Posts Tagged ‘Parlour to Parlour’
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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…)
Tags: Beck, Beethoven, Brian Wilson, Duke Ellington, Michael Fortes, Nine Inch Nails, Parlour to Parlour, Steely Dan, The Spring Heeled Jacks Original Swinging Jass Band
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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…)
Tags: Caught on Tape, Chris Robley, Jeff Beck, Jolie Holland, Loch Lomond, M. Ward, Michael Fortes, Mirah, Norfolk & Western, Parlour to Parlour, Steven Rosen
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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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…)
Tags: Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Lila Nelson, Michael Fortes, Neil Young, Parlour to Parlour, Rachel Taylor Brown
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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.
(more…)Tags: Chris Robley, Chris Roley and the Fear of Heights, Michael Fortes, Parlour to Parlour, Rachel Taylor Brown, Stephen Colbert
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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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…)
Tags: Chris Robley, Chris Robley and the Fear of Heights, Julian Lennon, M. Ward, Michael Fortes, Norfolk & Western, Parlour to Parlour, Rahcel Taylor Brown
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Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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…)
Tags: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Le Switch, Michael Fortes, Music, Noel Gallagher, Parlour to Parlour, The Purrs
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Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
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…)
Tags: Aaron Kyle, Le Switch, Link Wray, Michael Fortes, Parlour to Parlour
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 by Michael Fortes
Back in February of 2008, I was covering a show at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco for West Coast Performer Magazine. I had a friend helping out with photos, and second on the bill was another friend, none other than Chris Robley. Following Chris’ set, I was expecting a full band called Correatown, but what I got instead was a solo acoustic set by one Angela Correa.
Performing either with a band or solo, Angela Correa is Correatown, and as she told stories and exchanged jokes and banter with the audience in between songs at my first Correatown show — even pausing to acknowledge the medium sized red ball bouncing between members of the audience — Angela proved she was much more than just a singer/songwriter/guitarist with some fortunate connections. (more…)
Tags: Angela Correa, Chris Robley, Correatown, Grey's Anatomy, Jenna Fischer, Judd Apatow, Michael Fortes, Parlour to Parlour, Popdose
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Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 by Michael Fortes
After having said my goodbyes to Evan, Brette and Aaron from the Parson Red Heads, I took to the road to make my next appointment. I was due to meet the Happy Hollows, who I had first heard during the same month I was first introduced to the Parson Red Heads. Sarah Negahdari’s seemingly boundless well of energy meshed so well with the pulsating, borderline-hardcore rhythms of bassist Charlie Mahoney and drummer Chris Hernandez that I had to meet this band.
On the day we shot this interview, there was much excitement in the air. The Happy Hollows were not only preparing for an appearance at Austin’s South by Southwest festival, they had also been feverishly working on recording new songs for an EP to be released in the wake of their SXSW gigs. (more…)
Tags: Michael Fortes, Parlour to Parlour, Popdose, Sarah Negahdari, The Happy Hollows, The Parson Red Heads
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