Wednesday, November 19, 2014

OK Go Hungry Ghosts...The Perfect Break-Up Album????

Discovering Pledge Music has been a pretty good source of new music lately.  I initially found the site not too long ago through following The Zombies on Twitter.  After buying their new album, I perused the Pledge Music site to see what other goodies might be available.  After a little bit of searching I stumbled upon OK Go and their new album Hungry Ghosts.  Now I’m not the biggest fan of OK Go out there, (Not in a bad way, it’s not like I think they’re Nickelback or something) I’ve just never taken the time to get into their music apart from watching their ridiculously amazing videos on YouTube and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to dive in head first.

With any album I review, I try to play the hell out of it without headphones for a while so that I can get a good feel for it before I sit down and write.  What I noticed right off the bat (and liked very much) is how they tastefully weave the use of synthesizers into their brand of rock.  With my attention grabbed from the synth work, I was pretty excited to dive into the rest of the album.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

TheSoliLama.com Interview Featuring Jason Falkner of Power Pop Supergroup TV Eyes

I had the honor and pleasure to interview Jason Falkner about the TV Eyes project last week.  Jason and I talked for well over an hour - and the interview covered almost every aspect of the project.  The whole interview runs over an hour, so I've uploaded it to the The Soli Lama YouTube channel in two different ways:

1) Full length / uninterrupted

2) Broken down into 8 parts that are about 10 minutes a piece.

Jason was very candid throughout the interview and really added a lot of humor, which makes it really enjoyable to listen to.  The guy is a musical wealth of knowledge and I've annotated the videos (The ones that were broken down into parts) so that it's easier to look up some of the artists he was talking about.  On a humorous note - I may have lost all of my "street cred" when he mentioned two artists (back-to-back I might add) that I wasn't familiar with...but hopefully he'll give me a pass!

This is BY FAR the most comprehensive interview about the new wave, synthpop inspired project known as TV Eyes.  Even if you're not a fan of the band or have never heard of them, I think you'll enjoy the interview anyway because it's very informative and as I said before, Jason talks from the heart about this project and injects some really funny moments as well.

You can read the review of TV Eyes' self titled debut album here before you watch the video if you want.  I can't say enough about this record - and really recommend that you take a moment and check it out...at the very least listen to "She's A Study"!  It's safe to say though, that once you hear that song - you'll be sucked in and want to devour the rest of the album.


The Video: TV Eyes member Jason Falkner Talks With The Soli Lama (Full Interview)








If you enjoy the videos, please "Like" them and comment on them so we can get some discussion going about this insanely talented band!


If you're pressed for time and are wondering which video to watch, here's my quick "Clarence Update" for all of the videos to help you find what you may be most interested in watching:


Part 1

In this video we discuss the birth of TV Eyes, Logan's Sanctuary, the theme of the album, the original name of the band and where the current name came from.


Part 2

In this video we talk about recording the album, changing the instrumentation of the album (particularly the drums - from real ones to vintage drum machines), the French Band, Air, the song Time's Up, and whether TV Eyes was always going to be a trio.


Part 3

In this video we go into musical influences, the song "Fascinating", the synthesizers used on the album - including a Polymoog, Multimoog, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, 10, Pro-1, Oberheim 2 voice, the Gleeman Pentaphonic, Eddie Jobson and his EMS, and how music transcends from the audio to the physical.


Part 4

In this video talk about authenticity, Neil Young's Pono Player (Jason does an amazing/hilarious impression of Neil), songwriting, the process of songwriting, how the members are all multi-instrumentalists, the song "Love To Need", and Jason's character voice.


Part 5

We continue the interview discussing the song "Mission Submission", Tom Petty's video "You Got Lucky", the artistic aspect of the 70's, the Monochrome Set, a band from the 70's, how film influenced the album, the colors of the album art and how this album was ahead of its time.


Part 6

In this video we talk about how the synthpop sound started to come in vogue and the frustrations of not having the album out as the sound started to catch on, how the album is still relevant today, how artists are perceived if they are moody, ripping off past artists, what Jason hoped to happen with the music when it was released almost 10 years ago.


Part 7

In this video we discuss whether working with Roger Joseph Manning Jr. again is a possibility, a possible new supergroup with Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Joey Waronker, and Beck Hansen that would make music in the style of the LA Punk scene of the 70s, and Jason's new album.


Part 8

This video ends the interview and in it we discuss R Stevie Moore, Emitt Rhodes, Lo-Fi music, the Omnivore Recordings record company, Jason reissuing his first two solo records on Omnivore and how the TV Eyes reissue came to be.


As with any interview, there are always questions that you wish you had time to ask.  So if you still have questions about any particular subject, let me know and I'll try to get them answered for you!

You can purchase the album at Omnivore Recordings on CD or vinyl.  Also, be on the lookout for another version of the album with Jason's original mixes coming soon (Hopefully)!!

One more thing...if you're interested in getting updates about when new entries are posted on the blog and new videos are uploaded to our YouTube channel, you can subscribe to our mailing list HERE.

Thanks for reading

- The Soli Lama

Monday, November 3, 2014

TV EYES Interview

The TV EYES interview is in the can and I'm working on it in post right now!  Should have it up by mid week!!

I have over an hour of audio for this phone interview!  Jason Falkner and I left no stone unturned, I think you'll really enjoy it.

Check back soon.

-Soli