Tune in Saturday August 17th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Friday 16 August 2024
Thursday 15 August 2024
Greg Kihn
"They don't write 'em like that anymore"
And they surely don't.
Greg Kihn and his band were on Beserkley Records, famous up to this point for the initial Modern Lovers album, partially produced by John Cale, the group contained David Robinson, long before he had success drumming for the Cars, and Jerry Harrison, and this was 1976, before "Talking Heads 77" with "Psycho Killer" was released.
"The Modern Lovers" was a legendary punk album when the Ramones had no sales traction, only press, and we read the press incessantly, when if you were a little left of center you could still be noticed, being off the radar screen was not anathema, never mind being lost in the sea of songs of today.
And it's not like you ever heard "The Modern Lovers" on the radio. You had to buy it to hear it. I read about the record, the band that had already broken up, so much that I finally laid down my cash.
And I was titillated and surprised.
Now when the history of punk is written, and in truth it's been written time and again, mostly by acolytes, it should be noted that the two breakthrough icons of early punk, the progenitors, were both Jewish, Joey Ramone and Jonathan Richman. And that's important, because their lyrics evidenced a Jewish sensibility, a sense of humor, the perspective of an outcast looking in. And despite being basic, the music possessed an intellectual quality absent from today's hit parade. Where you were coming from, what you were saying, were very important. As was attitude. And no one but the critics and a few insiders got it. Believe me, even with their third album and "Rockaway Beach" almost no one was listening to the Ramones, and Richman went in such a wacky direction, an acoustic folk singer rendering his tunes around the summer campfire...
But when you dropped that needle on "The Modern Lovers"...
All the ink was about "Roadrunner," the opening cut, but the essence of the album came at the end of the first side, with "Pablo Picasso."
All I can tell you is, "Pablo Picasso was never called an a**hole."
"Pablo Picasso" was a secret handshake, if you knew it you were on the inside, if you didn't...you didn't have a clue.
"The Modern Lovers" was a club. And it has continued to get praise over the decades, but in truth few people know it, and they should, but it's hard to understand sans context. This was at the height of AOR, bands in spandex taking themselves seriously, meat and potatoes, and then came THIS?
I've seen Jonathan Richman many times. I thought his inclusion in "There's Something About Mary" would break him wide, but that did not happen. Just like Graham Parker in "This Is 40." However Parker had his moment, on Arista, even though the first two records on Mercury were the best.
So, why not?
Well, when you see Jonathan Richman, when you listen to the records you wonder if it's a put-on. But it now appears that this is who he really is, just like another Jewish musician, Gene Simmons. But Richman looks inward, Simmons outward. But if you want to know which way the wind blows, you'd be better off listening to Richman.
All of which hipped me to Beserkley Records.
And I went to see the Rubinoos at the Whisky.
If it was on Beserkley, there was thinking involved. Matthew "King" Kaufman wasn't only in it for the money, although you could hear the influences of Zappa in the records he released.
But no one expected Greg Kihn to be the breakthrough. For him and his band to be all over MTV. It would be like some influencer on Threads being as well-known as Taylor Swift, but unlike the stars of today, EVERYONE KNEW THE LYRICS TO JEOPARDY!
But that came later. And got a second life when Weird Al reconstructed it as "I Lost on Jeopardy," one of the pinnacles of the comedic performer's oeuvre.
And the thing about "Jeopardy" was that keyboard, a direct descendant of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."
"Our love's in jeopardy, baby"
Because she's absent, can't be found in those pre-cell phone days.
Once again, today the script has been flipped. If you're a male on the hit parade you cannot show weakness, vulnerability, but that's what made these records great. Greg Kihn wasn't that far removed from you and me.
But "Jeopardy" came later, '83, before that there was "The Breakup Song."
It started with a guitar riff and sound which Bryan Adams would amplify into his breakthrough on "Run to You."
"We had broken up for good just an hour before"
A straight derivation from the sixties. As typical of Beserkley records. They were referential to that era when we'd all grown up, our formative years, especially those Top Forty singles we knew by heart.
They didn't write 'em like that anymore, even in 1981, never mind today.
"We've been living together for a million years"
Unlike our parents we didn't get married, we needed no piece of paper from the upstairs choir keeping us tied and true.
And when you break up, it does feel so strange out in the atmospheres. Not sure I'd heard that word in a song before or since.
So Greg Kihn and his band were not a typical MTV breakthrough, they'd put out albums previously, unheralded and unknown. But they were in the right place at the right time, and with exposure, they made it.
And then it was over. It always is. And then what do you do?
Some go back to college, some fall into drugs, others rob 7-11's and...
Greg Kihn became a deejay. We knew this. But we didn't hear him. Because radio was local, you may not remember that when Howard Stern was syndicated across the nation that was a huge breakthrough.
And now Greg Kihn is dead. As are two other members of his band. That's what you check first these days, whether the members are even alive, never mind whether they get along and go on the road together.
Furthermore, they say Kihn had Alzheimer's. I didn't know. Maybe it was somewhere, maybe it was secret. But that long goodbye is such a bizarre way to go. You fade away and you don't radiate.
And I'm not sure Kihn's music will either. I mean it's amazing what licensing can do for you, look at "My Sharona" and "Don't Stop Believin'," placements made them legendary.
And you can read the facts in the obituaries, but they won't give you the feel.
Even at this late date, at the turn of the decade, from the seventies to the eighties, we still believed.
Music drove the culture. Forget Patti Smith, how many people listened to "The Modern Lovers" and started a band!
There was something to dig your teeth into. And it was all rooted in what had come before, rock and roll.
These songs had more than one chord, they had changes, choruses, and it was surprising that Greg Kihn was the Beserkley artist to strike lightning, but he did.
And for a while there, at the advent of the internet, everyone was around. You could look them up, eventually on Wikipedia, see where they'd been, maybe even follow them on Facebook.
But that era is ending. It's the final chapter for our heroes, and then us.
And Greg Kihn was a hero. Do you know how hard it was to get a record deal, never mind have a hit, two? Nearly impossible. People didn't sit at home with no skills and believe they'd become household names. Maybe you had fantasies, but you knew it was unrealistic.
But there were some who picked up the guitar after seeing the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan," who played in high school bands, and then stuck with it. It wasn't glamorous, they were falling behind while their brethren were building careers, never mind families, but this was the path they needed to go down, to stick to.
And the audience was ready for you. All those people who couldn't follow the artistic path, they bought records, went to the club, music was the grease our world functioned on. The most nimble and influential art form.
And sure, we can all bow our heads in prayer when an icon dies, Freddie Mercury, Bowie, Glenn Frey... But they lived above us, we couldn't reach them, they were gods.
But Greg Kihn was us just one step removed.
But it's Greg Kihn and the rest of the two hit wonders, legendary album makers, non-stars, who not only fill out the canon, but our hearts.
It's always weird when you find out about these passings. You power up your phone, you're surfing the news, or you get an e-mail, and then your entire past is laid out in front of you.
And we think back and say...
They don't write 'em like that anymore.
Definitely not.
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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And they surely don't.
Greg Kihn and his band were on Beserkley Records, famous up to this point for the initial Modern Lovers album, partially produced by John Cale, the group contained David Robinson, long before he had success drumming for the Cars, and Jerry Harrison, and this was 1976, before "Talking Heads 77" with "Psycho Killer" was released.
"The Modern Lovers" was a legendary punk album when the Ramones had no sales traction, only press, and we read the press incessantly, when if you were a little left of center you could still be noticed, being off the radar screen was not anathema, never mind being lost in the sea of songs of today.
And it's not like you ever heard "The Modern Lovers" on the radio. You had to buy it to hear it. I read about the record, the band that had already broken up, so much that I finally laid down my cash.
And I was titillated and surprised.
Now when the history of punk is written, and in truth it's been written time and again, mostly by acolytes, it should be noted that the two breakthrough icons of early punk, the progenitors, were both Jewish, Joey Ramone and Jonathan Richman. And that's important, because their lyrics evidenced a Jewish sensibility, a sense of humor, the perspective of an outcast looking in. And despite being basic, the music possessed an intellectual quality absent from today's hit parade. Where you were coming from, what you were saying, were very important. As was attitude. And no one but the critics and a few insiders got it. Believe me, even with their third album and "Rockaway Beach" almost no one was listening to the Ramones, and Richman went in such a wacky direction, an acoustic folk singer rendering his tunes around the summer campfire...
But when you dropped that needle on "The Modern Lovers"...
All the ink was about "Roadrunner," the opening cut, but the essence of the album came at the end of the first side, with "Pablo Picasso."
All I can tell you is, "Pablo Picasso was never called an a**hole."
"Pablo Picasso" was a secret handshake, if you knew it you were on the inside, if you didn't...you didn't have a clue.
"The Modern Lovers" was a club. And it has continued to get praise over the decades, but in truth few people know it, and they should, but it's hard to understand sans context. This was at the height of AOR, bands in spandex taking themselves seriously, meat and potatoes, and then came THIS?
I've seen Jonathan Richman many times. I thought his inclusion in "There's Something About Mary" would break him wide, but that did not happen. Just like Graham Parker in "This Is 40." However Parker had his moment, on Arista, even though the first two records on Mercury were the best.
So, why not?
Well, when you see Jonathan Richman, when you listen to the records you wonder if it's a put-on. But it now appears that this is who he really is, just like another Jewish musician, Gene Simmons. But Richman looks inward, Simmons outward. But if you want to know which way the wind blows, you'd be better off listening to Richman.
All of which hipped me to Beserkley Records.
And I went to see the Rubinoos at the Whisky.
If it was on Beserkley, there was thinking involved. Matthew "King" Kaufman wasn't only in it for the money, although you could hear the influences of Zappa in the records he released.
But no one expected Greg Kihn to be the breakthrough. For him and his band to be all over MTV. It would be like some influencer on Threads being as well-known as Taylor Swift, but unlike the stars of today, EVERYONE KNEW THE LYRICS TO JEOPARDY!
But that came later. And got a second life when Weird Al reconstructed it as "I Lost on Jeopardy," one of the pinnacles of the comedic performer's oeuvre.
And the thing about "Jeopardy" was that keyboard, a direct descendant of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."
"Our love's in jeopardy, baby"
Because she's absent, can't be found in those pre-cell phone days.
Once again, today the script has been flipped. If you're a male on the hit parade you cannot show weakness, vulnerability, but that's what made these records great. Greg Kihn wasn't that far removed from you and me.
But "Jeopardy" came later, '83, before that there was "The Breakup Song."
It started with a guitar riff and sound which Bryan Adams would amplify into his breakthrough on "Run to You."
"We had broken up for good just an hour before"
A straight derivation from the sixties. As typical of Beserkley records. They were referential to that era when we'd all grown up, our formative years, especially those Top Forty singles we knew by heart.
They didn't write 'em like that anymore, even in 1981, never mind today.
"We've been living together for a million years"
Unlike our parents we didn't get married, we needed no piece of paper from the upstairs choir keeping us tied and true.
And when you break up, it does feel so strange out in the atmospheres. Not sure I'd heard that word in a song before or since.
So Greg Kihn and his band were not a typical MTV breakthrough, they'd put out albums previously, unheralded and unknown. But they were in the right place at the right time, and with exposure, they made it.
And then it was over. It always is. And then what do you do?
Some go back to college, some fall into drugs, others rob 7-11's and...
Greg Kihn became a deejay. We knew this. But we didn't hear him. Because radio was local, you may not remember that when Howard Stern was syndicated across the nation that was a huge breakthrough.
And now Greg Kihn is dead. As are two other members of his band. That's what you check first these days, whether the members are even alive, never mind whether they get along and go on the road together.
Furthermore, they say Kihn had Alzheimer's. I didn't know. Maybe it was somewhere, maybe it was secret. But that long goodbye is such a bizarre way to go. You fade away and you don't radiate.
And I'm not sure Kihn's music will either. I mean it's amazing what licensing can do for you, look at "My Sharona" and "Don't Stop Believin'," placements made them legendary.
And you can read the facts in the obituaries, but they won't give you the feel.
Even at this late date, at the turn of the decade, from the seventies to the eighties, we still believed.
Music drove the culture. Forget Patti Smith, how many people listened to "The Modern Lovers" and started a band!
There was something to dig your teeth into. And it was all rooted in what had come before, rock and roll.
These songs had more than one chord, they had changes, choruses, and it was surprising that Greg Kihn was the Beserkley artist to strike lightning, but he did.
And for a while there, at the advent of the internet, everyone was around. You could look them up, eventually on Wikipedia, see where they'd been, maybe even follow them on Facebook.
But that era is ending. It's the final chapter for our heroes, and then us.
And Greg Kihn was a hero. Do you know how hard it was to get a record deal, never mind have a hit, two? Nearly impossible. People didn't sit at home with no skills and believe they'd become household names. Maybe you had fantasies, but you knew it was unrealistic.
But there were some who picked up the guitar after seeing the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan," who played in high school bands, and then stuck with it. It wasn't glamorous, they were falling behind while their brethren were building careers, never mind families, but this was the path they needed to go down, to stick to.
And the audience was ready for you. All those people who couldn't follow the artistic path, they bought records, went to the club, music was the grease our world functioned on. The most nimble and influential art form.
And sure, we can all bow our heads in prayer when an icon dies, Freddie Mercury, Bowie, Glenn Frey... But they lived above us, we couldn't reach them, they were gods.
But Greg Kihn was us just one step removed.
But it's Greg Kihn and the rest of the two hit wonders, legendary album makers, non-stars, who not only fill out the canon, but our hearts.
It's always weird when you find out about these passings. You power up your phone, you're surfing the news, or you get an e-mail, and then your entire past is laid out in front of you.
And we think back and say...
They don't write 'em like that anymore.
Definitely not.
--
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--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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Johnny Brower-This Week's Podcast
Johnny Brower was the promoter of the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival which featured the debut of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band and is documented in the new movie "Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World," now playing on PBS.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/johnny-brower/id1316200737?i=1000665440337
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3brupsN8XxXI1AFuVUhyan?si=jpAcWkJMTHeLBg8QjWgxww
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/johnny-brower-205851485/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/312c9cb8-b9a6-4ffd-ab79-c53b11b0fb10/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-johnny-brower
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Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/johnny-brower/id1316200737?i=1000665440337
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3brupsN8XxXI1AFuVUhyan?si=jpAcWkJMTHeLBg8QjWgxww
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/johnny-brower-205851485/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/312c9cb8-b9a6-4ffd-ab79-c53b11b0fb10/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-johnny-brower
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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Monday 12 August 2024
Re-JSX
I am a JSX fan! Living close to their Concord/Napa hub (although Napa is a stretch), I fly to Burbank and OC. I used to be the guy who got on as the doors were closing before 9/11, and now I can (almost) do it again!
Traveled with golf clubs on my last trip with no problems. Just another bag to them. No trip to the oversized luggage counter.
No jerks. Free drink. Spartan terminal, ok, but who's waiting?
They gave me a cap on one trip and, when I wear it, people always comment they like JSX.
Hope they make it.
Steve Carlson
________________________________
I've been flying JSX to and from Vegas since 2017 when they were Jet Suite X. If you fly the major labels, arriving to BUR two hours early, you might as well just drive. And more than once they've allowed me to put a guitar or my video gear up front so I didn't have to check it.
It's more expensive and a bit more hassle, but as you've observed, the time factor can't be beat.
Daniel Liston Keller
________________________________
Hi Bob, I been taking JSX for a few years now, Burbank to Walnut Creek to visit my son. I park my car right out front and jump back in on return. No security lines, no shoes off or computer out of the bag, just hop on hop off. I love it.
Jack Douglas
________________________________
Could not agree more. Just wish they were in/flew to more markets. Every flight I have taken with them has been a fantastic experience.
Paige Mann
________________________________
I discovered JSX earlier this year and will never fly from Denver to LA on another airlines if I can help it. There were 13 people and two dogs on the plane on my first flight. Went from Broomfield municipal airport to Burbank. Avoided the lines and general hassle of both DIA and LAX. Saved time and wasn't worn out from the trip. Only wish they went to more destinations. Everyone should try it but also hope everyone doesn't.
Mingo Sphere
________________________________
i've flown it a couple of times and LOVED it!
the waiting areas don't bother me as i usually get to the gate just prior to boarding anyway!
in jsx' case, i can pull up and walk on!!
oh, and many of the routes back east fly a similar sized jet anyway so, do i miss the extra peanuts, pretzels or soft drinks (and occasional meal)?....NO!
the only downside is that they don't go enough places yet (they had one from nyc to nashville but recently cancelled it).
yes, definitely worth checking out......
Wayne Forte
________________________________
I Live in Palm Beach near the airport!
JSX is here and a blessing to those who fly!
Hoping this company thrives!
Have a Great Day!
Daniel Hartwell
________________________________
I generally try to fly Southwest when I can for the reasons you mention. But let me tell you, the amount of pre-boarders on a flight from Phoenix to Orlando….14 wheelchairs needed? It was a total ruse for grandma or grandpa to be pushed down the jetway so the entire family (I counted 6-9 additional people per wheelchair) could get on the plane with plenty of seating together for the upcoming Disney World vacation.
Thankfully it was just me flying for work but the tension was palpable between the families following the rules and those clearly taking advantage of the system.
Ellie Ovsenik
________________________________
So crazy you wrote this, I literally just got off my first JSX flight from Oakland to Burbank and will never travel any other way on the west coast.
Chris T.
________________________________
All true and an amazing travel hack. BUT, I wouldn't say it's the private jet experience. The seats are basically economy plus seats, not for instance Gulf Stream seats. That was a huge shock to me. Still worth it but I wish they would upgrade the seats. Dallas to Vegas was a little stiff.
Hope they can last!
Zach Leary
________________________________
My friend Debbie recently flew JSX where she brought her dog Jasper.
Both she and Jasper loved the experience.
Best,
Justin Pierce
________________________________
JSX seems to be working. We've used it for some of our people between Burbank and Las Vegas.
Just before the pandemic, they announced pending Burbank-SLC, but then the pandemic and it didn't happen, and still hasn't. I think they would sell every seat on every flight, it's a relatively affluent crowd in SLC (Silicon Slopes and the nutritional supplement sector) and PC. When I was looking at it, they offered United Mileage Plus mileage credit. Not sure if they still do.
Their fares are generally equal to First Class on the other airlines. Sometimes a bit less.
My Diners Club card comes with Primary Coverage for car insurance.
Toby Mamis
________________________________
Rocky Mount metro is only 20 miles from very busy Denver International.
If it was raining most likely you were on an instrument approach. Rules are if you're not in position to make a safe landing you must "go missed" and navigate to specific altitude and location and try again. The holding fix points for any of the instrument approaches at Metro are anywhere from 12 to 20 miles away depending on the direction you approach from.
Either way, the holding fix points are a ways away and requires additional ATC coordination (with Denver) to navigate back home. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole event took 20 minutes or more.
Pilot training for air transport is rigorous and repetitive. If you f*ck up in the simulator, you're done. So when you're young and sitting in either the left or right seat, your passion for taking the responsibility coupled with the love of flying goes to a very high level. Even with Autopilot, piloting requires staying ahead of the aircraft and not getting distracted.
The other heroes in the game are the traffic controllers.
Not sure if or how JSX will succeed. Cash flow is king in the airline business.
Best always,
Will Eggleston
________________________________
I have been flying JSX when it's decently priced since it was called "Jet Suite X". I say decently priced because depending on schedule it can be as little at $25 more than SW, or as much as $800 more one way! I have a second home in Vegas. NJ primary home. When I need to get in and out of LA from Vegas it's awesome to have JSX. They have a bunch of flights in and out of Vegas. Farthest I've taken them is TX to Vegas. On the longer routes the seating is a bit different. It's worth paying $30 more to get exit row on longer flights. Tons of room! Recently they put on some flights to FL from a corporate airport right by my house in NJ. So far significantly more than Newark, but obviously massively easier. By the way JSX does also fly in and out of LAX. Burbank is by far way more flights. But they do have flights out of a hangar at LAX located by the FedEx planes off Imperial Highway. I've taken them and although way less days, times and routes, they are usually much cheaper than Burbank. JSX really won me over in customer service. Once I was delayed 90 minutes or so. Without asking for it the next day they put $100 credit on my account. No calling, haggling , waiting on hold. They just sent an email and did it. That's something you would never get from a major airline! As you can see I love JSX. United is still my status based major airline (by the way JSX flying earns some miles on United if you give them your FF), but when I get JSX I usually go for it. One last thing to note. If you cancel or change a ticket on JSX they do have a $50 fee, not zero as most airlines have done (thankfully) since Covid.
PS: quick note on car rental. I am a Costco guy and many don't know you can rent cars from them. Same major rental companies, but you get Costco perks you usually pay more for and always the best prices. You can do it off the Travel tab on their site. It amazes me how many don't know you can do that through Costco so thought I'd share.
Eddie Trunk
________________________________
you can fly jsx at LAX
Curtis Magleby
(Note: This is now true, you can fly from LAX to Las Vegas and Cabo San Lucas.)
________________________________
Yeah I have the amex card car insurance. It's pretty bangin. Hope all is well.
Tim Lefebvre
________________________________
Good Lord Bob I wish you didn't highlight JSX. It's the best kept secret there is.
Gary Marella
Traveled with golf clubs on my last trip with no problems. Just another bag to them. No trip to the oversized luggage counter.
No jerks. Free drink. Spartan terminal, ok, but who's waiting?
They gave me a cap on one trip and, when I wear it, people always comment they like JSX.
Hope they make it.
Steve Carlson
________________________________
I've been flying JSX to and from Vegas since 2017 when they were Jet Suite X. If you fly the major labels, arriving to BUR two hours early, you might as well just drive. And more than once they've allowed me to put a guitar or my video gear up front so I didn't have to check it.
It's more expensive and a bit more hassle, but as you've observed, the time factor can't be beat.
Daniel Liston Keller
________________________________
Hi Bob, I been taking JSX for a few years now, Burbank to Walnut Creek to visit my son. I park my car right out front and jump back in on return. No security lines, no shoes off or computer out of the bag, just hop on hop off. I love it.
Jack Douglas
________________________________
Could not agree more. Just wish they were in/flew to more markets. Every flight I have taken with them has been a fantastic experience.
Paige Mann
________________________________
I discovered JSX earlier this year and will never fly from Denver to LA on another airlines if I can help it. There were 13 people and two dogs on the plane on my first flight. Went from Broomfield municipal airport to Burbank. Avoided the lines and general hassle of both DIA and LAX. Saved time and wasn't worn out from the trip. Only wish they went to more destinations. Everyone should try it but also hope everyone doesn't.
Mingo Sphere
________________________________
i've flown it a couple of times and LOVED it!
the waiting areas don't bother me as i usually get to the gate just prior to boarding anyway!
in jsx' case, i can pull up and walk on!!
oh, and many of the routes back east fly a similar sized jet anyway so, do i miss the extra peanuts, pretzels or soft drinks (and occasional meal)?....NO!
the only downside is that they don't go enough places yet (they had one from nyc to nashville but recently cancelled it).
yes, definitely worth checking out......
Wayne Forte
________________________________
I Live in Palm Beach near the airport!
JSX is here and a blessing to those who fly!
Hoping this company thrives!
Have a Great Day!
Daniel Hartwell
________________________________
I generally try to fly Southwest when I can for the reasons you mention. But let me tell you, the amount of pre-boarders on a flight from Phoenix to Orlando….14 wheelchairs needed? It was a total ruse for grandma or grandpa to be pushed down the jetway so the entire family (I counted 6-9 additional people per wheelchair) could get on the plane with plenty of seating together for the upcoming Disney World vacation.
Thankfully it was just me flying for work but the tension was palpable between the families following the rules and those clearly taking advantage of the system.
Ellie Ovsenik
________________________________
So crazy you wrote this, I literally just got off my first JSX flight from Oakland to Burbank and will never travel any other way on the west coast.
Chris T.
________________________________
All true and an amazing travel hack. BUT, I wouldn't say it's the private jet experience. The seats are basically economy plus seats, not for instance Gulf Stream seats. That was a huge shock to me. Still worth it but I wish they would upgrade the seats. Dallas to Vegas was a little stiff.
Hope they can last!
Zach Leary
________________________________
My friend Debbie recently flew JSX where she brought her dog Jasper.
Both she and Jasper loved the experience.
Best,
Justin Pierce
________________________________
JSX seems to be working. We've used it for some of our people between Burbank and Las Vegas.
Just before the pandemic, they announced pending Burbank-SLC, but then the pandemic and it didn't happen, and still hasn't. I think they would sell every seat on every flight, it's a relatively affluent crowd in SLC (Silicon Slopes and the nutritional supplement sector) and PC. When I was looking at it, they offered United Mileage Plus mileage credit. Not sure if they still do.
Their fares are generally equal to First Class on the other airlines. Sometimes a bit less.
My Diners Club card comes with Primary Coverage for car insurance.
Toby Mamis
________________________________
Rocky Mount metro is only 20 miles from very busy Denver International.
If it was raining most likely you were on an instrument approach. Rules are if you're not in position to make a safe landing you must "go missed" and navigate to specific altitude and location and try again. The holding fix points for any of the instrument approaches at Metro are anywhere from 12 to 20 miles away depending on the direction you approach from.
Either way, the holding fix points are a ways away and requires additional ATC coordination (with Denver) to navigate back home. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole event took 20 minutes or more.
Pilot training for air transport is rigorous and repetitive. If you f*ck up in the simulator, you're done. So when you're young and sitting in either the left or right seat, your passion for taking the responsibility coupled with the love of flying goes to a very high level. Even with Autopilot, piloting requires staying ahead of the aircraft and not getting distracted.
The other heroes in the game are the traffic controllers.
Not sure if or how JSX will succeed. Cash flow is king in the airline business.
Best always,
Will Eggleston
________________________________
I have been flying JSX when it's decently priced since it was called "Jet Suite X". I say decently priced because depending on schedule it can be as little at $25 more than SW, or as much as $800 more one way! I have a second home in Vegas. NJ primary home. When I need to get in and out of LA from Vegas it's awesome to have JSX. They have a bunch of flights in and out of Vegas. Farthest I've taken them is TX to Vegas. On the longer routes the seating is a bit different. It's worth paying $30 more to get exit row on longer flights. Tons of room! Recently they put on some flights to FL from a corporate airport right by my house in NJ. So far significantly more than Newark, but obviously massively easier. By the way JSX does also fly in and out of LAX. Burbank is by far way more flights. But they do have flights out of a hangar at LAX located by the FedEx planes off Imperial Highway. I've taken them and although way less days, times and routes, they are usually much cheaper than Burbank. JSX really won me over in customer service. Once I was delayed 90 minutes or so. Without asking for it the next day they put $100 credit on my account. No calling, haggling , waiting on hold. They just sent an email and did it. That's something you would never get from a major airline! As you can see I love JSX. United is still my status based major airline (by the way JSX flying earns some miles on United if you give them your FF), but when I get JSX I usually go for it. One last thing to note. If you cancel or change a ticket on JSX they do have a $50 fee, not zero as most airlines have done (thankfully) since Covid.
PS: quick note on car rental. I am a Costco guy and many don't know you can rent cars from them. Same major rental companies, but you get Costco perks you usually pay more for and always the best prices. You can do it off the Travel tab on their site. It amazes me how many don't know you can do that through Costco so thought I'd share.
Eddie Trunk
________________________________
you can fly jsx at LAX
Curtis Magleby
(Note: This is now true, you can fly from LAX to Las Vegas and Cabo San Lucas.)
________________________________
Yeah I have the amex card car insurance. It's pretty bangin. Hope all is well.
Tim Lefebvre
________________________________
Good Lord Bob I wish you didn't highlight JSX. It's the best kept secret there is.
Gary Marella
--
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Re-The Last Dinner Party
I was at the show, sitting in the balcony. I'm 55, and like you, I couldn't believe how tight they were. My wife and I discovered the band during the Coachella streaming and was blown away by Abigail's stage presence. She has "it," and it's not something manufactured. She can sing and she makes it look easy. TLDP reminded me of Jehnny Beth's fronted band, Savages. I miss them. They were a force, and TLDP looks to be moving towards the same with more commercial appeal.
It's good to see a band bring it. We need more like TDLP.
Matthew Grandi
__________________________________
The band are a throwback. Great retro sound. Great overall look.
So great to see a band breaking through these days.
We have been working with for the past year - sending out a couple singles first and then the LP to college/non-com and specialist radio.
Sometimes you push and push a band. Sometimes a band pulls you. Folks like this band. The hipsters. The musicians. The rest are following.
We got the LP to number one on the chart earlier this year. Not something that happens that often on a debut album. Q Prime's team have been on this for sure.
Also, have to say - Island have been too. With Last Dinner Party and Chappell Roan - they have been putting the time in - and seeing the rewards a year+ later.
If more labels would do this...
Adam Lewis / Owner
Planetary Group
__________________________________
When The Last Dinner Party Pure Ecstasy was first released, every time we played it in our store (Euclid Records, in St. Louis, MO) - EVERY SINGLE TIME - there'd be at least TWO customers who would stop browsing to ask in awe: "What IS this?!?!"
It was an immediate purchase from them (including one almost-confrontation between the customer who got the last vinyl copy and another customer who wasn't fast enough). Much like the Chappell Roan, we can't keep their vinyl in stock.
The beauty of this is that people simply react to what they HEAR. They know nothing about them, but after hearing a track or two, they must have it. Moments like these are why record stores are sacred places, yes?
The beauty of the album is it gets deeper, richer and more monumental with repeated listens. And listening to it as a whole, from start to finish. So the band made a classic ALBUM; no filler tracks around video "singles."
Our customers (of all ages) most often make quick and easy comparisons to Kate Bush. And it's not. But "Kate Bush" is apparently the shorthand for complex, dramatic and melodic female-sung music.
Glad (and envious) you got to see them live. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Toby Weiss
__________________________________
I love this band so much. England has been into TLDP for a long time, relatively speaking. I resisted checking them out because I kept hearing about them and thought I wouldn't be into it—this was end of '22 and top of '23 when I was looking for where I might want to move. Finally I relented and dove in—it was just the music, musicianship and the songcraft that won me over, before I even knew about how fantastic their live show was and what an absolute perfect rock star Abigail Morris is. And the best part is, it doesn't even matter that they are female, that's just the icing on the cake. They've captured lightning, I hope they can hang on to it.
Was just in LA, bummed I missed the Fonda show.
xK
Kathy Valentine
__________________________________
Suffered some backlash for being "industry plants" in the U.K. but those rumours have been more or less exposed as false. The singer has always had musical ambitions, moved to London to make demos but also to go to school. Met two of the others in the few first few weeks of uni, the other two were friends of friends. They met and then 'bang' — COVID lockdowns. That gave then time to write, rehearse and develop a sound, and they emerged fully formed musically.
The album is excellent.
John Kendle
__________________________________
You....lucky....DOG!
I knew you'd dig em'..I send you a lot of "recs", I know, but only that which is nutrient-dense, with that old-school ethos..
I saw them performing at a festival earlier this year..Via Hulu or Prime.. Kicking ass in a sweaty little tent, while the DJs held court on the big stages..I've been hooked ever since..
I recently heard "The Feminine Urge" in a movie.
Maybe it'll be Shazamed by the curious..Kelly Clarkson covered "Nothing Matters"..They're making the rounds on the festival circuit..
They're one meme, one "shout-out" from Taylor Swift, one opening slot away from the next rung..
James Spencer
__________________________________
I read your newsletter regularly and have often wondered if you listen to The Spectrum or Alt Nation on SiriusXM. Based on your questioning where people find out about The Last Dinner Party and other artists I hear regularly on these two stations, it seems that you don't. Some of these bands were probably featured on XMU before making their way to more "mainstream" stations. I'm in my mid-50s and don't listen to XMU, but The Spectrum and Alt Nation are two of my favorites in the Sirius lineup. Give them a shot!
~ Gina Gasparini
Metro Atlanta
__________________________________
In the UK, where this band are from, they broke the old way - BBC radio, some TV performances on chat shows and then a heavy physical pre-order campaign to jam the album into the charts. The BBC has little power to do this anymore but by focusing on 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 there's the ability to have the older demographic, who still listen to linear radio, gain awareness of a band. It's the same strategy used by Wet Leg a couple of years ago (also female band). This may be why in the UK, people tell me the crowds at the shows for both bands are mostly middle aged white men. (You can read an article I wrote about how this system is almost dead here).
So in the US it might appear to be some manifestation of a new model of artist development but that wasn't the case here really. There's a separate issue about the UK's ability to break talent which is way too complex to get into here, but in general an indie or alternative band struggles to break via streaming in the UK, hence the focus on a dwindling radio audience and vinyl pre-order.
Cheers
Patrick Clifton
__________________________________
The point is, everybody DOES know the name of Last Dinner Party. Their August date in Denver sold out in minutes last February. Fans also know the names of British compatriots like Squid, Dry Cleaning, English Teacher, Black Country New Road, Wet Leg, Black Midi, Yard Act, Sports Team..... But the folks who know are those in high school, college, 20s-ish, maybe a few 30s. But such bands and solo acts all are largely invisible not only to boomers, but to many if not most in their 40s and 50s. The unifying factor is now a mix of TikTok, streaming services, Bandcamp, etc., and if you're not keeping up with a combination of everything, a lot of the best new pop remains invisible.
Loring Wirbel
Monument, CO
__________________________________
Love it Bob!
I heard them on the radio (WXPN and WFUV) last year... great band!
Patrick Pierson
__________________________________
Saw a pic of them this morning with Russell Mael cuz they're doing "This Town" so I checked them out. Terrific stuff.
Rob Warden
__________________________________
Sinner is one of my 2023 favorite tracks. And there's so much more quality material!
Great band.
Best,
Aldo Blardone
__________________________________
They're great - and, yes, I heard of them, because I listen to BBC Radio 6!
Bob Flint
Springfield VT
__________________________________
Anyone with ears should have been able to hear that The Last Dinner Party are absolutely wonderful. Maybe it's because I'm learning from my three daughters, but man, they are good. We are in the middle of a pop moment to which you and I aren't invited - The Last Dinner Party, Chappel Roan, Dua Lipa - hail, hail the new generation of pop, complex as hell and free from the boys.
David Frail
__________________________________
Been a fan of this awesome band for a year now. I can certainly tell you how a great many of us out here in hoi polloi land find this great new music: YouTube reaction channels. That's the same way I was introduced to Ren almost 2 years ago (and who is now my favorite musical artist on the planet). YouTube reactors, the good ones, perform the same service the good DJs and program directors used to provide back in the heyday of radio, that of spreading the gospel of talented new artists, especially independent ones. BTW, the real hotbed of great new music isn't the US but the UK, IMO.
Marty DeHart
Nashville, TN
__________________________________
Playing their current album on Spotify.
Instantly catchy. I'm hooked. This sounds like it came out of the 90s like Shakespeare's Sister.
Good call! I'm always looking for new bands!
Turk
__________________________________
Great band. Already have their album pegged for my year end list. Nothing Matters is a great song from it.
Their rise reminds me a little of Wet Leg last year. Girl rockers seem to be hot right now.
Craig Davis
__________________________________
Love TLDP.
Heard'em on Spotify.
On my release radar. Heard the single which led me to the album which led to me mentioning them to a number of friends. Now I can just forward your letter.
Thanks.
Louis Heidelmeier
__________________________________
I didn't recognize the name until I listened to their album and heard "Nothing Matters".
"Nothing Matters" is a big single for them and appears on a lot of Spotify playlists.
The band also played Coachella and Glastonbury this year. They are not really an unknown commodity.
Still it sounds like it was a good show at my current favorite venue.
Larry Green
__________________________________
I love their sound and style Bob. Thanks for this.
Dan Green
__________________________________
Bob, I heard them on the Sirius Spectrum channel and then saw a live video. Love the songs, the sound and the look. Totally get why Cliff and Peter (old guys like us) snatched them up.
For all the tastemaking SNL purports to do, I've been amazed they missed this one.
Been keeping my eye out for the tour. I'll go for sure.
Stephen Knill
__________________________________
Bob - xpn in philly has been playing them for a year or so. Bruce warren has been all over them. Its stations like xon and people like bruce that bring the good music to those that wish to be enlightened.
Thanks so much for all you do
Josh millman
__________________________________
For me, The Last Dinner Party was discovered on Sirius. Channel 35, XMU. They must play their single 'The Feminine Urge' hourly! But this channel is clearly programmed by someone (or some people) who give a sh*t. An eclectic mix of brand new indie, mixed in with indie from the past 15-20 years. This channel also allowed me to discover the show 'Aquarium Drunkard' (heard every Wednesday). Not only the most assorted two hours of music I've ever heard, delivered weekly, but also I came to find they have an outstanding website and weekly newsletter for further discovery. https://aquariumdrunkard.com/
XMU also got me into Wet Leg a couple years ago. One of the funnest fresh alternative records of the past couple of years.
As someone who works in terrestrial radio, behind the scenes, radio will be the first to admit it's not breaking new artists. But new music is out there, and great new music at that. You just gotta look around!
Thanks,
Ryan Hobson
__________________________________
…and they are all over Alternative Rock radio right now. I know you think we are irrelevant, but every little bit helps establish a band with a core constituency. This band is talented.
rpeters282
__________________________________
We live one block north of Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park and hear the main stage loud and clear, especially when the fog seems to keep the sound waves from drifting up and away. We've ventured to the fest a handful of times to catch Radiohead, Al Green, Sharon Jones, Beck, Budos Band, others, but over the years have spent many a cold, foggy night bundled up in the garden enjoying the headliners.
I worked from home Friday afternoon and was really getting into whoever was playing, looked at the schedule and it was The Last Dinner Party. I've been cranking them on Spotify ever since!
Steve Gillan
__________________________________
Love this band. Saw some concert clips several months ago and was blown away by the energy, the crowd response, plain ol' rock and roll exuberance. Can't wait to catch them live with my daughter - who at 14 years old is way ahead of my musical sophistication at that age. Streaming and social have accelerated her cross-genre musical discovery.
Clayon DuBose
__________________________________
you saw and heard what I saw and heard! because the singer did the same thing at the show I saw, referencing someone who looked overheated and might need some water or attention. i wonder if it's schtick or just a really hot summer...i was dreading parking near the SLC venue as well, planning to use the pay garage a few blocks over, by the Delta Center, but then I found a free street space - with tree shade.
Toby Mamis
__________________________________
Thanks to the YouTube Coachella live stream for turning me onto Last Diner Party. Abigail is a star. In line for Record Store Day, a young lady ask me if I ever heard of them. Oh yes, I ordered the picture disk. Glad you are onto them, Bob.
John Kauchick
__________________________________
The Last Dinner Party had a big buzz when their album came out last year, but I hadn't kept up with them. It's interesting to hear that they're doing well touring the US. Then of course there's Wet Leg and boygenius. Lurking behind all this is the renewed appreciation for Fanny, who were a really good band despite being seen mostly as a novelty in their heyday in the early '70s.
Is rock morphing into something that is primarily done by girls? That might be something for a rock writer to explore.
Tycho Manson
__________________________________
??? they've had 2 pretty big singles already
Darryl Duffy
__________________________________
The online clip of "Nothing Matters" has them sounding like a wannabe ABBA but nowhere as pop powerful as ABBA was at their best.
I hope TLDP are better live!
George Gilbert
__________________________________
Love The Last Dinner Party! Seen them twice live now (their Coachella set was one of my faves of the weekend) and sad I wasn't able to snag a ticket to their show at The Fonda. Happy to see them getting the flowers they deserve!
Kayla Kascht
__________________________________
6.3 Mill views of a song on YT is far from noone ever hearing of them
Most of us music listeners on Youtube have known who they are for sometime
Peter Ferioli
__________________________________
You're right, Bob. They're great!
emiltonmyers
__________________________________
In the UK, we have music radio that people listen to, music TV that people watch, music awards that are relevant, and music festivals like Glastonbury that people go to, and are widely broadcast.
The Last Dinner Party have been growing in popular recognition for a good year plus now over here. Sometimes, if you're good and work hard, they will find you.
Cheers
Crispin Herrod-Taylor
Managing Director, Crookwood
__________________________________
Not Susana Hoffs...but kinda catchy.
Cheers,
Jay Currie
__________________________________
Wow, they have it!
Great band, great find Bob, really hope they make it. Will definitely be keeping an eye on them. Hope to see them live sometime soon.
Cheers,
Thor
__________________________________
They are terrible.
Joseph Koehler, CFP
President
WG Financial
__________________________________
Bob: One problem is, as you know, THEY DON'T WRITE 'EM LIKE THIS ANY MORE:
But there was a time, Way back when, , that THEY DID: https://t.ly/Q_qJK
Barry Lyons / Rent A Label
__________________________________
"How did they know?"
Kelly Clarkson has covered their hit song.
They have appeared on The Late Show.
They just played at Glastonbury 2 months ago.
They have Fifteen very highly produced "official VEVO" music videos on YouTube.
To say nothing of their professionally managed cross-platform social media strategy.
The audience knew the band's songs because the band is well known.
The Fonda holds just 1200 seats so the audience was curated.
And you write this as if it was all a big surprise. Hmmmmm?
Mark McLaughlin
__________________________________
"Nothing Matters" was one of the best songs from Last Year. But you wouldn't know it if you only listened to radio.
Oedipus
__________________________________
Fredricka Mercury
Mike Bone
Thank you for your kind name check/ words in the story about The Last Dinner Party
Of course, I always like being reminded of the blessing and curse I had during that time and just how different everything has changed. Not just in the business, but the fact that I'm hardly even the most powerful person in my kitchen now!!
Best and thanks again for remembering
-Abbey!
--
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--
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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It's good to see a band bring it. We need more like TDLP.
Matthew Grandi
__________________________________
The band are a throwback. Great retro sound. Great overall look.
So great to see a band breaking through these days.
We have been working with for the past year - sending out a couple singles first and then the LP to college/non-com and specialist radio.
Sometimes you push and push a band. Sometimes a band pulls you. Folks like this band. The hipsters. The musicians. The rest are following.
We got the LP to number one on the chart earlier this year. Not something that happens that often on a debut album. Q Prime's team have been on this for sure.
Also, have to say - Island have been too. With Last Dinner Party and Chappell Roan - they have been putting the time in - and seeing the rewards a year+ later.
If more labels would do this...
Adam Lewis / Owner
Planetary Group
__________________________________
When The Last Dinner Party Pure Ecstasy was first released, every time we played it in our store (Euclid Records, in St. Louis, MO) - EVERY SINGLE TIME - there'd be at least TWO customers who would stop browsing to ask in awe: "What IS this?!?!"
It was an immediate purchase from them (including one almost-confrontation between the customer who got the last vinyl copy and another customer who wasn't fast enough). Much like the Chappell Roan, we can't keep their vinyl in stock.
The beauty of this is that people simply react to what they HEAR. They know nothing about them, but after hearing a track or two, they must have it. Moments like these are why record stores are sacred places, yes?
The beauty of the album is it gets deeper, richer and more monumental with repeated listens. And listening to it as a whole, from start to finish. So the band made a classic ALBUM; no filler tracks around video "singles."
Our customers (of all ages) most often make quick and easy comparisons to Kate Bush. And it's not. But "Kate Bush" is apparently the shorthand for complex, dramatic and melodic female-sung music.
Glad (and envious) you got to see them live. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Toby Weiss
__________________________________
I love this band so much. England has been into TLDP for a long time, relatively speaking. I resisted checking them out because I kept hearing about them and thought I wouldn't be into it—this was end of '22 and top of '23 when I was looking for where I might want to move. Finally I relented and dove in—it was just the music, musicianship and the songcraft that won me over, before I even knew about how fantastic their live show was and what an absolute perfect rock star Abigail Morris is. And the best part is, it doesn't even matter that they are female, that's just the icing on the cake. They've captured lightning, I hope they can hang on to it.
Was just in LA, bummed I missed the Fonda show.
xK
Kathy Valentine
__________________________________
Suffered some backlash for being "industry plants" in the U.K. but those rumours have been more or less exposed as false. The singer has always had musical ambitions, moved to London to make demos but also to go to school. Met two of the others in the few first few weeks of uni, the other two were friends of friends. They met and then 'bang' — COVID lockdowns. That gave then time to write, rehearse and develop a sound, and they emerged fully formed musically.
The album is excellent.
John Kendle
__________________________________
You....lucky....DOG!
I knew you'd dig em'..I send you a lot of "recs", I know, but only that which is nutrient-dense, with that old-school ethos..
I saw them performing at a festival earlier this year..Via Hulu or Prime.. Kicking ass in a sweaty little tent, while the DJs held court on the big stages..I've been hooked ever since..
I recently heard "The Feminine Urge" in a movie.
Maybe it'll be Shazamed by the curious..Kelly Clarkson covered "Nothing Matters"..They're making the rounds on the festival circuit..
They're one meme, one "shout-out" from Taylor Swift, one opening slot away from the next rung..
James Spencer
__________________________________
I read your newsletter regularly and have often wondered if you listen to The Spectrum or Alt Nation on SiriusXM. Based on your questioning where people find out about The Last Dinner Party and other artists I hear regularly on these two stations, it seems that you don't. Some of these bands were probably featured on XMU before making their way to more "mainstream" stations. I'm in my mid-50s and don't listen to XMU, but The Spectrum and Alt Nation are two of my favorites in the Sirius lineup. Give them a shot!
~ Gina Gasparini
Metro Atlanta
__________________________________
In the UK, where this band are from, they broke the old way - BBC radio, some TV performances on chat shows and then a heavy physical pre-order campaign to jam the album into the charts. The BBC has little power to do this anymore but by focusing on 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 there's the ability to have the older demographic, who still listen to linear radio, gain awareness of a band. It's the same strategy used by Wet Leg a couple of years ago (also female band). This may be why in the UK, people tell me the crowds at the shows for both bands are mostly middle aged white men. (You can read an article I wrote about how this system is almost dead here).
So in the US it might appear to be some manifestation of a new model of artist development but that wasn't the case here really. There's a separate issue about the UK's ability to break talent which is way too complex to get into here, but in general an indie or alternative band struggles to break via streaming in the UK, hence the focus on a dwindling radio audience and vinyl pre-order.
Cheers
Patrick Clifton
__________________________________
The point is, everybody DOES know the name of Last Dinner Party. Their August date in Denver sold out in minutes last February. Fans also know the names of British compatriots like Squid, Dry Cleaning, English Teacher, Black Country New Road, Wet Leg, Black Midi, Yard Act, Sports Team..... But the folks who know are those in high school, college, 20s-ish, maybe a few 30s. But such bands and solo acts all are largely invisible not only to boomers, but to many if not most in their 40s and 50s. The unifying factor is now a mix of TikTok, streaming services, Bandcamp, etc., and if you're not keeping up with a combination of everything, a lot of the best new pop remains invisible.
Loring Wirbel
Monument, CO
__________________________________
Love it Bob!
I heard them on the radio (WXPN and WFUV) last year... great band!
Patrick Pierson
__________________________________
Saw a pic of them this morning with Russell Mael cuz they're doing "This Town" so I checked them out. Terrific stuff.
Rob Warden
__________________________________
Sinner is one of my 2023 favorite tracks. And there's so much more quality material!
Great band.
Best,
Aldo Blardone
__________________________________
They're great - and, yes, I heard of them, because I listen to BBC Radio 6!
Bob Flint
Springfield VT
__________________________________
Anyone with ears should have been able to hear that The Last Dinner Party are absolutely wonderful. Maybe it's because I'm learning from my three daughters, but man, they are good. We are in the middle of a pop moment to which you and I aren't invited - The Last Dinner Party, Chappel Roan, Dua Lipa - hail, hail the new generation of pop, complex as hell and free from the boys.
David Frail
__________________________________
Been a fan of this awesome band for a year now. I can certainly tell you how a great many of us out here in hoi polloi land find this great new music: YouTube reaction channels. That's the same way I was introduced to Ren almost 2 years ago (and who is now my favorite musical artist on the planet). YouTube reactors, the good ones, perform the same service the good DJs and program directors used to provide back in the heyday of radio, that of spreading the gospel of talented new artists, especially independent ones. BTW, the real hotbed of great new music isn't the US but the UK, IMO.
Marty DeHart
Nashville, TN
__________________________________
Playing their current album on Spotify.
Instantly catchy. I'm hooked. This sounds like it came out of the 90s like Shakespeare's Sister.
Good call! I'm always looking for new bands!
Turk
__________________________________
Great band. Already have their album pegged for my year end list. Nothing Matters is a great song from it.
Their rise reminds me a little of Wet Leg last year. Girl rockers seem to be hot right now.
Craig Davis
__________________________________
Love TLDP.
Heard'em on Spotify.
On my release radar. Heard the single which led me to the album which led to me mentioning them to a number of friends. Now I can just forward your letter.
Thanks.
Louis Heidelmeier
__________________________________
I didn't recognize the name until I listened to their album and heard "Nothing Matters".
"Nothing Matters" is a big single for them and appears on a lot of Spotify playlists.
The band also played Coachella and Glastonbury this year. They are not really an unknown commodity.
Still it sounds like it was a good show at my current favorite venue.
Larry Green
__________________________________
I love their sound and style Bob. Thanks for this.
Dan Green
__________________________________
Bob, I heard them on the Sirius Spectrum channel and then saw a live video. Love the songs, the sound and the look. Totally get why Cliff and Peter (old guys like us) snatched them up.
For all the tastemaking SNL purports to do, I've been amazed they missed this one.
Been keeping my eye out for the tour. I'll go for sure.
Stephen Knill
__________________________________
Bob - xpn in philly has been playing them for a year or so. Bruce warren has been all over them. Its stations like xon and people like bruce that bring the good music to those that wish to be enlightened.
Thanks so much for all you do
Josh millman
__________________________________
For me, The Last Dinner Party was discovered on Sirius. Channel 35, XMU. They must play their single 'The Feminine Urge' hourly! But this channel is clearly programmed by someone (or some people) who give a sh*t. An eclectic mix of brand new indie, mixed in with indie from the past 15-20 years. This channel also allowed me to discover the show 'Aquarium Drunkard' (heard every Wednesday). Not only the most assorted two hours of music I've ever heard, delivered weekly, but also I came to find they have an outstanding website and weekly newsletter for further discovery. https://aquariumdrunkard.com/
XMU also got me into Wet Leg a couple years ago. One of the funnest fresh alternative records of the past couple of years.
As someone who works in terrestrial radio, behind the scenes, radio will be the first to admit it's not breaking new artists. But new music is out there, and great new music at that. You just gotta look around!
Thanks,
Ryan Hobson
__________________________________
…and they are all over Alternative Rock radio right now. I know you think we are irrelevant, but every little bit helps establish a band with a core constituency. This band is talented.
rpeters282
__________________________________
We live one block north of Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park and hear the main stage loud and clear, especially when the fog seems to keep the sound waves from drifting up and away. We've ventured to the fest a handful of times to catch Radiohead, Al Green, Sharon Jones, Beck, Budos Band, others, but over the years have spent many a cold, foggy night bundled up in the garden enjoying the headliners.
I worked from home Friday afternoon and was really getting into whoever was playing, looked at the schedule and it was The Last Dinner Party. I've been cranking them on Spotify ever since!
Steve Gillan
__________________________________
Love this band. Saw some concert clips several months ago and was blown away by the energy, the crowd response, plain ol' rock and roll exuberance. Can't wait to catch them live with my daughter - who at 14 years old is way ahead of my musical sophistication at that age. Streaming and social have accelerated her cross-genre musical discovery.
Clayon DuBose
__________________________________
you saw and heard what I saw and heard! because the singer did the same thing at the show I saw, referencing someone who looked overheated and might need some water or attention. i wonder if it's schtick or just a really hot summer...i was dreading parking near the SLC venue as well, planning to use the pay garage a few blocks over, by the Delta Center, but then I found a free street space - with tree shade.
Toby Mamis
__________________________________
Thanks to the YouTube Coachella live stream for turning me onto Last Diner Party. Abigail is a star. In line for Record Store Day, a young lady ask me if I ever heard of them. Oh yes, I ordered the picture disk. Glad you are onto them, Bob.
John Kauchick
__________________________________
The Last Dinner Party had a big buzz when their album came out last year, but I hadn't kept up with them. It's interesting to hear that they're doing well touring the US. Then of course there's Wet Leg and boygenius. Lurking behind all this is the renewed appreciation for Fanny, who were a really good band despite being seen mostly as a novelty in their heyday in the early '70s.
Is rock morphing into something that is primarily done by girls? That might be something for a rock writer to explore.
Tycho Manson
__________________________________
??? they've had 2 pretty big singles already
Darryl Duffy
__________________________________
The online clip of "Nothing Matters" has them sounding like a wannabe ABBA but nowhere as pop powerful as ABBA was at their best.
I hope TLDP are better live!
George Gilbert
__________________________________
Love The Last Dinner Party! Seen them twice live now (their Coachella set was one of my faves of the weekend) and sad I wasn't able to snag a ticket to their show at The Fonda. Happy to see them getting the flowers they deserve!
Kayla Kascht
__________________________________
6.3 Mill views of a song on YT is far from noone ever hearing of them
Most of us music listeners on Youtube have known who they are for sometime
Peter Ferioli
__________________________________
You're right, Bob. They're great!
emiltonmyers
__________________________________
In the UK, we have music radio that people listen to, music TV that people watch, music awards that are relevant, and music festivals like Glastonbury that people go to, and are widely broadcast.
The Last Dinner Party have been growing in popular recognition for a good year plus now over here. Sometimes, if you're good and work hard, they will find you.
Cheers
Crispin Herrod-Taylor
Managing Director, Crookwood
__________________________________
Not Susana Hoffs...but kinda catchy.
Cheers,
Jay Currie
__________________________________
Wow, they have it!
Great band, great find Bob, really hope they make it. Will definitely be keeping an eye on them. Hope to see them live sometime soon.
Cheers,
Thor
__________________________________
They are terrible.
Joseph Koehler, CFP
President
WG Financial
__________________________________
Bob: One problem is, as you know, THEY DON'T WRITE 'EM LIKE THIS ANY MORE:
But there was a time, Way back when, , that THEY DID: https://t.ly/Q_qJK
Barry Lyons / Rent A Label
__________________________________
"How did they know?"
Kelly Clarkson has covered their hit song.
They have appeared on The Late Show.
They just played at Glastonbury 2 months ago.
They have Fifteen very highly produced "official VEVO" music videos on YouTube.
To say nothing of their professionally managed cross-platform social media strategy.
The audience knew the band's songs because the band is well known.
The Fonda holds just 1200 seats so the audience was curated.
And you write this as if it was all a big surprise. Hmmmmm?
Mark McLaughlin
__________________________________
"Nothing Matters" was one of the best songs from Last Year. But you wouldn't know it if you only listened to radio.
Oedipus
__________________________________
Fredricka Mercury
Mike Bone
Thank you for your kind name check/ words in the story about The Last Dinner Party
Of course, I always like being reminded of the blessing and curse I had during that time and just how different everything has changed. Not just in the business, but the fact that I'm hardly even the most powerful person in my kitchen now!!
Best and thanks again for remembering
-Abbey!
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Sunday 11 August 2024
The Last Dinner Party At The Fonda
I was stunned.
If this was 1985, you'd already know their name, because they'd be all over MTV.
What we've got here is five English women and a male drummer who can play, sing and write songs with melodies and changes. Do you know how rare that is?
I didn't want to go. It's been hot as hell here in Los Angeles. It's hard to get a parking spot in Hollywood. I'm gonna have to sit there and feign interest for an hour and a half. But I already told myself I was going to be honest, I was not going to lie. Not that I ever do. But I would not be enthusiastic if I didn't feel it. I wasn't going to say the band was great. I was expecting some hard rock drivel played poorly more akin to Metallica than Def Leppard, boy was I surprised.
Yes, The Last Dinner Party is managed by Q Prime. I mean why are Cliff and Peter bothering. A new band, really? They're both in their seventies. Why don't they just count their money and go home.
Excitement... It's so rare these days. Stuff is good on paper. Genre-specific. Appealing to brain dead kids who the purveyors have no respect for. Meanwhile, the bands of yore sell out stadiums.
Can you pour some sugar on me?
Now don't ask me how people find out about bands like this these days. Used to be top-down marketing. You'd hire a stylist, a director with chops and make an expensive video launching the act to the masses. Everybody played the game, few acts made it through the Pittman sieve. But when they did...
Abbey Konowitch was the most powerful person in the music business. He decided whether you got airplay or not. And then the KROQ team, which migrated from Pasadena to NYC and could be seen on both sides of the camera. We all watched, we knew all the tunes, and then the CD came along and made the labels and their executives rich. Richer than they'd ever been before. I'm not saying that the acts were broke, now that they could tour around the world, but there was more money and more of it was kept by the labels and...
These are the days everybody yearns for.
Unless you're under the age of thirty, and then you have no frame of reference, you came of age in the internet era, where there was a plethora of music and it was every person for themselves.
But usually it's solo acts. Platforms for brand extension. Little money-makers. The music is just grease.
And then there are those who aren't built for the mainstream. The Active Rockers. Appealing to a hard core alienated audience. Glad that you don't get it, don't like it, and don't go. But it doesn't cross over. There's too much of an edge, too much bite, there might be changes, but the riffs overpower the melody, and there's a lot of shouting and less singing.
So what's a poor boy to do, who even wants to play in a rock and roll band?
It's girls. And you don't need to be a rock star to get laid. But so many of those boys are now incels. Ceding the territory to the well-adjusted, the women they want to be with. And their audience, half of the opposite sex.
I'd say it was around 50/50. Maybe 60/40, women to men. And the music was far from wimpy. But they knew the tunes and sang along.
And the lead singer stopped the performance to give aid to a woman overcome by the heat. Traditionally acts don't care, they don't want to stop the momentum.
But the band and the audience were one.
How did they know?
Believe me, this was not a Clive Davis act, this was not Whitney Houston.
Yes, Clive specialized in what we've got today. Drivel. Pretty faces singing pop songs written by others.
That is not The Last Dinner Party.
If you're authentic, people believe, they play your records and come to see you.
Cliff told me they could have played the Greek. 6,000 seats. HUH?
This is the modern world. Everything is spontaneous. Assuming it gets traction at all. You can't even push it if you want to. That's what the labels are looking for, a conflagration that brings the act from 0-60 overnight. An edge, a social media breakout. Whether they sign the act from TikTok or do their best to push it there.
Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn't. Because the audience is in control. There's no PD of the internet.
So what you need to do is hone your chops and play and...
Do you know how rare this is? Do you know how often people want me to get excited about people who can't sing? My inbox is inundated with acts who can't sing, people wondering why they're not superstars.
And now I'll get a rash of links from people believing that there's some golden ticket out there, that will bring them to the top of the heap. But that is untrue.
Some woman at Q Prime in the U.K. saw a video online, from some club, there's a guy who shoots videos of unknown bands there.
The Last Dinner Party, then just The Dinner Party, before another act claimed the name, had only a few gigs under their belt. Cliff and Peter saw the clip, flew to England and signed them. There were no socials, there was no data, only music.
And there was no bidding war, no one else was involved.
And then the band paid their dues, on the road, made an album with the producer of the Arctic Monkeys, on Island. The U.K. is different.
Cliff told me if I'd seen Def Leppard in their first fifty gigs...
But The Last Dinner Party is no longer rough, it's over the hump.
Really, I couldn't believe they were that tight, I haven't heard anything this seamless sans hard drives in eons.
And it doesn't matter what you think. It doesn't matter what the "gatekeepers" think. Oh, you need to get on a Spotify playlist, that's the ticket!
No, you only have to be good. Then people find you.
But there's very little good out there. And when people find it they glom on to it, they believe in it.
Everybody wants to be a star. They want a shortcut, they figure if they're on a TV competition show...
It's all positively old school.
But there's a new girl in school. Actually, five. And the guitarist was playing in a pit orchestra before joining the band.
Don't bother to send me your opinion. It doesn't matter, I don't care.
Everybody focuses on the records, the charts. But it always comes down to live, whether you can sell tickets or not, whether the audience is dedicated, whether they care.
The Last Dinner Party is building an audience and you've never heard of them.
Welcome to the modern era.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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If this was 1985, you'd already know their name, because they'd be all over MTV.
What we've got here is five English women and a male drummer who can play, sing and write songs with melodies and changes. Do you know how rare that is?
I didn't want to go. It's been hot as hell here in Los Angeles. It's hard to get a parking spot in Hollywood. I'm gonna have to sit there and feign interest for an hour and a half. But I already told myself I was going to be honest, I was not going to lie. Not that I ever do. But I would not be enthusiastic if I didn't feel it. I wasn't going to say the band was great. I was expecting some hard rock drivel played poorly more akin to Metallica than Def Leppard, boy was I surprised.
Yes, The Last Dinner Party is managed by Q Prime. I mean why are Cliff and Peter bothering. A new band, really? They're both in their seventies. Why don't they just count their money and go home.
Excitement... It's so rare these days. Stuff is good on paper. Genre-specific. Appealing to brain dead kids who the purveyors have no respect for. Meanwhile, the bands of yore sell out stadiums.
Can you pour some sugar on me?
Now don't ask me how people find out about bands like this these days. Used to be top-down marketing. You'd hire a stylist, a director with chops and make an expensive video launching the act to the masses. Everybody played the game, few acts made it through the Pittman sieve. But when they did...
Abbey Konowitch was the most powerful person in the music business. He decided whether you got airplay or not. And then the KROQ team, which migrated from Pasadena to NYC and could be seen on both sides of the camera. We all watched, we knew all the tunes, and then the CD came along and made the labels and their executives rich. Richer than they'd ever been before. I'm not saying that the acts were broke, now that they could tour around the world, but there was more money and more of it was kept by the labels and...
These are the days everybody yearns for.
Unless you're under the age of thirty, and then you have no frame of reference, you came of age in the internet era, where there was a plethora of music and it was every person for themselves.
But usually it's solo acts. Platforms for brand extension. Little money-makers. The music is just grease.
And then there are those who aren't built for the mainstream. The Active Rockers. Appealing to a hard core alienated audience. Glad that you don't get it, don't like it, and don't go. But it doesn't cross over. There's too much of an edge, too much bite, there might be changes, but the riffs overpower the melody, and there's a lot of shouting and less singing.
So what's a poor boy to do, who even wants to play in a rock and roll band?
It's girls. And you don't need to be a rock star to get laid. But so many of those boys are now incels. Ceding the territory to the well-adjusted, the women they want to be with. And their audience, half of the opposite sex.
I'd say it was around 50/50. Maybe 60/40, women to men. And the music was far from wimpy. But they knew the tunes and sang along.
And the lead singer stopped the performance to give aid to a woman overcome by the heat. Traditionally acts don't care, they don't want to stop the momentum.
But the band and the audience were one.
How did they know?
Believe me, this was not a Clive Davis act, this was not Whitney Houston.
Yes, Clive specialized in what we've got today. Drivel. Pretty faces singing pop songs written by others.
That is not The Last Dinner Party.
If you're authentic, people believe, they play your records and come to see you.
Cliff told me they could have played the Greek. 6,000 seats. HUH?
This is the modern world. Everything is spontaneous. Assuming it gets traction at all. You can't even push it if you want to. That's what the labels are looking for, a conflagration that brings the act from 0-60 overnight. An edge, a social media breakout. Whether they sign the act from TikTok or do their best to push it there.
Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn't. Because the audience is in control. There's no PD of the internet.
So what you need to do is hone your chops and play and...
Do you know how rare this is? Do you know how often people want me to get excited about people who can't sing? My inbox is inundated with acts who can't sing, people wondering why they're not superstars.
And now I'll get a rash of links from people believing that there's some golden ticket out there, that will bring them to the top of the heap. But that is untrue.
Some woman at Q Prime in the U.K. saw a video online, from some club, there's a guy who shoots videos of unknown bands there.
The Last Dinner Party, then just The Dinner Party, before another act claimed the name, had only a few gigs under their belt. Cliff and Peter saw the clip, flew to England and signed them. There were no socials, there was no data, only music.
And there was no bidding war, no one else was involved.
And then the band paid their dues, on the road, made an album with the producer of the Arctic Monkeys, on Island. The U.K. is different.
Cliff told me if I'd seen Def Leppard in their first fifty gigs...
But The Last Dinner Party is no longer rough, it's over the hump.
Really, I couldn't believe they were that tight, I haven't heard anything this seamless sans hard drives in eons.
And it doesn't matter what you think. It doesn't matter what the "gatekeepers" think. Oh, you need to get on a Spotify playlist, that's the ticket!
No, you only have to be good. Then people find you.
But there's very little good out there. And when people find it they glom on to it, they believe in it.
Everybody wants to be a star. They want a shortcut, they figure if they're on a TV competition show...
It's all positively old school.
But there's a new girl in school. Actually, five. And the guitarist was playing in a pit orchestra before joining the band.
Don't bother to send me your opinion. It doesn't matter, I don't care.
Everybody focuses on the records, the charts. But it always comes down to live, whether you can sell tickets or not, whether the audience is dedicated, whether they care.
The Last Dinner Party is building an audience and you've never heard of them.
Welcome to the modern era.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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