March 12, 2006

Hop on Pop

The Shakes played the other night at a French restaurant in Los Angeles. I got pictures to prove it.

One thing that I’ve grown to appreciate about the Shakes is their consistency. These youngsters are in it for the long haul. Lemme tell ya, kid - I seen ‘em come and go. This combo might have one of the most generic names imaginable (I suppose we can be grateful they didn’t call themselves Rock Band), but the Shakes seem to lack the sort of deluded megastar ambition that leads to the breakup of lesser bands. They bring a garagey roughness to the academic sixties-worship you hear from certain other devotees of the Kinks and Small Faces. Peter and Janet are infamous for deflating any hint of show-biz mythmaking in the live show - specifically with their tendency to mumble self-deprecating commentary or inside jokes, or by overexplaining that which needs no introduction.

On Friday, it seemed like they were consciously trying to avoid these pitfalls, because whenever Peter would begin to elucidate the origins of a particular song, the rest of the band would quickly step all over each other with “shut up and play!”-type objections, which piled upon one another until somebody actually did start playing. But the Shakes never degenerate into fisticuffs; no one goes away bloody.

Bass player Janet Housden dislikes it when friends mention she formerly hit drums for Redd Kross. Guitar/frontman Pete Gilabert is another “scene veteran” (as we old folks like to put it) who was in merseybeat group the Stool Pigeons as well as other bands that are shrouded in mystery. Keyboard nut Dan Collins is a funny fellow and an excellent DJ on Killradio.org, where he spins the finest in 1960s-70s non-hits. Andrew Chojnacki is no longer their drummer, but the new guy is really good.

These first two selections below are from the Gigantes Del Pop! album on L.A. pop mogul Jim Freek’s Teenacide records. The Britney cover is from the 2002 debut record. Monsieur Freek says that the new Shakes CD is due out on 6-6-06. I can’t wait.

The Shakes - “In My Hair”

The Shakes - “Sicker”

And here’s that blast from four years back:
The Shakes - “Oops! …I Did It Again”

Rick at 2:52 pm