Setlist
A love for music and design is the reason we’re doing all this in the first place. Setlist is our place to talk about the things we love and why we love them. So, a couple of times a week we’ll put something up here with our perspective. You can expect an album review, an interesting perspective, or something that caught our eye. We’ll also post a Spotify playlist once a week with some of the stuff we’re listening to.
1/24/14
Michael Stipe, Jimmy Page, Donald Fagen, Eddie Van Halen, Clarence Clemons, Syd Barrett, Pat Benatar, Johnny Rotten, Steve Perry, EWANG. It’s an impressive list, even if it does seem haphazardly put together. But the thing is they each share something in common beyond talent and success—and that’s the month of their birth. So we put together a terrific playlist of great tunes honoring each of them and some other famous January babies. So listen to our January Birthday Tribute.
1/16/14
It’s just the middle of January, and although the idea with the New Year is a new beginning, while we’re looking ahead, we’re also still looking behind. Musically speaking, that means we’re listening to new stuff, like the recently released Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks albums. But we’re still paying attention to older material from the Who and Dylan. Plus we’ve been listening to some bands you might not have checked out yet—like Lake Street Dive and Dangermuffin. And you can find all of them in our newest playlist, named after a Charles Bradley tune: The World (Is Going Up in Flames).
1/13/14
On the afternoon of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s November 19th show at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Grain Audio spoke with Ben Jaffe.
Image By: Suze Uttal
Ben: “I grew up in the heart of the French Quarter. I grew up literally a block from Preservation Hall. I spent most of my childhood there, most of my life, at Preservation Hall. I can't even recall the first time I heard music. Even if we wanted to get away from music it was hopeless. Because we were surrounded. Everywhere there was music. It’s amazing because New Orleans is still like that today. We look at music as part of our identity. It's what makes us whole.
Image By: Suze Uttal
“In New Orleans it's not about the notes. It's not about being able to play a million notes at a hundred miles an hour. It's about being able to play at a person's funeral when they pass away. And it's about being able to perform a hymn at a memorial service. It's about being able to carry a tuba for three hours on Mardi Gras day. It's about bringing people together. Everybody in New Orleans is a musician . Certain people get to make it a career. People, they happen off Bourbon Street and they stumble into of Preservation Hall for the first time. It’s this little tiny building. There’s nothing to it. There are no speakers. There are no microphones. There’s no air conditioning and no heating. There is no water. It's literally a little tiny room for about 80 people to squeeze into. It is so unpretentious. It is pure.”
Image By: Suze Uttal
“When you grow up with acoustic music, you learn a deep, deep appreciation for the natural sound and beauty of the instrument. That's what you grow up with in New Orleans. You grow up with the instrument, you grow up with the drums, you grow up with the trumpet, you grow up with the clarinet, the saxophone and the tuba. You're used to hearing the air passing through the horn, that's what you hear . You actually hear it… when you hear that note you're actually hearing air.”
“When you put your life and your entire soul into music, into playing music, into recording music, you want everything else around you to be off that quality . When you press play and you turn up the volume, you want the person who made those headphones, you want the person who made that speaker, to have cared as much about your music as you do. Because it's our life. It's our creation. It’s our baby. And it is something we want other people to experience. I can play the hell out of a tuba but I don’t know the first thing about building a speaker. I don't know the first thing about that. That's why you have these partners in life that you rely on to translate what you do to this other experience. The speakers, your playback devices, these are the things we rely on not just for ourselves to listen to music but for our fans to listen to music.”
And listen we did, later that evening.
Image By: Suze Uttal
Preservation Hall Jazz Band gave an incredible show! I saw the band's 50th anniversary show in January 2012 at Carnegie Hall in New York from sixth row center and it was amazing, but there was something in the energy of the audience that seemed to have been caused by that sense of partnership Ben mentioned. Between the band, the venue, and the sponsor, we knew they cared that we would have the best possible experience.
Image By: Suze Uttal
Preservation Hall released their first album of original music this year and it's a triumph! They opened the set with "Sugar Plum" from the new album, "That's It!" What a terrific number that truly showcases their talent. From there, the set included both old favorites and other new material.
Image By: Suze Uttal
One of my favorites is "St. James' Infirmary Blues" and this night's version blew my mind! They performed two different versions of it, the first sung by Mark Braud, the trumpet player, and the second sung by Clint Maedgen, the saxophonist. I've seen a lot of musicians perform this song, but this was the best.
All the members of the band engaged us with their vocals as well as their instrumental solos - Charlie Gabriel on clarinet and saxophone, Ben Jaffe on tuba and cowbell (more cowbell please), Rickie Monie on piano, Joseph Lastie Jr. on drums, Freddie Lonzo on trombone, and Ronell Johnson on tuba.
Image By: Suze Uttal
Even though it's one of their new songs, they had the audience singing along with "Rattlin' Bones." "Tootie Ma" was another highlight for me.
See Preservation Hall Jazz Band on this tour if you can. Or see them in New Orleans at Preservation Hall, where I first saw them in 1993 (not with the same members, though). Wherever you see them, you won't be disappointed.
And listen to them at home through a Grain Audio product - you can hear the care with which the band plays music meld with the care with which the company makes its products.
Image By: Suze Uttal
1/10/14
As the calendar turned to 2014 on New Year’s Day, the warmth of the holiday season has made way for the cold, harsh reality of winter, which became crystal clear with the recent arrival of the Polar Vortex, making it, for the most part, either incredibly cold or just very, very cold where most of us live. And just like you, we’re sick of the weather. But rather than complain about the cold, we’ve put together 25 songs to do the opposite: Embracing the Cold.
1/03/14
We’re already a few days into 2014, but it’s still not too late to take a look back at 2013. So we put together a playlist of 28 of our favorite songs from last year: Some 2013 Favorites. Give it a listen. We think you’ll agree.
12/30/13
Earlier this month I came across something truly special. Normally the opening act at a hardcore/trash show would be written off. Generally consisting of local or newer bands that are trying to pay their dues and haven’t quite figured out how they fit into the grand scheme of musical entertainment. However, on the night of December 18, 2013, I witnessed one of the most original and hardest working bands, the world has seen in a long time.
Consisting of merely two determined Frenchmen, in the form of Laurent Lacrouts on Guitar and Mathieu Jordain on drums. The Inspector Cluzo mashes together elements of rock, funk and soul to create a perfect melody of unabashed distain for the establishment.
Rolling out their newest album on Suicidal Records and touring the west coast with Suicidal Tendencies should have given this duo enough credibility, but not all of the hardcore ST fans understood their brilliance. Standing in the back with their arms crossed (to show their distaste) were most of the early arrivers. Making their ignorance known by trying to slam dance and mosh to the soulful rock of The Inspector Cluzo, the hardcore ‘punks’ and ‘thrashers’ were immediately called out.
Laurent called out ‘you guys are dancing to our music all wrong… especially you guys in the back…Why don’t you all come closer and we will teach you how to dance…’ At which point Mathieu stood up on his bass drum and proceeded to dance seductively with his back to the audience, and Laurent tried to get the crowd to sing ‘Moving on up’ by Curtis Mayfield. An attempt at bringing one of the girls at the front of the barrier on stage to dance with proved un-successful as security didn’t allow her to pass up the stairs.
The Inspector Cluzo didn’t falter however, and continued to belt out another half dozen songs, including the heavily lauded ‘Fuck The Bass Player.’ At the end of their set, Laurent took great pride in kicking over the drums Mathieu was sitting at, and throwing his high hats off the stage, until he was forced to tip his bass drum over and play only that and one snare.
When all was said and done, The Inspector Cluzo managed to infuse more soul and funk with only two instruments than most big bands I’ve seen with full horn sections, not to mention that Laurent, could pass for an easy French double of Jim James of My Morning Jacket, in both physical and vocal abilities.
Hailing from the French countryside of Casconha, and putting on some impressive displays of D-I-Y music production, The Inspector Cluzo have toured more than 35 countries in 5 years, all while handling production, booking, management and merch, all themselves.
Cluzo’s new album will be released in the spring of 2014, and I’m sure they will be roaming back through the US and hitting some festival dates in the summer. If you understand the true spirit of punk rock and like a good show, I would highly suggest you check these guys out
12/20/13
One of the best parts of Christmastime is all of the seasonal music. And we’re not talking about traditional carols or even Bing Crosby standards—not that there’s anything wrong with that. But rather something that rocks a little more. So we’ve put together a playlist of some of our favorite Yuletide tunes, from the likes of My Morning Jacket, Big Star and the Flaming Lips, and even bigger names like Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. Why? Because Christmas Rocks. I’ll have another one — like top tunes of 2013 — around NYE.
12/18/13
On Thursday, December 12, the Grain Audio team descended upon the Mission District in San Francisco, CA for a launch with their newest retail partner, Dijital Fix. From the well thought through selection of products to the amazing collection of vintage speakers and amps, this store is the perfect fit for Grain Audio. The commitment to craftsmanship over popularity and quality over the latest trend makes this a perfect pairing. We couldn't be happier to be in this store and when you are in town, come visit them, and us, at 820 Valencia Street (@ 19th St). You'll be glad you did.
photos– adamrousephotography.com
12/16/13
The day before their December 5, 2013 show at the Mezzanine in San Francisco, CA, we spoke with Portugal. The Man's Bass player Zach Carothers. Having been a fan of the former Wasilla AK, now Portland, OR based indie rock outfit ever since their Church Mouth release, it was great to check in with Zach and get his thoughts on the bands steady rise and success.
If you don't know Portugal. The Man by now, you probably aren't following rock and roll too closely. After several sold out tours, 7 studio albums, and many high profile performances at festivals such as Coachella, and Bonnaroo this 5 piece rock outfit should definitely be on your radar.
Grain: All right, so let’s just get right into it. How did you guys get hooked up with Danger Mouse?
Zach: It’s sort of a funny story but mostly it was from Craig Kallman, The CEO of Atlantic records. For some reason he’s a great friend to us. He’s a really good guy and as the head of Atlantic Records he definitely does not have to hang out with us, he’s got much more important people that he should be hanging out with. Ever since we signed to that label though, he’s a big rock and roll guy and so he always comes to our shows in New York and takes us out to lunch. He’s an amazing person. He’s been friends with Brian Burton (Danger Mouse), for a long time and I think that’s pretty much how it started.
When we first started talking to him we had just got off the road with The Black Keys who had worked with him forever, they had been friends for a long time. I think both those guys kind of talked Brian into giving us a call and sitting down for a meeting with us.
Grain: Nice, what was the best piece of advice that Brian gave you during the recording process?
Zach: God, I have no idea. He actually gave us so much advice. It was about literally everything. He is incredibly smart. Obviously he is very talented but he’s just a very, very smart guy and it was really helpful too because as far as he is at himself, he’s been in our situation, he’s been exactly where we were before and understands just a lot more than most producers. A lot of people don’t really connect as much with all the different kinds of music in the industry and he really did.
One of my favorite things, I have to say this, the coolest thing … the smartest thing that I saw him do or just my favorite I guess was we were in the studio, we were really trying to figure out a song, we hadn’t quite cracked it yet. It was almost done. It was the song ‘Evil Friends’ and we were all kind of going a little crazy just shooting off ideas. It was getting a little hectic, there was kind of too many cooks in the kitchen. He did a very smart thing, he broke us off into separate rooms. He went up to us one at a time and he just said if the hook was going to be played on your instrument I want you to figure out what it would be. Not saying we should use it but just everybody go and separate the flow and just if the hook was going to be on whatever you play go make it.
What that did on a couple of levels was, it cleared the room so we could just have some space to think, to talk with Bryan about what was going on and then we all also separated and kind of just had a different outlook at our instruments. I play bass it’s definitely not an instrument that I necessarily think of as top line material, hook material but it just got me thinking in that mode. It also just cleared the room so he could figure out what needed to be done and in the end it was already there, we just went with pretty much the guitar board, just the strumming that and everyone was like yeah that’s it. That would be awesome. It was a very, very smart move and I respected a lot.
Grain: Before you did Evil Friends Portugal. The Man was on an album a year pattern are you looking at going back to that or are you thinking more every other year now?
Zach: Definitely, I mean we try to keep up with that but honestly sometimes just scheduling doesn’t work out that’s really the only reason, especially when we got a chance to work with Danger Mouse. He was doing the U2 record, we had tours coming up and basically we couldn’t get ready in time. The album a year thing, it’s kind of a personal quota just something that we’d like to do but we’re not going to rush anything out just because a year has passed. We’re always going to take our time and make sure we’re happy with whatever we’re doing. As far as if scheduling aligns we’re going to write an album a year and, we just don’t know if we could actually get it out.
Grain: Have you guys already started writing the next album now?
Zach: Yeah, we’ve got a couple of ideas. We’ve actually been home for a couple of weeks which is weird and awesome. It’s been a long time since we just got to hang out at home with not a lot of things to do. We’ve got a pretty cool little studio down in our basement, we all live together in Portland and yeah we’ve been making some songs but mostly just ideas and kind of flushing out stuff. Yeah we’ve started for sure.
Grain: Back in the day you guys used to actually wait until you were in the studio to write, you would just book studio time and then write and record the album during that time.
Zach: Yeah. We still do.
Grain: Do you think that that helps or hinders the creativity?
Zach: I think it’s very important and it’s just kind of how we work. I’m a big fan of being spontaneous when it comes to music. It was great working with Brian because he’s like that as well. In fact when we do a take on a song he would only let us do two takes, maybe three and then that’s it. We don’t like getting things super perfect, we like the human error in rock and roll. I think that’s very important, so it’s not perfect music. Classical music is perfect, to the author that’s perfect music but that’s not what rock and roll is about, it’s about all the imperfections.
Even … like I just said we’re at home working on ideas and working on these songs but it’s more of just getting in the mindset. With the odds we’re not going to use any of this stuff. We write songs but then when we go to the studio we write more and then we throw the old ones away. It’s more like exercises. It’s kind of like working out as musicians or something. We take bits of melodies and core progressions and stuff from it but we’re still pretty much on the same page of going to the studio and writing it there.
Grain: It’s like an Emcee in battle mode he has certain verses that he kind of wants to throw out and he just tries to figure out how to work them in?
Zach: Yeah, exactly. It’s a fun game. We do a lot of really weird things. We come up with these ideas, I don’t know if they’re good or bad but it’s funny. We’ll start working on a song and we’ll have a little bit of lyrics, some melodies and then a core progression and maybe a hook or something like that. We were down in the studio down in El Paso one time and we were all in a room kind of playing together live and recording it. We picked this one song we were working on and we decided to do it. We said let’s just kind of play around with the feel to see how we’re doing.
We took this core progression and we were like all right how would Oasis play this song? Then we were like how would Black Sabbath play this song and we kind of play it like that, how would Beck do this song, how would the Beastie Boys do it. Then … and so to play it five different ways and we just kind of stopped after going through all that and we were like all right there goes some of our main influences and we were like all right how would we do this song and how would Portugal, The Man do this song and that’s what we end up doing.
Grain: I had spoken to John shortly after Censored Colors came out and he was saying that his goal for the band was to make a mixture of Wu-Tang and the Beatles.
Zach: Yeah, that was the idea from the very beginning. I don’t know if we totally got there and I really like that. It’s kind of a weird comparison obviously now and we’re probably not going to rap anytime soon. It’s just that idea. What Wu-Tang did when I first heard it I really loved, that’s one of the first groups that really got me into loving hip hop which is a huge influence on us.
It’s more than just the rapping or the beats or anything, I like all the sampling. I love how they represent old soul and Motown. It’s more of a style and a sound. When you hear something off 36 Chambers it’s like you hear all these old sounds and it’s something new but just because of the tone it feels like something from oldies radio that you’ve just grown up with your whole life. You’re listening to a brand new song but for some reason it just feels so familiar and I just really love that idea. Then The Beatles are just pretty much the best band in the world so it seemed like a good goal to shoot for.
Grain: Definitely. What’s your definition of success for the band?
Zach: That’s definitely a tough one. I guess being happy where you are and being in this scene, in the music industry and in life in general there’s a lot of different ways to measure success. I feel we’re successful but I’ve felt that for a long time. There’s all these little milestones that I’ve been saying, we made it since our first tour. The first time the band got in a van and packed the trailer and drove down to California and went on our very first tour ever I was like oh my god, we’re on tour, this is crazy. We made it. The first time we played the Late Night Show, the first time we went to Germany and saw people in another country singing the words to our songs.
Every couple of months if something happens we’re like oh yeah, that’s it, I could die now and be happy but it also never stops because you’re always looking forward to the next thing. I think about that a lot, I always wonder about the giants like The Rolling Stones, I think it’s kind of weird, I can’t imagine when you hit the top what else is there to look forward to. Maybe it’s nothing, maybe it’s just relaxing and kind of just playing music with your friends at that point and hanging out with your family. I wonder about that a lot, maybe being the first band to play on the moon or something like that.
Grain: Always something to look forward to! You guys picked up a new drummer last year in the form of former child actor Kane Ritchotte.
Zach: Yes.
Grain: Had you guys known him beforehand or how did that come to be?
Zach: Yeah, Kane Richotte is actually … he was a good friend of Noah Gersh’s who actually just recently left the band but we had kind of an incident on tour where we lost our drummer. Literally we couldn’t find him in New Orleans and a bunch of other things happened but basically we decided to look for a new drummer for the next tour. It took about a week, we played six shows with no drummer and it was very weird. We all kind of filled in on drums a little bit or played acoustics and then we kept the tour going. We had met Kane once but we just generally knew him, he’s a session guy in LA and just a fucking incredible drummer. Our band kind of needed somebody to get out there fast, we had about 5 days because he was in the studio with somebody and he just kind of came out and found it so we asked him to try it on.
Grain: Were there any pranks when he first came on or a little hazing?
Zach: Yeah, they never really stop. It’s never really an initiation thing. We constantly give each other shit all day every day. It’s kind of what we do and so there’s nothing in particular that we did but I can imagine there still are and will always continue to be a lot of pranks going on.
Grain: All right, one last quick question. I’m going to Portland for a week next year, what are five things that I should do or see while I’m there.
Zach: Man, that’s great. Well I’m at the Doug Fir right now where we played last night so I’d say go see a show at the Doug Fir. It’s my most favorite venue here in town, it’s a really awesome club and bar and restaurant and hotel. You should probably stay here too if you’re not sticking with a friend or something, the Jupiter hotel attached to it. It’s very reasonable and it’s very hip and cool and comforting. I’d say that, I’d say record shopping. There are a lot of them, Jackpot Records is awesome. I would definitely go check out some vinyls while you’re here because it’s a good time for it.
Vintage shopping is great, there’s a lot of good food in town. Particularly I would hit the Tabor Tavern it’s right by our house. Fairly new place but I’ve never had better mac and cheese in my life and they make excellent drinks there. Then speaking of drinks the night life I guess is pretty good. We’ve got very good bars and one of our favorite at the moment is the Nightlife and they have very good food too, good patio. There’s that, I’d say go do that. Then there’s the classics, the Voodoo donuts, Powell’s books, bookstores, there’s a lot of good stuff in here.
Grain: Yeah, I went to Voodoo Donuts last year when I visited so I’ll definitely go back there.
Zach: It’s kind of the staple, everybody that comes here has got to go get one.
Grain: Yeah.
Zach: They’re pretty good. I’d suggest going to the east side location. It’s a lot more chilled. There’s a giant line ever since it’s been on TV and stuff, there’s always a crazy line but over at the east side not so bad. Good donuts though.
Grain: Well I’m definitely looking forward to hearing what you guys come out with next and seeing you guys again and thanks for taking the time to talk with us.
Zach: Of course man, thank you.
12/13/13
There’s been an abundance of good music released over the past couple of months: straight-up new stuff, from the likes of David Bowie, Dr. Dog and the Arcade Fire, to covers—listen to Glen Hansard, backed by Eddie Vedder and Jake Clemons, channeling Bruce Springsteen—to reissued and rereleased material from Neil Young, Yes and Eric Clapton. So listen to Some New Tunes to figure out which you like best.
12/06/13
Although he was a son of South Africa, Nelson Mandela’s death is felt all across the globe, which also includes the world of music. The anti-apartheid revolutionary had a long, rich musical history—from singing folk songs, like “Shosholoza,” during his imprisonment on Robben Island (“The singing made the work lighter,” said Mandela in The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela) to concerts held in his honor while he was still in prison, like the 1988 Wembley Stadium show that celebrated his 70th birthday and helped get out the Free Mandela message. So we’ve compiled a playlist of songs honoring Nelson Mandela, including South African artists like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Hugh Masekela and American musicians like Stevie Wonder and Public Enemy.
11/23/13
Thanksgiving is a lot of things for a lot of different people. But for most of it has to do with family, friends, going home, eating (and drinking) too much … and giving thanks. So we put together a playlist—of rock, pop, jazz, reggae and even a country legend—with all of that in mind: Thanksgiving Tunes.
11/21/13
Grain Audio: Why don't you go ahead and just start off and just tell us a little bit about how Dumpstaphunk came to be?
Ivan: I had a gig at the Jazz Fest in '03, and basically, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do more of a band thing than what I had previously done with my solo kind of stuff, so I called a few people. I called Ian, my cousin. I called Raymond Webber. I wanted to either get Nick Daniels or Tony Hall on bass, so I decided to call both of them, 'cause I knew Tony also played a little bit of guitar and I knew both of them sang their asses off, so I was like …. We did a one-off gig at the Jazz Festival in '03 and then …. There was a few other people that maybe was on that first gig, but that became the core members of Dumpstaphunk, the five of us . Raymond left the band later on and Nikki Glaspie's now our drummer, but basically the band started off as a side project, a one-off thing, and then it gradually just took on a life of its own and became a full-time band. We played our first show in '03, but we were by no means a full-time band. Not until maybe '06 or '07, when we really started,that became our main project. 'Cause everybody had other gigs. I was playing with the Neville Brothers at the time, so was Nick, so was Ian, playing with the Nevilles and in the Funky Meters here and there. Tony and Raymond, Tony was playing with the Trey Anastasio's Band and the Dave Matthews Solo Project and things of that nature. We were basically doing Dumpstaphunk as a side project.
A few things happened, Hurricane Katrina happened, and then by '06 we were pretty much playing a whole lot, and we kind of officially became a full-time band around that time. I think first ... We played Bonnaroo in '06 and that was a big deal for us and it turned out to be a great and memorable night. There was a lot of talk and a lot of buzz about the band from that performance and it was just kind of ... at that point we knew, it was like okay this is something we could spend all our time on and so that's what we've been doing ever since. Then a little over maybe two years and some change, ago Nikki Glaspie joined the band. It's now myself, my cousin Ian, Tony Hall, Nick Daniels, and Nikki Glaspie.
Grain Audio: Great! You guys have been playing Jazz Fest pretty much ever since, right?
Ivan: We play Jazz Fest every year, you understand? We play in numerous other festivals as well. We play a lot of the other festivals, like I said, Bonnaroo we played that a couple times; two, three times. We've played Bear Creek, since it started, every year. We've played Jam Cruise probably four times. We've played High Sierra, to name a few. All Good Festival, Wakarusa; we played a lot of the festivals.
Grain Audio: Obviously you grew up in New Orleans, but you play all over the place too. What's kind of your favorite place to play besides New Orleans?
Ivan: My favorite place to play besides New Orleans? I don't know. Oh I love playing San Francisco. San Francisco is absolutely a favorite place to play. In the Bay Area, just because of the music lovers that hang out in that region. I would say there are a lot of music lovers in the Bay area and we love playing there. Some of our heroes kind of cut their teeth up in the Bay Area. Sly and the Family Stone and a bunch of those characters. There's a vibe going on up there. Bill Graham doing all the things he did out there and promoting all the cool shows that they had. There's a history out there... I like playing in New York as well. I like playing playing pretty much anywhere, just depends on what night, what day it is; you never know.
It could be in some bar in Kalamazoo, Michigan; you never know. You never know the night. Everything's aligned, everything's right, and the shit's working and people that are there are into it and you just have a phenomenal night. It could be anywhere.
Grain Audio: How did you guys get hooked up with the Seva Foundation?
Ivan: You know what? I really don't know how we got hooked up with it. I know someone there contacted our people and they were interested in having us on it. Obviously we're fans of doing things for good reason and good causes, so it seemed like a cool thing to be a part of.
Grain Audio: You got a good lineup around you and a good cause. Can't go wrong with that.
Ivan: Yes, we do.
Grain Audio: Let's talk about Dirty Word. That's your new album. Tell us a little bit about how that's kind of different from any other album you guys have done. It seems like there's a little bit of a different vibe to it.
Ivan: Well…, I would say that what probably makes it actually different is the fact that we just ... everything that we do kind of differs to a degree from the last thing. The next thing we ... you want to hope that you evolve some kind of way, you know what I'm saying? That you don't keep doing exactly the same thing, but where I think this differs the most is that we've kind of ... More of our influences are more obvious. Or more ... I wouldn't say obvious, more of our influence kind of come out in this record. It's not just a funk record, 'cause we're influenced by all of the genres. We love the fact that everything comes from somewhere. That the blues, or gospel is where I think everything comes from. In some form we've incorporated all of the influences, pretty much. I mean, a lot of them anyway. 'Cause we got some things that are blues based. We got some things that kind of have a gospel tinge here and there. We have some things that are a little bit more Rock and Roll, but its all got the nastiness about it. It's all got some sort of, I guess you could say, somewhat of a funk element. Its kind of just a mixture of things. It's not just a strictly funk record.
We like that about the record and that's kind of why we said Dirty Word ... Dirty Word is…, I mean funk is…, we think, could be a Dirty Word. You name your band Dumpstaphunk, what do people expect? People may expect you to be pretty funky or someone may say, "What's the name of your band?" "Oh, Dumpstaphunk" "What kind of music do you play?" Wow! That's a good one. Then there's the fact that funk is really ... if you look up on iTunes and you're trying to find some music and you go into genres? There is no genre that says funk. You go to register a song to be published and you look up your genre and you want to put your song in a particular genre, there is no funk, there is no category that says funk. Where do you put it? You put it under "other"? What do you do? That being the case, we're on the first ballot for the Grammy on the thing. You know the Grammy Awards? There's a first ballot that comes out. We're on that, but our record's for Blues Album; so that's where you gotta put us and we're fine with that... That's why we named the record Dirty Word, to begin with. Dirty Word being the word "funk". Could be a dirty word, you know? Then also saying that we're not just a funk band. We play other stuff, too, but it all tends to be somewhat nasty. So, there you go.
Grain Audio: Definitely. It definitely seems like everybody kind of understands what funk is and everybody pretty much likes listening to it, but nobody really goes there automatically. If you ask them "What kind of genres are you into?" It's always kind of that underground, kind of in the back of your mind genre.
Ivan: Right, right.
Grain Audio: Obviously you've been playing around with family for years, friends. How would you say that the music has kind of transformed your life?
Ivan: I love music, I love music. I love everything about it. I love the fact that I was blessed with a little bit of talent, I can play a little bit of music. I love listening to music. If it wasn't for music, Lord knows where I would be. I could say that much, that's for sure. I'm extremely blessed that music has been a major, major part of my life. My family is great these guys are all musicians. That's kind of how I came up and it was pretty easy for me to figure out, okay, I think I want to play music as well. That's a beautiful thing, and the fact that I've played with a lot of people and I've done a lot of different stuff, which is all a blessing, and I get to still go out and play with a band that we put together several years ago and that it's guys that have known each other for a long time. We get to go out and play music. We get to create and recreate some things based on all of the music that we've been influenced by. It's an absolute wonderful thing.
Grain Audio: If you could kind of pinpoint one or two defining moments that have made your sound and kind of defined you as a musician?
Ivan: You know what? I really don't know about that one. I can't just put my finger on one thing or a couple of things that just do that. I really don't know. I tell you what, come to think of it, probably growing up in the time that I grew up listening to the radio, that probably did it for me. I don't tell a lot of people how old I am, 'cause it's none of their business, but seeing that I grew up ... I was a kid and I was coming up as a young teenager…, from like 10 or 11 years old on up to my teens was the 70's. That was, to me, I was fortunate to have lived through the time when I thought the radio and music was at a wonderful point there. There was some amazing music that came out of the late 60's and the early 70's, and the mid 70's. Being a part of that generation, I think, was probably the most profound influence on me. Just being a part of that generation to listen to music on the radio and when it came out. That great period. What a time. It was a time when it was three fucking channels on the TV. Maybe they added a fourth one. You know? You listened to the radio. It wasn't like you could fucking pick up your phone and listen to a bunch of tunes. You know what I'm saying? It was nothing like that, but you listened to the radio and you heard all this good shit. That, to me, was one of the coolest things I could think of. That may hopefully answer that question that you said.
Grain Audio: Definitely. You talk about listening to a lot of music. Obviously, you're a musician, you listen to a lot of music. What's kind of your go-to space in terms of finding out new music, and what are some new artists that you are really into right now?
Ivan: You know what? I mean there's promise, I guess there's some stuff that's out there that's good. I try ... I normally I listen to a lot of retro stations that play older stuff. When I'm in my car or listen to the radio or when I'm on my iPod I tend to go back and listen to stuff. I don't listen to a whole lot of "new" music. There is some stuff, I can't think of anything off-hand, but there is some stuff that I've heard in recent times that have piqued my interest and been pretty cool and stuff like that. It's not a whole lot of it out there right now. We're on the road a lot so I actually spend a lot of my spare time ... I'm a sports ... I love football, and now it's football season… I'm watching fucking ESPN and I'm listening to sports shows when I get in… most of the time. We're in music a lot, we're playing music, we're at sound checks, we're at gigs. During my spare time, I go into other things.
Grain Audio: I can understand that.
Ivan: Yeah.
Grain Audio: Cool, man. Well, thanks for taking time to talk with us, Ivan: Thank you.
Grain Audio: … enjoy coming back to San Francisco.
Ivan: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Cool, man, thanks.
11/15/13
With the clocks falling back a couple of weeks ago, and the weather turning colder, it suddenly feels like winter, which has made us seek out comfort. And while for others that may be food, for us it’s about music. So we put together a playlist of songs to make things better when it suddenly feels like midnight at 5 o’clock.
11/08/13
Sometimes you want music to be in the foreground, to sing along to or help get the party started. But at other times, you want it in the background—adding to the atmosphere but not taking over. And that’s exactly what we had in mind while crafting this atmospheric playlist called Divine Details.
11/01/13
Growing up, Lou Reed had an early interest in rock and R&B. And before he found stardom as the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for one of the most influential bands of all time, the Velvet Underground, he began his music career as an in-house writer for a record company. That, ultimately, proved to be incredibly valuable for Reed, who would go on to become one of the finest writers in rock history, achieving great success with the Velvets and in his own five-decade solo career. And upon his death, we look back with respect and listen to his legacy with a smile, An Ode to Lou Reed.
10/25/13
At Grain Audio, we’re always listening to music: at our desks, in our homes, and even when traveling between our desks and our homes. But what we really love is going out to see bands play live. And recently we’ve caught A LOT of live music. So we figured we’d fill this week’s playlist with some of our favorite songs we’ve recently heard live, from Pearl Jam’s arena-ready “Lightning Bolt” to White Denim’s soon-to-be-released “Pretty Green,” which we just about guarantee you’ll absolutely love.
10/23/13
Friday night on October 4, 2013 one of the UKs best kept secrets came to the Catalyst Club in Santa Cruz CA. Orange Goblin, (an underground metal band who cares more about rocking out and partying then the typical so called ‘dark’ themes most people expect from metal) brought their unique brand of metal to the misfits of this small surf town.
Working with a new album in the form of ‘A Eulogy For The Damned’ and it’s live counterpart ‘A Eulogy For The Fans’ Orange Goblin came through Santa Cruz and left the Catalyst soaked in sweat and booze. Setting the pace for the night with the throwback licks of Scorpionica from their Big Black Album, OG made it quite clear that they came to party.
Transitioning from the Big Black Album and roaring right into The Filthy and The Few off A Eulogy for The Damned, Orange Goblin had the crowd flying around in circles. With Orange Goblin fueling them with crunchy riffs and pulverizing drums the pit at the Catalyst grew steadily from a tiny twister into a massive cyclone sucking in everything around it and leaving a trail of destruction in its path.
Playing for nearly 90 minutes touching on all their past hits and throwing down some new favorites The mighty Goblin turned this small surf town inside out. With sludgy grooves and rocking guitars Orange Goblin has captured the minds of rock and metal fans for nearly two decades. If Motorhead were still underground, they would sound like OG.
10/11/13
While people always love to hear their favorite songs, it’s good to switch it up every now and then too. And since the past few weeks have seen the arrival of a slew of new music, we figured it’s time to check out something different—14 recently released quality tunes from the likes of Elvis Costello and the Roots, Haim and Kings of Leon. Give it a listen. It’s always good to discover you like something new.
10/07/13
On the evening of September 28, a small park in the middle of San Jose was over run by punks of all ages. From the aging rockers down to the budding music lovers, all were on hand to witness what the announcer stated as “The most exciting event to happen at St James Park since 1933.” An event so epic that Shepard Fairy was called in to design a poster for it.
At the end of the C2SV tech conference (which also incorporated 3 nights worth of club and coffee house musical performances), the godfather of punk rock and his band of aging misfits took the stage and reminded us all how Iggy and The Stooges started the punk movement nearly 40 years ago.
Once the lights went low and the band was ready, Iggy Pop danced from the darkness and made his way to the front of the stage. With an eruption of cheer from the crowd coupled with the familiar bass licks of Raw Power, Iggy kicked off the 90 min set of old school mayhem.
Working with a collection of classics such as ‘Gun’ ‘Search and Destroy’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ Iggy took command of the night with his signature brand of intense gyrations and worm like motions. Working the crowd with his irreverent banter and taking a jab at the “Rave” party going on the same night, Iggy commented to the crowd “I hope nobody here took Molly tonight, You are at the wrong concert, you’d be fucked up for weeks…”
After a brief game of “We are making you think we are done”, the band reappeared from the shadows. With the drums and guitars working furiously in time, The Stooges set off on a 3 song encore including ‘I Got a Right’, ‘Cock in My Pocket’ and ‘Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell’ (complete with naked body painted dancers in Native American headdresses).
When everyone had thought The Stooges were finally done, they surprised the crowd with a second encore and a rendition of “Louie Louie” that only Iggy could have performed. Packed with passion and undecipherable vocal groans, Iggy led the crowd to a punk rock sing a long during the chorus, of which even the 5 year old girl on top of her dads shoulders was belting out.
With the lights finally up, the crowd slowly dispersed, only to converse about the show they just witnessed and how well deserving Iggy Pop is of earning the nick name “Godfather of Punk”.
10/04/13
The fourth season of Eastbound & Down just recently began, and not only does it mean the return of laughter-filled Sunday nights, but it also means a weekly dose of its theme song, Freddie King’s killer rendition of “Going Down.” And you can’t listen to that tune and not want to hear more electric blues. But now you won’t have to go without because we just made A Case of the Sunday Electric Blues playlist.
09/27/13
On September 23rd, Bruce Springsteen celebrated his 64th birthday, and we can’t think of any better reason to make a playlist. But we didn’t want to fill it with the usual fare. Instead, we’ve dug deeper into the Boss’s catalog to put together a pretty great group of songs—none of which are included on his Greatest Hits. And we’re absolutely positive you’ll dig listening to it.
09/20/13
Well, it’s that time of year. The nights start getting cooler and the leaves begin to change color. Football is just getting going while baseball has begun to wind down. That’s right: It’s not just the end of summer, but the beginning of fall. And we’ve got a Fall Songs playlist filled with autumn-related tunes from the likes of the White Stripes, Guns N’ Roses, Neil Young and plenty more.
09/15/13
Well we’re down to one final week of summer. So we had to put together a bunch of feel-good music, which just so happens to include the lead track off two of our favorite new albums—“Heavy Bells” from J. Roddy Walston and the Business’s Essential Tremors and “The Rock” off Deer Tick’s Negativity. And while everyone’s got their own opinions, we’re pretty sure you’ll find this playlist to be music to your ears.
09/06/13
Sometimes a long car ride is just what you need to shake up your daily music regime. For us, it began with “Hey Doll,” off Deer Tick’s newest (and fifth) LP, Negativity. But we were listening to shuffle, and with the next song, Guns N’ Roses’ “Estranged,” we were transported back in time. For the rest of the trip we took a musical journey, back to Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up (Part 1)” and then springing forward to Black Joe Lewis’s just-released “Vampire”—back to Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita” and then ahead to some new Free Energy. Back and forth, back and forth, you get the idea. So we figured we’d put together some of the highlights in one playlist so you can get transported far away while still remaining in your seat.
08/30/13
Despite what anyone may tell you, summer isn’t over. We’ve still got three more weeks. So it’s not actually a new season. Instead, it’s just a new month: September. And we’ve got your September Songs playlist, filled with the likes of Big Star, Earth, Wind & Fire, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket and more. Give it a listen while you plan out the remaining days of summer.
08/23/13
We have some great news. This week the PWS.01 will be shipped out to our Kickstarter and pre-order customers. We could not be happier with how this product turned out and we are sure that you will agree. All our hard work and uncompromising commitment to producing a high quality product have paid off. We are now ready to deliver an amazing product to you. Play Loud.
08/23/13 Setlist
Robert Plant just turned 65 on August 20th. Sure that age means retirement for a lot of us, but this rock legend isn’t calling it quits any time soon. When Led Zeppelin disbanded following drummer John Bonham’s death in 1980, it would’ve been easy for the group’s frontman to continue singing Zeppelin tunes for the rest of his career, thanks to his golden voice. But rather than rest on his impressive catalog’s laurels, Plant’s continued to push boundaries, taking on a variety of projects and genres—from bluegrass to blues and folk to country, while still managing to rock. So we salute Robert Plant on his 65th birthday with a playlist highlighting his post-Zeppelin career.
08/19/13
Like many a playlist before it, this one began with a dose of the Rolling Stones, in this case “You Got the Silver” off Let It Bleed. (It happened to have been the first Stones song with Keith Richards on solo lead vocals—and the last recording with Brian Jones.) From there we moved onto rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson’s take on the classic R&B tune “Shakin’ All Over,” which then led us to the Staples Singers’ “City in the Sky” and its socially conscious lyrics over gotta-move grooves. And then the rest just fell into place. This grouping of songs makes sense to us. So give it a listen and see if it does to you.
08/09/13
This playlist doesn’t have a general theme. It’s not based on an event … or someone’s birthday. Instead, it’s a sampling of some of the great songs we’ve been listening to recently: blues, rock, R&B, soul and bluegrass, plus Tom Jones covering Leonard Cohen and even a ukulele-fueled take on Prince. In other words, it’s your weekly dose of quality tunes.
08/02/13
It’s August. And a new month means a new reason to celebrate. In this case, we’re celebrating some of the amazing musicians born in August. They’re not all still with us, but their legacy remains. This playlist is filled with blues, rock, jazz, R&B and even “The Star Spangled Banner”. Give it a listen.
07/25/13
Our summer tour with the Heartless Bastards kicked off on 7/9 at Union transfer in Philadelphia. We couldn't be more excited to have this amazing band as our inaugural launch partner. They lit up the stage with their electric performance and introspective lyrics.
The party then continued on 7/10 when Grain Audio and the Heartless Bastards rolled into Brooklyn. The Music Hall of Williamsburg is a spectacular space. As they did the night before, the Heartless Bastards rocked hard with rich vocals and incendiary drums and guitars. An epic night.
Arguably the best show of the tour was the last one at The Sinclair in Boston on 7/11. A resilient Grain Audio crew rolled into Boston for our final tour date with the Heartless Bastards. The Sinclair is an amazing venue with fantastic food, great acoustics and just a great overall atmosphere. As we have come to expect from the previous nights the Heartless Bastards finished out strong with another powerful performance.
As the Heartless Bastards have shown us over the 3 consecutive nights of the tour, rock and roll is alive and well. They put on an amazing show with a great vibe and energy. Play Loud indeed.
