Forecastle feast

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Ahoy, maties, it’s Forecastle Festival time once again on the good ship Waterfront Park and … man, it’s hard to talk like a pirate for too long. How did Johnny Depp do it? Something else that’s hard to do: keep up with all the music being presented over three relatively quick days.

With a couple handfuls of major headliners, it’s easy to know what to do at night — but what’s the best way to plan your days if you don’t know all about each of the 55 acts? If this was a final exam, could you pull off an A or a B? Or would you fail and miss what could have been your favorite moments?

Though we at LEO were, overall, surprisingly non-awesome students in a structured environment, we’re here now to help you make the grade. These are just a few suggestions; if you’ve never heard of the Flaming Lips before, you might want to check them out, too.

FRIDAY

On the first day, what some might even call a “work day,” the gods of music are only offering 15 acts (with 20 to come on each weekend day).

The Pimps of Joytime (5:15-6 p.m.): Get off the clock and on the good foot with these New Orleans-via-Brooklyn high steppin’ funk fanatics. Whether you’re old school or just like dancing, this is guaranteed fun.

inc. (6:15-7 p.m.): Part of the recent wave of alternative soul that’s more subtle and textured than the “New Jack” era, this duo of actual brothers will have to prove they can recreate their sounds in a busy outdoor environment.

Night Beds (7-7:45 p.m.): Singer-songwriter Winston Yellen leads an evocative group who channel songs he’s written over the past half-decade (starting at 18). Now signed by the folks who brought Bon Iver and The Tallest Man on Earth to wider audiences, catch Night Beds tonight and brag later.

SATURDAY

Alasdair Roberts & Friends (2:15-2:45 p.m.): This Scottish folk singer is the real deal as far as roots music goes. In fact, his appearance at this festival is downright punk rock, as he stands alone in genre here. Roberts and Will Oldham collaborated on a CSN-type project with the late Jason Molina once, when we were all younger.

Foxygen (3:45-4:45 p.m.): This indie-glam rock band has been playing buzzed-about shows all year, though they’ve canceled some recent dates, having pushed themselves too hard. Stop by and show your support.

Nosaj Thing (7-8 p.m.): Electro soundscaper Jason Chung came up in the L.A. hip-hop underground but has expanded his sound, and a crossover appearance by Toro y Moi is likely at his set.

SUNDAY

Bombino (2-3 p.m.): Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach produced the second album by this North African blues-trance guitarist. Rock and world music fans alike will be air guitaring together — we are the world!

Tennis (2:45-3:45 p.m.): Breezy pop that sounds about right for an exhausted Sunday afternoon.

El-P & Killer Mike (4:30-5:30 p.m.): The “Run the Jewels” pair is made up of two of the fiercest rappers around and has been on a roll over the past couple of years together.

c. 2013 LEO Weekly

TMI (Tour Manager Information)

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You’ve met the four musicians who perform as Houndmouth. Now, meet their tour manager. “You would think being in a band is as simple as showing up to a venue, setting up your instruments and playing a gig,” says Jason Gwin, “but that is only scratching the surface of what goes into these huge productions.”

He says the band’s daily schedule roughly follows this routine:
9 a.m.: Lobby call
10 a.m.: Breakfast
11 a.m.: Hit the road
4:30 p.m.: Load-in
5 p.m.: Soundcheck

LEO: What do you do?

Jason Gwin: My daily duties are very detailed-oriented, mainly because each day on tour you have to follow a strict schedule. I get all of the contacts from each venue and the other bands we are touring with. I contact them to give a heads-up on advance details of the show: load-in, soundcheck, the time of the show and tons of other information important for making a show happen. I will take all of this information and compile it into the tour book that helps plan out our entire tour.

LEO: What’s the most fun for you?

JG: Routing the tour is always the most fun part. I map out our trip from show to show … if you are in New York City and your next show is in Toronto, the next day, that is a nine-hour drive. I will have to make the call to drive a couple hours after the show that night, get a hotel, and then drive the rest of the way the next day in order to make load-in.

Another job as a TM is getting in touch with the immigration folks in other countries to get work permits. That makes crossing the border a lot smoother. The first time we went to Canada, I had no idea you needed all this information. We got stopped for over an hour … now, when I see we have a stop in Canada, I will get that paperwork lined up immediately to avoid the fiasco we encountered our first time.

LEO: What’s the worst part of the job?

JG: When you get down to it, the job of being a TM is to take all the stressful elements of touring off of the band, letting them only worry about playing their show each night. I would be lying if I said being a TM is not stressful; drive a van and trailer around New York City for an hour looking for parking and let me know what you think. This job is not for everyone. It is a seven-days-a-week job, and you can be gone from home for weeks, maybe even months.

In the past year, I have been more places than some people will go in their entire life. I am very grateful for that, and also very grateful to have the opportunity to work with Houndmouth. At the end of the day, I am not only their tour manager but also a huge fan of them as musicians and as people, which makes me feel good to be involved in any way I can with their continued success.

c. 2013 LEO Weekly

Old and new again

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A new club emerges in a familiar location

Hunter Embry and Dave Chale aren’t quite veterans of the music scene yet. In fact, Embry, a 25-year-old booker and promoter, is surely one of the youngest club owners around, now that his New Vintage partnership with soundman/engineer Chale has gone from a regular showcase at other clubs to a fixed-address business with monthly bills to pay.

The pair started booking bands at the St. Matthews bar ZaZoo’s two years ago. They did well enough to expand to a new club in New Albany, Dillinger’s, and realized they could do it on their own. In fact, Embry was so confident that, in the time between receiving the keys to their new venue on May 1 and opening night — May 29 — he got married and went on his honeymoon.

Embry returned to a pretty much revitalized club just in time for an opening “12 Days of Music” celebration, putting their vision on display. Though the New Vintage is located just down the street from Zanzabar, at the former Uncle Pleasant’s location on Preston Street, Embry’s taste runs more to the traditional — vintage, one might say — sounds of blues and classic rock.

Zanzabar’s owners encouraged him to join them to make the block even more of a destination. Crossover nights are being planned, though nothing is official yet. It’s a good balance for the neighborhood; while Zanzabar books underground bands and up-to-the-minute DJs, the New Vintage is now featuring ragtime piano during happy hour on Wednesdays. At the same time, the Vintage is already the place to see hip-hop acts like Nappy Roots, and nights of cutting-edge bands also appear on their calendar.

They were alone in the St. Matthews bar scene, booking younger and hipper bands than their neighbors. “Some of our friends were, like, ‘Man, I can’t afford to get a DUI,’” Embry laughs about the longer drive some faced after nights of rock ’n’ roll. Chale and Embry considered NuLu for a new location early on, but both live in Germantown and are happier closer to home.

The building was already set up to be a venue, with an interesting history going back a few decades. It holds 333 — larger than ZaZoo’s and Zanzabar, but less than half of Headliners. The new owners have displayed old Uncle P’s signs inside as a tribute, and traces also remain on the façade as licenses get straightened out. A new patio is being added to the back; food service will be added later. “We ran through the budget too fast,” Embry admits.

It’s all part of the learning curve. Embry estimates he works at least 60 hours a week. His wife is used to his schedule, and now he can see her more often for dinner. They’ve been together since they were high school freshmen, he says, making the timing of their wedding even more notable. “When it rains, it pours.”

Photo by Ron Jasin.

c. 2013 LEO Weekly