From: Adam Gimbel (dumyhead@millennianet.com) JASON FALKNER@LUNA PARK HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA Far be it from me to turn down an invitation to an industry event in Los Angeles, where one can almost hear the music above the din of people talking. After talking to Elektra Records about this website, they sent me an advance and put me on "the list" for this show, Jason's second as a solo man. So, up I drove from San Diego to Los Angeles (2 1/2 hour drive with traffic) to see Jason's big introduction to the music biz. I listened to recently acquired trade booty (XTC's Andy Partridge's demos & ex-Jellyfisher Tim Smith's awful old band, the Producers, thanks Brian!) on the way up and tested the boundaries of man's ability to retain liquids while waiting for my friend Dan to come home from work. Off we went to Luna Park, a hip little club in West Hollywood where the LA Weekly had listed tonight's show as "A bunch of damn songwriters". I'd been there once, arriving too late to see my friend's band because I was being a trendy hanger-on at the Viper Room. Ironically, I was seeing the band Silverjet whose lead singer looks and writes songs a lot that resemble Jason. Unfortunately, the one time the band Luna (one of my faves) came through town, they did not play at this club. They even have an album called _Lunapark_. So, they played the Roxy and I got fired the same day. Coincidence? Anyways, we walk in and it's quite the industry event. I could tell that this crowd was going to soon be drowning out the reason I drove 125 miles. As the PA music started into "Mr. Frank" by the Monachrome Set, a song the Grays used to cover, I spotted Buddy Judge from the very same band. I walked up to him and asked him, "Didn't you write this song?" He said, "No, but I used to play it." So, anyways, as usual, he was really nice to talk to and I got the latest scoop on the band. First, the Grays are not going to keep going without Jason. Jon Brion has been playing Cafe Largo on a weekly basis and Dan once played drums with him. Dan plays on Michael Penn's new album and will probably go out on tour with him. Dan is also Lloyd Cole's old touring drummer who once toured with, you guessed it, Michael Penn (even though he didn't play the classic "Sean Penn Blues" on that tour). Buddy recorded an album, which he said is really weird and has lots of tubas. "Tubas are good," I said. He agreed. He also produced an album for a woman whose name I can't remember, that is coming out on Columbia. Buddy says he is totally still friends with Jason and Dan but got some bad vibes from Jon. He said he didn't know there were any bad feelings, but, that maybe be wrong. I said, I saw it coming from the get go. No way were 2 guys (Jason & Jon) who can play every instrument going to work well in a group situation like that. Bringing completely finished demos they did by themselves to a band to play doesn't leave much room for collaboration. Watching the faces of the rest of the band waiting for Jon to complete mammoth guitar solos was my first clue. It's too bad, because, they sounded great live. Don't let the album fool ya. I told him how many people on the net dig the Grays just as much as Jellyfish and he said that it's weird, but cool how people dig that whole group of pop bands. Agreed. We were towards the front as Jason came out wearing shiny silver almost Bonoesque type pants and some shirt that I can't remember because DID I MENTION HIS PANTS? He got his band together quickly over the last several weeks. The bassist was wearin' a hip suit, the bassist sported big red felt looking red bellbottoms and the drummer (ex-Aztec Camera & Costello drummer) was a big Brit wearing a big ol' black & white shirt. Who am I Mary Hart? What is with this lame fashion report? Anyways, for only being together a couple of weeks, they were pretty good. Good solid backing band. The guitarist is a gas to watch, he kinda reminds me of the bassist for No Doubt as far as face and facial expressions. He looked really familiar but I couldn't think what LA band I'd seen him with. Jason had a little keyboard set up so he could play a few moogy type keyboard lines (just like Rivers from Weezer does). The one thing that was lacking was any backing vocals. Doing your own harmonies on your album leads to Matthew Sweetesque disappointments when it comes to the live show, so they didn't even try. Jason said they don't sound like him timbrewise, but, will be singing in the future. Phew. They opened with "Don't Show Me Heaven" and it sounded great. They then did the single "I Live", which has already been getting some radio play, and the rocker "Miracle Medicine". They went out of tune during "I Go Astray" (my fave), so Jason stopped it halfway through and started over. It was really fucking loud and his vocals weren't anywhere near as loud as they should've been. Still, he looked like he was having a good time. The rest of the set went ahn with "She Goes To Bed", "Hectified", and a solo acoustic performance of "Before My Heart Attacks" (there are strings accompanying it on the album but this performance was accompanied by several hundred people simultaneously not listening to a great song). The band came back out and Jason introduced the next song, a cover of a Magazine (uh oh, or was it Television) song called "Song From The Floorboards". He mentioned that another of their songs was on the tape that he made that we'd been listening to before the show. Figures. He actually made a tape for an old girlfriend that she played at work that a certain Jon Brion heard and freaked out. That's how they met, honest. Ok, so then came "Afraid Himself To Be" and "Nobody Knows" which went right into an amazing rocker titled "New Song" (probably temporary and not a Howard Jones tribute). "Miss Understanding" was followed by the show (and album) closer "Untitled", for which they rocked the ending instead of taking the album's quiet route to the end. Everyone must've noticed that he was done because they cheered wildly, but, he didn't come back out because they haven't rehearsed anything else. Cooly, I grab the setlist. No, I am not some lone dorky fan. See? That short fat guy grabbed one too! While waiting for the place to thin out a bit, Dan & I talked to a guy named Wick who I'd seen working at Black Market Music, a very cool vintage music shop in town, the week before. I'd met him before when he was playing guitar for the last incarnation of the Spent Poets. He formed Slider with guitarist Matt Winegar, who he said has been getting himself together physically for the past few months and might be getting Slider back together. Even thought I hadn't bought the guitar that I was looking at, he was nice enough to slip me a copy of the 2nd (unreleased) Poets album that happened to be lying around the shop. Score! Like Jason's recent album, Matt Winegar played all of the instruments on it and it's quite a piece of work. It was kinda tough to get a word with Jason because it's his hometown and he's so damn nice that everyone wanted to chat. So, I finally walked up and only then did he recognize me. The last time he saw me I had much longer hair and wasn't wearing glasses. He laughed because he thought I was someone else when he was onstage and couldn't believe that this guy who doesn't get excited about anything was getting so into the music. Oh well. The first thing he said was something I'd told his label that an internet fan said when he found out about Jason's album: "Chomping at the motherfucking bit!" Among people we talked to was one of the guys from Spacehog, who happened to be in town and had played pool with Jason in England while he was with Jellyfish (random enough?). He was saying how he'd like to maybe tour with him. Not that I'm a fan, but, hey, that's not a bad first opening slot to get. Consider Jason's luck with opening slots: Jellyfish with World Party, Jellyfish with the Black Crowes, the Grays with the Smithereens, the Grays with Toad, the Three O'Clock with, er, Adam Ant (wait, I dunno if he was in the band yet). Anyways, also consider the almost but didn't happen Replacements/jellyfish and Blind Melon/Grays tours. We'll see.... In short bursts of conversation in between him people grabbing him to say goodbye, we actually talked for awhile. We talked about the lack of backing vocals, his show the very next night in New York(!), how he'd never seen the net, and about the Jellyfish videos I've been trading, which he definitely wanted. I told him I'd copy anything he wanted and if there was any weird demos he wanted his fans to hear that his record company wouldn't release, that I was his man. The reports of him recording an album of covers are actually true. Elektra will be releasing it and it'll include "Wicked Annabella" by the Kinks (yeah!), a Pistolsesque "Both Sides Now", and a Tom Waits cover. He had to run, so he gave me his phone number (213-FALKNER, just kidding) and said I could grill him when he got back from New York. Anyone with decent questions, try me. We stopped by Headlines in Westwood (highly recommended fries) and I drove home listening to the Beasties' "Licensed To Ill" for the first time in way too long. There's just something about Jewish kids named Adam. They are so damn talented!