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Gimme Five! Mimi McLaughlin of The Pneurotics

There’s always some sickly sweet couple gabbing about metaphorically making music together. When Rich and Mimi McLaughlin tied the knot and the bassist for his band split for Russia, this couple decided to make that darling claim a reality.  Mimi went from biggest fan to bassist. Rich’s band became a family passion.  A few years, a few shows, and two full length records (2008’s Forty and 2009’s Second Skin) later and the core of The Pneurotics are still literally rocking out together.

With Chris Burzminski on skins, Mimi keeping steady on bass and Rich handing guitar, vocal and songwriting duties, the sound this trio creates is somewhere in the realm of alt.country with a power-pop burst of energy.  It’s a twang-addled without the nostalgic drag, pop/rock without the blustering naiveté. And you can hear catch The Pneurotics live this Saturday, May 29th at The Pinhook where they’ll be joined by Lonnie Walker and Sweet Sacrafice.

Now just five questions for the leading lady:

1. If your band were a member of The Cosby Show family, who would it be?

As much as we wish we were Theo, the cool, ever-charming, athletic, popular all-about-the-ladies character, or even the deviant Denise who dropped out of college, ran off to Africa and got married, we really are most like the paternal Cliff Huxtable.  We want to be cool, but really, we just wear bad sweaters, make goofy faces, can’t dance to save our lives, and like the chance to say “pudding” funny.  Rich definitely plays a meaner guitar than Cosby Kids’ Rudy Davis though.

2. What compelled you to start playing your instrument?

Rich started playing guitar when he was 14 years old, and begged his parents for an electric guitar,  They compromised, indulging in a $5 nylon string acoustic garage sale special.  He taught himself to play adapting his years of classical piano training to the guitar.  I started the Bass guitar about 5 years ago after meeting Rich as part of our pre-nuptial agreement.  It came down to play bass or be in charge of laundry, so I chose bass.

3. Describe what it feels like when you play together.

Being married brings another dynamic to our music.  Rich typically writes songs on his own.  To me, it’s a tedious process with lots of playing the same riff over and over.  Learning and writing a new song can be both challenging and exciting, with lots of working and re-working, and criticism, which is sometimes hard to interpret positively when coming from your significant other.  But when things come together, and we hear the blend of our instruments, and I know that what we’re doing together is creating music, well, we  just know it’s right. The addition of Chris Burzminski as our most recent drummer has brought an energetic percussive creativity and collaboration that drives the beat, and highlights the rhythmic nuances of our songs.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Rich has a strong background in classical music and loves Chopin, particularly the complicated melodies and exquisite rhythms, playing 9 beats over 4 and crazy patterns like that.  It’s no surprise that he obsessively imitated Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page as a kid, but likely surprising that he has a secret penchant for pop and country music.  He knows all of the words to Justin Timberlake’s “What goes around” and publicly accompanied our teenaged daughter’s on a moving karaoke rendition of Taylor Swift’s  “You Belong with Me.” No one is surprised that we are inspired daily by our awesome kids, Jack, Mara and Grace.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (how ’d that turn out?)

Rich wanted to be a professional basketball player.  He briefly considered turning down a mathematics scholarship to Princeton grad school to pursue music, but then thought better of it.  He is now making waves as a fluid dynamicist at UNC, recently getting a little press about his studies on plumes, and underwater oil mixing as relates to the oil spill.  I always wanted to be a veterinarian, but take care of people instead as a physician assistant.   I never dreamed of being in a band.

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Check in for more five this time next week. And head out to The Pinhook this Saturday to catch The Pneurotics live and by all means, give Mimi a high five when you see her!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Pierce Freelon of The Beast

By the time they joined forces with emcee Pierce Freelon, Eric Hirsch (keys), Pete Kimosh (bass), and Stephen Coffman (drums) had been playing together for six years.  The guys had knocked out music degrees and honed their skills as musicians and performers and were looking for a way to channel that training in the most creative way. Teaming with Freelon and synergizing the improvisatory bombast of hip-hop with their jazz, afro-cuban minded compositions, was a chance. Thankfully (for listeners) it was one that paid off in a tangle of insightful rhymes, infectious instrumentals and a sophisticated new quartet called, audaciously, The Beast.

Now two EPs and one full length (2009’s Silence Fiction) in, The Beast has found its footing, straddling the worlds of hip-hop and jazz. Freelon commands attention like an evangelist, but instead of hawking religion he’s rebuking the ills of society or exhorting listeners to have a good time.  Beneath his flow, Hirsh, Kimosh, and Coffman keep a tight reign on the arrangements, knowing just when to pull back or explode out with expert swagger.

Taking to the road this summer, The Beast will share that dynamic sound with audiences in New York, Rhode Island and Washington DC.  So, unless you feel like making a trek, you’ll have to wait till they land back in Durham for the Triangle Brewing Company Pub Crawl on July 10th to catch this energetic crew live. It seems waiting is a whole nother kind of beast.

And finally, five questions for the emcee in charge:

1. If your band were a fairytale, what would it be?

Anansi the Spider. Like Hip-Hop, spiders are feared and often misunderstood, especially by people who aren’t familiar with them and don’t appreciate their function in a healthy eco-system (or, music scene). But Anansi is that dude – he’s a skilled wordsmith/trickster, a griot and progressive intellectual. And he’s from Ghana – which is the North Carolina of West Africa.

2. What do you hope listeners’ discover through your music?

Making music is like making a baby. You need to meet the right collaborator(s), have chemistry, work hard, (and hopefully have fun) and with good timing and a little luck you’ll give birth to something that reflects each individual that contributed to creating it. So, I hope listeners will discover our baby – our musical progeny.

3. Describe your feelings toward vinyl.

I love vinyl. I also love 8-track tapes, VHS players, the Steam Engine and the Atari 2600. We should bring each of those back.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Other cool quartets like: The Beatles, RCDC, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Fantastic 4 (the “New” F4 squad with Ghost Rider, Spider Man, Wolverine and Grey Hulk), The A Team and KISS.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)
When I was a kid, I dreamed about being an astronaut. Totally blew it.

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While you to catch The Beast locally, keep up with all things Silence Fiction on the band’s myspace, facebook, or twitter.  Check in for more five this time next week. And by all means, give Pierce a high five when you see him!

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Gimme Five! Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah

It’s an understatement to say that Heather McEntire, Jenks Miller and James Wallace have been in a few bands.  Between them, they’ve tread the waters of indie pop (Un Deux Trois), kraut-infected noise (In the Year of the Pig), soul-driven garage rock (Max Indian), and all sorts of sounds between and beyond (Horseback, Bellafae, etc).  Of late, though they’ve been wandering the old-time highways of country music, performing together as Mount Moriah.

The trio’s music may beckon to an older era, but don’t worry, these adventurous musicians infuse their own off-kilter references into the mix.  Rustic shuffles pair with ethereal vocals. Shakers and tambourines bump up against spangling guitars.  It’s country music with an eerie edge, occupying some ghostly realm where the spirits have traded mournful moans for reflective ballads and up-tempo howls.  With a record on the horizon and a few songs for preview online, Mount Moriah’s bound for the road and you can catch them playing a set at Tir na Nog on Thursday, May 20th as a part of local’s night.

And now just five contemplative questions for the head-mistress of Mount Moriah:

1. If your band were a President, who would it be?

The poorest and most likely to wear flannel.

2. You’ve played in rock, indie, and noise bands, what prompted you to explore writing more folk/country-oriented songs?

Playing punk, experimental, and loud music are certainly fulfilling creative outlets, and I feel lucky having the opportunity to passionately experience them all, including the opportunity to explore something more accessible and historically Southern, like folk and country. I grew up on a family farm and inside a mechanic shop where the country radio dial was firmly set. That, and gospel music from church, has always stuck with me. I’m interested in the challenge of creating unique narratives and melodies within a traditional folk/country format.

3. Describe your feelings toward Gillian Welch.

She is classic, reliable, and convincing. She’s not doing anything musically that hasn’t been done before, but she’s doing it really, really well. Her contribution to contemporary folk music is inarguable, important.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

I grew up near the same town that Nina Simone learned how to play piano as a kid in – Tryon, North Carolina – and I’ve visited her tiny, bare-bones shack of a childhood home many times. It’s humbling, so powerful. I’m influenced and inspired by conviction, curiosity, devotion, faith, and conflict. Some secrets: disco, Carole King, Randy Travis.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How’d that turn out?)

When I was a kid, I expressed interest in one day being the following things:
a garbage collector, a detective, an Olympic athlete, an underwater archaeologist, a boy. I’m 28 now – musician, writer, record label co-owner, bartender – and I still have a lot of dreams left.

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Trot on over to Tir na Nog on the 20th to see Mount Moriah in action and please check in  next week to see who else will take up the challenge of facing down the five. Oh and by all means, give Heather s a high five when you see her!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Duncan Webster of Hammer No More the Fingers

They’ve known each other since elementary school, played together since middle. But after playing every talent show and garage that would let their high school band make a racket, Duncan Webster, Jeff Stickley and Joe Hall parted ways and set off in wildly different directions.  Stickley wound up at ECU playing bluegrass.  Hall rambled down to Brazil and picked up some new riffs.  Webster did that New York dance where you fall in love, start a band, and then lose both.  Somehow, after a little time tilting at windmills, the guys all ended up back in Durham.  The adventures had taken them down wildly different paths, but all roads led home and to making music together once again.

Playing as Hammer No More the Fingers, Webster, Stickley and Hall have toured relentlessly, spreading their own spin on ‘90s college rock to anyone who’ll listen.  Their sound is a throwback to those grunge inspired indies of old without sounding kitschy or too nostalgic.  Coalescing idiosyncratic riffs and thumping bass lines with Stickley’s tempestuous drumming and Webster’s mundane, Hammer No More the Fingers bang out songs as interesting musically, as they are affecting lyrically. “Don’t know how hard it’s been, living without a friend, in the center of the world,” Webster sings on “Shutterbug” off their record, Looking for Bruce, but given the way these guys play, it’s not a feeling any of them will know for long.

And now just five tough as nails questions for Duncan to hammer down:

1. If your band were a cartoon character, who/what would it be?
ProStars—the Saturday morning cartoon starring Bo Jackson, Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Jordan. For obvious reasons. That, or the cast of Mulan II.

2. What instigated the choice of band name?
Every band name we were coming up with was terrible or was already in use: Vaudevillain, Wolf Laser, Korn, The Monkees. We just got tired of coming up with dumb band names. So we decided to keep the latest and dumbest that we had.

3. Describe the writing process for “Fall Down, Play Dead”

That’s one of the oldest songs we have. It started off as a riff that we played in a prior band called “Dead by Dawn” back in high school. All our songs were based on the Evil Dead trilogy. Pretty rad stuff. That was one of the riffs that stayed with us. We just kept tinkering with the chord progression until it morphed into what it is now. The lyrics are about a story I heard on NPR one day.

4. Who/what might be a few early inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?
Biz Markie is one of my favorite lyric writers of all time. Every song of his is about a different, whacked out subject. He raps about being a dude and doing dude stuff. Very down to earth, and yet weird and hilarious. We used to cover “Alone Again” from the album I Need a Haircut. Great song.Phish, Outkast, bluegrass, My Morning Jacket, Ween, and a lot of Brazilian music have a big influence on the Hammer. As do a lot of books we read, stories we hear, people we meet, and strange towns that we play.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How’d that turn out?)
We’re all 26 now, and have known each other and been playing music together since we were kids. Like 9 or 10 years old. This is pretty much an extension of that. Definitely on a smaller scale than Nirvana, because Nirvana is all I cared about as a kid. We couldn’t be more psyched about playing in a band, though. It’s more fun these days than ever before.

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Keep up with Hammer No More the Fingers touring schedule and other updates here, here, or here.  And check back next week to see who else will take up the challenge of facing down the five. Oh and by all means, give Duncan and the rest of the Hammers a high five when you see them!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz of Mandolin Orange

Mandolin Orange © 2010 Gabriel Nelson Photography

There’s a song called “The Dash” that Andrew Marlin wrote way back when he was first sticking his toe in the water of folk music.  It’s a few simple chords, a few symbol-laden verses, and a refrain that cuts.  “If you aim to throw bullets, shoot me fast, my love, not slow,” he sings.  It’s a cruel to be kind sentiment, in a song about the brevity of life and love.  When Marlin met Emily Frantz, however, instead of facing down a girl with a metaphorical gun, he found one with a guitar, a fiddle and a knack for harmony.

Since that chance meeting, Marlin and Frantz have honed their picking and playing skills together, performing out as Mandolin Orange.  Pairing some combination of guitar, fiddle, and mandolin, the two craft tempered, stripped-down country duets that drift somewhere in the ether between Gillian Welch and Nickel Creek.  Their music blends contemporary influences with the vibe of old-time, imbuing vintage aesthetics with shrewd songwriting.  It’s a magnetic combination, and you can hear it live as this Saturday, May 1st, when the duo celebrates the release of their newest record Quiet Little Room at the Local 506 along with Ryan Gustafson and Big Fat Gap.

Now just a few hard hitting questions for the kids in the quiet room:

1. If your band were a vegetable, what would it be?

ANDREW: Is an orange a vegetable?
EMILY: A sweet potato. Because it’s my favorite NC veggie and it happens to be orange.

2. When was the moment you realized there was something to this musical partnership that needed to be shared?

ANDREW: From the very start it seemed to just make sense. Emily and I fulfill very different roles that fit so easily together—at first it felt more like the musical partnership was sharing itself with us.
EMILY: Immediately. The first week we knew each other we played non-stop. We bailed on all our commitments (class, work) day after day—we just couldn’t tear ourselves away.

3. Describe your writing process.

ANDREW: Initially, an idea just kind of appears during a random shot at writing. Usually the overall concept of a tune isn’t clear to me until I’m finished with it. When the rough version is done, we arrange it together.
EMILY: The writing process starts with Andrew, and mostly stays there. Over the past year, I’ve started offering my opinion and enthusiasm for different lines or melodies as he writes. I aim for harmony parts that compliment the style or emotion of the tune, and do the same with my fiddle parts. Each song goes through all kinds of instrumental arrangements (between 2 guitars, fiddle and mandolin) since we can only choose the most fitting pair for a given song.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

ANDREW: A lot of my songwriting influences comes from the interactions and conversations I have everyday. As far as musical influences, The Books have a very spatial sound compared to us but they’ve long been one of my favorite groups.
EMILY: I have a hard time differentiating between my influences and the people I just listen to. For example, My Morning Jacket is one of my favorites, especially in the car. When creating my own music, I obviously don’t go for that exact sound, but I’d guess it’s in there somewhere.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)
ANDREW: A cowboy. I’m no horseman but I get to sing and play folk music… close enough.
EMILY: Can’t remember. I think it had to do with being the Little Mermaid and being able to sing underwater and swim at the same time. The singing part is working out so far!

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Check back next week to see who else will take up the challenge of facing down the five. Be sure to join Mandolin Orange this Saturday night at the Local 506 (or sometime soon on their upcoming tour) and, by all means, give Andrew and Emily a high five when you see them!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Django Haskins of The Old Ceremony

It’s hard enough playing music in front of people without having to wonder if they understand a single word you’re saying—but don’t bother explaining that little quandary to Django Haskins.  Adventuring after graduating from college, this Florida-native found himself cutting teeth as a songwriter playing shows in Hangzhou, China and that feeling of being lost in translation was all too immediate.  With words suddenly so insignificant, melody and rhythm and tone and instrumentation became the most important expressions.  It was an accidental lesson, but an important one. He went over a songwriter; he left a budding arranger.

It’s been several years since Haskins’ Chinese escapades, but any passing listen to the complex and textured aural landscape of The Old Ceremony intimates how important that translation-gap was to his musical mindset. As figurehead and lead songwriter of The Old Ceremony, Haskins, along with bassist Matt Brandau, drummer Dan Hall, vibes/organist Mark Simonsen, and violinist/keyboardist Gabriele Pelli, conjures music that hinges on some pop-noir aesthetic.  It bleeds jazz affectations into atmospheric Brit invasion inspired expanses.  The deliberate theatrics of their arrangements pair with murky, affecting lyrics and undeniable hooks.  It’s a precarious balance that perhaps inspired the name of their most recent album, Walk on Thin Air, and you can watch them tiptoe that line this Friday, April 23rd, at the Cat’s Cradle, where they’ll be joined by Benji Hughes.

Now just the new ritual questions for ye old ceremonial leader:

1. If your band were a member of New Kids on the Block, who would it be?

Well, we all like to hope that never happens, but if we had to be a member of NKoTB in order to save the lives of terminally-ill orphans on the Titanic, we’d be Mark Wahlberg because he’s the one who erased his New Kids past most effectively. Plus he got to deck Matt Damon in The Departed.

[editor’s note 1: The editor would like to point out that she thought everybody knew that Donnie was a New Kid and Mark was the leader of the Funky Bunch. “Come on, come on! Feel it! Feel it!” The editor wonders if maybe this is just a ruse so that Mr. Haskins does not have to admit having a NKOTB poster above his bed…]

[editor’s note 2: After pointing out the common knowledge of “note 1” to Mr. Haskins, he replied with reference to Mark Wahlberg’s wikipedia page which clarifies that although later replaced by Joey, “Mark, at age thirteen, had been one of the group’s original members.”  Mr. Haskins did not, however, make any clarification on the existence of said NKOTB poster above his bed.]

2. What do you want this band to be when it grows up?

Asking a musician what he wants to be when he grows up is like asking Yul Brynner what kind of shampoo he favors; there’s an assumption that musicians intend to grow up at all. To answer your question, we wanna be a firefighter.

3. Describe your feelings about Montreal and  Philadelphia cream cheese.

Well, the Montreal Cream Cheese Fiasco is part of a larger, sadder tale, but the short version is that I like Philadelphia cream cheese. When we were last in Montreal, I got a half-dozen Montreal bagels (which are incredible) and a tub of Philly cream cheese to take along on the next leg of the tour. But the Quebecois hold a long-standing disdain for anything other than local cream cheese, so when they smashed the window of our van, stole my laptop and iPod, along with my bag of bagels, they purposefully left the Philly cream cheese (they had to actually remove it from the bag they took) as a silent comment. It’s not every day that a felon also criticizes your dairy choices.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

I don’t know if it’s surprising, but I’ve been listening to Fela Kuti, Sun Kil Moon, Serge Gainsbourg, XTC’s English Settlement, Indian classical music, the Pogues, and Paul Simon’s first solo record a lot lately.

Barton Fink also rolls around my mind a lot, especially the scene where Jack Lipnik, the studio head, tears into Barton for making his wrestling screenplay too “fruity.” “Nobody wants to watch a movie about a guy wrestling with his soul! I mean, sure a little bit for the critics. But you’re making it the carrot that wags the horse!…We’re talking about men. In tights. Both literally and figuratively!” Not sure how that influence works its way in to TOC songs, but I’m sure it does somehow.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How’d that turn out?)

I dreamed of being taller, since I was five-five until about eleventh grade. It’s turned out okay, though I doubt I’m going to get any taller now.

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Check back for more high fives and head out to Cat’s Cradle this Friday to hear The Old Ceremony throw it down. And by all means, be sure to give Django a high five when you see him!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Nick Jaeger of The Tomahawks

It’s hard to imagine that while playing as sidemen in both Roman Candle and Max Indian Nick Jaeger and Jeff Crawford would have the creative energy for anything else, much less songwriting.  Nevertheless, the boys found themselves trading melodies and working up a batch of tunes that soon turned into  The Tomahawks.

With retro guitar licks, bouncy keys, hand-claps, and sun-bleached harmonies, The Tomahawks are part classic rock, part beach music soul, part indie.  Throwback hooks and warm riffs muck it up with loose rhythms to create an analog vibe.  It’s a vintage patina produced by a young band, brimming with talent.  The lineup is always stacked with the chops of Jaegar, Crawford, and Charles Cleaver, and is often augmented by other rambling, gifted musicians associated with Chapel Hill’s Drughorse Collective—“The Rons” Matt Damron & Cameron Lee (from Bright Young Things), Django Haskins & Mark Simonsen (from The Old Ceremony), Rob DiMauro and Patrick Phelan (from Luego), James Wallace and Carter Gaj (from Max Indian), and Brett Harris among them.

And you can come face to face with The Tomahawks and their spirited brand of roots soul this Saturday, April 17th at The Pinhook where they’ll be joined by their pals Luego and John Lindsay.

Now just to hit Nick with the five toughest questions in faux business:

1. If your band were a sandwich, what kind would it be?

For Flavor – the Manhattan from Neal’s Deli

For Name – the Big ‘n’ Tasty

For Historical Impact – Peanut Butter and Banana (Elvis’ choice)

2. What can listeners expect to hear on the new record?

Soul music as interpreted by a band of burnout badgers.

3. Describe how your father has affected your love of music.

Directly…I was hooked on his record collection growing up. He taught me how to work the turntable when I was probably 6 and I remember playing The Slider and Rubber Soul on repeat.  Currently, he influences me currently by making crazy good guitars (axes) for me to play (shred).

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

I was pretty into some punk rock in high school and I’ve been re-discovering some of that lately. The Descendents – Milo Goes to College was a pretty amazing record. Also, Dr. Dre’s – The Chronic…The drums and bass on Let Me Ride are absolutely disgusting.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How’d that turn out?)

Grades 1-5 – Astronaut/Paleontologist/Fighter Pilot
Grades 6-12 – Winner of le Tour de France
Adulthood – Rock and Roller

Entire Life – Fire Fighter/Pro Basketball Player

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Tune in next week for more furious five interrogations and head out to  The Pinhook this Saturday to catch The Tomahawks in action. And by all means, be sure to give Nick a high five when you see him!

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Gimme Five! MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger

When MC Taylor left San Francisco for North Carolina almost three years ago, it wasn’t just the city he was leaving behind. Over four full lengths (’99’s Venture Whites, ’01’s Bless You, ’04’s Witch Season, and ’06’s Hearts) and one EP (’04’s Dead Diamond River), his band, The Court and Spark, had explored that eerie space between early country and psychedelic rock to cult reception and critical acclaim.  Thus, the big move east meant an extended hiatus for that group and a step away from a vibrant local music scene that had been incredibly supportive.  However, It also meant the beginning of a new chapter — a spot in grad school at UNC– and the head space to flush out his newest musical venture–Hiss Golden Messenger, a self-described part-time band and joint venture with fellow former-Sparker  Scott Hirsch that stretches country rock infusion beyond the psychedelic and into some ghostly plain inhabited by musical outsiders past.

Conjuring slithering imagery and mystical transmission, the name Hiss Golden Messenger reflects the sound well.   On the debut, 2009’s Country Hai East Cotton, Taylor, Hirsch and a curated crew of collaborators set bluesy lamentations to spaced-out grooves, abstract alt-rock fair to dub beats.  It’s a sprawling sound blending ambient texture with country stomp and resulting in a mid-tempo folk-nit jam-roots vibe that mystifies.  The live translation of all that lackadaisical experimentation ranges depending on the number of sidemen available (for Hirsch is currently homesteaded in Brooklyn) and Taylor’s mood.  Most nights round these parts, you’ll find Taylor alone with an electric guitar, a pedal, and an acoustic set to the side ready for him to pluck a pick-and-grin inspired original or lay claim to some old favorite, like Gary Stewart’s “Drinking Thing.”

And you can catch this version of the Hiss Golden Messenger live show this Friday, April 9 at The Nightlight where Taylor will play as a part of In the Year of the Pig‘s CD release party.

Now just five questions to wet your curiosity:

1. If your band were a car, what sort would it be?

Probably one of these:

Or maybe a 1975 Lincoln Mark IV, chopped and dropped.

2. When did the idea for Hiss Golden Messenger come up?

Probably about 2005 when things were disintegrating in San Francisco.

3. Describe how becoming a father has changed the way you think about (or relate to) music.

That would take a long time. I’m not as keen on traveling anymore, and I spend a lot of times really fussing with songs to get them right. Babies—like songs—are unpredictable, but if you go at them with a little patience, you might could come out the other side with something really nice and totally unpredictable. Music is more important than ever at home. Elijah—who is one-year-old—can do a killer dance to Tony Joe White’s “Even Trolls Love Rock and Roll.”

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Me and some pals do like to dig in the bins for records that would fit into one of these micro-genres (thanks Brendan): honky-conch, zero hour, boot-cut, illegal vibrationz, shrimp plate, grabass, turbofocus, beach weirdo, troll-stroll, stone loner/brokedown van, Canadian smugglin’/gettin’ to the gig, damp and wobbly, wink-stink, high stakes, sneaky jams, boogie-hole.

This basically means late-era (always late-era) Merle Haggard, Joe Stampley, David Allen Coe, Eddie Rabbit, Ian Tyson, Tanya Tucker, Juice Newton, John Conlee, Jimmy Buffett, and Florabama’s own J. Hawkins, who has a song on his first record simply called “Shit.” And tons more.

I mention this stuff because I want to see it in print.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

I dreamed of being a musician. It’s turned out fair to middling.

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You can check out the not so fair or middling music of Hiss Golden Messenger this Friday, April 9, at The Nightlight.  And by all means, be sure to give MC a high five when you see him!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Autumn Ehinger of Cassis Orange

After successfully graduating from UNC in 2006, Autumn Ehinger took the show on the road…or herself rather and wound up in some pretty random places.  She moved to Virginia to participate in archaeology digs, the middle of nowhere Arizona to work in a national park, to Japan to teach English, and had a few other “pseudo-aimless wanderings” before sticking a stake in the ground in the “ultra-rural” town of Stedman, NC.  The rambling may have broadened her horizons, but it also made it hard to put a band together like she had in college.  Though the ability to collaborate was stifled, Autumn thankfully realized her drive to create wasn’t and thus came tumbling out the songs and sounds of Cassis Orange.

The product of the past four years’ travels, the music of Cassis Orange is a whirlwind of homesickness spun out with keyboards, glockenspiels, and cheap electronics.  Casio beats trill over lyrics about the battles of love and settling down.  Autumn’s voice surges out with startling intimacy amongst a numbingly trance-like rhythmic fill.  It’s lo-fi music made with digital technology, emotional strife with a fluttering cadence.

You can hear the Cassis Orange sound for yourself this coming Thursday, April 8th at The Pinhook where she’ll open for Butterflies and Wood Ear.  And you can also look forward to a number of upcoming dates because (who’d of guessed it) Autumn’s on the move again and Durham’s her next mark. (Lucky us.)

Now just the usual five question assault:

1. If your band were a city, which would it be?
Tokyo, Japan, specifically the Monzen-Nakacho neighborhood. I lived there a couple years ago, in a tiny apartment where I slept in a twin bed with my roommate because there was literally not enough space to sleep on the floor. The Cassis Orange songs always end up having to do something with my time there, directly or indirectly. And the band name is a popular mixed drink in Japan.

2. When was the moment you first thought music was something you might like to try?
In high school I was really obsessed with 1970s punk. I had a photograph of the Ramones going to a show at CBGB–they were on the subway, carrying their crappy instruments in a bunch of gross-looking shopping bags because they didn’t have any money for cases. I remember thinking, “Awesome! They are the best band ever, and totally broke!” And I was totally broke too, so that made me think I could also have a band or do music without always finding some dumb excuse not to.

3. Describe your typical Saturday morning routine.
My typical Saturday morning routine involves sleeping late enough to ensure I never develop a Saturday morning routine.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?
I really like the music they play at Cracker Barrel.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)
In elementary school I wanted to be an archaeologist. I rekindled the idea in college, and did do archaeology work for a while after I graduated. It’s really arduous physical work though, and I am basically a weakling, so after digging test pits in a cotton field in Virginia in a 100° August, I decided I would be ok with moving to a more indoors-y job. And now I really like teaching, so I think it all turned out well.

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Swing back by next week for the newest installment of gimme five and be sure to mosey over to The Pinhook on April 8th to hear Cassis Orange live. And by all means, give Autumn a high five when you see her!

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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Nathan Tarr of Wood Ear

Nathan Tarr was a stranger in Pittsburgh.  Moving there from Greensboro in 2002 had meant not only losing his comfort, but also leaving behind two bands.  The uneasiness inspired him to put pen to paper, melody to guitar and churn out a string of songs that, though he kept them quiet for a while, ended up as the initial blast of Wood Ear. With a sound that tiptoes on the edges alt.country, Wood Ear nods in the direction of bands like Uncle Tupelo’s world weary nouveau traditionalism, but strays from their melancholic restraints. Combining straightforward licks, Tarr’s gnawing vocal, and lyrics obsessed with the ticking clock of time, Wood Ear’s music is a battle between apathy and ardor.

With only a 6 song EP to its record (released in 2006), it’s hard to tell where Wood Ear will go in the future, but with Tarr and his steady crew of accomplices (Nathan Golub [of Fontana, the Rosewood Bluff, etc], Frank Andolina [of Fontana], Nic Brown [Longwave, Skeleton Key, Snuzz], and Krystal Black [of Dirty Version, Killing Frost, Vireo]) to back him up, it promises to be an entertaining ride. Check in to hear how Wood Ear’s evolving on Thursday, April 8th at The Pinhook where they’ll be joined by (our friends) Butterflies and Cassis Orange.

Now just five little ole bitty questions:

1. If your band were one of The Golden Girls, which would it be?

I wish I could say Sofia, but Dorothy is probably most accurate.

2. When can listeners expect a new Wood Ear record?

Rather than releasing a proper record, I’m going to release a series of singles on the website (soon to come). I’ll have two new songs out by May and four or five more by the end of the year.

3. Describe your feelings about “alt.country.”

I could take it or leave it.  People know what sound you are describing when you use it but it seems pretty ridiculous in this day and age with the lines between genre’s being blurred as much as they are.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

I’ve listened to a lot of Bad Brains and Born Against in my time.  Lately I can’t stop listening to Converge.  I also really like Carole King.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

I don’t remember having strong ambitions for being anything as a kid but when asked I think I said biologist or rock star.  I guess it turned out all right since I’m a biologist and I’m sure to be a rock star after this interview.

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Walk on over to The Pinhook on April 8th to hear Wood Ear for yourself and come on back around these parts next week for the newest installment of five.  And by all means, be sure to give Nathan a high five when you see him!

Categories
Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Billy Sugarfix

summertempests“I should rent some movies / Lock myself in my room / Try to get my drinking under control / Post a new entry to a blog that no one reads / And concede / That I’m getting old,” Billy Sugarfix reasons in the first lines on the first track (“Out Like a Lamb”) of his latest record Summer Tempests.  But, if you’ve caught even a whisper of any of Sugarfix’s incredibly creative output, then you know that isn’t reason, it’s madness and it’s exactly the opposite of what needs to happen. No concession, no “getting older” so-called maturity should impede the art that so seemingly nonchalantly flows through his head and out to his fingertips onto blogs and televisions and especially into speakers.

Sugarfix has made an ineffable mark on the local scene.  A montage of his time might note his rambles rocking out as one third of the much beloved Evil Weiner, his jaunts busking solo, his moments crafting pop vocal gems as one half of Password to Larkspur Lane, and even his side business creating custom serenades.  That foreshortened list of credits alone would be evidence enough of his energy and  drive, but, ever the entertainer, it’s also not the end for Sugarfix.  Just recently, he’s started a new project, Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel, a five piece chamber pop ensemble that features a few familiar faces.  Curious ears can catch this chapter of the Sugarfix experience live at The Nightlight on Saturday, March 20 where the Carousel will be joined by The Houston Brothers, Anna Bullard, and John Harrison of North Elementary.

And now just your standard nonstandard five question interrogation:

1. If your band were a movie, what would it be?ed wood

Ed Wood, and by that I mean the biographic film directed by Tim Burton.  When you boil it all down this film is about a bunch of oddly skilled misfits who pool their resources to make something really unique, which is what I hope to do with Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel.

2. When did you start collecting Busby style hats?

Evil Wiener has a song called Marching Band.  When it first came out Ron Liberti and Groves Willer got me this really nice red one to wear when we played the song.  I ended up wearing it until it was all but destroyed.   When it became absolutely un-wearable I began looking for a replacement.  I couldn’t find one exactly like it so I just began collecting every one that I came across.   Ever since I started this collection I have been given constant positive reinforcement in the form of questions such as this one, so as long as you all keep asking me about it I’ll keep collecting them.  I currently have 17.

billysugarfix3. Describe your feelings about performing. (Why do you often wear a mask, costumes, etc?)

I use the mask to represent a devil may care attitude and an absolute commitment to entertain.  I will admit though, that I’ve felt my guitar style is so simplistic that it isn’t enough to carry a performance and I therefore wear the mask to compensate for the lack of finger-picking and lead lines.   I’ve recently started being a lot more serious about guitar playing and have decided to temporarily discontinue the use of masks, and to compensate for my developing skill by surrounding myself with brilliant musicians such as those in the Carousel (Justin Blatt-Viola, Sara Zaleta-vocals, Doug Vuncannon-Double Bass, Wendy Spitzer-Oboe)

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Enya.  I like Enya.  Yes that’s right…the Celtic New Age “Sail Away” lady.  I think Orinoco Flow is a brilliant piece of music.  So there.

Another huge influence that deserves mentioning is the Trekky Yuletide Orchestra.  Seeing all those strings, brass,  and woodwinds work in a rock club setting really kind of set me on the path to writing for and incorporating  classical instrumentation into what I’m doing.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

I was dead set on being a fighter pilot until I discovered that the Air Force no longer used bi-planes.

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Take a ride on Billy Sugarfix’s Carousel this Saturday, March 20 at The Nightlight.  And by all means, when you see him give Billy a high five!