A cover version of Connie Francis’ 1964 hitsong Don’t Ever Leave Me shows flawless where these ladies get their inspiration from, not far from the place where Bruce Springsteen found his melodramatic rockfeel. Little Steven co-produced the album and wrote the title track St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, a beautiful song about a love that is put through the test in a hurricane. The melody is one you think that has always been there.

Strong songs like the heavy doowopping Love Me Back and the on Da Doo Ron Ron from The Crystals inspired You Do Run give new vitality to a timesless pop-perception, played and sung with a holy believe in own abilities.

Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre rages on for 37 irresistible minutes and has to be put on repeat straight after that, simply because the world lacks a modern-day girl group that gets close to staing in the shadows of these wonderful ‘old-fashioned’ Cocktail Slippers.

"Rock and Roll doesn’t need saving, the cure’s right here." – David Fricke,
Rolling Stone

PICTURES is third album from The Len Price 3, and like their previous,
critically acclaimed records, this album is brimming with epic songs that
capture the electricity of the band’s live shows. However, the band has
managed to enhance tracks on PICTURES with different arrangements and more
varied instrumentation than they’ve utilized on previous albums.

With their 2007 album RENTACROWD, and debut for Wicked Cool Records, The Len
Price 3 again earned triumphant reviews from USA Today, Rolling Stone, and
MTV.  Meanwhile, the band won over a growing throng of fans with their
Medway, UK signature tunes: cuts teeming with an onslaught of hooks and a
raw 60′s garage sound.

PICTURES is a set of musical snapshots about people the band have
encountered and it’s filled with observations about the light and dark parts
of the modern world.  "I’m just reporting things that I’ve seen, heard about
or been involved in," says Glenn Page (singer and guitarist). "I suppose
it’s the confessions of a voyeur."

Last year, 13 millions tracks were put up on iTunes. Of those, 10 million failed to find a single buyer. Remember this the next time you hear somebody wibbling on about the “endless possibilities” offered by all the new music sites and, in particular, the music- oriented social network sites.

Allowing anybody anywhere to get their songs out has not resulted in a brave new DIY world; it just means the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Only one of out of 10 bands on a major label turns a profit. In the good old pre-net days, this meant there was a kind of filter in place (a 10 per cent return isn’t such a bad thing in the mad, bad music world). But now the filters are turned off and we are faced with an incontinent torrent of the truly execrable.

However, the music media is supposed to offer up a welcoming pair of arms to “new music” in all its forms. But a scene that celebrates itself (and sets up forums to do so) does nobody any favours. “We need to develop bands” is the catch-cry. Really? The Beatles developed by going to Hamburg and playing five shows a day seven days a week until they felt ready to approach a record label.

Go back to this year’s SXSW music industry talking shop in Texas. You’ll find that, away from all the incessant and completely meaningless twittering, the only real speech that mattered was by Steve Van Zandt, musician, DJ, E Street band member and ex-Sopranos cast member.

Van Zandt upset the “we’re all in together” mood with a speech that began: “Modern music sucks. It blows. Sure, nobody’s buying records. No shit. They suck. Over the past 30 years I’ve been witness to a crisis of craft.”

That crisis of craft is sorely evident on a daily basis in the pitiful excuse for music put on MySpace pages. “Get better, then get on MySpace” said Van Zandt. “Then when people come to see you, they won’t be disappointed. Don’t expect people to be patient and say ‘oh, they’re a developing act’. Wrong.”

Over 30 years the guitarist has seen how the instant exposure of the social networking site has replaced the once crucial bar-band stage, where “bands get the chance to play other people’s songs, analyse them, understand them. You learn greatness from greatness. The Beatles were a club band for five years and they played covers for five more years.” Not sure if he’s got those figures exactly right, but the point holds up.

That’s how Springsteen and the E Streeters did it. “When we played for 50 people, we knocked those people out,” he said. “That’s why when we came back, there were 200 people. Then 400 people. Then 1,000.”

It’s why so many of today’s potential stadium-fillers fall at the first hurdle, be they X-Factor winners or auteur indie types. They are snapped up in a reckless music industry gambling game and are flung at the public before they’ve played a dozen gigs. No wonder half of them end up crying all the way to The Priory.

Back in Van Zandt’s day, a band would be given up to their fifth album to make an impression instead of, as is the case now, being chucked on the rubbish tip after their first one failed to dent the top 10.

“If a record company knows they’ll share in the revenue when you’re playing arenas,” he says, “maybe they’ll be a little more patient with you.” And any band performing in arenas have literally built up that audience in tiny increments along the way by playing and playing and playing, not by having a nice MySpace page, not by having a “media profile” and not through any other assorted stunt.

bboyd@irishtimes.com

Steve Van Zandt will host his radio show at Tower Records, Wicklow Street, Dublin this Sunday at 1pm. Later in the day The Urges and The Len Price 3 from Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label will play in-store

Originally published by BRIAN BOYD.

(c) 2009 Irish Times. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/0710/1224250335364.html

Title: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Publication: Aftenposten (Norway)

We where a fly on the wall when Cocktail Slippers and Little Steven was in studio to produce the new record. Here is their own story. Written by: Harald Fossberg

The band from Oslo, Cocktail Slippers got to written songs from Steve van Zandt, known from Bruce Sprinsteen and Sopranos, also known as Little Steven. Both of his songs are on their new single, with release date February 14, Valentines Day. Amusingly one of the songs are titled “St Valentines Day Massacre”, while the other is called “I Heard You Got A Thing For Me”. During two hectic days last year they recorded the songs, that will be on their new record, released on Little Stevens label, Wicked Cool Records.

Little Steven: I woke up in the middle of the night when I was going to Norway with a melody in my head. When I met the girls I asked them if they could bring me a cassette player to record it.

CS: The player is Stines, and to put it nicely, its not exactly up to date. So when we listened to his recording you could hear him and his gitar and another noise in the background.

LS: I dont wont to push my songs on anyone, and The Cocktail Slippers are good writers themselves. As a matter of fact their writing is getting better and better! And there are other band who never should have written their own songs. Its rare that I write songs for others, but I also wrote a couple of songs to The Chesterfield Kings next album.

CS: The first thing Steven said when he arrived in the studio was: – we need balloons! We went out and bought balloons for NOK 2000. When we came back he said: – Not enough balloons, and he gave us NOK 5000 more. Then he became happy. At one point during the recordings he told us that he needed to concentrate. We said that we could remove the balloons. He answered: – I need the balloons to concentrate!

LS: Cocktail Slippers got what it takes. They have talent. Ingjerd is a fantastic vocalist. They are serious, and they want to make it. They do shows, one of the most important thing for a band to develop. And they are combining the past and the feature, they have their roots in the 60ies, and also the punk from the 70ies and 80ies. Thats new to my ears! The two most enjoyable days I´ve spent in the studio!

CS: Little Steven is great to work with. He could have just taken it easy, but he is helping young bands.

LS: There was a period when I was only occupied with the business, but I lost the glow and stopped writing. Now there are a lot of young bands, with energy. Cocktail Slippers is a really good band, and with the right attitude. They have an open mind and they listen to suggestions

Click On Image Above To Be A Friend Of Little Steven Van Zandt

The Cocktail Slippers are on Wicked Cool Records (founded by Little Steven Van Zandt). Their new album SAINT VALENTINES DAY MASSACRE