Modern day soul vikings, Lefties Soul Connection, come charging out of Amsterdam to take Europe's soul and hammond beat loving hordes by storm. Mixing heavy soul, funk, mod, and even hip-hop, Lefties Soul Connection have concocted a sound that is mindful of past funk and soul bands of the late 60s and early 70s, but also aggressively incorporates a lot of mod/garage rock influences. At the same time there are hints of nu soul and hip-hop throughout, creating a really unique and thoroughly modern sound. With two full CDs under their belt already the band is working on a third. That being said, here is their brand new single, a tribute to garage rock to be sure, and a soulful cover of The Sonics' "Have Love Will Travel."June 30, 2009
Mod-A-Day: Lefties Soul Connection
Modern day soul vikings, Lefties Soul Connection, come charging out of Amsterdam to take Europe's soul and hammond beat loving hordes by storm. Mixing heavy soul, funk, mod, and even hip-hop, Lefties Soul Connection have concocted a sound that is mindful of past funk and soul bands of the late 60s and early 70s, but also aggressively incorporates a lot of mod/garage rock influences. At the same time there are hints of nu soul and hip-hop throughout, creating a really unique and thoroughly modern sound. With two full CDs under their belt already the band is working on a third. That being said, here is their brand new single, a tribute to garage rock to be sure, and a soulful cover of The Sonics' "Have Love Will Travel."
June 29, 2009
June 28, 2009
From the Vaults: Modcast #41 Back to Basics
Once more into the vault my friends, once more into the vault. Step back in time, to a time when the modcast was young and fresh. Take a giant step outside your current listening constraints and journey with me all the way back to the cold and blustery days of January 2007. 
I've opened up the vaults and dusted off a classic modcast that I think you'll enjoy. Again.
It's time to get back to basics, to brush up on the foundations of the whole mod thing. So, I've put together a list --certainly not definitive-- of what I think are some of the most foundational bands of the mod scene. Some of these were bands that actively championed the mod movement, and others were bands that embodied a mod sense of style and sound. All of them have inspired mods, and laid the groundwork for later punk, powerpop, and garage bands.
The High Numbers (The Who, 1964) -- Leaving Here Small Faces -- Wham Bam Thank You M’am The Kinks -- Susannah’s Still Alive The Creation -- Can I Join Your Band? The Standells -- Barracuda The Chocolate Watchband -- Medication The Sonics -- Like No Other Man The Attack -- Colour of My Mind The Monkees -- Sweet Young Thing The Action -- Shadows and Reflections The Pretty Things -- Get The Picture
Love the show? Hate the songs I selected? Have a question about what I'm listening to these days? Want to just bitch moan or whine? Comments are nice, as is e-mail: rob@mistersuave.com.
Bonus Videos:
The Who -- I Can't Explain
More than any other video, I think that this one captures the sounds as well as the sense of style that made up the original mod scene. And, how can you argue with The Who, the absolute leaders of the sixites mod scene. So, I deem this the greatest mod video ever.
The Pretty Things -- Midnight to Six
I've opened up the vaults and dusted off a classic modcast that I think you'll enjoy. Again.It's time to get back to basics, to brush up on the foundations of the whole mod thing. So, I've put together a list --certainly not definitive-- of what I think are some of the most foundational bands of the mod scene. Some of these were bands that actively championed the mod movement, and others were bands that embodied a mod sense of style and sound. All of them have inspired mods, and laid the groundwork for later punk, powerpop, and garage bands.
Love the show? Hate the songs I selected? Have a question about what I'm listening to these days? Want to just bitch moan or whine? Comments are nice, as is e-mail: rob@mistersuave.com.
Bonus Videos:
The Who -- I Can't Explain
More than any other video, I think that this one captures the sounds as well as the sense of style that made up the original mod scene. And, how can you argue with The Who, the absolute leaders of the sixites mod scene. So, I deem this the greatest mod video ever.
The Pretty Things -- Midnight to Six
June 27, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The V.I.P.s
The V.I.P.'s were a mod revival band that lasted a scant two years, 1978-80, during which time they produced a fistful of singles and opened for the likes of Madness, the Jam, and Secret Affair. The band had a pure mod sound blending a nice sixties R&B feel over the top of driving power chords. That was most of it, though there were a couple of more Stiff Little Fingers punk numbers such as "Who Knows". The song here, "One More Time," was the b-side to "Need Somebody to Love" which was to be the band's breakthrough, but ended up falling short. Should have gone with One More Time as it's a power pop gem. They had previously flirted with chart success and it was expected to come with this single and when it didn't the band sort of fell apart with two members going on to form 80s mod psych rockers Mood Six.
The V.I.P.'s -- One More Chance
June 26, 2009
June 25, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The Satelliters
If you like sixties punk; if you are a fan of The Standells, The Seeds, Count Five, and the Sonics; well then you are probably a fan of German garage punks, The Satelliters. In fact, there are only two types of people I know of, those who are fans of The Satelliters, or those who will become fans of The Satelliters.
The Satelliters started out in 1993 and have been striding the stage like the rock gods they are ever since. I first came across them shortly after the release of their 2001 album, Sexplosive!. That album was a wild ride through 16 organ fueled, guitar fuzzed, psyched out, cave stompin', garager rocking tunes. The vocals were reminiscent of Gravedigger V, while the songs themselves were in the same vein as the Fuzztones.
Now here we are nearly a decade on and the band isn't just going strong, they're actually taking big steps forward, producing stong songs with sharp writing. Their latest release is this single, a blistering bit of garage revival goodness, "Lost in Time".
The Satelliters -- Lost in Time
The Satelliters -- Abba
The Satelliters started out in 1993 and have been striding the stage like the rock gods they are ever since. I first came across them shortly after the release of their 2001 album, Sexplosive!. That album was a wild ride through 16 organ fueled, guitar fuzzed, psyched out, cave stompin', garager rocking tunes. The vocals were reminiscent of Gravedigger V, while the songs themselves were in the same vein as the Fuzztones.
Now here we are nearly a decade on and the band isn't just going strong, they're actually taking big steps forward, producing stong songs with sharp writing. Their latest release is this single, a blistering bit of garage revival goodness, "Lost in Time".
The Satelliters -- Abba
June 24, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The Exits
In 1977 most mod groups were just learning to walk, and such was the case with The Exits. Happily they picked up speed and hit the ground running in 1978 with their first single, 
"The Fashion Plague" backed with the song featured here "Cheam". For my money, Cheam was clearly the better track with more intensity, and had a sharper sound that was just unpolished enough to make the band sound kind of tough.
The Exits' sound was evocative of Elvis Costello, perhaps because of Geno Buckmasters vocal stylings --which were very much in that angry young man style, even if the songs weren't so much. The band's recordings were lost when their labeled shyed away from the mod/punk sound, after which they soon split up. Then in 2007 Cherry Red Records released it all on one nice CD.
The Exits were the forerunners to the Direct Hits one of the few pure mod bands to find an audience and build a following during the 80s.
The Exits -- Cheam
"The Fashion Plague" backed with the song featured here "Cheam". For my money, Cheam was clearly the better track with more intensity, and had a sharper sound that was just unpolished enough to make the band sound kind of tough.The Exits' sound was evocative of Elvis Costello, perhaps because of Geno Buckmasters vocal stylings --which were very much in that angry young man style, even if the songs weren't so much. The band's recordings were lost when their labeled shyed away from the mod/punk sound, after which they soon split up. Then in 2007 Cherry Red Records released it all on one nice CD.
The Exits were the forerunners to the Direct Hits one of the few pure mod bands to find an audience and build a following during the 80s.
June 23, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The On/Offs
British mod combo The On/Offs produced a couple of hard-edged mod singles before going away. The bands was tight, and had a really nice recorded presence, not surprising when you learn that the members had years of experience in previous indie outings. Despite praise from Paul Weller and lots of media coverage, the band has dissolved and front man Danny Connors has moved on to a new project The Ladders (check out their contribution to The Jetset tribute album on modcast #126). The few songs they left behind are all very mod revival like and show a strong influence from '79 era Jam, Buzzcocks and so on. The song here, "This Town," was the band's debut single, and one of their finest. They released one other single, "Wrong Upstairs" that also featured sharp musicianship and songwriting.
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