Mark Sultan aka BBQ has a lengthy solo discography dating back to 2003 of all sorts of fun, soulful rock ‘n roll. He’s been playing for far longer in various bands. I can say confidently – pretty much everything MS/BBQ related is EXCITING and Interesting. So, too, is the new stuff that Mark has put up on his Bandcamp. Fuzzy slasher “Steppin Out” is from a couple years back with Mark on all instruments except for Helene Grotans (The Okmoniks) on organ. “Dandelion” is a more recent BBQ set-up Rolling Stones cover.
Mark recently put up an unofficial video for new 45 “Agitated” out on Wild Honey Records. Check it out below! Also on the radar are more singles and a full-length on In The Red in 2015. God bless em.
1. No Age –Favorite Show: Chum’s Coffeehouse (3/10/12)
2. Nobunny – Favorite Show: Living Bread (9/21/12)
3. Ty Segall – Favorite Show: The Well (9/22/12) 4. Fat Creeps – Favorite Show: Moe’s Lounge (8/10/12) 5. Atlantic Thrills – Favorite Show: Great Scott (12/3/12) 6. Thee Oh Sees – Favorite Show: The Well (9/22/12) 7. The Migs – Favorite Show: Wilder Zangcraft (11/24/12) 8. Slimers – Favorite Show: Great Scott (12/18/12) 9. Mark Sultan –Favorite Show: Starlab (12/8/12) 10. Colleen Green – Favorite Show: Middle East Upstairs (9/9/12)
Our Band of the Week needs no introduction, do your history! Mark Sultan has been a KLYAM fave since before there was a KLYAM. If you’re in the Boston/New England area, come to the PA’s Lounge in Somerville this Saturday, May 12. Sick local bands opening: Banditas, New Highway Hymnal, The BFs, and Girlfriends.
If the time-machine took me back to 8:20 PM on Thursday May 7th 2009, I’d be standing in front of the Paradise Rock Club’s stage waiting in anticipation for the show to start. I had not yet seen King Khan and the Shrines or Mark Sultan in the flesh. But I had waited patiently for my own Jared Swilley moment (refer to the Supreme Genius LP/CD if you don’t get the reference) and yes it happened!
On a very related note, both King Khan and the Shrines (July 23, Brighton Music Hall) and Mark Sultan (this SATURDAY, May 12, PA’s Lounge) will be coming back to town.
Here is a string of upcoming Boston area shows being put on T&M. Check them out and have fun! Judging from prior shows and these ones, T&M is truly one of the best around in this department.
5/12 – Mark Sultan, Girlfriends, Banditas, New Highway Hymnal, & The BF’s @ PA’s [LINK]
5/18 – Sonny Vincent, White Pages, Foster Care, Guilty Party, & Courters @ PA’s [LINK]
6/15 – Royal Headache, Radio Control, White Pages, & Guilty Party @ PA’s [LINK]
6/19 – Mean Jeans, Hollywood, White Pages & Explanets @ Radio [LINK]
6/30 – Smart Cops, Ex Humans, White Pages, & Beach Cops @ Rosebud [LINK]
It looks like another year in concerts has concluded for me. I made it out to 19 shows (22 in 2010) at quite a few different venues around Boston/MA (including more basement/non-traditional club shows than ever) and three non-Massachusetts shows (all Black Lips).
1. Black Lips, Night Beats @ Bowery Ballroom – July
2. Black Lips, Vivian Girls @ Paradise Rock Club – April 3. Black Lips, Davila 666, X-Ray Eyeballs @ Webster Hall – October 4. Nobunny @ Church – June 5. Mark Sultan @ Magic Room Gallery – December
Favorite Bands That I Saw For The First Time In 2011: Atlantic Thrills, White Wires, Peach Kelli Pop, Sara Lee, Night Beats, and Davila 666.
1. Black Lips – Arabia Mountain – My excitement for this album grew steadily once the news came out that they were working on one in early 2010. The original release date set for “when school gets back in” was pushed back once Ronson joined as co-producer. As we all know by now, the band had a delightful time working with him. So it’s no coincidence that Arabia is filled with some of the catchiest songs I’ve heard in a while. The sound production is not as muddy and psychedelic as the band’s previous effort 200 Million Thousand; instead, it’s clean and clear. The songs themselves cross the kind of rock and roll terrain that the Lips have always found themselves in, including but not limited to: clangy, jangly, country, punk. This stuff is addicting (for people with an ear for it like me) and tough to remove from the record player. I guess that’s a quality that the best album of the year should possess.
2. Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread – This is another one that I was counting the days until release. Ty’s last record Melted received an ‘honorable mention’ in my Best of 2010, but would have comfortably cracked the Top 5 if I redid my list a few months later. Goodbye Bread was a quintessential summer listen and still holds the test of time as this part of the country is freezing over. The thing that Ty does so well (and has always done so well) is arranging his songs. There’s optimal fuzz, hard-pounding drums, and a lingering bass line in nearly every song at some point and a lot of it is unexpected and fresh. I love the opening of “You Make the Sun Fry,” and the ever so crunchy chorus in “My Head Explodes,” in particular. Goodbye Bread affirms Ty’s status as one of the most talented song writers in modern rock and roll. At the least, it goes to show that noisy relatively straight-forward garage isn’t all the dude is about.
3. Atlas Sound – Parallax – Last year (as I just said above) I made the folly of overlooking some records. Another one of them was Halcyon Digest. Sure, it was among my Top 10, but I didn’t really appreciate as much in 2010 as I should have. With Parallax, I gave it several listens before reviewing it and over the course of listening the real beauty of it really came out. It’s mainly a light affair with several streaks of brilliance that some could dub ‘experimental’ or ‘odd’, but to me is just as pop as anything typically labeled that. Bradford knows catchy better than most. The by product of this is a mass of songs that are inspirational and healing.
4. The Beets – Let The Poison Out – The Beets are one of those bands that I regret not getting more into earlier on in my KLYAM career. After seeing them open for No Age at Wellesley College back in April 2009, I failed to do significant follow up research. Well, now I’d say I’m fairly well versed on the Beets; all the credit to them for infectious releases and superb live performances. Let The Poison Out works so well because it’s just so hard to not be hooked on the Beets raw rock, pop, n’ roll . It makes me want to start pounding on some drums while blasting it loudly. “Doing As I Do” and “I Think I Might Have Built A Horse” are sing-alongs like none other.
5. Mikal Cronin – Mikal Cronin – You can tell this guy has spent some quality time hanging around Ty Segall. Not to say he hasn’t spent quality time with other musicians. The Moonhearts are nice. Well anyway, this album really captivated me as it fits in perfectly on a scale of Ty and Thee Oh Sees. Like those folks’ records, Mikal Cronin is quite instantaneously hooky (with like two exceptions, but those are still real good). Picking favorites is a challenge. I love “Situation” a great deal, because right from the get-go it is extremely fun. The San Fran rock ‘n roll region had quite a 2011.
Honorable Mentions
Shannon and the Clams – Sleep Talk The Orwells – Remember When Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost Natural Child – 1971 Mark Sultan – Whatever I Want The Hussy – Cement Tomb Mind Control Davila 666 – Tan Bajo
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 