At my first Dazzling Strangers show at Kimo’s in San Francisco last year, the Chris Streng-led band ripped through a roaring cover of the Electric Prunes’ “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night.” I was with a group of friends that evening, and since none of them were familiar with the original classic 1960s psych rock single, they misheard it as “I Had Too Much to Drink Last Night,” and one could hardly blame them. Chris did appear drunk, and a few days later, he confirmed it as fact through an email. This cat became more curious by the minute.
The curiosity factor increased yet again when I spun the Dazzling Strangers’ debut album, The Stars Are Ours. Only one song, “Single Girl on a Sunday Morning,” even remotely resembled what I recalled hearing on stage at Kimo’s (…and guess what? You can relive that show along with me since I covered it for Popdose). Not only that, I couldn’t tell you if that particular song was even played. There were drones, acoustic guitars, light electronic beats, blips and bleeps, and not always in the same song; whereas the live presentation I heard was a loud, raucous rock band tearing it up like Mission of Burma were the new big thing. (more…)
I knew that the Spring Heeled Jacks Original Swinging Jass Band’s debut album, The Dicky Comstock Show, was going to be good. The band’s bassist/arranger (and a very good friend of mine), Josh Morrow, had been sending me rough mixes as he and singer/guitarist/primary songwriter Nate Dunton worked on the tracks. What I didn’t know was that the album would be so good, so engaging — magical, even — that it would be one of the most-played albums in my collection during 2007. But as much as I enjoyed the record, it was maddening to know that so few ears had a chance to hear it.
On the one hand, it’s very easy to admire the steadfast ideals of the Jacks. For one, the music comes first. Whatever works best for the song is what Josh and Nate will do, regardless of who came up with what idea. And then there’s the time and care they spend on the tracks themselves. The first rough track Josh sent to me was back in July of 2006. The final Dicky Comstock Show album was revealed in 2007, and at least one track dating back to those sessions is still being tinkered with. No, this is no Smile/Chinese Democracy kind of saga. Facebook followers of the band know this, as they routinely leak tracks in almost-finished form and in experimental remixes. (more…)
When I was in junior high, I had a gym teacher who used to talk a lot about “life’s embarrassing moments” as a way to put her students at ease. Whether the situation involved repeatedly missing a goal, completely screwing up the process of a game, or just feeling uncomfortable with one’s body, “life’s embarrassing moments” were many, and you could count on them to keep happening without fail. So, best get used to them and learn how to deal with it.
My brief meeting with the Portland folk rock band Norfolk & Western turned out to be one of those moments, though I hardly knew it when it was happening.
I actually hadn’t explicitly planned on getting footage of Norfolk when I put together my initial wish list of Parlour to Parlour artists. I figured they might be good for a second season, once I had become more familiar with their recordings. I had seen them perform live once before, at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco. Chris Robley was filling his usual role as supporting guitarist and keyboard player in their road band, so it was chance for me to see and hear him in a different context.
Chris was the one who offered to get me an interview with Norfolk, since I was going to be in Portland during a weekend when he’d be playing a gig with the band at the Aladdin Theater. It would be out of concept, in that there would be no footage at anyone’s home, but hey, these people are friggin’ busy: singer/guitarist Adam Selzer is also a regular member of M. Ward’s band and a partner at Type Foundry Studio, drummer Rachel Blumberg plays with Mirah and Jolie Holland, and bassist Dave Depper has gigs with Jolie Holland and Loch Lomond. Downtime, these people have not. (more…)
The New Up, like Le Switch, was another band whose second time crossing my path felt just like the first. Only difference this time, other than the fact that their name remained the same, was that their sound had changed. Hooking up with noted producer/engineer Jaimeson Durr (Dan the Automator, Chickenfoot), the band had streamlined their studio sound, and after stabilizing their personnel, ended up with a polished modern rock identity that translated equally well on disc and on stage. Hearing them three years after the first live show of theirs I reviewed, I felt like I was hearing a whole new band.
The first time I saw the New Up, I was covering a live show at the now defunct (and missed) San Francisco venue called 12 Galaxies for the Rasputin Manifesto in 2005. The bands assembled all had one thing in common – they were all female-fronted (hence the name of that night’s program, “Girls’ Night Out”). (more…)
Waiting to get into the men’s room at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon, I noticed a tall (relative to me, anyway), attractive young lady with a guitar standing quietly by. She was soft-spoken, seemed kind of shy, and turned out she was also visiting from California. Based in Arcata at that time, Lila Nelson was playing an early set before Rachel Taylor Brown that Spring night in 2008, and was about to completely rip apart my initial impression of her.
Lila Nelson described herself to me as shy, even after I had already determined that she was anything but. One thing was for certain though – she was “on” the entire time during my visit to her home in April of ‘09, a year after I first encountered her in Portland. (more…)
As a member of Chris Robley’s band the Fear of Heights, keyboardist/vocalist Rachel Taylor Brown had already endeared herself to me with her warmth and unique charm. Then I heard the opening strains of her album Half Hours With The Lower Creatures, and knew that there was so much more to Rachel than I could have imagined. I mean, the woman made music out of cash registers, essentially walking a fine line between serious metaphor and blatant absurdity. And it worked! As I found out, this time and times before, she’s always got something interesting going on.
When I started this series, I had initially intended for the footage that became “Episode 0” to be just a practice run. After all, I wasn’t yet in the frame of mind to pry open the mind of Chris Robley and his band mates in proper interview fashion. But I always did intend for Chris to have a “proper” episode, so finally, here it is – and filmed in Chris’ home in Portland, Oregon, the way it should be.
I arrived in Portland early in the afternoon on the third of April, and after replacing the audio extension cable I had lost during my ill-timed move to North Beach, I made my way to Strumptown Coffee Roasters on 3rd Avenue between Oak and Pine. There, I hung out drinking some so-so chai while taking in the odor of some amazing coffee beans and waiting patiently for Chris Robley to arrive from his work day at CD Baby. (more…)
Episode 10 marks a couple of big firsts for me. This was the occasion of my first visit to Seattle, which was surprisingly sunny and blue-sky laden in spite of its grey cloudy reputation. It was also the first time I met the members of the Purrs in person, after having continuously enjoyed the band’s 2007 album, The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together, ever since it was sent my way by my Performer Magazine editor.
When I arrived in Seattle, I got a good impression right from stepping off the plane into the airport. It was 9-ish in the morning, and much to my delight, I was able to score a cup of delicious shrimp cocktail without having to wait till the lunch hour. It’s the little things, you know?
Despite having accidentally taken the bus in the wrong direction from the airport, I still had plenty of time to get acquainted with downtown Seattle, which at 11:30am was still pretty dead, particularly around the U.S. Bank shopping mall at 5th and Pike. I lunched on a bread bowl filled with lobster bisque from Soup’s On, and then proceeded to gorge on a toffee almond bar, a slice of pumpkin loaf and a cup of chai from one of the two Starbucks’ inside the mall. It seemed like there was a Starbucks on nearly every block of the city. (more…)
My research skills were not at their best the night I first saw Le Switch perform live. At some point during the show at San Francisco’s Hotel Utah on October 25, 2008, frontman Aaron Kyle began to sing a song that sounded awfully familiar. Yet it was not a cover, that much I could tell. But how could that be? I haven’t heard anything else… wait a minute… THE Switch is how I knew them before! How did this not come up in any of my preparations? God, what an idiot.
After Le Switch’s performance at the Hotel Utah, I approached the band’s trumpet player, Maria Deluca. As we talked, she gave me a succinct version of the story behind the changing of the definite article before the band’s name, a story which Aaron spells out in detail in our interview. (more…)
Imagine how maddening it must be to find out that, for the past 20 years, you’ve been ignoring a major voice in the indie universe. And he was right under your nose in ‘96 when that second Sweet Relief compilation, Gravity of the Situation – The Songs of Vic Chesnutt, hit the shelves. Sure, you can be forgiven for allowing the bigger names on the first Sweet Relief (like Pearl Jam and Soul Asylum) cause you to forget that the second one even came out.
But when you keep hearing the name “Vic Chesnutt” pop up in conversation and appear in print pretty regularly over the years, and still you can’t remember whether you’ve even heard the guy before… what kind of insanity is that?
Forget the fact that he’s from Athens, GA. Or that he’s been bound to a wheelchair since an accident he suffered at the age of 18. Or that it was the girl with the guano-covered back who turned you on to this dude’s quietly biting, ironic lyrical sensibility that expresses pain without any need or desire for pity. Or that he’s probably more vital than you are at this very moment. (If you think I’m talking to myself right now, you might be right. But I’ll never tell you one way or the other. Admit it, you love a mystery.) (more…)
I actually hadn’t explicitly planned on getting footage of Norfolk when I put together my initial wish list of Parlour to Parlour artists. I figured they might be good for a second season, once I had become more familiar with their recordings. I had seen them perform live once before, at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco. Chris Robley was filling his usual role as supporting guitarist and keyboard player in their road band, so it was chance for me to see and hear him in a different context.
Despite having accidentally taken the bus in the wrong direction from the airport, I still had plenty of time to get acquainted with downtown Seattle, which at 11:30am was still pretty dead, particularly around the U.S. Bank shopping mall at 5th and Pike. I lunched on a bread bowl filled with lobster bisque from 
Imagine how maddening it must be to find out that, for the past 20 years, you’ve been ignoring a major voice in the indie universe. And he was right under your nose in ‘96 when that second Sweet Relief compilation, 