June (and a new album by Centro-matic)

It's June! Yay! June always feels like the beginning of summer to me, even if it's not officially summer until June 21st. The 21st of June is also the day Centro-matic (one of my fav bands) will release their new album Candidate Waltz, their tenth release. It was recorded and produced by Scott Solter (Spoon, Mountain Goats) and Matt Pence (C-M's drummer), and I can't wait to hear it!

I've been a fan of Will Johnson, the front man of Centro-matic for some time. He's actually the front man for two bands, Centro-matic and South San Gabriel (his quieter side project). He's a solo artist. He's the new drummer for the supergroup Monsters of Folk. He's an actor in a strange little indie film called Salt Creek County. He's a lifelong Cardinals' baseball fan and he's an artist! Talk about a multi-faceted guy!

I've written about Will before and most likely will again. He's the real deal...talented, humble, and just plain nice. People, including other musicians and fans, geniunely like him. His own manager (Bob Andrews of Undertow Music) may be his biggest fan. He named his son after Will by using the first three letters of his first name and the final three letters of his last, resulting in . . .Wilson. If Wilson's anything like the guy he's named after I bet he's a pretty darn cool kid.


Will and the big painting that became the cover art for Candidate Waltz.


A behind the scenes Monsters of Folk ACL video. The song "Dear God" showcases the uniquely different and beautiful vocals of Jim James, Conor Oberst and M. Ward. (Will on drums)

One song, two sounds, decades apart:
All Night Long - Lionel Richie (80's original)



All Night Long - South San Gabriel
Will and company took the same song and turned it into something totally their own. I wonder if Lionel's heard it and loves it too.