The Valley Advocate: Local Spins

Caravan Gogh

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

If Caravan Gogh doesn't sound like a local band you've heard of, that's 'cause they're not local. The band is the current musical vehicle of Gideon Freudmann, former Valley resident and electric cellist extraordinaire. These days, he lives in Portland, Oregon, and joined forces with friends on bass, ukulele and guitar to form Caravan Gogh.

Here's their latest performance video, "I Write My Blog." About which I am now writing a blog post. So get all meta on it:

Random Access Orkestra, Ray Mason

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

Random Access Orkestra
(self-titled)
Independent

RAO is a miasmal, cut-and-paste smorgasbord of loops, live instruments and vocals, spoken word rants and almost propagandistic, Orwellian samples from old movies, educational videos and the like. The musical bed ranges from ’70s-era Weather Report fusion to Chemical Brothers trance-dance to modern industrial (a la Nine Inch Nails), though its overall m.o. seems to be to stroke rather than jolt. Several musicians are credited in the liner notes, but it’s unclear who plays what, how much is looped, etc. The guitar work is among the highlights on the record, weaving intricate eastern scales in Frippian feedback tones, and de-tuned pianos keep the feel of the work organic and, above all, Randomly accessible. Nothing here, however, sounds accidental.

—Tom Sturm

Ray Mason

Like Bugs Chewing On Paper

Captivating Music

Ray Mason’s new album has both the familiar sincerity of his typical pop style and more than a few interesting departures from the norm. Employing wunderkind Jim Weeks as producer (and pretty much his entire backing band) has made for an interesting potpourri of musical flavor and instrumentation. Anyone who knows Ray’s music will raise an eyebrow at songs like “Go On and Kiss Him” and “Tourist in Town,” the former steeped in a slinky samba groove and the latter funked-out with Stevie Wonder-style clavichord and Spoon-ish guitar parts. Still, Mason likes to keep them short and sweet, with the longest track (the dark and surfy “Ceiling”) clocking in at a whopping 3:26.

—Tom Sturm

Swing Caravan, Get It Fresh

Thu, 07 May 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

This week, we’ve got some short takes on Swing Caravan’s CD Get It Fresh. The band’s rhythm guitarist, Jack Brown, is the author of the Advocate’s Cinema Dope film column.

--James Heflin

Get It Fresh

Swing Caravan's dynamic sounds leap and jump in nuanced rhythms that play homage to Django Reinhardt's gypsy jazz. From fiery dance tunes to wandering ballads, this group brings modern sounds to a classic tradition.

--Fraylie Nord

The rhythmically manic Swing Caravan dance around fast beat jazz with melodic guitar solos. In their four-piece form, they are a powerful quartet, dynamically in-sync and always energetic.

--Lee Taylor

Nai Kete and Jesse Sterling Harrison

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

Here are two new reviews by Lee Taylor. -JH

Nai Keté

Sweet Music

You can sense Nai Keté'scomfort in front of a microphone--she’s been singing since the age of one. Keté’s barefoot brand of R&B is elusive, weaving through tiers of pop and reggae. She sings, “You’re a prisoner in your own right,” on “Prisoner,” offering politically charged reggae. I felt like I was seeing Keté playing a college crowd, jamming out to a bunch of hackie sackers on the grass with her guitar.

Jesse Sterling Harrison

Jackhammer Soul

Jesse Sterling Harrison has made several home-recorded albums, and Jackhammer Soul has the feel of someone plugging in the guitar and ripping out a few licks at the end of a workday. He plays to his influences on songs like “On a War” which chugs and buzzes like early ’90s Neil Young. It’s a fun and gritty batch of songs with few inhibitions.

--Lee Taylor

Ten Dollar Outfit, he Frost Heaves, Justin Pigott

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

Here's a roundup of recent picks as written by Ryan Duffy and Lee Taylor.

-JH

Ten Dollar Outfit

The Show Low Sessions

Phoenix-based Ten Dollar Outfit features western MA’s own Brian Chartrand on vocals and guitar. Their recent E.P., The Show Low Sessions, has his trio navigating a light and funky pop terrain inhabited by bouncy vocals, bright guitars, some brass and percussion.

To my ears, this doesn’t particularly stick out much from the world of contemporary jazzy/funky/jammy/coffeehouse music that fills many a college dorm room, but the group was voted as the best jam group of 2008 by the Phoenix New Times, so I suppose people are listening. I’ll resort to the cheap naming game and say that Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson and John Mayer fans may feel sated by this brief disc.

--by Ryan Duffy

Daniel Hales & The Frost Heaves

Frost Heaves

Daniel Hales and his backing band offer up this 14 song full-length, which is fresh from the plant. This disc takes on country, folk, and rock—I even hear an Indian raga influence in a song or two. Bolstered by warm production, the album twinkles, shuffles, howls, plods and dances. The ethereal vocals are soothing, relaxing and inviting and the instrumentation always fits each song like a glove. The songs are performed by a collective, though there is always a finely-tuned cohesion present.

The album’s strengths are its subtlety and its concision. Hales knows exactly when to reel it in and when to let it loose. The group is able to channel its disparate influences into a familiar sound that stands on its own two feet.

by Ryan Duffy

Justin Pigott

Justin Pigott

Local acoustic picker Justin Pigott’s self-titled CD is in for this week’s local spin. First impression became irrelevant as the strummer’s sweet harmonics and strange melody turned a corner to a mean slide guitar. What is this? His bearded and flannel appearance in picture readied me for the standard singer-songwriter heart-tug-attempt, but Pigott’s skill and understanding of song structure stretches far behind that of the open mic crowd.

“Freezing Rain Falls Over Otis” puts a folk twist on dissonance and metal. “Corn Whiskey When I Am Dry” uses an alternate tuning for a punchy bass line like Piedmont blues without the syncopated lead- Piedmont punk, perhaps? Alt-Piedmont, maybe?

Pigott appears to be the guitar player who is beyond the drowned out sound of a half stack in a VFW hall and ready to really be heard, and that’s all right. This album has a surprising payoff along the lines of Jim O’Rourke’s “Bad Timing.”

By Lee Taylor

The Prozacs

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

The Prozacs' Playing the Chords We Love is in for a spin.

Straight-up punk, at least in terms of sound--whiney SoCal vocals on top of buzzy Les Paul (and I'm guessing a Marshall?). Have to respect the choice to just embrace the old school, unencumbered by irony. That's consistent from first track to last.

Lyrics embrace the vague, always a surefire punk formula:

We're getting sick of all these lies
The games you play, it's getting old
Freedom's false, the truth is cold

WYSIWYG for sure with these fellows, from pick slide intro to... did he just say "teenage slumber party?"

Laura Siersema's Talon of the Blackwater

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

By Ryan Duffy

Currently based out of Greenfield, singer/songwriter Laura Siersema offers her third album. According to her biography, she loved music as a child, attempted nursing school and dropped out, and fell back into music—not exactly the worst move, in her case. Siersema clearly has a lot to offer with her sonorous singing and her agile playing.

Many of the songs on this CD are not far removed from some of Kate Bush’s more subdued ‘80s output, which means flowing, ethereal vocals, murky, fretless bass, jazz piano, subtle synthesizers, some strings, drums and even bouncing marimba on one track. The record makes good use of silence and space at times, creating a fairly minimalist setting, circling and entrancing rather than forcing its way in.

Lyrically, the album uses cryptic poetry to evoke moods, rather than providing the listeners with cheap, cut-and-dried imagery. I liked this bit from “Along the Fenway,” the 13-minute closer:

I saw the future in somebody’s hand

They’re gonna steal a wallet

What does it matter when you’re in-between

the black sheep and the chosen one?

Or how about, from the title track:

Hurling shotgun shells at a wedding party

brother half-cocked at the pulpit

nausea always skimming just beneath

Not sure exactly what she’s alluding to, but anyone who can wield strong lyrical ability while avoiding pretension and tired clichés scores points with me.

Lead track “Mother Mary Rose” slowly floats along, buoyed by watery and delicate guitar work, but the vocals cut through the mix, creating a disembodied ambience. Siersema’s take on the traditional tune “Wade in the Water” is carried by clomping congas and is lit up like a jazzy old torch song.

Fans of Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell and even Leonard Cohen, albeit strictly on a lyrical basis, might feel at home with Siersema.

Linq: Life Goes On

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

And so does this CD--popping it in right here and now. Although by the time you read this, it will have been popped in there and then. But anyway.

First impressions: burpy bass, slow old-school fingerpicked guitar, earnest lyrics, female folk-style singing. Rimshots! Has a bit of a Jim Croce-ish feel going on.

"Chainsaws roar, another tree falls

Forests topple for shopping malls

Wild ones scramble while humans plot

Next invasion of their Camelot"

Neil Peart meets A Mighty Wind? Track 2: Choral "change." Everybody's learning to be racist and hate-filled from what they hear around them. Earnest and well-meaning, and you can't fault the sentiment. Or the wailing harmony guitar that just roared in like Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

This one's not for me, but more power to them and their plainspoken sentiments.

It's a very old-school, not-hipster-ironic brand of feel-good, rollicking from folk to almost-reggae, light blues to acoustic balladry on the rest of its tracks. Best tune award goes to "Butterworth Boys."

What do you think?

This album isn't released yet, but you can check out older material from Linq here.

Wasted

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:00:00 AM MST

Woody Pistrich has been a rabid, supportive fan of Valley music since the late ’80s, and his face has been visible at hundreds of shows since then. His house is a veritable museum of flyers that bring back so many awesome memories of local rock shows, and the man has even built (with great skill I might add) a large hangout/performance space (sometimes called “The Woodrose Ballroom”) above his garage and hosted dozens of party-shows and random jam sessions that have often brought together the most unlikely of bandfellows. For this alone, he deserves a Valley Rock Medal.

In the past five or so years, Woody’s been putting out CDs of his own under the name “Waste King,” which incorporates the skills of many area musicians including a stable of drummers (Amy Sullivan, Joel Dundorf, Eddie Riel). The releases have been pretty ho-hum for the most part; Pistrich is no melodic genius, has lyrical skills up (or down) there with those of William Shatner or the Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew, and about as much natural rhythm as Frasier Crane after a few vodka & mineral waters.

Still, there’s something wonderfully authentic about his latest effort, “Halfway.” His guitar playing has improved considerably, and his skills as a recording engineer/producer have evolved as well (he records everything in the Woodrose Ballroom). The songs on this album have both the feel of old-school Valley-style alt-grunge in the vein of Sebadoh or The Supreme Dicks and a weird, ’60s garage rock vibe that almost approaches Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd.

If I were a major label A&R rep, I would probably spray out a mouthful of my double latte into the face of whomever suggested I sign this joker, BUT—if I were an awkward, angry teenager in a post-industrial shit town somewhere in the Midwest, I could see treasuring this record, especially if it was released on vinyl. Or 8-track, even. Check out Waste King at www.myspace/wasteking1

Valley Musician retracts recently released CD

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:00:00 AM MST

"It was fundamentally compromised from the get-go," the local musician said. "The track order was all wrong, and the cover art--a picture of me sitting in an outhouse with Abraham Lincoln--just didn't convey my vision. I'm having them all removed from local shops and donated to Goodwill."

The shocking maneuver was met with incredulity by other local musicians. "He's always been such a prima donna," said another local musician, who asked to remain unnamed. "I should have known back when he played with me in the Chronic Pains. He took it a little too seriously, you know?"

Another added, "Well, I guess if releasing this CD didn't work out, maybe not releasing CDs is his true calling. Whatever."

"I'll be in seclusion in the West Wing," said the local musician. "But if you're going to listen, I suggest track 4."