Chicago Hosts An Amazing Week of Exciting Music

This evening kicks off what will be probably one of the final full weeks of bands either established or are emerging bright stars on the horizon of what's to come in the next year.

Monday:

To begin the week's festivities I recommend everyone to make their way to Schuba's Tavern for what I can expect to be and energetic and creatively enthralling performance from recent CMJ favorites, Fanfarlo and Freelance Whales.

Tuesday:

Now that everyone's blood is pumping, this evening's pick takes listeners to the Schuba's new venue taking residence in the old Three Penny Theater, Lincoln Hall. Featured on the evening's line up are another CMJer, Surfer Blood, who are opening for the established Art Brut exciting everyone about their newest release.

Wednesday-Friday

Beginning a three night stand, Schuba's will host, The Walkmen (not to mention, their openers White Rabbits). They will be appearing at both of the fore mentioned venues. The evening at Schuba's is sold out celebrating the venue's 20h anniversary; but I do believe tickets are still available for the Lincoln Hall nights. Thursday is definitely the most difficult in my opinion of options of which show would be preferable. The Walkmen will most definitely be finding a level of comfortability, this being their second evening in Chicago. The Swedish trio Peter, Bjorn & John will be nearyby at The Metro . On the West side, at the Empty Bottle the much buzzed about bands Girls and Real Estate are playing what should be an impressively intoxicating show. Friday does not make choices any easier, unless at this point everyone has had the opportunity to see the Walkmen. The Dirty Projectors will be appearing at the Bottom Lounge, while back at the Empty Bottle Girls return for a second evening this time with local up-and-comers The Smith Westerns.

Sunday

After taking a breather Saturday night, I suggest you make the best of the weekend and down to the South Loop, to Reggies Music Joint to check out Miles Benjamin Anthony, who is supporting his excellent sophomore release, Summer of Fear. He is currently touring with These Unites States, who are making a pretty big splash themselves in the music scene; with their heavy hitting American balladeering.

If for some reason your week is already booked up, and for whatever reason you can't make it out *cough wuss cough* check out the links below, everyone of the above mentioned artists deserves a full listen.

Fanfarlo

Freelance Whales

Surfer Blood

The Walkmen

White Rabbits

Peter, Bjorn & John

Girls

Real Estate

The Smith Westerns

Dirty Projectors

Miles Benjamin Anthony

These United States

Interview: Local Natives

This week music fans residing in the UK, are getting to enjoy the debut album from our Silver Lake friends, Local Natives. As posted on their blog an US release date is still unknown at this point, but they will be trekking through North America in support of Gorilla Manor. More exciting for Chicagoans, the band will be making a stop at the newly christened Lincoln Hall on Thanksgiving week. I got a chance to talk to the band not once but twice getting a chance in this expanded interview with guitarist/vocalists Taylor Rice and Ryan Hahn.

Drawing From Music: I find there is a multitude of emotion that comes out with every verse, as though your songs are love letters to your past. Do you aim at your music to be more focused on the lyrics or the sound…how do you determine the balance of the two?

Taylor Rice: Our writing process is very collaborative, and as a result each song comes together differently. We spend a lot of time writing each song musically as a full group and everyone contributes to the arch and direction of the song. The lyrics tend to be more individual efforts, typically put forth by the writer who originated the song and is singing lead on it, but we even have a lot of collaboration in that area as well.

DFM: There is definitely a full bodied in the music played, almost if you took all the positive characteristics of three really great bands. What are some of the band’s musical influences?

TR: Harmony bands of the 60’s like The Zombies and Crosby Stills and Nash are vocal influences. Rhythmically we agree on identifying with modern bands like Broken Social Scene and Animal Collective. Musically I’ve been personally influenced by bands with an orchestral slant like Arcade Fire, Beirut, and Sufjan Stevens,

DFM: I read by day you are Taylor Rice, kitchen knife extraordinaire. How does touring affect your work schedule? Your bosses must be somewhat lenient…

TR: Actually, I am an independent contractor and therefore my own boss. The knife business has been good to me, but thankfully the band is picking up to the level where I don’t have to do the day job anymore. I’m happy to report I haven’t sold a knife for over two months.

DFM: Do you let current news related issues affect your creative/writing process with your music?

TR: Yeah. the writing process as an expression is inevitably impacted by what is going on in your life at the time, whether personally or on a broader level.

DFM: So what is the present status of Gorilla Manor…Is the 7” release of Sun Hands, a sign of good things to come?

TR: We’re very excited to be releasing a single with Chess Club in the UK, they are an amazing label and really great dudes. We are putting the finishing touches on Gorilla Manor and hope to find a home for the record in the next couple of months.

DFM: Has music always been a career goal or a distant fantasy? What were some of your musical upbringings…and how did the Local Natives come to be?

TR: This three part question needs a chronology:
So Ryan Kelcey and I grew up in Orange County. As tykes we were lucky enough to have dad’s that listened to the likes of Peter Paul and Mary, Beatles and Beach Boys. The three of us formed a guitar b and in high school, self taught by learning Metallica solos and gleaning the energy from the Orange County punk scene. We stayed together through going to separate colleges and then found Andy (bass) and Matt (drums) about three years ago. We’ve been playing together for a very long time so I think its safe to say everyone has always viewed this band as a career goal.

DFM: Do you have any concern about all the early buzz (much deserved in my opinion) that you guys are getting prior to your first album release? There are a few bands that come to mind that started off really strong and have been slightly lackluster afterwards…what are your thoughts on what you guys can do to avoid this?

TR: There is always the worry that the band will be written off as another buzz band without people actually looking into the music, but we’re confident in the record that we’ve made and I think good music always wins out in the end.

DFM: So far from what Ive read you guys were the busiest band at SXSW, was this the first time for you guys? How did an experience like that help you guys grow as a band and can we expect return trips?

TR: SXSW was insane. We played nine shows in four days and each one was packed with industry people who were checking out our band for the first time. Despite the obvious stress of a new band in that situation, we absolutely loved the experience. It was great to go from playing the pristinely acoustic room of the Central Presbyterian Church with Grizzly Bear to the 40 square foot bike shop with no sound system whatsoever and have both shows be great experiences. We will be returning for sure next year.

DFM: Do you think there were any creative sacrifices made in order to get this record signed to a label? I read somewhere that you are all musicians AND businessmen, what sort of compromises were necessary to move forward with Gorilla Manor, or is this exactly the record you guys always wanted to produce?

TR: We were completely independent throughout the writing and recording of this record (no management, label etc.), so there were no creative sacrifices at all in making the album. In fact that’s the first advice I would give to a starting band like us; make your record first, and then go to the industry.

DFM: Who are some of the bands out there you’re listening to? If you had a dream playbill who would it be?

TR: Veckatimist, though that’s on break now since we’ve been spinning it nonstop since sxsw. The new Dirty Projectors, St. Vincent’s new record Actor. I’ve also been listening to Of Montreal a lot recently since we got an amazing gig with them coming up in London. Dream Bill? Post Rubber Soul material Beatles and pre 1985 Talking Heads Reincarnate.

DFM:What sort of subject matter do you address or sing about n your music? Do you think of your music as more literal or abstract?

TR: Again because our music doesn’t stem from one primary writer, the answer is a bit more varied. I think in general though our lyrics and ideas tend to be a bit more literal than abstract. Everyone likes the occasional heavy handed metaphor but I tend to relate better with concrete writing.

DFM: The blog has kept us up to date with the craziness of your current tour…Are you guys driving all the way through? Is Amanda playing the entire tour? What has been the most interesting place so far?

TR: Man, the drives on this tour could seriously be in the running for record breaking. We drove from LA to NYC straight, stopping for 6 hours to sleep in Omaha. That is a 45 hour drive. We then drove 32 hours without stopping from Minneapolis to LA in order to make our Ben Kweller show. Amanda was able to take enough time off of her film festival duties to play the entire tour with us. Most interesting place? I’d have to say DC. We had the day off and I never got to take that 7th grade field trip, so Amanda and I went on a run in the morning to check out Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument etc.

DFM: I’ve noticed that Amanda’s (Salazar) has been included on some shows during the tour…is this going to continue? Is there a running ballot somewhere to make her the official sixth member? (sign me up…hahaha)

TR:Amanda is a great friend who we love playing with, though she is not in the band. We’ll continue to have her play with us whenever possible.

DFM: [Question for Amanda ] Hi Amanda, so tell me what’s your musical background? It seems like the rest of the band you’re inclined with the musical geniuses of playing what seems any musical instrument…

AS: I wish I were as impressive as you make me sound! I am merely a violinist by trade. I have been classically trained in the violin for about 12 years now. I have played in a few bands since I was 17 but mostly stuck to orchestras, small ensembles and private stuff.

DFM: [Question for Amanda] How did you get mixed up with these guys…and do you have any other projects in the works?

AS: It's a funny story really...I was invited to a local show by a friend of mine that was on the bill that night so I ended up going by myself to check it out. The after party was held at my friend's house and the Local Natives (under a different name at the time) came along. I was just talking in the kitchen about some rehearsal I had to go to when Taylor asked me what I played and if I would jam on a couple of songs with him. I went to a few shows and it started with me just playing on a few songs live and it slowly evolved into what it is now. It's now been over a year that I have been playing with the guys.

As for other projects, I have recorded and played some live shows with other local bands. I have some recording lined up in the near future and I play in a side project with Taylor and another member, Jesse Epstein, called The Payphones. I really just love playing as much as I can.



DFM: Since our last conversation it seems as though the UK has embraced the Local Natives as their own, obviously with the release of Gorilla Manor this month. Is it easier to break into the business by beginning abroad, or are signing and releasing an album internationally essentially the first steps?

Ryan Hahn: We’re as surprised as anyone by the reception we’ve gotten over there. You kind of assume that you’ll first find success closer to home. I don’t really try to rationalize it. We just want to play music for people who want to listen – wherever that might be. We’re still so new to all of this, so I won’t pretend to know what the best or easiest way is.

DFM: What can we (US) expect from Local Natives in 2010?

RH: We’ll be releasing the album stateside on February 16th through French Kiss. We’ll be back at SXSW in March and from there we’ll start a pretty hefty nationwide tour. It’s going to be our busiest year yet and we’re gonna be on the road for almost all of it – which is awesome.

DFM: I'm excited to see you guys in Chicago in the next couple of weeks, Im curious, how do you feel you guys have evolved in the past six months in live performances, with all the road experience you have since the last time I saw you? Is new material still being created or are all touring energies put towards getting everyone excited about Gorilla Manor?

RH: Playing live has always been our favorite aspect of this band. It’s been awesome to grow in that regard over the past couple months. I’d definitely say we’re a tighter, more confident band. There’s a lot of subtleties you pick up: non verbal cues between each other, learning how to compensate for shitty stage sound, how to conserve your voice, how to play off different crowds, and so on.

DFM: How did CMJ go? How many shows did you guys end up playing, and who were some of the bands that really excited that were out there?

RH: It was nuts.Kind of a chaotic blur. We played 6 shows total – the best one being this sweaty loft party thrown by Brooklyn Vegan.We really didn’t get out much too see any bands unfortunately – I think we underestimated how jet lagged and exhausted we’d be coming straight off our tour overseas.

DFM: If you were to tell a story, or paint a picture that would best describe your music to someone who has never heard it, how would it be?

RH: We could probably play a few of our songs just using kitchen utensils and singing. Maybe.

DFM: If one were to run a background check on you what would they learn?

RH: I was born in Portsmouth, England and I lived in Singapore for a good part of my childhood.

DFM: If there were any character in history from any media (TV, literature, comics, etal.) that you would best liken yourselves to who would it be? Why?

RH: Kelcey would be Tom Hanks from Castaway. Matt would be the Volcano from Dante’s Peak. Taylor would be Julia Roberts from Hook. And Andy would be James Franco from Freaks and Geeks.

DFM: What albums would you say were most memorable for you since the year 2000?

RH:
Blur – Think Tank

Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
At the Drive-In – Relationship of Command
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Source Tags & Codes
The Strokes – Is this It
The Notwist – Neon Golden
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Gorillaz – Demon Days
Kings of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak

DFM: Los Angeles has such a positive reputation for the output of bands it produces. Who are some of those current bands that really excite you? Who are some bands that you feel you should pimp?


RH: Voxhaul Broadcast, Rumspringa, Dawes, Foreign Born, Fool’s Gold, Pepper Rabbit.  A little bit further south in Orange County and Long Beach there’s the Union Line, Aushua, Delta Spirit and the Growlers, all of whom are amazing bands.

DFM: Finally, aside from music, what would you say is a personal outlet for you?

TR: Doing active things. The road can be kind of sedentary, so it’s always nice to come home so I can run around the Silverlake Reservoir. There’s also pickup basketball a mile from our house that I play with friends in some other local bands.

[Live Review] Kittens Ablaze, Chicago, Reggie's,11.2.09

With the ability to only look on from afar I was really excited to learn about the abundance of talented crop of new bands that were getting buzz out of this year's CMJ in New York. Of course, as many of my friends will probably ridicule me, many bands come with the imaginatively invented names that at times are even a mouthful when mentioning. I then began to scan through many of the band's pages determining when they may be stopping through Chicago so I knew when I would be able to check them out first hand. As luck would have it, I did not have to wait long; Kittens Ablaze out Brooklyn NY were heading to the South side to Reggie's Music Joint as an opening band, supporting their release, The Monstrous Vanguard.

Six seemingly being the new three for a band to roll, KA come armed with keyboards and and a full strings section, the lovely Michelle Young and Jenny Bress. Amid the noisy joint and big screens of Monday Night Football at the bar, the band begins playing in midst of tuning up. Not really expecting it, the vocals came from the drummer, Tim Spellman; off the bat there is a high intensity and playful energy is emitted from the stage. Its intriguing to see how alternate bands utilize a variety of instrumentation and the variety of sounds and genres that are intertwined in their influence to create a truly original voice of the band's conscious thoughts. The band introduces themselves and noting this their first visit to Chicago before hammering right back into the set. Each member plays with such fierceness (if this is a sign of the next breed of music to arrive in this next year, everyone better buckle up and prepare for an excitingly loud and orchestrated celebration of a breed of conceptual indie pop fusion rock). Spellman enjoying accents has now greeted the crowd in a British dialect and thanked us in Spanish. For the next song, Michelle takes a seat at the ledge of the amp to pick away at her cello for the next more slower tempo song, ultimately rising back to her feet as the the speed and intensity pick up to a roof raising high. There are at times these distorted explosions of noise that break into this melodious tune. Grant Rafter, who seemed to be an instrumentalist extraordinaire at times is thrashing about the stage in an attempt to rile up the decent turnout of Chicagoans(side note: the similarly looking Nate Senge and Nick Dalton round out the rest of the band and are worth the mention as there was no unsung band member on stage). At times Spellman's high octave wail of lyrics is reminiscent of a young Conor Oberst overpowering the pleasant streaking of violin.

There is a definite chaotic beauty to the way the band appropriates themselves about stage. With a diligent focus on their music and continuously unveiling another instrument, conversation was almost non existent as the band plays without a breath between song growing in intensity while bouldering through their set. I sometimes find myself taken aback watching each member play to seemingly their own beat translating this disorganized chaos into a harmonious unified beauty. The players switch around and Spellman is now standing before us at the mic, announcing this next song is a new one. Pain and emotion expressed on both girls' faces as they saw through their instruments as everyone screams a chorus, "this will make it better!!" There is a level of epic sound that resonates through each instrument while the band members are eager to sing along, when they're not insanely focused on their intricate play. All of this adds to the pleasant noise of the instruments fighting each other for the loudest presence. The band ends with the reannouncing of their name, " We are Kittens Ablaze from Brooklyn New York, Thanks" and exit stage left.

Kittens Ablaze

The Antlers on Daytrotter: A Ray of Light on this Rainy Day

As the boys of The Antlers make their trek through the West Coast and California before heading out to Europe; our friends at Daytrotter released their session today for our listening pleasure. It has been an awesome year for the trio as I suspect Hospice will land very high on many people's yearly top list of albums. I have had the pleasure of seeing them perform live three times this year at Pitchfork, Monolith and on their own tour. Not to mention, the opportunity to interview them early on. They are such a great bunch of guys who I have enjoyed getting to know better and deserve all the success they've had thus far. If you haven't had the chance you better jump on the wagon. I have been anticipating this since Michael mentioned their session to me back in July.

The Antlers @ Daytrotter

Interview: Beach House

In the spirit to attempt to recover from last week's tragedy, I will be posting much of last week's planned items. To update you, I am still without a primary computer posting whenever the opportunity is available. To kick off, the redux of last week's posts is my interview with Beach House. I had the pleasure to sit down with them when they came through Chicago last month with Grizzly Bear. That evening was Victoria's first run through of a live performance of "Slow Life" returning to stage during the GB set. Prior to the evening's show we spoke about their excitement to begin recording their next album and Victoria's new rain slicker she picked up that afternoon. It was a blast meeting and learning of their plans for the upcoming album, to be released by new label Sub Pop in the beginning of 2010. Alex Scally is climbing walls with excitement about their new material and imaginatively defining their music style visually.

Drawing From Music: Your music both lyrically and in the variety of orchestrated instrumentation lends itself to be from an earlier romanticized generation. Would you say you're old souls or is there an influence from a specific era?

Victoria Legrand: Our influences have come from so many things, we're not attached to the past. We are very much into making music with whatever we're into.

(Alex Scally quickly joins us as we are just beginning our Q&A session, having finalized upcoming recording sessions)

DFM: If one were to run a background check on you what would they learn?

VL: I am gonna stick with no comment
AS: I studied Geology, I went from rocks to rock. I'm a science nerd, excited anytime I pick up a Scientific America.

DFM: If you were to tell a story, or paint a picture that would best describe your music to someone who has never heard it, how would it be?

AS: We should talk about what our new stuff would be like. It's more exciting to talk about. The painting would not be complex from far away but intricacies up close, bold colors. (At this point, he enthusiastically paints the imagery with this light in his eye) We are just a chip that God dips into the salsa of life.
VL: We should make a song called, “good dips”

DFM: What would you say is the constant idea or themes you try to address in your music? Would you describe your music as more abstract or literal?

VL: Let's go with abstract for $500...it's not like heartbreaking, my heart is like a triangle
AS: The new record is ecstatic, a passionate teenage love story

DFM: The layers and styles that are emitted in your music seem endless. Who were some of your biggest influences at an early age and how have they changed through the years?

VL: Michael Jackson (unfortunately since his death, it seems like the answer of the year, but he really was...I cant help it), Andrew Lloyd Weber*, Tom Petty, Children's TV (Mr. Rogers)
AS: A “shit-ton” of Bob Marley, The Beatles,Velvet Underground

* Victoria's excitement is emitted as she vividly describes the first scene from Act II of Phantom of the Opera. The skull in the masquerade part, the oppressive scene; she didn't exclude any detail regarding this red velvet scene.

VL: My biological father is a painter, a realist. He did all the sucky things you have to do to survive as an artist...commissions for annoying people until it drove him crazy.
DFM: What sort of stuff is he painting now?
VL: I don't know what he's doing now, he just gave me this nice painting of a bouquet of flowers, nice colors.

As Victoria have gotten a bit off conversation, we have turned to see Alex has scaled the wall in the room responding to Daniel Franz (the band's touring drummer) introduced to me as D, their most awesome drummer. He greets me overlooking the same wall...After a laugh, Alex sits back down ready for the next question.

DFM: What are your roots as musicians? Who were some of the musical influences that aided in the molding of the musicians you are today?

VL:We're both classical people. I like to play Chopin and romantic piano things. I also like dance things, pop music.
AS: I also took lessons as a teenager, and played with 4 tracks putting music together at an early age.

DFM: Are there any bands or music that you're listening to lately? Any bands you enjoyed touring with this summer?
VL: “Deadbeat Summer”, by Neon Indian...Theres a resurgence of old stuff with youtube..we've toured a lot. Avi Buffalo, they're young and have their whole life in front of em.
AS: There are a ton of great bands, so many people are making awesome music lately. Definitely Neon Indian and the new Fever Ray.

DFM: If there were any character in history from any media (TV,literature,comics, etal.) that you would best liken yourself to who would it be? Why?

VL: I don't know who'd I identify with.
AS: Someone I definitely identify with is Wayne Coyne, he is just so full of life. Not sure if I'm like him but more aspire to be like.

DFM: And finally, aside from music what would you say are some personal outlets for you?

VL: Clothes, costumes, my cat, I studied theatre in college and afterward, it's a dying format.
AS: Listening to music, building stuff to make music

Beach House will be touring through the States and then Internationally for a while with Grizzly Bear, definitely worth checking out if they head your way. At this point, there's no real idea concrete details on the duo's third album or when it should be released on Sub Pop.

Beach House

Service Interruption

I sit here typing quickly on another's computer (a PC nonetheless). Unfortunately my laptop is non functioning as it appears the hard drive may have seen its last day. My primary focus at this point is to attempt to retrieve whatever data is possible, as some articles weren't backed up yet. With New Moon, the next in a mediocre film series arriving in theaters this week and a soundtrack that far exceeds it (sans a few bands *cough* Muse). If you have not checked out the album, you cannot miss Grizzly Bear's most excellent contribution "Slow Life" which features vocals from Victoria Legrand. I hope to soon be back in commission before the week's end, or willingness for others to allow me access to their computers. In the meantime, enjoy the dreamy sounds of Ed and Victoria.

"Slow Life"

Horchata

Horchata [or-chata]

-noun

1. Extremely popular in Spain and Mexico, a cold beverage made by steeping nuts, grains or chufa in water. Usually lightly sweetened with sugar and sometimes spiced with cinnamon. They come in a wide variety of flavors.

2. Extremely popular in the Indie music scene, Vampire Weekend's first single from their highly anticipated sophomore album, Contra. The expected release date is January, 12, 2010.

(Much like the band's catalog of music thus far, "Horchata" paints an imaginative image from a pleasant memory. The beverage seemingly stimulates a nostalgic sensation for the band, whom return to the music scene with heavy hitting African inspired drumbeats laced with Ezra Koenig's sweet laced alto yelp, amid a harmony contrasting the overall tonality of the track.)

Vampire Weekend