Tuesday October 13, 2015
Shannon & The Clams, Las Rosas, and Gauche
DJ Baby Alcatraz
$12 / 9pm / All Ages at Comet Ping Pong
Advance tickets available!
Shannon & The Clams
http://www.hardlyart.com/shannonandtheclams.html
http://shannonandtheclams.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shannon-and-the-Clams/134248713268350
Las Rosas
http://www.facebook.com/lasrosasbrooklyn
http://lasrosas.bandcamp.com
Gauche
http://g-a-u-c-h-e.bandcamp.com
The American West. America’s America. It was here in t...
Tuesday October 13, 2015
Shannon & The Clams, Las Rosas, and Gauche
DJ Baby Alcatraz
$12 / 9pm / All Ages at Comet Ping Pong
Advance tickets available!
Shannon & The Clams
http://www.hardlyart.com/shannonandtheclams.html
http://shannonandtheclams.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shannon-and-the-Clams/134248713268350
Las Rosas
http://www.facebook.com/lasrosasbrooklyn
http://lasrosas.bandcamp.com
Gauche
http://g-a-u-c-h-e.bandcamp.com
The American West. America’s America. It was here in three very different worlds that Shannon and the Clams were spawned. From the dark redwood forests of Oregon emerged Cody Blanchard: singer and guitarist. The dusty walnut orchards and vineyards of northern California gave us Shannon Shaw: singer and bassist. Out of the lonely dunes of California’s central coast shambled Nate Mayhem: drummer and keys. These three talented visual artists were drawn separately to Oakland, California and it was there that the Clams began playing house parties and grimy clubs.
Gone by the Dawn, the newest Shannon and the Clams album, is their best work to date. The music is complex, the lyrical content is emotionally raw and honest, and the production is the strangest it’s ever been. The album was written as one member was recovering from a serious breakup and another was deep in one. The lyrics reflect it, and the entire album is dripping with sadness, pain, and introspection. Shannon and Cody have not written generic songs about love or the lack of it. Instead they have written about their very own specific heartbreak, mistreatment, and mental trials. The emotion is palpable. On Gone by the Dawn the Clams have DARED TO BE REAL. They’ve exposed their true emotions, which is what's most moving about the album. People are scared to be so real. Society does not encourage it. Folks remain guarded to protect themselves from being mocked, punished, and becoming outcast . The Clams have opted to forgo the potential tongue-clucking finger-waggers, and have instead had the artistic courage and audacity to splay their pain and struggles out for all to hear. We are lucky to hear them get so damn real.
Nowadays, it’s exceedingly rare for a two-and-half minute rock song to have raw emotional power, but with Gone by the Dawn Shannon and the Clams have gifted us an entire album of them.
Las Rosas are three shed November leaves, floating and bobbing on the surface of a languid stream, drifting closer to the muddy banks, then climbing out of the water, walking along the road on their little brown stems, piling into their sea-foam-green van, driving away, and releasing "Flower in the Sun" (Burger Records, 2014) and "Ms. America" (Dizzybird Records, 2015). They're the little leafs you see driving around the USA, playing rock shows far and wide, with their little guitars and drums. No autumn leaf, if you bothered to check, ever sits still.
Christopher (the birch leaf) plays the drums, even with a broken hand, when he needs to. Jose A is the red leaf of a Japanese maple and not a picky eater, except during dessert. He plays bass and shares a first name with singer Jose B, who incorporates lead guitar-playing with mixed results -- he is the needle of a long-leaf pine.