DC/Baltimore-metropolitan area ska legends the Pietasters were the first less-than-national band I had ever saw live at the old Black Cat in DC when I was but a pup in the mid-90s with the Pilfers (side project of Coolie Ranx from the Toasters) opening up in the hey-day of third-wave. And though the third wave has long past ebbed, they still rank among my personal top 10 artists for quality, consistency and just plain fun.
Lead singer Steve Jackson and crew are renowned for their ability to play alcohol-fueled and inhumanly long, ferocious sets of diverse music romping around the realms of ska, dub, reggae, world and rock music to get the entire club skanking and bopping into a huge, frenzied mass of Brownian motion.
Do yourself a favor and unwind at Sonar in a sweaty mass Saturday night with myself and a packed house full of Baltimore and DC area ska lovers. Pietasters headline with Jah Works, Lionize and Dub Trio opening.
After the jump, there are some skankalicious tracks to whet your appetite. And to delve deeper, check out this interview I had with Steve Jackson about everything ska and good in the world.
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The Pietasters - "Out All Night"
The Pietasters - "Tell You Why/Maggie Mae"
The Pietasters - "Biblical Sense"
Jah Works - "King of Kings"
Pilfers - "Lay"
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pietasters skankalicious Saturday Sonar Show
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Review - Georgie James, Gary B & the Notions @ the Ottobar, Baltimore MD
While Stars were busy delivering their highly dramatized indie pop in downtown to a packed house at Sonar, the Ottobar crowd was relatively light for DC-based Georgie James' alternate approach to the genre.
But given the quality of Georgie James' performance and music, there should have been a more equal split between the two.
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Missing the Courtesy Line, I walked in for second openers Gary B & the Notions' hook-laden, retro-brand of pop rock. Very much sounding like Elvis Costello and even at times the Beach Boys, the songs are short and sweet and the Notions are tight as a sailor's knot. Well-rehearsed and veteran performers, they make some really catchy music. The bassist (ferocious, love the technique) and guitarist seemed to really have some chops, able to veer songs easily into the realm of punk. The only downside was that songs tended to be a little too similar. But I have a feeling that isn't for lack of diverse material in Gary's huge back-catalog, but rather a targeting of the set list to make the perfect opening set for Georgie James.
Georgie James is one of three gems formed after the amicable dissolution of DC's post-punk standard bearers (and personal faves) Q And Not U. Drummer John Davis took up vocals and guitar along with established singer/songwriter Laura Burhenn doing vocals and keys. The project, like the other 2, are logical extensions from Q And Not U. Georgie James explores the poppier side of things, sugar-coating the angular, twitchy guitar riffs from Q And Not U with copious amounts of harmonized male-female vocals and pop sensibility. Their sound is essentially an updated take on the ultra-sweet pop of the 50s-60s.
And resulting nougat of indie-pop goodness is nearly irresistible.
The guys were really on point last night, hot on the heels of some glowing SXSW press. Davis rained some laser-precision riffs down on the eager crowd, showcasing musical themes from his old band in both his guitar work and song structure/bridging.
Burhenn's vocals were lush and lovely. They add a highly textured, multi-layered facet to the sound (especially when harmonizing with Davis'). Set highlights included "Need Your Needs," "Places" and covers of Otis Redding and the Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year." Drummer James Canty (ex-Nation of Ulysses & Ted Leo/Pharmacist) did not disappoint with his stylish and tight work. Bassist Michael Cotterman is competent but bass lines aren't really the focus of GJ's repertoire so nothing really exciting happening there.
The only major critique for the airtight performance was the low-level of the vocals and keys in the mix. A predictably great show from one of DC's premiere artists; I don't need to tell you to keep your eye on them.
Photo credit Melissa Lawson, WashDC May 2007
Here are a few tracks from GJ and Gary B to whet your appetite. I whole-heartedly recommend you pick up GJ's debut album from last year, Places. It doesn't disappoint.
Georgie James - "Need Your Needs"
Georgie James - "Cheap Champagne"
Georgie James - "More Lights"
Gary B & the Notions - "Lori"
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wye Oak in a Yaris at SXSW for Stereogum.
Our latest, Merge-signed hometown heroes Jenn and Andy of Wye Oak, get together with Stereogum and play "I Don't Feel Young" in the back of a Toyota Yaris tooling around Austin at SXSW. Check the video here.
Maybe I can get them to play "Family Glue" in my Scion tC.
Stay tuned for part 2 of our interview coming in the next few weeks.
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Starscape 2008: Nothing you haven't seen before
Starscape, Baltimore's electronic music festival, will celebrate its 10th year of existence this June 7th (though the graphic claims the 9th) at Fort Armistead Park. As widespread public interest in electronic dance music (EDM) has waxed and waned, Starscape has reliably remained the only event in the region able to draw top-notch DJs. The lineup was announced a few days back. The bill is solid, but not spectacular. One would have expected all the stops to be pulled for the 10th year party.
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Also, many of the acts were previously booked in recent years, meaning the festival attendee will see nothing new or emerging. I guess that’s the dilemma faced by any promotions company putting together an outdoor music festival—the balance between acts that are reliable product, so to speak, versus the risk of trying something new.
As expected the drum and bass lineup is full of big name like Dieselboy with J Messinian, Dara, Photek, John B, Teebee, etc. Dieselboy and Dara are no strangers to these parts as they have spun at Sonar on numerous occasions. One of my more memorable Starscape moments from the past few years came when I literally bumped into John B behind one of the stages.
On the breaks side you’ve got Krafty Kuts, though I assume he will be appearing sans Dynamite MC (nothing mentioned so far), Reid Speed, and Uberzone. The Uberzone performance at Starscape a couple years back was the highpoint of the night for me. His sets are synthesized and sequenced live as opposed to a DJ set.
And speaking of live EDM performances, Starscape has also got Future Rock on the bill. Future Rock recently opened for Starscape alum and fellow live EDM band Rabbit in the Moon at Sonar in February. There is something about people onstage with banks of synthesizers tweaking knobs that I will always find appealing, no matter how gimmicky the act can be.
Also featured are a fair number of local DJs and electronic musicians of some repute. Given Baltimore’s proximity to DC you’ve got to have some members from Thievery Corporation present, and in this case they will be performing with the See-I dub/ downtempo massive. See-I, too is from DC. And, of course, you’ve got Scott Henry and Charles Feelgood. Fever and Buzz, do those names ring a bell? One could argue that if it weren’t for Scott Henry and Charles Feelgood’s efforts to build the Baltimore/DC scene there would be no Starscape. Joe Nice, another Bmore boy, had his first exposure to EDM at Starscape. He is now one of the few DJs spinning dubstep with creditability outside of England. While Low Budget of Hollertronix may hail from Philly, he is definitely down with the sounds of Bmore. But why not book a DJ that plays Baltimore music and is from Baltimore?
The live, quasi-electronic jam bands are the weakest link among the lineup. I’m generalizing, but the Disco Biscuits have a reputation for drawing a crowd that loves to take drugs, and loves outdoor festivals, so I guess they kind of fit in with Starscape. But why Pasadena? Just contrast that band to some of the internationally touring, world-renowned talent also appearing that night.
After 10 years how relevant is Starscape? It seems the current emerging trends of EDM are largely ignored in favor of what worked 5 or ten years ago. What first drew me to EDM was its status as vanguard music, but a progressive approach to the genre doesn’t seem to be in order for Starscape. Not when you have virtually the same lineup two years in a row.
In other big EDM festival news, the Winter Music Conference is coming up. Aural State will have a correspondent down in Miami covering all the details, and posting daily updates.
Full Starscape 2008 Lineup:
THE DISCO BISCUITS
SLICK RICK THE RULER W/ LIVE BAND
JOHNNY RABB'S BIODIESEL
FUTURE ROCK
SEE-I FEAT MEMBERS OF THIEVERY CORPORATION
ROC RAIDA OF THE X-ECUTIONERS
EARTHTONE
PASADENA
THREE FIFTHS
UBERZONE LIVE
KRAFTY KUTS
CHARLES FEELGOOD
SCOTT HENRY
LOW BUDGET OF HOLLERTRONIX
REID SPEED
PROXXY & LANTERN
LEKO
DJ SUN
DIESELBOY W/ MC MESSINIAN
TEEBEE
PHOTEK
JOHN B
DYLAN
EVOL INTENT
JOE NICE
CANNON BOYZ
BASSMACHINE
DEMETRIOUS
MC CHECKWUN
LOOK OUT FOR MANY EXCITING ADDITIONS
IN THE UPCOMING WEEK
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Psychedelic mix - Captain Beefheart, Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators
As promised earlier, here's a healthy dose of classic mind-bending psych/weird-rock courtesy of Captain Beefheart (Wiki, pictured left) aka Don Van Vilet and Roky Erickson (Wiki, pictured right), the Austinite 60s psychedelic icon who fronted the 13th Floor Elevators (Wiki).
Mildly related anecdote: I actually got turned onto this whole genre when I started getting mentored in tuba performance and music theory by Sumner Erickson (Roky's brother, also pictured right), a renowned musician and former principal tuba of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Roky's story of recovery is phenomenal and a testament to his brother's love, dedication and tenacity. As well as the support of many other rock notables including the ever out-spoke Henry Rollins. I highly recommend you check out his documentary, You're Gonna Miss Me.
Check after the jump for the absolutely insane video for "Ice Cream for Crow" and a few epic Roky performance clips.
Enjoy the MP3s, culled from the 2xCD Roky Anthology I Have Always Been Here Before, the 13th Floor Elevators Last Concert Live CD, the Roky Tribute Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye and Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and Ice Cream for Crow.
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Music Video for "Ice Cream for Crow"
"Please Judge" from documentary I Have Always...
Roky Erickson and the Explosives - Two Headed Dog Live @ Bowery, 04/2007
Show Review - Peabody’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)… just like an NYC opera
Thanks to our newest contributor, J. Varrone for this review of Peabody's performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute.
From March 12 until March 15, 2008, the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University performed Mozart’s The Magic Flute, held at 7:30pm each night in the conservatory’s Friedberg Hall. The entire opera was performed in German and featured students of the graduate and undergraduate level. With a sell-out performance each night I was glad to have purchased my tickets early, especially for Wednesday’s opening performance. Having seen several renditions of The Magic Flute prior to this one, I was eager to see Peabody’s take on Mozart’s renowned opera.
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A little about its history: premiering in Vienna’s Theater auf der Wieden on September 30, 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) was one of his last opera’s composed and performed before his death in December. It was written as a Singspiel, a style of opera that includes both spoken dialogue and singing, and is based on a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Comprised of two Acts and featuring a variety of folk-like songs, The Magic Flute is reminiscent of a children’s fairy tale. And as with any fairy tale, there is a happy ending… a contrast to any ending normally found in opera. Because of this, The Magic Flute is appropriate for all ages.
Upon taking my seat in the audience I was immediately drawn to the simple set design, featuring a small runway-style platform with two sets of stairs. But hidden behind this platform was a screen that, as I would soon find out, displayed projected images of various backgrounds designed by several students at MICA. Being an admirer of art and the artistic interpretation of text and music, I was very impressed with this concept. The use of screens to change sets was a fantastic idea, requiring fewer stagehands and decreasing the amount of time spent to create the background. I was especially impressed with the screen used in Act I when we were first introduced to the Queen of the Night. The entire background was dark purple in color and had images that appeared to be glow-in-the-dark, and only the faces of the Queen of the Night and the three ladies were lit. Other screens were less dramatic, but the use of props added a certain element that made the scenes more realistic. Peabody’s choice and use of scenery was extremely effective and made me feel as though I was one with the scene, simply acting as a witness to Tamino’s trials and Pamina’s bouts of depression.
Having good scenery also requires a good cast, and Peabody was easily able to accomplish that. The roles were cast perfectly. I was very impressed with the level of professionalism of the performers, and from the crowd’s reaction it appears they were impressed as well. In my opinion, operas should be performed in the original language the libretto was written in… English translations are not my thing. For example, the Met performed The Magic Flute in 2004 and although they did a fantastic job with the sets and props, they failed to perform it in German. This greatly detracts from both the arias and the spoken dialogue. Peabody’s choice to perform The Magic Flute in German, with super-titles for us non-German speakers, was a wise choice.
Album Review - Colin Meloy Sings Live!, Preview @ 9:30 Club
Approach this preview and album review with caution, it is highly-tainted by personal bias. Let me explain.
I have seen the Decemberists (Wiki) at least 6 times that I can count (I have probably only seen the Pietasters (Wiki) more, somewhere around 12 times).
I have played their albums into the grave.
Their concert with the BSO (Wiki) last summer sprinted into my top five concert moments of all time, at #2 right behind Rage Against the Machine/STP in the pouring rain of an HFStival which is in the top spot. Even if Jeff Magnum and Neutral Milk Hotel continued doing their thing, I still think that I would pick Colin Meloy as the better song-writer.
Now that we're through the disclosure segment, let's get to the album after the jump.
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This is Meloy's 3rd solo album, and his first of original material (the previous two EPs were covers of Morrissey and Shirley Collins). Moving beyond the obvious predilection of Decemberists material to tales of nautical adventure, romance and revenge, Meloy's merit as a solo artist lies in his massive abilities as a gifted lyricist, songwriter, musician and ultimately, performer. The man knows how to construct a song that draws upon the strings of both your mind and your heart, apart from whatever period or setting the narrative is set in.
However, this album starts off unremarkable. The first track, "Devil's Elbow," is a relic from Meloy's pre-Decemberists project, Tarkio and hardly represents the apex of Meloy's abilities as a musician or song-writer. The performance captured for the second track, "We both go down together" off of Picaresque, is flat and relatively uninspired. No real vocal flourishes, just a straight delivery. A far cry from the power of the last performance I saw with the Baltimore Symphony.
Then, a one-two punch of two Decemberists songs that were tailor-made for Meloy's solo acoustic treatment: "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground" and "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" Both songs soar to life, bringing a new sense of vulnerability that is unreachable with a full Decemberists' arrangements. The nimble, swirling ebb and flow of the constantly moving guitar-line hypnotizes in "Gymnast" while "Architect" showcases Meloy's vocals and his creative muscle. He seamlessly rearranges the vocals into Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" without changing the underlying guitar chords from "Architect."
Two unreleased tracks follow. The first is "Dracula's Daughter," a pseudo-track where Meloy self-deprecatingly sings snippets from and describes "the worst song I've ever written." This paints a perfect picture of Meloy's charm as a performer, and his disarming boyish humor. The second, "Wonder," is a rarity in Meloy's catalogue, and a pleasure. A song about his at-the-time expected newborn child. It is entirely hopefilled with no dark edges proves he can exalt happiness as much as starcross'd and ill-fated love and destiny.
"Barbara Allen" is a track previously found on Meloy's EP covering Shirley Collins. He channels some true power and it has been noted before that he seems to be a kindred spirit with Collins, both sharing affinity for folk music and themes. Narrative lyrics and heavy-on-folk song structure continues into "Engine Driver" and through the rest of the album, which features admirable performances of most major Decemberists song compatible with the solo acoustic format. This includes "A Cautionary Tale," "The Bachelor and the Bride" as well as a gorgeous rendition of "Bandit Queen."
"California One" and "Red Right Ankle" stand out as emblematic of the level of performances that should have been on the album for every track. Iconic and powerful, showcasing Meloy's talents at full throttle. But I can tell you I've heard "We both go down together" performed much more effectively by the Decemberists. The version on this album falls very flat.
Despite the varying quality of performance, and more prominently tone, on each track, the overall quality is quite high. The biggest detraction to this album is it's construction and tracking, both of which contribute to a disjointed and forced feeling since the album is essentially a gestalt, with tracks being culled from multiple performances. Doing this, you would have anticipated the best of the best takes; unfortunately this is not always the case.
The only other major weakness is the dialog tracks. While they are relevant and at times entertaining, they can make things really seem forced. It is clear they are used as a stop-gap, trying to recreate the continuity of an album recorded at a single live show, and failing.
Though the album is a strong showcase of Meloy's work from his entire career in a live setting very different from the Decemberists, it is by no means a definitive archive of his best performances. A must-buy for Meloy and Decemberists fans. But the less-than-devout should give it a few spins before making the jump.
Overall State: 7 / 10
Track Listing
01 Devil's Elbow
02 We Both Go Down Together
03 Evoking a Campfire Singalong (banter)
04 The Gymnast, High Above the Ground
05 Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect/Dreams
06 Dracula's Daughter
07 Wonder
08 A Brief Introduction to Shirley Collins (banter)
09 Barbara Allen
10 The Engine Driver
11 On the Bus Mall
12 A Skull, a Ship, and a Sheep (banter)
13 California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade/Ask
14 The Bachelor and the Bride
15 A Cautionary Song
16 Red Right Ankle
17 Bandit Queen
Pre-order the LP Colin Meloy Sings Live! here at buyolympia.com. Album drops on April 8th. But really, you shouldn't settle just for live Meloy on CD. Colin rolls his one-man show through DC, stopping at the 9:30 on Sunday April 13th with Laura Gibson. Tickets are $28 and I heartily recommend it. You shant be disappointed.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The White Rabbits swap labels to TBD Records
So the focus of our inaugural content, the White Rabbits, has been signed to TBD Records. They are now label-mates with a little band called Radiohead. Congrats to the guys.
We will be checking in with them in a few weeks before they hit the area on their latest tour with Spoon and the Walkmen. Man these guys keep good company.
In the meantime, check out our interview with lead singer and keyboardist Steve Patterson as well of our reviews of their last show with the Walkmen at the Ottobar.
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Friday, March 14, 2008
Roky Erickson + Okkervil River = Bliss in Austin at SXSW
I knew I should've gone to Austin. Psychedelic 60's icon Roky Erickson pairs with Okkervil River for one of his signature tracks? Sign me the fuck up. Check the video here at spin.com.
And for those unfamiliar, here's the full MP3 from a Roky anthology. Song should be familiar to those of you who love John Cusack's High Fidelity.
"You're Gonna Miss Me Baby" (MP3)
Another vid of merely Okkervil after the jump. And if you're lucky, by the end of the weekend, I'll compose and post a psych-influenced mix.
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Gah.
I can't find anything remotely interesting going on this weekend. I guess I'm resigning myself to sitting on my couch and watching the ACC basketball tournament. I might be okay with that.
But did I miss something? Is there anything going on this weekend? Post suggestions here so I can go get drunk and embarrass myself among perfect strangers (after my alma mater UNC takes it all).
I've been looking around, and here's a list of things that I can't get exited about:
Reaction at Sidebar on Friday night. Come on, it's drizzling outside.
Buying a Wham City-Box-o-crap at Atomic Books... even if it is heralded by the Whitney Museum.
Watching the intentionally shocking and emotionally deadening Funny Games at the Charles. (By the way, did anyone else hate No Country for Old Men?)
Getting help with preparing my taxes at Enoch Pratt on Saturday.
Yep... I guess it's basketball for me.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Brother Ali @ The Ottobar
Writing about Brother Ali presents a problem. On the one hand I feel dwelling on his background undercuts his music; he even feared this, being so reluctant early on to discuss his race that some mistakenly reported him as African-American.
But on the other hand, an MC isn’t exactly a detached writer striving for Negative Capability. And as his career has progressed, Ali has been increasingly vocal about his Midwestern roots and what the region's artists have to offer compared to coastal hip-hop, as well as his race and background.
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So, quickly here are the Brother Ali factoids. He is a white Mid Westerner that raps, and by white I mean very white. In fact, Brother Ali is an albino, and legally blind as albinos tend to be. He is also a Muslim. I could speculate all day long how these factors may contribute to knowledge of outsider status and thus lyrics that are deeply introspective at times, but also full of braggadocio and ego.
Instead, let's look at his music. Ali's penchant for the "golden age" of hip-hop flavors his music with sound similar to oft-cited influence KRS-One and now-defunct and heavily old-school influenced Jurassic 5. He has a distinct, timeless-quality to his flow, a strong voice and great sense of lyrical timing.
His politically charged track "Uncle Sam Goddamn" has generated a flurry of press, including being featured as the August 2007 "Hip-Hop Quotable." The song has been opposed and criticized by many including the recording industry and most notably a cell-phone company that withdrew sponsorship, shortening part of Ali's tour.
The single "Take me home" has been received with less controversy, resulting in a music video in rotation at MTV. But how do I truly resolve the issue of Brother Ali’s music versus his press sheet bio? In the end, I’ll take the cop-out, and decide after his March 25 show at the Ottobar.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Desperate for Evil Urges from My Morning Jacket?
If you are anything like me, you are absolutely foaming at the mouth with anticipation for My Morning Jacket's upcoming release Evil Urges, salvation comes in the form of a YouTube-like stream of videos live from their recent stop in Houston.
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I'm Amazed
Highly Suspicious
Thank You Too
Sec Walkin
Aluminum Park
Smokin from Shootin
Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Album Review: Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
OK kids, get your giggles out. Yes, this duo from the UK, comprised of one Andrew Hung and one Benjamin John Power, is called Fuck Buttons (Wiki). Ludicrous name. But to the matter at hand. This week, a copy of their debut full-length called "Street Horrrsing" dropped in my mailbox and I popped it in for a listen.
If you aren't ready to be immersed and engulfed by sound, or despise repetition and noise, please turn this review off now.
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For those of you who stuck around, Fuck Buttons' debut album is 50 minutes of experimental aural immersion. It's like watching the sunrise at the end of the world perched on a precipice in some exotic mountain-range...or just running around the city on little-to-no sleep.
Their music combines abrasive and aggressive elements (muted-screech-and-scream vocals, driving tribal percussion) with the mesmerizing and soothing elements of looped synths or fuzzed-out static noise and drone. Often the effect is an odd, serene beauty laden with tension and dark undertones, as if a steady dirge in anticipation of the death of some unknown aspect of humanity.
Described as electro-psych-drone, Fuck Buttons deliver tracks that are well-metered and absolutely mesmerizing. But this is not music for the impatient. There are only 6 tracks on the album, with 5 clocking in at-or-above 8 minutes in length. Not so easily digested, the tracks individually don't necessarily blow you away. But when you sit and listen to the album in its entirety, the effect is profound.
The twinkling keys that begin the album on lead track "Sweet Love for Planet Earth" are a gentle, innocent introduction into Fuck Buttons' dystopic album and world. Their patent drone enters aligned with the keys, but eventually taking it over as the lead musical voice (one of their most effective techniques, blending drone). Wailing vocals lend a sense of turmoil beneath the swirling mix of drone and keys.
The simplest, shortest track "Ribs Out" is one of the most haunting I've heard in ages. It recalls some demonic ritual in the depths of an unknown rainforest with reverbing primal yelps and screams set upon a tribal beat that sounds like chattering bones are being used for drum sticks.
The much previewed and lauded first single "Bright Tomorrow" presents probably the most uplifting moments thanks to the bright keyboard line and major key drone that enters near the 3 minute mark. But eventually the track turns to a darker, more crushing drone that provides a perfect leads into the final track, "Colours Move." My personal favorite, this final track absolutely soars and destroys. The couplet of the last two tracks reminds me very much of Danny Boyle's 2007 film Sunshine, where a group of astronauts 50 years in the future attempts to re-ignite our dying sun.
And I couldn't think of a more appropriate parallel; Fuck Buttons very well may reignite the power of experimental and noise music for many and stand as a shining example of its versatility and viability. Fuck Buttons open for fellow noise-nik Caribou (Wiki) on March 21st when they hit Rock and Roll Hotel in DC. Their debut LP, Street Horrrsing drops in the States on March 18th.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Caverns Interview (w/ Kevin Hilliard)
Guitarist Kevin Hilliard, one-third of DC's hard-rocking instrumentalists Caverns took some time out to chat about their music and other miscellaneous topics like the role of vocals in metal. And check out our previous coverage of Caverns here.
Below are a smattering of streamed tracks for you to enjoy while reading the interview after the jump. Don't forget to catch them when they lay down the gauntlet with fellow DC-kids Imperial China, next to Baltimore's own Moscow Telephone and UK crunchy-pop-punk from Buck Brothers on March 21st at Lo-Fi.
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Aural States: So give me a little background, where you guys are from, how you guys formed.
Kevin Hilliard: We all grew up in Montgomery County, we’re all from the Bethesda/Rockville area. We went to high school together. I played in the jazz band together with Pat who’s the piano player in high school. When we got back from college I wanted to play with him in something different. He was more on the classical/jazz side whereas I grew up listening to and playing rock and roll. I wanted to see how the two things sounded together.
We started jamming in 2004, but we didn’t really do anything serious until the drummer Ross moved back to DC. After he graduated college, he lived a couple other places before he came back. He was looking to play with some people so we just came together, a little over 2 years ago.
AS- Just out of curiousity, as a fellow Maryland native, where’d you guys goto high school?
KH- Georgetown Prep.
AS- You said initially you were interested in just seeing how the sounds meshed together. How did things go, how did things sound at first?
KH- Well it started…Pat had a lot of experience working and doing producing work for hip-hop groups. He was also doing remixes. He had a lot of experience with music editing programs like Pro Tools. I always envisioned this band as having crazy guitar offset with more straight-forward and melodic piano, but also, I was at one time a little more interested in doing something along the lines of Mogwai (Wiki). You know how Mogwai will incorporate a lot of electronic elements into their sound like backing loops and sort of play along with it. The initial concept was more like that.
But we decided computers were more problematic than it was worth. We had the worst luck with every computer configuration. And with only the two of us, it just didn’t work. Some bands can do it and it’s awesome, but for us it was such a headache. It just so happened Ross was moving back to town around that time.
When he joined the band, I think that amped us up a little bit more, took us to another level of intensity. When he plays drums, he can be sort of aggressive and loud. We just kind of became what we were. We just started messing around. I would bring in ideas for songs, Pat and me would sort of develop them and they became just a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be. But we were all into it because we thought it wasn’t like anything we’d heard before.
None of us could sing, but we didn’t necessarily set out to be an instrumental band. None of us really wanted to sing. And really, I felt like the piano started acting like a vocalist in a way. So we just decided to develop it that way. Because a lot of the music we listened to and still listen to now, is more instrumental driven where the vocals are either buried, lower in the mix or kind of atmospheric rather than on the top.
I think that was just something we were more interested in exploring. We had all done stuff before that was more traditional. The crux was almost always finding a good vocalist or dealing with that aspect. And we just figured, none of us is a vocalist so let’s just be what we are.
AS- So you never dabbled with vocalists at all?
KH- Nah, after we’d developed enough songs to play a set live, we were comfortable and confident enough in them working as instrumentals. We got really psyched about presenting it as this full musical, almost like classical, vibe. Especially since the piano, the way Pat plays it in the context of our songs, has a very classical sound to it. I was really excited about it being this weird, sort of hyper-aggressive classical music. I don’t know if that’s what it really ended up being but…the idea was attractive.
AS- The piano definitely lends your music a symphonic or classical feel like you said. The closest sound I can even think of is symphonic metal without the ridiculous vocals of a hoarse screamer or some wailing 80s-hair metal vocalist.
KH- Yeah, like I read your review and I really respect like Dream Theater (Wiki), for example. I think John Petrucci (Wiki) is one of the greatest guitarists who’s ever picked it up. But there’s a certain element that always has alienated me from it. There’s this sort of drama club element to it. It’s a sort of overwrought-ness to it that, no matter how technical we get in this music, I always want it to be completely immediate. Not have a theatrical thing going on.
It has that classical element but it’s very much in your face like Converge (Wiki) and Dillinger Escape Plan (Wiki). And I agree, so many times, the worst part about a heavy band whether it’s total cooke-monster shit or super-theatrical like the band Nevermore (Wiki)…insanely good musicians but the second the guy opens his mouth you just laugh. It sounds so dated and preposterous.
AS- The other thing that you seem to excel at is keeping things in balance. Not letting any one member just go off and destroy the flow of a song. So many bands like that can just go off on tangents that wreck a song.
KH- Definitely, like I said, we want everything to be immediate. Bands I’ve seen like Mars Volta (Wiki), go into these long…impressive…but really long-winded instrumental, show-offy things…We’re not about that at all. We just want to get it done and present it. So many bands, instrumental bands, make this mistake…or maybe it’s not a mistake and we’re making a mistake I dunno…but do something in 5 minutes that they could have done in 30 seconds. It’s this weird sense that everything has to be developed to death, almost as an apology for the fact that there are no vocals. We never let ourselves feel that way.
AS- Is there anybody in charge of arranging your songs on the whole, keeping the balance and things like that? Or does everybody write and control their own stuff?
KH- As far as writing the overall structure, the framework of the song, I probably take the lead. But the good thing about working with Pat is that, even though we’ve known each other for a long time, we have almost no common musical interests or tastes. I could list 30 bands that people think Caverns sounds like and he might be able to name 2 of them. He has no history in this scene, he comes from a classical, jazz, R&B, hip-hop vibe. I feel like I present what I have to him and he gives me his thoughts and that does help shape the songs and we make some changes. Once that’s done, Ross will come in and apply a rhythm and make some changes. Especially with Pat’s left hand, which acts kind of like our bassist. But usually I come in with the basic structure, ideas and the general way the songs will go. Pat finishes it in a sense and Ross puts a rhythmic cherry on top I guess.
AS- Are most of your songs born as jams or do you bring concepts in more often than not?
KH- It depends on what we’re doing. The more aggressive, fast and heavy a song is, the more likely it was something I brought to the table. The more loose, mid-tempo and atmospheric songs, we play a longer slow jam in the middle of our sets, that is an example of a song we sat down and took more time together on, shaping as a band rather than me sitting down alone and workshopping prior to introducing it to the band. But they aren’t Caverns songs until the other two guys have had their say.
AS- Since you mentioned 30 or so bands people think Caverns sounds like, name some.
KH- Haha, well the sort of one-sentence, elevator pitch for what our band sounds like…I’d say it’s like Mogwai and Dillinger Escape Plan had a lovechild. We combine some of the harmonic vocabulary that Dillinger or Converge does, some diminished, some whole scale stuff, some super discordant half-step or seventh harmonies. But also looking from an instrumental perspective, using the piano and the way we develop some of our ideas is more inspired by a band like Mogwai or Dan Caballero.
Or even bands like Battles or Holy Fuck.
When I was really young, the first bands that really blew my mind were like Fugazi or Rage Against the Machine. Bands that in the early 90s were really revolutionary to me. Some of the first bass lines I learned were to Fugazi or RATM songs. That’s sort of where I got that punk flavor or element from.
Ornette Coleman you know, and the whole free jazz thing. That really changed my definition of music. It’s one of those things that walks the line between genius and crap the whole time. That’s the thing. Playing music like we play, that’s kinda wild and out there, the lesson that taught me is that you have to make up, in a way for it being some out of the ordinary by being a really good player. Really knowing what you’re doing even if it doesn’t sound like it. One person might go “oh it’s just noise” but another might dig deeper and go “oh this guy knows what he’s doing.”
AS- How do you approach live shows? It sounds that you are all very into and proud of being individual instrumentalists. Does it become just an open jam session or are things more organized?
KH- I don’t think so, each song sort of just exists. The only person who really improvs is probably Pat. The way the piano operates in our songs is that it is kind of above the other things, even though there is balance. But especially the melodic stuff, he has more room to improv.
But since I’m playing a weird dual-role of lead guitarist and also a weird mix between bassist and rhythm guitarist, I have to wear a lot of hats so I don’t have a lot of time or places to deviate too much. Which is why I try to really write runs that interest me. I think that’s part of this attitude that this is our moment, our half-hour or 45 minutes or whatever, to just go out there and kill it. Put every ounce of energy and passion into this.
I just want to go out there and have people remember us.
AS- With that in mind, what are your priorities right now?
KH- We just went through a first-run pressing of our first EP Sing Along that we recorded a little over a year ago with J Robbins in Baltimore. It was like a mission statement. A lot of songs on it were a little older, things we wanted to get out. We had a lot of ideas and those were the songs we had started playing. We're kind of at the end since we sold our last CD of that pressing at the Black Cat show.
Basically, our record Silk Scorpion that we are going to record starting in May is already written. So we're kind of in pre-production for that now. We're on Lujo Records, based out of Louisiana. This is probably, not right now, like a full-time thing for us. But basically every second we're not working we're putting into this band so I feel like our commitment is pretty high. We're trying to do a tour at the end of the year. Our record is probably gonna come out in January.
Show Review: Justice at Sonar, Baltimore MD, take two...
Baltimore tried its hardest to become Ibiza or Miami with last night’s Justice show. Walking into the show mid-set for DJ Mehdi (pictured right), we saw a densely-packed main room with arms flailing high above heads in the flicker of stage lights and strobes, bass-heavy beats pounding you into the ground. I had to double-check the date to make sure I wasn’t at a Buzz event in now-defunct DC nightclub Nation circa 2000. Mehdi established what would be the theme of excellence for the night: flow.
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Flow is normally used when referring to a skilled lyricist, especially rappers and hip-hop artists. But I use it to describe the progression and pacing of the music, not lyrics. And Mehdi knows how to make song transitions flow. But that’s about it. He did a little mixing/EQ work to drop the bass out a few times to mix things up, but by and large, he transitioned tracks and let them play, undisturbed. His skill in transitioning songs was phenomenally smooth and some of the best I’ve ever heard. But that only makes him an excellent dance night DJ, not an excellent DJ. Still, as Bez quoted me, I hope the Taxlo kids take note. Their inter-song flow has been less-than-stellar in the past year or so.
Copious sampling of “We are your friends” threatened to become tiresome, but that’s about the only nit-picking critique I can give. Even that was done so tastefully and effectively that it didn’t really grow old, even after 4-6 call-and-returns. Justice sure do know how to show a guy a good time.
Photo credit: Josh Sisk (Flickr)
Show Review: Aural Justice for Bmore at Sonar
It was about a year or two ago when French electronic duo Justice was making it’s first US tour. Philly was the closest they were coming to Baltimore, and The Rapture was the opener for that night to boot. I never made it to that show, and I’ve since been wondering what I missed that night.
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Sure, I knew Justice would come around again, but that special aura of being one of the relative few in the know about the newest Parisian kids making dance music would be gone. Since that time my interest in Justice has waned a little. It was a brief, and intense affair with a hot young thing, but after the Alive 2007 tour I realized my true French love was still the veteran Daft Punk. But isn’t it French custom to keep a mistress?
Though my passion for Justice cooled, the media hype around the group has grown. Fueled by a very successful myspace page, some MTV spots, and a music press core that foams at the mouth over any combination of hip young Parisians, funky analog synth techno/electro, and a killer live show. Not to say the group doesn’t deserve the attention, just that those factors don’t hurt.
Sunday night was going to be my chance to finally get to see if Justice lives up to the hype. It was also the first time in about a year that I went back to Sonar.
I got off work late, so I was only able to catch the final 20 minutes of DJ Mehdi’s set. He’s an Ed Banger labelmate of Justice. His production and remixing skills are solid, but from what I saw of his set, his mixing is so-so. But take my assessment with a grain of salt. Usually when I’m judging DJs I’m looking for the so-called DJ’s DJ, something of a purist. Someone for whom technical proficiency and record selection come first and foremost, and the waving of hands in the air and other “crowd interaction” moves are simply not done because the DJ is too busy mixing. I guess Richie Hawtin would be the prime example. DJ Mehdi spent much of his time away from the mixer dancing around stage. Don’t get me wrong; he was a very good dancer. I wish I could move like that, but that’s time that could have been spent EQing the track, or filtering it for effect. Another Aural States staffer made the very good observation that Mehdi would make a great dance night DJ—“I hope the Taxlo guys are taking note,” he said.
The crowd seemed to enjoy the shtick though. They went crazy when Mehdi dropped a Bloc Party track coming out of a breakdown of a women moaning preceded by some acid tinged techno. Someone held a Tunisian flag aloft. Though born in Paris, Mehdi’s ethnic background is of that Northern African country. Mehdi took the red flag with white crescent moon and draped it over the table supporting his equipment. I had the quick thought that being black and/or Muslim in France must suck. But being black and French in most other countries, especially America, means you’re instantly cool without even trying. Apparently Uffie’s sister, Fafi, agrees as she is dating Mehdi.
After DJ Mehdi’s last track stagehands quickly set up a large bank of equipment center stage flanked by Marshall stacks. Smoke began to fill in from behind stage. The lights cut out save for blue light behind the stage. Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay took the stage and began a grinding, gritty, distorted synth build up. When it peaked, when the audience was ready, the beat dropped. Yellow flood lights behind stage flared, and the fabric draped over the table supporting all the equipment was pulled away revealing a bank of analog hardware and Justice’s trademark cross sitting in the center.
Here I want to pause and discuss Justice’s adopted symbol. I’ve never heard an explanation why a cross was chosen, but it really works. I mean everyone already knows what it is, and to have a room full of people facing a flashing cross with arms in air, palms toward heaven lost in a moment of ecstasy sends a pretty strong message. For some reason electronic music, especially rave, abounds in spiritual/religious components. You’re overwhelmed with the DJ-as-savior metaphor. I think all those trance DJs of the late 90s and early 00s who thought of themselves as gods, but they never actually put a cross onstage (by the way what’s the difference between God and Oakenfold? God doesn’t think he is Oakenfold.) I’m sure Justice is using the cross in a very ironic tongue-in-cheek way (not usual for the French), but still the intended message is clear. It is also interesting when you factor in that the opener Mehdi is a alternate spelling of Mahdi, the Sufi and Shia Muslim messianic figure.
Justice’s set was phenomenal. Their sense of pacing, the tension and release created between tracks was spot on. It’s such a cliché to talk about music as a journey (I think of that sample at the beginning of Coldcut’s 70 Minutes of Madness—“This is a journey”—said in British accent), but it was clear Gaspard and Xavier knew where they wanted to take the crowd, and how to get there. This is the sign of skilled DJs; they have the arrogant confidence that they can reach the crowd on an almost psychic level and toy with them. They get the crowd to do what they want.
But one of the disappointments of the night was that you couldn’t actually see what Justice was doing. I guess you can’t really call it a DJ set, as I assume they weren’t playing vinyl or CDs. The equipment set up was analog, but the effects being applied were obviously digital. I think I spotted a laptop sitting behind the cross. Sound synthesized on hardware and sequenced with software? I wish I knew for certain. It was in another interview on this website that someone said that when seeing an electronic music performance you take it on faith that the performer isn’t just pushing play.
It was also in an untapped segment of that interview that the Chemical Brothers were brought up at length. And I actually thought of the Chemical Brothers during the Justice set. The crowd was actually a hodgepodge of all types, but most, and I’m generalizing, most didn’t seem to fall into either the hipster set, or the techno head faction. I saw a lot of watered down styles and trends, not the original. Not a value judgment, just an observation. There were a fair number of guys that while may not technically be in frats, definitely seemed to enjoy beer, visors, and collared shirts. Again, not to say people like that can’t appreciate Justice’s music. But those were the same types of people in the 90s going to Chemical Brothers shows. I get the distinct feeling that those types weren’t at that show in Philly I never made it to, the one I still regret not seeing.
