Sub Pop Records has just released Dntel’s (James Figurine, The Postal Service) new album, “Dumb Luck Remixes” on iTunes. Remixes include: (yours truly) Goddamn Electric Bill, Metronomy, Danton Eeprom, Gudrun Gut, Thomas Fehlmann, Lawrence, Pedro, and Roger O’Donnell.
Click here to download!
I went to the Spooner premiere and was blown away. It’s an amazing movie by some equally amazing and talented people. I’m sure you’ll recognize the first song in the trailer 
When this movie comes out…go see it! Screening at the Slamdance Music Festival in January.
Drake Doremus (Director), Lindsay Stidham (Writer)
Cast: Matthew Lillard, Nora Zehetner, Shea Whigham, Christopher MacDonald.
Facing eviction from his parent’s home on his 30th birthday, a thoroughly average guy meets the girl of his dreams and creates his own rules for growing up.
The next time some stranger from the gray depths of Middle America messages you on Facebook with visions of surf, sun and palms in the eyes to say, “Hey! We don’t know each other but I’m moving to San Diego soon and would really appreciate any advice on what to expect,” introduce them to the music of one-man band Jason Torbert, 32, better known as Goddamn Electric Bill.
An echoey hybrid of folk and ambient electronica, Torbert’s music sets the scene for the true Southern California: a faded, scorched bed of dust where two deserts, one of sea and one of stark, cactus-studded sand, collide. It’s an image that shares little in common with the lush, leafy endless summer facade Main Street marketing firms use to sell board shorts to Kansans, but hey, sometimes the truth burns.
Judging by the contemplativeness of his quiet riots, you’d never guess Torbert totes an extended history of playing in punk bands. September brought his third and latest effort, “Topics for Gossip,” released on 99X/10 Records (former Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell’s label), but his music has been turning up on shows like “The Real World” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” not to mention San Diego Music Award ballots, shortly after it first made its way out of his Ocean Beach studio in 2005.
“I make music that calms my mind, he says. “Put everything else behind and relax, drive to work, eat some pasta, ride a bike in my mellow world.
Describe yourself as a musician in three sentences.
Hyper-focused perfectionist with a messy studio. Lanky guy with way too many instruments and not enough time. Kid at heart.
Now the same story in three words?
Man-child perfectionist.
Tell us the tale of how GDEB got its name.
It wasn’t a well thought out decision and in hindsight I probably wouldn’t have named the project that. I was just brainstorming funny band names with a friend. Most had expletives. Seemed to be the nature of the naming quest. I thought of (way too) many phrases that contain expletives and then moved on to phrases like “Ouch, my toe!” and “Use a turn signal!”
Define “folktronica.”
Acoustic electronica. Add some unplugged instruments to the keyboards and bam.
Continue reading “STREET PEOPLE: Goddamn Electric Bill” ยป
(Pick up the Thursday, December 11th, paper for the print version)
