Eclectic Grooves

Frank Zappa- Willie the Pimp and The Gumbo Variations From: Hot Rats [Bizarre Records, 1969] With the sweltering heat wave coming through the Pacific Northwest region as of late, temperatures are set to average between 95-100 over the next several days in Portland. With that said, I plan on writing this post as quickly as possible while not sacrificing the quality of the review. I have never been the biggest Frank Zappa fan, mostly because the material I had heard up to that point was of the hokey parody variety, and it didn't sit quite right with my tastes at the time. Over the past couple years, I've grown an appreciation for the skilled musicianship and innovative ideas contained in much of Zappa's recording output from '66 to'72, especially Chunga's Revenge and Freak Out. Considering this, it's odd that I had yet to give Hot Rats, one of the most critically acclaimed records in Zappa's discography, a true listen until thi...

I have been so busy in the past couple months that I haven't had time to update. I have a billion thoughts rolling around in my head about what to post next, but I want to know what you guys want to see on this blog? Do you have any requests? Your comments are what keeps me going when traffic is slow, so give me a shout. I have some great stuff in store for this blog that will hopefully be just around the corner. To tide you over until the weekend, here is a great introduction to the Drag City band US Maple. US Maple US Maple are an enigmatic band that began it's aural assault on this unsuspecting world in 1995. They have only recorded five albums during the past decade, but each note on these records is well thought out and meticulously constructed. In fact, even though it seems like they are improvising during their live performances, it couldn't be further from the truth. They practice endlessly to create a live experience which emulates the sound and d...