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ENDLESS SUMMER OF SHOWS PAGE 4
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Modern Acoustic
Music and music-related issues that matter
September 2011 - Issue 34
FEEDING THE SOUL
DJ LISA GARVEY’S ‘BRUNCH BY THE RIVER’ SERVES UP A MIX
OF HAND-PICKED JAZZ, BLUES, ROCK AND, YES, SOUL MUSIC
LIKE NO OTHER COMMERCIAL RADIO PROGRAM ... MAYBE IN THE COUNTRY PAGE 8
FR OM
It’s easy to knock commercial radio
stations. Most are owned by corporations out to keep profit margins high and
risk-taking low.
This translates into computer-generated playlists that strictly follow formats
– adult contemporary, alternative rock,
classic rock, dance music – that cater to
the public relations machines of record
companies and their stable of stars.
It leaves little space for DJs to play
something different or for listeners to
hear something new.
But Lisa Garvey, at WXRV-FM out of
the Boston area, has actually broken out.
In a time when jazz has all but disappeared on commercial radio, Garvey
embraces it, along with soul and blues
ON THE COVER: Kermit Ruffins (top
right) at the Green River Festival.
Photo by Rich Kassirer
T H E
ED I TO R
on her Sunday morning show “Brunch
By the River.” It’s a mix of music that
has an uncanny groove, and is a perfect
weekend wake-me-up.
And guess what? Listeners love it.
Turn to Page 8 and check out what
Garvey’s fans already know: Her show
has got soul.
And if you are looking for other cool
radio stations to tune in to, check out
our list of favorites on Page 10. Even if
you don’t live in the city they broadcast
from, you can listen to them all via the
Internet.
Also, in this issue, we take you along
with us on our whirlwind summer of
concerts.
We go from intimate clubs to see
songwriting duo Thao & Mirah and upand-comer Amy Black, to large-scale
outdoor venues to catch the Green River
and Newport folk festivals featuring
Have you seen the new
PHOTO BY ADAM KASSIRER
such acts as Zoe Muth and the Lost High
Rollers, jazz trumpeter Kermit Ruffins,
Gillian Welch and the Decemberists, as
well as the Bank of America Pavilion to
catch up with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. You can relive all the excitement
starting on Page 4.
And after that, it’s on to the fall for
more shows. See you there!
Rich Kassirer, editor
Modern Acoustic?
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2 MODERN ACOUSTIC
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LIV E
S H O T
PHOTO BY RICH KASSIRER
A friend of rockabilly throwback Pokey Lafarge watches him and his band onstage at the Newport Folk Festival.
MODERN ACOUSTIC 3
ENDLESS
SUMMER
Scene and heard in
the clubs and at festivals
over the past few months
Thao & Mirah
T.T. the Bears, June 11
Thao & Mirah, a group
made up of two superb singersongwriters, was everything
I hoped for. I’ve known of the
high-energy Thao Nguyen and
her band the Get Down Stay
Down for some time. Mirah,
from San Francisco, I was less
familiar with. Together the pair,
along with a stellar backing
band of keys, viola, bass and
drums, combined that same
high energy with danceable
beats and nice harmonies.
The two were a blast to
watch: Thao is constantly
moving, whether she’s playing
her guitar or beating on a
tambourine. Mirah is all
smiles and really gets into her
vocals. The band members
showed their diversity and
range by each playing multiple
instruments while playing tunes
off their debut album as well as
their solo projects.
Amy Black
Lizard Lounge, June 14
Amy Black can swing. She
can also rock. Her show at the
Lizard provided an opportunity
to see if the spark we heard
on her debut disc, “One Time,”
would still be there live. The
answer was a resounding yes!
Black’s vocals stand up well to
a full band and her tunes, her
own and solid group of covers,
filled the room. Standouts
included “Run Johnny” and a
cover of “Ain’t No Grave.”
4 MODERN ACOUSTIC
PHOTOS BY RICH KASSIRER
Clockwise from top left: Kermit Ruffins at Green River, the Submarines and the Eels at the Paradise, Thao
& Mirah at T.T. the Bear’s and Zoe Muth at Green River.
Zoe Muth and
the Lost High Rollers
Passim, July 12
On their first extensive crosscountry tour, Zoe Muth and band
took the stage at Passim to a full
house and provided the crowd
with swingin’ sultry country
music. Though seeming a little
homesick, Muth proved why a
Seattle publication declared her
their “very own Emmylou” as
she solidly delivered tunes from
her two critically acclaimed
albums.
Eels and the Submarines
Paradise, July 28
The fully bearded Eels blasted
the Paradise crowd with its
punky, raucous tunes. In contrast,
the Submarines – Blake Hazard
and John Dragonetti – sprinkled
their electronic-enhanced,
guitar-and-glockenspiel-based
love dust as the show opener.
Green River Music
Festival
Greenfield, Mass., July 16
Our abbreviated visit to Green
River’s 25th anniversary event
was punctuated by a second
helping of country swing by Zoe
Muth and the Lost High Rollers,
a rollicking set by Terry Adams &
the New NRBQ and the “Treme”
jazz of entertaining New Orleans
trumpeter and singer Kermit
Ruffins.
Newport Folk Festival
Newport.,R.I., July 30
It’s clear that the musicians
that play the Newport Folk
Festival get it. Yes, it’s a beautiful
scene, with its view from the
stage looking beyond the crowd
to the bay filled with folk-loving
yachters. But there are other
scenic venues – Red Rocks
in Colorado and the Gorge in
Washington state come to mind.
It is the tradition that makes
Newport special. It is 92-year-old
Pete Seeger coming out at the
end of the festival and leading
the sold-out crowd of 10,000 in
“Turn, Turn, Turn” and “Where
Have All the Flowers Gone.” It’s
the ebullient Colin Meloy of the
Decemberists telling the crowd,
“We’ve never played to a more
attentive festival audience.” It
was Gillian Welch doing hand/leg
slaps and a little jig while David
Rawlings played banjo during her
new song “White Horses.”
Yes, the difference between
Newport and, say, Bonnaroo or
other wildly popular festivals
is that this one is all about the
music. It’s about looking at the
day’s lineup and making a plan
to see as many acts as you can:
watching gypsy rockers Gogol
Bordello on the main stage then
catching the early part of upand-comer Delta Spirit’s smallstage set, but being back at our
chairs in time to see 87-year-old
bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs.
People come to listen, not to
chat with friends. Because this
year’s fest was sold out, our seats
were fairly far back, near the
walkway. The hi-def video screen
made it easy to see the acts, but
was even more remarkable was
that we heard every acoustic note,
every quiet harmony. And that’s a
credit to the crowd.
We were only able to make it
From top:
the Wailin’
Jennys, River
City Extension,
Gogol Bordello,
the Felice Brothers, and Pokey
Lafarge and the
South City Three,
all at Newport.
PHOTOS BY RICH KASSIRER
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
MODERN ACOUSTIC 5
ENDLESS SUMMER
PHOTO BY RICH KASSIRER
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings join the Decemberists onstage for the Newport Folk fest finale on Saturday.
on Saturday, and no doubt missed
a lot of great moments Sunday.
But here are our highlights:
We had just gotten settled when
the Wailin’ Jennys took the stage.
I’ve been a big fan of the trio’s
sweet harmonies, and they did
not disappoint. It was a nice way
to start the festival.
Next, it was off to see the
N.J.-based rock/punk/folk band
River City Extension, an octet led
by Joe Michelini, inside the fort.
The Quad stage, as it is known,
is a favorite. Last year, the David
Wax Museum played there and
was so popular, the festival
brought them back to play the
main stage on Sunday this year.
We returned to our mainstage seats to catch the end of
6 MODERN ACOUSTIC
a rather subdued set from the
Felice Brothers. (Last year they
ripped it up on the second stage).
Then came our Gogol/
Delta Spirit/Scruggs run, which
included a quick stop at the
second stage to catch some
rockabilly from Pokey Lafarge
and the South City Three. Gogol
Bordello is led by the manic
Eugene Hutz. He played acoustic
while sitting (or trying to sit) on
a stool! Scruggs, also sitting, can
still play and ran though some of
his popular tunes.
By then, it was decision time.
We wanted to catch some of
Tegan and Sara’s acoustic set
and even made the trek over to
the Quad stage, but as time grew
near we worried we’d get caught
missing some of Gillian Welch
and David Rawlings’ set, so we
changed plans and hoofed it back
to our seats.
Words cannot describe the
beauty of Gillian and Dave’s
voices and instruments, how
they mingle, meander and mix
together. The crowd was dead
silent as they sang, so every note
rang out. Gillian introduced a
bunch of new songs, including
“White Horses,” in which she did
a little jig. And they absolutely
dazzled on the jam-filled crowd
favorite “The Revelator.”
The Decemberists closed the
show with a most entertaining
set, mixing new and old tunes
including “The Mariner’s
Revenge Song,” which featured
guitarist Chris Funk leading the
crowd in screams as if they were
being swallowed by a whale. It
was the ideal song for masses at
the ocean-kissed venue. As the
sun set, Gillian and Dave came
out to join the Decemberists for
their encores “All Arise!” and
“June Hymn,” a perfect ending
to a perfect day.
Grace Potter
& the Nocturnals
Bank of America Pavilion,
Aug. 20
The door has swung wide
open for Grace Potter, and she is
sprinting through it. It seemed
to jar open suddenly late last
year with her invitation to join
Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj on
ENDLESS SUMMER
PHOTO BY RICH KASSIRER
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals rock the Bank of America Pavilion.
the high-profile MTV “Divas”
showcase. She and the Nocturnals
followed that with a full circuit
through the late-night talk shows,
charming Leno, Letterman, and
George Lopez and blasting their
new-album hit “Paris (Ooh La
La)’’ to the world. Recently, she
duetted with Kenny Chesney on
his hit “You and Tequila” and
staged her own music festival in
her home state of Vermont.
So with that success it would
be easy for her now to lay back
a bit on her live shows, maybe
cut down on the two-hour stage
time, the wild dancing, and the
multiple 10-minute–plus jams.
But judging from her recent
show at the BoA Pavilion, that’s
just not the way she rolls.
From the moment she sprinted
(yes, really sprinted – in high
heels, no less) on stage to the
opening notes of the eveningappropriate “Hot Summer Night,”
Grace was a dervish, dashing,
skipping and dancing from center
mike to her Hammond B-3 back
to center. Her voice, as always,
ranged from soulful to downright
Janis-Joplin-esque – sometimes
within the same song.
She led the Nocturnals
– guitarists Scott Tournet
and Benny Yurco, bassist Cat
Popper and drummer Matt
Burr – through many of the
group’s great tunes including
“Joey,” “Treat Me Right” and
“Apologies.” Songs from her
latest album, like “Tiny Light”
and “Oasis,” were treated with
extended jams that lifted them
out of their pop-lite original
state.
Along with numerous Boston
shout-outs, Grace dedicated her
eveningwear color to Bonnie
Raitt, who apparently wore blue
during a performance – Grace’s
first at the BoA when she was
15. Somehow I doubt Bonnie
was decked out in the same
sparkly electric-blue miniskirt
and gold heels that Grace
sported.
The evening came to a head
as the band broke into a guitarspastic version of Jefferson
Airplane’s “White Rabbit,”
perfectly suited for Grace’s pipes,
followed by the solo a cappella
“Nothing But the Water, Part 1”
and the blistering band-finisher
“Part II.”
That seemed like a night full
of music right there but it wasn’t
the end. It was followed by an
equally exuberant “Stop the
Bus” (complete with a snippet
of Led Zep’s “Good Times, Bad
Times”).
Off went the band to a
cheering and chair-pounding call
for more, and back they came,
for “Ah Mary,” “Paris” and then
a rousing cover of Joan Jett’s
“I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Done,
right? Nope. “Medicine” finished
the night, ending in a tribal-like
drumming group that sent fans
home happy into the hot summer
night.
MODERN ACOUSTIC 7
DJ Lisa Garvey’s Sunday morning radio show
‘Brunch By the River’ has something
few others have: a soulful groove
FEAST
EARS
A
FOR THe
It’s 9 a.m. on a Sunday. Your household of kids or pets or whoever is starting to stir. You fix yourself a strong cup
of coffee and start to think about the day: eat breakfast, read the paper and then a move toward something fun or
productive … maybe by noon. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a soundtrack to your morning, something that wakes you up
nice and slow and then gets you on your feet and moving?
Lisa Garvey is there for you.
Garvey is the DJ of the radio
show “Brunch By the River,”
which plays a unique and expertly coordinated medley of jazz,
soul, blues and rock – what she
calls a “groove show” – perfect
for your weekend wake-up call.
The show airs in the Boston
area and beyond Sundays from
9 a.m. to noon on WXRV-FM
92.5 The River and live on the
Web at www.wxrv.com.
On any given Sunday, Miles
Davis’ cool trumpet might segue
into horn powerhouse Tower
of Power then to B.B. King, Al
Green or maybe Steely Dan.
It’s a mix of music no other
commercial station in Boston
– perhaps in the country – is
playing. Jazz alone is pretty
much a four-letter word meaning
unmarketable in radio. Even the
majority of college stations have
abandoned it.
So how is it received by
listeners on ’XRV?
“It’s been great,” says Garvey,
truly ecstatic to talk about her
show. “People really seem to
like it. The Facebook page has
become a chat room, not only to
make requests, but to talk about
8 MODERN ACOUSTIC
‘If some
20-year-old
was listening
and I say this
bass player is
a favorite of
[Red Hot
Chili Peppers
bassist] Flea,
they may listen.’
- Lisa Garvey
the songs and to each other.
One couple even ‘met’ there!”
(More on this later.) Listeners
from as far away as Brazil, St.
Lucia, and Florida check in to let
Garvey know they are listening.
“Good Morning from rain laden
Pensacola FL,’’ says one recent
post. “I am sharing BBTR with
my neighbors.”
The fact that the show exists
at all is a testament to Garvey’s
love for soul and jazz music. Her
regular gig, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. during
the week, is the standard adult
contemporary WXRV format:
Coldplay, Jack Johnson, Death
Cab for Cutie, Bruce Springsteen, etc. Though the station
gets a few bonus points for
ranging a little wider and deeper
than most, Garvey sticks to the
computer-generated playlist during the week.
But “Brunch By the River” is
all her.
The show existed before she
took it over five years ago, but,
she says, it lacked soul, literally:
It played a lot less soul music,
was heavy on world beat, and the
jazz selections were what she
calls “condo jazz” -– no Miles, no
Coltrane, no Charlie Parker.
But now “everything has a
soulful groove,” she says proudly.
“Jazz and soul go well together.”
She might even mix in a well-
placed pop song, maybe an Amos
Lee tune, now and then.
“All the music is from my
home CD collection,” she says. “I
bring in a pile of jazz, a pile of
soul and a pile of blues. I always
start with a jazz song. I know
almost all the intros to the songs
I’m playing, so I just see what
would fit next. Ninety percent of
the time it works.”
On a recent Sunday, the show
opened with the Jean-Pierre
Rampal-Claude Bolling jazzy
flute and piano duet “Baroque
and Blue,’’ followed by Solomon
Burke’s soul-searching “None of
Us Are Free.’’ Before the hour
was up, Garvey had mixed in
Timmy Thomas’ “Why Can’t We
Live Together?,” a rare version
of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Sting
and Jeff Beck, Miles Davis’ “My
Funny Valentine,” and, to prove
that the show’s not rooted only
in the past, Bob Schneider’s “Big
Blue Sea.” Other artists featured
during the three-hour show
included Robert Palmer, Jamie
Cullum, the Wood Brothers and
the Staples Singers.
Still, it’s Garvey’s intimate
knowledge of the music that
makes “Brunch By the River”
more than just background music to
your bacon and eggs. She’s wellversed in all things soul and blues,
and what she doesn’t know about
jazz, she has her dad, working jazz
drummer Nat Mugavero, as backup.
“He’s a great go-to guy when I need
some information on a jazz song,”
she says.
And Garvey lives for the details: Recently, following the song
“Someone Loan Me a Dime” from
“Brunch” playlist regular Boz
Scaggs, she told listeners about the
tune’s origins, saying it was from his
first album and then dropped this
juicy tidbit: the guitar player on the
track is rock great Duane Allman.
And after playing Jeff Beck’s ’70s
instrumental hit “’Cause We Ended
as Lovers,” she added this nugget:
The song was written by Stevie
Wonder. Who knew?
Garvey, that’s who.
“Whenever I get a new album, I
always look at the credits,” she says,
adding that those little facts are
ways of catching listeners’ attention,
and maybe sparking them to listen
to a song they might not normally
hear.
“If some 20-year-old was listening and I say this bass player is a
favorite of [Red Hot Chili Peppers
bassist] Flea, they may listen.”
While 20-year-olds are not the
prime audience for the show, it’s no
doubt that it has caught on – even
with management.
At first it was a bit of a struggle
convincing the program director
(at the time) to change the format,
she says. The fact that the show airs
Sundays, a “kind of throwaway” day
in radio, helped ease the transition.
The show has gathered a really
strong, very active listener base,
including that couple who found love
during the show. Recently, William
posted this note on WXRV’s Facebook page: “Ruth and I met on the
show’s Facebook page four weeks
ago ... After I posted a question to
the page she friend-ed me ... So Lisa
... You are a matchmaker as well.”
A sampling of a ‘Brunch By the River’ playlist
SPRING
IS HERE
BILL EVANS
AUGUST DAY
HALL & OATES
A NIGHTINGALE
SANG IN
BERKELEY SQ.
SONNY ROLLINS
ANGEL
JIMI HENDRIX
CALLING YOU
JEVETTA STEELE
AJA
STEELY DAN
LOVE AND
HAPPINESS
AL GREEN
BYE BYE
BLACKBIRD
MILES DAVIS
STARDUST
SONNY STITT
SLIPPIN’ INTO
DARKNESS
WAR
YOU’RE STILL
A YOUNG MAN
TOWER
OF POWER
AS THE YEARS
GO PASSING BY
BOZ SCAGGS
WILD ANGELS
MARTIN SEXTON
IT AIN’T
THE MEAT IT’S
THE MOTION
MARIA MULDAUR
DOES ANYBODY
OUT THERE
EVEN CARE
LENNY KRAVITZ
WAKE UP
EVERYBODY
HAROLD MELVIN
& THE BLUE NOTES
OUR OTHER FAVORITE RADIO STATIONS AND THEIR PLAYLISTS. PAGE 10
MODERN ACOUSTIC 9
T HE
Don’t touch that dial
LI S TS
Random playlists of radio stations across the country
that we love to tune into.
WERS
WUMB
WXPN
WFUV
88.9 FM (Emerson College,
Boston) www.wers.org
Bruise on the Sky –
Nellie McKay
Written in Reverse – Spoon
Stage Fright – The Band
Calamity Song –
The Decemberists
Wildflowers – Tom Petty
The Last Crusade
– Sam Roberts Band
Natural Blues – Moby
Dragon’s Song – Blitzen Trapper
I Wanna Be Adored –
Stone Roses
Velcro – Bell X1
91.9 FM (UMass-Boston)
www.wumb.org
If I Had My Way – Patty Griffin
Dimming of the Day – Richard
and Linda Thompson
Mary Anne – Girls Guns & Glory
Modern Art – Tom Russell
Ragged Company –
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
This Wheel’s on Fire – Guster
You Were Never There –
Diego Garcia
Truth No. 2 – Dixie Chicks
Love Is the Reason –
Bonnie Raitt
Sweetheart Like You – Guy Davis
88.5 FM (University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia)
www.xpn.org
Candy – Iggy Pop
Oh Atlanta – Little Feat
The Carpet Crawlers 1999 –
Genesis
You Were Never There –
Diego Garcia
The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King
Baby Can I Hold You – Pete Yorn
I Got Loaded – Los Lobos
Grace – Jeff Buckley
Always – Junip
Fragile Bird – City and Colour
90.7 FM (New York City)
www.wfuv.org
Portland Oregon – Loretta Lynn
(with Jack White)
Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars
Little Bit Is Better Than Nada –
Texas Tornados
The Whole Enchilada – Keb’ Mo’
Fools – Diane Birch
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight –
Bob Dylan
Harlem River Blues –
Justin Townes Earle
Man in Motion – Warren Haynes
Slow Turning – John Hiatt
You and I – Wilco/Feist
KINK
KEXP
KCRW
101.9 FM (Portland, Ore.) www.kink.fm
What Are We Fighting For? – Tyrone Wells
I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl
– Allison Moorer
I Know I’m Not Alone – Michael Franti
& Spearhead
500 Miles – Tori Amos
Mr. Rock and Roll – Amy MacDonald
Hanuman – Rodrigo y Gabriela
I’m so Gone – Jackie Greene
Surely – Black Dub
You Ain’t Thinkin’ About Me – Sonia Dada
90.3 FM (University of Washington,
Seattle) www.kexp.org
Can’t Figure It Out – AM & Shawn Lee
Come to Mary – Jesse Sykes & the Sweet
Hereafter
Can’t You Tell – Vetiver
Dark Turn of Mind – Gillian Welch
The Telephone Song – Charles Bradley
Take ’Em Up – Shit Robot
Shield & Sword – Active Child
Goshen – Beirut
Rabbit Heart – Florence + the Machine
Sometimes Always – Sleater-Kinney
89.9 FM (Los Angeles) www.kcrw.com
Marble Son – Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter
Sophia – Laura Marling
Moon on the Sea’s Gate – Milagres
King of Spain – Galaxie 500
Stick Figures in Love – Stephen Malkmus
& the Jicks
Balance – Future Islands
Audience of One – Cold War Kids
How Come You Never Go There – Feist
Bad as Me – Tom Waits
Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens –
Louis Jordan (DJ Premier remix)
MA5
-
S O NG S
Song that helped us survive this issue:
1. “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Just as I am,” Bill Withers. This blast from the past is always welcome.
2. “The Way It Goes,” “The Harrow & the Harvest,” Gillian Welch. The most upbeat tempo on the album.
3. “Comfortably Numb,” “My Better Self,” Dar Williams. A cool cover, with a little help from Ani DiFranco.
4. “Masters of War” “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” Bob Dylan. Once in a while, you need a good dose of cynicism.
5. “Captain Kirk,” “I’m Good Now,” Bob Schneider. A fun little ditty.
10 MODERN ACOUSTIC