch: Fingers

Picks 11-25 can be found on AtomicNed.com.

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Interview: Ray West (ex-Spread Eagle)

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Chip Midnight

I’ve written about my love of early ’90s sleaze metal band Spread Eagle before, including interviewing former bassist Rob DeLuca.

Spread Eagle singer Ray West just released his first solo album under the name All Pointz West (it’s the first thing he’s released – not counting a 3-song EP with the band Hostel, Inc. a year or two ago- in over 15 years) and it shies away from the early ’90s sound and goes for a much more contemporary metal sound.

Check out the interview I did with Ray over on AtomicNed.com.

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Sebastian Bach on tour with Poison

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Chip Midnight

Baz and Rob DeLuca

My birthday was yesterday. I didn’t celebrate. My real present came Sunday night courtesy of Rob DeLuca, bassist for Sebastian Bach‘s band, who hooked me up with killer seats for the Poison/Dokken/Sebastian Bach show at The Schott in Columbus. I’ve been a fan(atic) of DeLuca’s since his days slinging bass for Spread Eagle and though the band never blew up the way they should have, I still tell people about driving DeLuca and singer Ray West to a party in Akron after a Spread Eagle show at the Akron Agora in ’90 or ’91.

If you thinking about checking out one of the upcoming shows – there are still a month and a half of dates left – do yourself a HUGE favor and get your ass to the arena early to check out Baz and his band tear things up (here’s my review of the Columbus show).

After the jump … Rob DeLuca answers some questions I sent him via email on an off day on the tour.

Playing with Baz, I’m guessing, has given you your first arena touring experiences. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? As the opening act on both the GN’R and Poison tours, do you still get taken care of pretty nicely while on the road and playing arenas or is it basically the same as playing clubs only a lot more red tape?

Spread did a couple big festival shows but you’re right, Baz is where I’m getting most of my arena experience from. I’ve been lucky because we’ve been treated VERY well. We do work hard at getting the audience revved up, act professionally and respectfully. So I think that helps too.

I’ve heard Baz say different things about the Poison tour. I’ve heard your set is going to be exclusively stuff from Angel Down. I’ve also heard that some Skid Row songs will be tossed in. I’m sure fans are hoping for a Skid Row heavy set. Do you have a predetermined setlist for the whole tour or do you change it up every night or every couple of nights? (On a side note – I think Angel Down is AMAZING and would love if the whole set was stuff from that CD but the reality has to be that you’re playing to a Poison crowd so you probably have to toss in some Skid Row songs for the fans who have no idea that Baz has a solo record out).

We change the set every night but it’s about half and half right now, maybe a little more of Angel Down than Skids.

18 or so years ago, when Baz was a fan of Spread Eagle, would you have ever guessed you’d be onstage in HIS band playing Skid Row songs? Were you a fan back in the day? What’s your favorite Skid Row song to play?

No I didn’t expect this, it’s a wild experience. I love playing “Monkey Business”. That song is SO heavy in arenas!

You didn’t play on Angel Down, did you? Why not? Does Baz have a recording bass player and a touring bass player? You’ve been a ‘hired gun’ for a TON of bands (I’m guessing that if you don’t make a living solely from touring with bands like Joan Jett, UFO, etc., you probably make enough to pay some bills) – is it tough to play other people’s material all the time? Does Of Earth give you the ability to do that creative stuff you’ve got building up inside you?

Steve DiGiorgio was still in the band when they did Angel Down and had done all the demos. So he was always going to do the record before he left. I don’t mind playing other people’s music as long as it’s good. I’ve been lucky to play in REALLY great bands. Yes Of Earth also gives me a different outlet that’s important for me to express.

On the Of Earth topic – what’s the latest? I know you have to put it aside for periods of time while you tour (and make money). Will there be a full length Of Earth release? Any time frame on that? Since you’ve worked with a wealth of artists, have you thought about bringing in “special guests” for Of Earth recordings or do you want to keep things very separate?

I want to keep it seperate. The band are so talented, I think we’ve got it covered. The record will be finished this fall, if I don’t go back out on tour much. It’ll be available on Lovember Records in 2008 or early 2009.

Now, as you know (I hope), I’m a HUGE Spread Eagle fan. You and Ray ‘disappered’ for quite a long time and it’s only been recently that your fans have been able to find out what you’ve been doing. How huge has MySpace (and the internet) been for you? It seems like without MySpace Spread Eagle may never have had a resurgence in popularity (I know, it’s not like you’re selling tens of thousands of CDs now but I’m guessing without MySpace, you probably wouldn’t have reissued the CDs or gone on tour).

Myspace has definitely helped! Our friend Ray Freeman Jr. put together a nice page for us, but Peter Kalish at Lovember Records and I had been planning a tour before we had a Myspace page. The page surely helped promote that 2006 tour though. I love the internet and look forward to connecting with old and new friends.

What is the status of Spread Eagle now? I know Ray is involved with his own projects and you have a full plate between touring and Of Earth. Is there any chance that the two of you will work together and record new songs for either Spread Eagle or with a new name? How about touring? I know it’s not economically feasible to hop in a van and tour as Spread Eagle but is there any chance you might do another short run (and please, please, please play in Ohio)?

I would love to do another tour Chip. As you mentioned it’s just so damn hard to break even. I’d really like to tour overseas too if we could find a promoter who’s willing. Recording is less likely since the record industry is so hurting right now. Recording under a different name doesn’t interest me at all.

The Poison tour will keep you busy through the summer. Do you have any future gigs lined up or do things like the UFO tour fall into your lap with short notice?

Not at the moment. I couldn’t do the UFO summer U.S. dates due to Baz’s busy schedule. It’s usually very short notice when something comes along.

Last question – whether it’s on the Poison tour or a club tour with Baz, is there any chance you could talk him into doing a Spread Eagle cover? And, whether or not you can, what song would you want to do?

I’m not sure if he would, but I’d choose Broken City!

Posted in Interviews, Tour | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments