There's (still) something special happening in Johnstown, PA.

put a quarter in the telescope and you can almost make it out
the artspace that they're opening right outside downtown
it's going to be our hearts, it's going to be our souls,
it's going to take the place of work and church and school
if it doesn't get shut down by city council

Endless Mike and The Beagle Club - The Incline of Western Civilization

Got a tip the other day to check out one of the newest releases from My Idea of Fun records: S/T by Emmet and Mary. It's...well...it's sort of a post-apocalyptic rock opera. Or at least part of one. It looks like there'll be more to come, if one inspects MIoF's releases page. There's a lyrics transcription that clarifies which character (or group of characters) is singing any given line, which is an absolute must-have if you're to have any chance of following the plot. Even with it, you've got an uphill climb. But, no complaints. It's a fun little record, and if you're looking for something off the beaten path to check out, it might be perfect for you. There are sample mp3's at the link above, if you'd like a taste.

What's really striking to me about the project (and many like it coming out of Johnstown) is its ambition. The sheer magnitude of people who were involved in bringing it from concept to reality. My Idea of Fun is, as advertised, an artist collective. If you take a look at the cast, band, cult members (really), etc that put time into making this thing happen, and you happen to also know the names of the people in bands like Endless Mike and The Beagle Club and Elementary Thought Process, you'll see familiar names, among a host of others. All of whom, as the name of the label suggests, participate in huge, ambitious projects like this because it is their idea of fun.

All these people hang out at 709 Railroad Street, an art space in Johnstown. From the looks of things from afar, it's really becoming quite a happening. Keep an eye on it.

Endless Mike and the Beagle Club, Drew & the Medicinal Pen - Brooklyn Tea Party, 11/25/07

The Brooklyn Tea Party is located at 175 Stockholm St. in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in the Tea Factory Building. We are four people and one cat. All of the people make music. The cat is a cat. We do shows for our friends in the city and from out of town, fun get-togethers for people we love and respect. We can't make you famous, but we can share our warmth with you. All shows at our house cost $3-5 for touring bands and general upkeep. Here are some ground rules we'd like you to follow at shows:
1. Pay the Bands
2. Respect Chuck Noblitt
3. Don't drink what you didn't buy (w/o asking)
4. Smoke on the roof, drink in the house
5. Don't fuck up our stuff (materialist as it may seem, we like our house and we like having shows, and would hate to not have either).

[myspace.com/brooklynteaparty]

I wish I had more self control in metering out lavish praise. I wish I had the foresight to hold back and just say something is good, not always great. That way, I'd have a better arsenal of words with which to call your attention to something really special, when something special comes around. What I'm saying, I guess, is that I wish I had a bunker-buster to cut through the 30 feet of concrete bullshit you've already come across on the Internet today, and tell you (again and again) that if Endless Mike and the Beagle Club aren't on your radar, you need to turn in your Rad Club card immediately. I wish that you could have been where I was Sunday night. I wish you could have seen what I saw.

The Brooklyn Tea Party (as you've probably surmised) is a loft. People live in it. There are beds and a kitchen, and it smells sweat, beer, and hot soup. As is the nature of a loft, it has high ceilings. But the bedrooms have low ceilings, a few feet lower than the real ceiling, so guests can climb ladders to sit on the roofs of the bedrooms for better views of the permanently installed stage. It's super cool and you absolutely must check it out.

Endless Mike and the Beagle Club played 3 new songs that night, 2 of which I can remember the name of, all 3 of which were excellent. This is the part I was talking about above with the whole bunker-buster thing. There were lyrical moments in both "Oxygen Tank" and "56" that floored me. I wish that in describing them, I could pay that flooring forward. But I can't. So I'll just ask you to please remember that I told you so when you get your chance to hear this stuff next year. The other new song was much louder and the PA couldn't hang tough enough with the guitar amps, so I couldn't hear the words. It definitely rocked though.

God, this band is so good. They're so good that I can't even write intelligently about them. This is all blah, blah, blah. Oh, here's something! Johnstown, PA's My Idea Of Fun artist collective has a great recording of the endless Mike Miller playing all of The Husky Tenor solo with an acoustic guitar. It's a cool take on a great record, and you can download it for free here. It's called Endless Mike vs. The Beagle Club.

Anyway...

As has become the custom when The Beagle Club plays Brooklyn, Drew & the Medicinal Pen was on hand as well. With the exception of "Hole in my Sail," his set was entirely new to me. And not just because of the new songs, but because this show was only the 2nd show he played with his new band. Dream, Dream, Fail, Repeat hasn't left heavy rotation around here since I got my hands on it, but having now sampled some of what might comprise Drew & the Medicinal Pen's future recorded output, I'm already chomping at the bit for a follow-up.


Addendum: there's a girl named Kathleen who calls herself boy, who started playing right after I showed up at the loft. She made everyone stand up, pack around her real close in the center of the room, and proceeded to coax people into singing along to songs they'd (or at least I'd) never heard before. There's a video of her performing somewhere else for many less people embedded below, but it loses something in the not-being-there. Check out some more produced stuff on her myspace to get a better idea of what she's capable of. And check out the guest vocal on "Feathers."

Another Addendum: Brook Pridemore played as well that night, but because it was getting late and the crowd was staying noisy, he played on the roof. I opted out of the open air finale, mostly because I think I have pneumonia. I like his stuff too, though.

Is the fan a distraction?

Got an instant message last night from Brandon Locher, drummer for Elementary Thought Process, contributing member of The Beagle Club, artist, and most relevant to this post, proprietor of My Idea of Fun Records. When Brandon says to check something out, I always do. He's a trustworthy guy.

Siamese Dream - 1 was written and recorded within a strict 24 hour window. As such, it's more of an archived piece of performance art than a proper album. But it's got some really fun alt-pop moments anyway.

I recommend listening to the whole thing in one sitting because that's the best way to listen to anything (look, I don't presume to know you, but something tells me if you've got time to be reading this blog, you've got 15 minutes to listen to the whole thing). But if you've only got a minute or two, at least check out the first track for a taste of how good these guys are, and the fourth one for a song about rainbows and boners.

More on Brandon's stuff when I have the time...