This hurricane called love has hit again and knocked me on my ass again.  The only thing that I can say is something that I've said before when I wrote the lyrics to the song "Again":

"How am I supposed to feel the same?  How am I supposed to feel again?"

-Roger

There has been a calm in this hurricane of life that I am currently going through.  I've had some great song ideas that I need to capture somehow.  At this rate I'll have 12 new songs before the end of the November.  Stay tuned for the new Black Tie.

-Roger

I nearly cut off two of my fingers tonight in an accident with a saw.  I feel very lucky to have escaped with a cut and two in-tact but throbbing fingers.  It hurts so bad to type and I'll probably have some very serious bruises, but at least I have my fingers!

-Roger

Black Tie might be having some scheduling problems for the rest of the year which is fine with me since I have been dealing with some major heartbreak in my life.  We'll definitely be back strong with some new sexy songs in 2009 so watch out.  Thanks for your love and support and stay tuned.

-Roger

I added a folder in our pictures section with photos from the Atomic Cantina show on June 28th.  Wes Naman was at the show clicking his camera faster than the speed of sound and all of the photos were taken by him.  I only uploaded 95 of the shots (he took somewhere around 700 photos).  Feel free to check them out.  Cheers!

-Roger

This past Saturday we played at the Atomic Cantina with Calamity Magnet and Cherry Tempo.  Calamity Magnet is from L.A. and this was the first stop in their summer tour.  They opened up the night with some juicy pop influenced rock and kicked some good ass with bass, drums, flute, two keyboards, two guitars, two dresses, and two guys named Joe.  If they are comming to your city make sure you stop and check them out.  Black Tie played next.  It was our first show in 6 months and our first show in a year with Paul playing cello and Keith playing keyboards, but it was worth the wait.  I thought that they added an awesome feel to the songs.  We opened up the set with a new song from the soon-to-be recorded third album.  The rest of the set consisted of a mixture of rock and cello-heavy sexyness.  Cherry Tempo closed out the night with effects pedals galore.  Their brand of rock always leaves a sweet taste your mouth.  Wes Naman was also at the show flashing away like crazy on his camera.  Photos of the show will be posted soon.

-Roger

Black Tie will be playing this Saturyday at Atomic Cantina.  It'll be our first show in nearly 6 months.  I am pleased with the lineup for the show.  Eric, Clint, Leonard, and myself will be playing (of course), however Keith Morris will be playing keyboards with us again.  It's been over a year since he has played with Black Tie.  And Paul Newcomb will be playing cello with us as well.  Paul recorded all the cello tracks for the two Black Tie albums and it will be the first time playing with us in almost a year.  The Cherry Tempo will be workin their effects pedals and Calamity Magnet will be in from L.A.  The show starts at 10:30.  Stop by and say hello and I just might buy you a beer.

-Roger

Matthew Moyer from Ink 19 (www.ink19.com) has reviewed "Goodbye, Farewell".  He said it was "an album that keeps unfolding like some origami puzzlebox, revealing new and compelling layers of sonics, composition, and feeling."  Keep reading for the full review or click on the link: http://www.ink19.com/issues/february2008/musicReviews/musicB/blackTie.html

-Roger

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Black Tie

Goodbye, Farewell

Socyermom Records

Thematically diverse but still deliciously melancholy filmic indie atmospherics from these Albuquerque dwellers. I keep imagining the Field Mice covering the Soft Machine's III and mischievously throwing in Dirty Three/Bad Seeds instrumental numbers, but then they'll switch it up and rollick through a delightful cutie-pop girl boy singalong or, like a cigarette slowly burning down to ash between a film starlet's fingers, they'll craft waves of late-night torch, complete with horn solos. Black Tie aren't constricted by the standard guitar/bass/drums noose - adding in keyboards, organs, cellos, the aforementioned horns, and, rarely, vocals. This is definitely one for the wee small hours, though Goodbye, Farewell does contain a few manic, driving moments.

Goodbye, Farewell is an album that keeps unfolding like some origami puzzlebox, revealing new and compelling layers of sonics, composition, and feeling. Instrumental sketches like the "Haunting of Francisco De Goya" and "Moonbeams and Forget-Me-Nots" are heartstoppingly still and placid - just serene pools of muted guitar, whereas "Wide Open" is wide-eyed Pastels style naivete and frolic that still works with off-key boy/girl harmonizing and I wouldn't have it any other way. "Black Velvet Morning" (appropriate title) soars and shimmers, soundtracking some lost love scene from a French new wave film, cello and horns making welcome entrances from stage left. A song as sumptuous and crystalline as "Afraid to Die" just pulses and flutters - unafraid to reach for Spacemen 3's heaven, but knowing that things like this take time. The title track, tucked away at the end like an afterthought, is a fine, fine ending - translucent and delicate choirboy pop goodness - keyboard and electric piano gently waltz with slightly shuddering electric guitar, and oh, those innocent voices.

Indebted to Neu, the Velvet Underground that performed "Ocean," Go Betweens, the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack, and Trembling Blue Stars. Sometimes they play, sometimes they charm, sometimes they weep, sometimes they pose, sometimes they rush forward bravely, sometimes they stare into the mirror and try to wish it all away. Or I might have it all wrong. Fucking promising indeedy.

Socyermom: www.socyermom.com

Matthew Moyer

30music.com recently reviewed "Goodbye, Farewell".  The reviewer (Matthew Austin) loved the instrumental tracks but didn't have too much enthusiasm for the tracks with vocals.  In any case he gave it a 7/10, which on their scale is "memorable."  Click and see what you think, or just keep reading: http://www.30music.com/rev.php?rev=2342&mode

-Roger

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Black Tie
"Goodbye, Farewell" (CD)

released in 2007
Label: Socyermom
http://www.socyermom.com/

Oscillating between spacy, Pink Floyd-ish instrumentals and pastoral vocal tracks, Black Tie has a firm grasp on the former and could do with less of the latter. Not that the singing is bad or the melodies aren't there, but a widescreen epic like opener "For the Dead" towers over the limp VH-1 pop of "Wide Open".

"For the Dead" sets up the Pink Floyd comparison almost too easily, with a guitar that sounds like the ascending lead on "High Hopes". It's nestled between cello, acoustic guitar and atmospheric keyboards, but no one has a patent on that. The spooky, bass-driven "The Haunting of Francisco de Goya" follows, and while its progression is subtle, the melodic bass, spacious keyboards and musical saw keep it from seeming static.

"Alchemy" and "Moonbeams and Forget-Me-Nots" are mostly showcases for bandleader Roger Apodaca's atmospheric guitar work (the latter is just him and the sound of rain). While most of the album is the result of a group performance, it's Apodaca's steady, jazz-influenced melodic ideas that lead the way. Notes rub against each other in interesting ways in the way Mogwai can be simultaneously busy and hook-free without feeling like a chore.

Obvious debts to '70s prog abound; screeching guitar solos, whirring keyboards and episodic song structures abound. It's almost as if underground music passed up punk and went directly to the post-punk sound of June of 44 and Slint.

"This Time Around" shares the fate of "Wide Open", namely by retreating to well-worn adult contemporary textures while surrounded by much more adventurous tracks. The song itself isn't bad, if bland, and sounds like the product of a much different band than the rest of the album. Usually when talented musicians delve into pop music, like Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Lucky Man" or Belew-dominated King Crimson, there are always the little inflections that suggest that the players are capable of much more.

Closing with the final vocal track "Goodbye, Farewell", the band comes closest to melding their instrumental and vocal sounds, but leans on heaps of reverb to get the textures that they could conjure up from their instruments on earlier tracks. Whether it's the urge to show the breadth of his musical abilities, or an honest emotional document, Apodaca sounds better suited to focusing his energy on his instrumental work.

Review written on 2008/01/28 by Matthew Austin

Rating: 7 out of 10

Last night Black Tie played a show with The Grave of Nobody's Darling and Lousy Robot.  The Lousy Robot guys are super awesome and they played some pretty slick, catchy tunes.  The Grave of Nobody's Darling were so great that I almost peed my pants.  They were definitely a tough act to follow.  Our set seemed short but it went well.  I whipped out the e-bow and slide on the first song just to set the mood for the set.  Overall I think that was one of Black Tie's better shows.  Last night was also the first time that Clint played drums for us and it was Suzanne's first time playing cello for us too.  I think that they souned great and I hope that you did too.

-Roger