Don’t call it a comeback

Frank Jordan puts out one last album before saying ‘Goodnight’

Funny thing is: Not one of these guys is named Frank or Jordan.
Funny thing is: Not one of these guys is named Frank or Jordan.

To this day, I never understood how a band like Frank Jordan—Mike Visser (guitar/vocals), Matt Ontjes (bass) and Devin Hurley (drums)—could revel in obscurity while countless bands were given the red-carpet treatment to major label-dom. With the fervor of early Police coupled with the more frantic moments of Pavement, a sincere DIY ethic, and musicianship virtually unrivalled in the Sacramento Valley, the notion of this band going unnoticed caused considerable head scratching from more than a few fans.

Unfortunately, after a 12-year run that culminated in several EP and full-length releases, the band called it quits. “We toured ourselves into the ground,” says Hurley. “We went on six U.S. tours in five years for three months at a time, usually playing for little money in obscure venues. One tour we played college towns in the summer when no one was there. That was particularly frustrating.”

Adds Ontjes: “There are a lot of reasons why we quit. There were many years of struggling and sacrificing other parts of life to pursue a career in music. After a while, I think we all were curious what it would be like not to be in Frank Jordan. I’m sure there was a better way to approach the end, but hindsight is 20/20.”

In addition to a regular touring regimen, the band amassed a loyal legion of fans in such disparate places as Elko, Nev., Dallas, Texas, and Albuquerque, N.M. Even though they never secured proper U.S. distribution, and rarely had records available in the markets they toured, they still managed to convert a couple thousand fans along the way.

At the annual South by Southwest convention several years ago, I remember these guys knocking the city of Austin senseless with their high-energy and chaotic set. Though only a backyard party with free, lukewarm beer, it ranks as one of my favorite FJ shows to date.

Whether they were playing a label showcase, opening for Mike Watt, rocking a backyard barbeque or simply doing a local show, this trio was always firing on all cylinders.

Visser finally moved to the East Coast to get away from the Sacramento scene and start fresh. His new band, Rad Tan, is in the process of writing and hopes to record in the not-so-distant future.

He distinctly remembers the recording process in 2004 that ultimately led to Frank Jordan’s upcoming release, Ohio, on Park The Van records (run by longtime band friend and manager Chris Watson).

“We lived in a half-finished house in the forest of southern Ohio. We would go to the studio every weekday at noon and record until midnight for a month,” Visser says. “In the end, we just picked what we thought were the strongest of the fourteen [songs].”

Recording ended up costing a pretty penny. Instead of opting for traditional home recordings, they regularly recorded out-of-state with less than optimum conditions. As far as the Ohio sessions go, “We spent way more than we had,” notes Hurley. “The house was being renovated and we slept on his floor that was covered in sawdust. We spent our evenings playing Tiger Woods golf tournaments on Playstation 2.”

One listen to the songs on Frank Jordan’s latest reveals a maturity in both songwriting and, more importantly, on a personal level. The geographic distance from their singer hasn’t kept either Ontjes or Hurley from staying in touch on a regular basis.

So why even release Ohio, now a 2-year-old recording? As the overly enthusiastic Hurley responds, “I wanted to release this album for the past three years. … [It] was important because of all the things that led us to where we are now.” More importantly, the band believes in the new(er) material. “I feel it’s the best album we’ve ever made.”

After hearing the initial tracks, I couldn’t agree more.

With a limited release of only 300 copies, you’d best get out to this Saturday’s show early. Unfortunately, aside from an October showcase at 2007’s CMJ convention, this may be the last you’ll see of them.

(SN&R)

And it feels so good

Sacramento rock giants Kai Kln reunite after a nine-year hiatus

If you lived in the Sacramento Valley during the early ’90s, chances are you’ve heard of Kai Kln. Legend has it they were the first unsigned local band to sell out the Crest Theatre’s 975-seat main theater. Vocalist and guitarist Gene Smith, guitarist Sherman Loper, bassist Scott Anderson and drummer Neil Franklin channeled powerful classic-rock bands like Nazareth and Trapeze, while managing to appeal to an alternative crowd. It seemed the band was on the verge of becoming a national sensation.

In an ironic turn that’s almost become a rock cliché, Kai Kln broke up just as the band’s stars started to align in 1994—much to the chagrin of a few thousand dedicated fans. Family responsibilities and differing priorities made it impossible to sign with one of the many labels courting them. The band sporadically played shows and recorded songs for the next four years, before lapsing into nearly a decade of silence.

Now Kai Kln is ready to reunite.

Marc Malakie, the band’s longtime manager and honorary fifth member, was largely responsible for negotiating the band’s upcoming reunion show at Harlow’s this Friday. On the phone from his home in the Bay Area, Malakie was his usual overly enthusiastic self.

“It was an exciting and interesting time for all of us back then,” he said of Kai Kln’s peak in popularity. “We were regularly contacted by record labels, which, in turn, also opened the door and gave other Sacramento bands the opportunity to be recognized, as well. The interest level grew enormously, yet, unfortunately, it was also the beginning of the end for us.”

“Our last official gig was opening for [Who bassist] John Entwistle in October ’98, so we thought a nine-year hiatus was enough,” drummer Franklin said.

Sometimes it just takes that long to get everyone on board. “If there’s anything I’ve learned in this band, it’s that nothing is for sure, except no one will ever be replaced,” Franklin said definitively.

“Except if [Black Sabbath’s] Geezer Butler were interested,” he added. “Then Scott would be fired immediately.”

Today, the band’s old CDs sell for as much as $49.99 on Amazon.com, and a recent sold-out show at San Francisco’s Bottom Of The Hill proved the quartet still has a ravenous fan base. So what’s the secret to writing songs people crave 10 years later?

“Writing has always been the same,” Franklin said. “Sometimes someone has a song more or less finished and we learn it, or someone has a bucketful of riffs and licks. Then we carefully place them together. Then we overanalyze it, change it, rearrange it, get pissed and break up for nine years.”

Tickets are already on sale for the band’s local reunion, scheduled for April 20 at Harlow’s. And, like any well-planned event, its organizers have an agenda. The Ricky and Del Connection, a band formed by Franklin and Smith after the dissolution of Kai Kln, will open the show as a release party for their now 2-year-old CD Stream of Unconsciousness.

“This is our best chance to be seen in front of more than our usual 10 or so fans,” Franklin said. “It seemed like a good idea because Larry Boothroyd [bassist for opening band Triclops!] and Scott both played bass on the album. They will both play with Ricky and Del, as well.”

If you can’t get to Harlow’s this Friday, you might have to wait until Kai Kln plays the Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s Friday Night Concerts in the Park series at Cesar Chavez Plaza on July 13. (Later that night, the band plans to perform a special set of the members’ favorite songs, appropriately dubbed “Kai Kovers.”)

“Things work a lil’ slow ’round here,” Franklin said.

Yes, they sure do. Welcome back.

(SN&R)

Like summer in February

The guys in Shakedown aren’t afraid of a little high voltage.
The guys in Shakedown aren’t afraid of a little high voltage.

Many bands change their style and image to keep up with current trends, but Shakedown hasn’t denied its roots in reggae, hip-hop and dub. Formed in the mid-’90s, Shakedown flies the flag for those who enjoy the sounds of Sublime, Filibuster, and Slightly Stoopid. If you like music that recalls sunny beaches, a bucketful of Coronas and the warmth of good friends, Shakedown is your ticket. Judging by the band’s latest long-player, New Sound Delivery, 2007 should be a great year for the Sacramento natives. Before touring around the West Coast, the band will play a hometown show this Friday at the Blue Lamp, located at 1400 Alhambra Boulevard. Also on the bill are Radioactive and the Down Low. Tickets are $8 and the 21-and-over show starts at 10 p.m.
(SN&R)

Jamaican jones

Perhaps Eek-A-Mouse spent his hiatus at Tres Hermanas?
Perhaps Eek-A-Mouse spent his hiatus at Tres Hermanas?

It’s February, the month of Bob Marley’s birth, and that puts us in the mood for some reggae and dancehall music. Co-headliners Eek-A-Mouse and Steel Pulse are paired up for a Sacramento stop that is sure to please. Catch reggae’s oddest (and tallest) crooner, fresh from a two-year musical hiatus, along with one of Britain’s favorite bands for the price of one ticket. The show takes place on Wednesday, February 21, at the Radisson Hotel Ballroom, located at 500 Leisure Lane. The all-ages event starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are just $30. Visit www.renegadeshows.com for more info.
(SN&R)

Cupid’s bar

Why must the mere mention of Valentine’s Day send chills up and down our spines? Perhaps Americans have put too much emphasis on the pseudo-holiday in an effort to bolster the spirits of those in love, thereby messing with the collective psyches of those who’ve yet to find their partners in crime. Whatever the reason, the annual Crooning Couples Valentine’s Day soiree is one of the best ways to get through what could be a difficult day. This year’s lineup represents the cream of the crop of Sacramento’s music talent pool. Members of Two Sheds, Spider Silk Dress, the Skirts, Daycare, Baby Grand, the Devastates and many more will play songs until last call. Catch all the action on Wednesday at Old Ironsides, located at 1901 10th Street. Tickets are $8 and the show starts at 9 p.m. Sorry teenagers in love, the show is 21 and over.
(SN&R)

What fresh Hella is this?

Hella has three new members, one new album and an international tour schedule. Too bad Sacramento’s not on it.

When the Beatles posed with raw meat and doll heads for 1966’s <span style=
When the Beatles posed with raw meat and doll heads for 1966’s Yesterday and Today, the album cover was recalled. Can Hella succeed where the Fab Four failed?

Hella couldn’t be a more ridiculous yet apropos moniker for the duo featuring drummer Zach Hill and guitarist Spencer Seim. When something is really cool, it’s hella cool, and Hella’s songs, an indescribable hodgepodge of musical calisthenics juxtaposed by memorable melodic sequences, exude everything that could be considered cool in experimental music and then some.

On its new album, There’s No 666 in Outer Space, out this week on Ipecac Recordings, Hella actively de-categorizes music with head-scratching tunes like “Anarchists Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Friends Don’t Let Friends Win.” If we have to label it, let’s call it “ritalin rock” for its multiple time signatures and over-the-top arrangements. Although the music has changed drastically since Hella’s initial, self-released demo CD—which came crudely packaged in duct tape—the progression has been for the better.

Uninhibited by binding, long-term contracts and record-label intervention, Hella has done things its own way. The band has left a trail of releases on indie-boutique labels such as Suicide Squeeze, the 5 Rue Christine imprint on the Kill Rock Stars label, and its current home at Ipecac—Mike Patton’s self-indulgent yet highly successful label. Hill and Seim also have collaborated, separately and together, with other projects, including Tough Guy Fantasy, Team Sleep, the Holy Smokes, the Advantage, and Orthrelm guitarist Mick Barr.

Hella already has started promoting the new record. A preliminary run of shows included Visalia and Los Angeles, but the tour grind really starts in late February and will last for the better part of 2007.

After years of touring as a duo, the band has morphed into a quintet. Hella integrated three new faces into the fold and holed up at Retrofit Studios writing and recording the new album for the better part of 2006. Josh Hill, Zach’s cousin and former leader of Playing to the Grandstand, has assumed guitar and various other musical duties. Grass Valley native Aaron Ross joins the fray as the band’s first full-time vocalist. Carson McWhirter, former member of Ent and current bassist for the Advantage also makes his presence known.

“We always had this manifestation in our mind for a long time, but the timing was never right until now,” Seim said.

While the members of Hella have managed to revel in semi-obscurity in their native Sacramento, the band already has developed a fan base in countries as far-reaching as Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Holland and even Slovenia.

“It would be nice to play Germany and Australia this year,” Seim said.

Sure, but what about local gigs?

“We actually play here [in Sacramento] all the time … four days a week to be exact, just not in front of people,” Seim said. “It hasn’t seemed like the hometown really gives a shit. The last few times we have, it seems like we are the afterthought. It’s weird to go to Oklahoma or Florida, the East Coast or random cities all over the world and people are fucking psyched you’re there. Then you play back home and people just yawn and would rather be on Myspace or some silly shit. Maybe we’re not good enough for this place anymore.”

As yet, there’s no Sacramento stop on Hella’s tour, although word has it a guerilla-style show may happen before the end of February.

Not a band to sit idle, Hella already has “a stockpile of songs and parts that we will be saving for the next record,” according to Seim. “We all love [our] songs equally and kind of think the [current] record is one entire song.”

Whether you believe the new album is hella cool is your decision. As for there being no 666 in outer space, that’s thoroughly debatable.

(SN&R)

Rock of the ‘walk

When peak oil hits, the demand for Spiritual Octane will skyrocket.
When peak oil hits, the demand for Spiritual Octane will skyrocket.

It pays to have allegiance to your favorite nightclub if you’re a local band. Spiritual Octane has made the Boardwalk its club of choice and, in doing so, has been afforded the opportunity to share the stage with such notable acts as Dick Dale, Santana, King’s X, Dave Meniketti and George Lynch. This weekend’s show is no exception; the group is supporting the legendary Pat Travers. Fronted by the talented Gary Durant, Spiritual Octane already has released two independent records. The third effort, Fuel For The Soul, is due this summer. If you like classic rock and aren’t afraid to show appreciation with a few fist-in-the-air motions, this band is for you. Spiritual Octane plays Saturday at (where else?) the Boardwalk, located at 9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale, with local band STD and the man who made “Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)” a rock ’n’ roll staple, Pat Travers. Tickets are $20 and more info is available at www.boardwalkrocks.com.
(SN&R)

Hail to the Chieftains

These Irish eyes are smiling.
These Irish eyes are smiling.

A visit to a Chieftains live show is something everyone must do at least once in a lifetime. Fronted by the inimitable Paddy Maloney, this touring troupe is perhaps the greatest purveyor of traditional and not-so-traditional Irish fare. These Celtic heavyweights have done it all, including collaborations with the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Lyle Lovett and Mary Black. While this may be a seated show, the group encourages crowd participation: foot stomping, hand clapping and singing along in (or out of) key. The Chieftains’ soiree takes place on Wednesday, January 31, at the Mondavi Center’s Jackson Hall on the UC Davis campus. Tickets range from $19.50 to $49 and the show begins promptly at 8 p.m. Visit www.mondaviarts.org for more information.
(SN&R)

Second chance

That’s finger pickin’ good.
That’s finger pickin’ good.

I was invited to a friend’s wedding several years ago—in Texas. I still regret not being in attendance. Not only was the groom a close friend, but Austin’s legendary, and now sadly defunct, Bad Livers also were his wedding-party band. Fast-forward to 2007 and the leader of the Bad Livers, banjo phenomenon Danny Barnes, is making an appearance in my own backyard! The multitalented Greg Leisz—an able pedal-steel player who’s accompanied Paul Westerberg, Brain Wilson, Wilco, and Paul Cole—will join him at the Palms Playhouse, located at 13 Main Street in Winters. The show starts loosely around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 24. Tickets are just $15. I won’t make the same mistake twice; I’ll be there this time.

(SN&R)

Protective headgear required

Helmet? Hell yes.
Helmet? Hell yes.

If you don’t own Helmet’s legendary Strap It On, perhaps a little humility and a trip to your local record store would serve you well. Page Hamilton, the band’s songwriter and the only original member in the current lineup, still serves up a platter full of vitriol and sheer angst unlike no other. To fully understand the logical progression from early songs like “Bad Moon” or “FBLA” to the tracks on the band’s latest album, Monochrome, one must realize the incredible pressure Mr. Hamilton felt during his previous tenure with major-label heavyweight Interscope Records. Now on indie label Warcon Enterprises, Page hasn’t buckled and the band is in top form. Check ’em out live at the Boardwalk, located at 9246 Greenback Lane in Orangevale, on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Totimoshi, Will Haven, and Deconstruct round out this stellar lineup. All ages are welcome. Tickets are $20 advance and $25 day of show.
(SN&R)