Scene Through A Lens – Maps & Atlases, The Metro, Chicago
Documentary Photography and Article by Josh Darr
Maps & Atlases appear to have been around much longer than one would think of a band readying their debut release, Perch Patchwork. The Chicago based quartet (who have a tendency as being labeled as “Math Rock”) originally met at a school in Chicago, ultimately leading to the forming of M&A. They have become a true cult favorite, building a following from live performances and a couple of self released EPs, and just recently signed to Barsuk.
Each song is layered with melodies drawing from experimental and folk rock as Dave Davison’s lyrics create a fantastical yet whimsy tone. The final outcome is a brilliant explosion of sound and harmony- creating a juxtaposed harmonic dissonance exhibiting the quartet’s masterful grasp of instrumentation.
While touring with Frightened Rabbit, I had the pleasure of getting to know the guys on their hometown stop at the Metro. We enjoyed discussing LOST, new releases and life in general as the overall disposition in the green room stayed upbeat and jovial pre-performance.
28. Erin and Dave discuss positions for each member on stage.
5. Chris Hainey chats on the phone as the band eagerly awaits to perform.
9. Getting some fresh air and things from the van, Chris catches up with his girlfriend on the phone.
13. While we sat in the green room, Dave spoke of the various BBC shows they discovered while on tour in the UK.
33. As the time winds down, Shiraz stands ready to perform.
4. On arrival to The Metro, drummer Chris Hainey begins setting up his drum kit.
6. Chris fiercely explodes onstage, flexing his musical muscles.
15. Chris figures out a last minute solution to repair the drum kit he's had since childhood.
1. Tour manager Ashley Sheehan takes a breather from negotiating with the venue, while drummer Chris Hainey relaxes on the couch.
11. Dave Davison narrates his listeners through these multi-layered songs which exhibit a musical genius and a creative imagination in their lyrics.
3. Tour Manager, Ashley begins setting up the merchandise table.
24. Frightened Rabbit's drummer Grant Hutchison gives Dave last minute advice before he takes the stage.
35. Almost seeming choreographed Erin and Shiraz sit at the couch identically reading something.
10. Lead singer, Dave Davison pulls out his guitar strumming through notes playing in his head.
16. Peering out of the corner, guitarist Erin Elders flexes his musical muscles.
8. Not knowing what to do, Chris finally takes a seat.
12. As the guys arrive, Dave can't help plugging in his guitar.
27. Shiraz Dada counts the ways he is excited to be home.
20. Bassist Shiraz Dada provided some comic relief for Erin Elders as he read through some local music rag.
30. Shiraz begins plugging in amps.
7. During a long stint of waiting at the venue, band members got antsy to move around; drummer, Chris Hainey returns after an adventure.
14. Dave Davison and Erin Elders discuss the crowd's intensity with openers' Our Brother the Native's Josh Bertram.
31. Shiraz glides back and forth with ease as he thumps along on his bass.
26. Dave takes one final look back before they begin performing.
25. Maps & Atlases take a look around with their green room for the evening.
19. Erin takes a moment to ponder his theories regarding the upcoming LOST finale.
22. Shiraz's roomate and Chris's girlfriend arrive excited for the band's homecoming performance.
32. The laughs keep coming as Shiraz continues to read from the local music rag.
Shiraz and his roomate Maggie talk before he heads up to stage.
29. Dave and Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison chat it up by the lockers.
Ferraby Lionheart is a true American troubadour. In my head I imagine him constantly strolling through rolling hills in Nashville with earth-weary boots and a guitar strapped along his back. More or less a Paul Bunyan of music. But I think that his own description of his soon to be released album “The Jack of Hearts” sums it up best – ” I went back to Tennessee to hang around the train tracks near where I grew up. I ordered some microphones from Germany and wrote songs about antique shops and horse races. A friend of mine has a truck and some land out by the Cumberland River. We swim there and sink our feet into the deep mud of the river bed. I also sit in my front yard looking at the chipmunks and crows that hang around. Once a squirrel fell from a power line and lay on the street getting a little flatter each day, until the rain washed him away. And so that’s what the album is about, I suppose. It’s an intricate and emotional meditation on being alive. ” This man has a way with words as is apparent by the honey liqoured stories that pour out of his mouth on each song, so let’s see what gospel he can bestow upon us with our 18est of questions.
1. Tell us about the band?
My band is always different, but what I hope for is at least 3 voices singing together and a drummer that would sound good in The Doobie Brothers or behind Otis Redding. I made a little home studio back in Nashville and invited some new friends over to play stuff I couldn’t do, and I got a couple kids from the college to come play horns for 30 dollars an hour. I’ve been touring around the US for a few years in a gold van, and whoever is around comes along.
2. Have you ever been fed up with playing music or with band members, why?
Sure. I try to have fun with it, but the thing is.. it takes a lot of emotion, getting up there and singing songs like you mean it. Sometimes the gigs don’t go off like I’d hope, and it’s easy to get down on those. I used to want to quit probably every few shows. It’s much less now. Maybe I’m figuring it out a little.
3. What was your first concert experience? Do you remember how you felt once the concert was over?
A family friend took my brother and I to a Beastie Boys/RUN DMC concert when I was in the 4th grade. I don’t remember the show all that much, but I remember feeling like it was a majorly cool thing to do. I remember being real excited to go. I was mowing the lawn that afternoon in anticipation.. and then at school the next day all the other kids thought it was pretty awesome.
4. Did you grow up wanting to play music, or when did the whole making albums thing come about and how?
I think I was 15 or 16 when I got my first 4-Track. It used a regular cassette tape in it. I liked singing as a kid, but I never thought about making music as a serious activity until then. We didn’t have instruments in my house growing up, so I just discovered it when friends at school started playing guitars and things.
5. What qualifies you guys to be in a band?
I’m pretty sure anyone can be in a band. It doesn’t necessarily require a lot of training to start one. I guess you just have to have an idea of some music u want to make. I ask people to play with me if I like the kind of rhythm they keep.. or if we seem to have similar taste in melody choices.
6. Do you have a favorite song you have ever written? Why?
That’s a tough one, cause I think it changes. I am finding that I feel a greater sense of control over my songwriting as time goes by. So I am most proud of my recent work. I think one of the main challenges as an artist is evaluating one’s work from a detached perspective. That’s a tricky thing. I guess it’s not really possible, but the idea is to figure out how to get close. And when I listen back to a tune of mine that sounds like the real thing. Like I didn’t write it. Then I like it. So far, I’d say the last track on my new album is my best song yet.
7. What is your greatness weakness as a band?
Jeez, that’s hard to say. Probably that I’m sort of a loner.
8. What qualities should a successful label or manager have?
Oh boy.. well, they gotta have great creative vision. I think it’s similar to the function of an artist, only their medium is the world instead of the tape machine.
9. What’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to you in your life?
10. What’s the first thing you do when the band arrives in a new town while on tour?
Other than high-fives? Usually it’s a rush, and a frantic load-in and sound check.
11. Have you ever had an audience member give you the willies because they kept looking at you all weird?
Ha! No, but I just came off tour with an act that has one of those. He follows them all over the country wearing a black suite and doing exactly that.
12. Have you ever cried while listening to music? If so what were you listening too?
You kidding? I cry at weddings. I love going to weddings, everyone is so happy for some reason.
12. If you could re-record, or re-write any song of yours what would that song be?
There are two songs on the new album that I think I could have done better, but I had just built the studio and it was in the beginning of the project so it is what it is. However, there’s a tune off my self-titled EP from back in ’07 called “The Fighter” that I’ve thought about re-recording. Maybe I will some day.
13. What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?
Oh boy.. well I don’t wanna call any venue out like that. But let’s just say that certain clubs shouldn’t be on the touring circuit. And although it’s a drag to encounter one on the road, there’s no venue that a great crowd can’t salvage.
15. In a perfect world how many albums would you have to sell to be happy?
Like feel that I had made it?? Let’s see, I guess I wouldn’t mind selling more than Lambchop, and less than Jeff Buckley.
16. What do you guys have planned for the future?
I plan on working the wheels off The Jack of Hearts. I’ll probably go to Spain, they’ve been sending me emails from over there to come play. Then I want to do a collaboration record with the choir from this inner-city high school where my mother works.
17. What music do you listen to when you are having a bad day?
Don’t have bad day music that I can remember.. I usually try to get out into the world and live if I’m feeling down. Probably take a bike ride.
18. If you had your life to live over again, what one thing would you change?
Holy moly, u ain’t kiddin’ around are you.. I guess I’d have been born with curly hair.
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Filmed by our official Acoustic Video Session creator Aaron Blumenshine, on a sunny day somewhere around San Francisco with the guys of Not An Airplane bringing their music back to where it came from.
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Barnstormer III: Day 3, Walworth County Fairgrounds, Elkhorn, WI 4.29.2010
Documentary Photography and article by Josh Darr
Daytrotter has etched a name for itself finding raw talent and exhibiting bands’ strengths through live sessions. These sessions allow band members to experiment with the limited instruments available at the studio and you are free to download online. What makes the site more noteworthy, is the fact that its home base is located off the beaten path in creator Sean Moeller’s hometown of Rock Island, IL. Acts of all sizes and notoriety have made the site’s hub part of their tour routes when venturing through the MidWest.
Last summer, Moeller decided to take his ventures on the road with Barnstormer, an homage of classic rock groups that made the effort to play live music in America’s barns. Since its inception I have threatened Sean that I would be making the trek out towards the countryside to join in the fun. Unfortunately for me those hopes did not come to fruition until the tour’s third round of backwoods adventures, but happily this included the talents of Pearly Gate Music ,Nathaniel Rateliff ,Free Energy ,Delta Spirit and Ra Ra Riot .
After the town of Lake Geneva declared a ban of live music, Barnstormer rerouted their third stop of the tour in Elkhorn, WI causing the performers to settle into the vacant lots of the Walworth County Fairgrounds. As the hangar was prepped, the bands teamed up against each other in games of whiffle ball and bocce ball; while others found quiet confines to relax and read or just take in the environment. There is a certain magic that occurs between the forging of new friendships and the passion generated from the makeshift stage. I can say without a doubt this will not be the last Barnstormer this guy experiences.
Defiance, Ohio flexed their collective musical muscles in the recording studio and have come out swinging! “Floodwaters” is a delicious slice of american made music arrayed with quirky lyrics, hot southern instrumentation and some robust lovin’. The bands new album “Midwestern Minutes” comes out via the best little punk record label ever No Idea on July 6th. -
“Floodwaters”-
Band Members:
Geoff: acoustic guitar and vocals
Will: drums, harmonica, and vocals
Ryan: upright bass and vocals
Bz: violin and vocals
Sherri: cello, banjo
Theo: drums
Tour Dates:
FR JUNE 11 NYC @club europa w/mischief brew and laura stevenson
SA JUNE 12 PHILADELPHIA @the first Unitarian Church w/mischief brew
SU JUNE 13 DC @the black cat w/ two funerals
SU JUNE 13 (early show) BALTIMORE, MD @charm city art space w/ryan harvey
MO JUNE 14 RICHMOND @the camel w/the max Levine ensemble
TU JUNE 15 ASBURY PARK NJ @asbury lanes w/the max levine ensemble
WE JUNE 16 BOSTON @the democracy center (45 mt. auburn st) w/Jessie
Williams, jake and the infernal machine, evan greer
TH JUNE 17 BUFFALO @the funeral home (366 ontario st.) w/failures’
union, sam hunt
FR JUNE 18 DETROIT, MI @the majestic café (part of the AMC)
w/tamar-kali, I, crime
SA JUNE 19 CLEVELAND @forest hills church (3031 Monticello blvd) w/the
sidekicks, theghost of asa phelps and signals midwest
SU JUNE 20 CHICAGO @locked out w/toby foster and al scortch
MO JUNE 21 MILWAUKEE WI @the cream city collective (732 e Clarke st.)
w/demon horse, billy mack collector, dynamite puzzle
TU JUNE 22 MADISON WI @Lothlorien coop (244 w lakelawn place) w/toby foster
WE JUNE 23 OMAHA, NE @tba w/tba
TH JUNE 24 OFF
FR JUNE 25 FT. COLLINS, CO @tba w/papa bear
SA JUNE 26 DENVER @PNL publishing w/papa bear
SU JUNE 27 SALT LAKE CITY @zach’s garage w/tba
MO JUNE 28 BOISE, ID @tba w/tba
TU JUNE 29 SEATTLE @The mine (5113 russell ave nw in ballard) w/your
heart breaks
WE JUNE 30 PDX @ SATYRICON w/your heart breaks
TH JULY 1 MEDFORD, OR @Musiched (350 S. Riverside Ave.) w/koalacaust
FR JULY 2 OFF
SA JULY 3 OAKLAND, CA @ Fun Day All Day Fest (at The Continental Club
in West 1658 12th Street) w/Big Kids (Oakland), Mother Country
Motherfuckers (Ilya and Mike’s band), The New Trust (Santa Rosa), Dead
To Me (San Francisco), Towers (PA), 1994! (PA)
SU JULY 4 BERKELEY, CA @924 GILMAN w/tba
MO JULY 5 SAN DIEGO @ CHE CAFÉ w/tba
TU JULY 6 LOS ANGELES @syncspace (4306 melrose) w/tba
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I’m feeling like a pig that can’t stop suckling from the teet of it’s mother, only I’m not a pig and am about to split down the middle with all this great new music in this weeks MP3 Grab Bag. If you are scratching your head as to what is our MP3 Grab Bag, well let me just say it’s a zip file with a bunch of great new songs in it that you click on once and it downloads straight to your desktop. That’s it. That’s all.
Songs featured:
School Of Seven Bells – Babelonia
CJ Young – Tin Spoon
Damien Jurado – Cloudy Shoes
Dirtnap – The Pan
Double Dagger – Pillow Talk
Empires – Damn Things Over
The Lost Patrol Band – Golden Times
Holy Ghost – Say My Name
James Holden – Triangle Folds
Leopold and His Fiction – Song recorded for our Bionic Ear Session
Memory Tapes – Bicycle (tanlines remix)
Milagres – Outside
Moondoggies – Fly Momma Fly
Not An Airplane – A He Moved Away
One For the Team – I Got Tamed
Please Do Not Fight – Up Up Up
Ratatat – Party With the Children
Shadow Shadow Shade – Is This A Tempest In the Shape of a Bell
Silver Seas – Chateau Revenge
Underworld – Scribble
Wavves – Mickey Mouse
Download past MP3 Grab Bags(so much great music to be had)
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Laura Burhenn has made me weak in the knees with her vocals a few times. Once was in the Sunset Tavern’s womens bathroom stall when we did an Acoustic Video when she was playing with Orenda Fink’s band O+S. The other time was when I first heard her new band Mynabirds!
1. Tell us about the band?
The Mynabirds record was made in a studio by just myself and Richard Swift (plus a few good friends singing backing vocals, playing pedal steel, and playing horns after the live recording sessions were finished). I didn’t put the live band together until after the record was done. But I’ve been lucky to find some really amazing musicians to play with here in Omaha. They’ve all got their own great things going on musically, so I think of the band as more of a collective of artists and musicians.
2. Have you ever been fed up with playing music or with band members, why?
I’m a big fan of having everything out in the open, spread out on the table. The only problems I’ve ever had in bands are directly related to people holding back frustrations, fears, bottling up bad energy and letting it build up ’til it bursts at the seams. With this band of folks, we’re constantly talking about everything and getting business and anything awkward out of the way so we can get to the music. That’s the important thing after all. You should be having fun when you play, doing it because you love every second of it. That said, music is definitely something that can pull you through a dark time. There’s something to playing it out, working out whatever’s eating you up inside and let it ring out on a melody or in a beat. Shake it off. Wash it out.
3. What was your first concert experience? Do you remember how you felt once the concert was over?
The first concert I ever went to was the Temptations. I was about 7 or 8. And I was immediately in love with the whole experience. They asked people to come up and sing “My Girl” with them. I wanted to go up so badly (my parents were nudging me, too), but we were all the way in the balcony. Ever since then, I regretted not trying to get to the stage at least… Since then there were a lot of open mics in the early days, strange restaurant and bar things, and a lot of really amazing shows with Georgie James. But the first time the Mynabirds played, it was incredible. The show was the most fun I’d had playing music live in a long, long time. I think a lot of it had to do with the great musicians in the band — they’re all such pros. But beyond that, they’re all total sweethearts — easy going, good-hearted people who just want to have a good time playing music. Makes the live experience really amazing.
4. Did you grow up wanting to play music, or when did the whole making albums thing come about and how?
I remember laying awake in bed when I was 5, thinking about what kind of live show I wanted to put on when I got older. Well, honestly I think I was planning for then. I had no idea it was gonna take me a good twenty years to work up to it. It’s funny to me that people don’t always know what they want to do with their lives. I was born knowing I wanted to make music. It’s a blessing and a curse (blessing to know, curse to feel like you’re not doing enough or getting there fast enough). I was lucky to have a mom who really encouraged me. She let me dig into the money she’d saved away for me to make my first solo record. I was 17 and put it out on the label I started myself (Laboratory). I don’t like to dig that one out of the memory box too often, but I’m proud I did it.
5. What qualifies you guys to be in a band?
There’s such a range of ways people come to music. Some of us have studied theory and taken twenty years of lessons and spent time as music majors in college; some of us just have good ears. I think the only thing that should ever qualify a person to be in any band is just their love of music, plain and simple. So that’s it for us, I guess.
6. Do you have a favorite song you have ever written? Why?
That changes all the time, with every record I make. That’s probably the best thing — keep moving on and getting better and liking the new step more than the last. That said, I’ll forever be proud of “Cake Parade”, a song I wrote when I was in Georgie James. It’s an anti-war song I wrote for a friend of mine from high school. He died in the bombing of the USS Cole. But more than writing a straight-up anti-war song, I wanted to honor his life and choices, all of the nuances that go into the whole story of the military (the positivity of serving and protecting coupled with the violence that unfortunately goes along with it). At the end of the day, every single soldier (on every side of the equation) is a human being with a story and a family and hopes and loves and wishes for the future. It’s too complicated for me to try and voice the whole thing in words like this — a song is best suited to something so complex.
7. What is your greatness weakness as a band?
Probably *my* greatest weakness in leading the band is that, like I’ve said before, I just want to have fun playing live. I want to sound great; I want people to enjoy the show. We practice quite a lot. But I’m not a perfectionist by any means. I always like the little lilts and turns of notes, some roughness around the edges. But that’s just my point of view. And in that case, I don’t necessarily think it’s a weakness. Maybe someone else might. Who knows.
8. What qualities should a successful label or manager have?
You’ve really got to understand the full scope of the business, the 360 degree portrait of what it takes to properly market and help make a band successful. You’ve got to manage the left-brained part, so that the musicians can focus on that right-brained part of making great art. And I think a lot of artists suffer from being a bit tortured (we’d most likely be willing to do music for nothing because we *have* to do it), so a good manager or label has got to focus on getting their artists paid for their work. Money does mean something in this world.
9. What’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to you in your life?
I can’t think of any one thing at this moment, but in general the times I’ve been the most scared have all been related to sort of jumping off a proverbial cliff into the unknown. But it’s a gut instinct that tells me, “It’s okay, go ahead and jump. You’re gonna land just fine.” Those scariest moments are the ones that pay off the best, of course. I was terrified to make this record after Georgie James split up. I was terrified that no one would like it. So I let all that go, made a record I was really proud of, and got over giving a shit if anyone liked it or not. I was true to myself, and did the best I could. I think it’s worked out pretty well so far.
10. What’s the first thing you do when the band arrives in a new town while on tour?
We’re just now getting ready to go on our first ever Mynabirds tour, so I can’t really give you a Mynabirds answer until we’ve gotten into our tour groove and got a rhythm going. I usually look up some good vegetarian options or a local coop or market first. Getting good food on the road can be really tough and I want something wholesome and fresh as often as I can get it to counteract the effects of my nightly whiskey drink and the inevitable road food. After that I’m on the prowl for good record and thrift shops. I love to find a fun souvenir to bring back home.
11. Have you ever had an audience member give you the willies because they kept looking at you all weird?
Ha. If someone wants to stand right in front and stare the whole time and sing every single lyric, I’ll take it as a compliment. It feels great to know that someone feels transfixed by what you’re doing — that something you’ve done connects with them on that deep a level. As long as they don’t try to follow me home, I’m a-ok with weird looks!
12. Have you ever cried while listening to music? If so what were you listening too?
YES. Probably too much and too often, quite honestly. I love a good song that cuts right to your heart. The most profound effect a song ever had on me was probably the first time I ever heard Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. I was at a really low point in my late teens, coming home from who-knows-what late one night. It was pouring rain and I was listening to NPR. These beautiful strings starting searing out of the stereo speakers. I lost it. So beautiful. So dark and yet so gorgeous and uplifting.
13. If you could re-record, or re-write any song of yours what would that song be?
I would re-record my entire last solo record. There are some good bones in there that are unfortunately not served well by my young production skills. And I hadn’t quite found my voice at that point. Who knows, maybe that’ll happen one day.
14. What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?
Ugh. I’ve played too many weird places in my early years. One of my first solo shows was at a bar that was holding a firemen’s convention. A bad decision on the part of the booker to have me — a girl and her piano — trying to play to an audience of drunk burly guys.
15. Who was your first crush and what was it like to feel that way for the first time?
I was madly in love with Davy Jones when I was 5. I didn’t realize those Monkees shows were reruns at the time. I thought, “He’s not that much older than me. When I’m a little bit older, I’ll find him…” I’m a total romantic at heart. Who doesn’t love those butterflies? Probably got me into a lot of trouble in my later years, trying to find that feeling and getting into overly dramatic romances. Thankfully I’ve found some good balance in that area of my life these days.
15. In a perfect world how many albums would you have to sell to be happy?
Zero. In a perfect world you make music because you have to and make money from it because the world believes in compensating artists for their art. Sales really ruins the idea of art for art’s sake.
16. What do you guys have planned for the future?
A ton of touring. We’ll be all over the US at least twice this summer and early fall, and hopefully over to Europe by the end of the year. I’m hoping to release some b-sides at least digitally by the end of the year, too.
17. What music do you listen to when you are having a bad day?
George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”, anything Beatles (particularly the White Album), some Nina Simone or David Bowie to get myself up and on my feet again: “Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.” When I’m having a bad day, I want to hear a familiar voice, one that feels like family telling me it’ll be alright.
18. If you had your life to live over again, what one thing would you change?
I wouldn’t take the safe route at every turn. Not that I have exactly. I would’ve run down from the balcony and at least tried to sing with the Temptations. And I probably wouldn’t have gone through that self-unassured period in my twenties. But I guess going through that wouldn’t have gotten me to where I am right now. This question is a Catch-22, for sure. I guess I’m changing my answer: I wouldn’t change a thing.
Visit Mynabirds
The Mynabirds – Spring Tour 2010:
5/27: Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
6/1: Cleveland, OH, Beachland Tavern
6/2: Washington, DC, Black Cat
6/3: Brooklyn, NY, The Bell House
6/6: Chicago, IL, Do Division Festival
6/7: Chicago, IL, Empty Bottle
6/8: Iowa City, IA, The Mill
6/9: Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s
6/11: Birmingham, AL, WorkPlay Theatre *
6/12: Baton Rouge, LA, Manship Theatre *
6/14: Austin, TX, Antone’s *
6/15: Dallas, TX, Granada *
7/24: Omaha, NE @ MAHA Festival with Spoon and Superchunk
8/1: Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove with Al Green
8/7: Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Live and Loud * = with Josh Ritter
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Jeremy Messersmith finds inspiration by the Twin Cities. So he put together a visual playlist all about the city, or songs that kinda deal with the city!
1. “Dixon’s Girl” by Dessa
Literate, thoughtful, and philosophically precise, Dessa sounds unlike anyone else I know and that’s about the best compliment I could give anyone.
2. “Drumroll” by POS
I love seeing Minneapolis as a post-apocalyptic winter war zone; the video matches the explosive quality in POS’ rhyming perfectly.
3. “Guarantees” by Atmosphere
I had the hardest time picking what Atmosphere song should be on here. They’re all fantastic. Seriously, leave some good songs for the rest of us.
Funny story- Slug and I were backstage at a show awhile back, seated directly across from each other, and I couldn’t think of any way to introduce myself without sounding like a total schmoozing fanboy, so we just sat there awkwardly for 5 minutes until finally I just left. I’ll think of something someday!
4. “Over and Over” by Lookbook
I love the combination of 80′s synth pop and powerful female vocals. Also, the way the song all comes crashing together is extremely exciting.
5. “Bible Thumper” by Solid Gold
I was walking around Austin at SXSW this year and saw a billboard with these dudes on it. I immediately called them and they admitted that yes, they had seen it, and then proceeded to invite me to paint mustaches on all of them later in the evening. I politely RSVP’d that I could not attend, but informed them to please continue without me.
Great hooks and entrancing production make this entire record work for me.
6. “On the Gaudy Side of Town” by Gayngs
Okay, this isn’t technically a video, but it’s such a great tune I need to put it on here. Gayngs is a Minneapolis area supergroup that has members like Dessa, Bon Iver, Solid Gold, Mike Lewis (and a whole lot more) all working together to make fantastic baby-making music.
7. “Urban Lull (At Once Charmed) by Umbrella Sequence
The super compressed drums, tasteful electronic blips and some relentless acoustic guitar make this song work for me. Also, the video shows how much you can do with a little cardboard, construction paper and tape.
8. “Everybody Here is a Cloud” by Cloud Cult
Cloud Cult is an actual cult. They have white robes and shave their heads and everything. They have a compound somewhere in northern Minnesota. They are the best live show in the Twin Cities hands down. Only one of the above statements is true.
9. “Red River of the North” by Rogue Valley
Rogue Valley (spearheaded by songwriter Chris Koza) is releasing 4 full length records with 1 arching narrative this year. Pretty ambitious if you ask me! Epic in scope, this tune is about the Red River in Fargo, ND that seems to flood frequently. http://roguevalley.bandcamp.com/album/crater-lake
10. “Sunlight” by Mason Jennings
Okay, this isn’t really a video either, but it is a really good song. Mason is sort of a reclusive Yoda-like figure in Minneapolis. He’s rarely seen, but when he appears he dispenses profound wisdom and bestows the gift of amazing songs like this one.
Dan Black is gearing up to visit the good ole U.S. of A. He will be kicking off his tour in the little beach town of Costa Mesa, Ca. This also happens to be right around the corner from my house. Upon reading the following interview, one may get the correct idea that if my heart wore pants, they would be getting tighter and tighter upon the thought of this show. In order to prepare me and you, the most excellent reader, we have a little chat with Dan Black to get us all equally excited.
IRR – Hey there, I’m sorry my phone wouldn’t pick up for the last five minutes. Darn iPhones.
Dan Black (all his parts can be read in a suave british accent, almost Jude Law-ish) – Yes, well, I guess technology can’t solve all of our problems. At least, not yet.
IRR (I chuckle because that is funny, but not too much, because I am playing this cool and let’s imagine my voice with an American accent and with vocal range between Barry White and Moses((played by Charlton Heston)) – Hahahah. So true. So where in the world are you at these days?
DB – I am currently in Paris, France and have been here for a bit.
IRR – Ahhh, Paris. I’ve never been. What should one do if they make it to Paris?
DB – The first thing to do in Paris is just walk around. It is literally soaked in History. It is one of the few places that was not bombed away during World War II so it is not buried and blown to pieces. Paris is also filled with amazing art, amazing food and quite a lot of women.
IRR – Soon you will be headed out on tour. Where all are you headed and for how long?
DB – The tour will more or less be all summer. It will be closer to 2 smaller tours. The majority of the areas that will be covered will be New York, Chicago, and LA. I enjoy the newness of a tour. Going to new places and seeing new parts.
IRR – Where is the smallest town in the U.S. that you have played at?
DB – I would have to say Trenton but I am not sure if I am saying it properly.
IRR – Sounds good to me. On a totally unrelated subject though, how did the collaboration with Kid Cudi come about?
DB – I guess Kid Cudi had heard some of my stuff because he contacted me and more or less said that he wanted to do something together. I sent him the music and almost overnight he had the vocals done. The entire thing took less than 2 to 3 days. It was very fast.
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IRR – Which artists would you like to work with next or are currently working with?
BD – Well, the majority of the artists I currently love as they are and don’t want to ruin it for them. I have never really thought about which artists I would like to work with…but when they contact me or we kind of come together…well than I guess it’s fate. Yeah…Fate.
IRR – This is kind of my favorite part of the interview. I love knowing what bands or artists I love are listening to. So, what are you listening to these days?
DB – Uhmmm, I am really enjoying what Janelle Monet is doing these days. And of course Jamie Lidell. His album Compass is amazing. I also like to listen to Crystal Castles and Salem. Also Warpaint. They were very good at SXSW.
IRR – How was SXSW for you?
DB – SXSW has won me over. It had a nice atmosphere of people. Very mellow and friendly. It was also the most intense craziness that had a calm and friendly feel to it. But then again, maybe my non U.S. eyes were oblivious to all the danger.
IRR – What can we hope to get our ears on soon from you?
DB – There will be a remix of “Symphonies” to be released at the end of the month. That’s probably the next thing that I will have coming out.
IRR – We’re looking forward to it. What are some of the artists that you are currently working with?
DB – Next things I am working with are probably with Bag Raiders and also Kids in Space.
IRR – Bitchin. Now on a personal note, I was wondering why every time that I tell a British person that my grandparents are from Wales they usually say “Ohhhh, I’m sorry.” What does that mean exactly?
DB – Hmmmm. Well I am guessing that it could be that up until about 1939 the English were quite awful to the Welsh. But now they are all OK. I actually grew up in Buckinghamshire. Which was a very nice place to grow up.
IRR – Well, I think we have taken up all of your time and squashed some centuries-old racial problems. I would say this interview has been a full success. We can’t wait to come see you in Costa Mesa next week.
DB – Yes, do say hi.
-Dan Black
June Tour Dates:
June 2 : Costa Mesa @ Detroit Bar
June 3 : LA @ The Roxy
June 4 : San Diego @ Casbah
June 6 : Mountain View @ Live 105′s BFD 2010
June 7 : Fresno @ Starline
June 8 : LA @ Logo’s New Now Next Awards
Below you will find a listening party for Corey Dargel’s new Double DiscSomeone Will Take Care Of Me. You may be asking yourself “what makes this a party?” Nothing more than the music of Corey Dargel.
- Thirteen Near-Death Experiences Album Stream
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Removable Parts Album Stream
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1. Tell us about the band?
I don’t have a regular band. I work with classical musicians, usually different players for each project. This double-CD album features pianist Kathleen Supové (“Removable Parts,” cd 2), and the International Contemporary Ensemble, or ICE, with drummer David T. Little (“Thirteen Near-Death Experiences,” cd 1). My next project is me singing with violinist Cornelius Dufallo and a digital looping recorder. You can download a free EP sampler of that project at www.coreydargel.com/everyday
2. Have you ever been fed up with playing music or with band members, why?
What I get fed up with is the assholes who run sound. No matter how reputable the venue, the sound guys (and they are always guys) are so predictably unkind and fake-put-upon. That’s why I almost always bring my own sound person for my shows now.
3. What was your first concert experience? Do you remember how you felt once the concert was over?
The first concert I ever saw was Ray Charles. I must have been 9 or 10 years old. My dad took me. I loved it, but I didn’t realize Ray Charles was blind until my dad told me after the concert, and I kept asking, why’s he shaking his head; does he think his songs are no good?
4. Did you grow up wanting to play music, or when did the whole making albums thing come about and how?
I’ve always wanted to be a musician because my stutter goes away when I sing.
5. What qualifies you guys to be in a band?
Are you fishing for defensiveness with that question? If so, I won’t bite. All I can say is that we all have valid drivers licenses, and isn’t that enough?
6. Do you have a favorite song you have ever written? Why?
I experience the opposite of nostalgia when it comes to old songs of mine. Each new song I’m working on has to be my current favorite; otherwise I’d just keep rewriting the same old song over and over again.
7. What is your greatness weakness as a band?
I often take my musicians with me to therapy sessions to hash out our problems, but somehow we always end up splitting up after ten or twelve sessions.
8. What qualities should a successful label or manager have?
I’m lucky to be with New Amsterdam Records because they give their artists complete creative control over their albums. I would not presume to tell a manager or record label what would make them successful. That’s not my area of expertise.
9. What’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to you in your life?
Coming out as gay to my parents was probably the scariest thing that’s happened to me so far in my life. I came out to them at separate times (unintentionally), and my mom, who found out first, said, “This is going to kill your father,” which she meant literally. But that was more than ten years ago. Things are much better now with them, though we still have our impasses.
10. What’s the first thing you do when the band arrives in a new town while on tour?
When I’m on tour (with whatever group of musicians I’m working with at the time), we usually drive from place to place, and I get really carsick, so the first thing I usually do after getting out of the car is throw up. But I promise I brush my teeth before the concert.
11. Have you ever had an audience member give you the willies because they kept looking at you all weird?
No, but I once had an audience member come right up to the stage and spit in my face. He was all machismo and wearing a wife-beater, so I licked his saliva off my face and gave him a sexually aroused expression, as though I was getting off on tasting his spit. That really pissed him off, and fortunately for me, he was promptly escorted out of the venue.
12. Have you ever cried while listening to music? If so what were you listening to?
Most recently, I cried while listening to Radiohead’s “Four-Minute Warning” off the second CD of “In Rainbows.”
13. If you could re-record, or re-write any song of yours what would that song be?
I have been told that Julee Cruise (of “Twin Peaks” fame) is planning to record a cover version of my song “Gay Cowboys.” That would make me so happy.
14. What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?
There was a pretty awful place in Nottingham, England, but I can’t remember what it was called. But The Cutting Room in NYC probably takes first prize because it has people in the bathrooms who hand you towels after you wash your hands, and you’re expected to tip them. Also, their sound guy was an asshole, but that’s nothing new (See #2).
15. In a perfect world how many albums would you have to sell to be happy?
If I am ever completely happy, I would probably ask someone to shoot me.
16. What do you guys have planned for the future?
There will be lots of touring in the fall, Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Austin, London maybe, but audiences in London are so jaded, even more so than NYC audiences. So maybe we’ll stick to the European mainland.
17. What music do you listen to when you are having a bad day?
Anything by Xiu Xiu, or “Music in Twelve Parts” by Philip Glass.
18. If you had your life to live over again, what one thing would you change?
I would like to have been born thirty years earlier than I was (1947 instead of 1977).
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