My Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. Jack Johnson - To the Sea
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Jack Johnson.  His music hits me the same way that the Chili Peppers', Hendrix's or Bob Marley's music does.  I'm usually quite annoyed when people realize that I'm a fan and then ask "so do you like Jason Mraz or John Mayer?"  The answer is a resounding "NO"!  No offense to those dudes or their fans but, its  not the same.  Its like saying "You like Marley?  Then you must love Billy Ocean and UB40!" Not the same.  Jack Johnson is an understated yet powerful singer songwriter with soul and sincerity to spare!  Plus his music is groovy as hell!  I absolutely loved "To the Sea".  In my opinion, his best record since "On and On".  Mel and I saw Jack perform in KC last summer with ALO and it will go down as one of our most memorable concerts evah!  We had a blast!  Loves me some Jack Johnson :)

2. Vampire Weekend - Contra
I was totally impressed with Vampire Weekend's sophomore record.  I loved this band right from the start of their self titled debut in 2008.  "Contra" did not disappoint.  It has all of the West African rhythms and classical string arrangements that I loved about the first record but I feel that their overall songwriting got better and more ambitious with this release.

3. Rogue Wave - Permalight
Rogue Wave has become one of my all time favorite rock bands and this is their best release to date!  "Permalight" is also their most upbeat record to date.  It has a big, sparkly, sunshine-y sound throughout.  Mel and I saw Rogue Wave perform at a bike shop in Austin at SXSW and they did not disappoint!  This record was the soundtrack to the awesome time that we had during the SXSW festival and I wore this record out over last Spring/Summer.  I can't wait to crank it up again this year when it starts to get warm :)

4. Animal Liberation Orchestra - Man of the World
ALO has been on my radar for a few years now but I've never given them much of a chance until this past year and I'm glad I did!  They might be my most listened to band of 2010.  ALO are 4 NoCal hippie, groovesters who are also very talented songwriters and gifted musicians.  "Man of the World" has some of my favorite ALO songs on it but as a whole is my least favorite of their releases.  That's not to say that its sub-par.  Its just that their last 2 records are solid from front to back while this one has a few tracks that would have been better off on the cutting room floor.  Mel and I saw ALO open for Jack Johnson last Summer and they effectively got us out of our seats and moving in no time at all.  It helped that we were a few Modelo's deep at the time ;)

5. Spoon - Transference
Spoon has yet to disappoint.  Every release since "Kill the Moonlight" has been solid.  It was as stripped down and raw as "Ga Ga Ga....." was dressed up and I was happy to hear the shift in aesthetic.  Amazing guitar sounds and grooves.  "Transference" is to be listened to at 10.  Great record!

6. The Dead Weater - Sea of Cowards
Speaking of listening to records on 10.....Man!  The Dead Weather rocks!  What else would you expect from a Jack White project?  I had no intention on buying this record.  I just wasn't feeling the drudgy blues riffage upon listening to my 30 second itunes samples.  But when we saw them open for the Flaming Lips last April they knocked my socks off!  Such an awesome and powerful performance.  Jack White is a monster on drums!  Who knew?  And Allison Mosshart is probably the most rocking-est chick that I've ever seen on stage.  Some of this record sounded a little redundant to me after a few listens.  Its a record that I have to be in a specific mood to enjoy.  But when I am, its like a punch in the face........in a positive way :)

7. Jimi Hendrix - Valleys of Neptune
Jimi Hendrix is one of my favorite artists of all time and my all time favorite guitarist ever!  This record is a collection of unfinished Hendrix sketches and alternate takes of familiar tunes.  Nothing new or earth shattering but, as a Hendrix superfan/junkie it was truly a lost treasure and sounded as fresh and relevant as ever.

8. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
"Infinite Arms" is my least favorite Band of Horses record.  They polished up and concreted a new lineup and in doing so, lost something that was unique to their overall sound that was present on the last two releases.  Its a certain something that I can't quite pinpoint but that I really loved about BOH.  That being said, this record is still totally solid.  The songwriting is as good as ever and they're progressing in a really cool direction.  I just wish they'd bring back those big sparkly, atmospheric guitars and take it easy on the vocal reverb.  Plus, points lost for throwing a "badges only" concert at SXSW turning away "wristband" fans like Mel and I after we rushed to the show and waited in line.  Boo! :) 

9. Beach House - Teen Dream
I just bought this album a few weeks ago after reading so much about it over the past year.  Yes, it lives up to the hype.  Slow and dreamy yet structured and visceral.  "Teen Dream" is reminiscent of a Mazzy Star record except with much better songwriting and big, lush guitars.  "Teen Dream" is a cool, dreamy chill out record that won't put you to sleep.  Dig.

10. Jonsi - Go
Pure sonic beauty. Another recent purchase,"Go" is a definite grower.  I've been listening to it non stop and it keeps getting better and better.  Basically a brighter sounding, pop version of a Sigur Ros record.  Which is a good thing.

Listen to select tracks off of this list here:
Jace's 2010 Playlist
 
Honorable mention: Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Being a former Deftones fan, I know that this is their best record to date.  However, as I may once have had the mentality to enjoy the Deftones, I no longer share that taste with my former self.  ie, I'm never, ever in the mood to listen to someone moaning and screaming in my ears over reverb soaked, metal guitars for an hour or so.  Good for them though ;)
 
2010 records that I have yet to but plan on purchasing.  I've heard enough off of these records to know that its just a matter of time before they make their way in to my library:
 
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Fela Kuti - Best of the Black President
Black Keys - Brothers
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast

Top 10 albums of 2009

In my most humble opinion, these are the best albums of the year 2009! In order of my favorites:

1. Pearl Jam, Backspacer
2. Mason Jennings, Blood of Man
3. Built to Spill, There is No Enemy
4. Old Canes, Feral Harmonic
5. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimist
6. Appleseed Cast, Sagarmatha
7. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
8. The Flaming Lips, Embryonic
9. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
10. Silversun Pickups, Swoon

Remembering Jared (A summarized history of Shaft)

So it goes. "Hindsight is 20/20". That saying has never rang as true with me as it has these past couple of days. I lost a true life mate and friend in Jared Hobaugh this past week and my heart is forever broken by his passing.

I met Jared when I was 15 years old. His brother, Jason attended a birthday party where my band was performing. It was a party celebrating Andy Gilstrap's 14th birthday at his parent's house. Our band at the time consisted of myself, Andy Gilstrap and Josh Gaunt. A few days later Jason introduced us to his older brother, Jared and we all got together to jam on a Sunday afternoon. Little did I know it would begin the one of the most interesting and fulfilling journeys of my life thus far.

A few months after that party, Jared joined our band, Shaft, permanently. Once he hopped in he took the lead and transformed us from a rag tag group of kids playing Pearl Jam covers to a full blown gigging, local band. We wrote original songs, recorded a rough "album" (how many people still own that tape!?), and started playing gigs around town at local bars. He put it all together. At the time we could barely be considered post-pubescent. You should have seen the looks on the bar owners' and patrons' faces when we walked through the door of whatever show Jared had booked! I had just turned 16 when our band really kicked off. What an experience! You can imagine, while all of my peers were going to parties and high school sporting events, we were in Old Town jamming out until 2AM. Many occasions on school nights. How could we have ever convinced a bar owner to book a bunch of kids in his or her establishment? If you have ever had a conversation with Jared Hobaugh, you know....

Over the following years we played hundreds of shows at bars, frat parties, house parties, festivals, high school events, you name it we would play it. We wrote scores of original songs and covered classic rock and popular crowd favorites. In the late nineties we were one of the most popular bands in Wichita, playing to packed houses almost every show. We did this all before I turned 19 years old.

In 1999 we recorded an EP and then decided to take some time off from the group. After 3 years of playing almost 3 nights a week, we were burnt out. Jason and I moved to Lawrence, Andy to Manhattan and Jared stayed behind and started a sound company. After a year we found ourselves reunited. We picked up right where we left off, recording two full length albums in 2 years. This time we were determined to take ourselves to the next level and Jared was at the wheel driving us forward. We bought a used RV which he and some friends re-furbished, building 4 bunk beds in the back so that those of us not driving (I never drove) could get some sleep (I only slept if Jason wasn't at the wheel). Backed by two solid albums, we played shows all over this great country between 2002-2004: Cincinnati, Terra Haute, Pittsburg, Dallas, OKC, Tulsa, KC, Lawrence, St. Joseph, Fayetteville, Lincoln, Amarillo, Manhattan, Las Vegas, Sturgis, and Los Angeles. Once, we even took off for an open ended tour of the west coast. The idea being that we'd keep afloat by booking shows while we were out. The problem was that on the west coast they book months in advance. Our finances dried up pretty quick and we scooted back home in less than a month.

That is an ultra summarized version of our bands' history. It would take months of blogging to detail all of the great stories and experiences that we had during our time as a band. I might consider chronicling them in the future....

Shaft disbanded in 2004. We were at our peak, the best we had ever been. But, at that point I guess it seemed time for all of us to collectively move on. We worked our asses off for years to try to make something of what we had as a group. Jared worked especially hard during those years. It was something that I never fully granted him credit for. So it goes.

"Hindsight is 20/20". Watching old videos posted on youtube and listening to all of our old recordings brings back so many great memories. Some bitter but most all of them sweet. Ever since we disbanded I've been searching for the musical equivalent of what we had in Shaft. The four of us, Jared, Jason, Andy and myself, shared something utterly unique and beautiful when we played music together. The sum of our parts was truly greater than what we possessed as individuals. I realize that now, tragically, too late.

We all had our own separate lives, sets of friends and acquaintances outside of Shaft. None of us were ever "best friends" save the two brothers. Even that bond was a rocky one at times. We all had our disagreements within the group and in years ahead we would stubbornly hold on to what in retrospect turned out to be trivial, petty grudges. So it goes.

I experienced so much life with and because of Jared Hobaugh. He took the initiative to try to make all of us in to something great. He was willing to sacrifice a lot to do so. At this moment I hold nothing in my heart but love, respect and a deep gratitude for him. He was a completely unique spirit and the world is a lesser place in his absence.

I recently spoke with Jared on the phone after not having any contact with him for a number of years. He talked about his life off of the grid piloting his plane in Alaska and I spoke of my new adventures in fatherhood. He sounded happy. Content. We discussed playing a Shaft gig over Christmas. December 26th to be precise. I had already booked the date at a local bar. We ended the conversation with mutual excitement of our prospective reunion. In the days following our conversation, my thoughts were occupied about our initial meeting, our rehearsals, the show, and even brand new Shaft songs yet to be birthed. In my mind there was still a future for Shaft. I should have made that phone call a long time ago. Too late now. So it goes.....

We all move forward in life focusing on the good times and positive experiences we all had with Jared. He will be sorely missed. So long my brother in music/life.........

Your friend,

Jace Wilbert

Top 10 Coming of Age Albums (Part 2 of 10)

Pt. II

On to the second album in my top 10! Let me just start by saying that this one is huge! There was a time between the ages of 13 and 15 that this band rivaled my love for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group is Nirvana. The album is "Nevermind".

Nirvana: "Nevermind"

Hearing Nirvana for the first time for me was a defining moment in my life. Just like when I heard RHCP's "Under the Bridge", I remember exactly where I was when I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I was again a passenger in a vehicle listening to the radio. It was 1992 and I was 12 years old sitting in the back seat of our Dodge Ram van. I can't remember the what station was that we were listening to but I had tuned out whatever was playing. Then I heard the opening guitar riff to SLTS.

It was almost funky in its rhythm, kind of a "Wild Thing" strumming pattern (think the Troggs, not Ton Loc). The guitar was raw and brittle sounding and I was immediately drawn in. Then all of a sudden Dave Grohl's drum fill enters the picture and BOOM! Everything is to 11 and rocking hard! It was so wicked sounding to me at the time. I remember feeling a huge rush of adrenaline, like I had just been rudely awaken from a nap followed by an urge to go out and break something. And then as soon as it boiled over, it simmered down to a quiet, steady pulse. Kurt Cobain's haunting vocals were at the same time dark and melodic. I could have recited the melody after the first listen. The chorus comes in like an explosion and his voice shreds like knives and you get worked up all over again! It goes on like this for just over 5 minutes. It was pure excitement. I had never heard anything like it.

This sort of loud, soft, loud dynamic was something Nirvana would use again and again in future recordings. In my opinion, it always worked well for them and I never really tired of it. It's a dynamic they stole from the Pixies and in years ahead would be stolen from them by countless other bands like Radiohead ("Creep") and Green Day ("Longview").

I purchased "Nevermind" right away and it took no time at all to grow on me. I loved every song on that record. And I mean I absolutely loved every single aspect of every single song on that record! I had just started playing guitar when Nirvana got a hold of me and after I learned two power chords, I could play along to the whole record. In years to come I would have an internal conflict on whether or not to take the Nirvana path and write short, edgy, and loud punk rock songs or to take the RHCP path of embracing black music, classic rock, and guitar solos. I would ultimately choose the latter.

Whenever I bring up the importance of Nirvana in shifting pop culture, I always have to defend them from naysayers. I argue against the sentiment that they were only popular because of the angst ridden figure that Kurt Cobain played and the tragic end that he would meet. To that I say "bullshit"! While that may be true in some cases (Sublime, Blind Melon) Nirvana and Kurt Cobain weren't one of them. They showed me that you don't have to be a virtuoso musician to make powerful music. They carried the underground punk rock ethos of their forebearers in to the mainstream. They infiltrated pop culture like a disease and single handedly erased a whole genre of trivial music (hair metal) while at the same time knocking Michael Jackson out of the #1 position on the Billboard top 100. Not bad for a trio of greasy punks from small town Pacific Northwest! And to me their songs were great. Cobain's music and lyrics were completely original in their strange beauty and darkness. He wrote catchy, pop songs that were both gloomy and bright at the same time. There has yet to be another band or artist to rival the importance of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.

"Nevermind" to me is an all time classic record not just for the 90's and rock music but for any era and genre. I would go on to fall in love with their next album "In Utero". An album that would take time to grow on me but would ultimately get more plays in time by me than its predecessor. I was 14 on the bus ride home from school when the radio DJ announced that Kurt Cobain had commited suicide. The next day at school kids would make jokes about it while I was genuinely heartbroken and sad. More than any other artist that met their end too soon with the exception of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain is the one who's music I've missed the most. I loved Nirvana! Still do......

Jace

Top 10 Coming of Age Albums (Part 1 of 10)

Pt 1

Ok, so in my last blog I talked about the songs that take me back to my teenage, or what I consider my "coming of age" years. I had mentioned that some of those particular songs weren't favorites of mine, they really didn't do much to shape me as a musician or as a person in general. Although they hold a special place in my heart, the songs that I had mentioned were and are, with some exceptions, pure nostalgia.

After writing the blog I got to thinking, "What were the songs, scratch that, albums that shaped me not only as a musician but as a person?" Which albums released during my coming of age period most greatly affected me? Which ones had the biggest impact on the way I approached writing, playing, and listening to music? Which ones influenced all aspects of my life big and small from my attitude towards the world around me to the way I dressed and wore my hair?

This is a top 10. I could probably do top 20. I could definitely do top 30 if I include albums of the past 10 years as well. But, I'll keep it a top 10 between the years of 1991 to 1999. Here we go:

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magik"

BSSM came out in 1991 when I was 11 years old. At the time of the album's release I was completely unaware of the band. I think I owned 3 CD's at the time: A "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince" album (don't ask me which one), Michael Jackson's "Dangerous," and an obscure, and bizarre reggae/rap album by an artist named "Papa San". Anyone remember Papa San? Didn't think so. Needless to say, my taste in music was pretty bad in retrospect. It didn't go much past kitsch and novelty. But hey, I was a little kid! What were you listening to when you were 11?

My first encounter with the "Chili Peppers" came a when I was about 12 years old. I was riding in the car with my oldest brother, Jared. I can't remember where we were off to but, I remember our exact location when I first heard "Under the Bridge". From the first six notes of John Frusciante's opening guitar riff, I was immediately captivated. It sounded so raw and real. It was as if he was playing in the back seat of Jared's brown Celebrity Station Wagon. All of the rock music that I had experienced prior to the Chili Peppers to me was slick, overproduced Hollywood BS. Layers upon layers of guitars, big boomy drums and singers singing from their dicks instead of their hearts and souls. I felt no connection to that music whatsoever and was completely uninterested.

"Under the Bridge" felt to me like all of the 60's soul, British Invasion and Garage Rock songs that my Dad listened to and played on guitar. It sounded personal and it moved me. It was apparent that Anthony Kiedis wasn't a great singer right from the beginning. But I listened to every lyric that he sang and I loved the sound of his voice. It was a heartfelt ballad about the pain of life as a drug addict with an undertone of straight up funk and Kiedis projected pure emotion in his vocal delivery. I fell in love with that song after just one listen. I remember asking Jared, "Who is this?" In which he replied, "The Red Hot Chili Peppers". "The what?!" I asked. I thought he was kidding.

A year would pass before I would own the Blood Sugar Sex Magik CD. But once it was in my hands, it was all over for me. I was a rabid fan, listening to all 17 tracks of the CD over and over again on a daily basis. That album alone turned me on to artists like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Clash, and Sly and the Family Stone just to name a few. BSSM pretty much single handedly gave me the inspiration to pick up the guitar and still inspires my music today. It would be impossible to overestimate the influence that the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blood Sugar Sex Magik have had on me over the years.

What is your numero uno? Please share!

Jace

Note: Please forgive my grammatical errors, my editor is out of town!