Expert: Caleb - 3/4/2009

Question
hello, i am sure you are familiar with this band as they are quite big in america so i've heard. i got into them quite some time ago and even seen them live in london. in fact i'm listening to them as i write you this messege(:
my question is, as you seem to have good taste in music(if you recomand people on the velvet underground,one of my favourite bands)is what other bands with a similiar style you know/heard of that are very decent...it doens't have to be of the punk genre anything original will do...i mean gogol bordello mixes alot of gypsy and indeed sometimes middle eastern elements in their music(the latter i favour less but never the less....)
if you'd be able to recomand me a few(no limit) bands which you tihnk i might like(and i like anything orignal as long as it is not preteniously "original"). they can be from all over the wrold no limit to america/europe. although english bands i will accept very fondly as that's where i'm based at the moment...
thanks very much for taking the time to read, hope to hear from you soon (:
alex

Answer
Hmmm, I've never heard of Gogol Bordello but they seem cool, I might check them out.  I'm not from America by the way.

Hmmm that is quite a wide mandate, but I'll give it ago.  You probably already know a lot of these bands if you know the Velvet Underground but hopefully you can find something new here: Love, The Stooges, T.Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Television, Elvis Costello, The New York Dolls, Joy Division, Husker Du, The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Pavement, Shellac ...  If you like punk you might like those punk-related (proto-punk, punk-related genres like glam or psychedelic, post-punk/new-wave, punk-influenced indie, noise-rock) bands, in roughly chronological order from the sixties to the nineties (Dont know so much about music from this decade - and in any case hardly any of the best modern bands seem to be punk-influenced - Though the white stripes were pretty punky with their first few albums, and theyre great).  Mostly american and british bands.

My favourite band - not very similar to the Velvet Underground but certainly original - is the Kinks.  They invented hard rock with "you really got me" - first hit single to use power chords and distortion, which they created by stabbing an amp speaker with knitting needles - but then tired of it and became a bit more beatles-esque, becoming a huge influence on the Who - the kinks actually invented concept albums, but the who took it a step further and invented rock operas.  I like them because they not only have great pop sensibilities - just as good as the Beatles in my opinion - but his lyrics are genius and quite political at times.

Anyway, everything I've said so far is pretty well-known, so I'm sorry if that disappoints - Not sure how extensive your knowledge is already.  However, maybe I should recommend some bands from my own country, New Zealand:

- in the 80s there was a scene based around the Flying Nun label which you should check out: mostly lo-fi jangly indie pop but with some variation.  Quite original - the Tall Dwarfs were the first band in the world to record at home and have it released on a label, while the Dead C have been called the world's first post-rock band.  Other good bands: The Clean, The Chills, Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, The Verlaines, Loves Ugly Children, The 3Ds (last two are of a more punky vein), This Kind of Punishment, Garageland.  Try and get a hold of their music if you can - but it might be hard to find.

- I previously said that most of the best bands of today aren't very punky - that is different in NZ, where a couple of our best bands are punk - well - they are indie, but they retain the true spirit of punk a lot better than what is masqueraded as "punk" nowadays.  They are Die! Die! Die! (who put on the best live show ive ever seen - mega intense) and The Mint Chicks.  Check them out.  Their recordings are good but the real strength for both bands is their live shows - if they ever tour Britain you should drop everything to see either of them.  I think they both tour quite a bit internationally, but maybe more in the States than the UK.

- The Veils - not strictly a NZ band but the frontman is half-Kiwi and lived his formative years here, i think some of the other bandmates are Kiwis too.  But as a band they've always been based in the UK, i think perhaps London-based, so you should be able to see them some time.  Really cool alternative rock n roll band, they've had two albums so far and both splendid - New album coming out in April.

Yeah i think that's enough for now lol.  Look up the following bands on wikipedia and/or allmusic.com - allmusic is a really great resource for reviews and all sorts of info like influences, "similar artists" etc.  That website is how i got heavily into music - mostly by reading about who my favourite bands were influenced by, and who they were influenced by, etc etc... and I soon learned to trust a 5-star Allmusic review.