Molly Crabapple is an artist and model based in New York City. She has modeled for nerve.com, Lowrider and has been named one of the 25 sexiest people in NYC by the New York post. Her artwork has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Marvel Comics. She has a sexy wicked drawing style that has mixes of different tradional art schools seen through her searing indie rock eye.
She started Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School - www.drsketchy.com - in 2005. Dr. Sketchy groups meet in bars in more than 50 cities in about a dozen countries and attendees drink and draw burlesque dancers, singers, carnival performers and alternative models. Molly was a model and artist bored with traditional life drawing classes and wanted to create a more energetic, interesting and free environment to practice art.
Nowadays there are two Dr. Sketchy's related books, an Internet radio station, a pinup calendar and Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art Show of the best art produced by Dr. Sketchy's attendees.
Molly was kind enough to answer some questions for Deviant Nation, and even said if we provide her with some tech support then some Dr. Sketchy's webcam sessions with DN models might be possible.
Check out what she has to say.
How did you become interested in art?
I've been drawing since I was two
Were you formally trained as an artist?
I'm a proud college dropout who honed her pen and ink skills slumming through Europe and the middle east.
Your art is often an updated, slightly twisted, version of Victorian pieces and caricatures - what attracts you to that aesthetic and why are you so comfortable in that genre?
I love the cruel, maximillist, unintentionally hilarious Victorian aesthetic, and feel its quite applicable to the New York City aughts.
You also have experience as a model and a burlesque dancer, how does that influence your art and your attitudes?
Posing for fauxtographers from Massepequa will teach you about artifice and objectification post-stat
How long were you doing art before starting Dr. Sketchy's? Why did you start Dr. Sketchy's? Where did the idea come from? What were you doing when it hit you? What was your hope for it?
I started Sketchy's in 2005. Fed up with the bland life-drawing sessions I both posed for and drew at, I wanted to create with something that jived with my Parisian fantasies. I hoped for some Time Out listings, but never expected a world-wide movement.
How did Dr. Sketchy's spread? How can people get involved - as artists, fans or models?
Artists can just show up. I'm flat out full with models in NYC, but if you're in another city you can just contact your local branch. If you want to start your own Sketchy's branch, go to
www.drsketchy.com/start-your-own.php
If people go to Dr. Sketchy's do they get drawing tips? Do they keep what they create? Is there a Hall of Fame for Dr. Sketchy's participants - either the most talented or most committed?
Sketchy's artists keep what they create and any education is purely of the experiential kind. We do however have international art shows. And when Aleister Grey AND Audrey Kawasaki came to draw at Sketchy's
on different continents- well, that rocked my socks.
Have you created any spectacular pieces at a Dr. Sketchy's session?
I'm too busy running around at Dr. Sketchy's to draw at them
Is the point of Dr. Sketchy's to create spectacular art?
Life drawing is like the gym. You go to the gym to create a badass body, and life-drawing to create a badass drawing style. But your sketchbooks and treadmill motions, while spectacular in themselves,
are means to an end. Short answer- spectacular work does get made at Sketchy's, but the point is more to build your skills.
One of the strengths of Dr. Sketchy's is that many types of people with a variety of backgrounds and interests come to the Dr. Sketchy's sessions, why is that? What is the best example you have of many different artists and non-artists and many people of different ages being involved with Dr. Sketchy's.
We've had everyone from Ron English and Audrey Kawasaki to investment
bankers, broke students, stay at home moms and recently arrested
street artists.
What are the most unique things that have happened at Dr. Sketchy's?
We did Dr. Sketchy's at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki. I've never been to Finland, but hundreds and hundreds of Finnish girls showed up clad in their pinup best. I was in awe.
How did the Dr. Sketchy's books come about? What is in them?
Dr. Sketchy's books are one part propaganda manual and one part activity book on acid. A small press came to me.
What makes the Dr. Sketchy's books worth reading/owning? What makes the Dr. Sketchy's sessions worth attending/getting involved with?
I would purchase the Dr. Sketchy's book just for our boardgame on becoming a famous artist. You can take a shortcut marked "Shoot Andy Warhol" for chrissakes. If you want to know what's cool about Dr.
Sketchy's sessions, get thee to the photoblog.
What is planned for the future of Dr. Sketchy?
Antarctic domination!
What is planned for the future of Molly Crabapple?
My first graphic novel is available for preorder now. Buying that ensures that there will be a second graphic novel. http://www.amazon.com/Scarlett-Takes-Manhattan-Molly-Crabapple/dp/0982340907/ I'm also excited about upcoming travel/Sketchy biz/speaking/art shows in Paris, Berlin, Brazil, and at infamous art collectors' retreat Baby Tattooville.
Do people really make as much art anymore? Do people buy art anymore? How has the Internet affected art?
Statistically, more art was made in recent years than ever before in history. Our latest art boom is busting, but work is still bought. As for the internet-god bless the beast. I'd have no career without it.
What is the best place to find art? The best way to get exposed to art?
I love me some Juxtapoz and Hi Fructose. Take a look at the gallery lists therin, go to openings, figure out what you like, and don't feel intimidated to have opinions.
Who are your favorite artists? Your favorite models?
I've got a giant soft spot for Toulouse Lautrec, my absinthe swilling clubland hero, and consumptive ambition freak Bearsley. More recently, Clayton Cubbit, Travis Louie, Michael Hussar, Paul Pope,
Madelyn Von Forester, and dozens of others keep me slackjawed with awe.
Models? Big shoutouts to beauties Apnea, Mosh, Aprella, Sasha Grey, Stoya, Justine Joli, Akynos and Amber Ray.
Will there ever be an online version of Dr. Sketchy's? Maybe you set up a Web cam and use some Deviant Nation models and artists, and we have a group Web chat and pull out our pens and papers. What do you think?
Have a tech girl hook it up for me, and I say hells yes.
For more information contact Molly at
Molly Crabapple
molly@drsketchy.com
www.drsketchy.com
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Music Review: Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom
From the Bottom is bad attitude - drunken, spitting, gorgeous punk rock. There are 12 tracks on the release and only one is more than three minutes long; that should tell you what kind of chainsaw guitars, crashing drums, dirty bass playing, and angry shouting you’re about to hear.
The first track, “I Am You,†gets the CD off to a roaring start with some catchy guitar chords and vocalist/guitarist Ryan Young spouting “I’ll tell you why I fucking hate my life and I’ll tell you why I can’t seem to get it right.” The entire CD continues on high gear with pissed off musings and destructive thoughts delivered with standard 4/4 high impact drums, aggressive basslines, and feedback a plenty.
Off With Their Heads sounds like Anti Flag, and a little like Sex Pistols crossed with Hot Water Music. They have one goal: to tell the story of cynical, pissed off, hyperactive, and frustrated youth while rocking you. Young shouts “Until the day I die I swear I’m gonna make your life as miserable as mine” and the rhythmic noise the band manufactures makes you feel good about it.
This CD is high energy and catchy. Young slips in some good lyrics – like “Don’t fucking believe everything that you read. Don’t trust everything that you see on TV. Subscriptions and ratings are all that they need.” – and the musicianship is tight.
Off With Their Heads is a traditional punk rock band, but they don’t just rely on loud, sloppy chords. The band crafts powerful two-minute synchronized attacks on your ears, with an occasional breakdown. From the Bottom is the third release for Off With Their Heads on No Idea Records - and they have done the road warrior thing with bands like NoFX, The Queers, Dillenger Four, Groovie Ghoulies and No Use For a Name, so they would have a good resume if punk rockers cared about shit like that.
Right now, Off With Their Heads is out on the road tearing up shit at beer filled venues across the U.S. and growing their resume.
Check out the track For the Four off From the Bottom here at No Idea Records Web site.
The first track, “I Am You,†gets the CD off to a roaring start with some catchy guitar chords and vocalist/guitarist Ryan Young spouting “I’ll tell you why I fucking hate my life and I’ll tell you why I can’t seem to get it right.” The entire CD continues on high gear with pissed off musings and destructive thoughts delivered with standard 4/4 high impact drums, aggressive basslines, and feedback a plenty.
Off With Their Heads sounds like Anti Flag, and a little like Sex Pistols crossed with Hot Water Music. They have one goal: to tell the story of cynical, pissed off, hyperactive, and frustrated youth while rocking you. Young shouts “Until the day I die I swear I’m gonna make your life as miserable as mine” and the rhythmic noise the band manufactures makes you feel good about it.
This CD is high energy and catchy. Young slips in some good lyrics – like “Don’t fucking believe everything that you read. Don’t trust everything that you see on TV. Subscriptions and ratings are all that they need.” – and the musicianship is tight.
Off With Their Heads is a traditional punk rock band, but they don’t just rely on loud, sloppy chords. The band crafts powerful two-minute synchronized attacks on your ears, with an occasional breakdown. From the Bottom is the third release for Off With Their Heads on No Idea Records - and they have done the road warrior thing with bands like NoFX, The Queers, Dillenger Four, Groovie Ghoulies and No Use For a Name, so they would have a good resume if punk rockers cared about shit like that.
Right now, Off With Their Heads is out on the road tearing up shit at beer filled venues across the U.S. and growing their resume.
Check out the track For the Four off From the Bottom here at No Idea Records Web site.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sage Francis interview
Sage Francis
By Mike Hammer
Jul 19, 2007
Sage Francis tears holes in hypocrisy and mainstream hip-hop with his thoughtful stories of the human condition. The wordsmith spits rhymes that make you think, make you smile, and flow beautifully over high-tempo beats. His new album, Human the Death Dance, was released May 8 on Epitaph Records and has charted well on Billboard’s “Top Independent Albums” list. The album is a hip-hop work of art that mixes cutting edge beats from indie rap producers like Alias and Reanimator and Ant, as well as Sage’s insightful personal and pop cultural rants. The 16-track disc is what Sage calls a “wrap up” album of all his previous work.
I sat down with Sage in Cleveland, Ohio to hear some things about the indie hip-hop scene, his abnormal MySpace page, the first rhyme he ever wrote, greedy publishing companies and more.
Mike Hammer: Your Web site (www.sagefrancis.net) has tracks streaming for free. Is that a good thing for artists to do?
Sage Francis: People can do whatever they want online. Me streaming my music just skips a step so that they don’t go to another site and hear it. On my MySpace page there are like 20 songs there, which is abnormal. Most people don’t get that many songs there but I made a deal with the devil.
MH:
With Rupert Murdoch huh?
SF:
Yeah. I told him, “If you want the privilege of having me involved with your network you start throwing some bones.”
MH:
I hear ya. Did you threaten to go to Facebook?
SF:
Yeah. I’m gonna two time on all of ‘em.
MH:
I think the Internet streaming music is a great resource for underground artists, but lately they had that crackdown on Internet radio stations.
SF:
Yeah, yeah. Publishing companies have stepped in and started to charge people (Web radio stations) for the same type of stuff that venues are charged for, and regular radio stations. Basically any business establishment that plays published artists from ASCAP or BMI … there’s a few … they’re bullies man, they’re bullies about it. That’s some big business shit and it’s unfortunate because Internet radio was a great prospect at exposing a whole bunch of people to new music and people just were streaming free and now they’re coming down with the hammer and it’s just gross. I have no respect for that. I don’t care if it makes me more money, it does, I’m a member of those groups I have to be for all the stuff that I’m doing, but I don’t respect that. The people who care about making that money are only the publishing companies. Most artists, especially artists on a smaller, independent level never see publishing money anyway. So… I’m wondering where all that money disappears to. It ends up in somebody’s pocket.
MH:
Are you seeing any royalty money yet?
SF:
Just recently I started seeing some. I had to go through an agency that specializes in retrieving publishing funds; it was a big pain in the ass and a huge process. So you actually have to involve middlemen in order to get money, then get them paid, then other people get paid, and I really don’t think it’s about artists seeing money for their work. I think it’s about a bunch of other people implicating themselves, and getting money that probably isn’t really deserved to them and ending up with money that other people don’t know how to retrieve.
MH:
How do you make most of your money? Is it always live shows and selling merchandise and such?
SF:
Yep. Well, I run an independent record label called Strange Famous Records so I’ve always seen money for what I have released, but we’re starting to put out other people’s stuff. But touring is a great money maker, if you have the ability to put to put on a good live show and you have the stamina to put on one after another then you should be good. It’s just a tough market right now though. It gets tougher and tougher. It’s flooded beyond belief. Our booking agency, the main guy Christian at the Kork Agency, just did an interview where he said he has to book shows six months ahead of time now in order to get a band into a club and preparing that much ahead of time takes professional work. So, for a band starting out that wants to do their own tour, to book their own tour, it’s virtually impossible.
MH:
For any type of music?
SF:
Yeah. All I know is the music we do, the indie hip-hop scene, but also rock and roll, the indie rock scene and I would say probably any genre, we’re all sharing the same clubs, so it’s the same thing.
MH:
You mentioned Strange Famous, how long has that been around?
SF:
Well, the beginning stages were in 1996 when I started putting out my own stuff but I didn’t start using the name until probably 1999. We started putting out tapes, then it was burned CDs then we started printing things up and the bigger things got the more official we became and started hiring staff. Now we have a mail out room and we have an office and it’s starting to come together.
MH:
You actually started rapping when you were eight-years-old, what’s the first rhyme you wrote? Or the first one you recall?
SF:
The first one I recall is actually featured on the new album in the intro. Cause I recorded it on a tape deck, and it was like “I’m chillin, I’m chillin, I dealin I’m never ever illin, take that pill and you won’t be livin.”
I don’t know if most people know that those voices are actually me in different stages of my life in the intro of my album, but that’s on there.
MH:
What made you write that first rhyme? Why did you start writing?
SF:
I was listening to hip-hop and lovin’ it and I was the kinda kid, and I think most kids are like this, when they love something they automatically want to involve themselves in it and participate and they’re not as inhibited as adults are and they’re just ready to go. And I was ready to go. I had a tape deck and… it was probably also cause I couldn’t get enough hip-hop.
MH:
Who were you listening to at that time?
SF:
Run DMC, Fat Boys, L.L. Cool J and a lot of radio stuff I was able to access through 88.9 WERS, which was in Boston, and they introduced me to Rakim and Spoonie Gee and Ice Tea… the list goes on and on.
MH:
OK. Hearing that first stuff inspired you then, but what inspires you now? What inspired you to write this new album?
SF:
I’ve just been on the path. It’s a path and I know that doesn’t really answer the question well but it’s like, I blazed a trail and I’m at where I’m at because I keep having to figure out how to get further and further and I don’t feel like stopping yet. It just keeps flowin, so I keep putting it down and people are listening and there’s no reason to stop now, might as well keep putting out the records.
MH:
Did you have a specific goal in mind with Human the Dead Dance?
SF:
Not really. For this record I really was just, I wanted it to be reflective, I was looking back … the album is a culmination of all styles that had come out previously on all my other records. I think each record before this had it’s own voice and this record incorporates a whole bunch of different voices of mine, and it’s kind of a wrap up record. As if it was the end of the trilogy, as if it’s trying to wrap it all up and I do think it’s the end of a certain style of record making for me. I wanna kinda abandon ship after this and go in a whole different direction. Maybe. We’ll see what happens. But I think it’s a good time to do that though.
MH:
Was the process of making this record particularly grueling?
SF:
Well, I used the same engineer. I worked with a multitude of producers that I’ve worked with on almost every other album and there were some new producers to that came in, but it’s like a mish-mash, a mix tape style of an album. The subject matter and concepts are wide ranging and it’s a pretty revealing record, just exposing shit that I’ve been through and what I’ve learned in my life and how I learned it, and that’s kinda what the purpose of the album is; as far as the content goes.
MH:
What’s more important in a song, the beats in a song or the lyrics? To you?
SF:
I’m a lyricist and that’s where my focus is, but I’ve got a high respect for the music and I’m always on the search for the best accompaniment to the lyrics. But, without music I’ll always have the lyrics. And that’s why I’ve done spoken word for as long as I have, cause sometimes I’m just left with no music.
MH:
Do you consider yourself a poet?
SF:
Yeah, yeah. It’s a funny term, cause I don’t think anyone wants to walk around and say, “I’m a poet, I’m a poet” … but I work with words.
MH:
I always liked the term “warrior poets” from Braveheart.
SF:
Well. I’m a warrior.
MH:
So who are your favorite writers, whether in music or not?
SF:
Well, in music I’d give it up to Bob Dylan and John Lennon and for hip-hop, Buck 65 and… there’s a few in hip-hop, but I don’t know who’s inspiring me. Writers in general, I don’t read much but I get a big kick out of Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, Stephen King -- those are the authors I read most.
MH:
Do you consider yourself a hip-hop artist or a rapper, or other? Do you make hip-hop or rap? Is there a difference? And what’s the difference between what you do and the mainstream?
SF:
I don’t concern myself with those labels. I really don’t know. Myself I’m definitely hip-hop. I learned through hip-hop and I carry on the traditions of what I learned in hip-hop, but it’s obvious at this point and time that the type of music I make and what’s most popular in hip-hop, we don’t sound the same, we don’t talk about the same things, we have different approaches. But that itself is supposed to be hip-hop. Just cause it’s not the same, people are doing their own thing, that doesn’t mean that what I do isn’t hip-hop. But, if it ever ends up with a new title, I’ve said it time and time again, so be it. I came up with a term that maybe it should be called, but now I can’t remember it. Maybe it should be warrior music.
MH:
Warrior poets?
SF:
Yeah.
MH:
You’re a white warrior poet, is that tough in the hip-hop scene? What’s the diversity level in hip hop these days?
SF:
I don’t know what makes it tough to be a white artist. I don’t know what makes it easy to be a white artist. Before 2007… like 10 years ago, even five or six years ago, I can tell you what made it difficult to be a white hip-hop artist, and that was that people were not willing to accept white rappers into their scope. I’m sure they exist today, but now there are people who scout out rappers who are white, and that’s freaky. I’m not down with that. I wasn’t comfortable with people not listening to me because I’m white and I’m not down with people listening to me because I’m white. I don’t want it to define me. I don’t want it to include me or exclude me in anything. It’s gross.
MH:
Don’t you think they do that in other things, like sports maybe? They scout in Cuba and in Midwest USA because maybe different people with different backgrounds can do different things better or have different tools for success.
SF:
There’s a lot of social reasons for that. I came up in an era when white people where definitely scarce, at least in the public eye. If they were around they were behind the scenes. And here I was, jumping into battles and going into contests and it was a shock. Most people would be like, “Oh man a white guy is trying to do this, give me a break.” And it would influence me or inspire me to go above and beyond what was expected of me. It helped me a lot, and I think that helps, if a black dude is trying to play hockey and he already knows people are gonna be thumbin’ their nose he’s gonna push extra hard to prove himself, so … it’s like Tiger Woods on the golf course -- it’s good fuel. It’s good inspiration. But right now I have no answers. I think in 10 years from now I’ll have a much better idea of how it all worked at.
MH:
What do you think the best music is out there today? Who should our readers be listening to?
SF:
Jolie Holland who is a singer/songwriter, she’s ghostly, she’s like a black and white photo, she has beautiful music, beautiful voice and edgy lyrics. It’s really good stuff.
MH:
What do you guys listen to on tour?
SF:
Uh… I scour the radio looking for the hits, a lot of classic rock and Neil Young.
MH:
No talk radio? Sports talk? Left or right wing?
SF:
Um, a little bit. I’d say 2% of the time.
MH:
You do some politically inspired lyrics, but you don’t pay attention to that stuff on the radio?
SF:
I don’t. In fact Randi Rhodes from Air America came to our show in New York and she had never seen the show before or heard the music and when she heard the political songs she got really excited about it and has talked about the show and my music and I’m really excited about that but I had no idea who she was and she’s this huge talk DJ. So, maybe I should spend some more time listening to talk radio, but at the same time, no I shouldn’t. Yeah, I don’t think I should at all.
MH:
OK. The new album is Human the Death Dance, where did that name come from?
SF:
Buddy Wakefield, who is featured on the album, has a poem called “Human the Death Dance” which we chop up and sprinkle on the album.
MH:
If someone is reading this who is not familiar with you, what album of yours do you recommend they pick up?
SF:
Well, Personal Journals came out in 2002 and that broke me onto the scene, that’s the first official album that came out and it’s a little off kilter and it set me apart from everyone and helped me gain my own audience and I think most people, because it’s the oldest, tend to gravitate to that one the most. But each one that came after that I invested so much of myself into it… A Healthy Distrust came out after that and right now I’m kinda feeling like that was my best album. Human the Death Dance came out and I’m over-consumed by it I’ve just been around it too much and I’m trying to get it out of my head. Again, in 10 years ask me these same questions.
MH:
Alright, definitely, we’ll do it again in a decade.
Starting July 25 you can find Sage Francis on the Paid Dues tour, featuring Felt, Living Legends, Mr. Lif, Cage, Brother Ali and others. Paid Dues runs through August, then Sage jumps on the Rock the Bells festival tour featuring Rage Against The Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def and more.
Strange Famous (www.strangefamousrecords.com) is planning new releases in the fall, including an album from Buck 65 (www.buck65.com).
By Mike Hammer
Jul 19, 2007
Sage Francis tears holes in hypocrisy and mainstream hip-hop with his thoughtful stories of the human condition. The wordsmith spits rhymes that make you think, make you smile, and flow beautifully over high-tempo beats. His new album, Human the Death Dance, was released May 8 on Epitaph Records and has charted well on Billboard’s “Top Independent Albums” list. The album is a hip-hop work of art that mixes cutting edge beats from indie rap producers like Alias and Reanimator and Ant, as well as Sage’s insightful personal and pop cultural rants. The 16-track disc is what Sage calls a “wrap up” album of all his previous work.
I sat down with Sage in Cleveland, Ohio to hear some things about the indie hip-hop scene, his abnormal MySpace page, the first rhyme he ever wrote, greedy publishing companies and more.
Mike Hammer: Your Web site (www.sagefrancis.net) has tracks streaming for free. Is that a good thing for artists to do?
Sage Francis: People can do whatever they want online. Me streaming my music just skips a step so that they don’t go to another site and hear it. On my MySpace page there are like 20 songs there, which is abnormal. Most people don’t get that many songs there but I made a deal with the devil.
MH:
With Rupert Murdoch huh?
SF:
Yeah. I told him, “If you want the privilege of having me involved with your network you start throwing some bones.”
MH:
I hear ya. Did you threaten to go to Facebook?
SF:
Yeah. I’m gonna two time on all of ‘em.
MH:
I think the Internet streaming music is a great resource for underground artists, but lately they had that crackdown on Internet radio stations.
SF:
Yeah, yeah. Publishing companies have stepped in and started to charge people (Web radio stations) for the same type of stuff that venues are charged for, and regular radio stations. Basically any business establishment that plays published artists from ASCAP or BMI … there’s a few … they’re bullies man, they’re bullies about it. That’s some big business shit and it’s unfortunate because Internet radio was a great prospect at exposing a whole bunch of people to new music and people just were streaming free and now they’re coming down with the hammer and it’s just gross. I have no respect for that. I don’t care if it makes me more money, it does, I’m a member of those groups I have to be for all the stuff that I’m doing, but I don’t respect that. The people who care about making that money are only the publishing companies. Most artists, especially artists on a smaller, independent level never see publishing money anyway. So… I’m wondering where all that money disappears to. It ends up in somebody’s pocket.
MH:
Are you seeing any royalty money yet?
SF:
Just recently I started seeing some. I had to go through an agency that specializes in retrieving publishing funds; it was a big pain in the ass and a huge process. So you actually have to involve middlemen in order to get money, then get them paid, then other people get paid, and I really don’t think it’s about artists seeing money for their work. I think it’s about a bunch of other people implicating themselves, and getting money that probably isn’t really deserved to them and ending up with money that other people don’t know how to retrieve.
MH:
How do you make most of your money? Is it always live shows and selling merchandise and such?
SF:
Yep. Well, I run an independent record label called Strange Famous Records so I’ve always seen money for what I have released, but we’re starting to put out other people’s stuff. But touring is a great money maker, if you have the ability to put to put on a good live show and you have the stamina to put on one after another then you should be good. It’s just a tough market right now though. It gets tougher and tougher. It’s flooded beyond belief. Our booking agency, the main guy Christian at the Kork Agency, just did an interview where he said he has to book shows six months ahead of time now in order to get a band into a club and preparing that much ahead of time takes professional work. So, for a band starting out that wants to do their own tour, to book their own tour, it’s virtually impossible.
MH:
For any type of music?
SF:
Yeah. All I know is the music we do, the indie hip-hop scene, but also rock and roll, the indie rock scene and I would say probably any genre, we’re all sharing the same clubs, so it’s the same thing.
MH:
You mentioned Strange Famous, how long has that been around?
SF:
Well, the beginning stages were in 1996 when I started putting out my own stuff but I didn’t start using the name until probably 1999. We started putting out tapes, then it was burned CDs then we started printing things up and the bigger things got the more official we became and started hiring staff. Now we have a mail out room and we have an office and it’s starting to come together.
MH:
You actually started rapping when you were eight-years-old, what’s the first rhyme you wrote? Or the first one you recall?
SF:
The first one I recall is actually featured on the new album in the intro. Cause I recorded it on a tape deck, and it was like “I’m chillin, I’m chillin, I dealin I’m never ever illin, take that pill and you won’t be livin.”
I don’t know if most people know that those voices are actually me in different stages of my life in the intro of my album, but that’s on there.
MH:
What made you write that first rhyme? Why did you start writing?
SF:
I was listening to hip-hop and lovin’ it and I was the kinda kid, and I think most kids are like this, when they love something they automatically want to involve themselves in it and participate and they’re not as inhibited as adults are and they’re just ready to go. And I was ready to go. I had a tape deck and… it was probably also cause I couldn’t get enough hip-hop.
MH:
Who were you listening to at that time?
SF:
Run DMC, Fat Boys, L.L. Cool J and a lot of radio stuff I was able to access through 88.9 WERS, which was in Boston, and they introduced me to Rakim and Spoonie Gee and Ice Tea… the list goes on and on.
MH:
OK. Hearing that first stuff inspired you then, but what inspires you now? What inspired you to write this new album?
SF:
I’ve just been on the path. It’s a path and I know that doesn’t really answer the question well but it’s like, I blazed a trail and I’m at where I’m at because I keep having to figure out how to get further and further and I don’t feel like stopping yet. It just keeps flowin, so I keep putting it down and people are listening and there’s no reason to stop now, might as well keep putting out the records.
MH:
Did you have a specific goal in mind with Human the Dead Dance?
SF:
Not really. For this record I really was just, I wanted it to be reflective, I was looking back … the album is a culmination of all styles that had come out previously on all my other records. I think each record before this had it’s own voice and this record incorporates a whole bunch of different voices of mine, and it’s kind of a wrap up record. As if it was the end of the trilogy, as if it’s trying to wrap it all up and I do think it’s the end of a certain style of record making for me. I wanna kinda abandon ship after this and go in a whole different direction. Maybe. We’ll see what happens. But I think it’s a good time to do that though.
MH:
Was the process of making this record particularly grueling?
SF:
Well, I used the same engineer. I worked with a multitude of producers that I’ve worked with on almost every other album and there were some new producers to that came in, but it’s like a mish-mash, a mix tape style of an album. The subject matter and concepts are wide ranging and it’s a pretty revealing record, just exposing shit that I’ve been through and what I’ve learned in my life and how I learned it, and that’s kinda what the purpose of the album is; as far as the content goes.
MH:
What’s more important in a song, the beats in a song or the lyrics? To you?
SF:
I’m a lyricist and that’s where my focus is, but I’ve got a high respect for the music and I’m always on the search for the best accompaniment to the lyrics. But, without music I’ll always have the lyrics. And that’s why I’ve done spoken word for as long as I have, cause sometimes I’m just left with no music.
MH:
Do you consider yourself a poet?
SF:
Yeah, yeah. It’s a funny term, cause I don’t think anyone wants to walk around and say, “I’m a poet, I’m a poet” … but I work with words.
MH:
I always liked the term “warrior poets” from Braveheart.
SF:
Well. I’m a warrior.
MH:
So who are your favorite writers, whether in music or not?
SF:
Well, in music I’d give it up to Bob Dylan and John Lennon and for hip-hop, Buck 65 and… there’s a few in hip-hop, but I don’t know who’s inspiring me. Writers in general, I don’t read much but I get a big kick out of Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, Stephen King -- those are the authors I read most.
MH:
Do you consider yourself a hip-hop artist or a rapper, or other? Do you make hip-hop or rap? Is there a difference? And what’s the difference between what you do and the mainstream?
SF:
I don’t concern myself with those labels. I really don’t know. Myself I’m definitely hip-hop. I learned through hip-hop and I carry on the traditions of what I learned in hip-hop, but it’s obvious at this point and time that the type of music I make and what’s most popular in hip-hop, we don’t sound the same, we don’t talk about the same things, we have different approaches. But that itself is supposed to be hip-hop. Just cause it’s not the same, people are doing their own thing, that doesn’t mean that what I do isn’t hip-hop. But, if it ever ends up with a new title, I’ve said it time and time again, so be it. I came up with a term that maybe it should be called, but now I can’t remember it. Maybe it should be warrior music.
MH:
Warrior poets?
SF:
Yeah.
MH:
You’re a white warrior poet, is that tough in the hip-hop scene? What’s the diversity level in hip hop these days?
SF:
I don’t know what makes it tough to be a white artist. I don’t know what makes it easy to be a white artist. Before 2007… like 10 years ago, even five or six years ago, I can tell you what made it difficult to be a white hip-hop artist, and that was that people were not willing to accept white rappers into their scope. I’m sure they exist today, but now there are people who scout out rappers who are white, and that’s freaky. I’m not down with that. I wasn’t comfortable with people not listening to me because I’m white and I’m not down with people listening to me because I’m white. I don’t want it to define me. I don’t want it to include me or exclude me in anything. It’s gross.
MH:
Don’t you think they do that in other things, like sports maybe? They scout in Cuba and in Midwest USA because maybe different people with different backgrounds can do different things better or have different tools for success.
SF:
There’s a lot of social reasons for that. I came up in an era when white people where definitely scarce, at least in the public eye. If they were around they were behind the scenes. And here I was, jumping into battles and going into contests and it was a shock. Most people would be like, “Oh man a white guy is trying to do this, give me a break.” And it would influence me or inspire me to go above and beyond what was expected of me. It helped me a lot, and I think that helps, if a black dude is trying to play hockey and he already knows people are gonna be thumbin’ their nose he’s gonna push extra hard to prove himself, so … it’s like Tiger Woods on the golf course -- it’s good fuel. It’s good inspiration. But right now I have no answers. I think in 10 years from now I’ll have a much better idea of how it all worked at.
MH:
What do you think the best music is out there today? Who should our readers be listening to?
SF:
Jolie Holland who is a singer/songwriter, she’s ghostly, she’s like a black and white photo, she has beautiful music, beautiful voice and edgy lyrics. It’s really good stuff.
MH:
What do you guys listen to on tour?
SF:
Uh… I scour the radio looking for the hits, a lot of classic rock and Neil Young.
MH:
No talk radio? Sports talk? Left or right wing?
SF:
Um, a little bit. I’d say 2% of the time.
MH:
You do some politically inspired lyrics, but you don’t pay attention to that stuff on the radio?
SF:
I don’t. In fact Randi Rhodes from Air America came to our show in New York and she had never seen the show before or heard the music and when she heard the political songs she got really excited about it and has talked about the show and my music and I’m really excited about that but I had no idea who she was and she’s this huge talk DJ. So, maybe I should spend some more time listening to talk radio, but at the same time, no I shouldn’t. Yeah, I don’t think I should at all.
MH:
OK. The new album is Human the Death Dance, where did that name come from?
SF:
Buddy Wakefield, who is featured on the album, has a poem called “Human the Death Dance” which we chop up and sprinkle on the album.
MH:
If someone is reading this who is not familiar with you, what album of yours do you recommend they pick up?
SF:
Well, Personal Journals came out in 2002 and that broke me onto the scene, that’s the first official album that came out and it’s a little off kilter and it set me apart from everyone and helped me gain my own audience and I think most people, because it’s the oldest, tend to gravitate to that one the most. But each one that came after that I invested so much of myself into it… A Healthy Distrust came out after that and right now I’m kinda feeling like that was my best album. Human the Death Dance came out and I’m over-consumed by it I’ve just been around it too much and I’m trying to get it out of my head. Again, in 10 years ask me these same questions.
MH:
Alright, definitely, we’ll do it again in a decade.
Starting July 25 you can find Sage Francis on the Paid Dues tour, featuring Felt, Living Legends, Mr. Lif, Cage, Brother Ali and others. Paid Dues runs through August, then Sage jumps on the Rock the Bells festival tour featuring Rage Against The Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def and more.
Strange Famous (www.strangefamousrecords.com) is planning new releases in the fall, including an album from Buck 65 (www.buck65.com).
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Music Review: Sonya Kitchell - This Storm
Put in the CD This Storm and out comes a big fresh breath of air, the strong, unique voice of teenager Sonya Kitchell. She is a singer/songwriter in the vein of Ani Difranco, Tracy Chapman, and PJ Harvey who plays guitar and croons like we all tried to do in our basement in high school, but the difference is she’s actually tremendously talented.
This is Kitchell’s second album. She got a lot of press after her debut Words Come Back to Me because she was only 15 when she recorded it and she showed a ton of promise to be a powerful artist who sticks around for a while.
On This Storm, released on Velour Recordings, she continues to grow and shows even more signs of one day becoming an immortal songwriter, but she’s not quite there yet. This Storm is a gentle record, with some dark moments, it flows nicely and is touching and catchy. Kitchell’s voice is the stuff on the wind after a summer rainstorm. It is uncommonly gorgeous, a mix of R&B, jazz, and coffeehouse girl punk. Her voice is calm and deliberate, but earnest and sometimes surprisingly powerful. Kitchell ranges from a soft grumble to a strained chirp, sounding a bit indecisive and uneven at some points, but always coming back to a soft, warm, middle area. The songs are each worth multiple listens, are each full of flavor and occasionally are brilliant, but Kitchell does take a few bad steps.
The 12-tracks on This Storm all have several degrees of loveliness. Kitchell’s voice; the soft, jazzy drumming or blues bass behind her; and the chipper guitars work to massage the eardrums, with some pretty good results.
The CD opens up with one of the more up-tempo songs on the disc, “For Every Drop.” Her voice dances high and low as she sings “Oh my God, just confess, you want it, you want it, you’re just like the rest. Oh dear child, don’t deny, you need it, need it for your alibi.” “Soldier’s Lament,” and “Who Knows After All,” are the other tracks on the CD with similar tempo, and they are some of the best songs on This Storm.
After the strong opening track, Kitchell falters a bit with probably the worst track on the disc, “Borderline.” It feels too much like a hodgepodge, with smokey blues verses crossed with a cheerleader sing-a-long chorus. Track 3, “Running,” again misses the mark, with Kitchell trying to deal out a soulful life story, but not fully committing to it and missing the true bluesy power her voice and the clean, slightly bluegrassy guitar, hint at.
The track the does successfully combine soul and rock and bluesy swagger beautifully is “Fire.” Definitely the strongest song on the CD, "Fire" is full-bellied and intense, Kitchell belts out the story of a rocky relationship and the guitars wail and wiggle and invite the listener close to warm their hands. I would definitely pump my fist, close my eyes and sing “Fire” at the top of my lungs at a Kitchell concert.
The other songs on This Storm are mostly slower ballads and Kitchell seems less comfortable on them. They are delivered uniquely and have some memorable moments, but overall they miss the mark.
Kitchell has an engaging voice and her lyrics are unembarrassed and direct. Her words and voice are a great tandem, working together to take listeners to the exact spot of the brain or heart that she wants. The breeze blowing out of the CD will pick a listener up for a ride in the high mountains and the low, sometimes foggy, valleys.
None of the songs on this CD are bad, and This Storm can easily be comfortable background music, played again and again, but it does have some faults. She definitely is a talent though, and one to watch. In fact, she’s on tour right now. Visit her website and find the dates, and go watch her.
See the Video for "For Every Drop" off of The Storm here.
This is Kitchell’s second album. She got a lot of press after her debut Words Come Back to Me because she was only 15 when she recorded it and she showed a ton of promise to be a powerful artist who sticks around for a while.
On This Storm, released on Velour Recordings, she continues to grow and shows even more signs of one day becoming an immortal songwriter, but she’s not quite there yet. This Storm is a gentle record, with some dark moments, it flows nicely and is touching and catchy. Kitchell’s voice is the stuff on the wind after a summer rainstorm. It is uncommonly gorgeous, a mix of R&B, jazz, and coffeehouse girl punk. Her voice is calm and deliberate, but earnest and sometimes surprisingly powerful. Kitchell ranges from a soft grumble to a strained chirp, sounding a bit indecisive and uneven at some points, but always coming back to a soft, warm, middle area. The songs are each worth multiple listens, are each full of flavor and occasionally are brilliant, but Kitchell does take a few bad steps.
The 12-tracks on This Storm all have several degrees of loveliness. Kitchell’s voice; the soft, jazzy drumming or blues bass behind her; and the chipper guitars work to massage the eardrums, with some pretty good results.
The CD opens up with one of the more up-tempo songs on the disc, “For Every Drop.” Her voice dances high and low as she sings “Oh my God, just confess, you want it, you want it, you’re just like the rest. Oh dear child, don’t deny, you need it, need it for your alibi.” “Soldier’s Lament,” and “Who Knows After All,” are the other tracks on the CD with similar tempo, and they are some of the best songs on This Storm.
After the strong opening track, Kitchell falters a bit with probably the worst track on the disc, “Borderline.” It feels too much like a hodgepodge, with smokey blues verses crossed with a cheerleader sing-a-long chorus. Track 3, “Running,” again misses the mark, with Kitchell trying to deal out a soulful life story, but not fully committing to it and missing the true bluesy power her voice and the clean, slightly bluegrassy guitar, hint at.
The track the does successfully combine soul and rock and bluesy swagger beautifully is “Fire.” Definitely the strongest song on the CD, "Fire" is full-bellied and intense, Kitchell belts out the story of a rocky relationship and the guitars wail and wiggle and invite the listener close to warm their hands. I would definitely pump my fist, close my eyes and sing “Fire” at the top of my lungs at a Kitchell concert.
The other songs on This Storm are mostly slower ballads and Kitchell seems less comfortable on them. They are delivered uniquely and have some memorable moments, but overall they miss the mark.
Kitchell has an engaging voice and her lyrics are unembarrassed and direct. Her words and voice are a great tandem, working together to take listeners to the exact spot of the brain or heart that she wants. The breeze blowing out of the CD will pick a listener up for a ride in the high mountains and the low, sometimes foggy, valleys.
None of the songs on this CD are bad, and This Storm can easily be comfortable background music, played again and again, but it does have some faults. She definitely is a talent though, and one to watch. In fact, she’s on tour right now. Visit her website and find the dates, and go watch her.
See the Video for "For Every Drop" off of The Storm here.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Music Review: Damien Jurado - Caught in the Trees
Singer/songwriter Damien Jurado has released about a dozen records in his career; all of them powerful, intimate, and intelligent efforts. He plays guitar and tells cryptic and touching stories. Most of his songs inhabit a sparse, quiet area - similar to the songs of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and occasionally Neil Young or more recently Peter Bjorn and John. A few of his CDs have shown that he can write more rocking songs, but he still is most comfortable as a guy with his acoustic guitar, quietly singing lyrics scribbled on the back of a napkin.
Caught in the Trees – released on the Secretly Canadian website - is an effort of mostly gentle lullabies, but it does rock at a few points. The 13-track effort is a solid effort that flows nicely, and Jurado’s lyrics are straightforward and touching. The album feels like a section from a melancholy autobiography that is translated to music. Jurado’s slightly screechy voice is confident as he sings about the ins and outs of humanity, his favorite, and best, topic. He is supported wonderfully by sharp, muted, drumming, strings, pianos and female backing vocals.
Jurado’s songs are always set to his own point of view, and often start or stop in unexpected places, or changes at random points. The musicianship is pleasant and the storytelling is vivid on Caught in the Trees. With lyrics like “You’ll be happy to know the situation is worse,” “You look like you could use a rest. You look like you’d be better off dead,” “I’m no lie detector. He’s no bullshit talker,” “Are you alright? You’re making me nervous with how much you’re leaving me here,” and “Another jealous husband to be killed,” overtop of downtempo, full guitar chords, restrained drumming and sprinkles of strings and pianos, Caught in the Trees is Damien Jurado’s murky heartbeat. It kicks up a couple times, but stays mostly somber, but is always intense and interesting.
Caught in the Trees is a CD that could be played over and over again in the background of your activities. It is a gentle effort, not demanding attention, not screaming at you, but is nicely rhythmic and overall a lovely, subdued effort - similar to most of Jurado’s other efforts. Since they are all beautifully simple and smart, that is a good thing.
Hear "Predictive Living" from Caught in the Trees here - Singer/songwriter Damien Jurado has released about a dozen records in his career; all of them powerful, intimate, and intelligent efforts. He plays guitar and tells cryptic and touching stories. Most of his songs inhabit a sparse, quiet area - similar to the songs of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and occasionally Neil Young or more recently Peter Bjorn and John. A few of his CDs have shown that he can write more rocking songs, but he still is most comfortable as a guy with his acoustic guitar, quietly singing lyrics scribbled on the back of a napkin.
Caught in the Trees – released on the Secretly Canadian website - is an effort of mostly gentle lullabies, but it does rock at a few points. The 13-track effort is a solid effort that flows nicely, and Jurado’s lyrics are straightforward and touching. The album feels like a section from a melancholy autobiography that is translated to music. Jurado’s slightly screechy voice is confident as he sings about the ins and outs of humanity, his favorite, and best, topic. He is supported wonderfully by sharp, muted, drumming, strings, pianos and female backing vocals.
Jurado’s songs are always set to his own point of view, and often start or stop in unexpected places, or changes at random points. The musicianship is pleasant and the storytelling is vivid on Caught in the Trees. With lyrics like “You’ll be happy to know the situation is worse,” “You look like you could use a rest. You look like you’d be better off dead,” “I’m no lie detector. He’s no bullshit talker,” “Are you alright? You’re making me nervous with how much you’re leaving me here,” and “Another jealous husband to be killed,” overtop of downtempo, full guitar chords, restrained drumming and sprinkles of strings and pianos, Caught in the Trees is Damien Jurado’s murky heartbeat. It kicks up a couple times, but stays mostly somber, but is always intense and interesting.
Caught in the Trees is a CD that could be played over and over again in the background of your activities. It is a gentle effort, not demanding attention, not screaming at you, but is nicely rhythmic and overall a lovely, subdued effort - similar to most of Jurado’s other efforts. Since they are all beautifully simple and smart, that is a good thing.
Hear "Predictive Living" from Caught in the Trees here - Singer/songwriter Damien Jurado has released about a dozen records in his career; all of them powerful, intimate, and intelligent efforts. He plays guitar and tells cryptic and touching stories. Most of his songs inhabit a sparse, quiet area - similar to the songs of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and occasionally Neil Young or more recently Peter Bjorn and John. A few of his CDs have shown that he can write more rocking songs, but he still is most comfortable as a guy with his acoustic guitar, quietly singing lyrics scribbled on the back of a napkin.
Caught in the Trees – released on the Secretly Canadian website - is an effort of mostly gentle lullabies, but it does rock at a few points. The 13-track effort is a solid effort that flows nicely, and Jurado’s lyrics are straightforward and touching. The album feels like a section from a melancholy autobiography that is translated to music. Jurado’s slightly screechy voice is confident as he sings about the ins and outs of humanity, his favorite, and best, topic. He is supported wonderfully by sharp, muted, drumming, strings, pianos and female backing vocals.
Jurado’s songs are always set to his own point of view, and often start or stop in unexpected places, or changes at random points. The musicianship is pleasant and the storytelling is vivid on Caught in the Trees. With lyrics like “You’ll be happy to know the situation is worse,” “You look like you could use a rest. You look like you’d be better off dead,” “I’m no lie detector. He’s no bullshit talker,” “Are you alright? You’re making me nervous with how much you’re leaving me here,” and “Another jealous husband to be killed,” overtop of downtempo, full guitar chords, restrained drumming and sprinkles of strings and pianos, Caught in the Trees is Damien Jurado’s murky heartbeat. It kicks up a couple times, but stays mostly somber, but is always intense and interesting.
Caught in the Trees is a CD that could be played over and over again in the background of your activities. It is a gentle effort, not demanding attention, not screaming at you, but is nicely rhythmic and overall a lovely, subdued effort - similar to most of Jurado’s other efforts. Since they are all beautifully simple and smart, that is a good thing.
Hear "Predictive Living" from Caught in the Trees here
Caught in the Trees – released on the Secretly Canadian website - is an effort of mostly gentle lullabies, but it does rock at a few points. The 13-track effort is a solid effort that flows nicely, and Jurado’s lyrics are straightforward and touching. The album feels like a section from a melancholy autobiography that is translated to music. Jurado’s slightly screechy voice is confident as he sings about the ins and outs of humanity, his favorite, and best, topic. He is supported wonderfully by sharp, muted, drumming, strings, pianos and female backing vocals.
Jurado’s songs are always set to his own point of view, and often start or stop in unexpected places, or changes at random points. The musicianship is pleasant and the storytelling is vivid on Caught in the Trees. With lyrics like “You’ll be happy to know the situation is worse,” “You look like you could use a rest. You look like you’d be better off dead,” “I’m no lie detector. He’s no bullshit talker,” “Are you alright? You’re making me nervous with how much you’re leaving me here,” and “Another jealous husband to be killed,” overtop of downtempo, full guitar chords, restrained drumming and sprinkles of strings and pianos, Caught in the Trees is Damien Jurado’s murky heartbeat. It kicks up a couple times, but stays mostly somber, but is always intense and interesting.
Caught in the Trees is a CD that could be played over and over again in the background of your activities. It is a gentle effort, not demanding attention, not screaming at you, but is nicely rhythmic and overall a lovely, subdued effort - similar to most of Jurado’s other efforts. Since they are all beautifully simple and smart, that is a good thing.
Hear "Predictive Living" from Caught in the Trees here - Singer/songwriter Damien Jurado has released about a dozen records in his career; all of them powerful, intimate, and intelligent efforts. He plays guitar and tells cryptic and touching stories. Most of his songs inhabit a sparse, quiet area - similar to the songs of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and occasionally Neil Young or more recently Peter Bjorn and John. A few of his CDs have shown that he can write more rocking songs, but he still is most comfortable as a guy with his acoustic guitar, quietly singing lyrics scribbled on the back of a napkin.
Caught in the Trees – released on the Secretly Canadian website - is an effort of mostly gentle lullabies, but it does rock at a few points. The 13-track effort is a solid effort that flows nicely, and Jurado’s lyrics are straightforward and touching. The album feels like a section from a melancholy autobiography that is translated to music. Jurado’s slightly screechy voice is confident as he sings about the ins and outs of humanity, his favorite, and best, topic. He is supported wonderfully by sharp, muted, drumming, strings, pianos and female backing vocals.
Jurado’s songs are always set to his own point of view, and often start or stop in unexpected places, or changes at random points. The musicianship is pleasant and the storytelling is vivid on Caught in the Trees. With lyrics like “You’ll be happy to know the situation is worse,” “You look like you could use a rest. You look like you’d be better off dead,” “I’m no lie detector. He’s no bullshit talker,” “Are you alright? You’re making me nervous with how much you’re leaving me here,” and “Another jealous husband to be killed,” overtop of downtempo, full guitar chords, restrained drumming and sprinkles of strings and pianos, Caught in the Trees is Damien Jurado’s murky heartbeat. It kicks up a couple times, but stays mostly somber, but is always intense and interesting.
Caught in the Trees is a CD that could be played over and over again in the background of your activities. It is a gentle effort, not demanding attention, not screaming at you, but is nicely rhythmic and overall a lovely, subdued effort - similar to most of Jurado’s other efforts. Since they are all beautifully simple and smart, that is a good thing.
Hear "Predictive Living" from Caught in the Trees here - Singer/songwriter Damien Jurado has released about a dozen records in his career; all of them powerful, intimate, and intelligent efforts. He plays guitar and tells cryptic and touching stories. Most of his songs inhabit a sparse, quiet area - similar to the songs of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and occasionally Neil Young or more recently Peter Bjorn and John. A few of his CDs have shown that he can write more rocking songs, but he still is most comfortable as a guy with his acoustic guitar, quietly singing lyrics scribbled on the back of a napkin.
Caught in the Trees – released on the Secretly Canadian website - is an effort of mostly gentle lullabies, but it does rock at a few points. The 13-track effort is a solid effort that flows nicely, and Jurado’s lyrics are straightforward and touching. The album feels like a section from a melancholy autobiography that is translated to music. Jurado’s slightly screechy voice is confident as he sings about the ins and outs of humanity, his favorite, and best, topic. He is supported wonderfully by sharp, muted, drumming, strings, pianos and female backing vocals.
Jurado’s songs are always set to his own point of view, and often start or stop in unexpected places, or changes at random points. The musicianship is pleasant and the storytelling is vivid on Caught in the Trees. With lyrics like “You’ll be happy to know the situation is worse,” “You look like you could use a rest. You look like you’d be better off dead,” “I’m no lie detector. He’s no bullshit talker,” “Are you alright? You’re making me nervous with how much you’re leaving me here,” and “Another jealous husband to be killed,” overtop of downtempo, full guitar chords, restrained drumming and sprinkles of strings and pianos, Caught in the Trees is Damien Jurado’s murky heartbeat. It kicks up a couple times, but stays mostly somber, but is always intense and interesting.
Caught in the Trees is a CD that could be played over and over again in the background of your activities. It is a gentle effort, not demanding attention, not screaming at you, but is nicely rhythmic and overall a lovely, subdued effort - similar to most of Jurado’s other efforts. Since they are all beautifully simple and smart, that is a good thing.
Hear "Predictive Living" from Caught in the Trees here
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Music Review: One Day As A Lion
One Day As A Lion is a duo, made up of former Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha and former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. Zack sings/raps and plays keyboards and Jon drums and they produce a fuzzy rock sound with Zack’s traditional bare-knuckled poetry. It is a perfect setup for the street poet, Zack, to spit his open mic poetry jam overtop a dirty little beat that won’t let you go.
The band says they take their name from a 1970 photograph taken of a graffiti message: “It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb.” Although this is only the band's first release and not a full-length CD, it does have the feel of a duo that is bearing their big, strong, air-filled chest of a lion and pouncing on the music. These songs feel a bit like they were rushed, hasty, and sloppy, but they also feel intimate and intense and like they are begging to get to your brain.
What strikes the ear first are the thick sounds of the ep. It is a 5-song effort – released on Anti Records - that feels very meaty. These songs don’t feel as sparse as they really are, with just the 2 instruments. The homemade noise aspect of One Day As A Lion fills the room, throbbing and scratching the chalkboard, and Zack’s lyrics are apparently personal but also readily expand to open up some interesting thoughts.
The ep opens up with “Wild International” a short fuzzy keyboard hook ontop of some jazzy high-hat rhythms and Zack lays out a tale of homogeneous radio and a god who doesn’t care. “Ocean View” is the second track and Zack says “You can have the mic or the heater, but you can’t have both” in the world of rap and violence, and an ocean of tears. The third track, “Last Letter,” is the strongest on the EP. Zack again hits on themes of god and pain and negligence and disregard spouting the lines “Your god is a homeless assassin/ who roams the world to save/ he’s digging for buried treasure/ leaving nothing but fields of graves.” The track is the most dynamic on the EP, with Jon’s rolling, powerful drumming and Zack’s hard-hitting lyrics and vocal style are both displayed beautifully.
Zack lays out some more street wisdom in track 4, “If You Fear Dying.” The ‘mic and the heater’ are mentioned again as Zack embodies a plethora of possible dangers, but says “If you fear dying, then you’re already dead.” The closing song is a bit more high-pitched and thumping and Zack again touches the dangers of life, with some simple and powerful lines and says it may be time to live “One Day As A Lion.” Maybe it is today.
The band says they take their name from a 1970 photograph taken of a graffiti message: “It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb.” Although this is only the band's first release and not a full-length CD, it does have the feel of a duo that is bearing their big, strong, air-filled chest of a lion and pouncing on the music. These songs feel a bit like they were rushed, hasty, and sloppy, but they also feel intimate and intense and like they are begging to get to your brain.
What strikes the ear first are the thick sounds of the ep. It is a 5-song effort – released on Anti Records - that feels very meaty. These songs don’t feel as sparse as they really are, with just the 2 instruments. The homemade noise aspect of One Day As A Lion fills the room, throbbing and scratching the chalkboard, and Zack’s lyrics are apparently personal but also readily expand to open up some interesting thoughts.
The ep opens up with “Wild International” a short fuzzy keyboard hook ontop of some jazzy high-hat rhythms and Zack lays out a tale of homogeneous radio and a god who doesn’t care. “Ocean View” is the second track and Zack says “You can have the mic or the heater, but you can’t have both” in the world of rap and violence, and an ocean of tears. The third track, “Last Letter,” is the strongest on the EP. Zack again hits on themes of god and pain and negligence and disregard spouting the lines “Your god is a homeless assassin/ who roams the world to save/ he’s digging for buried treasure/ leaving nothing but fields of graves.” The track is the most dynamic on the EP, with Jon’s rolling, powerful drumming and Zack’s hard-hitting lyrics and vocal style are both displayed beautifully.
Zack lays out some more street wisdom in track 4, “If You Fear Dying.” The ‘mic and the heater’ are mentioned again as Zack embodies a plethora of possible dangers, but says “If you fear dying, then you’re already dead.” The closing song is a bit more high-pitched and thumping and Zack again touches the dangers of life, with some simple and powerful lines and says it may be time to live “One Day As A Lion.” Maybe it is today.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Music Review: Andre Williams & The New Orleans Hellhounds – Can You Deal With It?
Cult R&B hero Andre “Mr. Rhythm” Williams – the nickname apparently came from Redd Foxx so it’s cool by me - has been around the R&B, soul, blues, and a touch of the punk, scenes for a long time. Some call him the ‘father of rap’ for his ‘talk-singing’ approach to vocals. He worked for Motown Records and Chess Records; produced records for/with and wrote songs for Stevie Wonder and Ike Turner; and worked with Parliament Funkadelic, John Spencer Blues Explosion, and others and is still a spicy live wire at 80 some years old.
Can You Deal With It? - released on Bloodshot Records, is his 12th solo album (5th on Bloodshot) and it is a foot stomping, handclapping, booty slapping, titty grabbing mess of funk, fuzzy soul, and the blues. It sounds like a combination of Otis Redding and Wesley Willis. Can You Deal With It? is part love songs and fist pounding, drunken sing-alongs and part raunchy, sloppy noise-fuelled romp. Williams is a slightly insane R&B crooner with a slutty soul, and the 9-track album is an interesting and funky release.
The album opens up with the title track breaking down the fence and spitting on your face. “Pray for you daughter” is a song about a lost girl stuck in a downward spiral of sex and drugs, “If you leave me” is a sweet love song about a man who threatens to kill his “ho” if she tries to leave him, and “Rosalie” is a happy, 50s-style, hip-shaker about a girl sneaking out, and maybe giving it up under the porch.
The New Orleans Hellhounds back up Williams with saxophones, organ, fuzzy guitars and attitude. They fit wonderfully next to Williams and his swaggering, naughty, delivery. They set a wonderful beat and fill in the empty moments with a drunken grace. The best two tracks on the album are “Hear ya dance” a slow spoken-word like piece with a man calling up his girl to hear her dance on the phone, and “Your Woman,” an intense bluesy breakdown with mad funk hornage and Williams smoky barking about giving back a woman he doesn’t want any more, or maybe keeping the “old lady.” It definitely has some fun and some relief and awesome swanky jamming and organ grooving to it.
The album dies down with “Can’t take ’em off” – a saucy, throwback sounding end of the night drunken plea to move your panties to the side.
This is not my favorite album, and not the best thing since sliced bread, but it is powerful and interesting and has a naughty appeal. It is some throwback R&B that has a lot more heart than any polished BET featured radio artist of today and it’s worth at least one listen, if not more than that.
Can You Deal With It? - released on Bloodshot Records, is his 12th solo album (5th on Bloodshot) and it is a foot stomping, handclapping, booty slapping, titty grabbing mess of funk, fuzzy soul, and the blues. It sounds like a combination of Otis Redding and Wesley Willis. Can You Deal With It? is part love songs and fist pounding, drunken sing-alongs and part raunchy, sloppy noise-fuelled romp. Williams is a slightly insane R&B crooner with a slutty soul, and the 9-track album is an interesting and funky release.
The album opens up with the title track breaking down the fence and spitting on your face. “Pray for you daughter” is a song about a lost girl stuck in a downward spiral of sex and drugs, “If you leave me” is a sweet love song about a man who threatens to kill his “ho” if she tries to leave him, and “Rosalie” is a happy, 50s-style, hip-shaker about a girl sneaking out, and maybe giving it up under the porch.
The New Orleans Hellhounds back up Williams with saxophones, organ, fuzzy guitars and attitude. They fit wonderfully next to Williams and his swaggering, naughty, delivery. They set a wonderful beat and fill in the empty moments with a drunken grace. The best two tracks on the album are “Hear ya dance” a slow spoken-word like piece with a man calling up his girl to hear her dance on the phone, and “Your Woman,” an intense bluesy breakdown with mad funk hornage and Williams smoky barking about giving back a woman he doesn’t want any more, or maybe keeping the “old lady.” It definitely has some fun and some relief and awesome swanky jamming and organ grooving to it.
The album dies down with “Can’t take ’em off” – a saucy, throwback sounding end of the night drunken plea to move your panties to the side.
This is not my favorite album, and not the best thing since sliced bread, but it is powerful and interesting and has a naughty appeal. It is some throwback R&B that has a lot more heart than any polished BET featured radio artist of today and it’s worth at least one listen, if not more than that.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Music Review: Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal
The latest offering from Alejandro Escovedo is a powerful musical diary entry. It is a quirky and catchy and completely pleasant album that is nicely polished – produced by old Escovedo friend Tony Visconti - and unique.
This is Escovedo’s 10th solo album and he continues to write charming, sharp, witty, touching songs each and every time. He is a master songwriter and touches souls in a way that never goes wrong, similar to Damien Jurado or Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.
His sound is a mix of Elvis Costello, Billy Bragg, and Jurado. His background was in punk bands and he still rocks out, but the beauty of his songs is the musical texture, and the ebbs and flows.
Real Animal is a 13-track effort put out on Back Porch/Manhattan Records and is Escovedo at his finest. He is brash and beautiful on the album, plaintive and playful, alt-country, punk rocker, and troubadour. He always writes and sings in a straightforward way and the lyrics are personal stories from a private notebook. On “Sister Lost Soul” Escovedo sings about the sadness of losing loved ones “Nobody left here unbroken/Nobody left her unscarred/Nobody here is talking/That’s just the way things are/ You had to go without me/You wandered off alone/And all the neon light reflecting off the sidewalk/Only reminds me you’re not coming home.”
The song “Chelsea Hotel ‘78” tells the story of a man living in a rock 'n' roll hotel “And it makes no sense/And it makes perfect sense.” A couple songs just have feel good lyrics about friendship and goodwill “People (We’re only gonna live so long)” and “Always a Friend,” and “Swallows of San Juan,” and “Slow Down” are downbeat ballads. Every song is infused with Escovedo’s unique viewpoints, heartache, and joy.
The album feels so real because it covers the gamut of emotions and lets the listener in. It is easy to identify with Escovedo. His voice is sturdy but gloomy, then excited and then hopeful and he weaves all of it together nicely on Real Animal.
Escovedo’s band – David Pulkingham on guitar and keyboards, Chuck Prophet on guitar, Josh Gravelin on bass and keyboards, Hector Munoz on drums, Susan Voelz on violin, Brian Standler on cello - is a perfect unit. The drums and bass always keep the songs steady, the violin adds a wonderful layer of sadness but also a spastic layer, and the guitars guide the mood, staying low key sometimes and ratcheting it up on other songs. There are also some organs, and saxophones added in on the album the help it function on additional levels and brings out even more emotions.
This album is a lovely effort. It is paced nicely, has a good mixture of rockers and dusty lullabies and the track order keeps things very upbeat and interesting. “Real as an Animal” is a rocker and so is “Chelsea Hotel ‘78” and they are probably the most powerful songs on the album, along with the bouncy “Smoke.” Escovedo’s punk rock background keeps things pounding and joyful, the slow ballads keep things thoughtful and touching and, in the end, Real Animal keeps Escovedo firmly in place as one of the most wonderful songwriters of this era.
This is Escovedo’s 10th solo album and he continues to write charming, sharp, witty, touching songs each and every time. He is a master songwriter and touches souls in a way that never goes wrong, similar to Damien Jurado or Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.
His sound is a mix of Elvis Costello, Billy Bragg, and Jurado. His background was in punk bands and he still rocks out, but the beauty of his songs is the musical texture, and the ebbs and flows.
Real Animal is a 13-track effort put out on Back Porch/Manhattan Records and is Escovedo at his finest. He is brash and beautiful on the album, plaintive and playful, alt-country, punk rocker, and troubadour. He always writes and sings in a straightforward way and the lyrics are personal stories from a private notebook. On “Sister Lost Soul” Escovedo sings about the sadness of losing loved ones “Nobody left here unbroken/Nobody left her unscarred/Nobody here is talking/That’s just the way things are/ You had to go without me/You wandered off alone/And all the neon light reflecting off the sidewalk/Only reminds me you’re not coming home.”
The song “Chelsea Hotel ‘78” tells the story of a man living in a rock 'n' roll hotel “And it makes no sense/And it makes perfect sense.” A couple songs just have feel good lyrics about friendship and goodwill “People (We’re only gonna live so long)” and “Always a Friend,” and “Swallows of San Juan,” and “Slow Down” are downbeat ballads. Every song is infused with Escovedo’s unique viewpoints, heartache, and joy.
The album feels so real because it covers the gamut of emotions and lets the listener in. It is easy to identify with Escovedo. His voice is sturdy but gloomy, then excited and then hopeful and he weaves all of it together nicely on Real Animal.
Escovedo’s band – David Pulkingham on guitar and keyboards, Chuck Prophet on guitar, Josh Gravelin on bass and keyboards, Hector Munoz on drums, Susan Voelz on violin, Brian Standler on cello - is a perfect unit. The drums and bass always keep the songs steady, the violin adds a wonderful layer of sadness but also a spastic layer, and the guitars guide the mood, staying low key sometimes and ratcheting it up on other songs. There are also some organs, and saxophones added in on the album the help it function on additional levels and brings out even more emotions.
This album is a lovely effort. It is paced nicely, has a good mixture of rockers and dusty lullabies and the track order keeps things very upbeat and interesting. “Real as an Animal” is a rocker and so is “Chelsea Hotel ‘78” and they are probably the most powerful songs on the album, along with the bouncy “Smoke.” Escovedo’s punk rock background keeps things pounding and joyful, the slow ballads keep things thoughtful and touching and, in the end, Real Animal keeps Escovedo firmly in place as one of the most wonderful songwriters of this era.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Music Review: Envy - Abyssal
Envy is a beast. A five-piece dynamic, hardcore band from Japan that deals screaming guitars, pummeling drums, and guttural screams straight to your chest. The band has been around for a while and continues to grow into an epic, rib cage vibrating, jolt of momentum.
In 2006 Envy released their most accomplished, surprising, beautiful, and intense album, Insomniac Doze on Temporary Residence. Abyssal is a 30-minute, 4-song EP that has flashes of some of the terrible beauty that was Insomniac Doze. It is an album that approaches quietly, then pounces on you and rides you up a mountain, down the other side and through a valley into a lush green meadow, that quickly turns to an empty field of burnt and smoldering dreams. However, Abyssal is a less focused album, although it still features some wonderfully accomplished atmospheric metal songs.
The 4 songs – "Road of Winds that Water Builds," "All That’s Left has Gone to Sleep," "Thousand Scars," and "Fading Vision" all share a driving and intense drumbeat from drummer Dairoku Seki and textured guitars from Nobukata Kawai and Masahiro Tobita. The two guitar players mash sounds together quiet well and they never seem to leave any empty space, or maybe they leave the perfect amount of empty space.
Envy has songs that are structured more like symphonies, with cues for when the drums should rise, the bass should dance, and the screaming should obliterate everything. The lyrics are all in Japanese, there is translation in the note sheet, although understanding the lyrics isn’t that important. It is the emotion forced out of lead singer Tetsuya Fukagawa that is.
Unfortunately the emotions can get old. Out of 30 minutes there are only about 6 or 7 minutes that are unique, undeniable, must-listen moments. The rest of the ep kinda blends together.
The tunes on Abyssal run from 4 minutes to 10 minutes long and it’s length is one of it’s downfalls, with more time Envy might have compiled another outstanding tour de force CD, but this effort feels abbreviated. Like there were only 10 or 15 minutes of polished material, but they had to stretch it out to put together this EP.
It’s still a good effort, but not their most memorable and it doesn’t seem like they had to rush this release out. They should have taken their time and put together a proper full-length album, which they will hopefully do next time.
In 2006 Envy released their most accomplished, surprising, beautiful, and intense album, Insomniac Doze on Temporary Residence. Abyssal is a 30-minute, 4-song EP that has flashes of some of the terrible beauty that was Insomniac Doze. It is an album that approaches quietly, then pounces on you and rides you up a mountain, down the other side and through a valley into a lush green meadow, that quickly turns to an empty field of burnt and smoldering dreams. However, Abyssal is a less focused album, although it still features some wonderfully accomplished atmospheric metal songs.
The 4 songs – "Road of Winds that Water Builds," "All That’s Left has Gone to Sleep," "Thousand Scars," and "Fading Vision" all share a driving and intense drumbeat from drummer Dairoku Seki and textured guitars from Nobukata Kawai and Masahiro Tobita. The two guitar players mash sounds together quiet well and they never seem to leave any empty space, or maybe they leave the perfect amount of empty space.
Envy has songs that are structured more like symphonies, with cues for when the drums should rise, the bass should dance, and the screaming should obliterate everything. The lyrics are all in Japanese, there is translation in the note sheet, although understanding the lyrics isn’t that important. It is the emotion forced out of lead singer Tetsuya Fukagawa that is.
Unfortunately the emotions can get old. Out of 30 minutes there are only about 6 or 7 minutes that are unique, undeniable, must-listen moments. The rest of the ep kinda blends together.
The tunes on Abyssal run from 4 minutes to 10 minutes long and it’s length is one of it’s downfalls, with more time Envy might have compiled another outstanding tour de force CD, but this effort feels abbreviated. Like there were only 10 or 15 minutes of polished material, but they had to stretch it out to put together this EP.
It’s still a good effort, but not their most memorable and it doesn’t seem like they had to rush this release out. They should have taken their time and put together a proper full-length album, which they will hopefully do next time.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Drums and Tuba
Drums and Tuba
By Mike Hammer
Mar 23, 2005
Drums and Tuba is a trio of pop music. Some of the music is made with a tuba, there are some electronics, drums and masterful guitar playing. The band released its last full-length studio album, Mostly Ape, on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records in 2002. A mostly instrumental group, Drums and Tuba make their living finding a groove and exploiting it.
They always bring an impressive motion to their live show, playing multiple instruments and using electronic sampling to loop themselves and bombard listeners with catchy rhythms you can’t escape. The secret to their success is simple: the band is made up of three expert musicians playing and improvising songs that drench you in energy and make you want to dance. They throw together funk and jazz and pop and produce a sound that will shake you like an earthquake.
Currently, they are touring Europe, opening for Cake, and they have a new album coming out later this year. I caught up with two-thirds of the band - Tony Nozero (drums, electronics), Brian Wolff (tuba, trumpet) - the night before they left for Europe, as they finished up a month long stint at TwiRoPa in New Orleans.
Mike Hammer: Where did you guys start as a band?
Tony Nozero: We started in Austin, Texas in 1995.
MH:
You started just playing drums and tuba, right?
TN:
Yeah, it was just the two of us.
MH:
Tell me about the Austin scene and how you guys made your band kinda fit into that scene when you were starting out.
TN:
I think it was a lot different then, than it is now, probably a lot smaller.
Brian Wolf: Yeah, everybody knew everybody else. Me and the guitar player ( Neil McKeeby) were playing in a band together before this one, and Tony was playing in a bunch of stuff and we were working together, so we just said he let's get together and start playing.
TN:
Yeah, it just happened organically. It seemed at that time, and it's sort of similar now, that you could just get gigs easily. There were lots of places to play and everybody was doing lots of stuff and you ran into each other all the time.
MH:
Did you guys try to set yourselves apart when you started, with having just the drums and tuba?
BW:
No, I just started playing the tuba, and I wanted to start a band. It was kinda just purely for fun. We sort of had a moment, pretty quickly, where we decided we needed a third person. At first we were thinking about more horns, but Austin is like, any of the horn players were all jazz guys, so we got together with Neil.
MH:
So the band evolved from just drums and tuba to a three-piece with a guitar. How did that change your sound? Define your sound?
TN:
At first we were doing kinda marching band on the street stuff, that had a big old bass drum and one cymbal and one snare and was just very stripped down. It was just kinda wacky, funky, weird stuff. So when Neil showed up we really started working on writing songs, making arrangements and such.
BW:
Back then it was a lot more punk. It was nothing we tried to do, it just kinda came out that way.
MH:
As an instrumental band, a lot of times I think that instruments take different roles that could be taken by a vocalist. This is something that we were concentrating on, trying to appeal to people who aren’t as familiar with straight instrumental groups.
BW:
We never really made an attempt to appeal to anybody. We just, we do melodies and stuff, and that makes it a little more accessible. No matter how weird it is. So, that gives people something to grab onto. And we were always kinda like, if people like it, they like it, if they don’t, they don’t. We didn’t have any plans for the long term or anything...
MH:
But you guys have managed to stay around and make a living as a band. How many albums have you put out now?
BW:
Seven.
TN:
Yeah.
MH:
Is that finished yet?
TN:
It’s getting there. Pretty close, we’ve been working on a lot of different songs.
MH:
Is that what some of the lives shows are for, right now, working out the kinks in the songs?
TN:
Yeah, some of it.
MH:
Well, there’s a lot of movement in your show, as far as playing different instruments and looping things and working with each other. Do you try and capture that in the studio?
TN:
With some of the stuff, it’s weird, some of the songs in the studio come out really differently.
MH:
How much can you copy the studio on stage?
TN:
They’re pretty similar. The structures are all written out – from the three of us being in the studio and working it out – and we pretty much stick to the format. There’s always little bits of improv that weave in and out, but there’s always...we always want a full song, not just a part that goes on forever.
MH:
For a while you guys were including some vocals. How did that change the songs?
BW:
It hasn’t changed them very much.
TN:
Yeah, it hasn’t changed them. The one thing that’s been difficult is figuring out how to go about it because we’ve been instrumental for so long.
MH:
Have the shows changed at all?
BW:
They're pretty similar. The people who’ve followed us, we’re doing new stuff, so that’s exciting, but mostly it’s just been difficult balancing all the sound. There are a lot of sounds and it’s just a matter of balancing all the sonic shifts that are going on.
MH:
Is that exciting for you guys?
BW:
Yeah, we’re always trying to do something different. You don’t wanna do the same stuff over and over again.
By Mike Hammer
Mar 23, 2005
Drums and Tuba is a trio of pop music. Some of the music is made with a tuba, there are some electronics, drums and masterful guitar playing. The band released its last full-length studio album, Mostly Ape, on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records in 2002. A mostly instrumental group, Drums and Tuba make their living finding a groove and exploiting it.
They always bring an impressive motion to their live show, playing multiple instruments and using electronic sampling to loop themselves and bombard listeners with catchy rhythms you can’t escape. The secret to their success is simple: the band is made up of three expert musicians playing and improvising songs that drench you in energy and make you want to dance. They throw together funk and jazz and pop and produce a sound that will shake you like an earthquake.
Currently, they are touring Europe, opening for Cake, and they have a new album coming out later this year. I caught up with two-thirds of the band - Tony Nozero (drums, electronics), Brian Wolff (tuba, trumpet) - the night before they left for Europe, as they finished up a month long stint at TwiRoPa in New Orleans.
Mike Hammer: Where did you guys start as a band?
Tony Nozero: We started in Austin, Texas in 1995.
MH:
You started just playing drums and tuba, right?
TN:
Yeah, it was just the two of us.
MH:
Tell me about the Austin scene and how you guys made your band kinda fit into that scene when you were starting out.
TN:
I think it was a lot different then, than it is now, probably a lot smaller.
Brian Wolf: Yeah, everybody knew everybody else. Me and the guitar player ( Neil McKeeby) were playing in a band together before this one, and Tony was playing in a bunch of stuff and we were working together, so we just said he let's get together and start playing.
TN:
Yeah, it just happened organically. It seemed at that time, and it's sort of similar now, that you could just get gigs easily. There were lots of places to play and everybody was doing lots of stuff and you ran into each other all the time.
MH:
Did you guys try to set yourselves apart when you started, with having just the drums and tuba?
BW:
No, I just started playing the tuba, and I wanted to start a band. It was kinda just purely for fun. We sort of had a moment, pretty quickly, where we decided we needed a third person. At first we were thinking about more horns, but Austin is like, any of the horn players were all jazz guys, so we got together with Neil.
MH:
So the band evolved from just drums and tuba to a three-piece with a guitar. How did that change your sound? Define your sound?
TN:
At first we were doing kinda marching band on the street stuff, that had a big old bass drum and one cymbal and one snare and was just very stripped down. It was just kinda wacky, funky, weird stuff. So when Neil showed up we really started working on writing songs, making arrangements and such.
BW:
Back then it was a lot more punk. It was nothing we tried to do, it just kinda came out that way.
MH:
As an instrumental band, a lot of times I think that instruments take different roles that could be taken by a vocalist. This is something that we were concentrating on, trying to appeal to people who aren’t as familiar with straight instrumental groups.
BW:
We never really made an attempt to appeal to anybody. We just, we do melodies and stuff, and that makes it a little more accessible. No matter how weird it is. So, that gives people something to grab onto. And we were always kinda like, if people like it, they like it, if they don’t, they don’t. We didn’t have any plans for the long term or anything...
MH:
But you guys have managed to stay around and make a living as a band. How many albums have you put out now?
BW:
Seven.
TN:
Yeah.
MH:
Is that finished yet?
TN:
It’s getting there. Pretty close, we’ve been working on a lot of different songs.
MH:
Is that what some of the lives shows are for, right now, working out the kinks in the songs?
TN:
Yeah, some of it.
MH:
Well, there’s a lot of movement in your show, as far as playing different instruments and looping things and working with each other. Do you try and capture that in the studio?
TN:
With some of the stuff, it’s weird, some of the songs in the studio come out really differently.
MH:
How much can you copy the studio on stage?
TN:
They’re pretty similar. The structures are all written out – from the three of us being in the studio and working it out – and we pretty much stick to the format. There’s always little bits of improv that weave in and out, but there’s always...we always want a full song, not just a part that goes on forever.
MH:
For a while you guys were including some vocals. How did that change the songs?
BW:
It hasn’t changed them very much.
TN:
Yeah, it hasn’t changed them. The one thing that’s been difficult is figuring out how to go about it because we’ve been instrumental for so long.
MH:
Have the shows changed at all?
BW:
They're pretty similar. The people who’ve followed us, we’re doing new stuff, so that’s exciting, but mostly it’s just been difficult balancing all the sound. There are a lot of sounds and it’s just a matter of balancing all the sonic shifts that are going on.
MH:
Is that exciting for you guys?
BW:
Yeah, we’re always trying to do something different. You don’t wanna do the same stuff over and over again.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Music Review: Minus the Bear - They Make Beer Commercials Like This
This is a remastered and enhanced version – with one song added - of a 2004 EP from this Seattle-based happy rock band, released here on Suicide Squeeze Records.
Featuring members of Botch and Sharks Keep Moving, among others, Minus The Bear is a fantastically catchy, indie-pop quintet that has always had the ability to get a listener’s attention with dance rhythms and powerful guitar work. The guitar is the basis of the band. It is neat and wildly expansive, it twists and turns, lays low and paints a beautiful unnoticed picture and then taps you on the shoulder to offer you a beer, before going back to work.
The band is more rockin version of Joan of Arc or a slightly laid back version of Radiohead.
“Hey, Is That A Ninja Up There,” the fifth of seven tracks on They Make Beer Commercials Like This is a perfect example of the grace and power of the band. The drumbeats are strong and never timid, riling things up at just the right time. The bass is a pleasant smokey scent in the background and the guitar is the great conductor – going from quiet to full force to gentle space monster and back again.
Most of the songs from Minus The Bear are this way. They are a spectacular band, and they have a great sense of humor – with song titles like “I’m Totally Not Down With Rob’s Alien” and “Houston, We Have Uh-Oh” – and tremendously fun vibe. Jake Snider’s lyrics are always half thoughtful and half fun and that is how life should be, I think.
A track from Minus the Bear never stops; it is constantly moving forward and dancing you around a gargantuan planetarium.
The only fault I can find with Minus The Bear, if it is a fault, is that all their songs are similar, similar pacing, similar lyrics, timing, and elements. They don’t spend a tremendous amount of time experimenting. They have 9 or 10 releases out now and they all follow the same formula. But, a lot of artists and bands – from The Grateful Dead to Ani Difranco – have made careers off releasing the same album over and over again, and Minus The Bear does it well. Since they formed in 2001 they have grown their fan base and they even hit late night TV – Jimmy Kimmel – in July of this year. They constantly put out quality releases and I guess that is the goal of any band.
Featuring members of Botch and Sharks Keep Moving, among others, Minus The Bear is a fantastically catchy, indie-pop quintet that has always had the ability to get a listener’s attention with dance rhythms and powerful guitar work. The guitar is the basis of the band. It is neat and wildly expansive, it twists and turns, lays low and paints a beautiful unnoticed picture and then taps you on the shoulder to offer you a beer, before going back to work.
The band is more rockin version of Joan of Arc or a slightly laid back version of Radiohead.
“Hey, Is That A Ninja Up There,” the fifth of seven tracks on They Make Beer Commercials Like This is a perfect example of the grace and power of the band. The drumbeats are strong and never timid, riling things up at just the right time. The bass is a pleasant smokey scent in the background and the guitar is the great conductor – going from quiet to full force to gentle space monster and back again.
Most of the songs from Minus The Bear are this way. They are a spectacular band, and they have a great sense of humor – with song titles like “I’m Totally Not Down With Rob’s Alien” and “Houston, We Have Uh-Oh” – and tremendously fun vibe. Jake Snider’s lyrics are always half thoughtful and half fun and that is how life should be, I think.
A track from Minus the Bear never stops; it is constantly moving forward and dancing you around a gargantuan planetarium.
The only fault I can find with Minus The Bear, if it is a fault, is that all their songs are similar, similar pacing, similar lyrics, timing, and elements. They don’t spend a tremendous amount of time experimenting. They have 9 or 10 releases out now and they all follow the same formula. But, a lot of artists and bands – from The Grateful Dead to Ani Difranco – have made careers off releasing the same album over and over again, and Minus The Bear does it well. Since they formed in 2001 they have grown their fan base and they even hit late night TV – Jimmy Kimmel – in July of this year. They constantly put out quality releases and I guess that is the goal of any band.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS
PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS
By Mike Hammer
Mar 18, 2005
Planes Mistaken For Stars are a four piece band of rawkus power and cutting insight. They punch you square in the face and laugh at you as you watch it begin to make sense. Coming out of the “rust belt” in Peoria, Illinois and heading to hardcore heaven – Denver?
Planes Mistaken For Stars have made a decent little name for themselves in their 6 years as a band, and they seem to be poised for even bigger things. They are touring with HIGH ON FIRE right now, before going to Europe to tour with CONVERGE for a month. I spoke with leade singer Gared before the band hit the stage in New Orleans, and this is what he had to say about his band, seeing the world and shoveling pigs feet into street cars.
Mike Hammer: How would you describe your band to someone who never heard it?
Gared: I don’t know….. It’s just a bunch of kids who grew up listening to Black Flag, Black Sabbath, The Replacements and and Thin Lizzy and they threw it in a blender.
MH:
How many releases have you had now?
G:
We just put out our second full-length, “Up in them Guts” (No Idea Records) about 6 months ago.
MH:
But you guys have had other releases, right?
G:
We have 2 full-lengths, 2 EPs, a 7-inch and some compilation appearances.
MH:
“Fuck with Fire” was your first full-length, how does “Up in them Guts” compare.
G:
We’re all pretty proud of “Up in them Guts.” We think it’s our best, everybody is saying that. It’s our most focused effort. We got to put about 10 times the amount of effort into it that we have anything else in the past.
MH:
Is “Up in them Guts” doing pretty good, sales wise?
G:
It’s doing alright, it’s doing good. We’ve had a lot more press than we’ve ever had before and save one or two reviews, they’ve all been pretty excellent.
MH:
How much time did you spend recording?
G:
We spent a little over 2 weeks recording.
MH:
Where do you do it?
G:
Presto Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yeah, with “Fuck with Fire” we only spent 5 days recording and mixing. This way we spent 2 weeks on everything.
MH:
What’s your process?
G:
We just usually bounce ideas off of each other. I usually have stacks of lyrics on pieces of paper lying around the house, and we build songs around the lyrics. Or, we just bounce riffs off each other and see what goes.
MH:
In the studio, do you have a pretty good idea of the final product? I guess with 5 days you are forced to. However, with the new album, did you get to mess a little more with the songs in the studio?
G:
Yeah, there’s some of the stuff on this new album that we actually kinda wrote in the studio... finished songs up, but we’ve always done that too. The way it works is like, 5 days, we wanted 10 days. With 2 weeks, we wanted 3 weeks and with 4 weeks … ya know. It’s never enough.
MH:
You guys just finished touring in Europe right?
G:
Yeah, we were there for a couple weeks.
MH:
What do you do on tour when you’re not playing? Are ya sightseeing or what?
G:
Well, we really didn’t get to see much. Except for like, the 6 blocks around the club. We just make sure we laugh a lot.
MH:
What kinda music do you listen to in the van?
G:
Not a whole lot of loud stuff, cause your ears get fried. I listen to a lot of Marvin Gaye. There’s a lot of Neil Young in the van, lotta old soul, old kinda plastic rock stuff that’s pulled back a bit, but a lotta soul.
MH:
Are there a couple of staple CDs?
G:
Oh yeah, we always have, like, Sabbath records and all the classics for when we feel like getting a bit rowdy I guess. Definitely always have “Back in Black”
MH:
So, you guys finished the UK tour, now your touring the US for a couple weeks with High On Fire, then you tour Europe again for 4 weeks with Converge. That’s a lot of touring. Do you guys like the live show? Is that where you’re at your best, on stage?
G:
Well, we all love it. I think that it’s the truest representation of our form. But it’s rough being gone. We all have families or people at home, and we all get a little bit burnt. I mean, when you’re at home, you wish you were on the road, when you’re on the road you wish you were at home, so...it’s a double-edged sword, it never changes.
MH:
Do you write stuff when you’re on tour?
G:
Not so much. We don’t really have time to. Where can ya go with an acoustic guitar to get some quiet and just sit down and write? It doesn’t really happen.
MH:
Do you guys make enough money yet, to live as just a band, or do you all have day jobs?
G:
We all have day jobs.
MH:
Got any horror day job stories?
G:
I’ve had a lot of crappy day jobs. Everything from driving cabs to loading train cars full of pigs feet. But lately I don’t have a day job, ‘cause I stay home at take care of my son.
MH:
OK. How are you going to keep pushing it and bring the band to the next level?
G:
We don’t really think in terms like that. We just usually think of what works and what doesn’t and what’s fun and what’s not, we as a rule don’t really go out of the way to do things that we’re uncomfortable with in the name of success. I feel like it’s a success that we’ve been in a band for going on 7 years and that we’re all still best friends. We can all sit in a van with each other for 5 weeks at a time, ya know. We just gotta keep on keeping on. Just playing and getting people out on tour and making friends and seeing the world.
MH:
What’s the most interesting part of the world you’ve seen yet?
G:
It changes from day to day. I’ve seen some fucking crazy shit. I been to some crazy places and I’ve been to some places that are supposed to be crazy that have really let ya down. I guess the inside of the van is pretty interesting. If those walls could talk.
MH:
As the tours keep going, how do you think that new listeners will categorize you? You guys are touring with hardcore bands now, then Converge. Do you think that people are gonna lump you with hardcore or screamo? Are you worried about that at all?
G:
Not at all. This year we’ve toured with The Ataris, Against Me, High On Fire, Hot Water Music, Dillinger Escape Plan. Every one of those bands is totally night and day. And I think, if we have one thing going for us, it's that you can’t really categorize us in one genre. I think we’re somewhere in the middle of all those bands. We just like to write rock music.
MH:
Is there anything that sets you guys apart?
G:
I just don’t think we care about what people fucking think at all. Maybe that’s what does it. We don’t fucking dress up or masquerade for anybody. And we certainly don’t use marketing schemes to sell records to dumb kids.
Maybe that’s why we don’t sell a lot of records…
By Mike Hammer
Mar 18, 2005
Planes Mistaken For Stars are a four piece band of rawkus power and cutting insight. They punch you square in the face and laugh at you as you watch it begin to make sense. Coming out of the “rust belt” in Peoria, Illinois and heading to hardcore heaven – Denver?
Planes Mistaken For Stars have made a decent little name for themselves in their 6 years as a band, and they seem to be poised for even bigger things. They are touring with HIGH ON FIRE right now, before going to Europe to tour with CONVERGE for a month. I spoke with leade singer Gared before the band hit the stage in New Orleans, and this is what he had to say about his band, seeing the world and shoveling pigs feet into street cars.
Mike Hammer: How would you describe your band to someone who never heard it?
Gared: I don’t know….. It’s just a bunch of kids who grew up listening to Black Flag, Black Sabbath, The Replacements and and Thin Lizzy and they threw it in a blender.
MH:
How many releases have you had now?
G:
We just put out our second full-length, “Up in them Guts” (No Idea Records) about 6 months ago.
MH:
But you guys have had other releases, right?
G:
We have 2 full-lengths, 2 EPs, a 7-inch and some compilation appearances.
MH:
“Fuck with Fire” was your first full-length, how does “Up in them Guts” compare.
G:
We’re all pretty proud of “Up in them Guts.” We think it’s our best, everybody is saying that. It’s our most focused effort. We got to put about 10 times the amount of effort into it that we have anything else in the past.
MH:
Is “Up in them Guts” doing pretty good, sales wise?
G:
It’s doing alright, it’s doing good. We’ve had a lot more press than we’ve ever had before and save one or two reviews, they’ve all been pretty excellent.
MH:
How much time did you spend recording?
G:
We spent a little over 2 weeks recording.
MH:
Where do you do it?
G:
Presto Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yeah, with “Fuck with Fire” we only spent 5 days recording and mixing. This way we spent 2 weeks on everything.
MH:
What’s your process?
G:
We just usually bounce ideas off of each other. I usually have stacks of lyrics on pieces of paper lying around the house, and we build songs around the lyrics. Or, we just bounce riffs off each other and see what goes.
MH:
In the studio, do you have a pretty good idea of the final product? I guess with 5 days you are forced to. However, with the new album, did you get to mess a little more with the songs in the studio?
G:
Yeah, there’s some of the stuff on this new album that we actually kinda wrote in the studio... finished songs up, but we’ve always done that too. The way it works is like, 5 days, we wanted 10 days. With 2 weeks, we wanted 3 weeks and with 4 weeks … ya know. It’s never enough.
MH:
You guys just finished touring in Europe right?
G:
Yeah, we were there for a couple weeks.
MH:
What do you do on tour when you’re not playing? Are ya sightseeing or what?
G:
Well, we really didn’t get to see much. Except for like, the 6 blocks around the club. We just make sure we laugh a lot.
MH:
What kinda music do you listen to in the van?
G:
Not a whole lot of loud stuff, cause your ears get fried. I listen to a lot of Marvin Gaye. There’s a lot of Neil Young in the van, lotta old soul, old kinda plastic rock stuff that’s pulled back a bit, but a lotta soul.
MH:
Are there a couple of staple CDs?
G:
Oh yeah, we always have, like, Sabbath records and all the classics for when we feel like getting a bit rowdy I guess. Definitely always have “Back in Black”
MH:
So, you guys finished the UK tour, now your touring the US for a couple weeks with High On Fire, then you tour Europe again for 4 weeks with Converge. That’s a lot of touring. Do you guys like the live show? Is that where you’re at your best, on stage?
G:
Well, we all love it. I think that it’s the truest representation of our form. But it’s rough being gone. We all have families or people at home, and we all get a little bit burnt. I mean, when you’re at home, you wish you were on the road, when you’re on the road you wish you were at home, so...it’s a double-edged sword, it never changes.
MH:
Do you write stuff when you’re on tour?
G:
Not so much. We don’t really have time to. Where can ya go with an acoustic guitar to get some quiet and just sit down and write? It doesn’t really happen.
MH:
Do you guys make enough money yet, to live as just a band, or do you all have day jobs?
G:
We all have day jobs.
MH:
Got any horror day job stories?
G:
I’ve had a lot of crappy day jobs. Everything from driving cabs to loading train cars full of pigs feet. But lately I don’t have a day job, ‘cause I stay home at take care of my son.
MH:
OK. How are you going to keep pushing it and bring the band to the next level?
G:
We don’t really think in terms like that. We just usually think of what works and what doesn’t and what’s fun and what’s not, we as a rule don’t really go out of the way to do things that we’re uncomfortable with in the name of success. I feel like it’s a success that we’ve been in a band for going on 7 years and that we’re all still best friends. We can all sit in a van with each other for 5 weeks at a time, ya know. We just gotta keep on keeping on. Just playing and getting people out on tour and making friends and seeing the world.
MH:
What’s the most interesting part of the world you’ve seen yet?
G:
It changes from day to day. I’ve seen some fucking crazy shit. I been to some crazy places and I’ve been to some places that are supposed to be crazy that have really let ya down. I guess the inside of the van is pretty interesting. If those walls could talk.
MH:
As the tours keep going, how do you think that new listeners will categorize you? You guys are touring with hardcore bands now, then Converge. Do you think that people are gonna lump you with hardcore or screamo? Are you worried about that at all?
G:
Not at all. This year we’ve toured with The Ataris, Against Me, High On Fire, Hot Water Music, Dillinger Escape Plan. Every one of those bands is totally night and day. And I think, if we have one thing going for us, it's that you can’t really categorize us in one genre. I think we’re somewhere in the middle of all those bands. We just like to write rock music.
MH:
Is there anything that sets you guys apart?
G:
I just don’t think we care about what people fucking think at all. Maybe that’s what does it. We don’t fucking dress up or masquerade for anybody. And we certainly don’t use marketing schemes to sell records to dumb kids.
Maybe that’s why we don’t sell a lot of records…
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Music Review: P.W. Long - God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog
“Come on come one and Shake what you got. Well easy does it, cause it looks like you got quite a lot.” - "Shake" by P.W. Long on God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog.
P.W. Long has been around the indie rock scene for years. In the early 90s he was lead man in the band Mule and after that he had a trio called P.W. Long’s Reelfoot that included the drummer from Jesus Lizard. However, for the past four or five years he has been doing the solo thing, and he definitely knows how to do that.
God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog is P.W. Long’s fourth solo album and is a catchy blues-fuelled rock CD. P.W. screeches out like a mixture of Joe Cocker and the Black Keys, playing catchy southern rock and blues, similar to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with a bit of T Model Ford.
The album is full of jangly guitars, playing traditional blues licks filled with smoke. Drums lay down a solid base of despair as P.W. sings songs that he must have written on the roadside, near a garbage can fire, after a day of frustration. The spare instrumentation, the album is played almost exclusively with just guitar and drums, gives God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog an intimate feel. Because of the lack of layers it doesn’t take long to get to the core of the songs, to hit the point. And the point seems to be P.W. wants you to shake your butt a bit, bob your head, and sneer.
The lyrics are a bit Frank Zappa, a bit B.B. King and a bit Bruce Springsteen. According to the liner notes in the CD, P.W. wrote the lyrics and then had them translated to different languages by local college students, and then back to English by other students. The translations revealed differences in wording and emotion and P.W. kept some of the translated words in the songs and changed some of the titles around. The songs get better with repeated listens to the album. You get caught up in the dirty groove and backwoods preaching. The album takes you to that place where you embrace your sorrow and revel in it, play the foil perfectly and mess with everybody else, cause you got a little bit of heartbreak inside that you need to hide.
The best tracks on the disc are “Crazy Tonight” and “(Let ’em) Roll” because they are just pure hook. Stripped down rock and roll that beats on your chest, pumps you up and puts that stone cold stare in your eye so you will go one-on-one with any one in the room. The next best songs are “Sweetest Weirdo” a quirky love ballad from your local coffee shop troubadour and “Owed (To The Next Life),” which is probably the most traditional bleeding heart, blues, love song on the disc.
The delivery of the 13 songs on God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog doesn’t change much, but it’s really effective when it does. I could definitely see some hotties dancing and getting it on to this album, so it’s effective that way too. But, mostly, the album is a straightforward rock/blues swaggerfest that is tough but likeable.
P.W. Long has been around the indie rock scene for years. In the early 90s he was lead man in the band Mule and after that he had a trio called P.W. Long’s Reelfoot that included the drummer from Jesus Lizard. However, for the past four or five years he has been doing the solo thing, and he definitely knows how to do that.
God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog is P.W. Long’s fourth solo album and is a catchy blues-fuelled rock CD. P.W. screeches out like a mixture of Joe Cocker and the Black Keys, playing catchy southern rock and blues, similar to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with a bit of T Model Ford.
The album is full of jangly guitars, playing traditional blues licks filled with smoke. Drums lay down a solid base of despair as P.W. sings songs that he must have written on the roadside, near a garbage can fire, after a day of frustration. The spare instrumentation, the album is played almost exclusively with just guitar and drums, gives God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog an intimate feel. Because of the lack of layers it doesn’t take long to get to the core of the songs, to hit the point. And the point seems to be P.W. wants you to shake your butt a bit, bob your head, and sneer.
The lyrics are a bit Frank Zappa, a bit B.B. King and a bit Bruce Springsteen. According to the liner notes in the CD, P.W. wrote the lyrics and then had them translated to different languages by local college students, and then back to English by other students. The translations revealed differences in wording and emotion and P.W. kept some of the translated words in the songs and changed some of the titles around. The songs get better with repeated listens to the album. You get caught up in the dirty groove and backwoods preaching. The album takes you to that place where you embrace your sorrow and revel in it, play the foil perfectly and mess with everybody else, cause you got a little bit of heartbreak inside that you need to hide.
The best tracks on the disc are “Crazy Tonight” and “(Let ’em) Roll” because they are just pure hook. Stripped down rock and roll that beats on your chest, pumps you up and puts that stone cold stare in your eye so you will go one-on-one with any one in the room. The next best songs are “Sweetest Weirdo” a quirky love ballad from your local coffee shop troubadour and “Owed (To The Next Life),” which is probably the most traditional bleeding heart, blues, love song on the disc.
The delivery of the 13 songs on God Bless The Drunkard’s Dog doesn’t change much, but it’s really effective when it does. I could definitely see some hotties dancing and getting it on to this album, so it’s effective that way too. But, mostly, the album is a straightforward rock/blues swaggerfest that is tough but likeable.
Friday, September 3, 2010
gmail
this is to be a music blog
with cd reviews and interviews and a weekly podcasted radio show
- mike hammer
mikey.hammer@gmail.com
with cd reviews and interviews and a weekly podcasted radio show
- mike hammer
mikey.hammer@gmail.com
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