OH LIBIA - Interview with Victor and JT of OH LIBIA!

Below is an interview with JT and Victor of OH LIBIA.

IU: Ken Stringfellow wound up producing and mixing your album OH LIBIA!. How did that come about?

• JT: We were contacted by someone at ‘le pop-in’ in Paris and asked to come up for a gig. At the time, we only had a few demos done and…we’re a little crazy you know, so, of course we agreed! And, two months later, we got in a car and went to Paris.
• Victor: We met Ken on February 12, 2009 at ‘le pop-in’ in Paris. He introduced himself and the next day when we met up, he asked us about producing our first record.

* IU NOTE: This drive they talk about here is over 1600 Kilometers and at least 10 hours driving time.

IU: How do you go about writing your music?

• JT: The inspiration for songs comes and goes. I may try to write something for months and nothing comes…and then I suddenly have a great period of writing a lot of great songs (having one of these times right now).
• Victor: I write the music and some lyrics and JT sorts it out and we put it together. I find that these songs I write…don’t have a meaning I know of at the beginning. It’s only when they are flushed out in my collaboration with JT and the song is done that I see the personal meaning to me and my life.

IU: What was it like recording your 1st Album – especially with a pro’s-pro like Ken?

• Victor: Once we and Ken decided to record, it was clear from the very beginning Ken knew exactly what he wanted to do and how to focus us to create how the album should sound.
  So, in June, 2009, Ken came to Alicante to record our songs and stayed with us for five days. Each day was amazing. We spent mornings on the beach and then the other time recording. Ken really helped us to focus on the songs and helped us find our true sound - and that’s what you hear on the album.

IU: There’s a video of you guys playing a gig and I saw only 7 of you but there’s 8 in the band right now. How do you make that work?

• Victor: It’s difficult but we came to an agreement on how we rehearse. We have people from 3 different cities - Castellón, Valencia, Alicante- and we’ve chosen Alicante as the place where we rehearse because 5 members live there. JohnJoe– who plays keys – he lives in Castellón which is 2 hours away! He’s our road warrior!

IU: What are your hopes for OH LIBIA the band and your album OH LIBIA!?

• JT: I don’t have those ambitions or dreams of being the big rock star. I want to be able to make and record songs….something to be remembered by. I like that OH LIBIA is an Indie “underground band.”
• Victor: It’s great playing and continuing to evolve our live sound. And, as my good friend JT has said, there aren’t the ambitions of being the big rock star…it’s for love of the music and working together. I also want to say, it’s really great to hear from strangers we don’t know how much they love our songs.

IU: Introduce the members of your band for us JT….

Oscar (synth) is our noisemaker, so into John Cage and Brian Eno
JohnJoe (piano) is a great musician. A pro! He’s great constructing melodies and arrangements
Elena is from Russia and she plays xylophone, tambourine, theremin…all those uncommon instruments... she is also a graphic artist, in fact she's the one who designed the cover of the album
Tristram plays lead guitar, cool guitar-guy, so into stoner rock
John (bass) is a great bass player, so into stoner and classic rock as well
Paul (drums) is the heartbeat of the band, he's aces` and actually he is the one that calms everybody when victor and I try to kill each other :P – ahahahahaha.

About OH LIBIA:

OH LIBIA is a band from Spain whose first album titled OH LIBIA! was produced by Ken Stringfellow (The Disciplines, The Posies, Big Star, REM, The Minus 5, and many more) and released near the end of 2010.

To stream their album click HERE.

OH LIBIA on Facebook

OH LIBIA Album Cover by Elena

OH LIBIA Debut Review on Independents Uncovered

Of Note:
English is not JT’s and Victor’s first language and while their English is excellent - and the interview was done in English, in fairness to them and agreed upon with doing this interview, I changed some of the words to fit typcial American English-speak while still maintaining the same meaning/inferences with what they said...and reviewed with them before publication of this interview. Also, I'm not guaranteeing my English writing skills are perfect either!

OH LIBIA!

Review: HELL YEH!

OH LIBIA is a band from Spain whose recent album release OH LIBIA! (this link takes you to their bandcamp.com page to stream the whole album) has really found a home in my mind and ears.


The first song on the album is Open Graves (link takes you directly to the song) and within 1 second of this song….I WAS HOOKED!…the album…this band. I love it when an album kicks off with a song that reminds me of how Lethal Weapon 2 began – with Mel Gibson running. That was a great movie and this is a great album.

Words I would use to describe OH LIBIA’s debut:
- Dreamy
- Psychedelic
- Mysterious
- Garage
- Rock

Other stand-out songs for me, right now, are All Lost Out, Half Words, Last Friday Girl and Seventeen.

J.T. Prewitt and Victor Ramirez formed OH LIBIA in 2008 and, after recording about 40 demos, they hit the road and found themselves in a club in Paris where Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, The Disciplines, Big Star, The Minus 5, REM) was hanging out. Ken has been producing for a long time, so, while I’m only guessing (pontificating if you must know), he stayed out of the way of the music and enhanced it with all of his experience recording and by joining in on the songs on various instruments and backing vocals.


All I can ask for from an album is to keep me interested for the whole thing. And this album does that...bouncing between tempos mid-song and from song to song. Song vary in length and never seem too long - and occasionally, too short. But, when a song is "too short" it's because I want more, so, it's easy to click on 'replay' and that solves that dilemma - HA!

I’ve circulated OH LIBIA among a few folks I know and have heard phrases like: “sonically dense” or "really enjoyed it" to describe their sound to “I didn’t really like the vocals.”

Lia Pam – has a few harmonies that remind me of a Queen song – killer queen
Daniel Biscuits – A little Bob Dylan sound to it
Anxiety Sickness – newly presented OOhhs and AAAhhs reminding me of The Moody Blues
Half Words starts off with a "trippy" Merry Go Round sound and then jumps head first into a great rock song.

"Can't Get Enough (like me) of OH LIBIA" you say? Check Out The below Links:
About the band OH LIBIA
Bandcamp Site to Stream the Album - OH LIBIA!

Facebook Group Page

Videos posted on YOUTUBE:
Of Note - Victor and J.T. make these videos and it's interesting how they work with the songs. It's a gift of love for their music and understanding that music really is visual and open to interpretation...even from the band. They hope you enjoy them.

Open Graves

Last Friday Girl

Daniel Biscuit
Lia Pam
GR New Cross

I'll have some interview question and answer with Victor and J.T. in the coming week! WOOT!

The Grip Weeds - Strange Change Machine

We've officially reached the point (if we hadnt already) where we need to stop comparing The Grip Weeds with who they may or may not sound like and how their take on their brand of rock and roll....is THEIR take.

If any of their previous records didnt do it, Strange Change Machine does it.

I'm actually tired of looking for the right words to describe the sound that The Grip Weeds have. When I listen to them, I'm transported back to the 1970s when I was a kid and when I was a college student heavily into music from the 60s and 70s like: The WHO, The BYRDS, The Beatles, The Doors, etc... And those are just a few of the influences of The Grip Weeds and more.

Those are all bands I dig and there's obviously more bands, I just hit on a few of them.

So let's STOP trying to compare The Grip Weeds with these great bands from the past and focus on the present and what The Grip Weeds provide us, the listener.

GREAT
ROCK
AND
ROLL

All you have to do to get 8 free tracks from their latest record - Strange Change Machine - is to sign up for and be on their email list. I know!!!! But, jeeeez, joining a mailing list for a great rock and roll band and you get 8 free songs? COME ON! Suck it up! Go to their website at: http://www.gripweeds.com/

Strange Change Machine Review: HELL YEH!

Check out this video of their song 'Speed of Life"

The Swell Season - Baltimore

Last night I went to see the swell season. WOW.

Now Adam Levy has said, "GO OUT AND LISTEN TO MUSIC" as a way to become a better musician. And, for me, he doesnt need to say THAT twice. :)

Glen Hansard was en fuego. The whole band was actually.

At one point, Hansard mentioned how Ramshead Live looks like a jail and then, within a couple of seconds he was grabbing the chords in his head for Jailhouse Rock and then he's goin nuts on stage singin jailhouse rock for 2 minutes along with band. And, one thing I did notice was that when he launched into this raucously fun time, Pianist, Marketa Irglova sat back, "letting the boys have their fun" and then they picked up where they left off with their set.

Being about Hansard's age, I caught the jailhouse rock and he also added a couple of other gems (references) during the music interludes of their songs with - CALL ME (Blondie) and LOVE REIGN O'ER ME (The WHO) which had everyone laughing. (Is it me or does this foto kinda make you feel like you need the movie 28 days later to come out with a 3rd installment :)

The kinda things that bring down an experience of a live show are "the talkers" - they ramble on during the opening act and he just ran thru his set list. I mean literally. It was sad - he didnt stop between songs unless he needed to change guitars and each song just melted into the other without distinction...just chuggin through like an express train...sure the stops are there...and the people look at the train going thru....and they wonder why isnt it stopping. Is this how opening acts are in large venues (~500-600 folks)

So, the opener plays for about an hour and then we waited for the swell season to come onstage for about 35 minutes....giving the venue time to get people to buy more fluids....and then, when they arrive, they rush onto the stage and go right into a song to get things started.

Being around great live music is important to my soul and the $35 ticket + $10 for fees and other crap (like the ability to print my own ticket on my own printer- SHEEEESH!) was worth the price of admission...especially when you figure that other shows for this band, the tickets are twice as much or more.

The critic in me says that Mar may be a little stiff on stage and quiet personality wise on stage, but the poignant, emotionally driven songs between she and Hansard would seriously lack what drives them without her. And, kudos for having her front and center for a few songs as well as during the encore.

And here's a token full band shot...sorry for the 2 backs, but that was my vantage point for the show.

Enjoy

Jamie Hoover and Steve Stoeckel - 1st IN THE GRAIN PERFORMANCE

In April, 2010, Jamie and Steve met up with Mike and John from Independents Uncovered and recorded this very special and VERY FIRST Podcast of our program "IN THE GRAIN."

Some quick hitting comments about this podcast
- Amazing harmonies
- Incredible how they play together
- Great Songs "Emily's Ghost sets the tone"
- You have to hear the banter between Jamie and Steve

My experience with Jamie and Steve...I can only say that these guys are smart, as enthusiastic about their music as ever, and 2 super-nice people. So awesome were they that Mike and I went to the Chad and Jeremy show and met up with them. Just class acts who put a premium on great music and making sure that the music they put out is great.

If you're serious about music as a listener or a performer, you absolutely need to listen to this.

AND, thanks to Jamie and Steve for making this podcast available for free download. All copyrights to the songs belong to Jamie and Steve.

Link up with Jamie and Steve at their facebook page and thank them for making the podcast available to all of us:

To download the podcast, click here and you'll be redirected to the DIVSHARE Website to download the podcast.

To just play the interview, click here.

Julie Peel - Review of Jammin Java on 11.19.2009

Admitting you're nervous to yourself is one thing.

But admitting it to a sold out crowd of about 200 people you don’t know is just one hint of what endears Julie Peel to us in the audience.

She's honest and sincere.

Supporting her Debut CD - Near The Sun, last night, Julie opened her heart for us all to see and join her…..and with this one statement, she endeared herself to us all….reminding me of the verse from The Byrds song 5th Dimension "I opened my heart to the whole universe and I found, it was loving."

Julie ran through her roughly 40 minute opening set list mixing in her harmonica and tossing in the kazoo in one song. I love the kazoo. You cant help but smile when you see the kazoo and her playing it with one of her songs. I have a 6 year old daughter and she loves the kazoo. And hearing it reminds me of being young and having fun.....and the innocence that goes with that.

The final song in her set - Once More With Feeling - she forgot the words at the very beginning of the song. She smiled, was a little embarassed, yet, beautiful. And, Ben (big shout out to you Ben!!!!) went into the monitor speakers and voiced a few lyrics for her and she was fine again. But let's be fair - I've heard John Mellencamp inform a Radio Studio Audience he didnt remember the words to Pink Houses. So, in my book, the musician ALWAYS gets kudos for remembering all that they do.

You see, Julie had already opened her heart to us and we were there….the fact that she forgot the lyrics didn’t matter….we were there to protect her heart and protect her because she had already brought us in.

She could do no wrong in our eyes.

And, after a quick reminder of the first line….Julie was on her way to closing out her set and forever keep us with her......and she, with us.

If you'd like to order her record, Near The Sun, stop by her website at: http://www.juliepeel.com/.

Julie also is appearing on a special compilation of songs via her label American Laundromat Records http://www.alr-music.com/ that is for "The Valerie Fund" - a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that provides support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders. Julie has a personal experience with this with one of her family members.

Julie previously appeared on Independents Uncovered on May 18, 2009.

Go On A Trip Without Taking LSD

Four or five years ago, I went to The State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia - USA- to see THE SMITHEREENS.

One of the great things about The Smithereens is….you know them all by name. Even "THE THRILLA"! He's a Smithereen having taken the place of Mike Mesaros on a regular basis. And, although located in the back, Dennis Diken is NOT a background member of The Smithereens. His drumming and backing vocals keep him in the foreground….you always know he's there.

At this particular show, Smithereens Front-Man Pat Dinizio broke a string on his Fender Strat and, seemingly unable to replace the string and get it in tune, he walks over to Jimmy Babjak for some help.

At that point, THRILLA and Diken kinda started slowly and then launched into a cover by The Doors - Break On Through - with Diken leading the way with powerful drumming and equally powerful vocals.

Just a bass guitar….Diken's Drumming and Diken's vocals.

"THIS CAT CAN SING!" I thought to myself. And yes - I did use those exact words. I even thought - Why doesn’t this guy do his own record….what's stopping him?

Flash forward to 2007-2009 and The Smithereens are releasing some discs with Diken and Babjak singing lead on some songs - celebrating The Beatles, Christmas and The Who - just so we can sniff a little more of the great voice that Diken has.

Now, here comes September of 2009 and Dennis Diken has released his first effort as the front man in the incarnation: Dennis Diken With Bell Sound with the disc titled "Late Music." This disc is a love's labor for all those involved - started in the early 1990s and finally hatched for us all here in 2009.

The highlights for me on Late Music are:
The Vocals - Hands down, for me, this carries the record. This recording has beautiful vocals - both lead and backing - and haunting harmonies It's obvious the vocals were given great care and offer listeners a sound of innocence like on Fall Into Your Arms and some psychedelia like on Temptation Cake.

The Guitars - I love a great record with great guitar work that doesn’t run all over the vocals…and doesn’t 'shred' just for the sake of 'shredding.' Talk about capturing a sound of the 60s and 70s…..these guys did it and it sounds great. There's no "tinny" or "tin-like" sound about the guitars….they're full, sometimes loud, other times soft.

Percussion - Dennis is Dennis. He knows how to feel a song and express himself through the drums. Do you know other drummers who can feel out a song like Dennis? The good news here is that we also get to experience his vocal perfornance, Front and Center.

Use of Non Traditional Instruments - The Glockenspiel….. I know what you're thinking. THE GLOCKENSPIEL?????? This instrument is only on 2 songs. But, on Track 5, I've Been Away, it takes a really really good song and makes it an INCREDIBLE SONG! Not everyone will understand this line, but a music lover will.

Variety - A song can start up at the chorus and go into verse….A song can have a biting guitar riff or swing over to a horn section or have a Wurlitzer or Hammond Organ or the vocals just jump in to haunt you. Or, you can get a jazz-like number.

The Tracks
My favorite track on the disc - "I've Been Away." This song does something for me because:
- The backing vocals are so damn hauntingly beautiful
- Dennis starts right into the Chorus and I get the visual of him in the US Version of the TV Series "Life On Mars," (Canceled Spring, 2009) walking out of the Police Squad room wearing a light brown leather coat with the long collar cut to a stage where he sees himself playing drums…..both Dennis's give a nod to eachother and Dennis stands in front of the microphone and belts out the rest of his song - of course we'd add in some beautifully haunting backup singers to cut to from time to time while playing with the band
- This song, upon my first 20 times hearing it, I could not do anything else. Time stopped for me and I had to listen to this song. I had to hear every possible nuance I could hear in the song
- The Glockenspiel. YES THE GLOCKESPIEL. It just adds to the haunting mystery that is I've Been Away
- The Guitar solo - not too long….no shredding….backing vocals fading in and out during the solo….Excellent!
- The ending…..continues the mystery and spell cast upon me when the song got started
- This song is a reinvention of a tune written by Pete DiBella - Pete's original song was "Wanna Touch Someone Tonight" and it was reconfigured with a new melody, new bridge and new lyrics to make this masterpiece

Track by Track
The Sun's gonna Shine In The Morning - Reminds me of The Who with the first strike of the guitar…..and then goes into a sound found in I'm not your steppin stone by The Monkees

Standing In That Line - Pete DiBella takes the lead vocals on this tune that stands out on this record. I cant believe this was recorded on a 4-Track CASSETTE! Recorder. It's also cool to note that this song was one of the songs put on a compilation that Brian Wilson (yes the same one you're thinking of right now) would listen to prior to performing live

Long Lonely Ride - Paul Revere and the Raiders would be very proud of their young padawahns Dennis, Pete and Dave

No One's Listening - The beginning reminds me a little of Lovely Rita, Metermaid

I've Been Away - You already read what I had to say about this tune :)

So Hard To Say Goodbye - Instantly caught me with the start of the song and Dennis's change in voice inflection on …Waiting for time to….What a way to make sure that we, the listeners, are still there - like when a teacher calls out "Mister Diken" and there's an instant of I'm paying COMPLETE ATTENTION now

Fall Into Your Arms - If ever there were a song that blatantly goes after a beach boys sound….THIS IS IT. And, IT'S GREAT!

Lost Bird - A quick jazz-like number…..Someone needs to contact the producers of the James Bond Films (Or Austin Powers) and get this song into a scene where the suave Bond is in a Tux and putting the moves on yet another leading lady

Let Your Loved One Sleep - Think Dave Clark 5, The Turtles, and The Lovin Spoonful

The Bad Merry-Go-Round - The title speaks for itself and brings back another song to my mind that included a carousel sound - broken arrow Neil Young/Buffalo Springfield

Don't Let Me Sleep Too Long - Open up the Garage Door and leave nothing behind approach to this song.

Temptation Cake - WHOA - psychedelia and odd and wicked cool, all at the same time and another great song sung by Pete DiBella

Tell All The Fools - A great tune that works great to close out this record….Thanks go to The Honeys for joining in to sing on this song

Influences
Folks - we all have our filters that say, this kinda reminds me of……OR…..this sounds like…..So, here's my list that's easily added to or subtracted from by you….so.....don’t let my list restrict you - go make your own list and post it on your blog.
Brian Wilson
Beach Boys
THE WHO
The Association
Paul Revere and the Raiders
The Stone Roses/The Tubes/The Wedding Present on I've Been Away
Dave Clark 5
The Lovin Spoonful
The Shocking Blue
The Monkees
Oh yeh - I almost forgot….The Beatles

Acknowledgements
What Independent Record is made without acknowledgements. Dennis is quick to mention that although this release is listed as Dennis Diken with Bell Sound, it wouldn’t have been a possibility without the collaborations of Pete DiBella and Dave Amels - not-to-mention everyone else who played and sang on, supported in one way or another the release of this record.

Support Your Independent Musician
Please take a moment and buy Dennis's collaborative release - LATE MUSIC by Dennis Diken with Bell Sound - and support the work of Independent Musicians. Dennis and his music mates don’t get paid for sick days or days they don't work. They get paid to play or if they sell their music to folks like us. Kindly consider supporting this endeavor and we can hope that Dennis, Pete and Dave will work together with their collaborators to get more songs together for a 2nd album. If so, they have a LOT to live up to. And, I'm excited to hear what they come up with. Until then, I'm going to sit back, relax and keep enjoying their efforts on Late Music.

Independents Uncovered

Dennis provided an incredible interview on our show on Monday September 21, 2009. To hear it in its "cut" version, find your way to: www.myspace.com/IndependentsUncovered

It will be posted there on Friday, Oct 2, 2009 until the podcast version is posted on the WGMU website and iTUNES.

Additional Links
For an ordering link to AMAZON and more details, go to (NOTE: Please support Cryptovision and Dennis Diken With Bell Sound by coming to this link first and then clicking on the Amazon link to purchase the record):
http://www.cryptovisionrecords.com/


Check out the reviews for LATE MUSIC:
http://www.cryptovisionrecords.com/reviews.html


For a terrific in-depth interview with Dennis by Gary Pig Gold: http://www.cryptovisionrecords.com/GPGinterview.html


For the original LATE MUSIC press release: http://www.cryptovisionrecords.com/press/DennisDikenLateMusicPR.html


For Dennis Diken With Bell Sound on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/dennisdikenwithbellsound

For photos from the making of LATE MUSIC:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=487764167&albumId=770563