The dead will dance - MIX DEADLINE!

Listen up flesh-eaters (Donut not included)! The deadline for the great 2010 Halloween mix is Friday October 22th! Send us your list by blog comment (or better yet, your MP3's) and the spokesmen will judge your worth...over the weekend at their leisure.

Spokesmen Halloween Mix Tape Challenge

Submit your best 13 song Halloween mix tape list to the Sac Spokesmen (via comment post) and we will decide if it's worthy of the becoming this year's commemorative Dark Entries Mix Tape! Only the most disturbed, depressing, and dangerous song list will be compiled for eternity on magnetic tape with handwritten liner notes in red ink. Please don't bother sending us anything that wasn't brooded over by candlelight with Nosferatu on the telly for background horror. Your entries will be judged by a jury of your peers.

The Drums Concert Review

Half the Spokemsen showed up last night to see the Drums on their San Francisco tour stop with supporting band Surfer Blood. The Independent was sold out. Fortunately Mack'nCheese scored some face-value tickets hanging out by the door. We missed the very first band entirely but caught the whole Surfer Blood set. Without knowing much more than a few listens on myspace before the show, Surfer Blood came across at first sounding somewhat like Abe Vigoda with some heavy cowbell, repetitive guitar riffs, and strong vocals. Later into their set, they pulled out some very poppy songs with instant appeal. Their frontman has some hilarious dance moves...like an effeminate prep-school male cheerleader. There were moments of genius and they played it tight. My expectations were exceeded.

The drums came on next with lots fog machine and gorgeous backlighting. There are two guitarists: Jacob Graham and Adam Kessler. One plays hollowbodies and the other plays a Rickenbacker(haven't figured out which, apologies). Hollowbody picks out the rhythm line and dances like he's taking his guitar for for a waltz around his side of the stage. Rick is a bit more subdued but cuts through with the melody nicely. No strumming at all that I've noticed, just picking. The lead vocalist, Jonathon Pierce, was a bit low in the mix but his stage presence was well received. He has the mod dance moves and dramatic poses down! He could be in love with himself or the crowd, but he is a bit infectious and fun to watch. The drummer, Connor Hanwick, was solid, and I'm guessing he's the one that hits "PLAY" to start the backing electronic tracks for each song. Even the whistle on "Let's Go Surfing" is pre recorded. At least there was no lip-sinc or hint of pretending that they were playing some of the keyboard parts. The whole effect was very easy to get caught up into and start dancing. I couldn't help myself. Blake, of the Beneficiaries, who was also in attendance was quoted saying, "I find them completely in-line with what bands ought to be doing to doing today." Other post-concert descriptors of frontman Pierce included "pretentious" and "Morrissey rip-off". They definitely force you to have an opinion one way or the other. Hard to sit on the fence with loving or hating this band.

Phono Select Wednesdays

The Sac Spokesmen converged on the Phono Select store for a lunch time browse of some prime mid-town stacks. Thanks to Donut's connection with the founders we've had a chance to sneek preview the progression from interior construction, pricing and stacking the music, and the final pristine version seen this past week. The listening station turntables by the front window make you feel like a DJ when you lay the needle down and tweek the fader. There's some great display vinyl above the racks with choice selections. This visit we were pleased to see some 45's brought out for general consumption. Dal even let us buy some from the "to be priced" box! The CD selection is busting out of the shelves and there's a new hot item rack to check out. Can't wait to check the unveiling of the tape selection. My one suggestion at this point is to get a BIKE RACK out front! Meet up with the spokesmen for future wednesday lunces at phono select!

Thomas the Organ

I have a new toy from the island of little lost instruments: The Thomas organ by Heathkit. It's a small kit organ with the standard cheesy voice selections. Upper and lower decks with some footpeddles as well. Several of the contacts are not working for the keys, so I need some advice on how to clean those off (Donut!). I'm pretty stoked to fiddle with it.

New Single = Books

Due to the excellent rapport the Sac Spokesmen have with The Beneficiaries...here is a sampling of their latest for your consideration.

Know your cog

After ordering the wrong bike cog not once, but TWICE, I finally have arrived at a faster, better, stronger fixie. I'm not really excited about stopping cause it just wants to GO. Maybe Toast can run a workshop on the hipster jump and skid move...

On an unrelated note, Edmund Bedford's latest cover song is now posted for streaming. STYLAPHONE!

Beneficiaries play Rock-It Room

The Beneficiaries is Bill and Blake. Bill from Sac Spokesmen acclaim. Blake claiming all of San Francisco. Blake is a mathematician by the way. He likes Jonathan Richman's late period. Weird. So Beneficiaries had their 3rd open mic stint. The first two took place in Stockton at a coffee place that puns on the theatre it is housed in. I forget the pun, and therefore forget the name of the place. But Rock-It Room is in San Francisco in the district of emmmm, I don't know. I got there at 9:15pm, right after The Beneficiaries played. But the open mic policy is that you can play twice. TWICE! So around the strike of 12:00, the second set was performed. Two quick songs were applied, assured and easy, like a good deodorant. They surf-iachied through a 3 minute instro which elicited several cheers of joy (unless that was just the girls at the pool table making a shot). The Beneficiaries finished the evening strong and fragrant, like a familiar perfume, with a sweet ode to ex-love and a hummable chorus. When asked for a summation of the night from Andersert, it would be "no more 10 year Scotch - nothing younger than 16 for me". If someone can find a picture of the little boy in Desperado playing the guitara, please replace the image above. Salma was cool 10 years ago, but now she's on 30Rock and her chest is a parody of itself.