[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xeqSIulXXo”][vc_column_text]Here’s a video of The Jellybricks from 2012 at Hmac. They’ve played a lot at Hmac over the years, and a lot of other places as well, have had some solid accomplishments like winning Little Steven’s Underground Garage Coolest Song in the World of the Year contest a couple years back.
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I’m going through my old video files from parocks.com and webmusicvideo.com. They’ve been on my computer but both sites are gone, but can be found on archive.org. I’ve got a piece of software that allows me to very quickly paste together 2 rm files without any reencoding if the settings are the same. My first year or 2 I was switching settings around a lot, couldn’t paste together 10-20 videos.
I’ve got a lot of the best of 1998.
From Gullifty’s 1998, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, coming to Hmac w/ Emily’s Toybox and more in a few weeks, also Martini Bros and Big Tubba Mista from 1998. Big Tubba Mista has been gone a while, They’d be Capitol Room headliners, would draw well. Martini Bros are still together as Martinis, they don’t play as much as they used to, they haven’t been playing big rooms, more rural stuff, they would fit on any bill of that era. People who are nostalgic for hit songs from 1995-2003 who were here then would know Martini Bros. They wouldn’t know recent local rock bands. One of the reasons I’m posting these videos is so that people who are booking a bunch of bands who are hitting nostalgia buttons hard can know who the bands are that were popular at that same time. If they’re nostalgic for a specific time, you can give them the actual bands, or some of the actual people that were in those bands at that time.
From The X Day At The Park 1998, Mary Prankster, Bloom Box, The Badlees, The Jellybricks. Mary Prankster and Bloom Box are not currently active. Mary used to play a lot of shows with Jimmie’s Chicken Shack. Both used to play a lot with the Martini Bros. A show with JCS, Mary Prankster, Martinis and Bloom Box (and put Nectar in there too) would be great, add Live, even greater. Emily’s Toybox is a good one to have w/ JCS. The Jellybricks are definitely right for any of these things. I’d like to see them finding shows that they can put themselves on. Bryce can find some good indie rock and put Jellybricks on the bill, and they could do that quite often. Bryce is familiar with quality new, and new within the last 20 years indie rock, and The Jellybricks playing with any type of good new indie or last 20 years indie, could be a regular, scheduled, reliable, predictable thing. The Badlees are broken up at this point, I think, but they’d be able to make money in the future, they’d be a strong headliner at Hmac, might sell it out, and at some point in the next 20 years, due to what seems to be happening with nostalgia these days – the older everyone gets, the bigger venues they play. ELO is doing big arenas, one of the top tours. Wells Fargo in Philly. Kix seems to be going better than ever. They’re playing at least one of those big rockfests, I think in Wisconsin. It seems to be the way it works, up to peak, stay there for a while, go down, break up, but then age and coolness and those things are kinda out, but nostalgia kicks in, and it seems to increase. The Badlees and The Jellybricks are a good fit on a bill together, they’ve played a lot together before. About that Reservoir Park and that Free Show sponsored by The X. I would think that something like that this summer would be good. The X gives some newish band some extra spins and they’ll play this free show, and you put some newer acts on there that are close to mainstream rock radio format. Maybe Haela, Madison Ryan, Almost Honest, Small Town Titans, Observe the 93rd, Medusa’s Disco, and some newer band. From Ashes To New would be a great pick in that scenario. In 1999, Reservoir Park had Jimmie’s Chicken Shack and Sponge, and apparently, the nostalgia for that particular show is burning white hot, because Hmac has both JCS and Sponge coming up. Chris James can pick out a band, give them spins, give them this free Reservoir Park show, and 20 years from now, that band can headline a 1000 cap room in Harrisburg.
From Gullifty’s 1998, Hexbelt and Cherry Twister. Hexbelt has played somewhat recently, I’d say they’re still active. They can play Hmac. They’d be a good opener for an older jam band. Also, any fest-type situation with bands of the era – like, this list of bands. Or, just give them a Saturday night at Cherry Twister is Michael Giblin (as well as Steve Ward), and Giblin has booked a lot of shows in at Hmac over the years. He’s currently in Split Squad with notables like RRHoF drummer of Blondie, Clem Burke. Hopefully, Giblin will continue to provide the right amount of quality to Hmac. More than is at Hmac currently, but, I’d argue, not a real whole ton of it, but it’s still good, so you definitely want it, He’s an expert and what I think Giblin would be able to do a great job with would be a festival, or just a big show, bring in all his bands, his network would be able to do a pristine, starting early 70s power pop with Big Star, Television, The Vapors, Blondie, REM, Plimsouls, Fleshtones, Minus 5, Split Squad. Just put together the lineup with the size of the various rooms in mind, and bring in the bands and price the tickets to make it work. With those bands, there should be a way to make a banging fest, a really great one.
And from 1998 TV, Fuel on Conan O’Brien and on MTV. I used to help Brandon Deroche do his Fuel fan site when he was something like 14, he would put the Fuel video up there. Deroche is relevant to Hmac because around 2006-2008 era, Chris Werner (Hmac part owner) lived at the Shady Dell compound, as did I, and Brandon (his dad owned it) as well, he works for Incubus now, also Matt Holmes who was Hmac part owner (I think) for about a year from 17-18 or something like that, manages Don’t Sleep who just got signed to Victory Records (Tony Bavaria of Don’t Sleep and the Commercials and Championship still has the same email address, which these days is a rarely, that’s 20 years with the same email) and Matt Halpern of Periphery, they get on Billboard 200 a lot, new album April. And more. James Reber is on tour with Bob Seger currently, as a key tech I think? Dan Thomas could / should be hosting some sort of open mic / karaoke thing.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzS12eZAdPw”][vc_column_text]Gullifty’s 1998 | Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, Martini Bros, Big Tubba Mista (34 minutes)[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cll5s29rE”][vc_column_text]The X Day in the Park 1998 | Mary Prankster, Bloom Box, The Badlees, The Jellybricks (1 hour 47 minutes)[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g30ORtryG0I”][vc_column_text]Gullifty’s 1998 | Hexbelt, Cherry Twister (48 minutes)[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQzfQJ20AZ8″][vc_column_text]Fuel 1998 | MTV and Conan with Shimmer (7 minutes)
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I should give some more backstory, here, about me and Hmac. About May or June 2017 I have a long phone call with John Traynor, Chris Werner, Matt Holmes, where Chris and Matt were thinking about or had already bought in to Hmac in some capacity, and we had a long talk about things to do. And after that I have basically been typing stuff about what they should do to them typically Facebook. And, I really want to make this clear, they aren’t doing the stuff I want them to be doing at all.
I can tell you what 2001 band sounds the most like Crazy Town, what they used to draw, and what band the guy who was in that band is in now, but I have no idea why Crazy Town would be playing at Hmac. I would have very very few acts based on nostalgia about radio hits. Older bands should have specific nostalgia, like “wow that’s just like a show from 1999, there might possibly be specific individuals that I know and haven’t seen in a long time there” or the act should be plausibly called legend. Richard Lloyd of Television was just at Metropolis in Mechanicsburg. Legend. Crazy Town, not Legend. Sponge, not Legend. I like Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, and that show could be most banging if turned into a fest with a whole bunch of period correct bands. I think Anthrophobia would be a good pick as well as the bands here. Just wanted to make that clear.
Good bands, pay them the right amount. New + Philadelphia + Deli Magazine + Pitchfork / Stereogum.
The one thing that Hmac can do to really really crush it – something that Club XL can’t do – is put one big festival under one roof. Right now there are 3 stages, 1000, 250, 150, and supposedly, a 4th in the basement with a cap of 500 is coming, plays are scheduled there. That’s 4 stages.
And you just fill it with Philly quality. They couldn’t accomplish something like this in Philly, it would just be too big, and they might not have the facility. Kurt Vile just played Club XL, have him back in Capitol Room, War On Drugs, Dr. Dog. There’s a long list, the Deli List, and you check the Deli List against Pitchfork and/or Stereogum.
I’ve been trying to get Mannequin Pussy and Cold Fronts in for a while. Screaming Females has played Hmac, they should be back, and once a year would be right. Been really really trying to get Weakened Friends, and Lizard Lounge at Chameleon Club got them. March 21, So, I really haven’t been able to get my low cost top priority.
Philly is very hot right now, so many bands coming from Philly. Pitchfork and Stereogum From Philly. Deli Magazine provides a great list
http://www.thedelimagazine.com/bandstats/api/Charts50.php?region=Philadelphia – Deli top 50. there are good bands after the first page, but you’re doing very good with the top 50. Pick them at random, and they’re an upgrade. The best 50 indie bands in Philly is an upgrade in a whole lot of places, definitely in Harrisburg.
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