Updates, reviews, ecetera

Welcome to the new URL! Scrimshaw Music News is now here. I'll still probably only post something new every six months, but you get the idea. On that note...

It's been a busy summer! I fell in love, helped some good friends get hitched, moved apartments, took my share of road trips, worked at the restaurant and freelanced a bunch.

Just before it folded its print publication, I began writing for Paste. It was a thrill to see my byline on the website, and I'm sad I won't see it in print. But I did squeeze these few reviews in before the indie tastemaker threw in the towel:

J. Tillman: Singing Ax

Latetitia Sadier: The Trip

Dead Confederate: Sugar

I'm still waiting to see if my interview with Ishmael Butler (formerly of Digable Planets, currently of Seattle's Shabazz Palaces) makes it up on the site's "Best of What's Next" section, where it was slated to run. From what I read on the web, on September 1, all the folks I was working with at Paste were given two hours to clean their desks, and I haven't heard from anyone since. I know Prefix is interested, so hopefully the short Q&A will see the light of day soon.

Paste also ran a small feature called "Ten September Albums Worth Checking Out" which contained an excerpt from my Laetitia Sadier review. It's here:

Ten September Albums Worth Checking Out

I've been doing some work with City Arts as well. I reviewed a mellow jazz show at Jazz Alley back in June (Music Review: A Long Night with Dave Peck Trio) and wrote a few band biographies promoting the upcoming City Arts Music Festival, which will feature more than 60 bands playing Seattle venues October 20 - 23. I'll post those bios when they go up, but for now, here's what you need to know about the festival: City Arts Fest Homepage.

And to top things off, I've been working on updating Seattle Weekly's club and bar database. The pieces are short, informational snippets about various venues around the city, but it's been keeping me busy and I've been having fun doing it. I'm almost up to 20 entries - too exhaustive to list here - but if you ever get to reading about a random venue on Seattleweekly.com, chances are I might have authored it (and taken the accompanying photos).

I think that catches y'all up. Until next time, people!

Old and news...

The first piece I ever wrote for the now defunct Seattle Sound Magazine (City Arts is its newest incarnation) was a small feature on a hip-hop legend here in Seattle, Samuel Stephens. He passed away unexpectedly back in 2007, to the shock of his family and the hip-hop community. I thought it was just a print feature, but stumbled across it online the other day. The longtime supporter and producer of local music was also part owner of the Ezell's Fried Chicken franchise. The story is here: Seattle Hip-hop Pioneer Passes.

On a related City Arts note, I have a small review in the latest (April) issue. At an original word count of 150, it's whittled down to a mere 75, and the result is sloppy and out of context. Rats. Such is writing (and hasty editors) sometimes. The review as I intended it to look is here for you now.

Speak
Self-titled
(Origin Records)

Seattle free jazz quintet Speak hasn't been around a while – the group just formed in 2008 – but that hasn't kept them from attracting attention. They're the newest signers to local jazz label Origins and have lined up gigs from clubs in New York to jazz festivals in Europe. Their six track debut of original compositions is a 45 minute progressive jazz art piece. Cuong Vu – whose smooth, improvisational trumpet work has appeared alongside Pat Methany, David Bowie and Cibo Matto – brings a seasoned finesse to the recording, offset by technical skills brought forth by four younger members. Album highlights include: “Polypockets,” a syncopated frenzy of manic sax, precision percussion and heavy handed keys; “Pure Hatred,” a jarring shudder of schismatic, flowing jazz; and “Litany Split,” featuring Vu's feather light trumpet. It's studied, moody music. Speak has arrived with something to say.

SXSW, Bill Murray & Me

South by Southwest was a whirlwind. Here's me stretching with Bill "Ghost-bustin' Ass" Murray as a group of us waited for our delayed flights out of Austin. We ran into him stretching his legs over a trash/recycling receptacle and pretty much tagged teamed the poor guy for some photos. He looked dead hungover, but was gracious in the moment and chatted with us about the festival and where we were headed from Austin. As it happens, he made quite a few rounds at SXSW this year. Here's a video of the famous actor tending bar at the Shangri-La: Bartendin' Bill Murray.

That's Lizeth Santos in the second photo. She's the wife of Rafter Roberts, and one-woman cocktail drum kit playing extraordinaire, Smile Now Cry Later. She gave me her EP, and Rafter gave me a few records, including his new one. I ended up reviewing it (quite favorably!) for San Diego CityBeat. Great indie dance pop. Here's the review: Rafter: Animal Feelings.

I ended up doing a house swap this year. My new friend Sara stayed at my place in Seattle, and I had her nice house in north Austin all to myself to write and re-write. Which is pretty much what I did for the good part of the day, and when I was through, I went into the city to see all the music and meet up with friends.

I had a single assignment due each day: one artist interview. I had my pick of hundreds of artists, but chose the following four, a diverse bunch. You can read them - and my SXSW wrap up - here:

Basia Bulat: Interview, SXSW
Imaad Wasif: Interview, SXSW
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson: Interview, SXSW
Blue Scholars: Interview, SXSW
Overheard at SXSW: A Week's Worth of Random Quotes

Shortly after my interview with Imaad Wasif, the apple I gave him during our interview turned up in LA Weekly (along with a snarky comment about my tape recorder). You can read the blog post here: Imaad and The Apple.

Oh, my goodness. The random places and people and things that converge in Austin in March. It's just bananas. More for you soon!

Nouvelle Vague Q & A

Last minute I spoke with Olivier Libaux, the other half of the production duo that leads Nouvelle Vague. Nice French gent. Here's the Q & A that went up at Prefix earlier this week: Nouvelle Vague: Interview.

At the NV show that evening, I met Matthew Cooke, a writer for the Stranger on a special month long assignment with an excess of +1's. Later that week, I accompanied him to see Moon Duo, a two piece from San Fransisco who played the Rendezvous. Great show. Here's what he had to say about the gig: Moon Duo at the Rendezvous.

SXSW plans are shaping up. My travel plans, accommodations and press pass have all been firmed up, and I've narrowed down my list of interviewees. Stay tuned for the daily dispatch from Texas!

I'm attempting to leave you with a few photos of the Nouvelle Vague and Moon Duo shows, and another band I caught recently at the Sunset, Motorist. They're a super technical, progressive indie group I really enjoyed. But photo uploader is not working at the moment. As always, stay tuned...

A few reviews, and other news

As Daniel Johnston so famously said, Hi. How are you.

It's been a while, but better late than never to fire up the old blog for another round of music news.

First, I want to plug a couple records. Last year, Seattle band Lady Drama debuted with a full length and I wrote it up for Seattle Weekly. They went on to play Reverb, Seattle's local music festival, but things have been pretty quiet for them since. We'll see what 2010 holds for this melodic, lyrical group. Here's the review: Lady Drama: Aftermath.

San Diego's electronic indie group The Album Leaf releases their fifth album today, A Chorus of Storytellers, on Sub Pop. You can read my review of it here: The Album Leaf: A Chorus of Storytellers.

In other news, I'll be talking to Marc Collin of French cover band Nouvelle Vague later this week. They've been on an aggressive tour of Europe and North America promoting their album NV3, and play the King Kat club on Thursday. I'll post the Q&A as soon as it goes up at Prefix.

And, South by Southwest is just around the corner. I'm finalizing my travel plans as I write this, and brainstorming ideas for a daily Prefix dispatch. This year, I'm planning on a band interview a day - the only hiccup is figuring out who...

That's all for now. Have a good week, everyone!

Young Fresh Fellows - New Record and CD release show

After such an obvious lapse between posts, reality has smacked on the forehead: it looks like I'll probably have time to update ye olde blog only when I have music news related directly to my personal work. My hopes of maintaining a constantly-updated, award-winning music blog have now been relegated to the much more practical realm of: one giant press release of and about me!

I guess this is my way of saying: don't come to Scrimshaw looking for the latest breaking news in the music world. I set my sights too high and wanted to bring you a blog of quality and substance, but these days all I really have time to do is keep a small journal of my recent jobs. Life has a way of interrupting even the best laid blog drafts. And I wanted to tell it to you straight.

So, speaking of music news (*coughs*), I have a new piece in Seattle Weekly about the Young Fresh Fellows. This a Seattle based group that's been on the scene for over 25 years, a band that skirted the punk scene of the early '80s, rode out the grunge invasion and provided a good deal of context for tons of area bands. They have a new album out - their first in almost 10 years - and it was produced by Robyn Hitchcock. There's a good story here! Read all about it: Not So Young, Still Fresh.

Bill Callahan - New Album and Interview

I recently sat down with singer-songwriter Bill Callahan - via a friendly email - to talk about his new album, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle. He's a very intriguing personality, introspective and prolific - for years he recorded under the moniker Smog - and is considered by many to be an unsung pioneer of the early 90's lo-fi sound.

This is his second release as Bill Callahan. It's a beautiful, cohesive record. Read more about it here: Bill Callahan: Interview.

Happy Record Store Day!

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than looking through the titles at your local record store? I'm not talking Tower Records or Walmart, people. I'm talking about your locally owned, independent record store - the Lakeshore Record Exchanges, Record Archives, Sonic Booms, Amoebas, M Theory(s), and Easy Streets (to name a few) of the world!

Buy some music today - like an old fashioned cd or record (remember those?) - help boost the economy, and support your local music shop!

Might be easy for you if you altered your state of mind and shopped your heart out like Mos Def here: Mos Def shopping at Amoeba.

Record stores rock! Happy shopping!

Down in flames...

One of the first - among many - to go was Resonance, a highly-esteemed quarterly print music magazine I interned for. Then No Depression, another well-respected Seattle rag went from print to online to - as of February - a user forum only, signaling no real journalism or paid writers. Now, say good bye to Blender. This news comes in the wake of the passing of the Seattle Post Intelligencer, a daily that had been a Northwest publishing establishment since 1864.

Kyla Fairchild, co-publisher of No Depression (who I was seated two rows behind on the plane back from Austin) posted a very thorough explanation of what's happening in the print world right now called "The Cold Hard Facts." It's worth reading if any of this snowballing and troubling news is of interest to you.

February 9th's episode of Jon Stewart's Daily Show touches on these issues also. Walter Issacson wrote an article for Time Magazine called, "How to Save Your Newspaper," and in his interview with Stewart he says, "[We] have to get away from the notion that good reporting has to be given away for free on the internet...we have to get to some system where some journalists are getting paid."

Something like this needs to happen, and happen soon if we are to be become informed exclusively through the internet. The old business model - provide a service, then get paid for it - has changed entirely because of the internet, and we've gotten used to getting everything free. But there's truly a hidden cost to "free" online stuff, and we have to restructure the way we think about online content. Free equals free. As it has been for ages, you have to pay for quality. As newspapers dwindle and magazines go under, this will undoubtedly only become more and more obvious.

To see the interview with Walter Issacson, go here.

Back from SXSW

Hello everyone. As most of you know, I've recently returned from Austin, Texas where I was covering the South by Southwest music festival. I had the time of my life and despite all the music, beer and general goings-on, somehow managed to send off an assignment a day for Prefixmag.com.

If you'd like to live vicariously through me and my coveted press badge, here's a map, starting at day 1.

SXSW Missive: Day 1
SXSW Missive: Day 2
SXSW Missive: Day 3
SXSW Missive: Day 4
SXSW Missive: Final Thoughts

At the prompting of Quincy Jones at his keynote speech, I visited his website to sign a petition to install a Secretary of the Arts. I was startled to find Prefix mentioned twice there, in quoted excerpts from my Day 2 missive. You can read all about it and watch a video of the amazing Alfredo Rodriguez here: 3.23 SXSW Recap.

I hope you all have some time to read through the series, comment if you like and get an idea of what it was all about.

SXSW - Showcasin' Cheat Sheet

I leave for Austin tomorrow and am happy to report that the list I compiled of every day party you never wanted to know about at South by Southwest is up at Prefix. You can read it here: 2009 SXSW Showcasin' Cheat Sheet.

Looks like it will be 70's and 80's this week - a nice change from the cold, rainy Pacific Northwest.

From Wednesday on, you can keep up with my Texas shenanigans at Prefixmag.com where I'll be posting a daily blog entry. I'll try to link Scrimshaw with the daily Prefix posts, but can't say for sure if I'll be able to pull that off. They say attending SXSW is like swimming in a pool of free beer - not the best conditions for staying on task, but a hell of a lot of fun. Whether it's here or at Prefix, I'll be keeping you posted.

SXSW 2009: 10 Bands to Watch

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get back to Scrimshaw. I've been scouring press releases and doing a lot of research and scheduling in preparation for South by Southwest. One of my contributions just went up on Prefix - it's a list of 10 bands on the rise. You can read it here: 10 Bands to Watch.

I've compiled a giant document with all the minutiae of just about every day party in Austin - that will be up shortly, too, and I'll send a link along.

More news to come soon, honest!

SxSeattle Send Off Party Friday, March 6

On Friday, March 6th a handful of Seattle area bands headed to Austin for South by Southwest will play a send off showcase 9 pm at the Tractor. Champagne Champage, New Faces, Hey Marseilles, Battle Hymns round out the bill. Tickets for this 21 and over show are $8 and are available at Sonic Boom or through the Tractor.

The SxSeattle party in Austin will be held March 21st from 12-6 at the Palm Door. For more information and to RSVP (it's a free all ages event), go here.

Seattle Soundbite, Thursday March 19th

For many of us working in creative mediums, a part-time job in the food service industry will carry us through the leaner times of our professional lives. In a music city like Seattle, with a full-fledged gastro-culture to boot, thousands of musicians, artists and writers moonlight as servers and bartenders as a way to make ends meet.

Seattle Soundbite is the fund raising take on the lifestyle: bands perform, participating restaurants offer street style food and we all delight in the stipulation that performing bands need to have at least one member working within the food service industry. This year's event will be held Thursday, March 19th at the Showbox SoDo. It's $15 and the Helio Sequence headlines. (Proving that even signed Sub Pop acts still have to schlep pasta for a living.) Other acts on the bill: Bird Show of North America, Sue Quigley, Doctor Doctor, Puget Sound System, Truce and DJ Reflex. Proceeds benefit the Washington Restaurant Association, The Vera Project and Pro Start.

Foodies rejoice - participating restaurants include: Barrio, Cantinetta, Crémant, OddFellows, Palace Kitchen, Pike Street Fish Fry, Purple Cafe & Wine Bar, Quinn's, Ray's Café, Red Door, Serafina, Tango and Via Tribunali.

More information about Seattle Soundbite can be found here.

The Gits & Home Alive

As a music writer living in a city with a rich and storied music scene, every now and then I'll check out various films and documentaries about Seattle's ongoing role in the music world in an attempt to educate myself. Last week I watched The Gits, the 2005 documentary about the post-punk group and the 1993 brutal rape and murder of their lead singer Mia Zapata.
For me, a non-native Seattleite, these kind of movies promote a better understanding of historical events that took place before I moved here, and The Gits fit the bill. Grunge-era names are dropped, venues and shows referenced, and among the film's many touching moments: the mention of non-profit organization Home Alive, the self-defense studio Zapata's friends created in response to her murder. Sadly, after 16 years, Home Alive is closing within the month. Lack of funding and debt is to blame.

This news aside, for anyone with an interest in Seattle music history, I recommend The Gits. I had heard of Zapata but never grasped how universally loved and respected she was within the music community and beyond until now. Concert footage shows Zapata's amped, electric performances, her voice commanding and gravelly; friends and family remember her loving spirit and offbeat goofiness. Home Alive says: "Mia was a living, thriving, raging testimony of the power of unleashed artistic expression."

Curse of the rising star: she was 27 at the time of her death.

New 2009 SXSW Schedule Posted

Finally! An official list of bands, when to see them, where they're playing...just blogged about it at Prefix. Read all about it here.

Wintergrass

Wintergrass, Tacoma's annual bluegrass festival, starts this Thursday the 19th and will run through the 22nd.

Kim Ruehl, writer for Americana rag No Depression and Roots correspondent for Sound writes: "Wintergrass takes place in downtown Tacoma, WA. The performances are spread over a couple of hotels and a nearby church. Friday and Saturday mornings are workshops galore on everything from overcoming stage fright to mastering Old Time fiddle. The hotel lobbies are replete with impromptu jams.

This is a Bluegrass music festival, but there is a lot of appreciation for Old Time Music. A lot of the jam sessions include people playing Old Time tunes. Many of the performers are old school bluegrass, though there are occasionally some Old Time bands and some contemporary country/folk singer/songwriters. Performers include well-known legends as well as local and regional newcomers."

One group performing this year is "old time string band" The Tallboys. They're well-practiced musicians, a fun band to see live and really bring an "old-timey" feeling to their set. If you've heard of them, you know they're kind of a fixture on the NW folk circuit: they're the house band for the Tractor's bi-monthly square dancing night (highly recommended, every other Monday), and vocalist Charmaine Slaven is an organizer of - and performs at - NW Folklife.

Charmaine has the unique ability to buck dance (a kind of folk clogging/tap dance) and play guitar at the same time. It's really interesting to watch. She teaches clogging workshops pretty regularly, and will be offering one this year at Wintergrass on Saturday at Collings Church at 11:15am.

Iron and Wine - New Album and Upcoming Tour

Straight off the Sub Pop press: "On May 19, 2009 Iron and Wine will issue Around the Well, a 2-CD/3-LP collection of rare tracks ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released. In support of Around the Well Iron and Wine will be performing ten intimate shows in five cities. Each individual show will be wholly unique, as Iron and Wine will turn the set list over to the fans to create. In addition, Iron and Wine have begun work on the follow-up to The Shepherd’s Dog and plan to release a new album in spring, 2010."

Here in Seattle, Iron and Wine play two shows: May 4th at the Vera Project and May 5th at the Triple Door. Tickets go on sale for all shows February 20th and are will-call only.

In 2004 when I was living in Alaska, I interviewed Sam Beam over the phone. It was an interesting conversation; one editor I worked for put it this way: "He does not sound like a fun guy to have at parties." I later saw him play in San Diego at the Belly Up; it was a good show, but his stage presence was awkward and lacked confidence, and I've heard similar things about his other shows. He's clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight, and while he may not be the easiest person to talk to, his shyness is real and not play acting like it sometimes is with other folks of the indie ilk. The two part interview at Prefix is here: Interview: Iron and Wine, Part 1; Interview: Iron and Wine, Part 2.

Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams engaged...

It's a fact, folks. Yet as this news infiltrates every corner of the blogosphere, another piece of the Ryan Adams story is still grinding my gears: the fact that Mr. Adams has landed a regular column at BlackBook (a pop culture and urban life website), writing about whatever he chooses, whenever he feels like it.

Maybe it's part jealousy on my part - wait...it is - but struggling (and talented, hardworking) writers are killing each other for that kind of deal. Lack deadlines, preferential editing - maybe not the best terms for shaping a great writing voice, but it definitely does wonders for the ego. And it's a regular (assumably paid) gig, which would seal the deal for a great many of us.

Which brings me to my point: with celebrity comes access. Ok, we all know that already, but an independently famous name attached to a new medium clouds one's genuine assessment of it. (Another headline topping story these days: actor-cum-rapper Joaquin Phoenix.) In the case of Adams' column, it's hard for the average reader (especially readers who are also Ryan Adams fans) to distinguish if it's worth checking out because of the huge back story that comes with it. The name is enough to pull readers in, but that fact alone doesn't mean it's any good.

Reading his posts, it's clear that Adams possesses a certain lyrical quality that helps him as a songwriter, but there's no argument about it: an established name like Chuck Klosterman blows the whimsical musings of Adams out of the water. Maybe BlackBook is a place for such a voice as Adams', and I'll have to accept that the standard of judgment for a "musician-cum-writer" is quite different than that for "music writer."

I'll admit it again: I'm jealous. I wish the world we lived in didn't roll over every time a celebrity said "Please," where front page access like Adams' was actually doled out to stimulating and absorbing new voices. But we don't live in a world like that. So I'll just say it: Ryan Adams, I actually like a lot of your music and think you're on to something; you have a new EP out - let's talk about that. Your column? Meh.

And that's what really grinds my gears.

"You Are The Blood" - Sufjan Stevens covers Castanets for AIDS awareness Compilation

February 16th, 4AD releases Dark Was The Night, a compilation of covers in support of HIV/AIDS awareness group Red Hot Organization. It's packed with notable contributors, among them Iron and Wine, Andrew Bird, and Asthmatic Kitty's very own My Brightest Diamond and Sufjan Stevens, who covers fellow AK group Castanets' "You Are The Blood." "And," says Asthmatic Kitty, "if you've been listening for a while, you may have heard it ["You Are The Blood"] before: on Cathedral, the 2004 debut of Castanets." It's a haunting, reverb-laden melody, featuring the skillful placement of Belltower's ethereal back-up vocals.

If you've never heard of Belltower, allow me to enlighten you: Belltower is Bridgit DeCook, the soulful chanteuse whose voice and talents can be heard throughout the Asthmatic Kitty catalog. Currently hard at work in San Francisco recording new material, Belltower made a name for herself wearing a number of hats: in 2005 she toured Europe with Stevens as an Illinoisemaker, singing, playing glockenspiel and keys, and continues to record with the indie juggernaut; as part of the prolific San Diego indie scene, recording and performing with Asthmatic Kitty matriarch Liz Janes; and notably here, as an original member of Ray Riposa's Castanets.


Full disclosure: While some Scrimshaw readers may know Bridgit to be my best friend, everything I have said here is honest, true, and real: Belltower is an expressive and enchanting performer, an insightful songwriter, and a true pleasure to know. Lately she's been playing at Edinburgh Castle in San Francisco. Learn more about Belltower here: Official Belltower Myspace Page, and check out her AK profile here: Belltower.