PREMIERE | Shuggie Shooter, 'Live at UCLA Radio'
The lockdown steez of Shuggie Shooter; press photo courtesy of the artist.
Live recordings are treasured things. From Live at Leeds mythologies to Dead Head tape archives; this is the pursuit of crystallizing the elusive art of preserving a moment in time that exists on multi dimensional and muli-medium levels. At a time when live music is restrictive to distanced drive-ins/drive-thrus, live streams, subscription services and otherwise generally isolated and solo occurrences; we hold tight to those memories of the free and not so free festivals and impressionable venue performances and look forward to a time when happenings can once again safely happen. We re-imagine these future events in the planning and hypotheticals of the now, as creatives refashion their tools of the trades and rebuild platforms that can return some of degree of that unmistakable aura of experiencing arts being made live before the sensory faculties of an audience.
A somewhat overlooked medium is radio. While the medium itself has evolved technologically speaking and has arguably been surpassed by the advents of broadcast television, dial up internet to the vastly expanded bandwidths of broadband — it still has remained an indelible virtual bandstand to bring the arts, music, insights and progressive discourse to the people. From independent, academic or corporately owned stations; their local to global influence is a power wielded from the the iconic 4 letter institutions such as KEXP, KROQ, KCRW, KMEL, KPFA, KSAN, WFMU, WDVR and many more. Today we turn the dial to the University of Los Angeles’ student ran, internet only UCLA Radio for a performance from Shuggie Shooter. A rising slacker set act lead by Dillon Olmedo; Week in Pop rolled out a first listen to their album Dollar Dream earlier in 2020 that arrived just a few weeks before the entire world shut down, effectively grounding tours and most visceral in-person anythings. Presenting what a Shuggie Shooter touring set would have sounded like — we now give you the band live at UCLA Radio — performed and recorded in the fall of 2019:
The performance starts out with Dollar Dream closer "Something to Say" that shines in all of it's laissez faire psych brilliance. The energy and presence is on full audio display, as Dillon expertly dishes out these slop progressions that lead toward some blistering sections of clever power hook brilliance. The open book vulnerabilities are displayed lyrically on the understated stunner "On My Own Again" that gets real about the needs and desire for human connection that deals in a well executed balance of fiery guitar wailing walls of distortion and genuine gentility. Olmedo's performance also demonstrates components that are delivered like a best of 90s guitar pop, reigning in both raging jabberwockies of orchestrated noise and gentle jangle progressions within messy — yet tight — hooks. Grungy degrees of Malkmus, Yorke and more are heard on intricate dialogical lyrics and wild arrangement of "Marionette", while "Last Call for Boarding" recalls the days of traveling with ease in a smiling thought stream train track chugging progression. The wizardry at work with Shuggie Shooter live is how Dillon at times makes the early 90s sound even better than they actually were with the savant genius of "Another You" that could have been an outtake performance from The Year Punk Broke, right before closing it out with the college radio ready (and classic Nintendo cartridge nod) "Kid Icarus". Live at UCLA reminds us of the importance and power of the live performance, holding tight to the hopes of their return in a perhaps safer paradigm.
Shuggie Shooter’s Dillon Olmedo provided some brief reflections and memories of the performance:
This album was recorded live in the fall of 2019 at UCLA as part of their Up The Scene programming block. Playing to people on the airwaves and old band posters in the sound booths. The broadcast booth was warm with rehearsed energy & anticipation from everyone in the studio. Hope y’all enjoy.
Listen to more via Bandcamp.
