HAPPY NEW YEAR- American Pancake PODCAST: Age Of Dinosaurs Premiere and Track Talk and Reflections on 2017

A Special Podcast Tonight for New Years Eve--  Those of you who are not dancing the night away at parties can here all the tracks from my new album AGE OF DINOSAURS as well as hear my reflections on the tracks themselves, creative tech talk and reflections on the very rocky, temultuous year that was 2017. On both a macro and personal level it has been a rough tough year full of big highs and very low lows to say the least.

I hope you listen below and email me at donkermusic4u@gmail.com or americanpancakelive@gmail.com and share your views on music, the album and your take on 2017. Love you all for your continued support of my shitty little blog. The slowly growing podcast and my musical projects. I plan on continueing all three.

Cheers
Robb Donker

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from a Frenetic Me

MERRY CHRISTMAS !! Yeah, I know typical me running late. So busy this year with all things and busy in my head with things. Christmas was both weird and wonderful this year. Glad we got to #facetime with family back home but when are they going to invent Hugtime? Get working on that #apple . producing the album has been a bear just because the learning curve is constant and steep. Oh man, all I can say is #hpf or #highpassfilter that has saved me. HOPE you had a lovely holiday. One week to go before #2018 !! THE Age of Dinosaurs #album will come out this year! I swear! Gonna do a special #podcast this week too!! Shout out to Matt for a heavy creative assist on this project! Miss you Lauren, Taylor and Diana so much and see you soon!! #newmusic #merrychristmas #happyholidays #late #nevertoolate #dreams #singersongwriter #musicblogger #art #film #filmscoring #doit #diy #artrock #subpop #review #psychrock

A post shared by Robb Donker (@americanrobb) on Dec 26, 2017 at 3:26am PST

 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! I hope you had a wonderful time spending this time with your loved ones in any way you could whether it be by traveling to see them or through Face Time. It has been the busiest month and week between a heavy work load at work to all the running around we had to do like car shopping after the accident that totalled our car and sent Cheryl to the hospital. We dealing with insurance companies (bleh) and she dealing with recovery and doctor visits. Also the planning for next year. New arrivals and changes. Missing loved ones in Cali and writing, recording, producing has made my mind both excited and exhausted. So many things to learn, so many questions yet to be unanswered. Crazy up and down life. Glad to be alive and living it. The Age of Dinosaurs EP that has turned to an Album WILL be released this year! Also a year ending podcast coming up this week. Thanks to Matt D for the heavy creative assit on the project, thanks to HPF (ha) and learning curves. Thanks to Cheryl and Alyssa for putting up with me. Miss Lauren, Taylor and Diana (see you soon next year!)- 
cheers
Robb

Beach Riot- NEW TRACK: "She's A Hurricane" - Strap Yourself Down and Listen

I am in the need of some potent rock and roll and Beach Riot out of Brighton and London came into my view just in time. They just released a track called She's A Hurricane and while the buzz about their sound, the banter about their inspirations mentions bands like Sleater Kinney, Pavement and even QOTSA, on this track in particular I think of the potent rock and roll DNA of old school Husker Du and new sounds of METZ ( listen to Drained Lake). Apart from comparisons the potent point is that I can feel the unbridled passionate kickass rock in Beach Riot's bones, in their musical DNA and that has me incredibly intrigued. Such a cool sound, so very riot-teously cool.

Beach Riot are Rory O'Connor (guitar/vocals), Cami Menditeguy (guitar/vocals), Jim Faulkner (bass/vocals) and Jonny Ross (drums) on Killing Moon Records.

She's A Hurricane by Beach Riot available to Stream or Download Everywhere

-Robb Donker

Monday Morning Find: Franz Kline (Wasted) by MOONMOUTH

Some times Mondays feel heavy. For me this has to do with my workweek which entails my busy "day job" as well as those projects that inhabit my life right now. I have my ongoing blog of course and a kind of haphazard podcast schedule that has yet to settle into any discernable groove really and then my music projects. So, yes, today... this morning... right this very moment feels very heavy. So heavy that it almost feels like I cannot breathe without sighing.

Even though American Pancake is by any stretch a tiny blog in the blogosphere I do receive tons of submissions and like too many packages thrown against ones door it is difficult to make my way through it all. Every now and then I find wonderful music other surprising ways and today I found MOONMOUTH through instagram. Instagram is one of my favorite ways to find interesting music because it is not thrown at me or filtered through PR people. It is just there to be found and enjoyed.

So MOONMOUTH hails out of Charlotte, North Carolina and I know absolutely nothing about them which is kinda of refreshing too. From their Bandcamp I could surmise that they are a duo and possible write together but my Spidey Sense is tingling singer-songwriter. Whatever the incarnation is I am liking the track Franz Kline (Wasted) a whole lot. The sound is bright indie pop which has served to lighten my heavy load this morning. Check it out-
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Robb Donker

U2 on SNL - "American Soul" and "Get Out Of Your Own Way" - Timeless Music But Not In a Good Way

Bono and U2 have a love / hate relationship with America. I do too and I have that same relationship with U2. While Kendrick Lamar and the video emblazoned behind the band elevated the song American Soul, overall it felt like posturing, like the swagger was not backed up by any potent sounds. Some of the progs and tone hinted at the muscular rock of a band like Queens Of The Stone Age but fell short quickly. In fact, the Edge's lack of guitar bluster (and lead work) really helped kill a song like this. It all felt too orchestrated and safe and while I do applaud the message of the song (best delivered by the lyrics not the song overall) maybe the purview of middle aged muscular rock should be left to Josh Homme and the boys.

Get Out Of Your Own Way felt more like your standard U2 fare and therein lies the problem. Both tracks could of been on past U2 albums and in that sense are timeless U2 songs but not in a good way. They are sadly forgetable and get lost in that U2 haze. A band that has been around this long will either settle into it's own groove or say fuck you all and let loose. I prefer the latter. Word on the street is that these two songs may be the worst on their 14th album Songs Of Experience. I hope that is true.
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Robb Donker