Category Archives: Music Stuff

If you can only spend 18 hours in Nashville…

Posted on April 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

…do it the way I did it last weekend.

I was already excited about the trip. My band Shakedown at the Majestic had booked a festival gig at Liahonaroo, a “family-friendly art and music festival,” 30 mins outside of Nashville. I didn’t want to spend the whole weekend away from my family, so I figured I’d fly in on Saturday afternoon, play the gig that night, and fly out first thing the next morning. Fun, right?

But late Friday evening, I saw that my friend Mark Brown had posted details on Facebook about a live taping of Prairie Home Companion in Nashville on Saturday. In fact, it started an hour after my plane was scheduled to arrive, and ended with plenty of time for me to get to the fairgrounds…

AND it was happening at the historic Ryman Auditorium, which is basically the birthplace of bluegrass…

AND the guest performers were Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, and Emmylou Harris…

AND there were tickets still available! That’s both a crime and a miracle.

So, on Saturday morning, I had brunch with my wife/kids at Kitchenette, walked home enjoying the sunshine, and then I hopped on a plane to Nashville. (Side note: There’s nothing more thrilling as an amateur musician than traveling far away to play a show; and nothing more terrifying than checking your instrument at the baggage counter.)

Got in at 3:30 (my beloved bass was fine), picked up my rental car, raced to downtown Nashville, found the auditorium, found my seat, and plopped down just as the band was warming up and Sam Bush was playing his first of many solos that night. I was probably the youngest person in the whole venue, and I just sat there grinning for two hours, soaking it all in.

Afterward, I hustled down to Broadway (Nashville’s version of 6th St. in Austin), grabbed a BBQ sandwich and heard a crazy awesome country trio, then out to the fairgrounds for my own gig.

The festival was fun, with lots of good performers from the Nashville songwriting scene (some of whom are on the country charts right now). I met up with my friend Mike, a disgustingly good guitar player and songwriter for Engines of Commotion and his own solo projects. He filled me in on some of the details about Nashville:

  • Songwriting is everything. Everyone is striving not so much to be a star themselves, but to write a hit song for a star.
  • Full bands are rare, because drummers and bassists expect to be paid for gigs. If a guitar player wants a full band, he/she probably has to pay for it, so a lot of shows are just songwriters or duos performing on their own.
  • Everyone seems to know who’s on the country top 100 charts at all times.
  • A prolific writer can sell full catalogs with hundreds of songs.

Anyway, it was a different kind of show for us, but it was fun. The night was fer-eeeez-ing, which was bad for us attendance-wise, but good for us because everyone was in the mood to dance and stay warm. And if you’ve ever heard us play, you know that our music was written to be danced to.

Afterward, Mike gave me a lift to his place, where I was crashing for the night. Having lived in the city for…gosh…8 years?, I assume that everyone my age and younger lives in small, rented apartments. So I’m always surprised when I pull into a friend’s giant driveway leading up to a giant house. He gave me the tour of his grown-up house, and we talked music until late at night.

Next morning, I was back on a plane to NYC. If you can only spend 18 hours in Nashville, that’s the way to do it.

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The Commoditization of Bassists and Drummers

Posted on March 21, 2012 | 2 Comments

 

“Screw lead singers.”

That’s what I couldn’t help thinking when I saw The Shins perform on SNL last weekend. I say “The Shins” because that’s what they were announced as, but the lineup had been completely shuffled.  James Mercer was still fronting the band (which should probably just be called “James Mercer,”) but the drummer, bassist, and lead guitar player had changed.

Screw lead singers!

There’s no job security for bass players and drummers. Not only are they routinely left out of songwriting credits and publishing deals (where all the real money is), but as soon as a band gets big enough, the lead singer inevitably starts to wonder why he’s paying these musicians so much money when he’s clearly the talented, marketable one.

Every time I see that situation, I get all riled up (and believe me, it’s hard to get a bass player riled up). Gwen Stefani, Rob Thomas, Brandon Flowers, Patrick Stump–those guys had some incredible supporting musicians on stage with them. Gwen and Brandon might have actually been the least talented in their respective bands, and Patrick was just the voice for Pete Wentz’s songs, as far as I can tell. But the singers are the ones at the front of the stage singing the songs, and backstage doing the press interviews. So they can take their stardom to the next level, while the bassists and drummers drift away to wherever it is that washed up bassists and drummers go to.

So yeah, Mercer, congrats on the new band. Broken Bells was awesome, so maybe you deserved to up-level your Shins bandmates…I hear you plucked some great musicians from Modest Mouse and Fruit Bats. But I think I liked you better before you were a supergroup.

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Posted in Music Stuff

We Should Thank The Strokes

Posted on July 27, 2011 | 8 Comments

Had a conversation with a co-worker today about this Stereogum tribute to The Strokes. It’s the 10th anniversary of their debut album, “Is This It,” which seems like an obviously seminal album in retrospect, but didn’t at the time (at least to me).

There are a few music videos for which I have memories of my first viewing. The first time I saw Dave Matthews’ Band’s “What Would You Say” video I was like “wha????” It looked like a twisted version of “Sledgehammer,” but the music was unlike anything I’d ever heard (before or since). I bought the album at Target later that same afternoon.

“Last Night” was one of those videos. I didn’t know what I was watching, but it looked cooler and sleazier than anything since Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” A one-take live performance? In which guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. has to walk over to the drums and try to fix the falling mic stands? A scowling lead singer in Julian Casablancas, who couldn’t seem to care less about filming his debut video?

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On Bass

Posted on May 27, 2011 | 2 Comments

Rejected titles for this post: Bass is Loaded, All Your Bass Are Belong to Us, Bass Masters, Who’s the Bass?

…

“Bass players are the cool ones.” People always say that when I tell them I play the bass. I won’t say it’s always true (I’m proof of that), but the image I have in my head of bass players is of Adam Clayton of U2, or the dudes from The Hold Steady and Arcade Fire–cool guys that stand at the back of the stage and calmly do their thing while all around them is chaos. I remember watching a huge Oasis concert maybe 10 or 15 years ago, and there on the stage, the bass player was sitting on a bar stool with his legs crossed. He was so cool he couldn’t even be bothered to stand!

Obviously, there are exceptions. Sting for one, Paul McCartney for another. Great bass players, great songwriters, but not “cool” in the sense of “the opposite of hot.”

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Posted in Band Stuff, Music Stuff, New York Stuff

Context is King

Posted on April 16, 2011 | 4 Comments

Jeff’s got a great response to my blog post about Arcade Fire winning their Grammy, and how we can lump AF fans into categories based on their response to that victory. Briefly, my point was that those who are dismayed by widespread acceptance of the band can be called hipsters; those who are happy for the band for having a bigger audience for their music can be called evangelists.

I know some people that were genuinely bummed by the Grammy win, as if some dumb award had somehow altered the band’s music, or the significance it held in their lives.

I’ve posted about this before (and better), but the layers of context we apply to our art, fashion, and entertainment tend to be weighted so much more heavily than other, more “real”  attributes. Music is a collection of sounds, voices, and words…a recorded song doesn’t change with the passing of time, but it will come into style, go out, and come back again 15 years later. Baggy pants and skinny pants are to be worn in alternating decades, ad infinitum. The only things that are cool forever are The Beatles and Converse Chucks (and if Chucks ever go out of style, blame John Varvatos).

Pieces of art and music don’t change, we do, constantly. This bothers me, perhaps because my fluctuating tastes are a reminder that I’m not who I used to be, and I won’t be the same guy tomorrow either. And while I do my best not to define myself by my tastes in music, clothes, or anything else, there’s still a sense of loss when I can’t appreciate a song I used to love, or when I see an old picture and think that the shirt I was wearing looks ridiculous. And there’s a fear that I’ll lose what I have now as more time passes. Sorry to tie fashion to mortality and Heraclitus, but there it is: We never listen to the same song twice.

Perfect example: Dave Matthews Band. I used to love them. I mean, LOVE THEM. I’ve seen them play live a million times, and I can play all their songs on guitar, bass, and drums (well, ok, not drums, but I try). I even appreciated Dave’s lyrics, and how they only really made sense when you take them all together as a body of work.

But one day in 2005, I just grew out of them. I still think they’re phenomenal musicians, but when I listen to them I’m enjoying my nostalgia instead of enjoying the music for what it is. Whatever part of me it was that used to love “Jimi Thing” and “Drive In, Drive Out” is now mostly gone, and I’m enjoying memories instead of music.

I don’t think I’m old enough yet to know for sure if all my music will one day become nostalgic. I hope not. And I’m not sure if the antidote is to fend off nostalgia by constantly discovering new bands, or to wall myself off and listen to my established favorites forever. I can’t see myself doing the latter, but I know people in each camp, as I’m sure you do too.

I’m listening to Collective Soul as I write this, just to see how it holds up (I probably haven’t listened to their blue album in 10 years). It’s probably not a fair example, because their sound was always a bit dated…way too tidy and precise to be called grunge, and their guitar distortion never sounded like it came from a real amp. But yeah, “Run” is still a great song, as is “The World I Know.” Smashing Pumpkin’s “1979″ and Sublime’s “Santeria,” two of my favorite songs when I was a senior in high school, sound just as lush and complex as they ever did. But then “Semi-Charmed Life” just sounds completely ridiculous.

So maybe time just weathers art differently, and the good songs/art/fashions are the ones that can withstand the powerful march of time and taste. There might be a point in the future when I won’t feel anything for Arcade Fire. But when that time comes, it won’t have been dictated by the Grammy voters.

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Posted in Music Stuff, Random Links

A Week of Music

Posted on April 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Apologies in advance…this is going to be one of those “I love New York City ohmygosh I wanna live here forever NYC is so cool!” posts.

But seriously, I love New York…there’s always something random happening. Case in point, my band Shakedown at the Majestic’s show on Thursday night at Sullivan Hall in the West Village. (That’s not the random part)

Our opener was the Long Island version of Dave Matthews band. Jangly acoustic guitar, wailing sax, busy drums, funky bass, the whole bit, only they were totally Long-Island looking. And their fans were INTO it like it was Charlottesville in 1992.

My band gets up, plays a pretty good set. We thought we were headlining the evening, but when we were done, a guy came up on stage and started setting up a DJ rig. Turns out, some traveling Japanese troupe was doing a variety revue or a talent show or something to benefit Japan. So of course we have to stick around to see what happens

Hip hop singers, break dancers, vaudeville-style dancers, the whole bit…the talent show portion lasted for about an hour, and it was full of surprises…great stuff. All my friends that came to see my band stuck around and had a great time.

THEN, a dance troupe of 10 Japanese women in geisha getup got up and performed for another hour, complete with singing, dancing, and like 20 costume changes! Seriously, my whole group was agog…it was amazing, and they were performing at this point for like 30 people.

We eventually decided it was too much awesome for one night, so we left and went to the little hole-in-the-wall next door, where there just happened to be a 20-piece salsa band crammed onto a stage for Latin Night.

On Saturday night, I went with my old PCMag friend Whitney to see Patrick Stump perform (I spared Corinne…she’s not a Fall Out Boy fan). I’ve been saying for years that Stump was the most soulful singer in rock music (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C is all the weird a cappella medleys he’s been posting on youtube). My music snob friends make fun of me, but Saturday was total vindication.

Fall Out Boy is on hiatus for now, and Stump has recorded a solo record comprised of somewhat over-produced soul and R&B tracks. It’s a bit like a caffeinated Justin Timberlake, but without the self-seriousness. But the songs were amazing live. Seriously, he burned the place down. The show was at Joe’s Pub, this intimate venue with table seating for maybe 100 or 150…everyone’s sitting with food and drinks in front of them, and the tables are right up against the stage. You could say something in a regular voice and be heard up on stage between songs.

Stump had some of the best musicians in the world backing him up, and their sound was tight. Whitney and I were like “It’s too bad he wasted all those years in Fall Out Boy.”

Also, he’s slimmed down and started dressing natty, to good effect. He looked like the next incarnation of Dr. Who. (right?)

I don’t go to shows every week (or even most weeks), but on the occasional night when I do get a chance to take in some music, New York is constantly full of surprises.

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Posted in Music Stuff, New York Stuff

18 Highlights From SXSW 2011

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

My brain is totally full of new ideas and memories that I picked up at SXSW over the past few days. It’s probably the most productive, most inspiring, and most fun week of the year. As I move the brain-data from the buffer cache to the hard disk for better storage/retrieval, here are some of the highlights:

  1. Didn’t even make it out of the Austin airport without eating great BBQ when I landed. Who knew the Salt Lick stand in the airport was open at 10:30 am?
  2. While queuing up for a certain gadget to go on sale, I ended up waiting in line behind a prominent tech/startup lawyer from Boston, and we slowly discovered we have lots of friends in common.
  3. While standing on the sidewalk with a coworker Friday night, three different groups of friends happened to pass by in succession, while a fourth pulled up in a pedicab. My friend thought I was some crazy Austin maven (when it was really just dumb luck).
  4. Pedicabs as preferred mode of transportation
  5. My panel on Saturday afternoon was standing-room-only; in fact, some of my friends tried to get in but were turned away. So, it was a quantitative success, at least. (There’s a good writeup here)
  6. The panel moderator, Bob Garfield from NPR/Ad Age, said he wanted to punch me in the face. I called him a not-nice name. All in good fun (seriously, he was amazing).
  7. Meeting the dude from @Longreads, my absolute favorite Twitter follow.
  8. 90s karaoke after-afterparty with some coworkers and assorted other friends, half of whom are in good bands. We did three-part harmony on “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
  9. Theophilus London did a 90-minute hip-hop set at the Bing party for about 60 people, and it was amazing.
  10. Ted Leo solo show–just a man and his guitar
  11. Local Natives show–like Beach House + Fleet Foxes. Awesome
  12. Vimeo hosted a european-style rave at a giant abandoned power plant, with an amazing light show. When we got there we realized that Diplo was the DJ. Afterward, hosted a chilled out afterparty for some of the Vimeo folks in the Hilton lobby.
  13. Excellent copywriting tips from the editor of Groupon
  14. Geeking out with a handful of transmedia experts at GMD’s party
  15. Ran into my college newspaper editor, who just finished a stint at Camera Bag and is now a researcher at Carnegie Mellon.
  16. Watching the JWT folks have fun with the JWT BBQ truck and corresponding (disturbing) video, which was projected on walls around town.
  17. So many great food trucks!
  18. Club soda and Diet Coke, all night every night.

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Posted in Music Stuff, Tech Stuff, Web Stuff, Work Stuff

Hipsters and Evangelists

Posted on March 5, 2011 | 4 Comments
Arcade Fire at Rock en Seine, August 2007.

Image via Wikipedia

So, I know I’m totally late to the topic, but Corinne and I have been talking about Arcade Fire’s best album Grammy, and looking at the different reactions online. I think it’s the perfect litmus test for determining Hipster vs. Evangelist.

I’m an evangelist. As my poor friends and family know, when I find a band I like, I push it on people. I’m sure it gets annoying, but I can’t help it–I want everyone to have the chance to enjoy the stuff that I enjoy. (Marketers like me, because I do the same thing with brands that I like)

Hipsters, on the other hand, get off on knowing what others don’t–insider knowledge is a powerful form of social currency. So they need to build walls to shield their favorite bands, restaurants, and craft breweries from the masses. And when the masses break through the wall, the hipster has to move on to the next thing.

So the litmus test is this: Were you excited about the Grammy win, or bummed out by it?

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Posted in Music Stuff

Klosterman, Football, ABBA

Posted on February 3, 2011 | 2 Comments

I’m working my way through Chuck Klosterman’s Eating the Dinosaur with growing adoration. For one, there’s an excellent chapter on the evolving Xs and Os of football formations, and the red queen dilemma of defenses and offenses constantly having to evolve just to keep up with the latest advances on the other side of the ball.

But the clincher is the very next chapter, which analyzes the timeless quirkiness of Swedish supergroup ABBA–proof that I’m not the only under-40 hetero who loves the brilliant songcrafting of Benny and Bjorn. He even waxes rhapsodic about the lyrical sophistication of “The Winner Takes It All.”

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Posted in Music Stuff

Where Are the Great Mormon Artists?

Posted on January 25, 2011 | 6 Comments

I participated in a BYU-Idaho student documentary about Mormon art (probably because I wrote a blog post agreeing with a Slate blog post about the lack of great Mormon artists). It’s well done and it’s embedded above…give it a view and a good rating.

The documentary starts with a famous quote from Orson F. Whitney, a leader in the church about a hundred years ago: “We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.”

The question the Slate article addresses and that I address during my comments in the video is simply “Where are they? Why hasn’t our culture produced them yet?”

If there’s one negative about the video, it’s that everyone doesn’t agree with me all the time like they’re supposed to. There are a few local/indie musicians and artists who participated, along with academics and writers. The creatives were understandably defensive about the idea that Mormons can’t create great art (and, seemingly, to the idea that they themselves aren’t creating great art).

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Posted in Music Stuff, Web Stuff