Mooon - Rainbow Flowers

Mooon recently appeared unannounced on stage at café Altstadt with Hidden Charms. Shortly after, the three young blues rockers from Aarle-Rixtel played in Eindhoven again, to be precise in the Effenaar at Club 3voor12/Eindhoven. High time to talk to them extensively. We meet in Mooon’s regular rehearsal space with the telling name 'Repetitiecentrum deoefenruimte' in Helmond, where the Melissa Etheridge and Adele covers of the rehearsing neighbours can sometimes be heard clearly. This is where brothers Gijs and Tom de Jong work on their music with their cousin Timo van Lierop almost every Tuesday.

Was there no rehearsal space available in Aarle-Rixtel?

Gijs: "We certainly had that space, we have a great place at home where we played for a while. After some trouble with an angry neighbour, we eventually had to look for a new rehearsal space." Timo adds; “Too bad, because spontaneous rehearsals – after all, we are not only family but also neighbours – are no longer possible.” Tom: “It has ensured that we rehearse with more focus and with more results, that is the only positive aspect of this situation. We have become more serious here in Helmond, because we pay for this space. That gives a different feeling than jamming and hanging out at home. Maybe we will be grateful to our neighbour for that one day. One day.”

Mooon is still a very young band, but your examples are very old by now. How did you come into contact with this music?

Gijs: “During a renovation, we were often forced to be in another room of the house. There was a record player and a pile of old records there. That is how Tom and I started playing this music. We soon wanted to start making music ourselves. Timo – our cousin and neighbour – already listened to this music a lot, so a band was quickly formed.”

When can we expect an album or EP?

Gijs: “We are going to record a whole album at the end of February. We wrote a lot about this last year.” Tom: “We don’t know yet when we’re going to release the album. The plan is to record everything first and then approach labels.
Timo: “That way we can work completely independently. That way no one can interfere. Not that we’re going to do crazy things, the album will stay in the same atmosphere that people know from us. Blues, garage and nice spacey, everything is in there again. Just all the music that we like ourselves. From blues to elevator music. Only dubstep you’ll never hear from us.”
Gijs: “We’re all going to sing on the album, and there are more instruments to be heard. And maybe the Hammond from the jam session in Gemert will return.”

What are your main ambitions for 2016 besides recording, and hopefully releasing the album soon?

All three in unison: “Play!”
Tom: “We mainly want to play a lot. And preferably on our own. We don't come from the rock academy, and we don't know much about 'the world', we just want to be appreciated for our music. So far that's going pretty well; we don't go after performances too much, luckily we get enough cool opportunities and offers."
Timo: "We also want to participate in Popronde this year. Last year we did register, but we didn't make it through the selection. Probably also because we were way too lax. We didn't have any well-recorded music out then and no website. We're never that quick with that kind of thing. Now the EP is on Spotify and we finally have a website, so we have a much better chance."

Translated from: https://www.popei.nl/eng/blog/interview-met-mooon/79

Gipsy Kings - Sessions at West 54th 1997

The Gipsy Kings are largely responsible for bringing the joyful sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco to the world. The band started out in Arles, a village in southern France, during the '70s when brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, the sons of renowned flamenco artist Jose Reyes, teamed up with their cousins Jacques, Maurice, and Tonino Baliardo, whose father is Manitas de Plata. They originally called themselves Los Reyes and started out as a Gypsy band traveling about playing weddings, festivals, and in the streets. Because they lived so much like Gypsies, the band adopted the name the Gipsy Kings. Later, they were hired to add color to posh parties in St. Tropez. Popularity did not come to Los Reyes right away, and their first two albums attracted little notice. At this point the Gipsies played traditional -- albeit passionate -- flamenco music punctuated by Tonino's precise guitar playing and Nicolas' exceptional voice. Though they had devoted fans, they still had yet to gain wider recognition until 1986 when they hooked up with visionary producer Claude Martinez, who could see that the Kings had the makings of a world-class band.
Thanks to Martinez, the Kings began to relax a bit and take on a more contemporary edge, combining their traditional songs with sounds from the Middle East, Latin America, North Africa, a hint of rock, and their inimitable joy. It was, in a music industry filled with flamenco purists who resisted any kind of change, a very daring move, and many felt the Gipsy Kings would fall flat and disappear. But the naysayers were wrong. In 1987 they released "Djobi Djoba" and "Bamboleo" on an independent label and scored two smash hits in France. Their success led them to sign with Sony Music and release their eponymous debut album later that year. Again, they had tremendous sales in France, and then found their album was appearing on the Top Ten album charts in 12 European countries, including England, which is traditionally unreceptive to international music.
In the late '80s, the Gipsy Kings debuted in the U.S. at the New York New Music Seminar. This led them to sign to Sony in America. In 1989, they were invited to perform at the inaugural ball for George Bush, but they chose to return home to rest and be with their families. Later that year, they held an SRO concert at the Royal Albert Hall, where the Gipsy Kings hobnobbed with some of the world's biggest pop stars, including Elton John and Eric Clapton. To top off their great year, the Kings' debut album spent 40 weeks on the U.S. charts and went gold, becoming one of the few Spanish albums to do so. The Kings have had an active release schedule ever since, including the albums Mosaique (1989), Live! (1992), Love & Liberte (1994), Tierra Gitana (1996), Cantos de Amor (1998), Somos Gitanos (2001), and Roots (2004). After extended touring, a new studio album Pasajero appeared in 2007, followed later that year by Live in Los Angeles. The Gipsy Kings continued touring the globe almost incessantly before taking an extended break during which several greatest-hits and best-of compilations appeared. In September of 2013, the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of Savor Flamenco.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gipsy-kings-mn0000555695#biography  

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age

In an age where conformation culture is threatening individuality in the music industry, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a unique feat – a group who haves repeatedly rebelled against the norm. Since the band’s inception, not only have they released three studio albums but their songs have been featured in iPod and Heineken commercials, and hit USA TV shows including Gossip Girl, CSI Miami and Suits. Their current album, Bring us Together, was released to critical acclaim in September 2014. The band’s lead singer Mette Lindberg formed the band with fellow Danish musician Lars Iverson in 2007. They met through mutual friends, who introduced Mette to Lars, the latter of whom was looking for a singer for his band. “We kind of looked at each other and said OK – let’s try to give it all we got.” Similar to her stage persona, Lindberg is ebullient and effervescent and possesses the ability to be refreshingly candid. During her conversation with Schön! she discusses all things Asteroids Galaxy Tour, from the beginnings of the band, to their evolution and their future plans.
They have had a meteoric rise – space pun intentional – and went from recording at Iverson’s home studio, to partying on a private yacht with Katy Perry and Rihanna. So does it feel like fame happened overnight? Mette Lindberg disagrees. “It takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work to make things happen. And sometimes when you create a song you have to remember that it might be a long time before you hear it on the radio. Of course we got some attention from the beginning, as in within the first year, but it took two years before our first album was released, so to us it feels like a long time coming.” Their first big break came when they were contacted by the management team of Amy Winehouse to open for her whilst on tour in Copenhagen. It was their first stadium show and Lindberg remembers her moment on stage as “super fast and super slow at the same time”. Recommended to Katy Perry by a friend, the band also got to support the California girl on tour in Europe.
Lindberg still finds it strange when her music is played on TV and radio. “It’s a bit funny, you know”, she says of her listening to her music on CSI Miami or when she first saw the iPod Touch commercial in a pub in London. Her first thought was “What the hell - they are playing my music”, followed by bewilderment. Working in tandem as a duo certainly means she and Lars have gone beyond the stage of being merely colleagues. She clarifies, though, that like all friendships it has its ups and downs. “We toured a lot for the second album and at one point Lars and I got a bit annoyed at each other. We travelled so much together, we were always together and it felt like we did everything together…we lost that friendship and I think most bands can relate to that. It’s the big issue that splits up bands. We took a break after that, we wanted to think about whether we want to make more music together.” Time off and a DMCs meant they decided not only to renew their friendship but to start work on their third album.
Listening to Bring us Together, it is obvious that it has a very different sound and feel to Fruit and Out of Frequency. For this album Lindberg and Iverson “wanted to write about their longings and the lust for everything - their search for euphoria” combined with a “moment that will never end”. It is a much more personal record about “that everlasting emotion of love that will not diminish” and the need “to stay in that moment forever, to feel the loneliness and longing” which eventually ends in jubilation. Lindberg further explains that with their second album they “tried to create a retro ‘60s or ‘70s vibe, whereas Bring it Together focuses on getting a more present and more futuristic tone”. They have foregone the use of drums in this album entirely and instead the beats resemble more of an electro and club sound. The change in direction is in keeping with the bands ethos in that they “don’t want to be the kind of band that can be defined into an exact genre”.
Having just finished touring to promote their new album, Lindberg explains “there are too many highlights”, but if she had to pick she would say it was the pleasure of playing the album to a live audience. The ability of music to affect people in a sub dimensional level and to have that connection with the audience is “invaluable and priceless”. Her one take home piece of advice for up-and-coming musicians would be to “learn to say no [if offered something they don’t believe in] as it’s much easier to say yes”. Now that touring is over, will they be taking a break before recording again? “Well actually I’m on my way to the studio to meet Lars now - we are going to collaborate on a song but I’m afraid I can’t tell you what it is, though it’s going to be big and exciting I think.” Wait and watch this space, then. In the meantime, The Asteroids are well and truly on their way to conquering the universe.  From: https://schonmagazine.com/AsteroidsGalaxy/

UK - Caesars Palace Blues - Old Grey Whistle Test 1979

Having impressed the remaining prog audience and the most open-minded musical press of the late 70s, UK’s combined forces of symph prog and jazz rock stopped being allies and became mutually incompatible while the band was touring. It was clear then that the most unsatisfied parties - jazz purveyors Holdsworth and Bruford - had to leave, and so they did. That left Jobson and Wetton in charge of determining UK's direction, and that trend was focused on an ELP-ish bombastic symph prog with an incorporated powerful melodic aspect - ELP-ish albeit neither cloning nor ripping off. The trio was completed with the entry of drummer Terry Bozzio, who unfortunately couldn't afford to let his particular magic develop within the band's artistic confines, which had already been determined by Jobson and Wetton as more restrained, in order to wash off any remains of the jazzy grandeur that the estranged alumni had provided for the band's debut album. On the other hand, "Danger Money" turns out to be a more cohesive album indeed, and anyway, Bozzio can still manage to dispose of some room to display his own percussive skills now and then, appropriately bringing his peculiar sense of energy to the band's overall sound. IMHO, 'Caesar's Palace Blues' and 'Carrying No Cross' stand out as the album's most accomplished gems. The former is a hard rocking tour-de-force, featuring Jobson's most explosive electric violin performance ever: the powerful rhythm anchor provided by Wetton and Bozzio proves crucial in order to sustain an appropriate articulation for the incendiary, electrifying fire that keeps itself constantly burning at white-hot level. The latter is an amazing old-fashioned prog suite that dates back from the days of the "UK" album touring. Performed now by the power trio formation, it successfully conveys a solid variation of motifs and moods with robust fluidity. Both gems are showcases for the trio's ability to interplay masterfully. I find tracks 1-3 less impressive in comparison, but still they are great tracks. 'The Only Thing She Needs' is an up tempo piece that comprises some of the best drumming provided by Bozzio: the way he uses his kit as a vehicle for dialogue with Jobson's keyboard harmonies is awesome, and so are the successive violin and organ solos performed by the latter. Meanwhile, Wetton plays his bass lines as a bridge between his two partners. 'Rendezvous 6.02' is a melancholy ballad that conjures images of a lonely pub before the first light of dawn - the romantic atmosphere is delivered with absolute elegance and the complex rhythm patterns are structured with a deceitful air of simplicity. Actually, there's a bossa-nova vibe in it that makes it subtly complex in many passages. Oh, and those eerie synth adornments and ambiences during the interlude are simply delicious. The post-apocalytptic lyrics, which set a portrait of solitude among ghosts, adds to the music's ethereal sadness. The namesake opener is the least impressive to me - it certainly is powerful and catchy - that's undisputed - which makes it an effective opener, but in terms of compositional creativity it turns up to be less satisfactory than the other two aforementioned numbers. Now, let's talk about 'Nothing to Lose'. What can I say? It's a favourite prog guilty pleasure of mine. This prog-pop showcase contains a beautiful violin solo and a clever alternation of 3/4 and 4/4, which makes it quite dynamic; it also comprises an inventive series of keyboard orchestrations that makes the song rise above the 'intended single' status. But those silly lyrics and those corny backing harmonies. my God, how they ruin what could have been just a nice prog tune, taking it dangerously closer to ABBA-meets-Wings territory, instead. What was supposed to be a celebration of self-determination ends up a trivial sing-along about whatever. All in all, my specific objections regarding this particular song (which, as I stated before, I happen to enjoy) won't stop me from labeling "Danger Money" as an excellent album, a very valuable successor of the amazing debut.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=1361  

Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground

Most commonly associated with trip-hop, Sneaker Pimps might have had their path to the mainstream eased by the likes of Massive Attack, Tricky, and Portishead, but they have set themselves apart from those fellow British acts with a unique mix of pop, glam, and dark post-punk flowing through their sound. Together with first vocalist Kelli Ali, producers Liam Howe and Chris Corner -- the core of Sneaker Pimps -- achieved repeat U.K. Top 40 success highlighted by the number nine hit "6 Underground," the biggest hit off their gold-certified debut album, Becoming X (1996). Following a pair of Corner-fronted Sneaker Pimps LPs, Splinter (1999) and Bloodsport (2002), Howe and Corner moved on to a vast assortment of other studio work over the next two decades, but they resumed the group with the addition of Simonne Jones and have recorded the fourth Sneaker Pimps album, Squaring the Circle (2021). Howe and Corner began working as a production team under the names Line of Flight and F.R.I.S.K. In 1994, they formed Sneaker Pimps, named after Beastie Boys' term for a person drafted to obtain premium footwear. Based out of Hartlepool, Howe and Corner were joined by vocalist/songwriter Kelli Ali (known then as Kelli Dayton) with assistance from fellow writer Ian Pickering, drummer David Westlake, and bassist Joe Wilson. In early 1996, Sneaker Pimps debuted with "Tesko Suicide," followed months later by "Roll On." That August, they issued Becoming X, a full-length highlighted by its next two singles. "6 Underground," a deceptively mellow song incorporating a John Barry sample and boosted by a subsequent Nellee Hooper remix, peaked (after a second release) at number nine on the U.K. chart. "Spin Spin Sugar" crept and sneered its way to number 22. Becoming X, supported by major-label Virgin, reached number 27 on the U.K. album chart and was eventually certified gold. In the U.S., the LP landed just outside the upper half of the Billboard 200 and topped the Heatseekers chart for developing artists. Becoming Remixed, a limited-edition compilation with contributions from the likes of Paul Oakenfold, Armand Van Helden, and Roni Size, followed in 1998. Despite all the commercial success and the acceptance of top-tier club producers, Howe and Corner opted to go in another direction with their proper follow-up. Once they determined that new material they were writing with Pickering was best suited for Corner's voice, they dismissed Kelli Ali. As a consequence, second album Splinter, released independently in October 1999, featured a darker emotional edge that placed the group closer to the likes of Garbage, Placebo, and Death in Vegas. Lead single "Low Five" climbed to number 39 in the U.K. and carried the album to number 80. In January 2002, Howe and Corner returned with Bloodsport, a dramatic set with Bill Withers, Iggy Pop, Ultravox!, and Visage among the sampled artists. The LP, released on Tommy Boy, peaked Stateside at number 16 on Billboard's Top Electronic Albums chart. Ali, who had been featured on songs by Marc Almond and Satoshi Tomiie, among others, also released her first solo album in 2002. After a series of scrapped projects, Howe and Corner left Sneaker Pimps behind but kept busy as writers, producers, and all-around studio collaborators. The two were heard either separately or together on recordings by the Zip and Ultrafox (both of which also involved Joe Wilson), and Corner's solo endeavor IAMX. Howe was particularly active, aiding writing and/or recording sessions for artists such as Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Adele, Ellie Goulding, Marina and the Diamonds, and Foxes. Corner was also a regular IAMX contributor. Howe and Corner revived Sneaker Pimps in the mid-2010s. Vocalist, writer, and producer Simonne Jones joined them, and the trio put together Squaring the Circle, prepared for release in 2021.  From: https://www.iheart.com/artist/sneaker-pimps-117225/

Sam & Dave - Hold On I'm Comin'

“Hold On, I’m Comin’” was a bit of soulful reassurance from R&B vocal legends Sam & Dave. Off the debut LP from Sam Moore and Dave Prater, released in 1966 and also called Hold On, I’m Comin’, this song rose to #21. “Hold On” was released on the Memphis-based Stax label. Stax’s Al Bell told WGBH about what inspired Isaac Hayes and David Porter to write it: Porter “was going someplace one day with Isaac Hayes and as you came out of Studio A, going out the front of the theater to the right, there was a bathroom. Isaac had come out and was in the bathroom there, taking care of some private matters, and David was in a hurry to get out of the building. He kept hollering to Isaac, ‘Come on, come on, let’s go man, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,’ and Isaac said, ‘Hold on, I’m coming.’”
While campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama would play this song. Moore wrote him a letter, putting a stop to it: “I have not agreed to endorse you for the highest office in our land. I reserve my right to determine who I will support when and if I choose to do so. My vote is a very private matter between myself and the ballot box. My endorsement and support of a candidate, because I do carry some celebrity, makes it quite a different matter.” Moore told ClassicBands.com about where Sam & Dave were at when this song dropped. Geographically, that is: “By the time ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’’ came out, we were traveling all over the place. I had gotten this big band. Oh, my God, we stayed out on the road. I stayed so long I should be like Dr. Dre now. I should be a billionaire. We traveled a whole lot, man.”  From: https://genius.com/Sam-and-dave-hold-on-im-comin-lyrics

Eve's Plum - Jesus Loves You (Not As Much As I Do)

Eve's Plum were one of the many bands that came out in the '90's during the major-label alternative rock feeding frenzy but there was something more that separated them from the pack. They ended up getting lumped in with bands like Belly, K's Choice, L7, Veruca Salt, Letters to Cleo and others because they had a female singer. Colleen Fitzpatrick was best known to some as Amber Von Tussle from the original Hairspray. After that, she relocated to New York, met up with guitarist Michael Kotch, his drummer brother Benjamin and bassist Chris Giammalvo and together they formed Eve's Plum, a sly nod to Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb. Colleen was a dynamic singer, one of the most interesting voices in that era of alt rock - very underrated indeed. After getting signed, the band released their first record, 1993's Envy which launched the hit single and the band's calling card "I Want It All." Michael Kotch also showed off his skills on the second single "Blue" which has one of the best riffs of the whole alt rock era.
While "I Want It All" was a hit, the album as a whole wasn't and sales were slow. The band parted with Giammalvo, off to join wanna-be's Madder Rose, and they replaced him with Theo Mack. They also contributed a song to the soundtrack of the film Higher Learning. After supplying a cover of the disco classic "If I Can't Have You" to a Rock for Choice benefit album, they began recording their second record with producer Fred Maher, who'd worked with everybody possible. The band underwent a bit of an evolution on this disc. When Cherry Alive was released in 1995, the music was heavier, the guitars a bit grungier and the band had a stylized look where they never had before. The first (and only) single, "Jesus Loves You (Not as Much as I Do)" is one of my favorites but the record landed with a thud and the band began seeing the writing on the wall. While touring for the record, the band began crumbling. Benjamin left and they carried on for a while with a replacement. During this time, they began recording songs for a potential third album, including a dynamic version of Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer," which became their last known released recording, appearing on an otherwise awful Duran tribute record in 1997.
After the band broke up, Michael Kotch hooked up with alt-rockers Ruth Ruth and played with them until they split in the early 2000's. Colleen, on the other hand, underwent a transformation and became a pop diva under the name Vitamin C. Releasing two records for Elektra in quick succession, she ended up having two more hits, "Smile" and "Graduation (Friends Forever)," which for anyone in my age range was a guaranteed tear jerker at graduation ceremonies. After Vitamin C ended, she worked behind the scenes, eventually landing a prestigious gig at Nickelodeon. While Eve's Plum have been gone for nearly twenty years, the music still lives in those who always enjoyed it and those who are just discovering it for the first time. In June 2016, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Kotch and I took the time to ask him some questions about the band.

PSF: When did you become interested in music?

Michael Kotch: As a kid always loved music, my parent had an old reel to reel that I would try to make work. I took piano lessons as a kid and then moved to the guitar. But I really didn't get totally into it until I was about 12 or 13, then I couldn't put the guitar down.

PSF: How did you meet Colleen and what led to the formation of Eve's Plum?

Kotch: I met Colleen at NYU, she was in my Shakespeare Survey II class. Then later, completely coincidentally, she answered an ad we put out in the Village Voice looking for a singer. That's the way we had to do things pre-internet, use newspapers.

PSF: How did you get signed to Epic and what was that like?

Kotch: We were playing out and writing and we recorded a few demos. A friend of Colleen's, Richard Reines who later started Drive-Thru Records shot a video for "I Want It All" and it got sent around and the next thing we knew labels were calling us. It was pretty incredible at the time for us, but looking back it's much more obvious that that was just a first step towards success.

PSF: Did you guys enjoy your success or was it more than you anticipated?

Kotch: Well that's interesting, from my point of view, we didn't quite hit that mark of "success." Yes we put out records, yes we toured, but we never quite broke through in the way we would have liked, for a variety of reasons.

PSF: What happened with the first bass player?

Kotch: We just had a mutual parting of ways after the first record, nothing major.

PSF: Was the cover of "Save A Prayer" one of the last things the band recorded?

Kotch: Hmm. It may have been, I'm not sure quite honestly! We recorded a bunch of songs in that session and then I remember we did some live recordings after that too.

PSF: What caused the breakup of the band?

Kotch: The second record didn't do as well as we'd hoped, and we received not-so-subtle hints from our label that they weren't going to support us with it shortly after it was released. So there was a morale issue for sure. Then my brother Ben the drummer decided he didn't want to stay with it and that pretty much killed the whole thing, though we did play a number of shows without him.

PSF: How did you come to join Ruth Ruth?

Kotch: I had become friendly with those guys while we were touring and Chris Kennedy called me up because he wanted to add a second guitar for touring, and then they just couldn't get rid of me! For a few years anyway.

PSF: How long have you and Colleen been together and what are you guys up to?

Kotch: Well, we met in the early '90's so more than 20 years!! We've been married for 11 years now. I compose music for TV commercials and Colleen is currently VP Music for Nickelodeon.

PSF: What is everyone else up to?

Kotch: Theo works at DTS the audio codec company and Ben is an Internet/Mobile Development Director

PSF: Any chance for a reunion in the future?

Kotch: Well we are all in the LA area, so if it's going to happen, now's the time!

PSF: What do you hope the band's legacy will be?

Kotch: I don't know, it was a particular time and place and when I listen now it brings me back to that time and those places. There were a lot of great bands and places to play, I hope people who hear the music can be transported and inspired, and maybe some kid out there can chop up one of the tracks and turn it into something incredible and new.

From: https://www.furious.com/perfect/evesplum.html