Richman & Taubenfeld Show Taylor Love

Perhaps some of you in the area remember singer/songwriter (and former GW student) Adam Richman from back in the day. He and Evan Taubenfeld penned a Christmas paean to Taylor Swift, “Merry Swiftmas,” and posted it to YouTube. It’s been getting some press, and even some notice from Taylor herself. Check out the video above.

Thanks to Mike Holden for the tip

Seven Questions With Cory Chisel

Cory Chisel might look like a scruffier version of David Blaine wearing a porkpie hat, but there is no illusion when it comes to his music. His organic alt-country sound with the Wandering Sons and the sweet harmonies of Adriel Harris is Americana from the heartland, through and through.

Chisel’s got a new album, Death Won’t Send A Letter, and he’ll be opening for Brendan Benson at the 9:30 Club this Wednesday, December 9th. I caught up with him via email:

Death Won’t Send A Letter is your first “big label” release, and you worked with Grammy-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins, The White Stripes) on the record. Was there a certain overarching sound or theme that you were going for?
I'm always looking for sounds that elevate me in some way, and Joe has made many of those records. I figured for my first step out the door I would start with someone who has lifted me many times with sounds he helped create.

Any particular favorite tracks off of the new album and why?
Well there are always songs that present themselves as favorites for one reason or another, and I think on this record I have really become fond of the song “My Heart Would Be There”. It’s a song I have tried to record several times, and in the end we finally got something that we all felt good about.

How do you think your Wisconsin roots influence your songwriting?
Well, we get lots of time to write music in our neck of the woods... many long hours of dark winter to sit and look at our guitars. I have always been a big fan of the time to reflect on whatever is going on around us, and we have many great characters up there to paint into our stories.

I’m not sure if you like football, but if you do - How are you feeling about Brett Favre these days?
I support the guy... but I will cheer against him if he plays the Packers.

So you collaborated with Brendan Benson on the track “Born Again” – how is it touring together?
It's an ideal situation...I get to play songs night after night with someone that I admire, and enjoy working with so much. I wish all things could work this way.

What are a few CDs that you and the Wanderers can heartily agree on for a cross-country sing-along drive in the van? Feel free to mention hair metal.
Most played records right now are:
The National, Boxer
Bob Dylan, New Morning
The Velvet Underground and Nico
Leonard Cohen, Songs Of Love and Hate
The Greenhorns, untitled and unreleased record (hope everyone will hear this someday)

And finally, what do you want to leave the audience thinking after you finish your set this Wednesday night at the 9:30 Club?
I hope we make a wave in the town so we can keep riding back in as often as we can. I happen to like the town a lot...it's edgy, strange, and full of a lot of music I have been into for years.

MP3: Born Again – Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons

The Pixies @ DAR Constitution Hall, 11/30/09

So this is what a reunion tour of the greatest post-punk band of my generation looks like. Instead of a beer-soaked basement hall, they play a carpeted, well-lit auditorium. Text-messaging hipsters line the hallway before the show because they cannot take their sour apple martinis into the main hall. Fans can buy a recording of that evening's performance for $25, ready to be downloaded to their computers by the time they arrive back home. Pretty high-tech for a band that doesn't even maintain a website.

The band starts the concert with obscure songs from their B-sides album, "Dancing the Manta Ray," "Weird at My School," and probably their worst song ever, "Bailey's Walk." Never mind, the crowd is on their feet as soon as the Pixies walk on stage, and though there is no moshing amongst the flip-up chairs, most everyone stays standing, dancing in place, throughout the roughly hour and a half onslaught of music. The band, all in black, looks as if they are dressed for a day of standing in line at the unemployment office, and the goofy big paper lantern lights that hang over them waggle and gyrate amateurishly. But that is punk music, right? No overpowering, elaborate sets, no sexy back-up singers, no strobe lights or fireworks (there was a giant screen, which thankfully I could not see from my seat), just four schlumps who happened to make seminal music in the last part of the last century and who have returned to feed their fans' hunger and make some money to support their middle-aged, middle-class lives, making no attempt to hide their feet of clay.

Marking the 20th anniversary of their best-selling album Doolittle, this is the Pixies second reunion tour since they broke up in 1993. Since that album was released, the band members have lost hair and gained weight, but Frank Black (Pokemon-like, Black Francis evolved post-Pixies, to become one of the great troubadours of the modern music scene) can still scream like a little girl, Joey Santiago can still milk the power chords from a guitar, David Lovering still dominates the drums and Kim Deal still...stands. No, the former Mrs. John Murphy can still thump on the bass, wringing its neck like its what's for dinner, and retains her dusky, ethereal voice. She also served as the narrator for the evening, the only one to address the audience, eschewing the "Hello DC!" banter for unapologetic comments like "Some of these songs are so obscure even we don't know them." But they, and everyone else in the room, knew Doolittle, which was played in its entirety, from the Generation X anthem "Debaser" to that ode to slackerdom, "Gouge Away." It was a rare opportunity to sing along at a live performance to "Hey," "La La Love You," and "Crackity Jones," and the fans sucked up every glorious moment of it. There were some songs that were a little garbled and off beat, such as "Into the White" and "I Bleed," but the few stumbles and missteps were negligible. When the performance of Doolittle was over, the band blundered about the stage, acknowledging the crowd's adulation, bumping into each other as they walked from one side of the stage to the other, waving and bowing. As Frank Black sings in a solo-career song, "Do not think he does not like the cheering of the crowd, No, he is glad that they came to see, The man who used to be, The man who was too loud."

The crowd bayed for more, and they delivered two encores, including the UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation," the from the B Sides album and songs from their first two albums, "Gigantic," "Where is My Mind?" and "Nimrod's Son." Frank, who has spent the years since the Pixies' breakup churning out albums and touring, was ready to pack it in on this second to last performance of their US tour, but the other 3 voted to do one last song, "Caribou." Then these rock gods bumbled off stage on their feet clay, and the crowd left happy, ears ringing. The Pixies are dead, long live the Pixies!

**Special thanks to Alice Stephens for contributing this review**

Photo by Brad Searles

Memphis 59 Gets Ragged But Right

Locals Memphis 59 will be celebrating the release of their new album, Ragged But Right, this Friday, December 4th, at Jammin Java in Vienna, VA. Straying toward the rockier side of alt-country, their melodic sound is influenced by the likes of Petty and The Replacements. I caught up with lead vocalist Scott Kurt below via email to discuss the recording of the album, as well as drink recommendations for the band.

Did you have certain themes you were looking to get across with the recording of Ragged But Right?
I think there are certain themes that run through the album, (love, break ups, hook-ups, relationships, etc.) but we didn’t set out with these ideas when we decided to make the record. Some songs didn’t make the cut and some did. We just tried to choose the best songs to get the Memphis 59 sound across to the listener.

And I believe you were pretty psyched to work with Grammy-winners John Jennings (producer), Bob Dawson (sound engineer) and Jon Carroll (keys) in the studio?
Yes we were all excited to be working with such talent. We could have gone to any studio, plopped down a bag of money and made the record. But we wanted to work with people who have both experience and the hardware to back it up, and nothing says that like a Grammy. I did some research and decided to reach out to John Jennings to see if he would be interested in producing our record. He said he would have to come hear us play first and decide from there. So he came over to our practice space, we played a few tunes and he really liked what he heard. Through John Jennings we met Bob Dawson, Jon Carroll, and then the album really started to take shape.

I know picking favorite songs can be like choosing a favorite child, but were you particularly pleased with how certain tracks turned out?
No doubt. I would love for every song to turn out exactly how I want, but that is just not reality. When you have bandmates, a producer etc. everyone has their own vision of what they think the song should be. There is no right or wrong, just opinions and there has to be give & take. Some songs I gave more and some I took more, but in the end we are really happy with the album and very proud. It was a long journey but along the way I think we all learned a thing or two. My favorites are probably “Girl at the End of the Bar”, “Black & White TV” and “Way With Words”.

With all the over-produced pop out there on the radio, what, or who, inspires you these days?
My goal in writing is just to have the song be good. That’s it. I just want to write a good song. Something that when it’s over, the listener misses the song and looks forward to hearing it again. Inspiration to me has always come from guys like Tom Petty, Paul Westerberg, Ryan Adams etc. They really seem to put the song first, no matter what’s going on with the world, politics, music business etc. It’s all about the song first.

Do you prefer to base your songs on things going on around you, or do you like to live vicariously through your songwriting?
Both. Sometimes I take a story that happened to me and write the song around that experience. Sometimes it comes from a friend or I just make up the characters and write about things that happen in life. It all depends on the inspiration and the theme. I try to make it interesting to the listener, or at least something that they can relate to.

Describe the Memphis 59 sound in three words or less, using no verbs.
I skipped a lot of classes in school so I hope I don’t blow this one. I would say “honest, rootsy” and that way I have one word to spare down the road.

Do you find the DC area to be a supportive one when it comes to music?
Supportive is a strange word. Some venues can be, but they also have to look out for their best interests. Their goal is mainly to pack their room and sell drinks etc. A lot of bars/clubs in the area do that by booking cover bands. Nothing wrong with that, but it does not really help out with “the scene” as far as original local music in the DC area. There are some rooms that put more focus on the music like Jammin Java, IOTA, etc. but sometimes you will see a great band and the room will only be half full, and that’s not good for business, so it’s really tricky. As far as other bands supporting each other, no I don’t see a lot of that. I try my best to check out a lot of bands in the area. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t, but you have to at least get out there and get a feel for the pulse. It’s funny to me when certain bands/artists complain that not enough people come out to see them play, but when they are not playing they are sitting at home instead of lending their support to other bands. A lot of the cities that we play are like DC, but some of them like Pittsburgh are great when it comes to bands supporting other bands.

Which drink do you think will best accompany the Memphis 59 CD release show this Friday at Jammin Java? Expresso? Gin and tonic? Or something else?
We are all fans of bourbon so anything with whiskey/bourbon will do just fine.