Green/Blue is a relatively new band made up of Minneapolis punk lifers: Jim Blaha of the Blind Shake, Annie Sparrows of Soviettes and Awesome Snakes, Danny Henry (also of Awesome Snakes) and Hideo Takahashi of the Birthday Suits. “Green/Blue makes an ominous jangle, pitched somewhere between catchy garage pop and goth-y post-punk,” observed Jennifer Kelly in her review of the band’s Paper Thin, out in June on the Feel It Label. “Imagine the Bats having a nightmare or the Wipers on a girl-group jag, and you’re part of the way there.” For this Dusted, Jim Blaha lists ten things that inspire him to make records.
Guided by Voices — Vampire on Titus
My all-time favorite record. I bought it when I was young and immediately sold it. I didn’t understand it. About four years later, I kept hearing these songs in my head and I couldn’t place where I heard them. Then I realized it was that harsh, noisy, strange record I bought a few years back. I immediately ran to the record store and bought it again. Its otherworldliness just seeped in and has never left. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a Midwest winter night…
Field Mice — “Emma’s House”
I have listened to this song once a week for almost two years now. Some songs are like that. When I hear the guitar opening it just feels like going back in time. Like that “A Stop at Willoughby” episode of the Twilight Zone.
The Go-Betweens — “I Need Two Heads/Stop Before You Say It” 7”
This record just never gets old. It has an otherworldly feel to it and feels like they are making it up as they play it. I can’t tell if it’s just kind arbitrary or if they rehearsed it for months before they recorded it. It’s an entire world and it’s just two songs. Great lyrics too!
Michael Yonkers — “162”
I am so lucky that I got to play with and make records with Michael Yonkers, but I am way more lucky to get to call him my friend. He has such a sweet soul. When I hear his music, I just have to brace myself because it almost knocks me down. I chose this song because I love to hear just him sometimes. There is a dark innocence to it.
Tascam 388
So many people swear by this machine and I guess I am one of them.
All of the Green/Blue songs are written on this first and then we learn to play them as a band later. It’s a good system!
Robert Pokorny crayon drawings
I saw this artist’s work on Instagram and immediately became a fan. My favorite series that he has done is his works with crayon on paper. So immediate and simple but with such depth. I love the idea of going back to the most basic thing we ALL learned to make art with as little kids but make it yours as an adult.
Check out his Instagram: @robertpokorny
Low (the band)
Although I don’t always keep up with everything they do, I feel comforted knowing that they are there up in Duluth making something that will be completely honest and totally original. They are like a mountain that is just always there and every time you look at it there is something new to see.
Hannah Hoch (collage artist)
I love making collages, and whenever I need inspiration I take a quick peek at her work, and I remember how amazing of an art form collage can be. It’s quick, not very messy and you can create new worlds so quickly!
The Clean — “Point that thing Somewhere Else”
What a band. Once again, feels so off the cuff yet so perfect. When I hear this song I want to grab the guitar and start playing!
Jim Blaha from Green/Blue and The Blind Shake makes some amazing collage art (like the cover of their albums) you should be checking out. Dig it all on IG @jimandthefrenchvanilla - he sells it, too!
Head to the Slovenly Bandcamp to preview and pre-order and get a download with the vinyl here!
Or to here if digital is meaningless.
GREEN/BLUE "self-titled" LP
GREEN / BLUE "Green / Blue" LP by Green / Blue
Slovenly Recordings is proud to present the debut hard copy from GREEN / BLUE: manually opening up a can of syrupy tones and pouring them down upon our daily bread. Each track cuts through a work uniform and plugs guitars directly into a human heart, encapsulated by a fully functioning warm body, which is either hugging a pillow and singing along to the 80% cocoa bittersweet dual vocals of Jim Blaha (The Blind Shake) and Annie Sparrows (The Soviettes), or revving the engine to the stoner, greaseball anthems of high motility.
The Green / Blue sound is primarily influenced by visual art, or more specifically, collages (“‘cause you can grab from anywhere and make a new story with it” - J.B.) and inverts itself for manifest on the album artwork, also performed by Mr. Blaha. His recent discovery and newfound love for lo-fi pop jangle (The Clean, The Chills and early GBV, as well as longtime JAMC lust) represents a bit of a sonic departure (not to be mistaken with maturity) for the label as well.
Each fat track was recorded on the thinnest of tape in the basement studio of Blaha's Minneapolis home. What originated from batches of his home-brewed solo songs and electronic experiments, Green/Blue developed into a four-piece live force after adding Danny Henry (The Soviettes) on drums and Hideo Takahashi (Birthday Suits) on bass.
Jim and the French Vanilla “Afraid of the House” 2017. Dirtnap Records. Jim and the French Vanilla is the side project of Jim Blaha from the Minneapolis-based “extraterrestrial backyard surf party” noise rock band The Blind Shake. It’s one of a few side projects for the prodigious Blaha brothers; Jim, along with brother Mike, also are in Shadow in the Cracks and Mike also has BLAHA who we are going to see Friday night at the Cactus Club here in Milwaukee.
Afraid of the House has a lot of the same qualities as The Blind Shake’s material: buzzy lo-fi guitars, a chugging rhythm, noise rock distortion and a certain tense level that I described in an earlier blog post as “the bastard child of Jimi Hendrix and Jack White on a cocktail of ‘shrooms and amphetamines” (I was a little tipsy at a Blind Shake show when I wrote that). Despite that level of intensity, the flavor overall is a bit lighter, playful at times even. While the tracks “When You’re Down,” “Grow Like Rabbits” (my favorite on the album) and “Psychic Killer” are ferocious in the Blind Shake spirit, other songs like “I’m Just Sitting Here,” “Back Home” and “Lonely Man” are almost bouncingly bright (in comparison. It’s still pretty intense), reminding me of some Sonic Youth songs from the early 90′s: noise rock with a nod to pop melody. I also dig the lo-fi psychedelic touches like the track “Not Even War” and the mini-instrumental “Green Curtains.”
The Blind Shake “I Shot All the Birds” b/w “Tar Paper” 2017. Third Man Records, recorded “live to tape” on Sept. 28th, 2016. The Blind Shake from Minneapolis are brothers Mike (vocals, baritone guitar) and Jim (guitar) Blaha along with drummer Dave Roper (maybe? I feel like the drummers keep swapping around) and play garage-punk inspired “extraterrestrial backyard surf party” noise rock. We’re planning to head to Acme Records here in Milwaukee on Friday to check out one of Mike Blaha’s side projects, BLAHA (they played at Acme this past March) and while BLAHA isn’t quite as toxic-sludge heavy as The Blind Shake, they are still intense and very, very loud.
“I Shot All the Birds” appears on The Blind Shake’s 2016 Celebrate Your Worth (Goner Records). It’s sneering psych-surf, menacingly dense and swampy with a muscular industrial beat. “Tar Paper,” from the 2015 Fly Right LP (Slovenly Recordings) is a brutal stomper, a wall of sound draped with a cacophony of angry reverb.
Definitely one my biggest highlights this year just happened this last Friday. One of my favorite bands, The Blind Shake, came into town and I was able to set up a quick portrait session before their show at The Griffin. Wifey and I were first turned on to The Blind Shake when we saw them open up for Thee Oh Sees a few years back. Ever since that show, we’ve made it a point to see them as much as possible. From a Third Man Records SXSW showcase to a Brixton holiday party to a shitty dive bar in San Pedro, we’ve seen the trio play all sorts of shows and they have NEVER disappointed. This show at The Griffin was no different. Original drummer, Dave Roper, had such great chemistry with Mike and Jim Blaha, so we were curious as to how new drummer, Karl Tebeest, would gel with Mike and Jim Blaha. There was this magic that happened with the original three, but Karl brought a whole new energy to the band, proving himself to be a perfect choice.
The Blind Shake “Live in San Francisco” 2015, Castle Face Records. We caught The Blind Shake last night at the Cactus Club in Milwaukee and they played many of the songs from this performance in 2013, including one of my favorites “I’m Not an Animal.” Furious energy with sounds ranging from serpentine swampy to, what I somewhat drunkenly tapped out on my notes app during the show, the bastard child of Jimi Hendrix and Jack White on a cocktail of ‘shrooms and amphetamines. Garagey, punk noise and surf all mixed tempestuously together by the Blaha brothers out of Minneapolis.
Besides “I’m Not an Animal,” Live in San Francisco features another favorite of mine from their 2011 release Seriousness: “Hurracan,” as well as the title track, “Seriousness.” Also included are songs from the 2013 Key To a False Door: “Garbage on Glue” and “Porto Alegre;” “Wexford Scramble” from the 2007 album Carmel; and “Young Carnival Waste” from 2014′s Breakfast of Failures.
Opening for The Blind Shake were Milwaukee bands Devils Teeth (who wore all-white outfits in the mode of Captain Stubing from “The Love Boat” - complete with cap!) and Gallery Night. Gallery Night were especially killer: their drummer, Kelsey Kaufman, is outta control amazing. I found a clip of their performance opening for Thee Oh Sees - check it out!
Shadow in the Cracks “Shadow in the Cracks” 2015. Goner Records. Self-described as “Antarctic sheets of noise and melody celebrating the hopelessness of survival using a kick drum, Indian bells, guitars, vocals,” Shadow in the Cracks is the side-project of The Blind Shake’s Blaha brothers, Mike (vocals, baritone guitar) and Jim (guitar). The record is loud, dense and dark; it’s always amazing to me how just two musicians can engender this much musical force. Filled with wild guitar effects (“Timeless”) and heady exotic flavors (“800 Meters,” “Elephant Seal”), the Blaha brothers weave an ominous trance through the dark atmosphere. One YouTube commenter described their sound as Black Sabbath meets shoe gaze.
Joe went to see Shadow in the Cracks last week at Acme Records (I didn’t go: too tired and had to stay home with Vault-boy). At the in-store concert he picked up this record, got it autographed while chatting with the guys and took a few snapshots of the show. The Blind Shake will be playing at the Cactus Club later this month and that one I do plan to attend.
