California band Tied to the Stone rooted in spiritual faith

Written by Carson James

Tied to the Stone belongs to the Neil Young school of Americana, built on a foundation of country and folk but given a classic-rock kick. Based in California, Tied to the Stone more closely resembles the roots-oriented acts of the late ’60s and early ’70s (I could imagine them opening up for the Band or Poco) than much of what passes for Americana today. Lead singer Dan Worley discusses the meanings and origins of the group.

Carson James: The name of the band: Tied to the Stone. It can have two meanings, one positive, one negative. The positive being that the stone is a solid foundation, such as spiritual faith that you’re devoted to; the negative being that it’s something that is holding you in place, preventing you from moving forward. Which side of the coin is it on?

Dan Worley: I named the band after the song. I wrote “Tied To The Stone” on one of the worst days of my life. I wanted to give up on everything. I didn’t know what else to do so I sat down at the piano to try and sort it all out; that’s when the song came out. I could feel God giving me that song as a blessing to help remind me what was important and to hang onto Jesus and not let go. He’s the Stone I’m tied to. I decided to name the band Tied To The Stone to keep reminding me. I need a lot of reminders or I take over and screw everything up.

James: Your songs strike me as being quite personal. Were any of them uncomfortable to write?

Worley: Extremely so. For the most part, I enjoy writing songs, but for me it’s always a journey into uncomfortable territory because I end up having to wrestle with feelings and issues and aspects about myself and the world that I’d rather ignore. I’d love to just write about how hot and sexy and wonderful I am (like so many songs I’m hearing on the airwaves), but for some reason that never seems to come out. I wonder why? Even the happier more positive-sounding songs can be uncomfortable to write because it takes me a lot of internal processing to get to that point. I cop out once in a while, for sure. Out of fear, I may not go the entire distance to explore what it is the song is trying to reveal to me, or I just don’t have the talent or patience to get there artistically, so I end up taking short cuts and missing some of the scenery. Many of the songs for the album were specifically uncomfortable to write because they deal with pain I’ve carried with me since my youth, self-inflicted and otherwise.

James: Do you consciously write songs with the goal of longevity or are you not even conscious of that during the process of penning them?

Worley: Longevity, no. Integrity (hopefully), yes. When writing, I never think about if a song’s sounding like a hit or if it’s current or if it will have staying power, or anything like that. I want to write what’s truthful and meaningful to me at the time I write it, and it has to have the right feel and sound and fit. Songs are not commodities to me; they are a form of therapy and a way of communicating with myself and others.
I do want people to listen, and I do want them to get something out of them and like them, and I try to do the best I can so that will happen, but I can’t write specifically for a market or for posterity’s sake.

James: Is Tied to the Stone a real group or is it just you and session musicians? How did everyone get together?

Worley: We’re all friends who have played music together in one way or another throughout the years.

James: When did you start your musical career? Let us hear your story.

Worley: I’ve been writing songs for 40 years, since I was 12. In and out of bands and work for a lot of that time. Gave it up and tried “regular” jobs so I could raise a family. Bored me to tears (the jobs, not my
family). I always kept writing. Went to work for my producer Carolyn Wing Greenlee at her studio. She took a liking to my songs and encouraged me to do something with them, and she supported that effort.

http://www.tiedtothestone.com

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The Tunes and Tones refreshen college rock with Strokes-like flair

Reviewed by Jack Richter

The Tunes and Tones/Apple

The Tunes and Tones have a sense of humor. They must. On the cover of Apple, the band is lying on the ground, staring intently at the record’s namesake. This is the first image a potential fan is greeted with, and perhaps in a case of irony, it suffers from a lack of tone depth.  Graphic design notwithstanding, the Tunes and Tones do express a gamut of color in the music. It’s just unfortunate that so many people are content basing their opinion on packaging.

Dressing their music with college-rock stylings a la the Strokes, the Tunes and Tones still manage to incorporate classic-rock influences.  The songs come in many different flavors, often creating an eclectic but confident sound. “Crazy Lady Yates,” for example, is delivered in a free-flowing manner reminiscent of Bob Dylan, whereas “Grease” is more redolent of the contemporary act Cake. Who said you can’t have your Cake and eat it, too? Lyrically, the band is unrestrained. Opening to applause, “Love Labels” tells a story of musicians unhindered by critics. “They said we were all folky/and that’s all we’d bring/I guess they’ll never grab our sound.” Regrettably, this is indicative of what the music industry has become. Unsurprisingly, though, the Tunes and Tones have the last say on the closing track, “Clubs are not as packed as back in the day/And all the record labels eat shit/I guess the music has lost its way.”

http://www.myspace.com/thetunesandtones

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Alien Alright injects unpredictable twists into classic-rock formula

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Alien Alright/The Exodus Is Here

 

Alien Alright is alien alright as The Exodus Is Here really doesn’t sound like anything being hyped by the U.K. press at the moment. Although the Darkness plumbs virtually the same classic-rock and heavy metal influences that Alright plugs into here, he takes them into a different, more experimental direction. Alright seems to be steeped into the “anything goes” philosophy of the late Frank Zappa, whom he does resemble vocally at times, especially on “Vintage Music,” which stitches together rough-edged guitars, speaker-spinning vocal effects, and an almost Beastie Boys-ish interplay at times. It’s quite strange at first, but then it grows on you, especially when it hits you that Alright is simply having fun.

“Underdog Appeal” is soaked in glam-era flamboyant riffola; I haven’t heard guitars this big since Spinal Tap. However, it’s all unpolished, the rawness giving a true mule kick to your ear. The layers of fuzz and explosive singing on “Make Some Noise” are definitely in the caveman spirit of Iggy and the Stooges. The best cut, the singalong anthem “Unsigned and Proud,” relishes in its garage-rock stomp with a delirious psychedelic pull. It’s not for everyone, and Alright won’t be winning over the short attention span crowd with the nine-minute closer “Record Store Blues,” but Alright’s uncompromising nature and the unpredictability of his songs has me in his corner.

http://www.alienalright.com

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Caldwell Shine releases “intoxicating mixture of folk, jazz, blues, and classic rock”

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Caldwell Shine/Which Way Is Mine

There is a sense of liberation that you feel while experiencing the music of Caldwell Shine. His intoxicating mixture of folk, jazz, blues, and classic rock leaves you with the same cool air of transcendence and freedom as the best jam bands. However, Shine doesn’t lead a jam act; rather than let their hair down and spontaneously gel, Shine seems to be probing lyrically and having his fellow musicians follow him on his internal quest. Such intellectual pursuits was once the trademark of Pink Floyd, which Shine does echo here like on “In This Sound” and “Sweet Mother Earth.” However, Shine has a more physical relationship with the groove; whereas Pink Floyd often remained in chilly English reserve mode, Shine can get downright funky while making us think, as on the former.

Which Way Is Mine is not a pop record. Rather, it’s a full-on feast of an LP, rich with layers of sonic texture and mood. “Funny Thing” is about as close as Shine gets to pop with its sultry, danceable bass lines. It’s probably the only cut that can be taken out of context and enjoyed by itself. Most of the record is best savored in a long haul, wherein you can spend hours savoring and digesting the craftsmanship that Shine has provided it with.

http://www.caldwellshine.com

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Geresti brilliantly ‘Keys into the 70′s’ by rejuvenating classics from Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues, among others

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Geresti/Keys Into The 70′s

You have to applaud Bob Geresti for having the courage to deconstruct Led Zeppelin’s monolithic “Stairway to Heaven” into a reflective piano piece. You have to applaud him some more for still making it rock. “Rock” in the sense of the track remaining powerful, not becoming limp sans Jimmy Page’s whirlwind guitar and Robert Plant’s pensive vocal delivery. In the hands of a lesser musician, “Stairway to Heaven” would’ve been melted into grilled Velveeta. Another classic-rock blockbuster, the Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin,” becomes an intimate mood piece of unrequited love. Geresti transforms the sweeping theatrical scope of the original and flips it inward; all that’s left is profound sorrow told through Geresti’s empathetic fingers.

If you are in your thirties or above, chances are you’ve heard the tunes on Keys into the 70′s countless times in your life. But Geresti makes these overplayed tracks fresh again. For example, Geresti strings together Paul McCartney’s “My Love,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and Ringo Starr’s “You’re Sixteen” in a medley that brilliantly reveals the incredible melodicism every one of those Beatles possessed.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/geresti22

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Classic rocker Banastre Tarleton reflects upon colorful career, Janis Joplin, Iraq

Interview by Kit Burns

Banastre Tarleton is a chameleon. Like David Bowie, he can switch genres without suffering an identity crisis. Nevertheless, he is probably best known for his classic rock, and Tarleton has been part of the musical landscape since the mid-’70s so you can definitely say he’s legit.

Kit Burns: “Attack Iraq” is potentially explosively controversial. What was the inspiration behind it?

Tarleton: I originally wrote the song about the Israeli attack on Saddam’s nuclear facility in 1982.  I had some live bootleg recordings of it, but nothing serious. When the Gulf War started some friends told me I should re-write it with current lyrics.  So I sat down and watched CNN for a couple of hours and there it was.  The music is the same as the original.  The song provoked quite a bit of positive and negative feedback. I always thought of it as a sort of musical hard rock comic book rather than a political statement.  Controversy or not – it has been my most successful download.

Burns: You have been in the music industry for three decades now. How has it changed since you began? Has it been for better or for worse?

Tarleton: When I started there weren’t as many bands.  Now the industry is saturated.  It amazes me that anybody ever gets noticed, but they do.  The internet has been a godsend for musicians like me who have performed for years in front of literally hundreds of thousands of people.  They run across you online somehow, order a CD or T-shirt and send an e-mail saying “Hey, we remember seeing you guys back in the ’80s in Dodge City, Kansas.”  How the Hell are ya?” 

Burns: You’re quite prolific. How many albums have you actually recorded and which ones are you most proud of and why?

Tarleton: I’ve had 28 releases (5 EPs, 7 singles, 16 albums) on my own label, Green Horse, and been included on many compilations.  Bill Haley & The Comets keyboardist Joey Wells, who owns Caprice International Records, has put out several EP’s and albums for me over the years. I don’t have a favorite – I’m fond of all of them. Some are probably better than others, but you can’t fake an authentic ’70s or ’80s album.  My first LP, Electric Women, sounds a lot better to me now than it did when it came out in November 1979. 

Burns: You experiment with a number of different musical styles from hard rock to power pop. You don’t see too many acts today that have such variety in their menu. When you started in this business, did you always have that in mind, to be creatively versatile?

Tarleton: It’s been kinda weird that way.  My songwriting has always been all over the map.  I really love and get pleasure from all kinds of music – from Beethoven to Black Sabbath. My band has gone through many phases, but we always try to play something totally different from the main menu to get that surprise reaction from the audience.

Burns: You once opened up for Janis Joplin. I have to ask you: What was that experience like? Did you get to meet her?

Tarleton: To be honest, I was so young I didn’t think that much about it.  She wasn’t a huge star yet. Her band was billed as Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin. We could tell there was some friction between them because she was obviously going places they were not. She came up to me off stage after our set and said something generic like “great show.”  Then she guzzled a half-pint of Johnny Walker scotch, walked out on stage and blew everybody away with that voice of hers.

http://www.banastre.com

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