best of 2013 by chris sutton

When I was thinking about my best ofs I started to realize that 2013 must have been the year of the music documentary. In fact, the last couple of years have produced so many amazing films attempting to shed a little light on artists or movements that would have otherwise disappeared into the ether of memory.  I feel lucky (or perhaps apprehensive) living in a time where technology can recreate these moments in history. Here are my top 10 favorite music documentaries that I saw last year (they may have come out before but I saw them this year).

1)Kill All Redneck Pricks-A lovingly made tribute to the mysterious Olympia band KARP. The live footage is unbeatable!!

2)Searching For Sugar Man -A movie documenting the rediscovery of underground folk hero Rodriguez and his subsequent rise to belated fame.

3)A Band Called Death- The amazing tale of obscure all-black proto punk band Death. 

4)20 Feet From Stardom-The background singers are sometimes more important than the pretty face in front.  These are some of those stories. This might be my favorite.

5)It Came From Detroit-This somewhat gossip-y movie attempts to document the  Detroit rock music scene during the height of The White Stripes fame, while tying in it's rich history and then subsequent hangover after public interest waned.

6)Nothing Can Hurt Me-A film about the mythical and influential band Big Star. Stunning music.

7)The Source Family-Advertised as a movie about the music of the Ya Ho Wa hippie cult from Los Angeles. Instead they focus more on the leaders polygamist relationships and volatile behavior.  The small info they offer on the musicians and records is interesting though.

8)Muscle Shoals-Probably the best made documentary on this list, incorporating dramatics and factual information seamlessly into great cinema. You see the music move and literally hear the vibrations of the swamp influence some of the most amazing soul music ever created.

9)The Punk Singer-Essentially a tribute to the art of Kathleen Hannah, but the importance of the Punk and Riot Grrrl communities that fuel her music almost take center stage and remain in discussion throughout the film.

10)Beware Of Mr. Baker-A film about the life of wildman and Cream drummer Ginger Baker and focusing mainly on said wildmans relationship with Africa, Fela Kuti, and his libertine lifestyle.

More documentaries in 2014!!! Happy Holidays!!

Best of 2011 by Chris Sutton

Here is my best of 2011 list:

Best Band: New War
Best Album: "Homo" by UV Race
Best Song: "Shari Vari" by Dirtbombs
Best Show: The Rats reunion show
Best Guitarist: Bob Desaulniers (Psychic Feline)
Best Drummer: Fiona Campbell (Vivian Girls)
Best Bassist: Hannah Lew (Grass Widow)
Best Keyboards: Peaking Lights
Best Venue: Kenton Club in Portland OR
Best Movie: Beats Rhymes and Life: The travels of a tribe called quest
Best Actor: Bill Hader
Best Actress: Kristin Wiig
Best Food: Whole Bowl


Best things that happened to me in 2011:

1)Hooded Hags 7" release
2)Touring with Dirtbombs
3)Recording with chain and the gang
4)adopting my dog queenie
5)buying a vaporizer

Happy New Year!!!

Chris Sutton Remembers Ari Up

I have 2 great memories involving Ari Up.

#1-

Early December 2008. I was on a promotional tour of the U.S. with The Gossip bouncing around the country, finally ending up in San Francisco for two nights. On the second night we found out that The Slits were performing at a venue called Bottom of the Hill. Nathan, who knew the promoter, had gotten everyone in the group on the list for the show. We had to perform across town on the same night but we were hoping to be able to catch at least a portion of The Slits set. After a couple of drinks and a very long set of girl group standards performed by the opening act, we dejectedly started to make plans to return to our show with seeing any music. Just as we were about to leave we were motioned quickly into the backstage area to where Ari, Tess, and the rest of girls were relaxing. Immediately there was a warm vibe and Ari Up welcomed us with the loudest "HEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!" i'd ever heard in my life. Dressed completely in a gold spandex outfit and various colors twisting her formidable dreadlocks and pure electricity screaming from her eyes. Instant impression. Right away, she broke into an animated story about how she hadn't gotten any sleep the last few days "I just got off of a plane from England, and I've been very upset because there was a terrible riot near my home in Jamaica and that's where my son is now. I have no way of contacting him". As suddenly as she had gone to the somber place, she broke into a wide smile and changed the subject. "We must play music together, let's go on tour!, It'll be so great for both of us!" I can speak for everyone in our group that we unanimously agreed with her. "It'll be punk! we will both set up on stage together and we will alternate songs as a set! Yes! It will be like a new band!" Her energy was infectious and was bursting from her obvious fatigue. "You know, it's like the old days, everyone played with everyone else because that is all we had! So poor in those days.." she continued " Like Flowers of Romance! That was the band that everyone in the scene was in but never played or practiced really. Sid, Me, Tess, Joe.. everyone... Nobody does that anymore, you know? Everyone is afraid of real punk"." We couldn't play our instruments, thats why we couldn't play shows!!" laughed Tess from the corner of the room with her kind english accent. "Still the best, though" Ari said under her breath. Ari's enthusiasm was infectious and she held court with funny quotes and exaggerated mannerisms suggesting that her whole life might be one long, constant, dance. We still had a show to play though and we were way late for it so we had to leave suddenly. "You are all punk, stay in touch!" she exclaimed to all of us as we walked down the stairs to exit the venue "PUNK IS LOVE!!!!" "SLITS GET RICH!!" "LOVE REGGAE!" Ari blessed us with several of her mantras. I left that tiny room filled with a mixture of a euphoric daze and appreciative self-reflection. "No big whoop, we just hung out with THE FUCKING SLITS!" said Beth. We all laughed. The hangout probably lasted for maybe 45 minutes and we didn't see them play that night, but I don't know how I couldve gotten a more completely visceral experience. The Slits have meant so much to me in my musical development and have ideologically represented what I believe in musically, so you can imagine I was trying to soak up as much of their wisdom as I could that night, and they were so open and conversational with us. Months later Hannah and I saw her play in Paris and it was amazing! It was probably the best reggae band I had ever seen play, no joke (and they punked it up too!!) Tess shook the rafters, Ari almost got naked, the sound was amazing, an absolutely incredible performance overall. We were ushered out of the venue too quickly to be able to say hi to her unfortunately, but we were certain that we were gonna see her again someday. When I heard that she died I sat for a while in shock and then listened to New Age Steppers "Fade Away" 10 times in a row. It seemed like the proper tribute. We'll all miss you Ari!!!!



#2

Watching my friend Tobi sing the "Shoplifting" on stage with The Slits while standing next to members of the band Shoplifting.



Video from Slits show in Paris:

Best of 2008 by Chris Sutton

2008 was a year of change and adjustment for me on a lot of personal levels so I decided to have my top 10 to be more of an internal observation of the events of the year. It was a roller coaster for sure but here are the highlights (In no particular order).

1)Appearing on MTV-This was the actualization of one of my all time dreams since I was a child. My introduction to the world of The Gossip was a performance for a series of commercials which appeared on MTV. It was one of my mothers proudest moments for me. I think she was more excited than I was, and I was overwhelmed.



2)Release of New Bloods "Secret Life"-The moment that I saw this band play in my basement they were not only one of my favorite bands, but they became a sort of surrogate family for me when I moved to Portland. Being a black punk myself our bond became instant and seemingly necessary in my personal development. To share their trajectory from basement heroines to a full fledged feminist powerhouse and then releasing what was perhaps the album of the year last year was an experience I'll remember forever. Friends for life.

3)Patriots and Giants Super Bowl game-Football is spiritual experience for me. I have followed the game extremely closely since I've been a teenager and I've witnessed many awe inspiring athletic feats (which is the one of the main attractions). This being said, the final quarter of play in last year's Super Bowl was the best example of professional football that I have ever witnessed. The final drive by the Giants with just over 2 minutes to play and down by 4 points against a team that had not lost a game all year was fodder for classic David vs. Goliath mythology. So much drama, like a few 3rd downs and a stressful 4th down conversion as time ticked down. The entire offense was involved and virtually every reciever contributed at least one catch with the final one by Plaxico Burress coming with about 20 seconds left. When it was over I realized that I hadn't sat down for about a half hour.

4)Election celebration at the on Killingsworth St. Obama center-The only thing I ever say about that night to anybody is that it was like everyone of every race and creed had just won the lottery and they were all best friends. There was such a release of positive energy and relief and for at least 1 hour there seemed to be utopia. The corner of Killingsworth and 15th broke out into a crazy dance party and I even saw a couple of policemen taking sips of champagne. Awesome.

5)My Bloody Valentine in Ireland-One of the most enriching sonic experiences I have ever felt. They unleashed a 15 minute drone finale featured a stunning light show and was so loud and intense that I saw a couple people pass out and several people get increasingly angry. This was one of those bands that I thought I might never see so it was very cool to be able to experience that.

6)Art Basel in Miami-Completely inspiring on so many levels. To able to see the best artists of the world and their art convening in one place was so charging and I left there in very good spirits. I recommend this festival to everyone who is interested in visual art.

7)Magic Johnson-Ana and Mondo are punks from L.A. They came to Portland to start a band. They succeeded. They spent 08 becoming one the most exciting bands in Portland. It was inspiring to see.

8)Lebron James vs. Paul Pierce in NBA playoffs-I don't really like The Celtics very much but I understand why they are the best team in the NBA. However the most exciting player in any sport that I have ever seen is Lebron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is an atomic warrior riding a comet when he has the basketball and he is not even in the prime of his career! The mighty Paul Pierce stood up to the challenge and this epic matchup pushed its way to seven great games. Unfortunately my personal favorite didn't win this time around but it was very exciting to see.

9)Billy Childish and MBE@ The Dirty Water Club in London-I had seen The Headcoats play before in the same place when I was on tour a while back in Dub Narcotic and it blew my mind in all directions so I knew what I was in for when I was invited to this show on the first day of my european tour. Billy is much older these days but he emits such a compassionate energy and wise stoicism in his performance. It was great to see the master up close plus Thee Headcoats did a second set where all of the members switched instruments and jammed for another hour!



10)Full Moon in the Eiffel Tower-Ok this one a personal one. I was playing a show in Paris and I was going through a lot of personal turmoil at the time and not totally enjoying myself. The rest of the band decided to party into the night but I wasn't able to lift my spirits to join them. Late into the night I decided to take a walk into the Parisian streets to absorb the architectural beauty and visit the Eiffel Tower, which I had seen but never actually visited. I walked under its giant base and looked straight up. What I saw was a perfectly framed full moon shining brightly into my eyes. It was a subtly amazing moment that brought me to the epiphany that everything is going to be all right and I am exactly where I need to be in my life. That may seem cheesy but it was exactly what I needed. Thanks 2008!