(Editor’s Note: Since this tour wasn’t passing through Tampa I asked long time reader, Adam Fenwick, to cover the North Carolina show. He agreed and here we are.)
The Rock Report: Lucero & Glossary @ The Visulite Theater in Charlotte, N.C. Feb. 23, 2010
Oh. Fuck. Yeah. Those three words kept running through my head last night at Charlotte’s Visulite Theater as I got my first taste of ninebullets.net favorites Lucero and Glossary for the first time.
I’ll be the first to admit that I went into Tuesday’s show a little blind. I knew next to nothing about each band and only knew a few songs from each bands library (I spent Tuesday at work listening to as much Lucero as I could get my hands on via MySpace) but by the end of the night I was highly impressed.
Glossary took the stage earlier than expected, about 15 to 20 minutes before their 9 p.m. start time. At this point the crowd at the Visulite was thin, but that didn’t stop those who were there from getting into the show (much as I did).
I took the show in from a bar stool near the back of the venue as I’ve found standing looking up at the stage tends to make my back ache the following day (yes, I’m a wussy, get over it). On the plus side, I was able to see the stage easily and this allowed me to really enjoy the music (while head banging when appropriate).
While I have to say I was disappointed when Glossary finished their set (I wanted them to play “Save Your Money For The Weekend” again) I was stoked to finally get my first taste of Lucero. By the time the main event hit the stage the venue had filled up nicely (it wasn’t packed to the gills, but there was a pretty decent crowd on hand).
Everything I’d read about Lucero’s live act in the days before the show turned out to be absolutely true. This band of merry men hit the stage and ripped the crowd to shreds. While I wasn’t familiar with a large portion of what was played it wasn’t hard to get into the groove of things. As far as I’m concerned Lucero played rock and roll like it was supposed to be played.
I made sure to pick up copies of Lucero’s “1372 Overton Park” and Glossary’s “Feral Fire” for use in my CD player for the foreseeable future before exiting at around 11:30 p.m. While this may have been my first exposure to both bands, I have no doubt that it won’t be my last.
Well, I guess it’s my turn. Kasey and RSV have already dropped their faves of the year (here and here) on y’all, so there’s just no avoiding it for me now. This year was particularly difficult due to the sheer amount of great music that came out, and had I made this list tomorrow it would certainly change. That said, you can edit forever but eventually you have to settle on something and call it your list. So, with out further ado I am gonna steal RSV’s formatting and get this show on the road:
Last night’s Lucero show taught me a couple of things. The first thing is that I am apparently an old bastard now and the front row at a show might be a little too much for me. Be kind to me on that one as my ego (read: belief that I am Peter Pan) is a little sore along various other parts of me. The second, and more important. thing is that sometimes changing a thing that you love can make it better…
This tour has been reviewed all over the place and it seems our boys opened the show pretty much the same as they have been with Sounds of the City followed by That Much Further West and it was a damn fine opening. The Jim Spake re-work of That Much Further West to include horns, Todd Beene (Glossary) on the pedal steel, and Rick Steff on keyboards was my first taste of what proved to be a different Lucero show than I am used to. I can’t really describe how it’s different, other than the obvious horns and such, so I will just describe it in the best way I know know: it’s like they managed to cram more Lucero into a Lucero show. They started off with rockers from 1372 Overton Park and tossed in some of the classics that had been reworked to include horns like That Much Further West, Chain Link Fence, and a few more. Then moved on to older stuff while the horn section took a break so it was just the boys, Todd Beene and Rick Steff. In a few songs it was just Ben and Rick on stage and Ben belted out The Last Pale Light In The West, Mom, and The War. The the band came back, all of them, and it was back to hard rockin’ Lucero with some amazing re-works. Ben flat out refused to play Hearts on Fire for us but did throw the Texas crowd a bone with Raisin’ Hell and pulled out If Only You Were Lonely, no horns, with Todd Beene playing pedal steel. The show ended a little early, and if you know our boys that means they only played for two hours, when some frat boy morons started getting too rowdy over by Rick and John C. They were over the top and had slammed into Rick a couple of times and John C. had swept them back with the neck of his bass, his new bass, and motioned for them to cut it out but when one of them put hands on the stage manager John C. was having none of it. He smacked four of the fuckers on the head with his bass and flipped it around and held it like a bat to back them off. It was a pretty amazing show of prowess with the bass if you ask me. So here’s a lesson to frat boy morons, you know who you are, don’t fuck with Lucero’s people. Just don’t. If you do you will have to face John C. Stubblefield, the bass assassin, and in his own words “I will jump in the air and shit in your air. And you can quote me on that“. Ben sang one more song, solo, while the mess got tidied up and managed to abruptly end the show without the crowd complaining too much.
In the immortal words of the Beastie Boys: You think this party’s over but it’s ready to begin. As any friend of the boys knows the real fun at a Lucero gig is often after the show, sometimes before if you get there early enough, and last night was no exception. I got the chance to talk to most of the band about the new album and the tour and really shed some light on how this album and this tour is different. I can tell you this much: it’s not because they signed with a major label. The only money the label put into anything was into marketing. The tour bus, the horn section, the new merch, and everything else is financed by the band. The “interviews” below are from various points in the night and some are paraphrased a little bit as we never got a chance to sit down, bust out a recorder, and do a formal interview session.
I asked Ben about the new album. the tour, and life in general…
Finally, after all the talk, all the speculation and all the handwringing over majors and horns, Lucero’s sixth studio album, 1372 Overton Park, is released! It almost seems impossible to write about this album without talking about the questions surrounding it from long-time friends. At the same time, it almost feels selfish to rehash them over and over again. Is Lucero required to stay within their fans’ safe zones? If that’s the case, is it fair to the band? Simple fact is, fair or not, the words “major label debut” and “horns” have made a lot of fans more than a little nervous about the future of this beloved rambling crew from Memphis. And when that was topped by Ben’s (and to a lesser sense, the band’s) appearance on the MTV faux-reality series $5 Dollar Cover, many of the original fans started to mumble the words “sell” and “out”, usually in that order. If any of these concerns even registered with the band itself they’ve handled in pretty typical Lucero fashion, by forging straight ahead making their music the way they want it made, and now that the official release date is upon us the only question that matters is whether you like it or not.
Having pre-ordered the album, I got the six song sampler many months ago, and having the internet I’ve had the full-length leak almost as long and I will admit, at first I didn’t like it. Not because of the horns or any of that crap, but for some reason I never seem to like a new album from an artist I enjoy the first couple of times I hear it. It’s a character flaw I’m sure, but after that initial period I was still on the fence about the sampler. Then came the full-length leak and access to “Mom”. “Mom” was the initial track to grab me and open my ears to the rest of the cd. “Mom” is one of those classic show-closing acoustic anthems that Ben’s so good at writing, and I can only imagine that it’s taken the place of “The War” as the last song of the night. As an avid fan of hearing “The War” live it’s a little sad for me, but I must admit that “Mom” is worthy of the slot. After “Mom” the songs just started falling in place, and after a week’s time I realized I loved the album, the production, and I’ll be god damned if I didn’t love the horns too. Another one of the standout tracks on the album for me is “Sixes and Sevens”. It might be one of my favorite tracks ever by the band and would easily fit into the Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers tracklisting without any tweaking, while “Darken My Door” is as sad a song as the guys have ever written.
My natural reaction is to try and write a review defending the horns. Hell, if I’ve typed, “Really, once you stop listening to the horns and listen to the album you’ll find that it’s a Lucero album through and through” once, I’ve typed it fifty, and that’s the truth. 1372 Overton Park isn’t Lucero reinventing itself, and if you line the cd’s up and listen in chronological order I think it becomes pretty obvious that this is the next logical step in their evolution. Will they lose some of their old fans? Probably, but I appreciate that the band is willing to take that risk to follow their musical path. Will this album propel them to super-stardom? Hard to say. It’s got the production and the hooks. If there was a track on the album that I thought could capture the interest of the public, I’d have to say it’s “What Are You Willing To Lose”, and if ever there was a band that’s earned a little star power it’s Lucero…even if it means I end up losing my cool little band that I get to see a couple of times a year with 200 of my closest friends through music.
Without hesitation, I put this album on the ninebullets.net essential listening list, and now that I’m intimately familiar with the cd I have to say it’s a strong contender for album of the year.
After months of talk 1372 Overton Park will finally come out tomorrow. To mark the occasion the Lucero Social Club is holding listening parties across the United States and Tampa’s is gonna be at Vinyl Fever. There will be free beer, free pizza (courtesy of ninebullets) and some like minded folks hanging out and listening to the album. So, come join us and we can talk about major labels and horns.
It’s a big week here in ninebullets.net land. Our (my) favorite band, Lucero, is officially releasing their sixth album (and first on a major label. Hey! Did you know it has horns? I don’t wanna get into the album too much today as I’ll be posting a piece about the album specifically tomorrow but did you know there are horns on it?
Anyhow, when long time 9b reader/commenter Cliff in England asked if I’d be interested in running an interview he conducted with the boys a few weeks back I jumped at it. Hope y’all enjoy it.
~ Autopsy IV
A Night with the Boys from Lucero (an interview by Cliff England):
Formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1998, Lucero has been tearing through this country with their punk/rock/country (insert about any aesthetic adjective here) outfit for some time now. Lead vocalist, Ben Nichols, has one of the most distinctive voices in music today. It’s unrefined, rough, and exposed, in other words it is the definition of rock n’ roll. Brian Venable, lead guitarist, and co-founding member does the balancing act. His guitar ranges from solid country blues, to raging rock guitar. Bassist, John C. Stubberfield, and drummer, Roy Berry, round out the quartet with solid layering and depth. Lucero goes beyond skin deep though; Nichols writing sets the tone as raw and emotional as his voice. Life on the fringe seems to be the biggest theme in Nichol’s writing. The words seem to pour out of him with honesty and sincerity like someone decades before his time.
The “Lucero Sound” is hard to characterize, at its core it is a medley of everything great in American music of the last fifty years. The teenage punk angst of Black Flag, a 1970’s Kris Kristofferson country folk tune, and the soul of Springsteen’s Born to Run are all pieces of the Lucero puzzle. Slowly, but surely the band is finding each of those pieces. They are undoubtedly a force helping put Memphis, and everything the home of Elvis Presley embodies, back on the map.
On October 6th Lucero releases their sixth full length record 1372 Overton Park. It marks a change for Lucero, goodbye to their record label and on to the infamous, Universal Republic. Many fans and skeptics are concerned with the jump to a major label. The concern lies in the droves of bands that have made the same leap only to be misguided and left to be a skeleton of their previous selves. The question that lingers now is; on which side of the line will Lucero ultimately land?
That question among many others was asked when I sat down with Brian Venable before their show in Urbana, Illinois at the Pygmalion Music Festival which Lucero was headlining:
CE: So 1372 Overton Park is the New Record right?
BV: Yes
CE: You guys lived there for quite a while?
BV: Yea, the four of us from like 8 years ago up until recently. That’s how we we’re able to tour so frequently, the rent was cheap. All living in one spot
CE: All you guys living together I’m bet there is some stories you could tell from that?
BV: Umm probably, I think realistically, you go out for six weeks you come home, the warehouse was huge. Everybody would just kind of splinter off, and not be in the same van for awhile. A lot of drinking, a lot of you know, pretty much we could destroy a garbage pile and shoot with bb guns. Pretty much if your twelve year old self got to live in a place with your friends and do anything you want.
CE: You guys just signed with Universal this last year. Has that brought about any change or anything?
BV: There is a lot more red tape sometimes. It sounds better to your parents. We’re pretty much doing the same thing. I think between the label, and the new producer, they forced us. They wanted demos, which we’ve never really done good demos, like they wanted completed demos. And it forced us to actually concentrate on the songs more before we even went into the studio. Which I think help make it a better record.
CE: You guys had to be a little bit more responsible about the whole thing?
BV: Yes, yes, there were deadlines.
CE: So tell me about the record then, it comes out October 6th right?
BV: Yes
CE: There is a lot of talk around the fans and everything about the horns section…
BV: Yea, we’re curious about it. It’s been 50/50 for me looking on the boards. For every person that’s like “ohh this sounds like ska”, which I always assume is some twelve year old kid that likes Rage Against the Machine. That has no concept of what’s going on, like a soul record, or a Bruce Springsteen record, or anyone of them till they get older. Most everybody schools them online, like ‘don’t be dumb’. It’s an exciting progression if you think about it. I went back personally because I had heard bands. I wanted horns on the record not even in a soul way originally. But just in a ‘rock you in the crib’ (sorta way) There was this band from Denver, Hearts of Palm. It’d be exciting to just do this on a one or two songs just mix it up. It ended up working out really well. A friend of mine heard some of the early demos with horns, and he said it sounded real Memphis soul. And you go back all the Lynyrd Skynyrd studio stuff had horns, Alice Cooper’s first three records (had) horns. You know like, you never heard the horns as much until you start concentrating then you’re like ohh wait a minute. It’s like piano, when we introduced piano. People were like, “ehhhhh that’s different,” you know but the saxophone and piano are right there with the birth of rock n roll.
CE: Amen.
CE: So you guys worked with a legendary saxophonist (Jim Spake), from Memphis right?
BV: Yes
CE: How was that?
BV: It was fun, I think he’s Memphis, so I don’t think we don’t necessarily go in thinking “Legendary Saxophonist”. It’s Jim. Which is one of the things about Memphis, stuff happens and nobody gets a big heads or egos about it. Whatever record you’re working on is the most important one at the time.
CE: Speaking of Memphis in that sense, I know there is a big music scene down there. Can you kind of describe what that was about, where you guys came from?
BV: I think it’s always been a real interesting situation. Like, with the 60’s and 70’s you had your Elvis. And then you turn into your, or a lot of times you went to record in Memphis. There wasn’t a lot of artist coming. There were labels, or there was American Records. Wasn’t that what it was called?
RS (Lucero pianist Rick Skeff): Yes.
BV: Like “Dusty Springfield in Memphis” and “Memphis Experience.” You’d have a whole lot of that. And I think the city wants the commerce industry, they were like “OHH ELVIS yeah yeah yeah”, but they’ll miss the entire underground. That was always the joke with Memphis; some of the best bands in the world started, played, and broke up after a year. Maybe put out a seven inch, maybe didn’t even do anything. But we just came out of that huge music scene that is boiling underground that never really goes anywhere.
CE: So any bands out right now around Memphis that you would recommend? Somebody might not get a chance if they’re not in Memphis to check out online.
BV: We’re taking out a few people. Amy LaVere. She plays upright bass. She’s kind of a….I don’t know what a chanteuse is but,
RS: How about a classy woman in a long silk dress, playing sultry tunes.
BV: I always thought it was the color red. But she did that “5$ cover” TV show with Ben and everything. So far from what I’ve heard everybody is really excited about the “Dirty Streets”. They just kind of started. We’re taking them out for a little bit. But I mean they’re so new I haven’t even heard em’. But everyone that has immediately says they sound like the MC5 and they’re amazing. There is like the “City Champs” and they’re kinda like “Booker T & MG’s” soul thing. Then there is always the makeshift people, which is Snowglobe, Jimmy James & the Hall, any kind of number of them. There is just a group of them, like a little community of about 20 people that all play in the same bands.
CE: So it’s like a little community?
BV: Yea, just like that.
CE: You guys have a few more dates around here then you’re heading back to Memphis?
BV: We do Detroit, really Ferndale, which I think is a suburb or something. Then we’ll do Columbus, OH, and then we’re home for two-weeks. Hopefully we’ll spend most of those days practicing.
CE: Big Tour right?
BV: Trying to get the.… We’ll we’ve recorded with the horns but we’ve never actually played live before with them.
CE: So you’re breaking them out for the tour?
BV: Yea, we’re taking the horns out for the fall tour. So it’s going to be a gigantic crazy deal.
CE: How long is that going to go on then?
BV: Six weeks, October 8th to November 21st
–
The scene was nearly four hours after the interview. Lucero finally walked on stage at nearly one o’clock. By that time the robust crowd at the Canopy Club had dispersed to a dreary, but steadfast hundred or so people. Concern was obvious that the people left were either too drunk to find their way home, or trying to get to that point. All the while it was clear they did not care about the band coming on stage. Doubts and reservations quickly left when the first chords to Lucero’s set started. “Sound of the City”, a new track, quickly got the crowd out of its lull of drunkenness.
Ben humored the crowed by taking multiple shots from concert goers and taking request after request. Lucero essentials like “Nights Like These”, “All Sewn Up”, and “Chain Link Fence” were all played. As well, new Lucero songs “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble”, “Darken My Door” and “The Devil and Maggie Charcarillo” were played. The songs set the mood as if it was an early era punk show, then slowed it to a halt with sincerity like a Merle Haggard acoustic set, just as any Lucero studio record can do.
The show was not without its faults. It was evident from the start drummer, Roy Berry, was having problems with his drum kit. Chaos and antics ensued mid way through the set when Roy decided to quit drumming and sat down out of frustration. Then he stood up and sprayed beer all over the stage. After some encouragement from Ben, and rest of the band, Roy decided to saddle up and finish the show. The incident did little to hinder the enjoyment of the show; if anything it affirmed the notion that the band lives up to its’ rock n’ roll persona.
The night was capped off with moving solo performance by Ben of the new song “Mom,” a poignant tale for mothers everywhere. Nichols thanked the audience for staying up so late with the band, and asked what time the bar closed. Pouring their hearts and souls out up on stage, like the most genuine bands before them, the answer was simple; No, Lucero had played past closing time.
Lucero has commissioned fans to do videos for every song on their upcoming album, 1372 Overton Park. Last night the first video, directed by Alex Mecum was unveiled and it’s pretty fucking good.
Anyhow, old as hell or not, like I said the first time I posted about it, “Lucero graced Breathru radio with their presence while celebrating their 10th Anniversary, and though they were playing much earlier (and more sober) than they are used to, they still managed to lay down a stupidly awesome set for our listening pleasure. If this had been released on cd I’d be dubbing it Essential Listening, but I don’t believe it is so I’ll just title it as essential downloading.”
Disclaimer: I’ve done a shit ton of asking and looking around, I’m not entirely sure if I should be posting this. I’ve asked both parties and got no answer from either, so that and the fact that it was shot across the internets and that I pulled it off sendspace makes me think it is public domain. So, if there is a reason this should be pulled down, in lieu of firing off legal emails to everyone just drop me an email. I’ll pull it down and apologize profusely.
Any time a band whose reputation and philosophy were grounded firmly in DiY ideals makes a jump to a major label, there are bound to be concerns about selling out, dumbing down, cleaning up and all of those other concessions that aren’t tolerated among rabid fans and purists. Lucero’s transition from under-the-radar darling to major label act is no different, and while the band’s fans are dedicated enough to be tolerant of departures, they’re also passionate enough not to tolerate any slick bullshit in the name of appealing to a broader demographic (couFiveDollarCovergh). For the first time in their career, Lucero will have more than just raving critics and word of mouth behind them. They’ll have the lumbering – often fumbling – major label machine shoving their record down the listening public’s throat. This is great if the record’s as good as the material Ben Nichols and co. have been cranking out for the last decade, but what if the record sucks?
From the opening piano notes of “Smoke,” which kicks off the free six-song sampler available now with a pre-order of 1372 Overton Park, one thing is clear: Nichols’ affinity for anthemic classic rock is not going to be buried here; it’s right up front. “Smoke” sounds like Tom Petty aping Bruce Springsteen and, which Nichols’ rasp cutting through the pulsating piano, organ and guitars, it works. Springsteen is echoed in the second track, “Sounds of the City,” as well, with the swirling boardwalk organ and Memphis horns propelling Nichols’ tale of bad boys who “know when to push [their] luck.” Somebody’s been listening to Marah records. The addition of a horn section to Lucero’s sound shouldn’t be unexpected or unwelcome by anyone who’s witness the band’s maturation over their last few albums, as piano and organ were added in layers to flesh out Nichols’ bruised and bleak vacant lot anthems. However the band’s sound may have shifted, Nichols’ narrative remains constant, maybe even to a fault.
As “The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo” chugs along, sounding for all the world like a Thin Lizzy B-side, Nichols calls out for Love and Rockets and wrings his hands over punk rock girls and lonely saints. It’s a good tune but how long is Lucero’s audience going to be subjected to – and tolerate – Nichols’ bludgeoning of the “rock ‘n’ roll outcast” horse that was beaten dead about the time Green Day embarked on their first foray into rock operadom. Touching on familiar thematic elements is part of maintaining a dialogue with one’s audience – just ask Springsteen himself, nobody does it better – but that’s a far cry from writing the same song in six different keys, which is damn near what Nichols has done here. Luckily, he’s a good enough writer and compelling enough vocalist that the act isn’t tired — yet. But if, upon release, 1372 Overton Park turns out to be little more than a dozen recitations of “boy meets girl, boy fucks up, boy loses girl, boy and girl find salvation in rock ‘n’ roll and live scrappily ever after,” Nichols is going to have a lot more to answer for than why Lucero incorporated horns into their tunes.
Until the full album is released, I’m more than willing to suspend judgment – God knows Lucero has earned it. And don’t mistake me, these are not bad songs, quite the opposite. 1372 Overton Park may well end up being the rare example of how to cross over without selling out but it may also show us a band struggling to find new ground while walking in place. For now, new Lucero tunes are better than no Lucero tunes, and these sings songs are good enough to keep expectations for 1372 Overton Park extremely high.
One of my favorite twitter friends, Romeosidvicous, posted a really nice 4 mix-tape introduction to Lucero yesterday and was kind enough to allow me to repost it here on ninebullets. I’ll let him explain the idea behind the tapes:
“I have made many Lucero CDs over the years to turn people on to their music. Today I decided that I would be lazy and simply make three one hour playlists and post them here. Now I can simply give people a URL instead of spending time making plastic discs that people just rip and file away somewhere. Three one hour playlists turned into four playlists as I decided to toss in some of Ben Nichols’ solo work as well as some tracks from his prior band Red 40. I enjoyed putting these together and I hope you will enjoy listening to them. You can get all of the music here, on the original discs, from the Lucero Store.”
Below are the first two. If you enjoy them and want to check out the other two, head over to Romeo’s blog.
Tape 1:
I chose “Cowboy Emo” as the name of this compilation due to a rumor of the conversation between Ben and Brian that laid the groundwork for Lucero. I won’t bore you with the whole story but rumor has it that Brian described the music he wanted to play as “Cowboy Emo” during that conversation. I don’t think there’s much emo and not much cowboy in the music but it’s a fitting title nonetheless. The track archives have proper id3 tags and even some horrible cover art I threw together so they should drop nicely into iTunes or whatever you use.
Tracks 1-3 are from the Attic Tapes which was recorded prior to the release of their first album. I have heard this was around 1999 but that could be wrong.
Tracks 4-7 are from the boys self-titled release on Madjack from 2001.
Tracks 8-13 are from Tennessee released in 2002. Coincidently the first Lucero song I ever heard “Sweet Little Thing” was from this album.
Tracks 14-17 hail from That Much Further West which was described by Rolling Stone as “The country album Paul Westerberg never wrote…”. This album was released in 2004.
Tape 2 shows the growth of this band. Only having a line-up change once and going back to the original line-up has proved to be a strong point for the boys. They have grown together musically and listening to Ben’s lyrics mature from fleeting romances to deep desires has been a pleasure over the years. Of course he hasn’t stopped writing songs about drinking either but even those have a touch more maturity to them. Any band that’s been together as long as they have either sounds the same as they did at first or they grow. Lucero took the second route and each album is a little different but after a while you can still tell when there’s a Lucero song on even if you hadn’t heard it before. The first time I got to see them play live it was on the tour supporting Nobody’s Darlings and I have seen them every chance since.
Tracks 1-5 are from Nobody’s Darlings released in 2005.
Tracks 6-11 are from Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers released in 2006
Tracks 11-14 are from the yet to be released 1372 Overton Park which is due out in October ‘09
As I said earlier, there are two more tapes over on romeosidvicious’s blog. They feature live Lucero, Ben solo as well as some material from Ben’s band before Lucero, Red 40, so go check it out.
