The past couple of weeks has been exciting for me. First of all, two brand new songs have emerged since we have last spoken; and they are called “Blood You Draw” and the second one is called ummm…..well…….I don’t have a name for it yet. We will get to that later because *spoiler alert* our Mnemonic Advice recording for the column is that song. Anyway, I had a show at Bowery Electric. It was a long day running through the set in Chance’s basement to warm up, trekking to the East Side of Manhattan, loading in at 5:30, killing 4 hours, and then blowing the roof off the place with a performance for….like 10 people. I am not kidding when I say I would not want it any other way. I don’t know if I can speak for the band though. Any opportunity I get to share my livelihood with people is an opportunity that I will take. Maybe I will play the first show on Mars. I hear Martians are avid Stereogum readers and are really into indie rock music. Jokes aside, the show went well. We played a 40-minute set as a four-piece band that was almost the same as our Delancey set but I switched around the order of a few songs, and we closed with the aforementioned “Blood You Draw.” That song is going to be hanging out in the setlist for a while because it is one of the most energetic rockers that I have written, but it may go nicely as an opener. (Come to a show and hear it!) It ends on a C chord, and the four chord in the key of C is F which also happens to be the five chord in the key of B flat. So now we are in B flat, the key of “Next Time” (the current opener which will move to the second song), and we will hit an E flat chord, which is the four chord of B flat which leads us right into resolving the whole turn-around on the tonic chord, which is you guessed it! B flat! And what key is the opening riff to “Next Time” in? B flat! See, knowing rudimentary music theory can help you sometimes but not enough, so I have to flex my knowledge when I use it. Sorry if I lost you. I am just super excited and nerding out over creating my live show. It is all I think about. I know that there are some big shows around the corner at the indie music mecca, Syracuse, New York, so these are things to think about. I always say that the bands that make it are the ones that are more thoughtful. They might not be better players, but if you think damn hard about how you want your band to come across through a live show, it is immediate audience connectivity because with thought comes genuine authenticity. You got to be yourself on steroids. Yourself is probably not cool enough, but it gets you 80% of the way there. It is a ‘magic trick’ as (ugh every single newsletter with this guy, enough Josh) Bruce says in his book. The other thing is that most bands don’t like to rehearse. My band and I love rehearsing. You have to love rehearsing to truly put on an amazing live show. I have to be honest, if you hate rehearsing, your band probably sucks. I am not speaking like I have figured the whole thing out because I obviously have not. I just have had the privilege of seeing a s**t ton of live music in my life so far, and while enjoying it (or not enjoying it) I am studying as if it is a lecture in a class. What is good about this that I can incorporate into my act? What sucks about this is that I need to make sure that I don’t replicate in my act? Live music is an art form. The art form can range from the larger-than-life aesthetics and theatrical presentation of a The Weeknd stadium show to The Replacements playing Maxwell’s while drunk off their ass as Paul Westerberg belligerently ‘sings’ “B******s of Young”. Both work. Both have endeared themselves to fans in the country and around the world. Both are authentic!
I saw Courtney Barnett at Radio City Music Hall last week which was a lot of fun. It was my third time seeing Courtney; the first time being four years ago, which is almost impossible to believe. The first two times I saw her, it was outdoors. Live music indoors is typically better in my opinion, and the lights and stage design added a lot to the performance. Courtney is a rock star and a punk at that. The dichotomy between her timid, soft-spoken introductions and “thank yous” and her aggressive guitar playing and rock-godlike stage presence during the songs never gets old. She played one of my favorite of her songs “An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)” for the first time in a long time. I have paraphrased the riff in that song a few times and I just love the lyrics so much. Imagine hearing this for the first time:
I lay awake at four, staring at the wallCounting all the cracks backwards in my best FrenchReminds me of a book I skim-read in a surgeryAll about palmistry, I wonder what's in store for meI pretend the plaster is the skin on my palmsAnd the cracks are representative of what is going onI lose a breath, my love-line seems intertwined with death
It shocked me. It has such creative imagery that I could only dream of having with my own writing. It also has such perfect rhythm like spoken poetry. Talent. Talent. Talent. Her band is great too. I love Dave Mudie on drums. As the biggest guitar player, non-drummer drum-aficianado, I can hear so much Ringo Starr in his playing, along with a lot of Dave Grohl who takes a lot of influence from Ringo. The simple but hard-hitting melodic playing brings such a fullness to the three-piece arrangement. He comes up with parts on songs that are so catchy and just not how other drummers would approach Courtney’s songs. I know. I have nerded out a lot about music this column, but I get to talk about whatever I want! Don’t forget that is how this works :)
Grateful Eight:
* I moved some of my stuff in to my new apartment in Syracuse yesterday. Despite not having electricity on one side of the room, my room is already looking pretty homey. I am happy that I do not have that much more to take up here in August.
* I am going down the shore tomorrow. Going to the beach and hanging out with my friends is possibly the best part of summer. What is it about sand and the ocean that makes people so happy? I am excited to unwind after a fairly busy week.
* Harmonicas are so fun. More on this later.
* I mentioned the Syracuse shows that I have on the calendar. One of them is at the Westcott Theater for Bloomfest and I get to share the bill with some talented people which is awesome. I am grateful I get such a cool gig. I am also going on first so I get to play the first set of the semester.
* Friend of the program, Nick Beebower. This man plays in like 5 bands at school, and I am grateful that he is dedicated to all of them. He can just show up and drum, but he is cooler than that. Plus, he got me/us the gig at the Westcott.
* The A/C in my apartment at school. It is the greatest invention ever. It is cooler in my room here than at home. Ungrateful we only have one vent or some s**t like that at home.
* Acropolis is now Popeyes.
* Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest. This album changed my life. It gave me so much inspiration and comfort in high school. I did not know rock could sound like it does on Teens of Denial. It takes so many classic rock nods, but it is so fresh and the lyrics are so relatable. I thought I related to them when I was 15 and I am sure I did, but listening again at 21, now I really get it. The album is about being in your twenties and learning how to be on your own and also how to be happy. It chronicles f**k-ups along the way with the critical lessons attached.
This Week’s Rare Mnemonic Advice/Josh Carus Recording: untitled
This is a country song that I wrote only last week. I think a lot of my peers feel a sense of disillusionment as we come of age and transition into true adulthood. I know I do at least. I feel forced to ponder my values and think about compromises and sacrifices that I am willing to make, and ones that I am not willing to make. It is scary. I am not exactly going to be a factory worker with the education and guidance that I have been fortunate enough to receive, but I fear being the guy in “The Promised Land”. “I’ve done my best to live the right way/I get up everyone morning and go to work each day/But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold/sometimes I feel so week I just want to explode.” Am I overreacting? Probably. However, I do fear being stuck in a lane or a job that does not feel rewarding for any other reason that it pays well. First world problems. Let me be crystal clear about that. Nonetheless, that’s 21 year-old Josh’s fear. Maybe that fear goes away if I marry and have children which is apart of my life plan. I know that once you have a family, it is meant to be the centerpiece of your life. For me, that is the case right now with my parents and brother. Yet, that is a little further down the road and does not necessarily help with choosing what I want to do for work right now. I am yet to find something fulfilling in my experience. I have been lucky to be a person who is able to just figure it out despite sometimes it being the hard way. I have hope and confidence that I am going to be fine, but I just have to explore more of myself and more alleyways to get there. Nothing in life is easy. I also talk about how in my heart and soul, I want to be an artist. It is what I am by far the best at, and it is the most enjoyable thing that I do, which I know everyone here knows. It is not the most lucrative career path, and it is hard to make a living being a musician. I have to try because I will live in regret if I do not. There is just a little bit of anxiety that I have where I question if I will be truly happy in any job that is not playing music. Certainly, I will always be able to express my creativity and my music somehow someway, so that is comforting. But what do I like? What else am I good at?
This song also features myself playing slide guitar and blues harmonica. These are two musical skills that are relatively new to me. For a while, I always valued songwriting a lot more than musicianship, and I pretty much still do, but becoming a better musician is so fun and rewarding. It is also a little bit of a “Hey! Look what I can do!” type thing that, come on artists, let’s face it, we all think like that sometimes. Oh! And help me with a name to this track!
untitled
When you’re young
Your dad and mom
Say be a kid because you can’t for long
But I’m looking up at them
Wanting something of my own
Now in the land of milk and honey
I’m feeling all alone
I used to rest my chin
On the ladder rung
My eyes staring up to the shining sun
Bright and bushy tailed
Legs too short to climb
Everybody’s got a place
But I’m not sure of mine
Do you like what you do?
Do you like your job?
Do you like coming home
And drinking in the garage?
Can you call it a vice
If it makes you feel at home
There’s just too little time and too much land to roam
I swear if I had a guitar
And baby nothing else
I would be just fine entertaining myself
Playing to the void
trying to feel some return
Well if the world gives me money
I can just keep going
