Post-punk poets

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She Might Bite’s first, self-titled EP was a visceral, fresh update of punk-era bands like the Slits and Gang of Four, with sharp, jagged guitars flying into pounding drums. They call it “punk-surf-garage-rock poetry.” Though they even threw a ballad into that first collection, fiery songs like “Dead Weight” and “Sinister Device” left no doubt that this was no mere New Wave pop-slop. Oddly, they began as two sisters attempting to be folkies. Their first full-length album, Feral, is due soon.

LEO: How’s the album coming?

Tara Kimes: Good. It’s finished … as far as how it’s going to be released, we’re still sort of figuring that out.

LEO: Who’s in the band now? How many changes have you had lately?

TK: Just me and (drummer) Kathryn (Slaughter). We have been having a lot of fun jamming and experimenting. Our next show (on June 21) will be our first as a duo. Changes — we’ve gone through two bass players in the last year.

LEO: There’s a song called “Punk Bitch” on your EP. What inspired that?

TK: My sister (Courtney) wrote that one day. She said she just felt like shit, was having a low day, and was frustrated that she couldn’t play any instruments.

LEO: Is it hard to be a musician in a band?

TK: No. Being a musician in a band, so far, is the thing that I wake up and am thankful for. It puts ease and gratitude into my life. I think it makes other areas of my life balanced and easier.

LEO: What have you been listening to lately?

TK: I have been really enjoying Patti Smith lately — I love her song “Piss Factory.” Also, Iggy Pop, in my car. This morning, I kept playing “Golden” by Jill Scott on my record player, over and over. Kathryn has been getting into psychedelic Japanese bands.

She Might Bite plays Saturday at Zanzabar, with Dane Waters and Julie of the Wolves. Find more info about the band at reverbnation.com/shemightbite.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

In the wake

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The sights and sounds of Forecastle X

Rachel Grimes, the contemporary classical pianist and Louisvillian, took a moment during her sunny mid-Sunday afternoon slot at the Forecastle Festival to greet the out-of-towners who had traveled here for the 10th annual fest.

Though numerous local musicians, friends and family were also in attendance, cheering her on as she undertook the unenviable task of performing subtle yet complex compositions to half-naked young drinkers, Grimes relayed her experiences writing and recording near Bardstown, where Thomas Merton’s abbey coexists near the Maker’s Mark and Heaven Hill distilleries. Her description of throwing back bourbon on the porch with the earthy, good-hearted Sisters of Loretto sure made me want to move here — and I’ve lived here for many years.

It was a bit of a surprise that My Morning Jacket’s headlining set Saturday night lacked similar “welcome to Louisville” banter. But it’s not as though they haven’t done so, so much for Louisville (and this festival surely boasted more local bands than most fests drawing upwards of 30,000 attendees); possibly, the band was just exhausted from a long week of prepping, playing, hosting and running around. (Jacket leader Jim James was a serial drop-in guest of others’ sets during the fest, perhaps only bested by cellist Ben Sollee.)

This was the first full-on Forecastle Festival (last year there was only a mini-fest) overseen by AC Entertainment, the promotions company that also runs the Bonnaroo, Moogfest and Big Ears festivals. Without taking anything away from founder J.K. McKnight and his army of volunteers who built Forecastle from the ground up, many noted how efficient and well-oiled the machine was this year. Aside from some Porta-Potty lighting issues, and the usual “too expensive” beer complaints typical of every festival, Waterfront Park was transformed into an easy-to-navigate playground of bands, booze, food, art, and sartorial choices ranging from “She looks great, but she must be sweltering in that” to “Who told the reincarnation of John Candy he could wear a backpack but no shirt?”

Though Saturday’s early afternoon attack of pounding rain threatened to overtake the biggest day, it ended quickly and the show went on with only minor delays, rescheduling, mud, and the city curfew extended to 12:30 a.m. That extra half-hour allowed MMJ time to add covers of songs by Elton John, George Harrison, The Band, and, most popularly, Wham!’s “Careless Whisper,” which included band members handing out bananas to a few delirious fans up front.

Though I can’t easily explain why bananas were shared, it was an episode typical of James’ sense of whimsy, which also included bringing old friends the Squallis Puppeteers on stage, and encouraged an atmosphere where Lexington’s March Madness Marching Band could set up under the I-64 overpass and thrill a crowd with their spontaneous-feeling outbursts of music and spectacle. There was also a guy (we assume?) dressed as Gumby often seen enjoying the weekend.

The sound from the five stages occasionally bled into each other, as one might expect, but, mostly, it was possible to focus on one band at a time, if one desired. Though My Morning Jacket exudes more funk than jam band these days, visitors and regular festival-goers might have been surprised by the lack of Widespread Phish Incident-type bands. Instead, audiences grooved to New Orleans’ Galactic and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the eccentric soul of Charles Bradley, and Benin’s Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou.

Subtlety proved to be a harder sell through such a weekend (we still love you, Andrew Bird), and the big noises from MMJ, Wilco, Bassnectar, Sleigh Bells, Flying Lotus, A-Trak, and, naturally, Girl Talk, went over just fine. Beach House won over skeptics with a lovely set, local favorite Neko Case made many swoon, Lower Dens proved to be one to watch, and the Head and the Heart continued their ascension. Locals from a revitalized Nerves Junior to a realigned Wax Fang showed outliers what we’ve got here — in addition to a plethora of natural-smelling, PBR tallboy-drinking, independent music lovers.

Additional reporting by Damien McPherson.

Photo by Casey Chalmers.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Mucca Pazza abides

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Last week, My Morning Jacket played their first Forecastle. This week, Mucca Pazza finally plays Lebowski Fest. It’s the other most perfect marriage of spirit, soul and sound to be found around these parts. For those who have somehow missed the Chicago-based marching big-band with the circus-punk attitude, this setting is the most appropriately absurd, celebratory and comically relaxed way to enjoy their show. Their latest album, Safety Fifth, was released last month. LEO emailed with three of the two-dozen members.

LEO: Can you name three other bands who are similar to you?

Jeff Thomas: The New York Philharmonic, because we have more than four people in our band. R. Kelly, because we are both from Chicago and have a certain sensuality in our music — though his is sexual, ours is more aromatic. Iggy Pop, because the stage isn’t big enough — we have to go out in the audience often.

LEO: You’ve been touring more in the past year and going farther away from Chicago. Is it any easier or harder to tour more?

JT: There are challenges in organizing a tour for 20-plus people, but those challenges are surpassed by the joy of showing a new audience what we can do. Maybe we inspire you to organize a big band of your own. Or in the case of your hometown children’s percussion group, the Louisville Leopards, arrange one of our songs to inspire children to create music.

Mark Messing & Gary Kalar: Harder in that it takes more breadcrumbs to find our way back. Easier in that at least there’s something to eat on the way home. And truthfully, it feels so good to play music every day, plus the added joy of making friends and allies across the country puts a lot of gas in the gas tank of the heart.

LEO: How do you tour? In a circus bus?

MM & GK: Actually, the real circus is in the tour planning. Our planning team are superstars. It must be like splitting atoms. They have to deal with various departure times and places, varied sleeping habits and diets and degrees of odors, and then, of course, the allergies. If someone we’re staying with has a cat, then you have to move the people with the cat allergies off the bus and into the special allergy van.

LEO: What types of jobs do the members have in their real lives?

JT: There is a nice mix of members who have what may be called “straight” jobs and those that may be called “freelance” jobs. This balance has afforded us the manpower and flexibility to tour and still maintain a regular group of musicians without needing to seek out new ones.

MM & GK: It’s like a little village: scientists, teachers, bartenders, programmers, dance instructors, carpenters, and full-time musicians. Having a band with a bunch of musicians would be just too hard!

LEO: You’re coming back for Lebowski Fest. How do you feel about the movie, collectively?

JT: I am reminded by the Whitman poem “Song of Myself,” where he states, ... every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. That movie and the poem are very much like our live show. It is a collection of singular experiences that are filtered and sifted to create a universal experience shared by everyone uniquely.

MM & GK: I’d say we all think that rug really tied the room together.

Lebowski Fest featuring Mucca Pazza and Mesiko
Friday, July 20
Executive Strike & Spare
911 Phillips Lane
lebowskifest.com
$15 adv., $18 DOS; 8 p.m.

Photo by CB Lindsey.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Goodbye to Goodwill

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June Leffler created and ran the youth-based arts and culture Goodwill Zine (GWZ) for 11 issues. Now, after a final “end of the world” issue, the end has arrived. Leffler told LEO about her experience becoming part of Louisville’s do-it-yourself underground culture.

LEO: How did you discover zines?
June Leffler: When I was 13, I found my mother’s zine she did in the late ’80s. It was called “WAMBAF” (Women Against Men, Boys Are Fuckers) and was really just a means for my mom and her girlfriends to talk about dumb stuff like the high school scene and boys they were into. It was a productive and creative means of just bitching about themselves.

When I stumbled across this, I immediately knew I wanted to make one. I knew I could do the same … Even though I love art, and learning even more so, I didn’t really create or interact with (creative) people too much until I learned of zines. Without finding zines, I’d probably be a pretty plain person.

LEO: Why did Louisville need Goodwill?
JL: GWZ was founded, really, in an effort to put out a consistent and somewhat mass-distributed zine. We don’t have a zine culture, even though we’re pretty hip and artsy for our size. Zines are a vital part of DIY culture. People are, of course, out there doing it on their own … I wanted to produce a zine that people could pick up, because it was probably the first zine a lot of Louisville people saw. And I know it was because I constantly have to tell educated or cultured people what a zine is, how it’s pronounced.

I wanted Louisville to have a super-grassroots yet consistently published zine, as Louisville actually has had in the past. Thankfully, other small publications and zines are popping up. I wanted to talk about aspects of the youth and arts community that I thought were cool. Louisville’s great at maintaining high-school cliques, myself included. I wanted to talk about my friends and people I had just met, because no one else was talking about them.

LEO: Why zines instead of an online blog?
JL: I really wouldn’t ever think to blog. The only blogs I read are like recipe blogs, and in that case, I can go to any used bookstore and get a cheap cookbook and enjoy it a little bit more.

I can barely acknowledge print going out because I personally read books and zines. Maybe print is becoming a gourmet operation, for the poetry buffs and letterpress artists. If so, I think the zine community is just as strong, because zines represent all that’s necessary in DIY publishing. It’s the same reason tapes and vinyl are hip, right?

LEO: How did you feel about being in charge?
JL: I had been in college and helped out with other publications. The zine was something I started independently and funded independently, until we received our KFW (Kentucky Foundation for Women) grant. Being a college student, not having to worry about making a profit off of this project, I was able to do something completely innovative. I was only responsible to myself and my own terms.

Having done the zine, I realize how important it is to do independent and innovative projects when you’re young. We’re at a pivotal age where we’re going to lose all of our dissatisfied punk gusto — that I myself had as a teen — hoping for an open spot in the professional or academic world.

LEO: How did Alex Major help you keep it going?
JL: We met during the second issue, and, since then, he’s done the layout for the zine. I haven’t met anyone I share such artistic ethos with. He’s a collage and indie comic artist aiming for low-fi prolificness. That prolificness over perfectionism is what made people aware of us. The project was really ours. Some people would end up taking over issues with all their writing, but Alex and I were the only two constants throughout the three years.

LEO: Future plans?
JL: I hope to teach abroad, set up a Louisville zine library, and host a second “make a zine in a month” challenge in September.

GWZ can still be found online at goodwillzine.com.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

My Morning Jacket brings the world to Louisville

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The day before My Morning Jacket’s co-curated Forecastle Festival lineup was announced, LEO printed a hypothetical list of performers. “I saw that article!” exclaims Patrick Hallahan, the band’s drummer and a driving force behind the local elements of this year’s festival. “I know it’s not hard to imagine; all you have to think is, ‘Who have they toured with?’ … You were pretty dead-on with a lot of it.”

The festival is Forecastle’s 10th anniversary in Louisville. “We wanted to make it a celebration of the city rather than (focusing) attention toward the band,” Hallahan says. “It’s a celebration of Louisville.”

A visit to San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival proved inspiring. While the Californians were proud to show off their wines, the Kentuckians plan to have bourbon showcased. “I was trying to get a batting cage in there as well,” laughs Hallahan. “But bourbon and batting cages started to sound like a bad mix.”

Both My Morning Jacket and Forecastle have incorporated local vendors, nonprofits and artists into past shows, so it was a marriage waiting to happen. Still, like any relationship, both parties brought some of their own needs into the union. Both festival producer AC Entertainment and Forecastle captain J.K. McKnight had their own lists.

“We had to counteract it as well as blend in with it,” Hallahan says, suggesting it was about “half and half” when it came to how many performers the band selected. “We definitely had our pick of the Louisville bands and the regional bands, and I think they were picking more headliner (level) acts.”

What’s surprising is that this is My Morning Jacket’s first Forecastle. “We were always on tour,” he says. “It took 10 years, but …”

The band will have a fixed set time of two-and-a-half hours when headlining Forecastle on Saturday, so Hallahan laughs at the suggestion that the band might try to top their four-hour Bonnaroo 2008 set.

“The theme of this show, and this entire tour, is the Spontaneous Curation series,” where fan club members write in their wish list for songs they hope to hear. “It’s basically a set-list request line for (a) particular show. Honestly, we’ve received so much feedback for the Forecastle set, we could probably make 20 lists for that show.”

He laments that the Stax! Soul Revue, the all-star band of Memphis greats originally scheduled to play, had to cancel after the death of bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, but he’s excited to once again see his new friends in The Head and the Heart (“a fantastic live band”). He’s also curious, like many, to see how Beach House bring their subtle sound to a large, outdoor audience. And he’s in awe of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band: “That goes without saying. If you don’t have a smile on your face while they’re playing, you don’t have a heart.”

He goes on to praise others — Dr. Dog, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Justin Townes Earle, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires — displaying how thin the line between fan and star can be. “I haven’t seen King’s Daughters & Sons live yet, so I’m really looking forward to seeing them. I love everybody in that and have been a fan for years, and I love their album.” He also will be seeing ex-Jacket guitarist Johnny Quaid’s band The Ravenna Colt for the first time. “I’ll have rotten produce waiting for him,” he jokes.

It’s been a long, strange trip for Hallahan. His first “real” show in Louisville was circa 1995 at the Cardinal Inn. His band, Chocolate Jones and the Temple of Funk, opened for “probably Hedge” to a few dozen people “all on the perimeter, hanging out, waiting for Hedge to play,” Hallahan laughs. “We were doing our best Jesus Lizard rip-off we probably could, I think.”

Seventeen years later, even without a new album to promote, the drummer is pretty busy. The band just returned from a European tour, has more dates planned through the summer, and Hallahan will have to go out of his way to celebrate his daughter’s first birthday. It’s a big year, but he says, “I like a full plate.” It’s the 10th year for the festival, and Hallahan’s 10th year with the band, so “It’ll definitely be an emotional show for me.”

Photo by Danny Clinch.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Houndmouth’s big break

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The New Albany music scene scored a big breakthrough in 2012 when a brand new rock ’n’ soul quartet, Houndmouth, went from zero to 160 faster than Dale Earnhardt Jr. being chased by an angry ex-girlfriend.

In the summer of 2011, bassist Zak Appleby, drummer Shane Cody, guitarist Matt Myers, and keyboardist Katie Toupin (all of whom also sing) had not yet become a band, and neither Appleby nor Toupin were even playing their current instruments. Fast-forward one year, however, and the London-based Rough Trade Records label is set to release the band of 20-somethings’ first self-titled EP, which the band recorded in a studio they built here.

While their sound — organic, rootsy rock reminiscent of classic late ’60s acts like The Band — is in vogue thanks to bands like Mumford & Sons and Alabama Shakes, while not far removed from The Black Keys and Jack White’s no-frills solid rock, Houndmouth is a modern band that has capitalized on the Internet to find an audience, both here and far away.

They recruited a high school friend, Chris Thomas, as their manager. He sent their songs to a few blogs, and within a couple of months, people began discovering them. “It really just kind of snowballed with the blogs,” Toupin says.

“I was actually looking for a job online, and I got a text from Shane that said, ‘We got a blog write-up!’” Myers adds.

They’ve since opened in other cities for The Lumineers and Those Darlins, and will play both a Forecastle pre-fest show Thursday at Zanzabar and a Friday night slot at the festival. They hope to tour around the country and possibly in Europe in the fall and winter.

Ultimately, it was their music — performed live before an industry-heavy audience at South by Southwest in Austin last March — that made them.

“We met Geoff Travis from Rough Trade,” Toupin says, perhaps not fully aware yet that her new boss has been in the music business since before the band members were born, “and he loved it.” Rough Trade has also recently released albums by Arcade Fire, The Strokes, The Decemberists, Alabama Shakes, and My Morning Jacket, to name a few.

Travis had seen the band on the first night of the festival, and then left Bruce Springsteen’s keynote address early the next day to see the band again. They played that afternoon to “about 30 people,” (including a LEO reporter), and though Travis missed that set, he offered a contract.

While their shot at the big time seems to have happened overnight, all four have paid their dues over several years of playing everything (Motown covers, bluegrass, hardcore) to oft-empty rooms. “A lot of wineries” is how Myers efficiently sums up their early years, back when Appleby and Toupin were still guitarists.

And the name? It’s probably fitting, as it implies an earthy, hungry animal as well as being goofily meaningless. What began as a late-night remark by Cody has become their career.

Photo by Kevin P. McGloshen.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

John Timmons: After the X-tacy

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Don’t call it a retirement. At 56, John Timmons is no longer the ear X-tacy guy, but he’s still got a lot of years left, as well as bills left to pay from the beloved record store he owned and operated in the Highlands for 26 years.

These days, Timmons spends his time with family and friends, diving into Facebook, cooking, practicing guitar, and rediscovering the pure, simple joy of listening to music for pleasure. And though he’s truly resting and relaxing for the first time in years, he’s also working to discover a new identity.

He recently visited two new record stores, Astro Black and Matt Anthony’s Record Shop. Anthony had worked at ear X-tacy for a decade. “I was shoplifting,” Timmons jokes. “No, I bought some CDs. Trying to support some folks as best as I can.”

Timmons is now experiencing the normal fan’s dilemma of trying to support a local business when it doesn’t have the specific title the customer is looking to buy.

“The problem for me now is, where do I go to buy my music? Some of us from the store have been ordering from other indie stores (in other cities and online) … I prefer to buy as local as I can, but …”

At the end of 2011, when Timmons closed the store’s doors for the last time, he walked out into a world where AARP-eligible former small-business owners don’t have many options. “One of the hardest things was going from being there seven days a week to … nothing. Dealing with the aftermath of that, but — I need to be doing something.”

For the first time in his life, he had to prepare a résumé. “It was like, ‘OK, what have I done? Worked in record stores, worked in record stores, worked in record stores, owned a record store …’”

Though Timmons has had plenty of experience running a small company, he refuses to open another business. Ideally, a new job would be something easier but still fun. “The reason I stayed with the store for so long was that I felt passionate about it. I would want to do something music- or art-related. No physical labor,” he laughs.

This past spring, WFPK program director Stacy Owen contacted Timmons to gauge his interest in trying radio. Though he had dabbled many years ago, it remains a relatively untried field for the self-effacing Timmons. DJ Duke Meyer has been training Timmons, who now fills in for Meyer and others when needed.

Timmons also has an idea for his own weekend show, if the station is interested. But public radio doesn’t always pay the bills, and in addition to his personal obligations, there are still ear X-tacy issues to resolve — specifically, bills. “It’s gonna take a bit of time. They’re all gonna get paid … I feel worse about the local stuff, but some of them got paid, and then the accounts got on lock-down.”

Does he have a timeline for final payments? “No.” There are lawyers and accountants dealing with it, at this stage, but Timmons is firm that “local artists will get paid.” Most have been sympathetic, he says. Some, who are owed small amounts or can otherwise afford it, have even told him not to worry about it. A few have made their unhappiness known.

He’s aware of what people have said, online and otherwise.

“After closing the store, I can see it a lot clearer now, what it was when it was there,” he says. “As an owner, you see everything that’s wrong with it — how it can be better. Now I can stand back and certainly appreciate it and be proud of it … I can see how other people saw it, for better and for worse, but it’s nice to have people come up and say, ‘God, I miss that store.'"

“I miss the store every day … I miss a lot of things about it, but then again, there’s a lot I don’t miss.” He misses the community of it all. “The staff, and the people coming in. That’s what it was all about.”

Photo by Thomas DeLisle.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Clifton Center’s cultural kicks

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John Harris moved to Louisville from Dayton, Ohio, in 2010 to turn Clifton’s neighborhood events center into something a bit more global. As executive director of the Clifton Center, he wears many hats. The most visible and arguably most important is as the programmer of an ongoing series of concerts, movies, discussions, art, and whatever else is relevant to understanding and enjoying the culture of both native Louisvillians and the world outside.

“We think of it as a neighborhood facility, but it’s for everybody,” Harris says. “We’re not trying to attract (a) particular demographic — we’re trying to attract everybody that’s interested in experiencing new art and new music.”

The Lexington native and erstwhile French horn player moved around in his younger days, trying to find the perfect fit for his love of arts, culture and nonprofit work, including three years at Eastern Kentucky’s famed Appalshop. Harris attributes that experience to helping shape his view that “the arts can be in service to a great thing” beyond mere entertainment.

Next, on to Dayton, where he ran the Cityfolk program for seven years. There, he was able to begin to fully integrate traditional and ethnic arts — jazz, roots, world and other sometimes hard-to-define forms of music. “The idea was representing the cultural traditions of the people that lived in the community. But also, giving people a chance to experience the cultural traditions of others.”

Harris built a program there called Culture Builds Community, with artist residencies working in different neighborhoods. It began in an area filled with a large Appalachian population and grew to multiple areas, bringing music and art to underserved communities.

Harris and his wife, Natalie, “… liked Dayton a lot, but we said, ‘We’re not going to stay here forever.’” After his father died, he wanted to be closer to his mother in Lexington, “and it just so happened, we were in (Louisville) visiting some friends, and somebody said, ‘Oh, did you hear that so-and-so left the Coalition for the Homeless?’” Everyone turned to Natalie, who has worked with the homeless for many years.

Once in Louisville, “I saw this ad, and I thought, ‘Oh, that could be kind of interesting.’” The more he looked into the Clifton Center, the more interested he became.

Harris’ first Clifton concert featured Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and subsequent acts included soul star Bettye LaVette, bluegrass veteran Tim O’Brien, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, and Mali ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate, among others. The upcoming season so far includes the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, classical music from Brazil, and an “Africa to Appalachia” collaboration.

The plan is to expand, with more shows in more rooms, and more visual arts. “My idea is to position ourselves as a genre-less presenter,” Harris says. “We really believe in good music of all different kinds, and we think there are audiences for that. And it’s the kind of place that we want to be.”

Photo by Thomas DeLisle.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Lotus Plaza takes center stage

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Fans, fiancée and grandma inspire guitarist

Lockett Pundt of Atlanta is having a busy and happy period in his life. His day job, playing guitar for the influential psych-rock band Deerhunter, continues to go well for him, and it also has allowed him to release two records on the side as Lotus Plaza. The latest, Spooky Action at a Distance, was released in April and finds Pundt becoming more confident in his own songwriting abilities.

“Initially, I had no audience in mind — or an actual audience — so there was no expectation on myself to write in any certain way or to have any sort of standard to live up to,” says Pundt today, “so I did what I wanted and was satisfied with whatever the outcome may have been.”

Pundt, whose personal taste runs toward the fuzzy guitars and drawn-out, subtle grooves of the Krautrock and shoegaze sides of the indie rock world, says his motivation shifted and grew in importance as his bands took off. “People would tell us that we inspire them, musically, and in other aspects of their life. That’s huge. It sort of made me think more about what I was doing when I was writing, and how this could be translated to someone else’s writing or art of daily life.”

On Spooky Action, Pundt performed all the parts alone, but the songs were written to be performed live with a full band. His touring drummer usually plays guitar with other groups, and bassist T.J. Blake usually plays drums, adding to the unpredictability. “(Drummer) Frankie (Broyles) had played drums for Lotus Plaza in the first-ever live show along with Dan (Wakefield), the guitarist, so the two of them were up for doing it again. Allen (Taylor), who plays synths in the band, already had a background in playing electronic music and a familiarity with synths and how to use them, so it was perfect.”

Pundt is also inspired by the women in his life. His fiancée, Shayda Yavari, is also his partner in yet another band, Nice Weekend. “She’s the mind behind the operation,” he says. “She tells me how she wants the song to sound or the feeling it should have, and I try to get there.” Pundt finds a sound that she responds to, and she then develops vocal melodies around that sound. “There’s no expectations other than to make something that we like.”

Spooky Action was dedicated to his grandmother, Doris Fields, about whom Pundt says, “She was one of the most amazing people I’ll ever know. I’m biased, of course, but I think everyone who knew her would agree … I always felt at such ease in her company. She was one of those people that always seemed so peaceful inside, and it rubbed off on me when I was around her. It’s hard to find that kind of stillness and contentment.”

Taste Test:

LEO: Spiritualized or Spectrum?
LP: Probably Spectrum. I love a lot of Spiritualized songs, but Spectrum is more my thing.

LEO: Emperor Tomato Ketchup or Dots and Loops?
LP: I heard Dots and Loops first, and it was the first of their albums that I really dug in to, but I like the songs on Emperor better. There is so much energy on that album.

LEO: Roxy or solo Eno?
LP: Roxy Music, for sure. A few years ago, I’d had said Eno, but Roxy Music only gets better every time I listen to them.

Lotus Plaza
with Natives and Hollow Stars
Saturday, July 7
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St.
zanzanbarlousiville.com
$8 adv., $10 DOS; 9 p.m.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Janiva Magness: How strong can she get?

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Janiva Magness is just another word(s) for nothing left to lose. The Detroit native lost both parents to suicide as a teen, lived on the streets and in foster care for a while, and gave up her own child for adoption — all before she was an adult. Last year, her marriage of 17 years ended, and she lost several people close to her around the same time. Good thing she already had the blues, and gets paid for having them.

Stronger for It is her latest album, the 10th in a career that has spanned almost three decades. Magness co-wrote three songs for the new collection, pairing them with well-curated covers of songs by Grace Potter, Shelby Lynne, Buddy and Julie Miller, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Matthew Sweet, Ike Turner, and — most boldly — Tom Waits, a vocalist most wouldn’t try to tackle.

Though she’s overcome many hardships in life, there was still one more hurdle left for this vocalist and acclaimed interpreter. “I’ve been very frightened by the idea of songwriting,” she says. “It’s one of the standout things, to me, about the new record, is that there’s some original material on it.”

Magness has accepted help from others, in personal and professional ways, through the years, and therapy has helped her understand herself. “I’ve had legions of help to … basically get (myself) out of the way, you know?”

It’s even helped her understand her fear of songwriting. “Songwriting is another level of vulnerability. And it also has to do with the fact that I was married to a very, very prolific songwriter for 17 years. And I just didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to venture into that part of the muse.”

Eventually, Magness took up the pen and started writing, perhaps just to prove she could do it. “It’s so not much that, it’s more becoming willing to try,” she admits. “I don’t know if that makes sense or not, but to become willing to try was the biggest thing that I had to traverse in myself. There’s fear of failure, and then there’s fear of success (laughs). Right? When it came to the songwriting, I came to that pretty reluctantly … I feel very, very fortunate to work with my producer, Dave Darling. He’s really, really talented.”

Magness focused on wri-ting lyrics, and Darling wrote music, but helped with lyrics when Magness needed a push. “Although, usu-ally, the cadence of the lyric makes itself known. The music is written based around that.”

Her taste in other people’s songs shows how wide her reach is, and though her numerous blues awards and association with Alligator Records have labeled her as a blues singer, she’s also a soul powerhouse, winning over fans like Mavis Staples and Bettye LaVette.

Magness has lived in Los Angeles since 1986. In some ways, life has gotten easier. “I love the weather, I’m completely ruined by it. Forget sub-zero, snow-blowing temperatures. There’s a lot to love … I live not too far from the water, which is wonderful for me. There’s a great energy that’s out here.”

There’s a lot of everything out there, including a vibrant roots-music scene. “There’s an artistic community out here, believe it or not … There’s no shortage of exceptional musicians.”

When I reached her by phone last week and asked her thoughts about coming back to Louisville, she quickly displayed her down-to-earth perspective.

“Always glad to be workin’,” she says with a wry laugh. “I think Louisville’s a great town … In my experience, the people there are really into the music. And I always, always appreciate that.

“I have this life where, what I do, I have the deepest passion for that. Playing music. Singing songs. I have the best band ever, basically … I love, love, love my job. I get to travel around the world, singing songs with this stellar band. People frequently applaud. And somebody hands me money after that. I just think that that’s wild. I think it’s completely insane — in every good way.”

Janiva Magness with Li’l T&A
Thursday, July 5
Uncle Slayton’s
1017 E. Broadway
uncleslaytons.com
$15 adv., $18 DOS; 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Kevin Umlauf

c. 2012 LEO Weekly