Eric Lovold talks to Culture Vulture about The Alarmists' new record, The Overhead Left

Friday , June 12, 2009 marks the CD release show at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis of local indie-rock band The Alarmists' new album, The Overhead Left. Culture Vulture got the opportunity to ask frontman Eric Lovold about the project.


Culture Vulture: How long have you been working on The Overhead Left, and how does it feel to have the final product ready for distribution?

Eric Lovold: We started demos for it about a year ago. We're pretty excited about this one, so it feels great to have it ready.

CV: What significance does this record hold for you?

EL: This is the first record that Joe Kuefler and Ryan McMillan and I made together in the studio that we built together a few years ago. So it was pretty cool to have that opportunity.


CV: Tell us a little about the new record. Is this a new direction?

EL: I wouldn't say the sound has changed in any specific way. You always hope to make better records, and I think that this record is definitely a step in the right direction for us.

CV: There's been some talk about supporting local non-profit Rock the Cause with this record. Tell us about that.

EL: We met Scott Herold a few years ago and did a charity show with his organization, Rock the Cause. They do pretty amazing community work. Our album is going to be available for free exclusively through the Rock the Cause site, for those people that attend our CD release show. We're directing traffic to Rock the Cause so that people can see what they are all about. The show is 10 bucks, so we figure we'll throw the record in for free for the people that come out to support us.

CV: That's incredibly generous of you guys. Now, I know there's been some shifting around as far as bandmembers go. Who is currently performing as The Alarmists? Does this differ from those who recorded on the album?

EL: The line up on the album is the same as the line up live, with the exception of Randy Tomes (Keys). It's Joe and Ryan and I, Mark Schwandt on drums, and Brian Gruidle on bass.

CV: What's next for the band? Will there be any touring with this album?

EL: We will not be touring on this album. We're keeping it local. Each of us have personal goals and separate lives from the band, and we're trying to respect that for our own sanity. The next step for the band is to work on writing new music with this lineup. We're pretty excited about the possibilities and the plan is to hit the studio again.

CV: Speaking of the studio, you do some recording for other bands. What are some of your recent projects?

EL: Recently I've worked with So It Goes and Stellar Vector. The cool thing about recording bands is that they might be people that you've only known socially, and then you spend all this time together and become close friends. That's pretty fantastic.

CV: Totally. So you've been part of the Minneapolis rock scene for awhile now. How old are you?

EL: I turn 26 a week after our CD release.

CV: You're a young buck. What's next for you?

EL: Next for me...more Alarmists music, working with White Light Riot on their next album, and recording in the studio. I'm doing as much music as possible this summer.

CV: Sounds great. Give us three reasons why people need to be there on Friday.

EL: Well, this is the first time our new lineup will be playing together live, which is pretty exciting. Also, Coach Said Not To is playing. Third - have you ever seen Joe on stage?
He's a madman!

CV: Anything else you want to say to Culture Vulture Party readers?

EL: If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Hope to see you at the show!


Culture Vulture will ALSO miss this show, as we'll be at Bonnaroo. But if you're in Minneapolis this weekend, this is where you should be:

The Alarmists CD Release Show
w/ special guests The 757s, The Championship and Coach Said Not To
June 12, 2009
Varsity Theater
1308 4th St SE Minneapolis, MN 55414
$10 @ the door

Check out http://www.myspace.com/thealarmists
and http://www.irockthecause.org

Hip Hop Against Homophobia Vol. 2 THIS SATURDAY

Culture Vulture will be at Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN this weekend, but if you are not, GET THEE TO THE BEDLAM THEATER on Saturday, June 13, to support local hip hop and our friends at the second ever Hip Hop Against Homophobia event hosted by Culturebully.com, Cypher Coalition, TruRuts/Speakeasy Records, and MN GLBTA Campus Alliance. Proceeds go to support Color CoordiNATION, GLBT Host Home Program, and Reclaim.

It's 18+, so make sure you're of age. Or get a killer fake.

Hip Hop Against Homophobia Vol. 2
Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 9:00pm - 2:00am
Bedlam Theater
1501 S. 6th St.
Minneapolis, MN
For more info, contact: hhahTC@gmail.com


Event Description:
After a capacity-bursting show at the Nomad in January, and an inspiring all ages show at District 202 in March, Hip Hop Against Homophobia is coming back to the West Bank, bigger and better than ever. We've got a whole new line up of queer and ally MC's and performers, and proceeds will benefit three hard working organizations. Hip Hop Against Homophobia will bring together the Cities' queer and hip hop communities for an event that combines our incredible music scene with change making and community building. It'll go down so smooth, you won't even know it's activism.

7pm in the Fireplace Lounge: Open community conversation about hip hop and homophobia, queer hip hop artists, hip hop as social justice, gender in hip hop, queer movements for economic and social justice, whatever we want to talk about. Come set the agenda.

9pm on the Main Stage: Show Featuring:

Tori Fixx
Johnny Dangerous
Lindsey of 2 Flytz Up
Bottom Feeders & EZRA of Death Ray Scientific
See More Perspective and the Point of View Band
Poetic Assassins
DJ Blowtorch

Culture Vulture LOVES this song and vid by Johnny Dangerous: "Dirty Is the New Black"

Culture Vulture deserves a spanking

Our apologies for missing this one:

The Tallest Man on Earth played a show at The Turf Club in St. Paul last Monday night, June 1, 2009. We express our deepest regrets both for missing this performance, but also for not alerting our followers to this special event.

We are so sorry. This Swedish folk artist (Kristian Matsson) makes our blood bubble. In a good way. We also decidely love his "barely-there" mustache. If you like Bon Iver, Dylan, John Prine...and good music, for that matter...you'll probably dig this.

We'd like to make it up to you with this video from Swedish television. The Tallest Man on Earth performs "It Will Follow the Rain." Can a folk song grip you and rip you? Hell yeah!:



If you are anywhere else in America this summer, you have a pretty good chance of catching this man. Oh, and...he ain't that tall.

The 4onthefloor @ The Acadia Cafe Minneapolis 6.5.09

Dirty Blue-Collar Blues for Collars of Any Hue.


Are you a working stiff? A yuppie without a cause?

Has THE MAN got you down? Tired of all work and no play?

Sick of Big Brother breathing down your neck while you push paper across your desk and all you want is your own damn stapler?!

Maybe you're just stuck in a moment and can't get out of it (Thanks, U2).

Look no further; Culture Vulture has found your saving grace.

The local self-proclaimed "stompin' blues" band, The 4onthefloor, will cure your worldly aches and pains, that is, if your little ears can handle four bass drums being played in unison.
If they can't, don't bother. And save the nightlife for the young and young at heart.

This past Friday evening at The Acadia Cafe in Cedar-Riverside, The 4ontheFloor made their second appearance in one week after a long winter and spring laying low. (Their last show was in late December at Downtime in Dinkytown). Now the foursome has
re-emerged with their four bass drums, new songs, and a banner, which everyone knows legitmizes any band. Even though The Acadia is all ages, one can't help but get wrapped up in the crowd of teen dancing queens and rocker-wannabes. Most are almost too hip to function. Almost. But once those drums start beating, so do all our hearts. In unison. We stomp out our aggressions, our fears, our loneliness, and our demons.

Relatable songs like "Working Man Zombie" (And that chain around your ankle keeps you tied to the places that you fear the most/ It keeps you right back at the starting line/ Either way you know that it's closing time, all right...) take the old ball and chain nomenclature and use it to refer to one's day job, while perhaps unintentionally borrowing from the massive archive of pop culture references stored in songwriter Gabe Douglas' brain to produce a line that seems both familiar and bastardized for the greater good. ("The Places That You Have Come to Fear the Most" by everyone's favorite emo band Dashboard Confessional, and the iconic Semisonic hit "Closing Time").

Aside from unifying lyrics, the ability to get people toe-tapping, and creating near-chaos with everyone yelling along, the band is musically apt. Clever fermatas keep the audience paying attention, even while all songs are in 4/4 time, and the new tunes show off some of the dirtiest guitar riffs the Minneapolis scene has heard from a new local band in years.

Next local gig is rumored to be in July. Until then, build up some tensions (I know this might be a problem for some of you) so you have something to release at the next 4onthefloor show. Bring your dad. He'll thank you for it.

Listen to "Working Man Zombie" http://www.myspace.com/the4onthefloor
Follow 'em! Twitter.com/the4onthefloor
Become a Fan on Facebook.com Search "The 4onthefloor"

6.3.09 Hot Dish @ Ugly Mug in Downtown Minneapolis

Go see sexy** cover band Hot Dish next time they play at the Ugly Mug. But don't try to network with any men over 40 claiming to be in your line of work; THEY'RE LYING.

Even if they are a Silver Fox, and look like this:



They are STILL lying. Silver foxes do not want to help you get into your career. They want to help themselves get into your pants. Hey Grandpa, I'd rather let THIS Silver Fox into my pants:


Fact: giving out your business card anywhere in downtown apparently gives people license to call you right then and there in the bar for NON-business purposes. 12:41am Call #1 from across the bar. I did not answer but shot a dirty look toward Grandpa and his Twins jersey-donning posse who are watchin Grandpa make the call to see if it was a legit number. Saved to phone as "Creep."

2:37 Call #2 while I'm passed on my couch next to a McDonald's bag. It did not come up as "Creep" but I did not answer. Instead I got a voicemail: "Hey Shayna I just wanted to let you know I got on my, uh, best jump suit and I got this really cool hat, it's got these wings on it, it's sweet. You should come out and dance with me sometime. I'd love to talk to you gimme a call. Bye." Are we passing my card around in the little boy's room now? Saved to phone as "Creep 2."

Fact: Men in downtown don't care what you do for a living. When they say business they mean "BUSINESS."

**The sexiest part of Hot Dish is that their between song banter is spoken in Minnesota Mom accents and gets a little gossipy. HOT DISH, indeed.

Third Eye Blind 5.31.09 - First Avenue Main Room, Minneapolis

"I'm actually a very shy person, but tonight I'm going to come out of my shell with you." - Stephan Jenkins



------------------------
My most memorable concerts of the past 18 months were:

Sia in February 2008 - Fine Line Minneapolis, 1) because she kicks ass and 2) because she kept talking about her "food poisoning" from Taco Bell and left the stage twice to go diarhea in the public restroom. Needless to say (but I'm gonna say it anyway), the only encore was the one she performed in the John.

Sigur Ros in September 2008 - Orpheum Minneapolis, 1) because they kick ass and 2) because they kick so much ass I had a religious experience and had to go immediately home after the concert to cry. It was the most beautiful and disturbing performance I have ever encountered. And if you call me emo, I'll punch you in the ear.

Manchester Orchestra in March 2009 - The Belmont Austin, TX, 1) because they kick ass and 2) because it was outdoors at SXSW and every experience was heightened there simply because I was sweating in 90-degree temps while my family and friends were building igloos in the Midwest.

And now...we can add...THIRD EYE BLIND to the list, because 1) they kick ass and 2) because I was so happy that they were not washed up and old and that the show did not seem like a "comeback." Don't get me wrong, they definitely played the old hits "Jumper, "Semi-Charmed Life" and "Crystal Baller," to name a few. And the crowd went bats. We sang along at the top of our lungs like it was middle school again, and it was beautiful. And they played new songs, unapologetically. And why should they apologize? Any band that can pack a room six years after their last full-length album at $30 a pop ($42 for us idiots who went through Ticketmaster) is a legitimate band in my book. People have been pissing their pants in anticipation of the Third Eye Blind rennaisance, only to find out...they never really needed a rebirth because they never really stopped being so damn good.

The double encore, "Slow Motion" then "God of Wine," sealed the deal. Third Eye Blind has not and will not join the ranks of mid-late-90s bands that fell by the wayside. Until Stephan Jenkins is hosting "Extra" or "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll" [ahem, Mark McGrath], I don't think we need to worry about 3eb's contribution to society. Third Eye Blind's first three full-length albums contain more lyrical poetry and genius than all of the 90s combined. You can quote that.


-----------
AN OPEN LETTER TO STEPHAN JENKINS,
lead singer/songwriter/guitarist/genius THIRD EYE BLIND



Dear Stephan Jenkins,

Will you marry me? Cool. Thanks. I'll let you plan it.

At First Avenue you wore a T-shirt that said "Younger Than Jesus," but you can't fool a Culture Vulture. I know you're 44. I see your cape/dress, top hat, painted toenails. You cut a number 3 out of red satin and glued it to your acoustic guitar. You're charming. Well, semi-charming. You give off such a flamboyant vibe that even Perez is confused about your sexuality, but I don't care. It's a 70s kind of feminine, not a Ru Paul kind. You are sexy, and you sing so sexy, and I would have a million of your babies...if only you would PUT OUT A NEW ALBUM.

The Red Star EP you released back in November was delicious. But we crave more Third Eye Blind. It's been six years, Stevie. SIX YEARS. I can smell it brewing, and hear it's going to be released this September, followed by Ursa Minor which will include the tracks that don't make the first cut. FANTASTIC. I only hope these new releases are as tasty as guitarist Tony Fredianelli makes them sound, "Both of these records to me are very strong, especially the first one, because we really bled for them."

Mmm...Third Eye Blood.

Well, I'll just be hanging out til this Fall, and you're probably busy anyway. But it's OK. I'll just keep fantasizing about you on a motorcycle drive by.

I've never been so alone, and I've never been so alive.

Hugs,
Culture Vulture