When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object

"JK" is online slang for "Just Kidding", but Forecastle Festival Captain JK McKnight wasn't kidding when he told me that he didn't want me to attend his concert this year. He was angry because, in a critical assessment of this year's bands that I wrote, I praised 25 of the bands, was ambivalent about 7 of them, and negative about 7 of them.
Louisville is a smaller and usually more forgiving market than Chicago or Nashville, so his underwhelming festival attempt still drew plenty of generic media coverage from the Courier-Journal, Velocity, LEO, WFPK and other media outlets, free of charge.
Most promoters, and humans, realize that criticism is part of life, and especially part of putting yourself out there in the public eye. Just Kidding McKnight apparently believes that he should be held to a different standard. I did a similar critical review of every band playing at Louisville's Terrastock Festival this summer.

Co-director Erica Rucker commented on this site, "I tended to like your reviews of Terrastock bands, and you were equally as honest... A review is a critique and does not have to be positive." She also dismissed McKnight's reaction as "childish".
Instead of continuing our conversation, Just Kidding declined to reply to me, and took his case to a freelance blogger. He chose a self-described "journalist" who printed Just Kidding's side of the story without contacting me to get my side of the story.
In his comments, Just Kidding accused me of having a "personal vendetta" against him and the festival, when, in fact, I've never met him, have attended the festival for the past two years and wrote about it for a piece in Spin magazine. Just Kidding continues to use a quote from that Spin issue on the Forecastle website to this day - he doesn't give me credit on his site, or mention it in his one-sided interview, either.

Just Kidding also said that my "narrow musical tastes" resulted in the tone of the piece. Here are some excerpts from what I wrote:
- Spank Rock's 2006 debut, "YoYoYoYoYo," was the best hip-hop album of the decade
- Pomegranates: Instant-classic sounding indie rock from Cincinnati that should sound perfect on a summer Saturday afternoon.
- Extra Golden: Do you like Kenyan music but wish it could be fused with Chicago post-rock?... This is an international cross-pollination that doesn't come around often, so don't miss a musical experience of a lifetime.
- Catfish Haven: This oddly soulful rock band only needs to be heard to increase its fanbase. It would take a cold, dark heart to not be impressed by the genuine feeling, talent and dedication.
- The Del McCoury Band: One of the greatest bluegrass bands in existence today graces us with its beautiful vocalizing, harmonizing and amazing musicianship.

Boy, my musical taste sure is narrow, huh?

Just Kidding went on to say that I "ignored the fact that the bands featured were successful." Coldplay is successful, sure - but have YOU heard of Z-Trip? (For clarification, I have, but I'm a music critic). The GZA's fairly successful - even my mother has heard of the Wu-Tang Clan - but are the Disco Biscuits that successful? Ekoostik Hookah? The Del McCoury Band is tremendously successful in the bluegrass world, for example, but I bet Alison Krauss has a bigger house. Is one more "successful" than the other? On what terms? I think we should consider that "successful" might be a relative concept.

"Z-Trip, for example, is the godfather of electronic music," McKnight said. "The article just shows the writer's ignorance, and it's an embarrassment to him and the publisher."

Jason Clark is a DJ who spun at the festival this year. He commented on TheVilleVoice.com, "As an electronic music nerd I have to point out that the 'godfather of electronic music' title probably belongs to Karlheinz Stockhausen, or maybe Robert Moog. The 'godfather of techno' title usually belongs to Juan Atkins. Z-trip, while putting on a great DJ set at Forecastle this weekend, is decades behind being coined a 'godfather' in the electronic music world."

An unfortunately anonymous commenter added, "I would also add Carl Craig or Derrick May (both guys who helped establish the Detroit techno scene and sound that became extremely influential). I wouldn't have said Z-Trip is the godfather; that's just not true. Hell, you could say Brian Eno is much more a godfather to electronic music then Z-Trip."

So, who's ignorant and an embarrassment?

Rucker added on TheVilleVoice.com, "A festival is a collaboration of so many flavors and tastes. There is no way to please everyone fully. We were simply stoked to have the amount of coverage we got... My thought on this whole issue (as someone who's been through a similar experience) is that you take your criticism and either use it or forget about it... It isn't going to kill you. The worst thing to do is to try to control your event so much that it loses the ability to have a life of its own."

Furthermore, "The decision to 'un-invite' the writer probably should have been a non-starter. Firstly because, it makes the un-inviter seem sour. Also while Mr. Berkowitz initially did not find some of the bands as intriguing as JK might, he may have been open to seeing them and forming a different opinion of some (and even writing some followup). Further, asking him or any other writer not to attend creates a communication breakdown in an area where most festivals or other events really like to have an opening. Having the press willing to work with you (regardless of the opinion expressed) is usually helpful. In regards to criticism, someone somewhere said it best... essentially the comment was to use the criticism to become better. It doesn't mean you cater to the needs of any one specific audience and it also doesn't mean that you diversify so much as to lose your original intent. It simply means that perhaps there is an area that could be improved. Perhaps it is the scope of the thing that is out of proportion to the talent level. Bigger does not mean better. Plus the higher the overhead the greater the possibility of serious financial loss. Quality should always win over quantity in the area of music and experience."

I obviously didn't go this year, but in 2007 the tobacco company American Spirits was a sponsor. In exchange, they were given a booth in the Activism section. I wasn't clear on how tobacco = activism, and I didn't get a chance to ask Robert Kennedy, Jr., but in 2007 I did walk by the 15-year-old sister of a friend who was smoking. I'm sure she was more excited to see Girl Talk in concert than American Spirits; she appeared to be smoking a Marlboro.

Local musician Justin Davis commented on TheVilleVoice.com, "Having been a part of multiple Forecastle Fests, I can honestly say that I miss the days when it was a local/regional arts event nestled in Tyler Park. There were no egos. No one got paid. If JK is unable to take criticism as he attempts to gain wider recognition for his festival, he's in for a world of disappointment."

Speaking of not getting paid, some photographers have an issue about not getting paid by Forecastle that they had to address. Just Kidding at least responded to them, unlike me, whom he ignored.

One reason why I love Louisville is that it's not Los Angeles.

I lived in the latter for almost 8 years, working as a product buyer at the Rhino Records store during the days and performing stand-up comedy at night. Yes, for several years, I got up in front of strangers, peers and the entertainment industry on a constant basis and was judged by them. I know what it's like to be criticized, and I know that the only way to improve your performance is to listen to professionals who might have some perspective - and who might not be your mother. I'm not a failed or frustrated musician - I'm a music fan, I'm a writer, and sometimes I'm funny, but I was not a good stand-up comedian at all. I wasn't the worst - those are the ones who, literally, haven't taken their meds, or are people trying to be a comic for that one month in their life before they realize that it's a lot harder to do than it looks. I was average, at best, and no one needs an average comedian. I killed in front of Larry David one night, and I bombed in front of David Cross one night; I spent many nights in the company of people like Zach Galifianakis and Patton Oswalt, ten years before you'd ever heard of them. They saw me do well, do OK and do horribly. I made Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years laugh one night, and then scared her when I tried to talk to her afterwards. I did decently in front of the head of casting at NBC, but she never called me in for a meeting. Remember Seinfeld? Sure. Remember Berkowitz? Not so much...

It seems to me that some people in Louisville don't know what it's like to be criticized. I guess some have never had to go through it before. Forecastle's never been successful enough to be on the national radar. The Courier-Journal, Velocity, LEO, WFPK, television news shows, etc. - all have pretty much just gone along and given them free press because, hey, we're nice people! It's not like there's much else going on during that weekend! Neither I nor anyone else at Velocity intended to "go after" Forecastle, but if you want a music critic to discuss your concert and pretend like it's perfect, pretend like the Disco Biscuits are as good an act as the Del McCoury Band or Extra Golden... well, that's just as deluded as telling a journalist "don't come" as a "personal favor to me" and expecting that his newspaper might not ignore your festival next year.
That is, if your festival can afford to return next year.

When I moved back here from L.A., I felt like I'd been released from prison. Here, people are a lot nicer. It's not just a cliche. They just don't need to use you, screw you over and ignore you like they do there. It's cheaper to live, it's prettier, and we have a much better local music community. I've spent a lot of time and energy promoting Louisville music. I do this, I write for the Velocity print edition, and I've also written for LEO, Bejeezus, and as I mentioned, I briefly wrote for Spin about Louisville music. When I ran the Old Louisville Coffeehouse, I booked 130 concerts between November 2005 and Decemeber 2006, until one cranky neighbor shut it down. That's 3 shows per week for 13 months, while simultaneously running a failing business for 14 hours a day, 7 days a week.
And this guy thinks his job is hard?

Is it possible that after 7 years, booking 39 bands this year, getting headliners like Ekoostik Hookah, The Disco Biscuits and The GZA for a music festival in 2008 while attracting what people say was less than 1,000 ticket-buying attendees while Coachella draws 55,000 people and Bonnaroo thrills 70,000 people... is it possible that something just isn't being done right? Just Kidding speaks loudly and often of his dream to land U2 and Pearl Jam as Forecastle headliners. You tell me, Louisville, because I clearly haven't done my homework... are we there yet?

Can we maybe focus on improving what we already have, Louisville? Or do we need to get a new captain, to build a new ship?



c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

Nautical Fox bio

Louisville, Kentucky –

In the middle of the United States of America, in the uncertain days ever since Jaws hit the big screens, people have come to learn that anything can happen. Anyone who's had to drive for a few hours at a time can tell you that there's a lot of land out there, but we don't know how those people live. Or why, quite frankly. The land of bluegrass, and post-rock, indie rock, alt-country, progressive jazz, blue-collar metal and middle-class hardcore continues to surprise with sounds and smells unexpected from the city kind of next to Nashville. Nautical Fox, an atmospheric, British-feeling duo formed from Louisville's jazz and hardcore scenes, is the latest such surprise.

Ethereal, post-Factory scene groups like the Cocteau Twins and Lush come to mind, as well as otherworldly PMS-diva Kate Bush, with a subtle undercoat of experimental pop expats Scott Walker and Talk Talk buried close to the surface. Neither Kinghorse nor Slint come to mind as influences at any time, try as one might.

Patrick D. Hume and Amber Estes met in college and then began collaborating. Pat got his start as a bass player at age 13, and has been a member of the Louisville bands Lords (bass) and Piss Alley (bass). He has never played with My Morning Jacket. He switched to guitar recently. He currently is a member of Brain Banger (guitar).

Amber's background in music performance is more along the lines of the jazz scene. The singing started at age 3. The dentistry never started. Her Louisville bands include Liberation Prophecy, The Sandpaper Dolls and The Todd Hildreth Trio. She is also currently working with Rachel's.

Nautical Fox was born from the desire to explore an acoustic/ folk/ pop/ experimental sound. Each song is written in such a way that it can be stripped down to 2 members in a performance situation, while also leaving room for additional members when possible.

Other band members are on rotation and include: Josh Jacob (bass), Jason Lawrence (drums), Jeremy McMonigle (drums), Kyle Neumann (drums).

-The 5 song demo includes the following tracks:
1. "HH3-1"
2. "Part III: The Mountain"
3. "14th Century Prison Cell"
4. "Dark Day"
5. "Disappear"

http://www.myspace.com/nauticalfox
nauticalfox@gmail.com

Bio authored by Peter Berkowitz in collaboration with Amber & Pat.

Sometimes a Fantasy

What do Louisville's librarians think about Jim James' ode to sexy bookworms on the new My Morning Jacket disc?

Who hasn't had a librarian fantasy? Jim James sure has.

The My Morning Jacket singer has an ode to the librarian on Evil Urges, in which he describes how a simple little bookworm morphs into a sexy librarian just by taking off her glasses and letting down her hair. (Hey, in our librarian fantasies, the glasses stay on. But that's neither here nor there.)

In the song, James imagines this librarian listening to the Carpenters low on an AM radio in a nearly vacant library. "Since we got the Interweb, these hardly get used," he sings about the stacks of books. But then he spies her: "So I watch you thru the bookcase... You and I at dinner, spending time, then to sleep."

What do actual librarians make of having a rock star intrigued by them? We walked across the courtyard, toward the Louisville library.

Natalie Thompson, 28
"It's about time somebody recognized. A boy put it on a mixtape for me. It was pretty cute. It kinda makes me swoon."

Rainey Wyatt, 28
"I think it's nice that they're celebrating librarians. I don't think it quite encompasses everything about a librarian, though. It fits that stereotype - either you're bookish or you're a sexy librarian, nothing more."

Beth Nahenski, 45
"My husband and I were at the Nachbar a few weekends ago, and we saw it on the jukebox. I said, 'I wonder what that sounds like?' It was pretty funny. My husband's a librarian, also. But it didn't sound like they were singing to him. (laughs) Something about 'putting your hair down'? A few stereotypes there... Actually, I loved the song. I like My Morning Jacket."

James "J.J." Jackson, 58
"For me, it probably wouldn't (relate). I'm definitely not stereotypical. I, myself, since I'm not the quote-unquote typical librarian, I break the mold. As I grew up, that was the mold - you know, they had the bun on the head, pencil in their hair, telling people 'shhh!' (Today) it's much different."


Photos.com

c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

How to lose a lot of money in an hour or less

Today's Ville Voice has this report on the Forecastle Festival that founder JK McKnight asked me not to attend this weekend:

"It has (sic) hot and sticky, so the 300 or so fans who had come to listen to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak at the Forecastle Festival were trying to stay cool, but they weren't missing a minute of the impassioned environmentalist's speech."

This is why Captain JK got upset, BTW.

The capacity at Headliners Music Hall is 700 people so, any time you go see, say, Wax Fang, you're probably surrounded by twice as many people as that.

Meanwhile, on Saturday night I was thrilled to attend a unique and wonderful Bonnie 'Prince' Billy concert in a field that also had 300 friendly people in attendance. Tickets were limited to 300 because it was a private residence.

Below, you can spot me next to - ironically - Lebowski Fest co-founder Will Russell!



c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

At the Forefront

Every stage, every act, everything you need to know about the music that will be made at Forecastle

We asked Peter Berkowitz to check out every band and artist appearing at the festival. Here's his report:

FRIDAY

Jamili Brown
5 p.m.
A seven-piece local band that cites in its press materials influences like "Outkast. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Neptunes. Tupac. Eagles." Still unclear? "JB loves to showcase their influences in cover songs ranging from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to The Beatles to 2Pac to The Eagles."

Code Red
6 p.m.
One of the best hip-hop crews in a town, even if national fame has eluded them. Code Red has worked hard for a few years to get heard. Show 'em some respect.

DJ 2nd Nature
7 p.m.
Forecastle's website brags that this Atlantan is ranked the "4 VJ in the world by DJ Mag." That probably makes him better than Dave Kendall, but not as good as Matt Pinfield. I just hope he's a Republican virgin!

Devlin and Darko of Spank Rock
8 p.m.
Spank Rock's 2006 debut, "YoYoYoYoYo," was the best hip-hop album of the decade, but rapper Naeem Juwan won't be part of the performance this time. Spank Rock without him is like Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant, but if you like dancing to people playing records, this will still be one of the better sets.

Del the Funkee Homosapien
9 p.m.
In the early '90s, few would have suspected that Del would last this long. He's too playful, too weird -- not gangsta enough, not sex-obsessed enough, not interested in the charts. These qualities and a well-developed flow (he provides the raps for the Gorillaz), have brought him fans and kept him afloat.

GZA
10 p.m.
Forecastle's 97-percent middle-class Caucasian audience has loved the Wu Tang Clan for years. The chance to see a member in person doesn't happen in Louisville very often. (Method Man already canceled.) Let's hope that the fourth-most-popular (living) member actually shows up.

SATURDAY

WEST STAGE

Go Van Gogh
Noon
With a name like that, it's got to be good. But it's not, unless you like the over-heated frat rock heard in every miserable college town.

Pomegranates
1 p.m.
Instant-classic sounding indie rock from Cincinnati that should sound perfect on a summer Saturday afternoon. Like the ad says, "Not too hard, not too soft … just right." Bring your girlie with you, she'll probably want to make out.

Morning State
2 p.m.
Four very young men from Atlanta/Athens, their classic approach to pop-rock blends the Shins, Phantom Planet and Foreigner in a stew that is crowd-pleasing and surprisingly athletic.

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
3 p.m.
Being the best band in Indianapolis isn't really that awesome, so it's great to see Margot et al. getting discovered all over the country. This catchy, literate pop should be on the top of the charts and pouring out of everyone's hoopties all summer.

Film School
4 p.m.
I don't like untruths, so it pisses me off to see "featuring ex-member of Pavement" in the press materials for Film School. It's correct that a member (Scott Kannberg) played on their 2001 record, but that's it. He's not in the band. Anyway, speaking of the past, did you know that shoegazer bands still exist?

Snowden
5 p.m.
A groove-based Atlanta rock band from the indie world that isn't "dance punk" and isn't a mopey wannabe Joy Division ripoff. Can you really dance to a indie-rock band? Yes! See you there.

Extra Golden
6 p.m.
Do you like Kenyan music but wish it could be fused with Chicago post-rock? Well, brother, come on down! Long story short, this is an international cross-pollination that doesn't come around often, so don't miss a musical experience of a lifetime.

Tortoise
7 p.m.
The fact that this Chicago group, which in the mid-'90s smashed rock, jazz, lounge and modern classical music together and shaped a sound that has since influenced thousands, is opening for a jam band called the Disco Biscuits says everything that is wrong about music festivals.

Z-Trip
8 p.m.
While some might say that this gimmicky L.A.-based DJ (and Tommy Lee pal) peaked in 2001, he recently went to Kuwait with Carlos Mencia, Jessica Simpson and the Pussycat Dolls, so who am I to judge?



The Disco Biscuits
10 p.m.
Didn't this junk go out in 1994? They sound like the soundtrack to a bad movie on Cinemax about robots. I don't see how anyone who isn't an 8-year-old boy could possibly like this. I mean, do you like horrible, lazy, self-satisfied jam bands? Then you'll probably like this. But you shouldn't.

EAST STAGE

All We Seabees
12:30 p.m.
Folk-based indie rock from Nashville. Which means one of them probably waited on you the last time you ate in a restaurant in Hillsboro Village.

The Seedy Seeds
1:30 p.m.
A duo from Cincinnati who are cute cute cute! (Stay away if you don't like cute.)

D.W. Box and One Long Song
2:30 p.m.
A theatrical local who is somewhere between Broadway and Diamanda Galas. (In other words, best enjoyed at night, indoors or perhaps in the woods.)

Unwed Sailor
3:30 p.m.
Epic instrumental/cinematic big idea music from a collective now based in Lawrence, Kan.

Prizzy Prizzy Please
4:30 p.m.
Well, it's not the worst name you'll hear all weekend. If you're ready to have fun and let some wild kids get all crazy, these Bloomington goofballs would like nothing else. They will spazz their noise all over your ch'i.

People Noise
5:30 p.m.
One of these guys was in VHS or Beta for 10 years. You figure it out. They don't sound like John Mellencamp.

SUNDAY

WEST STAGE

The Giving Tree Band
12:30 p.m.
A group that fell asleep at Woodstock and just woke up. Their blend of rural folk, bluegrass, and old timey country is as fresh and pure as their "environmentally friendly music" and "a band that rocks green" mottos are illogical. (What, did you walk here from Chicago?)

Arnett Hollow
1:30 p.m.
Locals grounded in bluegrass (and, perhaps, a bit of extra rock 'n' roll energy) who began from a concept - a bluegrass "opera"? - and can be seen regularly at bars around town. And proud we are of all of them.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
2:30 p.m.
Wait, what? The music takes a break for the festival's "keynote speaker," who just happens to be the eighth-most important member of the Kennedy dynasty. Well, it's still better than Jack Johnson.



Gran Bel Fisher
3:30 p.m.
No pressure, Gran Bel Fisher, he's just a Kennedy. The lad (his name is spelled incorrectly on the festival website) is such an insufferably sensitive singer-songwriter twit that I'm surprised that he plays anywhere but college coffeehouses. Who else but those girls would tolerate this?

Catfish Haven
4:30 p.m.
From Chicago, home of the Blues Brothers, comes this oddly soulful rock band that only needs to be heard to increase its fanbase. It would take a cold, dark heart to not be impressed by the genuine feeling, talent and dedication.

Groovatron
5:30 p.m.
The first song on this band's MySpace is called "Scuff Muffin." Take your bong back to the basement and learn how to play music, guys. (F.Y.I.: You do realize that the cantina band in "Star Wars" was supposed to be funny, right?)

The Del McCoury Band
6:20 p.m.
One of the greatest bluegrass bands in existence today graces us with its beautiful vocalizing, harmonizing and amazing musicianship. If you don't like Del and the boys, then you don't like life and I don't like you.

Dr. Dog
7:40 p.m.
It's America's Gomez, road warriors from Philadelphia making their 23rd trip to Louisville this year and doing their dangdest to win you over with a '60s-inflected classic rock sound that always works on a sunny day.

The New Mastersounds
8:45 p.m.
I don't get how none of the oxy-fueled faux-freaks who love jam bands listen to actual jazz, yet somehow can appreciate a well-done approximation of the real thing like this. These Brits have played with Lou Donaldson and Idris Muhammed, names which will mean nothing to fans of Ekoostik Hookah.

Ekoostik Hookah
10 p.m.
This is a headliner? This sounds like what happens when guys who used to play together in high school get together at their 25th high school reunion and jam one more time.

EAST STAGE

The Town Criers
Noon
Led by Mick Sullivan of the dearly departed Fire the Saddle, this rootsy group includes guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, tuba and drums. That's right, drums. Weird, huh?

Otis Gibbs
1 p.m.
From the unfashionable state of Indiana comes this Socialist-seeming folk singer of the type that was only fashionable for a moment in the late '50s. (But you don't follow fashion, do you?)

Backyard Tire Fire
2 p.m.
Some bands do a great job of picking a name that tells you about their music. This is punky/rootsy/alt-country/heavy drinkin' rock, right? Yeah, pretty much. It's not as on the nose as Drive-By Truckers, but it also doesn't get old as quickly -- just like their music.

Cabin
4 p.m.
Once tagged as Louisville's Coldplay, the Cabin mates have yet to marry a Gwyneth, father an Apple, be savaged by the New York Times or be produced by Brian Eno. But there's still time!

Paradigm
5 p.m.
Like Medeski Martin & Wood, these U of L alums do a respectable job simulating post-bop jazz. They might even make you dance, but it's a challenge -- when was the last time you danced at 5 in the afternoon?

ACTIVISM STAGE

Chris Volpe
1:15 p.m.
From Nashville, an independently-minded, finger-pickin' folker who's just a little too interesting to ever get played on the radio, unfortunately.

Josh Garrels
2:15 p.m.
Garrels' "soulful" "grooves" will help convert you to his ministry. (And this time, I don't just mean fanbase. This Indianapolis singer/songwriter is a true believer amongst Mary Magdalene and the lepers.)

Brigid Kaelin
3 p.m.
If you live here and are interested in music, you don't need me to tell you that this is one of the most popular and respected singer-songwriter-keyboardist-accordianista-saw players in town, do you?

c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

excerpts from "Come On Feel The Noise"

Friday
The Pour Haus

10 p.m.
Hambone
This one-person blues band (guitar in hand, percussion at his feet) could pass for one of the Jonas Brothers and has a name that is downright offensive. He attempts to win over the crowd of 13 (mostly Muffys and Chads) with some seriously intense guitar faces and self-deprecating comments about the fact that no one is here to see him. His technique is not completely horrific, but he can't keep time and his level of soul power would suggest that he might be Jim Belushi's son.

11 p.m.
Pete Dressman & the Soul Unified Nation
The image: A Red Hot Chili Peppers wannabe band from the Sunset Strip, circa 1991, that is now trying out "that hot new grunge sound." Lead singer Dressman wears a stylish black shirt and a tie, which is sweet but sad, considering that the audience has now reached only 20 people. "This one's on the CD we've got for sale!" he exclaims, which moves no one.

Midnight
Jonathan's Machete
Three completely generic fellows around 22 hit the stage and pound out a tune that sounds like "Fever Dog" from "Almost Famous" but, sadly, isn't. The audience has shrunk back even further. Apparently, the previous act, Pete Dressman & the Soul Unified Nation, was the "headliner," leaving Jonathan's Machete to mop up. When the singer announces that the second song will be an Incubus cover, I go outside to get some air.


Saturday
The Rudyard Kipling

10:30 p.m.
Squeeze-bot
A clever, unique combo that can appeal to the jazz, rock and jam band crowds - in a good way - Squeeze-bot sounds like a joke when you try to describe it but sounds terrific when you actually get to hear it play. Accordion, banjo, tuba and drums? There's no way this can work, but it does, and then they throw in a cover of "Walk This Way." Top that!

11:30 p.m.
Bad Blood
A high-octane, full-throttle '60s-style rave-up in the tradition of the MC5, these dudes really know how to rock the house. Lead singer Andy Gillooly can belt it out like no one else in town. John Waters would be wise to have them in his next film, no matter what era he sets it in. I'd love to see them with a horn section.

12:30 a.m.
Lucky Pineapple
One of the best bands in town, Lucky Pineapple has phenomenal range, instincts and skill, and can rock it out, slow it down and/or pull it inside-out, at will. It's hard to pin down where their ideas come from, but I'd have to start with exotica, prog, post-rock and new wave. Bonus points for knowing how to utilize one of the best drummers in the Western world.


photo by Amber Sigman

c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

RZA As Bobby Digital

Digi Snacks
(Koch)

Some people get better with age. Most people who’ve known me would agree, if the discussion is about me, but this one isn’t. Fans of the RZA’s, from 36 Chambers through Ghost Dog to today, might argue that he’s already shocked the world and can never rise to his peak again, but they miss the point. Like the bluesmen of the 20th century, he’s getting deeper as he gets older.

His intensity gets scarier, his sexual digressions ("Good Night") get more uncomfortable and his weirdness (care to explain "Would you rather have a digi or a Scooby snack"?) — he still just doesn’t care if you get it. I mean, the dude’s got an El DeBarge cameo on his record in 2008.



To me, who’s heard a few thousand records at least, probably hundreds of them by a Wu Tang Clan member, nothing shows maturity and mastery more than making more bold, cold records long after the cool kids have moved on to the new trend. Long live Shaolin!

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Melvins

Nude with Boots
(Ipecac)

The fact that the Melvins still exist isn’t that odd. It seems like pretty much every band that ever made an impact still exists, even if they broke up in 1979 and only reunited last month. Even Krist Novoselic from Nirvana plays bass in Flipper today. What’s odd about the Melvins’ existence today is that they never left, the two founding members still seem to care as much now as they did in 1986, and they still rock, even when they drone for minutes on end.



Kicking out of the gates with the Kiss-esque "The Kicking Machine," the old boys (and their young partners, Big Business, returning for another collaboration) rock as if it’s all that matters in the world. By track 4, a cover of the eerie classic "Dies Irae," you’ll forget that rock ’n’ roll has happened yet. Throughout the 11 songs, the band provides a master class in how far four smart dumb guys can stretch the boundaries of what someone might call “heavy metal,” by adding major elements of experimentation, progressiveness and stupidity.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Q&A: Duff Goldman

The 'Ace of Cakes' brings a special creation - and his band - to Lebowski Fest

Tell me about your relationship to "The Big Lebowski".
"Dammit, Donny!" (laughs). I'm a huge fan of the Coen brothers, and everybody can relate to The Dude in some shape or form. His best friends are making his life hard, but he just wants his rug back. There's all this stuff around him, but no matter what, he has his wants, his needs, his aspirations. It's simple -- "I just want my rug back." Especially as I get older ... I now know exactly how he's feeling.

So this isn't just another cake for you.
I have Lebowski Fest posters framed all over my house, from all over, New York, L.A. There's something about that movie that's very defining. Y'know, doing all this stuff, being on TV, people think it changes you -- but if you ask people who knew me 10 years ago, they'll tell you, I'm still the same guy. I haven't changed. I know the Coens make a lot of references to Shakespeare, but as far as The Dude goes, "to thine own self be true" says it all. He's trying to be himself. The Dude is a good guy. Maybe he doesn't have a job, he smokes pot, but he looks after his friends. Y'know, he goes to his landlord's weirdo performance art piece even though he's a weirdo Commie.

It's like our show. We don't claim to be the best, we don't put on a show, we don't put on personalities. We're just people like me and you. People can call the bakery anytime and get me on the phone eventually. Same thing for The Dude. He so reminds me of my cousin. You just gotta love him despite his faults, which are many but, y'know, he's trying. He's very human, he's very real.

Do you have any ideas about the cake that you're bringing to the fest that you can talk about now?
The rug is gonna be central. We're probably gonna do the marmot -- which is really a ferret -- a toe, a helmet, Larry's book report. We're gonna do a little of everything. We could do one massive Valkyrie helmet and everyone would get it, but … like, we could do a cassette tape of "Logjammin,' " but they might not be into porn.

Everyone will have a piece to work on -- "You make a toe, you do a white Russian, you make a coffee can full of ashes, you make a marmot."

We'll have the crew with us, filming all the craziness.

Goldman will bring the specially designed cake to Lebowski Fest on Saturday. As a bonus, his band, ... soihadto ..., will be playing the Lebowski Fest Garden Party.



c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

Choose Your Own Summer Festival

Have you ever gone to a music festival and thought, "I bet I could do a better job of programming a weekend of music than these people?"
I don't go to most festivals, for many reasons, but the main reason is the music. I don't want to have to sit through Blues Traveler and Jack Johnson just to see Radiohead; I'd rather wait until Radiohead comes back through the region on their own tour, thank you very much.
(I do have dozens of other reasons, but we're not here to talk about my hatred of the sun, $8 bottles of water and most other humans).

I asked a handful of other music lovers to book their own imaginary festival, with only a few guidelines:
1) You can only select currently active acts. No dead people, no defunct acts (like, "I'd reunite Pavement") and no fantasy collaborations like "Celine Dion singing with Deicide".
2) You can add as many speakers, comedians, dancers, activists, etc. as you want.
3) This is probably not going to happen, so don't worry about money or travel visas.

Let's start today with my festival:

HOSTS: Steve Martin & Chris Rock

MUSIC STAGE:
Bjork
Bonnie 'Prince' Bily
Boredoms
Caetano Veloso
DragonForce
Fantomas
Jandek
Kanye West
King's Daughters and Sons
Konono No. 1
Mariachi Reynas de Los Angeles
Mission of Burma
Monotonix
Mucca Pazza
Neil Diamond
Neko Case
Odetta
Ornette Coleman
Radiohead
R. Kelly
Roky Erickson
Tom Waits
Wilco
Yo Majesty
Yusef Lateef

COMEDY STAGE:
Andy Kindler, Blaine Capatch, Brendon Small, Brian Posehn, Dave Attell, David Cross, Dimitri Martin, Eugene Mirman, Jon Benjamin, Jonathan Katz, Maria Bamford, Mike Birbiglia, Neil Hamburger, Norm MacDonald, Patton Oswalt, Paul Mooney, Ron Lynch, Sarah Silverman, Steven Wright, Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim, Todd Barry, Tom Kenny, Tracy Morgan, Vernon Chatman, Zach Galifianakis



c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

Wolf Parade

At Mount Zoomer
(Sub Pop)

Remember 2005, when everyone was all about Canada for a minute? Every interesting new band suddenly seemed to be from Montreal, and The New York Times couldn’t send enough reporters to cover every aspect of the, for once, actually great Great White North. Well, that passed, eh?

Which isn’t to say that Wolf Parade’s second album isn’t pretty good. It is pretty good. Is it $9.99 good? Not really, it’s more like $6.99 good, but iTunes hasn’t made its inevitable devolution into Sam Goody yet. If you happen to be a reasonably hip, upper-middle-class 22-year-old girl, this will probably be the soundtrack of your summer.



The shame is that a band that has spent most of the past years on interesting side projects (Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs, etc.) has made a somewhat safe, at times bland, pop album that, at its best, is reminiscent of Weezer, Spoon or an Elephant 6 band, but it lacks the finest spark of any of those. Unique moments pop up for, well, moments, but like a burp during a meal, don’t dominate or last. This is a group who could emerge as extra special a couple of records down the line, or it could remain in the bargain bin.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

The Watson Twins

Fire Songs
(Vanguard)

Once Louisville’s own Tegan and Sara, the twins have decamped for Los Angeles, where people’s idea of what acoustic, folk and/or that quaint country music is a little different from ours. Indeed, the “Grey’s Anatomy” producers who like this variation on our regional music must be thrilled that, not only are The Watsons easy to look at, but also that their record came out so slick, easily digested and NPR- and SUV-friendly.



I know many of you dear readers went to school with them; they’re probably nice gals, and I was certainly hoping to enjoy their disc. Throughout music history, sibling harmonies have a long and solid track record. Their band, led by fellow native Louisvillian Russ Pollard (Everest, Sebadoh, Out.), is skilled and tasteful (if, perhaps, restrained to the level of a benzo). Indeed, like Scarlett Johansson’s recent debut, the beasts help the beauty get it done.

C. 2008 LEO Weekly

Alejandro Escovedo

"Don't want your approval/It's 1978", begins "Nun’s Song," one of too many street-walkin' raps about how badass Al and his boys were back in the day. That's pretty much how this concept album goes.

Escovedo and his songwriting collaborator here, Chuck Prophet (also an '80s rocker turned '90s Baby Boomer singer-songwriter turned 21st-century NPR regular whom no one else cares about), were "Sensitive Boys" who were "Real as an Animal."



They were so enamored with "poets" like Lou Reed and Jim Carroll while dreaming of being rock stars like Iggy and Bowie (even hiring Ziggy Stardust producer Tony Visconti here) that they lived out their lives (being now 50-ish) without stopping to realize that, talent-wise, lots of guys can lead one of the best bar bands in town (have you seen Eddie and the Cruisers lately?), but there can only be one Bruce Springsteen.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Silver Jews

Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
(Drag City)

This is just terrible, just inexcusable. This is not good as indie rock, alt-country or even as an ironic Ween kinda tribute (and Ween did their suck-city/isn’t-Nashville-hilarious record years ago... and look at them now).

Band-leading lyricist David Berman (I won’t say who writes the music; I don’t want to be too insulting) fancies himself some sort of a poet, apparently, and his "character study" lyrics about people who are big losers are Carver-esque in a college sophomore way. "Sarcastic hair" and "candy jail" aren’t entertaining or relevant. Maybe at Bonnaroo...



Even worse, though, are the vocals: His are flatter than Joe Don Baker’s movie career, and the ladies’ backing vocals are sub-middle-school talent show. It’s not the early ’70s anymore, you’re not an outlaw, you’re not Bob Dylan, and you’re not ironically funny, so please stop making horrible records.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Terra watch list

There are 39 acts coming to Terrastock. We gave Peter Berkowitz the enviable task of handicapping the field. Here's his report.

THURSDAY

The Photographic

7 p.m.

The Louisville instrumental duo opens the festival, using only drums and guitars, with loops employed to broaden the minimalist sound options. Silent films are screened above the band to keep people (hot chicks, ideally) even more entertained -- and bless them for thinking of our every sensory need. I

Parlour

8 p.m.

Festival schedulers have clearly thought this through: Here's another group of locals, who probably have similar influences to the preceding act, but are older, wiser and, as an ever-evolving ensemble, can always be counted on to explore new textures based in Krautrock, minimalism, free jazz and modern classical sounds. I

Elephant Micah

9 p.m.

A late replacement for Marissa Nadler, this Hoosier music collective is fronted by lo-fi virtuoso Joe O'Connell. Local fans of the whole basement wave likely remember a scattering of gigs here in recent years. I

Dead Maids

10 p.m.

Formerly known as Monster Bastard Project, this English band owes a small debt to Slint. They would've been good slotted between the Photographic and Parlour, if one wanted to hear long, intense instrumentals for hours without a break. I

Hush Arbors

11 p.m.

Keith Woods, the man behind the band, plays '60s-style psychedelic and Southern-flavored folk that is very pretty and soulful. Either solo or with accompaniment, he is a modern troubadour who should not be missed. I



FRIDAY

United Bible Studies

Noon

From the improbably named Atlantis, Ireland, these Celtic folks met some Eastern Bloc ragas and jazz improv they liked and decided to meld the forms into a stew of something so far beyond "jam band" that the Black Crowes gave up and shaved again. O

Sharon Krauss

12:50 p.m.

"Dark folk music for the new millennium," sayeth her website. Sure, the millenium happened a while ago, but when you're slaying dragons with your music, who has time to update the website? Am I right, people? (EDITOR'S NOTE: Peter will be the only person at the festival with a sense of humor.) Kidding aside, this is a lady who can really sing, so be there. O

Ignatz

1:40 p.m.

This Belgian group has a song called "Look at Your Hand." Wanna bet what they were smoking when they came up with the lyrics? Imagine Nico in a Guy Maddin movie. Now imagine that it's not very enjoyable. Y'all can pass the pipe; I'm going to pass on this group. I

Antietam

2:30 p.m.

The mighty Antietam! Like you don't know! Louisville natives Tara Key and Tim Harris moved to NYC some 20 years ago, met a local, started a band and have been criminally under-appreciated ever since. O

Black Forest/Black Sea

3:20 p.m.

Now living in Pittsburgh after five years in Providence, this duo plucks at strings and percusses when necessary, with mixed results. If you get seasick, take medication before experiencing them -- they might make you woozy. I

Sleeping Pill

4:10 p.m.

Although this "special guest" has been officially declared not to be Yo La Tengo, Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley are part of Sleeping Pill. If it involves members of Yo La Tengo playing non-YLT songs, that would be entertaining, hmmm? O

Tanakh

6 p.m.

Here's a treat from Italy, one of the hundreds of countries one doesn't expect to hear subtle, lovely pop music of the British Isles sort. I still expect them to pack Speedos for our glorious American beaches, though. I

Plastic Crimewave Sound

6:55 p.m.

From our true sister city, Chicago, the second Real Rock Band of the fest combines the best aspects of the late '60's Detroit bands, early '70s downtown New York bands and mid-'80s Seattle bands. Expect a heavily male turnout for this set. O

The Linus Pauling Quartet

7:50 p.m.

From Texas, home of Butthole Surfers, 13th Floor Elevators, George W. Bush, etc., is a band with songs like "Alien Abduction" and "La Tapatia." Oddly, they only use three guitars (because "anything worth doing is worth overdoing!" -- their words, not mine) when they could be using four. I

Major Stars

8:45 p.m.

Here are some vets who know all about the rock and how to twist it. Wayne Rogers and Kate Biggar have led other bands (Crystalized Movements, Magic Hour) and a label/store (Twisted Village -- look 'em up online) but they live very much in the now, baby! If you're a rock guitar nerd, this is one to catch. O

Damon & Naomi

9:40 p.m.

After Galaxie 500 ended, rhythm section D&N joined Wayne and Kate in Magic Hour, who melted heads for not long enuff. These days, they continue to make beautiful music together, oft paired with the Japanese psychedelic group Ghost. Can we hope for some Major Magic to happen tonight? I

Helena Espvall

& Masaki Batoh

10:35 p.m.

Touring this month with Damon & Naomi, H&M are, respectively, the Swedish cellist in influential Philadelphia indie folk group Espers and the guitarist of the aforementioned Ghost. (It's a very incestuous scene, as all scenes are.) Sexier than a Benetton ad and more genuine than an Obama/Clinton ticket, this should be truly special. I



SATURDAY

Oneida

Noon

Weirdo rock from Brooklyn. It's like the Pitchfork website in 2002 finally coming to Louisville … in 2008! I

Wooden Shjips

12:55 p.m.

If there was one band that I would expect to be here this weekend, this is it. (F.Y.I.: the "j" is silent.) They'll hit a groove and run it into the ground, leaving you staring at your shoes. You'll suddenly realize, "Wait, this band rocks, but they've been rockin' the same notes for 12 minutes now. And it's all right." O

Tara Jane O'Neil

1:50 p.m.

Another Louisville ex-pat named Tara, this one flies solo with moody folk moods and ambient textures. You might remember her from Rodan, but she's almost middle-aged now. How old does that make you? I

Kinski

2:25 p.m.

These Seattle alt-rockers have toured with Mission of Burma, Silkworm and, uh, Tool. Movie nerds won't be surprised to hear that they've also performed as "Herzog." One of the more conventional bands of the weekend. O

MV + EE with the Golden Road

3:40 p.m.

Farmers in New England's fertile experimental music field, Matt Valentine, Erika Elder and friends suggest a cross between Royal Trux and Mazzy Star, minus the heroin and insanity. They might rock, they might lull, but either way, they will space out, man. I

Bardo Pond

5:30 p.m.

Have I mentioned space rock yet? It's hard to come up with two dozen new ways to call bands new variations on that, but these guys are a rock band and they get, really, uhh, ahh, far out, ya. They're from Philadelphia and Sun Ra lived there for many years -- that's something not coincidental, ra ra right? O

Grails

6:25 p.m.

It's the first Terrastock band to describe itself on its MySpace profile as simply a "jam band." Should you skip it? Yes. Just kidding. Kirk Hammett of Metallica is one of their top friends, and they're down with Om and Neurosis, so just hate them for not being proud of how awesomely metal they are. (Pajo, please don't jam with them.) O

Motorpsycho

7:30 p.m.

One of the most highly anticipated bands of the fest, they are 20-year veterans from Norway who took their name from a Russ Meyer movie. It's a rock band, in the sense that all that you can say about AC/DC or the Rolling Stones is that they are a rock band. O

Sapat

8:30 p.m.

An always intriguing bunch of locals; one never quite knows what one's going to get with the Sapat brand. Will it be a dozen people improvising on a variety of instruments? Will there be rock songs? How many beards will be in the band on this night? I

Mono

9:25 p.m.

This increasingly legendary Japanese group takes riffs from Heaven -- if there is one -- and makes them heavy in a delightfully light and orgasmic revolution. If the Boston Pops were Jimi Hendrix's underwear, they would sound like this. O

Kohoutek

10:35 p.m.

In Washington, D.C., not all music is Ian MacKaye-approved: "Improvised psych with noise tendencies and abstraction." Well said. Does that sound like a fun date to you? I

SUNDAY

Team Brick

Noon

From the ominous-sounding Dunshelm Castle in the U.K. comes this eerie, ambient wave of music that can explode into hardcoreish rock. Mike Patton, please call the white courtesy phone. O

Rob Sharples

12:55 p.m.

From London, a very lovely acoustic singer/songwriter a la Elliott Smith who will appeal more to normals, than to the fest obsessives who will prefer to sit in a corner blogging about how much they hate my descriptions of these 800 bands and how much they hate me for not being perfect. I

Thee American Revolution

1:45 p.m.

Robert Schneider of pop favorites Apples in Stereo leads this ensemble, which also includes "an anonymous psychedelic rock legend from the '60s." A lot of that goin' round this weekend. O

Insect Factory

2:40 p.m.

From Silver Spring, Md., it's "lo-fi homespun fuzz sculpting" music to put your organically-raised kids to bed to. So ambient that you'll wake up and realize that the band is asleep, too. (Wha?) I

Simply Saucer

3:35 p.m.

Better than Rush? OMG yes. Unknown legends of the '70s (sounds like a Sid & Marty Krofft show, eh?) making a most welcome appearance in Louisville. They're coming a long way (Hamilton, Ontario) and across many decades, so, maybe you can go to Kroger on Monday evening instead? O

Pelt

4:30 p.m.

Long-ass guitar raga dreamy drones, finger pickin' and psychedelia. Prepare thyself for a skulldrill love affair and light the candelabras for Papaw. I

Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers

6:30 p.m.

I'm pretty sure you just saw Jack Rose play during Pelt's set. Well, lucky us. I guess they call this the blues? Only instead of Ralph Macchio, Jack Rose met the devil (or John Fahey) down at the "crossroads" and what happened came out sounding like ----. I

The Entrance Band

7:10 p.m.

From L.A., Guy Blakeslee and his friends are … well, I hear that they're very good live. Local connection: Their bassist, Paz Lenchantin, used to play with David Pajo in Papa M and Zwan. I

Windy & Carl

8:05 p.m.

From Dearborn, Mich., a 30-something couple who are veterans of every single Terrastock and float away on subtle clouds of sweet, airy tunes that are just barely there but manage to hang in the air long after they end. I

Paik

9 p.m.

From Detroit, two dudes who throw down shoegaze grooves without those fey British vocals. Paik is "an old English word meaning a powerful blow to the body, or to pummel," as they share in their bio. O

Makoto Kawabata

10 p.m.

Kawataba plays guitar for Acid Mothers Temple, one of the most intense, exciting, spiritually fulfilling musical groups I've ever encountered. The whole group can't make it here from Japan, but Kawabata is a force unto himself. Odds are good that you will be bowing down to him as he peels back your ears and pours tea into them with his guitar. (How does he do that?) I

O = Outside on the lawn stage

I = Inside the Mellwood Center

c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

Supergrass

Diamond Hoo Ha
(Astralwerks)

OK, first there's the title. I don't want to say "hoo ha" in front of my mother, even though she has one. It's certainly not something that 30-something men who wear suits should be sporting on their business cards.

Next, there's the cover photo. I mean, just look at this: Supergrass look like Hanson, for goodness' sake, and I don't mean Hanson today, I mean, that's right, “Mmm Bop”-era Hanson. By all rights, this record should be called Diamond Airbrushing. These guys now look like creatures that that interchangeable Kate Hudson/Kate Moss/Liv Tyler monster would sleep with.



So why is it actually a good record?

I shouldn't be too surprised — Supergrass has always been a decent Britpop band. And poppy they remain, more Blur than T. Rex, but they still retain their dignity, even while making a damn fine pop album that wouldn’t sound out of place in the background in an episode of "I Got Crabs with Tila Tequila" or some such MTV hit.

While they're no Radiohead, they even manage to throw in a somewhat avante-garde horn in "The Return of..." and an entire circus groove in "Whiskey & Green Tea" that made my morning. I think one of the songs was about war being bad and even referenced Dylan, but that's why one shouldn’t listen too closely to pop lyrics. Everybody cut footloose.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Lie Down in the Light
(Drag City)

If Billy had been around when he sounds like he was around — the late ’60s and early ’70s — today he would be even more rich, famous and legendary than Bob Dylan or Neil Young. He is even more prolific but more consistent. While he might not hit the highs of either of those grandfathers, the warmth and depth of his songs and his voice ensure that he will last many lifetimes. If he only had the promotional budget of a 3 Doors Down or a One Republic, he could probably be even more popular than Mariah Carey naked in Times Square just by singing us a song.



Clever is the man who hides odes to naughty sex under gentle, folksy melodies, but the man who once sang about "Your finger in my behind" has very 2 Live Crew-esque ideas embedded in "So Everyone." Mostly, the man has many notions about family and friends, life and death, love and love, and I continue to be mystified by the non-bathing Bonnaroo-jammers who waste their time on Michael Franti or Jack Johnson when they could be enjoying some true beauty.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Aimee Mann

@#%&*! Smilers
(SuperEgo)

Being the most clever person in the room is rarely fun.

As a music critic, it’s usually a fringe benefit, sure, but when you work with people who actually follow the news, like at LEO, you’re never the cleverest person in that room — and they never have any fun! Our current president has 99 problems, and being clever isn’t even one of them. Pity poor Aimee Mann, then, who always has to be the cleverest person in the room.



In the ’80s, she was too clever to be the enjoyable Cyndi Lauper or the wretched Edie Brickell. In the ’90s, she was too clever to be fun like Liz Phair or morbid like Lisa Germano. She had a pair of lively records in the ’90s, helped in no small part by collaborator Jon Brion, but Mann has run out of steam in the Bush era. Even the carnival-esque keyboard flourishes that help raise her music above that of Sarah MacLachlan’s can’t do enough to elevate her whines about the housewives of Orange County and other old-people problems. She’s turned into Margaret Dumont let loose in a West Hollywood recording studio.

If you’re still interested in the by-now all-too-predictable Aimee, go back to her '90s records and relive her slightly more enjoyable peak.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

A tale of two cities

At the end of 2007, listeners of 91.9 FM, WFPK, voted for their favorite musical artists of all time. We won't get into the full Top 300, as entertaining as that was...
The local artists who made the list stood out on their own, and this is a Louisville-lovin' music blog, so let's get in to the meat of the matter:

Here are the WFPK listeners' favorite local acts, culled from that survey:
1) Tim Krekel
2) My Morning Jacket
3) Brigid Kaelin
4) Peter Searcy
5) Leigh Ann Yost
6) Cabin
7) Tyrone Cotton
8) The Big Diggity
9) Danny Flannigan and the Rain Chorus
10) VHS or Beta
11) Wax Fang
12) Teneia Sanders
13) Johnny Berry and the Outliers
14) Sub-Urban Situation
15) Heidi Howe
16) The Fervor
17) John Mann
18) Digby
19) Bodeco
20) Will Oldham
21) Squeeze-bot
22) a.m. Sunday
23) Java Men
24) Fire the Saddle
25) Paradigm
26) Freakwater
27) Love Jones
28) Code Red
29) Greg Foresman
30) Merry Pranksters
31) Lucky Pineapple
32) Babylon Dance Band
33) Hog Operation
34) Squirrel Bait
35) Villebillies
36) Muckrakers
37) Yer Girlfriend
38) Days of the New
39) da Mudcats


I know, right?


Here are this local's favorite local acts (listed alphabetically):
1) a.m. Sunday
2) Ayin
3) Babylon Dance Band
4) The Children
5) Crain
6) Dick Sisto
7) Elliott
8) Endpoint
9) Evergreen
10) Fire the Saddle
11) The For Carnation
12) Freakwater
13) Harry Pickens
14) Hog Operation
15) Jamie Barnes
16) Java Men
17) Joe Manning
18) King's Daughters and Sons
19) Kinghorse
20) King Kong
21) Liberation Prophecy
22) Lucky Pineapple
23) My Morning Jacket
24) The Pennies
25) Rachel's
26) Rodan
27) Ronnie Mack and the I'll Beat Your Back Out Band
28) Sean Garrison & Driftin' Luke
29) Second Story Man
30) Seluah
31) Shipping News
32) Slint
33) Speed to Roam
34) Tyrone Cotton
35) Verktum
36) Wax Fang
37) Will Oldham
38) Young Widows
39) Your Food

Please share your comments below. I also look forward to being scolded on other local blogs!

Scarlett Johansson

Anywhere I Lay My Head
(Atco)

Oh, Scarlett. Anyone covering a bunch of Tom Waits songs is asking to be mocked — wait, I haven't mocked yet — but darlin’, you’re not even a singer! And I don’t even mean that it’s not your day job... I mean that if you weren’t famous and generally respected already, you wouldn’t be asked to sing unless it was part of a “Happy Birthday” sing-a-long! (OK, now I’m mocking).



The good news is, the band is beyond fine. TV on the Radio multi-tasker Dave Sitek has assembled a core band of Hipsterberg types, members of Celebration, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and his band, who easily shuffle between Louisiana fog and New Order nightclub, often in the same song. Only one, "Green Grass," falls into the trap of sounding too Waits-ian. Johansson’s voice isn’t awful and has a pleasant, young Linda Thompson affect to it. Her lack of maturity helps her bring something old man Tom can no longer bring to "I Don’t Wanna Grow Up" — a literalness that the song never had before.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

The Wedding Present

El Rey
(Vibrant)

Long one of the most underappreciated bands of the post-punk and indie rock eras, The Wedding Present continues to give us delightfully good records full of wonderful songs, and most of you unfortunate friends and neighbors will never get to hear them. I wish I could make mix CDs for all of you, really, I do, but I just can’t. Can you please just listen to me this one time? I promise they’re not weird or anything. They’re just English and, at this point, middle-aged.

Essentially, though, this is pop music, played with guitars and a bass and drums. OK, the guy singing (David Gedge) isn’t the "best" singer, in the Nat King Cole sense of the word ... man, do we have to go through this every time?



His lyrics are very clever and interesting little stories, like a modern day Ray Davies of the Kinks. For you younger hipsters, I hate to play the Albini card, but he recorded this disc, as he has recorded other WP discs before — he’s a fan, as was Cobain. The music pops and rocks, like the Buzzcocks, but with more texture and maturity.

They just never got enough promotion — here’s a little bit.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Neil Diamond

Home Before Dark
(Sony)

When Rick Rubin decided to apply his creepily magical touch to the sagging-to-the-loafers career of Neil Diamond, many youngsters who can’t remember life before Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails probably didn’t even pay attention. Really, is there anything less sexy than a Nice Boy?

On 12 Songs, his first agreement at letting Rubin rub his beard all over Neil’s melodramatically sung songs (more John C. Reilly than Leonard Cohen), old Neil sounded tentative at times. Like his new audience — people who actually listen to music critics and/or ignore their mothers — Diamond probably couldn’t believe that the cool kids were letting this once mighty singer-songwriter back in the house.



Having pulled it off, Diamond actually comes back this time stronger, bolder... dare I say sexier? From the first song on, one can even hear a Nick Cave influence! (Mutual, I’m sure.) His lyrics are thoughtful, as deep as the lines in his face and the part in his toupee, his voice assured, and his band of Heartbreakers and Oldham/Pajo collaborator Matt Sweeney is top shelf.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Left of the Dial, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mom Jeans Radio

COVER STORY

On a recent morning, listeners of WFPK radio in Louisville heard indie-band-of-the moment Helio Sequence sing "Can't Say No." They heard the Black Keys tear though "Strange Times." They heard local band Wax Fang's sonic adventure "Cannibal Summer." They heard the always unpredictable Cat Power cover "Aretha, Sing One for Me."

In that same span, they also heard Starbucks icon Sheryl Crow ("Love Is All There Is"), a 20-year-old trifle from Edie Brickell and New Bohemians ("What I Am"), a 2003 novelty hit by Fountains of Wayne ("Stacy's Mom") and Train ("Drops of Jupiter," a song that even corporate radio seems weary of).

Tuning in can be a maddening experience. It's possible that WFPK's listeners are just that eclectic, happy to groove to a playlist that swings wildly from Arcade Fire to Eagle Eye Cherry, from the Velvet Underground to Counting Crows. Someone who doesn't change the station when Vampire Weekend gives way to Blues Traveler.

But if you're 23-year-old barista Kane Holbrook, it's the kind of thing that makes you just turn the radio off entirely, turning instead to websites like Last.fm and Pandora.com for new music.

"They're okay, but my mom really likes them," said Holbrook, who works at Sunergos Coffee in Germantown, with a shrug. "They're not my main source of music."

Billy Petot, a 30-year-old insurance agent and part-time musician, is less diplomatic.

"WFPK is too white, and often times too stale," he said. "A lot of the music lacks flavor. I don't feel like the station introduces us to anything or promotes something that hasn't already been tested. It's like Hillary Clinton waiting for the poll numbers to decide her stance on an issue."

Long viewed as the city's most adventurous radio station, the WFPK that you now get depends on when you tune in. Dial up 91.9-FM and you might get to sample what the early adopters are listening to. Or you may get the soundtrack to "Grey's Anatomy" -- or worse, "Closing Time" by Semisonic. All within the same set.

How did the station that reinvigorated public radio back in the 1990s find itself in such a muddle?

Stacy's mom


We're at the Louisville Public Media building on Fourth Street in downtown Louisville, where programming and music director Stacy Owen is giving me a tour.

"It all starts with me," Owen explains. "All of the new music that's mailed to us comes to me. I don't ever get to all of it. We get 50 to 100 new CDs in the mail every week. Sometimes, I'll share them with other staff members, to get their review -- if they think it's something we ought to take a serious look at."

At the door to the music library, we run into afternoon DJ Marion Dries.

"Stacy, did I hear that Moby has a new CD out?"

On this day, Moby's latest CD has been out for two weeks. Owen dryly acknowledges this to Dries, and the tour moves on.

A decidedly thoughtful, warm person, Owen, 44, has presided over what she claims is 15-percent membership growth since advancing to program director in 2004, replacing Dan Reed, who is credited with establishing the format known as adult album alternative at WFPK. Reed is now the music director at WXPN in Philadelphia, one of the nation's more influential AAA public stations and home of the popular syndicated show "World Café."

A thick musical stew, with pop, rock, alt-country, folk, blues, alternative rock, bluegrass, world music, classic rock, electronica, jazz, new wave, reggae and punk rock, the AAA format's eclecticness is both a blessing and a curse, an unfocused array of music that defies the niche-driven, long-tail culture we live in today. Even Owen is hard-pressed to put her finger on exactly what it is.

"AAA can mean a lot of things depending on what city you're in, and the flavor you're trying to create," she said. "For Louisville, I think it means a bit of classic rock, because it's a classic rock town. Maybe dig a little deeper into some of those albums instead of just hearing the Top-40 hits that our 40- and 50-year old listeners grew up with. I like to call them the 'wow factor' songs. 'Ooh! I haven't heard that on the radio in years!' Also, being based in the singer-songwriter (genre) … and also the Louisville music -- that's definitely a mission of the station, is to play music from here in our own city, and not just an hour on the weekend, but in the mix with everything else."

Before 1996, Louisville listeners were relegated to commercial stations that concentrated on Top-40, modern country, oldies, hard rock and the like, or the city's three public stations: WFPK-FM and WUOL-FM, which both played classical music, and WFPL-FM, which concentrated on jazz and news programs like "All Things Considered," with the occasional alt-rock or blues show.

That year, the public stations merged to become the Public Radio Partnership (now Louisville Public Media), shuffling their formats in the process. WUOL stayed classical, while WFPL dropped jazz and added more of news and talk shows. WFPK, meanwhile, dropped classical, picked up jazz and, in a most drastic change for staid public radio, began playing pop and rock music in regular rotation.

But as WFPK and the AAA format have aged, it has become increasingly difficult to please the audience that wants to hear the Indigo Girls and Lyle Lovett -- two icons who helped build the format -- and a younger crowd that questions why Sea Wolf and Winterpills must compete for airtime with Los Lonely Boys, Tracy Chapman and David Crosby's umpteenth musical incarnation.

"I feel like WFPK only introduces me to new music from old artists," Petot said. "If Louisville is the cultural center it claims to be, why don't we encourage that culture by introducing folks to new art that is starving for promotion?"

If anyone understands the problems facing WFPK, it is Reed, who oversaw the station when it began its fan-friendly "Live Lunch" program and the hugely popular Waterfront Wednesday concerts. He is also infamous for clashing with local jazz buffs who were upset with his decision to slash jazz programming in 2003.

"It's absolutely imperative to cultivate a younger audience with this format (but) it's a hell of a lot harder to cultivate that audience now," he said. "This is not just a problem for 'FPK. You have to work twice as hard, it seems, to get the under-40s to switch the radio on."

This is radio clash


One of those "under-40s" is Justin Schotter-Davis. A 26-year-old student, musician and apprentice electrician, Schotter-Davis says WFPK pays lip service to new music by relegating "their few good DJs to the late-night hours and put the older, complacent ones on during peak listening times. Their DJs seem to lean more to the old and white side of the spectrum."

Schotter-Davis likens those DJs to an "old fart sitting on his front porch trying to teach the young 'uns about the good old days. I think the worst crime might be that they've actually lowered young people's attitudes towards local radio."

The reality is more complicated, of course.

DJ Nick James, 25, handles the 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift, not quite drive-time but hardly a musical ghetto. A former record store clerk, James says he has freedom to play music he likes. For example, though, like the other jocks, he must play what Owen tells him to, that rule loosens up as his shift progresses into the night.

"I've got six picks out of eight, which is a significant chunk in that last hour," he said. "It allows me to stick more to what I know, which allows me to relate more to the younger crowd."

He doesn't always toe the party line. Looking through recent releases, he gets excited about the new Nick Cave disc, which isn't receiving much play, but he's not interested in the Van Morrison song that the older jocks are pushing. Finally he notes, "Here's Moby. Moby is... well, Moby...," trailing off.

Of all the jocks at WFPK, none may be more enthusiastic than Duke Meyer. A local FM radio veteran, he had been off the air for several years when WFPK hired him for the 9 a.m. to noon shift. For that, he arrives at 6:30 a.m.

"They couldn't pry me out of here," said Meyer, who credits WFPK with opening his eyes to artists like My Morning Jacket, Nick Drake and Laura Veirs. "I love it. I love it!"

Still, new music can be a struggle for 55-year-old Meyer, an unabashed fan of Hendrix, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bob Seger and graying Louisville singer-songwriter Tim Krekel. When the male singer Cass McCombs was heading towards town last fall, it took Meyer a few days to stop referring to "her new album."

James and Meyer, two earnest, enthusiastic but very different music lovers, symbolize the two-headed nature of WFPK, which seems determined to please everybody in an era when popular culture gets more and more fragmented each day.

Listeners like Carrie Butler reflect the ambivalence that such an approach can engender.

"I think WFPK is very good, but I just wouldn't ever call it awesome," said Butler, a 35-year-old mother of two who works as an operations planning manager for TARC. "However, I wouldn't want to be seen as complaining about it, since it is heads and shoulders above the rest of the dial. I may not be exactly the right demographic for WFPK. I'll happily listen to dance, electronica, rap or new/alternative rock … For me, I want more rock."

John Mayer? Really?


It is a point of pride at WFPK to talk about the major artists who got their big break thanks to heavy rotation on AAA stations. Without WFPK and other public radio powerhouses, Norah Jones, John Mayer and David Gray, to name just a few, might never have crossed over to mainstream success.

But unlike the mother bird, who pushes her babies out of the nest when the time comes, WFPK continues to play million-selling artists in slots that could be occupied by newer, more exciting bands.

"If we break an artist, we want to claim that artist. Someone like John Mayer, for example," Owen said. "We played him for over a year before he broke really big.

"It's like, well, why should I just turn him over to commercial radio? Dave Matthews initially got his play on public radio and then crossed over."

Laura Shine, WFPK assistant program director and afternoon drive-time DJ, cites the case of Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae singer who enjoyed chart success in 2006.

"We were playing him probably about a year before the Max picked him up," she said. "We have so many listeners who just kind of stick with us, they don't go down the dial very much. So why not cater to them and let them hear what's going on with these artists as well, instead of getting all worried about competition and trying to be just real exclusive? There's so many artists that we play that other stations wouldn't touch no matter what."

But some people feel that the station plays it too safe.

"I think it is a bummer that a station that has the chance to be progressive and take risks doesn't take full advantage of that opportunity," said Craig Lile, a Louisville native who runs the influential music website My Old Kentucky Blog. "However, I know the struggles a public radio station has, and I understand the unfortunate need to cater to the audience that will actually fund the station through donations."

Reed, who deals with the same problem in Philadelphia, believes adventurousness need not be a problem when the pledge drive rolls around.

"You're always taking a risk of alienating your long-time listeners and members by trying too hard to sound 'young,' " he said. "I may be wrong, but I think good music is good music, whether it be My Morning Jacket or Muddy Waters or Vampire Weekend."

The Jeans Gap

The staff of WFPK takes pride in trying to unite what could best be described as the "mom jeans" and the "skinny jeans" crowds.

"It's an interesting balance," said Shine, who talks about "appeasing your core audience -- the 40-year-olds and up" with tracks from the latest Steve Winwood record, while not completely scaring away the "younger audience (that doesn't) have that reference point."

The station's website was revamped this year, as part of a re-branding effort to help keep up with changing technology. Playlists are now updated on the spot, which can be especially helpful for younger listeners unfamiliar with the station's 1988-heavy roster of core artists such as the Waterboys, the Smithereens, Edie Brickell, Crowded House, U2 and 10,000 Maniacs.

Shine cites a section on the website called My Source, which focuses on how WFPK bridges the gap between older and younger listeners.

"You'll see someone who says, 'I can always listen to you when my 13-year-old's in the car.' It's always interesting how our listeners compare to their kids," Shine said. "They'll say, 'I know about an artist that my kid just told me about, and they'll be really surprised that I knew.' So that's a compliment that comes up quite a bit."

"So, it's parents commenting?" I ask. "No kids writing in?"

"Yeah, it's parents commenting," Shine responded

"Maybe the kids are commenting to their friends on their Facebook pages," I offer.

Shine laughs. "Yeah."

Owen, meanwhile, has been working with James to cultivate the younger audience.

"There's research that shows that our younger demographic is listening, and they're also listening online, while they're on the computer at night. So they're playing on the computer … blogging, or whatever," she said with a laugh, throwing up her hands in mock exasperation. "It is a concerted effort on my part to attract some younger listeners to the station. You don't want your listeners to die off, you know?"

We want the airwaves


WFPK gives people what they want. It truly is our radio station. If enough people call and say what they like, it will continue to be played. The opposite is also true. If 20 people call each day and say that they no longer want Dave Matthews, WFPK will listen. They don't answer to corporate headquarters back in New York.

The real question is: What does Louisville want? A non-commercial station heavily tailored to mainstream, middle-aged sonic safety blankets like Paula Cole, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett, or newer, more challenging artists such as M.I.A., Animal Collective or Hot Chip? Can they coexist? Do all those teenagers and all those parents really listen to John Prine and John Hiatt together?

The first song the new WFPK played back in 1996 was "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades," a 1986 hit by Timbuk 3. Owen shares this fact with me as I'm leaving her office. She's busy and can't always dwell on the small stuff. She's obviously been inside these walls for a long time because she turns to me, a writer whom she's only just met, and asks:
"Is Timbuk 3 still cool anymore?"

c. Velocity Weekly, 14 May 2008.

photos by John Rott

Portishead

Third
(Island)

Having established oneself as an innovator and a misunderstood genius, and then disappearing for a decade, what does one do next?

(In my case, I ran off to a small mill town outside of Berlin, where I coached a scrappy-but-determined softball team, drank boxes of rum and wrote the greatest graphic novel about homosexual minotaurs that the world will ever see.)

Try, as they do here, to escape from the cliché that the world has boxed them into — Whole Foods, spa weekend background soundtrack for yuppies — Portishead, like all of us, can only change people’s perceptions of who they are to a slight degree.



Despite getting the record off to an exciting start with funky, percussion-heavy swinger, “Silence,” the rest of the tunes tend to bend into a relatively tame, mid-tempo pace and offer few surprises. While it’s a nice collection, they’ve done better already, and that’s why so many have been waiting so long for this one.

Fans of the ’60s futurists the Silver Apples will hear a big influence, especially in the song “We Carry On.”

When the ninth song, “Small,” kicks in and kicks ass, one had almost forgotten that surprise was supposed to be on the menu. It’s a crazy, thrilling ride best heard either on drugs or in a car ride, but hopefully not at the same time.

C. 2008 LEO Weekly

The Breeders

Mountain Battles
(4AD)

“Overglazed” — Stoner intro; repeats “I can feel it.”
“Bang On” — Clean, Pod-era funk jazzercise workout jam.
“Night of Joy” — Trippy Free Design/Carpenters Pod-era, sounds like The Cardigans if Liv Ullmann had been their singer.
“We’re Gonna Rise” — Slow-burning slow-core, sister harmonies.
“German Studies” — Like walking around in the dark, vocals everywhere. Really in German? Extra creep.
“Spark” — Crawls sexy.
“Istanbul” — Melodica? Harmonica? Melonica? My favorite already. Exotica. Duh. Cheerleader raps? Wow.

“Walk It Off” — It’s a hit. NY attitude, dude.
“Regalame Esta Noche” — Mid-’60s country = Freddie Fender … Wait, what’s going on here?
“Here No More” — Gorgeous sister harmonies. Everly bratz.
“No Way” — A rock song.
“It’s the Love” — Another hit, poppoppoprockrockrock.
“Mountain Battles” — Letting the air out of the tires

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Destroyer

Trouble in Dreams
(Merge)

Poor Dan Bejar. The hirsute Canadian should have been a fiery Latin. Not to get all cliché on that ass (though white people do do this), but Bejar is a passionate, passionate man whose lust for words, women, his own always just-out-of-reach ambition, and its unattainable goal — The Perfect Song — burns burns burns.
Listening to what begins to seem like the same nine-minute epic over and over reminds me of the scene in Annie Hall, where naïve young Annie falls for the transparently pretentious, self-styled artiste whose interest in the arts is overshadowed by his interest in nailing chicks, man.

Having survived my 20s, painfully, I had to know many guys like this, who teetered on the edge of bipolar disorder. Some could play instruments well, or write or sing like a more glam-inspired Bob Dylan, but most didn't get as far as this fiery Canuck. I guess that counts for something.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

The Photographic

Pictures of a Changing World
(Galaxia)

The Photographic is an all-instrumental duo from Louisville who follow in the tradition of groups such as Mono, Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as minimalist forefathers Steve Reich and Philip Glass. At times an undercurrent of teen heavy metal love (trying to be restrained) can also be detected.

The music of The Photographic most resembles the sounds of the waves, crashing against the water and the bodies, struggling against what is natural and what is necessary to survive. The struggle is always necessary and, even in death, important.



So to Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder and all the other open-toe sandal-wearing bummeroos who aren’t content to merely surf; who blemish every surf DVD, skate video and college radio station you get near with your unrighteous neo-James Taylor frat boy slow jamz: Bros, please start soaking up the rays from these Kentucky cave-dwellers instead.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Retribution Gospel Choir

Retribution Gospel Choir
(Caldo Verde)

Alan Sparkhawk and Matt Livingston might want to think about building those ships that people put inside bottles. They seem to want to have a hobby. For most people, being in Low would be enough. Even after almost 15 years, Low remain one of the most beautiful bands around.
With this side band, presumably formed in the garage, the boys go back to the basics and just play some pretty basic rock music. Nothing special.

It’s well played by experienced professionals, but lacking in blood, spirit and heart. When Sparkhawk’s wife, Mimi Parker, occasionally pops in to add her vocals, they become Low, and all is forgiven. Producer Mark Kozelek does a fine job of recording the band, but one also misses his songwriting abilities.
I’m not mad, just a bit disappointed. I might be less forgiving if I’d had to pay for my copy, though.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Anonymous comments are awesome!

I've been writing about music for the Louisville papers for almost 4 years now, ever since I stumbled upon Jeffrey Lee Puckett in a Germantown bar. In that time, I've also worked at the ear x-Tacy record store, and I ran the Old Louisville Coffeehouse, where we hosted 130 all-ages concerts (somewhere around 500 bands) in 13 months, before being shut down by a cranky yuppie neighbor with a lust for calling in noise complaints.

I tried to book every kind of music I could there - mostly punk and hardcore, but also indie rock, folk, jazz, hip hop and random weirdos. Wax Fang played their second show there, in November 2005, many months before they even had a name. My assistant manager played with Second Story Man and Joe Manning; customers would ask my other best employee, "Didn't I see you singing last night at the Jazz Factory with Liberation Prophecy?"
Everyone was welcome, not only to watch but also to play, whether they were 5 or 85. It was a glorious, but ultimately, failed experiment.

I had fun trying to support the local music scene, trying to provide an outlet that it was otherwise lacking. I met lots of people, most of whom were very nice and/or interesting. One of my favorites was Brandon Skipworth, an exceptionally decent fellow who's done wonderful, necessary work over many years as a partner in the Noise Pollution record label.
They put the out the great collection Bold Beginnings: An Incomplete Collection of Louisville Punk 1978 - 1983, which you might have heard about on a series on WFPK, and they've put out excellent discs by VRKTM, Tyrone, Out. and many others.

Noise Pollution recently released a disc by The Teeth. I wrote a review of it, assuming that - as usual - I would hear no direct response to my essay. Once it's out there, it's out, and hopefully people get the idea. I always assume that bands - or anyone trying to make their name known to the public and trying to sell their product in exchange for money - would know that any publicity is good publicity. Well, two months later, I found that I was being discussed on a message board. Oddly enough, it was more positive that hateful!

I am not bringing this topic to this forum to continue the discussion, or backtrack from my review or anything else I've written in the past in any way. I write this because
a) I find it highly amusing
and
b) One of the main reasons why I do this (besides the paycheck) is because I love music,
and I love the Louisville music scene, and being able to shine a light on all the gorgeously unique sounds and ideas that come out of here and, all too often, never leave here.

To you, the Louisvillian who is 21 and older, who isn't going to do anything more exciting tonight, I would ask you to listen to this band, The Teeth, for free, on their MySpace page and decide for yourself if you like them. I'm just one person. My opinion is important but yours is, too (unless you like Sheryl Crow or Lenny Kravitz - in that case, you have no rights).
The Teeth are playing at Cahoots at 1047 Bardstown Road in the Highlands with One Small Step at 10 p.m.

Oh, and tell 'em Berkowsh**z sent you.



C. 2008 Velocity Weekly

The Gutter Twins

Saturnalia
(Sub Pop)

What is it with our middle-aged Alternative Nation icons turning to mid-’90s trip-hop beats in the later days of the George W. era?
Perhaps The Gutter Twins, Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan, can go on tour with Bob Mould — We’re 40-something and Fierce! co-sponsored by Paste magazine and Zima, for those of you who used to rock but are now in recovery and/or too sore.

Though their press release brags them up as “The Satanic Everly Brothers,” Dulli and Lanegan are caught in the purgatory of their own creations. No longer 20-something hellions, not yet The Next Tom Waits — these aging bad boys are still vital artistically, yet more known commercially to people who haven’t watched MTV since Kennedy was introducing the next hot bands.
Lanegan, still one of the best singers in the world, is wise to share the stage with Dulli. The whiny Dulli tries hard and emotes often, but can’t sound much better than Alanis Morissette next to the bluesy, poetic Lanegan, a David Lynch muse whom Lynch just hasn’t discovered yet.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Matt Messina interview

His bio:
Matt Messina is a native Seattle symphony composer now living in Los Angeles scoring music to film and television.

"His purpose as a composer is to help his directors and producers tell their stories and his dramatic sense in writing for the screen is solid." - Julie Gustafson, 20th Century Fox

His inimitable style of songwriting and composition has earned him accolades within the recording industry (ASCAP, NARIS, BAFTA). Recently, he took home 2 Best Score awards; The Festival Tous Courts in France and The One reel Film festival in the US.

His unique style of scoring film has earned him recognition on his most recent scores for Fox Searchlight's Juno and MGM's Bumper.



Peter Berkowitz:
I've got a few questions about the upcoming local screening of JUMP! here. How did you get hooked up with this project?

Matt Messina:
A wonderful production executive over at Warner Brothers put (director) Helen (Hood Scheer) and I together. She had heard some of my music and when Helen was looking for a composer, she suggested me. As it turns out, I was scheduled on a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina that Friday, so when I heard on a Wednesday that she wanted me to do it, I sort of switched gears and got to work on her film.

How did you get into scoring movies in the first place?
I got into scoring because I have a love for storytelling. As a composer, I see my job as helping each director tell their story. I love the challenge of writing for different genres, different emotions, using different ensembles. I started dabbling in film scoring while I lived in Seattle, but I quickly moved to Hollywood as I realized this is where a lot of it happens.

What kind of sounds did you hear in your head when you saw/ thought of jumpers?
I loved the sounds their ropes made as they whip over their heads. I was inspired by the fact these very different groups were all together for one sport. So, I knew we could tell the story from many different angles musically. That said, overall we decided on a hip hop feel early on. There is such energy in what the jumpers are doing that it's infectious.

Do you see (hear) any direct connection between jumping and other sports like basketball, or skating? Or do you see it more like math or chess?
I definitely see a connection between Jumping and other sports we know as 'common' in America. I think it's clearly a form of self expression as well as endurance, skill, balance, rhythm, and drive.

Do you think of jump rope as being more Hip Hop or more Rock 'n' Roll?
Either or. Both Hip Hop and Rock n Roll carry an energy and spirit to them that is at times exciting and other times just 'cool."

JUMP! and JUNO both have 4 letters, the first 2 of which are the same. Coincidence?
Yes. Coincidence.

Congratulations on the Academy Awards! What's it like to win for Best Screenplay?
It's fantastic! I am so happy for Diablo. She's a great girl and I am proud of her.

What's Ellen Page really like?
Very sweet, incredibly sharp.

What do you have lined up next?
I'm wrapping up a Thriller for MGM. Next up is coming down to about 5 projects. They all spin in the air and depending on timing, sensibilities, luck, and determination one of them will end up being my next project.

Thanks, I appreciate it.
Thank you, I appreciate your good questions!

Mateo Messina
Composer/Producer
www.mateomessina.com


JUMP! is an award-winning feature-length documentary about competitive jump rope that follows five teams of kids from around the country who push physical and psychological limits in pursuit of winning the World Championship. Part extreme sport, part art form, their moves are masterfully choreographed and bursting with rhythm, sweat and originality. These teens sacrifice everything to get where they are and each has his or her own reason to be so driven. After arduous drilling and mind-boggling performances, rivalry and collaboration have dramatic, unexpected results.

visit the movie's site here for more info...





c. 2008 Velocity Weekly

Bon Iver

For Emma, Forever Ago
(Jagjaguwar)

Bon Iver is not a poodle-haired wimp rocker from the streets of Jersey, always chasing the legend of Bruce Springstreen, forever out of reach due to a lack of vision and distracted by poon.
Bon Iver is not a schoolboy ball rocker from Australia, determined to do nothing but rock, drink and score some trim.
Bon Iver, aka Justin Vernon, is a nice young man who probably wrote poetry in high school. He probably did it to get girls, but pretended like he did it just because he was, like, really deep. Next, he probably went to art school, mostly to get girls.
At this point, you probably can tell how you’d feel about this record.

Make no mistake — the music is lovely. He probably would like to be Jeff Buckley or Peter Gabriel when he grows up. Vernon can create moods, paint pictures with his guitar; it’s his incessant, forced falsetto that loses the contest for him. Like a 12-year-old with a beard, it weighs him down and makes you forget there’s a person buried underneath.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

The Whigs

Mission Control
(ATO)

Are you half of a two-piece rock band?
Possible answers are: a) Of course. b) No. I’m lame. c) No. I do many other interesting and/or necessary things with my life.
For the latter, I say, buddy, relax. Have a rock record. It’s good, and your girl will like it. With focused marketing, you might even hear it on that radio station you like, the one with those loud, car-dealer commercials that you don’t mind listening to.

Parker Gispert sings exactly like a rock band singer should — like he’s here to make girls want to make sex with him. Song titles include “Like a Vibration,” “Hot Bed,” “Already Young,” “I Got Ideas” and “Need You Need You.” Can’t you smell his leather pants already?
No politics, no religion, just … “Hey, what are you doing after the show?”
It’s all there in his voice. I even thought it was the other guy singing on two songs, “I Never Want to Go Home” and “1,000 Wives,” but it turns out that was just him faking sensitivity like the Foo Fighters to get even more tail. Right on!
File under: Dude, just let me rock, OK?

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Times New Viking

Rip It Off
(Matador

1993: A triumphant time. Our authentic rock star was Layne Staley, not that poseur Jon Bon Jovi; our president was Clinton, not that asshole Bush. While the popular kids hated Shannen Doherty, music nerds argued passionately about Kurt and Eddie, licensing your song to a car commercial meant career suicide, and nothing was hipper than burying your pop songs under a mountain of hiss, as if the tapes had fallen into a toilet 30 years before and just been rediscovered.
"Rip It Off" (a title which should’ve been reconsidered) is an enjoyable (if more challenging than necessary in 2008) pop record. It owes a debt to Superchunk primus inter pares (mostly considering the chipmunk quality of the vocals, which is not to everyone’s taste). Otherwise, they are a fine band who probably sound fun live.

While they’re working on their rip-offs, they might consider following the path of Pavement, a band that began making lo-fi rumbles and evolved into a mature, beloved band that will, undoubtedly, reunite in about four years and make millions.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Cat Power

Jukebox
(Matador)

The woman that Christina Ricci wanted to be in the accidental comedy “Black Snake Moan,” Catherine Power has lately found new strength in her Southern roots. Thankfully, her father must be Dan Penn or Steve Cropper, and her brother isn’t Kid Rock.
Once perceived as an indie rock/folk bird, time has revealed Chan Marshall (Cat Power’s lone constant) to have more in common spiritually, if less so sonically, with Mary J. Blige.

While cover albums are usually horrible, and no one should ever do them, ever, Marshall is one who should do more. On this, her second covers album, she proves again able to pump blues, jazz and soul into moribund songs like “New York, New York” (trust me), dares and wins taking on Janis and Joni, and, OK, like everyone else, attempts to jump genders and become Bob Dylan — by singing his song, singing a new song about him and singing everyone else’s songs kinda like him.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

King's Daughters and Sons bio

From the first note heard in August 2004, I was in love with the music that came from the barrels of Joe Manning. A city boy who can easily fool tourists into seeing him as a rustic, Manning is both a true writer and a vocal marvel. What's amazing about King's Daughters & Sons, though, is how Manning here has surrounded himself with the very best other musical marvels in the region - all of whom have been utilized in other ways, and one of whom has never had a chance to truly shine before, who emerges as a star against the odds, like Leif Garrett in a '70's TV movie...

There's the rhythm section - bassist Todd Cook and drummer Kyle Crabtree. Both are thunderous yet calm, stable yet always moving forward. Both began in heavy rock but few can play more subtly; it is this versatility that they call on here, with Shipping News and with Shannon Wright.

Keyboardist and vocalist Rachel Grimes sings like she looks - like a porcelain, Victorian-era queen that Cate Blanchett should get an Academy award for playing. With the Rachel's band, she has seen the world and she has absorbed it. Mike Heineman is the aforementioned rising star, with an angelic voice that needs to be heard by every mother and father and their housebroken pet. I even heard that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan himself is coming back to life just to hear Mike sing - he's just that good. People used to talk about the harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash - imagine how good that was supposed to be, multiply that by 18, cut out the cheese and what you've got is what happens when Rachel, Mike and Joe sing together.

If this isn't what God and Rodney Dangerfield are listening to together up in Heaven, then I say, never mind, I'll go to Hell instead.

The Teeth

In Minutes
(Noise Pollution)

In the 1960s, the term “garage band” referred to a gaggle of young men, often American and/or Caucasian, attempting to play that one fairly generic Rock Band sound common in the days when the Beatles were popular but not yet creative. (Sorry, Ferris Bueller, they didn’t write all those blues songs).
Perhaps the phenomenon was most popular in the Midwest, because, gosh golly, there’s just more of them (insert birth control joke here). But where would we be without those mutant strains — exemplified in this example by the Stooges, MC5, Styrenes, Electric Eels, Pagans and Pere Ubu? You know, the guys in high school who were freaks, not geeks.

You’ll feel like they’re smoking in your boys’ room again while injecting The Teeth's In Minutes, a post-proto-blast of uncomplicated rock ’n’ roll made by guys who don’t sound like they know, yet, what it feels like when you realize your dreams will never come true.

c. 2008 LEO Weekly

Foxhole

Push/Pull
(Burnt Toast Vinyl)

As a teen trying to become more cultured, I went to a Wynton Marsalis concert. I’d heard that adults with taste and brains listened to jazz music. Later I would realize that not all jazz is the same, and that Wynton Marsalis is not really much like John Coltrane. I was acting like an adult, but not the type of adult I wanted to be.
At the concert, Marsalis introduced a piece, “This one’s about education.” At that point, I had no choice but to laugh. How could instrumental music be “about” something? Now, I’m twice as old as I was then, and I still don’t understand.

Four of the five pieces here are inspired by the death of a friend. The fifth piece was inspired by the death of Wesley Willis, a man of color who made a lot of well-off white kids laugh because he was mentally ill. Oh, and their music is also inspired by their, uh, religious beliefs. (If you know what I mean).

c. 2008 LEO Weekly