No Doubt Record Tragic Kingdom was Abby Bernstein’s First

07/18/2012 By

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Abby Bernstein.

Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt was the first album I ever bought with my own money.

I was eight or nine at the time, so I’m guessing I bought the CD with birthday money. I remember going to the record store at the mall and was initially drawn to the album because of the artwork: the bleach blond Gwen Stefani in her red dress and sneakers holding the orange from the No Doubt video “Don’t Speak.”

Gwen Stefani was and remains the epitome of cool, and I think every girl growing up in the nineties wanted to be her. “Spiderwebs” is my favorite song from the album – it’s the first track, and it kicks off the album with an angsty energy that sets the tone for what’s to come. As a young girl, I had no idea what the song meant or that this was about her breakup with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal. I had never experienced love or felt like I was caught in the web of an undeserving man—but I could still admire the songwriting and the attitude in every ad-lib.  

Gwen Stefani is not faking anything, and the production for each song was likewise authentic and unlike anything I had ever heard before. Tragic Kingdom is also one of those albums in which every track is killer –“Excuse Me Mr.”, “Just a Girl,” “Sunday Morning,” “Happy Now,” and “Don’t Speak” are my favorite of the seven (yes seven!!) singles released, but “The Climb” and “End It On This” are equally enjoyable.

Listening back to “End It on This Now,” I really love how the hook is so repetitive –the melody becomes a word-painting of how breakups are: you think you’re done but sometimes you keep going back to the person who isn’t right. I love how the groove of the drums at the 3:00 mark changes to sound almost like punching because it’s like that final battle cry in the relationship. Gwen’s singing on this album is incredible, and I know I either consciously or subconsciously learned phrasing and dynamics by listening to No Doubt and Gwen Stefani.

Abby Bernstein is a twenty-four year old NYC singer-songwriter hailing originally from a tiny farm town in Western Massachusetts. The daughter of hippies, Abby Bernstein was named after The Beatles album “Abbey Road” and grew up listening to the best blues, folk, soul, and rock n roll had to offer: Joan Baez, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones … you name it! Music runs in Abby’s blood—her grandparents were classically trained pianists and her great-great grandmother was a singer who immigrated to America from Russia to find a doctor when she lost her voice. It was only a matter of time before Abby began putting on performances in the family living room.

In 2011, Abby toured as the opening act for Barenaked Ladies, an experience she calls “inspiring because they are all phenomenal musicians who know their craft – there are no throw-away words in their songs.” As a music publisher and composer for advertising, Abby has licensed her music to film/TV (MTV, VH1, Logos, and ABC ) and advertising and is excited that her song “Spend the Night” played in the finale of HBO’s hot new show “Girls.”

The music of Abby Bernstein is best described as quirky pop rooted in hooks and storytelling. What is consistent about Abby’s songs is that they are open, honest, and conversational in feel, and particularly reflect the experiences of young women.

Thanks to Abby Bernstein for sharing her thoughts on No Doubt and Gwen Stefani! We love hearing about different musician’s earliest experiences with music. Hope you do too!

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Yair Yona Shares His Thoughts on the First Record He Bought

07/17/2012 By

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Yair Yona.

The first record that I bought, was by a famous Israeli band called Mashina, and it was their 1992 album, The Glory Monsters.

While the band usually played nice pop/rock music, sometimes with ska influences and many homages to other bands, this one was different. They decided to turn all knobs to eleven, and decided to completely upset their audience who wasn’t ready for the big sound and hard rock.

I didn’t know much about music, I was 14 when I bought it (in 1995), but I liked the band and suddenly it hit me that I wanted to buy a CD, not sure why exactly. I asked my father to take me to the store, give me money, and then I went on a mission.

I was REALLY excited when I went into the tiny store and asked the guy for a CD, any CD. So he asked if I like Mashina, and I said yeah, and he sold me this record. When I got home, I was so thrilled by the fact I just bought a record, that unwrapping the cellophane and hitting the play button felt like a ceremony.

The energies in the album just got into me, and I remember being carried away with the music, not feeling the ground anymore, with a great passion to break a guitar, or somehow relive the energies in me. It was an amazing experience, and until this day, it’s one of my favorite albums by an Israeli band.

 

 

Yair Yona is a self proclaimed musician, blogger, radioman, dog owner, vegan, and nice guy. While living in London, Yair Yona discovered  British folk music, switched to acoustic guitar and started exploring the fingerpicking style. Upon discovering the world of acoustic instrumental music, he started composing his own instrumental music, and in 2010 released his solo debut album ‘Remember’. In 2012, he released his second album ‘World Behind Curtains.”

Yair Yona also writes the music blog Small Town Romance and hosts a radio show called Sonar in IDC radio, Israel.

Thanks to Yair Yona for sharing his thoughts on his first record! We love hearing about different musician’s earliest experiences with music. Hope you do too!

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Tidelands’ Gabriel Leis Writes About His First Record

07/11/2012 By

 My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Tidelands’ Gabriel Leis.

When we say record, for my generation this means cassettes.

My first memories of music of my own were mix tapes my step-mother used to make for my sister and I.  There was one in particular I remember pretty well.  She always used those high quality metal fabricated blanks, and the label was hand drawn with silver ink bleeding metallic blue outlines.  This particular mix had some songs from the Flashdance soundtrack, Styx, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, and a bunch of other cool shit that turned me on to pop music in general.

During this period, I kinda went back and forth between living with my mom and dad, and at this critical cultural juncture I was fortunately living with my dad and step-mom in Mill Valley, California, home to one of the greatest record stores that ever was, Village Music.  Yes, they sold cassettes as well.  The first records I ever remember buying were Kick by INXS , probably to impress my first girlfriend in the 7th grade, who I more recently saw as a contestant on Project Runway (even then I liked the arty ones) and Give Thankx by the reggae artist Jimmy Cliff.  I have no explanation for this pairing, but adolescence is a confusing time, all memories are slightly suspect, and I don’t really need one anyways.

Gabriel Leis is the male half of the San Francisco based duo Tidelands. Leis, along with his female co-conspirator Mie Araki (drums, keyboards vocals) have created an extraordinary music which draws on such disparate genres as folk, prog-rock, and classical. This mesmerizing mix of flavors should come as no surprise: Araki studied jazz, classical and European music. Leis has composed for cello, violin, and trumpet and has even experimented with loops. You’d be hard pressed to find a collective that sounds anything like Tidelands.

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Callaghan Recalls Her First Record

07/05/2012 By

 

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to.

It’s interesting to look back over a lifetime so far and reminisce about all the various artists and albums that have come and gone and influenced you in some way.

I think for most people their parents’ taste and choice of music shapes the early years. I  have vivid memories of searching through my mum and dad’s LP collection and reading the lyrics on the back of the sleeve as I listened to Leonard Cohen, James Taylor, Elton John or The Beatles. I also remember an Abba record that I liked singing along to a lot, and deciding to do a performance of “The Winner Takes It All” for my family when I was about 8 years old but singing it from behind the sofa because I’d got such stage fright!

But as great as it is listening to other people’s collections, it doesn’t compare with the feeling of discovering music for yourself. Being a child of the 90’s I grew up listening to the radio a lot and taping my favourite songs from the Top 40 charts each Sunday afternoon (obviously not a practice that’s advocated by the recording industry, but it was very difficult to make 10p-a-week pocket money stretch to buying albums, so I had to listen and consider before making a purchase!).

The first single I remember buying was on cassette and was “Think Twice” by Celine Dion. I was fascinated by voices when I was growing up and there was no shortage of big divas on the charts around that time. I still have a soft spot for the big powerful singers, no matter the genre – Celine, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Freddie Mercury and Andrea Bocelli all have a place on my iPod.

Before writing this blog I had a look at which other songs were in the UK charts the year that “Think Twice” came out. It was surprisingly varied – from pop acts like Wet Wet Wet, Take That, and D:Ream, to Brit-Pop bands Blur and Oasis, to legendary artists like The Beatles, Prince, and The Rolling Stones. I suppose with all the variation around at the time it’s not surprising that my musical tastes have remained eclectic.

Whilst artists and records have come in and out of fashion as well as in and out of my life, the very first full length album I bought has stayed with me to this day – Soul’s Core by Shawn Mullins. Best known for its Number 1 hit single, “Lullaby”, I think it’s fair to say that album had a lasting effect on me. It was on an episode of “Dawson’s Creek” that I first heard Shawn Mullins (along with so many other artists that were on that show who also became favourites of mine including Beth Nielson Chapman, Jewel, and Sarah McLachlan).

Soul’s Core came out in 1998 and, as an impressionable and typically emotional teenager, it truly spoke to me and felt like it healed my soul a little bit each time I played it. Living in the UK and listening to songs that told stories about people in the United States of America all seemed so exotic and exciting to me. A glimpse into another world. Never in a million years when I bought that record would I have imagined that one day I would be living in the USA and would have recorded my debut album with the very same Shawn Mullins. But I suppose that’s the magic of good music – it makes you dream and helps you believe anything is possible.

And even after all these years I still listen to Soul’s Core and it still heals my soul a little bit each time.

Singer-songwriter Callaghan recently released her album, Life In Full Colour, on May 1, 2012. Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, UK to a musical family, by 14 Callaghan was writing songs, and started trekking to London to record with various producers. At 18 Callaghan moved to London, recorded a number of independent EPs, and played all over the city, at spots like the Bedford, Regal Room, Royal National Theatre and 100 Club. Since landing stateside Callaghan has toured extensively throughout the U.S. playing in 30 states alongside Mullins and other artists and in her own headline shows.  She now calls Atlanta, and the United States, home.

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My First Record: Ben Heywood of Summer Darling

06/21/2012 By

My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to.

I grew up in a pretty strict, religious home, so I wasn’t able to buy music until late in my teens. But one of the first records I ever bought that really inspired me and changed the way I listened to music was Sunny Day Real Estate‘s LP2. 

I was sitting in Art class, proudly showing off this recording I’d made with my band on an 8 track over the weekend.  This one guy listened to it for a moment, then quietly took off the headphones and said, “I think you should play the drums more like this,” and he handed me his walkman headphones and pressed play on the cassette.  The music was like nothing I’d ever heard.  The drums were so busy, yet musical, the guitars were rhythmic and repetitive, and the bass carried most of the melody.  The song was “Red Elephant” the third song on Sunny Day’s LP2.

I immediately went out and bought the CD, transfered it to cassette and hid the original, since I wasn’t allowed to listen to “secular” music.  I had a drumset in my living room and began methodically teaching myself the drum parts to my favorite songs.  To this day, LP2 remains the most influential album of my 16th year, and still one of my favorite records of all time.

 

To say Ben Heywood is busy is an understatement : he fronts the long running Los Angeles band Summer Darling, plays in the new project Pyyrimads (with Tim Nordwin – singer of Ok Go), and plays in TS & The Past Haunts (with Travis Shettel – singer of Piebald) , and is working on his 2nd full length novel.  Among all this . . .  his newest effort is Heywood Skills For The Long Emergency, his first ever solo record.

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My First Record: Gary Jarmon of The Cribs

06/06/2012 By

The first record that I ever owned was, I believe, the Hammer Horror Dracula LP.

I was a child playing at an aunts house when I accidentally stumbled upon this record and was so terrified by the sleeve that my mum had to come get me and take me home. So I must have been really young, maybe 4 or something. Because of this experience, I became kind of obsessed with it and would seek it out every time I visited with my aunt after that – and then was eventually allowed to keep it. It’s a  really cool record, it has a sinister spoken word horror story on one side, and then the music from the movie on the other – which is brilliant, moody, atmospheric classical music. Pretty terrifying, super heavy.

The first record that I bought, was the 7″ single of “Somewhere In My Heart” by Aztec Camera. I think it was summer 1989, so I was 8 years old. I first heard it on the jukebox in the amusement arcade at Pontins holiday camp. From that point on my 10p’s would go in the jukebox to hear that song rather than in the Double Dragon machine. When I returned home, I went to Boots in town and ordered the 7″. It took about a week to arrive and was really exciting. I didn’t realise what a ‘cool’ first record that was until I met Mark from Wichita Recordings and told him that story and he thought I was pulling his leg.

Gary Jarmon is the bassist for The Cribs. After sold out UK and US  Spring Tours, culminating with a packed house at Music Hall Of Williamsburg, the band is back with a new album!  The band will be returning this June to North America for a string  of dates, starting on the East Coast and making their way across the country. Tickets are on sale today, head over to The Cribs website to grab your tickets while they last.

In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull is the fifth studio album from Wakefield trio The Cribs. The recording process for this album saw the band split their time between Abbey Road in London, Steve Albini’s EAR studio in Chicago, and David Fridmann’s Tarbox Road studio in Upstate New York.

Tour Dates

06/05 - Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA
06/06 - Irving Plaza - New York, NY
06/07 - Black Cat - Washington DC
06/08 - Motorco Music Hall - Durham, NC
06/09 - Masquerade: Hell Stage - Atlanta, GA
06/11 - Fitzgerald’s: Upstairs - Houston, TX
06/12 - The Parish - Austin, TX
06/15 - El Rey Theater - LA
06/16 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
06/18 - Venue - Vancouver CA

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My First Record: Alex Moore of Dappled Cities

06/05/2012 By

As shameful as it is now, the first record I ever bought was Live’s Throwing Copper. If only it could have been Led Zeppelin IV or Animals by Pink Floyd. But nope, it was Live. 

Back to 1994. A dangerous time to be 11 (not really). Back in 1994, MTV Unplugged was a big deal. I used to get up on Saturday mornings and watch the latest episode. Nirvana and Pearl Jam had cracked out memorable performances.  But, at the time, it was Live’s performance that had the biggest effect on me. I remember hearing rumours that the singer in Live was a Satanist. I remember being left in awe. He was so dangerous. And his band rocked so hard. I watched that Unplugged, and I remember thinking it was super cool.

Fast forward a month and Live’s Throwing Copper was in my hot little hands. It sounded so good. A standout was the totally rocky song “Stage” in which he sings, “Come on, come on, motherfucker.” Damn, he was dangerous dude. So edgy. And the rest of the songs – wow, “Lightning Crashes” was so dark and tragic. And that film clip where everyone’s just so damn sad. And the “I, Alone” film clip where they are dancing around a tree which is so clearly in a studio and in retrospect pretty crappy but at the time it was so cool because the singer wasn’t wearing a shirt even though it was raining and there was lightning and they were just a little too close to that tree. Do they not know about lightning and trees? They just didn’t care. If they died, at least they were doing what they loved. Being heaps sad and dancing around a tree.

But I guess that’s what your first album is all about. It gives you the ability to look back and laugh at yourself. Interestingly, the second album I bought was Green Day’s Dookie. I still listen to it. In some weird way I think it has stood the test of time. Unlike Throwing Copper, it has an energy about it. These days, Throwing Copper sounds like a bland rock band that were probably once ok but then received a severe fingering from a major label (Kings of Leon, anyone?). Sure, Green Day’s music is pretty ordinary these days, but at least it came from a good place. Live on the other hand are 100% vomit. A product of the 90’s that, unlike Nirvana or Soundgarden, no one really wants to be associated with. Shit, were they the Creed/Nickelback of the 90’s? What a frightening thought.

Alex Moore plays bass and sings in Australia’s Dappled Cities. This year they will return to the US with a brand new album and, having parted ways with their old label, a brand new enthusiasm for bringing their music to the good folks of America. The first single from that album is called “Run With The Wind,” already reviewed as “an epic space-pop odyssey” that picks up from the more expansive material from Zounds.

Mixed by Cenzo Townshend (Florence & The Machine, Bloc Party, U2), the track is the first taste of new material in two years. The upcoming album was recorded in Los Angeles, Paris and Sydney with US-based Jarrad Kritzstein on production duties.

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My First Record: Anabot

05/14/2012 By

When most people talk about their first record, it’s something iconic and representative of that specific time in history. If you ask my mother, it was a single of The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” that she got from sending in some cereal box tops. Most people aren’t going to say it was a soundtrack, but for me, the first record that I purchased with my own money was some time in the late 90s, and it was none other than the soundtrack of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. I was absolutely obsessed with this film. Despite the fact that I was barely ten and only understood about 50% of the humor (probably a good thing), this film sparked not only my anglophilia (I still speak in a bad English accent from time to time), but it also nurtured my already growing love for all things 60s.

I think what I love most about this soundtrack is that it really is the perfect fit for the film. It travels through time like Austin Powers himself, beginning with the delicious 90s Brit Pop gem by Edwyn Collin’s, The Magic Piper (Of Love), and weaves into songs like the psychedelic classic, “Incense and Peppermints” by Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Before this idea of musical time traveling ever influenced me as a musician, I was just a pre-teen with an unusual affinity for an era I had never personally experienced, but desperately wanted to. I was living in Boulder, Colorado, but visiting my family in Southern California one summer and can still remember walking into the store, handing over the (only) $12 in my wallet, ripping off the shrink-wrap, and marrying myself to that CD for the next few hours driving down Highway 1, catching the light from the setting sun glimmering off the Santa Monica Pier. It’s still one of my perfect memories and probably the precise reason why my love of 60s styles, 90s pop, and California culture all seem to come from the same place.

Resulting from a combination of “analog” and “robot,” Anabot is the product of a dualism, of sorts. Crafted by Analise Nelson, she calls her experiment a “pop time machine with a rock engine.” Danceable yet driving, the end result is music that manages to transcend time itself, blending electronic pop with 60s Brit and surf rock. Can’t get enough electro-pop? Anabot releases her self-titled debut just in time to kickstart your summer jams. Be on the look out for it June 12th.

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My First Record: Nick Africano

05/11/2012 By

The first record I bought for myself was Jimi Hendrix’s The Ultimate Experience, the collection of Jimi’s greatest hits. I was 13 years old. I had bought albums before then while going to the store with my parents or with friends, but this was the first record I bought with my own money, on my own. I took the bus to the mall, and was music shopping, and the record cover seemed to call to me. I had no idea who he was, but it looked rebellious, cool, psychedelic, and exciting. It hailed me. I felt proud I had selected it.

I took it home, unwrapped the package, put the CD in my stereo, and took out the booklet to read along while listening. I was hooked. The first notes of “Purple Haze” played. It felt magical and mysterious. Then “All Along the Watchtower” with its powerful, driving power chords and lyrical guitar solos. I felt like the universe had unveiled a great secret for me.

From Jimi I worked backwards. He was my gateway record. I tried to uncover all the blues greats who helped shaped Jimi’s style, from Albert King to Robert Johnson, and continuing backward to early delta blues. And it led me to Bob Dylan. I consider that purchase to be one of the most influential moments in my early musical life.

 

Nick Africano‘s brand new album The Butterfly Bull is a story about collaborations and the exploration of contradictions. About baseball and art. Love and loss. Dark yet hopeful. And it’s a story about Africano’s ability to pair some of the best elements of folk and soul with superb storytelling and raw passion.

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My First Record: kayln rock

05/08/2012 By

It was Christmas of ‘94. My Dad’s couch was littered with balls of crumpled up newspaper comics (I always assumed that the Christmas elves were avid New York Times readers) as I unwrapped a stack of what would be the Genesis of my CD collection.

CrazySexyCool was the first to free itself out of the annoying constraints of its plastic and sticky-taped binding and into my CD player. Before this, TLC only came by way of bittersweet seconds of radio play while my Mom would browse stations for Garth Brooks. At eight years old, I was confident that I was ready to kick it like the girls who sat in the back of the bus and sink my baby teeth into songs that had more substance than Raffi’s, Banana Phone. Priding myself as an observant kid, I noticed that even though the overall sexual subject matter of CrazySexyCool wasn’t something I could completely understand or even understand that I couldn’t completely understand it, that didn’t stop me from drawing a line in sharpie under my right eye (because I thought it was my left) and singing about the importance of water safety (don’t go chasing waterfalls) to my generic beanie babies.

kayln rock comes from Hudson, New York, a small town just north of New York City. She grew up in the house her grandfather was raised in. She recalls, “When I was young, my Dad would play Buddy Holly songs for me on his guitar. “I would dance on top of his feet as he held my hands listening to The Police.” She went to SUNY Purchase, planning to write for the screen and stage. It was while attending a filmmaking course in Maine, the summer of 2008, that she picked up her friend’s guitar and the songs began to pour out of her. “I think it was a creative domino effect of sorts. If I hadn’t decided to branch out and study film that summer, I don’t think I would have found the confidence to express myself through songwriting.”

rock’s latest album Passenger is available through iTunes and other online vendors starting in January of 2012. The album is also for sale her website www.kaylnrock.com. Fans can also check out her out on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and read up on the day-to-day happenings of a 25 year-old hopeful romantic that writes songs and plays shows.

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