[The following was written by Synthesis Weekly columnist Emilie Clark. She can be reached at emilie@synthesis.net.]

Coming Soon

It’s a well-known fact that people like to adapt movies from books. It’s also a well-known fact that most of these efforts suck. So it’s my job to warn you about upcoming adaptations so you have ample time to read the book. This gives you the chance to complain about inconsistencies and general “suckiness” while still in the theater, making you look learned and therefore more attractive. You can thank me later.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, July 4th: This is a documentary, so I guess it won’t really do to get mad about liberties taken with the adaptation. But it can’t hurt to read some of the famous Gonzo’s work if only for your own amusement. From the description it seems like the filmmakers are big fans, which can be bad in a documentary if you’re trying to eek out truth. The gist I get is that the point the film makes is that Thompson did what journalists are too afraid to do nowadays, namely get high and write caustic things about politicians. This may be true, but I easily tire of ‘60s and ‘70s nostalgia. Sure people were a bit crazier back then and I’m sure there are things to be learned from that era, but it’s over, so deal.

Journey To the Center of the Earth 3D, July 11th: Based on the classic Jules Verne novel about a rogue scientist who travels to, you guessed it, the center of the earth. According to Wikipedia, this novel didn’t age as well as some of Verne’s other works, because he was mostly wrong about what is contained in the center of the earth. However, none of that really matters because this movie is in 3D. And I will watch anything in 3D, even if it stars Brendan Fraser.

more upcoming adaptations after the jump.
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This is a bit atypical of the bands that we generally choose for Synthesis Band of the Day. No horn-rimmed glasses, waifish broads with ugly indie-rock haircuts, ‘roid-bicep hardcore meatheads, striped sweater wussies or epic Dungeons & Dragons progressive metalheads. No, Phredley brings the funk-rock.

In my fledgling college days, back when tie-dye wasn’t as vomitous and my roommate’s constant Phish-Grateful Dead-Phish musical rotation didn’t drive me completely bonkers, I would have broken my left leg to check out a band like Phredley. Now bad photoshop effects kinda irk me, patchouli oil makes me want to hurl and hippie funk in general just pisses me off. But not Phredley. They’s alright.

Based around a brother-sister duo (Phred Brown on Vocals, Guitar & Horns; Alesha Brown on Keys & Vocals) and a rhythm section (Paul Loos, Drums & Vocals; Samuel Tobias Winn, Bass & Vocals) Phredley lays down funk that is far closer to the heart of nearby Detroit than that of longhair revivalists in Colorado or Vermont. And when they stray toward the pop side of the spectrum, it comes across more as radio-friendly than looking for a parking lot miracle. More importantly (for me at least), their lyrics hold water. With the aforementioned hippie-funk enthusiasts, it’s most often the lyrics that drive me to enraged hysterics; Phredley uses some clever (or nearly clever) turns of phrase. No, Phred’s not Leonard Cohen by any means, but in a sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky funk quartet, it works. Their track “The Truth About Capricorns” also has some pretty, Beatelesque, tonally complex passages. If you’re a big fan of Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Maroon 5, or your ’70s R&B records don’t have much dust on them, do yourself a favor and look into Phredley.

This past summer I had the awesome opportunity to spend a month on tour with Ruth, an amazing band that thankfully many people have now definitely heard of, since they just got off the road with Switchfoot and Relient K. Since all we basically did for a month was throw fire crackers at each other and eat Waffle House there was plenty of time to sit around and listen to music, taking turns turning each other on………….to new music [c'mon now, this is a family blog]. One night Ruth frontman, and namesake, Dustin Ruth put on some shit that he was jocking, and we all agreed that it was pretty badass. The band was called Pomegranates, like the fruit, and the juice. Here’s what they say about themselves:

Pomegranates began in the young minds of Jacob Merritt and Isaac Karns, long time friends whose respective musical projects had recently disbanded. With a mutual desire to continue making music, the two began penning songs. Immediately they felt this new project was heading places, so they solicited the help of Joey Cook, and the three got down to business. Their initial practice session gave shape to what would later become their first song, “Nursery Magic”. This was November 2006.

Four months later the band recorded their debut EP, Two Eyes, at The Lunchington in Columbus. The five-song disc was tracked in two days and boasts intricate, melodic guitar arrangements adorned by bells, samplings and keys. Hand claps and tambourines actualize in the quirky percussion section, while falsetto vocals dance delightfully above. This is sophisticated stuff for such a youthful band. When Two Eyes hit streets June 12 of 2007, it was no more than a week later they were inking a deal with indie label, Lujo Records. The bands forthcoming LP ‘Everything is Alive’ will be released in Spring of 2008.

If “Hand claps and tambourines” actualizing in the “quirky percussion section, while falsetto vocals dance delightfully above” doesn’t sound cute enough, than how about their list of influences?

Grizzly bears shooting lightning out of their eyes and riding rainbows.

Um…can someone say bad ass????! Check the doods out on the Space and tell them to come to California already.

1. Outdated Memes

2. Shameless Linkz

3. YouTube

4. Late Breaking News

Synthesis Editorial Director Daniel Taylor is out on the road as part of the Tooth and Nail Acoustic Tour, and will be blogging about his travels

Four Weeks and some absurd number of miles of later (I’m thinking 8,000? 9,000?) I’m back in good ol Chico, CA, back in my wonderful chair at my wonderful job and going to Sushi tonight with my wonderful girlfriend and WOW ISN’T IT GREAT TO BE ALIVE? I’m also back to my pursuit of the meaning of life. Having spent my time on the road reading mainly meaningless fluff I’ve returned to my pseudoscientific research into shit that sucks about life like dying. I’m finally getting around to reading Raymond Moody’s infamous Life After Life, the original source of the now ubiquitous idea of the Near Death Experience: seperating from your body, traveling through a tunnel, the life review, beings of light, all that jazz. It’s kind of on some shit. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Speaking of beings of light, I have to say that the thing I miss most about being on tour was hanging out with the other bands, the amazing Emery and the equally amazing Ruth. Emery is of course getting ready to release their third record, I’m Only a Man. Not only did I have the chance to see them play a few of their new songs live every night for a few weeks, but I was also lucky enough to get a listen to the finished record. All I can say about it is, it’s not really what you’re expecting. The first track was so brutal and weird that I actually took off my headphones and asked them if it was really them. From there it got weirder: dance-y tracks, straight up pop tunes, and a closing track that’s the most epic shit I’ve heard since “Goodbye Sy Harbor.” The record hits stores October 2nd so don’t get caught slipping. The new Ruth record is already in stores, so you should really go buy it RIGHT NOW. Ruth frontman and namesake Dustin Ruth is about the sweetest man I’ve ever met in my entire life. Plus they’re about to blow the fuck up, going on tour with Relient K and Switchfoot. So scoop all your lame jocker friends and get the new shit early. Ruth is the TRUTH. Trust me.

WOW RAMBLING