Performer Magazine: July 2013

T H E M U S I C I A N ’S R E S O U RC E

JULY 2013 FREE

MISUSING KICKSTARTER & OTHER CROWDFUNDING FAILS THE NEW MERCH SCAM THAT COULD STEAL YOUR SALES GET YOUR MUSIC LISTED ON SHAZAM

EMILY WELLS ON RE-EVALUATING CREATIVE CHOICES

INTERVIEWS T. HARDY MORRIS KENDL WINTER GAYTHEIST PLUMERAI

Atlanta

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at Great American Music Hall July 6 feat. The Frail Parallels Doe Eye Tremor Low Doors at 8:00 pm thirteen bucks ALL AGES

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VOL.23, ISSUE 7

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Gaytheist

by Benjamin Ricci

16

Get past the name and you’ll discover one of PDX’s most brutal rock bands. Join us as we chat with lead singer Jason Rivera about the making of the band’s latest LP.

DIY Travelogue & Touring Tips with Kristen Ford

Kendl Winter

20

by Joshua James Amberson

Boston singer/songwriter Kristen Ford takes us on a trip around the world – literally – to share her DIY booking process and touring advice she’s gathered from months on the road.

24

This Olympia-based, banjo-toting musician is at odds with the traditional bluegrass community, all because she embraces indie rock and…well, hip-hop. Find out more in our interview…

cover story

28 Emily Wells

by Benjamin Ricci

In order to explore the depths of her creative process, Emily Wells had to deconstruct her songwriting and recording approaches, and ended up rerecording her last LP from the ground up.

D E PA R T M E N T S 5 Obituaries

46 Overlooked Rock & Roll Film Classics

6 Local News

47 Legal Pad: Combat Counterfeit Merch

13 Tour Stop: Birmingham, AL

48 My Favorite Axe: Robert Gillies

14 Spotlights: The Wild; T. Hardy Morris

49 Recording: Background Vocals pt. 2

32 Top Picks: The best in new music

50 Studio Diary: Plumerai

44 How Kickstarter’s Being Misused

52 Gear Guide: Studio Headphones

45 Shazam: Indie Music’s Killer App

54 Gear Reviews

Photo credits: clockwise from top: Whitey McConnaughy, Kristen Ford, Sarah Cass, Shervin Lainez Cover photo by Shervin Lainez

56 Flashback: 1988 Eventide H3000 D/SE JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 3

FROM THE TOP Howdy, y’all!

After nearly 40 issues at the helm of Performer, I still get excited when a fresh shipment of new mags arrives, and I can tear into that unassuming brown box to see how the cover looks in print. Part of the excitement comes from having something tangible to show for myself, and part of it comes from knowing all the arguments that led to that cover’s creation were worth it in the end.

If I have one takeaway from my 30 years on this planet, it’s that when it comes to working with others, the best idea should always win.

I don’t care if I’m arguing with my publisher and art director, and things get heated to the point where we’re ready to claw at each other’s throats. It means we care, and that we’re passionate about what we’re putting out into

the world. And if in the midst of those debates, someone else comes up with a great headline or cover composition I haven’t thought of, that idea should trump anything I’ve got.

THE BEST IDEA WINS. The same goes for any type of collaborative art. If you’re in the recording studio, and the janitor has a killer idea for the hook of your song, let the best idea win. Give credit where credit’s due, but don’t dismiss ideas simply because they aren’t yours, or because they’re coming from someone you don’t think could ever have anything worthwhile to contribute to your creative process. You’d be surprised at the insight that outside opinions may offer.

THE BEST IDEA WINS. TRUST ME.

-Benjamin Ricci, Editor P.S. – We want to apologize for a few typographical errors in the May print issue. First, we accidentally added an “r” to spotlight band Lake Street Dive’s name. Yikes! Seems there was also a stray letter “a” at the top of our recording column – chalk that one up to…well…we goofed.

And if that weren’t bad enough, at the end of the same article we goofed again with the phrase “ying-yang,” when of course a hundred Eastern philosophy majors were quick to point out it’s actually “yin-yang.” Whoops! After countless viewings of Kung Fu Panda, you’d think we’d know better.

performermag.com

/performermagazine

@performermag

ABOUT US

CORRECTIONS

Performer Magazine, a nationally distributed musician’s trade publication, focuses on independent musicians, those unsigned and on small labels, and their success in a DIY environment. We’re dedicated to promoting lesser-known talent and being the first to introduce you to artists you should know about.

Did we make a heinous blunder, factual error or just spell your name wrong? Contact editorial@performermag.com and let us know, cuz we’re big enough to say, “Baby, I was wrong.”

MUSIC SUBMISSIONS

In the words of our esteemed forefathers at CREEM: “NOBODY WHO WRITES FOR THIS RAG’S GOT ANYTHING YOU AIN’T GOT, at least in the way of credentials. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be sending us your stuff: reviews, features, photos, recording tips, DIY advice or whatever else you have in mind that might be interesting to our readers: independent and DIY musicians. Who else do ya know who’ll publish you? We really will... ask any of our dozens of satisfied customers.

Just bop it along to us to editorial@performermag.com and see what comes back your way. If you have eyes to be in print, this just might be the place. Whaddya got to lose?

Whaddya got?”

We listen to everything that comes into the office. We prefer physical CDs, cassettes and vinyl over downloads. If you do not have a physical copy, send download links to editorial@performermag.com.No attachments, please. Send CDs to: Performer Magazine Attn: Reviews PO BOX 348 Somerville, MA 02143

4 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS

Volume 23, Issue 7

PUBLISHER

William House Phone: 617-627-9200 bill@performermag.com EDITOR

Benjamin Ricci - ben@performermag.com DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION

Joe LoVasco - scoutco1@gmail.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Glenn Skulls editorial@performermag.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Adam Barnosky, Andy Gabrielson, Arthur Orfanos, Ben Marazzi, Benjamin Ricci, Brad Hardisty, Brent Godin, Candace McDuffie, Chris Devine, Christopher Petro, Ellen Eldridge, Eric Wolff, Gail Fountain, Garrett Frierson, Hannah Lowry, Jason Ashcraft, Joshua Broughton, Joshua James Amberson, Kristen Ford, Lesley Daunt, Matt Lambert, Michael J. Epstein, Michael St. James, Shawn M Haney, Taylor Haag, Terri Winston, Vanessa Bennett, Zac Cataldo CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ann Lacey, Brad Hardisty, Candace McDuffie, Cory Llewellyn, Darren Higgins, David Wells, Gail Fountain, Harold Sellers, James Rexroad, Jason Speakman, Kali Marie, Kristen Ford, Kym Hurley, Marie-Celine Vayssade, Matt Lambert, Sarah Cass, Shervin Lainez, Whitey McConnaughy ADVERTISING SALES

Kathleen Mackay - kathleen@performermag.com Deborah Rice - deborah@performermag.com PO BOX 348 Somerville, MA 02143 Phone: 617-627-9200 - Fax: 617-627-9930

© 2013 by Performer Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any method whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. The magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited recordings, manuscripts, artwork or photographs and will not return such materials unless requested and accompanied by a SASE.

Annual Subscription Rate is $30 in the U.S.; $45 outside the U.S.

Graphic Designer, Ramones Logo Artist Born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1947, Arturo Vega was a Mexican-American punk rock graphic designer and artistic director, best known for having created the logo for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and punk legends, The Ramones. He stayed on as their artistic director for over 20 years, having met the band in the early 1970s while living in a Bowery loft near the famed NYC club CBGB’s. Vega died on June 8th at age 65.

Grayson Minney, 28 Columbia Fields Lead Singer According to WFSB Hartford, “[Minney] was killed after the vehicle he was driving veered off the road on Rt. 85 in Hebron.

According to police, [the] 28-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Minney was the lead singer of local Connecticut band Columbia Fields. Police say [he] lost control of the vehicle and veered off the west side of the road before striking a metal guardrail. A memorial has been set up at the scene of the crash.”

Joey Covington, 67 Drummer, Hot Tuna & Jefferson Airplane Joey Covington was an American drummer, best known for his involvements with Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane.

A self-taught drummer since the age of 10, Covington helped found blues-rock group Hot Tuna in 1969, alongside Jefferson Airplane members Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen, while the latter band was still in its beginnings. However, the recordings he did for Tuna were unreleased and he eventually rejoined Casady and Kaukonen in the Airplane and was featured on three studio albums. He wrote and sang the band’s last hit, 1971’s “Pretty As You Feel.”

Johnny Smith, 90 Jazz Guitarist, Composer of “Walk Don’t Run” An extremely diverse musician, Johnny Smith was equally at home playing in the famous Birdland jazz club or sight reading scores in the orchestral pit of the New York Philharmonic. His most famous composition is the tune “Walk Don’t Run.” The Ventures heard the Chet Atkins version, simplified it and sped it up, and recorded their own take on the song in 1960. The Ventures’ version went to No. 2 on the Billboard Top 100 for a week in September 1960.

Little Tony, 72 Italian Singer, Actor Little Tony (born Antonio Ciacci) was an Italian-born Sammarinese pop singer and actor, who achieved success in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the lead singer of Little Tony & His Brothers, before returning to Italy where he continued a successful career as a singer and film actor. He continued to record throughout the 1960s, one of his biggest hits being “Cuore Matto,” number 1 for nine consecutive weeks in 1967. It sold in excess of a million copies and was awarded a gold disc in May 1967.

OBITUARIES

Arturo Vega, 65

Ray Manzarek, 72 Founder & Keyboardist, The Doors Raymond Daniel Manczarek Jr. was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973. He was a cofounding member of Nite City from 1977 to 1978, and of Manzarek–Krieger from 2001 to his death. The Doors lacked a bassist, so Manzarek usually played the band’s bass parts on a Fender Rhodes piano.

His signature sound is that of the Vox Continental combo organ, an instrument used by many other psychedelic rock bands of the era.

Rob Morsberger, 53 Singer/Songwriter, PBS Composer Morsberger was a singer-songwriter and classically-trained composer. As a sideman/arranger, Morsberger’s credits include Patti Smith, the Grammy-winning Boardwalk Empire soundtrack album, My Morning Jacket, Crash Test Dummies, Marshall Crenshaw, Willie Nile, Jules Shear, Loudon Wainwright III, and more.

A leading composer for PBS, his scoring credits include Masterpiece Theater, NOVA and Frontline. He was composer for the award-winning PBS series NOVAscienceNOW for its first five seasons.

Torr Skoog, 32 Lead Singer, The Kings of Nuthin’ Torr Skoog was the lead singer for Bostonarea punk band The Kings of Nuthin’.

Bandmate Zack Brines released a statement on the band’s Facebook page: “As you may have heard, we’re mourning the loss of Torr Skoog, the best friend, bandmate, lifeline, and inspiration that anyone could hope to have. Our hearts go out to the Skoog family, the extended KON family, and friends everywhere who understand how lucky we all were to have him in our lives.” Sadly, Skoog’s death has been ruled a suicide by local authorities.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 5

LOCAL NEWS

ATLANTA

Get to know...

Metropolis Meets Sonic Generator

by Joshua Broughton

Classic Sci-Fi Flick Screened with New Live Score

Martin Matalon, an Argentine composer, rescored the dystopian classic Metropolis for the second time in 2010; twenty minutes of neverbefore-seen footage surfaced and his 1995 score had to be lengthened to accommodate the new material. Members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Opera joined with Georgia Tech’s wonderfully nerdy ensemble-inresidence Sonic Generator to play the new score live as the film was splashed on the white walls of the Woodruff Arts Center.

Classical music is often a traditionalist’s playground, eschewing textures and instruments that Sonic Generator works to include in its work.

The sixteen-person group put together to play Matalon’s new score included electric guitars and

STUDIO PROFILE

For more info, visit www.martinmatalon.com

DARP Studios/Urban Angels Music

Southern Elegance with Modern Appointments

EQUIPMENT LIST Apple Computers, Line 6, Roland, Digidesign, ART, Focusrite, Avalon, various microphones and much more…

PAST CLIENTS T.I., Monica, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Björk, Boyz II Men, Lionel Richie and more…

6 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

fretless basses, not to mention a full backing track of ambient industrial soundscapes – not exactly Les Mis territory. The percussion section was also hugely varied, featuring everything from traditional Indian drums to jazzy hi-hats.

This isn’t the first time Metropolis has had the alt-music treatment – in the 1980s, the film’s soundtrack was updated by Giorgio Moroder to a pop-filled, early-MTV dreamland of Freddie Mercurys and Pat Benatars and Billy Squiers – but it may be the most important. The score was atonal, bass-heavy and exceedingly difficult to internalize. Matalon’s score feels more appropriate than Moroder’s work, particularly emphasizing the motifs of isolation and destitution in the film’s technologically-advanced setting.

Fritz Lang would be pleased that his work, after 85 years, still has the power to inspire.

Lang took care of the eyes; Martin Matalon and Sonic Generator gave the ears something just as wonderful.

Atlanta producer/songwriter Dallas Austin founded DARP in the early ’90s as a way to foster his own musical ideas. In the years following, the studio has grown to house state-of-the-tech gear in a comfortable environment, servicing a wide variety of musicians and producers.

DARP has four distinct studios with individual and communal lounges. Studios A and B feature a custom built, one-of-a-kind monitor setup. Each room has its own distinctly flavored digital recording rig, and the operations staff is both technically capable and friendly. It all adds up to a great, comfortable setting in which to lay down a record.

Urban Angels Music, operators and managers of DARP Studios, also functions as publishers and actively develops artists another great service right in the building.

CONTACT INFO Booking: Monica Tannian 582 Trabert Ave. NW - Atlanta, GA (404) 352-5096 www.darpstudios.com

Gregory Steward Pull Out Kings, Combichrist

interview by Joshua Broughton photo by Kali Marie Photography Gregory Steward is an Atlanta-based musician and producer. Over the last five years, he has built an impressive catalogue of remixes and original releases as one half of the production duo Pull Out Kings, and continues to tour the world as the keyboard player for industrial titans Combichrist.

What do you do for POK? We’ve become a full-on production team, producing for bands in other genres in addition to releasing our own material. We’re definitely a DIY crew, so I do everything from writing and producing to graphic design and artwork.

What’s the goal?

We aim to provide meticulously-crafted material, whether it’s for ourselves, or in collaboration with our friends and clients.

What’s your role in Combichrist?

Combichrist is a different animal completely; we put on a very intense and visceral show. My onstage duties include keyboards, electronics, and backing vocals, but the essence of the show lies in our ability to brutalize ourselves and our instruments. If the audience isn’t as drained as we are following a show, we haven’t performed hard enough - haha!

Has Atlanta been kind to electronic music?

Atlanta has a bright and burgeoning music scene, which includes a strong electronic community. It’s a great city to live and work as a producer.

For more info, visit www.pulloutkings.com

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LOCAL NEWS

BOSTON

Brown Bird’s David Lamb Needs Your Help RI Musician Diagnosed with Leukemia

by Benjamin Ricci Recently, we received terrible news from the Brown Bird camp – lead singer/guitarist David Lamb has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia. You may remember this amazing Rhode Island folk duo from our cover story in November 2011, and we ask that you help in any way you can.

A fundraiser has been set up (website below), and the band’s original message and updates appear here in edited form.

“Dave had been fighting and been treated for flu-like symptoms for the past six weeks, but until now we were unaware of the seriousness of his condition. Since admittance into the hospital, he has had several blood transfusions, which he is responding to well, and has undergone several tests to determine what is causing his illness…

For us, canceling shows means not only disappointing our fans and missing out on what we enjoy most, but also going without income… we’ve already accrued over $29,000 in medical expenses and losses, and will be faced with

Sound Museum Celebrates 30 Years!

ongoing expenses once we’re home. We love being full-time musicians, but it can be a financially challenging lifestyle, and without health insurance or day jobs to fall back on, our situation is dire.”

And an updated note from MorganEve Swain, David’s partner in Brown Bird: “There have been several doctors on the case, and they now agree that Dave has a form of leukemia. Brown Bird will be on hiatus while Dave undergoes chemotherapy…we are staying positive and know that Dave is strong and will make it through this. Your generosity has not only helped us pay the immediate medical bills we were faced with, but also allowed us to set up medical insurance…it’s impossible to know how

Rehearsal Facility Keeps Bands Practicing

Walk down the halls of any of the five Sound Museum locations, and you’ll likely be treated to the textures of free jazz, sting quartets, and yes… obnoxiously guttural metal. No matter what the genre, Sound Museum Rehearsal Complexes have been catering to New England-area bands for 30 years now. The man behind it all? William 8 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

by Benjamin Ricci photo courtesy of William Desmond

Desmond, but you can call him “Des.” Desmond started Sound Museum in Boston’s South End, which wasn’t quite the elegant (read: pricey) neighborhood it’s become in the past three decades. Back then, Des’s mission was to provide affordable practice space to up-andcoming bands in the city. In fact, many credit Des

long we won’t be able to work; your donations now also go towards keeping us afloat while we have virtually no income.”

For more info and to get involved, please visit: www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser brown-bird-needs-your-help/60153

with the concept of warehouse-style rehearsal facilities. Too many local artists to count have called Sound Museum their home over the years, including Des’s daughter, singer/songwriter Casey Desmond, who eagle-eyed viewers will remember from her memorable appearances on NBC’s The Voice.

Their community in Central Square, Cambridge offers three new recording studios, CD duplication and mastering, not to mention an excellent location in the heart of the Hub’s music scene. At the Sound Museum, music comes first – it’s that simple. They offer a number of convenient locations, 24-hour access, security surveillance, parking, T-access, fully equipped sprinkler systems, and they mean it when they say they won’t be undersold in the Boston area.

Bottom line – if you’re a band looking to get out of the garage and find a more permanent, clean and affordable place to jam, look into the Sound Museum. You have 30 years worth of great company behind you…

For more info and rates, visit www.soundmuseum.net

NASHVILLE

Jeff Blaney

Singer, Songwriter, Entertainer

LOCAL NEWS

Get to know...

In Tune with Very Entertaining Records Nashville Label Caters to Great Indie Releases

by Brad Hardisty

interview and photo by Brad Hardisty Can you give us a brief background?

As of now I am publishing my music on my own, but I would welcome a publishing deal if the right thing came around. I’m wearing a bunch of hats right now, musically - writing and producing sessions - but I’m also a working musician here in Nashville. Co-writing, playing for tips, being a sideman on a session, club gigs...it’s all fair game right now.

Very Entertaining Records in came into being after Steven Crowder and Bill Davis collaborated on Davis’s first professional recording, Once Upon A Time, In Nashville... Since then, Crowder has provided his service and expertise as a sound engineer for all of the artists represented by Very Entertaining Records Davis says, “Shortly thereafter, my friends and band mates Charles Butler and Jeff Blaney made very entertaining records featuring many of the same musicians and the same recording engineer: Steven Crowder. It became clear to us all that we had a series of records that, though developed under

VENUE PROFILE

What are you trying to do in music?

I’m just trying to find the heart of the great melody. There is something very human about music, and certain songs bring out emotion in people whether they like it or not. I’m trying to tap into that.

Three current favorite local artists?

Other than my label mates (Charles Butler and The One and Only Bill Davis)...I’d say The Danberrys, The Howling Brothers, and Kevin Gordon.

For more info, visit www.jeffblaneymusic.com

For more info, visit www.veryentertainingrecords.com

The Building Near Five Points in East Nashville

Why should we know you?

I am a genuine modern day troubadour with disparate influences such as country, classical, blues, bluegrass, and jazz.

Top achievement?

Right now I’m excited that I got a song placed in a feature film that is currently in post production. I’m not sure when it will be released, but I’m looking forward to seeing it!

different creative control, were all made by mostly the same people. I already had a name, and neither Jeff nor Charles could deny that their records were, indeed, very entertaining.”

The current catalogue and artist roster pulls from jazz-infused-bluegrass to Americana and blues. Bands on the label currently include Charles Butler & Associates, Jeff Blaney, and The One and Only Bill Davis.

BOOKING INFO General Contact: Dave Oakleaf 1008 Woodland St. Nashville, TN (615) 262-8899 info@thebuildingnashville.com www.thebuildingnashville.com Open Road Mondays Contact: Dave Pahanish PAY POLICY Pay is negotiated in advance on a case-by-case basis with the artist’s representatives.

The Building, formerly known as Billups Art, hosts Open Road Mondays featuring three billed acts on Monday nights and open mic for music, poetry or just about anything afterwards. The building has become a hangout for celeb rockers like Dave Stewart as well as the cast of the Nashville TV series. The Building is located in an alley in East Nashville just south of Battered and Fried and holds between 75-100 people. The Building is also the official home of Music City Improv, who perform on the third Friday every month. The first Sunday of every month is a musicians swap meet. In addition to regularly scheduled events, the space is for rent.

The Building is BYOB. STAGE STATS The stage is 10’x14’ with a second tiered stage 8’x8’. A Schimmel grand piano is available.

The sound system features a Mackie ProFX 12x2 with monitor sends, Toa 380 hung cabinets, 3 wedges and a subwoofer system powered by Peavey CS 800 & 900 amps.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 9

RADIO PROMOTION (terrestrial, satellite, internet)

Dresden Dolls Bad Plus Girls Guns & Glory String Cheese Incident Esperanza Spalding Medeski Martin & Wood Steve Winwood Gov't Mule 311 Janis Ian Jim's Big Ego Stanley Clarke Umphrey's McGee Gretchen Parlato Miss Tess Mike Stern Soulive Maceo Parker PUBLICITY AND TOUR SUPPORT (print press and viral)

call: 800-356-1155 www: powderfingerpromo.com

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ARTIST

fishman.com

MINI

Forecastle Festival 2013 Preview Fest Founder Discusses Event’s Future & AC Entertainment Partnership

by Jason Ashcraft / photo courtesy of Forecastle Festival

In the world of music festivals, everything changes. Eventually. And Louisville’s annual mammoth-sized music, art and activism Mecca, Forecastle Festival, now in its 11th year, is no exception. The festival will once again take place on Louisville’s Waterfront Park, from July 12-14.

What started as a small neighborhood gathering in Tyler Park in 2002 has evolved into one of the Midwest’s largest platforms for musicians, artists and activists alike, with

tens of thousands flocking to the banks of the Ohio River each summer.

Last year, Forecastle founder JK McKnight announced a partnership with Bonnaroo producers AC Entertainment. “One of the biggest assets AC Entertainment brings to the table is experience, and the relationships that go along with that,” McKnight explains. “In addition, a laserlike focus heavy on festivals, which is different than concerts. Festivals are brands, and have to be approached in a different way.”

That approach has lead to a number of expected changes with the core management shift to AC. The most obvious - perhaps only to the Forecastle faithful - is the music roster, which is a bit light on Louisville-area artists when compared to years past.

“We’re always going to have a local and regional stage. I think that’s never going to change,” McKnight adds. “It’s part of our DNA. I think as the festival grows and expands, we’ll be able to use more real estate, which could open up more opportunities [for local artists],” he continues.

“This year I’ve put together a list of probably 15 to 20 local artists that I thought were really special and deserving of an opportunity like this.

These were artists that were really out there, touring constantly, pushing the envelope, building their brand. You can look at numbers and statistics, and see them growing in the market.

People are responding, which is what we want to see. We want something that catches our eye. If we see other people responding to it, that’s important. The festival’s not about our personal music tastes. I think that’s a misconception,” McKnight candidly comments.

A few of those carefully selected artists hailing from the Louisville area include My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, the up-and-coming folk-jammers Houndmouth, retro-rockers The Pass, the bluegrass-Americana sounds of 23 String Band, and the alt-country up-comers A Lion Named Roar.

As for the Forecastle headliners, festivalgoers will enjoy Robert Plant and his Sensational Space Shifters, The Black Keys, The Avett Brothers, The Flaming Lips, The String Cheese Incident, Outkast’s Big Boi, and Alabama Shakes (just to name a few).

Forecastle is also expanding beyond the festival’s official grounds with a number of late-night afterparty concerts at Louisville Palace and aboard the Belle of Louisville.

“Every year, the late-night component of the festival is always something that we think about,” McKnight explains. “This year String Cheese is doing the Saturday night at the Palace, which is the first year of its kind that the Palace has ever done. But yeah, the Belle of Louisville is an iconic venue. I don’t see us ever quitting that tradition of trying to do shows on the Belle. It’s a lot of fun!”

LOCAL NEWS

LOUISVILLE

To read the entire interview with Forecastle Festival founder JK McKnight, visit www.performermag.com. And for more on this year’s event, head to www.forecastlefest.com.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 11

VENUES THE BOTTLETREE CAFE 3719 3rd Ave. S. Birmingham, AL (205) 533-6288 info@thebottletree.com www.thebottletree.com If you are out-of-town band booking a tour, contact a band in Birmingham to help you get a show.

If your band has no history in Birmingham and no established crowd, it is very likely you could have literally no one show up to your show at the Bottletree. The venue highly encourages you have someone help build a good bill if you want to play the club.

No Southeastern tour would be complete without a stop in Birmingham, because it lies less than two hours west of Atlanta and not far from Tennessee music hubs including Chattanooga and Nashville. Not all acts pay close attention to Southern cities, especially acts that don’t fit stereotypical genres of country or hip-hop, but Birmingham has hosted the 13th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival honoring LGBLT films as well as the two-day Crawfish Boil, where Jane’s Addiction headlined in 2012. While the word Alabama may bring clichéd images to mind, Birmingham should be a stop on every band’s Southern tour.

-Ellen Eldridge

TOUR STOP

BIRMINGHAM, AL

ZYDECO 2001 15th Ave. S. Birmingham, AL (205) 933-1032 www.zydecobirmingham.com Since 1989, Zydeco has been a staple in Birmingham’s historic Five Points South business district. The second oldest entertainment venue continually operating in Birmingham, Zydeco prides itself on providing the best in live music, quality food and spirits and a great atmosphere.

THE FORGE 412 41st St. S. Birmingham, AL www.forgebirmingham.com The Forge is an all-ages music and arts space.

It is run by volunteers dedicated to providing a platform for creative expression and community interaction.

photo by David Wells

RECORD STORES CHARLEMAGNE RECORD EXCHANGE 1924 1/2 11th Ave. S. Birmingham AL (205) 322-5349 myspace.com/charlemagnerecordexchange RENAISSANCE RECORDS 2020 11th Ave. S. Birmingham AL (205) 933-8000 facebook.com/RenaissancerecordsBham

GEAR BAILEY BROTHERS MUSIC COMPANYINVERNESS STORE 4673 Highway 280 Birmingham, AL www.baileybrothers.com Bailey Brothers Music Company is a full-service retail store chain that serves the Montgomery and Birmingham markets. They offer a full lineup of music products and services to fit any age or skill level, and do it at prices that simply cannot be beat!

THE NICK 2514 10th Ave. S. Birmingham, AL (205) 252-3831 www.thenickrocks.com For over twenty years, the Nick has been recognized as the dark, dirty little secret on Birmingham’s south side.

PRESS BIRMINGHAM WEEKLY www.bhamweekly.com BIRMINGHAM365 www.birmingham365.org JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 13

SPOTLIGHTS

GENRE: Folk/Punk HOMETOWN: Atlanta, GA

THE WILD

by Ben Marazzi / photo courtesy of The Wild

ARTISTIC APPROACH: Punk-influenced folk recorded ‘au naturel.’

www.thewildatl.com

“IT IS A REALLY COOL AND RARE THING WHEN SOMEONE ELSE CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR VISION AND CREATIVE PROCESS AND HELP YOU TO ACHIEVE IT THE BEST THAT YOU CAN.”

Drawing influences from almost everywhere in the DIY scene, Atlanta (sort of) based band The Wild is an act to watch. With influences ranging from Phil Ochs, to Bright Eyes, to Crass, The Wild’s unique folk/punk sound has earned them opening spots on tour with the likes of Against Me!, The Queers, and Joyce Manor. In addition, they’re also alumni of the Florida “Fest” family.

Their most recent album, Dreams Are Maps, was recorded over a week with engineer Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!). Although in the past The Wild has worked with producers, for their latest offering they found themselves with such a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish, that they chose to self-produce the entire record. According to singer Witt Wisebram, the dynamic between The Wild and Laura Jane Grace came together naturally: 14 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

“I have always really respected Against Me! and Laura’s ideas, so I was incredibly honored that she was willing to work with us on this record. She was very precise with the engineering of the album, and I think she was able to help us create the best sounding recordings we have ever done. It is a really cool and rare thing when someone else can understand your vision and creative process and help you to achieve it the best that you can.”

By spending more time on this album than past efforts, the band, who prides themselves on fewer overdubs and catching performances in a more natural setting, was able to capture the “big” sound that their live shows are known for.

To add complication to The Wild, its members live all across the country (Atlanta, Lexington, Denver, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and

Massachusetts). A few years ago, when vocalist Dianna Settles got a scholarship to a San Francisco college, The Wild became more of a “touring” band.

She explains, “For the first couple years that we were a band, we were playing shows in Atlanta almost once a week. After a while, the most shows we played were while we were on tour. While it’s sort of a bummer sometimes to see some great shows happening out in Atlanta that we can’t play because of the distance, I think we’ve navigated being spread out pretty well.”

Dreams Are Maps is currently available from Asian Man Records. Check them out on tour in the U.S. this summer, or this fall at The Fest 12 in Gainesville, Florida.

T. HARDY MORRIS

HOMETOWN: Athens, GA

by Ellen Eldridge / photo by Cory Llewellyn

ARTISTIC APPROACH: Quiet rock tinged with Southern slide and visceral emotion. www.t.hardmorris.com

SPOTLIGHTS

GENRE: Ballad Rock

“I JUST WANTED TO DO A BARE BONES RECORDING TO FIT THE STYLE [OF THE MUSIC].”

Dead Confederate front man Morris added the initial T to his name in releasing his debut solo album, Audition Tapes, because it adds a touch more of the personal element that so viscerally exposes the relationships from his hometown. ”You’re just whoever you are,” Morris says.

He uses well the thoughts swimming around in his head to spark that connection all musicians must foster with fans to make an impact as an artist. Drugs, their use, abuse and effects litter this solo debut like a true cathartic shedding of skin, and the issues identified bridge the gap between styles of music and breed of fans.

Tinges of country round out the release, but the central theme on Audition Tapes appears in its

related content. “This album does have a pretty strong theme to it,” he adds.

Morris admits he didn’t realize the songs tied together quite so well until he found one that was “not the same theme that a lot of the songs were, about my hometown, and reminiscing on my youth in the hometown I grew up in.”

He continues, “If they’re conscious enough to listen to the album, the people some of the songs are about could potentially recognize themselves.”

The most striking aspect of Audition Tapes isn’t its theme, but rather the presentation of the ten songs as moments in time. Morris explains that he thought about using his fourtrack recorder to capture rough takes of the

songs, giving it more of a demo feel.

“I just wanted to do a bare bones recording to fit the style of ‘Audition Tapes,’ but then we thought about doing something filmed where we play all the songs,” he says.

Every year Morris looks through the Georgia Trust’s Places In Peril list because he has always felt intrigued by this country and

by Georgia, he says. The first filmed song to be released will be “Beauty Rest,” which was filmed at Rock House in Thompson, Georgia.

It’s a rough-cut video that visualizes the fleeting moments we each need to capture. “The album and the videos are both from a specific place and time,” Morris says. “We get to raise awareness to something I think is important.”

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 15

GAYTHEIST Why The Abrasive PDX 3-Piece Turned Its Drummer Into Their Frontman

by Benjamin Ricci

16 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

photo by James Rexroad

Gaytheist. Say it out loud. OK, did you get that out of your years later, they’ve just released their latest LP, Hold Me… system? Spin labeled them as “unfortunately named,” But Not So Tight on Good To Die Records, a killer follow which we think it absolute hogwash. One of the most up to their previous effort, Stealth Beats. abrasive, unique and dynamic vocalists to hail from the Pacific Northwest in recent memory, Jason Rivera has We caught up with Rivera recently to chat about the band’s known his fellow band mate Tim Hoff [bass] for over 20 recording process, songwriting collaboration, and why years, and Nick Parks [drums] for more than a dozen, but they’ve chosen to put their drummer front and center at the group only formally got together in 2011. Now, just two live shows.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 17

photo byDarren Higgins

ON MAKING THREE MEMBERS SOUNDS HUGE: “I’VE BEEN IN A COUPLE TWO-PIECES BEFORE, SO THE IDEA OF GETTING EVERYTHING TIGHT AND UNISON IS SOMETHING I LEARNED A WHILE BACK.”

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ON THE BAND’S NAME: “IT JUST MIGHT BE THE THING PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE THOSE 30 SECONDS TO GO ON YOUTUBE TO LISTEN TO A SONG.”

Gaytheist Hold Me…But Not So Tight Standout Track: “Stomach Pains”

Listen Now performermag.com

Who leads the creative process for the band – is that mostly you?

It’s me in so far as I write music at home, and I’ll show up at practice with my ideas. Tim and Nick will flesh it all out so we have an actual rock song.

Can you take us inside your songwriting process?

Sure. For the most part I just sit with my guitar – I’m a hands-on writer, I can’t read or write music, so I start with a riff and slowly form the concept of a song, and then I’ll come up with a vocal melody. Usually, before I’m done showing [Tim and Nick] a song, Tim will immediately plug in some lines, and Nick starts thinking about some drum stuff; they’ll start writing their parts and eventually we’ll have a fully worked out song.

So you bring them the framework, and everyone adds their layers to it.

Yeah – with Gaytheist I try to write for our drummer. I’ve been in other bands where I try to write all over the place, and I wasn’t thinking about everyone’s strengths in the band. This time around, I knew Nick was just this amazing drummer who goes insane and plays so fast, and so great. Everything I write is so loud and heavy that it just complements his style perfectly.

Interesting – I would think most bands in your genre write with more of a guitarbased focus…

We’ll have things where I’ll be, ‘You know, this is kinda the same tempo as another song…’ and before I know it, Nick will write a new drum part for it to make it sound unique. He saves me a lot from having songs that sound the same.

It can be very easy to sound the same, and what’s cool about you is that you don’t. Now how do you take such an abrasive sound to the stage with just three members?

I’ve been in a couple two-pieces before, so

the idea of getting everything tight and unison is something I learned a while back. So I think it works well – our live sound features very loud amplification so we can be heard over the drums.

I suspect Nick could kick us out and still pack places [laughs.] He’s our real frontman – when we set up live he’s up front on the stage. Tim’s an excellent musician; he plays bass in the band but he’s actually a lead guitarist. So his bass lines are very melodic and very full; he fills the space amazingly well.

So I find we can do these short little numbers and so much can happen in a minute, then we’re done. We keep ourselves entertained, and hopefully the audience, too.

Do you ever feel limited by having just three members?

I have in the past, but where I’m at now I’m very satisfied. And if I’m not satisfied, I have the ability to go put together something else and keep this going. But I’m so happy with the way this has been going, and we’ve been getting so much done that I’m really content right now.

press or anything like that?

The only thing I know for sure, when Stealth Beats came out, there was a little problem. Public radio flat out told the label they were hesitant to use our name. And someone brought up [the band] Fucked Up as an example. Fucked Up was getting press, and radio play – it was a very long, uphill battle for them, but they were doing it. I started this band under the pretense I’ve started ever other band, which is to have fun and not go crazy; although, this is the first project I’ve done where I’ve had other people coming to me with interest.

And once [our label] Good to Die got onboard, we knew we’d have to start to get serious and think about things like whether our name would hurt us.

We may have lost opportunities we didn’t even know about [with our name]. But in a way, the name…I constantly see people online say it’s one of the best names they’ve ever heard. So in some ways it might be the thing that gets our foot in the door with [listeners]. It just might be the thing people need to take those 30 seconds to go on YouTube to listen to a song. You know, ‘What on earth could Gaytheist sound like?’

For those of us on the East Coast who might not know the area so well, is the Pacific Northwest a scene in itself, or are Portland and Seattle and the stops in between separate scenes?

What are you guys excited about on the new LP?

Now, we have to address the band name.

From a career standpoint, has it ever presented a problem getting booked, getting

www.gaytheist.net

They’re separate scenes, but they need each other because the Northwest is so spread out…so you’ve got a three-hour drive between Portland and Seattle, with not much else beyond that. We rely heavily on each other – it’s not like the New York area where you could play 20 different cities and still sleep in the same bed at night. But here, you get to know people in Seattle and Seattle people get to know Portland people and we help each other out…

It’s actually pretty similar to our last album, since we recorded at the same studio. Stealth Beats was the best sounding recording we ever had, so we went back happily for the new one. We put the album together by just practicing the hell out of the songs. Money is always an issue, so we wanted to be ready for the studio and not waste time. This time around, it’s more involved than last [record], as far as the dynamics and changes, but I write a lot of music and we just like to jam on them. We got to where we had enough material to present a new album, and we hope you like it.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 19

DIY TRAVELOGUE: ON THE ROADWITH KRISTEN FORD

BOOKING

The first step to booking a tour is the routing. Routing is such a subtle art - the night of the week you play a market, the miles out of the way you might have to drive, the unexpected expenses you might incur (such as tolls - hello NYC!), a hot meal or a place to sleep - these should all factor into the routing.

I try to book shows no more than eight hours apart, with the average driving time around three hours. I draft up a booking request - short and simple: include what kind of music, the website, your game plan to make the show a success and leave your contact info. Ask for a range of dates (2-5) that could work. Avoid playing spots where you’ll only earn money after paying the sound guy and door guy (unless you can draw 200 people). The best spots pay out a guarantee, or have a built-in crowd, or will pay you a percentage of bar sales or at least give you a meal, some drinks and allow you to collect tips.

My favorite booking resource is a website called www.indieonthemove.com. Use Facebook - ask your out-of-town friends where they like to perform or see shows. Reach out to your touring musician friends; they might not mind sharing contacts if you ask nicely.

I would also encourage you to not book any days off. I did 28 shows in 30 days; it was tiring but every day I was selling CDs and earning money. On days off you still have to eat, sleep and get to the next gig – in other words, you’re losing money.

Booking the Euro leg was more difficult – this was my first time playing abroad, but my 8th fullscale tour in the States. I reached out to everyone I knew who had toured abroad - many of whom provided me with venues or promoter info. I reached out to my friends who lived in Europe - where can a girl play out there? Finally I turned to Google.

“Berlin folk venue” “Berlin original live music” “Berlin Rock Club” - you get the idea. Google Translate is also a powerful tool. I went to websites in several languages and emailed a translated booking request in the recipient’s native tongue.

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Plus Tips For Fellow Musicians on Booking Your Own Tours

Hello! My name is Kristen Ford and I play indie rock, both solo and with my band. I’m based in Boston, but over the past three years I’ve been playing over 100 shows a year all over the country. This spring I gave up the keys to my apartment, asked for a leave from my job and booked a two-month international tour on my own.

MANAGING THE TOUR

Before leaving I compile a “tour bible.” This contains info such as load in time, set time, length, PA information, compensation, contact person, addresses and phone numbers. I also add in driving times - departure time for the next day, and time zone changes. It’s amazing how much happier the band is going into a show where we know we’ll all be getting fed and two free drinks, versus starving on the highway and heading into the unknown.

It’s hard to keep up with deadlines, advancing shows, and interviews with press and radio.

Local bands sometimes bail or don’t promote the show. It’s key to reach out to the other bands, the club and your fans at least two weeks, a week, and a day before each HUGE event. Easier said than done when every day on tour feels like a big adventure. New friends, new clubs, new fans, a new city to explore - who cares about your Nashville show in two weeks? The tour manager does. And you are the tour manager. Now hydrate and get some sleep.

ON THE ROAD

Getting enough rest can be a challenge when

“I WOULD ENCOUR AGE YOU TO NOT BOOK ANY DAYS OFF. ON DAYS OFF YOU STILL HAVE TO EAT, SLEEP AND GET TO THE NEXT GIG – IN OTHER WORDS,

YOU’RE LOSING MONEY.” JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 21

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ON DIY TOUR PROMOTION: “NEW FRIENDS, NEW CLUBS, NEW FANS, A NEW CITY TO EXPLORE - WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR NASHVILLE SHOW IN TWO WEEKS? THE TOUR MANAGER DOES. KRISTEN FORD 2013 TOUR DATES 2/28 SOMERVILLE, MA 3/1 ROCHESTER, NY 3/2 YPSILANTI, MI 3/3 SOUTH HAVEN, MI 3/5 CHICAGO, IL 3/6 MILWAUKEE, WI 3/7 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 3/8 MADISON, WI 3/9 LAKE VILLA, IL 3/10 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 3/11 CHICAGO, IL 3/12 ST LOUIS, MO 3/13 IOWA CITY, IA 3/14 ST JOSEPH, MO 3/15 LUPUS, MO 3/16 COLUMBIA, MO 3/17 DICKSON, TN 3/19 NASHVILLE, TN 3/20 HUNTSVILLE, AL 3/21 AURORA, OH 3/22 DAYTON, OH 3/23 CANTON, OH 3/24 COLUMBUS, OH 3/25 PITTSBURGH, PA 3/26 NEW YORK, NY 3/28 BERLIN, GERMANY 4/4 BERLIN, GERMANY 4/12 KNITTLINGEN, GERMANY 4/13 KARLSRUHE, GERMANY 4/14 BARCELONA, SPAIN 4/15 BARCELONA, SPAIN 4/22 CAMBRIDGE, MA 4/23 CAMBRIDGE, MA 4/24 NEW YORK, NY 4/25 PHILADELPHIA, PA

AND YOU ARE THE TOUR MANAGER .”

the conditions vary so widely. A hardwood floor, a loveseat at a smoky party, a plush guest bed, a screaming toddler in the morning, an early drive, a delightful brunch after sleeping in…it really runs the gamut.

I’d encourage anyone on the road to bring a cooler and go to the grocery store - fast food is crap and it’s expensive. I swear by my instant coffee and a reusable mug, and every gas station has free hot water. Also bring some whiskey if you like to drink.

Not every club will give you free drinks and running up a bar tab every night will kill your budget for sure! So will a D.U.I., which could ruin the whole damn year. So find a D.D. or wait till you’re parked to party.

Merchandise is key! Keep your table well lit and well stocked. I usually sweep the audience with CDs and EPs in hand as soon as my set is finished.

From the audiences’ perspective, they may have enjoyed your music, but they don’t know how much the CDs cost or where to purchase them; they are engaged in conversation, so whatever the reason, go out there and sell sell sell. It’s your job. I also got Square, an immensely helpful credit card reader.

You should, too.

In Europe I only brought 25 CDs and quickly sold them out. I also had to modify my show to a backpack-friendly acoustic guitar and tambourine setup. My solo show is all about funny banter and audience participation. Getting in front of a nonEnglish speaking audience was scary and a huge challenge, but through it all the Germans and the Spanish were supportive and enthusiastic.

WHAT I LEARNED

The further out you book the tour, the less other acts have asked for the same date, the longer you have to confirm all the details, line up press and local musical support, and so on. If you were hoping to do a European tour and start a year out, you can make sure you have enough guarantees to cover your way before you even purchase the ticket. My European “tour” was much smaller than planned mainly because I waited until two months prior to get working.

KNOWING PEOPLE IS KEY…

I reached out an Irish pub in Karlsruhe (Germany) - twice. No response. A friend of my brother worked part time there and promised me a show; he called the owners to let them know I’d be coming and then I showed up a few days later on a packed, rowdy Saturday night. I had a great time.

TECHNOLOGY IS AWESOME…

My iPhone was in constant use in the States: GPS, checking email, taking credit cards, phone calls, adding new friends and bands to my Facebook and Twitter accounts immediately. I did not spring for the international phone plan, but I wish I had.

Lacking a GPS in Berlin, lacking a phone to confirm details with a venue, lacking the means to take credit card payments - all these things hurt me in Europe. Also some online tools such as Spotify don’t work well or at all abroad.

DO YOUR RESEARCH…

Booking a tour at the tail end of winter? Risky.

Luckily I faced no huge weather problems, but there could have been. In Nashville, I had a day off and expected to play an open mic. Who knew that Music City books open mics weeks in advance? I played a free show in Germany and was too nervous to ask what the payment policy was. A few nights later when I played again, the bartender gave me a fedora and I made 10 times as much.

To conclude: I think international touring is for everyone. Get yourself some merchandise, a website and polish up your live show. Make a route and then plan to go there a year, six months, even three months later. Get your vehicle checked out before you leave and get ready to have a kick ass time. It could be St Joseph, Missouri or Barcelona that’s your favorite - or it could just be the journey itself. Don’t forget to smile and enjoy every minute.

CONTACT ME

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, or want to share a show somewhere in the world.

You can hear me at www.kristenfordmusic.com and reach me at kristenfordmusic@yahoo.com.

Thanks to Performer for letting me tell my story, and Prost!

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 23

WIN KENDL

by Joshua James Amberson photos by Sarah Cass

24 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

The BanjoTotin’ Oddball on Being Shunned by Traditional Bluegrass Festivals, Going Solo & Taking Artists Liberties

Kendl Winter can exist in many worlds at once. In the last decade, the Olympia-based banjoist has served as one of the main songwriters behind the celebrated bluegrass outfit The Blackberry Bushes String Band, the chaotic folk punk band The Pasties, and the alt-country band Southern Skies. Along the way, she’s wailed in party punk bands, MC’d in humorous hip-hop groups, and played second guitar in a surf band.

While recording her latest solo album, she was training for an ultra-marathon.

When we talked, she was on her way to South

by Southwest (SXSW) and serving as the nightly entertainment for a pants company’s traveling road show. “Britches, Booze, and Banjos,” is the slogan of Tour de Pants, a road show put together by Red Ants Pants, a Montana-based company that makes work pants for women.

Touring around the U.S. in an Airstream trailer, Tour de Pants’ shows take place mostly in living rooms full of women with outdoor and manual labor jobs. The tour is, “like out of a Tom Robbins novel,” Winter says. Though she’s not new to life on the road, being on the road as a solo musician is new and a bit of a fresh start for Winter, after years of playing in bands.

This past fall, after eight years of playing and touring with The Blackberry Bushes, she left the group to put more energy into her solo music.

While she’s never stopped recording solo music, she’s never focused on it until now. Her upcoming

K Records release, It Can Be Done!, is the result of that focus. “It was really deliberate. It was the first time I’ve got to work on a solo album as my primary project,” Winter says. It Can Be Done! is her third outing on the legendary indie label, which is most well-known for spawning a very particular brand of lo-fi indie rock in the 1980s and ’90s. Winter’s new album, a more fleshed-out and higher-energy affair than her previous two K releases, works as an interesting crossover piece between two worlds that rarely interact – namely, indie rock and bluegrass. It’s what makes her music so unique and also what makes her an oddball in both indie rock and bluegrass circles.

At SXSW, she says she probably stands out not for her music, but as “the dirty girl over there.” At SXSW, “Everyone just looks really good,” Winter says, “and sounds really good and everyone is really polished in a way that I, um... well, I don’t pretend to be polished.” And perhaps it’s, in part, that lack of sheen that makes her music a natural part of the K Records family. While there aren’t many albums in their catalog that have bluegrass or country leanings, the majority of their releases value the heartfelt and powerful over the produced and polished.

In a catalog that has included a huge range of music - from Beat Happening and Mirah to Modest Mouse and Beck, punk and folk to funk and hip-hop – Kendl Winter’s love for creating music of all genres also makes her right at home at

NTER

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 25

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K. The label, famed for their unique DIY attitude, set almost no restrictions on the kind of album Winter could make and didn’t try to pigeonhole her or make her country into kitsch. “They’re really open to just helping me seek out what I’m looking for,” Winter says.

In 2009, The Blackberry Bushes took second place at the world famous Telluride Bluegrass Festival and for years the band has been a staple of the bluegrass festival circuit. Now that Winter’s on her own, though, and stretching the bounds of the genre, she’s finding some of those doors closed to her. “I definitely have been told that I can’t really play at some of the festivals I used to play at [with The Blackberry Bushes]. It’s not bluegrass enough,” Winter says. She takes this in stride, though, quickly adding, “Which is okay, you know, people have their likings. And there are people who are just trying to hold true to a tradition and I think that’s also very valuable and important.”

For anyone else, this split between worlds might be seen as a hurdle, but for a perpetual optimist like Winter it is a way of building musical bridges. “I see it as a way of connecting with a lot of different generations...having something familiar to share and then just kinda branching from that.” And despite the fact that her current music might not be welcome at all the bluegrass festivals, she’s not planning on losing her connection with bluegrass and old time music communities. “I’d like to keep my chops up for that because I think it’s so great to show up in the middle of a bunch of strangers and be able to play the same song. That’s amazing,” Winter says.

Immediately adding, “But it is really fun to be able to be like, ‘I feel weird, I’m just going to go into a rap.’ Or, ‘I’m just gonna play this melodic line I found that really makes me think of this’... It isn’t necessarily bluegrass.”

While playing solo isn’t completely comfortable for her yet, she’s getting more used to it. “It’s very vulnerable, and I feel very exposed, and my mistakes are a lot more obvious. But I also feel like I can kinda also control the energy in a way that I like and be flexible in a way I like,” Winter says. She has no shortage of opportunities to get more comfortable with it, with weekly solo shows around the Pacific Northwest in the coming months, a small tour of the Midwest, plus a handful of shows with her backing band, The Summer Gold. The summer months also find her traveling around to a number of festivals, ones that don’t mind her taking bluegrass to new places.

In August, she’ll be celebrating the release of It Can Be Done!, with release parties and tours to follow. Along the way, she’s planning on creating a potentially unlimited variety of creations as part of her Pantyhose Popscreen project. The name, taken from the common DIY home recording technique of using a pair of pantyhose as a pop screen on a microphone, basically serves as a catchall name for all things Kendl Winter. So far the name is mainly being used for her YouTube video series, but in the future will be used for 4-track home recordings, artwork, writings, ’zines, and anything else that becomes an outlet for her unstoppable creative energy. While she’s been touring for a decade and has participated in the recording of over 15 albums with a variety of groups, it’s clear that Kendl Winter is only just beginning.

www.kendlwinter.com

Standout Track: “The Sky Is Green”

Listen Now performermag.com

26 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Kendl Winter It Can Be Done!

ON GOING SOLO: “IT’S VERY VULNERABLE, AND I FEEL VERY EXPOSED, AND MY MISTAKES ARE A LOT MORE OBVIOUS. BUT I ALSO FEEL LIKE I CAN CONTROL THE ENERGY…AND BE FLEXIBLE.”

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 27

EMILY WELLS Re-Evaluating Creative Choices & Stripping Songwriting To Its Core

by Benjamin Ricci photos by Shervin Lainez

28 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 29

Emily Wells is an amazingly talented multiinstrumentalist who, even after finding success, decided to go back and re-evaluate her creative process and artistic choices, culminating with

W

the re-recording of her previous LP, Mama, as a newly imagined, haunting acoustic album. Mama – Acoustic Recordings shows the artist at her most raw, vulnerable state, and should be a lesson to all musicians to constantly question the choices you’re making, and your process as a whole.

We recently spoke with Wells about the decision to deconstruct her entire approach to making music. ..

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Let’s delve into the new acoustic record.

What drove you, creatively, to revisit songs you recorded fairly recently?

I think…curiosity was the main thing that got me going on this set of recordings. It was in no way meant to become a record. It was just me thinking, ‘What would this sound like played differently, or more quietly? How have my feelings about these experiences changed?’ And also, ‘Do these songs still stand up without a lot of production, things to hide behind?’ There’s no hiding when it’s just me and an acoustic guitar.

I just played an acoustic set yesterday, and I started thinking, ‘What have I done?’ [laughs].

But the same things that make it more vulnerable can make it more powerful for the listener.

What did you learn from this process?

I definitely learned that the way that you sing something develops its meaning or can change its meaning…sometimes you sing lyrics a certain way because it fits the tone of the production, but not necessarily the tone of the song.

Do you think other artists can learn, as well, from revisiting their own songs later on?

Sure. I think once a song has been experienced by an audience, it grows and changes, especially when you’ve sung it on the road a million times.

Once the record comes out, all those things give an impression to the song that you don’t [necessarily] have when you’re writing it. So absolutely, I think it’s an interesting experiment. It’s kind of like a remix, in a way. And I think remixes are very interesting, and I recommend other artists try them out.

With the acoustic version of Mama, I was incredibly strict, using only the tape machine. I mean, I did eventually bounce it to Pro Tools, but I was more of a purist than I had been with the original record. I was just going off the lyrics to produce it. I only allowed myself a guitar, vocals and a spring reverb - no digital effects, no nothing.

recording purposes, but for live purposes. I guess it’s in my nature to do something along those lines, and maybe that’ll just take different forms over time. But it won’t be, ‘For this record, I’ll go back and do this interpretation…’ or anything like that.

But I think that’s the nature of touring a lot, too, having to keep the songs fresh for myself.

Why do you still choose to record to tape?

Having done this experiment, do you think you’ll do anything different in the future, as far as your approach to making or writing music?

There’s a sound difference, a sonic difference, to me. It’s warmer, and it captures the sound of the drums in a way I prefer. And I actually like the way my voice sounds better on tape. But it’s not just sound, it’s also approach. I believe that limitations are really important in any creative process. But recording, in particular, with limitations you’re forced to do something in one take, or a straight take all the way through that you might have just overdubbed [otherwise]. You have to experience the song as you’re recording it. If you have the tricks, it’s hard not to use them sometimes.

So you embrace limitations as creative challenges.

Absolutely, I do!

You also changed up the track sequencing for the new version of Mama. What was the reasoning behind that?

The original record was sequenced chronologically, based on when the songs were written. I was really struggling with how to sequence it, and I actually ended up cutting about six songs from it. So what I initially envisioned was changing, and I loved it as a story, even though the listener

You know, I have to think they will inform the next record in some way. I have written the next record already. But it’s only in my head at this point. I’ve performed a lot of the songs, but I think having a focus on less production…the songs that I write lend themselves to a simple vocal with backing or just a strong beat and bass line and not a whole lot else going on. But also, I guess, it’s helped me to test out a song and see how it stands on its own, with just an acoustic guitar and me singing it.

It’s a testament to a song if it works acoustically just as well as with production.

To know that the songs are still good on their own must be rewarding.

It’s a bit of a relief! [laughs]

www.emilywellsmusic.com

“I BELIEVE THAT LIMITATIONS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT IN ANY CREATIVE PROCESS.”

From a recording standpoint, how did you approach the re-arrangement of these tunes to a more acoustic setting?

I have a Tascam 388, a tape machine, that I really love, that kind of looks like a giant 8-track reel-to-reel. I used that for both records; however, the first time around I had created samples and loops. I don’t use any MIDI or time-mapping, but I had some samples that I’d record directly into the tape machine, and all the rhythm, bass, all the essential backing tracks were done on tape, as well. And then, once I was finished with those, I’d send them all into Pro Tools and build [the track] from there. I didn’t really have a lot of limits - I allowed myself to do whatever came to be.

wouldn’t necessarily understand it as much as I would. With the new version of the album, throwing in ‘Los Angeles,’ the new song, I wanted that to be the third song right away. I have a theory about the third song, because I always seem to love the third song [on a record]. That was my favorite at the time, so it threw a wrench in the original chronological concept when I put it as track three.

Plus we are releasing [the acoustic LP] on vinyl, so I really wanted to think more about an A and B-side type of thing, as far as sequencing goes.

Emily Wells Mama - Acoustic Recordings

Do you think you’ll ever go back and reinterpret other music you’ve recorded?

at performermag.com

Standout Track: “Los Angeles”

Listen Now

I re-mix them all two or three times, not for JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 31

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Breaking Laces

PHILOSOPHY ON REVIEWS

Come Get Some

OUR REVIEW SECTION IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. We don’t use a numbered scale or star system, and we don’t feature music we don’t like. Instead, think of this as our top picks of the month. These are the new releases that we’re really enjoying, and that we recommend you check out. We also mix in a few of our favorite live shows, as well as books and videos from time to time. Listen to the music featured at performermag.com

Brooklyn, NY (Tenacity Records)

“Musical variety with a comfortable and inspiring theme” The surprisingly dynamic yet comfortably consistent album Come Get Some really made an impact on me right away with the band’s single “Better Than Me,” mainly because of the vocals.

Lead vocalist Billy Hartong has a unique tone with a developed range of belting and cleaner phrases throughout the album. The band’s sound has several outliers and changes song-to-song, but overall features an ambient, relaxed timbre because of its use of acoustic guitar in more than half the songs and the frequent use of soft synthesizers, organs, and piano in the background of the mix.

It is difficult picking tracks from the album to suggest because they are all so dynamically contrasting from each other. However, the softer tunes “When the Lightning Came,” “Post-Graduation March” and “Taking Us Home” are very enjoyable in a calming and nostalgic way. For ambient rock tunes, the tracks “Better Than Me,” “Be A Hammer” and “Before You Drown” really hit hard while still maintaining their cleaner tones and aspects. The record on the whole is much more diverse than most modern rock LPs, but at the same time maintains a comfortable, clean vibe.

fast, loud punk rock at its best. Bullet Treatment is everything that early LA punk and hardcore had to offer, just recorded on higher quality equipment. For those who downloaded the “new” Black Flag single and remembered that jam bands were absolute crap, go track down Ex-Breathers and smash your face into a brick wall for fun. Quite simply, Bullet Treatment is the truth.

Produced and Mixed by Paul Moak

Strong writing and excellent production always makes for a great recording. Cheyenne Mize seems to have the recipe perfected here with her latest release, Among the Grey.

The LP is very reminiscent, yet with a fresh touch, of a collection of pop-songs that are soulful with a psychedelic 1960s atmosphere. There is something special about the hypnotic tone and pacing throughout. The tracks are sewn together beautifully by Mize’s engaging and sweet voice with songs that display a subtle hint of Jim Morrison’s poetic structure and music of The Doors.

Mize’s tone and melodic arrangements engulf you; the spacious ambience of songs such as “Wouldn’t Go Back,” a somber ballad, and the record’s best track “As It Comes,” are indeed touching and reflective. Each song, however, delivers a genuine emotion. “Raymaker” is expertly woven “in the mix,” allowing the record to send your mood to a quiet state, and a journey of a soft lullaby in a nostalgic sense. Spacious, soft, soothing guitars nicely complement Mize’s airy, sultry vocals.

There is no “grey” area here. Cheyenne Mize’s spectacular collection is among those you should acquaint yourself with; this comes highly recommended.

Mastered by Adam Ayan www.breakinglaces.com -Andy Gabrielson

Bullet Treatment Ex-Breathers Los Angeles, CA (Basement Records)

“Cue circle pit in 3…2…1…”

Bullet Treatment is a unique band indeed.

With its only stable member being Chuck Dietrich, Bullet Treatment is a semi-super-group that consists of whoever is down to jump on a track (past members have drawn from Anti-Flag, Strike Anywhere, Suicidal Tendencies, Good Riddance, etc). Their latest recording is sort of a proper follow-up to 2006’s The Mistake (their 2009 release, Designated, was more of an experiment that featured one song played multiple times with different lyrics/vocalists on each version).

Ex-Breathers is eight songs, and clocks in at about nine and a half minutes. This is furious, 32 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Recorded at Basement Studios Mastered by Azimuth Mastering

Cody Beebe & The Crooks Out Here Seattle, WA (Self-released)

“Take the cover off your Mustang and grab some beer”

www.basementrecords.com -Ben Nine-K

Cheyenne Mize Among the Grey Louisville, KY (Yep Roc Records)

“Sweet and psychedelic, stormy and intimate”

Recorded and Engineered by Kevin Ratterman www.shinyplaces.com -Arthur Orfanos

Hailing from Seattle, Cody Beebe & The Crooks bring you the newest and the best in rock music. After a few member switches and up to 400 live shows, the group has just released their second album, and it is just as raw and real as the first.

With some songs featuring heavy electric guitar and others acoustic lullabies, this record has it all. It’s been a while since something this raw has been put out, and it’s an experience to fully take in.

Each of the songs have their own distinct sound, but specifically tracks like “Never Too Young” make you want to jump into a Mustang convertible and drive through the desert, passing a skull and bones as you weave through a field of cacti. In some of the songs, such as “Circle” and “Out Here,” you can’t help but feel a bit of a Southern buzz.

The diversity of this LP leaves you wanting to listen to it more and more. It’s not too much or too little of anything; in fact it’s the perfect balance of rock, acoustic, jazz and blues. This unique take on American patriotism leaves us with an album that deserves to be heard.

Produced by John Goodmanson Recorded at London Bridge Studio www.codybeebeandthecrooks.com -Hannah Lowry

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LIVE SHOW

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BOSTON CALLING MUSIC FESTIVAL May 25-26, 2013 City Hall Plaza – Boston, MA

by Candace McDuffie photography by Jason Speakman

Despite mirthless temperatures and the constant annoyance of rain, Boston Calling lived up to all of its hype and then some. The two-day festival boasted some of the biggest names currently dominating radio airwaves (Fun! Young the Giant! The National!). The city finally has something to call our own - and to be incredibly proud of. And judging by the fact the next installment is set to take place in September and boasts even bigger names (Vampire Weekend! Kendrick Lamar! Solange! Passion Pit!), Boston Calling shows no signs of slowing down. While all of the acts held their own during the festival’s debut, the stage presence each artist possessed falls into their own individual category.

having hip-hop’s freshest instrumentals serving as an intricate part of their set (“Niggas in Paris,” “The Next Episode,” “Move, Bitch!”), Matt & Kim’s feel was that of an EDM festival.

From confetti and balloon throwing to bumping and grinding to Kim confessing that her hair was a weave, it was clear that they were probably high on way more than life.

Here’s a brief rundown: Band That Surprisingly Stood Their Ground: Band Most Likely to Have Been on Bad Rabbits Something: Matt & Kim Being the very first band to perform could The duo had envious amounts of energy during their set (their intro consisted of tearing it have been stressful for the hometown heroes. up to French Montana’s “Pop That”). Despite But they did what they do best - rise to the occasion. Their funk was really the only way to ignite and HELP WANTED keep our spirits Booking Agents and Publicists for busy agency. high. And with television appearances Simon Says Booking is seeking qualified and experienced and a tour in the agents and publicists to join our team. We are experiencing works, it’s becomunprecedented growth and we need more ing pretty clear that experienced agents in our Orange, MA office. this will be the Year of the Rabbit.

Pay is commensurate with experience.

Band That Should Have Headlined at Least Send resume to phil@simonsaysbooking.com for review.

One Night of the Festival: The Shins

artist - The National No offense to The National or Fun, they are amazing, talented, and worth all the buzz [editor’s note – I still refuse to put the period at the end of Fun’s name], but The Shins have been around longer, paid their dues, and have never recorded a bad song throughout the span of their career. “Caring is Creepy” put the Garden State soundtrack on the map, and they are fantastic live performers. They did play the Main Stage, but Boston Calling could have done better than that.

Band That Headlined One Night of the Festival That Made Everything OK: The National Despite the disappointment surrounding The Shins not headlining the festival, the anticipation surrounding The National’s performance was massive. Closing out a stacked bill is like having the weight of the world on your shoulders - Matt Berninger’s shoulders, to be exact. The disturbingly brooding frontman is simply brilliant, and his onstage aura was creepy, yet irrefutably mesmerizing. From his bellowing screams to his hushed vocals, Berninger belted out a set list fit for a king. The band ended the night on a slightly morbid note with “Terrible Love,” but knowledgeable National fans wouldn’t have had it any other way.

www.bostoncalling.com

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LIVE SHOW

SHAKY KNEES FESTIVAL 2013 May 4-5 Atlanta, GA review by Lesley Daunt photography by Harold Sellers

From shaky knees to soggy shoes, the rain couldn’t keep fans away from this fantastic indie fest.

The skies may have burst open with torrential rains, but the sea of fans in ponchos and galoshes could not stay away from the inaugural Shaky Knees Festival. Named after the lyrics in My Morning Jacket’s “Steam Engine,” the two-day musi-ganza was the brainchild of longtime promoter Tim Sweetwood. The festival featured indie music heavyweights Band of Horses and The Lumineers, and consumed the entire Masquerade Music Park and Historic Fourth Ward Park lawn.

The festival had three stages set up. The North Ave. stage showcased more up-and-coming bands, while the Masquerade Music Park and Old Fourth Ward Park Stages seemed to share the more well-known acts. The small size and layout of the stages made it easy to catch all the bands, even those with the same time slot. A total of 28 acts performed over the course of two days, and despite the cruelty of Mother Nature, thousands of fans showed up to party. [Editor’s note - for a more comprehensive review of the ENTIRE two-day festival, including an extensive photo gallery and more mini-reviews, visit performermag.com.]

34 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

MINI-REVIEW: VINTAGE TROUBLE

MINI-REVIEW: DELTA SPIRIT

If James Brown and Led Zeppelin had a baby, it would be this band. Even though it was a fullon monsoon by their second song, the boundless energy that Vintage Trouble [pictured, above] brought to their live performance was electrifying.

Singer Ty Taylor’s voice delivered a soothing energy while he was twirling and dancing at once.

Guitarist Nalle Colt shredded with some serious soul, while bassist Rick Barrio Dill’s booming lines got the muddy crowd moving. Drummer Richard Danielson rocked the beat while simultaneously rockin’ a killer Yosemite Sam mustache.

Each song set the crowd into a frenzy of movement, mud-be-damned. Taylor proved a little rain was nothing as he jumped down into the soaked audience during “Soul-Pit,” singing “get down to the ground now” and interacted with the ponchoclad masses.

It’s easy to see why they supported The Who on their last tour, and why they are opening for the Stones this month.

Delta Spirit is most known for their intense live performances, their congregational songwriting, and their driving rhythms.

After watching them perform, it became clear why. Frontman Matthew Vasquez, guitarist William McLaren and bassist Jon Jameson were all headbanging and flailing with such slaphappy grins on their faces that the euphoria emanating from them became utterly infectious.

No matter how much you’d like to pigeonhole them, you simply can’t. Some call it rock, some call it modern rock, some say folk with a twist.

One thing is evident; even if you only slightly like Delta Spirit, it is worth seeing them live.

For more, visit www.vintagetrouble.com.

For more, visit www.deltaspirit.net.

www.shakykneesfestival.com

Satisfying night of technical math rock.

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LIVE SHOW

TTNG May 1, 2013 / Brighton Music Hall - Allston, MA review and photography by Matt Lambert It was May 1st and Brighton Music Hall was fairly packed for a weeknight. By the end of New Hampshire band Comma’s opening set, the crowd got as close to the stage as they could to see TTNG, formerly known as This Town Needs Guns (an inside-joke commentary on their hometown seemingly having no guns in it, changed due to current gun controversy.) As the UK power trio (also a new development) took the stage, the crowd started cheering them on even during instrument level checks. Bassist and new lead singer Henry Tremain (joining when original TTNG singer Stuart Smith left two years ago) smiled, saying, “You guys are crazy.”

Due to the technical nature of their songs, the band was extremely fun to watch. Their music is quite busy, with constantly changing time signatures and tempos, but despite so much going on, the vocals tended to make the songs very relaxed. During one song, Tremain slung a guitar under his 6-string bass to interchange instruments with ease, recreating the feel of a foursome while giving the crowd something unique to watch. Lead guitar player Tim Collis was the highlight, though - endlessly tapping his fretboard and displaying truly virtuoso guitar playing. Their set was mostly split between their latest effort, 13.0.0.0.0 (released this past

January) and their 2008 debut album, Animals.

Sargent House label mates Tera Melos headlined, taking the technicality of TTNG in new directions with ambitious song structures and zany stage props. It was fun to watch and served as the icing on the cake; all in all, this was a great show to kick off the summer season.

www.ttng.net

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LIVE SHOW

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VERGE OF BLISS May 18, 2013 The Basement Atlanta, GA

review and photo by Gail Fountain

36 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Power trio crafts an original hard and heavy tribute to rock idols.

Verge of Bliss is a trio named after two of its band members, Virginia and Trey Bliss, who are respectively the singer/bassist and electric guitarist of a band that also includes drummer Stuart Gussman. Assembled on the first hot, humid night of May at The Basement, an East Atlanta club, they paid tribute to their rock idols during original songs that were heavy and at times progressive.

Virginia Bliss’s vocals were strong within her low alto. She kept the music bottom-driven via her Alembic Series One Bass, which was heavy in the mix - similar to Rush’s Geddy Lee (perhaps the inspiration for the fifth song in the set, “2210”). Trey Bliss used Pete Townsend-style windmill guitar moves and Jimmy Page-style pointing moves to indicate the talents of his band mates, occasionally jumping or bending down

with his long legs as tribute to his early rock idols.

His guitar work blended into the songs well as he switched smoothly from rhythm to short solos on his Les Paul. Gussman showed flair on his Gretsch Catalina kit, playing well-structured and varied rhythms, as well as a featured solo at the beginning of “Plaything” as Virginia prepared to play a small keyboard on her shoulder during the song. On “Learning to Swim,” Virginia only used a tambourine, showing off her vocal range and fabulous screams while the other band members made excellent use of pauses. The night’s best songs were “Calliope” and a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”

www.vergeofbliss.com

Funkincense Brooklyn, NY (Electric Cowbell Records)

“Funky grooves that send your booty on a shake odyssey” On its face, the second full-length release from CSC Funk Band seems like a straightforward funk album. But closer scrutiny reveals Funkincense to be as enigmatic as the pungent smoke rising, in coy billows, from a stick of Nag Champa.

Musically, CSC delivers exactly what their name promises: low-down, dirty grooves that will send your booty on a shake odyssey. Guitarist and bandleader Colin Langenus is less George Clinton and more Fela Kuti, placing the horn section front and center in his arrangements and pushing the boundaries of funk. The music reflects the diversity and frenetic pace of Brooklyn, the band’s hometown. The songs, all instrumentals, run the gamut from slinky lounge grooves (“Klip Winger”) to hip-hop inspired beats (“Make Your Mind Up”), to jazz fusion (“Ticket to Cabo”), reminiscent of ’70s groups like Catalyst or even Can. All this seems to be just what one would expect not to have expected from a hip, NYC party band. But the music hides a mystery. The band chose to drop this eagerly awaited second album amidst the hoopla of Record Store Day on the small label Electric Cowbell, instead of New York hip-hop label Fat Beats, which released their debut. Why is CSC playing it so close to the vest?

Is more material soon to follow? All we can do is keep our noses turned towards Brooklyn until we catch a whiff of more funky stuff.

Produced by Jesse Lent Engineered by Colin Langenus and Gary Lubansky www.facebook.com/CSCfunkband -Eric Wolff

The Hems Those Early Years Austin, TX (Self-released)

“Attractive, distinctive modern folk duet” Hugely rich in Appalachian folk textures, The Hems deliver a savory ten-song record, soothing in approach and amiable in feel and mood. The Hems are a delightful duet from Austin, TX - folk songwriters with style and aplomb who can craft riveting songs with the best of their genre-mates.

“Those Early Years” and “Honey Twist” are compelling and upbeat. The guitars are intricately woven, and the harmonies are beautifully spun, rich and fervent. Each song flourishes with themes of folk-style Americana, such as the mesmerizing “Dreams Will Do” and the haunting “Dogwood Tree,” a powerful anthem sure to rock any amphitheater.

The clarity of the production is remarkable, the energy captivating throughout each listen.

It’s fascinating to proudly hear striking acoustic solos between the choruses, and it’s wonderful to savor the music’s feel-good heart through the album’s striking melodies. Fiendishly difficult to perform, The Hems make each arrangement sound effortless. The overall beauty of the music is richly fervent as the tunes really bounce, light on their feet. A charming folk record.

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CSC Funk Band

Engineered and Mixed by Andre Moran Recorded at Ohm Studio, Austin Mastered by James Hoover www.facebook.com/TheHemsMusic -Shawn M. Haney

The Idan Raichel Project Quarter To Six Kfar Saba, Israel (Cumbancha)

“United colors of dance-a-thon” The seventh album from this rhythmic alliance wraps the core of Eastern energy and Red Sea revelry with a bow of Western sensibilities and a power-pop state of mind.

Quarter To Six truly is world music, featuring musicians from a cornucopia of nationalities across the Middle East, Europe and Asia with Raichel singing in myriad of languages.

As the Project’s sound pulls heavily from traditional Arabic and bubbling Indian styles, it tactfully incorporates elements of Western pop in the form of soft piano/guitar ballads like “This Wind” and Latino-fusion tracks like “Closer Now” and “Behind My Soul.”

Atop a melodic melee and rhythmic powerhouse, the album’s lyrical content ambles in multiple languages, but is united through a thread of compassion and spirituality, with Raichel’s croons sounding both endearing and vulnerable.

If music is indeed the international language, then Raichel is on track to becoming one of the world’s top linguists.

DRUM LESSONS with DEAN JOHNSTON

www.IdanRaichelProject.com

617.388.5395 themightydux@gmail.com

-Taylor Haag

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CALL OR WRITE FOR A FREE EVALUATION BOSTON, MA

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Jesse Harris Borne Away New York City, NY (Secret Sun Recordings)

“Intriguing acoustic compositions, a champion songsmith” Borne Away is a delightful record composed by veteran troubadour Jesse Harris.

The album consists of 14 songs of shorter length, buzzing with vitality and charm. Each track is masterfully crafted, with intriguing lyrics and magical melodies. The chord progressions used for the guitar are top notch, as the album is wonderfully produced, mixed and mastered with the help of Pat Dillett and Stephen Marcussen.

The title track (and opener) expresses joy through peaceful acoustic guitars. “Stray Dog” features touching and somber Hammond B3 organs. “Black Orchid” is a wild and mesmerizing piece, complete with haunting guitar arrangements and trance-like lyrics, a definite highlight of the album and a unique composition.

“Do You Really Love Him?” is a throwback to the best of Bob Dylan, and an amiable little number. With other compelling arrangements like those found in “The Pain Has Just Begun,” Harris candidly displays a beautiful imagination, succeeding in producing songs one by one with delight and surprise, rewarding the listener. Such a splendid experience, Borne Away is a treasure to behold, full of lightness of character, and songs that radiate with witty clarity.

Recorded and Mixed by Pat Dillett Mastered by Stephen Marcussen www.jesseharrismusic.com -Shawn M. Haney

Jo Henley The Fall Comes Early Boston, MA (Self-released)

“Intimate exploration of beauty and the nature of life” This very acoustic-focused album was produced following the passing one of the band member’s fathers, and is a beautiful collection of songs that explores the themes of nature - such as life, death and everything in between. Although it’s a more melancholy record, The Fall Comes Early highlights the strengths of Jo Henley. It also showcases the strengths of the band that many of their past albums touched upon.

Between the beautiful lyrics, the tangible 38 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

emotions and the top-notch musicianship, the album earns itself a place on the shelf in any country-lover’s music room. The Fall Comes Early places a heavy emphasis on acoustic guitars with minimal electric highlights. But, the country roots are not lost in this album. In fact, they’re extremely potent on tracks like “Never Can See the Sun.” Making the album that much more intimate, the track list is wrapped up with the instrumental acoustic number “Amazing Grace.” It’s a beautiful conclusion to a beautiful album that discusses issues that are very real to the artists who composed the music. With such fantastic musical features and such prominent lyrics, The Fall Comes Early is an album that can’t be passed up.

Produced by Tim Lynch and Jo Henley Additional Engineering by Rick Sullivan www.johenley.com -Hannah Lowry

Joanna Gruesome Do You Really Wanna Know… b/w Lemonade Grrrl Cardiff, UK (HHBTM Records)

“Indie-punk-rock hearts reverb” Joanna Gruesome is female fronted lo-fi indie pop from across the pond. This is a 7” EP - so only two songs, but definitely worth a listen. Side A is an up-tempo pop rock tune called “Do You Really Wanna Know Why Yr Still in Love With Me?” A good, solid 3-minute rock song filled with a lot of guitar and pounding drums.

My only possible complaint here is that there’s so much reverb and mud on the lead vocal that it’s a little hard to make out the lyrics. This track ends with a double time finale and then it’s on to Side B for “Lemonade Grrrl” (please note the three r’s). This track is a little more “punk” sounding than the A Side, but still definitely more indierock than “Mohawk.” The reverb-laden vocals continue throughout. Again, Lan MaCardle’s voice sounds great, I only wish it was a tad more articulated and slightly higher in the mix. Word is Joanna Gruesome has a full-length album in the can and ready to go. It should be interesting to see what this group delivers next. joannagruesome.bandcamp.com -Ben Nine-K

WANT TO BE FEATURED AS A TOP PICK? SEND US YOUR MUSIC! EDITORIAL@PERFORMERMAG.COM

Jon Hopkins Immunity Wimbledon, England (Domino Records)

“Club-friendly, yet intimate at once” Jon Hopkins matures more with each release, and Immunity is at once his most club-friendly and most intricate record yet. Hopkins molds electronic beats into delicate shapes that become more nuanced the deeper they are listened to.

These tracks use time as a compositional tool, building layers and harmonies gradually as your body acclimates to the heavy pulse running through them.

The first single, “Open Eye Signal,” is a perfect example, starting with an airy glide that falls into the background as heavy bass and drums pull the focus onto themselves, setting the tone for the next eight minutes as these basic elements evolve into new sounds and patterns that will keep a listener’s head transfixed and hips swaying. Immunity is a long player, a record to put on and let wash over you like sunshine on the beach, while your mind drifts listlessly within itself. Memories and imagination flirt and dance around each other, blurring the line between what was real, what was wished for, and what could have been. This is a record for late nights driving with the windows down, for the hottest summer heat, for realizations and redemption. www.jonhopkins.co.uk -Garrett Frierson

Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood Black Pudding Los Angeles, CA (Ipecac Recordings)

“Unconventional, emotive landscapes of sound and lyricism” There is an incomparable intensity encompassing Mark Lanegan and his signature bluesy baritone-filled melancholia. With his sin-soaked voice and lyrical depth that knows no bounds, he is hauntingly seductive, a quality that he has undoubtedly perfected, and continues to expand upon. When combined with the legendary Duke Garwood’s treasure trove of instrumental accompaniments – which include the slow building of an acoustic guitar, a violin, and even a sitar – the result is an intimate, timeless record that epitomizes the definition of cult classic.

Consider the all-too-familiar theme of “War Memorial,” Lanegan’s first-person narrative of a

Recorded at Pink Duck, Burbank by Justin Smith “Last Rung” Piano Recorded by Strat in Prestwich Mixed by Alain Johannes at 11AD, West Hollywood www.marklanegan.com -Julia R. DeStefano

Pretty & Nice Golden Rules for Golden People Boston, MA (Equal Vision Records)

“Abstract, melodic, beautiful pop-art rock” Pretty & Nice’s debut album, Get Young, was full of antsy energy and manic rhythms that gave them national attention and made the musicians Boston’s sweethearts. Of course in theory, executing a follow-up that would prove just as endearing would be a terrific feat. But Pretty & Nice had no problem rising to the occasion.

On Golden Rules for Golden People, the boys still possess a pummeling sound but added on more sophistication and introspection for good measure. Each track has its own personality; tunes like “Kill The Beast” and “The Frog” are as equally abstract as they are melodic as they are beautiful. The bravado of “Money Music” is enchanting yet daring; it challenges the listener not to dance after hearing just a few seconds.

Golden Rules serves as a delightful affirmation of something Pretty & Nice fans already knew: they are just getting started.

LIVE SHOW

Twenty years ago, The Breeders released their critically acclaimed album, Last Splash.

They recently celebrated with a tour playing it front-to-back every night, stopping at Boston’s Royale on May 9th. After a guitardriven opening set from Brooklyn’s Parquet Courts, tremendous anticipation grew for the Deal sisters and crew. The lineup was the same as that on the album: Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson also with Carrie Bradley (from Ed’s Redeeming Qualities) on violin.

Although the set obviously wasn’t full of surprises, there were still a few, like the appearance of Tanya Donelly, who sang additional vocals on “Do You Love Me Now?” or when bassist Wiggs swapped duties with drummer Macpherson to keep things interesting on “Roi.” And of course there was a second microphone on stage so that Kim Deal could have that classic, affected vocal on their biggest hit, “Cannonball.” The band played like they were part of every song. They also appeared to be having the time of their lives - not afraid to laugh at themselves or to let their individual personalities show, all while playing a great live version of a landmark album.

After a break, they came back to perform an encore to a roaring crowd. Most notably was a version of the Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” performed with Donnelly and plenty of laughter, as it proved to be full of unintended improvisational playing and singing. The night ended with the dark “Don’t Call Home,” that left fans salivating for more. Look for The Breeders to continue this tour into the fall, including stops at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle and Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, NC.

THE BREEDERS

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fallen soldier, complete with gruesome imagery that could fit easily within the pages of All Quiet on the Western Front: “…saw a squad of deserters hung from an oak / saw officers shot from their saddles / through driving snow and black smoke,” while the majesty of “Death Rides a White Horse” finds a tiresome but resilient Lanegan daring the Grim Reaper to take his life: “slide the needle in until it doesn’t hurt.” The most intriguing shift occurs with the Howlin’ Wolf and James Brown-inspired “Cold Molly,” in which Lanegan’s innuendos drip with sensuality in his urgency: “make my rooster crow,” “love me each and every way,” and “come out and play.” Such interplay from dirge to electronic-flavored funk is perfectly placed, and further evidence of the magic that is this duo.

May 9, 2013 Royale –Boston, MA review and photo by Matt Lambert

www.thebreederslsxx.com

Recorded by J Mendicino and Holden Lewis Mixed at Tiny Telephone, San Francisco Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, NYC www.prettyandnice.com -Candace McDuffie

Performing an entire classic album from continued on 40

front to back.

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LEEDZ EDUTAINMENT SHOW OF THE MONTH

Secret Colours

DANNY BROWN

Peach Chicago, IL (Self-released)

“Throwback LP that connects multiple generations” Secret Colours has perfected the balance between Britpop and psychedelic ’60s sounds.

Hailing from Chicago, they’ve just released a new album called Peach, which is the exact representation of their declared genre: indie rock and psychedelia.

This album is a perfectly-orchestrated mix of the music our parents listened to, and the music that is secretly taking over the scene today. With a heavy emphasis on electric instruments and a generous use of distortion pedals, Peach puts you right back in the decade of Woodstock and tie-dyed t-shirts. Great throwbacks include “My Home is in Your Soul” and “Legends of Love.”

This album still connects with today’s generation, though, as there is still a level of indie rock that lingers in each of the songs. One example is “World Through My Window,” which features a heavy guitar lead and some chill symbols and drum fills.

This is a must-have album for all the reasons above and more. The tracks feature a very laidback sound that goes hand-in-hand with the LP’s theme, and the album, as a whole, connects with multiple generations, something most bands find increasingly difficult to do.

LIVE SHOW

Unprecedented energy and calculating flow; sadly, no onstage fellatio :(

May 9, 2013 The Middle East Downstairs – Cambridge, MA review and photo by Candace McDuffie

Despite the controversy that Danny Brown likes to bathe in (from his openness regarding a drug-riddled past to recently receiving fellatio onstage), his reputation as a performer is a ferocious one. His energy is unprecedented in its purest form - the cadence in which he delivers bars can best be described as sheer madness.

Choosing the artist Kitty (formerly known as Kitty Pryde) as the opening act for this tour was an interesting move. The ardency surrounding “Okay Cupid” is baffling. Sadly, her songs are forgettable and mind-numbing - but what she lacks in talent she makes up for in energy. The songs in her set kind of bled together, but it was clear she was having a ball with what she was doing (as

40 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Produced by Brian Deck

highlighted by her uncontrollable laughter throughout songs, screaming out certain lyrics, and the endless crowd banter).

Danny Brown’s approach was a little more calculated. There was no goofing off, no sloppiness, no asinine crowd engagement. He was all business as he started things off with “Jealousy” to prep us for what was to come.

Brown strolled through his catalogue like he was a man on fire - leaving little time to breathe, let alone talk, between tracks. “Black Brad Pitt,” “Piss Test,” and “Blunt After Blunt” were quickly consumed by ravenous onlookers who knew every word to every line the MC recited. With all Leedz shows, the vehemence of the audience was palpable as it quickly morphed into makeshift mosh pits and bottles of water being thrown into the hot, sweaty venue. But for Danny Brown, it was probably a tame show compared to what he’s used to.

www.twitter.com/XDannyXBrownX

Recorded at Engine Studios, Chicago Mastered by Richard Dodd www.secretcolours.com -Hannah Lowry

T. Hardy Morris Audition Tapes Athens, GA (Dangerbird Records)

“Rolls along like a memory of a dream you almost forgot” As Dead Confederate fans digested the newly released In The Marrow, letting that sink into their bones and fatten their bellies, frontman T. Hardy Morris prepared for his debut solo release, Audition Tapes, on which he provided a solid and stable home for his songs that fit nowhere else. continued Morris has successfully creon 43 ated content that stands on its

Cali Giraffes

MONTH

All My Life b/w Lazy Days

of the

Seattle, WA (Fin Records)

TOP PICKS

VINYL

“Killer pop with spunk and spit”

Cali Giraffes consists of Kim Warnick (The Fastbacks, Visqueen) and Mikey Davis (Alien Crime Syndicate, Little Hearts), and thank God these two talents have collided. Did you dig Letters to Cleo or Veruca Salt back in the ’90s?

Then you’re gonna go absolutely apeshit for this new 7-inch. The A-Side, “All My Life,” is catchy as hell, features head-bobbing refrains and will induce a new wave of My So-Called Life nostalgia in even the most jaded hipster.

Flip the disc and Davis takes over the vocals quite nicely, leading the listener to a Lemonheadsinduced dreamy haze (it’s no coincidence that ’Heads frontman Evan Dando was initially in the group, and is considered the catalyst for the duo’s continued musical connection).

Got five minutes and a love for indie pop?

Then throw this on the turntable, bust out that Blind Melon t-shirt and get ready to watch that Blossom DVD box set you’ve been waiting to tear open. Whoa!

Produced & Mixed by Matt Bayles Mixed at Red Room Mastered by Ed Brooks at RFI Format: 7-inch Speed: 45 rpm Color: Clear Blue Vinyl Limited Edition: 500 Units Pressed www.caligiraffes.fourfour.com review by Benjamin Ricci photo courtesy of Fin Records

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 41

TOP PICKS

LIVE SHOW

Genius-level musicianship performed with laserlike focus.

THE VEILS May 6, 2013 Café 939 – Boston, MA review and photo by Candace McDuffie

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The trepidation that encircles a Veils show is wholly foreseeable. Each album they’ve concocted has been an incomparable work of genius - their musicianship remains unmatched by any of their British counterparts. Their most recent record, Time Stays, We Go is a solid nod to their efforts. Although it is their first new album in four years, The Veils haven’t missed a musical beat. And at Berklee’s Red Room at Café 939, they seemed surprisingly at home. They were strongly focused, and as they opened their set with “Train With No Name,” everyone in attendance perked up their ears.

The band rhythmically bopped along, covering old and new material at every turn. The excitement regarding performing Time Stays was understandable, so gems like “Birds,” “The Pearl,” and “Sign of Your Love” were executed with classic rock fervor. As lead singer Finn Andrews admitted the silence in the room made

him feel uncomfortable (“as if this were VH1 Storytellers…”), he stoically marched on as Nux Vomica favorites “Not Yet” and “Calliope!” were nice surprises for those more familiar with their catalogue. And although onlookers ranged in age, they had no problem shouting out certain songs they were dying to hear, observing The Veils’ charisma respectfully, or just moving to their sounds.

As Andrews, whose face was nearly swallowed by his trademark hat, ended the evening with a solo acoustic rendition of “The Tide That Left and Never Came Back” from their debut, The Runaway Found, it was clear that he appreciated us as much as we appreciated him.

www.theveils.com

A Million Pardons

Fayuca

Best Laid Plans

Barrio Sideshow

Omaha, NE

Phoenix, AZ

Genre: Orchestral Indie Rock

Genre: Latin Ska

The debut title-track “Love of Mine” is one of the catchiest. The song enters with a swaggering rhythm and misty vocals, which give way to a sweet, nearly-shoegaze guitar groove. Coupled vocals warm the verse and feature call-andresponse and textured layers. When the chorus hits, the duo steps into its strongest form, singing jointly, “Love of mine / Run from me / Save your love for better company.”

“Call Me When You Can Be You” transitions smoothly and bubbles in colorful hues, near-conversational lyrics and a devastatingly hooky chorus, which builds into a shimmering finale. Simple songwriting maintains and offers the greatest strength and signature for this robust debut.

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EDITOR’S PICKS

Engineered by Benjamin Leon Recorded at Shady Elm Studio

own yet alongside the psychedelic sounds of Dead Confederate and the supergroup side project Diamond Rugs. His vocals resonant undeniably; fans will know him when they hear him, but this collection of songs explores deeper waters with the prolific songwriter.

The debut speaks of the friends Morris left behind in the town where he grew up; the same friends we categorically have in life: those who learn from their dabbling and those who drown.

Though the entire album rolls along like a memory, striking emotional as well as musical chords, the sad quality of “Beauty Rest” comes through in tone and in the video for the “Places In Peril” series. The three musicians stand like a moment of time encased by the Rock House in Thompson, Georgia, singing about that time when we get our beauty rest. The imagery of the historic house is juxtaposed against the idea that self-destruction makes one ugly, but rest revitalizes, and the song, as does the album, hints at death as the ultimate chance to rest.

realistic for a moment here, when Blink-182’s career-defining Enema of the State was released, one of the members of 3PM was 2 and one of them was 1.

This is possibly why the group is so quick to fly the flag of bands like Good Charlotte (a group who, for those who were there, was sort of a fourletter word during their peak). This isn’t a bad thing, just an interesting note on the potential for “timelessness” from the genre’s early albums.

Again, this is millennium-era radio-ready poppunk that completely bypassed the hardcore influence that crept up on bands like New Found Glory later in their lifespan (meaning fans of Set Your Goals or A Day to Remember can skip this one). Fans of Blink-182 should check out the riff at the top of “You Can Only Find Her in the Safari Zone,” and those who sided more with New Found Glory can get their fix with “Your Best Mistake.”

Recorded at Buzzlounge Studios by Eric Taft www.3pm-music.com -Ben Nine-K

Produced by Cosmic Thug (Adam Landry and Justin Collins) Recorded at Playground Sound, Nashville

Vic and Gab

www.t.hardymorris.com -Ellen Eldridge

Love of Mine Milwaukee, WI (Dame Café)

3PM Change of Plans Baltimore, MD

“Bubbling, guitar-fronted, harmony-heavy sister rock”

(Self-released)

“B’More boys sing songs about girls who might be twice their age” Some initial thoughts on 3PM: Unapologetic pop-punk from a very young group of dudes in B’More. Catchy guitar pop in the vein of early Blink-182 and (very) early New Found Glory.

Definitely reminiscent of the radio circa 2000.

Due to the musicians’ ages (ranging from 15-21) one could maybe call this vintage. Let’s be

Milwaukee natives Victoriah and Hannah Gabriela Banuelos (Vic and Gab) use their sisterly voicing for startling harmonic effect. The singers meld their sound further with liberated instrumentation, in the vein of jangly mid-’90s pop (think Wedding Present, Life Without Buildings and Tegan and Sara). Electric guitars weave the front and smoky harmonic embers unite the back.

Love of Mine is a marvelously catchy release; the duo has a strong grip on hooks and melody, which are awakened by foot-stomping percussion and clean, chirping electric guitar rhythms.

Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC by Jay Franco Produced by Vic + Gab and Benjamin Leon www.vicandgab.com -Christopher Petro

Wonderflu No End in Sight Paris, France (Influenza Records)

“Rough, gritty indie rock of Parisian descent” No End in Sight is riddled with intense and piercing guitar riffs, thumping percussion and raw vocals. The band draws on an array of genres spanning punk, indie, metal and acoustic, which creates an album that is wholly unpredictable.

The record opens with “Fine Now,” a track containing all the elements of a true punk ballad - callous melodies and feverish progressions that end just as quickly as they begin. Up next is a slower tempo and substantially darker atmosphere on “Anybody.” Layers of menacing vocals are set to rock-anthem guitar ballads and it is the album’s emotional rock bottom moment. But just as quickly as listeners are brought down they are thrown right back up with the pop-infused indie melodies of “Flames” and the strippeddown acoustics of “Power of Time.” “Thunder’s Grave” is a fable-like track about the agony of love and relationships that grows from quiet guitar strings to electric harmonies and crooning backing vocals. The album finishes with a final darker track about mistakes and regret, entitled “Try to Try.” Just when you think you’ve gotten a handle on the band’s intentions and where they might go next, an entirely new sound comes barreling out of the speakers.

Engineered and Mixed by Thomas Vierin, Yann Poupon and Quentin Toussaint Mastered by Arno Bordas www.wonderflu.com -Vanessa Bennett

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 43

FINANCIAL

1. Contributors are only entitled to conclude that the campaign manager will work to complete the proposed project and will distribute promised goods or services at established reward levels.

Contributors are not entitled to control how the campaign manager spends money.

The Growing Misuse & Misunderstanding of Crowdfunding And What Bands & Kickstarter Fail to Understand About the Model Kickstarter replaces record labels!

Kickstarter is panhandling! Kickstarter is only for people without access to other resources!

The pervasive misunderstanding of the fundamental tenets of crowdfunding by campaign managers, campaign contributors, and the platform providers themselves will result in a decrease in the viability of crowdfunding campaigns. The confusion and negativity arising from debates rooted in a lack of clarity of platform policies has the potential to squelch what serves as the only option for funding certain types of projects. As a specific example, Kickstarter mischaracterizes its own function.

There are two implicit implications of Kickstarter’s claims that “Project creators set a funding goal and deadline. If people like a project, they can pledge money to make it happen.”

1. Kickstarter campaigns are project based.

There is a specific, objective, defined outcome of a campaign (an album, a movie, a product, etc).

44 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

2. The project WILL NOT happen if the funding goal is not met.

Most campaigns fail to meet at least one of these implied points. Many fail to meet both. This is causing crowdfunding burnout and crowdfunding backlash. I attribute the blame to all three involved parties: Kickstarter campaign managers, Kickstarter campaign contributors, and Kickstarter itself.

What Kickstarter Campaign Managers Fail To Understand…

1. Many campaign managers expect contributions from people unfamiliar with their work.

In fact, creative campaigns receive funding from friends, family, and existing fan bases only.

2. Kickstarter fundraisers receive no money unless the campaign receives full funding. Many campaign managers state that this is a bad policy, but such claims imply that a project could be completed without full funding. Therefore, potential funders conclude that their money is not genuinely needed.

3. Campaign managers too often are not trying to raise funds to make a project possible, but simply to boost presales. Contributors find the thrill of making what otherwise seems impossible happen a compelling reason to contribute.

Campaign managers will have to offer increasingly attractive exclusive and creative rewards.

4. Kickstarter is not a source of free money.

Campaign rewards must have values commensurate with their levels. More and more campaigns are offering album downloads or other no-overhead items for levels as high as $25 or even $50. This is an insult to funders looking to be part of a project, particularly because these same “rewards” will certainly be available to the general public at a fraction of the cost after the project is completed. Contributors feel cheated when this happens.

What Kickstarter Campaign Contributors Fail To Understand…

2. Most music campaigns are simply album and tour presale campaigns. Consider Amanda Palmer’s campaign. If she had simply sold 30,000 records and booked a series of expensive house concerts, no one would even think to question where her profits went. Very appropriately, her campaign earnings covered the cost of the album as well as her career and personal living expenses.

Effectively, the expectation was that most of the full life cycle of the album’s earnings came from sales attributed to that campaign. Kickstarter, however, misleads by claiming that campaigns are tied closely with the feasibility of the creation of specific projects and not with their full earning potential.

3. Kickstarter is not only last-resort money.

Just because campaign managers have money in the bank does not mean that they should be obligated to spend that money before trying to raise external money to complete a project. Kickstarter is effectively a new platform for skipping gatekeepers. The argument that those who possess wealth should not be able to use Kickstarter is equivalent to the assertion that no one with money should receive an advance from a record label or publisher to create new work.

What Kickstarter Itself Fails To Understand…

Kickstarter has severely damaged its brand by not differentiating types of projects. Projects that are appealing to niche groups of contributors, but are otherwise impossible to fund are both the most artistically important projects and the most likely to be harmed by a lack of policy and mission consistency. In order to prevent ever-mounting frustration and confusion from dooming crowdfunding, providers like Kickstarter must create clear demarcations between simple creative work presales, otherwise unattainable creative projects, and testing-the-waters product sales.

Without this differentiation, the number of users contributing to campaigns will decline sharply.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Michael J. Epstein is a Boston-based artist, most notably with the bands The Motion Sick, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, Neutral Uke Hotel and The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library.

He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology at Northeastern University.

Find him online at michaeljepstein.com.

What Indie Artists Need to Know About Shazam

While the music business glitterati is glorifying the rise of streaming, and crowning some new digital app or platform the next “savior of the industry,” let’s get real. For all the talk of Spotify and Pandora’s “explosive growth,” the sum of the streamers combined account for less than 10% of the industry, according to a recent IFPI report from February 2013. These debates around royalty rates are just a major label dog and pony show; 10ths or 100ths of a penny mean literally nothing to an independent artist. And while streaming gurus herald - and seemingly cheer for - the death of sales, the report further showed that iTunes downloads account for 70% of all digital music revenue, and 57% of the total industry is still in physical! Yes, people still want to buy music, if we make it easy for them.

Let me tell you about an app that’s in 200 countries, has four times the amount of users that Spotify does, and 100 million more subscribers than even the mighty Pandora. Do you know it?

It has five billion songs, interaction with over 10 million more daily, and is actually driving music sales (1 in every 14 downloads, over $300 million in sales). It’s resulted in direct signings, licenses, and ticket sales.

Here’s the kicker: it’s been around for over a decade! Have you guessed it yet?

It’s Shazam.

Go get the free app now, especially the iPad version if you can (auto-tagging, heatmap charts, amazing visuals). If you’ve never used it, or it’s been a while, you’ll be pleasantly surprised - but more importantly, you need to start pimping it to your fans.

Quick refresher: Shazam is a media discovery app that “listens” to any song and then “tags” it, displaying the track name and artist/album. It also provides options to download directly from iTunes, and displays data outlining where the band is touring, and even a way to add a song to a playlist and stream it on Rdio.

I spoke with Will Mills, V.P. of Music and Content at Shazam, to get a better idea of how it helps independent artists. I’m seriously impressed. I would work for this company if the chance arose; what they are doing is nothing short of amazing for the music industry.

people ‘Shazaming’ those shows, and naturally, the music used in the show will be tagged. So, it’s not separate, it’s a natural extension.

I loved the Lil Wayne Shazam video project; can you give us an example of how Shazam has directly helped independents?

That’s the beauty of what we do, we scale from indies to majors. Templecloud, a UK independent band, is a great example. They hit #4 on Shazam charts from being tagged, and that song was picked up for a paid sync placement. The song wasn’t out in digital stores, or it could’ve sold a lot.

That’s why it’s important to have your music with an aggregator so that all of the data is right, and your music is easily available for sale on iTunes.

We know that advertisers, music supervisors, and labels are watching our charts, and it costs nothing to tag a song for fans.

How do we get every artist involved?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Michael St. James is the founder and creative director of St. James Media, specializing in music licensing, publishing, production and artist development.

MOBILE DISCOVERY

This App is Saving the Music Industry

The best way for U.S. readers to get all of your music (meta-data, tagging, retina artwork) in the Shazam system is through the CD Baby’s traditional level of digital distribution [editor’s note - TuneCore may be an option soon, but not as of press time]. Getting new fans is a good beginning, but we want music creators to also make money. Discovery is great, but musicians still need to get paid.

Alternatively, for our readers, say you have a hot single or placement you need promoted right now, email musicteam@shazamteam.com to get them music directly.

Discovery is worthless without conversion.

So, before your song gets placed in a commercial, film, or in a TV show, get your music on Shazam, and get your fans to get the app. Have a Shazam single launch party and drive your fans to tag a specific song for one week. At a live show, ask the audience to Shazam the next song to listen to it later. Use the logo on your videos, your YouTube channel, etc. Get creative. Can’t wait to tag you!

Performer: Shazam has shifted to all media engagement (movies, TV shows, advertisers) from just music discovery.

How will that impact the music side?

Will Mills: First, music is the central part of Shazam and always will be. It’s the core of our DNA. Adding other media only helps to promote the music used in it.

54% of our users Shazam TV every week.

Say your band has a song in a TV show, advert, or a movie - we will have literally millions of JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 45

CINEMA

Overlooked Rock Movies... and Why We Love ’Em

by Benjamin Ricci

WANT TO CHECK OUT A COOL ROCK AND ROLL FLICK? SURE, YOU’VE GOT

QUADROPHENIA AND THE SONG

REMAINS THE SAME, OR MAYBE YOU COULD PUT

A Band Called Death (2012) A new entry on the list, this amazing documentary chronicles the journey of an AfricanAmerican proto-punk band in 1970s Detroit. Released by Drafthouse Films, don’t miss it when it screens in a town near you, or when it hits DVD/Blu-ray later this summer.

I Think We’re Alone Now (2008) This creep-tastic documentary follows two über Tiffany fans (yep, Tiffany) and their mega-strange, middleaged obsession with the former teen idol.

Lock up your daughters and steer clear of the mall, because this shit gets weird.

Last Days Here (2011) What happens when you pioneer heavy metal, take lots of drugs and end up homeless? Well, it’s not gonna be pretty, but that exactly what you get in this heartbreaking account of Pentagram’s forgotten lead singer, Bobby Liebling.

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School Forever (1991) Nope, this sequel doesn’t feature a single Ramone, but what it lacks in Ramones it more than makes up for in Corey Feldman.

That’s right, with the Feld-dog at the helm, can high school rock movies get any better?

We don’t think so.

Muriel’s Wedding (1994) This Aussie export is filled to the brim with classic ABBA tunes, and we make no apologies for our ABBA love around here. Starring Toni Collette, you’ll walk away obsessively saying, “You’re terrible, Muriel,” in your worst Australian accent. Trust us.

Rock & Rule (1983) Did you dig Heavy Metal? Well, this is the other early-’80sanimated-Canadiansci-fi-rock-movie. Yep, there was another, and this one featured drug use, Satan worship, and killer tracks by Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick and Lou Reed. Pick it up on VHS if you wanna be cool.

The Rock-afire Explosion (2008) Ever wonder what happened to those animatronic bears that scared the crap out of you at your local pizza parlor when you were a kid? Well, wonder no more, as this film delves into the complete aftermath of the Rock-afire Explosion’s exquisite implosion.

ON THE WALL. BUT THERE’S A WHOLE WORLD OF UNDERAPPRECIATED AND OVERLOOKED MUSIC FILMS OUT THERE; THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF OUR FAVORITES. Enjoy!

Eddie and The Cruisers (1983) You want mystery?

You want intrigue?

You want the best fake 1960s rock and roll Hollywood has to offer? You got it, all wrapped up into an unjustly forgotten faux-biopic, complete with a Springsteenapproved humdinger of a theme song.

46 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982) New Wave glory and early-’80s teen melodrama all caught on celluloid, and brought to you by Lou Adler.

Watch it for early appearances by Diane Lane and Laura Dern, as well as the superhappy MTV ending, which really makes no sense when you think about it.

Starstruck (1982) Another Aussie pick, this one comes from the wonderful age of post-disco, post-punk New Wave, and tells the tale of the Sydney “music biz” circa 1982. Great songs, wild fashion, and the best under-the-stairs dance sequence ever.

You’ll see…

LEGAL PAD

Bootleggers Beware:

Your Band’s Guide to Slaying Counterfeiters

MERCHANDISING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER. Online resources have made the process of designing and manufacturing t-shirts, stickers, vinyl, etc. straightforward, fast, and relatively cheap. The downside, however, is that counterfeiters also have this luxury and - as a result - it has never been easier to manufacture and sell bootleg merchandise. While bootlegs were previously only a problem for mega-acts, smaller touring groups have reportedly seen a recent increase in counterfeiting online and at shows.

Can a bootlegger sell your merch without permission? Short Answer: No. The law protects your band’s copyrights, trademarks, and likeness rights. Here is a snapshot of each:

Copyright. Copyright violations arise when a bootlegger uses your band’s music, artwork or photos without authorization. Copyright is a legal protection for those who create “original works of authorship.” This extends to all recorded music and essentially allows the copyright holder to control the rights to their work. No formal filing or paperwork is required for the existence of this protection: it is protected upon creation. So what does this mean for you? Essentially, someone has your expressed permission (called a “license”) to use your copyrighted material, they are violating the copyright laws. This protection is not limited to artists within this country alone. Due to international agreements, artistic works are mutually

protected in nearly every country in the world.

Trademarks. A trademark is a word, phrase, or other symbol used in commerce to identify your brand, product, or identity. In the music industry, a trademark exists for the protection of bands, labels, related businesses, and consumers by giving the creators and/or owners of products or services exclusive rights to use a certain name, word, or image to identify their products or services (and prevent others from using them). In addition, it protects consumers by ensuring that when they buy a product (like a piece of merchandise), they know they’re getting the real thing.

DISCLAIMER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Adam Barnosky is a Boston-based attorney and writer. For industry trends, legal updates, or to request an upcoming Legal Pad topic, find him on Twitter at @adambarnosky.

The information contained in this column is general legal information only and should not be taken as a comprehensive guide to copyright law. Consult your attorney for all specific considerations.

Right of Publicity. In addition to stealing a copyrighted work, a bootlegger is breaking the law if they use your band’s name, likeness, or personal attributes without permission. The right of publicity controls the commercial use of your identity/image. Again, a merchant must have your consent to use a legally protected name or likeness of another for commercial gain.

If a bootlegger is found to have violated any of these rights, they can be held liable for statutory damages (between $750 and $30,000), actual damages and profits, or – in rarer circumstances – criminal penalties.

PROTECT YOUR BAND AGAINST BOOTLEGGERS: REGISTER YOUR MATERIALS! While the law will give you certain protections automatically, in order to have legal action against bootleggers, you need to register your work.

File for a Trademark. Your band may have already acquired trademark protection through common law (which is harder to determine and by no means foolproof); however, formal registration is hands down the way to go. The advantage of registration is that (1) it puts potential bootleggers on notice that your band’s name is “taken” and (2) it allows you to sue in federal court if a dispute arises. There are some qualifications you will need to check off prior to registering. First, have you participated in “interstate commerce” (i.e. toured or sold your music in several states)?

Second, do you have proof that your name has been used in commerce? If you’ve answered “yes” to both of these questions, you may begin the registration process. Make sure your name and any designs are locked down. First, go to tess2. uspto.gov and conduct a search for similar marks. Second, it is strongly recommend that you look through the full application process at www.

uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/new_teas_plus. pdf, which has screen shots of all the questions and information needed throughout the process.

Register your Copyright. First, to check out the step-by-step tutorial on registering your work online, go to www.copyright.gov/eco/ecotutorial.pdf. You’ll need to get all of your songs, composition names, and payment information together. From there, go to www.copyright. gov and click on the “Electronic Copyright Office” logo on the right side of the screen. You will have to complete a brief registration, after which you’ll be taken to the registration home screen. Click “register a claim” on the left and complete the next three steps: (1) Complete Application; (2) Make Registration Payment; and (3) Submit Your Work.

Note: If you want the assurance that your

registration is completed properly, hire an attorney specializing in trademarks and copyrights.

Ward Off Offenders. There are many options you can take if you find someone selling bootlegged merchandise without permission. Your a first line of defense should be to call the police. It is likely that these vendors do not have proper permits to sell merchandise and will be scared off or cited on that basis alone. This also creates a record in the event that further action need be taken. To that end, if a person or company is repeatedly bootlegging your band’s merch, you’ll need to take legal action to stop them, first for an injunction (an order to cease their illegal activities) and second for damages caused from the prior sales.

If this is an issue for your band, contact a lawyer in the area where this is happening that specializes in intellectual property and litigation.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 47

GEAR

my FAVORITE AXE

ROBERT GILLIES BACKGROUND

I’m a San Francisco-based singer-songwriter, originally from Scotland. Classically trained, I buried my roots, opted for a jazz education, and came out writing like a conversation between James Taylor and John Mayer.

MAKE & MODEL

LÂG Autumn - 300 JCE

WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE

CAN BE HEARD ON

She plays like a cross between a Martin auditorium body and a Taylor, and sonically covers every base; her harmonics are clear and round, every frequency rings out equally, and she plays like the embodiment of a later summer evening.

As an acoustic instrument, she’s the most tempered I’ve ever played.

My latest record, Astronaut, was written and recorded with her, and she can be best heard on the track “City Man.”

SPECIAL FEATURES WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU

We met in ‘07, and since then she’s seen me through a degree at Berklee College of Music, every song I’ve written in the last six years, two albums, and an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. We’ve logged over 20,000 miles together.

48 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

LÂG swapped the bridge pins with a more electric-style setup, so replacing strings is even easier. The truss rod is also incredible - I can still count the number of adjustments on one hand from six years of playing.

LISTEN NOW at facebook.com/robertgilliesmusic

Got a favorite instrument you’d like to share?

Email us at editorial@performermag.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Zac Cataldo is a musician and owner/ producer at Night Train Studios, a recording studio in Westford, MA. He is also co-owner of Black Cloud Productions, a music publishing company. Reach him at zac@nighttrainstudios.com.

Brent Godin is a bassist/guitarist and engineer/producer at Night Train Studios. He is also a talent scout at Black Cloud Productions.

Reach him at brent@ blackcloudproductions.com.

RECORDING

Tracking Harmonies & Background Vocals

Part 2 of 2

photo by Marie-Celine Vayssade

[ Editor’s note – read Part 1 in last month’s issue and online at performermag.com ] BACKING PHILOSOPHY One of the first things we will do after recording our background vocals is to cut out all the unnecessary “air” (the space between actual singing parts) from the track. These usually do not contain anything that we want or need in our final mix and at times can even have pesky background noise that is not visually noticeable in the waveform (breathing, shuffling of lyric sheets, etc). If you’re pressed for time, you could patch in a gate plug-in, but it may miss extraneous coughing, paper shuffling, etc.

Next, solo the backing vocal take with the lead vocal at equal volumes and listen to each part VERY closely. These have to be lined up precisely, so now is also the time to chop words and phrases on the backing track and move them until they are tight with the lead. You should also decide if certain words aren’t needed – if so, you can mute them entirely or fade in/out words that don’t help but just muddy things up. Open vowel sounds are pleasing, but harsh consonant sounds are not, so unless the backing vocalist’s performance took this into account, you will probably have some editing to do. For example, if the vocal line is “Chillin’ with my baby,” you might want to fade in on the word “chillin’” to eliminate the harsh “ch” sound.

PITCH CORRECTION The dreaded phrase all vocalists hate to hear! As the producer/engineer, it is very important to use pitch correction on your background vocals. There are very few things more distracting in a mix than an off-key harmony. Once you’ve established what the key of the song is, you can easily apply a pitch correction plug-in to your vocal track set to that key. If you don’t set a key for your pitch correction software, you’ll be forced to use chromatic tuning, which only pulls a note to the nearest half step and can often make the

problem even worse. Also be aware that many songs may change key during a bridge or chorus, so those vocal parts will have to be moved to another track with the pitch correction set to a different key than the rest of the song.

Occasionally you run in to a vocalist whose harmonies are so poor that even the software cannot fully correct it without turning the track into a comically garbled mess. In this situation you have a few choices: a) Fire you vocalists and have someone else record the part or b) Use a manual pitch correction plug-in. We like to use Roland’s V-Vocal, which allows you to see the pitch of the vocal take on a graph and manually click and drag parts of the waveform to the correct note. You can also draw in the waveform, which is great for straightening out wobbly vocal takes and creating more natural note transitions, whereas an automated pitch correction can sometimes sound robotic.

MIXING Now that we have tracked and trimmed the fat from our background vocals, it’s time to start mixing. We usually start with dynamic processing (compression/limiting). Much like everything else in the world of recording, there is not one “set in stone” way to approach compression with background vocals. We suggest playing around with your compressor presets and see what fits. We find that a vintage LA-2A compressor preset is a good starting point for most backing tracks, as it has a way of smoothing out the performance. Play around with boosting the output gain somewhere in the +6 to +10dB range while adjusting the threshold to -6 to -18dB. Now, solo both the lead and backing vocals together at the same volume and start EQing the backing vocals. We usually like to roll off the lowend frequencies, starting around 150Hz, because the low-end of background vocal tracks have a

tendency to muddy up the mix. From here we may boost some of the high-end frequencies a little to create a thinner, brighter overall sound. The goal is to get the backing vocal to enhance the lead, so don’t be tempted to EQ the backing part by itself; we don’t really care how it sounds alone.

PANNING & REVERB Once you’ve got the two working well together, bring the volume down on the backing part until it just sits below the lead and move on to panning. If the background vocal parts are harmonies that follow a lead vocal very closely, we will only slightly pan the background vocals, maybe 10-20% in either direction. The idea with a harmony part like this is to have it blend with the lead vocal, so you don’t really want to have it hard panned, as this will ruin the synchronicity of the lead and background parts. If we are dealing with a background vocal that does not mirror the lead vocal, then you might want to try hard panning the track. By doing this, your backing tracks will be less likely to clash with the lead.

When it comes to volume and reverb, you could take a wide variety of approaches. You generally want to make sure the levels of your background vocals are balanced enough so that they blend well with each other and the lead vocal. Reverb should be used to enhance the amalgamation of parts, so in the case of background vocals, we tend to put more of it into the mix than we do with the lead vocal, which we often leave more dry.

Don’t be afraid to give backing vocals a try on your next tune. Many artists are hesitant to experiment because they associate harmonies with a certain musical era, but when done right, backing vocal tracks can make a song come alive. We hope you’ll try these techniques on your next recording session!

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 49

STUDIO DIARY

DREAMPOP BAND DISCOVERS NEW SOUND WITH A PUNK ENGINEER In the Studio with PLUMERAI interview by Benjamin Ricci photo by Marie-Celine Vayssade

“WE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED

PRE-PRODUCTION What was your pre-production like on this project?

We initially wrote a handful of song ideas and then developed them on home demos before our spring tour. Out of those demos, four songs arose and we started banging them out. When the songs were complete, we added them to our live set and road-tested them. After that, we came back to Boston and holed up in a rehearsal spot to tweak and bang out any issues. We basically knew exactly what we wanted to accomplish before stepping foot into the studio and were able to streamline the production more efficiently as a result.

How did you choose the studio?

We knew that we wanted to record to tape. Martin 50 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

and James recorded analog to digital on a side project at a studio out in Brooklyn a few years ago and loved the warmth and feel of the drums from that session. They felt it would translate well to the songs that Plumerai were writing. While we were aware of studios with the capability of recording to tape, they were more traditional Pro Tools studios that just happened to acquire a tape deck and patched it in to their digital setups. So through the power of Google, we did a bit of research and discovered Mystic Valley Studios out in Medford.

The thought of 100% analog production seemed to be exactly what we wanted and at a reasonable day rate. Besides that, the songs were a bit more ’80s influenced, like The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds or The Stone Roses, so why not also use equipment from the same era?

TO ACCOMPLISH BEFORE STEPPING FOOT INTO THE STUDIO AND WERE ABLE TO STREAMLINE THE PRODUCTION MORE EFFICIENTLY AS A RESULT.”

album info

Band Name: PLUMERAI Album Name: ICARUS Recording Studio: Mystic Valley Studios (Medford, MA) Record Label: _DARUSHKA-4 Release Date: Sept 13, 2013 Produced by: Plumerai Co-produced and Engineered by: Alex Garcia-Rivera Artwork by: D-4 Mastered by: Montrose Recording Studio

key gear

Bass Head: Magnatone MP4 Guitars & Basses: Customized Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Jazzmaster, Metropolitan Tanglewood Drums: Tama Superstar Board: Soundcraft Series 600, upgraded with “Jim Williams” mods on all 24 input channels, one stereo channel, all 8 bus channels, and the master section; Penny + Giles conductive plastic faders installed on each of these channels as well. It has a custom power supply with a whopping 24 amps for the audio rails, and sounds nothing like a Soundcraft now. It’s more like the big boys (API, SSL) but in a much smaller footprint. Clarity, detail, depth, punchiness…that’s what you can expect from this guy.

Tape Machine: Ampex MM-1200 - 2” 16-track fitted with a Flux Magnetics ME Extended Response playback head. All “static” guides on this machine and the head assemblies were replaced with ROLLING guides!

All 24 record and play EQ cards have been upgraded with Dale metal film resistors and Wima capacitors.

This machine sounds incredible!

Effects: Roland RE 501 Chorus Echo tape delay, Dynacord Echocord tape delay, Tapco 4400A Stereo Spring Reverb, Ibanez Analog Delay AD202, Custommade plate reverb with stereo returns

PRODUCTION What kind of sound were you looking for and how did you achieve it?

we’re a bit nit-picky when it comes down to the recording because we know that the slightly offtime guitar or the out-of-tune bass is detrimental to the recording. So we basically try to capture the one great drum take, without compiling it from various takes and then go back and touch up the guitars and bass as needed. Sometimes that’s full takes and sometimes it’s just a punch-in on the chorus.

Unlike a lot of engineers, Alex [Garcia-Rivera] mic’d the bass instead of running direct, so we were able to make full use of our Maganatone MP4 tube bass head running through an Ampeg cab and got a really punchy, warm bass tone and not just a dull tone to be tweaked during mixing. After recording digitally for so long, the tape and studio turns out to be an instrument itself. The [timbre] of the raw drums on tape was already fantastic sounding.

In addition, we also made use of the studio’s stock of retro pedals in combination with our own tube preamps so that there wouldn’t be a disconnect or barrier wedged between the sounds of the rhythm section and the guitars.

What did you try to accomplish in the studio that you’re not able to do live?

We wanted a more concise and warmer sound than our previous records, which were more ambient and dense. Basically, we wanted a record that sounded alive. We accomplished this through the warmth of an analog recording on 2” tape and used plenty of retro gear to compliment it.

How does it compare to your last release in terms of style and the creative process?

During our last sessions, we were on a learning curve. It was our first record with Eliza and Mickey and our songwriting was still in a developmental stage. You can tell by the variation between the song styles, that we were still trying to discover who we were. With this record, we’ve figured out who we were as a band and set out to write songs that represented this.

What was your philosophy on live, fullband takes versus individual tracking?

We always appreciate the live, full-band takes.

Something always feels special about being able to capture a great performance together. However,

STUDIO DIARY

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As a four-piece, there are definitely challenges to playing the songs live they way we intend them to sound. So in the studio, we’re able to overcome those limitations without requiring another band member. We can also use a wider palette of sounds within one song. Whereas playing live, we have to decide which is the most important part and we have to consider things such as if we play the melody line, will the bottom drop out of the song and sound empty? Vocally, at our level, the studio allows Eliza to sing at a comfortable level without being overpowered by the amps and drums…so she has more flexibility.

What were the toughest challenges you faced?

Deciding on the one good take was tough.

Sometimes, you feel like you nailed it but listening back you realize it wasn’t as great as it was in the moment. As a result, that initial tracking session was tough to decide which version of the song was The One we should develop into the completed recording.

Any funny stories from the session that you’ll be telling for a while?

Most of our hilarious band experiences are the result of a language barrier between our French vocalist and her American bandmates.

POST-PRODUCTION How did you handle final mixing and mastering?

The mixing we handled in-house at Mystic Valley. We definitely wanted to keep it analog and mix down to a reel. We also didn’t want to get in the situation of dumping the tracks into Pro Tools to mix. With analog studios being somewhat of a rarity, we decided to stay with Mystic Valley so we could be there for the process, and because the Alex proved to be an asset - so why not keep with a good thing?

What are your release plans?

We’re definitely planning to release an EP this fall on vinyl and of course it’ll be available digitally on iTunes, Bandcamp and Amazon for our friends and fans without record players (and for our overseas fans who can’t afford the significantly increased U.S. Postal rates).

Any special packaging?

We’re going to handprint the covers with a GOCCO Print Kit. We did this on our Marco Polo EP a couple years ago with amazing results.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 51

GEAR GUIDE

Performer’s Picks For

Home Studio Headphones

by Jeff Leibovich with Benjamin Ricci

What does one look for in a good set of studio headphones? Is it more important to have a flat frequency response or do you want more highs or lows? Open back or closed back? These are just a few of the questions that have been argued amongst musicians, engineers and producers for ages. As with most things, there is no one “right”

AKG K 271 MKII

Grado SR225i

Audio-Technica ATH-M50

Price: $199

Price : $200

Price: $159

Perhaps the most comfortable of all the headphones on this list, the AKG K 271 MKII also provide a very wide range in terms of frequency response. Extending beyond the audible frequency a person’s own ears are capable of plays an important role in what headphones the athome engineer selects. One cannot EQ what one cannot hear. Thanks to the design of this model, the listener gets isolation from the outside world while still maintaining a smooth, relatively open sound for closed-back headphones. Being able to collapse these headphones is another major plus and allows for easy portability. In the mobile engineer’s world, who might have a tracking session at one facility during the day with plans to mix the single at home that night, this portability goes a long way. The plushy comfort also becomes a factor for those long nights spent mixing a tune or for that 11-hour flight from Chicago to Moscow that you just can’t fall asleep on. The AKGs are a simply a comfortable, versatile option for the bedroom engineer and avid music listener.

As the only open-back headphones on this comparison list, the Grado SR225i models do have a slight edge in the overall listening experience.

Most producers and engineers agree that the open back provides a sound that’s more natural, and similar to what one would hear in a room listening to acoustic speakers. For the home mixing studio or even general listening, this “open” and airy sound should play a major role in selecting the SR225i pair as part of your setup. By having a similar vibe to what the musicians and their producer(s) had when making mixing decisions, the Grados will allow a listener to come closer to experiencing the song as the artist intended.

In our humble opinion, these have perhaps the smoothest and most detailed frequency response of all the headphones being discussed. What we also love is the feel of the foam material that lines the ears when wearing these retro-looking models.

One drawback, however, occurs in a headphone-monitoring situation. As with almost all open-back designs, they will bleed into the microphone, especially with a vocalist. A drummer will also have to crank this pair since some of the live drum sound will bleed its way into the headphones as well. Fantastic for general listening and equally as good of a choice for mixing, one should use the Grados with caution while live monitoring as a recording musician.

From microphones to headphones, AudioTechnica is a company that makes durable, long lasting products. The ATH-M50s are no exception. For the proud new owner of an Mbox or any other home studio interface, the M50s provide a great transition into mixing and listening on headphones. The extended high frequency range seems to actually provide a nicer, low end, if that makes sense. This may be due to sub-harmonics or it may be that the low end extends to 15 Hz. Not only is there a nice, big low end, the high frequencies are very natural and open sounding. While not quite as detailed as the other headphones on this list, the ATH-M50s are a perfect blend of home listening and home tracking headphones.

The padding is comfortable, allowing for long listening or mix sessions. Outside noise is almost completely blocked out, making it much easier to tell your fiancée, roommate or anyone else yelling at you to stop the insanity – you REALLY could not hear them from the home studio. At a price point under $160, those looking to get serious for the first time could do a lot worse.

52 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

For the home studio recorder and avid music listener, there is a fine line between hype and what is actually audible. Every pair of headphones discussed has their pros and cons; don’t neglect the comfort level of each when making purchasing decisions. If long listening or mixing sessions come up, the comfort factor can play an

increasingly important role. Our suggestion is to do your homework, read up on user reviews and narrow down your selection to at most three, but ideally two, models and try test them out in person. There are a million people out there with a million different opinions, but in the end, it’s your ears that will do the listening.

Sennheiser HD 380 Pro

Sony MDR-7509HD

Shure SRH440

Price: $199

Price: Variable ($100 range used, discontinued)

Price: $99

The funky angle of the cups against the headband of the HD 380 Pro headphones took us by surprise the first time we saw and used these.

Once we got past this design quirk, we were itching to see what all the hype around E.A.R. was.

To our surprise, the promise of a decreased comb filter effect and distortion was no lie. It was hard to tell if it was the increased low-end response or the lack of comb filtering that provided what felt like a surprisingly detailed low and low-mid frequency response. Being careful not to do damage to our ears, we took a very loud source and put the output up louder and louder and really had to crank these before we were able to get any clipping during a sample mixing session. Clarity of the signal and the ability to get loud without distorting were the two things that really stuck out for us while using the HD 380 PROs. The issue with loud volumes is that the detail tends to get lost as one increases volume – leading to painful clipping but also a muddied sound field, something you definitely need to avoid when editing tracks! Louder may not always mean better, but it almost always is preferred.

Yes, we’ve put a pair of cans on the list that have been discontinued by their manufacturer. Why? Because they are still readily available, and have been the workhorse headphones for many home studios for years. With a frequency response ranging from 5Hz (yes 5) to 80kHz, the Sony MDR-7509HDs also have the widest frequency range of the models being discussed. What does this really mean? It means that anything the human ear can hear is audible on these. As one would imagine, minute nuances are more present when wearing these headphones. Clarity, comfort and portability make these perhaps the most impressive headphones on this list for the money. As musicians wearing these while tracking, we find that we sometimes will tell the engineer that the tone of what is being recorded still needs tweaking. Nine times out of ten, we’re right. Be careful what you wish for and who you let wear these while tracking or you may find yourself moving microphones, tweaking tones or trying different amps for much longer than necessary. In the home studio where one not only listens back and does mixing, but also needs headphones while tracking drums, bass, guitar or any other loud source, the Sony MDR7509HDs allow for accurate monitoring while still blocking unwanted noise.

The least expensive pair on the list, but certainly no slouch, is the SRH400, courtesy of Shure. At under $100, you get a surprisingly responsive set of headphones, and comfort in spades. You can certainly tell the difference between these and say, the Grados, for overall sound quality, but getting your feet wet in home recording will be a lot easier if you have something decent to start with, and these blow away the term “decent,” especially in their price range. We also dug the comfort factor in the SRH440s, leaving them on for many hours without any fatigue. While we normally are skeptical when it comes to manufacturer claims, we couldn’t have said it any better than Shure themselves when it comes to these bad boys: “The SRH440 Professional Studio Headphones provide exceptional sound reproduction and comfort. Optimized for home and studio recording, SRH440 headphones reproduce accurate audio across an extended range. Impedance, power handling and sensitivity are all calibrated for professional audio devices such as DJ mixers, mixing consoles, and headphone amplifier. Includes carrying bag and threaded 1/4” (6.3mm) gold plated adapter.”

GEAR GUIDE

answer. These are only guidelines and humble opinions on why a certain pair of headphones may be a better choice over another. Perhaps the most important question to answer is for what purpose the headphones will be used. For this particular special, we’ll compare six pairs of cans and how they fit into the realm of at-home mixing.

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 53

GEAR REVIEWS

FOCUSRITE Forte USB Interface - $499

PROS

Wonderful preamps, plenty of features, easy to use.

CONS

None.

Focusrite was founded in 1985 by Rupert Neve, and although he’s no longer associated with the company, the level of audio excellence is still present even in their smaller items such as the Forte.

This tiny unit packs a lot of features, with just one large knob acting as the main control, and an OLED (organic LED) touchscreen display. It can be run by just USB alone, but a power supply is included that increases the output volumes, and provides phantom power for microphones that require it (such as condensers).

Inputs are via a dongle that contains (2)1/4” inputs and (2) XLR inputs. There are outputs for speakers built within the aluminum housing of the unit itself, as well as convenient headphone outputs. With 24bit DA converters and two of Focusrite’s legendary preamps, it’s quite a powerful I/O box. Even better, it works on Mac and PC platforms, and includes software that mimics the controls on the unit, which are super simple to use on either platform. ISA 110 EQ and 130 compressor plug-ins are also in the package.

The Forte really shines without any fuss. Yes, there are other USB interfaces out there, but none sound as good as this. The preamps and AD converters are quite musical and natural sounding. Yes, you can only record two channels at a time, but for tracking individual vocals, guitars, basses, even a stereo room sound, it’s beyond great. The fact that it’s portable gives it plenty of flexibility as well.

So what does this all mean? Well, it’s a small audio interface, loaded with great preamps, that’s incredibly easy to use, and well worth the price tag.

This will put a home studio into the pro level, and pro engineers can offer a great mobile sound without lugging a lot of extra gear. -Chris Devine

TC-HELICON Harmony Singer - $199

PROS

Plenty of useful, musical harmonies.

CONS

None.

It’s tough being a singer in a band, and even tougher to have band mates that can sing harmony without any ego.

Thankfully, TC-Helicon has a harmony pedal that knows its place.

The controls are simple: harmony selection, level, and reverb.

The mic level control is recessed on the side, far from wayward feet. There is a tone button that engages a slight amount of EQ, gating, de-essing, and compression, and can clean up the signal without getting in the way of the sound.

Place it as the first stomp box in line after the guitar, and connect a mic to it before it goes to the PA system. It reads the signal from the guitar, to select the pitch for the vocal, meaning it’s always selecting the correct key to use: no programming needed. A USB port allows for helpful software updates.

The harmony selection is plentiful, from a 6th below to a 3rd above, 8 modes are available, with the ability to generate harmonies above and below simultaneously. Reverb-wise there are room, club and hall modes.

It works great, and sounds realistic when used sparingly. Kicking it on for a line or two of a verse or chorus really gives the feel of another singer in the room. Finding the right balance for the music isn’t that hard. The only adjustment is to make sure the chords are well defined, especially root notes.

Mic control can be achieved using a TC-Helicon MP-75 or a Sennheiser e 835 fx, both of which have a control that enables a singer to turn the unit on or off, without having to use the footswitch. Singers can put this on their guitarist’s pedal board, and can control it on their own. Phantom power is also provided for mics that require it.

Overall, it’s a nice, simple way to get harmonies that are musically usable, without having to audition new band members. -Chris Devine

Connection Type: USB

Mic input SNR: >104 dB

Simultaneous I/O: 2 x 4

Phantom Power: 24V (always on)

A/D Resolution: 24-bit/192kHz Audio Inputs: 2 Audio Inputs Types: 2 x XLR, 2 x TRS Number of Audio Outputs: 4 Audio Output Types: 2 x TRS, 1 x 1/8” Stereo

F E AT U R E S

F E AT U R E S

Mic Input Level @ 0 dBFS: -42dBu to +1dBu

Guitar Input Impedance: 1 MOhm Guitar Input Level @ 0 dBFS: -7 dBU to 17 dBu Guitar Input SNR: >115dB Dynamic Range: >104 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz Frequency Response: +0/-0.3 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Phantom Power: Yes

Control: USB for firmware and control

Bus Powered: Yes

Mic Control: using TC-Helicon MP-75 Microphone or Sennheiser e 835 fx mic

54 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Coming

Making music should be fun

this

www.elektron.se

Elektron is an electronic instrument company based out of Sweden that has been putting the soul into electronic music since 1998. They believe that making music should be fun, and that there’s nothing quite as fun as playing with a physical instrument. Their products combine cutting-edge technology with an incredible user interface designed with a musician’s eye for playability, ready for the studio or the stage right out of the box. Each Elektron product is easy to pick up and start making cool noises with, but with practice they become powerfully expressive and individual to each person’s playing style. With each product, they strive to create a new classic, a timeless instrument that will outlive its moment of ‘newness’ and still be relevant for years to come. The legendary Elektron Machinedrum (originally released in 2001) is the world’s premier drum machine, still in production and highly sought after a decade plus.

GEAR REVIEWS

Elektron

Builder Profile

August...

Cordially

invites

you

to

pick up our special “Art in Analog Four - $1149

Music” collector’s issue, featuring the fine art of independent musicians from around the country.

The Analog Four combines old warmth and new control and puts it all into one sleek, travel-sized box. It has two analog oscillators and two sub-oscillators, with an additional noise oscillator per voice. Each oscillator then runs through two separate analog filters and then into an analog overdrive circuit that ranges from slightly warm to volcano obliteration. All of this then runs into the Analog Four’s FX section containing the Wideshift Chorus, Saturator Delay, and Supervoid Reverb, each constructed from the ground up to work perfectly with analog sound. Controlling all of this is Elektron’s critically acclaimed step sequencer, which gives precise control over synth and FX parameters with the added bonus that it sends CV/Gate signals that can be used to control any other hardware that’s lying around. The Analog Four also has intense modulation capabilities with LFOs, envelopes, AM cross-modulation, and oscillator sync. The digital brain of the Analog Four makes saving/recalling patches a breeze, and can even automate patch changes mid sequence. Put it all together and you have the Analog Four, one of most impressive and inspiring synthesizers in recent memory, perfect for those looking to experiment with new sounds or for those who know exactly what they want; with the Analog Four, the possibilities are endless. -Garrett Frierson

JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE 55

FLASHBACK

1988 Eventide H3000 D/SE First signal-processing unit to do ‘intelligent’ diatonic pitch shifting

BACKGROUND The H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer is a legendary multi-effects processor used in every major studio around the world and as a live guitar processor. They are a classic for high-quality chorus and flanger effects, feature great reverbs, and are probably most known for the micro-pitch shifting algorithms. The H3000 was the first signal-processing unit to do “intelligent” diatonic pitch shifting. There was a lot of engineering talent that went into the H3000. Ken Bogdanowicz and Bob Belcher, who designed the H3000, went on to develop amazing plug-ins for their company SoundToys and Dave Derr, who also worked on the H3000, went on to create Empirical Labs and the wildly popular Distressor. The D/SE version [pictured] has additional presets by mix engineer extraordinaire Bob Clearmountain and guitarist Steve Vai. HOW IT’S USED The H3000 is used in both the tracking and mixing processes in the studio for its amazing chorus and distinctive reverb effects, as well as the extremely useful micro-pitch shifting effects, which create wide and expansive backing vocal and rhythm guitar tracks in a mix. It is also regarded as the ultimate live guitar FX box. It was used by the Edge, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and many others. Here at Women’s Audio Mission, we’ve used some of the large hall settings for ambience on Kronos Quartet and often as a vocal reverb effect. The last session we used the H3000 was with indie band Queen Crescent.

MODERN EQUIVALENT These include hardware and software units such as the Eventide H7600, Eventide Eclipse, Eventide H3000 Factory Plug-In, and the SoundToys Sound Blender Plug-In. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Terri Winston is the Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Audio Mission, a San Francisco based non-profit dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts. Winston established WAM in 2003 during her tenure as a professor and Director of the Sound Recording Arts Program at City College of San Francisco. Currently celebrating their 10th Anniversary, WAM seeks to “change the face of sound” by providing hands-on training at their San Francisco studio, experience, career counseling and job placement to women and girls in media technology for music, radio, film, television and the Internet.

To join or for more info, please visit WWW.WOMENSAUDIOMISSION.ORG

56 JULY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

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