As we come into the final stretch of our Seven Day Forecast with Blue Skies For Black Hearts, I thought I'd serve up a special double feature.
So sit back and enjoy.
Blue Skies For Black Hearts - "Sitting on the Edge"
Blue Skies For Black Hearts with Jenny Conlee-Drizos - "Going to California"
Friday, June 6, 2014
Thursday, June 5, 2014
"Seven Day Forecast" with Blue Skies For Black Hearts - The List: Awesome Music Movies
As a recording engineer whose main hobby is writing songs and playing in a band, I spend a lot of days immersed in music. I wind down by watching TV. I gravitate to the movies and shows that involve good music. This isn't a definitive list...it's a few that I've been watching that are a little off the beaten path. - Pat Kearns
10) Cisco Pike (1972) - Kris Kristofferson plays a fresh out of jail songwriter gone drug dealer trying to get back to being a songwriter. Gene Hackman is the corrupt cop who gets him to go back to dealing. Sounds good to start, right? Plus, Doug Sahm appears in the studio, apparently on some sort of stimulant. Worth it just for the cameo.
9) The Secret To A Happy Ending (2009) - This film about the Drive-By Truckers documents that it may sometimes hurt, but you should always follow your heart. Because of this movie, I became a fan of the band. That's a good movie. You actually get a sense of how this band works together. And you want to root for them and be on their side.
8) Rockers (1978) - This is a classic Jamaican film, the next one down the hill from The Harder They Come. I love the scenes from the famous Harry J Studios. The language is thick, but it gives the movie incredible vibe. The story is good, but this one is so full of eye candy that you can put it on and tune in when you want. Plus Burning Spear is in it.
7) Captain Beefheart Under Review (2006) - When I need to reset, there' s nothing like Beefheart. This British doc takes an analytical view of Captain Beefheart's entire music career. It's filled with insightful interviews and obscure footage. The early footage of The Magic Band playing on the beach in Cannes, France, is mind blowing.
6) Human Highway (1982) - Neil Young, Devo, and Dennis Hopper. I was amazed when I found out that this happened. And I was even more amazed after I saw it. This is Neil Young at his self indulgent best....making a movie! And it gets weird, even more weird than you can imagine.
5 & 4) Play On, John: A Life In Music (2009) - This is a Smithsonian doc on John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers, a major player and musicologist on the American folk scene since the early 1960's. Oh, and John Cohen also makes amazing films about music. He might even be a better film maker than he is a musician. See his film, The High Lonesome Sound (1962) for further proof.
3) Color Me Obsessed (2011) - This may be the best music documentary I have ever seen...and there is no music by The Replacements in the documentary...and nobody in the band was interviewed either! I saw it in a theater. It was a special showing of an early cut arranged by Jackpot Records in Portland. I talked my wife, who was not a Replacements fan at all, into going with me. The movie goes chronologically by album and features fans telling stories about the band and their music and what it meant to them. After we got home, we listened to their first five records back to back - my wife's idea. Remember what I said about a good music movies? We also drank a lot of red wine.
2) Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - No, not obscure, but this one is different. This is the beat side of being a musician...and I don't mean "Howl" beat. This is the down side: the creative struggle, the missed connection with the audience, the failed audition, the foot in mouth. I don't know what it was about this movie that got me, but it sunk it's claws deep in me. There's not a lot of action. It's melancholy. It's depressing to watch someone that's in one of the most important musical places and times, 1961 Greenwich Village, and they're missing the opportunity to become a great artist and a self-actualized soul because of negative energy and self sabotage. I feel the Coen brothers warning...but I also wonder if there's no hope and that it all lies in fate. I constantly thought about this movie for weeks after seeing it. It haunts me.
1) The American Astronaut (2005) - Directed by and starring Cory McAbee of The Billy Nayer Show, I came across this gem by accident. And, man, I love it! It mashes up science fiction, film noir and propaganda films all into it's own, unique low budget package. Plus, I had the extra bonus of seeing my old friend Mike Silverman (That One Guy) show up in the space bar scene. There's Rock & Roll and dancing....it's actually a real musical! There's a related short film series that's even more bizarre. Totally worth the time to track down.
9) The Secret To A Happy Ending (2009) - This film about the Drive-By Truckers documents that it may sometimes hurt, but you should always follow your heart. Because of this movie, I became a fan of the band. That's a good movie. You actually get a sense of how this band works together. And you want to root for them and be on their side.
8) Rockers (1978) - This is a classic Jamaican film, the next one down the hill from The Harder They Come. I love the scenes from the famous Harry J Studios. The language is thick, but it gives the movie incredible vibe. The story is good, but this one is so full of eye candy that you can put it on and tune in when you want. Plus Burning Spear is in it.
7) Captain Beefheart Under Review (2006) - When I need to reset, there' s nothing like Beefheart. This British doc takes an analytical view of Captain Beefheart's entire music career. It's filled with insightful interviews and obscure footage. The early footage of The Magic Band playing on the beach in Cannes, France, is mind blowing.
6) Human Highway (1982) - Neil Young, Devo, and Dennis Hopper. I was amazed when I found out that this happened. And I was even more amazed after I saw it. This is Neil Young at his self indulgent best....making a movie! And it gets weird, even more weird than you can imagine.
5 & 4) Play On, John: A Life In Music (2009) - This is a Smithsonian doc on John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers, a major player and musicologist on the American folk scene since the early 1960's. Oh, and John Cohen also makes amazing films about music. He might even be a better film maker than he is a musician. See his film, The High Lonesome Sound (1962) for further proof.
3) Color Me Obsessed (2011) - This may be the best music documentary I have ever seen...and there is no music by The Replacements in the documentary...and nobody in the band was interviewed either! I saw it in a theater. It was a special showing of an early cut arranged by Jackpot Records in Portland. I talked my wife, who was not a Replacements fan at all, into going with me. The movie goes chronologically by album and features fans telling stories about the band and their music and what it meant to them. After we got home, we listened to their first five records back to back - my wife's idea. Remember what I said about a good music movies? We also drank a lot of red wine.
2) Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - No, not obscure, but this one is different. This is the beat side of being a musician...and I don't mean "Howl" beat. This is the down side: the creative struggle, the missed connection with the audience, the failed audition, the foot in mouth. I don't know what it was about this movie that got me, but it sunk it's claws deep in me. There's not a lot of action. It's melancholy. It's depressing to watch someone that's in one of the most important musical places and times, 1961 Greenwich Village, and they're missing the opportunity to become a great artist and a self-actualized soul because of negative energy and self sabotage. I feel the Coen brothers warning...but I also wonder if there's no hope and that it all lies in fate. I constantly thought about this movie for weeks after seeing it. It haunts me.
1) The American Astronaut (2005) - Directed by and starring Cory McAbee of The Billy Nayer Show, I came across this gem by accident. And, man, I love it! It mashes up science fiction, film noir and propaganda films all into it's own, unique low budget package. Plus, I had the extra bonus of seeing my old friend Mike Silverman (That One Guy) show up in the space bar scene. There's Rock & Roll and dancing....it's actually a real musical! There's a related short film series that's even more bizarre. Totally worth the time to track down.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
"Seven Day Forcast" with Blue Skies for Black Hearts: 10 Questions: Pat Kearns and Mike Lewis
Pat Kearns and Mike Lewis, two parts of the talented team behind Portland Oregon's Blue Skies For Black Heart took some time to talk to BLS about the band, their upcoming new album and Afghanistan.
BLS: You have a new album set for release in July. What do you enjoy the most about the new album?
PK: It's new! For me, the music needs to change and evolve. This album brings longer songs, new and more sonic textures. Keys are as much a part of the picture as guitars on this record. They've been on our past recordings, but not so prevalent. I think the songs have a sense of perspective to them that we didn't have on earlier records. It's all part of evolution.
ML: The vocals harmonies. I've been singing in vocal groups since I was five...with the addition of Grant Law and Mark Breitenbach, we are able to do four part harmonies on almost everything. In past lineups, we've worked toward this, but never quite got there...but this band nails it. I haven't had so much fun singing in ages.
BLS: Blue Skies for Black Hearts has been producing music for over ten years. What do you equate your longevity?
PK: Persistance. And when things got rough, I had even more desire to make music than I did before. Making music is important to me in the way that I connect with the rest of the world. Some people call friends on the phone. Some people go to the bar and watch football. I write songs. That's all the sense I try to make out of it.
ML: We're stubborn, I guess. But really, for me, the first time I tried out for Blue Skies over 13 years ago, there was a magic there...especially between Pat and I. I can't imagine giving that up. It's what gets me up in the morning, centers me when times are rough...those moments of magic, on stage, in the studio, when rounding out a new song...it's what I live for.
BLS: Your music has a palatable retro sound, what do you sight as the defining influences?
PK: I grew up listening to a lot of college radio and underground music, but my heart has always been in Rock and Roll. My earliest memories are listening to Elvis Presley records on my mom's player. And still, no music can stop me in my tracks like primordial Rock and Roll. Arthur Alexander, Smokey Robinson, and Roy Orbison all knock me out.
ML: As the songwriter, Pat should really speak more to this. However, as a guitarist, I love simple, ear grabbing hooks. For me, The Edge and Mike Campbell are huge inspirations. Those guys can make two notes stick in your brain forever.
BLS: Michael Lewis, you’ve been recently working with Rock School Kabul in Kabul Afghanistan. Can you tell us more about the work you’re doing
ML: I am volunteering as a music instructor at the rock school. This time out, my friend Jerry Joseph (a fabulous Portland songwriter who I look up to immensely) is here with me. He busted his tail end and raised a bunch of money for the school. Because of that, we were able to bring a big shipment of equipment out to the school...drums, guitars, pro audio gear. Music has meant so much to me in my life...given me so much, I just wanted to give back to those who don't have the access to it that I had. I am honored that Jerry and his fans have been so generous in helping out the school. And have to give a huge shout out to Humayun and Robin, the founders of the school...they are doing the work day in and day out for nearly three years now. (also check out Robin's killer band, Arc Iris!)
BLS: With the busy lives of the individual band members, how do you manage to keep the band vitally active?
PK: Lots and lots of coordination. This is also why it takes a few years in between records for us.
ML: Lots and lots of coordination. It's a lot of work...but worth it in the end.
BLS: Other than your album release, what dose the summer have in store for the band?
PK: We'll be touring the west coast in July and we have a few festival dates in August around the NW.
ML: As much sunshine and days on the river as possible!!!! Plus touring and festivals and generally kicking ass.
BLS: The Blue Skies in the name, is that wishful thinking being from Oregon?
PK: I'm sure it's not an accident that our name references it. When the sun comes out here, after six months of rain, everybody smiles.
ML: Pat named the band...but I think it is as apt a description of what it means to be a Portlander as any.
BLS: As a long time Portland Band, What do you love most about the hometown scene? What’s you least favorite element?
PK: I love that there's so many different scenes that have evolved here...but I also hate that we don't easily fit into any of them. We're not punk enough for the punk scene, we're too indie for the alt-country scene, and too retro sounding for the pop scene. I just think of us as a Rock and Roll band. Although we don't fit, I never had a desire to follow the rules of a single genre. My favorite songwriters all move around.
ML: I love the artistic pressure cooker...there are so many artists, that it pushes everyone to greatness, because you can't be a slacker band in this town if you want to play. But I find it to also be a little overly clicky and competitive. At any given show, half or more of the crowd are musicians, arms akimbo, standing in the back, not moving a muscle. In New York, people still go out to see music, because music is what they love, and they dance and freak out and don't care about who's looking, what they're wearing, or whether the band is cool enough for them to be into them. They just love music.
BLS: What's the one Portland venue that’s no longer around that you miss the most?
PK: EJ's. Man, I miss EJ's.
ML: I loved playing shows at the recently departed Langano Lounge. House show vibe with a good bar.
BLS: Name 5 bands you love but who few people have heard of?
PK:
Hillbilly Dumbass (Portland, OR)
Toyboat Toyboat Toyboat (Portland, OR)
Moving Sidewalks (Seattle, WA)
Troublegum (Oakland, CA)
Exploding Flowers (LA, CA)
ML:
The Virals (UK)
The Plimsouls (old school 80's west coast band)
Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons (Portland/Salt Lake City)
The Knast (Seattle, WA)
The Equals (UK...their early stuff, when Eddie Grant was in the band...they wrote Police On My Back, my favorite cover by The Clash)
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
"Seven Day Forcast" with Blue Skies for Black Hearts: The World Premier of Blue Skies for Black Hearts' "It's Gone On Too Long" Video
BLS is proud to percent the world premier of Blue Skies For Black Hearts' video for "It's Gone On Too Long".
Blue Skies for Black Hearts -"It's Gone On Too Long"
The first single off of Blue Skies For Black Hearts latest self-titled album, set for release in July.
"It's Gone On Too Long” was inspired by the songwriting of Smokey Robinson. While the video was born out of a combination of an idea that the director, Kevin Hanzlik, had about showing the day to day struggles of being in a band and a short story Pat Kearns had written. Blue Skies engineer, Mark Brachmann, plays the record producer. Chip Mabry, esteemed documentary producer, plays the record exec. And Peter Hughes, guitarist for Sons of Huns, plays the OSPIRG volunteer who steels the musical talent in the end from The Painters.
Blue Skies for Black Hearts -"It's Gone On Too Long"
The first single off of Blue Skies For Black Hearts latest self-titled album, set for release in July.
"It's Gone On Too Long” was inspired by the songwriting of Smokey Robinson. While the video was born out of a combination of an idea that the director, Kevin Hanzlik, had about showing the day to day struggles of being in a band and a short story Pat Kearns had written. Blue Skies engineer, Mark Brachmann, plays the record producer. Chip Mabry, esteemed documentary producer, plays the record exec. And Peter Hughes, guitarist for Sons of Huns, plays the OSPIRG volunteer who steels the musical talent in the end from The Painters.
Monday, June 2, 2014
"Seven Day Forcast" with Blue Skies for Black Hearts: Cure for the Mondays:Tom Petty - "I'm Stupid"
Tom Petty - "I'm Stupid"
Picked by Blue Skies for Black Hearts' Pat Kearns.
I watch this and think, "There's no way these guys have been to bed yet." I love Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. And this is the loosest and most off the cuff you'll ever see them. Even when he isn't trying, he can write a great song. This one makes me laugh every time. - Pat Kearns
Picked by Blue Skies for Black Hearts' Pat Kearns.
I watch this and think, "There's no way these guys have been to bed yet." I love Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. And this is the loosest and most off the cuff you'll ever see them. Even when he isn't trying, he can write a great song. This one makes me laugh every time. - Pat Kearns
Sunday, June 1, 2014
"Seven Day Forcast" with Blue Skies for Black Hearts: Living Room Performance: Blue Skies for Black Hearts - "The Stich" and "World Without Love"
Blue Skies for Black Hearts - "The Stich" and "World Without Love"
The Comet Tavern
Seattle, Washington
June 7, 2012
Portland based Blues Skies for Black Hearts are audio crafts men of the highest caliber that set their skills to a style of retro pop sweetness.
Set for the release of their self-titled album in early July, we thought this would be a great time to have the boys take the reins of BLS for the week. With a full week of great features put together and highlighting the band that includes the premier of their latest video. It's been great working with the band and it's an honor to present Blue Skies for Black Hearts' "Seven Day Forecast".
Enjoy and come back daily for all the great features.
The Comet Tavern
Seattle, Washington
June 7, 2012
Portland based Blues Skies for Black Hearts are audio crafts men of the highest caliber that set their skills to a style of retro pop sweetness.
Set for the release of their self-titled album in early July, we thought this would be a great time to have the boys take the reins of BLS for the week. With a full week of great features put together and highlighting the band that includes the premier of their latest video. It's been great working with the band and it's an honor to present Blue Skies for Black Hearts' "Seven Day Forecast".
Enjoy and come back daily for all the great features.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Living Room Performance: Poolboys - "I Wanna Be Your Dog"
The Poolboys- "I Wanna Be Your Dog"
Swing House Studios & Blackstar Amplification's Punk Rock Bowling Pool Party
The Plaza Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Navada
May 25th, 2013
One of the coolest unsung music events of the year, the Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival has been celebrating punk rock in all it's independent glory since 1999. Four days filled with some of the greatest punk rock fun and music both new and old.I envy the lucky bastards that descended upon Sin City to attend this year’s festival.
If your like me and were unable to attend this weekend's amazing event then here is an awesome performance from last years festivities. A true punk rock classic played by The Poolboys, an impromptu collective of puck rock royalty consisting of: James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges), Captain Sensible & Pinch (The Damned), Tony Adolescent (The Adolescents), DH Peligro (Dead Kennedys), Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds), Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks) and Charlie Paulson (Goldfinger/Black President.)
Swing House Studios & Blackstar Amplification's Punk Rock Bowling Pool Party
The Plaza Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Navada
May 25th, 2013
One of the coolest unsung music events of the year, the Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival has been celebrating punk rock in all it's independent glory since 1999. Four days filled with some of the greatest punk rock fun and music both new and old.I envy the lucky bastards that descended upon Sin City to attend this year’s festival.
If your like me and were unable to attend this weekend's amazing event then here is an awesome performance from last years festivities. A true punk rock classic played by The Poolboys, an impromptu collective of puck rock royalty consisting of: James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges), Captain Sensible & Pinch (The Damned), Tony Adolescent (The Adolescents), DH Peligro (Dead Kennedys), Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds), Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks) and Charlie Paulson (Goldfinger/Black President.)
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