The City Veins

I am going to interrupt our normal scheduled brokenupness to point out that The City Veins have been nominated for a Wammie for best Modern Rock Duo/Group.

It occurs to me that I never thought to create an award tag.

I had to think a while about how to respond to Charles’ latest post.  While the majority of what Charles said is true, it’s slightly (okay, very much) infused with the wonderful wit, exageration, and self-deprecation we’ve all come to know and love from our resident curmudgeon.  So, here’s my take on our current situation - for what it’s worth.

First of all, no one is a bigger fan of this band, Charles, or Aaron than I am.  I knew as soon as I heard their homemade demo with lousy computer drums 2 years ago that this was the band I wanted to be in.  The songs were raw and inspired, the musicianship was thoughtful, tasteful, and powerful, and Aaron’s voice was (and is) a marvel.  I spent a good while looking for a new band after my last one had ended, and I knew right away that I had to be a part of what Aaron, Charles, and Adam were doing.

More than that, though, those guys were a delight to play with.  Some of my fondest memories of our brief time together are of playing in my basement to no audience with Aaron and Charles.  Aaron has not only one of the best male voices I’ve ever heard, but an innate understanding of vocal phrasing, melody, and sheer power.  Under other circumstances, I definitely think he could have been one of the all-time great rock vocalists.  His bass playing shouldn’t be overlooked either.  A guitarist for most of his life, Aaron somehow avoided the “playing the root note on the downbeat” trap that so often snares converted guitarists playing bass, and came up with some incredibly interesting stuff (the song “In the Sky”, which is in 9/8 time and which Aaron wrote, is proof positive of that).  On top of that, he was the anchor of the band, and the only reason Charles and I were able to jam so effectively in concert was because Aaron always laid a perfect foundation.

Charles will deflect praise and hide behind humor, but he’s a beast.  A natural music freak if there ever was one.  He has a true “feel” for music, and is perfect at coming up with exactly what a song needs - both as a as a musician and a producer.  He agonizes over details, but that’s ok because 1) he’s smarter than most of us, 2) his agony usually leads to brilliance, and 3) when he occassionally does let go and improvise, he rips shit up.  On top of that, he’s got far more technical ability than he’d ever tell anyone.  Guitarists tend to have large egos and so-so abilities; Charles is the polar opposite.  If he had half the swagger that is deserved for his abilities, he’d be the cockiest guy you’d know.  Of course, then he wouldn’t be Charles.

As for the band’s sort-of “demise,” a couple of thoughts.  Charles is off base when he says we weren’t succesful.  We definitely had our share.  We played at Ft. Reno and got praised by Ian MacKaye and Ted Leo.  Our CD “Cracks in the Floor” exceeded everyone’s expectations, including our own (in fact, it was kind of difficult to move on from, because we couldn’t quite get that magic back, at least not in our own self-critical minds), and received some very nice reviews (none more so than from Amanda Mattos at dcist.com, to whom we owe a world of gratitude).  And we had some (key word = some) shows at which the crowd size and/or enthusiasm delighted and surprised us.  Those things we’ll never forget.

So what happened? Life, I guess.  Aaron’s now engaged and house-shopping.  For a while there we were all buried in work.  And through all of that, the band took a back seat.  When we did have shows, we didn’t promote as well as we could or should have, nor did we particularly “hustle” to sell CDs or sign up people on the mailing list.

Most bands that “make it” nowadays are either phenomenal self-promoters, relentlessy hard-working, or fortuitously connected (or all three).  We’re not any of those things.  We are 3 guys (formerly 4) who simply love playing together and making music we enjoy.  We mostly hate doing that other stuff (the marketing, the “viral” online promotion game, the selling of things, the press releases, the networking, etc.) that it takes to become a more popular band.  Hats off to bands who are good at those things.  Having tried them, I have a world of respect for you.  But that’s not why we formed the band, and it’s certainly not what kept us going as one.  Ironically, though, our inability to do those things did kind of contribute to our current state.  However, I still hold my head up knowing that we accomplished some pretty remarkable things in less than 2 years for how crappy we are at self-promotion, which I take as a testament to our chemistry, live show, and actual music.  It sounds like a self-serving excuse, but I think I’d always rather be in a band that makes great music and gets along than one that makes forgettable music and is good at promotion (of which there is no shortage, both DC and nationwide).

So where does that leave us?  For now, I’d say on a well-deserved break (length TBD).

My most heartfelt thanks and deepest appreciation for each and every one of you that helped make this a truly enjoyable 2 years.  Every one who came to a show (or several), bought a CD, paid us a compliment, posted a comment on our MySpace or blog, or promoted us to your friends.  You made this all worthwhile, and you are the reason we have no regrets.

If you have any inclination to ever see the City Veins play live, you should probably make your way over to Iota on Monday.

It has been a while since I have been over here. I really wish I could write more, I am brimming with brilliance, but alas I don’t have the time. That is sorta the default condition of this band at this point. No one has the time.

That said, despite being busy, Spencer managed to find time to talk to the good folks at MSNBC about where to find good music.

The answer is iTunes of course. Add to the $10.00 in royalties that is already waiting for us!

In my previous life as a political pollster, two things never ceased to amaze me: 1) the slimy new lows to which politics can sink (especially those of the Republican party), and 2) how the American people continue to fall for this stuff. It is truly incredible how easy it is to get American voters to vote against their own (and the country’s) best interests by repackaging the same lies, biases, and fears and selling them to people every four years.

Case in point: Sarah Palin.  I know the shine’s been taken off of her a bit, but the level of support she still gets astounds me.  There’s any number of reasons why, as she’s one of the most hypocritical and loathsome people I’ve ever seen come on to the national political stage. But the one I can’t get over, and can’t believe more people don’t see, is that Sarah Palin IS George W. Bush with a vagina.

The similarities between the two are not just striking, they are terrifying, and I’ll name 3 of them that scare me most:

1) Their undeserved, cocky swagger. Neither one of these people have accomplished anything worthwhile before tricking a bunch of backwards rednecks into making them a governor.  W lived off his family’s money and ran several businesses into the ground, while Palin played the flute in a bikini and was mayor of a town of 12 people.  Some qualifications.

2) How proud they are of lacking intellectually curiosity. It’s one thing not to know something; it’s totally another thing to not know it, be PROUD not to know it, and never want to know it.  Palin and Bush both share an uncanny lack of intellect or curiosity; to them, knowing things or asking questions makes you one of those liberal elites.  And it’s not just that I disagree with them.  I disagree with Dick Cheney, but I think the man is knowledgeable (he just doesn’t use it for good).  Sarah Palin, on the other hand, a former JOURNALISM major, doesn’t apparently read the newspaper. Any newspaper. Not even the conservative ones.  Why would she want to know about the world outside of Alaska? Judging by how she speaks, it doesn’t matter - the rest of the world needs to learn how things are done in Alaska and adapt accordingly.  (Come to think of it, I seem to recall a former Texas governor with the same view of his state…)

3) Empty, angry, fear-mongoring rhetoric. I’ll give the two of them this - they sure know how to find the lowest common denominator and exploit the hell out of it.  These guys would make George Washington sound like a commie liberal terrorist if he were alive today and running against them.  Sarah Palin has more baseless, patently untrue, and vile one-liners than any candidate I’ve ever seen. And about 40% of the country is right there swallowing it hook line and sinker.

I could go on for days, and these are just three things that I’ve noticed.

This is not, however, a condemnation of all Republicans. There are some very thoughtful, capable, and truly good ones out there, and pretty sure that these people cringe when they hear Palin and Bush speak too. These two truly represent not only the worst of their party, but the worst the country has to offer. After 8 years and Bush’s 12% approval rating, though, it appears that for a lot of Americans, nothing has changed.