Plain Spoken Music from Warm in the Wake

warm in the wake

Decatur, Georgia band Warm in the Wake have just released a new EP, Speak Plainly. Go to their website and you can pay what you want for it, Radiohead style, or you can give them five email addresses and get it for free. They’ll send an email to those people asking them to check out the music, and download it for themselves if they like it. If everybody gives them five email addresses, and those five give five more each, that quickly and exponentially turns into a humongous number–clever marketing, huh?

It wouldn’t matter much, of course, if the music wasn’t good–it is. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s great, the kind of mellow indie pop that’s easy on the ears yet sticky enough to be a recurring fixture on your iPod playlist. Like the late, great Antenna or Grant McLennan and the Go-Betweens, the band knows how to put across a simple melody without pushing it in your face.

“Explorer (Caving Day)” would be the ’single’ if this were that kind of release, instead it will just be the song you put on ‘repeat’ the most. Besides, any tune that namechecks the Nantahala River is okay by me. Check it out for yourself here.

Every Day Is Like a Football Sunday

Surreal moment of the week, month, and maybe the year: I’m flipping between the NASCAR race and some NFL game (Houston vs. Jacksonville, I think) and on one of the outros going to commercial, the music playing over the NFL graphics was the Morrissey song, “Every Day is Like Sunday.” Not exactly a song I’d associate with big sweaty muscular men running into each other for large sums of money….

Since I’ve been humming the song all afternoon now, here’s the original video for the song, which appeared on the former Smiths singer’s debut solo album Viva Hate in 1988.

If you look it up on Wikipedia it already contains a reference to its usage by the NFL, so it seems I’m a little late to the surreal-ization, I suppose.

Punk Rock Lives in You, Me, and Us

Last week I had the opportunity to fill in on the air at WUSC-FM for the Police & Thieves show, which focuses on punk rock. The experience forced me to dip into a genre I haven’t spent much time with in recent years; the result was a fun, loud, and fast two hours. It reminded me of how great a well-constructed punk rock tune can be, whether it is pop-punk, hardcore, ska-punk, or any other of the countless subgenres that have sprung out of punk’s origins.

In a recent post here I extended an invitation for bands who are out there doing things their own way to get in touch, and several of you did. The best of the batch was Columbia’s You, Me, and Us, whose loud, fast tunes on their album The Beercan Rebellion remind me of 80’s luminaries such as Social Distortion. With punk, there’s a fine line between adding some melody to sweeten up the sound and going full-tilt into mallcore mediocrity–You, Me, and Us never get close enough to that boundary to worry about having too many preteen groupies. Instead, they concentrate on classic-sounding punk rock delivered with an appropriate sneer on songs such as, “Destroy Yourself.”

The tag on their Myspace page sums the band up pretty well: “It’s loud, it’s fast, it’s angry, and it’s over.”

You, Me, and Us Myspace

Myspace live video of “Black & Blue”
You, Me, and Us – Black & Blue (LIVE)

New Archival Material Posted

Check out the tabs up at the top of the page, I’ve come across a couple discs worth of old files dating back to 1995 that I’m going to put on those pages. The “1995″ tab is features and reviews, while the “The Beat” tab is a chronological archive (also beginning in 1995) of a column I used to write for Free Times. I’ll be putting more on–I found about two years worth of stories and columns from 1995 and 1996–so read, enjoy the trip back in time, and check it again soon.

Ten Songs from Tough Economic Times

With all the doom and gloom financial news this week, I got to thinking about a musical angle to the story. There are plenty of hard-times songs out there and those that touch on tough economic periods like the Depression. Here’s a quick list of some I like.

“No Depression In Heaven” Carter Family: Best known as one of the inspirations behind the Uncle Tupelo album and the alt-country magazine both named No Depression, this is a gospel tune about the better life depression-era folks could expect to find upstairs.

“The River” Bruce Springsteen: There are plenty of Bruce songs about the economy, and a whole album, Nebraska, that’s a reaction to Reaganomics, but this song tells the story in very personal, human terms that anyone can understand. “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true, or is it something worse?” is one of Springsteen’s best lines ever.

“How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live” Blind Alfred Reed: recorded by Springsteen for his Seeger Sessions album, Reed’s is the original version, and the first verse is as applicable today as it was in 1929:

There was once a time when everything was cheap.
But now prices nearly put a man to sleep.
When we pay our grocery bill,
we just feel like making our will.
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

“Government Cheese” Rainmakers: Another product of the Reaganomics era, this is a great song about the free cheese handouts in the 1980s, from a band that could rock out and still make a good point.

“Hard Times” Stephen Foster: This one’s been recorded by dozens of people, from Johnny Cash to Dylan, Laura Love, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, and Jennifer Warnes. It’s a little more hopeful than the rest of this list, but it’s a classic tune.

“She Works Hard For Her Money” Donna Summer: Say what you will, Donna Summer was a badass of the late disco era and this was one of her biggest hits. Perfect pop songs distill big issues into singable choruses, and this one certainly qualifies.

“The L & N Don’t Stop Here Any More” Jean Ritchie: Another one of those tunes with multiple versions, sometimes listed as traditional, but as a reader pointed out to me in the comments section after I mistakenly attributed it to Townes Van Zandt, it was written by folk singer Jean Ritchie.Had to have one coal mining, railroad town song on this list, and this is a good one that focuses on job losses.

“We Can’t Make It Here Anymore” James McMurtry: A modern protest song, this double meaning lyric bemoans outsourcing of jobs and manufacturing, saying in essence that we can’t make it here any more because we don’t make anything here any more.

“Lost In the Supermarket” The Clash: Just stroll through your neighborhood grocery store and check out the prices, you’ll totally identify with this one.

“Seven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat” Jim Lauderdale: From the excellent Song of America set from 2007, this is a version of a Depression era song that decried the rapid price inflation of everything–sound familiar?

“The Right Time” For Nappy Brown To Go Home

It just goes to show how little coverage there was of the recent death of Carolina native soul singer Nappy Brown–I’m just finding out about it tonight, and he passed away on Saturday in Charlotte. The State didn’t report it until Monday, when they had this to say.

The Charlotte Observer did a little better, seeing as he’s lived there for a long time I guess that’s expected, but even their notice is a bit short.

To be fair, these are both the kind of ‘breaking news’ updates that don’t usually get many column inches, but come on, the man was a not-heralded-enough pillar of the streetcorner where soul, blues, and R&B collided. His song, “The Night Time Is The Right Time,” was covered to great success by Ray Charles, but I still prefer his raw original version. “Don’t Be Angry,” another personal favorite, was a fun side from 1955 that incorporates an almost doo-wop sound and a seriously honking sax to great effect.

I’ve written about Brown several times over the years, but never got the opportunity to interview him, unfortunately. Here’s a clip from 2006, part of a feature in the Columbia Free Times covering that year’s Down Home Blues Festival in Camden (which, incidentally, is coming up again in a couple weeks):

Nappy Brown is the marquee act this year, and with good reason. Charlotte-born Brown was in the forefront of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B in the 1950s with the sides he cut for Savoy Records. “Night Time Is The Right Time,” is perhaps his best known song, mainly from the version recorded by Ray Charles. Brown’s original take on that tune is truer to his own rough-hewn soul man persona. Brown’s later work on Alligator Records is closer to standard blues fare, but with Brown’s gruff singing voice it is still unmistakably his own. He’ll be backed for his appearances by the King Bees, a North Carolina band who have issued several albums on the European label Tramp as well as serving as backup for Chicago Bob Nelson, Lazy Lester, and more. The King Bees will also perform sets of their own tunes during the festival.

Here’s a music-only clip of “Don’t Be Angry”, and a live clip with Bob Margolin from last year featuring some terrible camera work and jarring edits, but when Brown starts singing, “Baby Please Don’t Go” about a minute into it, it’s clear the man still had it, and then some.

Travis Barker and DJ-AM Crash

The news of the plane crash involving Blink 182’s Travis Barker and his current musical collaborator,DJ-AM (Adam Goldstein) was all over the place this weekend, with the best news coming this afternoon as doctors at the Augusta Burn Center announced the two musicians were expected to fully recover from their injuries.
Not to downplay the deaths of the four others in the crash–the pilot, copilot, Barker’s assistant and a security guard–but if either Barker or Goldstein had been among the fatalities this would probably have been an even bigger story. Not Lynyrd Skynyrd or Buddy Holly plane crash big, but pretty big.
If you missed the free show Friday night that they were here in Columbia for and are wondering just why their loss would have mattered so much, here’s a couple of clips to show how they are influencing current pop culture and music. First, the official video for “Fix Your Face”:

and here’s an amazing live video of the pair in musical action from last year:

Addendum: Here’s a recently posted video of the actual Five Points concert, shot just hours before the crash:

If you go past the Five Points fountain, there are some makeshift memorials to the four who died in the crash–probably better that they put them there than on the side of the road where the crash happened, I suppose.

Bentz Kirby’s Alien Carnival Release Debut CD

Every thriving music scene has a handful of movers and shakers who make things happen, and for Columbia, South Carolina, Bentz Kirby is one of those whose efforts have them shaking all over town. From his original music open mike songwriter’s nights, dubbed, “Right Bank Rails,” to a series of well-received tribute shows to both individual artists like Dylan, Neil Young, and Jerry Jeff Walker and all-day affairs like the recent Spirit of 68 festival, Kirby has managed to aid local musicians with exposure and gigs while entertaining a wide swath of the local music fan base.
This week the spotlight shifts to Kirby’s own band, Alien Carnival, and the release of their debut album. The songs on the album are a reflection of Kirby himself—loose and ragged at times, but with their heart in the right place even if the notes sometimes aren’t. After all, the headline on his Myspace profile says, “pretty music is OK, but I like mine real.”

“Dave [Michelson, local musician and producer of the disc] and I were very aware of that idea when recording these songs,” Kirby says. “It’s a shame that many people who are considered the Gods of music would never get recorded today–I mean, where would George Jones and Buck Owens fit in today’s music industry? They’d be independent, I bet.”

Locally, Kirby is certain that there isn’t a problem finding “real” music.

“I think real music is here on our local music scene for sure and the problem is digging a little deeper on the ‘big stage’ to find it because the radio won’t play it,” Kirby says. “That’s why I read Uncut and Mojo from the UK, they cover this real music in America better than any US magazine.”

Kirby’s constant networking with and assistance to local musicians came in handy this year when it came time to record his own album, he says.

“I think that people know I am doing this for the love of the music and that I actively work to create opportunities for them to play their own music,” Kirby says. “Dave’s solo work is one of the best kept secrets in this town, plus I think he has a bright future as a producer–if I could have afforded the time to apply more of Dave’s ideas, he could have taken this album to another level entirely.”

Not that Kirby is dissatisfied with the level he has already reached, that of local musical mentor and facilitator.
“Everyone who plays on this album or with Alien Carnival must play for the love of the music,” Kirby admits, “When we play it is with as many as eight to ten people and we clear about $0 to $10 a person, so I can only figure they do it for fun and because they know I’ll do my best to get them or their band opportunities.”

Amazingly enough, as much as one sees Kirby’s name around town he’s not even a full time musician. Lawyer by day, songwriter and singer by night, is his mantra, and he has been around the Columbia music scene as a fan and audience member long before playing a note on stage. His long perspective affords him a unique viewpoint, but he confesses that he’s learned as much about music from them as other local musicians have been learning from him.

“I am amazed at how much some of the younger bands and musicians know about music from my times and before,” Kirby says, “I think we have a well educated music scene on the whole, I think the real difference is just where we get on board–for instance, a lot of these folks don’t necessarily know Woody Guthrie’s music, but they hear it through Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the like and you can hear it in their music. You can hear echoes of Woody in the music of Justin Smith and the Folk-Hop Band, for example. So, I think it’s just what influences get them started that makes them different from me. Plus, these young guys and girls are turning me on to more modern musicians, like Robbie Fulks and Todd Snider.”

As an active participant in the local music scene, Kirby is bullish on Columbia’s talent.
“I think the biggest positive we have in Columbia is the quality of the musicians and songwriters,” Kirby states. “Danielle Howle, Josh Roberts, American Gun, David Adedokun, Chris Smith (Sunshone Still), Fossil Record (Chris Compton) and Devils in Disguise have all released great albums, and people are just starting to find out about Rob Lindsey, Dave Michelson’s solo work, The Dubber, Josh McGill, Papa String Band, DNR, and the excellent songs they have written. Brodie Porterfield and Liesl Downey are not even known and they are as good or better than many who get a lot of local press.”

One musician who did get a lot of local coverage also had a profound affect on Kirby in the short time they knew each other was the late Chris Conner, whose battle with lung cancer is the subject of the song, “Country Boy,” on the new CD.

“I met Chris after seeing him play solo and opening for Danielle at the Riverfront concert series,” Kirby says, “They came up to my show at the Red Tub later that night. I was blown away by Chris’ song ‘Highway 17.’ The theme of chasing the perfect song and unwise living was perfect to me, so I was fascinated with his songwriting from the moment of meeting his music. Then I saw the South and was blown away with his stage presence and the quality of his voice.” The discovery of Conner’s music was closely followed by making a personal connection after he got sick.

”I wanted to write him a song to encourage him to fight and hang on,” Kirby says. “I don’t think people realize how sick the chemo and treatments made him–I also wanted to express to him that he was spiritual long before he ever recognized it in the hospital. Just listen to the lyrics of the Sourwood Honey songs and the cover songs he chose. Basically, it is a thank you to him and a way to preserve my memory of a very good man who was a very good friend for a too short period of time.”

Just as Chris Conner had a profound effect on many people, some he knew and many he did not, Bentz Kirby has in his own way had a positive influence on the local music scene through his promotional efforts, concert hosting, and now, with his own musical contributions.

The Many Musical Moods of Darius Rucker

With Hootie & the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker releasing his first country album on Capitol Records this week, I got to thinking about the other things he’s done in the band’s career so far. Not that country music is that far removed from Hootie’s sound–there were rumours for years that they were going to make a country album, and 2005’s Looking For Lucky, recorded mostly in Nashville, was pretty close to one. The band has also had a tendency to associate with country artists, from covering Radney Foster songs for single B-sides to Rucker singing on Nanci Griffith albums.

“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” has actually become a pretty big country hit over the last month or so, surprising many who might have scoffed at the idea of the Hootie singer as a country star. Rucker has always admitted to a strong liking for classic country, however, and his voice is well suited to the genre. The rest of the album is as catchy as the single, so there may be a few more hits to come from it.

This isn’t Rucker’s first solo album, however–He recorded a retro-soul disc for Hidden Beach, the same label that gave us soul chanteuse Jill Scott, though few heard it–sales were dismal. Here’s the video for the album’s single “Wild One,” which is actually a pretty decent soul jam with an Al Green feel to it:

It’s a pretty far stretch from that to this, the official video for the new country single:

But as some have suggested, perhaps this memorable moment primed the country music pump:

Rucker has defended his new stab at a country music career with the observation that many of the songs he wrote for Hootie were country songs that the band had to turn into rock songs. In recent interviews he has stated that he’ll be playing Hootie songs on his country music tour, and I’d say that this will be one of the songs he’ll play every night–it was even covered a while back by a country artist, Charlie Daniels. Notice as well that this clip is lifted from CMT’s program Rock & Country:

Of course, if country doesn’t work out, there’s always a chance he could put out a reggae album, right?

The end result of all this genre-hopping is that Rucker has proven to be a resilient artist who can sing the hell out of just about anything. He hasn’t recorded anything like it yet, but Rucker has played several yearly benefits singing Sinatra-style standards with a big band, even. Can a swing jazz, big band orchestra album be far behind?

Patrick Davis Tasting Songwriting Success

(This interview was conducted for Columbia Free Times’ online edition but not posted; The show’s in a few hours so I figured it ought to get read by somebody.)

Athens, Georgia musician Corey Smith takes the stage Friday night in front of a crowd stacked with hometown UGA fans among the Gamecock faithful, his opening act will be celebrating a homecoming of his own. Camden native Patrick Davis has been a resident of Nashville for six years now, and his persistence and hard work as a songwriter is beginning to pay off. Pat Green has become a fan and frequent customer, with songs such as “Dixie Lullaby” not only appearing on his albums but getting significant radio and chart action. Other artists are also coming to Davis now for songs or co-writing sessions. Davis is the first to admit that there has been a fair share of luck among the years of hard work, however.
“With anything, you do enough of it and you get lucky,” Davis says of his songwriting success. “I’m in Texas this week at a songwriting retreat with Jewel and five other songwriters, writing for her next album.” That particular gig is a result of personal connections Davis has nurtured while in Nashville, he says.
”My wife manages Jewel and works with Irving Azoff,” Davis explains. “It’s really crazy how everything has worked out so far—the relationships I started out with right there in Columbia started it all. I knew Mark Bryan’s wife’s cousin and got to know the guys in Hootie and they helped me out when I was starting to play my own original music; now Darius’ country album is coming out and I wrote one of the songs on it. If Mark hadn’t sat me down and told me I ought to write some songs and not just play cover songs, I never would have gotten to this point.” Davis is realistic about where his career is, and that he still has a long way to go, but he sounds comfortable with the process.
“It’s not about making a lot of money, just enough to do what I love to do. It’s a snowball effect—I’m still the new kid; I’ve been in Nashville for six and a half years but I’m still learning the ropes.”
The next Patrick Davis song you’re likely to hear on the radio will be sung by rising star Jason Michael Carroll, who cut “Where I’m From” for his next album.
“That’s going to be a single, it should be out sometime in October,” Davis says, “It is one of those songs that will always hold a special place in my heart—It was Roger’s favorite song.”
Roger is Davis’ younger brother, who was killed in a single-car accident this summer when his vehicle ran off the road—the younger Davis brother was not wearing his seat belt, a mistake that probably cost him his life. It’s a song about Camden, of course, but it has the kind of lyric that makes it nearly universal in appeal.
”Wherever you grew up, whether that’s Columbia, South Carolina, or Buffalo, New York, that story seems to resonate with people,” Davis says. “The week after Roger died, I went to the Grand Old Opry for a night that had Jewel, Darius Rucker, and Jason Michael Carroll all playing; Jason played it that night, which meant a lot to me.”
The artist who has meant the most to Davis’ career so far has to be Pat Green, the Texas country singer whose grassroots success mirrors Davis in some ways. Their connection was even forged on the club level right here in Columbia.
“I was playing 200 shows a year after my own indie album came out, and we played a show with Pat at Headliners,” Davis says. “A little while after that, he called me out of the blue to co-write some songs with him, that was the first co-writing I’d ever done.” The results were good enough to convince Davis he ought to be writing more and performing less, and he has continued to have a co-writing role on subsequent Green albums.
“We’ll see if he keeps using me,” Davis says of the two artists’ professional relationship, “Almost every artist co-writes with others, and we hit it off pretty well so far. He plays three or four songs I co-wrote with him, which is really cool.” The relationship with Green has been a positive one for Davis’ family finances, something he humorously acknowledges.
“We have a decent little house in Nashville, I call it the House that Pat Green Built.”
For his opening set this Friday, Davis will be joined by both family and friends on stage. His band is slated to include Jonathan Gray of Jump, Little Children, Les Hall from Sourwood Honey, Crossfade, and others, as well as his father Rusty Davis. The hometown spirit is starting to get to Davis, even over the phone from Texas, as he expresses a specific wish for this particular show.
“I just hope enough South Carolina fans show up so I can give Corey Smith some grief for being a UGA fan,” Davis says, revealing that no matter how far his career takes him, Gamecock country will always be where he is from.