Bob Moog Foundation: SYNTH PIONEER’S LEGACY LIVES ON
sk pe May/June 2008 $3.99
Diverse Music Coverage for the Digital Age
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panic at the disco BAROQUE AND ROLL
Black Lips
SPITTING IMAGE OF GARAGE ROCK
I-15
RAP/R&B PILEUP ON THE HIGHWAY May/June 2008
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Van Morrison
MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
Flo Rida
YOU’VE GOT MAIL
REVIEWS:
The Whigs Babyshambles The Dodos + DOZENS MORE!
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Eugene Foley
ATTENTION!!! Musicians Recording Artists Songwriters Artist Managers Indie Label Owners
Are You Serious About A Career In The Music Industry? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Book That Can Help You! Topics Include: Artist Development Techniques Improving Your Songwriting Press Kit Design Choosing Advisors Publicity Radio Promotion Music Videos Touring Record Companies Distribution Music Publishing Alternative Career Options
For more information or to purchase a copy please visit:
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ontent
features 36 Van Morrison
Skope enjoys the rare treat of a Van concert
70 Brandi Carlisle
Singer/songwriter gets honest and finds her voice
38 Will Dailey
71 Bloodsimple
39 I Wayne
72 Flo Rida
The story of CBS Records’ first artist in 2007 A powerful message
Painting a dark, brooding tale The digital era rap star archetype
40 Robert Cray
Advice for the younger generation of musicians
41 Soft
Pretty music makes graves
42 Tristan Prettyman
From breaking up to rocking out
44 Koop
Just don’t call it nu-jazz
39 Van Morrison
45 Keri Hilson
Leaping into the limelight
46 I-15
Bringing back the House Party era
48 Silverstein
Turning a new corner into adventurous emo territory
50 Black Lips
Guarding America’s musical traditions
52 Bayside
Taking a simplistic approach to music
58 The Whigs
53 Silverstein
Pressure? Never felt it
60 Matt White
Treasure the moments when everything goes right
62 Del the Funky Homosapien
Hitting the books and fighting off extinction
63 The Mary Onettes
Swedish import arrives with lovely new wave
64 Cobra Starship
Sarcastic wit and dance floor grit
66 Ingrid Michaelson As seen on TV
68 Hurt
Pain is good
39 Soft
panic at the disco
54 2
contents
Return to the Summer of Love
Michael Friedman
13 Hip-hop Icon Steve Rifkind
Traversing the industry’s new landscape
14 BidForGreen: Biodiesel & Music Going green for music and more
16 The 7 Key Code System
The groupie manufacturing machine
17 Panic Attack!
Art In the Punk Years God Save the Queen and the King, and us all
18 Spiegeltent
9 Sweet Tooth
Kathy Iandoli Kid Sister loves cotton candy!
10 Blast from the Past
Bill Kopp, Editor-in-Chief Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Simpsons and Stax artists
Nizzle 30 Pea cartoon by Don Mathias
32 Bootleg Bin
Bill Kopp, Editor-in-Chief Fountains of Wayne’s “lost album”
73 Scratch Pad
Did they spike your drink?
20 Behind the Lens with Neal Preston
Zeppelin’s tour photographer speaks about his craft
22 Summercamp!
New documentary shows modern problems at camp
23 Rock Band - The Game
The hot video game is a musical “gateway drug”
24 The African Children’s Choir Voices raised in hope
26 Idol Dreams You haven’t heard of this? Join the club.
28 Bob Moog Foundation The legendary music innovator’s legacy continues
24
n a c i r f A en’s r d l i Choir h C
Kathy Iandoli Rugged N Raw picks tunes for hot steppin’
75 Music Industry Tips
Eugene Foley The importance of managers, lawyers and agents
76 The Crossover
Jeff O’Neill A musical guide to the candidates
78 Don’t Read This Eric W. Saeger Abusing drug abuse
81 CD & DVD Reviews Babyshambles Jon Foreman Black 47 State Radio Genesis The Bell Seven Mary Three Tyler Ramsey The Whigs Wensday Thursday Killing California Much, much more...
99 SonicBids Artists to Watch Janie Franz
3
contents
ontent
7 Publisher’s Note
in every issue
skope culture
sk pe
note
staff
publisher’s
President/Publisher: Michael H. Friedman mfriedman@skopemagazine.com
W
Chairman: Irwin Friedman Editor In Chief: Bill Kopp editor@skopemagazine.com Creative Director & Ad Designer: Fran Sherman: fran@shermanstudios.com Circulation Executive: David Abramowitz magbook@frontiernet.net Media Sales Executives: Michael H. Friedman, mfriedman@skopemagazine.com Steve Everly: KI Lipton, severly@ki-lipton.com Frank Vivian: KI Lipton, fvivian @ki-lipton.com Illustrator: Don Mathias: dmathias@peanizles.com Contributing Writers: Adam Bernard, Celena Carr, Amanda Cuda, Matt Fink, Shaun Flagg, Eugene Foley, Janie Franz, Mike Friedman, Erika Gradecki, Martin Halo, Kathy Iandoli, Bill Kopp, Jason MacNeil, Jeff O’Neill, Jake Paine, j. poet, Lauren Proctor, Bill Reese, Eric W. Saeger, Todd Sikorski Len Sousa, Matthew Stern, Ethan Swann, Claudia Ward-de León, Chris West, James Wright, Nick A. Zaino III Contributing Photographers: Andreas Larsson, Neal Preston, Bill Kopp, KupiArt.com, Brian Kanoff, Sarah Price, Bradley Beesley, Anna-Lena Ahlström, Tyler Clinton, Daniel Arnold, Alan Silfen, Bob Moog Foundation Webmaster: Shaun Flagg webmaster@skopemagazine.com Co-Executive Producer Skope Live!: Shizz Strothers shizz@skopemagazine.com Chief Accountant: Charles P. King CPA charleskingcpa@comcast.net Printing: Cummings Printing www.cummingsprinting.com Email us at skopemail@skopemagazine.com Go to www.skopemagazine.com to learn about submitting materials for review Skope Magazine: P.O. Box 231179 Boston, MA 02123 All content herein © 2008 Skope Entertainment, Inc. (SEI). All Rights Reserved
The opinions expressed on the pages of Skope are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the advertisers, editors, board members or publisher. Although Skope strives to present only current and actual opinion, readers should not consider the information herein as professional advice. Although great care has been taken in compiling and checking the information given in this publication to assure accuracy, the author (Skope Entertainment Inc.) and its servants or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for the continued currency of information nor for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in this magazine, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom.
elcome to another edition of Skope Magazine. To those that are new to Skope we welcome you; to those that are back again, we thank you! We have put together another issue filled with music coverage that appeals to the music enthusiast. In this day and age it is nice to see that magazines can still compete and be relevant against the 24/7 Internet. As I sit down to write this, there is a lot of reason to worry. That worry comes from the real estate credit crunch, the dollar depreciating, war in the Middle East, the market tanking, and rising prices of crude oil…and that’s just to name a few. In the music industry we are facing a crisis on a scale never seen before. We are coming to a point where artists are asking themselves, “Do I really need a major label?” To help put things in perspective for you, let’s look at EMI. EMI currently has 14,425 artists on its roster. That is a lot of musicians. Out of those 14,425 artists only 3% are profitable for the company. The lack of profitability throughout EMI’s roster of artists illustrates how “hit-driven” the music business truly is. Let’s look at this from both sides. EMI is burning through loads of cash to manufacture, market, and distribute albums from their top artists every year. If an artist does not have a smash album, EMI ends up losing millions of dollars. EMI is banking on 3% of their roster to cover the costs of the other 97%. From the band and artists’ side there is another element. How can a band or musician expect to be developed and marketed in an effective manner when they are competing with 14,424 other acts? Musicians are now beginning to consider whether they will be better off going the indie route. The thinking goes like this: even if you do not have the resources of EMI, at least you have the freedom to create, promote, tour, and do anything to get your band out there. You also will not have the major label’s tremendous overhead. For an artist, selling 20,000 CDs at $10 independently can be a lot more profitable than selling 20,000 on a major. The music business is in an era where the rules of commerce are being rewritten. What made sense in 1995 does not apply at all to 2008. I still believe that music as creative expression will flourish forever, and with technology by our side we will get it right. I would love to hear from our readers about this topic or anything that is on your mind. Feel free to email me at mfriedman@skopemagazine.com Enjoy the Issue,
Michael H. Friedman Publisher
soulful. passionate. uncompromising.
pick up the new cd by Racecar at: www.dancelikeaghost.com www.myspace.com/dancelikeaghost
Executive Producer: David Alyassin
s w e e t Artist:
Kid Sister
High fructose corn syrup of choice:
M
Pink cotton candy
elisa Young isn’t your typical ‘round the way girl. Then again, her superstar alter-ego Kid Sister isn’t your typical female MC. The Chicago-bred rap vixen was raised in that city’s dance-heavy energized nightlife, which has since given light to a brand new movement in hip-hop. But forget all of that for the time being. Before you, your girlfriends and your cousins were getting their nails done because her single “Pro Nails” made it cool again, Kid Sister was working at a kids’ clothing store. There she was fanning herself with her film degree as she punched out of work and rode her bicycle home to hit the clubs at night. This was all in the last year. Having a younger bro in the criticall y acclaimed Flosstradamus, Kid Sister would hit the renowned club Jubilation and grab the mic in between his sets. But Jubilation was the hot spot of her affection long before she began spittin’ rhymes. The mixed race Kid Sis left her not-so-diverse Catholic school for a new school where cultures multiplied. Befriending the wild girls (though she’s still not one), KS and her crew would hit Jubilation with fake IDs to take in the club scene early. “Jube was cool because there were all these fine older boys who would go there and dance with us,” she recalls. “The DJ’s would play booty house (now known as juke) and deep house and disco house and radio stuff.” She also cites Jubilation as the place where she first heard the infa-
Tooth Girlie Rock:
Kid Sister Makes You Switch Board
by Kathy Iandoli mous “Percolator” – who could forget that moment? As Jubilation became a second home for Kid Sister, so did her time rockin’ the stage. Pairs of eyes turned into hordes of fans, and before you knew it, Kid Sister’s boyfriend (and Kanye West’s DJ) A Trak was slipping Kanye a copy of her then-underground hit “Pro Nails.” Kanye loved it, hopped on the remix, hopped in the video, Kid Sister signed a record deal. Now you’ve got acrylic nails and you don’t even know why. “I’ve been getting my nails done since the days of Jubilation,” Kid Sis explains. The song concept “was kind of a no-brainer.” That no-brainer turned to rump shaker and ultimately sealed the deal for Kid Sister’s future as our new favorite person. So how does a girl with the world in her palm sugarcoat her jubilation? With cotton candy of course! Pink like the bubbly, sweet, and fun rap she creates, but soft enough to recognize it’s still “girlie.” She describes her debut album as bringing it back to the essence, with flavors from the music that filled the airwaves of her home as a kid – ranging from 60s bubblegum pop to her favorite, mid-90s R&B. It’s a rarity to witness the birth of a superstar before she even realizes that she is one. Before settling on pink cotton candy, Kid Sister initially went for chocolate macadamia nuts, but conceded. “They’re kinda expensive,” she explained. For her, not anymore.
Chicago’s own Kid Sister talks candy, clubs, and Kanye.
Photography by Andreas Larsson
“Jubilation was cool because there were all these fine older boys who would go there and dance with us.”
– Kid Sister
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blast from the
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May/June 2008
by Bill Kopp
Brian Jonestown Massacre — Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request (Committee to Keep Music Evil) Perhaps most people know of Anton Newcombe from Ondi Timoner’s questionable 2003 documentary Dig! than through his career itself; as leader of the neopsychedelic Brian Jonestown Massacre, Newcombe and his cohorts have turned out a dozen discs showcasing his unique musical vision. In any event, there’s growing evidence that Newcombe’s got his act more together these days. One major indicator is the timed re-release of the BJM catalog. These lovinglypackaged albums are out on CD and high quality colored vinyl. The sound is top-notch, and the records are a thing of beauty. And of course the music’s great. This particular album is an example of truth in packaging: the music herein is very much along the lines of the Rolling Stones’ oftmaligned 1967 answer to Sgt. Pepper’s. The original Satanic Majesties was intended as a darker corollary to the Summer of Love, and the 1996 BJM album builds from there with all original material; it’s not exactly a Stones sound-alike, but it just fits. It makes one yearn for the days of vinyl, and the sort of music people put out then. Luckily, BJM are still at it.
Past Each issue, Editor in Chief Bill Kopp takes a quick look at notable reissues from notable recording artists—some you’ll recognize; some you probably missed. All are worth a closer look.
Various Artists — Stax Does the Beatles (Stax) Before succumbing to the vicissitudes of the record biz, Stax Records was one of the coolest labels of the 60s and 70s. Rawer and earthier than Motown, the black-oriented label out of Memphis turned out classic albums from Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the MGs and many others. Many of these artists wrote their own material, but covers often figured into the mix as well. With the recent reactivation of the Stax label under the Concord umbrella, the time is ripe for some interesting compilations of this material. Two new releases—Stax Does the Beatles and a lesser volume of Motown covers called Soulsville Sings Hitsville—fill that gap. On the Beatles disc, Otis Redding tears into “Day Tripper,” Isaac Hayes reinterprets “Something” as only he can, and Carla Thomas turns in a fine live rendition of “Yesterday.” Both The Bar-Kays and Steve Cropper turn in covers of “With a Little Help From My Friends.” Cropper sticks to an arrangement quite similar to Joe Cocker’s 1969 desecration of that song, yet manages to find the good in it (specifically, as it turns out, everything but Cocker’s vocal). The Bar-Kays recast the song in a funkified gospel-fired version that proves the adage that a great song is a great song, and can stand up to reinterpretation in various genres.
The Simpsons Testify (Shout! Factory) Thank god for The Simpsons. And thank god for their musical director Alf Clausen. This 67-year old composer is responsible for some of the cleverest music ever to be heard on television. For nearly twenty years Clausen has applied his immeasurable talents to crafting musical pieces for the show. These pieces do much, much more than serve as backing: they move the plot along (often much faster than mere dialogue could do) and in the process manage to pack a dizzying number of musical references into the story. This Shout! Factory release follows two late 90s Rhino compilations, this time concentrating on songs from the last nine seasons. On Testify, the liner notes go into a bit more detail, spelling out who does what, and from which episode. Oftentimes comedy albums don’t hold up to repeated listening; this album is a clear exception. Note: While unique in its own right, the Broadway-style work on Family Guy is something of a homage to Clausen’s Simpsons work; Clausen’s success paved the way for the Family Guy music. So when will we see a Family Guy musical compilation? I’m waiting…
ulture
skope timely topics
for music lovers
Books. Movies. Games. Icons.
Skope takes a look at â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em all. Read about a new book of punk art; a new film from Brad Beesley; and the hottest game ever. Learn more about a legendary photographer, a music/tech genius, and a hip-hop icon. And, of course, much more.
skope culture
m
Steve Rifkind Forecasts Stormy Weather
any people in the music industry have been viewing the Internet, due to its file sharing capabilities, as an enemy. Longtime music industry veteran Steve Rifkind, who founded both Loud and SRC Records, sees the Internet in a totally different light. “I’m looking at the Internet as an ally,” he says with conviction. “I blame the record business for the whole internet problem. I relate the Internet to having something the matter with your body. If you have a cold and it’s not going away and you don’t go to the doctor, the next thing you know you have a fatal pneumonia. If we had dealt with this problem sooner rather than later, then we would be fine right now.” Rifkind has always been a long term goal oriented person, so it’s no surprise that he already has a target date in mind for when he feels the music industry and the Internet will be living harmoniously. “We’ll be fine in three to four years,” he states, “but now we just all gotta weather the storm.” The storm is one Rifkind is actually enjoying a bit. “I love change,” he states. “Let’s go back thirty years. There was no CD. The CD came and all of a sudden we went from billing four dollars an album to ten dollars an album, so we’re not dumb, we just didn’t attack this cold. Now all we have to do is figure out how we’re gonna make money. It’s still gonna equal ten dollars; might even equal more.” The way Rifkind sees the music industry getting back on its feet starts with moving away from one hit wonders—whom he feels “ruin the record business”—and back to focusing on artist development. Many artists are eager for stardom and don’t want to hear about any potential time on the bench, but according to Rifkind, “If they don’t want to sit on the bench and learn, then they don’t have a full picture.” He adds that new artists also shouldn’t look to the recent past when it comes to budgetary hopes, noting “Those million dollar budgets, they’re all gone. We all as a collective group—the artists, the managers—we all have to roll up our sleeves and get back to work.” Work, in this case, means creating great albums, something that Rifkind hasn’t heard many of in recent years. “People aren’t buying albums because the albums aren’t great anymore,” he laments. “Artists have to make great records again.” Making great records is something Rifkind knows a thing or two about. All of his ventures have been profitable ones, most notably Loud and SRC. There were some major differences in the setups of those companies, though. Rifkind remembers: “When I set up Loud it was all about the grind. I was a lot younger, I had no kids and I had no problem showing and proving what it was. I really went in for no money as long as there was great backing. When we sold
by Adam Bernard
Loud and I started all over again with SRC, I had no problem showing and proving all over again, but we structured the deal differently. It was automatically a joint venture instead of a production deal.” The alteration in setup stemmed from Rifkind’s past successes. In the wake of those successes, many artists are looking to work with him. Rifkind has some simple advice for any artist looking to hand him a CD: don’t be scared to approach, but don’t be cocky. “It’s like if you see a chick that you’re attracted to,” he explains, “what, are you gonna just stare at her? You gotta go up to her and do what you gotta do; just don’t come with any rah-rah bullshit. Be cool and be real. Be truthful. That’s all. Just give it and be honest and say ‘I’d appreciate your feedback.’ Don’t start hyping me, because I can find out real quick what’s going on with this record.” Although he feels the music industry is in a state of affairs comparable to the 70s and 80s, Rifkind is still supremely confident in the future. “The record business is going nowhere,” he states. “There’s gonna be change, and change is good. It’s for the better. I’m excited.”
change
embracing
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biodiesel music
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May/June 2008
by Erika Gradecki
&orking w
g
etting into the biodiesel business became a smooth transition for Dale Wiley, the president of BidForGreen Touring Solutions, a California and Missouri-based environmental provider that has fueled such legends as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Styx and Pat Metheny. “We started the BidForGreen website in 2007, and the idea was we wanted something that would basically allow us to bring buyers and sellers of alternative fuels and concepts together,” explained Wiley. Wiley, a lawyer-turned-environmentalist, learned about the biodiesel industry from a client of his, who happened to be an engineer. “I was trying to help him
get connected with the right people,” said Wiley. “It came from all sides—‘why don’t you do this?’” Using the research skills he acquired while practicing law, Wiley quickly absorbed information on biofuel in the last two years, and decided to go into the business with that same client, engineer Russ Gehrke, who became his partner and co-owner of American Green Holdings. “BidForGreen is a project for American Green Holdings,” Wiley said. “We saw that there is still a lot of confusion in the market about what’s good and what’s not. It’s amazing how much people still have to learn about this, because obviously it’s a new thing.” A friend of Wiley’s, Jason Hoar, had been doing biodiesel fueling for Willie Nelson, who in turn, looked to BidForGreen for fuel. Wiley, who previously owned a record label, has “always been involved with music. It was an easy transition for me to get in and start to think about it from a musician’s standpoint. And then we had a chance meet with (Merle) Haggard, and (it) just really started to take off.” In addition to working with Nelson and Haggard, BidForGreen also works with “moving” studios, providing fuel and logistics for such television series as CSI, as well as Shaw/Blades 2007-2008, a side project of Styx’s guitarist and singer Tommy Shaw and Night Ranger/Damn Yankees bassist and vocalist Jack Blades. “The funny thing is, I’ve gotten to
skope culture
r e h t t oge BidForGreen provides fuel for tours and moving studios
know more cool things about music with BidForGreen than my record label,” said Wiley. “I’ve gotten to meet Neil Young, gone backstage, really got to have a relationship Merle Haggard, one of my biggest influences. It’s wonderful. It’s, for me, the chance to get to do all this stuff and get paid for it—it’s amazing.” In the next year, Wiley hopes that more people will get more involved with “going green” and become more educated in helping the environment. “There are a lot of questions being raised about biodiesel (like) ‘Where does it come from?’ ‘If it comes from soy, (then there are) a lot of pesticides that go into that, so how long the land can sustain”’ et cetera,” noted Wiley. “Part of the biodiesel comes from there, (but) we are also looking for sustainable sources of biodiesel. We want to look at stuff that’s already there that we can re-purpose.” Such by-products like chicken fat and pork lard, wastes from restaurants, have become sources of biodiesel fuel, while others can be harmful. “People talk about the strength of vegetable oil, which is actually worse on the environment,”
claimed Wiley. “If you can drink it, it’s ethanol. If you can cook with it, it’s biodiesel with some chemicals.” “It’s a very easy conversion, not like an ethanol conversion, which is much more painful,” he added. Wiley said that anyone that uses diesel fuel can also use biodiesel. There are several types of biodiesel, such as D-20, which is 20 percent biodiesel, and D-99 which has a larger percentage of biodiesel and costs just a dime to a quarter more per gallon than its diesel counterparts. “You don’t want to hear people making arguments against biofuel, but you never start out something perfectly,” said Wiley. “We can’t say ‘well, it’s better to use diesel than biodiesel.’ It’s a cleaner fuel, better burned for the environment, and I just think that we’ve got to see it’s going to take time to conquer.” This year, Wiley hopes to reach people that have a need for large quantities of fuel, such as NASCAR and school buses. “We think that anybody that’s moving and needs a diesel product can get large quantities of biodiesel,” he said.
“It’s amazing how much people still have to learn about this.”
Photography by Brian Kanoff
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the
7
key code system
Giving the DIY Artist a Fighting Chance
t
he music industry is in an interesting place right now. The digital revolution is in full swing, and the wired world has grown up into a raging, hormonal teenager; a whole generation is constantly connected, always talking, always sharing information. Quality recording equipment is becoming more affordable and accessible. Bands can record a song overnight and share it with the world the next morning. Labels are scrambling to figure out the new industry model. Bands like Dispatch are playing farewell shows to a hundred thousand people in Boston without ever signing to a major label, and Radiohead is giving away In Rainbows for whatever fans feel like paying for it. The term “DIY” is becoming more and more common. Great: there more tools in the hands of indie acts. Now what? The new face of the music industry means a dizzying array of ways to reach out to fans, promote shows, sell albums, and book gigs. It means more opportunities to make it. It also means a lot of work and a lot of confusion over which way to go. That’s why industry veteran Jonah Fialkoff developed the 7 Key Code System. “The 7 Key Code System is designed to give the independent artist the tools they need to break digitally. It is, you could say, a digital marketing blueprint or roadmap for the music business,” says Fialkoff. “It’s a website system that turns web visitors into loyal fans; a system to license your music to TV, film and video games; a system to keep your fans buying over and over again from you. It is a system to set up your very own turnkey custom online merchandising store.” Artists can use Fialkoff ’s system to gain an edge in the digital music scene by developing a website to convert fans, drive traffic to that website, and use fans as their own personal street marketing team. Fialkofff also explains how to cash in on digital distribution, ringtones, and licenses to TV, film, and video games. “The main goal of the system is to empower the independent artist who has a tight budget with the tools they need to break independently in the digital age,” he explains. In 2002, Jonah founded Blaze The World Records, where he ended up putting out one of the largest independent releases in the world for 2003, Kool G Rap, which shipped almost 20,000 units in the first day. He released material by artists such as Organic Thoughts and Lyrical, began working with major labels, and soon realized the industry was in for some major changes. “Within the record industry, piracy was taking over. Labels were crumbling all around me. My own distributor began to shrink fast, dropping many of its labels. Soon, I was feeling the effect.” Fialkoff struggled to find a way to make a profit while competing with peer-to-peer networks loaded with illegal music files. “Our albums were being copied illegally and sold on eBay for pennies. I couldn’t compete with the prices, nor could I stop these guys. Our albums were being downloaded on Kazaa and Limewire for free before we even released them.” Fialkoff decided to seek out a method of survival for artists he major labels aren t interested in making money with music. “I came up with the idea for the system out of years in the music industry seeing that most artists have no clue how the industry even works. There is still such signing acts unless they are a huge misconception that you can just submit your music to a record company and get signed and an advance. I have yet to proven on the independent ever see that work. [Artists] think they can put out a mixtape or a low-budget video and have a MySpace page. It just doesn’t work that way. The major labels aren’t signing acts unless they level are proven on the independent level.” That independent level is the new battleground for bands looking to break in a brave new world of music distribution, and Fialkoff ’s 7 Key Code System is a way for artists to take their act to the next level. “This is a groupie manufacturing machine. Hundreds have purchased it, and we have not really done much advertising. Our biggest form of advertising is word of mouth. Because those who have used it and had success seem to love to tell people about it.” For more information, visit www.7keycode.com
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May/June 2008
“T
’
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by Ethan Swann
skope culture
panic attack! art in the punk years by Claudia Ward-de León
What Punk Did to e f th er e o heth Contemporary Art c n w lue sk
inf n’t a mans s t the nt It doe t is di to cu u o . c is retty raw, i and he d y s, t o t is t ot p k is enc sic it’s n . Pun plac addic u , m m e n l e i o y t ar oli ortab the c hero s. on f por ot p e luti y se tem k is n u com awa s, th mas ’ revo The n . e bum hic ols o co Pun t of e y hak sed nd rc pe n art. mak e to s al the , ana ex Pis relea ists a a c ds der nt to ther reve dled he S also l art lyze o a a lan T d ia he on m s it w p. It is y and e hu se of ! was luent nd an t n t k h p i f e i t a a u c u c n o e k un arhol nor d hings ty, a , and e rel c Atta ost i nicle e. 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spiege by Chris West
Not your parents’ circus
o
ne common denominator of large-scale theatrical performances is the sense of wonder they evoke: Lance Burton: “I wonder how he did that!” Wayne Newton: “I wonder how much longer he can muster an audience!” Stomp: “I wonder how they turned all that garbage into instruments!” Siegfried and Roy: “I wonder which tiger mauled Roy!”
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Then there is Spiegeltent, which evokes a different type of wonder, something more like “I wonder if someone put a hallucinogenic in my drink!” Producers Vallejo Gantner and Ross Mollison have brought another successful run of their Spiegeltent production to Manhattan and Miami and are set to redo the whole project again this year. Spiegeltent is a retro-nouveau approach to the theatrical genre that employs facets of risqué cabaret, theatro-batics and vaudevillian slapstick all laced with utterly offensive comedy. It’s been likened to “Cirque du Soleil on LSD” and a “circus gone all wrong.” And while the performances are a sight to behold, it is the venue itself that evokes the most aforementioned wonder. Spiegeltents (Flemish for “tent of mirrors”) are opulent theatrical pavilions steeped in twentieth century European history. Originally created in Belgium, these traveling tents are venues of pure kitsch: beveled mirrors, teak wood banquettes and billowing velvet. Perhaps the main draw of Mollison and Gantner’s Spiegeltent is the proxim-
ity to the performers themselves. The 250 seats position patrons less than twenty feet from the actual performances making them an intimate part of the various acts. And then there are the acts themselves… The main draw of Spiegeltent is “Absinthe” and it proves to be as hallucinatory as the oft-banned liquor itself. Mixing acrobatic performances, crossdressing and sexual overtones, it is not for the faint of heart. The writhing half-naked bodies, mock coitus, and lewd adult comedy will have the most open-minded observers blushing. The obnoxious lounge lizard Gazzillionaire and his assistant Penny are the hosts of “Absinthe” and are the source of much of the lewd humor. Think of them as a freakish version of George Burns and Gracie Allen, similarly playing off one another’s jokes. The follow-up performance to “Absinthe” is “La Vie.” Performed by the Montréal-based troupe Les Seven Doigts de la Main (The seve fingers of the hand). The troupe is made up of former Cirque du Soleil performers who were eager to get up close and personal with their audience. “La Vie” is a purgatory-themed show dubbed “the flight to Hell that never quite gets there.” From the onset an androgynous MC alerts the audience that they are unwilling, recently-deceased passengers on a guided tour through the afterlife, where tawdry actors perform via trapeze, acrobatic and juggling acts. “La Vie” opens with an introduction to “Isabella” a contortionist mental patient who writhes gracefully through the confines of her straitjacket to the crooning of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” The
skope culture
eltent Spiegeltents are opulent theatrical pavilions steeped in twentieth century European history.
show continues with actors performing a myriad of sexual fantasy-themed kinks: there is a provocative schoolteacher, a white-collar businessman who strips shirtless and performs acrobatics over a chair and another male acrobat who finishes his act completely nude. All said, the show boasts death-defying acts while portraying a show about death. Ironic? Not really for “La Vie.” After the main attractions, Gazillionaire and Penny host “Late Night Lounge” which features the freakish comedy pair delivering more of their trademark raunchy humor. While the show doesn’t have the intrigue of the performers of “Absinthe” or “La Vie,” it is filled with hilarious over-the-top adult humor and vast (if involuntary) audience participation. “Late Night Lounge” provides patrons the
chance to laugh at things otherwise much too taboo to laugh at in public. Beyond the raucous shows, the event also boasts Spiegelworld Restaurant and Bar, a full service restaurant and a lush beer garden. And after the main attractions, numerous indie-rock, alternative and jazz bands from around the globe perform live. This past season’s lineup included Lady Sovereign, Badly Drawn Boy, Shout Out Louds and Dan Zanes (formerly of The Del Fuegos). Spiegeltent is much more an experience than a mere show. It’s an opportunity to bask in risqué fare in an environment that does nothing short of transport you to a long-gone form of entertainment. For more information see www.spiegelworld.com.
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Neal Preston’s Still Making History
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magic held in the artwork of the album covers, hoping it would rub off on his own fledgling basement band. Around this time, Preston got his first camera and started exploring its abilities with no career interest in mind. “Photography was one of my hobbies,” he says. “I was also one of those kids who had every hobby under the sun: coin collecting, stamp collecting, model airplanes. I pretty much tried every one of them.” For Preston, though, something connected with the camera. “I used to take my camera to rock and roll concerts,” he says. While still in high school, he was noticed by local
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behind the
by Janie Franz
Photography by Neal Preston
f you’ve seen a photo of Jimmy Page or Mick Jagger from the 70s, chances are you saw Neal Preston’s work. For nearly four decades, he has photographed rock icons. Among those captured by his lens are Dylan, Springsteen, Queen, the Who, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, U2, and Madonna. His work defined a new era of visual media for rock and roll. Preston says his own defining moment came in 1964 when he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. This was before the non-stop music programming of MTV and VH1, and even before Rolling Stone and Circus magazines. He virtually lived in music stores, buying this compelling new music and soaking up the
concert promoters and soon was shooting all over the New York City area. After graduation, Preston continued to shoot shows at venues like the Fillmore East and the Capitol Theatre. Eventually, he landed in L.A. and started photographing bigger and bigger stars. In his early twenties, he toured with Led Zeppelin, making history while recording theirs. Over the years, Preston has produced a wide range of visual material. He’s shot sports figures for Sports Illustrated and covered the Olympics several times. He did CD covers and posters for feature films, such as Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown. He also shot covers for Time,
skope culture
“It’s not
about me.
It’s about
the people in the photos.”
Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and People. Though Preston will be the first to admit that his career practically fell into his lap, his work is more complex than any run-of-the-mill concert photographer. His photos are meditative, capturing more than the commercial side of a musician. “I am a commercial photographer. No question. I do this for a living,” he says. “But, my sensibilities have always been leaning toward traditional photojournalism and about being a fly on a wall.” This is why his backstage closeups often reveal more about an artist than what is presented on stage. “In terms of live performance material,” Preston says. “I try to bring a little something different to the party and shoot the way I see things. At moments, I’ve wanted to shoot musicians
when they are performing like the heroes that they always were to me when I was growing up.” He admits that with new technology, “any Tom, Dick, or Harry can pick a camera and put it on auto this and auto that and shoot someone with a microphone in their face. But that’s not what it’s all about. It doesn’t say anything about the person. You have to put a little more thought into what you’re doing, I think, to communicate those kinds of emotions to people. That’s what I’ve tried to do.” Not only does this require a good artistic eye and some creativity, it also requires a broader level of experience, not just about photography or music. Preston has photographed all over the world. He also keeps on top of news and issues. This has fostered
a maturity in his work. “The sum total of all your experiences is what you end up bringing to the party for every photo shoot,” he says. That adds depth. But he also reminds himself, “It’s not about me. It’s about the people in the photos.” Preston is still shooting music icons, but has been concentrating more on managing his archive, handling exhibitions, and dealing with gallery sales. He also is working on a book about life as a rock and roll photographer. “I just want people to be able to get this book and feel what it’s like to be on the road with Led Zeppelin or know what it’s like to work with Stevie Nicks fifty times in three years,” he says. The book will have a lot of photos and plenty of behind the scenes stories, and will once again make history.
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summercamp! i by Nick Zaino III
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n the mainstream cinematic world, summer camp is a place overrun with raging teenage hormones, scrappy overachievers, and counselors barely hanging on to a semblance of social order. Think Meatballs, a certain notorious band camp in American Pie, or even a countless number of camp slasher flicks. That’s how directors Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price remembered their own camp experiences, and that’s what they expected to find when they set out to make the documentary Summercamp! What they actually found was much better. Beesley initially wanted to go to the Baptist camp where he spent three summers as a kid. “I started with them because I remembered basically that ‘Jesus camp’ was making out with girls and staying up all night playing poker,” he says. “And I thought that would make a great adolescent film.” When nervous parents threatened to withdraw their kids from that camp rather than have them captured on film, Beesley and Price moved on to Wisconsin’s Swift Nature Camp, and a more poignant, affecting story than the one they thought they would tell. The kids at Swift Nature Camp do indulge in some timeless activities. The girls sing familiar songs like “Suzy Had a Tugboat” and try not to notice the boys showing off for their sake. Both groups have silly late-night conversations in their cabins. The obligatory talent show is amusing and endearing. But these kids are also a product of their times, and it doesn’t take long for the trappings of modern childhood to begin to show. Kids are worried about their meds, and miss their laptops and iPods as much as they do their parents. That caught Price and Beesley by surprise. “A lot of these kids have a lot of pressure,” says Price. “Their school life is something that they talked about, being able to separate themselves from their school life was something that they really appreciated about camp. It was a chance to get a away from it all. When you’re ten years old and you’re talking about needing to relax, something’s wrong.” For most of these kids, camp is an escape, but some kids can’t leave their problems behind. Cameron has a hard time fitting in, and exiles himself from his cabin for a night. Holly, mascot to the “Chickadee” cabin, never really stops thinking about a death in her family. Some of the campers featured more prominently in the film are captured at extremely vulnerable moments, something Beesley and Price took great care in portraying. “We wanted to tell the story without feeling we were exploiting these kids,” says Price. “Of course that would be the worst thing. But there was an honesty that kids have, and the kids that we focused on had the ability to articulate what they were going through, which not every kid can do.” The stories are enhanced by a soundtrack that features a mix of original and prewritten material the Flaming Lips – with whom Beesley worked on Christmas on Mars and The Fearless
The Oddball Innocence of Youth
Freaks – and Noisola. Unfortunately, producing a soundtrack was cost-prohibitive, but, says Price, “People can feel free to bootleg off the film, create their own soundtrack.” Especially wonderful is the Lips’ “Jesus and a Spider are in My Sleeping Bag Tonight,” which Beesley says was the perfect expression of his own camp days. “We would just show them a scene and they would score it for us,” says Beesley. “Those guys have always been very easy to work with.” Despite the drama, or perhaps even because of it, Summercamp! captures the oddball innocence of childhood, which was Beesley’s ultimate goal. “You become so detached from childhood as an adult—or at least I have, because I don’t have kids—that we really just wanted to remind people what it was like to be a kid,” says Beesley. “How sort of simple and easy life is when you’re a child and that people should relish that and enjoy it. Parents shouldn’t make their kids get jobs or cell phones or do these sort of grown-up things, because [childhood] only happens for a few years, and then you’re an adult the rest of your life.” Summercamp! Premiered on the Sundance Channel and will be released in a format expanded from the limited run currently available on the Web site.
Photography by Sarah Price and Bradley Beesley
For most of these kids, camp is an escape, but some kids can’t leave their problems behind
rock band: the game
skope culture by Bill Kopp with Daniel Kopp
This is Your Brain on Video
B
eing of a certain age, I didn’t hear about Rock Band, the newest video game from Harmonix, when it first came out in November 2007. But the buzz grew and grew to the point at which everybody knew about it. A bigger and better variatio n on the hot Guitar Hero series, Rock Band is taking the world by storm. Consider this statistic: in a mere eight weeks (late November to mid January), users bought and downloaded more than 2.5 million units (songs). In music industry terms, that’s double-platinum. And bands are lining up to license their songs for use in the game. They see it as a way to get their music in front of a wider audience. Newer bands like The Sounds and 30 Seconds to Mars have signed on, and more “classic” acts like Metallica, Oasis and The Police have added songs. Even the sound-alike versions (in cases where the original songs couldn’t be licensed) are reasonably close to the hit versions. The Harmonix team takes the songs and creates an interface for each—not dissimilar to the Dance Dance Revolution game—where players can “play” along using facsimiles of real instruments. The Fender Stratocaster®-styled “guitar” controller can be used to play the guitar or bass parts, selecting novice, intermediate or expert levels. The drums are a bit like early Simmons® electronic drums, with just enough “give” to (one hopes) avoid early carpal tunnel syndrome for players. The people at Harmonix even put some thought into the needs of southpaws. The guitar controller can be easily modified for left-handed players: the strap peg gets moved, and the color-coding in the game is reversed; I’m not sure there’s a precedent for such forward thinking in a video game. There’s even a kick pedal that can be slid to the right or left, in case you’re a left-handed drummer like Ringo Starr or Stewart Copeland. While it’s not explicitly stated, the controller from Guitar Hero plugs right into the Rock Band hub, so owners of both games can put together a whole competitive ensemble. Uniquely, Rock Band includes a microphone. How it works isn’t exactly intuitive, but it does. Somehow the mic measures the singer’s pitch accuracy (Paula Abdul and Ashlee Simpson should probably stick to the guitar controllers). But the most amazing thing about Rock Band is the way it acts like a musical gateway drug. The game is arguably turning a whole generation of gamers onto music they might not otherwise discover. The average fourteen-year-old, for example, probably listens to classic rock radio only when he’s forced to ride in the car with Dad. But with Rock Band, he’s gaming and rocking along to The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie and Blue Öyster Cult. My son Daniel wasn’t especially familiar with Deep Purple; he was quite interested when I told him that
my vinyl copy of 1972’s Machine Head contained other waycool songs on a par with “Highway Star.” What’s more, this gateway drug effect is leading young people toward interest in learning to play real instruments. With the video era of the last few decades, music performance had taken on a play-acting image: as Frank Zappa put it “they’ll spray an alley with a hose, and we’ll escape together.” But Rock Band is reintroducing people to the joys—the coolness—of wielding that axe in front of adoring (if, well, fake) crowds. While the game loads up—and between songs—Rock Band spouts music trivia (they call ‘em “facts”). It’s obvious that the developers of this game are doing more than servicing a perceived market niche; Rock Band is a labor of love. The Harmonix team has always been associated with music. Long before Rock Band, they developed interactive music attractions for Disney’s Epcot®, and a gizmo called “The Axe,” PC-based software that facilitated real-time musical improvisation via mouse or joystick. The founders of Harmonix, Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, met while working in MIT’s Media Laboratory. They formed their company with the express mission of (as the company’s official bio puts it) “creating new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music.” With Rock Band, they’ve succeeded. One shudders at this thought, though: how will they possibly top it? This is a story worth following.
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voices raised in hope
t
“When you see the children, they’re so full of hope
–
so energetic
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and so vibrant.”
by Amanda Cuda
The African Children’s Choir
heir ages range from eight to 12. Their countries of origin include Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda. They’ve all experienced too much suffering for children their age. Perhaps they’ve lost their parents to disease. Many have had to scavenge for food and water just to survive. They lack so many of the necessities that Western children take for granted. Yet when the members of the African Children’s Choir perform, you don’t see this pain or suffering. According to former choir member Elsa Mugyenzi, you see something else entirely. “When you see the children, they’re so full of hope – so energetic and so vibrant,” she said. It’s the power of these performances that has allowed the choir to last for more than 20 years, and has led the organization to raise enough money to provide education, food and other necessities to more than 6,500 children. Irish-born rescue worker Ray Barnett founded the choir in 1984 as a way to help children in Uganda. He had traveled to the country after hearing about a group of Christians there who were being tortured and killed because of their religious beliefs. At the time of Barnett’s visit, Uganda was under the rule of dictator Idi Amin. The Christians told Barnett their stories and, even after he left, their tales haunted him. He was also haunted by the beauty of the children and their ability to sing. Barnett returned some time later, and found the country
skope culture in even worse shape, with children begging for food in the streets. Barnett decided to bring a group of children to the West, where they would perform as a choir and help educate people about the plight of the Ugandans. The first choir consisted of about 30 children and performed in Vancouver, British Columbia. Today, there are several choirs of about 20 children each that perform in the United States and Canada. New choirs are selected every year through a series of auditions. The process assesses not just talent, but also the children’s level of need. Selected children spend five months training before going on tour. After finishing their tenure with the choir, the children return to the Music for Life Primary School in Kampala, Uganda, a Christian boarding school run by Music for Life, the choir’s parent organization. Here they finish their education and receive necessities, such as food and medical care, that they might have been lacking before they joined the choir. Mugyenzi, who hails from Uganda, was a member of the first choir. Now grown and a manager of the African Children’s Choir, she said the group plays a crucial role in helping children from poor African countries to survive and thrive. “It’s about offering hope to African children who have no way of obtaining an education,” Mugyenzi said. Last year the choir’s performances included an appearance at the One X One Foundation charity event in Toronto, and a spot on Ellen’s Really Big Show, a TBS variety special presented by comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
A recording of one of their songs, “Nangirira” even appeared on the soundtrack for the Leonardo DiCaprio film Blood Diamond. More importantly, funds raised through sales of the choir’s CDs and DVDs – and donations and sponsorships of individual choir members – have helped change the lives of choir members and their country people. Yet things are still difficult in these countries, Mugyenzi said. Earlier this year violence erupted in Kenya, forcing many former choir members in the country to flee their homes. At least one was injured after being shot with an arrow. “Some of our kids are still caught in the crossfire,” Mugyenzi said. Music for Life is collecting donations for the Kenyans. Meanwhile, the choir members continue to tour and spread the word about the difficulties faced by children in poor African countries. Of course, helping the continent’s children is just one goal of the choir. It is, after all, a musical group, and one of its main purposes is to entertain. And the joy of the music they perform belies their personal troubles. Their performances
include songs sung in a variety of African languages, as well as some familiar tunes – such as the religious spiritual “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” – sung in English. “We provide something for everyone,” Mugyenzi said. For more information on the African Children’s Choir, visit www.africanchildrenschoir.com.
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idol dreams
Virgin Megastores Launch New Website With a Battle of the Bands
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s
by j. poet
ince the demise of Tower Records, music freaks have been looking for a place to hang and swap information about rare CDs and colored, limited-edition vinyl records. Some of those fans have been gathering at various Virgin Megastores to discuss music, movies and fashion. The Megastores folks took note: last September they partnered with SJ Communications, a PR firm that represents Absolut Vodka, Universal Records and artists such as Mariah Carey, Paul Westerberg and Diana Krall. The group launched a new website for fans – The Virgin MegaMashUp (www.virginmegamashup.com). Virgin’s MashUp merges publicity elements familiar to critics and professional writers—press kits, tour schedules, and photos—with streaming video, blogging, and other bells and whistles designed to build a social community a la MySpace and Facebook. “This will help Virgin get into the social aspects of the Web,” said Krysty O’Quinn Ronchetti, head of SJ Communications. The site will feature entertainment news, information about upcoming in-store events, artist podcasts, and an online discussion group. That discussion group, VirginMega Board, had an amazing group of thirteen—yes, that’s thirteen—active members as of January 2008*. Virgin Megastores kick-started the new site last year by sponsoring a Battle of the Bands contest. In August of 2007 they looked for the best high school and/or college band in America. “We were searching for new talent and looking for ways to reach out to our online audience,” said Dee McLaughlin, VP of marketing for Virgin Megastores. “We felt that high school and college age bands would be most appropriate for this particular campaign. We had a terrific turnout from consumers when the finalists performed live at participating Virgin Megastores; nearly 50,000 people voted on line.”
skope culture “(The contest) was part of our marketing efforts to reach high school and college age customers, which included the launch of our Social Media Site,” McLaughlin said. “On VirginMegaMashup users can read our blog, watch videos and see photos from Virgin Megastore events. For our Battle of the Bands, we utilized the site as a way to offer our consumers a chance to interact with us directly and have a say in who should be the winner. Every year, we host hundreds of live concerts and in-store signings with artists that the high-school/college age market [is] interested in. Our site is a place for them to log on and see photos, or videos of those events – as well as read about what happened on our blog.” The Battle of the Bands competition ran from August 20th to September 31st, and was won by Stalled, a high school band from Forney, Texas that had been playing together for about a year. The band won a trip to an Industry Boot Camp with immergent Records in Los Angeles, a dinner with Virgin executives and other (undisclosed) prizes. They also got a Virgin Megastore consignment deal at their local Virgin store in Dallas. The band has doubled their friends on MySpace since winning the contest—up to 1,100—and at press time were planning their April 2008 prize trip to L.A. “We’re supposed to meet with Virgin executives and spend a day at immergent Records,” says Jay Jensen, father of Stalled drummer Garrett Jensen, and one of the parents who helps manage the band. “We’re getting cold calls from bookers and the band is playing most weekends, but I think the parents are more excited than the band. They’re all so level-headed and still in high school. They don’t even tell some of their friends they’re in a band. They’re humble, good kids.” The Stalled video on the Virgin site had 1,629 views as of February 6, 2008**. They have almost that many friends on MySpace, a troubling sign. Finding an audience on the web is difficult unless you have something new and exciting to offer. Sadly, The Virgin MegaMashUp site is poorly designed. There are thousands of MySpace sites put up by bedroom computer geeks that are more eye-catching and user friendly. Many features, including the Image Gallery and individual store websites redirect you to Flickr and MySpace. Still, while they didn’t draw American Idol numbers, McLaughlin said the contest drew enough interest for the company to consider a second Battle in 2008. * Ah, yes, but by mid-March the number had more than doubled—doubled, I tell ya—to 28!—ed. ** Over the next 45 days, more than 100 people viewed it. Hopefully the server won’t crash under the weight of all that traffic!—ed.
“We had a terrific turnout; nearly 50,000 people voted on line.”
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by Bill Kopp
a legacy of creative warmth
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May/June 2008
“i Photography courtesy Bob Moog Foundation
The Bob Moog Foundation
’m a toolmaker; I’m not a musician.” With trademark modesty, so said Bob Moog, the man who— for all intents and purposes—invented the modern synthesizer. I sat down recently at an Asheville NC coffee shop with his daughter Michelle Moog-Koussa to discuss the work of the Bob Moog Foundation. As Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” played softly in the background, the Foundation’s Executive Director told me how the organization got its start not long before Bob Moog (rhymes with “vogue”) succumbed to brain cancer in 2005. “The Foundation came about right before Dad passed away. My brother Matt had set up a [private] web page for him as a way to keep in touch with forty of his friends, to let them know how he was doing.” Someone leaked word of the site on a synthesizer chat group. She winces at the recollection. “My brother got very upset, and put up a password on the site. [But then] my dad said, ‘y’know what? Take the password down and let them come.’ I’m not sure I would have expected that, because he did really value his privacy.” “The day he died, there were 20,000 hits” on the site. “There were all these tributes to Dad,
about how his instruments had affected their lives, how [Moog synthesizers] had given them a voice for their creativity.” Michelle regaled me with stories of her dad: people “were bowled over that they would ask him a question—they’d muster up their guts to approach him—and he’d whip out a pen and a napkin and draw them a schematic!” “I mean, [as kids] we knew what Dad had done, [but] in a very simplistic sense. People would approach me: ‘Oh my god—Bob Moog’s your dad!’ But he always held his career at arms’ length; when we would ask him about it, there was a sense of his being uncomfortable about it.” In fact, “when he won the Grammy® in 2002, he wasn’t going to tell us!” I have my own Bob Moog story. Summer 2000, not long after moving to Asheville, I was at a small neighborhood picnic. Across the lawn, I saw this man in his mid-sixties; I immediately recognized him as the synthesizer pioneer. I stood there, slack-jawed. A neighbor approached me with a wide grin: “I guess you know that’s Bob. Let me introduce you.” The approachable Moog and I then talked about Theremins for awhile.
skope culture
of h I recall a 2003 lecture in which Moog went to great pains to downplay his contributions to music, preferring instead to highlight the contributions of others. “At home,” Michelle said, “he just wanted to be Dad. There were friends of his here in Asheville who didn’t know anything [about his work]. Humility was the family religion at the Moog household.” Bob believed—I’m paraphrasing here—that creativity exists in the ether, and that we are mere conduits, instruments if you will, to spread the fruits of that creativity. Michelle said that Bob “left a legacy, and Moog Music carries it on through their instruments. But there’s also this legacy of his creative warmth that has inspired people all over the world. And that deserves to be carried forth as a tribute to him. We want to continue the inspiration that was achieved through innovation and scientific curiosity.” The Foundation’s stated goal is to “document, celebrate and teach innovative thinking and to support and honor” Moog’s legacy. The first—and right now, most critical—step is the documenting. Bob stored all manner of personal odds and ends in a non-climate controlled storage building. These included the last production Minimoog synthesizer
(see third inset photo below), various schematics for as-yet-undeveloped devices, reel-to-reel audio masters, and (as Michelle showed me) a stack of daily notepads, listing who Bob spoke to, and what they spoke about. The Foundation hopes eventually to build an interactive Bob Moog Museum in Asheville, but right now the focus is on preserving these archive items. Thankfully, some high-profile artists like Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan have offered their support, but it’s no substitute for greatlyneeded donations from the general public. Moog-Koussa told me that long-term goals for the Foundation include plans to offer three scholarships in ‘mechatronics’ at UNC Asheville, Cornell and Berklee; the museum; outreach programs to bring electronic music into schools; and live performances and competitions. I asked Michelle how she would like Bob to be remembered. She thought for a moment. “First and foremost, that he was a humanist. Second, that he was a scientist.” For more information on the work of the Bob Moog Foundation—including details on how you can help—visit moogfoundation.org.
“AT HOME, HE JUST WANTED TO BE
DAD.”
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John Dyer
Riding the wave of the neo-folk movement taking form off the popular airwaves of today, Jon Dyer has forged a unique sound fusing varied instrumentals with breezy harmonies. His rich baritone is a departure from the hollow crooners of his day. Dyer says that he has “really been digging it with some great arrangements”; his latest album Gostayplay is anything but formulaic. Iridescent synth is flowered over commendable harmonica stylings. Harkening back a bit to even the Chicago acid jazz of the early ‘90s – say Tortoise and/or Sea and Cake – Dyer can keep formidable company. “I’m a real fan of making something like Smile and The Beatles stuff that’s like a mosaic,” he says of his landscape music design. “I’m getting further into making whole song cycles that work well together. That partly comes from my theatre involvement.” Yep, he does that too. Check out Gostayplay to see how eclectic this Brooklyner really is.
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Jon Jones
It’s hard to categorize Jon Jones’ music into just one genre, as his music blends several types into one—acoustic, blues, alternative rock. However, one thing is for sure: it is definitely unique. Jones began studying music at an early age. He began playing the saxophone at age 8, and has picked up on other instruments—everything from piano to percussion to guitar. On his debut album, Jon Jones Band Not Included, Jones discusses a range of topics that affects everyone, such as “The Doctor,” where Jones belts out: “I don’t have all the answers but you don’t have stomach cancer, you just suffer from heartbreak and pain.” Taking inspiration from his own life, Jones even thanks his ex-girlfriends “for leaving me with some good material.” Just this past December, he was listed in the Top 10 for FMQB community radio charts and was the only unsigned act in the Top 40. Check out more about Jon Jones at www.jonjonesmusic.com.
experience it online.
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January/February 2008
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Pinnwheel
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May/June 2008
by Bill Kopp his endearing collection is of interest primarily to Fountains of Wayne fans, but in a perfect world that would include damn near everybody. Recorded (as best as anyone can determine) in the late 1980s to early 1990s, this set of thirteen songs captures the duo of Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger in their first, abortive attempt to put together the band that would (in 1996) become Fountains of Wayne. Four of the songs found here would subsequently be re-recorded by FoW in superior versions, but there’s a homespun charm to these demos that makes them a charming listen. “Troubled Times” was released on 1999’s Utopia Parkway. The breezy “I Know You Well” was a Japan-only bonus track on that album, and was included on the 2005 Out-ofState Plates compilation. “Imperia” and “Half a Woman” also ended up on that odds and sods collection. On the Pinnwheel demos, the 1991 track “Half a Woman” starts off with a chuckle and then a spoken question: “Do you want to…um, let’s trade instruments.” It goes on to tell the story of the magician Great Scott and his lovely assistant. The track “Cry One Tear” was later recorded by Collingwood’s alt-country side project The Gay Potatoes; that version is more loose-limbed than the relatively polished studio version here. That leaves eight songs that
have never seen official release. While none is an earth-shaking, lost powerpop nugget along the lines of “Red Dragon Tattoo” or “Stacy’s Mom,” they’re all worthwhile. Listening to this collection, one thing is clear: Collingwood and Schlesinger’s concept was firmly in place long before the band ever got off the ground. The group’s combination of melodicism, wistfulness and tongue-in-cheek humor shines through on all the tracks, including the collection’s surest contender for breakout status, the jangly “Slave to Your Misery.” It’s also the track that sounds the most like the band circa 2008. A forum posting at fountainsofwayne.us included this amusing mini-anecdote from “Random Guy,” a fan in possession of the Pinnwheel demos: “I asked Chris [Collingwood] to sign it; he didn’t mind at all. He was surprised, said he didn’t have it.” If this is true, it’s unfortunate: a downloadable version of these demos— assuming the rights don’t belong to some evil record company somewhere—could be a steady seller if put up for sale on the group’s official site. The demos have circulated for years among traders, going back to the cassette-trading days; this may account in part for the hissy, lo-fi nature of these home/studio demos. In 2006 an enterprising fan “remastered” five of the tracks. Presumably he or she was working from a lower-generation
Difficulty to Locate: 6 out of 10 General Listenability: 6 out of 10
“master” than the version used to create the CD copy I reviewed. In any event, the results are far superior sonically; they’re much clearer and brighter, even if they circulate in lossy MP3 versions. After the Pinnwheel demos failed to get them a deal, Schlesinger and Collingwood went their separate ways. Adam formed indie chanson-pop group Ivy with Dominique Durand and Andy Chase (that on-again/off-again project released its most recent disc in 2005; rumors abound of another in the works). Schlesinger also wrote (but did not sing or play on) the Oscar®-nominated title track to the film That Thing You Do! Fountains of Wayne finally landed a deal and released their official debut in 1996. That self-titled release did not draw on any of the Pinnwheel-era material. With access to a mere four albums (five if, as you should, you count the Out-of-State Plates comp) to their credit between 1996 and 2008, fans of Fountains of Wayne would do well to seek out this collection, and perhaps lobby the band for an official release.
eature
highlights
the hottest of the hot
ad or otther article
From
classic to cutting-edge.
In this issue you’ll find many of today’s hottest new acts — The Whigs, Tristan Prettyman, Black Lips, Cobra Starship — right alongside legendary figures like Van Morrison and Robert Cray.
Whatever music you’re into Skope has something — plenty, in fact — for you. Hip-hop? Del the Funky Homosapien. Off-center pop? Koop. The heavy stuff? Silverstein. 80s retro? The Mary Onettes from Sweden.
All those, and more. Check ‘em out.
van mo Magic Time Again
i 36
sk pe
May/June 2008
by j. poet
n June of 1966, Them, a young R&B band from Belfast, Ireland, landed a three week residency at the Whiskey a Go Go on the Sunset Strip. The band was riding high on “Gloria” and “Here Comes the Night” and their lead singer, Van Morrison, had been hailed as one of the most soulful white R&B singers in the United Kingdom. Their arrival in Hollywood set groupies alight; there was a fierce competition to see who could first lead the group’s red haired lead singer astray. The first sound check: a kaleidoscopic hurricane of groupies and hippie hangers-on of both sexes swarmed into the Whiskey. It was a hot summer afternoon. The young women wore more makeup than clothing. Swarming around Them, they hustled the band into waiting vehicles and sped off to the home of Vito, a bohemian artist of indeterminate age, who had a large studio space full of runaway girls and lecherous rock musicians. Vito was somewhere on the far side of 60, with a wife one third his age and numerous girlfriends as
also suggests these artists: Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Ray Charles
well, because everyone was free, man, and not hung up on traditional morality. Ushered into Vito’s inner sanctum, the boys from Them were offered pot, wine and companionship. Everyone was talking at once, fawning over the band. Morrison looked uncomfortable and his band mates seemed both flattered and bewildered by the behavior of their American fans. They begged off after a short while, promising to put “everybody on the guest list.” Later that night, they turned in a blazing set. Morrison lived up to his promise as a soulful belter, but looked as lost on stage as he did in Vito’s studio. Today, Morrison’s music remains based in the R&B, jazz and swing he loved as a young man, but through the years he’s incorporated Celtic, blues and American country music. Morrison left rock behind to craft warm, expansive soul music, with a trace of wry humor that surfaces every now and then. He says his music speaks for itself, so in-person interviews are few and far between. The few he has done have been characterized by Johnny Rogan, author of the unauthorized Morrison bio No Surrender, as a “negative art form.” Morrison’s also known for his erratic performances. As brilliant as his albums are—and he’s one of the few icons from the 60s still making vital music—his shows can range from the inspired to the slapdash. If he doesn’t feel like playing, he lets the band carry the show while interjecting the odd vocal chorus. He still appears uncomfortable on stage, more like a gruff uncle than a pop star, but on Friday, December 28th, 2007, at San Francisco’s Masonic auditorium, he was ready to sing his ass off. His backing band, eight men and two women, was first-rate and Morrison was a generous leader, giving each player a chance to show off their considerable chops. He walked
orrison feature
on stage dressed in a sharp 1940s suit and fedora, holding a saxophone on which he played brief, competent solos, but he really didn’t need it. His voice, still powerful and full of fire, is much more musical. He can slur syllables, shout out wordless, soulful cries, swallow a lyric and still imbue it with meaning. He plays with his phrasing, jumping before and behind the beat to accent the rhythms and melodies of his impressive catalogue. In 2006, Morrison cut a country album, Pay the Devil and his current band includes pedal steel, dobro, electric banjo and a fiddler/mandolin player that added a taste of country to old favorites like “Have I Told You Lately?” and “Stop Drinking.” Bringing a taste of bluegrass and country to the arrangements proved again how much American music Morrison has absorbed, and added another dimension to songs like “Magic Time” and “Stranded.” “Moondance,” and, oddly enough, “Saint James Infirmary,” were the only tunes that got “oohs” from a crowd composed mostly of his peers, but Morrison was in fine voice throughout the 90 minute set. For an encore he delivered a stately version of “Celtic New Year” that gave the crowd a warm glow to carry with them into the blustery San Francisco night.
Today, Morrison’s music remains based in the
R&B,
jazz and swing he loved as a young man, but through the years he’s incorporated
Celtic,
blues and
American
country music.
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the long tra Will Dailey’s Television Fame
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May/June 2008
w
hen Will Dailey steps up to the microphone armed with his guitar, shaggy brown curls, stubbly beard, and smooth voice, it’s clear why he was the first artist to sign to the newly formed CBS Records. His strumming guitar, strong lyrics, and heartfelt songs are exactly what television shows want, and television is exactly why Dailey seems like an overnight success. After his songs were featured on The Hills, CSI: New York, and The Early Show his sales ranking on Amazon.com jumped from nearly 80,000 to number 142. The new marketing formula of gaining exposure through television licensing made Dailey one of America’s hottest emerging songwriters. His sales ranking may have jumped in no time, but his path to recognition took more than a decade of playing live gigs and tinkering with each of his songs. Just four years ago Will Dailey was forced to choose between keeping his car and creating his debut record. In the middle of recording, he realized he had drained every penny from his savings account. With no money, Dailey thought his career had ended before it even began. So he made a sacrifice and sold the last valuable thing he owned. “When I ran out of money it just so happened
that the studio owner needed a car,” he said. “Deciding to sell it to him was about what I wanted to do with my life. You know, ‘Do you want to keep driving around in circles or make a record?’” He would dub his album GoodbyeRedBullet as a tribute to that red Honda Civic. But meanwhile Dailey was left asking friends for rides around Boston. Hitching rides wasn’t glamorous, but within three years the singer/songwriter’s allure would bring him glamour of another kind. Dailey’s GoodbyeRedBullet earned him recognition as an indie contributor; in an effort to boost Will’s career, his manager brought him to Los Angeles. The singer/songwriter spent hours in front of major executives, doing everything he could to make his name known in the industry. Then everything was interrupted. Struck with appendicitis at a time when he didn’t have health insurance, Dailey’s career was threatened yet again. After hobbling out of the hospital with $50,000 of debt, Dailey thought the best thing he could do was move back to his hometown of Boston. Ironically enough, that was when everything picked up momentum. Dailey’s manager urged him to work with Tom Polce and together (along with nine other contributors) they recorded
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by Lauren Proctor also suggests these artists: Ryan Adams, The Haints, Gas Money
“Do you want to keep driving around in circles or make a record?”
Back Flipping Forward and released it independently. The ten-track album with a pop sensibility included songs taken from Dailey’s life as well as everything he’s observed in the lives of others. Dailey achieved his goal in making what he calls a “communal” album. Boston fans embraced Dailey’s sound. The singer/songwriter kicked off 2006 with a sold out show in Boston and later in the year he won Best Male SingerSongwriter at the Boston Music Awards. “Up to that point in my life,” Daily wrote, “I had won a hot dog at a baseball game and a soccer trophy for a season in which I only made half the games.” Then Dailey’s manager got a call. CBS Records wanted to relaunch the independently recorded Back Flipping Forward. Dailey, who had become accustomed to taking care of the logistics behind the songs he performed, had a little trouble letting go at first. “At the time I was as excited as I was nervous, but everything turned out great. In a lot of ways, CBS is run like an independent label,” said Dailey. Will is now on tour promoting the October release of Back Flipping Forward, and hopes to start recording again in the near future. “I’ve got two albums’ worth of material,” he said excitedly before a New York show. Dailey again owns a car. And now the man who had hardly won anything in his life is one of America’s rising stars.
recognition
ail to
feature by Adam Bernard
I Wayne
The Root of it All
i
n 2005 I Wayne had a monster crossover hit with his song “Can’t Satisfy Her” which dealt with the issues of prostitution and disease in his home country of Jamaica. I Wayne admits the success of the song was a bit of a surprise even to him, noting “what I am saying is not the hype thing.” While it may not be viewed as hype, I Wayne feels it is important to get messages like his into circulation, especially to the younger generation. “For them to get life messages is essential,” he explains. “From life to ‘the I’ to the children, that’s how the message spreads. In the book of life, which is the universe itself, and learning from life like that and transferring it to the children.” His goal is to reach people from every corner of the earth. “Circulate right around the globe,” he says enthusiastically, “we don’t want to just circulate around England, or around America, right around the earth.” The music that I Wayne is circulating is roots reggae, which is decidedly different from the dancehall reggae most people stateside are used to. Think less Beenie Man, more Bob Marley. According to I Wayne roots reggae is “edifying music,” adding “I would classify it as being essential because it is truthful.” Although the truth sometimes hurts, just like in the case of “Can’t Satisfy Her” and some of the songs off of his current release, Book of Life, I Wayne notes its importance over other potential song topics. “Life is forever,” he explains. “The money is a fad, and you know fads always fade.” What hasn’t faded away are I Wayne’s plans to battle religion and politics. He feels the two are connected in a number of unseen ways. “Religion is just like politics,” he states. “Politics causes division. I’ma burn those things written, impartially and unapologetically.”
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also suggests these artists: Dennis Brown, Damian Marley, Garnet Silk
Robert Cray May/June 2008
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“i
“I believe in sincerity and honesty in music.”
Solider of Passion “believe in sincerity and honesty in music,” says Robert Cray while he packs his bags for a tour of India. “When I listen to music, I want to hear somebody who invokes total conviction. No bullshit, because anybody can do that bullshit thing,” laughs Cray. “I don’t want to hear that, I don’t have time for that. I like it pure. That is what attracts me to the people I like. I like BB King, straight to the point and not a lot of notes. “ The product of a military family and seduced by the Beatles, Robert Cray found his musical influences in the immediate cultural climate. “When I first started playing I was living in the Northwest,” about 30 miles south of Seattle. “It wasn’t until I moved to Virginia that I started hearing more of the soul thing. That was the late 60s. I was hearing all kinds of music from the south.” Cray pauses: “Then I got all messed up when I heard Hendrix.” After winning a Grammy® in 1986 Cray’s craft was thrust into the national spotlight. His sets of traditional standards mixed with original material ignited the embers of a romping grass roots movement of festivals and barbeques. He had worked alongside John Lee Hooker, and toured with Eric Clapton. The stars that were turning in Cray’s favor became aligned: he received a special invitation to the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival. “I have been invited a couple times, and it is just great. Eric [Clapton] does a great thing; just to be considered a friend to him is an honor. We were asked just this past year if we wanted to be the house band on the blues segment of the festival.” How long did it take Cray to respond to that invitation? Cray starts to laugh. “I answered before they finished the sentence. When I found out who was going to be on the bill, I really became excited. I was going to be backing Jimmie Vaughan, who is one of my idols. The Crossroads festival might be the only way now for people to see some of the masters that are left. On their own, people wouldn’t get that large of a draw. What Eric is doing, by bringing out guys like Hubert Sumlin, is serving a great purpose.” Cray offers some sound advice for the younger generation of musicians. “Play because you love it. Play for only that reason. That is what made me happy all of these years. Nobody can predict who is going to be a star, and that shouldn’t even enter into the equation. Just play because you love it, and play what you want to play. You can’t predict what somebody is going to buy, or if something is going to sell. You don’t have to put on makeup or spandex or anything like that. You don’t have to read up on the hot trend. Just play because you love it.”
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by Martin Halo
also suggests these artists: Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin
feature
soft some like it
by Claudia Ward-de León
Gone Faded Takes the Edge Off
j
ohnny Reineck, lead singer of Soft, says that his band had much success when exported to Japan: “We sold a lot over there.” Serendipity had knocked on their door. A label found Soft through the band’s MySpace page and agreed to book them for a festival in Japan with Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Alice In Chains and X-Promise Ring. Luckily for Soft, the message from the label didn’t go in Reineck’s spam box. “I pretty much ignore every e-mail I get, but we trusted them. We lucked out big time.” He claims that the Japanese are “are OCD about categorizing things, but their musical tastes are broad.” He would be one to know, too. After finishing college, Reineck lived in Osaka, and he studied Japanese. He recalls Osaka as a working class city, friendlier than Tokyo. “I wouldn’t call it beautiful,” he says, but his affinity for Osaka is clear. He says Soft will be returning this year to play venues in Osaka, Tokyo, and Hiroshima. Soft released their album, Gone Faded, in October of 2007. It was their debut album and a follow-up to an EP they’d put out in 2005. “We did not do the right thing,” says Reineck. He explains that the recording was done three times at a variety of studios with different producers and mixers; it was a work in progress for nearly three years. Though everyone was unanimously behind taking their time, he now looks back a bit differently. “We were way too precious,” he mulls. But he is happy with the final product.
They’re mostly midwestern boys, and they spent time in L.A, but like many artists, Reineck and the other members of Soft found themselves in New York City. They live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn when they aren’t touring. Reineck says their first years in Brooklyn—before they were officially a band—were exciting times. He remembers when they rubbed elbows at parties and gigs with the guys from Interpol, TV On The Radio, and The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. “It was a very tight scene,” he says. The band are friendly with Maroon 5, and Reineck says their name comes from bassist Mickey Madden’s infamous list of band names. “It made us feel uncomfortable.” So they rode with it. For those new to Soft’s sound, think hazy, languorous guitars over Reineck’s swooping croon. “Droppin’” has hints of shoegaze with droopy, drawn out guitar riffs and the wistful combination of pretty lyrics and thoughtful vocals. Their album cover and videos are all very simple and refreshing in contrast to the guys sporting fancy haircuts and eyeliner; Soft is very down-to-earth in comparison. He tells me of the time the band opened up for KISS and almost got booed off the stage. “We must have offended the KISS fans; my voice is way too high,” he laughs. Reineck cites Oasis and the Stone Roses as big influences. Though they do not choose to consciously sound like their influences, they let whatever happens, happen. “We didn’t try to be pop music and we didn’t try to be indie,” he states.
“Japan was very random.”
also suggests these artists: We Are Scientists, Just Surrender, The National
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California Girl by Bill Reese
Tristan Prettyman Grows Up
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May/June 2008
d
endrochronology is the dating of past events through the study of tree rings. If a botanist looked at singer Tristan Prettyman as they would a tree, the ring of time in between her last two albums would be the period of greatest growth. In that time, the young songstress from San Diego acquired rave reviews for her debut LP, toured incessantly with some of her favorite artists, suffered through a failed relationship and sat down to pen an album of her most ambitious and soulful music yet. The resulting disc, Hello, is not a greeting. It’s a statement. “I’ve grown up a ton,” said Prettyman, summarizing the last few years of her life. “I’ve gone through so many changes and I think the album definitely reflects that. It’s more grown-up, and it just feels legit.” Hello, Prettyman’s second full-length LP, was released on Virgin Records in March. Stylistically,
also suggests these artists: Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, KT Tunstall
Prettyman meanders between genres. She gets down and bluesy on “California Girl,” angsty and folky on “Echo,” freewheeling and rocking on “War Outta Peace,” cool and sexy on “Madly” and bittersweet and melodic on the symphonic “In Bloom.” Although she does not name names, a lot of the recurring themes of love and loss on Hello point to the “failed relationship” between Prettyman and fellow folkie Jason Mraz. Prettyman is quick to point out that there is more to Hello than heartbreak. “The last thing I wanted was to make a depressing break-up record,” she said. “I didn’t want to waste time being negative. I just wanted to rock out, get groovy and be happy.” Following the release of Hello, Prettyman once again hit the road with G. Love and Special Sauce, with whom Prettyman toured following the
feature “I don’t listen to the type of music I make.”
release of 2005’s twentythree. She spent more than two years touring in support of that record, playing with a variety of artists from the James Butler Trio, Ray LaMontagne, Chris Isaak, as well as Jason Mraz. When asked to describe the rigors of touring, the singer said the beginning is always the hardest part. “I don’t want to think about it,” she said. “It takes me two to three weeks to get into it. You kick and scream; it just doesn’t feel right. Once I get over that I love it. Time goes by so fast. All you worry about is the music. You get into a routine. After a while you don’t want it to end.” Of course, it’s easy to want to stay out on the road when you’re supporting some of your own favorite artists. Prettyman said that she has been influenced greatly by some of
her touring partners, especially G. Love and Special Sauce. “I just get really inspired to be out with them,” she said. “It’s how they tour, how they present themselves. I wish I could tour for the next year.” As an artist, Prettyman’s influences are wide and vary from listening to Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash on the radio as a child, to the dance tapes put together by her mother, an aerobics instructor. She got her first big break when a friend asked her to contribute a song to Taylor Steele and Chris Malloy’s surf film Shelter. But when asked about what kind of music she personally likes, Prettyman expressed distaste for music from her own genre. “I don’t listen to the type of music I make,” said Prettyman, who has developed a
music documentary obsession and a Netflix queue stocked with films on Bob Dylan, The Band and The Kinks, among others. “I play my music, but I don’t necessarily go out and listen to it,” she said, adding that as she got into the “coffee shop scene,” there were “so many singer/songwriters, I got turned off by it.” Of course, in saying that, she’s selling herself short. Tristan Prettyman is not your average Ani-DiFranco-wannabe, strummydummy, and it’s a good thing she’s not. She’s got the grooves, the voice and the soul that earned her a spot on tour with one of rock’s funkiest acts. She might not necessarily like “her type of music,” but if she passed up on a record like Hello, she’d be missing out.
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Koop
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Not Nu, Just Jazz (Electronically) by Matt Stern
“We basically stopped doing those things,” explains Oscar Simonsson, who, with his cohort Magnus Zingmark, comprises the oddly named duo. “There was a time after the previous album, Waltz for Koop, that we said yes to do all these kind of remixes and stuff like that, but what happened was that we got bored with ourselves. That’s one of the reasons it took so long to make the new album, Koop Islands, because we were so fed up with our sound after doing twenty remixes for other people. “We don’t want to be so diluted,” continues Oscar. “We are really careful. It gets more and more important to keep the spirit, and be true to yourself and the music. Just sitting in the studio working for money dilutes the whole feeling.” Koop would rather be apprecioop, Sweden’s electronically-tinged jazz duo, are best known Stateside ated for their own musical ideas than their talent for restructuring for their remix of one of Astrud Gilberto’s many whispery bossa nova and reinterpreting songs that have already been written and recorded. classics, “Here’s That Rainy Day.” The mix—which appeared next to Over the past decade, they’ve released only three full length jazz tracks similarly augmented by electronic producers on the Verve Realbums, but each of them has been different enough from the next to mixed 2 compilation, bringing the band some US exposure—isn’t exactly display a duo whose thoughts on the kind of song for which Koop want to be known. music are in constant flux. Koop Islands, which recently received a US release, is full of mellow, twinkly smooth-jazz throwbacks tinged with chilled-out electronic flourishes. This antiquated aesthetic that has picked up not only with jazzheads in Koop’s home country, but with Swedish pop audiences as well. “Everybody likes Koop in Sweden,” laughs Oscar. As they’ve toured Europe and the States, though, Koop have found don t know that there’s nothing uniquely Swedish about their appeal. what nu jazz is Oscar says that there’s no particular scene backing refuse to use Koop, just a hometown audience that has grown that word alongside the act’s public visibility. “It all depends on if you’ve got radio exposure or MTV exposure or not,” says Oscar. “We always have some kind of an audience that is rooted in jazz, maybe
“I
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also suggests these artists: Nitin Sawhney, Dutch Rhythm Combo, Jimpster Photography byAnna-Lena Ahlström
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some electronic music as well, but we’ve noticed that as soon as we our music is exposed on radio or TV a lot of fans of pop music or alternative-pop music show up to our gigs.” As Koop begin to write and produce their fourth album, they’re wholly uncertain what it might sound like. Where it will go has more to do with where their influences and lives take them than what kind of disc they plan to make. “Our albums are very much just a product of what we were thinking and doing during a certain period of time, and it turns out the way it turns out,” says Oscar. “Everything we do is put on the record. Nothing is left out. Our life during a certain period of time is on an album.” With Oscar listening to a lot of Chopin lately, it’s feasible that after their American tour, the duo will produce something reminiscent of their 1997 debut Sons of Koop: a mélange of downbeat electronics and classical samples. But, there’s no way to know, says Oscar of the as-yet-unwritten album, what it might end up sounding like. “I could tell you what I think, but it would be different tomorrow,” says Oscar. “You learn that the best thing is not to plan, to restrict yourself by saying the next album is gonna sound like this or like that, because it never turns out the way you expect. That’s what we learned after making three albums.” The varied influences Koop weave into their swing aesthetic and underpin with electronics may explain why Oscar won’t accept the highly generalized terminology sometimes used to describe what he does. ‘What’s that word you used?” asks Oscar, in response to the labeling of Koop as “nu-jazz.” “I don’t know what that is; I don’t know what nu-jazz is, I have refused to use that word for all these years.” See Skope’s review of Koop’s latest on page 88.—ed.
The Way She Be A New Love Affair
W
by Adam Bernard
hen Keri Hilson and Timbaland’s grammatically-challenged collaboration “The Way I Are” became a mega-hit, most people expected to see Hilson release a solo album right away, but according to Hilson that was never the plan. “We knew there was more in the arsenal.” That arsenal, i.e. Timbaland’s Shock Value, produced Hilson’s next hit, “Scream,” and has given her the opportunity to take her time with her own album. “We really want it to be a definitive piece of work,” she says of the project. Some may consider this a lofty goal for a newcomer to the game, but Hilson is actually an industry veteran of over a decade; she’s penned songs for the likes of Usher, Ludacris, Omarion, Ciara, The Pussycat Dolls and even Britney Spears. Remember “Gimme More,” the song that nearly brought Britney back? That was Hilson’s handiwork. Songwriting and singing have long been passions of Hilson’s, though she admits early on in her career “songwriting was a lot more practical,” noting “I had bills to pay and I was good at it, but the performance… this is definitely what I want to do, not what I have to do.” With her recent successes, Hilson can look back at her struggling days as learning experiences. “I was in two groups,” she remembers, “the one I was in at fourteen, By Design, was signed to Elektra. We never released anything. The second was Pretty Tony. I was eighteen; we never signed, but that was when I got some of my first placements as a songwriter with Kelly Rowland and 112. I really used it as putting plan B into action.” Hilson’s songwriting skills made her a popular choice to work with, especially among the artists in her own Atlanta community. One day she happened to be in the same studio as Polow Da Don and the two started working together. Polow introduced her to Timbaland, and since then Hilson has gone from being a behind the scenes songwriter to a front and center performer.
by Jeff O’Neill
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The Intersection of Rap and R&B ho wasn’t a fan of the Silk/Shai/Boyz II Men triumvirate that drove pop music back in the early 1990s? Songs like “Freak Me” and “End of Road” framed every blip on MTV. Similarly, Dr. Dre and Snoop were laying down the phattest beats on that side of the Mississippi. If you look not too closely, I-15 took the best of both movements to create a sound all their own. Named after the stretch of highway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, I-15 toggles between a sweet R&B trio and a hip-hop act. And, doing this since about the time they learned to walk, they’re pretty good at it. Having struck out on their own in hopes of landing sustained solo gigs, the boys decided to take the team approach and are currently feeling their way around the tripod approach. The story of their humble beginnings is comical. Das says that Flash’s former girlfriend “tried to hit us up with some competition, like, who was better.” Instead of fostering animosity, the former flame serendipitously brought together two like-minded musicians, who immediately respected each other’s styles. The former high school mates were well aware of what each brought to the table. ““We [had] seen each other’s CD on the shelves before, so we knew what was up,” Das explains. Turning to the music of their contemporaries, the boys are less complimentary, calling today’s radio friendly, regurgitated R&B “played out.” “I don’t like today’s music at all, man,” Das says, saying he’d much rather spin Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross or Run DMC. “Those cats brought a whole new sound into the mix.” Flash agrees. “DMC changed the style of the time, and we look up to them for real. R. Kelly’s changing the style of his music – he’s bringing a fresh new sound.” He means the R&B crooner resurgence that enjoyed both commercial and critical success back in the day. “Definitely, back in the 90s, music was jamming, the sound of hip-hop was fresh and R&B was just coming up before people tried to change it. And we’re trying to bring it back,” Das explains. “The House Party era!” Not willing to be compared to their progenitors, I-15 are quick to dismiss their current standing as compared to their idols. Calling those bands “true legends of the game,” they say that one day they hope to equal that success. Like all aspiring bands, the I-15 boys are using YouTube to launch their career. Checking them out there, their “Lost in Love” video is making the rounds. Coordinated dance moves coupled by formulaic lyrics seem to be the order of the day
also suggests these artists: Usher, Mace, Shai
here. There are also girls chasing I-15 around, and several sexual dalliances also find their way. And there’s a chartreuse Lamborghini just hanging out in the back. Despite a plotline ripped straight from the pages of every rap/R&B video made in the past fifteen years, the music is smooth and the synth rip is at least a step away from the typical; all in all, it’s a pretty good effort. Even a listen to the a cappella version indicates that’s there’s more than a bit of talent in the layering of melodies, and the delicate execution is surprising. Asked whether they’d be content leveraging their talents to be a strong regional act, the boys are defiant. “We want to take it all over and be huge man,” says Das. “Acting… take over that industry – I don’t know if the music we’re doing is too regional, but we don’t think about when we [are] in the booth. I think the sound is way bigger than this region.” That sound is constructed in a joint effort with Das producing and Castro and Flash pitching in on the harmonies. “It depends; we all work together – no one works any more than anybody else,” Fidel’s namesake indicates. Having toured South Central L.A.’s notoriously dangerous high schools, I-15 is poised to take on the rest of the Best Coast. Das says it best. “Right now, we [are] just trying to get our stuff laid down. And the anticipation is almost over.”
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I-15 â&#x20AC;&#x153;We got together by fate.â&#x20AC;?
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silver t Embarking on a New Path
by Jason MacNeil
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he 2005 release of Discovering the Waterfront saw Canadian emo rock band Silverstein reach another plateau, touring on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour and being nominated for a 2006 Juno Award (Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy®) for Best New Band. But rather than keeping things simple and delivering another quality record of like-minded, fan-placating tracks, Silverstein opted to think a bit outside the box with last year’s Arrivals and Departures. “I think this record is a bit more focused, and it kind of had a better direction,” drummer Paul Koehler says in the wee hours, while on tour in Japan. “We really thought about the whole thing, and what we were discovering was that it was a bit broken up in the writing process. We were pushing ourselves in a lot of different directions. “I think with Arrivals we had it a bit more together as an album. But I think we were able to take a few more risks with this album that were pretty exciting for us.” Those risks were taken with the assistance of acclaimed producer Mark Trombino, who has worked with Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182 and Finch among dozens of others. Koehler says Trombino brought a fresh approach to the studio sessions. “He just brought kind of a different solid production and different ideas. It was cool because we were such big fans of a lot of his work. It’s just nice to work with someone who’s really professional and someone we admire.” As for the eleven songs off Arrivals and Departures, they range from the tight, power opener
also suggests these artists: Sum-41, Alexisonfire, Taking Back Sunday
Photography by Tyler Clinton
feature
rstein “Sound of the Sun” to the bigger, anthem-rock flair of “Worlds Apart.” Also included are the dance-rock inspired “If You Could See Into My Soul” and the grittier, Alexisonfire-like “Bodies and Words.” Koehler says “Bodies” was a tad challenging to record. “It’s actually a different kind of song for us structurally and musically. It’s still pretty heavy and aggressive, which fits with our style. There’s some odd time in it and the structure is pretty weird, but [lead singer Shane Todd] showed it to me. We were jamming on it and it got structured into a song. We thought it was pretty odd for us, but you could tell it was really a song.” Yet during the entire creative process, Koehler says there wasn’t one particular moment Silverstein felt the album was coming together as a whole. “When it came to the time of really nailing our parts, we were pretty confident,” he says. “It was just a matter of execution. But there was definitely a lot of hard work in writing it and fine tuning the songs. When we finally got the mixes back and started listening to the album from start to finish we were like, ‘Oh wow, it actually flows more than we thought it would.’ We’re happy that it sounds like an album and not just a bunch of songs. We were afraid of that because there were many songs that were pulling in different directions.” The group also shows a video for the song “Still Dreaming.” While some bands don’t enjoy the almost mandatory shoots for singles, Silverstein don’t seem to mind them at all. “It can be a bit stressful in trying to visualize or conceptualize a song as a video,” Koehler says. “It can be a make-or-break (opportunity) a lot of the time. You just want to do a good job but we were really satisfied with this video; we worked with a great director who had a lot of great ideas.” Following the Japan and Australian treks earlier in 2008, Silverstein headline their own Canadian jaunt prior to a U.S. tour in the spring. But writing for another studio album will be on the agenda for a bulk of this year also. In the meantime, Silverstein sees itself as being around for a while yet, with no sign of calling it a day. “I think with every album and every step of the way we’re constantly overwhelmed by how well things are received. So it can’t get any better than that.”
“We’re happy that it sounds like an album and not just a bunch of songs.”
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The
Negotiation f An Interview with the Black Lips lineup consists of Cole Alexander (vox/ guitar), Jared Swilley (bass), and Ian Saint Pe (guitar). “Rock and roll, even pop music, is very influential on society. I think more so in this country than others. It’s the result of a saturated market,” Bradley explains. “Kids in America are in bands; that’s just what they do. Guitars are cheap. The few people that keep on going are very important. It gives you a sense of the creative energies that come out of America.” With Georgia’s musical origins still rich in American roots styling, it is Bradley who stresses its importance. “The scene is still vibrant down here in the South,” he offers. “The influence that Americana has on me is substantial. We’ve got country, we got blues, and when you lump that together you’re bound to have some rock n’ roll.” “We all love music,”
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or once, the muffled reverberations of feedback-driven guitars and popping snares resonating from the Black Lips’ garage platform of 60s English fused American rock and roll are silent. Why? Well, it’s not because of a raging hangover. The Athens GA quartet is at the used car dealer, attempting to emerge unscathed while trading in their trusted road compatriot, whom they so eloquently baptized “Pinky.” The rapid fire of prices can be heard being slung across the table. “I think we are going to get a good deal on this one,” says Black Lips drummer Joe Bradley, removing himself from the negotiation process. “We just sold our old van which had close to 190,000 miles on it. She did us real good; we toured the hell out of it!” With five LPs tucked securely under their belt, and their recent tour leg in support of their September 2007 Vice Records debut, Good Bad Not Evil, it seems an extended motor vehicle warranty would be in order. In addition to Bradley on percussion, the current
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by Martin Halo also suggests these artists: Death From Above 1979, The Hives, The Redwalls Photography by Daniel Arnold
he continues. “Two of us got kicked out of high school, and we found a couple people who were committed to a cause. It was something fun and exciting to do. We would just go around and play; it didn’t matter how much money we were losing.” “For us it has been a do-it-yourself attitude. While everyone else is hiring producers and following trends, we have been kind of stumbling through this. We have learned from our mistakes. Touring and writing music is just as much as part of our life as anybody else getting up in the morning and taking a shower.” The almost decade-long climb to national notoriety didn’t come for free.
feature After initial roadblocks—including tragic deaths, lineup corrections, and stalled hype— their watermark tone of vintage fusion has endured. “Click tracks are not involved in our recording process,” Bradley explains while referencing the sessions for Good Bad Not Evil. “When we record, we each bring our own songs to the table. Sometimes when we make it into the studio it’s the first time the entire band is getting a hold of them.” Maybe that is the reason for their tattered tone. It’s not just indigenous Southern music that the Black Lips are bringing to the equation. What makes them seductive in their approach is their injection of 60s Brit-pop. And in a music industry that is dominated by trends, their perseverance defines their credibility. “It’s the same old music market:
there are people who are on top that suck,” he says as his direction shifts to the American music business. “A lot of bands don’t have any integrity to begin with. The most important thing you can have is integrity; if you don’t have that, what do you have? There is a bad combination of emo and pop punk that has merged with softcore. It has become something utterly ridiculous. I really don’t believe these bands are putting much heart into their music. I just hope that sound dies off soon.” It seems as if Bradley hasn’t just strapped on his negotiation shoes, but his protector boots of rock and roll purism
as well. “I think when society sucks and the chips are down, that is when the good music bubbles through. Finally we are starting to see some real artists. I think it might have to do with the huge record labels losing so much money because everyone is pirating their shit,” Bradley concludes before getting behind the wheel of his new road cage.
“If you don’t have integrity, what do you have?”
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A
by James Wright Photography by Tobias Rose by Matt Stern also suggests these artists:
Trying to stand the test of time
fter debuting on the Billboard® charts at #75 and garnering critical acclaim from high profile magazines like Rolling Stone, most musicians would be content to bask in the glory of their success, but Anthony Raneri is still on a quest to perfect his songwriting skills. Despite soaring to new heights with the success of The Walking Wounded, the fifth release from Raneri’s melodic pop-punk four-piece Bayside, he is already looking ahead to the future. “We’re going to work on this record a while longer, and then maybe this summer we’ll be in the studio working on the next record,” he says during a discussion about the material he’s currently writing for Bayside’s forthcoming new album. “I think that it’s going to take a step back. Not in progression and not in maturity, but a step back in the way that I approach writing songs. I feel like a lot of [artists] make the mistake of saying, ’I’ve grown up so much since the last record that I want to make Pet Sounds Part Two.’ But nobody wants to hear Pet Sounds Part Two unless Brian Wilson makes it.”
Weezer, Foo Fighters, Green Day
feature “Nobody wants to hear Pet Sounds Part Two unless Brian Wilson makes it.” Bayside are a far cry from an overnight success. The Long Island-based fourpiece have been touring relentlessly since their formation in 2000. After a series of independent releases, they signed with independent powerhouse Victory Records for the release of 2004’s Sirens and Condolences. The group’s pop-driven melodies and crunch guitars earned them a cult following and tours with the Alkaline Trio, Taking Back Sunday and Silverstein. In 2005 the group released the self-titled Bayside, and began to distance themselves from their peers by steering their sound in new directions. “A lot of people see a Victory logo on the record and write a review of a screamo record without even listening to [it]. Bayside’s never had a scream on any of our records before,” he says. “I’d say only 1% of emo bands have any emotion in their stuff. We’re one of the bands who are fighting to get rid of that tag.” Now with The Walking Wounded Bayside
finally harness the full potential of their dynamic pop-punk melodies and come into a sound completely their own. The album brings together all the dynamics of Bayside’s melodic pop-punk sound to create their most impressive batch of songs yet. “The record is really about hope. The title sounds like a downer, but it’s really about the survivors. It’s who we feel we are and who we wrote the record for,” says Raneri. “We were in a bad accident on tour a few years ago; while we were in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, one of the paramedics referred to us as ‘the walking wounded.’” It’s impossible to talk about Bayside without mentioning the tragic 2005 van accident that inspired the group’s most recent release. The band was on tour in support of their self-titled album when the van hit a patch of ice, spun out of control and flipped over. The wreck seriously injured bassist Nick Ghanbe-
rian and took the life of drummer John Holohan. In the wake of the tragedy, the band was forced to find solace within their music. “We took a lot of strength away from it. We knew if we could get past this as a band then we could get past anything,” he says. “We knew right away that we would keep going. Music is something that we love to do, and we could never give it up.” While Raneri has enjoyed success that most musicians only dream of, his ultimate goal is to record a timeless record. “For me, a lot of the stuff coming out with all the screaming and fake emotional stuff, that’s so far from timeless. It’s so ‘right now,’ and tomorrow it’s going to be so yesterday,” he continues. “I don’t think enough people try to make music that stands the test of time. For me, you can listen to the Beatles now or you can listen to Nirvana now and stuff like that, and it stands up. It’s as impressive now as it was when it first came out.”
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Don’t
panic!
Pretty. Odd. Panic At The Disco and the Neo-Baroque by Claudia Ward-de León
“i
All Pictures Courtesy of Panic At The Disco
don’t know,” says Jon Walker, Panic At The Disco’s twentytwo year old bassist, when I ask him to give us just an inkling of what their new album might sound like. “It’s a good one,” he adds. “My mom likes it.”
panic at the disco
This was all before Walker joined their ranks. Walker explains that Panic At The Disco’s original members—Ryan Ross, Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith—were in the market for a bassist when he first met them. Walker is a Chicago native and still resides there when he’s taking a break from life on the road. He met PATD while touring with hometown band, The Academy Is…. “I grew up with those guys and was doing guitar-type work, not really what I wanted to do,” he recalls. By the time that you read this, Pretty. Odd. will have been released for mass consumption. But aside from the late January release of single, “Nine in the Afternoon,” I can’t tell you much about what the rest of Panic’s highly awaited sophomore album Pretty. Odd. sounds like. Just like the rest of you, we had to wait for the March 25th debut date; not even Skope was privy to receiving an advance copy. So what’s with all the secrecy surrounding Panic At The Disco these days? Aside from their top-secret new album, their website was the topic for lots of blogging and online chitchat back in December, when a sudden word game on their homepage gave Wheel of Fortune and PATD fans a run for their money. Would the twenty-three letter puzzle reveal the name of their new album, would it uncover some cryptic message about one of the members, or would it reveal the title to the first single? “You Don’t Have To Worry,” the message spelled out. But before consensus was reached on what those twenty-three letters spelled out, a flurry of speculation abounded. “We basically started with an original idea and wanted to bring in a new year for our fans.” The site hadn’t been updated in almost a year. Walker explains that the band was bunkered down in The Palms studio in Las Vegas (studio for The Killers’ last album) concentrating on writing, demoing, and recording the songs that would go in their new album. So it was time to put something new on their site. Being an unintentional news generator, the mystery message got a lot of buzz. This stumbled-upon good fortune seems to be the way things have fallen into place for a band that went platinum with their debut, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. When Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy was looking for bands to sign onto his newly-born Decaydance label, PATD posted a link to their songs on Wentz’s message board. Days later, Wentz was contacting Ryan Ross, guitarist and keyboardist for Panic, to get the stage set for an audition. But at the time, they barely had half a dozen new songs ready to perform.
At one point, the Academy tour added Panic At The Disco to the bill, and Walker found himself playing acoustic guitar with Panic members during downtime between shows. “It was more fun than anything else. We became pretty good friends.” The tour ended and Walker went home. He didn’t hear from the Panic crew again until the night he was escorting his girlfriend to a college formal. Ryan Ross called saying something had just come up: could he fill in at a gig? Since they’d already discussed the idea of Walker going out to Las Vegas to jam with the band, he did not see it as a big deal. However, when he found out that the gig the next day was for the renowned Los Angeles KROQ Weenie Roast, he realized the magnitude of the opportunity. The band made a seamless transition in front of a Weenie Roast audience of nearly 15,000. “No one knew except us,” Walker confides. Walker remembers all the secretly exchanged smiles on stage that day. “It was my first show with them, and we had never even really practiced.” Before his life as a full-time musician, Walker tried his luck for a few semesters at Chicago’s Columbia College, a school known for its visual and performing arts programs. He remembers getting his first credit card at Best Buy and purchasing a video camera. Though at present he doesn’t foresee having the time to go back to school, Walker has toyed around with the notion of working on shorts with
also suggests these artists: Fall Out Boy, Incubus, Sugarcult
“It was my first show with them and we had never even really practiced.”
independent film maker Shane Valdez. According to Walker, Valdez has been following the band around since February 2007, chronicling the lives of the quartet. “We’ve made one funny video, but I probably won’t be writing a screenplay anytime soon,” Walker laughs. This was Walker’s his first time recording with the band. “Those guys are really smart, they’re really talented and it was really cool working with them. I’d been in the band for two years, but I’d never seen them write a song.” Walker explains that the Pretty. Odd. you’ll hear today is not the album the band initially set out to record. After their release of A Fever…, the boys saw themselves going back into the studio and really growing up, musically. They had a concept album in mind that would be closer to a cinematic score than a traditional rock album, but the idea didn’t get very far. They crammed into a cabin in Nevada for two months and began recording.
The Victorian costumes, the Technicolor theatrics of the video, and surreal lyrics:
“It was becoming a chore. We all just weren’t having as much fun anymore,” he says. So they set up shop in Las Vegas and wrote “Nine in the Afternoon.” “That kind of set up the momentum,” Walker recalls. The band spent the neext two and a half months writing for the album. “Nine in the Afternoon” immediately brings the Beatles to mind, but not the Beatles era that produced “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Think instead of the pomp and theatrical balladry that came out of the jaunty syncopations of “A Day in the Life.” February 10th marked the day “Nine in the Afternoon” made its 9pm debut on MTV. At that point, close to 500 online comments ran the gamut from, “Wow, it’s just a really bad acid trip. Way to be Panic” to “This video rocks! I can’t wait till March 25.”
Looks like the end of history as we know It’s just the end of the world Back to the street where we began Into a place where thoughts can bloom Into a room where it’s nine in the afternoon support the speculation that the Panic At The Disco of today may just have opened a new Baroque era. The song is ornate in the vein of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and it’s been ushered in with the same garish splash seen during the time of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the summer of love.
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Dodging Buzz Kill he Whigs faced a mountain of expectations recording their sophomore album, Mission Control. When they recorded their first album in 2006, Rolling Stone said they “may well be the best unsigned band in America.” They are also from Athens, Georgia, which means the indie rock specters of R.E.M. and the B-52s were hovering around them. Then there is the fact that Dave Matthews’ ATO Records released the new album and rereleased the first, self-recorded album, making the Whigs labelmates with Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, and Crowded House. If they wanted to measure up to the anticipation, the album had better be damn good, right? But mention pressure to Whigs singer/ guitarist Parker Gispert, and you might feel silly for bringing it up. It’s not that he’s boastful – the matter of fact is that buzz isn’t part of the band’s music-making process. “People were already reacting well to the new material,” says Gispert, speaking by phone from his Athens home. “We got picked up by ATO; they liked the new songs as well as the old songs, [so] they put out the old record. We just kind of kept what we were doing. We just wrote more new songs.” The first album, Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip, was a DIY affair engineered by Billy Bennett, a friend who worked in a studio in Athens. He didn’t have much experience, but the band would rehearse at his father’s plumbing company, and he had attended countless practices. “He knew the songs really well—and we’re friends— so he helped us engineer and record,” says Gispert. “We produced it and shaped it the way we wanted to.”
What Lip lacked in production polish it made up for in strong hooks and energy. Gispert says people have told him the more they listened to the album, the more they liked it, even if they weren’t sure about it on the first spin. “To me, that’s a really good thing,” he says. “You establish a connection that usually lasts a long time, if that process takes place.” The goal for Mission was simply to write a better album than their first. Gispert wanted to write better lyrics, and maybe work on his singing. “We definitely wanted to up our game, for sure,” says Gispert, “but that’s just something you feel as a band who’s going to make a second record.” If only it were that simple for every “next big thing.” What sets the Whigs apart is that they’re not chasing any new sound or writing for a preconceived demographic. They are playing what they like, and it shows in the music. Gispert professes to own everything Built to Spill has recorded, and he looks at the Pixies as a pop band with deceptively layered rock tunes. Not surprising, then, that he can growl like Surfer Rosaera Frank Black on “Like a Vibration” or “Already Young,” or that he can weave thickly chorded riffs and chiming, arpeggiated guitar parts into a wonderfully melodic rock and roll confection
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by Nick A. Zaino III also suggests these artists: Hot New Mexicans, Kings of Leon, Prescott Curlywolf
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a la Doug Martsch on “I Never Want to Go Home.” Put that together with drummer Julian Dorio’s unfailing motor and you’ve got an extremely compelling sound. It’s a sound not easily categorized. There are obvious touchstones in 90s alternative rock and maybe a nod or two toward classic rock, but what emerges is a signature sound in its early stages. That’s due at least in part to the nurturing nature of the band’s hometown scene. “There’s always a really eclectic mix coming out of Athens,” says Gispert. “That’s one of the great things about the scene here: you’re sort of free to make whatever you want, and it kind of has its place.” Which is also what Gispert likes about ATO. For a band to be successful creatively, they’ve got to be able to follow their own learning curve. “The first Stones album isn’t the best Stones album,” he says. “‘Please Please Me’ is not the best thing the Beatles ever did. You’ve got to nurture these bands.” The Whigs’ ambition remains simple yet lofty: to just keep making better records. “You make the first record and you learn from it, and do it again,” says Gispert. “And hopefully by the time you’ve made a number of albums you’ve figured it all out and you make the best album of your career.” Read a review of Mission Control on p.95.—ed.
“We definitely wanted to up our game, for sure.”
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The Grass is Greener on Matt White’s Easygoing Tracks Seduce America
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May/June 2008
f you saw the tall, sexy Matt White strumming his guitar today at a concert you’d be unlikely to imagine his first experience with music. At the age of three he couldn’t read notes and his feet couldn’t reach the pedals the first time he pinged the ivory keys of a piano. Not only that, but his tiny fingers could barely stretch to reach a few keys; much less span an entire octave. But White was drawn to music the way some people always know they were meant to be a doctor. It wasn’t always clear cut, and there were doubts, but something always pointed the singer/songwriter toward melody. “I don’t know what it was, but I started playing and they couldn’t get me away from that piano,” White says. White’s family reacted to his affinity for music by making sure he had a proper education in music theory. After all, the family does have a history of musical genius. The singer/songwriter’s grandmother is Shirley Kesselman, the first female jazz orchestra conductor. Other members of the family taught music around New York and Harlem. In some ways it seems natural that White would follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. He was playing tunes by ear before he could ride a bike without training wheels, and by the age of eleven he had won an award through the Metropolitan Opera for his own composition. “Of course they helped me with the technical stuff because I couldn’t read music, but it was pretty cool,” he says modestly. A self-proclaimed romantic, White followed his heart and his girlfriend at the time to the University of Wisconsin where he majored in political science. He endured a few transition years and was forced to switch his instrument of expression to something that would fit in his dorm room. Naturally turning to the guitar,
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by Lauren Proctor also suggests these artists: The Lemonheads, Eric James and the New Century, Matt Wertz Photography by Alan Silfen
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White’s Side White taught himself how to play before moving back to his hometown of New York and deciding he would make music his life. “I played anywhere they would let me: Washington Square Garden, Joe’s Pub, anywhere.” White, who never uses a pick, remembers having raw, bloodied fingers from playing so hard. Then he got a break. Geffen gave him a quick offer. As a longtime admirer of the label, he swiped up the deal without question. He started refining some of the tracks he’d written in college, and before long Best Days was released to a throng of expectant fans. Unlike much of the art that foreshadows our demise these days, White’s Best Days focuses on the brighter side of life. “It’s all about the lighter moments and really embracing them,” he says. White’s message is simple and pure, but it’s also a good reminder to enjoy what’s in front of us. His point of view resonates with people from their early teens to their early fifties, and since the release of Best Days White has earned recognition in countless arenas. Songs from his debut album made their way onto hit television shows, a Secret deodorant commercial, and onto the radio waves. His face was plastered on Rolling Stone’s “Top Ten Artists to Watch” and he also found a spot on MTV’s 52 Bands. Perhaps most astonishing to White is the number of teens who idolize him for his sex appeal. “I don’t really see myself as good looking, but if they do then that’s great,” he laughs (He got press attention as one of the hottest males to watch in magazines like Teen People.) With a soft strumming guitar and gentle personality, White is a true gentleman. He has a knack for remembering names and loves lighting up a live crowd. “I intend to tour with this album for at least another two years,” White says about Best Days. White doesn’t plan to learn to read music or formally learn the guitar, but he does intend to record a second album, possibly one that incorporates more piano and speaks to a more serious part of life. The singer/songwriter has done well for himself so far, but if experience and a carefree, positive attitude are worth anything, it seems inevitable that Matt White’s best days will only get better.
“I started playing
and they couldn’t get me
away from that piano.”
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del the funky “I needed to
s learn more
about the music or
I
was not going
to last.”
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Survival of the Funkiest ymptomatic of our what-haveyou-done-for-me-lately culture, today’s musical innovator is often tomorrow’s has-been. For Del the Funky Homosapien, the trip was unfo rtunately brief, as his pioneering blend of West Coast G-funk production and absurd irreverence on 1991’s I Wish My Brother George Was Here was forgotten by the time he followed it up three years later. By the time he reinvented himself on 2000’s Deltron 3030, a futuristic collaboration with indie producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and turntable visionary Kid Koala, the mainstream hardly remembered him, and even a guest spot as a wise-cracking ghost on Gorillaz’s eponymous 2001 debut couldn’t build up enough momentum to pull Del back into the spotlight. Now, nearly eight years after his last solo release, we know where he was all this time. He was reinventing himself again. “I felt like I had reached a point in my career where I either needed to learn more
about the music or I was not going to last,” he says candidly. “I felt like my way of doing things was getting kind of played out. Even though I feel like I’m good and talented, talent ain’t all it takes. So I studied songwriting. I studied music theory. And I applied all that to my music. I bought every funk record or CD that I could find. I studied the whole history of black music pretty much. I bought hella blues CDs. I bought hella jazz CDs. I bought [Ken Burns’] documentary on jazz. I bought the whole Stax Records collection – everything that I could get my hands on. I studied all that to get an idea of how to absorb the funk. My name is the Funky Homosapien, so I wanted to show that a little more.” On The 11th Hour, he does just that, drawing together those disparate influences for an album that both returns to the playfully straightforward arrangements of his earliest releases and expands upon the
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by Matt Fink
also suggests these artists: Phil Da Agony, J-Live, Schoolz of Thought
conversational humor of his best hooks. But unlike previous releases, Del wrote, performed, and recorded the great majority of the album himself, largely completing the album from the comfort of his bed. With the hip-hop game overtaken by studio auteurs and an everincreasing musicality, creative Darwinism dictated that Del evolve or join pop music’s geological record. “I didn’t even know that I could play music like that. It was not even in my realm of possibilities,” he says modestly. “But I was pushed into that situation, because I knew that if I didn’t learn about music I was going to be over. Everyone around me was growing, but I wasn’t growing. I’m starting to see all these people getting all these accolades, like Dre or Pharrell or Timbaland. And after awhile I’m seeing that they’re not like a Hammer or a Vanilla Ice. They’re not just popular because they have a popular loop and they’re rapping over it. These dudes are
homosapien getting further, and they’re putting out hit after hit after hit because they know what they’re doing. I’m starting to read their articles and see them on TV, and I’m starting to notice that they’ve been knowing music for years, before they even started rapping or doing records. That’s telling me that these fools have a strong foundation and know what they’re doing.” But as much as The 11th Hour is about Del apply-
ing what he learned in his prolonged study, the true surprise of the album is that going through the future ultimately brought him back to where he started, with funky slabs and biting jabs. “I’ve been listening to rap for so many years. I feel like I’m just continuing what I’ve been listening to,” he says. “I feel like the mass public has gotten tired of hip-hop long ago. I feel like it was getting too technical, and people
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were saying stuff that the average person couldn’t understand. Music isn’t to be broken down like that. Nobody wants to listen to a song and break it down like you’re reading a textbook. I feel like a lot of rappers were just taking it too far, me included. I want to let the mass public know that hip-hop ain’t dead,” he says emphatically. “You just need to listen to this.”
Sweet Swedes T M O
T
he
hough Stockholm’s music scene has been slowly gaining ground since ABBA’s debut in the 1970s, Swedish imports to the States seem to remain few and far between. Since ABBA our charts have embraced Europe, Roxette, Ace of Base, Robyn, The Cardigans and most recently The Knife. The Mary Onettes are the latest to join this crew, with a sound recalling bands like The Cure, The Smiths, and occasionally New Order. For those of us who grew up with these bands, this is a genre that many
ary
nettes
just never really got over. Philip Ekström, lead singer, tries to explain the nostalgia, saying, “I started to listen to The Cure when I was fourteen, so they have been my biggest source of inspiration. My dream for a long time was to make an album like Disintegration; I simply loved the sound they had. I am very inspired by the big epic sound that many bands had back then; in some kind of strange way the sound makes me feel good.” Who knows what it is that makes us feel good—maybe it’s the major chords, maybe it’s the dancey rhythms, maybe it’s Ekström’s velvety lyrics. Whatever the cause, it’s hard to not fall a little in love with the
by Celena Carr also suggests these artists: The Cure, 14th & Knott, Velour, Jimmy Eat World
band’s self-titled debut. This is one of those albums that seems like it appeared almost effortlessly, because everything fits and flows so well, but the band has been through three labels and as many producers to get here. Ekström says, “The recording process was actually a bit complicated. We always said that the demo recording was better.” Thankfully, they stayed true to this belief and the ten demo tracks have finally been released on Labrador. Expect a stateside tour, and possibly an EP release around the time you read this; both will be worth looking for.
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“We are huge in Japan. I mean we are physically huge in Japan.”
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he members of indie-pop band Cobra Starship don’t take themselves too seriously. While their emo peers play somber, introspective anthems, they make upbeat dance music intended to move bodies and heat up dance floors. The message is clear: shoegazers move over! Having grown tired of the emo scene, the band wanted to create the antithesis in Cobra: a feel-good sound that would get people moving and inspire them to loosen up and have fun. Ryland Blackinton explains their intentions: “I’m sure I’ve spent a few too many hours listening to Belle and Sebastian. We all have these sensitive, moody sides to us but we don’t really recognize that with Cobra. It’s just the total opposite. We don’t have any other goal than to make it poppy and catchy, exciting and dancey.” Their music may be dance-pop but it has a sarcastic and cynical side to it, a deeper meaning hovering just beneath the glossy facade. The music deals in irony, and they express their criticisms of celebrity culture
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by Shaun Flagg also suggests these artists: Young Love, Beach Mercer, Rock Kills Kid
by creating a caricature of celebrity through the band’s flashy image. They openly mock society’s obsession with celebrity. Ryland goes further: “I think it’s important right now to know we are supposed to make fun of celebrity culture rather than worship it. The mania behind celebrity that we’re dealing with now seems to be greater. It’s crazy, like ‘This just in, Britney Spears…’ Are you kidding? Isn’t someone starving somewhere that we could help out?” He hopes that the message is getting through. “It’s ambitious, and I don’t really know if it will work. But we try and let the kids know that all that [celebrity worship] is stupid.” The vehicle for this criticism is dance music and the outrageous over-the-top image they have cultivated. The song “Bring It” was their first single on their debut While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets and was used in the movie Snakes on a Plane. This played a vital role in exposing them to the masses and amplifying their popularity. The association with the campy, cult film was a perfect complement to
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Indie-Pop Irony
Cobra’s ironic persona. “It’s fortunate for us that we were sprung into the whole thing with a vehicle as silly and as pop culturelike and internet buzzworthy as Snakes on a Plane.” The exposure they got from the movie propelled their rise to fame. Now ready to embark on a second world tour to promote their sophomore effort ¡Viva La Cobra! the band’s experience with stardom is still fresh. Ryland looks forward to visiting more exotic places in the world. He acknowledges the great opportunities for travel that the band affords. He mentions his trip to Japan and jokes, “We are huge in Japan. I mean we are physically huge in Japan. We’re all six foot and taller, so we already have that going for us.” Of course, being the ironic bunch that they are, the members of Cobra are not into dancing themselves. Ryland explains, “We all love dance music, so we enjoy making that type of music and watching other people dance. But we don’t participate. We might go out and have a few drinks and
then dance ironically.” Although they aren’t into dancing per se, they understand how to make a good dance song; they are adept at making music that inspires movement. It may be better that they leave the dancing to their fans. Ryland humorously relates the dangers one may encounter when he cuts the rug: “You have to understand I’m six-foot-five; that’s a lot of arms and legs to be flailing around all over the place. You really don’t want to be doing that; you’re gonna scare somebody, knock somebody’s hat or head off or eyeglasses…or you’ll tie yourself in a knot. Then you’re dead. And then what?” Their sense of humor is particularly evident in their music videos, wild satires of celebrity. They relish in their silliness and try infecting their fans with the same feeling during live performances. “We’re all just goofy bastards, so we’re able to look pretty ridiculous and feel great about it. And we encourage whoever comes to the shows to do the same thing.”
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Video Made the Rad The Surprising Discovery of
by Bill Reese
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ngrid Michaelson is a success story for the digital music generation. Two years ago she was an independent artist from Staten Island, NY selling CDs after shows. Then she got discovered on MySpace by an L.A. music guru who helped get her songs on popular TV shows and in national ad campaigns. The exposure has unquestionably helped her establish herself as one of indie-pop’s bright young stars. In an era where traditional music industry practices have floundered and struggled, Ingrid Michaelson has found her own way to “scoot ahead” into the mainstream. “It’s kind of weird for me,” says Michaelson about the sudden success she’s experienced in the last year. Although her breakthrough record Girls and Boys has sold well and she’s drawn big crowds on a national tour, the singer says she doesn’t feel much different than before her big break. “I don’t really sit and dwell on all that. I have bursts of excitement here and there, but most of the time I’m just doing my thing and having fun.” One of those big bursts of excitement came in 2006 when Michaelson’s song “Breakable” caught the attention of Lynn Grossman, the owner of Secret Road, a music licensing and artist management company in Los Angeles. Grossman contacted Michaelson and helped get three of her songs on the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy. Later in 2007, Old Navy selected Michaelson’s “The Way I Am” for a sweater commercial. It’s the potency of Michaelson’s unique brand of indie-pop that has caught the attention of so many ears. The songs on Girls and Boys run the gamut from the romantic to the lovelorn, with piano and guitar arrangements that echo the emotions in a voice that rings of vintage Joni Mitchell with the girl-next-door feel of Jenny Lewis. The record flows like a new relationship. There are early, optimistic love songs like the indierocking “Die Alone” and the jazzy, romantic “The Way I Am” which are mirrored by downbeat, lovesick gems like “Breakable” and “December Baby.”
“I don’t want to be known for that one song on TV, but you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
also suggests these artists: Bess Rogers, Willow Willow, Jane Weaver
“I didn’t write it with that intent… those songs were written within a year of each other, so they’re bound to have familiarity,” said Michaelson. When asked if she had a problem with her songs being commodified, the singer admitted that the exposure made her uncomfortable at first. “I don’t want to be known for that one song on TV, but you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Michaelson has won many fans as a result of the exposure, to the point where she now believes that she’s moved past Grey’s Anatomy and Old Navy. Her fans identify her songs with the CD, not with the commercials or shows they’ve been featured in. While many listeners are still discovering Michaelson’s first record, the singer says that she’s been writing a number of songs for an eventual follow-up release. “I have more than enough for a new record,” said an excited Michaelson. “I’ve had lots of time to write new stuff.” When asked to describe the new material, Michaelson said that the mood was much different than Girls and Boys. “It’s a little darker, a little harsher,” she said adding that not all the songs were necessarily about “relationship issues.” Michaelson insisted that getting radio play is still important, but her placement on TV has allowed her to cut the line that most artists must wait in to get noticed. She admits that the TV exposure “was a jump start. Radio programmers used to have to work on my behalf. Because of TV, it makes their job a lot easier to say, ‘Well, if she’s on TV, then people must like it.’” Michaelson’s story is refreshing in a number of different ways, perhaps most impressively because it shows that if real talent is given a real chance, great things are possible. Only in an age of MySpace could one of Michaelson’s songs end up on the desktop of a Hollywood insider, turning an unknown into a buzz artist. For a singer as modest as she is talented, there are certainly more bursts of excitement ahead for Ingrid Michaelson.
dio Star
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Ingrid Michaelson
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j
Just Try to Stay Positive
Loren of Hurt can’t tell me what kind of music his band plays. It seems like a chore he’d rather not deal with. “I’m really increasingly irritated with the metal tab we’re labeled as, because you’ll notice we’re not really a metal band. Unfortunately I don’t really know what to call it because it’s a little bit different then what else is out there. It’s definitely in the realm of rock—I’ll give you that—and it does dabble into the hard rock, and it does dabble into the metal, but I’m not really sure what to call it. I guess it’s just like a streamlined rock sound.”
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May/June 2008
Hurt released Vol. II in September 2007, the follow-up to Vol. I, released in 2006. Loren originally envisioned the albums being released as one: “Both records are like a collection of short stories. They often intertwine and cross-reference each other between the albums. Capitol, Hurt’s record label, wasn’t willing to pony up a double album for a first release, so the albums are separated by a year. Vol. II picks up where the band left off, bringing a more mature band and a more cohesive sound. The albums are more than a collection of singles. Rather, you’ll hear shades of an earlier track,
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by Ethan Swann also suggests these artists: 12 Stones, Three Days Grace, Staind
sometimes, sometimes not. Some songs are obvious companions. The crushing anger of “Ten Ton Brick” is mirrored by the mournful longing of “Aftermath,” a meditation on love lost. “Some of the songs were written ten years ago, some this year, but our songs are situational and about irony and age-old truths, so I return to themes that are important to me,” Loren says. Hurt’s music displays a use of contrast of volume, tempo, and mood. The storming energy of the music lifts you up then slams you down, leaving you bruised, beaten, and feeling more alive than ever. Dealing with a range of subjects like
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doubt, frustration, anger, and loneliness, Vol. II tells an emotional story, one that dwells on the dark side but can see the light. During writing, the music determines the course of the subject matter. “I try to write in all different ways. The only way I don’t write is lyrics first. When I write lyrics first I’m writing a lyrical melody, so I’m basically just writing around a melody anyway,” says Loren. Growing up in Virginia, Loren was trained as a classical violinist at a young age and always saw music as his reason for existing. “I’m kinda compelled to do it. I’m just not happy doing anything else. Really, my whole life was spent in the hope that I could make music for the masses and share it with other people. You finish a song and you want to share it with people; you want to see how it moves them and you want to touch them. At least I do.” His classical roots can be felt throughout Hurt’s catalogue. “I’m proud of that because it’s a tool that I knew how to use. I keep spinning Vivaldi, and obviously my music sounds nothing like him, but I’m using a lot of principles that I’ve gained because I’m familiar with things like that. I mean, we can’t even speak in English without giving ode to somebody else. These are the tools we’re provided with.” In Loren’s mind, the use of those tools is a force so powerful it can change lives, even save them. “I know that when I was going through some rough times I’d be spending a lot of time f alone and I would I would sing songs to myself and I finally laid them down because I knew that a lot of other people are going rough times too, and maybe it will help.” Despite Hurt’s brutal and somber sound, Loren claims the band’s provocative musings carry a positive message. “If you catch somebody at just the right time it could be the most important thing ever in their life. For instance, take a song that is very depressing sounding—like “Rooster” by Alice in Chains—if you hear that at just the right time, maybe a time when you’re very vulnerable, that song could save your life. And that is very important.”
“I
you hear it at just the right time, a song could save your life.”
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Bran
by Matt Fink
Telling Her Story
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ow, ten years after the apex of the female singer/songwriter explosion of the mid-90s, in many ways it seems that nothing has changed at all. Though thoughtful coffee shop folkies still manage to turn up occasionally on VH1 and NPR, the mainstream is once again dominated by skimpily clad, carefully choreographed divas. One-time chart-toppers Lisa Loeb, Paula Cole, and Joan Osborne were long ago relegated to second stage status; they were upstaged by pretty faces with hotshot producers and songwriting teams that used them as little more than another instrument in the mix. And then there’s Brandi Carlile, the rightful inheritor of the Lilith Fair tradition, a serious songwriter who has little interest in releasing records that make fourteen-year-old girls feel fat. She might be a decade late, but with The Story, Brandi Carlile is right on time.
“If people didn’t like our record, it meant they didn’t like us.”
also suggests these artists: Hem, Kasey Chambers, Jane Weaver
“I think I was just really scared when it came out that people might not like it,” she admits, “because when something is that true to yourself, if someone doesn’t like it, there’s no way you can go back to the drawing board and become a different person. If we were more of a novelty band, then we could put out a record and then make a record that was really different. But we’re not. We put out a record that was really us and hoped that people would like it. Because if they didn’t, it meant they didn’t like us.” Only her second full-length release, The Story is the culmination of years of touring in sweaty little clubs and half empty theaters, of months spent perfecting songs in front of live audiences. By the time Carlile and her band mates reached the studio with legendary producer T-Bone Burnett, they had an emotionally raw document that captured just how far she had come as a singer and storyteller since her rural Washington childhood. It was the sound of an artist finding her voice.
ndi Carlile
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Bloodsimple by James Wright
Harvesting Dark Creativity “I grew up really immersed in this classic country, Grand Ole Opry kind of culture, and then I got older and didn’t want to be into my mom and dad’s music anymore,” she says. Her music career started when she was an eight-year-old in a cowboy hat singing country music on weekends. “So I started to really get into rock and roll, and that was really moving me at the time. I fell in love with this Britpop thing, and then discovered what was going on in Seattle a few years before—which was the grunge scene—and I decided which of those bands I loved and hated. And then I started playing in a rock band with my country voice, unbeknownst to me, and came full circle around and went back to my influences. And I realized that sometimes it’s a lot less about what you like or what you want but more about what you are. When that comes through, it’s more intriguing than any kind of mask you can put on.” Still, it wasn’t an overnight journey from precocious child with a big voice to a songwriter whose songs soar from Patsy Cline to Radiohead. “I didn’t know why I was doing it,” she says. “Looking back on it, I don’t know if I was writing songs to try to please some producer or to try and get a record contract or what I was trying to accomplish, but I didn’t have it right. Now I write songs for myself, and I write songs because I have this insatiable need to be understood by people. But I don’t know if I have it quite figured out yet.” Modesty aside, Carlile is quickly earning the respect of both the old guard of female singer/songwriters and the tastemakers of today, touring with the Indigo Girls and having her songs used extensively in the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy. No doubt, the stakes are now higher than ever, but as Carlile and her band mates prepare for a summer spent in the recording studio, she seems to harbor no fears of heightened expectations. “Hopefully we can get the record out in the fall,” she says excitedly, “because there are a lot of winter-themed lyrics about the North and snow and cold and ice. I think it’s consistently inconsistent.”
A
nyone listening to Bloodsimple’s Red Harvest and expecting a run of the mill heavy metal record is about to be hit with a bombshell. With the release of their sophomore effort, this Long Island based quintet—formed out of the ashes of metalcore pioneers Vision of Disorder—has crafted their most musically ambitious album to date. From eerie spoken-word narrative (“Ride With Me”) to moody atmospheric ballads (“Truth, Thicker Than Water”), Red Harvest showcases a new found depth and experimental side to Bloodsimple’s cutthroat aggression. “We wanted to write a heavy record that was different from everything else that was out there,” says frontman Tim Williams. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel— because that’s impossible—but we wanted to create something just a little left of center that’s heavy, but totally different from everything else that’s out there. We wanted to do something that people might not expect from us.” Drawing inspiration from the 1929 Dashiell Hammett detective novel of the same name, Red Harvest spins a narrative arc that plays out like the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino flick. To achieve the perfect atmosphere for this haunting musical tale, Williams stepped outside his own creative boundaries and immersed himself in the dark characters he was creating. “I think I came at it from a Morrison-meetsRollins perception, kinda like the lonely soul out on the road. We got in deep and we just created these characters, and I tried to act them out and make everything come alive,” he says. “That was the riskiest part of the record for me, because nobody is doing that. Sure, Rollins did it, but for us and what we do, there is a chance that it could have blown up in our face and everyone hated it. People seem to really dig it, and I think that’s a huge accomplishment for us.”
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Flo Rida
m
Back For the First Time
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May/June 2008
by Jake Paine
uch like Nas, Snoop Dogg and (more recently) Soulja Boy, Flo Rida was a star long before he released an album. With the recordbreaking iTunes single-week seller “Low” the T-Pain assisted anthem made Flo Rida one of the faces of 2007, despite an entrance party planned for early 08. “After all the hard work and grinding I put in, I expected this,” asserts Flo Rida in an early winter press campaign. “At the same time, I didn’t. It’s a blessing. To have people recognizing me, it’s crazy. ‘Flo Rida, what’s up?’ How do they know me? I guess when they’re going on iTunes, they’re doing their homework.” As a member of The Groundhogz, Flo Rida failed to get individual acclaim, but caught the ears of Jodeci member DeVante. Although little surfaced, Flo was chasing the same dream a decade ago that he’s seemingly reached now. The secret: “I’ve put my time and focus in the studio, 200%,” he says. As times changed, so did the methods. Mall tours, talent shows and traditional demos yielded to major endorsements and MySpace friends. Having played both of those games, Flo Rida proudly reaps the benefits. “Everybody’s showing me love. They saw me grind with my group for a number of years. [Now] they roll out the red carpet.” The red carpet led to Po’ Boy Entertainment, the same management that was responsible for 2006’s blowout introduction of fellow longtime industry grinder Rick Ross. “The Po Boy Family has a great, family-based system. That put everything in motion,” says Flo. While Ross found a
recording home through Def Jam, Flo Rida was picked up by Atlantic, the leading home for southern stars including T.I., Plies, Juvenile and B.G. Flo is quick to name another secret to his success: “Also, Khaled co-signing and everything.” In addition to his gold-status recording career at Koch Records, Khaled is the top DJ at WEDR in Miami. He not only breaks records on air, he makes records. Long before Flo Rida’s records sported a major label jacket, he had Khaled’s ears. “Khaled said ‘you’re the first artist that’s gonna do it real big from Miami,’” recalls Flo. Those are strong words from the DJ who helped make mainstream names out of Rick Ross, Pitbull and Cool & Dre. Some could argue that it would be in the DJ’s interest to push Flo, with the rapper licensing material to Khaled’s albums in the past. But other program directors trusted the foresight, making another legal Miami export to the masses. Less than 100 days before his debut Mail on Sunday hits shelves, Flo Rida is relaxed in the Atlantic offices. He’s been patient and now it’s manifest destiny. Asked the album title’s meaning, the rapper says, “Whatever your thing dream is, you can get it. Whatever your cake is, you can eat it when you want. That’s what Mail on Sunday is.” With appearances from Rick Ross, Trey Songz and Plies, that attitude is needed. Looking to this time next year, the persistence of a decade turns to the arrogance of a year. “This time, next year, I’ll be receiving different awards, giving to the community and running my own company.”
“This time, next year, I’ll be receiving different awards…” also suggests these artists: Tum Tum, Paul Wall, Kia Shine Photography by Andrew Zaeh
h c t a r c
Nice n’ Smooth: Songs For Hot-Steppin’
Beatsmith and MC extraordinaire Rugged N Raw provides his playlist for stylin’ on ya. There’s nothing like a heavy metal guitar riff to increase anger and blood pressure. – Rugged N Raw elf-confidence is perhaps the most difficult part of the human psyche to truly master. In hip-hop, it is the fundamental difference between earning your braggin’ rights and leaving them at the front door. To be an MC means claiming that you’re the best, and to be a producer means that you make beats for the best. New York City massive Rugged N Raw is both. There are two sides to RNR’s story (besides, of course, the Rugged and the Raw). Rugged N Raw the MC is a true beast from the East, whose confidence and growl keep stages rocking from the North to the South. With his signature hair for days, a suit and suspenders, RNR looks like your history teacher after a night at the bar. The difference is, your history teacher isn’t as cool. Rugged N Raw the producer is a hardcore beatsmith, complete with beat battle championships under his belt (which he dons proudly). Using the most obscure and unwieldy samples, RNR continues to push the envelope for experimental hip-hop as he makes his way to the top. So in essence, he is a history teacher. RNR crafts an insane metal-meets-M.O.P playlist of Songs To Step Up Your Swagger. 1) Isaac Hayes – “Walk On By” The beginning strings alone put an extra pep in my step. I know it’s really a sad song, but it’s so cinematic that I use it to introduce my shows. I walk out with my belt, and [with] this song playing full blast. It’s the official theme song of Rugged N Raw. 2) Ozzy Osbourne – “I Just Want You” Christmas Eve 2005, I was at a crossroads in my life and almost quit making music. I was depressed and broker than I ever been. So, I borrowed my brother’s MP3 player and went for a walk. This song not only
by Kathy Iandoli Photography by KupiArt.com
let me realize that I shouldn’t quit, but it also helped me realize I belong in music! 3) M.O.P. – “Cold As Ice” This beat is tough as hell. One of the illest joints ever! I play this in my CD player, and every time I hear it, I wanna beat up whoever is standing next to me on the train! HAHA! 4) Wu-Tang Clan “Triumph” When this song came out, nothing else was receiving rotation. I think I had this song memorized in like three days – all nine verses! Superior music equals superior attitude! 5) Method Man – “Release Yo Delf” I play this whenever I need to get my swagger back. I come out swingin’ and make some dope songs or beats hearin’ this song.
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6) “King’s Motorcade” (Coming To America soundtrack) I know it’s not a real song, but hey, I still wanna parade in my living room like I am the King Of Zamunda. I even used it as my entrance song once. 7) Sean Price – “Madman” Sean Price is a genius. I have songs on Monkey Barz I like more than this one, but it’s got this swing to it that says, “You are not as important as me.” I walk the streets of New York City accordingly when I have it playing. 8) Redman and Method Man – “Fire In Da Hole” This is my favorite Meth & Red collaboration. When Redman starts his verse, I feel like I should be on a platform getting a trophy the size of the Statue of Liberty. He really sounds like he means what he says! 9) Gnarls Barkley – “Smiley Faces” This has a humbling effect [similar to the one] that the Ozzy song has, but it still helps me keep my head up. That’s really important for a reigning champ like myself to do. Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse really painted a picture for me to see that I can always be proud. 10) Guns N Roses – “You Could Be Mine” There’s nothing like a heavy metal guitar riff to increase anger and blood pressure. I feel like a reckless champ who doesn’t have to obey any rules when I hear this song. Make sure you are as tranquil as possible when this comes on, or else...you’re going to jail!
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Tips
Music Industry by Eugene Foley
Industry Insider Lets You In On Proven Techniques for Success
The Advisors
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This article is an edited excerpt from Eugene Foley’s book, Artist Development – A Distinctive Guide To The Music Industry’s Lost Art.
ersonal When you’re ready for a producer and a recordmanaging studio, your manager should help you locate the ers, lawright people and setting. It is vital that your manager ost record com yers, and understands your vision, so he or she can find the right booking producer for the project. If you eventually sign with panies are now agents a record company, your manager should be in regular can be very instrumental contact with them on your behalf. counting on the in advancing a recording artist’s career. Assembling You should look for a manager who has genuine enartist s advisors the right advisors can thusiasm for your career. You also want someone who often make the difference truly believes in you and understands your artistic vision between success and failand direction. Many experienced personal managers to groom develop ure for an artist. Qualities are talented negotiators with excellent business skills. to consider include experiYour manager should do everything in his or her power and market them ence, contacts, knowledge, to advance your career, while allowing you the luxury enthusiasm, competence, of concentrating on writing, recording, rehearsing and long before they personality, fees and comperforming. missions. offer a deal Years ago, talented acts The Attorney would often be discovered It’s crucial to have an entertainment lawyer when you by a record company need legal or career advice relating to the music indusexecutive or a producer try. They can help you with career guidance, copyright with strong A&R contacts. The artist would issues and even your contract-related needs. be developed, recorded and then eventually If you are given any contract related to the entertainment industry, hire marketed to consumers. someone who deals with those issues every day, and have them review the These days, most artists are presented to paperwork. Entertainment lawyers know what the industry standards are when record company executives through a manthey review or negotiate for you. They know what deal points and percentages ager, lawyer, agent, producer or publisher. are fair. If someone has no music industry experience because they concentrate By the time they are even heard by an A&R on another area of law, they may not know all of the nuances that are found in rep, the artist should have already been music-related contracts. developed, recorded a demo and created a Lawyers are generally paid one or more of the following ways: an hourly rate, significant buzz. a flat rate for a specific service, or on retainer. I always hear stories of people Most record companies are now counting who signed a contract without the guidance of an attorney “to save a few on the artist’s advisors to groom, develop and bucks” and wound up very sorry they made that move. Speak to several people market them long before they offer a deal. and decide which fee structure and firm is best for your needs. This has made the importance of personal Many up-and-coming acts cannot find an experienced and competent manmanagers, lawyers and booking agents greatly ager who is willing to work with them. In those situations, an entertainment increase over the years. lawyer can fill that void and guide the artist’s career.
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The Manager A skilled personal manager can be a tremendous asset to the artist’s career. On the other hand, an incompetent manager can harm the artist. A manager will often make a great deal of decisions with an artist, or on the artist’s behalf. You need someone who knows the music business inside and out. The majority of personal managers receive a 15 to 20 percent commission, and their contracts usually last between one and five years. Before signing any contract, make sure that you have an entertainment lawyer review it on your behalf.
The Booking Agent The booking agent’s primary duty is to secure well-paying gigs for you. Some booking agents will also help promote and advertise concerts and personal appearances. You already know the importance of playing live and how it relates to increasing your buzz and income. It’s very important to secure a booking agent who has contacts at the venues in your region so they can get you steady, paying work. Unsigned acts can perform at a variety of venues: clubs, colleges, festivals, hotels, casinos, restaurants, record stores, book stores and so on. Most booking agents receive a 5 to 10 percent commission for the concerts that they secure for you. If you are planning a tour, an accomplished booking agent can also help you decide how much money you could expect and what markets would be most receptive to your music.
Eugene Foley is the Founder & President of Foley Entertainment, Inc., a full service music industry consulting firm and licensed Entertainment Agency. Foley represents artists, labels, managers, producers, songwriters and other industry participants. Clients have earned nearly 40 Gold & Platinum Records & three GRAMMY® Awards for their overall career accomplishments. Foley is the author of two acclaimed music industry educational books and lectures extensively on topics including artist development, marketing and intellectual property. Foley offers a free CD evaluation to all unsigned artists. Visit his Web site at www. FoleyEntertainment.com.
the crossover
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Musings, Platitudes and Contemplations From an Outsider
A Musical Guide To The Candidates
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Donkeys The Chick: For Bubba’s wife, we could go with absolute obvious: “It’s Raining Men,” “Respect,” or even “Independent Woman.” My guess, though, is that she’s probably more of a 1960s throwback. A little Jefferson Starship (not “White Rabbit” for Christ’s sake) or maybe a smidge of The Mamas and the Papas. She can probably relate to Mama Cass’s obsession with Michelle Phillips. Kind of like the Hillary and Monica situation… The Rock Star: Obama could listen to Buffalo Bill’s music in Silence of the Lambs and people would think it’s cool. While not completely a black thing, you’d have to think he’d be more than
a bit partial to Sly and the Family Stone. That motherfucker was cool as hell. Also, I can easily picture a fro’d out Barack coming into his dorm room, headbopping to Clapton’s “Cocaine,” just seconds before bumping a giant rail and then chain smoking before pontificating political on Nixon’s cowardice. Just a thought. The Handsome One: John Edwards would have loved “Blue Suede Shoes.” Perfect, vanilla, safe. Anything without any edge is how he rolls. But, since he grew up long after radio tried to whiten the airwaves, I’m guessing that he probably rocked out to REO Speedwagon or Michael Bolton. Remember, he doesn’t have much time to listen to music, what with saving lower class America whilst making millions... Elephants The Finely-Coiffed Mormon: Mitt Romney, having wasted Massachusetts taxpayer dollars during his tenure, is all about fiscal irresponsibility. And, having outspent his opponents nearly 10-1 on broadcast media ads yet still losing the nomination, only “Mo Money, Mo Problems” suffices. When it comes to business acumen, Romney is a straight trippin’ G. In politics, he’s a markass sucka. Get it? Apparently, the nomination wasn’t for sale. The Veteran: The Foo Fighters “Hero” is really the most fitting of tunes for this guy who probably was partial to the Doors during his tours in the Orient (“Break on Through” during his stay as a POW at Hotel Saigon would be most appropriate). The theme
from The Greatest American Hero should have been McCain’s driving song. I picked the wrong industry – and the wrong political party. The Musician: Who knew Reverend Mike Huckabee would play the bass? Bill Clinton rocking the sax was the seminal moment of the 1990s, but this evangelical laying down phat bass lines in a recording studio was too much for me. Really, a new found respect. So, I guess, anything by Victor Wooten of Bela’s Flecktones would tickle his fancy. How about Rush? A little Geddy Lee probably gets his blood pumping. Unfortunately, it seems that music has lost its former place of prominence on the campaign trail. Remember when Reagan unsuccessfully tried to use The Boss’s “Born in the U.S.A.” as his campaign anthem only to be rebuffed by the King of Jersey? Great stuff. Candidates nowadays have absolutely missed the boat on the opportunity to hitch their wagon to a certain song or artist that resonates with the voting public. How badass would it be for Hillary to have walked into an auditorium chock full of feminists strutting to “I’m Every Woman?” Here’s to wishful thinking. *Column written prior to the nomination given by either party. Just let me live. joneill@skopemagazine.com
by Jeff O’Neill
May/June 2008
y now, “we” have chosen a front runner for the GOP and the Bloody Liberals* – one of whom will auspiciously lead our nation for the next four (probably eight) years. Scary stuff. I don’t feel terribly confident in either, but that’s a whole other conversation and my head might explode. In the heady days of the primaries, the days of shifting momentum, short-lived victories and unfathomably presumptuous media coverage, we were presented with a short list of wildly divergent individuals. Allow me to take a look back and introduce “A Musical Guide to the Candidates.” This isn’t as easy as it looks – we span the musical gamut from polka to rap and everything in between. Without further ado – your aural accompaniment (please note, not all are represented – Fred Thompson was born in the time before electricity).
This album is a collection of material that was created to satisfy a desire to hear musicians play and the audience to rock. Written in a studio, designed for the stage. The kind of composition which when taken in will move your feet, bang your head and pump your fist. The cycle of the moon is fast approaching itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s zenith, manufactured culture pop, psuedo-rock bands beware...
has arrived On Tour 2008 visit the Web sites for updates: lyken21.com or www.myspace.com/lyken21band contact Lyken 21: Sales@lyken21.com Available at CDbaby.com, indierhythm.com, Vintage Vinyl and Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music
don’t read this
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by Eric W. Saeger
he rock n roll environment of the new millennium is in such a pathetic state that the musicians can’t even do drugs right. It’s all backward now. Used to be that heroin addiction was a rite of passage undertaken at some point after the musician had become famous, as in holy-crap-we’re-inRolling-Stone famous. Nowadays, we writers have to tread lightly when we bring up drugs while interviewing even the lowliest, latest flash in the pan who happened to have a decent crowd at their first Bowery Ballroom show. This actually happened to me once: I was kidding around about drugs with this New York-based band, and all of a sudden it was all silence and seriousness coming from the other end of the phone line. “Ha ha haaa,” I wanted to holler, after the embarrassed doom had settled in my stomach. “One of you fucking idiots is on heroin and you just
released your first album a month ago? Top model girlfriends await!” Granted, perhaps said idiot was already a skag-head before (s)he was in the band, but if so, what the fuck were the other dudes thinking, hiring, you know, a skag-head? Know what else, too, from now on, if I can’t kid around with a band about anything I feel like talking about, I’m going to expose them in print for the nimrods they are. Part of my New Years resolution. Just an FYI to bands. I hate to bring up something as loathsome and slam-dunk as Britney Spears, but you gotta laugh when the clueless media can’t do a simple diagnosis. The pics of that silicontitted trailer-trash fuckup strapped to the gurney when she was threatening to kill her kids or whatever didn’t capture the Sharpie-writing on her forehead that read “I AM ON ECSTASY,” otherwise there wouldn’t have been headlines like “BRITNEY POSSIBLY MAYBE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF… JEEZ, WE DON’T KNOW, PERHAPS SOMETHING.” Remember all that? It was castiron, sandblasted proof that the major media is wholly comprised of repressed, sheltered dweebs who have no business posing as journalists. The only one who’s getting—or got—it right is Amy Winehouse. This chick simply doesn’t care, and neither do we, because she’s English and her teeth are screwed up and she seems mean (which she probably isn’t when she’s not on crack).
“If I can’t kid around with a band, I’m going to expose them in print for the nimrods they are.”
You go, girl. Take a hit for me and blow the smoke in a cop’s face with all your lung power. The punchline is that the drug dealers are the ones making the big radio hits nowadays, the cocainerappers selling the fantasy that white people just can’t resist. Media-tards, always thinking “it bleeds it leads,” froth away, forever ignoring how little kids make up the largest part of the collateral damage demographic. This brings us full-circle to the steroid scandal that sprouted months ago, the best thing about which was finally getting a sane answer to the age-old questions “Why does Mary J. Blige look like a wax dummy of RuPaul?” and “How did Fitty get that prison-fresh six-pack?” We’re left, then, with this dialectic to ponder: If cocainerap is ever done in by steroids, will Barry Bonds be considered the Jim Morrison of our time?
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Chris Dickson
Tired of your demo just sitting on the shelf? Want to get heard on a global scale? Need a video/distribution? Want a record deal? Then you need Caravan Music Promotions
info.caravan@googlemail.com
Chris (Christian) Dickson is a Christian artist. He makes it clear on his web site (christiandickson.com) that his choice of genres isn’t based on musical opportunism, but rather on a deep and heartfelt calling to spread a message. Much of his music is acoustic-based; Dickson’s music is rooted firmly in the singer/songwriter style, but it avoids the contrived trappings of that genre. Still, then there’s a track like “Armor,” with a rock intro that wouldn’t be out of place on a more rock-oriented album. Like the best of its style, Dickson’s lyrics convey love in a manner that works almost as well when applied to another person, though the subject matter is squarely on his god. Without being overly preachy or maudlin, his music explores his triumphs over some major setbacks. Dickson’s live dates center on the church/coffee-house circuit, mostly in the Northeast. His latest CD, Hold On to You, is available through CDbaby, iTunes and Rhapsody.
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contact Mike Friedman: mfriedman@skopemagazine.com (617) 828-6622
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eview
cd’s & dvd’s
what to buy & what should die
We go to extremes. Skope has nearly four dozen reviews for you this issue. And while most of them fall toward the middle (short for “good if you like this sort of thing; not great, not awful”), we have included four new releases of note. Two of them rank right near the very top of the scale (and the five-Skope rating is from Eric W. Saeger, one of our most merciless reviewers). And two rank right near the basement, raising the rhetorical “Why was this ever recorded?” question. Sometimes, the reviews are more entertaining than the albums!
R
eviews
May/June 2008
By Chris West
Anberlin
Changes
Fractured Life
Lost Songs
Vagrant
Astralwerks Records
Tooth and Nail Records
Most music fans agree: watching MTV nowadays is pure torture. Instead of playing music videos from today’s top artists, the once influential network now focuses mostly on horrendous reality television shows and silly dating shows. It has gotten so bad that MTV should change its moniker from Music Television to Moron Television now.
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by Lauren Proctor
Air Traffic
A Cursive Memory
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www.anberlin.com
www.myspace.com/airtraffic
www.myspace.com/acursivememory
by Todd Sikorski
check out the latest cds from your favorite artists, and find out who the up-and-comers are
To be fair, MTV does play some music, but it is just snippets tacked on to those reality shows. So what does this have to do with the Southern California band A Cursive Memory? Well, this group is one of the few that actually has had its music played on the channel lately as some of its songs have appeared on The Real World and Jackass star Steve-O’s show. Knowing that, you probably would have a predisposition to hating the band’s just released disc Changes. Not so fast. A thorough listen of the 12-track disc reveals that the foursome of Shaun Profeta, Colin Baylen, Mark Borst-Smith, and Dillan Wheeler has made a pleasant debut chalk full of songs with infectious choruses and bright melodies. The best tracks on the CD are the louder numbers such as “South” and “Bank.” These showcase the band’s energy and tightness. The former song is especially notable for its prominent use of Borst-Smith’s piano; this works great with the track’s fast tempo. Changes does lose its charm with its slower songs (such as “Lions”) which reveal the limitations of Profeta’s and Baylen’s vocals. But there are enough hooks on the disc that even a jaded music lover (and MTV hater) would enjoy it.
Indie quartet Air Traffic has been hyped from day one. Early fans of the band’s EP compared the Bournemouth UK natives to Coldplay, Muse, and Radiohead, and while their debut full length Fractured Life shows similarities to the aforementioned, Air Traffic possesses its own charm. With dizzying melodies and tracks ranging from the haunting to the bubbling and irresistible, Fractured Life is an excellent album from a budding new band. Unlike most albums that feature only a couple worthwhile tracks, Fractured Life is solid and poetic from beginning to end. Full of sorrow and discontent, the album’s title track explodes with quiet meaning before bursting into a symphonic plea of hope. “Don’t give up / there’s so much more to see / So many things beyond your wildest dreams / Nothing can stop you if you just believe…Please don’t let me down,” Chris Wall sings. Meaningful and haunting, not a note is out of place. Air Traffic breaks up the melancholy with energetic tracks of joie de vivre. “Charlotte” and “Just Abuse Me” are the album’s best danceable tracks, both sharing an abandoned approach toward relationships and melody. “Charlotte” is driven with a Kooks-like sound while “Just Abuse Me” plunges forward into a spiral of percussion, guitar, and a pounding piano that sounds like no one else. Fractured Life is one of those albums that will pull you through anything life presents, and as your days change from deep and thoughtful to giddy and celebratory, Air Traffic will be sailing right there beside you.
With three studio albums and an EP under their belt, Anberlin are leaving their long-time mostly Christian music label Tooth and Nail Records. But they aren’t leaving them empty-handed—the Florida quintet is putting out one last catalog of material before making the leap to Universal Republic Records. That release is a collection of covers, demos and B-sides appropriately called Lost Songs. I suppose they aren’t lost anymore. The album harkens back to their first release, Blueprints for the Black Market, with an acoustic version of album single “Readyfuels” and ventures forward through their discography to alt recordings of “A Day Late” and three tracks (“The Haunting,” “Uncanny” and “Dismantle. Repair”) from their 2007 release Cities. Their cover of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” is a great rendition of a timeless classic. They display their abiding love of covers with Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence,” The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out,” “Creep” by Radiohead and “The Promise” by When In Rome (resurrected from the dead by the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack). While the album is lengthy (19 tracks) it is mostly acoustic and seems to not feature the band as a whole on many of the tracks. Though it shows the versatility of the group with the alt recordings on Lost Songs, it seems some important elements of the songs are missing. Perhaps a “greatest hits” version would have been more appropriate.
Stay Now
Live in Manchester
785 Records
Eagle Vision
The ten songs on Stay Now will need more than their pleading title to have anyone visit with Article A’s music for longer than the couple of minutes each song spans. This disc has got all the classic elements of pop at its purest: simple song structures, formulaic lyrics, few songs straying much over the three-minute mark. Now mind you, there’s pop music that’s great. Pop music that stands the test of time. Pop music that exalts the human soul. Exhibit A would be Michael Jackson circa Thriller, Exhibit B would be Coldplay’s “Yellow.” Exhibits C-G would be practically every hit ABBA ever had. But Stay Now won’t make it into our museum of great pop music. Oh, there’s nothing really wrong with the album. The playing is tight, the songs are “contemporary,” and Article A even throws in some muted power-chord strumming and a cover of Goo Goo Dolls’ “Don’t Change,” to make the whole thing sound like these guys have a few Green Day albums in their collection. How edgy. As far as the whole generic thing goes, these guys certainly got it down to a science. Generic name, generic sound…yes, and a generic cover! Of all the pop songs one could choose to cover, why The Goo Goo Dolls? On a final note, Article A manages to pull of what all pop songs aspire to accomplish, and that’s to be repetitive to the point of sticking. Now quick, somebody get another song in my head!
Emerging from the stellar reputation of The Libertines, Pete Doherty’s hiatus project Babyshambles took some getting used to for some. Last year’s album, Shotter’s Nation was clearly the arrival mark, with its charting success and critical acclaim. Although recently released, it’s peculiar that Live in Manchester DVD finds the group in 2004, prior to even their first full-length, getting it right before audiences, with clearly a big Libertines chip on Doherty’s shoulder. Although perhaps not the best time for such a release, fans of either movement will enjoy the documentation of one great band evolving into what might—according to early calls—be another. Upon a sparse stage, the cigarette-smoking, vodka swigging, bare-chested, bandana-necklaced Doherty channels the sort of energy that made The Replacements so interesting two decades ago. The film editor, perhaps with a heavy hand, favors to cut to the musical sequence; shots of the band, crowd, close-ups and long shots are all edited to the beat of the tunes. The audio is fuzzy and muddied, as many would argue it should be. The lighting is warm and personal, making the tight Manchester auditorium transfer seamlessly onto the disc for your home. Unsurprisingly, the crowd goes nuts for the Libertines’ tunes, such as the cunning “Don’t Look Back Into the Sun.” Though there’s a warm welcome for burgeoning songs like “Fuck Forever” and “Killamangiro,” this catches the band with unfinished business from the past, and Doherty’s unique takes on his former work express his artistic identity well.
by Shaun Flagg
by Claudia Ward-de León
by Jake Paine
Babyshambles
www.bizarresworld.com
www.babyshambles.net
www.myspace.com/articlearock
Article A
Bizarre
Blue Cheese and Coney Island Koch Records
Though it’s bad, Bizarre’s second LP is relatively entertaining and definitely hilarious. Bizarre is a strange dude. He frequently goes shirtless even though he is grossly overweight; he exhibits his man boobs comfortably in videos and in public. He actually revels in it. He frequently wears a shower cap, which serves as his signature accessory. His outrageous appearance carries over into his lyrical character. His rhymes are oddly offensive; mostly they are unsophisticated verses that would appeal to thirteen and fourteen year old boys who haven’t evolved past shit jokes. He does get imaginative in his profanity, which will undoubtedly make you laugh; its comedic merit can’t be denied. If you have an affinity for offbeat and vulgar lyrics along the lines of Kool Keith or MC Paul Barman you might enjoy this. But if you take your hip-hop seriously, this album will turn you off completely. Bizarre is so bold as to rap about bestiality. On the first song “Rock Out” he spouts “I got two sex tapes / one I’m fucking on a boat / the other one / I’m in South Africa / fucking a goat.” Still, there are points of seriousness like on the song “So Hard” which deals with personal struggle. That is a heartfelt song that presents a striking contrast to the rest of the material. Monica Blair contributes her smooth and soulful voice on the chorus. Bizarre’s rapping skills leave a lot to be desired; unless you can get a laugh out these humorously assembled verses, you will find yourself utterly at a loss.
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Black47
IRAQ
United for Opportunity
by Celena Carr
www.black47.com
Byron Zanos Still in a Fight Self-Released
by Jake Paine
www.byronzanos.com
Cathy Richardson
May/June 2008
Delusions of Grandeur Cash Rich Records
by Len Sousa
sk pe
So on learning the premise of Irish rockers Black 47’s newest project, IRAQ, I had to err towards suspicion. The liner notes explain that “much of IRAQ is written from the viewpoint of Black 47 fans who have served
North Jersey’s Byron Zanos might be recognizable from his American Idol pursuits, but a professionally-packaged, nationally distributed debut says that this singer/songwriter is going full-speed ahead, without or without Paula Abdul’s cosign. Still in a Fight seemingly represents Zanos’s position in a marketplace. Though his music caters to the John Mayer pop-tart demographic, there appears to be “fight” in Zanos that affirms his masculinity and purpose. There’s something very appealing about Zanos’s brand of pop. He refuses to pen sleepy
www.cathyrichardson.com
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I’m not a big fan of musical efforts to unite people for a cause. BandAid, We Are the World, Live Aid. Ugh. Call me a grinch* but I just don’t think something truly sincere can be packaged, marketed and given an admission price—no matter how many of the proceeds go to the cause.
The award for most elaborate CD packaging must go to this album’s octafold contraption that opens up into an 18-panel painting of an opera house. It’s actually pretty clever, with each panel overlapping and creating a different view of the same opera house from packed to empty and abandoned. But putting the CD away again is a bit of an origami project. Packaging aside, Delusions of Grandeur isn’t quite what’s expected. Despite the opera theme, which continues right down to the theatre-program-
over there. It is an attempt to distill some of their stories and emotions into song.” This is not an unfamiliar concept. Music has often arisen as a reaction to war. For instance, it’s incredibly difficult to separate the Vietnam War’s opponents from their chosen music; that music captured the zeitgeist like nothing else at the time could. But IRAQ does not succeed in this way. In fact it’s so poorly executed it’s almost offensive. “The Last One to Die,” begins, “Dear John, How you doin’, man? Miss
you so bad. How’s the weather in Iraq? When you comin’ back? We’re all thinking bout you.” It’s bad enough that the song’s intro starts with some vaguely Arabic moaning, but using nursery school rhyming schemes to talk about serious issues is way off kilter. Add on to this the gimmicky use of Dubya’s voice and sounds of helicopters, and we’ve got a real mess on our hands. * “Grinch!”—ed.
coffeehouse diary entries, but with charged rhythms and clever multi-tracking, songs like “Envy” and “Chemicals” are emotive, personal songs that are tangible to the audience and ideal car music. Byron’s singing style is reminiscent of Rob Thomas, with lots of panting, breathing and strained cadence. Although Drew Powell’s production is very contemporary, the songwriting has a late 90s quality that speaks to that generation. Zanos’s guitar playing also complements his style well, often relying on little more than an acoustic guitar and a microphone.
For a self-release budget, Byron Zanos accomplishes a lot. It’s peculiar for a young, appealing singer to resist plastering his Photoshopped image all over a disc jacket, but there seems to be a higher level of integrity here. As lost croonings like “Not Alone” and “Ten Rules” might typically make the demo cutting-room floor, it’s highly plausible that regardless of what Simon Cowell says, Byron Zanos is a name, a voice and a well-crafted artist that will cross the mainstream threshold in the next five years.
themed liner notes, Richardson’s album is rooted more in country than theatre. A song like “Things Are Different” sounds like it was lifted right out of the Faith Hill songbook. And speaking of faith, the first song on this album has the following verse: “I got G.O.D. in my D.N.A.” Get it?
Experience. “Closet Cultivator” is a little gem. Its playful charm easily makes it the best song on the album. “The Sacred Relationship” sounds like mistuned acid jazz and “Thirteen Seconds of Silence” is exactly that. The remaining tracks are remixed or edited versions of other songs on the album—one being a remix of “Making a List” that only robs the original of its gritty soul.
Richardson may be best known for her role as Janis Joplin in the Off-Broadway production Love, Janis. But only one track (“Making a List”) has the singer channeling her Joplin alter ego, complete with a funky guitar lick that would befit the Jimi Hendrix
Richardson deserves credit for doing what she wants, but she misses the mark when it comes to presenting a coherent album.
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It’s clearly no accident that Chris Dickson’s full name is Christian. Hold On To You is one big love letter to that big “You” in the sky. Lyrics like “Repent from sinful lives” and “Lord I lift my hands to you” are so common on this album you’d think it was the soundtrack to the pope’s wedding. (Do popes get married? To Jesus, maybe? Actually, I think Christians are still against that idea. But I digress.) Now I love Jesus as much as the next guy, if the next guy is Richard Dawkins, but an album’s worth of pure devotional material is a bit much, even for power pop. Dickson isn’t bad as far as singer/songwriters go, but he’s also not trying too hard to be unique. In a genre that can trace is roots back literally a thousand years, one should at least try to stand out more than a Christian James Taylor imitation. It doesn’t help when Dickson admits on his website that he’s trying to “lead others into His presence.” There’s a reason why Baroque music—and even the music of James Taylor— doesn’t fly as much as it used to. Culture constantly needs new mantras, and the typical love sonnet to the G-Man just isn’t going to cut it. Religious beliefs aside, Christian performers need to stay in step with modern society if they want to stay relevant or even, God forbid, convert others. But rehashing Bible quotes won’t convert any sinners or even grab Christian rock fans’ attention in the 21st century.
Sumerian Records
Do you want to know the great thing about American music? It is founded upon tradition. For years men and woman alike have dedicated their lives to making great records. They write, record, and package their craft. Bringing those methodically composed pieces of art to the people is their very primal passion and livelihood. The sad part is that in an instant one recording can destroy all their hard work and years of accomplishments. Creature Feature’s The Greatest Show Unearthed sets the validity of American musical heritage back many years. Back to when substance was hard to find, and where cheap gimmicks hypnotized the peasants. There is no clearer example of a recording travesty than The Greatest Show Unearthed. Sometimes when I hear bad records, I laugh. Sometimes I cry, but never have I been genuinely offended…until now. The Greatest Show Unearthed should be buried back from where it once came. The album is an electronic concept composition that is a hook-driven horror tale. It can be described as something along the lines of a $5 afternoon double horror flick at the local movie house. It’s cheap, it’s cheesy, and the cult audiences loves it. There are indeed ear worm hooks present in “Six Foot Deep” and “Bound and Gagged.” But they do not seduce the ear; they literally shake it to its very core. This album stings the audible senses, not because it is filled with tuned down guitars or gut belting vocals, but because it shrieks with synthesizers and stuns with the vocal pitch of a flash bang.
by Amanda Cuda
by Len Sousa
Hallel Music
The Greatest Show Unearthed
www.davidguetta.tv
Hold On To You
Creature Feature
www.creaturefeaturemusic.com
www.christiandickson.com
Chris Dickson
by Martin Halo
eviews
David Guetta Pop Life Perfecto/Ultra Records
So many dance records fall prey to the curse of homogeny. With their similar pounding beats and mantra-like lyrics, it’s sometimes hard to tell one dance track from another. But David Guetta’s brand of dance music is different. The French pop and dance artist’s new album Pop Life is full of zest and energy. And, most importantly, you can easily tell one song from the next. Each track is unique, with its own style. For instance, the bopping “Winner of the Game” comes close to being a rock track, while “Love is Gone” is more reminiscent of early 1990s techno (indeed, you can practically see those Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan characters from Saturday Night Live bobbing their heads in time). The album features an array of guest artists, each of whom brings his or her own distinctive style to the mix. The album is a good listen and never feels bland or phoned in. Guetta has a real enthusiasm for his music and, it seems, a solid sense of humor. For evidence of that, look no further than the title of his previous album Guetta Blaster. Clearly, this is a guy who enjoys what he’s doing. That zeal comes through in his music on Pop Life. Yes, its poppy, infectious beats will make you shake your booty. But this is the rare dance album that need not be confined to a club. It isn’t just thrumming, monotonous rhythms. It’s as fun as it is danceable.
Spend your money elsewhere.
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www.skopemagazine.com
Dr. Manhattan
Changes
Vagrant Records
Rise
First things first: Dr. Manhattan shouldn’t be confused with Doctor Manhattan. Doctor Manhattan is a blue-skinned superhero from Alan Moore’s strange comic series The Watchmen. His near-godlike powers are derived from accidental exposure to a nuclear reactor experiment. Dr. Manhattan is a non-blue-skinned Illinois quartet that has never been exposed to a nuclear reactor. They derive their powers from their strange musicality and a record deal with Vagrant.
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The point is both are equally strange. Their self-titled debut features their fan favorite “Claims Should Echo”—a punk-fueled lyrical screamfest replete with off-key guitar chords and strange ambient noises. Think Modest Mouse with a healthy helping of deconstructed punk. The lyrical screams give way to “Gunpowder: a ballet” which opens to new wave keyboards a la The Killers’ Hot Fuss. The lyrics are clever (and decipherable) and musically, the song sounds the tightest of the eleven tracks. “Tracey’s Buns” is the only acoustic track on the album, and it sounds like The Plain White Ts’ “Hey There Delilah” gone terribly wrong. At points throughout, it sounds as if singer Matt Engers either forgets the lyrics or is making them up as he goes along. Rounding out the strange breadth of music is “Baton Rouge,” which includes muted trumpet blasts, dirge-like organ and backing accordion (yes, accordion). The talent is present in the vast instrumentation and eclectic nature. Obviously Vagrant sees something here underneath all the weirdness, if not simply valuing the group for the weirdness itself.
I’ll concede. There may be an audience that craves sludgy speed metal on a daily basis. I listen once a month maybe, and even that’s a bit too much. Yet, of all of it, For The Fallen Dreams seems to be at least a bit more “musical” than the rest. Usually lost (under a cacophony of larynx-shredding screaming and dropped-D tuned axes) is any semblance of harmony and production. Making an argument that those elements are not part-in-parcel of the genre is not a valid argument. Those elements are what separates music from noise. That said, the group’s latest release, Changes manages to rise above the ugly fray with moments of slick guitar arpeggios and breaks that provide a welcome respite from the driving blackness of death. While flowering the delicate licks more often would go far to provide depth to the sound, the boys vary far too little, bowing more to the formulaic throttle that typically drowns the genre in unoriginal composition. “Brothers in Arms” might be the best of the bunch, providing the aforementioned riffs more regularly. The dramatic shifts of guitar tonality are the highpoint of the cut – and, unfortunately, of the entire album. “Last Dying Breath” opens with some cool doublebass on the drums with a bit more nifty banging and even a bit of guitar work that doesn’t involve the bassi-est notes on the neck. There’s talent here – but it’s wasted.
by Jake Paine
by Jeff O’Neill
by Chris West
For The Fallen Dreams
www.genesis-music.com
myspace.com/forthefallendreams
www.vagrant.com
Dr. Manhattan
Genesis
Live Over Europe 2007 Atlantic Records
Throughout the summer of 2007, Phil Collins and the gang reunited with an elaborate tour that traveled the United States and the world. Genesis opted to package a two-disc set of high-quality live performances culled from July and August dates in Rome, Manchester and Paris. The songs feature new approaches, extended versions, and the kind of energy that made live albums meaningful in the first place. Genesis transformed from a progressive rock outfit to power-pop trendsetters. Two discs speak to both of those pillars, with all the work in between. An epic seven-minute version of “No Son of Me” lives on, with a sparsely produced approach, carried entirely by Collins’s crisp vocals, powerful ad-libs and impeccable percussion section. Rather than existing in the 70s or 80s, Genesis revamped their catalog to sound timeless, which comes across brilliantly in the edits. What makes Live Over Rome special is its unpredictability. The two worlds of Genesis collide on “Home By the Sea.” Here, one of the lesser hits of 80s Genesis evolves to a prog groove that lasts twelve minutes, and blurs the line between jam and strucutre. This was a tour not to be missed. Although Peter Gabriel wasn’t part of the party, the Genesis reunion was seen as an epic event to many. Like The Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, this disc (which will be followed by a DVD this year) isn’t exactly the greatest hits some might expect; it’s a comprehensive offering for fanatic and refined newcomer alike.
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Heloise & The Savior Faire
Emerging from the neo-disco movement primarily pioneered by the likes of the Scissor Sisters, Heloise & The Savoir Faire is a raucous electro-rock escape into an ultra-hip London after-hours club.
Trash, Rats & Microphones Yep roc
by Jeff O’Neill
www.yeproc.com
Imani Coppola
The Black & White Album Ipecac
by Lauren Proctor
myspace.com/imanicoppola
Jeff Austin Black
Human
www.jeffaustinblack.com
by Nick A. Zaino III
Rainman
Trash, Rats & Microphones provides a heavy dose of funk and traditional disco (light violins frame breaks and choruses with poppy synth drizzled over the top). Surprisingly, many of the cuts on the work feature some pretty prominent guitar work – providing a needed edge to the somewhat saccharine compositions.
Consistently teetering between sweet innocence and crass, nasty hip hop, Imani Coppola’s The Black & White Album offers a polarized listening experience. Coppola shows creative fearlessness in her latest release, and even though tracks like “Keys 2 Your Ass” will shock you, this new album is somewhat appealing. Coppola shines in the hookdrenched “Rain Drops from the Sun.” This gentle, upbeat track is the album’s best. Its piano introduction fleshes out into a sunny track with addictive pop sensibility (poppy enough in fact, to land a spot on Grey’s Anatomy). The
You’d like to like Jeff Austin Black. He’s a scruffy guy who writes earnest songs and apparently has a charitable streak – he used his first EP to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He has a clear, rich singing voice that doesn’t sound labored. It’s a shame, then, that he doesn’t make more compelling music. There’s something missing from Human, Black’s debut full-length album. It’s got plenty of polish from veteran players like Tim Pierce, Greg Bissonette, and Joey Kramer. Every note is in
That said, there are still plenty of layers here to provide adequate depth to a notoriously flat genre. Every auditory element seems to have been kicked up a notch in terms of intensity and range. At times the music is obnoxious, but it’s always interesting. A curious track, “Illusions,” opens Trash. It’s not what one would consider a typical disco cut. Layered synth and ocean sound effects are scattered among a driving guitar riff and a rock bass (strangely, it’s not a Bootsy Collins-style bass). The song rounds out with the drums and guitar competing for voice in
rocky and realistic “Springtime” and Macy Gray-like “Let it Kill You” also reveal Coppola’s creative way of seducing you into enjoying a daring track. The lowest point in Black & White reveals itself when Coppola sings the heavily electronic “I Love Her Hair,” a track that sounds strikingly similar to the famous YouTube “Shoes” video. The other side of The Black & White Album exposes a dirty, foul mouthed Coppola. “Keys 2 Your Ass” is fast paced and bass heavy, containing all the musical elements of something you might
place, every harmony tight, every song perfectly produced. But it all sounds a bit manufactured; forgettable soundtrack fodder. Which, of course, it is – “Save Us All” has already made an appearance on CSI: Miami, and it’s probably a only a matter of time before we hear “Summer Nights” over canoodling on a primetime soap or “Only Human” as a pretty young doctor chokes back tears on a medical drama.
an interesting interplay.
“Pick ‘N’ Choose” is a vastly more cosmic cut, opening with sound effects reminiscent of an intergalactic journey. But instead of a typical disco odyssey, Heloise and the boys decide to add a rock edge that elevates the cut above the recycled club trash that’s hot one day and gone the next. “Datsun 280Z” follows the same formula to success with a few tongue-in-cheek lyrics that make the track cute for girls and gay guys. Quite simply, this shit will make your ass shake.
hear on the radio. Lyrics like “show you that ass crack / eat it like a Big Mac,” are typical, though, and Coppola often slights herself with clichés and sickening imagery. In 1997 MTV spun “Legend of a Cowgirl” but Coppola doesn’t seem preoccupied with matching previous fame. Instead she’s interested in expressing herself without censorship, and for that she’s admirable. If you can handle the eccentricities of Coppola you’ll be glad she stayed around a decade.
prince of indie sensitivity, Rufus Wainwright). There’s a fine line between melancholy and actual detachment, and Austin crosses it on “Only Human” and “Reaching Out,” which isn’t saved by Black’s capable falsetto. Maybe Black is too nice. Maybe he needs a barfight with the Gallagher brothers or a trip to Bukowski’s side of Hollywood to bring out something a little rougher, a little less calculating. What’s missing from Human is humanity.
Even Austin sounds bored at some points (to be fair, the same could often be said of the crown
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www.skopemagazine.com
by kathy iandoli
Credential Recordings
Many times, a member of a semi-successful band will realize that the albums floating in his head don’t match his group’s “shtick.” Instead of forcing his music on the electrically energetic Switchfoot, Jon Foreman decided to release four season-themed EPs – Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Each EP reflects the emotional content tied to that particular season. Considering that the albums work (to a degree), they prove that Foreman succeeds in both a group and solo setting. The first installment of the EP series includes Fall and Winter, a double disc set. While this might appear to be overkill, the fact that the tracks on each disc are so different (and only six tracks per CD), the result is not bad. Take Fall, which includes tracks that reflect the season of loss, with melancholy instilled where applicable – beginning with “The Cure For Pain.” At times, the songs get a little too emo, like in “Lord, Save Me From Myself” where the thought is “gee I never felt like this in the fall.” Winter is a contrast – laden with cooler tracks that don’t make you want to end it all, like “White as Snow” which is bright and white like the title suggests. The only downside to Fall and Winter is that while Foreman is talented, the discs are somewhat boring. Foreman did the right thing by making a series of short EPs to express his layered thoughts. The problem is – will he be making a habit* out of this? We hope not.
Ack. More screaming.
Goin’ South
But let’s talk about the good stuff first. The playing is super-tight, and not in a dumbed-down sort of way, either. Echoes of Fugazi are evident in the work on Goin’ South. And the lead guitar work suggests that these lads soaked up some influences from 70s hard rock. The bass work is worthy of note: an isolated mix of Jason Richardson’s bass lines would be a reasonably entertaining listen.
by Bill Kopp
sk pe
Killing California
myspace.com/killingcalifornia
May/June 2008 March/April 2008
*Unless they invent some new seasons, that’s doubtful—ed.
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by Todd Sikorski
Finally Home
Fall and Winter
Sing Like A Bird
myspace.com/kathleendunbarmusic
www.jonforeman.com
Kathleen Dunbar
Jon Foreman
Due to the disc’s running time— well under thirty minutes—one is tempted to call Goin’ South an
Self Released
Sometimes it is hard for a musician pegged as a singer/songwriter to break out of the pack. Often, you would expect someone who gets stuck with that label to release a CD with a bunch of acoustic songs full of wordy lyrics. Kathleen Dunbar is not one of those artists. The San Francisco songwriter’s newest release Finally Home shows just that as she tries her hand at a bunch of influences on the disc. For example, she is not afraid to tackle Celtic music (“The Circle Returns to the Place where it Starts”) one second and then dabble in country (“Red Boots”) only minutes later. It does not stop there: Dunbar also tries jazz, folk, bluegrass, and pop on Finally Home. Despite the ambitious nature of the CD, don’t expect the songs here to make a great first impression. They aren’t meant to; the mellow vibe of the record is more successful after numerous listens as the soft melodies slowly get under your skin. Some of the best tracks that illustrate this are the Joni Mitchell-inspired “Round and Round” and the bluesy “Drybone Ground.” Still, as a whole, Finally Home seems to be missing something. The minimal presence of percussion or drums makes the disc too sparse sounding. This decision puts a lot of emphasis on Dunbar’s singing and lyrics. While her singing is top notch, her lyrics fail to impress much and that—surprisingly—is the release’s biggest surprise.
EP. But there are ten songs, and each is developed in its own way. There’s enough variation in the riffage from song to song to keep it from being monochromatic. Thanks to the inclusion of liner notes, I can report that the lyrics are thoughtful; with both hands on the wheel, Killing California avoids the twin ditches of (on the right) Christian preachiness and (on the left) political lecturing. Subject matter tends toward the personal/universal. Still, a disquieting bit of illiteracy does rear its head. Allowing for the alllower-caps, mostly punctuation-
free approach of the printed liner notes still doesn’t explain lyrics like “whiskey is the reason that your walking at my door” (“Dagger Practice”) or “johnny’s got the rythym” (“Black Collar Kids”). The lyric sheet sets forth a red herring: for “Underground Girl” it reads, “no lyrics!!!!!” So I looked forward to a track that would spare me the screaming and concentrate instead on the powerful instrumentation. No dice. More screaming.
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Koop is a duo of Swedes who make beautiful, breezy music from scraps that would never stand well on their own and who’ve got a thing for cross-dressing. What’s not to like? Magnus Zingmark and Oscar Simonsson, the crazed geniuses behind Koop are, indeed, from Stockholm and do like sporting dresses. If you think I’m joking about the latter, a quick visit to their web site will settle things. We’ve all heard people who toy with samplers, flirt with digital loops, and then show off their skills on, say, an acoustic guitar. The resulting product is often unremarkable. This would not be the case with Koop. When I first slipped into Koop Islands, it uncannily felt as if this album had rightfully resided in my library for years. It sounded as if it fit perfectly somewhere between Portishead and Bebel Gilberto. Zingmark and Simonsson mange to combine samples, four distinct vocalists—Ane Brun, Yukimi Nagano, Rob Gallagher and Mikael Sundin— and play piano and accordion throughout the album. The result is a lovely, seamless sound that often calls up visions of the abandoned exoticism of the 1930s. The title song takes us down the smoky cabaret halls we traveled through with Beth Gibbons of Portishead. And the irreverent kitsch of the lounge songs sampled in “The Moonbounce,” are as hip as it gets. For anyone whose collection has an open slot for this sort of thing, the bright patter of marimbas and jazzy swing make this album something to swoon over. See page 44 for a feature story on Koop.— ed.
Kiss
Sony BMG
L’Arc~en~Ciel, is, apparently, huge in Japan. And for good reason. Their latest Kiss is a kickass and tight production with big guitars and lyrics I simply can’t understand. But you won’t care. Echo effects on the strings give the album the feel of an event, but the sound isn’t classic rock. The music is more ultra-hip, super cool interspersed with a punky feel. “Seventh Heaven” opens with bruising power chords reminiscent of some of the best work from The Killers. Big on harmonies and quick snare punctuation, they cut crescendos with soaring wails and pitter-patter conversational syncopation. Making music over the past fifteen years, these guys know what the hell it is to make a big impression in four minutes. Big, snappy cuts frame the entirety of the record but “My Heart Draws a Dream” and Track 4* (the title is written in Japanese; my PC has an English character set), provides two ballads of mid-tempo range. Lead singer Hyde has a commendable falsetto that he uses like pixie dust to frame the gentle croon. One can picture thousands of Tokyo teens screaming whilst he leans over the stage to give a rock start smile to a lucky girl in the front row wearing Hello Kitty. “Hurry Xmas” is a bizarre and hilarious cut using sleigh bells and an old-fashioned guitar twang to serve a modern-day eggnog fix. American artists just don’t have the balls to pull something like this off on a regular LP.
by Celena Carr
by Jeff O’Neill
by Claudia Ward-de León
Atlantic
L’Arc~en~Ciel
www.mariannekeith.com
Koop Islands
www.larc-en-ciel.com
www.myspace.com/koop
Koop
Marianne Keith Beautiful Distraction Unison Music
Aspiring to be a successful singer/songwriter is potentially a very masochistic undertaking. That could explain why it’s a dream most often embraced by the very young and naïve (or optimistic, depending on how full your glass is). Marianne Keith is another drop in the sea of these dreamers, delivering a mediocre album bolstered now and then by an appealing voice. The main problem with young singer/songwriters is that sometimes they just don’t have enough life experience to write compelling material. This is definitely the case with Keith. At just twenty-one years of age, the titles of her tracks are a dead giveaway of her immaturity: “The Angry Song,” “Happy Girl,” “Too Late,” “Make You Mine.” All are filled with Keith’s pretty voice and forgettable lyrics that dissolve like so much sugar on the tongue. But, to give credit where it’s due, Keith’s voice is refreshingly sweet, in a sort of girl-next-door way, and she is writing her own material. So she’s more than just a face, unlike so many of our beloved, horrific pop stars. It’s hard to find real fault with her music other than its being totally unmemorable. But with the quality of her voice and sounds ranging from pop to country, she’s sure to gather at least a few fans. Is it enough to launch a successful career? I doubt it, but judge for yourself—mariannekeith.com will give you a preview of most of the tracks from the album.
This is great, eclectic music. *Track 4 is called “Sunadokei.”—ed.
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Mars Arizona
Hello Cruel World Big Barn Records
by Amanda Cuda
www.marsarizona.com
Mello Mello
An Abstract Love Story
Mello Soul Records www.mello-soul.com
by Celena Carr
There’s something both cozy and nefarious about Hello Cruel World, the new album by folk duo Mars Arizona. The voice of female vocalist Nicole Storto is warm and inviting, and many of the tracks are sweetened with fiddle, mandolin and other folk staples. But the male vocalist, Paul Michael Knowles, is gifted with a world-weary growl that puts you on edge. And the lyrics, even on Storto’s songs, tend toward the sad and cynical. “Circus” derides life as an everlasting freakshow, for example, while “Don’t Get Too Comfortable” warns of the
Before I begin, let me say that I love bad—I mean horrible—90s R&B and hip-hop. Silk, Positive K, Montell Jordan, and sadly forgotten groups like Tall, Dark and Handsome all top my list. Nothing amuses more than watching grown men sing seductively and perform choreographed dance moves (preferably on some sort of rotating surface) while wearing overalls with one strap dangling and a fanny pack over top.
fragility of human existence. “Don’t get too comfortable,” Knowles snarls on the latter track. “You’ll be gone before you know it.” Though on CD, the album imitates an LP. There are two “sides,” according to the back of the album, but listeners need not reach out and flip the CD over. The “side” change is signaled by the sound of a scratchy record player needle, letting the listener know that the album has been flipped. Yes, it’s a bit silly and pretentious, but also kind of clever.*
style seemed totally reasonable; somehow, we embraced it wholeheartedly. This does not, however, mean that I think anyone should revisit this era for any reason other than spoof. Leave it up to Mello Mello to throw it on back.
I love them because they capture a moment in time when that
An Abstract Love Story contains every 90s cliché in the book. The opening track, “Party witchu,” even features the phrase, “tryin’ to party like it’s 99.” Okay, the whole point of that phrase was that it wasn’t 99 yet. Once it actually hit 1999, that whole idea became, well, dated. All
There is a fine line between music that’s hypnotic, and music that simply puts you to sleep. Gea, the seventh album by Los Angeles singer/songwriter and guitarist Mia Doi Todd, crosses that line and lands squarely in snoozeville.
as “hand drums,” but they sure sound like bongos. Now, there’s nothing wrong with bongos, long songs or repetitive lyrics, as long as all of those elements add up to something. But, on Gea they add up to little more than a pile of pretensions.
How nap-inducing is the album? Its opening track, “River of Life/ The Yes Song” is more than ten minutes long and consists of little more than a couple of verses repeated over and over. Oh, and there are bongos. Sure, in the liner notes they’re referred to
That’s too bad, because Todd actually has a lovely voice. It has a richness and smoothness that’s lacking in a lot of contemporary singers (even good ones like Lucinda Williams and Aimee Mann). But that same smoothness hurts Todd’s music as a
Storto, Knowles and the musicians they perform with seem completely confident of the effect they want to create. The two singers alternate lead vocals on the album, bouncing the listener back and forth between comfort and dismay. The lyrics both soothe and warn. The musicians back their singers in way that’s both upbeat and, well, scary. It’s all a little jarring, yet nothing less than mesmerizing. * If you like that gimmick, pick up Matthew Sweet’s 1991 classic Girlfriend. It was clever 17 years ago, too.—ed.
the other tropes you would expect are here—the soulfully sung background vocals behind half-whispered lyrics, the canned applause, the Casio melodies and beats. It’s almost like Mello Mello appeared out of some 90s Soul Train time capsule. If you really want to “sit back and let the melodies take you for a ride,” as the boys suggest, then by all means, jump on board. But let’s face it, there’s a reason that Soul Train only plays at 3:00 am on Sundays these days.
Mia Doi Todd
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by Amanda Cuda
City Zen Records www.miadoitodd.com
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May/June 2008
Gea
whole. There’s no edge to her voice. There’s no texture. It’s just the same pretty purr that floats over her lyrics, seldom changing tone. It would be something if Todd could take her natural talent and put it toward a project with a little life and energy. Instead, she’s made Gea, an album that just sort of lies there, as the listener waits for it to do something interesting. Well, it doesn’t do anything at all – except, possibly, cure insomnia.
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For the first few second of Butterfly Pinned, you may think your tape of Piper at the Gates of Dawn is melting. Multi-tracked voices slur over a simple, breathy pipe organ, and just about when you’re asking yourself what the hell you’re listening to, you’re interrupted by an industrial groove that sounds like the Doctor Who theme song. A few more seconds and you may be asking the question again, just when the big hooky pop chorus hits. Shannon Crawford, the man behind Monster in the Machine, isn’t shy about tossing everything and the kitchen sink into a song, which will make Butterfly a pleasant surprise for many music fans, and a frustrating mess for others. If there’s a thread through the album, it’s a recurring motif of 80s goth rock, but that rarely goes uninterrupted for long. The Beatlesque interlude about a quarter of the way through “Helicopter” segues into a plodding beat and a horn line that would make Burt Bacharach tap his toes, and then back into the Beatles. Some might call that interlude the chorus, but that’s much too linear a designation for Crawford’s songwriting style. At times, Crawford’s source material seems ridiculously obvious. You could almost sing The Cure’s “Lovesong” over the beginning of “Under Your Shadow,” and when the high back-up vocals come in over a trebly disco rhythm guitar of “Burns Inside Me,” you may get the urge to sing Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby.” But wait a few seconds and you’ll hear something different. And amazingly, somehow it all fits.
by Shaun Flagg
by Nick A. Zaino III
Emotional Syphon Recordings
www.7m3.com
Butterfly Pinned
www.savestheday.com
www.monsterinthemachine.com
Monster in the Machine
by Nick A. Zaino III
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Saves the Day
Seven Mary Three
Under the Boards
Day & Night Driving
Vagrant Records
The question about Under the Boards for most Saves the Day fans would be, is it dark like the band’s early material, or softer and more poporiented like their dalliance with Dreamworks? The answer is: yes. There are plenty of tunes on Boards that will fit nicely between the latest Killers and Franz Ferdinand offerings on the radio. “Bye Bye Baby” is a hummable pop single more than anything, and the lighter sound the band showed on In Reverie comes back on songs like “Lonely Nights” and “Stay.” The difference is that most of the album retains the edgy guitar punch that established the band as an emo favorite back in the late 90s. “Stay” is a beautifully lilting acoustic ballad that shows singer Chris Conley’s depth as a songwriter. But it’s wedged between the cheery rock kiss-off “Bye Bye Baby” and the stomping ode to self-destruction “Getaway,” both of which clock in well under three minutes, to appease the band’s adrenaline junkie fans. And for your fix of morbidity, the very first line on the record is, “I wanna crawl under the ground and not come out” and the last is “I’m turning over in my tomb.” What more do you want from an emo band? If you do want more, you won’t have to wait long. According to Conley, Under the Boards is second in a trilogy – Sound the Alarm was about “discontent,” Boards about “reflection and remorse,” and Daybreak, due later this year, “acceptance.” Our prediction? It will also involve death and loud guitars.
Icon Records/Universal
Seven Mary Three are best known for their hit single “Cumbersome” from back in 1995. Since then they’ve released another five albums of diminishing popularity. The Billboard charts and radio play are things of the past for this band, and this is mostly a result of their inability to remain relevant. The hard-edged country tinged rock certainly had its heyday and there was the time where mainstream fans were eating up the music of similar bands like Staind, Nickelback, and Three Doors Down. Generic rock ballads occupied a dominant position on top 40 throughout the 90s. But the music scene has changed and these guys haven’t evolved. On their seventh effort Day & Night Driving the band embarks on a far more subdued aesthetic with down-tempo instrumentals and acoustic guitar. The album lacks teeth as the rock and roll spirit gives way to a mopey country vibe. “Last Kiss” is the first single and it has a much edgier sound than the rest of the album. The remainder of the album is a dreary and overwhelming bore, an acoustic mesh of lugubrious introspection and predictable, cliché-soaked verses that fail to affect little more than vague familiarity. Singer Jason Ross has vocal talent, but it is lost in the miserable tedium of these bland ballads. If Ross is going to slow things down then his approach should be to write more interesting songs that allude to more than a cursory understanding of the human condition. 7M3 played the spotlight and they had their time. Day & Night demonstrates that the band is obsolete, a sad apparition of its former self.
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Okay. You’re a broke old man, and your dying wife’s comatose in the hospital on life support, so you somehow score a janitor gig at the hospital so you can sort-of pay for her care and, bonus, sneak in once in a while to hold her hand. You swear she responds once in a while, and it’s all you live for. So then your manager decides to fire you, so you beg for your horrible job, trying to get one human to cut another human just a strand of slack for once, for the luvva God.
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Thus the lyrical synopsis of “Mr. Larkin,” a Bryan Adams-sounding joint from State Radio’s first album, Us Against the Crown. While prepping for the band’s new record I’d forgotten how that fricking song had left me a blubbering dunce behind the wheel on some stupid road someplace in my stupid car in this stupid world. Although he remains civic-minded, Massachusettsbased rocker/activist Chad Urmston made his band pack Uzis this trip. Throughout Year of the Crow, the Police-like reggae of Crown is omnipresent but mumbling directions from the back seat, the wheel in the grip of some demented, had-it-up-to-here Pixies dude ready to break everything because nothing can be fixed. “Hey Guantanamo! Hey Geronimo!” Urmston’s crew bellows drunkenly in the opener (“Guantanamo”) before proceeding to chu ck a ska-driven Molotov cocktail at the courthouse that’s run by the bastards who still – still – keep the West Memphis Three in jail (“Unfortunates”). The only reason this band isn’t bigger than the Beatles is because this planet of yours sucks pretty bad.
Somewhere in the Between
by Todd Sikorski
by Martin Halo
by Eric W. Saeger
State Radio/ Nettwerk Records
Streetlight Manifesto
www.thebelltheband.com
Year of the Crow
www.streetlightmanifesto.com
www.stateradio.com
State Radio
The Bell Make Some Quiet
Victory Records
Badman Recording Co.
If there are two things New Jersey loves, it’s punk that isn’t really punk, and ska that is from the wrong coast. So it makes perfect sense that the East Brunswick natives of Streetlight Manifesto have used their home state as a launching pad for their national notoriety. With help from the Bamboozle Festival and combined with the surf club scene, there is a built-in community to support their charged exhale of brass horns and hardcore bravado.
Feeling nostalgic for new wave, post-punk music from the 80s? Well, you can always drag out Joy Division’s classic Closer or the Cure’s highly popular Disintegration and give them a listen. Or you can try the latest release by the Swedish threesome known as The Bell.
Shot-gunning out of the gate with “We Will Fall Together,” their third full-length studio effort, Somewhere in the Between, is a another stepping stone in their odyssey of ska glory. The entire record has a very stiff dynamic: just when you think the recording is going to settle into a groove and take you along for a journey, it props right back up in the listener’s face. Tempo changes are sparse; it is even difficult to tell the difference between songs. The recording just jack hammers through with the occasional brief intro measure to re-oil the thrust. Tomas Kalnoky’s vocal syncopation is clichéd and reminiscent of every Reel Big Fish or Bosstones record. It is surfer boy attitude squashed with the spunk of Irish punk. Somewhere in the Between is a sixth-gear full on assault with horns blaring, bass bellying, and drums thumping. It would fit as the soundtrack to a drunken summer house party. The record ends at the same raging pace that it started forty-four minutes earlier. The scene will dig it, but it is a novelty statement in a genre that is thinning out.
Wait, what does a band from Sweden know about making brooding music associated with Manchester, England? Well, anyone who has to endure Sweden’s long, cold-ass winters should be allowed to record as many moody songs as possible. Now, moody does not necessarily mean dreary and depressing. And that is why the group’s Make Some Quiet is a worthy listen. The Bell show they can craft top-notch pop melodies like on the catchy “Gone For Days” and the dreamy “Nothing is Logical.” You can argue that the drum machine-produced sounds and monotone vocals of Mathias Stromberg on Make Some Quiet are nothing different than what has been done before, and that is true on some songs. But there are others such as “On and On” and “I Am History” which sound like modern indie rock tracks that would fit fine on any Interpol record. What is best about Make Some Quiet, however, is how cohesive and filler-free the entire CD is. The recording isn’t earth shattering, but it is fine enough to remind you of both the past and the present at the same time. Consequently, there is no need for someone listening to this record to start dressing like the “scary” Robert Smith of years ago to enjoy it.
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The Dodos Visiter
Frenchkiss Records
by kathy iandoli
www.mericlong.com
The Expendables
The Expendables
Stoopid Records
www.theexpendables.net
by Len Sousa
Good thing their music works, as Visiter is a combination of the finest elements of rock mixed with folk, blues, and even touches of metal. The Dodos are an amalgam of folkster Meric Long
I decided to begin this review bloated on cans of Keystone and a brown liquid claiming to be a fine blended whiskey. (It was not.) Given the party atmosphere The Expendables extend so potently on their website and in photos on their album sleeve, it only seemed fair to listen to their latest offering on two wavelengths. And as any Bob Marley fan can attest, reggae’s Rasta beats are a comfortably numbing middle earth between semi- and unconsciousness best understood under the influence. The Expendables tread reggae territory with the flair that’s
The Johns Wanna Dance self released
www.thejohnsnyc.com
by Shaun Flagg
The cover of The Dodos’s sophomore release features a charming yellow blob with the misspelled word Visiter scribbled on it. We learn the drawing was from a child whose special-ed class was given a performance by the Dodos in South Central L.A. It’s hard to say anything bad about these guys after hearing that.
Wanna Dance is the debut album from New York based garage-punk outfit The Johns. The New York City underground punk scene is suited to their lo-fi basement sound; cement walls and sonic fuzz are a definite good mix. The Johns are modestly successful in transferring their raw energy and DIY sound onto their album. The lo-fi production, with its static and distortion, conveys a sincere energy and exciting sense of urgency. However, the methods of delivery are all too familiar; there are so many bands doing this sound already and doing it
and his metal-blazing drummer Logan Kroeber. Their debut Beware of the Maniacs was a journey into both of their worlds. It’s unfair to call Maniacs better than Visiter – more organized is the operative phrase. Visiter pushes the envelope in the direction of “flowery,” making it riskier by default considering the “UK or bust” rock invasion. “Walking” begins like a breezy day, as you and your friends grab a banjo and hop in the VW headed for Woodstock. Switching to “Red and Purple” you’re in a Pontiac headed to a dive to hear some un-
home to their Santa Cruz base. The ooh-damn-that’s-catchy resilience of the opening pop punk number “One More Night” sounds down right transcendent in the blur of beer suds while “Paper Chains” is enough to bring a delirious teen to tears over its somber samba. “Down, Down, Down” steals the lead as a contender for nod-out track of the year. And is that an Iron Maiden riff I hear opening “Take a Ticket” or is my head just pounding?
discovered rockish band. The only pitfalls with Visiter occur when things go too awry; like in “Jodi” where the hokey guitar intro goes on so long that you forget what song is playing. While picking a side in the genre game is the only noticeable obstacle, Visiter blazes past the boundaries of what music should sound like. The Dodos can’t be classified; so they can’t be compared…and that’s a good thing.
motley grooves of California beach bum reggae. They don’t take themselves seriously for more than a few songs and have a decade’s experience smoothing down pop numbers like a surfboard. Hangover cure number one may be “Let Loose,” which stands up well to the obvious Sublime comparison with more 311 flavors than they might care to admit. And “Sacrifice” has a guitar lick worth learning. Drunk rating: 4. Sober rating: 2. Average: 3.0.
On a more sober reflection the next day, The Expendables are still a good jam with the typical
better (check out The Queues). The lyrics are simple and repetitive, even catchy at times. Lead singer Johnny Pizzolato stays tightly within the parameters of the archetypal punk vocalist, resulting in rather bland vocals. His voice lacks a distinctive character and even becomes strained on occasion. Punk vocalists aren’t generally known for their fouroctave range, but Pizzolato would benefit, not so much from a better voice, but from some sort of signature nuance that would set himself apart and help mask his vocal limitations.
A good deal of the album exhibits a Ramones-esque sound – think upbeat dance-punk music. The title song is an example of this style; it’s a spastic track with schizoid drumbeats and fuzzy keyboard melodies. This is an epileptic dance anthem and is the brightest spot on the album. Wanna Dance is a lo-fi, fuzzed out, punk jaunt that offers fun and danceable tunes, but there isn’t anything new or particularly unique about them. They’ll need to bring something considerably more substantial to attract listeners outside the confines of the NYC punk scene.
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The OUT_CIRCUIT
Pierce the Empire With a Sound
by Bill Kopp
myspace.com/theoutcircuit
LAujo Records sian Man Records
The Protocol Recess Parlor Records
Victory Records
by Martin Halo
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Kill the House Lights www.thursday.net
May/June 2008
by Lauren Proctor
www.theprotocolmusic.com
Thursday
This is a varied piece of work. The opening track, “Come Out Shooting” kicks off with the same old throat shredding one can hear on any of a gazillion shitty albums in 2008. But the playing that underpins the track is a snaky midtempo groove, and the chorus features actual singing, with harmonies, no less! Pierce the Empire reveals new sonic treasures on each track. The drums-recordeda-block-away aesthetic on “Passchendaele” sets the dreamy, spooky mood. And “Across the Light” starts out sounding like something Brian Eno might’ve included on Another Green
The Protocol forces loud, ordinary rock, the type of music you might hear every weekend at a neighborhood bar. Vocalist Rob Leinbach bellows weak lyrics that never quite work, and the band’s echoed sound appears amateur. The Protocol isn’t bad, but they lack the necessary skills to effectively place songs about Internet porn and modern terrorist societies on the same album. Tracks like “Entry Fee” are a poor attempt at creating a hit, with an overly repetitive chorus laden with “yeah yeah yeah, uh huh uh huh,” but to compound
Brash in its delivery, thick in its layering, and dynamic in its journey. Thursday’s sixth full-length, and their return to Victory Records, rumbles out of the speakers with the tragic story of drug induced implosion in the form of “Ladies and Gentlemen: My Brother the Failure.” Kill the House Lights displays the material that didn’t make the cut on the band’s first three records. Geoff Rickly’s melodic vocals carry the balance between American hardcore and the new generation of punk. Immediately striking is the bite of guitar phrasing provided by Tom Keeley and Steve Pedulla; tonally they
World. Its duet vocal is evocative; of what, I can’t be sure, but it’s cool. And it only gets better. “The Hexagon” features loads of keyboard (mostly grand piano) to bookend a lovely instrumental, one that’s led by a heavy bass melody. “The Hexagon” features a compelling mix of real drums and sampled/looped percussion, and this approach—coupled with the consistently intelligent use of keyboards—is repeated throughout the album. “The Fall of Las Vegas” fades in with some cool analog synth, but gives way to another screamo
the disjointed feel of Recess, later in the album the band attempts references to Dostoevsky during a strange tribute to the lead singer’s deceased father. Despite the band’s useless attempts at blending hilarity and serious issues, the Seattle based quartet does show promise, and that’s in guitarist Jeff Reitan. His loud hooks and effortless execution of more complex fingerings makes the band sound like if they got their act together they might have a chance at landing on Guitar Hero IV’s little known list of bonus tracks.
are the treads holding this entire recording firmly on the ground. The audio disc mixes album tracks with live recording and studio demos. This is their anthology. “Signals Over the Air” was recorded live at Starland Ballroom. “Sketch for Time’s Arrow” is a welcomed tempo change as it mellows the mood, while “Paris in Flames” and “Wind Up” were demos that were picked up off the studio’s cutting room floor. “Telegraph Avenue Kiss” saw mixing contributions from Mars Volta producer Rich Costey.
session. Perhaps it’s here just to reach out to that segment of the marketplace that likes vocals but hates, er, singing. But even here Nathan Burke makes sure to mix in some dreamy singing between the vocal self-immolation, and a plaintive string arrangement in the outro. The proceedings are wrapped with the excellent and atmospheric keyboard-based “Scarlet.” (The other tracks not enumerated here are also quite good.) An otherwise excellent album, it’s docked one full star for the screaming on two tracks.
The only time The Protocol truly shines on Recess is in their lighthearted “Barcelona.” The song bounds forward with natural, unleashed energy, as if this was the first time The Protocol was playing for themselves rather than to please others. Unlike the other standard tracks on Recess “Barcelona” sounds like something from The Refreshments. The Protocol’s next attempt may turn some heads, but only if they avoid overly ambitious references or silliness and stick to tracks like “Barcelona.”
The second disc is a DVD and accompanies those audible reverberations with a documentary that explores the band’s ten-year odyssey with interviews, backstage goodies, and archive footage. Kill the House Lights is one release that will find an audience outside of the immediate genre. It’s not just one for the record shelves; it’s really a genuine fan essential.
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From first glance at the risqué boudoir scene depicted on the album cover, and Mambo Italiano title sesso-vita, or “Sex Life,” one might assume the valley arena is about to serenade with drowsy songs of the bossa nova persuasion. But when the charged up drum intro marches in on the album opener, “Bed,” it’s quickly revealed there’s nothing remotely resembling Antonio Carlos Jobim’s suave, Latin guitar chops besides the cover art. Guitar and drums aren’t the least bit bashful throughout the ten tracks, with both instruments’ feet planted firmly on the foreground. The valley arena’s complex melodies indicate a tip of the hat to 1990s-era bands and math-rock outfits possessing enough integrity to not go the emo route. Screaming Trees, Meat Puppets, and Shellac are acts that come to mind. The first time I heard the unabashed bass opening of “Kick at the Ceiling”—a tune this trio previously released on 7” vinyl—I thought the ghosts of Primus and Tool were at play. With song titles like “Perfume Has Expired,” “Exfantasy,” and “I Was a Wrecking Ball,” and lyrics like “Can we save the mess we made? / The flame before the fire,” the theme of a love affair gone amiss is obviously etched. However, unlike artists out there currently playing to this theme of muddled love, the straight-forward rock of the valley arena doesn’t gravitate an inch toward the danceable, shaggy hair and ties sound that’s become standard. And that makes this solid effort one that stands apart.
Mission Control ATO Records
Once, the music industry gazed longingly at Seattle as the new music Mecca. Its flannel shirts and grunge music were the sacraments of the new music savior. However, long before Washington State, Athens GA was the Jerusalem of music and R.E.M. was its patron saint. While the heyday of Athens is long gone, The Whigs and their brand of alt-pop is keeping Athens musically relevant. Having cut their teeth on their self-released first album and a myriad of raucous live shows, the recent ATO Records signers released Mission Control this past January. And while they have been on the music industry radar for some time, this full-length debut shows they have staying power. The album opens with “Like a Vibration” a Strokesesque track that pays homage to Brit rock with front man Parker Gispert’s hoarse lyrical delivery mimicking Jagger. “Sleep Sunshine” opens to a “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” piano riff and gives way to multiple musical textures surprising for just three musicians. The accompanying slide guitar work is testament to their southern roots. Album title track “Mission Control” is the album terminus and is the most eclectic track of the disc. With clever time breaks and an extended melodic outro, the track is earmarked with sharps and flats that make for strange and abrasive notes. The album as a whole is musically tight and has a diggable amateurishness about it. But the young and hungry album feel tells me these guys are just getting started.
by kathy iandoli
by Chris West
by Claudia Ward-de León
Anodyne Records
The Whigs
www.facedownrecords.com
sesso-vita
www.thewhigs.com
www.thevalleyarena.com
the valley arena
Thieves and Liars
When Dreams Become Reality
Facedown Records/ Dreamt Music
Somewhere in between System of a Down and the Pussycat Dolls, we’ve lost all sense of what classic sock sounds like. True, while many indie rock, UK-based, and emo bands have done a spectacular job of migrating from the garage to the big stage, there’s still something to be said about the sound that, for better or worse, has been completely abandoned. Enter Thieves and Liars. The San Diego trio has crafted quite the homage to every classic rock path they’ve crossed on their debut When Dreams Become Reality. Swaying guitar riffs and heavy drums are a common theme on Dreams. From the moment Thieves’ catchy video single “Slavin’ Away” begins, it’s apparent that this is no run of the mill rock band looking to bite off the next guy. Thieves and Liars make adequate use of their influences to channel a part of rock music that has remained dormant since the advent of the power chord. While some songs like “The Dream,” “The Author of Dreams,” and “Forgotten” run a little too long for comfort (over nine minutes!), they’re balanced out by the shorter punchier tracks like “Road to Nowhere” and “Run.” The most mystical song on the album is the title track, where the essence of classic rock history is thoroughly present. There’s no guarantee that Thieves and Liars will start some 70s rock revolution with When Dreams Become Reality, but it’s good to know that someone still cares. The only things they’re thieving are fans from other bands.
See our feature on The Whigs, p.58—ed.
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Tom Laverack sounds like a nasty Jesse Harris or an east coast John Prine, if you know who either of those people are. No? How about a Tom Waits test-tube baby that got a lot of affection? Another drop in an oversaturated alt-folk market whose quadrants were long ago divvied up between Jack Johnson, Sufjan, Ryan Adams and Rhett Miller, Cave Drawings is a little bit cowboy hat and a lot of folk-pop, even if Laverack’s voice most closely resembles an un-shredded Paul Westerberg, his sights set on the sketchy Jeffery Luck Lucas crowd (Lucas is tougher, more beer-brawl ready, a rhinestone Michael Madsen). No hidden agenda in the lyrics; we’re just smoking butts and kickin’ around, which the cleverly titled “Kickin’ Around” hints at whilst busying itself microwaving the chords to “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”
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Mid-CD, Laverack nicks Bob Dylan as if on cue (“Dead Dog”), then follows that up with an overproduced casserole of tiresome bar-band sounds that Hootie and the Blowfish might have thrown together for filler (“Running Out of Road”). A long-time New Yorker, Laverack abandoned the band Just Desserts in order to go solo, and his Rolodex got quite a workout in the process. In fact, so much of the marketing for Cave Drawings is résumé-dependent that you almost start to wonder when Diddy’s going to pop in. Who’s-who bullet points are no substitute for ability, though, and despite an impressive list of cronies that includes a Whitney Houston/Michael McDonald drummer as his producer and several other hepcats who worked with blah blah blah, there’s little gutsiness (and barely anything indicative of a pulse) here.
A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea Tyler Ramsey Music
If this was the demo Band of Horses heard before hiring Tyler Ramsey as second-banana guitar replacement for Mat Brooke, they really couldn’t have made a better choice. Dunno about you, but BOH’s space-shot orchestrations can dredge up some pretty bummy thoughts, a little too Sunday afternoon being broke with the weird college roommate for my delicate sensitivities. Not so here at all, though. Ramsey’s sparse, private musings are warm and comforting wherever his copycatting takes him, which is mostly in a spit-shined Neil Young direction (no glitchy, pained guitars or hiccupped yelling in earshot), but he’s also got Jackson Browne’s angle down (“Worried”) as well as a fondness for Pink Floyd (“No One Goes Out”), the latter of which being what probably sold BOH on him. The instrumental “Chinese New Year” is somewhat of a puzzler owing to its vocal-less-ness in the first place, but the vibe – Mungo Jerry bum-rushed by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club guitars – was intriguing enough for Ramsey to include it, as un-technical as it is; “Birdwings” shows off his mad finger-picking skills and would, in a more progressive world, be more deserving of instrumental standalone time. Indeed, Ramsey does spend a lot of time making the case that he’s a finger-picker first and foremost. In opening song “A Long Dream,” he toys with the same D-major chord Jimmy Page whipped out for the “Bron-y-Aur” instrumental, overall a good touchstone to get where Ramsey’s coming from – old-school precision made fresh through intelligent indie-rock colorization, thankfully lacking any passé pretension of street-beggar buskerdom. It’s good, in other words.
by Bill Kopp
by Eric W. Saeger
by Eric W. Saeger
Sojourn Records
Tyler Ramsey
www.wensdaymusic.com
Cave Drawings
www.tylerramsey.com
www.tomlaverack.com
Tom Laverack
Wensday Torch Rock™ Desert Dreams
Picking up Torch Rock™, one would expect an outing not dissimilar to late 70s/early 80s efforts by Karla DeVito and Ellen Foley; there’s a mock-operatic approach to the proceedings, much like the sort of music Jim Steinman composed for Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell. And the master of ceremonies here is the estimable Dick Wagner, well-known and admired for his work on Lou Reed’s Rock N Roll Animal (that’s him and co-lead guitarist Steve Hunter on the epic intro to “Sweet Jane”), and albums by Alice Cooper and KISS. It might be a mischaracterization to call this Wagner’s album, but there is evidence to support that assertion. The guitarist/producer is credited or co-credited as composer of every track, and his playing, arranging and production is all over the album. (The album’s putative front person Wensday co-wrote seven songs.) Wensday’s pipes are impressive enough, and Wagner’s clean production applies shockingly little treatment/effects to the vocals, suggesting that Wensday is every bit as fine a singer as she sounds on record. And that’s saying something. The arrangements—mostly midtempo—have enough going on to provide interest, all in the service of the vocal. The problem is that in 2008 there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for this kind of thing. Last I checked, nobody actually asked for a modern take on romantic pomp-rock. And calling the album Torch Rock™—yes, they’ve trademarked the term—is more than a little pretentious. Still, this is a quite pleasing offering for fans of this style. But said fans likely don’t number enough to make a financial case for a followup.
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artists to watch
Our Sonicbids picks this issue are a genre-bending lot, offering unusual twists to conventional categories, making it maddening to try to group them. Because no two of these artists are even in the same galaxy as far as genre is concerned, we’ve grouped them by geographic location.
Half are from the USA and half from other parts of the world. by Janie Franz
The Rest of the Globe
The USA
Johnathan Appleseed, a four-piece out of Jacksonville FL, is probably the easiest to categorize with its alt-Americana sound. Rhythm guitar and lead singer Dane Vanness has a vocal quality much like L.A. singer/songwriter Tommy Brouseau who has been stirring up the Americana circuit with his collaboration with classical violinist Hillary Hahn. Don’t let the name Johnathan Appleseed fool you. This is not a folk band. It can be high energy but also moody.
Corazon Latino
Next up is Juxtaposse, a dancehall reggae band from Buffalo NY. Their lyrics, however, are reminiscent of early reggae, which called attention to social issues. Occasionally, Juxtaposse slips into the purity of roots reggae where they shine. I’m impressed with how five white guys have found the soul of reggae. From Charlotte NC, the funk syncopation of Soulganic offers the bluesy soul of old-style R&B, laced with Latin percussion. Lead singer Anthony Rodriquez, who also plays bass, brings a Jacksonesque falsetto but is fresher and very playful. Corry McClure (drums, keys), Lucas Torres (percussion), and Ryan McKeithan (guitars and background vocals) are phenomenal. McKeithan’s intricate jazz guitar work is often showcased against the simplicity of hand drums.
Girl With Cake
Juxtapose
Nevertheless, The Spoken X, a trio from Portland OR, is probably the most unusual of this lot. Overdubbing instrumental tracks, the band (Ri Stewart on keys, Peter Parker on bass and guitar, plus guest drummers) produces a classic rock foundation for Ted Golder’s poetry. Not since Frank Zappa have audiences been treated to rock and roll and the spoken word. It is half theater and half pure musical experience. Their first album, Wild Child, is excellently produced and exciting to listen to.
In a totally different direction, Maximilian from the UK creates new age music on his PC. A self-taught pianist, he composes and records complex music. His album Creation, released last year, is his fourth CD. Unlike a lot of ambient music, Maximilian’s work is interesting to the ear, varied, and always unexpected. Then, there is Norwegian thrash punk blues sensation Sassy Kraimspri. Her first full-length CD, Dirty White Lies, out this year, has distilled her distorted guitar work and mouthy vocals into a crisp package that’s sometimes cheeky, sometimes sultry, but always infectious. She is backed by four talented bandmates on bass, guitars, drums, and additional vocals. Girl With Cake, a four-piece from Australia, catches listeners by surprise. When you think a folky Americana intro will lead you down a melodic lane, Sarah Vardy’s vocals grab you by throat and yank you into a punk sound garden. This all-girl band is heavy on theater but can hold up the musical end with aplomb.
My Fave
Corazon Latino, a collaboration of musicians from Colombia and Switzerland, stole my heart (pardon the pun). The band produces a fresh mix of Afro Latin music, using a core of four musicians, but often expanding to ten, depending on the gig. Not only are traditional hand percussion and lyrical guitar present, but Corazon Latino adds flute, trumpet, clarinet, piano, and accordion. Some of these instruments aren’t even remotely associated with most Latin music. In addition, their Spanish vocals are exciting, adding even more energy to the rhythms and instrument colors. Sometimes, they even dip into Spanish blues. Corazon Latino has two albums out. Desde Barranquilla was released last year. Check out these and other new bands at sonicbids.com
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