B.Hamilton 

45 & Straight video

Sofaburn Records

Shot at Santo Recording Studio by Luke Judd, with cool special effects and lighting that enhance the band perfectly, it's the subject of the song that makes it a good and interesting hard rocker.

It's about the least likely Trump supporter, a nondescript office worker who might eat lunch in his car, with right wing talk radio or right wing political podcasts on, all designed to push his buttons of resentment and rage. The song also gets into how racism plays a part in this too, and makes it clear that while the band empathizes with the worker, they don't like or agree with his politics.

The music is heavy, hard rock, but not thrash; it's slow, but never sludgy, and played so well that it doesn't fatigue you. In other words, great, smart, sensible, powerful, and all designed to make you think. Check it out, and have a thoughtful good time.

Andrea Weiss

 Howlin' Rain

Alligator Bride video

Sofaburn Presents

This long-running San Francisco band's video originally aired in 2018, and is no less stunning three years later. As much as I like the studio version, the title track of their third album for Silver Current Records, it's even better live.

It's one long jam, very much melodic noise, and a lot of fun to watch and listen to. The lyrics tell the story of how the Alligator Bride came to be. The clip is in black and white, and you don't miss the color. If anything, it being B&W enhances the music, and the fun the band has playing the song shines through.

So if you're into psychedelic music that's reminiscent of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, you will have a good time watching this clip and getting into a great band. The album is really good too.

Andrea Weiss

 For anyone who likes Warren Zevon, like me, this is a new twist on his style, in a power pop context. That's The Airport 77s' sound, and a really good one. Their new single, “Losers Win,” shows this to good effect.

Guitarist Andy Sullivan was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: Can you give a short history of the band, for those who don't know you?

Andy Sullivan: The Airport 77s came together in 2014 over a shared love of lesser-known power pop nuggets from the late 1970s. We spent the next several years honing our sound at parties, club dates, and Fourth of July parades around the Washington, DC area. Eventually we developed original songs to fit that sound – uptempo, high-energy rock that places the focus on Chuck and Andy’s singing. The 2020 COVID lockdown gave us an opportunity to focus on that material, which we recorded at the late, lamented Inner Ear Studio. We self-released our debut EP, Rotation, in January, which drew the attention of Marty Scott at JEM Records. With the economy opening back up, we are now gigging regularly again and developing new material.

AW: The influences you listed on your site are really good. Who are some of your favorites?

AS: Currently we are all excited about The Shazam, a Nashville power pop band who released a string of brilliant records in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Other big influences include the Paul Collins Beat, 20/20, the Records, the Hold Steady, and Ex Hex.

AW: I like the video to “Losers Win.” It's a sweet love story. Where was it filmed, and is there anything you want to say about it?

AS: The video was filmed at American Legion Post 41 in our hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland. We love playing these veterans’ halls, where the people are friendly and the drinks are cheap. Post 41 in particular is shaping up as a vital grassroots music venue at a time when many other clubs have shut down. We’ve made previous videos by ourselves, and this was the first time we brought in people who actually knew what they were doing: director Mike Kepka, actors Jen Rabbitt Ring and Jonathan Watkins, editor Benno Nelson, casting director Adrienne Nelson. It made a huge difference!

AW: Your lyrics have been compared to Warren Zevon's, which I like, as I liked Warren a lot. What would you say you get from him lyrically?

AS: Balancing detail and ambiguity, and the effectiveness of salty characters like the narrator of “Lawyers, Guns, and Money.” “Losers Win” tells a story, but there’s a lot of blanks in there: is the guy a lovable rogue or a scumbag? Will they find happiness together or is it falling apart again? It’s important not to spell everything out.

AW: To put Zevon together with power pop is cool. Where did the inspiration for that combination come from?

AS: We’re working with sounds that have been around for decades – drums, electric guitars, harmonies – so we have to elevate the lyrics to present something new. A song like “(When You’re Kissing on Me Do You Think of) James McAvoy” takes the jealous-lover trope to absurd lengths. The dude is angry at his girlfriend because she orders the wrong kind of wine on an imaginary date with a movie star.

AW: You dress as airline pilots, which is a good tie-in with the band name. Where did the band name come from?

AS: It’s a mediocre disaster movie from the 1970s. We were kicking around names like “The Towering Infernos,” but this one seemed funnier. We wear all sorts of silly outfits on stage. It seems to give the audience permission to loosen up and have more fun if we’re already making fools of ourselves.

AW: “The Illustrated Book Of Cupid” makes a good B-side, and also could be the thoughts of the characters from “Losers Win.” Is that a fair characterization?

AS: Sure!

AW: What would you tell someone who's just starting out in music?

AS: When a song grabs you, sit down and figure out exactly why. Is it the bass sound? The way the consonants line up in the chorus? The chord changes? Also: don’t be afraid to sing loud.

 Losers Win single and video/The Illustrated Book Of Cupid

The Airport 77s

JEM Records

The video for“Losers Win” is a nice, sweet love story of two lovers who break up, then get back together many years later. The twist is that the lyrics are very like Warren Zevon's, if Zevon had been power pop. Because of that, the lyrics get extra details, and the music extra bite.

As a single, “Losers Win” is nicely rocking, with good overdrive. The B-side, “The Illustrated Book of Cupid,” is just as good and a bit more mellow, but still has plenty of power.

If, like me, you'd like to hear more of them, let's hope they put out a full album, as a whole LP of this would be wonderful and a lot of fun to hear.

Andrea Weiss

 TEA-Fund Fundraiser live stream

Various Artists

You Tube/EXF Records

The Texas Equal Access Fund funds abortions in Texas. As funding of any kind for abortions is prohibited in Texas, it's cash only. The fund covers the upper half of the state, helping the diverse population of women, BIPOC for instance, who need this assistance. This You Tube stream with musical guests is a fundraiser for TEA-Fund.

Lung, a Cincinnati band, featuring Kate Wakefield on vocals and electric cello, and Daisy Caplan on drums are as rocking live as they are on their albums, especially their new one, Come Clean Right Now. Wakefield plays the cello like an electric guitar, and expands what you can do on one in the process. The main special effect shows many images superimposed of the duo performing, which adds to the urgency of the music. And Caplan is a great drummer.

Andrea from the Houston band Cool Moon played solo acoustic for the fund raiser. Cool Moon is new to me, but judging from what's here, I think I would like this band a lot. She sounds a bit like Kristin Hersh.

David Combs was next, from the DC band Bad Moves. His solo, acoustic set was nice folk/punk. I think I would like his band too.

The commentator/MC between musical sets was Katy Otto, who was very informative.

Texas Reproductive Justice activist Barbie H. was next, who explained the issues a lot more, and said why this fund was so vital and needed. Donate to this fund if you can (link below).

Ximena, of Interminable and PA, played a vihuela, an acoustic Mexican guitar. Their/His Spanish folk was heartfelt and positive, as was their commentary. And for the last song they played the violin, and did so very well.

The next performer was Brianna Peterson. Her folk/punk was lively and energetic, both her vocals and guitar playing. One cover, Chumbawumba's “Tubthumping,” was great. Her last song featured harmonica, which was also great.

Casie Pierce, Development Director of the TEA Fund, who had explained at the start what the fund is and does, appeared again with an update on donations and more about the abortion ban in Texas. At the time the US Court of Appeals had reinstated the ban, after a US district court judge had halted it. Let's hope the US Supreme Court steps in. Again, if you can donate to the TEA Fund, do so.

Nathan Gray from Delaware performed next, from the band Iron Roses, with Ashley Fontaine singing backup. Their folk/punk was very political, very heartfelt, and good.

Lily Mastrodimos from Longneck, New Jersey was the final performer. She wasn't punk so much as singer/songwriter, and was very good.

Watching all of these performers reminded me that I can be active, even as I can't be out in the streets marching anymore, because of arthritis. But I was a women's health clinic defender back in the day, and marched in 1992 in DC in response to Casey vs Planned Parenthood, where we told the George H. W. Bush administration that if you overturn Roe, you have to answer to us. It was the largest protest in US history until the 2017 women's marches. More than a million marched that day, and that's not hype. That was just one of the many things I did back in the day. So take your cue from these performers, and me: get active, and donate to this fund.

Andrea Weiss

 I'd heard Tsar, a band some of the members of The Brothers Steve were in, and liked what I heard a lot. The Brothers Steve are just as good. Their second album, Dose, with its cool harmonies, is a lot of fun to listen to.

The band was kind enough to answer a few questions about it.

AndreaWeiss: Could you give a short history of the band, for people who don't know your music?

Os Tyler: We’re a five-piece band made up of longtime friends who each believe that the world may get you down from time to time and the best way to shake it off is by playing some powerful, poppy-licious, harmony-laden rock songs.

Jeff Whalen: A general denial of reality is also helpful. Let’s see, some of our band members are also in a group called Tsar, some in Shapes of Race Cars, some in a group called the Swarp. We’re from the City of the Angels: Los Angeles. Shakey Town, they call it.

OT: There’s so much going on in Los Angeles you gotta leave town to see what you’re missing.

JW: But the apartments are so small, you have to leave the room to change your mind.

OT: We’re really excited about our new record, Dose. It’s our second album. If you give it a listen, you may find it’s just what the doctor ordered.

JW: Nice.

AW: Who are your influences?

JW: I dunno! Early Bee Gees, T. Rex, Olivia Tremor Control, Guided By Voices, Tommy James.

OT: Bo Diddley, ELO, Harry Nilsson, the Everly Brothers, the Monster Squad, Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, really anything Chuck Barris endorses. But seriously, there’s a lot of great stuff in the past. What’s influencing us now is what you hear coming out of the car stereo next to you and getting piped in while you’re pushing a basket through the grocery. The modern world is gorgeous, because it’s this astounding blend of the every every.

JW: Os and I might disagree slightly on that.

AW: Your music is so happy, never a downtempo moment. Is this a primary aim for you?

JW: Good question! I dunno! Kinda? I wouldn’t have thought so, but maybe you're right. I’m glad to hear that’s how it’s coming off.

OT: It’s all about making the music you want to hear. If I go to the movies, I don’t need sad, stressful, depressing stuff. I want to walk out of there feeling great. When I’m listening to music, I want it to energize me. I want to feel fun and good and just a little bit happier. I hope that’s the music we’re making.

JW: When I go to the movies, I wanna see The Matrix.

AW: I love your melodies. They're bouncy, happy, and fun. Does that come naturally or are they more planned out?

JW: Thank you! Pretty much nothing is planned out. I’m always impressed by groups or songwriters or whatever who can do things with a plan in mind and actually carry it out. Whenever we try to do something with an end product in mind, it always comes out with extra legs or more fur than we were intending.

OT: I wanted the hat I’m wearing to be a fur coat.

JW: Well put.

OT: Thanks for the compliment on the melodies! Absolutely natural. In fact, I don’t think we have very much at all to do with the melodies, they’re just flitting around the atmosphere and on special occasions we focus on wrapping some chords around one of those melodies and before you know it there’s a song.

JW: I’d agree with that.

AW: Most of your lyrics seem to be stream of consciousness. Is that what you strive for?

JW: Well, Abraham Lincoln’s hat was a very tall hat, but it couldn’t reach the beaches till they became obsolete.

OT: Jeff’s right about that, notwithstanding the contrary.

AW: When your lyrics are about love gone wrong, it's a nice contrast to the happier songs. Is that contrast part of the plan for the album?

OT: There’s definitely a variation throughout the record. There are a few twists and turns. I don’t know if it’s love gone wrong, though, so much as it is love learning to love better.

AW: What is “Mrs. Rosenbaum” about?

JW: I’d say it’s about 3 minutes, maybe a little longer. Os?

OT: I think what it’s really about is what you feel if you’re not paying attention to the words at all. Give it a try and let me know if you agree?

JW: I actually like that answer a lot.

 The Brothers Steve

Dose

Big Stir Records

This album is so much fun to listen to. For the most part it's about good times, everyone's happy and in love, with most songs about being newly in love, with the thrill of discovery built in.

The music is mellow college rock, but mellow is good here. It give the songs a quiet weight and substance. It does have an edge, and not a blunted one, but nuanced.

But for all the fun and good times, there is a good change of pace with “Griffith Observatory,” about losing love, and “Love Of Kings,” about pining away for someone. The music gets even more nuanced, saying that nothing is perfect, that bad times do happen, so bear with them.

The album ends with a very appropriate song, “Ready To Go.” Someone might ask where and the band would say, “to get the album.” Everyone should take their advice.

Andrea Weiss