Oh the joys of the age of modernity that was. Sean Ogilvie and Micah Rabwin of Musee Mecanique are touring with Laura Gibson, and I talked to them after their Friday night performance. It was about 1 a.m. in the morning, we were all slightly sleepy, I was slightly hypnotized, and their music still has me entranced. This is what you play to make a rabid cobra nuzzle your hand like a kitty. Look out for my article/iview on Stereopathic tomorrow.
Musee Mecanique
Laura Gibson
April 1, 2009
Musee Mecanique
March 13, 2009
Jubilee
The watery blue indie jazz of Jubilee began in Seattle with Steve Harden’s love for drums and wee-hour talks about life-stuff. “One of our conclusions was that, regardless of what art is, [the artist] gains a voice,” Harden told me, “that’s part and parcel to the whole thing.” Jubilee was started with the self-conscious purpose of sayin’ somethin’ good and fighting slavery. Jubilee
Steve elaborated that “slavery exists in a lot of different forms whether its people forced to work in a brick factory or a chocolate cocoa farms or a rice mill, whatever, you find it all over the place. You find it in the United States – there’s over 150,000 slaves in the United States. These are people who are told that if you don’t work for us, we will kill you or we will beat you, or we will hurt your families.” Jubilee, officially registered as a 501 ©(3) non-profit organization, gives 50% of all proceedings to helping these victims, and their Myspace furthers the love with orca whales.
March 3, 2009
FFR
February 16, 2009
The Helio Sequence
When I wrote Helio Sequence to ask them about themselves in prep for their up-and-coming show, I didn’t expect to be showered with a kaleidoscope of thoughtful responses that ranged from French philosophy and family picnics to babies and War and Peace – kept together, of course, by the awesome thread of the sound of Helio Sequence. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, just like their music, that’s my conclusion. check out the interview here: http://www.stereopathicmusic.com/2009/02/the-helio-sequence/
I can’t wait to hear them!
February 9, 2009
Twee with a Twang: Sundance Kids
December 15, 2008
Low vs. Diamond
hils, lucas, tad, molly, anthony, brian
Coldplay has announced that they will retire gracefully after their next cd. Of course I will miss them. My life would have been entirely different without Parachutes and A Rush of Cold Blood to the Head. But I respect their judgment and the fact that Chris Martin should have family time with Gwyneth and the children. The demise of this titan will leave a tremendous void. Alas.
yah-huh.
But I think I know the band who is going to step up to try their shoes on for size. Low vs. Diamond may be small for the time being, but they are getting a giant rush of critical acclamation. Rolling Stones picked them up for their golden list of Six Artists to Watch in 2008 , so that should perk your ears.
But I didn’t know that until after I was pretty much mesmerized by their performance in Spokane, where they stopped on their tour with Barcelona. The band of five produces epic driving melodies that are profoundly satisfying. The lead, Lucas Field, actually sounds eerily close to Chris Martin, eerily because the instrumentals are so reminiscent of The Killers that for a moment it sounds like a weird hybrid – and then it sinks in on the listener that this is real quality and real and only Low vs. Diamond.
james, photographer extroardinaire
Anthony Polcino, lead guitar, of New Jersey told me that “Low” versus “Diamond” refers to two Bowie cd titles. Rolling Stones has a slightly juicier explanation, that the name is actually a reference to the squabbles between drummer Howie Diamond and Lo, an ex-member’s uptight girlfriend.
Polcino and Jon Pancoast, bassist, are both from New Jersey; Diamond, Tad Moore (officially christened James Thaddeus Moore IV, you will be glad to know) and Field met at the University of Colorado in 2001 and moved to Los Angeles after they graduated. That’s where they all connected and the magic started.
What do they want for Christmas? “More fans,” says Polcino, no doubt about it.
woohooh! goodtimeszzz
Low vs. Diamond
November 23, 2008
M.R.Az in Spokane
=~) memorable
He’s the best of both worlds. He can take you down, and lift you back up again. Based on his body language that I’ve been reading, Jason Mraz is the most eloquent person I’ve ever come across. His style is quite selective, but has he got IT. If you don’t know that IT is, go to a concert and watch the screen rev you up for his performance as the film shows googles of licious polaroids until it is at the countdown when it gives you a glimpse backstage to where HE is rockin karoake running up the stairs and… on … to… the… stage – and, here we are. here we are. we’re still here.
allow me to say I was not prepared for such a performance? the wait was SO worth it.
After the earth-shaking performance, Toca, drummer, world-class chillin’ pro, and best friend of Jason, was so kind as to come back and take a polaroid phot-o with us and tell us about his friend The Gnome, who he carries with him everywhere. The Gnome is awesome because he goes all his favorite places Toca tells us – in fact, “he goes anywhere he wants; he’s got TONS of stories. He go got lost in the Salt Lake City airport once: spent a whole day sitting at this girl’s office who I just happened to call… and she says, is he wearing a pair of green pants, a yellow shirt, and a red jacket? yeah. and she goes, ‘he’s sitting here at my desk.’ No way would I ever have been able to find him.”
Toca met Jason in San Diego. No, no, “Jason met me. He just walked up and said ‘I don’t have a guitar but I’d like to play some songs,’ and my brother said, ‘here, take my guitar,’ and he sang some songs.”
And since then they’ve been everywhere. Carlos Sosa, sax-eteer, said that he really digged Singapore. Australia also was cool. “The show was great. Just a memorable show.” It’s always about the people – and that’s how it is with Jason. “He just makes an effort to be a good person” says Carlos. Jason is a natural – not so usual.
November 23, 2008
groupies
soundbites from our stint in the life of a groupie…
Cat filled us in on Jason’s early romances. She goes way back with Jason. They are practically from the same hometown. If only he knew…
Cat: “This is Cat. I’m very upset because I’ve known Jason since before he was a Somebody. I’ve known him since he was a Nobody. I loved him. I adored him. I know people who know him and I know people who have dated him. And basically I’m a Virginian, he’s a Virginian, and we should be Virginians together.
“So I totally know the girl who he totally leaned in to kiss, and I think she started it all. Her name is Melanie. She is in Broadway. They were down in Alexandria, down near the river, and he leaned in to kiss her.”
WHY NOT? WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?!?
“She was petite, beautiful, blonde, blue eyes, everything Hitler would want.” Thank you Cat.
“I drove all the way from North Dakota to Montana, flew to Spokane, and I’ve been camping here since 4:00. I KNOW I’ve come longer and loved him more and longer than anybody else here.” -Miss North Dakota, passionately, desperately. She was a sweetheart.
Toca came out and took a few pictures.
“I wish I was you [to Toca] because you get to harmonize with Jason Mraz. That’s my dream.” –adoring fan
“&%# **** hmmmmmm.” – filthy groupie
“Don’t cross the line! no, no, no! I see you!” -bodyguard to line-crossing fan, sternly.
Me to the Bodyguard, professionally curious: “What was your scariest experience ever?” Kindly Bodyguard, thoughtfully: “I got mobbed by a group of… women who were ‘the Other Way.’ [chuckle chuckle] That’s what we used to say at least – I’m old-fashioned. This one punched me and started going after me – I didn’t want to tackle her, but I had to. They were getting dangerous.” (was this at a Janet Jackson concert? I don’t know.)
“I want to …….” – slutty groupie – give us a bad name.
“We can sign your autograph, we’d be happy to!” – random guard-person, giddy.
Ye Kindly Bodyguard
November 15, 2008
A Beautiful Mess from Dublin… Lisa Hannigan & the Boys
Lisa Hannigan and her Dubliner Band and young fan Dylan in Spokane
Forget Enya and ethereality and don’t event think about any more invasive Britpop – Lisa Hannigan has an earthy and magical calibre along the lines of the soundtrack of that radifying movie “Once” with sweet acoustic strings and an alternative Celtic texture without being overbearingly peppy. She cites Yann Tierson, of “Amelie,” as an inspiration.
Lisa Hannigan and her band of talented Dubliners are on an American tour opening for Mraz and enjoying the Amerikan skene. If you don’t know anything about Lisa, you should begin to learn because Lisa has all the quirkiness of Garden State without forced tragedy. She has a song called “Pistachio Live” and she likes pop-up books. Lisa likes to try new foods and America has been a wonderful experience even though she didn’t get a chance to try a Philly in Philadelphia. Lisa likes sewing on buttons, she plays the accordian, and she is the new voice of Dublin. Maybe these are some of the reasons that Jason Mraz personally contacted her manager to request her to open for this tour and they are probably reason enough to urge you to look into her latest album, “Sea Sew.”
But listen to her for yourself. Truth be known, we really connected, especially once she mentioned her kitties. She has one called Cat Stevens and one called Katmandu and she misses them terribly. She says they get very uppity while she is on tour and they take a while to warm up after she comes home. I empathize.
Open her pop-up book:
November 7, 2008
See Women Play. Hear Women Rock.
The first song was good, it was different than the usual. The second really caught you off your guard, and now that I was into the rhythm of this band, I knew to just relax and fall between the waffle-woven multi-layered textures of sound. At the end of the third song I heard Larson Hicks say in front of me, “Dude, I’m about to rip off my shirt.”
What was it that inspired Larson to bare his chest, you may ask? Women. It was Women, an experimental rock band that is actually four men from Calgary, Alberta who thought it would be cute to form a Velvet-Underground reminiscent art-rock band and call themselves Women.
[QUESTION: is it still "experimental-rock" if it's retro? really, you tell me.]
Women on stage at the Nuart Theatre
They’re right at the tail end of their American tour, and about to head to Europe after appearing on CMJ for 10 shows and being featured repeatedly on Pitchfork Media. Not bad for a group that produced their first album, also called Women, on tape recorders in a basement with their buddy Chad VanGaalen.
Matt Flegel
Pat Flegel
Enter best friends Mike Wallace and Chris Reimer somewhere in early middle school; Mike beats drums, with an occasional tambourine, and Chris plays guitar. Now, some years later, Matt Flegel has quite the bush ahem beard and you have a quartet of guys who still love to play around with their voices and instruments, but this time like grown ups – stroking, cuddling, picking, strumming, hitting, tapping, playing with sound until they produce some unreal vibes that could only come out of the Velvet Underground or a basement somewhere in the middle of Alberta. They use voices like instruments joining in the throng of sound. Thick, heavy, totally mad, – which I can say like Jack Kerouac because Women is totally retro of smoky nights of hookah and psychedic shrooming in the late 60s. I’ve had it from Matt Flegel that this is even on purpose and that he’d be just fine if you compared them to Sonic Youth.
Mike and Chris. sorry it's dark. it's cozy. this is the shot they wanted me to use.
Unlike women, they are dead pyromaniacs. Their favorite thing is to light bottle rockets in the middle of the night and to set off Black Cats in beer bottles, a habit they picked up in Cheyenne, Wy., where there wasn’t too much else going on and, being resourceful, Women made their own fun. dude give those boys a lighter and just watch them go. But Black Cats make a nice tight boom in the beer can; the explosion of beerfoam looks real pretty and smells kinda nice. It’s a satisfying hilarious “pouf” pop! somewhat hysterical totally crazy and thus a little like their music. Mad, eh?
See Women Site
See Women MySpace
