Check out the trailer video for their upcoming self-titled E.P. as put together by Infinitum Productions.

Also check out their music video for On Our Way.

Do you miss good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll? Well, Ohio’s Ryan Kralik brings this back with his fifth record release entitled No Agenda. His friendly melodies and endearing guitar riffs attracted the likes of Dave Krusen (Pearl Jam, Hovercraft, Candlebox, and Unified Theory), Rick “The Bass Player” Rosas (Neil Young, Joe Walsh, Buffalo Springfield), Michael G. Ronstadt and Keith Lowe (Brad) to collaborate on the recording.

“This is the kind of music that moves me, it’s heartfelt and deep,” says Krusen, who plays drums on four of the tracks. “I really enjoyed playing drums on Ryan’s tunes.”

The album is a great balance of styles from the guitar heavy Jesus Hates Fags to the folky Center of Every World to the catchy Setting Sun, which is the strongest track from a solid selection. “After the session i couldn’t get Setting Sun out of my head,” Rosas explains. “That’s a good sign!”

Where the album really shines, however, is in its words. “Storm all of the ministries, demand that they set us all free” from The Egypt Riot, “Sometimes they take you, use you for what they need, to drink, to wash, water down their seed” from When You’re the Rain, and “Where will you run to, where will you hide, is that your god on the border or the devil inside” from God on the Border are all part of a powerful message Kralik puts forward on an album that is dedicated to the recent Occupy movement.

Occupy a copy of No Agenda and you’ll be happy you did.

ryankralik.com

Just completed three shows and one festival on the 2010 Pearl Jam European tour, and as always, it was a great time with some great people. I went from London to Dublin by van, Dublin to Belfast by train, Belfast to London by plane, and London to Belgium by train.

Here is a video recap of the two weeks of fun, filmed with the wonderful Go Pro Camera.

]]> http://thisallencompassingtrip.com/2010/07/07/2010-pearl-jam-european-tour/feed/ 0 http://thisallencompassingtrip.com/2010/05/06/mike-mccready-on-all-that-sacred-podcast/ http://thisallencompassingtrip.com/2010/05/06/mike-mccready-on-all-that-sacred-podcast/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 09:32:45 +0000 Jrock http://www.thisallencompassingtrip.com/?p=1877 May 6, 2010

Was in Seattle last week for the 8th annual Flight to Mars benefit concert supporting CCFA Camp Oasis and Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness. The show was high energy and full of fun as usual, and for the second year in a row I was asked to film and cover the show along with the VIP preparty put on by The Wishlist Foundation.

I gathered a boat load of footage including interviews with fans and the band members. Here’s an interview with Mike McCready about the event as conducted by Donnie for his All That Sacred podcast.

Check out the new music video I did for my good friends Mike and Vicky’s band Ocean Roots. This is an acoustic version of the song “On Our Way”, which is an original from their other band NoRey. The video also features the use of my brand new HD video camera, which will bring you crystal clear videos from now on. Enjoy!

Ocean Roots is a special project that is helping heal the ocean through art. The art consists of a full length cd of original ocean inspired music and sounds of the ocean, as well as paintings from The Underwater Series Art Exhibition done by the very talented Vicky Bowes. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to non-profit organizations who specialize in ocean protection and preservation such as Sea Shepherd, Green Peace, Mother Ocean Foundation, Surfers Against Sewage, and Surfrider Foundation.

Please visit the Ocean Roots website for more information.
oceanroots.wordpress.com

Around this time a year ago, a group of us brought video cameras into a Nine Inch Nails show in Las Vegas. The goal was to piece together this footage and create a 100% fan made Blu-ray DVD for the final show of Nine Inch Nail’s amazing The Lights In the Sky tour. One year later, the DVD is ready to be released. On Christmas Day 2009, “Another Version of The Truth” will be available for download. This is the trailer.

Friday the 13th is a day which superstitions hold to be either good or bad luck. This year, November 13 just happens to fall on a friday, but luck would definitely be on our side in Seattle. Originally, we were only going to do the 3 hour drive to see The Pixies in concert, until we discovered that there would be another show in town just down the road that same night, Mudhoney. Why are these 2 legendary bands playing on the same night in the same city but at different places? Would it be possible to catch both shows? I’ve never seen 2 separate shows on the same night at 2 different venues before, especially 2 bands of this calibre, so this would be some accomplishment. We are ambitious enough to make the attempt.

3:30pm
-I take off from work early to meet Clayton in downtown and pick up the van
4:45pm
-We struggle past traffic to pick up Steph in Langley
5:15pm
-Touring Van drives through downtown Langley for the first time ever
6:00pm
-Approach the Aldergrove border crossing for the US. There is zero traffic.
7:00 to 7:30pm
-Driving through an intense rain storm and monsoon near Skagit County
8:00pm
-Stop at Wendy’s for a quick bite. Overweight American families on display here.
8:30pm
-Arrived in Seattle and quickly find parking
8:45pm
-Enter The Paramount Theatre, a lovely concert hall
9:00pm
-The lights go off and the screens light up with clips from the film “Un chien andalou”
9:05pm
-The Pixies take the stage with a number of b-sides starting with “Dancing The Manta Ray”
9:20pm
-They go into “Debaser” and march through the entire Doolittle album in order
10:10pm
-”Gouge Away” is played and the band leaves the stage
10:15pm
-They return to the stage for the encore and play “Wave of Mutilation” for the second time in the show
10:40pm
-The last notes of “Where is my mind?” are played and the show ends

10:50pm
-We pick up the van and drive several blocks up Pike Street to the next venue and find parking
11:15pm
-We enter Neumos, a very cool looking little place. Tad is already on stage ripping it up
11:20pm
-Check out the merch stand for this release party for the book “Grunge” featuring photographs by Michael Lavine and text by Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth.
11:35pm
-Waiting patiently, sipping on a couple of beers, with a perfect view of the stage, until a giant 6’4″ 300lb asshole decides to stand in front of us blocking the view for all 3 of us. We adjust our positions
11:45pm
-Mudhoney hits the stage for a ripping set beginning with “The Money Will Roll Right In”
11:45pm to 1:00am
-Crowd is going nuts and moshing as if it was 1989. The band is on fire.
1:15am
-Mudhoney finally runs out of energy and the show is over, we are completely drained out and dead tired.
1:30am
-Eat yummy hot dogs outside of Neumos
2:00am
-Roll into the van and drive out to Wallmart parking where we sleep in the van for the night

Rolling into Neumos, with a full crowd on hand and Tad on stage already, was an electrifying experience. We had just been blown away by an awesome performance from The Pixies, who had a huge influence on alternative rock music in the late 80s leading into the early 90s, and now we are in the midst of a Grunge party, headlined by one of the biggest and original grunge bands there is, Mudhoney. This is what it must have been like in Seattle in the early 90s, where people would just go from venue to venue to see quality bands all night long. In the crowd, I spot many musicians from the Seattle scene during that era. I can’t put names to them, but definitely recognize faces from the movie “Hype”. It was very surreal to be in this environment, almost like a dream.

A few weeks ago, a little Seattle music history took place in Los Angeles, when Chris Cornell and Jerry Cantrell joined Pearl Jam on stage at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal Studios for a reunion of grunge icons. On friday the 13th, we witnessed 2 of the major influences largely responsible for the grunge movement in the very city that it began in. After the last show of the night, I suggest that we had 4 hours to get to Perth, Australia to make it to our a 3rd show of the night, Pearl Jam at the Members Equity Stadium. Now that would have been some achievement.

Pearl Jam’s newest single from Backspacer.

Now I am not one to really care about what songs are played nor have I kept track or have a checklist of songs which I go into a show with like most fans do, but with the band proclaiming an attempt to get through every song that they know over the course of the 4 shows, the Pearl Jam geek came out of my shell and I started analyzing the setlists for the first time in a long time to figure out the stats of what transpired over the week. I know some others have probably done this already, but this is my take on the Philly compilation.

SETLISTS
PHILLY 1
Corduroy * Whipping * Hail Hail * Supersonic * Dissident * Unthought Known * Faithfull * Parachutes * Unemployable * Immortality * Green Disease * Not For You * Rival * Nothingman * Ghost * Do The Evolution * Why Go
~~~~~
Bee Girl * Just Breathe * The End * All Those Yesterdays * State Of Love And Trust * Mankind * The Fixer * Go
~~~~~
Daughter * Love Reign O’er Me * Black * Leash * Rearviewmirror * Rockin’ In The Free World

PHILLY 2
Animal * All Night * World Wide Suicide * Small Town * I Am Mine * Johnny Guitar * Nothing As It Seems * Gone * Evacuation * Even Flow * Come Back * No Way * 1/2 Full * Down * Wishlist * Grievance * Given To Fly * The Fixer * Save You
~~~~~
Just Breathe * Lukin * Speed Of Sound * Push Me, Pull Me * Garden * Blood
~~~~~
Last Kiss * Wasted Reprise * Better Man * The Real Me * Porch * Yellow Ledbetter * Little Wing

PHILLY 3
Gonna See My Friend * The Fixer * In My Tree * Given To Fly * Tremor Christ * Untitled * MFC * Hold On * Unthought Known * In Hiding * Deep * Habit * Cropduster * Off He Goes * Force Of Nature * Present Tense * Got Some * Do The Evolution
~~~~~
Just Breathe * Parting Ways * Jeremy * Breath * Light Years * Rearviewmirror
~~~~~
Whipping * Crazy Mary * Footsteps * Once * Alive * Sonic Reducer * Baba O’Riley

PHILLY 4
Why Go * Last Exit * Corduroy * Severed Hand * The Fixer * Small Town * You Are * Amongst The Waves * Even Flow * Pilate * Unthought Known * Daughter * Johnny Guitar * Rats * I’m Open * I Got Shit * Glorified G * Out Of My Mind * Black * Insignificance * Life Wasted
~~~~~
Just Breathe * The End * Low Light * Speed Of Sound * Jeremy * Inside Job * Bugs * Spin The Black Circle * Porch
~~~~~
Whip It * Got Some * Crown Of Thorns * Satan’s Bed * Sweet Lew * Do the Evolution * Better Man * Smile * Alive * Rockin’ In The Free World * Yellow Ledbetter * Star Spangled Banner

 SHOW STATS BY ALBUMS
(X are songs that were played, O are songs that were not played)

TEN (9 out of 11)
X Once
X Even Flow
X Alive
X Why Go
X Black
X Jeremy
O Oceans
X Porch
X Garden
X Deep
O Release

VS (10 out of 12)
X Go
X Animal
X Daughter
X Glorified G
X Dissident
O W.M.A.
X Blood
X Rearviewmirror
X Rats
X Small Town
X Leash
O Indifference

VITALOGY (11 out of 11)
X Last Exit
X Spin The Black Circle
X Not For You
X Tremor Christ
X Nothingman
X Whipping
X Corduroy
X Bugs
X Satan’s Bed
X Better Man
X Immortality

NO CODE (9 out of 13)
O Sometimes
X Hail Hail
O Who You Are
X In My Tree
X Smile
X Off He Goes
X Habit
O Red Mosquito
X Lukin
X Present Tense
X Mankind
X I’m Open
O Around The Bend

YIELD (12 out of 13)
O Brain Of J
X Faithfull
X No Way
X Given To Fly
X Wishlist
X Pilate
X Do The Evolution
X Untitled
X MFC
X Low Light
X In Hiding
X Push Me, Pull Me
X All Those Yesterdays

BINUARAL (7 out of 13)
O Breakerfall
O Gods’ Dice
X Evacuation
X Light Years
X Nothing As It Seems
O Thin Air
X Insignificance
O Of The Girl
X Grievance
X Rival
O Sleight Of Hand
O Soon Forget
X Parting Ways

RIOT ACT (7 out of 15)
O Can’t Keep
X Save You
O Love Boat Captain
X Cropduster
X Ghost
X I Am Mine
O Thumbing My Way
X You Are
O Get Right
X Green Disease
O Help Help
O Bu$leaguer
X 1/2 Full
O Arc
O All Or None

AVOCADO (9 out of 13)
X Life Wasted
X World Wide Suicide
O Comatose
X Severed Hand
O Marker In The Sand
X Parachutes
X Unemployable
O Big Wave
X Gone
X Wasted Reprise
O Army Reserve
X Come Back
X Inside Job

BACKSPACER (11 out of 11)
X Gonna See My Friend
X Got Some
X The Fixer
X Johnny Guitar
X Just Breathe
X Amongst The Waves
X Unthought Known
X Supersonic
X Speed Of Sound
X Force Of Nature
X The End

LOST DOGS (8 out of 30)
X All Night
O Sad
X Down
O Hitchhiker
O Don’t Gimme No Lip
O Alone
O In The Moonlight
O Education
O Black Red Yellow
O U
O Leaving Here
O Gremmie Out Of Control
O Whale Song
O Undone
X Hold On
X Yellow Ledbetter
O Fatal
O Other Side
O Hard To Imagine
X Footsteps
O Wash
O Dead Man Walking
O Strangest Tribe
O Driftin
O Let Me Sleep
X Last Kiss
X Sweet Lew
O Dirty Frank
O Brother
X Bee Girl

OTHER SINGLES
X Breath
X State Of Love And Trust
O Man Of The Hour
O Long Road
X I Got Shit
X Out Of My Mind
X Crown Of Thorns

COVERS
X Love Reign O’er Me
X Rockin In The Free World
X The Real Me
X Crazy Mary
X Sonic Reducer
X Baba O’Riley
X Whip It

THE NUMBERS
135 total songs played over the 4 shows
101 were unique
94 out of 128 of their own original songs were played (no covers)
85 out of 112 of them from studio albums (minus Lost Dogs)
2 songs were played for the first time ever

PERSONAL ANALYSIS
I only saw the final 2 shows but was still curious about my own checklist of songs, so I went further into the analysis to discover that I am up to 91 shows now and have gotten 140 out of 150 of all their original songs that they have ever played. The songs that I am missing and the number of times they have been played are:

Mankind 35
Evacuation 28
Rival 19
All Those Yesterdays 12
Help Help 9
Angel 4
Push Me Pull Me 4
Fatal 3
All The Way 1
Let Me Sleep 1

5 of these were played in the first 2 Philly shows and the last 2 songs almost doesn’t even count. Quite interesting to say the least.

So looking through all of this, it would appear that my Pearl Jam career is nearing the end of the road and I will be ready to retire from shows when I’ve seen all of the songs or hit 100 shows right? Not a chance. There is a reason why I do not keep a checklist like this or keep track of how many shows, it is not important. It really doesn’t matter what they play on any given night, if the crowd is good, and the energy is there, the show will be great and that is all that matters. Variety is appreciated and sure, all of the rarities and oddball songs are a bonus but they are not played that often because they are not their best songs. In general, I just look to have a good time at each show.

With that said, the final 2 shows had an excess amount of energy and were pretty special to be a part of. Looking around the complete sellout of a crowd, not a single person was in their seats. I can’t remember the last time I saw an event where every person was on their feet, even up at the end of the 3rd balcony. I finally heard Sonic Reducer for the first time, a song that I’ve been wanting hear for a long time. It was kind of anticlimatic at this point however, but fun nonetheless. And as if anything else was needed, the Halloween costumes brought the fun factor up even more. I was Wayne and Stefan was Garth.

The Halloween show had a similar feeling to the final Nine Inch Nails show that I saw at the Wiltern in Los Angeles a month prior, matching it, if not surpassing it in epicness. Both will forever stand out in their own way for me and I feel privileged to have been in attendance to witness the history being created. What a great few months of concerts. Of course, I do give the edge to Pearl Jam due to the intangibles that come with their shows. Philly was a great time, the shows lived up to their seemingly uneclipsable hype, the Flyers won, the halloween costumes were fun, but the people and company were once again what made the trip, not to mention the 5 Philly cheese steaks I had over the 3 days. Glad to see everyone once again and sorry to those who I missed, it’s much harder to coordinate and do these shows without the van. Can you believe that I didn’t tailgate at all? Time is always an issue and there was just way to much happening that weekend, but we will connect soon again. This will be hard to top, but we all know it will be. Whip It Good!