Photo: Wim Goedhart
I've been following this NYC band for a long time, and I've always wondered why they aren't famous. Don Rauf is an original songwriter, and this tight, talented band has been playing together for over 30 years. If you pre-order the CD, you get a limited edition book, "along with a cocktail recipe for each song developed by our drunkest friends." There's also a less expensive digital download. It releases November 20.
My friend Ken Meyer is a terrific drummer and plays for two bands. This one has a bunch of concerts coming up, including this Saturday. You can learn more at their site. P.S. They rock.
Life in a Blender screenshot from YouTube
That's my friend Ken Meyer pounding on the drums back there. Ken rocks, and so does this band. Go see 'em. Here's the details from an email blast from Don Rauf, the singer and songwriter:
"Trying to understand the waves of mass hysteria sweeping the city? Allow me to explain: Life in a Blender will be playing the cozy confines of Moscow57 at 168 1/2 Delancey Street on Friday, October 17, at 7 pm ish. until 8:30 pm-ish. Donation requested. We were due to play the new Living Room this night but their opening is slightly delayed. Ellen Kaye, one of owners of Moscow57, is from the family who owned The Russian Tea Room from 1947-1996, and the venue has some of that vibe. We are thankful she could book us under such short notice. Come join Life in a Blender for a juicy set. We are also playing the NY Wine & Food Festival on Sunday, Oct. 19 as part of Meatopia: BBQ NYC."
Don then recounts what critics have said about the band:
“I’ve worn satin undergarments that are more abrasive than Don’s voice. It’s as if the bedspread of my brain is having its wrinkles smoothed by a foreign man-nanny who will probably kill again.”
—Tarr Tusstabarr, ectomorph, Submelodic Energy Magazine
“If you want to be crammed into an airtight little room, ceiling to floor, with a sweaty balls-to-the-wall, sonic blast to the face, Blender delivers. You’ll need to wear a full body condom to their show, unless you want to give birth to the future mutant baby of rock n’ roll.”
—Roger Christgau, no relation to anyone living or dead.
“When caught in an avalanche, you have to make a pocket of air around your head to breathe. I didn’t do that when I saw LIAB and now look at me. No, don’t look at me…. I look horrible. ”
— David Ploo, seven-time champion curler who suffered massive brain damage in a curling melee in 1994.
“They’re the kind of sexual crud that clumps to the bottom of the litter box of love. Guitar necks snapping and the smell of boiled leather. If I wasn’t born a fool, I might have been smart enough to resist their spell. But like a cattail, my fuzzy brown finger of a head puffed up, split open and sprayed its seed to the sky. I swayed back in their wind, a slim reed, dipping into the mud.”
—Bledsoe Twaddle, American Warrior, 2001
Screenshot from music.lifeinablender.net/
My friend and recording engineer Ken Meyer is an amazing drummer. I urge you to check out his band's new album. The question about Life In A Blender Is, why aren't they famous?
Ken Meyer's band Life in a Blender was written up in "Goings On About Town: Nightlife" section.
They are playing July 30 at the venue below. They rock.
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/arts/events/nightlife/life-in-a-blender-barbes#ixzz1TUxlamJ2
The band Life In A Blender. Ken Meyer is in the front to the right, hatless.
Ken Meyer has been kind enough to record and engineer over 20 audio commentaries for me over the years. I have been wise enough to rely on his judgment in all matters. Now I find out he's also a drummer in a totally hip band playing at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater this Friday at 7 PM.
Here's what the Joe's Pub website says about them:
Life In A Blender come equipped with a violin, cello, horns, and a touch of absurdism, bringing a vaudevillian energy to their much-loved stage show. The New Yorker says: "The band's new album, The Heart is a Small Balloon, is rife with Ralph's signature wit, but it is also a richly reflective affair that exudes a poignancy and maturity one might not expect." The NY Daily News says: "The band's orchestrated music is a covert beauty, cleverly disturbing lyrics and askew music....an event worth cheering." Jersey Beat calls the band's latest: "A terrifically dark and despairing work of beautifully bleak20and burnt-out oddball art."
Tonight's CD release is for Life In A Blender's 7th album, Homewrecker Spoon. It will feature Colony Collapse Horns.
I'm going! Who else? Leave a comment.