bio

Peter Berkowitz is an editor, reporter, essayist and critic for LEO Weekly.
He has also written about music, comedy, nightlife, dining and other adventures for The Louisville Courier-Journal, Velocity Weekly and Metromix Louisville, and Bejeezus and Spin magazines.

He has written cover stories on Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, public radio, the music of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and My Morning Jacket, and local restaurants.

He has also been a regular columnist, reviewed bars, interviewed chefs such as Duff Goldman, Edward Lee, Karter Louis and Timothy Tucker, actor Kal Penn, playwright Marco Ramirez, author David Martin Stack, Bonnaroo Music Festival founder Ashley Capps, Forecastle Festival founder J.K. McKnight, NPR host David Dye and comedians Brian Regan, Hannibal Buress, Demetri Martin, and Tom Green.
He has also written biographies for the Louisville-based bands King's Daughters & Sons, Nautical Fox and Second Story Man.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a concentration in writing, from Indiana University. He lives in the Schnitzelburg neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky.

Musical acts he has interviewed:
Abigail Washburn, Amy LaVere, Andra Suchy, Ashleigh Flynn, Bassekou Kouyate, Ben Sollee, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Brigid Kaelin, Buddy Miller, Cheyenne Marie Mize, Dane Waters, Dawn Landes, Del McCoury, Haley Bonar, Hayes Carll, Henry Rollins, JD Crowe, Jim Kweskin, Joan Shelley, John Cowan, Josephine Foster, JP Source, Justin Lewis, Langhorne Slim, Nanci Griffith, Nathan Salsburg, Neko Case, Rachel Grimes, Ronald Jenkees, Rosanne Cash, Sallie Ford, Sarah Jarosz, Tim O'Brien, Vandervelde, Van Dyke Parks,
and members of Advance Base, Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Asobi Seksu, Bibelhauser Brothers, The Black Lillies, Black Sabbath, Blind Pilot, Blitzen Trapper, Bosco, Bowerbirds, Brontosaurus, Brothers and Sisters, Buffalo Killers, Calexico, Califone, Cheer-Accident, Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome, Corrosion of Conformity, Dailey & Vincent, David Wax Museum, Dead Meadow, The Decline Effect, Def Leppard, Down, East Cackalacky Ascetic Marching Death Band, Elephant Micah, The Fervor, Fleet Foxes, Former Thieves, Fort Frances, The Foxery, The Funky Meters, Gang Gang Dance, Grupo Fantasma, The Head and the Heart, Heartless Bastards, Heavy Trash, Helmet, Hidden Ritual, Horse Feathers, House Ghost, The Jayhawks, JEFF the Brotherhood, Junior Boys, Junip, King's Daughters & Sons, The Ladybirds, The Low Anthem, Lucky Pineapple, Maiden Radio, Mint Condition, Mucca Pazza, My Morning Jacket, Natives, The New Mastersounds, Obits, Of Montreal, OK Deejays, Old Baby, The Pennies, The Phantom Family Halo, Pictureplane, Puscifer, Radical Dads, The Ravenna Colt, Sebadoh, Shipping News, The Shondes, Silver Tongues, Small Sur, Social Distortion, The Soft Moon, Sound & Shape, Spirits of the Red City, State Champion, Supertruck, The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tender Mercy, They Might Be Giants, Those Darlins, Trophy Wives, The 23 String Band, Wax Fang, White Denim, White Rabbits, Xerxes and Your Black Star.


image by Jason Clark.

Serious fun

JP Source isn’t just another DJ. He’s a sound artist who describes his sounds as “Deep balearic disco party house,” and, unlike most American DJs, he speaks with a British accent because he’s actually British. His new EP is titled Get Your Bearings.

LEO: How did this record release come together?

JPS: The tracks are very party-oriented, especially in contrast to a release I had this year on Audio Parallax, which was a much more cerebral, almost cathartic EP. The tracks (on Get Your Bearings) had been tested on the dance floor rigorously. The people behind the label liked the fun vibe of the tracks and said they wanted to put them out, which was lovely! I really like their attitude, which maintains a healthy work ethic without taking themselves too seriously.

LEO: How do you respond to people who diss DJs?

JPS: It depends how big they are. Essentially, when I’m DJing, all I’m trying to do is play you some music that I think you will like. If it’s not working out, then whoops, but let’s not fall out about it. I really haven’t heard about anyone “dissing” DJs too much recently, apart from Noel Gallagher — but I think he was referring to a lot of the chart dance stuff sounding the same.

LEO: Who are some locals doing stuff you find interesting?

JPS: I’ve spent a lot of time with OK Deejays. They have been really friendly and helpful to me since I got here. I DJ with them when I can, and it’s always fun. I really love WFPK. It’s really pretty unique, particularly in the later hours. That radio station is allegorical for a lot of things that I have found in the music and art scene here in Louisville, in that it isn’t just “good for Kentucky,” it’s really an outstanding thing as part of a much wider sense. The restaurants and many, many ales are good here, too.

JP Source spins at Zanzabar on Feb. 1 and presents “Balearic Sunset” at La Bodega Saturday nights. For more, go to soundcloud.com/jpsource.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Elephant Micah: In his own time

For some people, Joe O’Connell might be the best songwriter in the whole world, and they'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in their cowboy boots and say that.

So why isn’t he more of a household name yet? His music as Elephant Micah — a name used both solo and with rotating accompanists — is a modern, DIY take on early 1970s folk mixed, at times, with bursts of electric guitar textures. It’s accessible, beautiful, and would likely find a larger audience, if given the conventional promotional push.

For O’Connell, who self-releases his music, one reason for Elephant Micah’s slow path to wider recognition has been a reluctance to play by the rules established by his industry. “New artists starting out now probably don’t have ambitions of having some decade-long career doing obscure self-releases,” he laughs. “Most people looking to get attention for their music are actually trying to be part of the bigger indie label system. I don’t see it as two separate options, though. I’m not really setting out to ennoble one and vilify the other. What I am into is the idea that you can mess with the model of what a recording artist does, and how they get their work to people.”

Another aspect is his desire to stay in control of the music itself, especially when other options are unappealing or inaccessible. “Most of the musicians that I know are in that position. The gatekeeping to participate in the more visible indie world is so pronounced and so impossible to navigate that the musicians — the people who are considered my peers — have all found it a waste of time, and are looking for ways to be a little more self-reliant.”

Finding social media to be more of a distraction than a facilitator, O’Connell sells his catalogue through his own site and through Bandcamp. His loyal audience receives emails alerting them to new recordings; he doesn’t want them to have to work as hard as he does. “More and more, I want everything I record to be available by donation. I’m actually surprised that more people don’t do that, especially those who are not in the position of being part of the industry status quo approach to releasing music. Otherwise, it’s like the artist is in more of the role of a gatekeeper, trying to control access to their music. I’m more interested in trying to increase that access and less interested in trying to control it. I think that’s good for everyone involved, the audience and independent artists who are relying on their audience in a more direct way for support.”

Elephant Micah’s new album, Louder Than Thou, was released this week, though its songs were written in 2008. “The experience of playing it back now, it’s a little bit disorienting — the way the finished thing refers back to each layer of work that you put into it,” O’Connell says.

“Because I’m mostly doing everything myself, really involved in each step, each of those steps producing a record is really intense. Or like an intense memory. Hearing the record is like this time-travel experience of all of the triumphs and all of the failures of trying to put it together,” he says with a self-deprecating laugh. “But I’m trying to be funny, I don’t mean that in any earnest way.”

O’Connell had help from longtime collaborators and brothers Justin and Nathan Vollmer on this album, made in his current home of Bloomington, Ind., and he says he’s trying to make recordings of newer songs more quickly now. A native of Pekin, Ind., the former Louisvillian hesitates to make comparisons between his musical experiences in each city.

“In some sense, the people that I know in Louisville have a shared interest in folk and country music, and acoustic music. My experience in Bloomington has a little more to do with … sort of rock,” he notes. “I’m really interested in playing loud music with electric guitar and drums, as well as I’m really into country and bluegrass and all that stuff.”

Photo by William Winchester Claytor.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Movin' On Up

Singer/multi-instrumentalist Cheyenne Marie Mize celebrates the release of her new EP, We Don’t Need, Saturday at Headliners Music Hall, with Silver Tongues opening. She told us about signing with an established indie label and looking toward her next full-length album.

LEO: The EP’s release was delayed from last fall once you signed to Yep Roc.

Cheyenne Marie Mize: Yeah, originally Roaring Colonel Records was going to help us out. We had been talking a little bit to Yep Roc and it made sense, if they were going to come on board, to hold off on the EP and get a bigger team amassed. It was really great. In September, I was in Raleigh for the Hopscotch Festival and got to meet the whole Yep Roc team. They came down and saw our show, and it was great to meet everybody in person.

LEO: Do you feel any more pressure because there’s a potential for a larger audience now?

CMM: No, not more pressure, it’s more excitement. This EP is kind of strange in that it’s a little taste of a lot of different things. In that way, I think there’s probably something for everyone on it (laughs), you know? Everywhere from the really dark, more digital drums and that kind of sound to a little more organic, with percussion and piano going on underneath, and everything else in between, as well.

LEO: When you were putting it together, was it a conscious choice to do it that way?

CMM: Yeah, in a way. I had a group of songs I was ready to record, and each of them were kind of oddballs in their own way, so I figured it would make sense in some weird way (laughs) to put them all together, and just get them out there. I knew it was going to be a while before I could really put out a full-length record on my own; I thought I was going to be doing it on my own, so I really wanted to get some new music out there, considering it had already been two years since I’d recorded Before Lately. I was just ready to get some new stuff out there. Those songs were the first ones that made sense.

Learn more at cheyennemariemize.com.

Photo by Meagan Jordan.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

John Cowan adapts to the modern world

“To be honest, if the Doobie Brothers hadn’t come along, I don’t know if I could’ve held on to my house.”

So says John Cowan, a pioneer of the genre known as “Newgrass.”

“The economic crush was just terrible,” the friendly and surprisingly frank Cowan tells LEO. The Evansville native, the only member of New Grass Revival who hadn’t come from a bluegrass background, had toured with the Doobies briefly in the mid-’90s and returned last year as bassist for the classic rock group, partially out of necessity.

Now, with his own trio, the 58-year-old returns to a city he long ago called home. Louisville, what Cowan calls “my favorite town in the world,” is where he began his musical career after graduating from Eastern High School.

“I consider myself a native. I don’t know if Louisville considers me a native, but I do.” He played in bands like Everyday People and Louisville Sound Department before joining Sam Bush in New Grass Revival at the age of 20. That band, which fused traditional bluegrass with a ’70s rock ’n’ roll energy, also helped launch Bela Fleck to prominence.

Cowan moved to Nashville in 1980. “It’s a great place. I love Nashville, I really do. Other than serious conservative Christian churches every two blocks, and the attitude that goes along with that, it’s actually a great town to be an artist in — believe it or not.”

Having worked with everyone from obscure bluegrass pickers to Garth Brooks and Wynonna to the aforementioned Doobies, Cowan acknowledges, “I’ve had a kind of curious life. By choice or by the artists’ path, it’s been a nice mix of both art and commerce for me … My time in New Grass Revival branded me every way possible that is good.”

The band may not have sold millions of albums, but many musicians were fans. “That’s a great calling card to have in your pocket. It’s definitely afforded me a lot of respect … To this day, it’s how people — even though I’ve done so many other things — it is, to this day, 20 years after we broke up, still how I’m introduced: ‘Oh, you know, John Cowan from New Grass Revival.’ It’s funny, for a band that never had a hit, to have some relative renown.”

Cowan needed to cash in that relative renown even more after he married a woman with six kids. That midlife transition also meant that the musician had to adapt to two different schedules — long drives on the road and “a fairly normal life” at home.

“It’s a little hard, biologically speaking,” Cowan says. “When I’m on the road, I go to bed at 3 in the morning; but when I’m home, I have to get up at 6 to take them to school. That’s because I want to; I want to spend as much time with them as possible.”

Though Cowan’s family life has been fulfilling, the recent economic downturn hit hard professionally. “It was really tough. Before I got this opportunity to go back to work for the Doobie Brothers, we had a five-piece and then we had to break down to a three-piece. My wife lost her job that year at Christmastime.”

He was dismayed at the closure of ear X-tacy, noting, “One of the downsides to living in the information age is there’s no retail … everything is file sharing and MP3s now. I’ll tell you one thing I’ve witnessed, that most people in my genre — whatever that is,” he says with a hearty laugh, “country bands or whatever — sell CDs at shows, and that’s a big part of their excess income. It certainly is for us.”

Despite all the conflicts, he is still as in love with music as ever. “I think music’s in good shape. The kids are all right, as The Who said once.” Some of Cowan’s recent favorites include the Black Keys, Dawes and Fleet Foxes.

“I’m not one of these guys — I’m 58 — who goes, ‘Everything sucks today.’ I don’t agree with that. Probably the fact that I have kids around me all the time is one reason I’m able to be exposed to modern music. They’re always like, ‘Hey, check this out on YouTube.’”

THE JOHN COWAN BAND
Saturday, Jan. 21
Uncle Slayton’s
1017 E. Broadway • 657-9555
johncowan.com
$15; 8:30 p.m.

Photo by J. Michael Krouskop

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Sean Cannon’s adventures After Dark

Through the years, Louisville’s AAA public radio station, WFPK, has attracted a large audience with their blend of thoughtful, semi-commercial singer-songwriters, alt-rockers, jazzbos and folkies. One target demo they had struggled with was the 16-34-year-olds group, but some recent, younger additions — music director and morning host Kyle Meredith, late night mixers OK Deejays and evening DJ Sean Cannon — have helped make the station more appealing to that generation.

For Cannon, whose experience has also included work in print news and music blogs, it’s obvious that he would utilize social media to help make the most of his program (heard Monday-Thursday nights on 91.9 FM and wfpk.org). “WFPK After Dark” not only plays some of the most interesting current music — a recent night featured songs by Dum Dum Girls, Kurt Vile, Deerhunter and Russian Circles, alongside usual suspects like Joan Osborne, Coldplay and the Dave Matthews Band — but recently expanded to add interview segments featuring hip folks like comedian Marc Maron, cast members of FX’s “The League,” the founder of taste-making music site Pitchfork, a co-owner of local eatery Please & Thank You, and bands like 400 Blows and Cave In.

“It’s been an interesting experience,” Cannon says. “The weirdest part, I think, is that a lot of those have just been set up through Twitter. Kyle and I were talking, and just sort of flippantly sent out a couple of tweets to (“League” co-stars) Paul Scheer and Mark Duplass, and they were both, automatically, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it tomorrow. Give me a number.’

“It started out in a very different form. When I initially got the job, I talked to (program director) Stacy (Owen) specifically about what I wanted to do … it morphed into an idea of doing an interview with someone every night, having them pick songs and doing DJ sets, every single night. So, from there, well, I’ve got to find people to interview. And it’s like, once this starts, I can’t just go, ‘OK, I’m not going to do it!’ six months in. I did the math, and it’s something like 160 people, because what we’re going to do is two months on, two weeks off. Two months of new stuff, two weeks of ‘best of,’ so it would be like a season or a series.”

Cannon was raised as a pop culture lover in Mayesville, Ky., which he immediately identifies as “the home of George Clooney,” as well as basketball stars. Two years at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary didn’t agree with him, as he found it to be “a little too Southern, a little bit too Baptist.” Downtime at a job and friends met online led to work for the blog Buzzgrinder, which led to appearances on WFPK, which led to “After Dark.”

“I was working at Q-doba at the time, 30 hours a week … I was so uncomfortable on the air because I was so green, so I’d work 45 hours a week here to get up to speed … I would get maybe four hours of sleep a day. But I guess it worked out all right.”

photo by David Modica

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Syrupy treat

Bosco released two EPs in 2011, setting the stage for what can only be world domination this year. Or, maybe just some more great music. LEO asked Sam Craig to help the world understand what we’re in for.

LEO: What is “hardcore flat grass”?

Sam Craig: In so many words, country punk. Also known as roots punk. We are punk rockers playing the three-chord songs we are used to playing, but on traditional country instruments to a bluegrass tempo.

LEO: While some of your music is kind of raucous, some of it is very pretty and might not seem suited for rowdy bars. How do you manage to balance the two sides?

SC: You would be surprised — this sound is quite popular in the underground and is only getting bigger. It is, indeed, a punk act. We play louder and talk rougher at gigs.

LEO: Your cover of Richard Hell’s “Blank Generation” is a good example of how you’re influenced by punk and country. What’s the common thread?

SC: Bluegrass shares certain characteristics with punk music — similar topics of pain, sorrow, wanting something better and, on the other side of the coin, consuming alcohol and laughing with friends is already in place within both genres. The common thread was already there, we just chose to walk it accordingly.

LEO: You have made some of your music available on cassettes. Why do you like this format?

SC: CDs don’t really sell. Every band has a CD to push at their shows and on their websites; cassettes certainly stand out. The main attraction is the physical product, but the economically viable aspect is the mp3 download included with the tape. That is the best selling format these days.

Bosco plays Jan. 13 at the Mag Bar and Jan. 16 at Baxter’s 942. Check out mosbosco.bandcamp.com.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

The LEO interview: Langhorne Slim

You can read LEO's profile of Langhorne Slim in this week's print edition. For fans, here's more of our discussion:

LEO: First of all, tell me about your grandma.
Sean Scolnick: My grandma is a wonderful woman. All my grandparents were very wonderful people. I’m in Florida now with her because my grandpops did pass away about 5,6 months ago. I’m from Philly, from a town called Langhorne, and she’s been living with my mom. Now that the weather’s getting shitty, she’s coming back to Florida, so I came back to help the transition a little bit. It’s been cool, man. We had time off, since we just recorded a new record, so I was in Argentina and now I’m in Florida — I’m doing everything I can to follow the sun.

LEO: Where in Florida are you?
SS: Delray Beach. It’s where the old East Coast Jews go to retire.

LEO: Right…
SS: I saw your last name, I thought you might be also part of the tribe.

LEO: I would not have known that you were, from your music, or a casual glance. But I see it now.
SS: Right (laughs). There’s not too many Jewish themes in my music, but I’m not trying to keep it a secret. I’m proud.

LEO: Has there been any influence, culturally if not sonically, on your songwriting or performance?
SS: I don’t know. Certainly there’s an impact, just being raise that way. I sort of gave it up religiously; people say, “You’re more like a Jew through the tradition or the culture, family stuff,” that’s stuff I feel is a part of my world and my life. But I’m not exactly practicing.

LEO: If your band played some Klezmer tunes, it wouldn’t not make sense.
SS: No, in fact, I consider Klezmer to be dance music. I love me some Klezmer. I listen to it and I dance around to it, but I never play it myself.

LEO: What does your grandma think about your music?
SS: My grandparents have been extremely, extremely supportive. We just recorded this record — usually when we’re done recording records in the past, I would have a CD of rough mixes and play it for my family. This time, I just had it on my iPhone, and I don’t have an adaptor — so we thinks I’m holding out on her. She’s like, “Don’t you just have a CD?” One of these days, I’m gonna go to a store out here and find an adaptor so I can play it for her. She’s come out to shows and has always been — my whole family, but my grandparents had a major impact on my brother and me, growing up, and they’ve always been one hundred percent supportive and really into it. Which is pretty awesome.

LEO: It’s great that they never tried to push you to be a doctor or a lawyer.
SS: You know what I think it was, man? I think they might have thought about it, but I think it was so clear, growing up, that that was not a path that I was going to be able to take, even if I wanted to, and that if anything was going to keep me out of trouble, that would be art or performing or music. I think they saw how happy it made me and, as soon as I started gaining certain accomplishments or making a living at it, it would almost have been crazy to talk me out of doing something that made me happy, that I was also starting to make a living at.

LEO: How do they feel about your itinerant lifestyle, being on the road and moving around all the time?
SS: I think, in the beginning, my mom, too, they would worry about me, just traveling so much, and I think that they’d didn’t even understand, like the first time we went to Italy: “There’s somebody in Italy that you’ve never met, who contacted you and now you’re gonna go there for a month and travel around Europe …?” I’m like, “Yeah! (laughs) This is what I’ve always wanted, this is the way this life goes.” So now they get it. They’re still my Jewish mother and grandmother, but I think now they realize they’re still going to worry a little bit, but I’m not going and getting kidnapped; I’m actually going because people have booked shows, and we’re gonna go play them.

LEO: They thought it was like internet dating at first, but now they see you on “Letterman”.
SS: That’s what shows are, essentially. They book the show and then you show up and meet a bunch of strangers (laughs). That’s the beauty of this life, man, it’s what I love. I do, I do.

LEO: Do you find the concert experience to be like a blind date?
SS: Well, I went on one blind date when I was a lot younger, and it was fucking terrible. There are similarities, but I wouldn’t equate it. I mean, I play shows that are terrible, too, but the vast majority would be like a really, really great blind date.

LEO: When you have a bad show, do you blame it on the audience?
SS: Never. I’m hard on myself, to a fault. We play a ton of shows, so not every night is going to be magic — I understand that intellectually, but in my heart and soul, that’s what I want. I’m upset with myself any time it really isn’t that way. There certainly is a major component where the energy of the band and the energy of the audience, when it does synch up in that magical, beautiful way, it certainly helps the show to be great. If an audience is super low energy and the big is really high energy, it can be a crappier version of the blind date. I always think that it’s up to the performer to connect and to try to get those magical results.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Langhorne Slim on music, dating and Grandma

It says something about the current state of rock ‘n’ roll that one of its most passionate and urgent performers needs to call LEO back after he finishes running errands with his grandmother in Delray Beach, Fla. It says something, too, about the character of Langhorne Slim — known to his family as Sean Scolnick — and how he was raised.

“My grandparents had a major impact on my brother and me, growing up, and they’ve always been one hundred percent supportive and really into it. Which is pretty awesome,” says the 31-year-old folk and punk-inspired singer/songwriter/guitarist.

A native of Langhorne, Penn., Scolnick’s family has always been supportive, if a bit cautiously at first. “I think it was so clear, growing up, that (having a typical career) was not a path that I was going to be able to take, even if I wanted to — and that if anything was going to keep me out of trouble, that would be art or performing or music.”

“They saw how happy it made me and, as soon as I started gaining certain accomplishments or making a living at it, it would almost have been crazy to talk me out of doing something that made me happy, that I was also starting to make a living at.”

Tours with the Avett Brothers, Lucero, Josh Ritter and many others, plus appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and on David Letterman’s show have helped them understand the life of the troubadour.

“I think that they didn’t understand, like the first time we went to Italy: ‘There’s somebody in Italy that you’ve never met, who contacted you and now you’re gonna go there for a month and travel around Europe?’ Scolnick laughs. “I’m like, ‘This is what I’ve always wanted, this is the way this life goes.’ So now they get it. They’re still my Jewish mother and grandmother, but I think now they realize they’re still going to worry a little bit, but I’m not going and getting kidnapped; I’m actually going because people have booked shows, and we’re gonna go play them.”

His family is among the first to hear his new records, though Grandma’s sneak preview of the upcoming Langhorne Slim album, The Way We Move, due in May, has been delayed.

“Usually when we’re done recording in the past, I would have a CD of rough mixes and play it for my family. This time, I just had it on my iPhone, and I don’t have an adaptor — so she thinks I’m holding out on her.”

The live shows are where the band truly excels — usually. Scolnick discusses the relationship between concerts and blind dates. “That’s what shows are, essentially. They book the show and then you show up and meet a bunch of strangers,” he laughs. “That’s the beauty of this life, man, it’s what I love … I went on one blind date when I was a lot younger, and it was fucking terrible. There are similarities, but I wouldn’t equate it. I mean, I play shows that are terrible, too, but the vast majority would be like a really, really great blind date.”

Read an extended interview at bluecat.leoweekly.com

Photo by Liz Devine

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Haunted Pop

The public release party for the indie pop-rock band House Ghost’s debut full-length album, The Adventures of House Ghost, doubles as an art event for Craig Hawkins at the 930 Art Center in Germantown (doors at 7 p.m. for art, with music beginning at 8 p.m.). House Ghost guitarist Shane St. Clair’s other band, Interstates, had also been scheduled to play this event but recently canceled. The busy man also manages the new gastropub Four Pegs Beer Lounge and Social Eatery. He took a few moments out of his hectic schedule to tell LEO Weekly what his newest band is all about.

LEO: Why did you name your band “Holy Ghost”?

Shane St. Clair: Haha, good one.

LEO: How did the members meet? What was the initial inspiration for this band?

SS: (Vocalist/bassist) Keith (Miller) and (guitarist) Derek (Keijner) and I have been in project bands and making records for six years, so the three of us have been friends for a while and always made music together. The inspiration for House Ghost was to take Keith’s songs and put them against a surf-y, dream-pop landscape.

LEO: How was recording the album? Did anything funny and/or notable happen during the process?

SS: Recording was/is fun. The record was made in living rooms and basements across Louisville. We’re probably most passionate about the recording and making-records aspect of being a band, so we put a lot of work into it and deliberated a lot.

LEO: Who is the least talented member of this band?

SS: Me!

Facebook influences cited: The Beach Boys, Starflyer 59, Polaris, The Magnetic Fields, The B-52s, The Pixies, Fountains of Wayne, Best Coast, Otis Redding

Sample the sounds of The Adventures of House Ghost at your leisure at houseghostmusic.bandcamp.com.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

album review: Rare Treats

Rare Treats
Wolf in People’s Clothing
GUBBEY



As far as Christmas presents go, receiving Louisville folk artist Patrick Thompson’s lo-fi recordings as Rare Treats was a nice surprise under the ol’ LEO tree. His bio states that Thompson “wanted to make a record that didn’t sound entirely like it came from Louisville, Kentucky,” and by that standard, it mostly succeeds. Though traces of ’90s forerunners can be detected, the Rare Treats blend of DIY punk, metal, art and underground riffage reduced to the most basic elements is more reminiscent of the underappreciated Wipers or very early Sebadoh than Slint or Rodan. Though distortion is employed, melodies remain clear and purposeful, and Thompson’s relaxed approach is a welcome change of pace from the many careerist bands who put too much effort into sounds unworthy of big, expensive productions. This Wolf manages to simultaneously sound as fresh as tomorrow and as authentic as a lost 1991 recording, demonstrating that whatever you think the Louisville sound is, those sounds can always surprise you.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

album review: Joe Hanna

Joe Hanna
Social Ritual
SELF-RELEASED



On his third solo record, Louisville singer/songwriter and guitarist Joe Hanna has brought together some of his — and our — favorite musicians, including Java Men vets Todd Hildreth (keys) and Ray Rizzo (drums), Picket Line bassist Danny Kiely and journeyman guitarist Mark “Lupe” Hamilton. Make no mistake, though, this is one man’s show, when it’s all said and done and the neon bar sign’s been turned off. Hanna’s Texas-via-Midwest soul/folk material, a well-balanced collection of jovial rockers and tender ballads, should appeal to fans of more famous acts such as John Hiatt, Lyle Lovett or Van Morrison; to be fair, they’ve all been at this longer, but Hanna is no mere pup and deserves his shot on public radio. The recording is crisp, and the band does an admirable job of providing subtle and supple support. Judge for yourself on Monday (Jan. 2), where they’ll perform a full-band set at Clifton’s Pizza at 7 p.m.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Affirmed but not forgotten

Nathan Salsburg’s first solo album, Affirmed, is a collection of mostly solo guitar compositions, performed by an archivist, radio presenter and LEO columnist who spends much of his time interacting with music old and unjustly forgotten.

LEO: Why make your first record now, at the advanced age of 30-something?

Nathan Salsburg: The short answer is that I’ve wanted to make this record for a long time, and it took this long to make. The long one is that some years ago, I got really burned out on playing music with the fairly paltry tools I then had at my disposal, and instead devoted myself to becoming a better listener. Over time, that devotion increased my attentiveness, adventurousness and sensitivity as a listener, which started expressing itself in my playing, and in the development of a style that felt like mine. The style started begetting tunes, and the tunes begat the record.

LEO: You work in the music industry, working with digital files all the time. So why do I have a CD in my hands?

NS: I wouldn’t say I work in the music “industry.” My livelihood doesn’t rely on how much music I can sell, but rather the efficacy with which I make music available. And as people, including me, interact with music in all forms of media, I’m glad that Affirmed is available in as many formats as the label saw fit to produce: CD, LP and MP3. I love cassettes, and if they had been a feasible medium to produce, I would have been happy with that, too.

LEO: What should people do while listening to your record?

NS: I would hope people would be satisfied just listening to the record. If they are, it’s a success.

Learn more at noquarter.net.

Photo by Tim Furnish.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Mixing it up for 20 years on ‘World Café’

Even after two decades of hosting public radio’s “World Café” (heard locally on 91.9 WFPK, weekdays from 6-8 p.m.), David Dye has trouble explaining his job to some people.

“The parents of the kids at my kids’ school — I don’t think they know what it’s about,” Dye laughs. “I try to explain it, and I go, ‘Well, it’s sort of semi-popular
music …”

The Philadelphia-based show features semi-popular Celtic folk, garage rock, hipster dance, ’60s pop, funk revivalism and any other sounds that interest Dye and his staff. Sometimes it actually reflects popular taste, from recent guests like Foster the People to early discoveries like Sheryl Crow.

“I remember seeing her at a convention,” Dye reflects. “Everybody was talking with everybody and having lunch, and nobody was paying attention to her, and I thought she was great. You look at Sheryl Crow now and you go, ‘How could you not have realized that?’”

The early years were defined by singer-songwriters, but Dye and his staff evolved with the times. “We went where the inventive music goes. We went with people who were doing more interesting things. It’s what we’re listening to, and it just made a lot of sense.”

Adapting has been a large part of why they have been able to continue — not just financially, but as music fans. Dye continues, “The original AAA artists are … I guess, in some ways, they’re not being as creative. We’ve lost a few stations who wanted a more folky thing, but that’s not really what we’re doing.”

Dye has interviewed almost 5,000 musicians. Occasionally, it doesn’t go as planned. Lou Reed behaved typically. “It wasn’t really a disaster — I think it was pre-planned. He just gave me one-word answers for a long time.” With pop singer Jewel, a misunderstanding interrupted what should have been a breezy chat. “Jewel and I didn’t click. I probably clumsily asked a question and she reacted; she thought I was insulting her, so she insulted me back. Like, ‘Whoa, all right!’

“Generally speaking, the staff here has found that my interviews are best with people I really like. If I don’t really love somebody, I can get myself into trouble,” laughs Dye.

More often, Dye has been able to spend time with artists and learn more about them. “I think one of the major things is not being afraid to ask the question that you’re nervous about. Or that you think might offend somebody. Because you have no idea … you can’t get inside their head.” Dye has the advantage of being in a studio with his subjects. “I try to be very conscious of reading people’s cues — either vocally or what they’re saying, just watching how comfortable or uncomfortable they are.”

Dye agrees with those who tell him he has “a dream job.” “We just started up this new ‘Sense of Place’ series, where we travel to various cities and talk to musicians. I mean, wow! It’s a fabulous, fabulous job.” A recent voyage to Dublin will soon be followed by trips to New Orleans and London. “People always say, ‘Why don’t you go out to see much music?’ Well, every day I’m seeing something coming in to me.”

One problem Dye has, which many share, is a lack of time to listen to all the new music that pours in constantly. He now commutes via train, and recently began a morning workout routine that adds an additional album’s worth of tunes to his day. Recommendations from staffers, colleagues and the web help him focus.

Even after what’s already been an amazingly long run, the world of “World Café” continues expanding. A 2007 book compiled some of Dye’s favorite interviews, and two live performance venues branded as “World Café Live” have opened in the Philadelphia area.

Dye’s biggest goal is to keep the sounds diverse. “People’s record collections are not one thing, and the more I remember that, the better. It’s great to have the Black Keys on, but it’s also great to have the Chain Gang of 1974, or something with Yo-Yo Ma. I like to mix it up.”

photo by Michael T. Regan

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Mercy Me

You might recognize Tender Mercy’s Mark Kramer from his years behind the counter at ear X-tacy. The music Kramer himself makes could be described just as he can: tall, lean, quiet and powerful. The new Tender Mercy EP is The Road To Good Intention Is Paved With Hell.

LEO: How did the band come together?

Mark Kramer: Although in the past I’ve had help, it is just me that represents Tender Mercy. I thought about going under my own name, but I really liked the title, and coincidentally, it kept appearing in books I was reading. I took it as a sign. So to answer your question, the band came together at conception. Careful with that one — I know this is a family paper.

LEO: Your music is often quiet and slow yet, for this EP, you worked with some of Louisville’s most notable hardcore musicians. What did they offer the project?

MK: The operative word here is “musician.” They are wonderful, generous, multifaceted individuals whose use of their ears isn’t limited to hardcore or heavy music. What did they offer? Their respect and kindness, and a much different way of hearing what I do. Their impact was nothing but positive for this EP and a huge part of why I am so proud of it.

LEO: You worked for a long time at ear X-tacy. Is it extra bittersweet that you won’t be able to sell this EP there?

MK: Extra, extra bittersweet. One of my hopes was not only to have it sold at ear X-tacy, but, having seen so many inspiring performances there, to kick off its release with an in-store like so many amazing local bands have.

LEO: What is your favorite Robert Duvall movie?

MK: “Days of Thunder.”

Learn more at tendermercy.bandcamp.com.

photo by Sean Bailey

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

album review: Dane Waters

Dane Waters
Dark Waters
SELF-RELEASED



Music can have such an odd effect on memory. Though Julee Cruise is hardly a household name today, chances are many would instantly recognize her voice from the “Twin Peaks” soundtrack. The only song I remember from my wedding reception was hers. It’s a sound not heard often enough, and it’s the first thing one might hear upon entering these Dark Waters. The well-trained local vocal champ, who has collaborated with many of Louisville’s best artists across multiple genres, has finally released this, her first (almost entirely) solo effort, and the freedom afforded here suits her well. The album is a haunting, lush collection of minimal soundscapes that probably work as well in a spa as they do in a gallery or an intimate nightclub. Some of the mostly one-word song titles give a fair approximation of the mood here: “Winter,” “Blue” and “Dream Again” deliver on their promise — but just because she sounds mellow doesn’t mean she’s not fierce and mighty.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

album review: Supertruck

Supertruck
Supertruck
SELF-RELEASED



I wasn’t really lucid in the ’70s (but then, who was?), but I am a student of music history. Such a time was fertile for what we now call classic rock and Southern rock; it was the best of times and the worst of times for each. Louisville’s Supertruck has clearly done some of the same homework, and knocks out a promising collection of boots-wearing, truck-driving rock that should help establish them as a band to watch. Though cuts such as “Whiskey Cut Tea” and “She’s a Drinker” might make them sound predictable, there’s more going on here than just drinkin’ anthems. While lyrically they fall short of Skynyrd’s best story songs, and singer Jordan Humbert’s everyman vocals can’t match the beauty of Dickey Betts or the grit of Gregg Allman, Supertruck’s guitarists, Sturdevant and Jordan Humbert, kick out jams more than worthy of the Outlaws or the Marshall Tucker Band. A fluid rhythm section and extra touches of piano and fiddle help flesh out some good ol’ listening.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Foxy like a craze

The Foxery invade Headliners on Tuesday, Dec. 20, to celebrate the release of their new album, Life Is Still Beautiful. LEO asked Travis Beck about their year.

LEO: What changes and opportunities have you gone through this year?

Travis Beck: This year has been quite full of changes and opportunities, and has probably been our most busy year to date. First off, this is the first full year with our current bassist, Mike Stewart, so it’s been a growing opportunity for the band to develop with a new bassist. He has been a wonderful creative influence on all of us, and has really fit perfectly into the direction we have taken with our music. This band has always been a sort of brotherhood, first and foremost, and Mike has been a wonderful addition both musically and as a friend and brother. In the last couple months, we have also been working in a second guitarist, Dean Bryant, and I am so excited to see where he takes us musically, going forward. He has been great to have around.

We have been blessed to play on some pretty cool shows this year, such as opening for Ra Ra Riot and Pomegranates, and those bigger shows have really helped us to gain a strong stage presence. It’s been a wonderful year for all of us, and I think we have grown a ton. I know I can’t wait to continue growing and developing with these guys in the years to come.

LEO: Who are your favorite local bands?

TB: There are quite a few bands we would call brothers right now in Louisville, and new ones seem to be coming up pretty regularly, so that’s cool. Sadly, our closest friends, Young Lions, are breaking up, but we certainly hope that they all continue with making great tunes. Other bands we are close with and love are Via Animo, Anwar Sadat, Fork in Socket, Brain Trust, Jovian and Jubalson, who also will be joining us onstage at our CD release at Headliners.

Learn more at thefoxery.com.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Former Thieves’ First World Blues

LEO spoke with Former Thieves vocalist Matt Schmitz a couple weeks ago as the band was enjoying nice weather while touring the West Coast. The Cedar Falls, Iowa-based band has spent most of the year touring behind their No Sleep Records release, The Language That We Speak. This show will pair them with two Louisville bands also signed to the Southern California label.

LEO: You’ve been here already twice this year, at ear X-tacy and Krazy Fest.

Matt Schmitz: Yeah, it was cool. We love Louisville.

LEO: Our record store, ear X-tacy, just closed down after 26 years.

MS: I just read that the other day! That’s a bummer, man.

LEO: Are you hearing those stories everywhere you go?

MS: Not so much. The ones that we’ve played, everything’s fine so far, but that one — that was a real big bummer. That was a really cool record store, and everyone that worked there was super, super nice. The show we played there last March was awesome.

LEO: You’re playing a house show here.

MS: Yeah! The Chestnut House, we are so excited about that!

LEO: Do you play lots of house shows?

MS: That’s how we started. We basically played living rooms, basements — anywhere we were able to play. Since then, it’s been mostly venues, so when we can get back and play house shows and get back into that environment, we’re really excited about it. It’s going to be a nice change of pace to go from playing on big stages every night in front of a lot of kids who aren’t 100 percent sure who we are, to playing in a basement with a bunch of bands we really, really like.

LEO: And you’re friends with the bands here.

MS: Yeah, we’re best friends with the dudes in Xerxes. We’ve known those guys for years now. They’re one of our favorite bands. We’ve done some touring with them in the past. They’re on the same record label we’re on, and Frontier(s) is playing, too — we’ve never played with them before, but they’re on No Sleep Records as well, and the old singer from Elliott’s in that band, which we’re all big fans of, so we’re really stoked to see them play.

LEO: What inspires you when you write lyrics?

MS: It’s a big blend of issues. I have a habit of putting myself in a really uncomfortable position, in public — like, for instance, I’ll go into a coffee shop, or into a really crowded bar, and listen to people’s conversations. It really brings out a lot of issues. Most of our songs are about the ups and downs of the reality of how people are, the good side and the bad side of it. It’s been really cool to grow as a writer. When we started out, it was pretty one-dimensional. Since the last full-length, I’ve really gone in some new directions. We’re working on a new EP now, and we’re trying to spread out a little bit further with ideas, so it’s cool.

LEO: You sound like a reporter or a critic.

MS: Yeah, I think “critic” is the best term to use, because you’re putting yourself 100 percent out there, and surrounding yourself with stuff that’s really annoying or repetitive in people’s lives, just picking stuff apart and finding an issue, then trying to go a lot further … When we were working on this last full-length, a year ago, we’d been on tour for a long time, then we had to get home and finish up all these songs. We had a bunch of songs, but I had to really get down and finish all the words for them. We were getting down to the wire, so I basically had to go somewhere and pile through everything, so that’s what happened. “I’ll just go to a coffee shop and see if this works.” And I realized, “Wow, everyone here sucks!” I got a lot better material as I put myself in that scenario.

Former Thieves
with Frontier(s), Xerxes and Lay Down & Die
Sunday, Dec. 18
Chestnut House
714 E. Chestnut St.
facebook.com/FormerThieves
$5; 7 p.m.

photo by Tim Dodd

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Josephine Foster’s little life

Outsider folk-artist Josephine Foster has traveled from her native Colorado to Chicago and on to Spain, exploring different facets of her music — as a solo artist, or with Born Heller and other combos, creating music that runs from the contemplative to the raucous. Arthur magazine’s Jay Babcock called her “A Grace Slick for the 21st century — and that’s all grace, no slick.”

LEO: You draw on many different historical eras to inspire your music. Do your non-musical hobbies or tastes inform your musical education? Or do you just seek out music from earlier periods as a music lover?

Josephine Foster: I am a music lover. One influential hobby when I was very young was being a water-ballet swimmer. Listening to crystal clear music from underwater speakers and dancing in synchronized motion with other girls was very magical. I chose LPs from the public library — Bach, The Beach Boys, Mantovani Orchestra, television-Western theme music — and made spliced compilations that flowed together into a three-minute routine. Then I choreographed very wild water dances to this music. Sometimes there were lightning storms and you would be watching the flashes of light as you came up for a breath, and the music was above and below the water. This activity led me to listen to many types of music, especially thinking of dance, and it was very influential on my imagination.

LEO: Have you learned anything from teaching music to others that you’ve applied to your own music? Do you study with any teachers yourself?

JF: One thing I feel reflected in my music directly, especially, was working with children, very young children — I prefer ages 3 and 4. To me, (that is) the age of a most fascinating aperture of that imaginative child state. They did affect me a lot, and some of my children’s songs I wrote to invite them into spontaneous improvisations within song. I did study with teachers, various ones, in my days of aspiring to an operatic career and, boy, I learned some good things, and sometimes got extremely confused. Hopefully I didn’t confuse too many people when I was a voice teacher, but being confused might be the nature of it. Learning to sing is not for everybody; I think it’s a Western modern activity, at the heart of it a healing process to unite divided, confused people. Some people have an intuitive flow with their voice and body, and others have psychological barriers reflected in their voices, which ideally a teacher can help out with. I love to teach singing and accept students to this day.

LEO: Ukuleles have become trendy recently, but you’ve been playing them for a long time. Does it make you happy or sad to see Eddie Vedder clutching a uke?

JF: Ukuleles are fantastic. My brother just picked it up, even. To me, any trend involving actually playing an instrument is a very, very good thing.

LEO: Some find your music romantic, some find it spooky, and some say it’s both. What do you hear?

JF: Well, I hear all those things, and other things, too. I am a romantic, for sure! Romanticism has its inherent shadow side.

LEO: Your husband is from Spain. Where is the best environment for you to make music?

JF: I’ve lived there for the past five years. The best environment for making music is with resonating people and even animals, and within acoustical reverberent structures, whether from architecture or nature.

LEO: What’s next for you?

JF: More songs from Spain, more of my own songs, and new collaborations from Nashville to New Mexico.

Josephine Foster with Parlour and Dane Waters
Friday, Dec. 16
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St. • 635-9227
myspace.com/josephinefoster
$10; 9 p.m.

photo by Jessica Knights

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

A lifetime of Black Sabbath

The founding father of heavy metal pretty much lied to me. Despite being a kindly English gentleman overall, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi tried to deny one important question, for understandable business reasons. It happens, and the LEO music department has certainly dealt with worse through the years — and where would heavy metal be without a bit of mischief? His new memoir is “Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell With Black Sabbath” (Da Capo, $26, 416 pages).

LEO: How are you enjoying your new life as an author?
Tony Iommi: It’s different. Yeah, very.

LEO: Has it given you any new understanding into your life?
TI: It has, yeah. I’ll tell you, it’s certainly given me a shock — when you see in print the things that went on in your days … (laughs)

LEO: Do you think it’s worth it?
TI: I’ve never really done anything about my private life — that was the hard thing for me. I’ve always talked about the band, about Sabbath, for 40 years. To talk about your private life’s a little bit different.

LEO: Have you set anyone’s beard on fire recently?
TI: (laughs) No, I’ve stopped that now. Those days are gone. Yeah, that was in my silly younger days.

LEO: Is there nothing you do now that falls in the category of “silly”?
TI: I still play a bit. I can’t help it — it’s embedded in my psyche. I’m always pulling pranks on people and joking around. What’s life all about? You’ve got to have a bit of fun.

LEO: What is it about the temperament of a musician that keeps them from settling down like the rest of society?
TI: Well, I do do what everybody else does. I’ve settled down, but I do something else as well. When I’m at work, playing, it’s a slightly different life, but when I’m home, I’m like everybody else — I watch movies, go out to dinners and see my friends, and walk, and do whatever it is you do.

LEO: I interviewed Henry Rollins today, and he told me that he’ll be moderating a press conference with Black Sabbath soon, announcing your new record.
TI: Really? I’ve not heard that. That’s a new one on me. My goodness. Unless they’re doing one without me … (laughs) “Henry Rollins is playing guitar!” When was that supposed to be?

LEO: He said a couple weeks, in Los Angeles.
TI: OK. Well, I’ll investigate that. I’d like to know what album he’s announcing, as we haven’t done one!

LEO: What other future plans do you have?
TI: Well, we have been in talks about the original Sabbath getting together, but that’s not definite yet. I’ve got a few different projects underway.

NOTE: LEO spoke with Iommi and Rollins on Nov. 2. On Nov. 11, Rollins hosted that press conference with the band, announcing that the four original members of Black Sabbath have been rehearsing, will be touring, and will record a new album. Rolling Stone reported that Iommi said, “It’s now or never. We get along great. Everything’s really good.”

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

album review: She & Him

Shim’s adorkable She, Zooey Deschanel, has had quite a fall season. She’s become a mainstream TV star, she’s getting divorced, and then there’s this, a classic Christmas album. By “classic,” I mean “as expected,” or surprisingly lacking in surprises or innovations. She and M. Ward (Him) do their usual thing, including typically skillful guitar textures from Ward, but if you like Christmas music and/or have any Christmas albums — well, this is another one of those. She tries to do her best Ronstadt, especially on “Blue Christmas,” and yes, the audiophile duo do take on tunes from the Beach Boys and NRBQ, but if you aren’t charmed by blue-eyed devil Deschanel, you probably won’t enjoy her solo ukulele rendition of “Silver Bells.” If you are, you will, and so on. It’s as if the pair have gone so far beyond irony that they forgot to not take this so seriously. Is it bah humbugable? Not necessarily, but is it worth $15?

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

album review: The 23 String Band

Kentucky’s 23 String Band seem like a lot of guys we know and love around here — regular dudes with exceptional skill. Their bluegrass attack is fueled by high-octane rock ’n’ roll energy, skillfully guided here by producer Kevin Ratterman. A rascally sense of humor also helps distinguish them from some of their peers, dropping in quotes from other songs like jazz musicians and mimicking trains or jugbands or whatever else strikes their fancy. While some exponents of this genre can be overly reverential at times, the Strings are too raucous to settle for easy sentimentality or religiosity; they’re more about liquor and girls. The sources of their cover material here — including a John Hartford beauty and an early Tom Petty FM classic — indicate their relaxed attitude, though they put everything into these performances. Author Silas House, a better scribe than I, wrote, “Their shows are electrifying, their songwriting is top-notch, and their vocals are as tight as the cork in a jug of moonshine.” And we think you’ll agree.

C. 2011 LEO Weekly

Sampling White Rabbits

The founders of the sextet White Rabbits moved from Columbia, Mo., to Brooklyn in 2005, inspired by Ska and its New Wave descendants. Since then, they’ve expanded their sound and found mentors in the popular Austin-based Spoon, whose leader, Britt Daniel, has produced for them. The third White Rabbits album will be released early next year.

“We spent the summer in Austin. We were there for three months, from April through the Fourth of July,” says singer/pianist Stephen Patterson. “It was the longest continuous stretch we’ve ever had to be able to record a record.”

Like most young bands, White Rabbits have had to patiently pay their dues. Though their indie pop/rock is undeniably catchy, they haven’t had a hit song yet for radio or car commercials.

“Out first record (2007’s Fort Nightly) was done by sneaking into a studio every weekend, or whenever we could,” Patterson says. “The second record (2009’s It’s Frightening) was done over the course of four weeks, in two two-week sessions. It was really fast. So it was nice this time to stretch out and have time to experiment with stuff, try different arrangements, go through wilder sounds than we’re used to.”

Patterson clarified that their new songs aren’t wildly different, but involve a new way of writing for the band. While some of the new material came out of playing together live, others came from recycling aspects of those performances. “We got into the idea of sampling ourselves. I would record the band, or just a few of us, playing in our rehearsal space in Brooklyn, and find a little moment that sounded cool and use that as the basis for a song, (a sound) that would go through the majority of the song as the main building block.

“We knew that we wanted to apply the rhythm stuff in a new way. That was one thing we were aspiring to do — instead of doing a straight drum sound, putting a little something or other on top of the drums, giving some special quality to that part or arrangement … I grew up playing drums, so I love working on those parts with those guys, and it’s still a big factor in the music we make.”

Whether it’s Animal Collective’s modern take on psychedelic and tribal rhythms or Vampire Weekend’s more accessible, Paul Simon-inspired Caribbean style, it’s become increasingly easy lately to find bands more interested in percussion.

Patterson concurs, “I think that’s great for the most part — drums are cool, they’re a pretty timeless instrument. But I feel like there are many other ways this concept could be applied than the ways I’ve been seeing it lately. It’s not just simply about power; it’s also about all the different textures it can get.”

The members of White Rabbits have found inspiration in the Ethiopian music series Ethiopiques, as well as “a lot of R&B and a lot of hip-hop.” Patterson says the band also draws inspiration from “a lot of Afrobeat stuff. We really learned to play as a band touring through the last record, so on this one we got really into getting a locomotive kind of rhythm going and trying to keep it continuous throughout the track.”

You learned to play as a band on your second record?

“Yeah, I would say so. Repetition — you do it enough (laughs) and you start to figure out what we can do, between the six of us, that sounds cool. We stopped trying so hard to replicate the album live. That forced us to only be listening to each other in the room, at the moment. That’s a very obvious sort of thing, but a lot of times those very obvious things can take a while to totally sink in. The main thing is, you just tour for a long time and … we toured for long time on our first record, and our second — for two years off of that one — and we’re starting to figure it out.”

WHITE RABBITS WITH SONOI
Thursday, Dec. 8
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St. • 635-9227
whiterabbitsmusic.com
$10 adv., $12 DOS; 9 p.m.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Big Baby Band

Old Baby is a new group featuring members of local bands Young Widows, Workers and King’s Daughters & Sons. Their debut EP, Misunderstanding Human Behavior, will be released by Hawthorne Street Records soon.

LEO: Tell me about your new supergroup.

Jonathan Glen Wood: Drew (Osborne) and Evan (Patterson) wanted to play music together, and then Todd (Cook) wanted to play. Since I became friends with Evan, we’ve always talked about playing music together. Then we asked Neil (Argabrite) if he wanted to play. It just worked out, man. We got together in, I guess, February, and we set a goal that we were gonna try and write and record something pretty quick. It was cool, going into the studio and having everything come together, and it actually sounded really great.

LEO: How do the members’ different influences come together?

JGW: From my end, there are some darker folk elements. From Evan’s end, there’s some really great washed-out guitar stuff. It’s definitely heavy, but it’s not like loud heavy, it’s just really intense. There are some repetitive elements, but we don’t have any long tunes — everything is pretty concise. There are moments when it all opens up. Definitely influences are late ’60s/early ’70s rock ’n’ roll; for me, ’70’s folk … some Krautrock stuff … even some pretty raw punk stuff comes in, musically.

LEO: And the name?

JGW: Old Baby was one of the first ones that Todd came up with. We cycled through so many names, and none of them really clicked. That’s the one that stuck.

LEO: Todd was previously in a band called Dead Child.

JGW: (laughs) Right.

CAVE and Old Baby play Sunday, Dec. 11, at Zanzabar at 9 p.m. Go to othersideoflife.wordpress.com for more info.

C. 2011 LEO Weekly

The Wire(s)

LEO asked Brian Gray to tell us about his hot band, The Hot Wires. They celebrate their new EP with a show at ZaZoo’s on Friday, Dec. 2, with Buffalo Killers and The Tunesmiths.

LEO: What’s the new EP called, and how did it come together?

Brian Gray: It’s called The Cockpit Fighter EP. We named it after an image of an old fighter plane sitting in a scrap yard that our drummer’s girlfriend found. It still looks badass even though it’s shot to hell and out of commission. As far as recording, my friend Donnie Bott offered to record us for free. So, of course, we said yes. His only stipulation was that he could only finish four songs for us. So, we got those done and decided to get ’em out there.

LEO: What kind of band would you say you are?

BG: I would say the Hot Wires are high energy rock ’n’ roll. When we were forming, I was in a serious MC5 rediscovery period. They were around right after the original rock ’n’ rollers and right before the punk movement. So, there was no real name for what they did, but high energy. I wanted a band like that.

LEO: You were a Legendary Shack*Shaker once upon a time. How did that compare to being a Hot Wire?

BG: I was actually an original Shack Shaker! I had never really played straight ahead rock ’n’ roll or rockabilly before that band, and it was like going to school. We never practiced, and Colonel JD would pretty much tell us what key the song was in and go. Either you jumped in or got left behind. And the Hot Wires is probably the closest band to them I’ve been in, as far as energy goes. But this band is so much more fun, honestly. I always felt like a hired gun then. This is much more passionate for me.

Find more info at reverbnation.com/thehotwiresky.

Photo by Marty Pearl

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

album review: State Champion

State Champion
Deep Shit
SOPHOMORE LOUNGE



It takes skill to take a moribund genre and breathe fresh life into it — especially without breaking any ribs. The Kentucky-via-Illinois twang rock machine that is State Champion applies admirable strength and passion into this collection, leader Ryan Davis’ urgent bark prodding the rest of the band to keep up as they build songs designed to lead them out of this dead-end dump and off to some Springsteen-esque better place. Born to Run/Darkness-era Boss isn’t an out of place comparison, though the fiery Midwestern spark of early Uncle Tupelo also comes to mind. This is the music of a man who cares, and who probably has a thick beard. Though Bob Seger is still able to rock the Bucket, State Champion is a band you want to push up against in a small bar, sweating out the work week through your flannel. This is what rock ’n’ roll is all about, something that can bond a pissed-off teen and my 55-year-old Uncle Kenny at the same time.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Mint Condition stay fresh

Today The Roots are seen as an oddity for being a live band, but until recently, everybody played their own instruments. Though pop and R&B has changed dramatically in the past 20-some years, Mint Condition have stayed true to their talent and ideals. Their latest album is called 7. LEO spoke with bassist Ricky Kinchen.

LEO: You guys are celebrating your 20th anniversary, approximately. How does it feel, being 20 years in?

Ricky Kinchen: It feels great. A lot of great things have been happening — touring, some TV shows. It all started with this TV show we did called “Way Black When,” where they celebrated the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Every artist that played, we backed up. So our résumé grew within four weeks to, like, The Emotions, BBD, Ginuine, Guy, Cuba Gooding Sr. — he was amazing, I’ll never forget him. I know he wore them kids out, because he wore us out.

Then Prince called, so we did some shows over in Europe. The first show was, like, 35,000. The second show was 60,000. Some festivals … Then we toured with Jill Scott, Anthony Hamilton, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Doug E. Fresh. Then, next month we start rehearsing for the Trumpet Awards, where we’re going to be doing a tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire.

So, everything is good. I’m ready for the next project. We still got that magic whenever we come together, and it’s going to be interesting every time.

LEO: What can we expect from the live show? Sharp suits? Any other visuals onstage?

RK: I don’t think we’re going to be wearing suits or anything like that (laughs). We always looking young and looking fly. For us to be in our 30s and 40s — let’s just say 30s (laughs) — we still look halfway decent. So yeah, the ladies are definitely going to be coming out.

LEO: I’m about your age, so can you give me some advice on how to keep it fresh?

RK: Two of the guys who look the youngest, they work out, they drink a lot of water. The lead singer probably looks the youngest; he doesn’t club a lot, I don’t think he does a lot of drinking. So, if you drink, I’d say tone it down to some wine, some beer maybe (laughs). The strong stuff is definitely going to age you.

LEO: Are you seeing a range of age groups at your shows now?

RK: Oh yeah, definitely, definitely. The reason they come is they know what they’re going to get. They know every time they come to see us, they’re going to get a live performance. It’ll be people up there sweatin’, playing drums — you know you’re not going to get a track show. That’s the one thing about a lot of the younger artists right now — they’re killing their careers. Once all the shiny jackets and glitter and sunglasses are gone, and the record deals are gone, the only thing they’re going to have left is to do shows. But they don’t know how to do shows, and all the information is out there for them to learn — but they’re not being taught.

LEO: Is this the best period for the band?

RK: It’s all great. It’s all different. I might appreciate things more now than I did back then.

Mint Condition with Eric Roberson
Sunday, Dec. 4
Brown Theatre
315 W. Broadway • 584-7777
mintconditionmusic.com
$38.50; 7:30 p.m.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

album review: Silver Tongues

Silver Tongues
Black Kite
KARATE BODY



The debut album from the Louisville-based Silver Tongues, which includes some talents who have played with Wax Fang, The Fervor and Cabin (including LEO (m)ad man James Hewett), is yet another surprising, atypical release from Falls City. The often subtle, intentionally paced collection draws influences from varied sources rarely heard in other groups simultaneously — there are hints of gospel, early ’90s peak R.E.M., early ’70s folk, classic rock, and most consistently and wisely, pre-Radiohead geniuses Talk Talk — coursing through the veins of these songs. Though the occasional anthemic moment can veer a bit into late- ’80s Cause Rock territory (a la U2, Sting, etc.), the majority of the material is so quietly confident that it feels almost anti-rock. Such material — not too soft, not too hard, perfect for every office (but really best heard late at night, contemplating humankind’s place in the universe) — should, in a just universe, find a wide audience, here and everywhere. See them (tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 23, at Zanzabar at 10 p.m.), and thank me later.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Q&A with Dane Waters

LEO: You sound, to me, like a mermaid — sexy, mysterious, removed from daily life. Are you real? Do you have to pay an LG&E bill and shop for groceries like the rest of us?

Dane Waters: I hope I’m very real! I do spend a lot of time trying to focus on the essence of life, whether it’s through reflecting on its meaning or why I’m here, finding ways to connect with others … but I think I’m more interested in transcendence. I can find something to love about absolutely everyone, even if it’s a small thing. I find beauty and art everywhere, from the scars to the stars. I don’t care much for grocery shopping, but I do eat lots of sea creatures and adore baby tako.

LEO: Your music is very cinematic, as in David Lynch, German Expressionism, etc. (not Tom Cruise). Does film inspire your music?

DW: Tom Cruise did a great job in Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”! But yes, film and, probably more so, opera are indelible influences. I totally dream about Lynch or Herzog asking me to do a song for one of their films! So if they were to ask me about these songs, I’d say they’d find failing heroes, extreme dynamics, murder, suicide, shadows, residuals of war, sharp contrasts, palpable atmospheres, soaring heights, abysmal depressions of steppenwolves, romance, forgiveness and just generally a whole lotta desire and death.

LEO: 

You made most of this album by yourself, but you collaborate often with others and have your own group, Softcheque. Why did you do much of this alone?

DW: It’s true. I’m musically connected to many groups from choirs to the opera chorus to gig bands that have jazz elements, and to bands Sapat and Another 7 Astronauts. I’ve also recently done vocal tracks for Wax Fang and Ut Gret. But I also need to produce music where every detail and nuance is my decision. I like the artistic control immensely. I’m even doing all the printing of the jackets myself with my own woodcuts.

LEO: Your new album is called Dark Waters. Do your friends call you “Dark”?

DW: I think most people know my light cheer and smile. Then there are the few that know me so much better.

Dane Waters and Another 7 Astronauts each play sets on Thanksgiving eve at Land of Tomorrow (LOT), 233 W. Broadway. Check www.facebook.com/#!/Another7Astronauts for more info.

album review: Anton Mink

Anton Mink
Outside the Lines
ROSE ISLAND



Two decades ago, as Riot Grrl threatened to influence a generation, those creatures once known as major labels sent in their own army of harmless suburbanites to distract the teeming masses — Letters to Cleo, No Doubt, etc. — to create a new New Wave for a new generation more concerned with whom Julianna Hatfield was dating than what social change might be possible under the post-Reagan/Bush political climate. This you-go-girl! scene — a minute before the Spice Girls finally took down the guitar bands on the radio — typically led to bands playing in the background of a club scene in an Alicia Silverstone or Drew Barrymore comedy and little more; best for a collegiate audience looking for kegger background music, this weirdly funky pop/rock wasn’t meant to last long, like that Bud Light at that kegger, but oddly enough, here it is again.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Justice is served by King’s Daughters & Sons

When WFPK DJ Matt Anthony called King’s Daughters & Sons a Louisville music version of the comic book “Justice League,” he got it right. To call the band a “supergroup” would also be fair, though their combined fame as members of Rachel’s, Shipping News and other bands is notably less than that of the Traveling Wilburys or Chickenfoot.

The new band began with singer-songwriter Joe Manning, a popular local fixture and LEO columnist. Manning wanted to expand his music beyond what the solo format allowed, and to incorporate more surprising influences — the subtle beauty of the Louisville-bred The For Carnation, the gothic pleasures of Nick Cave, as well as the ultimate solo record, Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.

Manning and guitarist/singer Mike Heineman, writing together, wanted to explore fictional narratives — worlds of ghosts, sirens, murder ballads and other themes not found easily in rock music today. What they found was a style that combined the literary and musical traditions of the American South and the British Isles.

Manning also wanted some of their favorite musicians to join them.

“I initially said no,” Rachel Grimes remembers.

“Oh, did you?” says Manning, surprised, as they laugh.

“I think I said I’d think about it, and took two or three months.”

Heineman clarifies, “I think it was a year of just dudes” before Grimes’ love for the songs overtook her reluctance to join another band.

“We’re so excited to finally have this record coming out,” Grimes says. The title of the Nov. 22 release, If Then Not When, came from a scrambled line she had uttered in comical frustration about the four year-plus haul from their first show to their first album.

“It had been on my mind for a long time, and it’s worked out pretty much exactly how I envisioned it,” Manning says.

It was Grimes’ career path that led them to an unexpected home on a Scottish label. On a solo European tour last year, the pianist met Alun Woodward, former leader of the band The Delgados and co-founder of the influential indie label Chemikal Underground. After he sent her some of their records, she sent him her band’s album.

“At the very last moment, right when we were getting ready to self-release it, we finally set ourselves a date,” explains Manning. “We said, ‘In 30 days, we’re going to decide what we’re going to do with the record,’ and in that 30 days, (Chemikal Underground) said, ‘Yes, we’d love to put your record out!’”

The more traveled members have seen enough of the music business to keep their expectations low. Grimes, bassist Todd Cook and drummer Kyle Crabtree were all personally affected by the 2009 closure of their longtime mutual label home, Chicago’s Touch and Go Records, which occurred shortly after King’s Daughters & Sons recording sessions had begun with producer Kevin Ratterman.

Despite all the obvious problems within their industry, the group members have fans scattered all over, from Louisville to Tokyo. So why did it take so long to get to this point? In the end, probably because what distinguishes them from most new bands — their relative maturity and civility — stopped them from doing anything too rock ’n’ roll cliché.

“This has always been a 100-percent democratic group,” Manning says. “Which means it’s taken a long time to do things.”

Neither the band nor their label are concerned with launching long tours, or acting as though the business of music is currently financially rewarding. The members, who have all seen each other grow up in Louisville bands since the ’90s, have plenty of new songs in progress and are having fun playing together. Still, Manning can already appreciate what they have achieved together.

“If nothing ever happened again, I would like to have a record that I would like to listen to. And I would like to listen to this record.”

King’s Daughters & Sons with Seluah
Friday, Nov. 18
21c Museum Hotel
700 W. Main St.
www.kingsdaughtersandsons.com
$10; 8 p.m.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Bassekou Kouyate’s African blues

Veteran string-picker Bassekou Kouyate has made some valuable friends — Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Ali Farka Touré — who have helped him expand his audience beyond Africa. His band’s most recent album, I Speak Fula, was released in 2009 by Sub Pop imprint Next Ambiance.

LEO: How did you learn to play the ngoni?

Bassekou Kouyate: I was brought up in a large family of active griots, traditional musicians who were sought out not just in our village but throughout the area of Ségou and in the capital, Bamako — even sometimes in neighboring countries, for social negotiations and entertainment. My father and uncles, just like their father, were skilled ngoni players. The ngoni is the signature instrument of male griots and, until recently, no other people played the instrument.

Following our family tradition, I was not actually taught until I was 8 years old. My father Moustafa was my teacher, and I was lucky because he was famous as a ngoni player. In addition, my maternal grandfather, Bazoumana Sissoko, was the most famous griot in Mali, but I didn’t get to know him well until I came to Bamako at the age of 16. By that time, he was blind, but he recognized that I was a serious player and was very fond of me. He could recognize me by feeling my hands.

LEO: The ngoni is said to be similar to the banjo, which is used often in American folk music. Do you listen to any banjo music from this part of the globe?

BK: I first heard banjo music when I came to the U.S., to a meeting in Tennessee about the protection of traditional blues music, and met up with well-known banjo players. It was there that I heard American music for the first time; we had no radio or TV, and all I knew was the music I made with other Malian players, who mostly played modern instruments — guitar, flute, drum sets — and with my family, who played traditional Malian instruments.

Since then, I’ve learned to listen to the banjo, which fascinates me because it is so obviously a descendant of the ngoni that was made in my grandfather’s time out of a round calabash with wood and gut strings, instead of the elongated hollowed-out wood base we use now. The U.S. player I’ve listened to most recently is Béla Fleck, with whom we went on tour in 2009. He is the most amazing musician and one of the people who is quickest to pick up on material brought to him by other musicians.

LEO: What can Malian music offer music fans in the United States?

BK: First, it is an opportunity to listen to your roots. When I first heard the blues, I thought it was Bambara music from my home area in Mali, and Americans will be able to hear the same similarities. Next, it shows how traditional music can be developed in a modern form, but Americans know all about that already — we can just show how it works for Malians of our tradition. There is a variety of traditions in Mali, from the Mandé, the Sorai, the Wassoulou, the Tuareg, the Bwa and many more. And above all, what our Malian music can offer music fans in the U.S. is that it will make them want to dance.

For an extended interview, go here.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Thursday, Nov. 17
Clifton Center
2117 Payne St. • 896-8480
www.subpop.com/artists/bassekou_kouyate_and_ngoni_ba
$20; 7:30 p.m.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Super fun

For a good time, call Supertruck — or, better yet, go see them live when they celebrate the release of their new self-titled album. LEO asked bandleader Daniel Sturdevant about their long road to stardom.

LEO: How did the album come together?

Daniel Sturdevant: My brother Nate joined — we’d cycled through a few drummers before that. This album has three different drummers on it ... It’s been a work in progress for the last two years, really.

LEO: Did you have to block off times around people’s jobs and real lives?

DS: Yeah, yeah, definitely. But it’s been a continuous source of fun, and frustration (laughs), as it always is. Now that we’ve got Nate in the band, it’s been a lot easier. Before, we always had to go around somebody’s schedule, but I can lean on my brother, and my girlfriend Natalie (Hartman, bassist) is home base, so it’s a pretty tiny group. We started out as Jordan (Humbert), the singer, and me — just acoustic guitars, singer-songwriters ... Over time, we built it up to a rock ’n’ roll band; that’s what we enjoy doing.

LEO: How far do you want to take this band?

DS: That’s a good question. As far as I can go. I’m looking forward to getting this out, people hearing it.

LEO: How do you see Supertruck’s role in the Louisville music scene?

DS: I don’t like to see it as just a good time, drink up kind of rock ’n’ roll band, but there is that aspect of it. But at the same time, people can get caught up in that. People seem to enjoy themselves at our shows. People might not say that it’s visually stunning (laughs) or the most intricate musicianship they’ve ever heard, but they usually say they had a good time. We try to bring that excitement, bring the fun. It’s definitely a big part of why we do it. Not to say that we don’t practice — I take my guitar work very seriously, and I’m always trying to better it. I’m never fully satisfied.

Supertruck plays at the Monkey Wrench on Saturday, Nov. 26. For more info, go to www.supertruckmusic.com.

Louisville's Top Chef

Between 2003 and 2009, Chef Edward Lee and his Old Louisville restaurant, 610 Magnolia, had been one of dining's worst-kept secrets in the region. The farm-to-table pioneer, a multiple James Beard Award semifinalist, saw his stock rise after a 16-page profile in Gourmet magazine, followed by a winning appearance on “Iron Chef America,” and now as an ongoing competitor on Bravo’s “Top Chef” (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.). Whether he wins the $100,000 grand prize or is this season’s “too soon!” cut, Lee’s role on the popular program can only help the rest of the country see that Louisville has a lot more to offer than KFC.

LEO: Why "Top Chef," as opposed to the 800 other food programs on now?

Edward Lee: That's easy: just look at the caliber of chefs competing. It's not home cooks or diner owners trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. “Top Chef” draws the best of the best because there's a legitimacy that other shows just don't have. Now, I did do “Iron Chef” and win, but that was last year. I wanted to compete against the brightest up-and- coming chefs in the country. I love being in that pressure cooker and pushing myself to see what I can accomplish under the most unpredictable situations.

LEO: Did you know any of the other cheftestants prior to taping?

EL: I had heard of some of them. Many have a great reputation in the industry. It was fun to meet and compete against them. The ones I didn't know, well, I think we're on a first name basis now.

LEO: Of all the prior cast members, do you have any personal favorites — either due to abilities or personalities?

EL: I don't have a favorite, I respect every past chef that had the gumption to put their careers on the line in front of a national audience. It ain't easy.

LEO: How did you feel about it being in Texas, and in 3 different cities?

EL: Awesome. You know, I'm a huge Townes Van Zandt fan, who was from Texas, and I'd never been to Texas before, so it was a real treat for me. Now I get what it means when people say everything's bigger in Texas. All the while I've got “Pancho and Lefty” in my head and my knife pack under my arm. That was surreal.

LEO: How do you feel about Louisville's food scene currently? There have been a slew of interesting restaurants (Harvest, Eiderdown, Hillbilly Tea, Hammerheads, etc.) that have opened since the recession began. Why — or how — do you think that has happened?

EL: Independent restaurants are generally immune to the ups and downs of a market-based economy. If you make good food and offer a value product, people will come in good times or bad. Louisville's food scene is exciting and ambitious. I'm proud to be a part of it. But there's still room to get better, more innovative, and revive old traditions. I'd love to see a kick-ass soul food restaurant in this town.

LEO: Do you have any plans for a new restaurant any time soon?

EL: Maybe …

LEO: Your former chef de cuisine, Gabe Sowder, has been operating the mobile Taco Punk operation, which will soon also become a restaurant. Do you feel like you've gone from a young upstart to a mentor and established national figure?

EL: I don't think that's for me to say. I do what I do; I make mistakes, I accomplish certain goals, I still have dreams. I still love every ounce of this business. This business is a marathon, not a race. I just hope I'm somewhere at the top when all is said and done.

LEO: Do you think your career would have gone in this direction if Gourmet had folded 3 months earlier? Was this part of your plan already?

EL: As important as that Gourmet article was, I have to believe that my career wasn't based on a coincidence. I was cooking my ass off before the article came out, and have been ever since. So, yes, I believe that hard work and dedication does eventually reap rewards despite what happens in the media world. Having said that, I'm sure glad as hell that Gourmet didn't fold earlier.

Home boys

Relic has become a popular attraction around Louisville, sharing soulful, harmonious bluegrass at bars, festivals and anywhere else available. Now, the band’s two most similar members, Aaron and Adam Bibelhauser, have stepped to the side with a new album, Always Home, a collection that honors the brotherly tradition of the Stanleys, Louvins and Everlys. LEO asked how the Bibelhauser Brothers project came together.

LEO: Why not record this with Relic?

Aaron Bibelhauser: This new record initially began as a solo project of mine, with the intent of recording and releasing my original songs, some closer to fitting in the bluegrass box than others. After getting started on the project, my twin brother, Adam, brought some of his own tunes to the table. It quickly became apparent that this was to be a duo project of new, original music. It was really about focusing in on our abilities as writers and as vocalists.

LEO: Bluegrass hardly requires you to write your own new material. What inspired you?

AB: Writing new material is critical to keeping traditional music alive and relevant. I do think that skirting in and out of the confines of a traditional genre is a really helpful tool in gathering thoughts and presenting them in a coherent manner, without sounding too far out. With bluegrass music — much like the blues, jazz or even classical music — it’s easy to paint yourself into a corner as a musician who plays only existing compositions. In consciously steering ourselves away from this idea, it almost opened up a door, and it became a logical next step to write our own stuff.

LEO: Do you resent musicians in more trendy genres who get more mainstream attention?

AB: A lot of pop music has become mainstream because it’s catchy and people really like it. I think, however, there is a real drive in deciding what songs get airplay that has a huge effect on what listeners tend to like. It used to be that disc jockeys got to decide what new music they wanted to play, and now it’s all pre-determined by label affiliation and commercial interests behind the scenes. At the end of the day, I just hope that the music I involve myself in has substance. I want to do something that’s meaningful, as an artist, not just a guy trying to figure out what hook the song is going to need to grab people’s attention.

Bibelhauser Brothers perform Friday, Nov. 11, at Uncle Slayton’s at 8 p.m. Go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/bibelhauserbrothers.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly

Stoner hero Kal Penn returns from duty

If anyone is recession proof, it’s probably Kal Penn. After only five years in Hollywood, the New Jersey native landed a leading role in the stoner comedy “Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle.”

“It tanked at the box office,” says Penn, eight years and two sequels later. “So we were like, ‘Oh, man, OK. Well, I guess this was fun. It was nice to meet you …’ and then, three months later, it comes out on DVD and suddenly starts picking up all this steam.”

Most of the movie roles Penn took in between sequels were less successful, and it took getting past a stereotypical villain job on “24” to land a more satisfying, regular part on “House, M.D.” But after a season and a half of what a million actors would kill to get, Penn left to take a job in the new presidential administration, as an associate director in the Office of Public Engagement.

Penn — who served under his birth name, Kalpen Modi — spoke recently at Bellarmine University about community service. “It was for the ‘Do Something’ initiative, which encourages folks to get involved on a community level, whether it’s art or volunteerism, or just doing something other than complaining about what other people aren’t doing.”

Penn’s job in the White House called on him to serve as a liaison to “young Americans, the arts, and Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities,” and the 34-year-old self-described “nerd” enjoys engaging with others. After his lectures, Penn says, “Q&A is always fun. I don’t like to talk at folks for very long; I hated that when I was in college.”

Penn claims to not be fully clear on why people have been so interested in his career moves. “It’s not a unique story at all … It’s not uncommon for people to take a break from the private sector to serve as political appointees. You’ve got doctors and lawyers and professors and people that are serving this president, they’ve served past presidents; they do it for a year or two, or four, or eight years, and then go back to what they were doing before.”

Penn’s “Kumar” contract required him to take a leave from D.C. last year to film the Christmas-themed movie, now in theaters, which uses 3-D. “The 3-D is cool, there are a couple of explosions, and the special effects are awesome, but they’re not action movie special effects,” he says. “What people like about Harold and Kumar is their relatability, so, to put on 3-D glasses, you feel like you’re on the couch with them or you’re in these insane situations. It’s so cool to see. I was wondering when we started, ‘Is this a 3-D gimmicky thing?’ But I thought it was awesome.”

He has also returned to TV, appearing this season with “Kumar” series co-star Neil Patrick Harris on “How I Met Your Mother.” Up next, if all goes well, will be a new comedy series starring and developed by Penn for NBC’s Thursday night lineup.

“I was so excited — it’s what every actor would want to do: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to develop my own show?’ I love ‘30 Rock’ and ‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recreation,’ that kind of stuff, so I’m working with them on developing a workplace comedy. To me, what I love about the ‘Harold and Kumar’ movies is that those guys could have looked like anybody, could’ve been from anywhere, it just so happened they looked like (co-star) John (Cho) and I, and are from New Jersey.”

Penn’s idea is to set the series at the U.N., most similar in tone to “Parks and Recreation” but moved to the middle of New York’s most diverse mini-world.

“I think what it should focus on, in order to be funny, is everyday situations. Regardless of what office you work in, there’s always beef between people, or somebody’s got a crush on somebody else — whether you’re at the U.N. or you’re working at Walmart, office politics are always very similar. Hopefully we can riff off of the diversity of the characters, but (tackling racial issues) definitely wasn’t a hidden desire.”

The setting also incorporates another favorite topic. “They’re all public servants, in some capacity, and that’s kind of neat. I don’t think we’re ever going to do plotlines on the Arab-Israeli Conflict,” Penn laughs, “but something like the International Year of Rice, I’ve always been fascinated by — like, how does something like that actually happen? How do 198 countries decide that this is going to be the International Year of Rice instead of solving another issue? I think it’ll be more that kind of stuff.”

c. 2011 LEO Weekly