I can't do another Napster rant, I can't. But I can sound off against Farmclub.com, the overcrowding of showcase festivals, and the continued proliferation of "pay-for-play" clubs that all but smother a band's chances of getting out on the road and doing anything constructive.

Farmclub... now there was a good idea that died the minute that it was invented. Having a show where truly unsigned bands had a chance to come out and show their wares in front of a live crowd with an open opportunity to get signed would be an amazing thing. But nooo... there's Matt Pinfield (who has been shedding his street cred like so many snake skins) and "Dorito Babe" waxing ecstatic about the acts on their show. Too bad that the label behind the show already has their option on the band in case things go right. Of course it's a great idea for the Farmclub label; Jimmy and Doug are nobody's fools. Instead of listening to prospective demo tapes themselves, the get to go one step further by having unpaid market research in the form of a test audience. Well, the audience is unpaid--Jimmy and Doug are raking in the bucks, as is the USA Network. So two guys, who claim to have their ears to the ground, publicly admit that an audience weaned on bullshit will opt more redundant bullshit given the chance. Check out these acts--Kid Rock Junior, Korn Junior, DJ Airhead Junior... yeah, that's a real smorgasbord of talent. Thanks for the wide bandwidth, assholes.

Showcases... sure, there was a time when festivals were cool places to hear new acts perform; maybe even discoveries would be made and lightning would get captured in a bottle. But these politically-run, overcrowded affairs have bloated so badly that even badge-holders cannot get into the events they paid for, and there are so many bands playing in so many clubs at the same time, it's impossible to see everything you'd want to check out. As a band hoping for a break, you could be shit out of luck. Unless, of course, you're on a label already, because the highly-advertised, open-bar affair at the prime clubs will attract the biggest crowds. But hell, if you're already signed, is this the kind of dog-and-pony show your label has in mind when they crow about marketing? And how the hell do the labels have time to try to discover new talent when they're too busy schmoozing at their own affair over shooters? When did this become the auto show, anyway?

Pay For Play... started in the major markets when clubs realized that it was a buyer's market, and bands from outside the "big city" only cared about performing within reach of that A&R staff that wasn't going to come out to see them anyway. So first it was shitty pay, then no pay, and then bands had to guarantee a busload of fans just to get a horribly late weekday slot in The Armpit Club or Chez Rathole. Twenty-five years ago, when I ran a couple of clubs in upstate New York, bands were making ten times the money they are now, and that's not even taking inflation into account. When I hear what touring acts are getting paid nowadays, I cringe. I'm not talking about the guys getting huge airplay, who play major clubs and have lots of promotional muscle behind them. I'm talking about the bands who don't have a major agency representing them, whose small but diligent label cannot afford tour support, who survive on merchandise sales and the kindness of strangers for food, floors to sleep on, and gas money. Yet if they don't tour, they might as well give it up for good, because no one will know who they are.

All of this has to change. It's time for the true underground network to surface and show its faces. We need those club owners, record stores, writers and fans who believe in good music to step up and do something about it. Hang posters. Call radio stations. Bring friends to shows. Buy that ten-dollar t-shirt. Don't sneak in the back door. Write the band a note or get on their email list. Hook people together who have a common interest and can help each other. Let that band open for you for a few bucks. Invite the musicians over for a meal. Write a review and send it in to the local daily or weekly or submit it to an online magazine. Ignorance is NOT bliss.

But if you're happy with Kid Rock and Creed and Puff Daddy and The Insane Clown Posse, forget what I said. The bloated, clueless system will continue to take care of your fix.


There are a lot of great bands out there floating under the vox populi radar, and they're not getting airplay, and they're not getting a major deal, and they're not getting on the soundtrack to Scream 16. But dammit, they are making great music, and they deserve to be heard. But how do you find them, when there are thousands and thousands of bands all over that fifth dimension we call cyberspace?

Welcome to The MP3 Files.

Our agent will comb through the nooks and crannies of the Internet, turn over rocks, wade through bombastic "sounds like" claims and bring you back dossiers on some truly worthwhile artists who deserve your attention. If you like what you read, you'll be able to follow the link to the band's site (or at the very least, an established site like MP3.com) where you can use your ears as well as your eyes. Most of the bands will have products available at reasonable prices, and you just might find some artists who worm their way into your "favorites" pile. When possible, we'll attach a direct link to an artist website, but when in doubt, travel to MP3.com and search by the artist's name. Artists profiled in The MP3 Files have willingly made their product available for download in the hope that you'll like what you hear, and if so, you'll act accordingly.

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This month's case files:

Case 016: Pajamazon ( http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/58/pajamazon.html)

Cheap Trick riffs, sixties pop-group harmonies, and a sound that is the epitome of Power Pop. Wow, what a sound! Lead singer Bobby Weiss has one amazing set of pipes, and with four other members able to chime in at will and on the mark, this is a band that demands attention. I was hooked by the MP3 of "Baby Tee"--it's explosive, one of the best tracks I've heard this year. By the time they get to the chorus of "Tell me I'm wrong/tell me I'm wrong..." if you aren't singing this at the top of your lungs and bouncing around the room playing manic air guitar, something is wrong with you. That song is a hit record waiting to happen!

And it doesn't stop there--"Feels Like 17" and "Breakup Song" also capture the propulsive beat, big hooks and seamless harmony vocals that make car windows roll down and volume knobs turn up. This Albany (NY) band recently changed personnel, adding two members from the area band FaT MooKeN to their core, and the result is a harder rock edge and fuller instrumentation. But listen for yourself! If these guys are as good live as they are on their self-titled EP, they have a huge future ahead of them.

Case 017: Candy Coated Brick( http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/38/candy_coated_brick.html)

North Carolina's Candy Coated Brick evolved from friends in area bands hanging around together and deciding to try the chemistry in a musical setting. The results are about as mixed as you would expect; the CD Slow Children Playing (and yes, the pun is in the missing comma) ranges from catchy hooks to folky cowpunk to outright weirdness. Vocalist Lisa Hiner's wordy, versatile style is infectious and chameleon-like. On "Red Letter Day" she makes the band sound like Superchunk covering It's A Beautiful Day's "White Bird," while on "Teaser" (the MP3 song that first hooked me) she's coy and catty ("I won't do that/I'm a good girl..."). "Mood Swing" finds the band going through many, as tempos change, but not as alarmingly as "Built Like A Boy," where the bridge is completely avant-garde. Even the bonus tracks sound like Zappa and Fripp trying to out-weird each other.

But also within the twenty tracks are kick ass riffs like "Walk On Me" and "Four Letter Word," and especially "Serpentine," the best track on the record. Recorded on the cheap with absolutely no pretensions other than to see what the stew tastes like, Candy Coated Brick offers a wide variety for the discerning listener. You sure aren't going to hear this on Top Forty radio, are you now?

Case 018: Destroyer (contact Daniel Bejar at destruye@hotmail.com)

Imagine Robyn Hitchcock fronting Radiohead, and you'll get an idea of what to expect from Thief, the new release by Vancouver-based Destroyer. Predominantly the vision of vocalist Daniel Bejar, this atmospheric, moody and ultimately irresistible record is chock full of obtuse lyrics and dense imagery; Bejar throws words like "avuncular" around like other writers use "baby." But he stacks stark piano, detached guitar accents, pulsating bass and percussion among and through his affected vocals to deliver a mesmerizing set of songs that could quiet a room of chatty people in thirty seconds flat.

"City Of Daughters" is probably the most accessible track as far as conventional songs go, but "In Dreams" features Bejar's best vocal over a slow, rhythmic acoustic foundation. Instrumental passages occasionally act as sonic interludes among songs with titles as frightening as "To The Heart Of The Sun On The Back Of The Vulture I'll Go"; there's even a classical piano piece called "Every Christmas" that somehow fits in among everything else. By all means, check out songs like "The Temple" on MP3, but do yourself a favor and grab Thief for a good uninterrupted journey.

Case 019: The Lucky Pierres ( http://www.luckypierres.com/Pages/page5.html)

Dallas' Lucky Pierres may claim that their name comes from the central participant in a menage a trois, but I'd rather believe it's really Corporal Agarn's Canadian cousin from F Troop (not the "Burglar From Bampf-f-ff!"). What I do know, however, is that Michelle Pittinger has a gorgeous voice that evokes Patsy Cline with a slight case of the blues. On My Temptation, their newest, songs like "Stray" give her pipes a chance to really shine, with the crack musicians in the band along for the ride (witness Frank Pittenger's adrenaline drumming on "Cheating Is Going Around"!).

What really makes The Lucky Pierres tick, though, is the pedal steel and dobro work of Kim Herriage, who (along with the prolific Bart Chaney) writes a good slab of the band's material. "Never Turn Around" features tasty guitar and a sweet vocal duet, while "Ridge Runner" is ninety seconds of instrumental bliss. You can't really pin them down into one style. Sometimes they're all slicked-up Bakersfield, sometimes classic honky-tonk with a wink and a seductive smile, or maybe (as on the Wanda Jackson cover "Right Or Wrong") a steaming lusty pinch of your breaking heart. Hey, winks, seduction, lust? Maybe they are named after a threesome after all....

Case 020: Early Edison ( http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/143/early_edison.html)

New York City's Early Edison takes the standard guitar/bass/drums formula and spins off energetic, tightly wound pop songs that subscribe to The Church Of Hooks. Their new self-titled CD plays like a good band's stage show--getting your attention with the catchy "Milky Way," raising the bar with "Alice," and then spiking mid-set with killer uptempo rockers like "Victim Of The Truth" and "I'm Only Three." Drummer Chris Santiago, once heated, jacks this energetic punky pop band into a pace that would not sound out of place next to legends like KISS or modern airplay vets Blink 182. It's not that they sound like those bands as much as they could easily hold their own given the chance.

Guitarists Tom Ashton and Tony Coffin never overplay, but are not afraid to rave up, either. Yet on their most ambitious piece, "Smile," the harmonics and backing vocals interplay for a tasty ninety-second coda that I wish wouldn't end. Speaking of which, stick around for the hidden track, a Ramones-fueled version of "Puff The Magic Dragon," which immediately follows the hilarious "One Minute Song" (where the boys mock Van Halen, Iron Butterfly and Focus in the name of good cheesy rock and roll fun).


Next month's MP3 Files will bring more exciting, deserving artists to your desktop, including The Datsons, The Special Guests and more! If you have some suggestions for overlooked artists who deserve some attention, drop a note to our MP3 agent at bholmes_fm@msn.com. Even a good detective appreciates a solid lead now and then!

(C) 2000 - Bill Holmes