Saturday, February 4, 2012
Southside
I consider myself so lucky to be in the very dubious position I am in to be on the receiving end of publicists, record labels, or musician's email lists. I get a ton of requests to showcase a band that's coming through Pittsburgh to maybe preview, shoot or mention the gig. I don't think I have ever been publicly jaded about it. Frankly, I never appreciated other people moaning about a influx of demos, or badly worded bios, or worse, bad music sent their way. For me, it's an honor and a pleasure to flirt with the possibility of helping out a band I never heard of and in return...well, we'll see.
That said, The Kalob Griffin Band is playing Club Cafe next Friday. They hail from Philly. Oh, and I found out that I actually like them! Not settling for Kalob himself to be answering alone, they have been kind enough to participate in this extensive edition of
First/Last.
The Kalob Griffin Band
Members:
Kalob Griffin (lead vocals/rhythm
guitar)
Nick Salcido (Electric/Upright bass)
John Hildenbrand: (keyboards/backup
vocals)
Eric Lawry (drums/backup vocals)
Rob Dwyer: Lead guitar/mandolin/banjo
The first album you ever bought?
Kalob (lead vocals): Rage Against the Machine, Battle of Los Angeles. It was
explicit.
Nick (bassist): When I was
twelve, my mother gave me fifteen dollars to “start” a CD collection and I
chose Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as my first album, because I
knew they cursed on the record and it didn’t have one of those Parental
Advisory stickers.
John (keys): Oh wow, I actually had to look this up to get the album name
right, but it was the great album from 1994, Live's Throwing Copper. I was in
second or third grade and this album rocked when i heard some of it on the
radio, so I thought a trip to the Wall would garner this purchase with many to
come afterwards.
Your last album bought?
Kalob: Paul Kelly's greatest hits, Songs From the South. His storytelling is so
captivating.
Nick: Well...Spotify has kinda
given me an excuse to stop buying new music, but I still buy records, and the
last one I bought was this great old Impluse! jazz compilation. It has
lots of great rare cuts by greats like Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, and Shirley
Scott.
John:It is funny because there are so many of these listening sites and YouTube
is one of them I go to frequently. I’ve been listening to King Crimson albums
from cover to cover the last few days. Man, they are so british, scary, and
epic. I love it. The last album I purchased was The Lake Bottom LP by The
Chapin Sisters. I heard their set on Mountain Jam and liked what I heard. Their
next album Two is even better.
Rob(lead guitar/mandolin/banjo): The Dave Brubeck Quartet "Time Further Out".
After getting into their prequel "Time Out," I had to listen to more,
especially Paul Desmond’s saxophone tone. It's got such an airy quality to it.
Eric (drummer): Head and the Heart self-titled. I bought it because of “Lost In
My Mind,” stayed for the rest. Solid album through and through. I’ve also been
Spotified, but I try to buy a new album at an independent store down the street
every few weeks. I fail more than succeed.
Favorite album of all time?
Kalob: John Prine's self-titled debut album. Those songs never get old to me.
Nick: Hands down Voodoo by
D’Angelo. I know I’m young but I still think it’s one of the best
engineered albums you’ll ever hear regardless of genre. An absolutely
classic lineup of R&B, hip hop, and jazz musicians perform on it as well.
John: This is a tough one because I could go all over the place. My favorite
has to go to The Beatles' Rubber Soul. This album I can always return too if
need be and the reassurance is always there. This album did a lot for that time
and quite frankly still is doing a lot for music. My parents raised me on the
Beatles and their catalogue is great because you see the way they changed from Please
Please Me all the way to Let It Be.
Rob: Cake - Comfort Eagle. While being
one of the hardest questions ever asked, I had to judge my answer based on my
how I enjoy listening to music. Some people dig the concept or only the lyrics
while I think of the many hours, blasting the CD, whether it be in a car or my
headphones, knowing each note and lyric a second before it comes out, and not
getting tired of it.
Eric: Want One by Rufus Wainwright. My
all time favorite has changed probably four times in the past six years, but
I’ve had this one since high school (Avonworth) and I still listen cover to
cover at least once a month. It gets an extreme emotional response from me, and
I learn new things every time I hear it. Certain songs seem more influential
given my state of mind, and I like that it can do that. Reach out and find
something to grab onto no matter what I’m going through. By the time it’s done,
I feel like I’ve lived an entire day. The first song is the sunrise, and the
last song is sunset, and I’ve done a hell of a lot between the two.
Least favorite/most disappointing album?
Kalob: Now 23.
Nick: Hmm...if I didn’t like it
that much I probably just blocked it out of my memory.
Eric: Agreed with Nick, I don’t like what I don’t like and I try to avoid it.
If something I usually love disappointed me I can’t find it right now.
First concert attended?
Kalob: I was twelve when my dad took me to see John Prine live and in
person.
John: I was in 8th grade I believe
because I really don’t think I went to a concert before this. I went to see
Dave Matthews Band at Old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. I was so far away I
had no idea what was going on. Ben Harper opened that night as well. I remember
getting separated from my one friend in the concourse and then they opened with
“Ant's Marching” and at that point I got even more separated from my friend.
The end result was me finding my friend and getting back to the show. I
definitely had my 8th grade thoughts and dance moves in the wise year of 2000.
Rob: Willie Nelson, just a couple of months after he was busted for tax fraud.
My dad’s friend (wealthy, may I add) had a huge party with literally 2,000
people. Willie Nelson played because he needed cash fast. I wish I paid as much
as attention as my dad and uncle did but I could have cared less.
Last concert?
Kalob: Ryan Adams at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
Nick: Trombone Shorty at the
9:30 Club in D.C.. Great show, one of those shows where the band has more
energy than you!
John: The last concert I attended was Steely Dan, yes you heard me right. Our
whole band was there. We just played a set at Musikfest in Bethlehem and after
our set we had the privilege to see them perform, and it was a mighty show to
say the least. They are tight as hell and put on a fantastic show.
Eric: Tally Hall, a band from Ann Arbor, Michigan that I’ve been obsessing over
for about four years. It was my fourth show of theirs, downtown in Philly at
Johhny Brenda’s. Great little venue, sorta in the same vein as Mr. Smalls if
we’re comparing to a Pittsburgh venue, where they also played on that tour.
Favorite concert ever?
Kalob: A group of friends and I saw The Mars Volta open for The Red Hot Chili
Peppers
on Halloween night in 2007. Everyone was dressed for the occasion and the
atmosphere was perfect.
Nick: Erykah Badu. Best
$100 I’ll ever spend. Her creativity is unmatched by other major label
artists, and her band’s bassist made me rethink everything I knew about
improvising. I spent the whole summer studying how that guy laid it down!
John: Their have been some fantastic Phish shows I have seen over the years.
Some great Phil Lesh and Bob Weir shows I have seen. But in the summer of 2009
I got a chance to see Nine Inch Nails live and I was completely blown away. My
friend won tickets on the radio and asked me to go. It was face melting rock
with incredible visuals all done by Trent Reznor. Incredible performance and
energy. That ended up being their last tour. Now he just wins Oscar awards.
Rob:2/25/03 Phish at The Spectrum. In the beginning of my musical exploration,
I got this ticket and was pumped to experience my first Phish show. Being so
young, I was not into the stereotypical drug scene but that doesn’t mean I
didn't feel like I was transported to another dimension. It is because of that
night that I went on to see them 23 more times to date.
Least favorite concert?
Nick: George Clinton - not because the music was bad, but touring is the
only way George can make money these days because of some horrendous business
deals that he got himself into during the peak of his career that leave him
with no publishing royalties. It’s really disheartening to see your idols
running themselves into the ground for chump change because they weren’t
informed about the business side of the industry.
Rob: Slightly Stoopid...it was stupid.
Eric: Same with album, I try to avoid
shows that I won’t enjoy. But I’m going to have to go with Bob Dylan. It was
actually in Pittsburgh during the New American Music Festival in the South
Side. There were a sold out 15,000 people in the audience when The Raconteurs
left the stage to uproarious applause. I love The Raconteurs and waited all day
to get a good spot so I was one of them. By the time we left about half way
through Dylan’s show, there were probably 6,000 left. I said with my friends as
we left, “At least we can say we saw Bob Dylan.” But I’ve never been so
compelled to leave a show I paid for half way through.
Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
John: Being born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, we (except for Eric)
didn't know too much about Pittsburgh. I went to Penn State and met a lot of
good people from there with whom I still keep in touch with. I've been to
Pittsburgh a few times and liked all my visits. We played a show there last
year at the Rex Theater and that was such a great experience. It is a very cool
looking city as well. The bridges give the city a lot of charm. At Fort Pitt,
George Washington decided that this area must become a city, henceforth it
became Pittsburgh. I cannot wait to get back there to play and to visit again.
Eric: Born and raised here, grew up
along the Ohio River Boulevard, and froze in my tracks when I once saw Malkin
at my local Giant Eagle. I wear my Crosby jersey to pick up take-out food, and
go to the closest Steelers bar every Sunday to watch with kindred spirits
amongst the overwhelming masses of E A G L E S chants and Claude Giroux is
better than Crosby nonsense that flies around Philly. I love living in
Philadelphia, but there’s not another place in the world I would want to call
my home tahn.
Rob: Nice people, weird sandwiches,
lots of bridges
Thanks for the contact fellas. Been really diggin' your music.
