powerpopaholic, Author at Powerpopholic

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey "Here and Now"

July 14, 2009April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic 2 Comments

Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, co founders of the dB’s, and collaborators on “Mavericks” 14 years ago have reunited, and they still have that spark. On Here and Now, they fall into a comfortable role as pop’s most under rated duo. Opening with the Beatlesque “My Friend The Sun,” it is a shiny gem of melodic genius with subtle guitar interplay and Peter’s direct earnest vocals. This is adult contemporary rock in the best sense of the term. “Santa Monica” is a classic Stamey ballad full of dreamy sun-soaked guitar textures. “Bird on the Wing” comes closest to that old Mavericks sound, and the collaboration meshes the two artists perfectly. Appropriately, these “old” guys have made some real gems about approaching middle age. The album does tend to wander a bit, getting too reflective and could’ve used a few more upbeat songs. But tracks like “Here and Now”, “Some of the Parts”, and “Long Time Coming” are all great songs that you’ll want to play over and over. “Begin Again” is a somber ode to rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (with the great Branford Marsalis on sax). My favorite ballad here is “Long Time Coming,” about old friendships and it easily brings a lump to my throat. The emotional honesty here says more than tons of other musicians out there, and I would love to hear more from these two.

Holsapplestamey.com | emusic | Itunes

IPO opening in LA with Splitsville!

July 13, 2009April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic

Splitsville is scheduled to take the center stage at International Pop Overthrow Los Angeles on August 1st. But prior to that a huge array of new and exciting bands will pass through the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. David Bash is covering the entire west coast starting on July 24th. It’s been David’s passion to offer contemporary pop bands a place to play, gain some much needed exposure, and network with other musicians with the same musical tastes. I’ve been lucky to review a lot of these bands albums. So now is your chance to see them live! Old favorites include: Sparkle*Jets UK, Walter Clevenger & The Dairy Kings, Lisa Mychols, Jeremy, Dave Stephens, The Galaxies, J.P. Cregan, The Smith Bros., The Waking Hours, The Tearaways, The Bye Bye Blackbirds, Shplang, Eugene Edwards, Sextus, Maple Mars, The Beat Seekers, Sugar High, Kenny Howes and The Cherry Bluestorms. And that’s just a sampling, as the newest up and coming power pop bands take to the stage along with them.

Los Angeles: July 24-August 8
Portland: August 12; 14-16
Seattle: August 19-23
Vancouver: August 25-29

Jeff Lynne "Video" and Electric Dreams of the ’80s

July 11, 2009April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic 2 Comments

“Video!” — 1984, #85 (download)

After my high school reunion, I found something very 80’s to feature here. It’s the only charting track for Jeff Lynne (ELO) under his own name. This was only released on the Electric Dreams soundtrack. So the movie was about a love triangle between Miles and Edgar the computer and Madeline, his attractive neighbor. The way she meets Edgar is through a duet. If you’d also like to see the video for the movie’s title track, check it out sung by Phil Oakey of The Human League.

Gidgets Ga Ga "The Big Bong Fiasco"

July 10, 2009July 10, 2009 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Minneapolis’ Gidgets Ga Ga will immediately recognizable to pop fans as hybrid of Oasis and The Replacements. Lead by lead guitar/singer Mickey Flores and assisted by bassist Zac Zidron and drummer Larry Beers, the music is consistently good throughout it’s 18 tracks. These loud rocking tracks like “Beki” and “Baby You’re A Star” should be played at full volume. This is no frills rock that has plenty of catchy melodies, like the hand claps all over “The Bomb” they will recall some of the early 90’s best pre grunge-pop. Some of the mid-tempo songs like “Dreamer” and the country flavored “Ease Your Mind” get a little routine, but the band switches gears with the high powered “Damn!” that recalls The Godfathers, and even the heavy power ballad “Lullaby” sounds like it could’ve been a Stone Temple Pilots/Nirvana single. The production techniques on a few tracks change, like “Streetwalker” has a rich full sound, and then “9 Ways” almost sounds like garage demo for example. And with the ending track “Belmont (Bone Us)” you barely hear the vocal. It gets a little distracting, but that doesn’t diminish the quality of this rousing rock music.

My Space | CD Baby | Gidgets Ga Ga Site

Holmes "Holmes"

July 9, 2009April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic

Holmes (aka Roy Shakked) has the ability to write melodic songs full of humor and meaning. After a very good debut, we have a self titled sophomore effort which collects all the tracks from the Basement Tapes EP and adds a few more. The new material is mainly guitar based blues ballads and pop, that evoke a bleak picture. “Let Go” is a Steely Dan styled pop dirge where “two jobs and broken wife” weigh on Roy’s mind. This is very timely recession era music and it’s an album highlight. “Unsatisfied” channels a Paul Simon mid-tempo ballad with a gentle synth keyboard. “Hurts So Bad” and “Not With You” are painfully poignant and depressing ballads that make Elliot Smith sound cheerful. The excellent “So Many Of You” strays into the sunlight a bit more and it’s got a masterful hook in the chorus. The older songs fit nicely here, with the exception of the Devo-ish “Go Computer.” And it’s always fun to hear the Bush bashing “Not A Political Song.” The haunting cover of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” round out the album. If you didn’t pick up Basement Tapes, this collection is worth the listening effort — it’s full of high quality musicianship and great timely songwriting.

My Space | Itunes | Holmes website

Basement Tapes EP – Holmes