Writing by Stephanie Augello
Videos by Various Sources
Music and videos make fabulous bed fellows. Lately, I've seen an almost overwhelming output of the sound + visual equation. Here are a few video projects that I've recently taken a look at.
Waller
Track: 'Time to Go'
Album: "Stoke the Fire"
Directed by Just Peachy Pictures
Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun
Track: 'We Were Wild'
Album: "Wildfire"
Directed by Parker Davidson
powerkompany
Track: 'Half Naked'
Album: "Comfort"
Directed by Alessandra Hoshor
Cusses
Track: 'Worst Enemy'
Album: Self-Titled LP
Directed by Bob Jones
Exemption
Track: Live 7 Part Series
Album: Various
Directed by Centerville Studios
The Click Clack Boom
Track: 'Bats'
Album: Unreleased
Directed by Luisa Conlon
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
If You Think You Might Come to California...
Photos & Videos by Various Sources
Mike from the Henry Miller Memorial Library was awesome enough to point me in the direction of some bands local to the Big Sur, CA area. So, here's a peak at a few of the acts working the indie circuit in The Golden State.
Levi Strom
Oregon native Levi Strom describes his style as being a blend of folk, rock, country, new wave, jam and electronic; "heartfelt but bold, with gravity heavy lyrics and oddly catchy melodies." He first appeared on the West Coast scene back in 2005, when he released his self-titled debut album. After five years of songwriting, and another year of recording, mixing and mastering (in both Big Sur and L.A.), Strom released his follow-up album "The Lone Wolf" in September of 2011. According to the artist's website, "Many of the tracks were recorded live, some right as they were being written...If you want a taste of the many styles Levi is capable of, this record will not disappoint...".
His new single "Songbird" was released this past December, and has been featured on the Stanford Soundtrack 2011 Compilation. For those of you who live in the New York area, Levi Strom will be playing with Cave Country, who you'll learn more about in just a moment, at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn on Friday, June 8th.
Cave Country
Comprised of members Jim Reynolds (Vocals/Guitar), Evan apRoberts (Vocals/Guitar), John Thompson (Drums/Percussion) and Andrew MacIver (Vocals/Keys), Cave Country "is a contemporary blend of country, indie rock and folk, colored by rich vocal harmony that emanate from their home on the California coast." Reynolds, apRoberts and Thompson had been playing together in a progressive outfit called 'Madeline Flats,' when in 2008, they took the advice of a friend, and decided to focus on creating "songs from the heart." Cave Country released their first self-titled effort in 2009, and have since come forth with their full length album, "Just a Little Coal." They have been noted by Deli L.A. writer Hugo Gomez as being "...warm, melodic and honest -- the way folk music should be."
The sounds of Cave Country are consistently associated with the state they call home, evoking notions of sunshine, wine sipping and life on the road. They have been compared to popular artists such as Buffalo Springfield, Wilco and The Byrds. Below is the video for their soft, breezy, harmonious track 'Constant Arrival.'
The Range of Light Wilderness
Based in, and inspired by, Big Sur, this Gnome Life Records band consists of Tommy Frank MacDonald (Vocals/Guitar), Jessie Campbell (Vocals/Drums) and Nick Alves (Vocals/Bass). They released a 16-track self-titled album in June of 2011, and can make you feel like "...that old beach blanket in your trunk might really be a magic carpet...It's all moonlight and waves here, pine-pitch and sunshine."
Last year, The Range of Light Wilderness was interviewed by San Francisco publication Broke-Ass Stuart's Goddamn Website, a really entertaining, irreverent site designed for "...busboys, poets, social workers, students, artists, musicians, magicians, mathematicians, maniacs, yodelers and everyone else out there who wants to enjoy life not as a rich person, but as a real person." Honestly, the whole endeavor is worth taking a look at. Anyway, the interviewer lovingly pegged them as both hippies and hilarious people, whilst referring to their sound as being "beautiful beachy surfy folk music."
The Shrouded Strangers
Take a quick look at their Facebook page, and you'll see that the members of The Shrouded Strangers have placed themselves in these genres: "Psych-Honky Tonk, Guitar Cubism, Appalachian Jazz." Guitar Cubism? Creative placement. Creative group. They individually hail from all over the USA (DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California), which adds to the diversity that comprises their style.
The Shrouded Strangers' latest undertaking, the "Lost Forever" LP, was released in early 2012, and can be purchased via the band's website. This past April, their new single 'Featherbed' was featured on My Old Kentucky Blog, who translated the track's energy as "...thick guitar fuzz, made-in-heaven riff, and, and yummy psychedelic effects." The child of the '90s in me feels right at home hearing a band that jogs my memory into spitting out the name Eric's Trip.
Sidenote: The Shrouded Strangers played at Le Voyeur in Olympia, WA in March of this year. About five years ago, I spent a very lovely night at that bar with some old friends and their friends (some of whom worked at the establishment), drinking beers way after they'd shut the doors to outside customers. Great night. I bought a T-shirt. I still wear it.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Vacant Front Porches
Overview of Atlanta's IMR Music Festival, which was held at The Five Spot on April 27th and 28th. Originally seen in Target Audience Magazine.
I view Atlanta from the perspective of an outsider. I have no choice but to do so. I am neither a native, nor a transplanted resident. I have, however, been a resident of a number of other cities, including New York, Boston, Asheville and Savannah. My natural inclination is to compare Atlanta to those places with which I’m familiar. I could say that its subculture is akin to Asheville’s; its prolonged summer and hints of lawlessness remind me of Savannah; its firmly rooted, respected history is strikingly Bostonian; and of course, its drive, zest and networking skills deserve a snug seat in the corner of a bar on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Really, what I just did was pretty unfair to the city of Atlanta – depriving it of an independent description and all. I do, however, solemnly swear that I only did it because I don’t yet know enough about the city to properly assess the traits that declare its independence. So, let’s get started with that.
Atlanta is a city of independents. It’s a city of hospitality, style, realism, enthusiasm and more than a little bit of hedonism. Oh, and furnished front porches – it’s full of porches that seem eerily absent of people occupying the decorated spaces. Ruminate as you will. Atlanta is also a city of community, both mainstream and underground. The last weekend in April was a prime example of that such fellowship. That Saturday, the annual, wildly popular (as was evident by the volume of traffic) Inman Park Festival was in full effect. In addition, IMR, or Indie Music Reviewer to the less informed, held their first ever two day festival at The Five Spot on April 27 th & 28th. Though I was unable to attend the former, I was there for portions of the latter, where I socialized to the best of my socially awkward ability, and also took some photographs.
On Friday, I captured performances by Jack of Hearts, Baby Baby, Cusses and Trances Arc. Experience has shown me that a live show by Savannah’s Cusses is generally a slam dunk, and their appearance at the IMR Music Festival was no exception. The lovely Angel Bond ensnared her audience with her gritty, yet sweet, vocals and dynamic movements. I was also truly floored by the power of Jack of Hearts. Drummer Sarah Wilson is the catalyst of that group, taking their well-crafted rock/pop style to visceral, primal extremes. I spent much of Saturday just watching, and getting absorbed in the scene at The Five Spot. Gun Party snapped me out of my trance. They describe themselves on Facebook as being “…an eclectic hornet's nest of melodic mayhem…,” and I’d say that’s right on target. They’re like a wild party in a forgotten industrial warehouse; something out of a graphic novel; the “behind the scenes” footage of an Andy Warhol film.
Jack of Hearts
Baby Baby
It’s hard to gauge the success and overall merit of a music festival’s freshman year. As the event is going on, every precedent is in the process of being set. I refuse to be one of those people who letter grades a festival, so I’ll simply offer a few observations. The IMR Music Festival was nearly as visual as it was musical. Each band’s performance was accompanied by a sort of laser light extravaganza, which enhanced the view for the general audience, as well as the dozen or so photographers and videographers present. Spending two days holed up in a single location full of kinetic lights and roaring music can get a bit redundant. Though a sense of constriction was generated as a result of situating the festival solely at The Five Spot, doing so also had the ability to create a sense of camaraderie; of hunkering down in a fort and planting seeds. As far as business decisions go, I believe the organizers were wise to choose only one location. Start small. Assess when it’s over. Grow over time.
Cusses
Trances Arc
Gun Party
The IMR Music Festival would have been more Boston if conversations about German poetry could be overheard at the bar; more Asheville if groups of train jumpers had been roaming the parking lot with their mutts; more New York if attendees had been darting their heads nervously about, looking for some elusive big break; and more Savannah if the whole sha-bang had ultimately been broken up by the cops. But it was none of that. It was Atlanta – conspiringly creative and neighborly – already energetically building upward from this year’s foundation.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Highs and Lows
Sometimes, tragedy hits close to home. A number of Long Island bands recently played a benefit show at Mr. Beery's to aid the family of fellow musician Mike Miller.
Normally, I like to post positive notices about musicians. Unfortunately, life doesn't always swing to the positive pole, so having a 100% good cheer rate is impossible. There is, however, a certain degree of contentment that can arise from acknowledging that reality, and also a certain joy that can be experienced when resources and passions are pooled to help alleviate some of the negative.
A few weeks ago, a benefit show was held at Mr. Beery's in Bethpage NY, to raise money for the family of local musician Mike Miller. Miller is the vocalist/guitarist, and the head namesake, of Mike Miller & the High Life, an outfit which also consists of Matt McLaughlin (Bass/Backing Vocals), Dom Barranco (Drums/Percussion) and Jess Debellis (Keys/Percussion/Backing Vocals).
In early March of this year, Mike Miller's cousins, Matthew and Elizabeth Bergman, lost their lives as result of injuries they sustained in an apartment fire in Reno, Nevada. He was 16, she was 12. The April 15th show on Long Island was arranged as a means of raising money to help Miller's uncle Ronald begin a financial recovery process after enduring such a terrible loss. Mike Miller & the High Life was joined that night by Playing Dead, Graz & the Dangerous Few, as well as Andrew and Derek from Vision Through Sound. Below are a few performance photos I shot.
Mike Miller & the High Life
Playing Dead
That night, Mr. Beery's and Mike Miller were able to successfully raise $508 for the surviving members of the Bergman family. There were also a number of fundraising efforts in California and Nevada, as well an online campaign, the latter of which reached a total of $5617.
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