Thursday, December 30, 2010

Get Sketchy with me An interview with Molly Crabapple, creator of Dr. Sketchy's Ant-Art School

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

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

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.