Rich Good's Top 5 Albums of the Moment

Rich is currently the guitarist for The Psychedelic Furs. He was kind enough go share a few of his favorite listens that he is currently spinning. To find more about Rich, visit him at www.kingsandqueensmusic.com

In no particular order:

1. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Great band that is still great despite blowing up a bit. I love seeing a band like this drift close to commercialism but then remember who they are and what they were always striving for. This record may be the most far-out thing they ever did. Inventive. Unhinged.



2. Various - Minimal Wave Tapes
All this old 80s undiscovered underground new wave stuff. Lets face it, if you have some new wave going on, there's not enough to keep you going - here's a goldmine of new old stuff.



3. Them Hills - Process
A couple of my friends have this great band up here in Nevada City. This record is very real, very true to genuine tone and has some seriously out guitar parts that make me feel good. Dan also plays with Broken Bells currently, but you need to check this stuff.

www.myspace.com/themhills



4. The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
We're rehearsing for a tour where we play this full record. So its kind of in my ears all the time at the moment. All of This and Nothing!



5. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream OR Kings & Queens - Jet in Carina
So i just discovered this gem from the 1983 Simple Minds. Its absolutely magic. A band at the top of their creative powers, with some crazy production that just works perfectly. The eighties can often be overlooked as simply polyester and bad drum tones but really there was some of the most creatively hard-working artists out there. Friday night melancholy.



The flip side of my choice is my own record i made earlier this year. I think its pretty good - but i've been too busy with the Furs to do anything with it. You can hear it HERE!



Honorable Mention:

Casual Fog - The Thrill of it All
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Jean Michel Jarre - Equinox
Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet

Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School

It's pretty fitting that most of this album was created in what is known as "The Dojo".  Curren$y handles a lot of the rap duties, but there are some heavy hitters up in here.  Stalley with the track S.T.A.L.L.E.Y., Tabi Bonney and Camp Lo are also featured in this one.  There's something raw about the way Ski goes about his production business.  I'm always impressed by the way he combines his ability to create raw beats with his years of polish.  Here's to hearing the new generation of hip hop.

Stuff we like: Warby Parker

I've been wearing eyeglasses for less than a year. I should have gotten them a lot sooner, but my vision wasn't to the point where I was totally blind. My left eye is actually not that bad, so it was compensating for my right which has a bad stigmatism. One thing about prescription eyeglasses is that THEY ARE SO EXPENSIVE!!! Luckily I had some money to use through my healthcare and only had to pay about $150 out of pocket.

So I was thinking, hey, I got myself quite a deal only paying $150 when I could have shelled out 4-500. And then my whole perception of overpriced eyeglasses were totally shattered when I heard about Warby Parker. They describe their glasses as boutique-quality, and classically crafted at a revolutionary price. $95 WITH PRESCRIPTION!!!!!!! UHHHHHH...yea I would have to say that is pretty revolutionary. In addition to having some seriously awesome vintage styling, these cats are partners with a great non-profit org called Restoring Vision. Every pair they sell, they will donate to people who really need eyeglasses all around the world. To those of you and I who aren't as fortunate.

I thought I had gone a while without seeing things in focus, but yeah, Warby Parker has made things a bit more clear.

Our very own

Who:
Our very own Brett Zadlo. MONO Director of Wholesale by day, monster of bass by night.


What:
Opening for Public Enemy last night in Florida at Firestone Live, with his band C U Next Weekend. If you somehow missed this, they'll be hitting the stage with PE again tonight at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. You're going to want to get to this show.


Then:
C U Next Weekend will be hitting their native Oakland on 9/24 with Thomas Pridgen's new outfit The Memorials at The New Parish. 2 Killer new bands at a killer new club. C U there.

Relicing your own guitar.

I'm one of those that really likes relicing guitars. Whether it be the old fashioned way or sped up through the means of some sandpaper and elbow grease...I am all for it. I've ofter gawked over some of those Fender Custom shop instruments and seriously had the thought of saving up for one of them. Those things fetch a pretty penny.

Over the years I got to thinking, why don't I just buy parts and relic the thing myself. I started to do some research to find others who might have done the same thing before to get some pointers. I found some excellent resources through some googling. Here are a few sites that pop up:

www.relicdeluxe.com - This site rocks. It gives you a list of stuff to buy and techniques that will aid in a relic. The results are pleasing.



www.stevesguitarsite.com - A great guide to relicing. Here's a link to some really cool tricks. Here! He goes through old instruments and gives you an idea how to recreate a 50 year old instrument.

So I've started and finished a relic and all the parts cost me under $200.00. I ebayed everything and found a source with loaded bodies and necks for cheap. I am very pleased with the quality of the body and neck but of course had to swap out some electronics. New pickups are a MUST. The results were awesome with these guides.

Black Milk: Album of the Year

And we mean it. Wow, 2010 is already shaping up to be a great year in hip hop. I've never been this excited about the genre. Artists like Black Milk are really starting to push the boundaries of greatness. Tronic was already a favorite of mine, but man this one is topping it! And with Daru Jones up at the throne, the Motor City natives have got the goods. And they bring it to you during their live shows as well. We'll be sitting with Black Milk, Daru, AB, and Hex Murda when they roll into town. Grab your copy here!

King Britt, Saturn Never Sleeps.

We have contact. King Britt has been busy. He's got his hand in this collaboration with his fiancee Rucyl, a multimedia artist who blends visuals with other worldly sounds. Her goods border on genius and push the boundaries of electronic music. Together they form Saturn Never Sleeps which originally spawned from love of the music and sounds of Sun-Ra. The experiment has now hit full swing with dates in some major cities including Madrid, Switzerland (Stadtmusik Fest), Berlin, Istanbul, Brooklyn, and their native Philly PA. If ever there was a piece of art that oozed music...that would be SNS. Booyah, we have lift off.

King Britt speaks on the Saturn Never Sleeps project with collaborator/fiance Rucyl Mills.
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01.08.10 Black Book Sessions presents: Saturn Never Sleeps Live! + Nebulæ Visuals from Nebulæ on Vimeo.

EFX Review: MIXDOWN in Australia

It's great to read reviews where people have actually taken the time to form their own opinions about the gear. These guys at MIXDOWN are super gearheads, and we're honored to receive such high marks for the EFX Series.

Threads we like: Adapt Fall/Winter Collection

Our friends at Adapt don't sleep. We got the sneak peek of their new 2010 Fall/Winter collection at MAGIC and knew right away that this would be a big year for this Bay Area brand. Today the collection is unveiled to the masses here. Grab a fresh t-shirt like now because [a] you need some new threads and [b] they always sell out fast!

MONO M80 Acoustic case reviewed!

This is a great video of the MONO M80-AD in the hands of Dale Campbell a musician based out of the UK. Dale emailed us about a year ago wondering if his Avalon L25 would fit in our case. Since the shape of his Avalon was more jumbo than Dreadnought, we felt the fit would be tight and snug, but would definitely fit. Check out the review of his case!