Brian Jonestown Massacre Member's New Video

Scoot!'s pal Joel Gion, member and ultimate tambourine player for the Brian Jonestown Massacre has a new EP coming out. Check out the video he made for one of the songs. Features his white Bajaj. It's mega-trippy!

If you catch yourself thinking, isn't he the guy from that movie Dig!? You are right.
And, if you wonder, isn't he the guy who was on two episodes of Gilmore Girls. You are right again!




Blog entry soundtrack (one of my fave BJM songs....)

Ska Show in San Francisco Friday 2/18

Hey, there's a scooter on this poster!

Ska Show tomorrow at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco with GOGO13, seen in Scoot! Magazine. One of the band members illustrated the cover of Scoot! issue # 56 (Scooter Art issue).
Doors open at 8pm.

April on PRI's Marketplace radio show

A few weeks ago I taped a segment for PRI's Marketplace show. I listen to it each night on my journey home from work. I never thought that I would find a business radio show interesting, but for the past few years I have found it to be both entertaining and engaging, and the interstitial music is pretty good, too. :-)

So when I heard a spot called Road Warriors, which gives a peek at what type of music folks listen to while traveling for business, I thought I'd submit my own suggestion. I had two choices, first something from the Smiths, but I ultimately chose a song that is, in my mind,  totally connected to scooter rallies: Twenty Five Miles by Edwin Starr. The song is a popular mainstay on the playlists at rallies and all-nighters, and it has a great marching beat. It is about a man who has been walking for "three long days and two lonely nights" to see his woman. Once he gets to 25-miles away he's rejuvenated and bursts into the song.

Listen/See the transcript here

I've driven fairly far to get to some scooter rallies, and I've ridden in lots of rally events where that 25-mile road marker comes up and it brings this song to mind. I actually sing it to myself a lot when I'm riding. Luckily, I wear a full-face helmet! The song is irresistible! A few years ago, Harold Ray Live in Concert did a great cover of it. 

It was fun to hear the segment and the editor cut-in the song nicely. Made me want to hear it all over again!

Another cool Road Warriors segment is Joshua Smith's submission. Listen to it here.
Blog entry soundtrack (of course!):

NSR: 24-hours of James Brown on KFJC

College radio station KFJC in Los Altos, CA is doing a 24-hour James Brown marathon:

Monday Mayhem 3 to Tuesday Mayhem 4 Midnight to Midnight
Doing it to Death
KFJC's 3rd annual birthday tribute to James Brown. A Massive showcase of the legacy of James Brown's music and influence on popular culture. Rare, unreleased and live material. Musician profiles & interviews, featuring an address by "History of Funk" author and professor, Ricky Vincent.

You can listen to it on the web.

Lucky me!

New single from GoGo13. Thanks to Parker for sending!




-- Post From My iPhone

New Amazon Widget: Songs to Sing While Scooting

Amazon has some cool widgets for websites. I just installed an MP3 playlist which has some of my favorite songs to sing while riding my scooter.

I have a terrible voice, even my boyfriend says so, so when I am scooting and in a great mood, I can sing out loud any song that I like. My full-face helmet keeps me hidden and no one is the wiser. However, once Jon and I tested helmet communication devices, and my secret was revealed when I forgot that he could hear me and I started to hum a song. Luckily, I hadn't broken out with "I, I, I, I, I'm so tired but I just can't lose my stride". I didn't feel so bad as he started singing, too. I bet many of you do it, too.

So, I made a mini playlist of songs that I like to sing when scooting. Check 'em out & feel free to leave a comment on which songs you like to sing.

Edwin Starr "25 Miles": when this song is played at an all-nighter, the floor is packed. It's soul-kick-alicious! It has all the elements of a great crowd pleasing dance song. If it doesn't get your foot tapping, call a hearse.

The Who "I'm Free": I feel very free when I'm having a good scootin' day.

Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose "Treat Her Like a Lady": It's sexy and has a great call-and-response and a moving beat that has you wanting to move.

Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons "Beggin'": a very passionate and effective song.

The Damned "The Shadow of Love": goth meets western in this awesome song that owes much to Rat Scabies' incessantly wonderful drumming.

I didn't have enough room to add another favorite: "Peace Frog" by The Doors.
Agree? Disagree? Got your own songs? Leave a comment!

Rise Against Video with Mopeds

For their new album Appeal to Reason, Rise Against shot a video for the song Re-Education Through Labor which has mopeders from the Chicago area. Use the link to check it out.

Can't Strip My Lambretta in the Kitchen...

I saw this video from The Animal Jack Band (who are Scoot! MySpace friends). Reminds me of when Jon refurbished my VBB in my dining room. My landlord came in to check something one day and I had to explain that it was all new & there was not gas or oil in it. Somehow, she didn't kick me out.

I can't strip my Lambretta down in the kitchen 'ska' blues from curious ostrich on Vimeo.

Vespa T-Shirt: The Cute Lepers

Not sure who the Cute Lepers are or what their music sounds like (I bet it is infectious! HA!) but they have a cool t-shirt with a scooter on it.

They also sell a "scooter club" patch.



Blog entry soundtrack: "The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen

Lady GaGa Goes for Vespa

Doesn't say much for the classiness of the Vespa brand, but Lady Gaga's video for "Eh, Eh..." features a Vespa.

San Jose & San Francisco, CA scooterists for video

I got en email today from someone making a local music video that wants to have scooter riders in it. Sounds like they may want vintage, but not sure.
I'm trying to figure out if I know any scooterists under 35. This ain't 1987 anymore!

I'm a music video Director and I'm shooting a video this month featuring a Vespa which is owned by the lead singer Christian Vela. We're going to be shooting in a retro style in San Francisco and San Jose and we're looking for additional Vespa riders to appear in the video. I'd be very grateful if you could mention it to anyone who might be interested. We're looking for people aged 18-35.

If you are a local San Jose/ San Francisco scooterist who is interested, email me and I can put you in contact with them.

Blog entry soundtrack: "Sender" by Pinback

English Beat Turns 30- Goes on Tour

The English Beat are on tour again to celebrate their 30th anniversary. You may recall that Scoot! has interviewed Dave Wakeling twice in the past 11 years, most recently in 2007.

According to a news item on Pollstar, the band kicked off a tour in Cocoa Beach, FL. Are they coming to your town? Check out the Pollstar schedule here.

Pepsi Commercial with Fishbone

Blink and you might miss it, but Fishbone makes a quick appearance in the new "My Generation" commercial from Pepsi Cola. The commercial (embedded below) is a stylized trip through history with Pepsi, culminating with a crowd getting down-- Angelo's unmistakable visage closing it out.

According to FishboneLive.org, "Pepsi has managed to bring back the largest OG reunion on stage with besides Angelo and Wood, Dirty Walt and a totally unexpected Christopher Dowd!"

Glad to know that Fishbone still has some cachet!

Andrea Bocelli Represents

Jeff Kassel tipped me off to this CD from Andrea Bocelli which has a Vespa on the cover. Jeff throws down a challenge for blog readers to guess the model on the cover. Anyone want to venture a guess? How about year & model#? GS? VBA?

Blog entry soundtrack: "Bella Donna" by Doe Maar

Rise Against Scoots on Tour

Rolling Stone published an update on the band Rise Against and mentioned that they took scooters on their tour.

After midnight, the band boards the bus for a late-night trip to Philadelphia to play two nights at Electric Factory. "It's such a cool club," [Tim]McIlrath says. "The best shows happen in seedy neighborhoods built out of old warehouses." For this tour, they brought a fleet of scooters, which they use to track down some pre-show vegan cheese steaks. "Now, instead of being cooped up in a venue all day, we can just cruise around town," says McIlrath. "It keeps us sane."

You may recall that we have published articles on musician scooterists in the past. Poison's Rikki Rockett would tuck his Vespa smallframe in his tour bus' understorage and ride all over town during his stops. Audio Adrenaline did a co-tour with Mercy Me and both bands took Honda Ruckuses (plural?) on tour and had a blast tearing it up.

Rise Against is on tour and will do some last US dates, onto Canada and them to Austria and Germany. Assuming they are on 4-strokes (my money is on the Ruckus...) they should hook up with some of the German tuners or SIP. That will blow their minds!

Rickki Rockett cover

NSR: Songs I Love No Matter What

I have been listening to lots of Internet radio while working on the magazine. My fave stations are Radio Nigel for 80s, KINK-FM for 80s-modern alternative from the Netherlands, Radio Paradise for mellow eclectic, and Memories 89 KCEA-FM for 30s and 40s music.

Often some song comes on that I am so excited to hear, a song from my past that I never tire of Thought I'd list a few of them. It's not in order of importance, nor is it complete, just an off-the-top list:
1) Rock Lobster- B-52s: an epic song with drama, nonsense, sound effects, cowbell, and a narwhal!

2) Bedsitter- Soft Cell: a honest song where so many people can see themselves. I am no music theory student, but there is something about the notes that are used in that song that are melancholy.

3) Tears (full arrangement)- Chameleons UK: One of the best concerts I have been to; "And the days were long and slow, But were we wiser then? I couldn't say, I wouldn't know..."

4) Well I Wonder- The Smiths: Morrissey is never afraid to reveal vulnerability. Chicks dig it. ;)

5) Radio Clash- The Clash: Smokin'

5) Sweet Soul Music- Arthur Conley: Yeah-yeah!

6) 25 Miles- Edwin Starr: "I, I, I, I, I'm so tired but I just can't lose my stride"

7) I Love You Honey- Patsy Cline: twangy with a fiddle

8) Groove is in the Heart- Dee-Lite: Irresistible

9) Sleepwalk- Johnny & Santo: Perfect.

10) Reggae in Your Jeggae- Fun to sing along, even with my terrible singing voice

11) Peace Frog- The Doors: Get's them dancing at a party, really. Try it.

Got any to share?

Scooter Collector: Blue Mambo CD

This is going to be one of my holiday picks in the next issue. It was sent to me by Joel Gion, scooterist and member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dilettantes. Note to self: We should feature him in an upcoming issue...

You can get the CD on Amazon for $19.99. According to the description:

Hey, cool cats and kittens! Are you feelin' it? And I mean REALLY feelin' it? If you don't know what I'm talking about, then it's time to get hip to the jive with this crazy collection of coolness called Blue Mambo. It's a groovy UK-only collection of tuneage from the Blue Note roster that will add meaning to your mambo. 18 tracks including dope cuts from Stanley Turrentine, George Shearing, Tito Puente Jr., Peggy Lee, Jimmy Smith, Stan Kenton and many others. It's a cure for the unhip and a meal for the hip. Now, I'll ask you again...are you feelin' it? EMI. 2000.

That is one cool cat! I suspect someone has tattooed that one his/herself. ;)

Levi Stubbs gone, too

According to this story on Yahoo! the frontman for The Four Tops is dead.

His unmistakable voice was heard on songs such as: "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" and and "Baby I Need Your Loving," some of the greatest songs of the Motown era.

My Favorite Four Tops Songs (in order):
1. Reach Out (I'll Be There)
2. Baby I Need Your Loving
3. Bernadette "BERNADETTE!!!"
4. Standing in the Shadows of Love
5. Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)
6. It's the Same Old Song
7. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)
8. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)

One of the things I enjoy about "traditional" scooter rallies is the soul music that is played at shows. I love to cut the rug to some old-fashioned soul.

"Love is my message!" Michael Jackson scooter commercial

Check out this Japanese Suzuki commercial Michael Jackson did way back in the Off the Wall era. I LOVE that album!

So long, Alton Ellis...

Alton Ellis, King of Rocksteady, has died at the age of 70. The story as run in the UK' Guardian:

By David Katz, The Guardian,
Tuesday October 14 2008

Hailed as the king of rock steady, Alton Ellis, who has died aged 70 of cancer, was the first singer to popularise the style that formed the bridge between ska and reggae, and one of Jamaica's best-loved vocalists. Blessed with a distinctive voice whose emotive tones were particularly expressive, he was a constant presence in the island's charts for much of the 1960s and early 1970s. Although he never reached the pop charts in Britain, he maintained a strong fanbase here, not only among the Jamaican immigrant community that thronged to his concerts, but also among the wider population of British reggae fans, many of whom were drawn to his music following the "two tone" ska revival of the 1980s.

Born in downtown Kingston in 1940, he was raised in the heart of Trench Town, the west Kingston ghetto district that would later be home to Bob Marley and the Wailers and countless other Jamaican vocalists. At Boys' Town school, Ellis excelled at sports and music, and often broke into the school in the evening to teach himself to play the piano, sometimes spending entire nights at the instrument.

Many of his peers were reaching the stage through the weekly talent contests held by the journalist Vere Johns, but Ellis was too frightened by the competition to appear on his own, so in 1959 he formed a duo with a friend called Eddie Perkins. While Ellis worked by day on a construction site in Stony Hill, the duo made their first recording, a slow love ballad called Muriel. Produced by Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, founder of Studio One, the song was an immediate success that topped the Jamaican charts.

After recording a couple of follow-ups for Coxsone and My Love Divine for Vincent "Randy" Chin, the duo was forced to disband when Perkins travelled to the US, where he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Ellis worked as a printer for the next year and a half, forming a short-lived new duo with John Holt, cutting Rum Bumpers in 1965. He then continued recording for Coxsone, notably duetting with his younger sister, Hortense.

Moving to the Treasure Isle stable of Coxsone's arch-rival, Duke Reid, Ellis then assembled a backing harmony group called the Flames, scoring one of the biggest hits of 1966 with Dance Crasher, a song decrying the "rude boys" who were wreaking havoc in Jamaica's dance halls. Soon after, still backed by the Flames, Ellis cut Girl I've Got a Date, named by many as the first rock steady recording, and later Rock Steady, the first to refer to the genre by name. Other notable tunes cut for Reid in this period included an original called Breaking Up and brilliant cover versions of Johnnie Taylor's Ain't That Loving You, Chuck Jackson's Willow Tree and the Delfonics' La La (Means I Love You), all of which are confirmed classics frequently covered by others in the decades that followed.

In 1967, Coxsone poached Ellis back from Reid, sending him to the UK to tour with Ken Boothe and the Soul Vendors. Further gems followed, such as A Fool, one of many songs inspired by the tempestuous relationship with his first wife, Pearl, as well as the album Sings Rock and Soul.

After spending several months in the US, Ellis then moved to Canada, where he was largely based for the next three years, working the nightclub circuit as a soul singer. Back in Jamaica in 1970, he scored big with his rendition of You've Made Me So Very Happy, made famous by Blood Sweat and Tears, as featured on the Coxsone-produced 1970 album Sunday Coming, and the following year, the spiritually eloquent and politically relevant Deliver Us, recorded for Lloyd "Matador" Daley; Big Bad Boy, another anti-rude boy song recorded for the producer Keith Hudson (and apparently inspired by him), was another big hit.

In 1973, Ellis moved to the UK, where he continued to record, issuing the excellent self-produced Still in Love in 1977. Although based in the UK since then, he made notable recordings in Jamaica for Sonia Pottinger during the late 1970s and the album Many Moods of Alton Ellis, released by Earl Morgan of the Heptones in 1980. Sporadic recordings continued for UK-based concerns such as Fashion Records and Jamaican producers such as King Jammy, while the series of annual Rock Steady Revues he presented in London were always eagerly anticipated, as were his live appearances in general. In recent years, despite health concerns, Ellis headlined several festivals in the US and Europe.

In 1994, Ellis received the Order of Distinction from the Jamaican government in recognition of his vital contribution to the island's popular culture, and he is to be given a state funeral. He is survived by numerous children from different relationships and many grandchildren.

• Alton Nehemiah Ellis, singer, songwriter, producer and concert promoter, born September 1 1938; died October 11 2008

Listen to a podcast at Heartbeat Records featuring, Feeling Inside. And another featuring I'm still in Love with You.