August 8

Happy Birthday to Chris Foreman, long-time guitarist of Madness and developer of the "Axecam", a mount for a portable camera (okay, a cellphone camera) on the guitar strap, so audiences can get a 'guitar's-eye-view' of the concert.

Good for short doses, but even the best guitarist has other things to think about in concert than cinematography. Still, great to see the nutty boys still at it.
Here's one of the first of the new ones, featuring guest vocalist/punk legend Ian Dury:

And here's something we can all sing-a-long to:

BTW, did you know that "Our House" became a jukebox musical (like Mamma Mia and American Idiot) featuring all Madness songs? It had a 10-month run on the West End, won the Olivier award for Best New Musical; don't know if there's any chance of that show crossing the pond - or anything Madness, for that matter. It's enough to drive a fan... well, y'know...

March 2

Time snuck up on me, but I can still swig a quick birthday toast to Vincent Walker, lead singer of Suburban Legends. They came to prominence on the tail end of ska's 3rd wave (they're not just from Orange County; they've played Disneyland almost 1000 times!) Suburban Legends barely survived their 'post-ska' phase, an often crippling and even fatal career move (see: Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Suicide Machines, The Hippos, Save Ferris...) But they're still kicking, and posting demos of their next, skankariffic album online.
Here's Vincent and the band, performing one of their signature tunes: "Up All Night"

January 1

As we begin a new year, I resolve to make more left turns. My most common candidates for this blog tend to be musicians, ones that have a neat music video I remember. But there's already plenty of music birthday sites out there (and at least one of them is awesome.) So, I'm not giving up video clips, and I'm not giving up musicians, but I'm going to try to feature other kinds of people.
Like Eichiro Oda, manga artist and creator of One Piece. He's kind of a manga prodigy; although he officially entered the Japanese comic book industry at 17, his first published character debuted years earlier. Actually, he started winning awards for his work at 17. At 19, he got hired as an assistant on the book Rurouni Kenshin, a comic that would eventually debut Luffy, the eventual hero of One Piece. At 22, One Piece debuted; it has since become the highest selling manga in history.
One Piece has since become a popular anime on both sides of the Pacific (although English-language fans are still waiting for a respectable dub), along with all the other typical spin-offs that a media darling inspires. New episodes are supposed to be on Hulu.com, but I don't know when they'll start charging, so let me share with you a classic AMV by Ninja of the Night, featuring clips from One-Piece atop "The Ballad of Captain Hampton" by the Aquabats:

The comic isn't that much different...

December 24

Interesting development; while researching today's birthdays, I ran into a Wikipedia listing for Tomas Kalnoky - who I featured two months ago. I'll have to confirm this, eventually...
On to Christmas Eve, and a shout-out to Diedrich Bader, the other funny tall guy from the Drew Carey show. He's one of those guys that I know is going to make me chuckle, no matter if the comedy's good (Office Space) or bad (The Country Bears.) He's the Luigi to Patrick Warburton's Mario. (Too obtuse? How about "Bruce Campbell minus Clint Eastwood"?)
So, as a birthday present, let's enjoy one of his first efforts, the Danger Theatre segments known as "The Searcher":

November 9

Today's birthday girl is Jennifer Ayache, lead singer of France's answer to No Doubt, Superbus (I think that's more "superb-us" than "super-bus", from how they acquired their name out of a Latin dictionary.) How much like No Doubt? They like genre-jumping rock music that you can dance to - it's ska-pop one day, new wave the next - sung by a chanteuse that likes to doll up in that 40's bombshell style. If you've beaten Guitar Hero III, you've unlocked their song, "Radio Song" (which is not an REM cover.) There seems to be an embargo on the videos from their new album, which might mean they're going to try to make a push in the US (After all, No Doubt is back together...)
Until America can discover the latest and greatest of Superbus for themselves, here's a ska-poppy track from the band:


superbus - superstar

mystika | MySpace Video

october 15

If there's a 4th wave of ska, Tomas Kalnoky will be one of its architects. It's hard to gauge whether a style of music's evolved to its limit until it's done (see: swing, blues, jazz) or it's ready for a reinvention (see: hip hop, country, reggae.) If ska gets its next phase, at least one of the bands Kalnoky started - Catch-22, Streetlight Manifesto, Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution - will be in the thick of it.
Catch-22 started in the tail end of the Third Wave (when Less Than Jake could still get on the radio), getting national attention for their first album, Keasbey Nights. While Kalnoky went to college, Catch-22 continued touring. By the time Kalnoky returned to music, Catch-22 had an entirely new line-up and sound, so he started Streetlight Manifesto; when Catch-22's label announced a re-release of Keasbey, Kalnoky and Streetlight Manifesto re-recorded the entire album.
SM finished touring in September, and announced their break until mid-2010. Now's a great day to send Kalnoky a Happy Birthday wish, along with a wish for the long-awaited next SM album... or the next Acoustic Revolution album...

Here's the animated video from their Somewhere in the Between album, "Would You Be Impressed?"
WARNING: Possible NSFW (unless you work for PETA or something)

October 6

We'll start with the Arcade Fire, on account of keyboardist William Butler's birthday. The Arcade Fire's a pretty big collective, so keep an eye out for the first guy to climb up the rafters bare handed. It's getting easier to find their music; their song "Wake Up" is echoing through the new "Where The Wild Things Are" trailer. But since I'm a sucker for cartoons, here's the video for "Neighborhood 3(Power Out)"

This month, the band's taking a breath and planning out album number three.

Happy Birthday to nerdcore rapper MC Lars. He raps about more than video games and Myspace (although he does that, too.) Here's his video for "Signing Emo," his paean to the standard lifecycle of today's major label rock band.


I had a hard time finding the right video for Matthew Sweet, even though I consider myself a fan. Most people (anime fans, Guitar Hero players, people who went to college in the 90's) would associate Matthew Sweet with "Girlfriend", the title track and commercial breakthrough. My favorite album was his follow-up, Altered Beast, although it's a heartbreaker of a disc. But at least I found this video for "Time Capsule":

Power pop like this is never really in or out of style (juat ask Fountains of Wayne.) But Sweet's still recording and producing; his last album came out summer 2008. He last hit the charts as a member of The Thorns (what was the name of that single they had? I can't remember...) Next month, he'll be touring the east coast with the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs, featuring their collaborations of '70s covers.

Finally, Happy Birthday to Millie Small, singer of the 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop." "Lollipop" is the first international ska hit (technically, it's a blue-beat song,) and the song that put the Island Records label on the map.

This footage is from her Finnish TV special, the apex of her fame. I dig the song, but I listen to her voice and wonder, what ever happened to Michel'le?

October 3

Some birthday folks, I just have to write about. Like Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters, which have a hometown connection for me. Jake's not from Lexington; his co-conspirator, Scott "Babydaddy" Hoffman, is, but Scott's birthday was September 1, so I missed that opportunity. Anyway, the band's 20 percent Kentucky, so I kinda gotta make some noise.
Fortunately, I dig their sound, 21st century glamdance that goes over so much better in Europe than on this side of the pond. Their third album comes out next year, and it might be the charm. Meanwhile, here's their biggest single so far, a tune co-written with Elton John: "I Don't Feel Like Dancing"

If you think Montgomery Gentry and John Michael Montgomery are better musical exports, I found a bluegrass version of "...Dancin'" for you.

Sometimes, my obligations are familial. I can't imagine a reason that anyone that would read this blog would not have heard of Gwen Stefani. Heck, I can't spell "Bananas" without thinking of her. I have a couple of readers who already think the world deserves a Gwen Stefani day, so I have to observe it.
Again, this isn't twisting my arm much. I dig the No Doubt, and so does Gwen, apparently; in recent interviews, she's said that her solo career is done, and it's all about No Doubt now.
Also, I must continue to convince my ill-informed friend; yes, that was Gwen Stefani touring with the band this year, not a 'thick' look-a-like. Observe the band on their comeback tour, performing "Tragic Kingdom".

Man, now I'm fantasizing about a thick Gwen Stefani...
Oh, since the tour's over, the real trial-by-fire begins: will No Doubt make a decent new record? We should know in about two years...

Sometimes, it's reasons you can't justify, it just has to be done. Why Greg Proops? I mean, he's a funny guy, proved he can be funny on the fly for years now.
Maybe it's all those episodes of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Or maybe his appearance in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" as the comprehensible podrace announcer...
Maybe it's the name. Silly, really... I just like saying it... "Greg"; Hilarious...
I found this clip of his first appearance on "Whose Line," back when it was only in Britain. Can't believe it's been twenty years...

Like many "Whose Line" alumni, his latest hat to wear will be "game show host"; he'll be reading the questions on "Head Games" on the Science Channel starting this month...

Finally, sometimes you write about somebody because it's why you do what you do.
Alan O'Day is a prolific songwriter who became a one-hit wonder in 1977, with teh #1 hit "Undercover Angel." Most people born after 1977 heard it again with the "Charlie's Angels" movie soundtrack. I heard it mostly in high rotation during the first two months of the launch of an automated oldies station for the St Louis market that shall remain nameless. But I digress...
Alan O'Day may fit the definition of one-hit wonder, but he's no slouch. He spent most of the 70's writing songs for others to sing; artists like Helen Reddy, Cher, and the Righteous Brothers took his songs up the charts. In the 80's, he returned to writing music for films and television shows. For the Muppet Babies cartoon series, he wrote over 100 songs.
But since I couldn't pinpoint any of those, I'll pitch in this fanvid for the 70's "Charlie's Angels" series, set to the music of "Undercover Angel"

Had to do it, even if Too Sweet For Rock n Roll is almost guaranteed to feature him and his sole chart-topper. But I ain't made at her; Too Sweet is a semi-authoritative and sweet-looking resource for pop music celebrity birthdays. A must read, if you love the music...

Haven't said in a while: if there's anyone you think deserves featuring, drop me a line at theleroygrey@gmail.com Otherwise, Happy Birthday to you, whenever it is...

October 5

My favorite actress in the business, Oscar winner Kate Winslet, is 34. It's not just her beauty, talent and fearlessness that get to me, it's her intelligence. I mean, she's got a plan. The girl knows what she's doing.

See what I mean? Actually, that's a clip from the TV series "Extras," which is that hilarious in every single episode.
Not easy to find a video of music featuring Winslet. I was worried I'd have to show a clip from that painful film "Romance and Cigarettes," (she was the best part, of course) and then I learned that she did a duet with Weird Al Yankovic (!!!) for some children's book/CD set. That's like putting two great tastes together!

Yup... that's like chocolate-covered macaroni. We're going to leave the music to the professionals for the rest of today....

Lee Thompson, saxaphonist for Madness, the most successful 2nd wave ska band ever. They made me fall in love with ska before I knew what it was. Hearing Lee's wailing
on "One Step Beyond" takes me back to Friday nights St Louis community radio, getting my weekly dosage of ska and reggae.

Something's in the air; so far, three seminal ska bands have returned to the stage this year. In fact, Madness is getting some of the best reviews of their career, even if their work's 'maturing'. Judge the new stuff for yourself...


Brian Johnson, vocalist for AC/DC. Some still call him 'the other vocalist', but Brian's the one that's sang their biggest hits. [Did you know that the "Back in Black" LP is the second best-selling album of all time?] He gives hope for every band that tries to get together its second act.

This year's tour might be it for the boys. Six dates last month were cancelled while Brian was recovering from surgery, treating typical 'old man' problems. No word if they removed that hernia that's the source of Brian Johnson's vocal power; that would be like giving Macy Gray a lozenge...

Finally, I'm posting a Velvet Underground track because it's Vaclav Havel's birthday. In 1968, Havel was a playwright in communist Czechoslovakia, while the Velvet Underground was another band whose music was being smuggled in and share in the Prague underground. People started their own bands, despite government efforts at suppresion. The arrest of several musicians in 1977 inspired the Charter 77 manifesto, which would be the guiding principles of the Velvet Revolution, the bloodless regime change that would see the end of communism in Czechoslovakia and the beginnings of free elections. Havel, who was sent to prison several times for speaking out for human rights in his plays and in public, would become the first president of the Czech Republic. When he welcomed Lou Reed to a democratic Czechoslovakia in 1990, Havel said to him, "Did you know that I am president because of you?"
Havel's retired from public office, but not from public life. He continues to work with human rights organizations, and speak about those issues. He's returned to playwriting, and parlaying that into directing his first feature film.
Havel's life story reminds me that art, even in inherently disposable forms like 3-minute rock songs, can affect and inspire others; the Velvet Underground's fearlessness in the realm of music inspired Havel and his peers to seek that fearlessness in their own lives.
So, here's a video of the Velvet Underground track "European Son", to salute Vaclav Havel and hope that we tap into the fearlessness in our own hearts that we need to change our world for the better...
The Velvet Underground - European Son

October 2

Sam Roberts is a Canadian singer-songwriter still trying to make his way south. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't sound like Nickelback, so he's still waiting for his superstar visa. Actually, he sounds like Pete Yorn, playing the kind of rock and roll that seems almost old-fashioned. That might explain a song like "Those Kids":

Happy Birthday to Sigtryggur Baldursson, drummer for the Sugarcubes (Bjork's old band.) Y'know, Iceland seems like a harmless country that picked the wrong year to be in the banking industry. But all the music that comes out of there is just... weird: Bjork, Sigur Ros, Gus Gus, mum... And don't tell me it's the cold; where are all the weird Alaskan bands?
Anyway, Sigtryggur provided beats for the Sugarcubes all the way to the end, then kept busy in the Icelandic punk and indie scene. These days, his main project is Steintryggur, very Art of Noise-ish. Maybe they wanted to beat their critics to the punch when they named their first single, "I Don't Get It"


Bonus! What's the name of the Sugarcubes' international breakthrough hit?
"Birthday"

According to Bjork, it's about a May-December romance (she's five; he's fifty...)


Bud Gaugh played drums for Sublime, the other greatest band of the 90's that lost a lead singer too soon. He's played with other bands since then, but every project's felt like one foot in the past. So what to make of the announcement that Sublime's getting back together? I know, I rolled my eyes too - and then I heard the new guy. They've got this 20-year-old, Rome; no telling how his songwriting is, but what I'm hearing seems like it could work. I'll let you find his performances with the band online (there's only one bootleg performance I found so far) But here's hoping he might have the stuff to pull off songs like this:

Finally, I just like this song from birthday boy , who you know as Badly Drawn Boy. Here's the animated video for "Year of the Rat"

September 16

Apologize for the wonky dating; I try to post on the day of, but I guess I have to adjust my PC's calendars.

You know those songs that you only seem to hear at wedding receptions? Not the love songs - the dance floor songs for people that don’t usually dance. Songs so catchy that Grandma’s pulling you on the dance floor? If you like these songs, that’s okay. Reception halls are the last sanctuary for tunes like the “Macarena” and “Electric Slide.”
Black Lace has made a career from churning out these kinds of songs. Alan Barton and Colin Routh had tried to make a go as conventional music artists, but a meager showing at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, almost destroyed the group altogether. The duo discovered a song in the Spanish discos called “Gioca Jouer”, wrote some English lyrics for it, called it “Superman,” and delivered their first top 10 hit to the charts.

I found this tribute to it, on a British skitcom called “Psychoville,” to soften the blow. Be glad I didn’t choose “Agadoo”...

Our next birthday boy has been called “The Master Drummer of Jamaica” and “The Unknown Legend”. Winston Grennan was a session drummer around Jamaica in the 60’s and early 70’s, and the one credited with inventing the “One Drop” beat that became the bedrock of the reggae sound. He played on thousands of tracks, with everybody from Toots and the Maytalls to Bob Marley, from Booker T and the MGs to the Rolling Stones. He’s all over the soundtrack to the Jimmy Cliff film “The Harder They Come”

In 1973, he moved to America to immerse himself in the jazz scene; he was recording and working with Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Herbie Hancock, the OJays…
Finds like this are the reason I write this blog. I consider myself a ska fan, but learning about Winston Grennan reminds me how much I still have to learn.
I considered linking to some footage of Kid Creole and the Coconuts, or a clip from "9 ½ Weeks" featuring his Ska Rocks band, so we could see him play… But I’m going with Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion,” because it’s a song you probably know, so it gives you an idea of how far reaching his music is. It’s indicative of a man who has his fingerprints on hundreds of songs, whether he played them himself or inspired the sound, that have snuck under our radar.



Ron Blair played bass for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the first four albums, helping establish the sound that would carry them over 25 years. In 1982, he left to focus on his family, and was replaced by Howie Epstein. Epstein died of an overdose in 2002, before the group’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blair joined the group onstage that night, and then returned to the fold altogether.

Happy birthday to all the birthday boys and girls out there. Hope you heard something you liked today, and it encourages you to dig a little further. If there's someone that you feel deserves a spotlight, send me an e-mail at TheLeroyGrey@gmail.com and try to convince me.

August 30

For starters, Ryan Ross, formerly of Panic at the Disco, is celebrating a birthday today. And look what I get for not paying attention; they’ve cracked in half.
His new band is called The Young Veins, and he's not being shy about how much they sound like the Kinks:


Speaking of retro, I discovered Negative, via birthday boy Jonne Aaron Liimatainen. They’re huge in Finland, in a HIM/Rasmus kind of way. (In some parts of the world, hair metal never went away.) Don’t know if they’ll cross the pond, though. Maybe when we get “Rock of Ages: The Movie”…


Let’s recognize the birthday of the late Chris Latta. He started in stand-up, did some TV and film work, but really made his mark in voice-over work:
Yup, he voiced two of the most hissable villains of 80’s after-school TV: Transformers’ number two Decepticon, Starscream, and G I Joe’s chief nemesis, Cobra Commander:

When you think about it, 80’s cartoons were way too silly to work. The bad guys had to be dangerous but not too scary, appear threatening yet defeatable in 25 minutes (minus commercials), and come back again and again. Latta’s voicework turned what could have been ordinary heavies into the perfect cartoon bad guys. They didn’t just lose every week because Good always triumphs over Evil; they lost every week because they were douchebags.

If that’s not enough contributions to pop culture, he also originated two Simpsons voices: Mr Burns and Moe the Bartender. All together, he deserves a raise of the glass.

Let’s finish this 80’s flashback with birthday boy Aaron Barrett ’s band Reel Big Fish, covering the Duran Duran chestnut “Hungry Like the Wolf.” And not just any”Wolf”- the Lupin III AMV (Anime Music Video) for “Hungry Like the Wolf.” (Hey, if I post this three times, how bad-ass would this column be?)

See you tomorrow…

August 25

I’m not simply trying to well-wish celebrities, or snatch some of that sheen of fame for my pseudo-journalistic exercise. If I wanted blog hits, I’d write about Blake Lively or Claudia Schiffer. And then where would we be?

Allow me to confirm that birthday boy Kel Mitchell is not dead. Remember “Keenan and Kel”? While Keenan Thompson is an SNL castmember, Kel may seem like an Invisible Boy to some of you. But for a few years, solo Kel has made his mark as the R & B Weird Al, with the occasional acting role (“Honeydripper”, “Like Mike 2”) Now, he’s building a new generation of fans, voicing characters in cartoons like "Clifford The Big Red Dog" and "Pink Panther and Pals.". It’s okay, man. We’re all dudes here…


Hey, remember Powerman 5000? Band mastermindSpider One has a birthday today. He’s the Demolition Man to Rob Zombie’s Rambo, claiming sci-fi to his bro’s horror rock schtick.

I have never forgotten “Words Collide” and the Yu-Gi-Oh hair.
While he's not getting into the moviemaking business yet, he seems to be treading closer to his brother's territory, with his new gig as blogger/correspondent for FEARnet.com...

Happy birthday to Takeshi Ueda, of the Mad Capsule Markets. They’re a Japanese rock band that I didn’t realize I was a fan of, until I dug out my PS1 copy of “Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3”.

Every time I hear that song, I forget how uncoordinated I am. In 2010, he's released his second solo album, and continues designing new t-shirts and haircuts...

Most of all, I have to say “Happy Birthday” to Rollie Fingers, Hall of Fame baseball player and personal inspiration.


Someday…

Tomorrow: a couple of spooky chicks…