The tagline on their website says it all. When cello player for the late 90s Alt-Rock band Treadmill Trackstar Heidi Carey emailed me about her love of po’ boys and whiskey, she informed me of her recently reunited band’s finished effort to produce an album – after a ten year hiatus – funded entirely by donations from fans and supporters, entitled i belong to me. Intrigued by the idea I gave the album a listen, and I’m impressed with it. I mean, strictly from a technical standpoint it really can’t be easy to put out a well-produced, decent sounding album (as this is) after such a hiatus, while simultaneously tackling the issue of having absolutely no money, but Treadmill Trackstar managed to pull it off.

On that note, Heidi said:

The donation thing was crazy, we just sent out an email to our old (like 10 year old) list. About half came back as dead addresses so we set up a sort of public radio style fund raising effort on our website. We totally didn’t expect it to work and for about 3 months it didn’t!  But then, money started showing up in our PayPal account.  [...] We like to think that folks wanted a new Treadmill record!   I think it was just a proper alignment of the stars or something.

TT’s “non-profit band” formula of making music for music’s sake is entirely – and ironically – new and refreshing in this day and age. This mentality actually feeds into a feeling you develop as you listen to the album; they’ve clearly put a lot of love into it and it actually makes the music feel better. Describing the music is a touch tricky since it enjoys a wide range, but the term that keeps sticking in my mind is “slightly moodier Foo Fighters with a dash of Smashing Pumpkins.” …and a cello. Try track 8, Hands Off (available free to listen on their website) for a very good sense of what they’re all about.

Since the individual members are all currently with family and settled down, you won’t be seeing them any time soon at the 8×10. But for their next project they’re apparently attempting to develop a full blown ROCK OPERA, with all proceeds from their current album and individual “investments” going entirely to the production. It will be interesting to see where it leads. But for now, check out Treadmill Trackstar’s i belong to me at their website or Facebook.

(Album available on iTunes)

A wee couple of days ago I first heard about local electro-pop-whatever-i’m-not-a-music-critic act Lazerbitch over at Ye Olde Midnight Sunne Blog and got a solid kick out of the video “Coquette” and it’s sheer sheer localness. Welp, fast forward to the other day and I find myself at Windup Space somehow observing a photo shoot for none other than Lazerbitch herself aka Libby. And wouldn’t you know it, the last set of photos shot were taken at that super-awesome, super-shady crackden No-tell Motel about a block away (also visible in the background of her music video!)

At any rate, I took some photos of some of the whole thing. Enjoy!

(photo shoot by JMG)
(styling by Di[e]ce)

[Show as slideshow]

 

BONUS VIDEO CLIP!!!!

I had the pleasure of hanging out in the green room at the 8×10 for a free show put on last Friday. Kind of a Grateful Dead tribute evening, including a “Senior Dead Head” whose shirt was completely and utterly awesome. Here’s the goods.

[Show as slideshow]

 

38 Cents a Gallon

Shakedown Suite

I don’t care if Knights of Cydonia is old news as far as the internet is concerned, and everyone knows this song from Guitar Hero, this video by Muse rocks a muthafuckin truckload of boot-tastic booty. I have absolutely no idea why a space-kung-fu-western hasn’t been made yet. Seriously.

I don’t know what these so called “artists” are up to these days with their hippity hop and their songs about worshiping SATAN, but THIS TIME THEY’VE GONE TOO FAR!!! Two of this modern day’s top 40 Billboard Chart Artists Of All Times have songs about EATING BABIES among their top-sellingest hit singles!!!!! This is an abomination!!!! Contact your congressman today and express your distaste for this filth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *

(continue reading…)