We have to admit that we couldn’t help rooting for Notekillers. These veterans of the indie music scene are back and certainly sound like they are ready to show a whole new generation how to simply rock! We caught up with guitarist David First to get the skinny on Notekillers. (Or is it The Notekillers?)

 

The Deli: How did Notekillers start?

 

David First: Way, way, way, back, back, back in the day, in 1976, two of us, Halkin & I, rekindled a bandmate-hood that began in junior high. We started out totally improvising what we called "free rock" and slowly began imposing spring-loaded structures that I started bringing in. Another old friend, Bilenky, came in much later – sometime in 1977. Version 1.0 lasted till 1981. We reconvened in 2004 shortly after re-animator extraordinaire Thurston Moore mentioned us in an article in Mojo magazine. We’re having MUCH more fun this time around.

 

TD: Where did the band name come from?

 

DF: Those were rebellious, angry times, and in that spirit, it seemed important that we take a stand against something personal for us. Notes – polite, proper pitches and sounds – seemed like a worthy adversary. We wanted to annihilate them…or at least see that they got a good slapping around. Sometimes it’s Notekillers and sometimes it’s The Notekillers – we can never seem to definitively decide.

 

TD: What are your biggest musical influences?

 

DF: The original rock & rollers – especially Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley & Link Wray. Psychedelic rock of the late 60s – Yardbirds, QMS, J. Airplane, and maybe, especially, a Philly band from back then – Mandrake Memorial. Free Jazz (Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler), serious funk (early Kool & the Gang, Parliament/Funkadelic). The subversive structures of John Fahey. And for me, personally, my studies with local legend Dennis Sandole – under whose guidance I developed the chord-melody concepts behind all our stuff.

 

TD: What artists (local, national and/or international) are you currently listening to?

 

DF: I love people who are trying to create something genuinely new and nonretro. These days that generally means artists working largely in the realm of sound sans vocals or played-out ego memes. People such as Zs, Oneida, Parts & Labor, Noveller. Just saw Weasel Walter’s new trio w/Marc Edwards – Cellular Chaos – and that was pretty terrific. Philly guy Nick Millevoi always seems to be in the middle of something interesting – saw him do a lovely solo show a couple weeks ago. We did a show at the M-Room recently with Empty Shapes – they impressed us with their entrancing heaviness.

 

TD: What’s the first concert that you ever attended and first album that you ever bought?

 

DF: We’re old – the Doors at the Town Hall was the first show Halkin & I went to – and I even got Ray Manzarek’s autograph. First album was Meet the Beatles purchased at EJ Korvettes on Welsh & the Blvd.

 

TD: What do you love about Philly?

 

DF: The kids and bands that have made things way livelier and healthier than things were when we were starting out. The Philly creative music scene receives national attention – those of us who’ve been around long enough know that this wasn’t always the case. Not by a long-shot.

 

TD: What do you hate about Philly?

 

DF: The chip on the shoulder that I still sense sometimes.

 

TD: What are your plans for 2010?

 

DF: Get back to playing more shows. We took time off to get a new record together – which is now done. It’s called We’re Here to Help and will be officially available in early November on Prophase Records. But we’ll probably have it at shows earlier than that. Otherwise, we’re working on new material and ever-new ways to blow up things and take people for a ride on the shards.

 

TD: What was your most memorable live show?

 

DF: All Tomorrow’s Parties in England a couple years ago was fun – I could easily get used to playing in front of a thousand-plus people all the time. A recent show at Union Pool in Brooklyn that encored with saxophonist Daniel Carter joining us was a blast. And anytime we’ve played at Pilam.

 

TD: What’s your favorite thing to get at the deli?

 

DF: Breyers mint chocolate chip.

 

– The Deli Staff

 

Looks like XPN is getting a little Botox work done on their programming with the launch of Making Time Radio tomorrow night hosted by your favorite Philly DJ to get rad to, Dave P. He’ll be hitting the airwaves every last Friday of the month from 11pm – 1am with all his favorite electronica, dance, indie and alternative rock tracks (well, probably the ones approved by XPN). BTW: WTF Making Time w/ Surfer Blood and The Drums on Sept. 10 and LCD Soundsystem on Sept 24! (Whoops – looks like the busy guy is already running into scheduling issues.) – H.M. Kauffman

 

Just like the legendary amps that they’re named after, Univox can go from mellow to electrifying at the flip of a switch. Anchored by a quartet of distinguished voices, with Josh Jones’ smooth baritone usually at the forefront, it’s arguable that there’s something timeless about their sound, which is unhampered by any tiring trends or made up genres, but instead relies on honest, tried-and-true songwriting. If you take a listen to their recently released ST debut, uplifting pop hooks like those in "You Don’t Know" run right alongside balls-out rockers like "Pi". For a slight change of pace though, there’s Conversations with Enemies, whose quirky indie pop is haunted by zombies, demons, and awkward relationships, and encompasses everything from surf riffs to gypsy rhythms. So if you want a bit of everything tonight, the Kung Fu Necktie might be your best bet. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $5, 21+ – Joe Poteracki

 

 

Philly is great! You can pop in on something interesting any night of the week, and there is a good chance that it will be for free. The folks at Younglove, Danger Danger Gallery’s friendly vintage store neighbors, want you to come out tonight for FREE “adult (cold) beverages” and performances by primal experimental psych outfit Social Junk as well as Ducktails, a solo project from Matthew Mondanile of Real Estate, and fellow Jersey mates, Big Troubles. There will also be art featured by John Williams and 10% off on everything in the store. Younglove, 5011 Baltimore Ave., 7pm, FREE, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman

 

What’s on the agenda today? It’s simple. Go to R5’s Punk Rock Flea Market. (It’s the BIGGEST one ever.) Donate money. (Keep good shows coming to Philly.) Recycle – buy people’s cool used stuff. (Be green and create less trash.) Buy new stuff from vendors. (Help feed artists and the people who support them.) Have a good time! Cheers! The Punk Rock Flea Market Dome , 461 N. 9th Street, 10am – 5pm, $3 donation, All Ages – The Deli Staff

 

 

I know. IT’S FUCKIN’ HOT. But if you are like me and think that it’s not that bad, then you need to come out this afternoon to a free performance by the Philly intergalactic orchestra Sun Ra Arkestra (behind the Walnut St. Free Library in University City). Currently led by Maestro Marshall Allen, this band of space age misfits have been invading audiences’ minds since 1968 when Le Sony’r Ra assembled his army of musical shape-shifters. Just make sure to bring plenty of water. The Walnut St. Free Library on 40th St. (outside directly behind the building), 6pm, FREE, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman

 

 

Hide out from the heat this weekend with many cold beers and a killer show tonight at the Blockley Pourhouse. According to their Myspace page, one of The Extraordinaires‘ top influences is the Muppet Show. Strangely enough, it kind of makes more sense than any "normal" musical influence they could name. Just like a Jim Henson creation, The Extraordinaires possess a quirky sense of humor and theatricality, but never at the expense of real heart and substance. Sure, their albums are conceptual and packaged as cute little storybooks, but that doesn’t mean the songs themselves aren’t rock solid. And have you seen their packaging? It’s beautiful (courtesy of the crafty people at Punk Rock Payroll). Sure, their singer plays a guitar in the shape of a fish, but he plays it well. What I mean to say is, just when you thought Philly’s psych-folk-pop scene couldn’t get more fun, here’s The Extraordinaires. Also no strangers to a good time are Toy Soldiers, those rustic hootenanny-throwers with the singer who never fails to crank the white boy blues all the way to 11. And of course, there’s Dangerous Ponies, whose variety of giddy power pop and boy/girl vocals will probably get even the most curmudgeonly of your friends up and dancing. Oh yeah – don’t miss R5’s Punk Rock Flea Market this Sunday! Blockley Pourhouse, 38th and Chestnut, 9pm, $8, 21+

 

Other places to hide out with air conditioning…

 

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT Do You Need Service?, Photon Band, Grimace Federation

 

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) SAT Goodnight Lights, The Quelle Source

 

North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Necktie, Hessian, Call The Paramedics, SAT Frog Holler, Hezekiah Jones, Sisters 3

 

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI The Great Vibration and The Almighty Terribles

 

M Room (12 W. Girard Ave.) SUN Workhorse 3 and Blessed Muthas

 

The Khyber (56 S. 2nd St.) SUN City Rain
 
Tritone (1508 South St.) SAT Karma Bat, SUN The Wallace Brothers Band

 

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) SAT Peek-a-Boo Revue

Danger Danger Gallery (5013 Baltimore Ave.) FRI Eskimeaux and Motorcycle Maus

 

Greenline Café (4239 Locust St.) FRI Spirit and Dust and Zach Fay

 

Philadelphia’s Magic Garden (1020 South St.) SAT Chasing Arethusa and Gepetta

 

Punk Rock Flea Market Dome (461 N. 9th St.) SUN Punk Rock Flea Market

 

07-31 Philadelphia, PA – Outside the Mad Decent Mausoleum
08-07 New York, NY – South Street Seaport
08-14 Los Angeles, CA – Premiere Events Center
08-21 Chicago, IL – The Hideout

 

 

As Spirit and Dust, Kristen Sylvester crafts world-weary meadow folk that transcends beyond her young, impressionable years. Her raspy voice is nothing if not profound, and as it sweeps immaculately over the plucky guitars and rustic compositions, it’s just aching for a revolution…now! And while Sylvester knows that Spirit and Dust’s music may not “cure depression, re-create the sexual revolution, or make brainwashed people suddenly wake up”, it’s hard not to think that someday it will. Watch Spirit and Dust try to change our world one note at a time tonight at Green Line Café with Zach Fray and Tradition (Canada). Green Life Café, 4426 Locust St, 7 pm, $5 donation, All Ages – Annamarya Scaccia