L.A. RECORD » mick jagger

MARIANNE FAITHFULL @ ROYCE HALL

lar_import — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:03:08 +0000

Marianne Faithfull looked every bit the consummate professional—even matriarchal—standing under the rays of light at Royce Hall. Dressed in a lovely blouse and a long black skirt, the first few songs she sang—Dolly Parton’s “Down From Dover” included—were imbued with a classy, smoky jazz quality and a polished shine that made it look easy. Maybe even too easy. A glance around at the audience—mostly 45-60 year olds—made this reviewer feel not only downright young, but curious enough to wonder—had she lost her edge? Had this legendarily restless artist grown comfortable, mellowing out with standards a la Rod Stewart who (once upon a time, if you forget) was gloriously raucous and unpredictable, too? The question didn’t linger long before Faithfull remarked how nervous she was, a momentary spark of emotion that led into a skillfully selected set of songs. Now versatility is not one of the virtues of that wondrous rasp of hers, but its fractured beauty allows for interpretations of an insanely wide range of genres and styles during a 90-minute show. Randy Newman’s “Germany Before the War” (with its tantalizing hints of Kurt Weil during its intro) provided the first notes of dissonance, while covers like Duke Ellington’s “Solitude” exhibited deep emotional rawness. The only missteps occurred early with an out-of-range nearly spoken-word cover of Neko’s Case’s “Hold On, Hold On,” and an unremarkable Black Rebel Motorcycle Club tune. She fared much better with another selection from the indie catalog, the Decemberists’ “The Crane Wife 3.” These interpretations led to what the show had been lacking up until this point: Faithfull’s own works. It was hard not to see the Keith Richards/Mick Jagger penned “As Tears Go By” followed by “Sister Morphine” as self-fulfilling prophecy about Faithfull’s life. “Broken English” followed, as timely as ever in its questioning the pointlessness of war. “Why D’ya Do It?”—jealous and wrathful—stole the show, suiting her better now than when she recorded it back in 1979. Maybe it was the contrast of seeing Faithfull dressed so quaintly and poised while shouting out, “Whyd ya do it, she said, whyd you let that trash get a hold of your cock, get stoned on my hash ?” That did it. The evening came into miraculous focus during this song. Her fierce snarl danced around the ska-inflected guitar and tore down any notions of artistic comfort to take refuge in. In just a matter of minutes, the whole being of Faithfull was on display—the delicate flaxen-haired flower girl of the ’60s, the homeless tramp of the ’70s, the drug addict, the smoky-voiced cabaret singer, the Weimar-era reenactor, the Shakespeare interpreter—all her incarnations summoned up at once. Before the last note hit, the audience jumped to their feet in an affirmation of a performer unafraid of showing both personal vulnerability and an incredible tenacity for overcoming life’s darker moments.

—Greg Garabedian

THE PROCESS CHURCH SABBATH ASSEMBLY RITUAL @ CINEFAMILY

lar_import — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:49:03 +0000

From a Process publication:

“UNIVERSAL REAL ESTATE
The property is roughly spherical. 8,000 miles frontage on all sides. Scheduled for demolition shortly. Present tenants liable to do the job themselves prematurely.”

The Process Band:

Imaad Wasif – vocals, acoustic guitar
Jex Thoth – vocals, formerly of the band Totem
Kevin Rutmanis – bass, former bassist for the Melvins, Tomahawk
David Christian – bongos and gong, of No-Neck Blues Band

The Process Church of the Final Judgment acquired what might be its first new members in decades Sunday night during two services at the Silent Movie Theatre. Audience members were initiated into whatever remains of the Church—now after a series of leadership and philosophical changes known as the Best Friends Animal Society—during a ceremony that was surprisingly benign, considering all the hysteria and accusations of Satan worship (not entirely untrue) that dogged the group during their heyday in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

Though not as aesthetically elaborate as Catholic services, the Process service was strongly reminiscent of the few Catholic liturgies this unbeliever has attended—hymn, call and response between audience and robe-clad officiant(s), call and response, hymn, c & r, hymn, c & r, c & r, c & r, hymn, etc.—with the exception of the gentle banging of a gong at the end of each hymn. The music itself was exactly what devotional music should be: transcendent, beautiful, repetitive and dogmatic. The band members’ indie street cred revived a bit of the musical cache associated with Church in its prime, when the likes of Mick Jagger and George Clinton participated in their publications.

The four-piece sang of serving Christ and Satan, being purified by the fire of latter and given life by the water of the former; Armageddon—Abaddon—and repentance, Jehovah’s strength and Lucifer’s light; and of the Process’ appropriately Old Testament-y prophecy of the end of the world. Unlike the Old Testament, when the world is in flames, blood runs in the streets and we’re plagued by pestilence, hatred and misery, Processians “shall conquer fear with love.” I’m glad my new religion is so awesome.

—Ayse Arf

CINEFAMILY HOSTS A SABBATH ASSEMBLY RITUAL

lar_import — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:52:04 +0000

The Cinefamily brings you Satan! On Sunday, August 23, participate in a Sabbath Assembly ritual and learn all there is to know about the Process Church through a multimedia presentation by an expert, while The Sabbath Assembly band sings hymns…

From the Silent Movie Theater:

Was The Process Church truly “one of the most dangerous Satanic cults in America”? Or were they an intensely creative apocalyptic shadow side to the flower-powered ’60s and New Age ’70s. Scores of black-cloaked devotees swept the streets of New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, and other cities selling magazines with titles like “Sex”, “Fear”, “Love” and “Death”, and a theology proposing the reconciliation of Christ and Satan through love. Marianne Faithfull, George Clinton and Mick Jagger participated in Process publications, and Funkadelic reproduced Process material in two of their albums. The inside story of this controversial group has at last emerged with Feral House’s LOVE SEX FEAR DEATH by Timothy Wyllie and other former members. Tonight, Feral House and Process Books present a re-creation of an actual Process Church “Sabbath Assembly” ritual. Author Wyllie (Father Micah) will follow to discuss the cult and his time within it in a multimedia presentation. The Sabbath Assembly band, comprised of Jex Thoth (Profound Lore Records), Imaad Wasif (Tee Pee Records), and David Christian (of No-Neck Blues Band) will perform Process hymns and songs throughout.

Tickets – $15
Service begins at 6pm
Co-presented by Feral House and Process Media

NELS CLINE ON SKY SAXON: "MY FIRST ROCK IDOL"

lar_import — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:41:44 +0000

Guitarist Nels Cline (spotted most recently with Wilco) grew up in the shadow of the Seeds and Sky Saxon and later went on to perform and record with Sky himself. He takes some time today to send L.A. RECORD these thoughts:

I am truly saddened to learn of the death of Sky Saxon. As a boy growing up in Los Angeles, Sky Saxon was my first rock idol of sorts. The Seeds’ music was important to me, sure, but Sky’s amazing charisma—as he appeared rather ubiquitously on TV shows like “Boss City” and “The Groovy Show” around 1966—was galvanizing. I would stare in disbelief as he—clad in shiny satin Nehru shirts bedazzled with some gaudy brooch—would gyrate around lasciviously, holding the microphone in every cool way imaginable. He seemed from another planet. I thought he was amazing.

Years later, in the late ’70s, Sky became known as “Sunlight,” and manifested a few eccentric and quite acid-soaked (or so they sounded) recordings that led credence to the rampant stories of his decaying mind and artistry. He came into the record store I worked at for years and—with his face covered in a long mane of hair, massive beard, and shades—went silently through the stacks with wraith-like fingers. I was dismayed and a bit freaked out by this creature—the former beautiful god of rock ‘n’ roll otherness.

But only a few years ago as my friend and colleague Carla Bozulich and I were going into our local Trader Joe’s, we ran into a bass player friend of mine named Rick, who had in tow a gray-haired, aging hippie type of man with an unavoidably compelling face and style. Carla, not normally interested in old hippies, immediately whispered to me, “Who’s THAT?!” Of course, you know it was Sky Saxon. And Rick was playing in the new version of the Seeds, recording just down the street from Carla’s house! Long story short, I went and hung out a bit, ended up recording a song about a corrupt judge on the then-upcoming Seeds record. (Sorry that the titles escape me today.) Sky was really quite deferential to me. Plus he seemed to be in quite good shape. He gave me a record, recently issued, of some of his pre-Seeds 1950s doo-wop-ish rock songs. How old IS this guy? I wondered.

We ended up doing a duo gig of almost totally improvised music one night at Zen Sushi. I was ecstatic. I suggested we call ourselves the Flower Lady & Her Assistant, but Sky immediately countered with the Flower God Men and Their Assistants. I had gear problems on the gig, and Sky had a bit too much sake before we played, but it was amazing to me. There were barely 30 people there anyway! I started plotting ways to do some more improvising with him. He was going off in a very Beat-style manner. I thought of collaborations with my trio, The Singers, but then Sky went off to more European touring, headed back to Shasta. Rick moved to New York…

I won’t ever be able to do those things with Sky. I feel lucky to have ever even seen him on TV, yet alone to have played some wild, extemporaneous psychedelia with him. They say Mick Jagger copped tons of his moves and style, and I believe it. But there was so much more to this man that remains to be revealed.

- Nels Cline
Glendale, CA
6/25/09

L.A. RECORD PRESENTS NISHAT KHAN AND JIMMY RIP PERFORMING LIVE SOUNDTRACK TO A THROW OF DICE

lar_import — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:56:17 +0000

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njnfmIybf5]

L.A. RECORD is happy to team up with Cinefamily, dublab, L.A. FilmForum and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles to present A Throw Of Dice with a live score by world-class sitar player Nishat Khan and Tom Verlaine/Mick Jagger collaborator Jimmy Rip! Via Cinefamily:

Nishat Khan, one of the world’s greatest living sitar virtuosos, accompanied by consummate guitarist and bandleader Jimmy Rip (returning to the Cinefamily stage after his triumphant night with Tom Verlaine), provides a live score for this recently restored 1929 silent classic. A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Pash) is the third film in a pioneering trilogy of silent films made through a unique partnership between German director Franz Osten and Indian actor-producer Himansu Rai, whose films combined documentary techniques with narratives derived from Indian myths and legends. Based upon a section of the epic poem The Mahabharata, A Throw of Dice follows royal cousins Sohat and Rajit, neighboring rulers who have in common a love of gambling, tiger hunting….and same damsel Sunita. Soon they’re friendship turns to rivalry. Shot on location in Rajasthan with an extravagance that could only be matched by Cecil B. Demille, the film features over ten thousand extras and an impressive array of horses, elephants and tigers. Its star actors all had major careers in Indian cinema and remain legendary and much-loved figures. A Throw Of Dice is both a sumptuous epic and an intimate romantic drama, and Nishat Khan’s new score for the film will transplant you to lush, faraway kingdoms of the imagination.

Starts at 8 pm at Cinefamily (611 N. Fairfax!) and is all ages! Tickets $15 and available here or at the door!