NTSIB friend and Couch by Couchwest (the internet-based answer to South by Southwest for the lazy and the poor) alumnus Daniel Knox and photographer John Atwood could use your help.
Atwood writes:
Songwriter/composer Daniel Knox and I were recently selected by the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation to be artists in residence this fall at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center in Watermill, NY.
Through the course of the residency, Daniel will expand, develop, and complete a long-form piece of music written and arranged for piano, voice, horns, strings, and percussion, based on my photography.
The residency will culminate in a premiere performance of the final piece alongside an exhibition of the integral photographs at the 92YTribeca, New York, NY on 26 January 2012.
Your support will “help cover production expenses for the exhibition: framing, printing, and equipment rental, accompanying musicians, publicity materials and costs.”
Atwood’s photographs have graced the covers of Knox’s Disaster and Evryman for Himself albums, and this further step in their collaboration is an exciting one. Check out the Kickstarter video below, then visit the site to see how you can help.
I’ve been saying this a lot lately in conversation with friends: I always thought that my idealism would fade away as I became older. But aside from a supremely apathetic phase in my 20s, my idealism has remained intact. Certainly it has become a crankier form of idealism as I’ve become more informed about the world and watched as humanity has failed to live up to its potential again and again, but I still believe that if everyone put aside self-absorption and pettiness, we could have a great thing going on her on earth. And as an avid/rabid music listener, I’ve always been open to finding good music wherever it may be hiding, from whatever race, creed, class and corner of the globe it may be coming from.
So when I was tripping around Netflix looking for something interesting to watch one day, Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam and The Taqwacores caught my eye quickly and held my attention. I was posting about it on my social media networks before I even watched it.
The Taqwacores is a feature film based on Michael Muhammad Knight’s novel of the same name. Knight is a Muslim convert from an Irish Catholic family who wrote about a fantasy he had of a punk house full of Muslims. Or, at least, he thought it was a fantasy until the book was published and got into the hands of young Muslims across the U.S. who identified with the characters, ideas and music portrayed. Soon, as Knight says, they connected the dots, and a loose network of misfit Muslims was strung together. Friends were made, bands were born and taqwacore become a word used for Muslims living in the spirit of punk, questioning, fighting, learning and living by their own ideals.
Taqwacore: The Birth of Islam Punk is a documentary about Knight and the real-life people and bands that were brought together by his book, ultimately culminating in an all-inclusive celebration and exhibition of the power of music to knock down barriers and draw people together.
I came away from this duo of films invigorated and excited that people are still out there using music as a tool for the betterment of the world, to include the excluded, to give voice to subversive thought, to be heard over the din of blind, self-serving authority figures.
Check out this thoughtful interview conducted by Jian Ghomeshi with Michael Muhammad Knight and Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam filmmaker Omar Majeed for Q TV.
The trailer for The Taqwacores:
The trailer for Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam:
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound release their Bloodshot Records debut, Want More, today and it is a fine, fine soul album that feels and breathes and dances with a deep shimmy, not playing out as a lifeless set-piece as can easily happen when a modern band takes up a sound closely associated with an earlier era. Lyrically, it’s a relatable album that speaks in real terms instead of heart-shaped metaphors. Musically, it’s a straight-up rump-shaker of rich grooves that just seems to grow richer with each listen. And, personally, I was singing along within two or three spins of the album.
JC was kind enough to answer a few questions for us…
When and why did you start singing? How did the Uptown Sound come together?
Because my mom was always singing, I started singing around the house as a toddler. I did Chorus in elementary and middle school, and formed my first band in high school. JCBUS came together because Ben, our bassist, and I answered an ad put out by Billy, our guitarist, who was looking to make aggressive dance music.
A press release describes your music as “post-punk soul”. What does that mean to you? How do you think your music fits into this era?
Post-punk soul, to me, is emotive music that doesn’t try to fit into the typical “soul” girdle of warmly lit, grease-lensed love. We discuss love in our music, but usually more graphically than traditional soul, and we also don’t only take the point of view that the common portrayal of love is the ‘be-all, end-all’ ultimate goal. We write about the lighter side of lust and the general messiness of love, its hindsight is less hazy and more 20/20 when we write about why a relationship went wrong, etc. I don’t think our music fits into the post-punk era so much, but it does harken to a post-punk aesthetic that’s been pressed through a soul filter.
I hear some Stax influence in your music, like Otis Redding and the Dramatics. Who else are you influenced by?
For me personally: Patti LaBelle and Tina Turner are huge performance influences. Vocally, I draw inspiration from Otis, Teddy Pendergrass, Anita Baker and Amy Winehouse.
For the band: Bad Brains, Gang of Four, Living Colour, The Stooges, Bowie, Tower of Power, The MGs… the list could go on and on.
How did the idea to soul up Wilco come about?
Well, it started with Billy wondering what Syl Johnson (we were working with Syl at the time for the Numero Group revue) would sound like covering music like Wilco or Bowie, and from there it blossomed into the version we do now.
How did things come together with JCBUS and Bloodshot?
We stormed the Bloodshot office and held them hostage until they agreed to our demands…
What have you and the band been listening to lately?
Right now, I’m listening to a lot of Adele, Tune-Yards, JD MacPherson, Jill Scott, Joe Bataan… A lot of stuff all the time, really, but the artists I listed above have been getting a lot of play lately.
Listen to and download their first single, “Everything Will Be Fine”.
This year’s Deep Blues Festival, my first, was full of highlights both music and personal. One of those highlights was seeing Old Gray Mule play, partially because of their musical prowess and service to the groove and partially because watching C.R. Humphrey and C.W. Ayon joke around like a couple of schoolboys on the verge of a giggle fit is so damned enjoyable.
It is great to hear that slightly mischievous, good-time atmosphere brought to OGM’s new release A Day in Mississippi, A Night in Texas. “Alright, this song’s got cussing in it,” Humphrey announces as OGM kicks off a live set, recorded this past July at the 2nd annual Junior Kimbrough Birthday Party in Austin, Texas. After a little more joshing around, OGM ease into their gritty take on “Stagger Lee”, showing not only that service to the groove but also showcasing Ayon’s sharp vocal attitude as he relays the fateful story. Ayon is a good match for Humphrey, who has played with a few different drummers under the Old Gray Mule handle. The swagger of Ayon’s vocals reflect the cool assurance of Humprhey’s guitar playing as Ayon also backs up on drums with a beat calculated for maximum hip sway.
And can we talk about Humprhey’s guitar playing? From fuzzed-out riffs inspired by north Mississippi hill country blues masters like Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and T-Model Ford to funked up waka-chika (their take on Burnside Exploration’s “Bitch, You Lie” rolling into Parliament’s “Flashlight”, with Julia Magness of the Original Bells of Joy, is an ass-shaking good time) to the soulful picking that characterizes their cover of Junior Kimbrough’s “I Cried Last Night” (with Meredith Kimbrough of Mother Merey and the Black Dirt) that will have you closing your eyes, nodding your head and wishing you could morph into a guitar string to be so sweetly caressed, Humphrey is sharp.
But before the party night in Texas, there is the day in Mississippi where Humphrey and Ayon record with guitarist Bill Abel who has played and recorded with greats like Paul “Wine” Jones, Hubert Sumlin, Sam Carr and more. For me, the highlight of this four-song section is the sleek, slow-grooving “I’m Bad Like Jesse James”.
If you need a little more convincing (But why would you? Did you listen to those songs up there? Fucking great!), head over to Deep Blues where Rick Saunders has another taste from the album for you, a little zydeco number. Then get yourself out to a show and pick this up for yourself when Old Gray Mule hits your town (the opportunity will be coming up shortly if you’re in Australia).
“In England, last year we were over there, and my friend John from the Black Diamond Heavies – well, you can’t have no pocket knife in England, and we were partyin’, and he was yelling at these old geezers about something or they were yelling at him. They saw he had a pocket knife in his pocket, and they told one of the bobbies outside, and they took him to jail. And we said, ‘Is there anything we can do?’ And they said, ‘No’, and I said, ‘Well… okay!’ And we went back in and started dancing again, and my friend was in jail.
The next morning, he came swaggering up. He said [adopts rough, John Wesley Myers voice], ‘Man, that’s the nicest jail I ever spent the night in. But they took my coon dick bone!'”1
This is the story behind the centerpiece song of Scott H. Biram’s new album Bad Ingredients. Aside from memorializing John Wesley Myers’ confiscated good luck charm, the boogie woogie rockin’ “I Want My Mojo Back” also pays tribute back down the line to Lightnin’ Hopkins and the whole mojo hand tradition.
Though known as a punk-blues songster, Biram tends to draw on a variety of forms, from blues to bluegrass to country to metal and other points between. And while that remains true for Bad Ingredients – his almost out-of-place cover of Bill Monroe’s tender “Memories of You, Sweetheart” being the most obvious example – this is probably Biram’s bluesiest album to date. From the fiery, highly idiomatic “Dontcha Lie to Me, Baby” to the stellar “Born in Jail” with its slow hip-drag groove to the slinky Lightnin’ Hopkins cover “Have You Ever Loved a Woman?” and on, this album is made for a sweaty juke joint. Though, as ever, it is indelibly stamped with Biram’s ornery, furious brand of passion.
And it’s just damn good. This is one of those rare albums where I can’t pick one favorite track because so many of them are excellent (aside from ones mentioned, “Just Another River” and “Victory Song” also vie strongly for attention). If you’re already a Biram admirer, this album, which drops tomorrow, is a given. If you’re uncertain, watch that video posted above, get the song download below and be convinced.
As ever, Scott H. Biram is touring, and you should not miss the opportunity to see him live.
Oct 14 2011 Riley’s Tavern – Hunter, TX
Oct 27 2011 Sam’s Burger Joint – San Antonio, TX
Oct 28 2011 Triple Crown – San Marcos, TX
Oct 29 2011 Scoot Inn – Austin, TX
Nov 5 2011 VZD’s – Oklahoma City, OK
Nov 7 2011 Bender’s Tavern – Denver, CO
Nov 8 2011 Belly Up Aspen – Aspen, CO
Nov 10 2011 Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 10 2011 Heavy Metal Shop (FREE INSTORE) – Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 11 2011 Trap Bar at Grand Targhee Resort – Alta, WY
Nov 12 2011 The Palace – Missoula, MT
Nov 15 2011 Media Club – Vancouver, BC CANADA
Nov 16 2011 Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
Nov 17 2011 Dante’s – Portland, OR
Nov 18 2011 Humboldt Brews – Arcata, CA
Nov 19 2011 Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco, CA
Nov 20 2011 The Satellite Club – Los Angeles, CA
Nov 22 2011 Casbah – San Diego, CA
Nov 23 2011 Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ
Nov 26 2011 The Mohawk – Austin, TX
When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum was newly-established and first began inducting musicians, writers, producers, etc., back in 1986, the pool of contenders was like the selections in a really good candy store, and the first class of inductees was pretty much unfuckwithable. Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, the Everly Brothers, Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Sam Phillips, Ray Charles, Jimmy Yancey, John Hammond, Alan Freed… it’s difficult to even place that list in a hierarchical order. And the inductees kept being good for several more years.
But in recent times, just knowing the nominees are about to be announced makes me cringe. A little piece of my soul shrivelled up when ABBA was inducted, and don’t even get me started on Neil Diamond. But who am I to say these music creators who make my skin crawl don’t deserve a place in the Incongruous Semi-Pyramid on the Lake? I realized that I was rejecting these artists based on personal preference when I attempted to debate with someone that his disdain for the choice of Public Enemy as a representative of the best of rock was wrong-headed. Yes, hip hop is not, specifically speaking, rock, but neither is soul, and I would volunteer to smack anyone who would deny the rightful place of Otis Redding in those hallowed halls.
(I won’t get into my torturuously conflicted feelings on the very idea of the Rock and Roll Museum, but if you’d like to play at home, you can begin by combining the fact that the Rockhall is one of my favorite places to visit in the world [I’ve been there approximately seven times and my first visit was six hours long] and my strong identification with John Lydon’s observation that something honoring the true heart of rock music should not resemble an ancient mausoleum.)
So, what do you think readers? What would be your criteria for inductees? Can you remain objective about such an emotional art form?
Here’s this year’s list of nominees, followed by a few videos from some of my favorites.
· Beastie Boys
· The Cure
· Donovan
· Eric B. & Rakim
· Guns ‘N Roses
· Heart
· Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
· Freddie King
· Laura Nyro
· Red Hot Chili Peppers
· Rufus with Chaka Khan
· The Small Faces/The Faces
· The Spinners
· Donna Summer
· War
One of the biggest perks of this music blogger gig is getting to be friends with some really talented people. Case in point, they of the band name that people are never sure they’ve heard correctly, He-Chaw Frunk. Not only are they as local to me as you can get, but they have a dark musical sensibility that moves me. Here they are playing one of their original songs, “Time”, at Brothers Lounge.
How about the vocal chords on Chris Bishop? And that beautiful guitar-playing from Sasha Kostadinov? And the slinky groove held down by Matt Rusincovitch and Mark Slater?
Our favorite musical history professors are back. Pete David & the Payroll Union have dropped the “Pete David &” from their name (though lovely Pete David himself remains) and have released a new EP, Your Obedient Servant. The band from Sheffield continues to lay moody, moving music rooted in Americana traditions under stories of love, war, disease and death taken from the time when America itself was an infant.
Below you can get a sample from Your Obedient Servant as well as a sample from their previous EP, Underfed and Underpaid. Then you can follow the official site link to purchase both EPs. I happily and heartily recommend both.
Mojo Fury is: Michael Mormecha (guitar/vocals), James Lyttle (guitar/vocals/keys), Ciaran McGreevy (bass) and Gerry Morgan (drums), and they are from Lisburn, just outside of Belfast, in Northern Ireland.
The title of this post is a lyric fragment from Pill Pigeon is an Orange Wheel, song number six on Visiting Hours of a Travelling Circus, their first record, released earlier this year by Graphite Records. It is also an accurate summation of their overall sound.
There are sharp syncopated synths layered over precise quasi-industrial drums, and the remaining space is filled with heavy, slightly fuzzy guitars and Michael Mormecha’s voice. (If there are any fans of Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine in the audience, this band is for you.)
There are two breaks from the whirlwind: the first one is We Should Just Run Away, which is as close to a pop love song as they get, which is not all that close, really. The (somewhat) softer side of Mojo Fury still contains thudding industrial echoes.
The second one is Electric Sea, which really is the aural equivalent of walking into the sea. It starts with a simple almost-acoustic guitar and cymbals that skitter through like foamy wavelets on a shell-strewn shore, and then layers of sound build gradually, until suddenly you’re out past the breakers and it’s time to play jump or dive with the whitecaps, or, rather, a sudden wall of guitar. In this case the correct answer is dive: just sit quietly for a moment and wrap yourself in the last minute or so of the song.
As an examples/enticements to explore further, here they are with (WARNING: CONTAINS CLOSE-UPS OF BUGS!) The Mann:
You had me at “we hung out and drank beer, sang Rancid songs late into the night on Telegraph Street”. I am hoping a New York date gets added to your schedule soon, so we can have a proper visit.
xo
Jennifer
Dear everyone else,
That lyric I quoted above is from the aptly-named Telegraph, song number three on their fourth record Sole Kitchen, which was engineered, mixed, and produced by MxPx/Tumbledown front man Mike Herrera at Herrera’s Monkey Trench Studios in Bremerton, Washington.
In addition to name-checking one of my favorite punk bands, the Water Tower Bucket Boys (say that three times fast!) also bring some serious bluegrass. There are sweet harmonies and delicate picking (Telegraph, again) fast fiddles (Blackbird Picking at a Squirrel), some good sing/stomp-along songs (Since You’ve Been Gone; Goatheads), and one where they sing in French (Fromage).
Readers, they are really, really good, and I encourage you to stop what you are doing and introduce them to your record collection.
Or, if you happen to be joining us today from the North-East of England in general and the outskirts of Nottingham in particular, to get out to a show, as they are on tour in your corner of the world through Sunday, September 18.
Right now it looks like after the UK tour they’ll be doing a few shows in their home state of Oregon before heading out to visit portions of the American South and South West in the fall, so readers from those locations, you should also have a glance at their schedule.
Meanwhile, here they are with my personal favorite, Telegraph, from a performance at Mississippi Studios earlier this year:
Water Tower Bucket Boys @ Mississippi Studios 2/9/11 - Telegraph
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