12 minute read
MUSIC
Bob Mould PHOTO: ALICIA J. ROSE
Sunshine State of Mind After two albums about loss, Alternative Rock legend Bob Mould tries optimism on for size on his latest album, Sunshine Rock INTERVIEW BY JASON GARGANO
Singer, songwriter and singular guitarist Bob Mould needs little introduction. The upstate New York native has been making music for four decades. He began with the influential 1980s Minneapolis Punk/ Indie Rock trio Hüsker Dü, then enjoyed a fruitful two-album run in the early ’90s with Sugar. As a solo artist, he has released a string of fuzzed-out Rock & Roll records driven by visceral guitar riffage and a jaundiced worldview often critical of conventional culture.
Now 59, Mould shows no signs of slowing down, capping an especially strong quartet of recent records — all backed by the stellar rhythm section of bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster — with 2019’s Sunshine Rock, as varied, urgent and (somewhat surprisingly) upbeat as any effort in Mould’s long discography. CityBeat recently connected with Mould, who currently splits time between homes in San Francisco and Berlin, Germany, to discuss everything from the nexus of Sunshine Rock to the importance of playing live.
CityBeat: I read that you wrote the new record almost entirely in Berlin. What impact did that have on the process and the final result? Bob Mould: I feel like I’m free floating at times when I’m there because I don’t understand everything that’s happening around me. I don’t speak the language. It was funny, I felt like I was completely in observation mode. Obviously, I have a lot of friends there and it’s a good life and (I’m) participating in a lot of things, but still it’s almost childlike because I’m just not processing everything that is happening around me with a critical eye.
Living in that kind of state of being was pretty curious. I hope that it shows up in the work. I think the work is a lot more optimistic than the two records prior: Patch the Sky and Beauty & Ruin were both records about loss, and I did not want to write that record again. So being in Berlin, having these naïve experiences and this simple life, combining all that with trying to consciously have an optimistic outlook and write optimistic songs as best I could, that was the vista I had in front of me.
CB: You’ve also talked about how the music of your youth, stuff like early Beach Boys and Beatles singles, influenced Sunshine Rock. Why were you drawn to that particular period for inspiration this time? BM: I often go back to that point in time when I’m stuck on an idea because when I listen to that era of music it’s so rich in melody and it’s so simplistic. I mean, America was so different then and Pop music was so different then. Sometimes in a world where I feel like I have the heavy weight of information and technology and immediacy and convenience, when all of that weighs me down, even if it’s 30 minutes with my stupid little record player and those stupid singles, it can really lift all of that away. It’s like going into a different world, and sometimes that’s the answer for why I’m stuck on something. I can sort of un-stick it really quickly. Music is great for that.
CB: You’ve been playing with Jason (Narducy) and Jon (Wurster) for almost as long as you were in Hüsker Dü. How have they impacted what you do? BM: Jason and Jon are very familiar with my entire songbook and the three of us share a lot of similar favorite musicians and albums. We have a pretty big shared vocabulary around this one specific style of music. When you have that with people, and you don’t have to be in a band with them every day for seven years straight, that’s the best of all possible worlds. We’re like the tightest band that never rehearses. We love hanging out but we don’t have to do it every day for seven years with no money, so it cuts down on all that
Note: In light of Ohio and Kentucky mandates to close bars and restaurants amid coronavirus concerns, all in-person live music events have been postponed or canceled. The local releases mentioned below are still out or coming out, but the associated release parties will not happen as scheduled.
If you were placing bets on the next band out of Cincinnati headed toward breakout national success, you’d be wise to put some money on Passeport. Though the local ElectroPop foursome only released their first official singles last year, Passeport’s fully realized sound is the result of six years’ worth of experience and development together. Synth player Brian Davis, guitarist Benjamin Hines and singer Mia Carruthers — along with original drummer Sebastien Schultz (ex-Bad Veins) — formed the band after their previous project, Multimagic, ground to a halt in 2016 due to frontman Coran Stetter’s health issues (Stetter has since rebuilt the band with new members). In 2017, Passeport made a fairly high-profile recorded debut on a track collaborating with producer/DJ NGHTMRE; the song “On the Run” was the lead-off song on his NGHTMRE, Pt. II EP, which came out on Mad Decent, the label founded by Diplo. Schultz left the band shortly after to join Scottish Indie Rock group The Twilight Sad. Tony Kuchma (Gold Shoes, Lightwash) is Passeport’s current drummer.
Last year, in association with the label Modern Outsider, Passeport released a pair of singles — “Bengal Light” and “Blood,” a track that was initially shared in 2017 with an accompanying music video that was nominated for a 2018 Cincinnati Entertainment Award (the group was also up for New Artist and Electronic awards at that year’s CEAs).
Both of those tracks are featured on Passeport’s debut EP, the five-song Aren’t We All, which came out in late February. The EP’s songs are pulsing, lush and evocative, slathered in a warm glaze of ethereal electronics and guitar textures, with Carruthers’ magnetic voice and melodies punching through the haze. Fans of the band’s avowed influences — like M83, Hot Chip and CHVRCHES — will find lots to love in Passeport, who bring to mind a wide range of other ElectroPop heroes, from the Eurythmics (“The Holler”) to Angel Olsen (“Words”), while retaining their own distinct and entrancing mystique and aura.
Passeport’s release party scheduled for Friday, March 20 at Over-theRhine’s Woodward Theater is being rescheduled. Visit passeportmusic.com for updates. Submissions Open for 2020 Tiny Desk Contest Now that you likely have a little more indoor time on your hands: NPR
Music’s Tiny Desk Contest is now taking submissions for its 2020 competition. The annual contest (now in its sixth year) is an offshoot of NPR’s popular Tiny Desk Concert series, for which an eclectic array of artists perform intimate sets in the network’s offices for their long-running video series.
For the contest, unsigned musical acts from across the country submit videos and the chosen winner (picked by a committee of artists and music professionals) gets their own Tiny Desk Concert, a sponsored national tour and a considerable career boost from all of the exposure. The winners of the contest over the past five years have experienced major success after their victories. The first year’s Tiny Desk Contest winner, Fantastic Negrito, has won multiple Grammys, while the 2018 winner, Naia Izumi, toured with The Lone Bellow and earned a record deal with Sony Masterworks. Last year’s Tiny Desk winner was Alaskan singer/ songwriter Quinn Christopherson, who toured North America in 2019 with Indie fave Lucy Dacus and also did shows with Courtney Barnett (including at Covington’s Madison Theater). Artists can submit their videos up until 11:59 p.m. on March 30. The contest is open to unsigned acts from the United States whose members are 18 or older. The video must be specifically made for the contest and, of course, feature a desk. The single song performed in the video must be an original composition and feature no samples of other works.
Even if you’re just a casual hobbyist, there are no experience requirements, so why not grab your phone, find a desk and sing a song if you’re stuck in the house for a while? You never know… More info: tinydeskcontest.npr.org. More Local Notes • Roots ensemble Harlot & the Hounds are gearing up to release their debut album, Fireflies. The band grew out of Harlot, singer/guitarist Molly Morris and singer/banjo player Ellie Mae Mitchell’s Americana duo project in which they first showcased their remarkable vocal harmonies. Fleshing out the project, The Hounds are flutist Gwyneth Ravenscraft and trumpet player Gregory Morris, plus Derek Gartiez and Mason Denver-Thomas, percussionists who give the band its rhythms on an array of unique instruments, including washboards, tin cans and djembes.
Harlot & the Hounds were slated to host an album release party on Friday, March 27 at the Southgate House Revival in Newport. Visit southgatehouse.com for rescheduling updates. More info: harlotandthehounds.com. • Veteran Cincinnati music promoter and Blues/R&B singer/saxophonist Leroy Ellington and his band Sacred Hearts are releasing a new live album, the follow-up to last year’s studio effort Passeport PHOTO: PROVIDED BY PASSEPORT
Sanctified. Live and Kickin’ It will be released March 20 through the new Blues label Infiniti Group Records.
Musicians featured alongside Ellington on the album include longtime local greats like Marcos Sastre, Charlie Fletcher and Max Gise. Recorded over two 2019 nights, Live and Kickin’ It includes original tracks like “Heaven Don’t Want Me” and “I Wanna Tickle Your Fancy,” plus covers of John Mayer’s “Gravity,” Robert Cray’s “The Forecast Calls for Pain” and “Why Me?” by Delbert McClinton.
Ellington calls McClinton “one of my idols,” and he’s opened for the legendary Blues/Roots rocker in the past. He was to join McClinton again Friday, March 20 to help celebrate the new album’s release, but the McClinton concert at the Ludlow Garage in Clifton (which at press time was close to selling out) has been rescheduled for Oct. 2. Visit ludlowgaragecincinnati.com for show details.
More info: leroysacredhearts.com. Contact Mike Breen: mbreen@citybeat.com
CB: The other constant over that period is your collaboration with Merge Records. How has that relationship evolved over the years?
BM: It’s a great relationship. I get the freedom to make the records that I want to make. I get to present them to the world the way that I’d like people to see them and hear them. Merge being an independent label is more comfortable than working with bigger labels. I had my time at Warner Bros. I had my time a Virgin. Both labels were great to me and did everything that they could but I don’t know if I’m a corporate guy. I look to Merge to see how we can best fit my difficult reputation as being stubborn and independent and contrary, how we can fit that in the current landscape? It’s a really crowded field. It’s a difficult field. The people who hold the master keys to the biosphere are not the same ones that I remember in 1985.
CB: What can we expect from your current solo electric tour? Will you be playing mostly new stuff?
BM: I try to keep a decent balance of what I call the “hits” mixed with the current stuff from the last decade, which are the songs that are still really exciting for me to play. In January, I was trying out a lot of new stuff, five songs maybe. It’s a little hotter in content than the last four records. It’s a little more pointed. It’s a little more current. It’s maybe a little more political, so that’s in the mix, too. The Hüsker stuff is always fun and I know people love to hear those songs, so I’m happy to play a handful of those. It’s a pretty good set. People loved those January shows. That was one of the most fun runs of dates that I’ve done ages. People were just really receptive. There were also moments of talking about the world as it is right now and sort of trying to take the temperature of the room and see if everybody’s going to go vote, because they have to. It’s not really an option at this point. You have to do it.
CB: You’ve talked about the importance of touring and building community, which you’ve been doing pretty much your entire career. Why is playing live so important to you?
BM: In a year like 2020, it’s imperative that we build community, because if we don’t, we will have no communities left. It’s the communal aspect of people getting together in a room to have this shared experience where everybody is there because they love live music. There’s nothing like live music. That’s what we all live for.
Bob Mould’s “solo electric” show at 20th Century Theater on Sunday, March 22 has been postponed. Show/ticket info: the20thcenturytheater.com.
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Friday, March 20 Lounge: Five Dollar Pistol and Justin Lynch & The New Usuals Free Show
Saturday, March 21 Sanctuary: All the World’s A Stage: A celebration and appreciation for the life of Neil Peart
Saturday, March 21 Revival Room: Noir
Saturday, March 21 Lounge: Mudpies Free show
Friday, March 27 Revival Room Harlot & the Hounds CD Release with E. Ravenscraft and Jellifish
Friday, March 27 Lounge -free show Jake Logan & the Midnight Riders
Saturday, March 28 Revival Room Noah Smith with KY Myle and Rye Davis
Saturday March 28 Lounge - free show Calumet with Drift Mouth
APRIL 1 Sanctuary Reverend Horton Heat with The Bottle Rockets and Scott H. Biram
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Upcoming shows
Framing Hanley March 19
Insomnium and Summoner’s Circle March 20
Hyryder - A Grateful Experience March 21
Perpetual Groove with Zach Deputy March 25
Pro-Pain with Treason March 26
Brother Ali Friday, March 27
Jack Harlow March 28
Bimp Lizkit / Limp Bizkit Tribute Saturday, April 4
Upchurch Friday, April 10
Big Gigantic Tuesday, April 14
Cincinnati Guitar Fest April 18
Combichrist & King 810 with A Killers Confession, Heartsick Friday, April 24
Afterlife Music Festival May 1
The Wailers May 21
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