“Hey, it’s Ken Block!”
Written by: Mel
I'm so terribly delayed at keeping up with my TRBX posts. So bad, there's already a new logo and site up for Rock Boat Eleven. For shame. I'll blame my cat.
In keeping the spirit of "Things That Mel are INCREDIBLY bad with," I cannot retain the names of singular band members. I know I love Better Than Ezra, but I have no clue what the lead singer's name is. Unless the name of the group is "Hall & Oates" I only know there are two guys -- one with the name of Hall, the other with Oates -- and even then, I still muck up their first names. Bob Seger made it easy, as have other artists who reached solo career successes.
The Rock Boat does something to you as a music lover -- you meet these artists one-on-one constantly, and they almost become friends. This trip taught me a lot about musical groups and the incredibly-talented individuals behind the full stage.
So, truly lame story: while listening to the promotional CD from TRBX, I told the boyfriend my list of artists/bands to which I was looking forward seeing live -- mostly, The Bridges, Andrew Hoover & Scott Munns (both of whom I didn't get to see -- dammit!) and some dude named Ken Block.
I am apparently the only fan on Earth (and cruise ship) who had no clue that Ken Block was the lead singer of Sister Hazel.
He's listed singularly on the CD because of his solo album - GREAT song, "Blue to a Blind Man," by the way.
As such, each time we passed him on the boat, the joke became "Hey, it's Ken Block!" because nearly every time I talked to people I forgot who this "Ken Block" cat was who I was excited to see live (The Boy had to correct me several times). I caught on once I was a passenger.
You see, you cannot miss Ken Block - he is an Everywhere Man on that boat (in fact, I think his cabin was just a couple down from ours). He's boarding the Carnival cruise ship right beside you (or me, as it were), he is on the PA waking you up from a 8pm nap (wha? sleeping?!), he is in the atrium playing two-man acoustic set with Drew... You feel as though he is commanding the ship.
Then there is Ken Block is AT MY BREAKFAST TABLE on the last full day of the cruise. I'm in between a bad case of Hangover and rolling bouts of sea sickness. Yet, boyfriend told him the story of my listening to his music blindly and unknowingly of his attachment to Sister Hazel.
He was appreciative, nonetheless, while I was embarrassed and wanted to puke on someone's shoes... and then, he called me a "Blockhead" -- as in, someone who is a fan of Ken Block.
Awesome.
Here's Sister Hazel, kicking off TRBX! Day #1.
If you stopped the screen at JUST the right moment, you can see me there in a crowd shot in the beginning... AND the end. Sweet. And yes, it was a cruise where we not only wore birthday hats, but WINTER hats. See: Ken Block.
Ken Block, along with Sister Hazel, make for great party hosts for the duration of the vacation. Especially during the sail away -- what an amazing experience being around 2000+ people who do this thing EVERY year and cannot WAIT to get the party going again.
When in this moment, you feel it just cannot get better (well, perhaps the weather could get better in Mexico, right? RIGHT?!), just wait. Sister Hazel one-upped themselves on Day #2 -- a day themed around cover songs -- performing as "Fleetwood Hazel." Yes, FLEETWOOD Hazel, as in, Sister Hazel played a live set of the ENTIRE Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" album. It was one of the single greatest moments of any live performance -- I imagine pretty damn near seeing the actual Fleetwood Mac perform the album in its entirety.
Here is "Fleetwood Hazel" performing "Chains." (I apologize for all the shitty videos. I didn't pack my own video camera, so I'm left to find YouTube crap - this one, much like our rocky boat adventure, you may want to just listen and not watch all the shaky cam).
Stay tuned for more about Covers Day on TRBX.
View CommentsQuick Hits: The Wrestler, The Yayhoos, Mix Tapes, & Lemonheads
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Hey kids,
I had a "moment" this past week. Occasionally, I'll lend out music to friends, although if I have my ultra-anal thinking cap on, I'll often just burn them a copy instead. In this case, I wasn't thinking straight (not the first time that this has happened.) A couple of weeks later, my co-worker returned my formerly pristine double disc .38 Special anthology in a condition that appeared as if they had applied an electric sander to the discs in an attempt to edit out "Second Chance."
Speaking of "Second Chance."
Anyway, my physical music collection means less and less to me with each passing year and moving van, but seriously, why can't people take care of, and be respectful of possessions that are on loan? The former me would have had a conversation with the perpetrator, but the new me decided to just let it go. And blog about it here.
Now that I've got that off my chest, here are the links that have been rocking my world this week!
The Wrestler is one of my recent favorite movies, and one of the things I enjoyed most was the masterful and very specific use of music in the soundtrack that ties the entire film together. Give those music supervisors a big fat check for a job extremely well done. Cory Frye at Popdose contributed a recent piece regarding The Wrestler that is one of the finest pieces of writing I've read on Popdose to date. If you've seen the movie, you really owe it to yourself to check out Cory's piece. And if you haven't seen The Wrestler yet, rent/buy that sucker, and cross it off your list!
While we're hanging out at Popdose, let's check in with Ken Shane, who shares his thoughts and memories on one of my favorite albums, Days of Future Passed by The Moody Blues. The Moody Blues piece is part of Cratedigger, one of my new favorite features on Popdose. Don't forget to snag yourself a copy of the upcoming DVD of their classic Isle of Wight performance!
Sad news to hear of the passing of Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Donald "Ean" Evans this past week after a short battle with cancer. I met Ean for the first time last year when the band was in town for an evening at the Rock Hall. He was one of the nicest and most humble people I've ever had the pleasure to meet, and very respectful to the legacy of original Skynyrd bass player Leon Wilkeson.
Southern fried all-stars The Yayhoos played their first gig in quite a while, including the debut of their version of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," which drummer Terry Anderson describes as a track that is "tailor made for the Yayhoos." Check out an entire gig recap from Anderson here.
Thanks to Peter @ Blogness on the Edge of Town for sharing the following bit of humor related to the pending Yes/Asia tour happening this summer. I'm planning to head to Michigan to catch this show, and I am planning to also hopefully catch the Michigan stop for the double bill of Bad Company and the Doobie Brothers as well!
Here's some more great reading regarding the recent birthday of legendary former Plain Dealer rock critic Jane Scott.
Michael Gallucci at Scene Magazine spent some time recently lamenting this year's most unwelcome reunion - the return of Creed. A haircut can't hide the fact that Creed is still polluted by the walking vomit that is Scott Stapp. The nauseating story behind Stapp's new look can be found here.
I really enjoyed this Lemonheads "Drug Buddy" related flashback. Definitely looking forward to the new covers disc, and the Cleveland date at the Grog in June.
Speaking of Cleveland shows that I am really looking forward to, I am quite happy to get a Cleveland stop for the "Gin and Tonic" tour, a summer tour featuring the Gin Blossoms and a reunion of Tonic! You might recall that I'm a bit of a Tonic fan. The band will be at Cain Park in August, which will be my first show at Cain Park since Sarah McLachlan in 1995! Check out the complete tour schedule of upcoming Tonic dates here.
With our recent mix tape discussions, Peter at Blogness pointed me towards his own personal mix tape memories from the summer of '93.
My friend David Lifton has been grabbing some nice press for his new book set about the Obama family, including this nice interview here. Grab your own copy of the set here. While we're throwing this unexplainable spotlight on Dave, if you're a fan of the television show Scrubs, you might enjoy his thoughts on the wrap-up!
Here on the site, make sure to check out Kevin's recent Webb Wilder primer including some great live tracks! Meanwhile, our pal Mel takes a crack at year 32, offering some musical playlist listening in relation to the milestone, and also plenty of dish about her recent Vegas trip. You can also check out her non-musical Vegas wrap post here on the Boyfriend blog.
That's it for now - I am off to help my friend Amy move some boxes, preparing to get her the hell out of my house, clearing the way for my good pal Adam to take her place in June. That previous sentence sounded kinda bad, almost like I'm pushing her out the door, when the reality is that I'll miss my housemate when she departs next week. We've had some good times, and of course will continue to have many, many more!
Thanks for your support of Addicted to Vinyl!
Cheers!
Matt
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