Archive for the ‘Tip Canary’ Category
Tip Canary and The Micks at Lucky 7 Tavern
Some things just go well together. Peanut butter and Jelly, bacon and eggs, SPAM AND SPAM. 3/8/11 Tip Canary and The Micks played a set at Lucky 7 Tavern. It was a total power combo! Wesley Kirk & Robbie Hartnett of Tip Canary teamed up with Matt & Sam McMickle and Henry Prol of The Micks for a couple of songs. I have the Video and Pics to back up that statement.
McMickle Bros. EP Release party a Lucky 7 Tavern
Some people are blessed with powers far beyond that of mortal men. Take me for instance. I have the uncanny ability to be able to cook, bartend, video, photograph, and write a blog all at the same time. No joke! I really did that Saturday August 22nd at Lucky 7 Tavern in Jersey City. I think Teddy Roosevelt said, “Some men are born great and some men have greatness thrust upon them.” Like I said though, I think he said that. What I mean to say is I know Robin Williams said it when he played him in that museum movie with Ben Stiller. Anyhow I’d say greatness was thrust upon me that very night. The funny thing is I can tell you the exact time and place of my baptism by fire. At about 7:00 The Porchistas entered the bar and kicked off the McMickle Brothers EP Release party. I know it’s not the most glamorous way to realize that you’re a super hero. No lives were saved, no enemies defeated and certainly no radiation was involved. I don’t wear a cape and cowl, opting for a porkpie hat and a vest instead. There are better origin stories. But I’ll say this: My genesis had the coolest soundtrack, by far!
The Porchistas are Deivis “Deivito” Garcia, Alan “Sucia” Smith and Adam “Devil-Hands” Falzer. This merry band of troubadours calls Montclair home. They specialize in a funk fusion of folk and spanish rock. Their original work is fun and easy to dance to. They have a way of making cover songs totally their own. Porchistas’ vocal stylings coupled with their instrumental finesse really makes these cats stand apart from the crowd in the local Scene. I doubt you’ve seen anything quite like this before.
After The Porchistas warmed up the crowd the kitchen took a hit that was like throwing a pack of rabid wolverines into a shark tank. For the next 40 mins my life was chaos. Hamburgers, Pizzas, Chicken Sandwiches, and Hot Wings flew from the kitchen as I rushed between bar and grill. My only saving grace was Kiwi the Child. Vera’s soothing voice and Alex’s guitar stopped me from going positively postal. Sadly during the rush I hadn’t the time to get over and take some pics and vids, but as luck would have it they played last Wednesday at the Groove on Grove. And I still have some exclusive and previously unreleased pics and video. Kiwi the Child is a reggae rock duo. Like The Wailers meets Batman and Robin. Scratch that! More like Dave Hillyard meets the Wonder Twins! The set itself sounded great. I only wish I was able to get a visual as the bar was packed with people enjoying the music.
After I sweated out my time in the kitchen Tip Canary sprung into action! Robbie and Wes are another dou of local rockers. They specialize in storytelling and spoken word with guitar backing. Songs like Doobie Blues pt 1 and Apple City are some of my favourites. Material ranging from getting hassled by John Law or dealing with a girl’s lame excuse to not give you her phone number are just part of the daily grind for these fellas. It’s familiar ground for me as well, in fact we’ve all been there before. Robbie leads the rants with a cynical but optimistic tone, and Wes backs him up with a greek chorus type inquistion. This normally goes off to a tangent from time to time, but it’s all in the sake of comedy and rock. Few can combine these element so well! “Normally you can find Wes and I on a Friday or Saturday night grabbing a slice of Pizza or a Sharma around 3-4am on the Lower East Side.” Robbie tells the crowd, in case anyone’s phone mysteriously stops working and they don’t have a pen and paper, but maybe they still wanna get in touch for something potentially meaningful down the road.
I had just finished working as Kagero took the crowd by storm. Kaz, JW, Rob Simpson, Mr Wynn, and Kate are a Brooklyn Japanese Gypsy Rock Band. Now that’s a music genre! This group is heading the way in the JGR wave that will soon take over the world the way the Beatles headed the British Invasion of the 60’s. Each member has their own unique style. Kaz plays the part of the lead man so well you’d think he took lessons from Chuck Norris’ School of Charisma and Raw Awesomeness. JW makes the violin dance sing and cry like some kind of steampunk puppetmaster. Rob’s bass is solid rock and roll, like his collection of 80’s metal t-shirts. Mr Wynn plays the Chindon drum like a man on fire. Whats a chindon drum? You’ll just have to see for yourself. Newcomer or at least I should say this is the first time I’ve seen her with the band Kate fills out the band on orchardian. Just when I thought this band had achieved perfection they go and add a piece to the puzzle that goes with their sound like Peanut Butter and bananas (If you haven’t tried it, take my advice it’s unconventionally amazing, like this band)! The bar became a dance hall! JW’s solo for Grappa featured Deivis “Deivito” Garcia hanging on JW’s back and crying while he played. It’s impossible to deny this band’s star power. You see them once and you know the words to the songs you can’t help but sing along and dance with the crowd!
So we were here enjoying all this rock for one reason. The McMickle Brothers geared up and began rocking our faces off. Matt and Sam are actual brothers. Matt “the Red Knight” does most of the singing and plays the guitar, Sam lends his voice every so often and beats it out on the drums. They are the White Stripes of the local scene. They keep it simple and head straight for the highway with songs like Finish Me and Dancing for the Smokers have become anthems that their fans know well enough to scream out all the words to. I took a quik break to clean up the kitchen while they began. At the climax of their sixth song I sprung into the door from the front and joined the already excited crowd with some dancing. Deivito and the Porchistas members of Kagero Tip Canary and Kiwi the Child all joined in. We couldn’t help it, there was a steady wave of hooting, hollering and stomping. They played two encores! The crowd couldn’t get enough. James Dower who runs the Live Music Events at Lucky 7 Tavern nearly had a mob on his hands! They couldn’t be sated by just one more song!
After the Live music was over DJ Leonard Smalls (Lucky 7 Tavern’s resident Jockey of Discs) took over. The party continued on through the night and this was about the time I had my first drink. I checked the clock. It was only 11:30 pm. I ordered up a few shots of Jameson, a Vodka Redbull to re-charge myself. I thought if there’s a time and a place to start drinking, spatially and temporally, I wouldn’t have it any other way. As the swelling is going done from the hangover that ensued shortly after I woke up this morning, I promise myself to only use my powers for good.
Redheaded Strangeness or On the Road Again
This article is a continuation of my last post. When we last left our hero (me), he was dreaming about peaches, dune buggys, and the Mach 5. Ok, enough with the second person stuff, it’s mildly weird. I woke after 4 hours of sleep knowing I’d need to get up early to get back up to work at 1pm. I rose from my 10 year old futon, which was not a comfortable place to sleep. Years of tossing and turning and several moves with that contraption had turned it into more of a pit trap than bed. But I was at my dad’s place in south Jersey, you can’t really put a price on a free night’s rest. Well you can, hotels charge around $130 for four hours….and the kind of hotels that charge hourly aren’t exactly the sort of place a man gets any rest.
The commute from South Jersey to Jersey City is a long one, filled with it’s own sort of adventure. Public Transit south of Trenton isn’t the same as north. Managing the bus system is like surveying the Amazon to someone who’s not quite familiar with the area. Thankfully, almost every bus hits Walter Rand Transit Center in Camden on it’s way to Philadelphia. Yup, Camden, THAT CAMDEN! The one Chris Rock warned you about! Now, as an avid traveler and a man knowledgeable to the various situations of danger on the public transportation system, I follow a few well manufactured rules.
Rule 1. Keep your mouth shut and your head down!
You are the mark! Talking to people for prolonged amounts of time serves only to distract you attention from the pair Raptor in the bushes adjacent to you!
Rule 2. If asked for change, shrug, if they give you shit tell them you need what you got to get home.
Rule 3. Don’t be an asshole! This is Eagle’s Country. 
If asked your team affiliation respond in kind, (they call him the Philly Fanatic for a reason)I’d rather be sick to my stomach later on, than punched in it right now.
Rule 4. When in doubt, pretend your kind of insane! Note this doesn’t work on other people with mental deficiency. Use this on the wrong person and you’ll be talking like furbies on acid.
Ok, those bases are covered. I just missed the 410 at 9:54. So I had to wait for the 410 at 11:00. Once the bus came I took my spot in the middle and put on my MP3 player. Not long into the trip a woman turned around and demanded my cell phone. “I’m gonna use your cell phone, I gotta call my work.” It was something along those lines, most importantly this was not a request! I almost laughed audibly. I had to applaud the fact that the woman was a crafty social engineer at the very least, but her simple Jedi mind tricks were no match for one trained by Dave Minick. I feigned poverty, “I got no phone, I’m late for work too, missed the bus before.” She wasn’t interested in my story. Oddly enough she didn’t ask anyone else.
From Walter Rand to Trenton, from Trenton to Newark, from Newark to Jersey City. It only took 5 hours! I got to work and waited out the day for A Saturday Night event at Kilkenny Alehouse. A tribute night to Willie Nelson in honour of his recent birthday. Time ticked by pretty quickly and before I knew it I was at home getting changed and ready to make the scene in Brick City.
I got in just at the end of Bern and the Bright’s set. I was highly disappointed because they are long over due for a once over! Another of the Montclair Crew. These girls are really making waves on the local scene and even getting a little radio time here and there. No worries though, they’ll be playing At Lucky 7 Tavern on my Birthday with Honah Lee, Deivito, and Kagero. If you happen to be in the mood to rock out come May 16, I invite you to stop on by! Tonight B&tBs were playing with the McMickle Bros. as well. I told you, those boys get around!
Deivito hopped up on stage with, Wes of Tip Canary and Sam of McMickle Bros. They played the entire Red-headed Stranger Album. These fellas were wailing away on their guitars, I was swilling beer and stomping shoe! The Highwayman would have been proud…. Of All three of us I’d wager!
The Crosstown Country All-Stars got on stage with two members that were previously unsung on the last post about them. Ace Case and Ken Trotta still round out the Guitar and Vocals, but tonight Bill Henry(key) and Rodney Azagra(drums) took the stage is this ragtag group too! Rastabouts as always Ace and Ken tried to start up a rivalry with Anyday Parade. I think they said something to the effect of Anyday Payday. You gotta understand Ace’s sense of humour. I saw him play a week for Election night. And he was pretending to support McCain’s Country First Slogan, as a joke. I think I was the only person in the crowd laughing, for a town full of Liberals you’d think they’d laugh a little less conservatively. Anyhow the set was crafted with comedy and good old fashioned joshing around, plenty of country favourites and some originals as well.
Tree, The Chucks, Larry, and JD took the stage as the Voltron that is Anyday Parade.
They joked back about All-stars’ comment. They quickly turned the nob, from Defrost to Simmer as they worked into their songs. Tree’s classic voice melded in a stew with Larry and JD trading off leads and answering her musings. Chuck D. worked the bass in a mesmeric fashion, but this time he looked like he was immune to his own magic, moving around the stage like a snake tail inbetween the vox/guitar Cerberus of the band. If the rest of the band was a mythological three-headed hellhound, then I guess Chuck R. was Zues himself, bringing down the thunder!
I sat out in the crowd singing along to every song and dancing with the rest of the crowd at the alehouse. You better make sure you come to the next show they have! You’re missing out on one hell of a good time in Newark.
Getting Naked with Tip Canary and the McMickle Bros.
Judging from the fact that my key demographic is heterosexual males age 18-35, that probably doesn’t sound too appetizing. No, I’m not trying a new tactic to get more girls to read my blog. By Naked I meant Naked Music Series at Life Cafe on the corner of 10th street and Avenue B in NYC. The idea is quite genius in its simplicity. Bands play unmic’d without amps in a friendly atmosphere. Dana McCoy is responsible for the event.
So, tonight I came out specifically for Tip Canary! Another band of the Montclair crew. I hadn’t seen them play since right before I started up Rocker Tycoon. It was due time to check them out! But first the McMickle Bros. were up. In the spirit of the naked concept they had decided to play as the McNipple Bros. That got a chuckle out of the crowd. And so I decided to ante up to the idea of shooting Naked. In that interest, I went with B/w no flash and my 50mm 1.8, like the way I had to shoot back in school. I never went to school for video, so I just went ahead with filming in B/w too.
After the McMickles‘ performance, which was wrought with comedy and crowd participation, there was a special treat. Caitlin Cannon and Neville Elder played a few songs. It seems it was Caitlin’s first live gig! I took a few shots (pictures not drinks, Jesus man, its a Monday godsakes!) And a video of her very first live performance! Caitlin has a pretty unique voice! She played a really cool song that I sadly didn’t get a recording of after that, she found in a book of women’s liberation songs. It was pretty different, I gotta be Honest I dug but wasn’t sure if I should have laughed or politely nodded and winked. That said, she did an excellent job for her first time up…..no scratch that! She did a great job all around!
Then Tip Canary sauntered to the forefront. Tip Canary is Robbie (guitar Vocals)and Wes (Guitar vocals). I can’t rightly remember what they played first….. Oh wait sure I can. It was Part one of the Doobie Blues! Robbie takes the audience on a mythical journey of how he wound up in Mexico. This song has all the common themes in the life of a stoner; hassled by the law, bummed about politics, and even a good old police chase scene. Wes fills in behind with guitar for mood. Then they headed into Broke A$$ Game.
Let me stop here for a second, and give you a frame of reference, Donnie! The guys are wordsmiths, cynical, self depreciating and autobiographical, to the point that some of their songs are almost direct passages from my own life. Rob’s asides and Wes’s greek chorus style, make them a veritable combination of Laurel and Hardy meets MC Paul Barman. It’s witty and it entertains! Most importantly it’s not over your head, there’s nothing pretentious about their whole get up.
Broke A$$ Game is a tale of misplaced passion and girls who don’t have cell phones….or claim to not have cell phones, at the very least. So after a few songs They called up Sam McMickle and they Jammed out to Apple City. Hell! I even got in to the act with spoons! You might be able to hear me on the video. Now, I have to say this: The Rocker Tycoon would never condone the use of drugs, in fact in the whole Sex drugs and rock N roll scheme of things (and it is a scheme kids don’t be fooled) I get a hell of a lot more Rock ‘N Roll than sex and since I don’t even do drugs, that’s right out of the water, BUT (and I stress the but here) songs about drugs and sex are what makes the world go round. They are many times sad, many times tragic even, but when they make me laugh, they’re god-damned awesome! This write-up was long long overdue! I included for you a number of the videos from the show. I invite you to listen and enjoy the hell out of them, with or with out refreshment …liquid or otherwise!
Zac Clark, Rocker Tycoon 