JOSH FREESE'S XMAS WISHLIST
The man who rocks behind the kit for bands such as Devo and Weezer (and now Sublime With Rome) gives us some shopping suggestions. Is there a P.F. Chang's gift certificate in there somewhere? Why, yes, of course! Here are a few of Freese's other favorite things.
• Leg Lamp from A Christmas Story: “I'm about to order one for myself, but I don't think it would get here in time for putting up in my window this Christmas season. Pay a little extra, and it even comes in the FRAGILE crate ('FRA-GEE-LAY . . . it must be Italian').”
• “The Tommy Lee experience” (which is for sale on his website, joshfreese.com): Hey, it's only $7,500! “Engage in light '80s hair-metal/pinup-girl gossip with Tommy Lee, me and Danny Lohner while a C-list porn star applies corpse paint to your astonished face. Next, you'll be escorted to the opulent gardens of Castle Renholder, where the four of us will be throwing bones under a midnight moon in a blasphemous attempt to evoke the spirit/entity of your choice. Oh, yeah—BYOB.”
• David Lynch's signature coffee: “You don't have to like his yummy films to enjoy a cup of his yummy coffee. Yes, David Lynch sells his own coffee, and it's good! Boy, I love David Lynch.” From a Dec. 15 Heard Mentality post.
JOHN DOE AND EXENE CERVENKA TO (MAYBE) WRITE TOGETHER AGAIN
John Doe of X—fresh off a South American tour with Pearl Jam—talked to us about X's legacy and potential new material from the band for the first time in years. (Caveat: He says don't get your hopes up.)
On X's legacy: “First of all, I think everyone's grateful we've survived. We were careful about following trends, even though we were part of the Los Angeles punk-rock explosion, as it was called. We made sure the songs we wrote weren't just topical and had influences deeper than just two years ago. Maybe that's part of it.”
On X and his solo work: “If I went out with only X, I'm sure I'd have a different worldview, and I'm grateful 100 people will come see me at some place in Connecticut. Without X, I'd have a much slower lifestyle, and I love the songs we do, and after [touring] South America, we're talking about trying to write some more stuff in February and March. . . . Don't get your hopes up because we've tried it before, and we didn't come up with much. Since we've been spending so much time together, now is a good time to do it. A lot of the early X stuff came out of how we felt about one another. It's changed, but it hasn't diminished that much. After I get back from my solo tour in January, Exene [Cervenka] and I are going to try to write some stuff.” From a Dec. 14 post.
Daniel Kohn is a writer based in Southern California. With bylines in an assortment of outlets, Kohn primarily specializes in music with other interests ranging from sports to food. As a transplant, Kohn loves the beautiful weather and is glad he no longer has to deal with brutal winters. If you see him, say hi and of course, he’s always willing to down a beer or two…if you’re paying.