weirdness, craziness, things and stuff, stuff and things..
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Sounds Like
You tell me..kinda raunchy. The guitars are always too loud. Flamin' Groovies, Byrds, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, early '70's Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth, Queen, Cheap Trick, Roky and the Explosives, Plimsouls, Ol' Yeller, Hotel Coral Essex, Glenrustles, slow-to-mid-tempo-rock-and-roll with loud guitars and tom toms.
Ol' Yeller had a pretty good run. The group Rich Mattson started in 2000 called it quits on July 26, 2008 after a farewell show in their hometown of Minneapolis. Reason being, well, life got in the way. Mattson, a die-hard musician performing in 3 separate groups, also a producer/studio owner, had a rough time getting his Ol' Yeller bandmates in to rehearse and/or record new material since moving 200 miles north to Sparta MN. 200 miles is a long distance for a band to hold itself together. Add to that new babies, and carpentry businesses, and a rock and roll dream is doomed..for most.
In the spring of 2007 Mattson recorded a 9-song cd for Hotel Coral Essex, a band fronted by his old friends from (Duluth's favorite rock and/or roll band) Giljunko; Tony Derrick and Pat Nelson. The songs, written mostly by Derrick, were heralded by Mattson as some of the best music to ever come through his new Sparta Sound studio. A year later, as the Hotel Coral Essex was falling apart, Derrick returned to the studio to record some new demos. He brought along HCE bassist Jason Kokal. Rich was invited to play on the sessions. The three of them crafted away at more amazing tunes. Mattson himself had been demoing new songs on his own, playing all the instruments himself, facetiously calling the project "Rich Mattson and the Tisdales"; Tisdale being the wine of choice, a cheap wine that is somewhat hard to find on the Iron Range. During a break at one of these Tony Derrick sessions, Mattson suggested that perhaps the two of them should "join forces", keep the solid Jason "Kokes" Kokal on the bass and find the best available drummer.
After auditioning somewhere around 5 drummers, they brought in the young Derek Rolando, of Eveleth MN. Derek also drums with the Six 9's, a cover band that dabbles in original music and recorded at Sparta Sound. When Mattson gave him a cd of 16 songs on a Thursday and the four of them got together the following Sunday, Rolando "outplayed them all." The Tisdales were born.
------------------------------------------------------------- The Tisdales - City Pages A-Listing by Robert Longmore 10/8/08
Rich Mattson has a reputation. After playing in bands for more than 20 years, including most notably the Glenrustles and Ol' Yeller, he's known for his blue-collar approach to his music. If anything, he's earned the right to say, "Fuck it, I can play whatever the hell I want." Beholden to no genre or scene, the Iron Range rocker is back with the Tisdales. The band has more in common with '70s pop rock than the alt-country that Mattson's old bands were known for. But Mattson's songwriting chops are second to none, and his simple but majestic guitar solos are the stuff of Neil Young-garage-rock fantasies. His songs come with a layer of dirt already crusted in the space between notes--the way a bar band should sound. Joining Mattson in the Tisdales are former members of the Duluth psych-rock band the Hotel Coral Essex. With Patches and Gretchen, for whom the evening is a CD-release party, and Starfolk.
------------------------------------------------------------------ The New Album: Bakers Dozen - Street Date Tuesday November 25!
Great rock records are a phenomenon. Oh, a lot of good records feature similar ingredients: intelligent song writing, smoking guitars, whiskey-drawl vocals, thick blooded heartbeats from the bass and drums, and good ol’ fashion sing-along choruses about getting out of town on the next ship leavin’ port. But a great rock record has all those things plus a little hard-to-define magic. And I worked at a record store long enough (too long, maybe) to know that when you’re bewitched by a great record, it’s your obligation to proclaim it. So allow me to announce The Tisdales and their debut Baker’s Dozen. A new record has found its way into the coveted rotation.
The thirteen tracks on Baker’s Dozen were recorded at the Tisdales’ home studio (a small renovated church) in Sparta, best described as a ghost town located on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. The songs “Faces” and “Isn’t It Good?” wind through the boarded up windows of Sparta’s vacant miner homes like REM’s Murmur did through rural Georgia. One can easily picture any last call at dive bars from Duluth to the Canadian border upon hearing and chug-a-lugging to the Neil Young-ish anthem “Like a Horse.” And “We’re the Ones” rightly justifies the satisfaction of surviving in the rock and roll underground as much as bands like X and the Replacements lived it.
Baker’s Dozen could have easily struck its bright chord in 1990, 1983, 1973, 1967… In some ways, the four flannel-clad quiet guys that make up The Tisdales might have felt more comfortable back in those great rock years when bands put their hearts and heads on the line as real tape rolled during recording sessions.
It’s almost 2009, and way too many groups record soulless, art school, flop-around tunes on whatever fancy computer download is featured in the back of TapeOp magazine. Well, damn it, here’s to The Tisdales and a timeless little piece of rock and roll magic, Baker’s Dozen.
---Mark Lindquist, Transistor Magazine Nov. 2008
Tisdales debut lives up to expectations
Duluth Budgeteer review by Matt Perrine, 12/12/08
Believe it or not, the Tisdales debut is really, really ridiculously good.
I was a little worried, because the group set a dangerous precedent when it released the spotless “Faces” and “Brass Knuckles” single earlier this year.
But, rest assured, the remainder of “Baker’s Dozen” is every bit as — to plagiarize what I wrote back then — “all at once refreshing and timeless-sounding” as those tracks.
First, though, a quick biographical paragraph is probably in order: This “post old-school” local group stems from Tony Derrick (Giljunko/the Hotel Coral Essex) booking time up at Sparta Sound, the recording studio run by Rich Mattson (the Glenrustles/Ol’ Yeller). The two clicked, and, when the Hotel Coral Essex dissolved, the two Northland luminaries combined forces. They’re rounded out by Jason “Kokes” Kokal (one of Derrick’s Hotel Coral Essex bandmates) and Derek Rolando (the Six 9’s).
Stellar lineup intact, the songs flowed forward. And, despite the fact that the writing credits are split about 50/50 between Derrick and Mattson, “Baker’s Dozen” flows naturally between its bookends (the Byrds-meets-Heartbreakers “Petty Things” and the unlisted “Stihl B. Rokken”).
In addition to those two, Mattson strikes gold with the aforementioned “Brass Knuckles” and, like a beast off a lesser-known Neil Young masterpiece, “Isn’t It Good?” And Derrick fares just as well, with “Faces,” “We’re the Ones” and “Find It in Me” all but eclipsing his back catalog’s highlights.
All in all, a strong case for the Tisdales being your new favorite band. Nine thumbs up.
When we get half a mil from the record label in support of our big arena tour can we get one these giant talking dope smoking skulls?!? Can we!? Can we!?
This clip is from the film 'Moments and Truths' included with the new Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank CD 'Traveling Show' coming out Setember 1. Order now at www.hobonephews.com
I just wanted to stop by to say hello and give you a little update on what Blood Root Mother is up to! We will be recording an EP of new music in August, and we recently finished recording a live DVD. The DVD is currently unreleased and I actually just saw it for the first time a few days ago. It features the last two performances with Tony Ellis still alive, and some footage from the tribute show we played on the night of his funeral.
There are some cool covers, as well as some NEW music that will be on our upcoming EP. We're very excited about the new music and we'd like to share a sneak peak with you. Here's a video of a new tune called Run Bobby Run:
Hey Rich, thanks for the add, don't check our songs out,they are all worn out. keep up the revolution, I'm sure you are a brother finnlander. SISU!!! P.S, Do you have a sauna at the studio?
Hope everyone found the 91.7 KAXE link from the boys. Great interview guys! Have fun on your tour! Don't forget; you still need to add Colorado to one of your tour stops. :)
Thanks for playing at Carmody on April 4th to help support the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness... I just wanted to let you guys know that your music was awesome that night! And we raised a bunch of extra money at your show! So thanks again! Keep up the good work!!!
Galen Lea White AmeriCorps*VISTA United Way of Greater Duluth Office: 218.726.4865 Mobile: 612.227.8189 volunteer@unitedwayduluth.org galen.lea.white@gmail.com
Check out the new FACEBOOK SONG and if your a Facebook member be sure and join the group "Fans of AJ Downing". Stay tuned on a new album due out by the end of the year!
