Citizen Staff Writer
Music

STEPHEN ROSANELLI

Special to Metromix.com

American Android going commercial? Say it ain’t so!

Far from selling out, frontman Carlos Arzate in a recent interview explains the shift in their musical paradigm on the Tucson band’s upcoming (as of yet, untitled) record.

“This album has radio potential, and we’re taking our time on it. It definitely has a more commercial sound and we’re not making any apologies for that,” Arzate says. “We just want people to hear the music and think about what it has to say.”

Metromix caught up with Arzate and rhythm guitarist Sergio Mireles in the studio while they were laying down a track for the new CD.

With bare-bones approach and a ProTools setup and just enough gear to get the job done, Ultraviolet Studios is a study in minimalism. That’s fine with members of the band, though. As yet unsigned, they have high hopes for their first full-length album, which will be done by March.

“This is going to be our breakout year” proclaims Arzate, who, with his band performs Friday at The Hut during the Bands for Breasts concert, a benefit for breast cancer.

The group’s EP, “Silent Partner,” was well received and had a polished yet unmistakable, indie rock sound that’s been described (by us) as “Red Hot Chili Peppers meets Soundgarden singing lyrics penned by Rage Against the Machine.”

They’ve played just about everywhere in Tucson and Phoenix there is to play, and are ready to tour the U.S.

While never being preachy, American Android, formed in 2005, has always had a purpose. Arzate explains the meaning behind the band’s sometimes polarizing name.

“I was at a point in my life where I was beginning to buy into what I felt like I was supposed to be doing. You have a kid, you have a 9-to-5 job, and that’s all you do,” he says. “My body felt sick, I felt like I was turning into an android. I’m not saying that kind of life is wrong for everyone, it just wasn’t the right life for me, and that’s what this music is about. You don’t have to believe everything that the media tells you – you can make your own decisions.”

Mireles offers his own explanation of the band name: “An android is something that appears to be real, but it’s all an illusion. It’s just a cold, hard machine underneath with no real substance. American Android isn’t meant to be a critique of American society; it’s a call to arms.”

The band – Arzate, Mireles, Kenyon Hood (lead guitar), Matthew Shepherd (drums) and Alex Laetsch (bass) – has a strong local following. During the interview at Zachary’s Pizza (near the University of Arizona) a waitress happened to be wearing an American Android shirt. Everyone in the place seemed to know the guys in the band, which seemed on par for a group that alternatively lists love, life, family, injustice, liberty, progress, beauty and the pursuit of happiness as influences on their MySpace page.

IF YOU GO

What: American Android in concert

When: 10:30 p.m. Friday. The Bands for Breasts benefit concert for breast cancer kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday and continues at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Where: The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave.

Price: $10 one night, $25 for all three

Info: 623-3200, www.myspace. com/thehuttucson

Freelance
Cover story

STEPHEN ROSANELLI

Special to Metromix.com

So you put off buying a Valentine’s Day gift until the last minute. Don’t worry! You still have options.

Most gas stations are open 24 hours a day, if not more. A little effort and a lot of panache can save the day and help you make this one of the most romantic days of her year. With a Walgreens on nearly every other corner in Tucson, and a Circle K on all the rest, you really have no excuse not to get her something. The following ideas are quick, easy, and cheap, and will, we hope, not make her feel likewise.

• Stuffed animals – Make sure you get the synthetic kind and not the ones that require a visit to the taxidermist, which are romantic only if the person you are dating happens to be Ted Nugent. Walgreens, Fry’s and Circle K all have these in spades. In fact, stuffed gorillas holding boxes of chocolates are set to become the fourth largest minority group in America by 2012, and that’s not even true! A good rule of thumb here is that the bigger the stuffed animal you get, the more you love her. Yes, size counts with stuffed animals as well.

• Chocolates – While there are many to choose from, there’s only one worth mentioning: the Whitman’s sampler. It will let her know that you care about her just enough. Just enough that you made it to the drugstore in time to pick up some chocolates. If your valentine has a sense of humor or, alternatively, you can’t stand her and want to send a not-so-subtle hint to that effect, get her a large chocolate shaped like a fish that says “You’re a keeper!” These have been a hard item to keep in stock this season, so hopefully they won’t all be sold out by the time you make it to the store.

• Roses – but not the real kind, which are overpriced and die within the week. Get her a Valentine’s Day flashing rose. It will last forever (certainly longer than your relationship), which means it can be re-gifted next Valentine’s Day.

• Write her a poem – If you’ve read any modern poetry, then you know that poems don’t have to rhyme anymore, or even make the least damn bit of sense. Tell her that if she really loves you, she’ll know what it means. Make sure to include lots of metaphors about trains going into tunnels and cigars. She’ll get the hint). If you are still intimidated by the prospect of writing a poem, then just copy one from a card in the store. Don’t worry – it’ll be our little secret.

• Write her a song – If you can’t play a musical instrument, then get some friends together and play her Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” on Rock Band. She’ll love it even if it makes Steve Perry roll over in his grave.

• Finally, get her a boxed set of Dawson’s Creek – You might have a harder time finding this at Walgreens or the gas station, so you may have to settle with any DVD starring James Van Der Beek. Trust me, it will have the same effect.

*Steve Perry is alive and well, despite your renditions of Journey songs at karaoke and Rock Band

Freelance
Music

STEPHEN ROSANELLI

Special to Metromix.com

You’ve likely heard of local band Golden Boots, because this is one group that, over its seven-year history, has played any place it could.

Any place?

“We did a show in an office building for AmeriCorps at 9 a.m. under fluorescent lights during a coffee break, where employees came to watch us play” says Ryen Eggleston, who founded the band with Dimitri Manos.

That’s dedication to the craft, folks.

“At another show, our amp blew up onstage” Manos says, “which, by all accounts, is a pretty good sign that you’ve arrived.”

Another good sign came Tuesday with the release of Golden Boots’ latest album, and the accompanying party to celebrate is Friday at Plush. And “The Winter of our Discotheque” (Park the Van) is more than just a clever take on a Shakespearean quote; it’s the next mutation of their self-described “alt-gothic country” sound.

“Each album is different,” Eggleston explains. “I would describe this one as more ‘woody’ sounding.”

“This album is more of a strange, angular creation” Manos offers. To see what they mean, check out their MySpace page for a sample of tracks off the album. (Better yet, buy a copy at the show.)

The band – filled out for the last couple of years by Nathan Sabatino and James Grip – has eight or nine albums, Eggleston estimates. (“There’s some contention between me and Dimitri on this,” Eggleston says.) All have been self-recorded, with “Winter of our Discotheque” captured, he says, at the former Scrappys space downtown.

As with all their albums, it was mixed at Sabatino’s Loveland Studios.

Highlights include “Knife” and “Ghosts,” both of which have videos, and “Country Bat High II,” though we’re not completely sure if the song is a true sequel or even what a “country bat” is, for that matter. Manos seems reluctant to elaborate, merely saying that “Country Bat High II” came about as a Willie Nelson-style ditty that he began working on after the rest of the band went to lunch. It was rediscovered later in the recording process and made the final cut of the album.

We asked about the name Golden Boots and if it referred to the “Academy Awards of the Western” used to honor cowboy movie actors. Wrong. It refers to a lyric in one of their early songs, and they embraced the name after receiving compliments about it and feeling that it fit the band.

This go-with-the-flow ethos brought the two here in the first place. Though they met in the Old Pueblo, Eggleston and Manos hail from Philadelphia and kind of meandered their way to Tucson.

“I was heading out to California, and stopped in Tucson, and just ended up really liking it,” Manos says.

Eggleston, who says he arrived a year later in 2000, had a different approach.

“Well, I was wandering around the country hitchhiking and ended up in New Mexico for a while. I was looking for a city that felt like it had a smaller feel to it. Tucson fit the bill.”

After officially unveiling “Winter” on Friday, the band heads out for a 10-day tour and then, in April, heads to Austin, Texas, to play the Park the Van showcase at South by Southwest.

Lately the two have been listening to such diverse artists as Dead Sea, the noise band Harry P—yand John Denver, and Motown in general. So if that’s any indicator as to what the next Golden Boots album will sound like, it will be interesting to see how the two weave them into their changing soundscape. And, with more than an album out every year, we may just find out soon.

IF YOU GO

What: Golden Boots CD release, with Big Daddy Bobby and Bob Log III

When: 9:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.

Price: $7

Info: 798-1298, plushtucson.com

Freelance
Music

STEPHEN ROSANELLI

Special to Metromix.com

burly (adjective): large in bodily size, stout; sturdy.

esque (Latin): to disrobe, especially to music in an artistic fashion.

Black Cherry Burlesque’s performances can be summed up in three words: normal girls stripping. What do I mean by normal girls? Well, you may have noticed that many of the dancers at strip clubs tend to look like strippers. For example: Remember that girl at your high school who totally looked like a stripper? What did she end up doing? The evening news. But her other not-quite-as-hot friend is a stripper now, and that’s my point.

Of course, burlesque is not only about panties and pasties. It is a rich tradition that dates back to the era of vaudeville and in which short comedic skits, satire and strip tease play an important role. The compères of the show I attended in November at Surly Wench were witty in their banter with the audience and when they introduced the troupe.

The Black Cherry dancers have normal female bodies, and that’s the appeal. They look like women you see every day, only they’re taking off clothes, and you can throw dollar bills at them without the embarrassment of being escorted out of the Charlotte Russe changing room by mall security.

I actually tried to join the Black Cherry Burlesque (burlesque often incorporates comedy as well as exotic dancing); the troupe is all female, however, and does only strip tease, and wouldn’t let me join even after I showed them pictures of me in a recent drag show.

The show itself was fantastic. The dancers were sexy and confident, and it was a celebration of the female figure rather than an exploitation of it. The difference is that strippers take their clothes off because they get paid to. Burlesque dancers take their clothes off because they’re contractually bound to. Semantics? Perhaps, but to their credit they looked far less greasy than strippers usually look. Audience feedback is highly encouraged, with many people shouting things like “Ooowwoaahhh!!” or “Yeeaaahhh!!” Please avoid such outbursts as “Take off your shirt, hot cheeks!” as they will likely result in your immediate ejection from the pub.

What can you expect if you go? Well, unless you paid top dollar ($20) for the comfortable seating area, you can expect to stand. The show is about an hour long, with a 15-minute intermission, so do what I do and ask someone if you can sit on their shoulder if you can’t stand for that long. The girls perform in a variety of costumes, in the style of pin-up-girl lingerie from the 1950s. It’s also a good idea to come early, because if your luck is anything like mine, you’ll get stuck standing behind a 6-foot-4-inch, 240-pound linebacker named Todd, and good luck asking him if you can sit on his shoulders.

Also, there are no pictures allowed. They are very strict on this rule, even if you call ahead and tell them you are with the Tucson Citizen’s Metromix Web site, and even if you tell them the photos are for your own personal use, and you probably won’t even look at them that much, except right before you go to bed or take a shower. . . . Trust me, just don’t do it.

IF YOU GO

What: Black Cherry Burlesque show

When: 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday

Where: Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Ave.

Price: $20 front row, $15 second row, $8 general

Info: 882-0009, www.tucsonburlesque.com