Wednesday, July 04, 2012

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