Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Weird pals

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Underground music weekend continues to surprise

For its third year, the annual Cropped Out festival of underground music and culture has added some star power. Well, if you consider Jandek, Neil Hamburger, Lil B, Eugene Chadbourne, Chain and the Gang, David Liebe Hart, or R. Stevie Moore to be “stars.”

And they are indeed stars to a small but fiercely dedicated group of fans of new sounds and ideas. That group includes festival founders James Ardery and Ryan Davis, musicians and concert bookers who have been friends since second grade in Louisville. The pair decided to apply their collective knowledge — earned here, on the road, and through Ardery’s time in Brooklyn — toward organizing their dream line-up.

“I can’t say how surprised I am that we got all these people on the same bill,” Ardery says.

It’s an unruly collection of noise guitarists, young punks and weird old folk, one especially unique rapper, and a popular anti-comedian. And much more.

They named their operation to represent the bands, and the fans, “to turn heads toward the talents of those often omitted, overlooked, or cropped out of ‘the big picture,’” as their manifesto states.

“The whole idea with Cropped Out isn’t simply to just weird people out. That’s definitely part of the aesthetic, and part of the fun,” Davis says.

They see it as a chance to introduce music fans to some new favorites — acts you might love, who haven’t yet had the same degree of promotion or distribution as some of your other favorites. It’s a diverse line-up, and while not all are easy to digest, there’s something for many.

Cropped Out uses Facebook, Twitter and other such sites for promotion, but also goes door-to-door, passing out flyers and explaining themselves to interested parties. They’ve sold the idea to bands and fans they’ve met in other cities while on tour, and even popped up with a table at NuLu’s Flea Off Market.

The duo hope to continue establishing Cropped Out as “a brand name that people can trust,” Davis notes, “so that when someone buys a ticket for one of our shows, he or she may not necessarily be familiar with the music, but is just as excited about rolling the dice and embracing something both fresh and foreign.”

Both agree that Merchandise, a dream-pop band from Tampa, and Guerilla Toss, a punky yet oddly funky band from Boston, are two of the bands to seek out this weekend.

When asked how they explain the focus of the festival to those otherwise unfamiliar with the acts featured, Ardery replies, “I’ve actually thought long and hard about this. I think that when people describe the festival as ‘weird,’ that’s true and accurate. But I think the festival embodies being a platform for people to hear bands they’ve never heard of before.”

Davis says, “While most festivals book bigger-name bands in hopes of catering to crowds of people with a preconceived desire to see them, we tend to book musicians whom a lot of people probably don’t know, but to whom we think more people should be exposed.”

Ardery sees people look at their fliers and turn away from “a bunch of names they don’t recognize.” He is confident, though, that word of mouth will continue to deliver more converts to their flock. “Typically, what I hear is ‘There were a lot of bands I didn’t know about … but the show was really good.’”

Cropped Out Festival
Sep. 28-30
American Turners
3125 River Road
croppedoutmusic.com
Various prices and times

Pictured: Merchandise

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

Chamber maids

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JC Denison formed what became the sprawling, 15-piece modern classical band known as Another 7 Astronauts as a way to explore composing music he enjoyed but didn’t often get to play.

As a drummer with Lucky Pineapple, Invaders, and Cheyenne Marie Mize, Denison earned a strong reputation for his percussive prowess. Now, in collaboration with another former Pineapple, trombonist Dan Moore, it’s led to a new album from A7A titled The Golden Autumn & the Afternoon.

“I usually will try to write the rhythmic idea first,” Denison says. “Getting into a lot of the modern classic stuff I’ve been into, a lot of it is very propulsive — that Phillip Glass/Steve Reich stuff is really energetic, and a lot of it’s fast. A lot of it moves. It’s minimal music, so it moves to get to a point.”

The collection is a loose concept album tied together by ideas about movement. It’s an idea that has, on a parallel track, led Denison to make his own travel plans — he will move to Chicago next month. First, though, there’s a record release show for The Golden Autumn Thursday at The Mammoth.

The album was recorded over a three-day period in December 2010 at Kevin Ratterman’s Funeral Home studio. The easiest part was keeping the musicians occupied, says Denison. “We did most of it live with everybody. There were points where we were stretched between three different floors of the Funeral Home — that was pretty amazing.

“That was why it worked. We knew we had a limited amount of time to get a lot of people in a small place to record … It was a challenge, (and) it was fun. We got a keg of beer and a bunch of food, just so nobody had the urge to leave before we got it down,” he laughs. “I think that worked out well. We had a great time. It was one of the more memorable weekends of my life, for sure.”

Photo by Michael C. Powell

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

album review: Interstates

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Interstates
3=4
(SELF-RELEASED)



Dig, if you will, a picture. Because not only is that all an all-instrumental band can provide, but that’s precisely the intent of such soundscape specialists like Interstates. 3=4 is a conceptual work, it seems: the first three pieces are set in autumn; four and five in winter; spring lasts from six through eight; and, finally, we spend the last seven minutes in summertime (always feels longer, though, doesn’t it?). Bandleader/drummer/railroad conductor Alex O’Nan (ex-Of Asaph, The Shining Path) knows his percussive sounds well, as anyone with such a percussive day job should, and the guitars/bass/drums band is augmented here with delicate keyboards, twinkling bells and helpful horns. As these bands go, Interstates has evolved into a welcome successor to The Photographic’s cinematic, climactic shoes, and 3=4 is one to seek out.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly