Author Archives: Dennis Cook

In Your Eye

you gotta see this

Buck 65

Zombie Delight/Protest

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Next up in Double Shot Week is a pair from our favorite Canadian beat scientist, Buck 65. Funny, stupid clever and gleefully willing to break out of any box one might try to stuff him into, Buck 65 is a true modern day artist, first emerging on the underground scene in the early 90s but steadily expanding his reach into realms populated by the likes of Radiohead, The Notwist and other 21st century souls. His new album, 20 Odd Years was released on March 29, and we present the newly minted video for “Zombie Delight” from it along with a longtime fave from 2003′s Talkin’ Honky Blues.

In Your Eye

you gotta see this

The Stranglers

Peaches/Tank

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Double Shot Week continues apace with The Stranglers. Despite being at ground zero for punk’s first flowering in England, this band never gets the same critical halo as The Sex Pistols, The Damned and other Teflon darlings. However, their mixture of punk, psych and pop remains eerily present, a modern sound that remains modern to this day. Filthy animals in the best of ways, here’s a sampling of their sickness…

Hey Shredder

7 questions for guitarists

Mark Karan

Jemimah Puddleduck, Ratdog

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Mark Karan by Alan Hess Photography

Mark Karan is cut from a classic mold. In his ceaselessly tasty playing one hears grin-inducing hints of Mike Bloomfield, Marc Ford and Roy Buchanan. Karan has serious technical knowhow but he never lets it get in the way of delivering feeling, dipping into gutbucket rawness as well as a delicacy that’s akin to guitar calligraphy.

More than anything, the man plays to songs, sidestepping almost all the usual showboating and spotlighting seeking one often finds in guitarists. He listens hard and has an instinct for melody and flow that’s a deep pleasure. It’s especially commendable that he has maintained this level of humility coming from the cult-minded world of Grateful Dead fans, for whom he’s played in The Others Ones and Ratdog, where Karan has been an exemplary guitar foil for the highly idiosyncratic Weir for many years, providing stability and grace where Bob is all sparks and flying colors.

These days Mark Karan is focused on his own band, Jemimah Puddleduck, where he sings lead vocals and takes on primary songwriting duties for their originals while leading a band of pros comprised of Bob Gross (bass), Billy Lee Lewis (drums) and JT Thomas (keys), though some upcoming dates will feature Bay Area great Mookie Siegel on keys while Thomas is out touring with Bruce Hornsby. Find full tour dates here.

Karan has been one of the Impound’s favorite six-string wizards for close to a decade, and the guy only seems more varied and right-on with every passing year. He’s one of those wonderful, rare musicians whose presence means things are gonna be better than they would have been otherwise. Mark has a strength of character and musical depth that rings through in his voice, his instrument and his stage presence, and we’re delighted to pick his brain for this segment.

read on for Mark’s answers

7 Minutes in Heaven

Mark Rozzo

Bambi Kino

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

Bambi Kino by Andrew Bicknell

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of The Beatles live residency in Hamburg, Germany. This is where they put their stamp on the music that inspired them to take up arms for rock’s cause, and it propelled them to their first phase of success as original artists shortly afterwards. They played Chuck Berry, Johnny Kidd, Lieber-Stoller and other root sources for modern music for four hours a night at the Indra Musikclub, resting briefly after dawn at a hotel called Bambi Kino.

Last year, a brave, pleasantly foolhardy group of contemporary rockers adopted the name Bambi Kino to play the same tunes that fired up The Beatles in the same venue in Hamburg. Comprised of Nada Surf’s Ira Elliot (drums, vocals), Cat Power’s Erik Paparazzi (bass, vocals), Maplewood’s Mark Rozzo (guitar, vocals) and Guided By Voices’ Doug Gillard (guitar, vocals), Bambi Kino is no Fabs tribute band. Instead, the quartet puts their shoulders into chestnuts like “Besame Mucho,” “A Shot of Rhythm ‘n’ Blue” and “Crying Waiting Hoping” and unearths the bright, intoxicating zest of these vintage numbers, doing pretty much what The Beatles themselves did – spelunking rock’s early heritage to make something immediate and worth rolling around in.

While performing in Hamburg, Bambi Kino laid down a studio memento of their rowdy residency at the Indra, which arrives March 29th on Tapete Records. Like the early tambourine and wooooh period Beatles, there’s a giddy, devil may care quality to Bambi Kino’s self-titled debut, an infectious whoop that helps one fall for rock all over again. The simplicity and basic quality of these songs sparks great performances from all four guys, and the results make one hope they’ll play a few U.S. cities before they bring this project to a close.

We snagged Mark Rozzo to discuss the band, their concept and what it was like kickin’ it Beatles style in Germany.

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Impounded Inquiries

Dave Heumann

Arbouretum

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Arbouretum

There’s still a pervasive notion that rock ‘n’ roll isn’t a smart medium, and while dumbstick fun has its place, there are happy, brainy exceptions like Arbouretum, who are savvy enough to tap Carl Jung’s Red Book for inspiration for their latest album, the glorious, early Best of 2011 contender The Gathering (released February 15 on Thrill Jockey). What’s extra cool is how hard and heavy The Gathering brings it while throwing the band’s lyrical reach into heady notions of existence, identity and the nature of things. Dave Heumann (guitar, vocals), Corey Allender (bass), J.V. Brian Carey (drums) and Matthew Pierce stir up a grand, shaking racket without dumbing down the conversation, creating a song cycle that’s slow to give up all its intricacies but a pleasure to dig around in as one makes their way to the center.

We asked Dave Heumann to ponder our signature philosophical segment. We figure anyone hip to Jung is gonna be swell at our silly little musings!

pot cookies and a jam with Jerry!