Democracy Movement in Music

Austin quartet I Love You But I Chosen Darkness is another example of a favorite theme of mine - how the accelerating death of the record companies is giving an opening to all kinds of great music that would ordinarily have never found an audience.

It is also provided an opening for video producers who can do genius work with little or no budget.

Here's the Pitchfork media blurb:

"Created independently, without the support of a production company, this painstakingly composed piece from 20-year-old Canadian animation student Emmanuel Ho is proof of the increased democratization of the music video market. Showcasing Ho's clean, geometric design style and his laser-sharp eye for movement, "The Owl" squeezes drama out of every tensile guitar part in the Austin quartet's broody instrumental, to the extent that it's hard to imagine a more established director doing more with this source material."


http://www.scjag.com/mp3/sc/theowl.mov

Myridian UPDATE

UPDATE: The Skate Park event was canceled, so look for Myridian at the Athletic Club 6/8.
As published in this week's VC Reporter:

Old man, take a look at your band

Ojai’s Myridian overcome tragedy — and middle age — to release their classic-rock inspired debut Prime Myridian

~ By LISA SNIDER ~

Old guys rock — and I’m not talking about the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith. Myridian, an Ojai-based fivesome of forty-somethings, proved earlier this year that it’s never too late to start rocking with the release of their first album, Prime Myridian. Working blue-collar day jobs as an electrician, farmer, equipment renter, pool technician and electronics installer, Myridian’s roster includes Scott Smith on keyboards, Richard Metcalfe on guitar, Kalvin Keller on lead vocals, Patrick Duffy on drums and Bud McCanless on bass.

“A young person has the energy,” says Smith, who doubles as the band’s manager. “This is more of a work ethic.”

With a minimum of twice weekly rehearsals in Smith’s garage, Myridian’s work ethic is getting them noticed. Their protest song, “Gunshots,” is now in its seventh week in the top 10 on Neil Young’s Living with War Web site.

Written by Metcalfe, Myridian’s principal songwriter, “Gunshots” was originally about inner city gang wars. “A lot of my songs seem to cross over at the time when I’m writing into other subjects, and I don’t even realize it until later,” he says. “It’s almost prophetic in a way.”

Metcalfe’s lyrics are poetic and relevant: “Lots of faceless names, with increasing toe-tag numbers/ The children have gone off to war, when they step outside their own front door.”
Metcalfe, a pro-skateboarder as a teen who was also scouted by the Yankees before an injury put him out of the game for good, takes his songwriting seriously. “I want to write songs that make people think,” he says.

The past 18 months have been a rollercoaster ride for Myridian. Last February, while competing with 60 other groups in the Ventura Battle of the Bands, Metcalfe’s wife, Kimberly, suffered a massive heart attack. The band went on to win the competition, but Kimberly did not survive.

Devastated, but with the support of his band, Metcalfe found the strength to continue. The next month, Myridian went into the studio to begin recording Prime Myridian, which would be released 11 months later.

“We all have a passion, and we share a love for the Myridian music,” Smith says. “The music is powerful and important.”

Myridian’s style, described by Metcalfe as “classic rock with a pop twist,” could be compared to Genesis and the Fixx. But the feel is more contemporary, and while the music definitely rocks, there is also an element of play. In “Media Lies,” the lyrics “Ashes to ashes/all fall down” bring back playground memories.

“One of our strengths is our vocal harmonies,” Smith says. Driven by lead Keller’s arid vocals, Myridian’s sound is unique. “It is the hallmark of what Myridian is,” Smith says.

Looking ahead, Smith says, “Our hope would be to get discovered. I think that can happen.”

Myridian performs June 8 at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club at 6:30 p.m., public invited for a nominal fee. More info: www.myspace.com/myridiannet. Listen to the interview and a studio recording of “Gunshots” at www.RadiOjai.com.

Buried Treasure at the Box Office

Memorial Day is supposed to be a day of reflection and rememberance, but in the movie business, it marks the start of the summer blockbuster season. Today I watched the third installment of the swashbuckling adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow: Pirates of the Carribean, At World's End. Following in the footsteps of the second Pirates, this one is just as dark and the characters equally grotesque. But Johnny Depp is a charmer and seeing Keith Richards in full pirate garb was well worth the 168 minutes I spent glue to my gummy theater seat in downtown Ventura this afternoon.

There are some exciting films in the summer line-up. I can't wait to see:

Shrek the Third
Ocean's 13
Under Dog
Live Free or Die Hard (I know, Yippee Ki Yay)
Evan Almighty
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

And I might pop my head in for The Simpsons Movie.

But I will happily miss Hairspray and Transformers (which gets the coveted 7/4 release date).

What summer movies are you going to see?

Britpop Warbler Pays the Price of Fame

Lily Allen canceled many of her U.S. tour dates for a number of reasons. Drinking too much was one of them, but mostly, I believe, it was the rapid rise to fame and the inability to deal with it. The stresses of fame found an inappropriate outlet and left her unable to fulfill her commitments.

Fame is a maze of twists and turns, especially for artists, who tend to quiver with sensitivity and self-consciousness. Allen, only 19, rose too fast, too far. But her talent, as shown on "Smile" is undeniable. What a great storytelling video approach, and what a lovely, fragile voice, indicative of the personality behind it.

We have surely not heard the last of this lovely British songstress.

Neko Case's DIY Ethic

I admire musicians who write their own rules. Neko Case, with a voice like soft honeyed light, is one such person. She has refused all offers from major record labels, choosing instead to stay with small independents because she retains creative control of her work.

She left home at age 15, and had herself declared an emancipated minor. Now she has emancipated herself from the tyranny of the music business and record labels, very similar to another heroine of mine, Ani DiFranco. Case was a member of the Vancouver-based New Pornographers, one of the greatest supergroups of all time. Many people believe Neko to be the most talented, with good cause, but I have gradually come to admire Daniel Bejar above all others, mainly on his lyrical strengths. Case is no slouch in that department either - not just a pretty face with a pretty voice, but a beautiful mind, as well.

Here's a Letterman clip from her newest, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood." Enjoy.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neko_Case

Rock and Roll's Avant Garde

Rock music, for all its fuss and fury, and relative newness (barely a half century) is a very traditional art form, borrowing from and leaning heavily on genres like blues (Beatles, Hendrix), but also on country (Elvis, Sun records), roots music (Dylan, folkster), and ragtime.

It is not an easy field for innovation, because of the often hidebound nature of its fan base. We are not talking about Elliot Carter or Harry Partsch devotees here, but the majority of us, who are simple people with simple tastes, who know what they like and want to hear more of it. For every Frank Zappa or Captain Beefheart, there are 10 Journeys or Bad Companies.

But here's a Georgia band, Deerhunter, who is trying to push the envelope on what rock and roll can be - a fluid art form, full of dazzling instrumentation and experimentation. "Strange Lights' is not their best song, but the only one for which a you tube video exists. It will give you some idea of what they are capable of. If you like what you hear, then I highly recommend "Cryptograms," their brand-new album.

The Eh, B.C.s of Canada

More in an occasional series of postings about our neighbors to El Norte:

The Arcade Fire, known for their fiery live shows and brilliant musicianship and sharp lyrics, are basically a husband-wife team from Montreal that morphed into one of the world's hottest bands. Win Butler, originally from the U.S., and Regine Chassagne, began a mere four years ago, and have produced two of the best recording of the decade in this year's Neon Bible and 2004's Funeral.

Besides the dramatic live shows, Arcade Fire members - usually about eight or ten depending on the lineup - are known for playing multiple instruments, including mouth harp, hurdy gurdy, accordions and xylophones in addition to their trademark guitar and violins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcade_Fire

Here they are live with the Thin White Duke himself, in "Wake Up."

Coolest Name in Rock 'n' Roll

Clem Snide, the alt-country indie prog rockers from Nashville via New York, have been around for a long time now - released their first record in 1991. How is it that more people aren't aware of them merely illustrates that great talents often go unappreciated in their time.

Clem Snide is an ever-rotating roster of musicians backing up acclaimed singer-songwriter Eef Barzelay, possessor of one of the coolest names I have ever heard. Eef Barzeley! How can you not love someone with a name like that! And Clem Snide is a character in William Burroughs' Naked Lunch. It's like a double-dose of art-geek hipness.

Here's Eef and Clem Snide with "Girls Don't Care.":

Red State Balladeer

Country music balladeer James McMurtry comes with about as distinguished a pedigree as anyone from Texas could have: he is the son of American novelist laureate Larry McMurtry. His father gave him a guitar at age 5 and he took off from there. What I love about McMurtry (tip of the hat to the musically voracious J.B. White) is that he combines his father's narrative genius with great honky-tonk licks.

He writes about the great shrinking and breaking heartland of America with poignancy and wit.

Check this out:

Songs for Mother's Day

I couldn't find a top 10 list for Mother's Day, but I did find this on About.com:

Radio stations, programmers, and deejays have used The Green Book of Songs By Subject for years.

Each week, The Green Book of Songs By Subject provides a new list of songs for a particular topic exclusively to the Radio site at About.com.

This week:
Mother's Day

Song/Artist
Song For Mama/Boyz II Men
That Was Your Mother/Paul Simon
You Can't Lose Me/Faith Hill
Mama Tried/Merle Haggard
Mama Told Me Not To Come/Three Dog Night
26 Cents/Wilkinsons

The song that always makes me think of my mom is The Carpenters', "Close To You," because she used to sing it to my sister and I when we were little.

Songs that are in my head right now:
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
Take Your Mama, Scissor Sisters
And my favorite, Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen, just because the opening line begins with, "Mama..."
Here is a live version I dug up on YouTube:

Coach Class Roulette

It seems that I made a fatal error in the game of Coach Class Roulette. I chose seats 6A and 6B on Horizon's flight to the Pacific Northwest last weekend. I realize that at 5' 10" I am practically a giant for coach class, but the leg room was so bad on this particular flight that I couldn't even cross my legs without doing some sort of strange contortionist maneuver. My husband got the aisle seat so he was able to stretch out his 6' 2" frame between peanut cart trips.

But that wasn't what did us in.

Behind us was 3-year-old Logan, whose Mommy (traveling alone) incessantly bargained and negotiated and said things like, "That's not an okay choice." And then she started counting. Now I know all too well how this counting game ends. I've got three nephews under 10. It's not pretty. I held my breath as she counted from 1 to 5, and each time Logan hollered, "No!" At 5, you could practically hear a pin drop, then Logan shrieked, "NNNNNNNNNNNooooooOOOO!" and became possessed by the demon, screaming, flailing and kicking my seat so hard I was catapulted forward into seat 5A.

At about the same time, a single mother right across the aisle was juggling her squirming 5-month-old, who was now screaming at full tilt, until she whipped out the boob. The muffled sucking sounds on one side and the little darling behind me who wouldn't put on his seat belt made for an interesting flight.

All considered, Bret, I'll take the chatty woman covered in cat hair you wrote about awhile back any day!

The Grass is Always Bluer

Bill Monroe died just over a decade ago - but his legacy is secure. He invented bluegrass music. And by inventing, I mean it did not exist before he came along. That kind of inventing. Not adapting, not transforming, not weaving together various threads of influence, he created an entire genre of music.

Bluegrass music was named after his band, "The Blue Grass Boys," and his home state of Kentucky.

Of course, mandolins and triple fiddles existed before Monroe, mostly in the Appalachian roots music, but his hard-won virtuosity with mandolin, and his regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry cemented the new genre's prominence.

Here's a clip of Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys from 1957:

Bowling in Pairs

Just for fun. No higher meaning or purpose intended. Because sometimes things are just fun to share. Big ups to Gary E. for pointing this out to me:

The Death of Film

Legendary director David Lynch, occasionally seen out and about in Ojai, which gives me some sketchy local connection for this posting, has written a thoughtful and lucid essay in Lost magazine, an excerpt from his book, "Catching the Big Fish," about the myriad benefits of digital cameras versus the enormous 35 mm dinosaurs.

http://www.lostmag.com/issue13/cinematography.php

I especially was struck by how digital is changing the relationship between actors and directors, how actors actually get to spend more time acting and less time waiting around on location. Some folks believe that actors enjoy spending their time in their trailers, waiting for cameras to reload, but most of the actors I know would prefer to spend their time acting. Actors love to act! Whoduthunk?

Lynch writes: "And for actors, to get down into a character in the middle of a scene and then suddenly have to stop while we reload the film cameras after ten minutes — often, this breaks the thing. But now you're rolling along; you've got 40 minutes down in there. And you can start talking to the actors, and instead of stopping it you can move in and push it."

Lennon's Lost Weekend

As many of you know, the late lamented John Lennon (my favorite Beatle) hid out for weeks at a time at friend Harry Nilsson's Ojai home during his infamous "Lost Weekend," which lasted from late 1973 to 1975. That was after Yoko kicked him out of their New York house and set him loose with their personal assistant, May Pang. He took up with Nilsson's crowd, who dubbed themselves the "Hollywood Vampires," and terrorized the city for months.

My favorite story from that year is that Lennon was at a Los Angeles restaurant and was acting out-of-control like the pathological narcissistic hedonist that he could become, prancing about with a salad bowl on his head. A waitress gave him a disapproving glance, and he shot back with that timeless line of d-bags everywhere, "Do you know who I am?" She replied, on beat, "Yes, you're an asshole."

Not always. But he could be. He was a work in progress, one of the greatest talents of this century, or any other for that matter, part of a crew of cheeky lads from Liverpool who blended and blurred and stirred together music from wherever they could find it into one shining stream of sound that will echo throughout the centuries. The Beatles - we will never see their like again.

Imagine what he could have become had he not been felled outside the Dakota Hotel on that dark day in 1980, a victim of his fame. Well, I'll let John speak for himself about what might have been: