Ben Harper And Relentless7 - White Lies For Dark Times

"Ben Harper's 'Relentless' return to rock."

I've been reading similar tag-lines about White Lies For Dark Times for a while now. I must be missing something, because Ben Harper's return to rock sounds suspiciously like...well, the same old Ben Harper. Sure, this time he's brought along his old backing band (among others), now dubbed Relentless7 (a play on "relentless heaven," I assume), but there's really no "return" of anything here besides some musicians of old. Not a damn thing wrong with that, either.

White Lies For Dark Times does boast a collection of tunes that lean more toward the blues/folk-rock side of things, but not in a style that Harper ever abandoned. This album simply has less of his trademark folk/ballad leanings (though it is present in the back-to-back form of "Skin Thin" and "Fly One Time," and the album closer, "Faithfully Remain"). If that's a "return" to rock, well, then, welcome home, Mr. Harper.

There isn't a bad song on this album. Ben and his new relentless crew bang out some fantastic tracks throughout its near 50 minutes. "Number With No Name" sets the tone with its fuzzed-out, straight-from-the-70s guitar and catchy hook riding a foot-stompin' groove. "Shimmer & Shine" nails it down in similar fashion, with a radio-friendly hook. "Lay There & Hate Me" spreads out a layer of old school R&B, while the brilliant blues-rocker "Why Must You Always Dress In Black" was tailor-made for that groovin' Memphis strip they call Beale Street.

Ben Harper And Relentless7 strike another gold notch in Ben's already brilliant catalog. Whether it's rock, folk, blues, or even the gospel-tinged album Let There Be Light—with the Blind Boys Of Alabama—Harper never fails to craft memorable songs. White Lies For Dark Times isn't as dynamic as previous albums, but it's an outstanding piece of work, one that stands tall and proud among those past giants.

Video: Shimmer & Shine, Lay There & Hate Me (Live)

Website: http://www.benharper.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/benharper

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Great White - Rising

I've heard a lot of rumblings about Rising over the past few weeks. (One thing I hate is when people get online and piss and moan about an album they downloaded/stole. Just shut up until you've sacrificed a little hard-earned cash.) The main complaint has been that it's not very rockin', too mellow. To which I ask: when the hell has Great White been anything but that? They've had their moments, of course, especially on the first few albums. In general, though, all their albums have mixed in those mid-paced bluesy rockers with ballads and slower numbers. Rising is no different.

On the heels of the excellent Back To The Rhythm—an album with more "rockers," which may explain why some fans had their expectations in the wrong place—this new album is no slouch. If you're looking for a comparison point, look no further than Can't Get There From Here, a very underrated album. Rising is more mellow than not, with a handful of slower tracks, like "I Don't Mind" and "Is It Enough," and the ballads "Only You Can Do," "Last Chance" and "My Sanctuary." Standard fare material here, but done very well. Then there are the rockers...you know, those tunes that apparently are too few on this album.

The album starts with "Situation" and "All Or Nothin'," the proverbial one-two punch, and the result is a knockout. Both tracks channel some old school ZZ Top; the former with some excellent Billy Gibbonsesque lead work, and the latter with a main riff that is without a doubt way too similar to "Sharp Dressed Man," but they mask it well with some great melodies. "Shine" and "Danger Zone" bolster the heavier side of the album, but it's "Down On The Level" that really solidifies things. It's another rockin' track, but it pulls in some of that old time 70s rock/funk, big harmonies, horns, and a smooth groove. Definitely the highlight for my (increasingly hairy) ears.

All in all, Rising should please longtime fans of the band. It's another solid effort in a long line of really good albums.

Video: All Or Nothin', I Don't Mind

Website: http://www.greatwhiterocks.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/officialgreatwhite

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Gimme Back My Story!

Haven't done a lot of writing lately. I just completed a final draft for "Echoes on the Shore," a nice fantasy romp about innocence and naiveté. It's the longest finished story I've written so far, coming to rest at 8,100 words. I really like it, to be honest, but from a reader's perspective, it may take a little too long to get going. Breaks of the game for a relatively new writer, I guess. But it's done and it's far better than the stuff I was writing two years ago, so I can't complain. Still on track.

Besides that, I've started a rewrite of a dark fantasy tale called "She Cries" (named after one of my old music projects). A really cool, surreal tale about holding on to all the wrong things in life.

Anyway, the reason I haven't done much personal writing is simple: Shock Totem has been taking up a lot of my time. Launching a publication is a lot of work. I thought I'd have plenty of time, but as it turns out, my optimistic side is a delusional asshole. That said, things are coming along nicely. Most of the edits are done, the new Web site is nearly finished, issue one artwork is almost complete (see a test copy below), and nonfiction is taking shape.

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Our launch is still July 1, so expect these things to be finalized in the next few weeks. And anyone—200 anyones, at least—going to NECON this year should receive a free copy of issue one in the grab-bag. Barring any unforeseen catastrophe, of course.

Despite not writing much new material, I have been putting some of my finished work out there. And I must say, this writing business is tough for an impatient sort of guy, eh? I would generally rather do something myself than wait for someone else to do it, but you just can't do that in writing unless you go the print-on-demand route. I'd rather not do that, of course. Not at this point, anyway.

So I impatiently wait...and wait, and then wait some more.

I have been submitting for a while now. I've submitted to horror and mainstream and fantasy and science fiction publications, even tossed some poetry out there. I've gotten quick responses from many of them. But not all. Two of my horror tales are still floating around in some literary equivalent of a black hole, and they've been there for many period cycles, like nine. Nine months! Really? Should that ever happen? But what can I do? I can wait. That's it. Oh, I can withdraw the story, but then I'll have wasted nine months. It wouldn't be so bad, the waiting, if there usually wasn't this cute little rule that states NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS! Big bold letters, all in don't-fuck-with-us caps. Too bad there also seems to be some invisible fine print that adds AND WE WILL HOLD YOUR STORY HOSTAGE FOR UP TO A YEAR OR MORE! BETTER WRITE SOMETHING NEW, SUCKA! I realize there is a lot involved in the business of putting out a publication, but some of these cats need to get a bit more professional when it comes to authors' submissions. I've sent status queries for my stories, and they have fallen on deaf ears or unmanned e-mail inboxes. What gives?

I submitted a story to Sword & Sorceress 24 on May 2, and I got a response from Elisabeth Waters on May 3. I didn't even have time to prepare myself (for rejection)—usually armed with a box of tissues and a Burt Reynolds blow-up doll. She was ninja quick, though, which is awesome. She said, "...the story doesn't quite have the feel I want for Sword & Sorceress." Did she like it otherwise? Did she hate it? Does it suck? Need work? Who knows! But it's mine again, and I can submit it elsewhere.

Should every publication be this fast? Absolutely not. It would be impossible. At Shock Totem, we were nailing 30-day (or less) responses. Then things changed. We got a little burnt out, I think. Couple that with everything we're doing for our launch and some issues in the personal lives of a few staff members and all of a sudden we were pushing 60 days per response, our max. And, unfortunately, we busted that response time on a few of them. But that's still reasonable, especially considering we get about 100 submissions per week. I personally think publications that receive a lot of submissions need to put together a relatively big team of dedicated slush readers and not leave it up to just a few people, unless those few people can respond within an acceptable amount of time. But who am I? If you answered "some no-name turd," then you'd be correct. But I'm right.

I think.

I'm not even sure what I'm ranting about here. (Attempting to coherently blog from work when it's busy is kind of stupid.) To sum it up: my writing is simmering on the back burner, Shock Totem is looking awesome, rejections stink (even fast ones), and some publications deserve a round of Tabasco colonics.

Right?

First Fishing Trip Of 2009

Since I never update this silly thing, here's a fishing report. Ooh, exciting.

Me and the old man hit a local pond today around noon. First trip of the year for both of us. The wind was supposed to be about 10mph, and that seemed to be the case—until we got on the water. I swear, the wind was gusting up to 30mph! It sucked. So we hugged the shoreline and stayed away from the main lake, because—and this won't surprise you—the wind was blowing away from where we launched. Does the wind ever blow toward the ramp?

Weapons of choice: spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and swim baits. With the wind, we pretty much slung spinnerbaits all day. I hooked up with about a 3.5-pounder in a cove, running the spinnerbait through last year's lily pads.

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And besides one pickerel, that was it for me. I missed a few dinks and shook off a few other pickerel, but landed nothing else. My father, on the other hand, kicked my ass. He had gone ahead, down a big cove, then came back and declared the place "dead." I told him I thought we should keep fishing here because I think it's our best shot. So we did. He hugged the left side, the wind-blown shore, and I got the right.

Apparently the white spinnerbait (I had chartreuse and no white, of course) along the wind-blown side of the pond was the key today. Fairly textbook, actually. So anyway, he ended up catching 10 bass to my one. Lame. To rub it in further, he lands a frickin' 7.1-pounder! I was able to take a few photos, which don't do it justice, but I weighed it myself and the digital settled on 7.1. Wish the wind wasn't blowing so hard and I could have maneuvered into a better position, but this is the best I could get:


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Biggest bass I've ever seen firsthand. So much for that cove being "dead." My father has been out of the game for a long time, so I was really glad he was able to catch a big bass. He did decent last year, but not this good!

Either way, not a bad first trip of the year. I only lost a knife, didn't cut myself or fall in, lose any lures or poles, and I caught a bass. So I can't complain. Or I won't. I'm sure I could complain about something, like that bastard catching a 7.1 bass. Haha.

And in case anyone is curious. Yes, the sun still burns. (I seem to test this every year.)

108 - Songs Of Separation

108 is the kind of hardcore I cut my teeth on back in the early 90s, particulary the Holyname EP. I missed that boat in the 80s, having been swept up in the whole hair metal thing. But when I branched out musically, hardcore vaulted to the top of my favorites list. 108 was on that list--then and now. Like Integrity and Cro-Mags, 108 hit hardcore from the metal side of the street, and brilliantly so. But they probably had more in common with the Umeå (Sweden) scene than anything here in the United States.

The band's message was of the Hare Krishna, just as Shelter's had been (and still is, by the way). I won't pretend to know a lick about that religion, though. But I do know that the band's name refers to the number of beads on the Japa mala, a sort of necklace used during the recitation of mantras.

Shoddy history lesson aside, Songs Of Separation is an album I've owned on cassette for years. Of course, I haven't owned a cassette deck for about decade. So I finally upgraded to CD. Rock! And it's just as good as I remember it. Like Christian albums, the lyrics can tend to get a bit grating. How many times can one sing about the same thing before it gets old? Not that every song on Songs Of Separation partakes in that lyrical cheese dip; when it does, however, it can be a little goofy. Each moment without You, I die, O, Krishna. Pffft! No. No, you don't. But that matters little under the glorious assault of songs like, "Noonenomore" and "Woman" and "Hostage:I." The whole album, for that matter. And, juxtaposed with the harsh vocals, guitarist Kate-O-Eight adds a welcomed dyanamic not heard in much hardcore: clean female vocals.

Overall, Songs Of Separation is a must for any hardcore fan. Not the "new" hardcore, like Hatebreed, but the classic 90s hardcore--Strife, Purusam, Doughnuts, Abhinanda. Never heard of them? Well, you suck.

Video: Opposition/Holyname (Live)

Website: http://www.weare108.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/108music

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.