We kick things off this week with "Under the Gun," a track from DC singer/songwriter Laura Tsaggaris (above) - that's suh-GAIR-iss for the phonetically inclined. It's got some fiery electric guitar and machine-gun drums that lend a powerful energy to Tsaggaris' strong vocals and lyrics. She's been constantly building on her layers of sound with each album release, and her new CD, "Keep Talking" is no exception. Usually it's solo acoustic gigs for Tsaggaris around here in DC, but her full band is in town for this Saturday's show at IOTA (7/18), and she's pretty psyched to have 'em up from North Carolina backing her up - "It takes your own performance to a new level and, I think, makes things really fun for a crowd of listeners."
And we conclude this week with "In Time" from DC's The List. What starts off as a piano-based ballad builds into an angsty slow-burner, with some nice melodic lines by lead guitarist Tim Young. And lead vocalist Stephen Wright pulls off a good Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty). Anyway, if you like what you're hearing, check them out live at The Red & The Black this Sunday, July 19th.
If you're looking to check out some bands this coming week, but have a short attention span, as far as sets go, Jammin Java will be hosting the first-ever Mid-Atlantic Band Battle Tuesday (7/14) through Thursday (7/16). Each night eight bands will compete for the grand prize, playing what need to be power-packed 15-minute sets. For the full line-ups and more details, check it out here.
It's an early edition this week, and we're kicking things off with "Alone" by DC's Power Pirate (above). Usually I'm not that into electronic music, but this trio deftly combines aspects of both electronic and rock genres, while managing to maintain an edgy sense of melody and grandeur. If you like what you hear, they'll be at Black Cat in DC this Wednesday, July 8th.
And one of my favorite bands, The Damnwells, will be at IOTA this Sunday, July 12th. Skewing toward the rockier side of alt-country, lead singer Alex Dezen has got a full line-up behind him with a new set of catchy songs for him to sink his irresistably raspy vocals into. The band's new CD, One Last Century, was released ealier this year as a free download, and it's still available here.
D.C. Area Musician Phil Rossi Prepares for Release of First Novel, Crescent
D.C. area musician Phil Rossi is set to release his first novel on July 9. The book was first released in episodes via podcast, with 20,000 listeners discovering it in that format. Now, the print edition is set to be released this week and Rossi took a few minutes to chat over email about his book, music, his plan to conquer the Amazon charts and other projects he's been working on.
First, for anyone not familiar with it, can you give us a quick summary of Crescent?
Rossi:Crescent is a blend of horror and science fiction where the bulk of the action takes place on a space station. Now, by space station, I don't mean a shiny and enormous ring filled with people wearing pristine jumpsuits and playing tennis with robots—Crescent is a dark, gritty, and down right mean place. The station is the last stop on the way to the "frontier"-- a boom town filled with not only opportunity, but with an unsavory lot who will put a knife between your ribs if it guarantees a higher percentage.
The story follows Gerald Evans, a smoking , drinking anti-hero who comes to Crescent seeking early retirement and a quick fortune. He gets caught up in the nefarious plans of Crescent's corrupt mayor, Ezra Kendall, and ends up with his ass over the fire. Unfortunately for Mr. Evans, he's quick to learn Ezra Kendall's evil pales in comparison to the ancient malevolence that calls the station home—a living darkness imprisoned on Crescent that has been stirred from a deep slumber. Needless to say, this entity is hungry and pissed.
You first created the book as a podcast, right?
Rossi: Yeah, so back in 2007…well, really 2006 when I started the Crescent manuscript, the vision was for a series, not a novel. I'd do a handful of episodes from the hip, record them, and podcast them. After I had written just a few episodes, I knew I had the makings of a full-blown novel on my hands. So, I set about writing the book, while keeping the story-telling still very much from the hip. I wasn't much for planning or outlines at the time, so writing that first draft was a wild ride. I spent the winter recording some early episodes and promoting the book's release. It wasn't until Spring of 2007 that I finally began to podcast the novel (as in release weekly episodes). I was floored by the initial response and now it's at the point where so many people have listened to the book, the number is unreal. It's gratifying to have people tell me, "Well, I'm not a fan of sci fi (swap with horror, because I've heard both) but I loved your book." Apparently, I sound like Christian Slater when I narrate, and for whatever reason, people are into that, too.
So you're asking people to wait until July 9 to order the book so you can "rush" the Amazon charts -- explain that a bit for people.
Rossi: The concept is pretty simple: By having my fans hit Amazon to buy Crescent on the same day, at roughly the same time, the book will be propelled up the charts. The goal is visibility—total exposure. A lot more people will see Crescent if it's say, in the top 25, as opposed to being in the top 125,000. For the magic to work, it's imperative that people wait until the 9th to buy the book. On the 9th, starting at 1:00 pm Eastern I am doing a live concert and reading, streamed on the Internet via a service called uStream (details on CrescentStation.net). Sort of the telethon concept. "If you're enjoying this beautiful man playing this beautiful music, perhaps you'll consider buying his book." Maybe I should call PBS?
How has the book publishing process been similar to releasing a music CD -- or is it totally different?
Rossi: I've been very accustomed to the do it yourself thing when it comes to records—handling all the artwork, mixing, pressing, and the distribution (which shoebox should I carry to shows?). I'm used to having my hands in all pots. That's been a little different with the publishing of this book. I've had limited exposure to some of the behind the scenes stuff and for me that works just fine. My bandwidth is limited as is my knowledge of the publishing world. It's nice to have reliable people handling the logistics so that I can focus on promoting the hell out of the 9th.
As part of promoting the release of Crescent, you've started something called Rossi Cover Me, where you take requests via Twitter each Thursday for songs that people would like you to cover. You then select one, record it and release it on YouTube. Where did the idea come from and how's it going so far?
Rossi: The initial idea of covering stuff and putting it on YouTube came from the fact that there are thousands (ten's of thousands? ) of videos of people covering songs on there. My buddy Brian, forever of the Bad Habit, said it might be a fun way to promote my music—attracting people by covering songs that I dig. The idea has been floating around in my head since that conversation—but only when I was thinking of novel ways to promote the Amazon.Com Rush did I think of #RossiCoverMe. I saw it as a fun way to get my followers on Twitter involved and invested, and a great way for me to play music and perform while I'm buried under the mountain that is promoting Crescent's release. It's going great so far. Hundreds of people have been checking out the videos through YouTube, Facebook, and my own web site. Not to mention, it's just a lot of fun playing these songs and I'm discovering a lot of cool new music from what people are throwing out there as requests.
The first edition of Rossi Cover Me saw Rossi doing his version of the song "Old Number 7" by The Devil Makes Three.
There's a soundtrack to the book, correct?
Rossi: So, Crescent has a soundtrack that was composed at the time I produced the original podcast. Some of it's ambient, other tunes are full blown—vocals and so on. The tunes ended up being pretty industrial, considering the music was to serve as an aural backdrop to a gritty space station ghost story. Think Depeche Mode meets Nine Inch Nails. I'm actually giving the soundtrack away as a free digital download to people who buy the book. There's a page at the back of the book with a promo code. After the 9th, visit CrescentStation.net, enter the promo code, and the soundtrack is yours.
What else are you up to musically these days?
Rossi: Musically, aside from RossiCoverMe, the main action is tied to my latest podcast novel release, Harvey. Harvey has a full blown soundtrack (different in scope than the Crescent soundtrack) that goes along with the narrative in the book. Essentially, the book is about a musician, Calvin Hubbard, who gets kicked off a singing competition and goes to a small town in VA to record his opus and regain musical credibility. Something dark is going down in the woods outside of Harvey and its effects are seeping into Harvey right around the time that Calvin arrives. The album follows his experience as things go from normal to crazy.
For more on how you can help Phil Rossi rush the Amazon.com charts this coming Thursday, July 9, check out the details here.
This post is appallingly overdue, but timeliness has never been one of my strong suits as a blogger. I had the pleasure of catching two shows at the Black Cat Backstage, the intimate little space behind the Red Room Bar. Monday two weeks ago found me at the Laura Gibson & Musée Mécanique show. MM, the opener, completely flummoxed me with their densely layered gypsy folk. The band combines the Wilsonesque harmonies of Grizzly Bear with the complex folk melodies of Beirut. And I was very pleasantly surprised when Micah Rabwin and Sean Ogilvie of MM returned to the stage as Laura Gibson's band.
Gibson is a delight in concert. Hers is a talent that hearkens to a gentler time and place, her lyrics introspective yet abstract. Alone, her sound is intimate and austere, and the dim lights above the stage frame her in darkness. She has a lovely voice, one that occasionally almost gets lost in the din. She sings almost reticently, as if she's afraid the heavens will come crashing down if she opens her mouth and really belts one out. Her minimalist stage presence is purposeful, every note of every song carefully crafted. The overall effect is to make you feel like you're not in a concert hall; rather, you feel as if a friend is singing to you, or a mother is soothing an anxious child. Micah and Sean flesh out her sound, while at the same time retaining a degree of intimacy with the crowd. I couldn't imagine watching her sing with a full 3 or 4 piece band; I feel like something would be lost in translation. And pardon the poor quality of the pictures. I seemingly didn't contact the right person at Hush Records for a photo pass, so I was relegated to my trusty point and shoot for the night.
After the set, Gibson and her bandmates came out to meet the audience. They were every bit as charming in person as they were onstage, gracious and thoughful. And I hope they took my suggestion to see Maya Lin's exhibit at the Corcoran the following day.
Wednesday found me returning to a surprisingly full house for Telekinesis, a one-man outfit fleshed out to a full touring band. The one man in question is Michael Benjamin Lerner, a wunderkind drummer from the Pacific Northwest who draws obvious comparisons to Death Cab's Ben Gibbard. Adding fuel to that fire is the fact that DCFC's Chris Walla produced Lerner's debut, Telekinesis! Opening for Lerner was An Horse, an energetic duo from Brisbane who reminded me of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as interpreted by Viva Voce. They make an ungodly amount of sound for two people, not unlike classic Local H, and surprising considering both members of the band probably don't outweigh Local H's Joe Daniels.
My concertgoing friend and I had a chuckle as we doubted most of the people in the audience knew the headliner was standing in their midst. I introduced myself to Michael at his merchandise table, and mentioned to him that I had a photo pass from a publicist at Merge Records. I told him I'd be the guy in front snapping photos, and I'd try to be as unobtrusive as possible. He chuckled and told me I could be as obtrusive as I wanted to be. He still seemed really awed by all the attention and the publicity, thankful that he had caught a little lightning in a bottle.
His set was concise but dynamic, including most of the songs from the album, a couple of tracks from the Coast of Carolina EP, and a cover of the Kinks' "House in the Country". Lerner was a kaleidoscopic dervish onstage, dispelling any skepticism I had that he could sing and drum as energetically live as he did on the album.
Two nights, two amazing shows, one rather poorly lit little venue...the start of a good musical week.
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