For almost 25 years, John Andrew Fredrick and a revolving cast of characters have been issuing records as the Black Watch. The California-based indie-rock institution is back with 11th album Led Zeppelin Five (Powertool), and it’s the first LP to feature the rock-solid lineup of Fredrick, guitarist Steven Schayer (ex-Chills), bassist Chris Rackford and drummer Rick Woodard. When Fredrick isn’t busy writing and recording songs, he’s teaching English at the University of California, so we thought he’d a be a natural choice to guest edit the MAGNET website. Fredrick, with some assistance from Schayer, will be doing exactly that all week. Read our brand new Q&A with Fredrick.
Schayer: The Able Tasmans released consistently excellent albums during their tenure on New Zealand’s Flying Nun label (A Cuppa Tea And A Lie Down, Hey Spinner!, Somebody Ate My Planet, Store In A Cool Place and the compilation of their particular brand of genius, Songs From The Departure Lounge) before breaking up. Stipulating that playing live is more akin to furniture moving, they prefer to get together and drink. I can see the logic in that. Founding members Graeme Humphreys and Peter Keen recently released a beautiful album called The Overflow, and it substantiates both my belief in their superiority as well as the time I invested stalking them lo these many years. Elegant while at the same time schizophrenic, it’s a great album filled with wonderful songs showcasing Humphries’ splendid piano playing and Peter Keen’s delicate and effortless vocals. I believe you should stop reading this and purchase it right now.
Video after the jump.
