calling on his inner old black man, Sam Coomes of Quasi, Motorgoat, Heatmiser (as well as Elliott Smith's backing band) and Donner Party, took it upon himself to re-imagine a couple handfuls of blues tunes under the banner Blues Goblins in 2003.
i can't call to mind many folks who could have done a better job either.
somehow, although not what most might imagine, Sam's earnest yelp pays perfect homage to rock 'n rolls soulful past while lending it a new edge like only he can.
seriously, after watching, an epic struggle much like that of Perseus in "Clash of the Titans" waged within me... who's the more awesome chica: Scarlett Johansson or Thora Birch??
this great question remains unanswered to this day.
the specifics of the formation of For Love Not Lisa are vague at best, but one thing's for sure: if Miles hadn't hit on Mike Lewis' girlfriend, there probably wouldn't be anything to talk about.
seriously, that was how one pivotal member of this Oklahoma/Los Angeles group first met the other, translating into a relationship between these men that would span two bands and produce a few outstanding, if overlooked, albums.
their closest brush with fame, and the break which financed a home studio, would be with their single "Slip Slide Melting" appearing on the soundtrack to "The Crow".
eventually, after two proper albums "Merge (1993)", "Information Superdriveway (1995)", the posthumous collection "The Lost Elephant (1999)", and too many shows to count, FLNL wound down.
barely a year later, Lewis got right back up on that horse and rebooted with Puller. continuing on with the heavier sound displayed on FLNL's final record, and with a little added mathrock to boot, the first record "Sugarless (1996)" went mostly unnoticed, partially due to a lack of press, mostly to the "colder" feel of the tunes... folks were used to the Mike Lewis who sung his heart out AND brought the rawk.
with their second effort "Closer Than You Think (1998)", that's what they got.
unfortunately, line-up and location changes, as well as new families and an overall exhaustion with the music biz, led to the dissolution of this band as well shortly after the release of "What's Mine at Twilight (2001)".
be sure Skiploader won't be the last 90's Portland band that finds it's way onto this blog, as i remember those days fondly... what i remember, anyway.
somewhere around '93 bassist Craig Koozer and vox/guitarist Tom Ackerman formed the group with drummer Jeff Turner as a trio. at least a couple of raspy little demos were recorded and shows played, but they really didn't come into their full sound until the addition of Kevin Higgins on second guitar.
during the big major label push that came trouncing itself through the northwest post-Nevermind, they were picked up by Geffen and went on tour supporting the Foo Fighters.
unfortunately, the struggles of being young and full of shit in front of thousands of people proved to be too much for the guys and they went their separate ways shortly after the release of "From Can Through String".
Craig, Jeff and Kevin continued on for a short time under the moniker Jack Dempsey before being strong-armed into changing it to Contraption.
Tom moved back to SoCal and formed Neighborly, as well as moving behind the kit for future Polyvinyl Records superstars Sunday's Best, both of which having long since fallen apart, and later The Kite-Eating Tree.
they are survived by two full length LPs ("Sprainy (1994)", "From Can Through String (1996)") and an EP ("Anxious, Restless (1995)"), which you can still find here in Portland at record shops, but most likely nowhere else as they're long out of print.
probably my fave vampire movie ever, Near Dark was the cool, dark & gritty bloodsucker flick that nobody saw... because it came out in the wake of "Lost Boys".
and, stay with me here, i love "Lost Boys", i really do... but where that movie played on the melodrama and teen angst, "Near Dark" just kicked you in the teeth.
AND it never used the word "vampire".
anyway, i guess posting entire movies on Youtube is fairly common these days, cos this one's there too.
for those yet unfamiliar with the ass-kicking that is The Gutter Twins, prepare to be schooled...
some might recognized Mr. Greg Dulli as the mastermind behind Ohio's Afghan Whigs or the more recent and current Twilight Singers, either of which will, no doubt, knock you down and stomp on your face if you're not careful.
Mark Lanegan fronted Seattle stalwarts Screaming Trees and was a founding member of Queens of the Stone Age, as well as releasing a steady stream of amazing solo records over the last 15 or so years.
anyway, so these guys, who reputedly hated each other during the early nineties, eventually became great friends and collaborators.
this project has been long rumored, but didn't actually come to fruition until just recently, with the release of "Saturnalia" on SubPop.
director: Adam Goldberg starring: Franka Potente, Giovanni Ribisi, Jared Harris, Jason Lee, Christina Ricci, Vince Vaughn, Elvis Costello verdict: nuff said
although i'd heard the name around previously, i owe my introduction to the wonderment that is Evansville, Indiana's Mock Orange to Mt. Dew...
that's right, the soda.
more specifically, it was a promotional hook-up they did with MTV, where a number of unsigned (major label, anyway) groups would compete for the affection of viewers... kind of like an indie rock American Idol, but entirely less annoying.
anyway, they didn't win, but i immediately hit up my local record store and bought all i could find.
i imagine most of you have never even heard of this movie... shame on you!
if you're not sold on the trailer alone, i think some fan, slightly uneducated on the Ins and Outs of "legal matters", posted the whole damn movie on Youtube in parts...
unfortunately, i missed it due to work and the fact that the tickets were gone in minutes.. i'm sure the whole thing'll turn up eventually on the internet.
until then, this is Bill Richardson's introduction and endorsement:
