Skinny Lister Rolls Over Roseland

10 Feb
Skinny Lister at Roseland Ballroom in NYC

Skinny Lister at Roseland Ballroom in NYC

Before the epic snowstorm barreled into New York City like an out-of-control freight train, there was the reckless musical freight train of Skinny Lister. Performing last weekend at Roseland Ballroom in support of Flogging Molly’s Green 17 tour, Skinny Lister succeeding in doing what every opening act tries to do; they enlivened the crowd. Enlivened is too calm a word. Skinny Lister vivified the crowd. They galvanized the crowd. They downright shocked most of the crowd. As Lister’s set proceeded, more and more people found their way to the immense wooden floor, not because Flogging Molly was soon to be playing, but because the band on stage was embarking on the radical quest of taking the roof off the venue.

Roseland Ballroom is a homey, multi-purpose venue in NYC’s Theatre District. It’s a spacious venue with a roomy dance floor and two elevated VIP areas (one main-floor, one mezzanine) that hang to the sides of the main dance floor. The Roseland consistently gives off the oversized wooden lodge feel, and sound is effectively reverberated. Not like that would be a problem for Skinny Lister.

As you might have read in my initial review of Skinny Lister (Read Here), the band’s music is “bubbly and brainy, smart and sassy, powerful and…well…powerful!” When performing live, as I can now attest to, you need to quadruple the above praise, especially the powerful mention. Skinny Lister packs a punch. The band combines classic English folk songs with a modern folk flare, and they do this with infectious ardor that draws crowds in. Halfway through the band’s set, the whole of the crowd was dancing jigs and shouting with the band in a communal alcohol-aided throb. It was truly a sight to see. Plus, in unprecedented fashion, the upright bassist did a stage dive and crowd surfed WITH his monstrous upright bass. The kicker was he didn’t stop playing.

That’s the kind of show Skinny Lister put on. Energetic. Fun. Incredibly satisfying. It is no wonder why Skinny Lister has become masters of the road. More people should go out and see this exciting folk band. And, with news that they will be taking part in Coachella this year, it is safe to say more and more people are excited about this English band. Below are a few videos I shot at the show. Enjoy!

The Rise of Jamie Lidell

9 Feb

You never know what you’re going to get when you find an artist that doesn’t fall in the bounds of a specific genre. Sometimes it is just too erratic and “art for art’s sake.” I know there is merit in pushing boundaries, and it’s great to challenge the status quo of music, but I still need melody, and I still want to enjoy what I’m listening to. I don’t care how avant-garde you are. If I don’t like your music, my opinion isn’t going to change just because you think you’re original. You can write new stuff all day that no one has ever composed or dreamed of, but if it’s garbage then I don’t know what all the fuss is about. There is another case though.

Some artists can’t be placed into a solid genre for a better reason. Sometimes artists are just putting together albums that reach far boundaries that become a sublime blend of music that keeps you guessing the entire record. Sure, I love it when bands like AC/DC put out albums because you know exactly what you’re going to get, but I also love being surprised and finding something fresh in a new album.

I recently stumbled upon the music of Jamie Lidell. He is a solo artist from England. He currently lives in Nashville and puts on one hell of a show. He achieved his fame looping rhythm tracks with his vocals and performing as a one man show. I caught wind of this because he is featured on a Simian Mobile Disco track that I love (Off the Map). His music is incredibly soulful, super rhythmic and a complete dance marathon of melody laden music. I can’t imagine this guy being a secret in the music industry much longer.

Both of these songs are the night and day of his music so just in and check out the range of this up and coming artist.

Check out his website for more.

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The Substance of Pop Music

2 Feb

I have always wondered why, when there is so much powerful and artistically driven music in the world, are we left with the pop music we have? No one I talk to listens to top 40, but there continues to be over-saturated music that is shoved down listener’s throats. I am by no means denouncing all popular music or trying to attack certain genres of music. Everything under the sun can be held up to a particular light and shine with some merit . I have just always found it strange that while everyone I know listens to music, no one listens to the top 40. Do children have that much say in what becomes “popular music?” Are the big wigs that poor at learning the demographics of their industry, or am I the crazy one?

Well an interesting development happened to me the other day. I stumbled upon some pretty spectacular music (which isn’t really out of the ordinary at all) and the funny thing was that these were all cover songs by “top 40” artists. The kind of music that just has no connection to the real artistic community of music and is more of what I like to call “corporate-pop/hop” than actual pop music. When I listened to these covers, it brought a whole new light to the melody and the lyrics. It got me wondering: are these artists really not artistic or have we just lost the ability to produce music now that we can do it so cheaply with computers? Was the real magic behind the artists that controlled the charts 25-40 years ago the fact that real musicians had to come into the studios and lay down tracks for the album? Were the producers just that much more vital to the process? Is Quincy Jones just that good? Probably.

Check out a couple videos that I found that completely redefined their originals.

There is just something about the way this music is recaptured with an honest sound instead of a couple poor synth riffs and a drum machine. Maybe there is some hope for the music community, even if the world of popular music is continuing to head in the wrong direction.

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Camera2 Just About Made It

31 Jan

Cool video Thursday! Camera2, a Brooklyn-based electronic-Indie collaboration, released their first album in 2012 and embarked on a project to film a video for each song – a rather daunting task. The videos all center around a precocious nine-year-old boy, who, in “Just About Made It” (above), puts on his kleptomaniac hat and leads a foot-chase all culminating in…what, you thought I’d tell you before you watched the video?

Let’s give some credit to the song, as well. It’s a percussion-driven, electro-driven piece with a hybrid 80s sound. Camera2 combines these elements with multifarious instrumentation that drench the track with pleasant sound. And make sure to stick around to the end not only because of the video’s conclusion but also the creative transformation of the song.

Camera2 is Producer-songwriter-vocalist – Andy Chase (Tahiti 80/Juliana Hatfield/Smashing Pumpkins), Guitarist – Michael Jurin (Stellastarr), Bassist – Aric Gillis (Teenage Kick) and Drummer – Mike Williams (Teddybears).

“Just About Made It” is the first single from Camera2’s debut EP, and the creative video was directed by Josh Stoddard.

Check out more from Camera2 at their website, and connect with them at Facebook and Twitter

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Art Decade Transforms Symphonic Rock

27 Jan

Art Decade

Whenever I first hear a band that does not conform to the bromidic classifications of a normal rock genre, I immediately explore some category to place the band in, although such a fastidious task is often misguided. Not all bands fit any category though. Such is the case for Boston-based Art Decade, the spawn of the Berklee School of Music mixed with pop overtones.

Art Decade is different, and I like change. Different, though, is only one part of new, exciting music. The tunes need to be good. Fortunately, Art Decade has this covered. On my first listen through their debut album, Western Sunrise, I was immediately shocked by the maturity and complexity of the compositions, but this confusion was satisfied when I observed the talent producing the music (more on this later).

Art Decade is to the 21st century what Electric Light Orchestra/Queen was to the Classic Rock genre. ELO and Queen were some of the pioneers of Symphonic Rock bands of the 1970s. This sub-genre evolved from the Progressive Rock movement (encompassing such bands at the Moody Blues and Emerson Lake & Palmer). Symphonic rock, though, took the sound of Prog/Rock and focused attention to modeling classical compositions and instrumentation and musical complexity. ELO, led by the venerable Jeff Lynne, took this concept and added pop melodies. Thus, the music was intelligent and accessible. Queen also emerged from Prog/Rock and added its own flavor on Symphonic Rock.

Flash forward to the late 20th century and early 21st century, and power/pop bands like Fun, Muse, Guided By Voices, Fountains of Wayne, and Keane bathe listeners with a wall of pop rhythms. Fun, specifically, focuses on creating a world of theatrical pop, an ode to the upbeat sounds of ELO and Queen.

Art Decade has combined Symphonic Rock and Power Pop into an amalgamated super genre of Classical Rock/Pop, which, although some may label it as Indie, is far more compound. The music is multifaceted and intelligent. It is effervescent and enjoyable. It has elements of hard rock, classical music, pop, and a whole lot more pushed into tracks, like a clown car of material – 15 clowns get out and you are wondering how the band fit so many elements into their music. And its clean. It is so tight and well manufactured. It is skillful.

It also makes sense considering that Art Decade’s guitarist/vocalist/arranger Ben Talmi grew up on a diet of classical music and attended Berklee School of Music.

“A strong musical education can do many things to a musician, oftentimes people become jaded with their acquired musical knowledge, becoming frustrated with the state of popular music and its general lack of musical depth,” said Talmi in a press release for Art Decade’s debut release. “Others are unable to escape the education and end up producing very indulgent and selfish music. I truly hope to take what I have learned and apply it in a very mature way.”

“Western Sunrise” is a multifarious piece that implements several classical elements into waves of remarkable instrumentation and mellifluous sounds culminating in a repeated diapason; all wrapped up neatly by a powerful vocal and music video that plays with the ocean motif and a colorful, pointillism-like construction. Oh, and it’s accessible for all ears. The song features so many elements that at some points I think I am listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra and at other points I think I am listening to Keane. The music oscillates with such precision. I must credit the entire band for this magical composition.

Here is the Pt. 2 of “Western Sunrise,” another sprawling symphonic piece that flows with creative strings, vocals, piano, and other instrumentation. In some ways I am reminded a bit of Paul McCartney’s work with Wings. 

I am excited to hear more from Art Decade, a band that I’m sure you all will be hearing more about in the future.

Check out their website, Facebook, and Twitter.

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