17-7, Meat Puppets and Gravy

White Sox stomp on opposition...

Multiple thoughts to share today…

After the first month of the season, my beloved White Sox are 17-7 and own the best record in the major leagues. I must admit I feared a letdown after the way they cruised through the post-season last fall and then dropped a few games to the lowly Royals at the beginning of this season. Sox fans are in uncharted waters here; a championship team that seems to have improved in the off-season and appear to be headed right back to October baseball at this rate. This is just about where they were at the end of April 2005. So this is what it feels like to be a baseball fan in New York and Boston?

Oh, and a message to Mike Scioscia, Kelvim Escobar and the Angels: Take your bush league beanballs and go pound sand. Plunking A.J. on Saturday was clearly pre-meditated and reeked of frustration. Escobar was on the mound in the World Series when A.J. ran to first after the dropped third strike fiasco, and again when he tried to tag him with his glove while holding the ball in his other hand. His dislike of A.J. is well-known. Too bad Escobar never has to step into the batter’s box.

Next issue: The Meat Puppets are reuniting, plan to record new music and possibly tour. Neat trick, I first thought, since I was sure one of the Kirkwood Brothers was dead (turns out it was just a drug dealing incarceration). This could be interesting. The Pups sloppy country-punk was a little scary at first, but once they learned how to sing and play their instruments, they made some remarkable music. A huge influence on Kurt Cobain, this band was always underappreciated, in my opinion.

This news came via Billboard, which, by the way, is a great site for breaking music news. You’d think they would only cover chart topping drivel, but it’s surprisingly diverse.

Plateau from Meat Puppets II

Eyeball from No Joke!

Finally, GRAVY, a band you most likely have never heard of. My friend’s college roommate is moonlighting as a manager for this LA band, and put together this electronic press kit. To my ears, they sound like a mix of Phish and 70’s rock, and probably sound great in a small club on a Friday night after a few longnecks. I’m not sure istudio reflects how this band really sounds (which is course is a problem for many jam bands), and the lyrics need some work (also a Phish problem), but the songs grows on you. Three free mp3s in the press kit; give them a listen, or if you live in LA, check them out.