...the summer issue

Spring 2009
...the summer issue
Featuring...
interviews with David F. Bello, Stereo Total,
and Johan of Labrador Records
Plus...
Off the Record, Nakano,
U92 DJs’ favorite summer albums,
summer festival information
...and much more!
Scenes from...
The Wireless Issue 2 Release Party
On November 8, 2008,
U92 once again took over
123 Pleasant Street for
the debut of Wireless
issue 2. U92 DJs started
spinning early to kick
off the night, and then
the audience enjoyed
performances by locals
One Hundred Hurricanes
as
well
as
Boston
band Pretty & Nice.
(L-R): Nick Kirk and Michael Withrow
of One Hundred Hurricanes
Wireless issue 2 featured
interviews with Nakano
and
U92’s
outgoing
Metal
Director
Jesse
Novak, plus articles on J
Marinelli, the history of
college radio, rock’n’roll
cooking, and more. If you
missed the release party,
you missed a great show
and a chance at awesome
prizes--but there’s still
hope! Check out the
zine in vibrant color at
http://u92.wvu.edu/
WirelessZine_Fall08.pdf
photos by Andy Pickens
Pretty & Nice
Wireless
U92 Music and Culture Spring 2009
I
n their interview for this issue of
Wireless, Berlin, Germany-based
band Stereo Total mentioned the
misery of a Berlin winter: “It starts,
maybe, sometime in October, and
by February you’ve had enough,”
said Francoise Cactus. “You just
want to go be in the sun.” For
Stereo Total, February means a trip
to the Canary Islands, but most of
us here in Morgantown aren’t that
lucky. The winter of 2008-2009 has
been long. Only a few days before
we sent this zine to the printer,
the temperature fell to just above
freezing. Spring fever always
seems to hit a college town hard,
but this year taking advantage of
warm weather when it strikes feels
more urgent, because it’s been so
cold, and because there’s always a
chance it won’t last.
Issue 3 of Wireless will be released
on May 2 with a party at 123 Pleasant
Street, featuring performances by
David Bello and Lake & Ocean, and
the usual bevy of awesome prizes.
We’re hoping for warm weather.
But even if it hasn’t warmed up
by that first Saturday of May, we
hope this zine will bring you a little
sunshine. It’s our summer-themed
issue. Certain music is summertime
music (we challenge you to really
feel The B-52’s, M.I.A., or The
Beach Boys during a snowstorm).
That’s what we’re celebrating
this issue: the feelings and sounds
of summertime. Whether your
summer means sweating it out in
Morgantown for classes or work,
taking a trip to some place with
more beach to justify the heat,
or escaping to an air-conditioned
basement, we hope you’ll have a
great soundtrack, and if you’re not
sure what to listen to, we hope this
zine will give you some ideas.
The Tune Swap, Bake Sale, and
Release Party flyers were made by
Sage Perrott. The zine was laid out
by Sage Perrott and Sandi Ward and
printed at WVU Printing Services.
The opinions expressed in Wireless
are those of the individual writers or,
in the case of interviews, are those of
the interview subjects. They do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of WWVUFM or its staff, or the opinions of West
Virginia University, its students, faculty,
staff, or administration, nor should they
be construed to do so.
Post-Morgantown Sound
Nakano is back (virtually)
by Sandi Ward
I
n 2007, Morgantown band Nakano released its self-titled CD, just
before three of its members left Morgantown for various cities this
side of the Mississippi (fourth member John Lancia had relocated to New
York City in 2006). After two years of inactivity, Nakano is back with a
new track, and more long-distance collaboration is in the works.
“INS Blues (New York City Version)” is now available at myspace.com/
nakano. The song was recorded by John Lancia in one night, after Nakano
member Tim St. Clair sent Lancia and Nakano members Cooper Mackey
and Joe Romanyak a 16-bar guitar riff St. Clair had secretly recorded at
the Baltimore studio where he is an Audio Engineer.
Of his contribution to the project, Lancia said, “I put it into the sampler
and added a beat and some other stuff on top of it. I slowed down the
original loop for the bass line, sped it up for the high melody parts, and
added some flutes and fat beats.”
St. Clair commented that the genesis of the project was the urge to
recreate, via the Internet, the type of songwriting the band had done
in his Morgantown basement. “[When] somebody had an element, we’d
(*gulp) ‘jam’ on it until we each had something to add and we would
arrange from there,” he said, adding that he originally expected to
get back a contribution from each member that he could arrange and
mix together. “What I got was an entire song from John,” he said, “So,
it wasn’t as much interactive and I initially wanted it to be, but I’m
floored by what he could turn around in such a short period. But I’m not
sure if I can call it a Nakano song since all members weren’t involved,
even though it was influenced by other songs we collaborated on.”
Contributions from Cooper Mackey
and Joe Romanyak are still
forthcoming, so keep checking the
band’s Myspace page. Lancia said
he’d like to remix the entire Nakano
album soon, so buy the original while
you can at cdbaby.com/cd/nakano
You can check out the full interview
with Nakano from Wireless issue 2 at
http://u92.wvu.edu/WirelessZine_Fall08.pdf
(Nakano, L-R): T. St. Clair, J. Lancia,
J. Romanyak, C. Mackey
Local Review:
Glen Ward’s Bedroom Pop
by Rupam Sofsky
A
little-known West Virginia musician recently released a batch of ten
tunes named Music from the Mind of Glen Ward. Despite the anonymity,
the collection proves quietly charming, funny, and smart.
Alternating between synthy lo-fi dance tracks and brief beatless ones,
most rendered on some type of synthesized accordion, Ward crafts
narratives about things like dogs, mania, and Christmas. While the upbeat
ones aren’t unlike what Jeremy Jay’s been doing, it’s the playful melodies
and upfront lyrics of the others that shine.
In the first of these, “Black Jack,” a meandering keyboard melody opens
things before Ward starts singing about a meandering dog. The man in the
song loves the dog until some sketchy neighbors shoot the animal dead.
If the Primus single “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” had been written by a
bedroom musician more interested in substance than innuendo it might
sound like this. The chorus, “Dogs are like people with the bad parts gone
/ Black Jack was a dog a man could count on,” is especially good.
While the tunes are fun and intelligent they could benefit from some
organic, non-keyboard based music. Ward is a gifted lyricist: at times
toward the end of the album, though, the lack of variety in instruments
distracts from the words.
Overall a pretty rewarding listen.
For more information, email glenwardmusic@gmail.com
The question is
not, “What is
this dog doing
on this page?”
The question is,
“Is the couch
really small, or
is the dog just
really, really big?”
Stereo Total
Party Anticonformiste: a chat with
“
I don’t want that everybody will find
my band good. I want that the people
that I like find my band good,” said
Francoise Cactus, one half of Stereo Total.
“I mean, now there are a
lot of bands, they exist for
two weeks, and they are
already making big plans
for their careers. So I say
to them, ‘Are you crazy?
You should try to make
something impossible!’”
In the minds of those
of us who find her band
good, Berlin-based Stereo
Total has taken their own
advice: to make something
impossible.
Each
time
Stereo Total plays live,
Brezel Goring introduces the
band in this way: “Tonight,
we are going to play kraut
rock, rock’n’roll, disco
music, crazy electronic
music, and rockabilly.” Such a
palette of genres could, in the
wrong hands, sound contrived or
deliberate, completely devoid
of soul, or just plain awful. But
Stereo Total has been making
music with those elements (plus
a smattering of ‘60s French pop,
hippie shit, hip-hop, and punk
rock) for over fifteen years,
assembling a repertoire so large
that Francoise brings notebooks
of lyrics on stage with her,
propping them on a music stand
in front of her pared-down
drum kit, and paging through
the book when she needs lyrics
for a particular song; the use
of lyrics sheets is necessitated
by the band’s love of singing in
several languages (most often
by Sandi Ward
Stereo Total photo by Cabine, used with permission
Stereo Total is one of my all-time
favorite bands, and on April 16 I
had the chance to chat with them
before their show at Washington,
D.C.’s Black Cat. The conversation
ranged from the volcanic island
where the band vacations, to the
exhibitions of Francoise’s life-size
crocheted puppets made in the
likenesses of Amy Winehouse and
Grace Jones, to all-girl bands, to
touring in China, to Dan Deacon,
to the moose that sneaked up
on Francoise during a vacation
in Norway – all in 30 minutes!
Underlying all of Brezel and
Francoise’s conversation was to be
the theme of authenticity: how to
make something interesting, rare,
new, and “impossible”.
Do Francoise and Brezel
agree with the argument
that new technology
has made making music
more egalitarian and
accessible?
“Some
years ago, there was
electroclash. I thought
it was really a relief
all of this material and
technique, fetishism,
was
replaced
by
something
really
simple,” Brezel said.
“There were a lot of
women making this kind
non-stop-party!
high *******fidelity
When not making music, Francoise
is a published novelist in Germany,
and is currently working on “a
handbook for girls who want to
have girls’ bands.” I asked her how
she felt about the recent interest
in “Riot Grrrl,” a mid-‘90s punk
rock feminist movement led by
bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile,
and Huggy Bear and furthered by
zines and activist meetings. “I
have the feeling, that intense time
of women making music, this Riot
Grrrls movement…it’s not going so
well anymore, no?” she said. She
described reading music magazines
with a male friend. “I told him,
‘I hate music magazines, because
there are only guys in there.’ He
said, ‘It’s not true,’ but we counted,
and there were maybe
three women making
music, and the rest
were wearing T-shirts
in advertisements. All
the [Francoise whistles
through her teeth to
replace an expletive]
magazine was like,
pictures of four guys
looking cool. I don’t
know how it is in the
U.S., but I feel these
are not fabulous times
for female musicians.”
juke-box-alarm disc-charge
disco inferno mutant disco
French, German, and English,
but sometimes Italian, Turkish, or
Japanese) and recording the same
song in more than one tongue.
girls girls boys and a crazy horse du solltest tanzen lass die musik sprechen
smash hits, no twist
of [electroclash] music
because it was kind
of simply made with
computers, and the
impression I had is that
it’s really good as you
said because it’s become
more accessible. It
had limitations [but]
in general, I thought
when computers came
up in music that a lot
of people started to do
really interesting things
outside of rock music.”
“But maybe today, I see
there are a bunch of girls
making music, but they
don’t have a special
message,”
Francoise
continued. “That is
regrettable, you know?”
But Brezel doesn’t see
this problem as limited
to one type of band or
music. “Maybe that’s
a general tendency,”
he said. “Sometimes
we play festivals, and I
talk to new bands that
are coming up, and I’m
always shocked that
they have some kind of
career plans, and the
censorship the music
industry has to bands,
is already in their head:
you can’t do this or that
because it won’t sell.”
“There is not rebellion anymore,”
Francoise said.
But despite many bands’ focus on
music as a commodity, there are
still great discoveries to be made.
“I always like seeing bands who
can hardly play their instruments,
and they’re pulled onto stages,
and I always like it,” Brezel said.
“We are very much used to looking
at music backwards, maybe 20, 30
years later, you can understand
what was so special about it or you
see the quality, but at the time
these people were playing to very
small audiences and were more or
less weird to the average listener.
I think maybe at the moment
something like this is happening,
but nobody really pays attention
because it’s far too obscure.”
As one of his current favorite
bands, Brezel mentioned the
German band Robotron—two guys
with a guitar, a Theremin, and a
beatbox: “It’s very unusual music,
it’s like if you listened to a Devo
record on 45. They are very unusual
in the way they are playing, it’s
very energetic and aggressive, but
very playful at the same time. It’s
not because of the volume or the
beat that the music is good, it’s
really like an energy that comes
from somewhere else.”
As for Francoise, Berlin émigré
Peaches is a favorite for “the way
she takes rock clichés and turns
them around.” She also mentioned
Berlin-based Cobra Killer: “They
are two girls, Gina and Annika,
making really good music...
W
I like when people are really
original, and they try to make music
like, ‘OK, I’m going to make music
my way, even if it’s disturbing or
not usual or something. Yeah.’”
On 2001’s Musique Automatique
album, Francoise sang, “All my
songs are love songs.” Though
the lyrics may not necessarily be
autobiographical, the sentiment
still fits. But “love” is broadly
interpreted in the music of Stereo
Total. The band’s latest single
is “Anti Love Song,” on which
Francoise sings, “No, I don’t
wanna love you” and enumerates
the reasons why: “’Cause I know
what you’ll do to my heart/
you’ll touch it just like hot iron/
and leave it burning alone in the
dark/’Cause I know you could make
me suffer/you could make me
mad.” The 7” single also contains a
reinterpretation of “Satisfaction”
and Brezel singing a song called “I
Wanna Be a Mama” by filmmaker
Pedro Almodovar’s 1980s band.
“Anti Love Song” is Stereo
Total’s new four-song 7”. It,
and most of Stereo Total’s
full-length releases may be
ordered from Kill Rock Stars
at killrockstars.com “Party
Anticonformiste” appears on
the Juke-Box Alarm album.
For more on Stereo Total and
Francoise’s puppets, visit
stereototal.de.
ouh il suono e la musica
--Francoise Cactus
PARTY ANTICONFORMISTE
... hat I don’t like
is when people start
making music and they
think, ‘What can we
do that is extremely
boring, that everyone
would find okay, that
will make us rich in
two weeks?’
With the new single
out, plans for songs
in
new
languages,
Francoise’s crocheted
puppets, Brezel’s solo
albums, and more,
Stereo Total are a busy
pair. Still, I asked them
about their favorite
place
to
vacation
when not on tour. They
mentioned a volcanic
island in the Canaries,
where Francoise plays
her trumpet in the car
in order to not disturb
the neighbors. And
though Brezel said,
“We’re
really
lazy
when we go somewhere
outside of touring,”
Francoise added that
this particular island is
known for its strangely
charged
atmosphere.
“It’s one of the five
places on Earth with
the
heaviest
Earth
radiation. I’m not so
esoteric that I can
explain it, but some
friends explained it
to me: when you go
there, you can put your
energies out and be
really creative. I once
wrote a whole book in
four weeks!”
Dog Day Afternoons: A Chat With
Johan Angergård
of Sweden’s Labrador Records
by Rupam Sofsky
Sometime in the past few years U92 was lucky enough to start receiving
albums from a great Swedish indie pop label named Labrador. In 2008 we
lucked out even more when we started speaking directly to the label’s
head guy, Johan Angergård. In addition to running Labrador and being
in several great bands like Acid House Kings, Club 8, and The Legends,
Johan is also a kind gentleman generous enough to let us interview him.
Via email we discussed his band’s new album, his mixed feelings about
the summer, and what’s in store for Labrador.
So this issue of our zine is summer themed. Some Labrador bands
have a poppy, good weather feel. What are your plans for the
summer, and how does it relate to
Labrador’s music?
I’m planning to go to Spain or Brazil to
get an early start on the summer. But
that has absolutely nothing to do with
the label. :)
Johan Angergård
June is pretty quiet here as we don’t
release anything in Sweden in June or
July, so June is a good month to go on
holidays. I might be coming over to the
US for a short trip with The Legends,
though. I don’t plan on playing any
festivals, but I’m sure other Labrador
bands will. For example, Pelle Carlberg
and Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
are playing the San Francisco Popfest,
and The Radio Dept. are playing the
one in New York.
Speaking of The Legends, please tell us a bit about the June 16th
release of your fourth album, Over and Over. “Seconds Away,” along
with the album’s title track, is one of the noisiest songs your band
has done. You’ve recently said Tryptizol, an anti-depressant, was an
inspiration. So you have this cool contrast between happiness and
noise. What were you going through while writing the album, and
how else does that come through?
The album started as noise used as medicine for angst with songs like
“Over and Over,” “Seconds Away,” and “Always the Same,” so the album is
partly full of feedback and distorted guitars that seem to live lives of their
own. It cleans the mind to listen to it. Tryptizol is for angst and anxiety,
and works very well. I was quite amazed by it, and so it pops up in a couple
of songs; “Seconds Away,” as you mentioned, and “Heartbeats.” Spring
and summer last year was mostly a very angst-filled time. I started to hate
the summer as I got the feeling there’s no place to hide when it’s all sunny.
The reasons were nothing special, though, just western-world emotional
luxury problems. I didn’t fight in a war or anything really serious. Then
as my everyday life became brighter the songs on the album became a
bit brighter too. The last song I wrote is called “Monday to Saturday,”
and could almost have been an Acid House Kings song if produced a little
differently.
Playing things like your new album at college
radio is important for letting people know
about the great music you release. We’re big
fans of The Radio Dept. here at WWVU FM, so
we’re wondering what you can tell us about
their forthcoming album.
I haven’t heard all the songs yet, and I haven’t
heard finished versions of the ones I’ve heard.
But I can tell you that it will be absolutely
amazing. Sound wise probably a little closer to
Lesser Matters than Pet Grief, but it adds a lot
of new elements and doesn’t really sound like
either. It does sound very much like The Radio
Dept., though.
Clearly you have a lot going on, so hopefully
this next question isn’t overwhelming. What
are your plans for Labrador?
Continue to release the best Swedish pop music
in the world, and hopefully make a few more
people discover the music we release. The fall
and winter will see new albums by The Mary
Onettes, Sambassadeur, [ingenting] and The
Radio Dept.
For more information on Labrador Records, visit
the label’s website at labrador.se. Don’t forget
to download their free spring sampler for some
tunes to get your summer started!
Feeling Festive?
by Caleb Keys
Pitchfork 2007: Crowded!
Photo by Bryn Perrott
A
t U92, we’re all about music
and the experiences people
have pertaining to music. So, for
the summer issue we thought we’d
highlight three of this summer’s
best music experiences. These
are, in our opinion, the summer
music festivals to check out.
Bonnaroo
– Bonnaroo has
arguably become the biggest, most
popular music festival in America.
The lineup this year truly reflects
that. In years past, Bonnaroo was
more known for its jam band,
hippie fan base. More recently,
Bonnaroo has focused on striking
a balance between its keeping to
its roots and finding music that
pleases everyone. As a two-year
veteran of Bonnaroo, I can say it’s
a truly unique experience and the
only place I can think of where
you can see people painted every
color of the rainbow, having a
jazz parade, while topless women
on stilts juggle fire. Bonnaroo
is the festival most about the
experience, while maintaining its
musical base. It truly is a music
and arts festival as it claims.
With varied acts, from Bruce
Springsteen to Animal Collective
to recently reunited Phish to the
Beastie Boys, Bonnaroo is the
festival to check out if you want
the most eclectic mix this year.
“The lineup has gotten better but
the attendees have gotten worse,
so I can’t make the trip down there
seem worthwhile anymore,” said
Daniel Conway, a veteran Bonnaroo
goer. If you still want to make the
trip, it’s June 11th through the 15th,
Manchester, Tennessee. AVOID
only if you value showers highly.
Wakarusa – This will be the first
year for Wakarusa at its new home
in Arkansas after the move from
Kansas, but the general feel should
be the same. Wakarusa highlights
the type of music that Bonnaroo
offered in its early days. If you
listen to The Golden Road on U92,
this is your festival. With the Black
Crowes, Les Claypool, Govt Mule,
Yonder Mountain String Band,
The Hood Internet and others in
attendance, Wakarusa has set
the standard for the most hippie
festival of the year. If you dig songs
that go on for twenty plus minutes,
this is your festival. June 4th through
the 7th, Ozark Springs, Arkansas.
Wakarusa: AVOID
only if the movie
Deliverance haunts you.
Pitchfork Music Festival – The
indie kid reference guide to music,
pitchfork.com, has been putting
on a deceptively good festival
for the past few years. This year
is no exception. With more bands
to be added, the lineup is already
stellar, featuring U92 favorites The
Vivian Girls as well as Matt and
Kim, The Jesus Lizard, Pharoahe
Monche, and The Flaming Lips.
The Pitchfork Festival also has
the potentially coolest idea of
this festival year, where all of the
artists on Friday (Built to Spill,
the Jesus Lizard,
Yo La Tengo,
and Tortoise) will have their set
lists voted on before the festival,
so the fans actually get to choose
what they hear. If done right, this
could lead to some interesting
things and songs that rarely get
played live. July 17th through 19th,
Chicago, Illinois. AVOID only if you
don’t like the big city atmosphere.
HONORABLE
MENTION:
Though the lineups have not yet
been announced, Austin City Limits
(October 2-4th, Austin, Texas) and
Virgin Mobile Festival (Dates TBA,
Baltimore, Maryland), are two
festivals known for having great
lineups year in and year out, and
temperatures in the high 90’s or
above. ACL’s move to October
should help combat the heat. Once
these festivals announce their
lineups, give them a strong look too.
Caleb Keys was recently named
U92’s Rookie DJ of the Year.
Congratulations! Other DJ
awards went to Derek Rudolph
(DJ of the Year) and Program
Director
Kodi
McKinney
(Broadcaster of the Year).
Surviving a Morgantown Summer
Tips to Keep Away the Coma
by Ashley Mobley
illustration by Bryn Perrott
Ahh, summer break.
A time to recover from the
hells of another school
year filled with papers,
parties, and plenty of latenight library cram sessions.
For many students, it’s
a time to head back to
the homestead, bumming
around
their
parents’
house for three months and
hanging out with old friends.
But not everyone is so lucky.
There are some of us that
opt to stay in the good old
University City for whatever
reasons (jobs, apartment
hunting, sheer torture, etc.).
Oh sure, it’s great
the first week, driving
down a relatively trafficfree University Avenue,
the summer wind whipping
through your Honda Civic.
But after the eighth trip to
Wal-Mart to “poke around”,
you suddenly get the feeling
of “been there, done that”.
It’s not really until Week
Four, when you start seeing
the same ten people out at
the bars that Morgantown
Summer Syndrome (or MSS)
really sets in. And then you
start to wonder: can I really
take three months of this
torture? How can I escape
the never-ending quiet?
Relax, summer townie. The
fair city offers up plenty of
activities during the break.
Morgantown in the summer
is all about thinking outside
the box. Like a gambler with
a habit, one has to look for
the action; it doesn’t simply
fall into your lap. So in
true High Fidelity fashion,
here’s a list of the Top
Things to do in Morgantown
during
the
summer:
Get Active
A no-brainer. It’s amazing
how much Motown offers
by way of fitness during the
summertime. From hiking at
Cooper’s Rock to working out
at the Rec, summer is the
perfect time to get those
muscles moving. Extreme
cardio not really your scene?
There’s always biking or
walking on the Rail Trail.
Plus, there’s the bonus of
gorgeous summer weather to
entice you to get that blood
pumping. The Morgantown
Arts Center offers yoga, Tai
Chi, and Zumba classes as
well. U92 DJ and Morgantown
summer townie Zabrina
Evans also suggests taking
a day trip to Blue Hole.
Get Cultured
Admittedly, the arts season
does tend to slow down in
the summer. But that doesn’t
mean it’s completely dead.
Besides workout classes,
The Morgantown Arts Center
has artists exhibitions and
classes ranging from poetry
and songwriting to sketching
and painting. The MAC
also offers private art and
piano lessons. The classes
are relatively inexpensive
and are a great way to
spend an afternoon. The
Arts on the River Festival
is an annual event held at
Hazel Ruby McQuain Park
and
Amphitheater
and
features live music, arts and
crafts, and gourmet food
and wine booths. Starting
June 5, WVU Hospitals
will do “Movies on the
Mon,” free public showings
of family-friendly films.
Get Social
It might be slim pickings
on a typical summer night
at a Morgantown bar, but
seriously you can meet
some
really
interesting
folk. Summer’s the perfect
time for making new friends
because we’re all bored and
sick of playing Rockband with
our roommates for the tenth
time that week. Go out.
Make new friends. Increase
the clutter on your Facebook
news feed. At the very least
you’ll find someone to
watch the new Wolverine
movie with and really,
that’s all that matters. “It’s
a lot more laidback,” said
Zabrina. “It’s easier in some
aspects to make friends
because everyone is just
looking for something new
to do.” For some, stepping
out of the usual school social
circle is an opportunity to
form lasting friendships.
“Summer is a great time to
meet two or three really
good friends,” said Kodi
McKinney, Program Director
at U92. “Those could be the
ones that last for a while.”
My final tip is another
Get Rocked
no-brainer.Morgantown’s
summer music selection may
be small, but it is mighty.
Check out an Open Mic night
at The Blue Moose Café or
123 Pleasant Street. Warble
along to your favorite
karaoke tune at Gibbie’s
or Vice Versa. See a live
show at the Met Theater,
or any local venue. See an
about-to-break indie band
so that you can say you
were one of the ten people
in attendance when they
played a midweek summer
show
in
Morgantown.
Stay tuned in to U92 and
check out our website
for your concert updates.
Summer in Morgantown
is an opportunity to step
outside the comfort zone,
to shake things up. One
summer in Motown will
change your life. No, really.
Off The Record:
by Carly Parana
T
he local music scene in
any town depends on
hardworking and dedicated
artists. They also need to
maintain a sense of solidarity
to get things accomplished
– things like the recent Off
The Record show, which was
organized by Morgantown
scene veteran Walt Sarkees,
who
recently
organized
the
Morgantown
Does
Marinelli tribute CD, and
Brian Spragg of It’s Birds.
The April 18th show, which
benefited the Morgantown
Boys and Girls Club, was the
second of its kind. The Off
The Record concept started
in 2008, when various local
musicians
performed
a
benefit show in which they
performed covers of entire
Will Foreman/Badfish
Sam Wilmoth/Lez Zeppelin
albums. The albums
chosen were Marquee
Moon by Television, Pink
Flag by Wire, and John
Wesley Harding by Bob
Dylan. These local artists
included It’s Birds, Billy
Matheny, J Marinelli, and
a collaborative group
including Aaron Hawley,
Sam
Lamont,
Kevin
Post, and Walt Sarkees.
“The first idea given to
perform the Television
record occurred when
Billy Matheny came up
to me at a show around
On The Record!
After last year’s Off the
Record show, Pete Wilmoth
of
Russian
Tombstones
proposed a project to cover
Radiohead. This made Brian
think about how he always
wanted to partake in a
benefit show that featured
such a groundbreaking band.
More musicians got involved,
and
Pavement’s
album
Slanted
and
Enchanted
was added. The two bands
who performed were made
up of members of various
Morgantown acts. The first,
calling themselves “Badfish”
for the night, included
Dylan
Balliett,
Anthony
Fabbricatore, Will Foreman,
and Pat Manzi, and chose
Slanted and Enchanted to
cover in full. “Lez Zeppelin”
covered OK Computer and
included Ryan Hizer, Andrew
Slater, Brian Spragg, Pete
Wilmoth, Sam Wilmoth,
and
George
Zatezalo.
Dylan Balliett, Trey Curtis,
and Ryan Hizer joined Lez
Zeppelin onstage to lend
their percussive skills to the
group’s version of “Paranoid
Android.” Brian Spragg noted
it was the first time one of his
bands had used a guiro, but
he looks forward to employing
it in future It’s Birds songs.
The audience reacted well
to both bands. “It was
really cool to see everyone
singing
along,”
Honor
John Morgan with Lez Zeppelin
Forte
said.
“Everyone
knows the songs on OK
Computer, so everyone
could
participate.”
Jodi Linderman agreed.
“I like the benefit cover
shows,” she said. “I
thought this one was by
far the best yet, maybe
because I really liked the
albums they covered.”
The bands may have made
it look easy, but it was
the result of a lot of hard
work. “Off The Record
pushes that to the next
level by challenging the
musicians to work even
harder than just covering
two or three songs. These
guys have to spend a lot of
time playing together. This
“It made me extremely grateful to live in a town whose music scene is so full of
people who are as talented as they are kind-hearted.”
-- Pete Wilmoth
Christmas of 2007. We
kind of laughed about it
and said ‘Yeah. Let’s do
it!’” said Brian Spragg.
For The Record...
(L-R): Andrew Slater, Brian Spragg, Pete Wilmoth, George Zatezalo practice
is no easy task,” Walt said.
Don’t take that last
comment
from
Walt
lightly. Both groups spent
countless hours practicing.
Brian Spragg said that they
had to practice some nights
from 12AM to 5AM on a
Saturday in Christopher
Quattro’s
art
space.
Now that is dedication.
And
besides
giving
Morgantown’s music fans a
night to remember, it was
all for a good cause. “The
goal of the show is to raise
money for the cause while
challenging the music
community and giving
the audience something
they’re never seen or
heard before,” said Walt.
Pete said, “My most vivid
memory of the whole
process will be performing
“Paranoid Android” the
night of the concert,
looking up from the drums
and realizing that the
stage was crawling with
some of my best friends,
playing to some more of
them in the audience, all
for a good cause. It made
me extremely grateful to
live in a town whose music
scene is so full of people
who are as talented as they
are kind-hearted.”
Off the Record performance
photos by Honor Forte.
Practice photo by Sage
Perrott.
Future Made Present:
Austin in March and its Echoes
in the Summer
By Kodi McKinney
W
hen summer hits, it seems like great new music is coming from
everywhere. Open windows with cranked stereos, the occasional
boom box in the street, a house party down the road, and a concert hall
with the door open are all piping out sounds both strange and familiar.
But summer hits earlier in spring the farther south you go, and Texas in
March feels and sounds like most other states in June. That’s because
for the past 22 years the state capital of Austin has hosted South by
Southwest (SXSW), a festival that features untold hundreds of bands
vying for attention over the course of four days. Many of these bands
are unsigned or on small labels, and many of them will release albums
in the summer to come. I went to Austin and found three bands with
upcoming summer records that demanded my attention; what follows is
what you need to know about them before everyone knows about them.
One band is on the bubble of chart-topping success, one band could be
the next big name in indie dance music, and one band might finally have
a chance at the respect they’ve struggled for.
The Avett Brothers
What’s coming:
Their Rick Rubin-produced major
label debut, I And Love And You
When it drops:
July
Why you should care:
No single artist feels more poised
to break completely into the
mainstream right now than the
Avett Brothers. After releasing
a combined eleven releases
(including studio albums, EPs, and
live recordings), the songwriting/
performing tandem of Scott and
Seth Avett have built loads of
excitement around themselves
by playing music that can shift
seamlessly from gentle folk to
punkish danger. And when the
Avetts indulged their softer side
on 2007’s Emotionalism, the end
result was one of the greatest indie
records of the year: simple, poetic
lyrics and pitch-perfect harmonies
cut with an unpredictable, intense
edge that seemed out of place in
the country section of America’s
FYE stores. Punks started learning
to play banjo, moms started
ejecting Josh Groban from their CD
players, and word of mouth helped
these former underground heroes
get close enough to the mainstream
that festival-headlining gigs are
now par for the course for them.
Their final release for Ramseur
Records, 2008’s The Second Gleam
EP, was a more somber affair; is
that EP a sign of changes to come,
or will the Avett Brothers take a
newly optimistic approach after
making the jump to Columbia
Records and working with the most
famous producer of this generation?
How were they live?
While the Avett Brothers are
extremely skilled musicians and
play multiple instruments during
the course of a show, they are not
masters of any single instrument
they play.
Don’t expect jawdropping bluegrass runs, although
bluegrass is very clearly at the heart
of what they do. Instead, they are
virtuoso-level songwriters, highly
adept singers with just enough
twang to sound authentic but not
grating, and incredibly intense
performers. I can’t remember a
time when I felt touring musicians
connect so purely with me and the
audience nearby. I saw women in
tears – not from joy, but just from
being so overcome with emotion –
by the midpoint of their set. By the
middle of the last song, I saw grown
men fighting back sobs as the band
sang a new ballad about leaving
a loved one behind for Brooklyn.
It was beautiful, it was gripping,
but most of all, it was personal.
The Avetts weren’t singing to a
microphone, or to a streaming
Internet feed, or to who knows
how many inevitable YouTube
videos. They were singing to us.
The closest analogue I can think of
is Johnny Cash, who could make
something incredibly powerful
out of modest technical ability
and an unpretentious honesty in
his delivery. It’s a shame he isn’t
around to see these guys.
The Avett Brothers
photo by Kodi McKinney
Wallpaper.
What’s coming:
The duo’s as-yet-untitled
album
When it drops:
Summer (month TBA)
debut
Why you should care:
Wallpaper. pays tribute to the
synth-heavy funk and New Jack
Swing sound of the 80s and early
90s, but their tongue-in-cheek
antics imply that they follow no
absolute rules. (The period at
the end of their name separates
them from another Wallpaper.,
who practice a more Pavementinfluenced brand of indie.) Started
in 2005 by Eric Frederic, singer/
keyboardist for underground prog
act Facing New York, Wallpaper.
was an odd side project that
quickly blossomed into a very
different beast. A pair of cheap
sunglasses, outrageous costumes
with copious gold chains, and
Frederic’s own deadpan wit helped
him to create the persona of Ricky
Reed; when that character takes
control, Frederic morphs into a
vocoder-addled funk purveyor with
a penchant for making surreal and
hilarious YouTube clips to promote
the band (which also includes
drummer Arjun Singh) and his own
manufactured misadventures. A
debut EP, T REX, was released in
2007 and started blowing up in
2008; an over-the-top music video
for the title track was called “the
best music video of the year” by
Fader Magazine. And after scoring
gigs opening for Girl Talk and
Boyz II Men (yes, they still tour!),
Wallpaper. have built up enough
momentum for the forthcoming LP
to make serious waves.
How were they live?
Listening to Wallpaper. on record
is a lot like listening to a standup comedian; you’re missing out
on the facial expressions and body
language that the best comics
can use to send a laugh into the
stratosphere. Yes, the band is just
getting started and is unable to
perform the electronics without
the help of pre-recorded backing
tracks playing through an iPod.
But to fault them for using backing
tracks is to miss the point; as funny
as their songs are on record, Ricky
Reed’s live antics and betweensong banter (“This next one’s
also about humpin’”) make them
hysterical. I have never laughed
so hard while watching a band live,
and every one of those laughs was
with them, not at them.
But it’s not good enough to just be
really, really funny at SXSW, where
over 1900 artists came to strut
their stuff this year alone. Instead,
Wallpaper. needed to take drastic
action.
80-degree Texas heat
notwithstanding, Singh dressed in a
full-body panda suit (except for his
hands) and backed Ricky Reed that
way for the band’s SXSW dates. The
portly belly of the panda costume
looked especially ridiculous while
bouncing in
time
with
the
snare
hits, but as
if shrugging
off
the
danger
of
being taken
only as a
joke, Singh
beat
the
Wallpaper.
photo by Kodi McKinney
stuffing out of his kit and added tons
of urgency to every song. In the
studio, Wallpaper.’s come-ons put
it out there for the ladies and give
them an option: we can do this now,
or we can do this later. In person,
even the band’s goofiest innuendos
scream a giant, neon NOW.
Dredg
What’s coming:
The Pariah, the Parrot, the
Delusion, their fourth album
When it drops:
June 9
Why you should care:
Few bands have such a devoted
cult following without the usual
marketing hype to accompany
it. If you haven’t heard Dredg,
picture what would happen if Tool
listened to a lot of Sigur Rós and
then started trying to write pop
songs. Their self-released debut
LP, Leitmotif, was almost a metal
record and wore its progginess on
its sleeve. Interscope picked up
the band and released that album
to a wider audience, but it wasn’t
until Dredg’s sophomore effort, El
Cielo, that they started drawing
serious attention.
El Cielo was a concept album about
the experiences of people suffering
from sleep paralysis, a sleep
disorder in which people awaken
but cannot move and often remain
trapped in their dreams. Songs
were written with lyrics taken
partly from letters Dredg received
from sleep paralysis sufferers
and with music inspired in part
by attempts to simulate auditory
hallucinations. After adding in the
ghost of Salvador Dali (a painting
Dali based on his wife’s sleep
paralysis is obliquely referenced),
El Cielo came out wrapped in
mystery and was made all the
more captivating for it. Topping
it proved difficult; the follow-up,
Catch Without Arms, was their
most commercial-sounding release
yet despite the title track’s
lyrical jabs at the record industry.
Though it still contained some
strong songs, the self-defeating
nature of Catch Without Arms may
have contributed to the band’s
present status as lacking indie
cred but remaining too artsy for
mainstream consumption.
Now
they are releasing The Pariah,
the Parrot, the Delusion on their
own label, Ohlone Recordings,
in partnership with the Warnerowned Independent Label Group.
If all goes well, this could be the
album that finally tops El Cielo and
brings Dredg greater credibility.
How were they live?
With the deck stacked against
them thanks to playing at the
close of SXSW and to suffering a
half-hour setup delay, Dredg still
managed to put on a worthwhile
show, although it was cut two
songs short by time constraints.
The band began with the opener
from El Cielo and, due to the time
restrictions, that album’s closer
ended up being the last song of
the night. In retrospect, I couldn’t
have asked for a better turn of
events. In between, the crowd
got a sampling of the better parts
from El Cielo and Catch Without
Arms, as well as a song I liked but
didn’t recognize that might have
been one of the new songs they’ve
been playing at recent concerts.
Singer Gavin Hayes was one of the most
dynamic and on-key singers I saw at all
of SXSW, though he frequently struggled
with an in-ear monitor that refused to
stay in his ear. The most fascinating
part of all, however, was guitarist Mark
Engles; I always thought his distinctive
tremolo-picked lines were done with
heavy delay, but he did all of them live
at such a fast speed that his forearm was
a perpetual blur. Their big finish was
just as impressive, as Hayes used a lapsteel guitar to add a new layer of sound
before destroying it with a drumstick
and throwing pieces of it around to
punctuate the laid-back final minutes’
worth of comedown.
Dredg
Two minutes later, it was all over, and Engles was walking past me as the
crowd headed towards the exit and towards home, or at least towards
their flights back home the next morning. I mustered all of the energy
that the previous four days hadn’t beaten out of me and said to him, “You
rocked tonight.”
He stopped for a brief moment; I had the feeling he was as exhausted as
I was.
“Thanks, man.” He was at least a foot shorter than me and couldn’t
quite reach my back, so he gave a bro-swat to my upper leg in gratitude
and left.
He and the rest of Dredg are probably used to the compliments.
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Keep checking back for a website facelift!
An Interview with
David F. Bello
(“the F is for Francisco”)
interviewed by Sage Perrott
Where are you originally from?
“I was born in northern Virginia, a little ways outside of DC, and lived in
Manassas, VA until fourth grade. Then my family moved to Parkersburg,
WV. I went to college in Morgantown, and now I’m in grad school in New
York, near Albany.”
What originally got you interested in making music?
“I think it was sitting in the back of the car on trips with my parents.
My dad ran a cleaning company, and we would travel to nearby towns
like Leesburg, VA, which was maybe an hour away, and I would just sit
in the back of the car looking out the window and listening to FM pop
music of the late 80’s early 90’s like Fine Young Cannibals and all that
bull****... catchy songs that I dont really care for now, but I think gave
me a grammar for making melodies that sound good. I would kind of hum
along and make up my own counterparts; not really knowing what the
f*** I was doing, but just bored and “playing along”, I guess, by making
soft trumpet noises with my mouth.”
How long have you been making music?
“I started playing guitar when I was about ten, and I’m twenty-three
now, so thirteen years? You know, I actually had to do the math to figure
out how old I was just now... that’s sad, and I’m old, haha. [And looking
over my answers now, I realize I’m talking about my past throughout
this thing like a boring senior citizen]. I didnt really take learning an
instrument seriously until later on though when I got into punk music and
found myself to be an angsty teenager.”
What instruments do you play? Do you have a favorite?
“I play guitar and keyboard mostly, but I’ve been known to play some
related ones: banjo, mandolin, melodica, glockenspiel, basically
anything with strings or buttons I can crank something out on. I’m better
at guitar than I am at keyboard, so guitar is my favorite if i have some
kind of song-oriented goal in mind, but the fact that I don’t really have
any expertise whatsoever on the keyboard makes it almost more fun, in a
D.F.B. performs outside 213 Green Street
photo by Kristin Messenger
different way. I can kind of sit down at one and come up with something
new and different without a lot of tired chords and rhythms popping out
right off the bat.”
I know you recorded a lot of your own music in high school and into
college, can you talk about that a little (how you did it, how much you
recorded, etc.)?
“I started by recording without writing songs first. I used my parents
computer to plug my guitar in where the computer mic should go and
recorded multi-layered, “explosions-in-the-sky” ripoff stuff in a pirated
version of what’s now called Adobe Audition and made a CD worth of
stuff. But, it wasn’t anything I’ve really given out to people. There’s
no vocals and it’s all pretty lo-fi. I eventually decided I wanted some
way to record my voice and multitrack it, so I asked my parents to buy
me a Fostex mr-8 out of a “musicians friend” catalog for Christmas or
my birthday or something. I was about 16 or 17, I think, at this point,
and I started experimenting with layering vocals on top of instrument
tracks. Around that time I was also playing in a band that played a total
of, I think, two shows? (one was a friend’s birthday party to about eight
people, the other in the city park to like ten or fifteen people), with my
friend joel mueller, who wrote half the songs, and I wrote the other half.
Most of these ended up on my first and third cds, and I was lucky enough
to know Jim Stealey at the time, aka Jim Rita, who played in it’s birds,
and is an outstanding drummer, who played on those tracks and in that
band (we were called Mr. Gerald Ford). I managed to do three albums in
high school, one over winter break my freshman year of college, one in a
weekend later on that year, two more albums and an EP that took a little
longer to make while I was still at WVU, and one since I’ve been in New
York. I have enough recorded material to release three or four more, but
I like to sit on them for a while and let the songs kind of congeal into
a collection more like an album than just like an iTunes playlist. All of
them are available for free on my blog PLUG PLUG PLUG
davidfbello.tumblr.com
What kind of effect did Morgantown have on you musically? What
bands did you start and in what bands did you play?
“I was never really part of any “scene” until I left Parkersburg. I ended
up getting pretty heavily involved with the music scene in the mid-Ohio
Valley through Derrick Shanholzer’s project Active Media only after kind
of settling myself in Morgantown. I started out by playing open mic’s
on Wednesdays at 123 with John Miller and eventually started a band
that played on open mic nights called “Tomorrow the World,” which
was me, James Braswell, Dylan Balliett, and Mike Savage (no drummer).
I wrote the songs for that, then we formed into The Black Giraffe,
playing Dylan’s songs and bringing in Jeff King as our drummer. Mike
and Jeff eventually ended up starting “Death Virginia” and had been in
“A Face for Radio” before that. And, me and Dylan got together with
Trey Curtis, Pat Manzi, and Kyle Vass. That’s the God-Given right as we
know it now (with some extra players like Ryan Hizer, John Dodson, and
Bernie Parsons). We played our first show at the (now defunct) Rosewood
Theatre with The Emergency and The Ones that Got Away, and our
second the night after, opening for The Walkmen(!). Around the same
time, Dylan, Bernie, Joe Romanyak, and I formed Super Sargasso, which
played more experimental music, but I think had a big impression on
me and my tastes for performing live. Although, I dont remember that
we ever played a show, only practiced and recorded a whole lot. All our
recordings are on my blog, too.
Did you ever or do you ever listen to U92fm? Do you remember your
first experience with U92?
“Yeah! I remember I heard the Pixies the weekend I moved into the
dorms, and I finally understood why college radio stations are important!
Before that, my experience of radio in general was only s*** pop music
and oldies (I preferred the oldies most of the time). I didn’t even start
listening to NPR until a couple years ago. But mostly after that, I didnt
really listen to it that often. I would put it on in the kitchen while I did
dishes, but if you know my living situations in Morgantown (which you of
course are aware, Sage, haha), I didn’t do dishes all that often.
Since I’m not around, I really like to listen to the online stream all
the time. It’s great, because it reminds me of home, and you guys still
manage to play the best selections.”
Do you still feel a connection to the Morgantown music scene? Why
or why not?
“I definitely do. The first ever serious shows I ever played were in
Morgantown, and the friends I’ve made while living there are some of
the best. I’ll never lose my we brothers, and there’s a part of me that
desparately wants to return immediately to live and play music full
time. Morgantown seems like a rare place. I meet people up here, and
they don’t realize that places in rural states can have higher quality
music scenes than big cities. The only regret I have is that I didnt savor
it more. I tried my best to wring every bit of Natural Light out of all the
hoodies I ever wore in that town, but I always want more.”
Wireless thanks Dave for playing at the release party for this issue of
the zine. We’re proud to welcome him back to Morgantown. Thanks also
to the night’s other performers, Lake & Ocean! And thanks to YOU for
being there!
And while we’re at it, here’s our huge list of Thank Yous. Small font, big help!
Thanks to Andy Pickens, Kristin Messenger, Honor Forte, Jess Cana, Carvel
and the Warner Theatre, Maxwell’s, Eric and the Wild Zero crew, Café of
India, Andrew Slater, Pete Wilmoth, George Zatezalo, the Mongoose, Duck
and Cover, One Hundred Hurricanes, Karri at Blue Moose, Kim Harrison,
Darlene Johnson (you’re the best), Alex Gavula, LJ at 123 Pleasant Street,
Mountain People’s Co-op, Bloodclot, Johan at Labrador, Stereo Total,
Rachel Demy, and Kill Rock Stars, Dave C and Justin G from AAM, Brent at
Interscope, Rich from Rhino, Mona and Domino, Jess at Terrorbird, Sasha
at Sub Pop, Robby from Beggars Group, Kevin from What’s Your Rupture?,
Graham from the Syndicate, Sony and Legacy Recordings, everyone from
Nakano, Columbia, Warner Brothers, Temporary Residence Limited,
Gigantic Music, Mute Records, and Dan from Friendly Fire Recordings.
just a few...
BIG
Summer Releases
It’ll be their first album
since their major label deal
with Geffen expired. Now
that they have artistic
freedom with Matador
hopefully they’ll do more
experimenting than on the
previous two. Also, the
cover art is a John Fahey
painting: bonus!
– Rupam Sofsky,
U92FM Music Director
Sonic Youth
“The Eternal”
Release date: June 9th, 2009
Despite being a big Sonic Youth fan
for years and years, I’m most
excited
about the Avett Brothers release. I’ve
only gotten into them
this past year or
so, but I’m hooked.
-Jodi Linderman, U92FM DJ
Rye Rye
TBA
Release date: this
summer
The Avett Brothers
“I and Love and You”
Release date: Late July
or early August
I’m very excited for Rye Rye’s full
length record. I’ve loved what
I’ve heard so far .. I can’t wait
to shake it to the ground for her
new record.”
- Kyle Hayes, U92FM DJ
Cook and Eat
to the Beat!
S
ummer is upon
us friends, which
means outdoor parties
and evening cookouts
are approaching our
way as well! The
recipe I’d like to
share this issue is
one of my absolute
favorite dishes ever
- and it is super easy
to prepare! HOWEVER
this is not your typical
summer BBQ fare, but
TRUST ME, you will be
the hit of the dinner
party when you show
up with this Northern
Indian
delicacy
Chana Masala! Curries
tend to be lumped in
with so-called “cold
weather” foods, but
this one is so yummy
and simple, I think
it’s fun to eat all year
round, and I hope you
do, too! While you’re
cooking, or while
you’re at the party
photo and article by Jamie Arnold
taking over the host’s
iPod, a good summer
album to crank up is
The
Rock*A*Teens’
1997
rocker
Cry.
Everyone
at
the
cookout will be like,
“holy hell this rules!”
And there you are,
the one who brought
kickass food and the
one picking out the
kickass tunes. YOU’RE
WELCOME!
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ c fresh chickpeas
2 TSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP minced and peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c chopped onion
1/8 TSP salt (or to taste)
1/8 to ¼ TSP ground cumin (I like to use
¼ TSP or more to taste because cumin
rules, and that goes for the next ingredient,
coriander, too)
1/8 to ¼ TSP ground coriander
1/8 TSP ground red pepper
1 fresh green chile pepper (I like to use a
jalapeno), seeded and diced
¾ c vegetable broth
½ c seeded and chopped tomato
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 to ¼ TSP garam masala
This recipe yields 4 servings at about a ½ cup each
Prep:
Rinse chickpeas, and place
in a large saucepan. Cover
with water to about 2 inches
above chickpeas; bring to a
boil. Cook for 5 minutes, or
until tender. Drain. This will
give the chickpeas a nice
softer texture for the dish.
Heat oil in a large skillet
over medium heat. Add ginger,
garlic and onion to pan; cook
about 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Stir in salt,
cumin, coriander, red pepper,
and chile pepper; cook one
minute. Add chickpeas, broth,
and tomato; cook 5 minutes or
until liquid almost evaporates.
Remove from heat; stir in
chopped cilantro and garam
masala.
Enjoy!
Favorite Summer Albums
(U92 DJs pick their favorite summer albums)
Ed Etzel: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Daniel Conway: Outkast - ATLiens
Liz Toler: Animal Collective - Feels
Ashwin Juggernaut: REM - Reckoning
John Scherch: Belle and Sebastian The Life Pursuit
Zabrina Evans: Regina Spector Begin to Hope
Matt Murphy: Shpongle Nothing Lasts…But Nothing Is Lost
Derek Rudolph: Ratatat - Wildcat
Alex McPherson: Orson - Bright Idea
Carly Parana: Little Joy - Little Joy
Jamie Arnold: Pavement Slanted and Enchanted
Alex Belden: Weezer - Blue Album
Sandi P. Ward: The Legends Up Against…
Rupam Sofsky: The Raveonettes Chain Gang of Love
Tyler Grady: Daniel Johnston Hi How Are You?
Daniel Miller: Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Kerry Farrell: Wilco - Yankee Hotel
Foxtrot
Casey Liston: Saves the Day Through Being Cool
Kodi McKinney: Jesus And Mary Chain
- Honey’s Dead
Kelen Conley: Jay Z - The Blueprint
Sage Perrott: Health - Disco
Kyle Hayes: Blood Brothers - Crimes
Jesse Novak: Kyuss - Sky Valley
Jami Calandros: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Californication
Bryn Perrott: Ratatat – Ratatat
Jodi Linderman: Juliana HatfieldBecome What You Are
Metalcore Matt Kelly: Radiohead-The
Bends
Alex Wiederspiel: My Morning JacketZ
Article by
Jesse Novak
Anthony Fabbricatore: The Kinks The Village Green Preservation Society
Ryan Edsall: The Verve - Urban Hymns
Dan McClung: Snoop Dogg-Da Game is
To Be Sold, Not Told
Illustration by
Bryn Perrott
Hot Sounds of
Summer!
Air France:
No Way Down EP /
On Trade Winds EP
Reviewed by Sandi Ward
A
ir France come from Sweden
and make music that is a
patchwork of dance floor beats,
sunny horns, soulful keys, and
evocative movie samples. Their
palette has something in common
with The Go! Team, but while
The Go! Team tops it all off with
hyperactive playground chants,
Air France’s sweetly-sung vocals—
when the songs have vocals at
all—are tucked cozily beneath
the strings and the effects-heavy
production.
No Way Down opens with
“Maundy Thursday,” a moody
instrumental piece with a simple
piano melody that sounds like
distant thunder behind a sample
of insistent typewriter taps. But
the rest of the EP is anything but
stormy. “June Evenings” and
“Collapsing at Your Doorstep,”
are two endearing tunes that
have earned Air France rightful
comparisons to Saint Etienne,
the royals of indie dance pop.
Air France has certainly adopted
Saint Etienne’s trick of using
sampled lines from movies
almost like another instrument,
then adding sultry female vocals,
handclaps, and jazzy guitars to
make dance floor dynamite. But
like The Avalanches or The Ruby
Suns, Air France have a knack
for weaving together poppy
synths and horns with disparate
elements—steel drums, flutes,
nature sounds, African drums,
catchy whistling—for a fresh
style that’s been called “postrave bliss.” Just try listening to
“Beach Party” from On Trade
Winds without imagining that
you’re at a Swedish midsummer
beach bash with an elaborate
drink in your hand.
No Way Down and On Trade Winds
were released by Sincerely Yours,
the label run by the Swedish band
(and U92 favorites) The Tough
Alliance—who obviously have
an ear for fun dance music that
doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Air France is clean, fresh, warm
weather music. Get out your dust
rag—this might even be music for
spring cleaning.
U92 DJ Kyle Hayes
encourages the crowd to
dance during his DJ set with
U92’s Carly Parana at the
Tune Swap on March 12th.
Tune Swap Re-cap
U92FM and Wireless
held a mix CD trading
party at 123 Pleasant
Street
on
March
12th to support the
production of this
issue of Wireless.
Attendees
brought
CDs to swap with their
fellow music lovers,
strangers and friends
alike. Wireless and
U92FM
also
gave
away prizes. U92
DJs entertained the
crowd live with a
variety of music.