What is Speed Dating?  Well on the Great Pumpkin that is where a bunch of singles get together, and hang out, but this time it’s mp3s, 7″s, and EPs rather than people.  Speed Dating is where I highlight some tracks that I have been listening to lately.  Whether I like them, hate them, am intrigued by them… no matter what I think they are note worthy for one reason or another. Each post will feature one to five songs by different bands, and aim to get my thoughts out on music that I have been trying to write about, but might not have formed a strong enough opinion to write a full post on. Hence I think that Speed Dating is an appropriate heading for these posts….brief thoughts on singles from my record player and the web.

CO. is from Charleston South Carolina, and first caught my attention earlier this year when I heard “Waiting for Saints to Arrive” on Somebody Come and Play.  That song again showed up on the Charleston 2009 Compilation Zine (which if you are wondering what is going on artistically in Charleston, SC right now email Kim (at) maltedmilk.org for availability of the zine…lots of good stuff on there…and some more of it will be showing up here on the Great Pumpkin).  “Waiting for Saints to Arrive” is a fuzzy stoner jam that brings me back to college in a very good way.  As bored college kids in the south this song feels very true to life, but then again I feel that it is an anthem for bored youth everywhere.  It really captures something important about life, and the first time I heard it remember rewinding the Somebody Come podcast to listen to it five times in a row.  Starting off with just an electric guitar and vocals for almost the first thirty seconds I almost didn’t expect the rest of the band to kick in, but when it does it goes from a minimalist to full blown 90’s influenced indie guitar rock.  It’s a song I find myself returning to now, even months after I initially heard it.

[mp3] CO.- “Waiting for Saints to Arrive”

CO. seems to be moving away from the fuzzy guitar pop in favor of more complex, almost classic rock driven, jams.  They have posted five tracks from their upcoming full length, The Shepherd’s Ocean, on their myspace (and a lot more) for your listening pleasure.

Sole is one of those artists that I can credit with turning me on to hip hop, but I unfortunately haven’t been following him that closely in recent years.  Bottles of Humans, Sole’s debut, is possibly my favorite hip hop album ever, but in recent years he picked up a backing band…the Skyrider Band.  As expected this new track has what I remember best about Sole…his lyrics.  This particular track was remixed by Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow, and adds a touch that I didn’t expect to hear in a hip hop track, even with a live band…Tobacco successfully gives Sole a synthy psychedelic touch…not overwhelming, but enough to make the track unique and still let Sole shine.  Either way it was enough to make me seek out the EP, and check out the new full length.

[mp3] Sole & The Skyrider Band- “Battlefields (remixed by Tobacco)”

[full album download] Sole- Battlefields EP

buy releases by Sole here.

track via No Conclusion.

Big Troubles? The initial information about this group only pointed to good things…from Ridgewood, NJ…associated with Underwater Peoples…and now I read that they have a 7″ and an LP coming out on Olde English Spelling Bee, another 7″ on Blackburn, a split with Fluffy Lumbers scheduled for Transparent, and will also be on the Underwater Peeps Winter compilation.  Musically Big Troubles has a bit of the fuzzy beachy surfiness you would expect hailing from this New Jersey crew, but unlike the rest portrays an almost authentic 80’s vibe on the track “Freudian Slips.”  This track got me hooked, and so far Underwater Peeps and OESB can do no wrong…can’t wait to hear the LP…only good things can come from these guys.  Keep an eye on the record labels listed above for ordering info (and from the looks of it…I’ll be writing about some of these releases in the future).

[mp3] Big Troubles- “Freudian Slips”

Video: Big Troubles- “Freudian Slips” by Ray Concepcioñ

This is it for Speed Dating Vol. One, but I hope to have another edition up next week.  I’m really looking forward to this new segment on the Great Pumpkin, and I feel like I will be able to cover some bands that I have been meaning to talk about for a long time.  Cheers, Tom.

This past Saturday klk and I took a drive to Asbury Park, NJ to go to the Silver Ball Museum (The Pinball Hall Of Fame). I was unaware that there was a pinball museum so close to New York City (I had previous only known of the National Pinball Museum in Silver Springs, MD)… but last week my friend Brendan sent over the link to their site.

The Silver Ball Museum is located in Asbury Park, NJ, and the drive was surprisingly easy.  Asbury Park is a nice little town (edit: I’m getting criticism for this statement…but as far as re-developing goes…it is a nice…slightly abandoned…town…what it comes down to it that I like it), and the block of Cookman St. that the Silver Ball Museum is on is pretty kicking…including a couple cafes, restaurants, the wonderful Paranormal Books and Curiosities, and the future home of the Paranormal Museum! The Silver Ball Museum itself is located in the back of the Speak Easy.  The Speak Easy is a music equipment, record, and rock apparel store (we did pick up a 7″ while at Speak Easy, but more on that will come later this week)….you walk in and head to the back…you see the Silver Ball signs, and walk down the steps into a basement filled with pinball machines.

If you have been reading the Great Pumpkin you probably already know that I have been working on The North Brooklyn Pinball Directory, and that pinball is a passion of mine.   Most of the machines in Brooklyn seem to be from the late 70’s up til the early 2000’s, but the Silver Ball Museum’s focus is on machines created from 33′-79′!

Typically when you think of museums you think of something that is hands off, and just for looking, but the Silver Ball Museum was 100% hands on.  While it might appear to be expensive there are several options for admission:

• $5 for 15 minutes
• $10 for an hour
• $20 for the day
• $50 for the weekend

Admission into the Silver Ball Museum gets you all you can play for the time you are there (and if you haven’t played a pinball machine in a bar lately, you can spend $10 and play the game much less than an hour).  The man working the counter let us in, and said “All of the games are on free play…if the machine is turned on all you have to do is find the start button.”

I had pretty high expectations for Silver Ball, and it exceeded my expectations by far.  Silver Ball gave me a history lesson in pinball in the best way possible…not only did I get to see how machines have progressed over time, but also experience how they feel during game play.  The most interesting thing I learned was that the flippers got much bigger sometime during the 70’s, and this made the game slightly easier…too me honest most of the machines from the 60’s were a little bit too hard.

Almost all of the machines were on (very few out of order…and most of those were marked), and in better condition than I could have ever imagined.  It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon, and gave us the opportunity to play a whole lot of machines (they boast 100 of the best from the 60’s and 70’s).

These were some of our favorites:

Fireball had an intense spinning mechanism in the middle that shot the ball in crazy directions…one of the most unique machines I have played:

Those were some of our favorites, but by far the most impressive thing was the amount of machines that you could try.

I’ll be honest, and say that this was my first good experience in New Jersey, and I really enjoy Asbury Park.  For fans of pinball in the NY/NJ area I think the Silver Ball Museum is a place you must visit…If I was spending the night out in Asbury Park I could totally get my moneys worth of a full day pass.

Paranormal Books and Curiosities (located at 627 Cookman Avenue) was a wonderful surprise, and we ended up bringing a book and some magazines home with us.  One of the best stores specializing in the occult that I have ever seen.  They do Ghost Walks, Haunted Investigations, Psychic Readings, and more all out of this shop! Here is a little bit more about the shop:

More than a store, Paranormal Books & Curiosities is a unique experience boutique! Participate in ghost hunting classes and paranormal investigations, view exclusive paranormal art and exhibits, or drop by for guest lectures, book signings and performances held throughout the year. We guarantee you won’t find any place like this in the world!

Paranormal Books & Curiosities also carries a wide variety of hard to find books and regional titles, including the current issue of Weird NJ. And for the paranormal investigator, we stock the latest in ghost hunting equipment and supplies.

I plan on going back to Asbury Park again once the Paranormal Museum opens…their first exhibit will be on the Jersey Devil! And while I’m there I will definitely stop back into the Silver Ball for another hour or so of pinball.  This is truly an amazing block in Asbury Park.

The Silver Ball Museum is located at
639 Cookman Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
(in the back of Speak Easy and a couple doors down from Paranormal Books and Curiosities)
(732)-774-4994

Additional Info and Links:

• Silver Ball Pinball Museum
• Paranormal Books and Curiosities (and eventually the Paranormal Museum)
• The North Brooklyn Pinball Directory
• more of my pictures of the Silver Ball Museum here.
• Paranormal Books photo by Shawn Perez via flickr

When I started writing the Great Pumpkin at the beginning of this year I could have never predicted how many good things would be revolving around a little record label that I had never even heard of…and all of the magic started with Real Estate’s first 7″…then a wonderful compilation CD,  followed by Julian Lynch and Ducktails split 7″/DVD combo, and now it is all culminating in a showcase of wonderful bands that Underwater Peoples Records are pushing into the spotlight (all in under a year)!

For those of you unfamiliar with Underwater Peoples it is a record label based in Washington DC, but has strong ties in New Jersey and Brooklyn.  The boys that run the label are super nice, and give off positive vibes all around.  In addition to running a record label and playing in bands they are now responsible for a study of people who create homemade flame throwers (more on this below).

Tomorrow night marks a very special event in the early life of this record label…August 22nd will be Underwater Peoples Records Late Summer Showcase at the Market Hotel!

SET LIST!!!!! (rumor has it these might have been pushed back by 30minutes)

• 5 – Big Troubles
• 5:30 – Dana Jewell
• 6 – Ducktails
• 6:30 – Frat Dad
• 7 – Liam The Younger
• 7:30 – Beach Fossils
• ***Second half***
• 8:15 – Fluffy Lumbers
• 8:50 – Andrew Cedermark
• 9:25 – Alex Bleeker & The Freaks
• 10 – Family Portrait
• 10:35 – Pill Wonder
• 11:10 – Air Waves
• 11:45 – Real Estate
• click through on any of the bands to hear their music.

The showcase only costs $5, and tickets can be purchased in advance here. If you can make it out for any part of this event it is sure to be special.  I’m personally hoping to catch Liam the Younger, but overall you can’t go wrong…so many good bands and so cheap.

If you are interested in buying Underwater Peoples releases you can do it directly from them.  The Real Estate 7″ is now out of print, but the compilation and Julian Lynch/Ducktails 7″/DVD combo are still available here!  Keep an eye out…there will be more good things to come from Underwater Peoples in the future.

If you are interested in supporting Underwater Peoples study of homemade flamethrowers please check out their  first video documenting it which is also the first “music video” by Family Portrait titled “Mega Secrets.”  For more info on the study read their full blog post about it and vote for them to present their findings at SXSW.

I’ve written about a handful of these bands in the past too (click through for videos, mp3s, pictures, and more):

• More on Ducktails here.
• More on Real Estate here.
• More on Liam the Younger here (including free albums!)
• More on Underwater Peoples in general here.

Saturday should be a blast!  And congrats to Underwater Peoples for coming so far in such a short period of time!

When contemplating going to a show I sometimes ask for advise from my friends, and I couldn’t have gotten a better recommendation when asking about the Screaming Females.  Tay, over at Somebody Come and Play, said this:

By all means go to that show! And bring a mop to clean your melted face off the floor afterwards.

I unfortunately didn’t make it to that show, but I did pick up Screaming Females new record Power Move this weekend. What I got was totally a mind blowing rock record. For a band that has put out a number of records I was surprised that I have only been hearing their name as of recently. Tay has been rocking them on his podcast for sometime, and with good reason.

Screaming Females give a refreshing take on rock n’ roll filled to the brim with guitar solos and noise all while keeping a pop sensibility. It’s a full on sensory experience to the point where Marissa Paternoster wailing voice, and intense guitar solos send chills up your spin. She is backed by Jarrett Dougherty on drums, and Mike Rickenbacker on base. I had been told that Paternoster’s guitar playing was being compared to J. Mascis, and initially I thought…how could that be possible…but after experiencing Power Move a couple times I can totally see this comparison, and what it comes down to is that Marissa Paternoster can totally shred.

Power Move was released on Don Giovanni Records, a record label I am solely familiar with because of No Idea! This is my first purchase from the Females, but so far I am extremely impressed.  The first press of this LP is 1,000 copies on black vinyl and as a bonus you get a download card of the entire LP.  This record is still fresh in my head, but I’m already thinking that this release has been overlooked by too many music sites…I’m only a month and a half behind on this record, released 4/14/09, and the only blogs that have mentioned it in my reader are Brooklyn Vegan and Somebody Come. While you may read that this is Screaming Female’s debut, don’t be fooled…this is actually their third LP. At this point I am going to scramble to find tickets to the upcoming Screaming Females show where they are opening for Dinosaur Jr show at MHoW (which is already sold out).

If you haven’t heard the Screaming Females yet, check out the single from Power Move:

[mp3] Screaming Females- “Bell” (Buy it here!)

Screaming Females have a whole bunch of tour dates.   Here are the dates in the NY/NJ area:

6/5/09- Brooklyn, NY @ Hillstock Rooftop Kickoff Party
6/12/09- Brooklyn, NY @ Public Assembly (Northside Fest)
6/20/09-New Brunswick, NY @ Court Tavern
6/25/09- Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (18+) w/ Dinosaur Jr.
6/28/09- New Brunswick, NY @ Meat Town USA
7/16/09- New York, NY @ Terminal 5 w/ The Dead Weather
7/17/09- New York, NY @ Terminal 5 w/ The Dead Weather

*all other Screaming Females tour dates can be found here.

**An additional side note for those of you in NYC area.  I picked up this LP while at brunch!  Yes, Eat Records is still carrying vinyl contrary to their myspace blog post. (and serving wonderful food).  Their selection is changing too, and there is quite a bit of new vinyl in stock.  The guy running the record store section of the business was super nice, and I’m going to go back to take a full look at the selection.