1. business and industrial

JIMMY L AVALLE o SCOTT SAW o D -LUX o NOCTURNE o FM 94/9 INDIE JAM o EISLEY
tristan
prettyman
THE GIRL
IN CORDUROY
AUGUST 2005 FREE
AUGUST 2005
CONTENTS
“TRADITION” Scott Saw.
COVER PHOTO: TRISTAN PRETTYMAN:BIL ZELMAN
03
EDITOR’S NOTE
20
“ WHY MY FLIP FLOPS SMELL”
05
06
R U M O R S > S TA F F P I C K S
THE LOONS : A SPHALT R A Z O R B L A D E : E P I D E M I A
A S I L AY DYING REST COMFORTABLY AT #35
24
ADAM GNADE IS SPEAKING LOUD + CLEAR
26
NOCTURNE
T R I S TA N P R E T T Y M A N
J I M M Y L AVA L L E
D - LU X S A LO N
FM 94/9
BACKSTAGE: INDEPENDE N C E J A M ‘ 0 5
34
SPOTLIGHT: THE FRUIT SAL AD CONFES SIONS
17
S C O T T S AW
SAN DIEGO ARTIST
30
THE GIRL IN CORDUROY
12
ANYA MARINA’S R E C O M M E N D E D F R O M F M 9 4 / 9
CULTURE: AN INTIMATE LO O K I N T O T H E M I N D O F T H E SHOW REVIEW: LIVE @ BRICK BY BRICK
08
CD REVIEWS
B OXFEEDRS : THE EVERG R E E N S : F I R S T WAV E H E L LO
EISLEY
BACKSTAGE: NOT SO NE W K I D S O N T H E B LO C K
36
T H E L O C A L P Y L E BY TIM P Y L E S
M U S I CM AT T E R S
01
editor’s note
M Ua S gI C M
Az T iT En R Se
m
a
editor
creative director/photography
copy editor/staff writer
editorial writers
contributing writers
contributing photographers
advertising
JEN HILBERT
KIMBERLY LOSTROSCIO
MARY SMEDES PIKE
ANYA MARINA
TIM PYLES
ASHLEY BOVENSIEP
KEVIN FARR
CULLEN HENDRIX
BART MENDOZA
KIM SCHWENK
WILL K. SHILLING
MICHAEL HALSBAND
GREG PASSMORE
DEREK PLANK
DREW REYNOLDS
JUSTIN STEPHENS
BILL ZELMAN
MEGAN DUNN
megan@sdmusicmatters.com
858.490.1620 x10
webmaster
KEITH DRIVER
distribution
SNIPE MARKETING
snipemarketing.com
publisher
GREG PASSMORE
SDMUSICMATTERS.COM
Please send all submission queries, CD’s, and any other questions for review/publication.
ATTN: JEN HILBERT
4901 Morena Blvd. Suite 211 San Diego, CA 92117
phone: 858.490.1620
fax: 858.490.1622
email: jen@sdmusicmatters.com
MUSICMATTERS Magazine, issue August 2005. Copyright © 2005
by SDMUSICMATTERS.COM. Reproduction in whole or part without
permission is prohibited. Letters to SDMUSICMATTERS.COM are assumed intended for publication in whole or part without permission from
the writer. MUSICMATTERS Magazine does not necessarily endorse the
lifestyles depicted in these pages. This magazine is intended for mature
audiences, and both the magazine publisher and staff encourage you to
live a responsible, healthy and balanced lifestyle while supporting your
local community and abiding by its laws. Please don’t become one of
the many tragic statistics of musicians overdosing, harming others or
generally behaving like an idiot.
02
M U S I C M AT T E R S
o
JEN HILBERT
editor
IT’S NOT EVERYDAY THAT A MAJOR-LABEL MUSICIAN
wants to discuss topics like “Why my flip flops smell,” or “Why is
it that when you fly you can’t poop?” with her fans. Okay, maybe
if Bam Margera were a musician, but barring that possibility I
think you’d be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of them.
And yet, the comments above are taken directly from the online
journal of Virgin Records’ newest singer/songwriter, Tristan
Prettyman. Tristan, or as her fans refer to her, “Trizzy P,” is
quite comfortable sharing intimate matters with her fans - both
in her lyrics and on her webpage. She talks with ease about her
boyfriend and the difficulties of their sometimes long-distance
relationship, she shares the fear and anxiety she occasionally feels
about her new role on a major label, she tells tales of adventure
as she travels through new countries, and, yes, she even delves
into the wonders of bodily functions from time to time. Always
open and honest in her communications, Tristan seems like a
dear friend that you’ve known your whole life.
There are many
reasons why Ms.
Prettyman could
easily
decide
she’s too special
or important to
spend valuable
time connecting
with fans. She’s
a gifted singer/
songwriter who
just got signed to
Virgin Records,
for one. And then
there’s the fact
that she’s dating a special someone by the name of Jason Mraz.
Oh, and did I happen to mention that she’s a competitive surfer
who modeled for Roxy? But despite all of these facts, Tristan’s
got her feet planted firmly on the ground. It is this combination
of true talent and modesty that makes Tristan Prettyman beloved
by her fans. It’s just so darn easy to adore her.
Writer Will Shilling’s heart certainly seems to have been
pierced by the Tristan arrow. As I read his story I couldn’t help
but notice a hint of the protective big brother in Will’s tone. You
know, the one who doesn’t want to see his lil’ sis get hurt; the
one who’ll kick your ass if you dare break her heart. I suspect
after you’ve been introduced to Tristan Prettyman you’ll feel
the same. So please, read our feature and take the time to get
to know Tristan. Her music’s superb, and she can probably lend
you some sage advice on how to get rid of that nasty stench
coming from your flip flops.
-Jen
M U S I CM AT T E R S
03
o
AS I LAY DYING REST COMFORTABLY AT #35
ON BILLBOARD’S TOP 200
rumor
STAFF PICKS
by Jen Hilbert
91X and Budweiser True Music
Loudspeaker
Produced: Al Guerra/Gary Clapp
Released - July 2005
www.91x.com/loudspeaker
We couldn’t have said it better with a giant megaphone: THESE ARE
THE BEST BANDS IN SAN DIEGO! This double disc is the must-have
local band catalogue of this year. The collection of bands on this CD
reveals the intricate topography of our local San Diego music scene from
its pop punk roots to its retro-modern garage rockers to its plentiful
tradition of singer/songwriters. Disc one is upbeat while disc two contains
the more mellow tracks.
Echo Revolution
In The Wire
Open Arms Records
Released - June 2005
www.echorevolution.com
04
M U S I C M AT T E R S
On word of the good news, MTV2 invited the band to appear on Headbanger’s
Ball where host Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed interviewed the guys about their recent
success and their plans for the future. Currently touring as part of Ozzfest, As I
Lay Dying can be seen playing alongside acts like Killswitch Engage, Rob Zombie,
Mastadon, Shadows Fall, and the mother of all metal bands, Black Sabbath.
Shadows Are Security is the band’s second release since signing with Metal Blade
Records in 2003. For more on As I Lay Dying go to www.asilaydying.com.
Recorded by Alan Sanderson (Rolling Stones, Weezer) of Strate Sound
and Mike Kamoo of Earthling Studios, Echo Revolution’s In The Wire
contains eight original tracks of dreamy, alternapop perfection and an
absolutely sublime rendition of Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love.” The band
members claim in their press kit that they “set out to present an emotional,
dynamic, and soulful experience.” In The Wire delivers. To hear Echo
Revolution visit their website or check them out on MySpace at www.
myspace.com/echorevolution.
ADAM GNADE IS SPEAKING LOUD - CLEAR
by Jen Hilbert
LOUD + CLEAR RECORDS
recently added spoken word
artist Adam Gnade to their
roster. The San Diego-based
label is set to release Gnade’s
next CD entitled Run
Hide Retreat Surrender in
October of this year. Gnade
said this about the upcoming
release, “It’s kind of a weird
folk thing, sort of in the
Joanna Newsom, Devendra,
Castanets, Akron/Family
vein. I took the old spokenword style of the last record
and turned it into a band thing, with clear cut songs and a ton of backing players.
Not really spoken word, not really rock. More like old folk songs.” If Mr. Gnade’s
style speaks to your tastes go to www.adamgnade.com for all of the latest updates
on his upcoming release.
El Ten Eleven
S/T
Fake Record Label Records
Released - August 2004
-
AS I LAY DYING : ADRENALINE PR ADAM GNADE : KIM LOSTROSCIO OPPOSITE: RENE OF ON THE ONE PHOTO: KIM LOSTROSCIO
SAN DIEGO METAL BAND AS I LAY DYING SAW THEIR LATEST RELEASE,
Shadows Are Security, land a coveted spot at #35 on the Billboard Top 200 list
during its first week of sales.
It’s an accomplishment in itself to write an entire album of instrumental
songs, but it’s most impressive when such an album can stand on its own
and not just fade into background music. L.A.-based bass-and-drum duo
El Ten Eleven’s self-titled debut successfully creates competent, standalone, beat-driven indie-tronic sound structures via instrumentals
that fit comfortably somewhere between those of Pinback and Broken
Social Scene.
Mystic Roots Band
Constant Struggle
Stay Positive Productions
Released - March 1999
www.mysticroots.com
The Mystic Roots Band rocks reggae - “Chico style.” Stirring up a sound
that’s good for the soul, the MRB wax poetic about love, life, and Mary
Jane in their funk/reggae/hip hop jams. Funky numbers like “Smoke Out
(Chico Californ-i-a)” will have you calling up all your party people, while
more traditional reggae songs like “Constant Struggle” might encourage
you to take a closer look at your life. Recorded at Chico, California’s Pro
Sound Studio, Constant Struggle recently won Best Pop/Reggae Album at
the 2005 LA Music Awards. Look for a re-release of the album with bonus
tracks to drop in October of this year.
M U S I CM AT T E R S
05
show review
o
NOCTURNE
BRICK BY BRICK 05.07.05
by Kim Schwenk
06
M U S I C M AT T E R S
Nocturne’s front woman, Lacey Conner.
levels is a disappointment. When does wardrobe for a band become a sexual distraction
and when is it an empowering compliment?
Guitarist Chris Telkes ripped sound apart with Twiggy Ramirez-style sonic intensity
but got beat out by the siren performance of Conner’s midriff and thigh-highs. The
saving grace came from touring drummer Ben Graves of Murderdolls, who kept hitting
the ground running consistently with fluidity and power, perhaps the chord that kept
the band together. At times the members seemed lost in their own instruments, really
disrupting any cohesiveness of an orchestrated unit.
Nocturne’s overall performance highlighted, for the most part, the extremities of
fervid music and bore witness to socially conscious efforts. The band approached
music like politics – head on. Any band should be applauded for progressive political
views. With all due respect, Nocturne’s position outside the mainstream and their
capacity to compose music are their best allies because even behind the nondescript
makeup, fancy hair, and seductive get-ups lies the true beat of the music, always alive
and never disappointing. o
PHOTO: DEREK PLANK.COM
BURLESQUE IS BACK! Apparently so, in all
its nods to the proverbial entertainment of the
“striptease.” The history of erotic dance evolved into
entertainment in the form of arousal at the hand of
a central theatrical enchantress. Many performers
have indulged in the act, not just in vaudevillian show
ways but musically as well.
Industrial/metal act Nocturne played at Brick by
Brick while on tour with troupe-de-force Pigface
for the “Free For All Tour” to a crowd of hungry eyes
and ears waiting for front woman Lacey Conner to
bare all, both vocally and physically. Conner, lately,
has been sporting nothing but metal link chains for
promotional photography. The band recently released
the album Guide to Extinction in April with vocalist/
songwriter Conner and guitarist/programmer Chris
Telkes sounding much like the current growl of
genre-swapping industrial-metal projects combining
razor-bled guitars and decaying electronic sampling.
Nocturne is no stranger to industrial evolution, having
worked with Martin Atkins of Killing Joke/Pigface and
on the same bill as Chicago veterans Thrill Kill Kult,
Bile, and Electric Hellfire Club.
As usual, the Brick attracted twenty-something
males kicking around notions of masculinity and
providing gruff cat calls to the unsuspecting female.
But for the most part the venue served up a show
covering the power chord industrial rock of VooDou,
the club-friendly hysteria of Sheep On Drugs, and the
side show antics of legends Pigface, whose members
usually number about eight to ten including the tattoo
puzzle piece guy, The Enigma.
Nocturne slithered on stage to a decent sized crowd
appearing sinister and dark with post-nuclear war black
buckled gear, mohawk dreads, and Lacey donning a
tailored pinstripe suit - a style unexpected in such a
steamy place but visually classy nonetheless. Without
much hesitation the band bolted through the opening
track, immediately following with the “striptease”
of Lacey Conner, more like a wardrobe pillage by
ravishing animals.
Despite the bold vocals and intelligent, politically
conscious lyrics of Conner, the revealing cyberesque
outfit won the crowd over hands down, which on some
M U S I CM AT T E R S
07
THE GIRL IN CORDUROY:
IS
TRISTAN PRETTYMAN
VIRGIN’S NEWEST ACOUSTIC-SINGER-SONGWRITER SIREN OR SACRIFICE?
by Will K. Shilling
photos: Michael Halsband
AS MUCH AS BLACK-CLAD INDIE ROCKERS
will bemoan her, I am going to shamelessly fawn
over her sudden nuevo fame. Her name is Tristan
Prettyman, and she is a friend of mine, though that
probably can’t last. She’s set to make her debut in
August with a full-length CD for Virgin Records.
But I will not resent her ascent beyond her old
friends like me. It is her birthright, I’m convinced.
It’s an old tale, a Cinderella story, the ugly
ducking, what have you. Archetypes and artistic
license aside, cut to the chase and you’re left
with Tristan Prettyman, Virgin Records’ newest
recording artist and singer-songwriter-surfergirlsiren from San Diego, reporting for her fairy tale
story assignment.
And without a hint of irony or guilt either.
Prettyman comes resolutely defiant of a rocky
pattern developing for San Diego acoustic-kidsgone-big-time: a debut not unlike her tourmate
boyfriend, Jason Mraz, was faced with two years
ago. His was the same local meteoric rise within
months - from novelty wunderkind to arena tour
slots - that began with Jewel’s seemingly airborne
plucking from under the local circuit (and the
wings of a more deserving mentor, Steve Poltz,
but I digress).
Tristan’s nothing like Jewel, she’s not all glam
and all, all... blonde like that. Why will Tristan’s
fairy/morality tale be any different? What is her
superpower? Ignorance. Seriously, she’s just
inherently too young, both at heart and in her gifts,
to know how much the big bad record industry
could ruin her.
“That is so retarded...” she says over my tape
recorder, as if suddenly her website began throwing
its voice.
“Take my hand/ not my
picture...”
- Pearl Jam, “Corduroy”
Pan now to tristanprettyman.com. The “splash”
page is new for the first time in about a year. You
can tell that someone has taken over maintenance
08
M U S I C M AT T E R S
of this coveted Prettyman real estate. But, I’ve
gotta hand it to them, the beach shot of a smirking,
half-embarrassed, half-cynical Prettyman dressed
in the summer gear of a twelve year old on vacation
at Martha’s Vineyard, staring at the tide pools
beneath her bare feet: this is Prettyman’s saving,
quintessential grace. The duckling was never ugly
here folks, she’s always shined, from the inside out,
in the most satisfyingly unconscious way. She just
doesn’t worry what the fuck you all think, really.
But where others call it cynicism, Prettyman’s
got a “bullshit meter.” Where it’s all fame and hype,
Prettyman’s all about fucking with them if they
don’t know it’s a joke. Remember the bargaining
scene in Pretty Woman? Remember the faux-tough
face Julia Roberts half-assuredly painted on before
shrieking, “Holy shit!” when she heard the amount?
Tone it down slightly and you’ve got Prettyman’s
most appealing personality quirk.
The difference is, you get the feeling Prettyman,
as opposed to the Pretty Woman, would never
whore herself out for any price. Or even, to quote
her lyrics, “that one kiss.” But every sly wink or
straight-face absurdity hints that we’re in on the
joke with her too: it’s all ridiculous, the attention,
the easy favors, the seemingly unearned lottery
payoff for a contest she hardly knew she entered. I
remember trying to get the fame/diva/sellout crap
out of the way early in our relationship. What were
the major labels offering, I asked, implying how
would they ruin her music; I’m sure she gathered
from my tone.
“Whatever, if they want to make me a pop star,
fine. Let ‘em try. I’ll still know it’s ridiculous to
think I’m going to do that for them. I mean, c’mon,
why me, that’s what they want?”
Unlike so many young pop artists, Prettyman
is not a hard nut to crack. No murky past, no fake
brother-lover myths, no cryptic creation stories a la
Eddie Vedder or Jim Morrison. Not even an abusive
or neglected upbringing to run from. She’s a surfer
girl from Del Mar, athletic, disarmingly beautiful
and honestly shy, but with the confidence that
comes with years of tomboyish social circles busted
by her lack of self-doubt.
“Tell me was she better?/
Was she everything and more?
God I hope she pleased you/
Was she everything you
hoped for?”
-Tristan Prettyman, “Void”
M U S I CM AT T E R S
09
tristan prettyman o
“When you were mine/
I used to let you wear
all of my clothes...”
- Prince, as covered by Ani DiFranco
She told other labels to hit the same road
when they low-balled her with lame-ass
development deals. What the hell, she
figured, she’s had nothing to lose but her most
important passion in life, her music, right?
“I don’t care, the whole deal was no deal
unless you leave my songs alone, always. I
mean, c’mon, what am I gonna do, run around
in a Juicy suit like Jewel and write songs with
the Matrix and be the next little... whoever? I
wouldn’t even try for a minute to do it, and if I
did, I could never keep a straight face.”
“I was like, can I just write my songs like I
am, just my little tunes by the girl in corduroy
or whatever, and you sell that? If you can do
that, then fine, let’s do it.” Prettyman’s Pretty
Woman variety will, musically anyway, hit the
racks August 2nd. By then, it’s literally out of
her hands. Until then, we’ve got some time to
reflect on her talents now, or, softly before the
screams take over, to paraphrase her lyrics.
I first met Ms. Prettyman shortly after a
Surfer Magazine profile of her scooped my
own publication at the time, SD CityBEAT, a
paper that, despite popular myth, actually had
an almost uncanny ability to give eventual big
timers their first local ink.
So to predict the coming Jewel dismissals
before they even start on local message boards,
here in the pre-backlash shadows, Prettyman’s
most obvious choice about how to avoid
disaster is a no-brainer. Um, just be yourself,
to a control-freak, fascist fault if necessary,
and all will work out. Prettyman seems to have
assumed the philosophy with little apology,
judging from the content of our interview.
“So you’ve found a
girl who thinks really
deep thoughts/
What’s so amazing
about really deep
thoughts?”
- Tori Amos, “Silent All These Years”
10
M U S I C M AT T E R S
o tristan prettyman
For the record, Prettyman wavers between
some unfortunately obvious similarities in her
music to early Jewel, but only aesthetically:
the ticking, groovy acoustic ditties, the Sylvia
Plath-with-dates-and-bad boy-love poetry.
But her foundation, her voice - the vessel that
carries the stark punch in the jaw of “Void” (“I
am void/ let’s see you try and fill me/ mostly
I’m annoyed...”) through lesser workouts to a
way-too-soon epiphany at the end of the fivesong Love EP - could be her aircraft carrier.
Her Tensig Norgay to a career that builds
on her songwriting, her development, not
marketing or publicity plans.
The throaty breadth of her vocals are her
crown, but she’ll need to play to her strengths
- the unconsciously fluid and satisfying
chord changes in her very first attempts at
songwriting, her innate phrasing, and selfdiscipline - almost seductively refusing to let
loose her still-growing pipes in unnecessary
Mariah Aguilera histrionics - they’re all solid.
So promising. But I’m sure Poltz told friends
the same thing.
Remember Til Tuesday’s Aimee Mann? Y
Kant Tori Read? Janet Jackson pre-Control?
Hello? Nobody ever thinks the young gal will
make it. Okay, maybe Ani DiFranco always
knew. But every other young lady with a guitar
and a gift (or just guts) - from Joni Mitchell
to Stevie Knicks to Tori to Sarah to Beth to
Aimee to, hell, even Courtney Love - has had
to buck expectations and defy the raping by
the industry machine on their way to actually
arriving.
And by arriving I mean recording more than
one good record before going Toxic (to misuse
a favorite Britney cover Tristan half-ironically
loves to play live) and catching the limo to J.Lo
Drive & Ashlee Avenue.
“I don’t think you’ve
ever been good for
me...”
- Tristan Prettyman, “Guest Check”
For now, Prettyman is comfortably
concealing her joy in her work, where
it can’t hurt her or us. Virgin, who promised
they wanted to change nothing about her
songs, only offered to play collaborative
matchmaker for her.
“They said make a list of my ideal songwriting
collaborators,” she deadpans.
“So it had like Ben from Death Cab for
Cutie and Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes.”
“But it turns out those people,” she trails off,
slightly meek suddenly, “don’t... really... um,
collaborate, it turns out.”
And I can’t tell if she’s serious or not. I
assumed she already knew those guys when
she put ‘em on her list.
“No, I didn’t know, I was just like, well,
ideally, here they are.”
But didn’t the record company laugh at her
for being so naive?
“Hell no, they were awesome. They said,
that’s cool, just try your songs with these
guys.”
These guys are members of, among
others, the session lineup from Norah
Jones’ most recent release.
“So they stuck me in a room with the guy
who helped Norah write a lot of her album,
which I didn’t object to at all. But then, we
were like, staring at each other all goofy. Like,
ok, now what?”
Like a play date?
“Exactly.”
Turns out that Prettyman and the ex-Ms.
Jones collaborator did produce quite a bit after
that initial mis-start. “But,” Prettyman tries
a little too hard not to sound defensive as she
points out, “he never really wrote any of the
songs, he just helped with little texture and
guitar licks here and there, stuff that inspired
the arrangements I’d get eventually from those
sessions. It’s great, ‘cause they’re still my
songs, all my ideas, but then, with the band,
they grow or just become something else too.”
“I can’t wait to see how we finish some of
them, though. There’s at least two that we
never came up with endings for, but no one
said anything when I left NYC.”
“Ohhh, kay. Guess we’ll figure that out on
tour?”
Making it up as she goes seems appropriate,
even practical, for now.
“I’m learning from Jason [Mraz] how to
write from the lyrics first, then do the notes
and chords, which makes way more sense but
is a lot harder. So I get better that way at the
guitar as I learn more how to arrange. It takes
me longer, and I don’t write in that dense,
rappy way Jason does or even the way Jack
Johnson [a family friend and early mentor]
usually does. There’s still my melody in
there, but now I can learn how to write a
bass line too.”
“I don’t want to hear
from those who
know/
They can buy but
can’t put on my
clothes...”
“Exactly, that’s what people like about them,”
she punctuates. “They’re more personal, plus
that’s how you know the singer or songwriter
can back it up. Just stripped to the song and the
performance and nothing else. And you know,
people know this song as a live arrangement...”
She trails off, still smarting a little bit,
obviously, from fighting for her songs. It’s the
first I’ve ever heard her mildly miffed, that I
could detect anyway.
“To make it a big production on the record is
just, retarded.”
“Everything has chains/
absolutely nothing’s
changed...”
- Pearl Jam, “Corduroy”
- Pearl Jam, “Corduroy”
“It’s funny, ‘cause whatever was expected,
what would be ‘formula,’ we just didn’t do
with the songs or arrangements. So, instead
of ‘double the chorus’ or another ‘bridgechorus and end’ here or there, we’d like
jam on it harder or take it in a completely
different direction for awhile and return to
a verse. It’s cool, ‘cause the harder they [the
Virgin handlers] tried to apply formula, the
more the band and I just instinctively went
some other way.”
“Which is great, ‘cause the songs got to
grow into their own by themselves in a very
short time.”
How did they try to apply formula?
“Well, the song we’re really fighting about is
one without drums, and they’re like, it needs a
drum track or drums to be a pop hit -- it HAS
to have drums.”
Right, because we all know every great
pop tune was written by all those famous
drummer-songwriters?
“Exactly. I mean, I hate to use him as an
example, but John Mayer’s got a radio hit with
no drums.”
And no balls either, I reminded her.
“Whatever, Will, my point is,” she pretends
to go on exasperatedly, “if it’s a good song and
you push it right it’ll be a hit. People will like
it and listen if you let ‘em. If you tell ‘em, and
it’s good, it won’t fucking matter WHAT the
arrangement is.”
Several songs from MTV’s Unplugged
recordings are still huge hits on the radio.
So Tristan stews pre-big production now,
as this is published, in the proverbial wings,
ramping up for the limelight. Recently, on
her website, she admitted to some crying
fits on tour - the results, though I’m not sure
she consciously self-diagnosed this, of a
school-exam-level anxiety that builds in her...
already, was the word I thought to myself after
reading that.
Talking on the phone again she seems
content to revel in her own goofy sunshine
though, and it’s the same old “P Trizzy” I’ve been
long-distance pen pals with since almost day one
of our initial interview. I hesitate to ask how the
fight over “the no-drums-drums” song went.
Besides, it’s one battle in a war the industry suits
just can’t win, if you ask me.
She knows they can take the girl outta the
corduroy, but... o
M U S I CM AT T E R S
11
spotlight
o
JIMMY
LAVALLE
THE FRUIT SALAD CONFESSIONS
by Mary Smedes Pike
photo: Drew Reynolds
I HAVE NEVER SEEN A PICTURE OF JIMMY LAVALLE
in which he is smiling. On a Saturday afternoon in Golden
Hill, Jimmy walks into the Krakatoa coffee shop in aviator
sunglasses, a button-up checkered shirt, and jeans looking
like he’s trying to conceal a hangover. He seems to know
everyone at the place, it being three blocks from his house
and all… everyone but me. “Hey Jimmy,” the woman behind
the counter chimes, “What’ll it be?” He scours the menu
for a moment, then orders a fruit salad and an iced tea. As I
approach him I realize that he’s much shorter than he looks
in pictures; they must employ that low-angle camera trick to
exaggerate his height.
He’s in town because it’s once again time to write a new
album, a process that, in full, will take up to six months.
“Last year, out of twelve months, I was probably home like
three.” He’s finally on what he calls a “break,” although
meeting for a Saturday afternoon interview doesn’t seem
like down time to me. “I’ve been havin’ problems sleeping,”
Jimmy admits candidly as he lights up a cigarette. “I got
up kind of early, early for me, which is like 10:30… I don’t
normally go to bed until like 5:00.” I ask him if nighttime is
when he gets his work done. “Always,” he replies matter-offactly. It strikes me as ironic that The Album Leaf’s tranquil,
soothing melodies might be conceived in the throes of
insomnia. Suddenly, Jimmy’s monstrous fruit salad arrives.
“The strawberry is huge!” Jimmy points out the gigantic
piece of fruit that is the precipice of his salad. “I’m actually
really afraid of tackling this strawberry.”
Jimmy LaValle is The Album Leaf, and The Album
Leaf is a full-time gig. Following his involvement with
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M U S I C M AT T E R S
various San Diego bands over the years,
including Gyver One, The Locust, Crimson
Curse, Swing Kids, Black Heart Procession,
Tristeza, Gogogo Airheart, and others, he’s
now going it alone, wielding The Album Leaf
as a solo project and managing quite well.
And with offers for collaborations flying at
him from all directions all the time, there’s
always a new project waiting in the wings.
“I just try to do a lot of different things that
will reach out to really different audiences
so I’m not just pinned in one thing. That’s
why I agree with things like the O.C., or like
Hummer commercials, or just any kind of
commercial use period, because it all just
targets their demographic, whatever it is,
and in turn it exposes you to them.” And the
deals just keep coming to him. So much so
that, in fact, he hardly ever has to pursue
any of the jobs he lands. “They always come
to me… I don’t think there’s ever been a
thing that we’ve actually just shot for and
been like, I really want to do this. I mean,
I’ve always said I wanted to score films…
I just got offered now to score one, and it
wasn’t something that we sought out and
tried to find, it came to us.” Jimmy’s gonna
take on that film score soon, but for now
the new album takes precedence. How long
will a whole new album take to write? “It
just depends on when it comes. I never sit
down and be like, I’m gonna write, or like,
oh shit, it’s three o’clock, I gotta go write a
song… it’s just like whenever. Mine’s a fulltime job, it’s just my hours are probably like
four o’clock to like eight and then three to
six or something. I’ve always gotta go and
play pool!”
Unlike some working musicians, Jimmy
does not self-inflict his own deadlines, and
neither, seemingly, does his record label.
“I’m getting no pressure from my label.
M U S I CM AT T E R S
13
spotlight
o
14
M U S I C M AT T E R S
a day.” But a few days of interviews seems a
small price to pay for ultimate success, and
Jimmy knows this. That’s why he’s sitting
with me right now; and of course because, “I
was always wondering when I was gonna be
in the magazine,” he confesses.
Like many others before him, Jimmy is
currently dealing with the realities, the
ups and the downs, of being a successful
musician. “Music was my hobby, now it’s my
job. Money and success, as nice as they may
be, still can’t buy you happiness... When I
get more comfortable with music I get more
bummed because I’m not doing it for the
release anymore; I feel like I need to find
something else to get my mind off it.” And
that’s the nature of the beast. But it can’t
be all that bad, because by this point in the
conversation, Jimmy LaValle is all smiles. o
“I always have to
have something,
if I’m in complete
silence I go crazy...”
PHOTO: DREW REYNOLDS
Just, you know, whenever I’m ready to
actually go into the studio. When I went to
Iceland to record last time I allowed myself
three weeks, and after the three weeks I was
nowhere near done. Now I just wanna write
everything and have it all done so when I
go into the studio now it’s like, I’m done,
you know, I’m ready.” Jimmy is referring
to his short stint in Iceland with Sigur
Rós recording his last full-length album,
In a Safe Place, at their studio outside
Reykjavík. This time around he’ll allot more
time for writing and less time actually in the
studio. “But my home is kind of a studio too.
It’s just a room full of aimless keyboards
and this and that and a computer.” So this
is how Jimmy’s somnolent abstractions
become album tracks, late at night after
a few rounds of pool at Second Wind or
maybe San Diego Sports Club.
But for all the good that’s come Jimmy’s
way via The Album Leaf thus far, he’s not
hesitant to point out the negatives. Like
they say, anything can become “just a job”
when it starts to get too routine, even being
a rock star. Touring can sometimes get old
when you’re popping in and out of cities
almost daily for months on end. Jimmy
confirms, “That’s the other downfall of it
is that you’re doing it so much... nothing’s
really that exciting anymore. Just in this
past year and a half I did Europe twice,
Japan, Taiwan, the States like four times, in
a year and a half... Playing the same songs
for two years, it’s hard to get a natural feel
for when you’re doing it because you’ve
been playing a show every night, and it’s
kind of turned into almost like a routine.”
Then there’s the music industry politics
and all the associated bureaucracy: the
promoting, the live appearances, the press
junkets. “I did a press tour in Europe
and it was the most miserable thing I’ve
experienced in my life. It was ten days long,
eight of those were interview days, and it
was just like literally eight to twelve hours
M U S I CM AT T E R S
15
PHOTO: GREG PASSMORE
o
16
M U S I C M AT T E R S
d-lux
s a l o n
M U S I CM AT T E R S
fashion
17
d-lux salon:
“We believe in beauty and wellness and
making a client look good and feel good,”
said d-lux salon owner, Eric Legerton. A
stylist with 15 years of experience, Legerton
put together a top-of-the-line team of beauty
professionals and opened the d-lux salon five
years ago. The d-lux staff can take care of all
your beauty needs; whether it’s a special
occasion like a wedding or just time for your
regularly scheduled hair maintenance, d-lux
will create the perfect look for you.
The photo on this page, and the one before
it, reveals the d-lux salon’s superior
capabilities. Inspired by Toni & Guy
(renowned U.K. hairdressing chain with
salons around the world, d-lux is a Toni &
Guy salon), the hair and makeup in these
photos pay tribute to a fantasy collection.
More than just beauty, this is art.
Legerton has strong passion for art - so
much so that he has regular art openings
in the salon to showcase the work of local
artists and photographers. After each
opening an artist’s works will stay on display
at the salon until a new artist has an opening
there. It’s a real win-win situation. Having
regular art openings ensures that the salon’s
environment is always changing (Legerton
said it “gets the creative juices flowing”),
while it also gives local artists an opportunity
to expose their work to a new audience. The
salon has sold over 60 paintings for the
artists since they started the openings.
As an art enthusiast, Legerton is always
working on new creative projects. He
happened to mention that they’re looking
for photo subjects to participate in these
projects, so if you’re a hot, trendy model, you
may want to contact the salon about getting
involved. d-lux is located at 1855 Bacon
Street, San Diego, CA 92107. You can reach
them by phone, 619-758-1823, or by e-mail
thru their website, d-luxsalon.com.
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M U S I C M AT T E R S
S D M U S I CM AT T E R S . C O M
19
cd review
o
cd reviews
o
BOXFEEDRS
MILLENNIUM SOUP EP
SELF-PRODUCED
Rated:
oo
UNUSUAL LYRICAL CADENCE AND RUBATO... the Boxfeedrs
attempt what many before have done. Reminiscent of Xoloanxinxo’s
flow, I found myself scouring the surface to subterranean levels in
order to ascribe originality. However, the utilization of vocabulary
manipulation added substance to the soup.
The album’s intro boldly states that Millennium Soup is the culmination
of the crew’s trials and tribulations. Ebulliently, they profess their ideas,
coupling digital samples that drag the listener into the hardest track on
the album - “Polygot.” The lyrical flow and content of emcee Man of
War (appearing courtesy of Syntax Records) provides the backbone for
a crooked spine track.
Though the Diego’s Thirty 3rd crew already ventured these pathways
a few years back (along with the likes of Orko and Future Shock, to
name a few), the Boxfeedrs also attempt to create an amalgamation
of wordplay and digitized beats. More time in the lab exploring and
finessing delivery may provide a more intellectually digestible album.
Or maybe their style is beyond one’s attempt to digest intelligence on a
rational level. It may just be millennium soup.
The EP has a definite message to profess, and the hard hittin’ bass
lines, snares, and kits provide artillery for the awkward bars they spit.
With lines like, “I have an ugly crisis, my soul’s developed elephantiasis,”
it forces the listener to contemplate. The inherent message is apparent,
raw talent is intact, but clarity and delivery cripple the foundation. When
elephantiasis is mispronounced and the preceding bars have sensible
and non-sensible lyrics intertwined it’s hard to differentiate between
pure genius and contrived wordplay. Boxfeedrs have either initiated an
awakening or penned their own epitaph. o KEVIN FARR
THE EVERGREENS
S/T
SELF-PRODUCED
Rated:
oo
THE EVERGREENS’ self-titled disc is the kind of ready-for-airplay
rock and roll that radio stations love. Face it - there simply aren’t
enough hipster dollars to sell advertising for Mossy Nissan and “CSI:
Miami.” The masses like clear hooks, vocals front-and-center, and their
production values shined till they practically glow.
First track “Alive From the Waist Down” adds a little Coldplay to
what becomes a stew of inoffensive mid-90’s modern rock influences.
This record would be quite at home in a CD collection in which bands
like Tonic, the Verve Pipe, and Three Doors Down are still in heavy
rotation. On its own this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There is no
shame in writing music that sounds like it belonged on the Dawson’s
Creek soundtrack. There might be some, however, in writing lyrics that
sound like they were inspired by the show itself.
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M U S I C M AT T E R S
Lord knows that confessional boy-meets/loses/pines for/wants to
key the car of girl is well-mined territory in rock and roll, but rarely has
a collection of personal songs been so devoid of sympathetic, believable
characters. Forget Bob Dylan - songs like “Millionth Hour” will make
you long for the emotional substance of a Duran Duran record.
The album has a couple more memorable moments. “Washing
Away” is a galloping rocker with brawny guitars reminiscent of The
Colour and the Shape-era Foo Fighters. “Dear Agatha” features some
nifty keyboard swells and guitar work. At its most promising, the band
manages to conjure up the same sort of convoluted, vague emotion
that is the bread and butter of Jimmy Eat World. It’s too bad that these
songs are sequenced smack in the middle of the album, moments of
musical vigor and charm nearly lost in the midst of an album’s worth of
indistinguishable tunes. Building off these ideas, and with more lyrical
depth and personality, the Evergreens may have something in the future.
For the moment, the Evergreens have little to call their own.
o CULLEN HENDRIX
FIRST WAVE HELLO
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
STRATE SOUND
Rated:
oooo
FROM THEIR HUMBLE beginnings in April 2004 as “an
experimental/electronic rock project for fun,” First Wave Hello are on
their way to becoming a recognized San Diego band. With their first
release, Frequency Response, they have already succeeded in pinning
down a provocative sound that puts them in the running for upcoming
music scene attention. The five-song EP is impressive for a first effort
and, thankfully, doesn’t prematurely attempt to elevate itself to some
unreasonable status of artistic accomplishment. Good song writing
speaks for itself. Adding synthesized sounds and programming to an
alternative rock base has proved to be a fruitful equation for the band
and has prevented them from being pigeonholed into one specific
categorical genre. In contrast to their meek and humble name, First
Wave Hello’s sound is bold and forward and leaves a lasting impression
from first listen.
First Wave Hello’s layered songs are practically seamless in
composition and leave you wondering whether you might have heard
them before. Most prominently a rock act, the group has also pursued
some experimental touches with electronic embellishments and
contrasting rhythm sections from guitar, drums, and programming.
By layering multiple rhythm tracks and electro-pop complements, the
band adds complexity to traditional song structure and catchy emotive
melody. Simultaneously, doubled, dual-octave vocals like those on
“Falling Apart” emphasize these melodies perfectly. “Nothing like
Nausea,” my favorite song on the EP, is a sophisticated but fun track
that incorporates some electronic keyboard beats that sound like the
ones I used to make on my portable Casio when I was six.
Equally likable to indie rockers, emo kids, and mainstreamers,
First Wave Hello has a mass appeal that will surely help write their
ticket to success. In essence, their band name suggests what their
music demonstrates, a listener-friendly sound that makes a great
first impression. www.firstwavehello.com o MARY SMEDES PIKE
M U S I CM AT T E R S
21
cd reviews
o
THE LOONS
PARAPHERNALIA
UT RECORDS
Rated:
oooo
ON CERTAIN DAYS visibility from the mountains to the beach in San
Diego is quite clear. So why not revel in the clarity everyday? Local
San Diego beatmasters The Loons certainly do. Their latest release,
Paraphernalia is soul-cleansing music breathing energy back into the
latest monotonies of the early 60’s-embraced garage music assembly
line. Rather than mimicking mid-century psychedelia, The Loons take
an essence of the past and recapture the music into formats discernible
to their passions of creation.
No stranger to music, vocalist and lyricist Mike Stax has been an
illustrative gift to the local scene, bringing extensive knowledge and
forethought to Southern California, having played in such bands as The
Crawdaddys and the Tell-Tale Hearts. Both Stax and Anja Bungert (bass/
vocals) transported from England suitcased with a history of music
experience America seemed to overlook, like R&B and the mod sound.
Paraphernalia takes all the elements of sounds from bands like
psychbeat Shocking Blue and rock‘n’rollers the Downliners Sect with
a pinch of soul, all garnished together with the individual attention of
each band member. Most of the songs on the album lyrically struggle
with human reflection and the significance of environment as narrative
toward a journey of self-introspection. “The Search” and “Another
Life” are highly metaphoric, heavy with vivid description and symbolic
resurrection. “The Ghost of the Grey House” is a mysterious track
making magical references:
“In a locked box he found pages from a book of verse/With ciphers
of rituals from the Order of the Golden Curse”
With all the long poem language the tone of the album could be
depressing, but the guitar arrangements carry through with optimism,
the harmonic additions are upbeat, and the vocal harmonies are fluid
and full of diversity. Paraphernalia is an exceptional nod to the roots
of 60’s creation without sinking under the weight of commercial
conformity. Rather than cashing in on false euphoria, The Loons are
sticking close to home, making waves without crashing into the past.
www.ugly-things.com o KIM SCHWENK
ASPHALT RAZORBLADE
SEXUAL MASSACRE
SELF-PRODUCED
Rated:
oooo
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR MUSIC to reconstruct chaos? In Greek
mythology chaos suggested the origination of nothingness, but in
mathematics chaos is the result of deterministic systems or every
random action and cause producing reactions, in total resulting in
explanations for all existence.
San Diego’s industrial symphonic Asphalt Razorblade exhibits a
fair amount of randomness in their latest release, Sexual Massacre
- a literal eight-track audio fractal in composition. The album boasts
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M U S I C M AT T E R S
seven individual contributors, each bearing the consequence of his
own instrument. The sound emitting from the album is a relentless and
grilling orchestration of both heaven and hell.
Given the equation of probability, Sexual Massacre is extremely
difficult to predict, much like in the metal apocalypse of bands like
Neurosis and Therapy. The malaise of “Deliverance,” with its lullabylike harp and violin, turns to indescribable grating fear in “Relapse,”
making the listening experience somewhat volatile. The vocals of
David Robles take the computer-like analog of Daniel Ash to twisted
levels of synthetic morbidity.
The album also contains a video component for the song “Relapse”
featuring a film by Brian Deppe. The final track on the album, “He
Bleeds,” dutifully ends with its 12-minute requiem epoch combining
eerie audio samples and uncomfortable patterns of synthetic piano and
guitar distortions.
What you’ll find on Sexual Massacre is a bizarre scramble of noise
and liberated artful confusion. This is an album reflecting the capability
of music to fall outside the radar of determinacy. To understand the
whole, study the system of Asphalt Razorblade’s methodology right
down to its parts. www.asphaltrazorblade.com o KIM SCHWENK
EPIDEMIA
FRECUENCIAS DE RADIO
NEIN RECORDS
Rated:
oooo
DJ Epidemia, aka Chuiy Bitios, isn’t just involved in music for posterity’s
sake; for him, it’s la vida. Like a well-oiled machine, Epidemia produces
his own creations, distributes other creative projects, and satisfies
rhythmic constituencies around the globe.
Epidemia’s label, Nein Records’ mission is deliberate: distributing
Rhythm Analog Intelligent Distorted (R.A.I.D.) artistry crossculturally and beyond borders. His reissue of Frecuencias de Radio,
originally a DJ only release, was recorded in Tijuana and mastered in
San Diego by Phil Easter (Black Box). Ideological borders only inhibit
symbiotic flow – characteristics Epidemia has managed to develop into
a product of unity.
To paint Epidemia into the industrial/electronic noize corner would
be unjust, his music on the disc is a step outside the usual glorification
of contemporary glitch and experimental sound. Backed with an army
of individual integrity, each track partakes the inclusion of glitch, harsh
distortion, deafening beats, and tweaked logistical patterns, but given
the involvement of musicians like HIV+, C/A/T, and Proyecto Mirage,
the direction speaks to multiplicity, the atypical outsider intellectual,
and unique definitions.
The outcome is a cerebral slice of Epidemia’s own manufacturing,
manifesting the beauty and the terror of electronic music making.
Frecuencias de Radio is a nightmarish and poignant journey of sound
glorifying the user, in this case the creator, who ultimately isn’t
measuring success by popular gratification but by ingenuity and
innovative synthesized dialogue.
Epidemia communicates that the evolution of noize is a natural one
and a force beyond scrutiny and predication. Mankind evolves and thus
the machine. www.raidmusik.com, www.crunchpodmedia.com
o KIM SCHWENK
M U S I CM AT T E R S
23
recommended o
a’s
n
i
r
a
M
Anya
d
e
d
n
e
m
m
o
c
Re
from FM 94/9
The Local 94/9 Member of the Day is a wee little feature that
spotlights a San Diego band or artist every weeknight at 9pm on
FM 94/9. Here are some of my favorite Local 94/9 Members of the
Day from the last month or so. They range from new to defunct,
familiar to fresh. Either way, you can’t find a more diverse and
prolific music scene than the one in our own backyard. (The Local
94/9 airs Sunday nights at 8PM on FM 94/9).
CITIZEN BAND - “CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN TIME”
THEE CORSAIRS - “RED ZONE”
THE AFTER PARTY - “VEINS”
FLYING DOUGLAS - “ANTHROPOCENTRIC”
SWEETNESS - “A SONG FOR JOANNE” (Winsome Lonesome EP)
_
SATISFACTION - “NOTHING, OH NOTHING” (For Men And Women)
THE ROBOT ATE ME - “TIED TO THE CAR”
THE TRANSIT WAR - “KEROSENE” (Ah Discordia!)
UNWRITTEN LAW - “SAVE ME” (Reggae version)
TELEPHONE - “WHAT HAVE I GOT TO DO”
LUCYS FUR COAT - “TREASURE HANDS”
SWITCHFOOT - “STARS”
GREGORY PAGE - “BUMBLE BEES & ME”
DIVIDED BY ZERO - “PROTECTION”
THE AFTER PARTY - “SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO”
LAYTON - “HOPE’S ALL THERE IS”
EMERY BYRD - “SMALL UNTROUBLED TOWN”
*Note to local bands: send your best,
most radio-friendly tracks (CD only) to:
Anya Marina c/o The Local 94/9
1615 Murray Canyon Rd., Ste. 710
San Diego, CA 92108
24
M U S I C M AT T E R S
M U S I CM AT T E R S
25
o
culture
WHAT
SCOTT
SAW:
AN INTIMATE LOOK INTO THE
MIND OF THE SAN DIEGO ARTIST
by Bart Mendoza
artwork: “CONCEPTION” Scott Saw
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MAD SCIENTIST’S
laboratory and the coolest art gallery ever, sitting
in Scott Saw’s Encinitas studio is a blow to the
senses. The space is an explosion of color. Not
just the paintings, which are stunning to behold
up close, but an amazing array of reference
materials ranging from Maurice Sendak books
to intellectual tomes on string theory. Specimen
cases line shelves while tables hold small animal
skulls or a stuffed armadillo. But it’s those
paintings that keep the eye.
Graduating from SDSU in 1998, the amiable
Saw only held his first solo show in 2003 yesterday by art standards - but in the ensuing
time he has quickly evolved into an artist with
a unique vision, creating an intense retrofuturistic world that occasionally draws on the
macabre but always touches on questions of
wonder and whimsy.
As a child Saw was torn between becoming an
astronaut and an artist. At first it was a tough call.
On the one hand, Saw’s first and middle names
were inspired by authentic spacemen. On the
other, Saw’s father is also a renowned artist, Jim
Saw. NASA’s loss is the art world’s gain.
The younger Saw’s work originally hit the
public consciousness in a major way through
his first published collection of works, Curtains.
Populated by dreamlike scenarios, the works
celebrate life and death with an equal sense of
innocence and sorrow. “That was stimulated by
the death of a loved one,” explains Saw. “It was
tough. My family was in such a dark place after
that. I wanted to be there for them as much as I
could and absorb as much of that (dark) energy.
And it just came out in Curtains.”
The rush of creative energy surprised Saw. “In
a couple of days I came up with this ‘world’ we
lived in. I mean, I couldn’t paint because I was
too busy jotting down ideas. Then it took me
the next six months to create all the images,” he
laughs at the recollection.
26
M U S I C M AT T E R S
The actual work process can be a little intense.
“When I’m holding a vision, that’s all I can handle
for awhile,” he remarks. “I mean, I almost lose
track of everything else. Sometimes I’ll realize
that three weeks have gone by and I’ll think, oh
my god, I’m behind on all these things. I’m just so
engaged I can’t really think about too much else.”
This month Saw unveils a new book, Flipside,
with a solo exhibition at Froden Gallery in
Santa Monica. In a way, the new collection is
the opposite of his first book. It’s filled with joy
and youthful exuberance. “This whole series of
paintings is about that, about a child coming into
our lives,” a beaming Saw explains. “It all started
with a painting called ‘Conception.’ This was
a vision that my wife and I were both practicing
during the conception of our child. We were trying
to envision a good soul finding its way into this
union, so that’s kind of what started this whole
series.” For Saw the happy occasion offered up
new philosophical questions. “I started thinking
about the other side, like before you come into
this body and you’re some sort of spirit or spiritual
being. You’re trying to find a portal or inlet, and
I was trying to envision what that looks like. I’m
trying to say, ‘What does it look like on the other
side when you don’t have eyes and it’s just light?’
Or whatever it is. Nobody knows, but I tried to
give it a face or a picture.” Saw pauses to sum
up the series. “This whole group of paintings is
about kind of exploring this existence in the timespace continuum and being a spiritual being in
something other than a spiritual body.”
With such personal inspiration in his work it’s
only natural that Saw includes himself on canvas
occasionally, in a way that would make Hitchcock
proud. “I don’t do it in all my paintings, but in the
Curtains series I chose to represent myself as a
little robot creature,” he admits with a laugh. “In
this new series a lot of the images are based on
my own childhood images. Now that I’m having
a kid I’m really in tune with that.” Staring out of
M U S I CM AT T E R S
27
culture
o
the studio across a large lawn, Saw is effusive. “I just can’t stop going
back to all those things I felt as a kid again, some of which I’m going to
get to experience once more. Like ‘Oh my god I get to play with bugs
in the grass again,’ how cool!”
Oddly, these childhood recollections also tap into the reasons for
the small skulls dotting the studio as well as the artwork. “Well,
some of them are just cool looking,” he jokes. “But really, the skull
is the bone that is left behind that most represents the creature that
it was. I found ways to bring some of that idea into my paintings.”
Motioning to his painting “Tradition of the Tree Squirrel,” with a
floating squirrel skull over a group of people fishing, Saw points out
various reference points.
“Its like you go back to when you were a kid and you were fishing.
What was always popping out of the bushes? There were all these little
squirrels here and there, right? And that was always going on. So this
picture shows me, my brother, my mom, my dad, and my grandpa,
who is kind of represented by this robot creature. And it’s like that
squirrel was popping into the picture even when they were fishing and
when they were kids. It’s always been like that, so it’s like tradition.”
At the moment, Saw pays the bills with his own graphics company,
allowing time for his artwork. While he hasn’t done any concert
poster art, he has worked with a few musicians including Sue Palmer
and Bauhaus, designing the latter’s Coachella T-shirt for their recent
reunion. Music, in fact, is a major part of Saw’s creative process. “I
think music is a wonderful art form,” he remarks. “It’s an important
part of my creative process. I listen to stuff that’s kind of spacey
and real moody and mellow. Groups like The Album Leaf, Pinback,
Blackheart Procession, Sparklehorse, or even Tom Waits, but Mogwai
is my number one studio band. It’s just so perfect for making art to,
with its instrumental passages and builds.” While he rarely does
commercial art, he admits to a particular thrill working on the Bauhaus
project. “I’ve been friends with David J for a number of years, he did
the introduction to my first book. But this was extra special. I mean,
I grew up listening to Bauhaus when I went to sleep every night as a
teenager. So I was delighted.” The band must have been delighted as
well. The shirt was the festival’s biggest seller.
Saw sees the connection between artists and musicians extended
to getting the word out about their craft, with art gallery openings no
different than club tours. “Basically, as an artist, you’re touring like a
musician,” he notes. “You’ve got to be out there where the eyes are.
It’s one thing to have a nice-looking website. You are going to get
some attention from that, but really you’ve got to be in the mix like a
musician goes on tour. That’s when people notice you.”
Although Saw is sure to be caught up in the promotion of Flipside
for the near future, he’s already thinking about the next project.
“I want to explore the universe a little bit more,” he says with
a mischievous smile. “I’ve got some thoughts. I’m getting into
physics. I picture myself as a little particle of dust that’s enormous
and microscopic at the same time. I’m so fascinated with that whole
time-space continuum that I want to explore that.”
While Saw certainly hopes to make an impact with his dreamscapes
and is happy with the progress made so far, monetary gain is secondary
to his work. “It’s not why I’m doing art,” he says. “I’m doing it because
I need to. It’s an expression. I figure if it ever comes to the point where
it pays the bills and I can continue to do what I love to do, that’s a
dream come true.” o
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backstage
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by Mary Smedes Pike
photos: Kim Lostroscio
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AMONG A SCORE OF MEMORABLE MUSIC events
this summer, San Diego’s independent radio station,
FM 94/9, held its second annual Independence Jam. A
fundraiser for music education in the public schools,
the Indie Jam featured five great bands: Kasabian, The
Raveonettes, Nada Surf, Pinback, and Rocket From The
Crypt. It all went down at SDSU’s Open Air Theater.
I parked in a lot east of the theater, despite having to
purchase a $5 permit, and I followed the wavering
“Ohhohh, oh’s” of Kasabian’s hit single and closing song
of their set, “Club Foot,” using the vocals as my compass
to guide me to the venue. They wasted no time getting
this concert started. It was only 6:30pm, the event began
at 6:00, and the first band had already finished their set.
I’m used to smaller shows where bands run a standard
half hour behind the scheduled set time. Oh well, though
I would like to have found out if there’s a second single in
Kasabian’s repertoire beyond “Club Foot,” I wasn’t too
upset about missing their set since there were so many
more great bands to come.
The next headlining act to grace the stage was a group
of gorgeous Danes, The Raveonettes. Do you think
you’re stylish? Fashion yourself a scenester? Well, any
Dane, on his worst day, can out-front you with his (or her) pinky finger.
The band was clad in head to toe black, barring the one white t-shirt in the
group, and they all looked like models. I realized when they began playing
that the band is a five-piece with three guitars, a rather odd lineup. This
explains why, at times, the garage guitar sound tends to drown out the
other musical elements. One consolation I had about The Raveonettes’
live set, though, was that it was an assorted mixture of tunes from their
three albums as well as new stuff. This mix was important because their
first album, Whip It On, consisted of eight three-chord tracks in B-flat
minor, and their second album, Chain Gang of Love, was thirteen tracks of
B-flat major. This gimmick, predictably, made those albums monotonous
on their own. It’s not a smart way for a band to market distinguishable
songs, in my opinion. Their set at the Indie Jam started off with a new track
that was pleasingly rhythmic and upbeat. It was still light out, seats were
still empty, and no one had yet had their fill of beer, so the band really had
t
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M U S I CM AT T E R S
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to work hard to win over the crowd. Their sound was enjoyable but
maybe not quite rousing enough to fire up a sober audience. Rather, I
think the audience sat in semi-quiet admiration of lead vocalist Sharin
Foo, whose beauty and charm stood out like her bleach blonde locks
against all that black.
Nada Surf had flown out to San Diego from NYC just to play this
one show. The 94/9 gang were so smitten with their CD that they
invited them to be on the bill. Once they began their set, it struck me
that this three-member band could produce more sound than the
previous five-person act, although maybe that’s because I forgot to
put my ear plugs back in. They opened with “Blizzard of ‘77,” one of
their mellower tunes but one of my favorite little Nada Surf melodies
nonetheless. The highlight of their set was, of course, “Popular” - you
know, that song you hear on the radio every now and then but you can
never remember who sings it (or speaks it, rather), the one with the
guy spouting out his “Teenage Guide To Popularity?” “Popularity”
seemed to get the crowd going a bit. Besides, it was finally growing
dark and the beer had been flowing for awhile, so it was beginning to
feel like a real concert.
It didn’t take long to realize which band the majority of the crowd
had come to witness, Pinback. Both the high school girls behind
me and the marines in the next row confirmed this observation. At
each mention of Pinback over the course of the evening, the crowd
spasmed with cheers. Even Rocket from the Crypt, veteran SD
garage rock and rollers, didn’t command such a reaction. But it
made sense because all of Pinback’s previous SD shows had been
sold out, so this was people’s chance to witness them. Pinback took
the stage to a standing ovation. They opened with “Non PhotoBlue,” the first track from their latest album, Summer In Abaddon.
Rob was particularly quick-witted this evening, and when the song
came to an end he joked with the security guards that they could
take a break because there’d be no need for them during Pinback’s
set. They played the choicest picks from several albums, including
numbers like “Concrete Sounds” and “Penelope” from Blue Screen
Life and “AFK” and “Fortress” from Summer In Abaddon. Rob’s
vocals had surprising stamina, he belted out those long, highpitched notes throughout the entire set with only a couple noticeable
cracks. But Pinback was too confined by their short set time - before
I knew it the set was over. I could have listened to them for hours.
By the time Rocket From The Crypt took the stage the crowd was
fully warmed up and ready to rock. The band members were all
dressed identically in black pants and shirts with silver diamondshaped accents. It was only natural that RFTC was playing 94/9’s
Independence Jam considering that John Reis, front man for the
group, highlights as The Swami on FM 94/9, DJing every Saturday
night. I had a feeling that the crowd at the Indie Jam was a bit younger
than RFTC’s typical audience, but I’m convinced that the band made
a whole new group of fans that night. Their fast-forward rock and roll
struck a chord with plenty of unsuspecting Pinback fans.
The concert was mellow, the after party at House of Blues was a
whole other story. Anyone who was of legal age and had an Indie
Jam ticket stub could attend. Rocket From The Crypt played another
action-packed set while an obviously inebriated Rob Crow flung
himself about side-stage. Apparently after I left, a drunken Rob did a
stage dive and almost got dropped. C’mon people, when a member of
Pinback jumps off a stage, you catch him. o
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backstage
o
Chauntelle DuPree, Stacy DuPree, Weston DuPree,
Sherri DuPree, and Johathan Wilson of Eisley.
EISLEY
NOT SO NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
by Ashley Bovensiep
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PHOTO: JUSTIN STEPHENS/REPRISE
YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD YOUR FRIENDS RAVING about this band they saw
live. You might have seen their name on Yahoo Music’s Artist of the Month. Or you
might have heard Coldplay’s Chris Martin raving about their musical capability.
Well, if not, you’ll be familiar with the name Eisley sooner than later.
I had the chance to sit down with the rising band at a café in Downtown Disney
of all places. They were scheduled to play that night at the Anaheim House of Blues.
Outside the patio where we were sitting there was a jazz band playing and a little kid
chasing the birds next to our table with his plastic sword. Eisley appeared to enjoy
every bit of distraction and every bit of the interview. You’d never know that they
are on a two-month plus tour and probably do interviews almost every stop. Their
sincerity and warm smiles would make you think they’re an average garage band
just trying to get their name out into the world. Maybe they started out that way, but
they do just fine these days.
Siblings Sherri (vocals/guitar), Stacy (vocals/keyboard), Chauntelle (guitar),
Weston DuPree (drums), and close friend Jon Wilson (bass) comprise Eisley. The
band that hails from Tyler, Texas has been writing and playing music for almost nine
years now. Pretty impressive since Stacy, the youngest member and co-songwriter,
is only 16 years old.
“It’s been a really slow process, the whole building of the band and the way
everything has grown,” says Sherri, 21, with her milk in hand. “We’ve been doing
this for eight years now, so all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh,
okay, I guess people know who we are now,’” adds 23year-old Chauntelle.
Though their February release, Room Noises, has been
gaining major attention, Eisley has been impressing
people for years now, specifically Chris Martin of Coldplay.
So much so that he took the band on tour with him. Since
that tour Eisley has built quite a resume, including two
stops at Coachella, a tour with the Polyphonic Spree, and
the current tour with pop-punk bands New Found Glory
and Reggie and the Full Effect. Though Eisley’s sound
is different than the headliners - mellow, dreamlike rock
with soaring, harmonizing voices - they say they’ve been
able to win over some new fans.
“The fans that have been with us the longest are really
the ones who pay the money to see our short sets. Other
than that it’s been a bunch of new people. It’s been really
cool though ‘cause that’s why we did this tour, to reach a
new market of fans,” Sherri says.
You would think that this home-schooled band with
two female singers would draw a predominantly young,
female crowd, but not quite. Their fans consist of both
sexes and a range of ages. Perhaps it’s their honest and
imaginative songwriting, their expanding, crystal clear,
childlike-yet-womanly voices, or the obvious unity that
exists between the band members. Dad, Boyd DuPree, is
even their tour manager.
“We really like having him. It’s hard on our mom being
away from us, but it’s also kind of hard to bring everybody
‘cause it’s so crowded in our van,” Chauntelle explains.
Soon after the Back to Basics tour, the band will get
back in that van and begin a headlining tour. “We are
doing a tour with this band called Lovedrug, who we
really like…. And with [Chauntelle’s] boyfriend’s band
called Pilot Drift,” says Sherri.
Though Sherri says she misses her “bed and being able
to stay in one place,” it’s obvious each of these youthful
musicians is eager for growth. Rather than being hesitant
to go out on the road again, this band celebrates their
calling - to make good music and do what it takes to gain
exposure. o
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the local pyle
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THANKS TO THE EXPANDED DISTRIBUTION OF THIS FINE
magazine, you might be reading this in San Diego, Orange County,
or quite possibly Los Angeles. Well, guess what? I need your news
and music! Yes, that’s right - I’ll help you, if you reach out to me. I’m
informed on the SD music scene but have less connections up the
coast, so I’ll write the news if you give it to me. Invite me to a show or
let me know when you play a San Diego club. And now for the news...
Free concerts will once again highlight the Del
Mar Thoroughbred Club’s on-track special events
calendar in 2005. The popular Four O’clock Friday
Concert Series, presented by Jack Daniels, will feature
our very own Louis XIV. Concerts are free for all race patrons. General
admission to Del Mar is $5, and Clubhouse admission is $8. General
parking is $5. If you want to know more visit www.delmarracing.com.
Nickel Creek will release their third album, Why Should The Fire Die?,
on August 9, 2005. www.nickelcreek.com.
I’d like to thank Los Angles-based band The Nervous Return for a
ride home recently from LA to their SD show, which I attended. Check
out their latest release, Wake Up Dead, on LaSalle Records. Jason
Muller, frontman for the group, attended high school in San Diego.
www.thenervousreturn.com.
SD/LA band Kingdom Of Snakes have recorded their first full-length
album, with Bill Gaal handling the recording and mixing duties. The
album was recorded at the band’s new studio in Los Angeles, and they
will embark on a national tour beginning in the middle of August.
Previous affiliations include: Nothingface, Molly McGuire, Shiner,
Gunfighter, Steve Burns, The Incredible Moses Leroy, and Season to
Risk. www.kingdomofsnakes.com.
Irradio had multiple tracks from Makeup for the Inaugurated featured
in two different episodes of Urban Explorers on The Discovery
Channel during the month of June and July. Not to mention the band’s
lead vocalist, Dan Dasher, recently told me about producer Alex
Newport (At The Drive In) courting the band to produce their next
record and possibly helping them get signed. www.irradiomusic.com.
Even though it’s all the way on the East Coast in New York City, please
visit www.savecbgb.org and do your part to help this legendary club. It
was the center of a revolution that can still be felt today. I always compare
the Casbah to our own little CBGB’s! Do it for The Ramones!
The Album Leaf’s Seal Beach EP was originally released in Spain;
this Stateside reissue is fleshed out with new violin parts, a rare
track (“For Jonathan”), and five previously unreleased live tracks
with Sigur Rós sitting in, making for a whopping 10-track EP.
www.thealbumleaf.com.
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The Jade Shader is a new band featuring Terrin from Boilermaker and
Chris from No Knife. www.thejadeshader.com.
Cattle Decapitation recently played a spate of summer dates with Some
Girls and The Locust and just released their long-awaited split with
Caninus through Wartorn Records. The disc will feature five new tracks
including a revised version of “The Decapitation of Cattle.”
Check out JUST RIGHT, Tuesday Nights 7-11 @ KOROVA COFFEE
BAR, 4496 Park Blvd. in University Heights, San Diego, CA. Music to
be curated by HOLIDAY MATINEE, www.holidaymatinee.com or www.
korovacoffeebar.com, plus beer, wine, and killer sangria now being served
at Korova.
A new band from the UK with Bruce Foxton (founding member of The
Jam), Mark Brzezicki, and Bruce Watson from Big Country and Simon
Townshend (brother of Pete), are scheduled to make their debut August
11th. And get this, they’re called The Casbah Club. I know that Bruce
Foxton has played at our Casbah club at least twice with Stiff Little Fingers.
Coincidence? Probably not. www.bigcountry.co.uk/casbahclub/
So there you go, some news you can use and abuse. Look for me at www.
myspace.com/thelocalpyle or tim@sdmusicmatters.com and get me your
news, music, and clothing! Hit me up and don’t be scared. Keep rockin’
on soldiers! Oh yeah, and by the way, if you didn’t know, you can also find
me at FM94/9 in San Diego. www.fm949sd.com.
Be safe! o TIM PYLES
POSTER: KIM LOSTROSCIO
MOOG: Hans Fjellestad’s feature documentary about electronic
music pioneer Bob Moog is now out on DVD. Bonus features include
performances by Money Mark, Charlie Clouser, The Album Leaf and
more! www.moogmovie.com.
Check out casbahmusic.
com for The Local Pyle &
SDMusicMatters monthly shows.
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