Huntington-area punks reincarnated, reinvigorated as stoner rock band Tower of the Elephant

(L-R:) Mike Schritter, Blair Yoke, Jason King, Garrett Babb, and Josh Harshbarger, together just a few short months as Tower of the Elephant, have been making a name for themselves in Huntington.

Reposted from The Huntington Herald-Dispatch


You could say that with their version of “weed metal,” Tower of the Elephant has been generating a nice buzz around town.

Like any organic process, the Huntington-based “stoner rock” band’s formation was quite chemical in nature. Two cells; one, lead guitarist Mike Schritter and drummer Jason King (ex-South Point, Ohio punks No Heroes Here) served as the nucleus, and the other cell, singer Blair Yoke, rhythm guitarist Garrett Babb and bassist Josh Harshbarger (ex-Beer For Blood members) merged through some symbiotic, osmosis-like process that bands seem to go through as they are born and die only to become new bands.

But they’re no different than any other local band just starting out. They face the same challenges; from getting together for practice, to booking and playing shows, not so much the latter recently.

“Between jobs and families, it can be really hard getting the five of us together to practice,” singer Blair Yoke said as a few band members convened to answer questions.

Comprised of veterans of (and band mates in) various Huntington-area punk bands, Tower of the Elephant is able to kill two birds with one stone; they practice and play where Yoke lives.

“We’re mainly more apt to play house shows there because Blair lives there,” Harshbarger said, a day after the band played a house show at 636 Trenton Place.

Tower of the Elephant: “Orbital Exile” @ 636 Trenton Place 3.26


Harshbarger said house shows have been important in helping Tower of the Elephant, together since just last October, develop a following.

“We hardly ever turn down the chance to play house shows. There isn’t much of a chance to make any money, but the setting is more intimate and it seems like you get a much better vibe from the crowd.”

Tower of the Elephant welcomes Morgantown stoner rock legends Karma To Burn back to Huntington Friday night for a show at Shamrock’s Irish Pub, with the Austin, Texas-based hard rock trio Honky in tow.

“It’s been really exciting,” Harshbarger went on, talking about the band. “The response to our music has been huge and immediate, from just word-of-mouth, to the amount of shows being offered to us in such a short amount of time. We have such a tight group of seasoned musicians that know what sound we’re looking for and I think that has come across in our music.”

Harshbarger said it’s their appreciation for the more classic rock and metal influences that has helped Tower refine their own version of “weed metal,” as they call it on their Facebook page.

“We all have pretty different influences, but most go back to the classics,” Harshbarger said. “We’ve all played punk rock in the past, but a lot of our sound comes from a heavy influence of classic stoner rock bands such as Kyuss, Black Sabbath, Fu Manchu, and Mountain. It really came to us naturally because we’ve listened to groups like these for so long.”

King described the formation of the nascent Tower of the Elephant with Schritter, who fronted the now defunct Huntington punk band Sarasota.

“Mike and I started the band in my kitchen, playing on a small amp and electric drums,” he said.

They soon absorbed the trio of Yoke, Babb and Harshbarger.

“Josh was the first person we brought in,” King said. “Then we had Blair sing for us, and as soon as the first words came out of his mouth, I knew he was perfect.”

“Up until we started Tower I’d only been in punk bands,” Yoke said. “It feels great to be able to actually sing, opposed to screaming.

“It started out more in the metal vein and became groovier once Garrett and I joined,” the singer went on. “We started playing in late October, and within a week we had three songs done. We played those three songs at a Halloween house show in town and got a great response from the small crowd that was there.”

Babb described how he, Harshbarger and Yoke brought their own experiences in Beer For Blood into Tower of the Elephant.

“Beer For Blood was pretty much where the three of us got our chops as musicians. Everything clicked with us and we played what we wanted, but learned a lot from each other as musicians.”

“Babb brought something to the table I didn’t even know we needed until he started playing it,” King added. “Now it’s a key part in our music.”



Babb said he loves being in a band with Schritter.

“When we write, it’s the most laid back and comfortable atmosphere. The riffs we write together are decided on being used when we can play them together, look at each other, and laugh our [expletive] off at what we just did. The chemistry is great. He’s a master at leads, and I’m proud we can play guitar together and share our knowledge of the instrument with each other.”

Tower of the Elephant is sitting on a four-song EP entitled “Journey of the Leonids,” set for seven-inch vinyl release in May.

Yoke said, at least for him, but likely speaking for the group as well, Tower of the Elephant is something he’s been looking forward to being a part of for a long time.

“I’m extremely excited about this band. Since the very first practice I’ve found that lyrics come to me easier than in any other band I’ve been in. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted to do musically for a long time.”


If you go:
Karma To Burn, Honky, Tower of the Elephant
Where: Shamrock’s Irish Pub, 2050 3rd Ave., Huntington (304) 523-5825 (call for tix)
When: Friday, April 1st, 9:30
Cost: $10 advance, $12 at the door
Info: www.toweroftheelephant.bandcamp.com/, http://www.k2burn.com/

photo: Josh Harshbarger
video: Chuk Fowlord

CD Review: "Leave It Alone"

CD: Leave It Alone
ARTIST: Sasha Colette and the Magnolias

Eight songs worth of genre-skipping folk, alt-country, and yeah, rock, Leave It Alone, the recent release from Sasha Colette and the Magnolias, only flew under the CD reviewing radar here because we lost our physical copy of the CD for a while. But make no mistake, dear friends, we didn’t give it away.

The Morehead, Kentucky-based outfit, combined with Bud Carroll’s guitar input and studio prowess, has put out a really great record on this, their third release.

Aside from Colette’s soulful, powerful (sweet, sweet) voice, guitar and banjo work, you get Carroll on guitar and keys (killer!) and Magnolias Jose Oreta on upright bass and Andrew Gillum on drums.

While Carroll recorded the CD at his Trackside Studios in Barboursville, adding so much to the sound “on the floor” and behind the board, it would behoove the new listener to not underestimate the Magnolias in their own right.

One of the things you notice is the almost rock song structure of the folk songs, with well-placed hooks, bridges and tight arrangements, most of the songs come in at the short side of three minutes; perfect for people with short attention spans. That’s pretty much everybody these days.

“Sacrifice” opens Leave It Alone with beautiful string-based orchestral instrumentation. “Sweet” is a soft, swaying number, with a little Moog-sounding synth and organ thrown in.

Colette’s poetic, lovelorn lyrics meet cheesy bar-based pickup lines on the song (“I forgot to ask if it hurt when you fell from heaven,”) and a rockin’ bridge ties “Sweet” together in short order:

“Oh, all these sunsets remind me of all these sunrises we stayed up late to see left your sweet song in my head.”

“Victory” is a somber, stripped-down acoustic number, and with Carroll on pedal steel, this maybe could be the real title track of the record.

“Mercy Moment” sounds like Janis Joplin singing with Led Zeppelin, one of the real standout tracks for its rock flavor. Everybody pretty much lets loose; Colette belting out the vocals (“I’ve been busting my chops trying to get us to the top,”) with Carroll’s riffage and stomping rhythm section, it’s a rockin’ tune and a good example of the tight song structure throughout -- just barely three minutes, it could be longer, but it’s perfect as it is.

The title track (evoking the sunny, uptempo alt-country feel on a lot of Wilco’s songs off Being There) closes out the CD, with Colette really opening up, it seems.

“If your momma left you when you were young and your daddy gets high on booze in the night leave it alone, yeah leave it alone.
‘Cause what good would it do if you were to cry me a river?
That boat don’t float/I say let the dead things lay
Leave it alone”

From the songwriting and musicianship through production and into the artwork and layout (ably done by friend of rockscene Jimbo Valentine), Leave It Alone really is a super tight, total package; something to be proud of and rock out for sure as Colette moves forward in 2011.

Related: Sasha Colette Can't Leave It Alone (Gazette article)

Keller Williams talks about kids, music in the digital age, and Martian apocalypse in advance of V Club show Friday

“One-man jam band” Keller Williams comes to Huntington Friday for a show at the V Club

Reposted from The Huntington Herald-Dispatch

For Keller Williams, it’s all about balance. Whether it’s balancing his home life and solo career, his involvement with various collaborations and side projects, or just juggling all the instruments he brings on stage, the “one-man jam band” seems to pull it all off effortlessly, in typical Dead Head, laid back, definitely far out style.

Now, with countless fans due in large part to twenty years worth of captivating live performances, the Fredericksburg, Virginia native, speaking over the phone in advance of his first Huntington show Friday night at the V Club, said his life is pretty much perfectly balanced.

“The past year and a half or so we’ve adopted the weekend warrior mentality,” Williams said en route to the airport to catch a flight to Milwaukee for a show. “We’ll leave on a Wednesday and come back on Sunday, and it’s been great. I’ve got two kids at home, so it’s great to have that balance.”

One thing that’s changed recently is Williams’ bringing his funky genre-skipping mix of bluegrass and folk stylings to kids. With last October’s release dual release of his “Kids” CD (his sixteenth record) and 33-page kids book “Because I Said So,” Williams now quite literally has fans of all ages.

Maybe you could say he’s balancing out his fan base.

“It’s just been a natural progression for me and my type of music, and the amount of records that I’ve done, that a kids record would be done,” Williams explained. “It’s something I’ve been tossing around for years and years and I’ve finally kind of allowed it to happen. And I’m glad I did, too; I’m really proud of it.”



As part of his expansion into, or landing on, the kids’ world, Williams has started to play a few select kids matinee shows. And whether they help benefit a charitable cause, as they often do, for Williams, it’s about finding the right mix of fun and responsibility.

“It’s a fun record and doing the kids matinee shows is where I get to play these songs, it’s important focusing on the kids music and the kids book, that never really do the kids world and the adult music world meet, as far as these songs. You know, I don’t play these kids songs at the night time adult shows.

“But the kids show matinee is just a great venue for these songs, and that’s what makes the kids shows super fun for me because I play stuff that I don’t get to play at the adult shows.”

Williams, famous for his live looping and array of guitars and instruments on stage, and collaboration with other musicians, said that not only has being a parent changed him, but gave him the perspective of wanting to have some music that everyone can enjoy.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of hesitation whether to do it or not,” Williams said of putting out a CD specifically for children. “We just wanted to make sure we found the right home for it, so to speak. I guess the only hesitation was that we wanted to approach this correctly. I knew the record was okay for the parents, as well as the kids, and that was the direction I went. I wanted to make sure the parents could laugh, and have the kids in the back seats groove a little bit. Hopefully it can achieve some peace and balance in the car ride,” he said laughing.

Williams said he was looking forward to playing the V Club, and wanted to make clear he wouldn’t stop the show to yell at someone taping or filming his performance.



“I’ve always allowed taping and recording at my shows. I’ve always been into the taping community, and that’s really what propelled me in my career in the beginning, especially in the mid to late 90’s, was the taping community and getting to open for bands like String Cheese Incident, where the taping community was really vibrant.”

And Williams said while he hopes his fans will still pay for his music, either online or at a record store, if they want to listen to it for free online, he says pass it around.

“The internet has always been my friend. As far as where the music industry has gone, as far as the whole digital download age and the disappearance of locally owned record stores, the whole idea of the album going away and now people just put it online and people can pick and choose. The way I’ve come to grips with the digital age, whether it’s a computer or on a cell phone is, it’s just another medium for music to be heard. You know, tapes, records and CDs always get scratched or tore up, so it’s neat to be able to have the music online in pristine, digital form so it can be passed around. It’s on the road to becoming immortal.”



And rounding the interview out, maybe only half in jest, but totally “out there,” Williams said one day he hopes his music can indeed bring some balance to the universe.

“I’m thinking along the lines of my music being sent up into cyberspace, if the world gets blown up by Martians, they can accept this transmission floating around in cyberspace. My hope is, after I’m gone, and the Earth is gone, my music will be played in other galaxies by beings intercepting the signal.”

If you go:
Keller Williams
WHEN: Friday, March 18, 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: The V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington
COST: $20 in advance for first 150 tickets sold, $22 after the first 150, $25 DOS.
INFO: www.kellerwilliams.net/, www.vclublive.com

photo: C. Taylor Crothers

On the road with Gazelle Amber Valentine of Jucifer

With a show-per-day tour schedule, averaging ten hours on the road, three-hour loading and unloading of equipment, playing the show, and sleeping for maybe three hours, Gazelle Amber Valentine and Edgar Livengood of the doom/stoner/hard rock duo Jucifer don’t have a lot of time to talk on the phone.

In an interview that was originally set to run as a feature article in the Huntington Herald-Dispatch for their show at the V Club Wednesday night, singer-guitarist Valentine talks about constant life on the road for the Athens, Georgia natives, and the love(s) of her life -- her husband Edgar, and making sweet music as Jucifer…

WVRockscene: How has this tour gone so far? How have the shows been? Anything get broken or stolen? Any fans bring you anything cool?
Gazelle Amber Valentine: We started this year’s tour in January after a short break in December. It’s been good, actually some really good crowds considering it’s winter and the weather makes staying home really appealing. Broken? Our stuff is ALWAYS breaking, haha. Just ‘cause it’s always in use. We just had to replace our heater core, and suspension on the trailer (imagine!). Mostly drum stuff lately. Edgar’s broken three snare stands and two crash stands so far this year.

-----
rockscene: Does Edgar still vomit during or after shows?
Valentine: Yeah, but I mean it’s not something that happens every show. It comes from exertion. It happens more when it’s hot.

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rockscene: You’re notoriously nomadic in nature, touring in an RV, where, if anyplace in particular, do you two call home?
Valentine: We call the RV home! We don’t have a place anywhere, so that’s literally our house, where we live. And we’ve been that way for 10 years, so we really don’t feel tied to any particular city or state. We grew up in DC area and rural GA respectively, and then we lived in Athens, GA together... but we’ve lived in the RV for as long as we lived in Athens, so we’re more connected to this nomadic life than homes from the past. I put on our Twitter “nomads, northern hemisphere” and that’s really where we feel we live. We’re so familiar with all of North America and a lot of Europe... that’s where we spend time, that’s home.

-----
rockscene: Have you had any significant downtime in between shows or dates to get out and see sights or get out in nature or just enjoy yourself? Or has it been one big grueling experience so far?
Valentine: Since we’ve been on the road fulltime it’s a little bit better as far as getting to see stuff... we can tell the booking agent to leave us a few days off if we know we’re gonna be somewhere awesome. Like last year in Canada the agent was worried about us trying to play during some kind of vacation week in BC, so we just told him to give us that week off and start us up again when people would be back from vacation. It worked out rad --- we got to have a little time in the mountains and then our shows worked out great too.

But as much as we love to get out in nature and explore places, playing shows is always our priority. So it’s not like being retired or on vacation. We’re always on a schedule, and we have to drive past stuff we’d like to stop at a lot. Or don’t have time to hang out with friends. It’s more work than we ever did at our blue-collar jobs, that’s for sure. It can literally be 22 hours a day for days in a row. But you always gotta respect that you’re doing something you love, and that not everybody gets to do that or see the world even on the limited basis we see it.

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rockscene: Throned in Blood got a good bit of critical praise, how cool was that?
Valentine: It’s always rewarding to get that. Sometimes people forget, but the critics are just music fans with an outlet for their thoughts. So anytime music fans get what we’re doing, whether they write for a big mag or their own tumblr, it’s cool!



The first level of satisfaction for us is ourselves... like, if we like our record, nobody else’s opinion matters as much. Still, it’s good to see fans are psyched on it. Because being able to make people happy with something that makes you happy is really special, really a fortunate situation. We have total respect and gratitude for our fans.

-----
rockscene: You two are married, right? How long have you two a.) known each other and b.) been married? Does being married and touring in a band make things simpler or more complicated? Do you get tired being asked these kinds of questions?
Valentine: We got together as a couple within about three months after we started playing together. A little over 18 years ago. But it was pretty much fated. We’ve gone over the weird chain of events that led us to meet and obviously, it was just meant to be.

We were basically married as soon as we met. For us, the kind of couple we are, everything about our life and our band makes perfect sense. Like, if we didn’t play music together we’d never have met. So it wasn’t like, oh let’s be in a band honey, and then oh shit, this is hard! It was like, here’s the soulmate I’ve been looking for, the ideal partner who’s down for the crazy ass life I want. Match made in heaven!

So our relationship was built to include being creative together and working together. I’m sure in some ways it’s more complicated because we’re a couple, but in other ways it’s less. Like we just had Sourvein do some shows with us, and those dudes were missing their girlfriends and wives. So a “regular” band isn’t gonna be happy on permanent tour... because they’re stressing relationships left at home. In that way it’s simpler for us. And YES! It does get kinda old answering questions about it. I guess we understand that it seems like a novelty for other people. But it’s not a novelty for us, y’know...it’s a beautiful, sacred thing.

-----
rockscene: You’re notorious for the amps and volume levels, how many amps do you play through right now and have you had anyone complain about the levels?
Valentine: Right now I’m using 16-19 cabs, depending on the space. Yeah we’ve had noise complaints for sure... we try to make sure we don’t get booked in the wrong places, but it still happens. Every once in awhile our agent will be like, look, you guys can play but they’re gonna want you to turn down. If they’re respectful about it, like the club is cool but their neighbors are giving ‘em hell, we’ll try to cooperate.

But like last time that happened recently, we’ll say look: we’re Jucifer. We can’t physically be quiet. But we’ll try to be like, regular loud instead of apocalyptic loud. Most of the time venues know what they’re booking and audiences know what they’re getting... We’ve been doing it for a loooong time!!

The funny thing is that for every person holding their ears and wincing, there’s some bastard saying it wasn’t loud enough. For us... we just want to feel it and hear it, this mass of sound. And I want to shape it, ride the feedback. It’s not some stupid volume contest --- if it was, we’d do without drums and vocals.

But yeah, it’s loud. Think of it as a free massage!

-----
rockscene: Have you released your book “The Grease” yet? Seems like something people would love to read.
Valentine: I’ve been hearing from a lot of people who want the book. I haven’t finished writing it yet. But seeing so much interest, I’m definitely gonna try to get it done soon!

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rockscene: While you two are metal, Amber from what I’ve read it seems like a lot of your early influences were more punk, is that fair? Ian MacKaye, Rollins, Watt, and meeting Joey Ramone; were you more into punk growing up or metal, and did that influence your sound now?
Valentine: I didn’t experience that much of either punk OR metal --- where I lived was too isolated. My parents didn’t listen to it, and I didn’t have older kids around. I was definitely drawn to it when it grazed past me... the little bit of stuff that made it to radio, the mix tapes I got from a few kids.

But I’ve never felt like stuff I heard created my writing or playing style. To me it feels like the things I liked or will like, are attractive to me because of that instinct I have for certain sounds. An instinct that I had from an early age, that couldn’t have developed from listening to music because it was always there.

Kinda like I loved the color purple, loved horses and dogs, I loved certain notes together, certain deep distorted guitar sounds, heavy drums, pissed off screaming. I think I just gravitated to the place I belonged, y’know.

-----
rockscene: You’ve been on a few labels but now have your own thing, Nomadic Fortress, and release stuff through Relapse; how satisfied are you with the label situation right now? And how comfortable are you with your own fan base who “get” what you’re going for and where you “fit” into metal?
Valentine: Really satisfied. It’s amazing to completely own our music for the first time. And to see the level of support we get, for being true to who we are and being brave enough to mix shit up and do our own thing, is really gratifying.

I think people’s minds are opening more as they get bored with super-predictable bands. I mean, sometimes it’s nice to know exactly what you’re gonna get. When every album and song and show is the same. It’s reliable. But there’s a place for a band like us, that’s gonna surprise you, maybe even piss you off, but never stop growing. The support we get and the understanding that we get as far as being that kind of band, is awesome.

-----
rockscene: Aside from touring will there be anything big in 2011 you two are looking forward to? New recording or anything at all? Make another DVD? European festivals?
Valentine: We’re re-issuing our first “album” (‘Nadir‘) which was done on 4-track and only on homemade cassettes when we made it... planning for that to come out in May. And Nomadic Fortress is also gonna put out some splits and side projects. We’re gonna do one with Aaron Deal from Salome... planning for that to come out in the summer.

We’ll also be recording a new album to come out in 2012. We’re touring the US through April, then go to Europe for May and June. We’re super stoked to go to Russia for the first time ever!! And we’re doing some cool festivals in Europe... I know Asymmetry Festival in Poland and Durbuy Rock Festival in Belgium. After Europe we’ll go to Canada and the Western US.

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rockscene: How much farther in the foreseeable future do you see yourself continuing this nomadic, non-stop touring lifestyle?
Valentine: Until we can’t!! And hopefully that’s a long time off ;)




--- Jucifer plays the V Club in Huntington Wednesday, March 16 with The Midnight Ghost Train and Satchell

HYAMP set to re-open Saturday

One of the more important venues in West Virginia is opening back up Saturday.


After a roughly four year hiatus, HYAMP will open its doors and kick off what will be a steady string of great all-ages shows.



UPDATE 3.12 2 p.m.: Huntington just put a hold on the re-opening.



Andy Rivas, of the Huntington-based electronic-rock dance duo Bad Employees said that not only were he and John McComas stoked to play the re-opening of HYAMP and looking forward to making new fans, but they appreciate David Steffie’s dedication to and love for the Huntington scene.


“To be honest I never made it to the old HYAMP. For some reason I never really knew about it until it was shutting down. I think maybe I was at an age where something of that sort didn’t concern me, and I had also moved away for a little while.

“I have heard lots of great things about the old place, and look forward to the new place creating some great memories as well. For me and Bad Employees, it’s going to be great to be able to play our style of music for a different demographic than the 21 and up bar scene, and we are really excited about it.

“It could be the first time these young adults get to hear this style of music. I’m sure at first it might confuse them a little bit, but in the end I’m hoping to have made lots of new fans!

“We are also honored that David Steffie pushed so hard to have us play on the grand opening. Since meeting him he has always been a great supporter of not only our music and our band, but cool music in general, and is someone who is a lot of fun to be around for that reason, and also because he is such a laid back likeable guy.

“You can tell right away that he is doing this cause he loves it, and wants for others to enjoy music and art as much as he does, and is willing to work hard day and night to make it accessible to a younger generation.

“We were amped up when he asked us to play, and the answer was of course an easy decision, 'Yes.'”

-----
A FEW GOOD MINUTES W/DANA WHITE (HOLDEN CAULFIELD/BLACK SEAS) ON HYAMP

Maybe nobody has more to add about HYAMP than Dana White. We caught up with the Holden Caulfield and Black Seas singer for a "Five Good Minutes" mp3 interview. It only sounds like the interviewer conducted the thing from the bath tub.

mp3: “A few good minutes” w/Dana White on HYAMP

Powered by Podbean.com

HYAMP Grand Opening
w/Talk Is Cheap, Scenes From a Movie (acoustic), Bad Employees, Universes, Some Like It Hot, DJ Charlie Brown Superstar
Saturday, March 12, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
533R 3rd Ave., Huntington
www.twitter.com/hyamp
thehyamp@gmail.com
$5 cover, all-ages welcome

Related: H-D article on HYAMP re-opening; MU Parthenon piece on HYAMP re-opening; HYAMP post at Soft Rock Renegade


Untitled from HYAMP on Vimeo.

CD Review: "Normal"

CD: Normal
ARTIST: Spirit Night

Thank goodness Dylan Balliett didn’t ruin Spirit Night’s new five-song EP Normal by leaking or previewing any of the songs online. At least not that I saw. While there are only five songs on this new EP, I liked/loved What We Will Be enough to want to hear it in its entirety all at once on the first listen.

I don’t want this review to be taken as offense to any of the other bands whose CDs I may have tried to review, or be a referendum on the state of rock and roll, the music industry or people’s slavish attraction to the phenomenon of social media.

No, this review is about this music and what it means to me.

Why does anybody do what they do? Why do people write songs? Why do people run blogs covering people who do? Much less interview them trying to ask profound questions or feel them out as individuals like they necessarily have anything meaningful to say.

“Hey, you’re a rocker so what do you think about poverty or politics? You wrote a song about something so you must have some deep insight I don’t, because I didn’t write a song!”

There are a lot of mean jealous angry people who become “critics” as a vent or outlet for their own shortcomings, faults and failures. I’ve always tried to approach musicians with respect because writing and playing a good song isn’t easy or everyone would do it. Even people who wouldn’t be considered traditional “artists” in the musical sense, and who may invite much scorn and derision from more “mature” “critics,” if you will.

CD reviews describe the music, the sounds, arrangements, lyrics, vocals, singing atmosphere and production. But do you feel anything like an actual emotion? Balliett’s painfully honest, deeply insightful poetic lyrics are one, big, raw emotion. Whether you say the words are depressing or just have an up-off-the-floor hopeful charm, the words and the beautifully arranged songs resonate with me.

To the songs: Normal picks up pretty much where What We Will Be left off, musically and emotionally. As mentioned at the top of this “review” it would’ve sucked if for whatever reason it didn’t stack up to the debut because I liked it so much. Balliett didn’t need to change anything from the version of atmospheric indie-melodramatic-post rock on What We Will Be.

The title track opens the EP with the familiar acoustic-based ambience, emotive vocals, rich instrumental arrangements found on the debut. But fans will instantly notice bass (largely absent on the debut?) sporadic 8-bit distortion, and neat, almost schizophrenic layering of lo-fi vocals. A great sound for headphones, with enough subtle synth or sprinkled on distortion to give the songs the same effect dew on morning grass does -- it makes them glisten, gives them their own sonic translucence. Is that the right word?

Normal people, like the musicians they may or may not idolize, are these days able to present a postcard bumper sticker-type snap shot of their lives to other people online, whether it’s real or not. Sometimes people get sad or have bad days, and a lot of what you might see in the mostly shallow “friend” culture of something like Facebook isn’t a representative sample of people’s lives, thoughts and/or feelings; rarely as witty or as acerbic describing your own shortcomings as some are in quite passive-aggressively condemning people they’ll never meet.

Intentionally or not, Balliett touches on humanity’s seeming slavery to an online superego, when he sings on Normal:

“And I can’t wait
To e-mail you someday
And say that I miss you.
And I can’t wait
To e-mail you someday
And say that I’m normal.”

Balliett has moved from peeing in Gatorade bottles to the sink -- and he’s done it “like a champ.”

Balliett, like many others with an inkling of an artistic soul, takes his pain, loneliness, feelings of doubt or inadequacy -- something bad, right? -- and turns it into something beautiful and with a quite real feeling to it. Everybody feels lonely or sad sometimes, but few show it to others or open up about it.

Lyrically and at its acoustic core, Balliett’s songs sound like they’re written in isolation at 3 a.m. after a night with or without friends, or on a solo drive home the morning after -- whatever. It’s these times alone that Balliett is able to turn his own thoughts and emotions into something great. Most of the songs seem like love letters as opposed to cobbled together crack speak with catchy rhymes or neat turns of phrases.

“2:24” instantly features what is a huge asset to Spirit Night’s sound: a huge assortment of bells and percussion provided by Pete Wilmoth and on this song, Balliett’s use of the glockenspiel. With piano, bass and rolling heavy tom type rolls, and the bells, the song has the charm of a jewelry box that plays a tune with a dancing ballerina or something.

The great thing about the songs is that they would be great without the flowing soundscapes or studio tricks and effects; Spirit Night is really a vehicle for Balliett’s songwriting and musicianship -- he could likely play a lot of these songs solo with an acoustic and they’d still be just as great.

But that’s another thing that makes hearing new Spirit Night stuff exciting; the contributions of Balliett’s friends to his music. Whether it’s Wilmoth providing percussion of all types, or David F. Bello playing bass, or super neat sonic contributions from members of Librarians, the evolving cast of friends makes the songs seem even more special. Balliett seems like he’d be a good friend, and the songs, in addition to being intricately layered, simultaneously have the feel of something you could sing around a camp fire together with friends.

Normal also features a demo version of “Don’t Miss Me,” and whether you like this slightly more overdriven, slightly different still no less pretty version more than the one on the debut, I’ll just throw this out there: I’d rather hear Balliett’s rough cuts and mixes than most other bands final product. I’d rather see Balliett mess up a chord during a live solo show than see some band play a song they’ve played a thousand times in a hundred different towns for the same reason I love his music; the beauty in the brokenness, the flaws that make something sublimely great.

“Final Days,” with its faster, more upbeat “sunny” acoustic riffs and progressions, is kind of a standout track just for its sound. And like so much of Spirit Night’s music, the verbal imagery painted by Balliett matches up and vibes with the sound. Balliett, while describing himself as a “traveling shit show,” promises to take care of himself.

“I turned the family name
To a badge of shame
We must wear
Over the centuries,
Passed like the disease
That brought us there,
The destiny we share
And the color of our hair.”

“These aren’t the final nights:
I’ve still got some fights left in me.
But when you’ve lost every one
You’ve ever begun
Then you see
That it’s not worth your breath
To have feelings for anything.”

It’s always great when bands list their lyrics. I’m glad Spirit Night does, not necessarily because they’re hard to hear, but because they really are kind of poetic. Sometimes you could get the feeling bands don’t because on one level they know they aren’t saying anything meaningful or they know they’re using their music as one big put on -- as a false front. Nothing wrong with that really; rock and roll is replete with examples of people inventing new personas, but a lot of times, if there’s nothing there, people move on after long.

“The Weather” closes out Normal with a catchy, sunny admission from Balliett:

“I hope you don’t mind if I go on about the weather;
Sometimes I can’t think of things to say when we’re together.
I just want to be there,
I just want to be there next to you”

I’m probably not the only person who at one point or another has felt that the desperation is gone from rock music, or that every song that could be written has already been written, or that with all the crap that goes on in your day to day life it’s hard to connect with music anymore and feel like it means something.

I know I’m not the only one who feels the way I do about Spirit Night and Dylan Balliett. And maybe that’s the thing to take away from this long-winded rambling review; not only is Spirit Night a great name for Balliett’s musical vehicle for his own journey through life, his journal of day to day existence highlighting the sublime beauty of the pain of solitude -- attachment to others -- but the real joy of life in the end.

On a very real fundamental spiritual level people sometimes feel lonely; aside from twins or octuplets, we were born into the world alone confused and alone, and will likely leave it in the same way. In between birth and death real spiritual connections are made with friends and family. That is what I get from Spirit Night, a real connection. Who knew something free could be worth so much?

If powerful, evil people try to use music as a tool to lay self-destruction or hate on people, if there is that kind of war being waged on people, I’m even more proud to say I’m with Spirit Night. This release, I am very happy to write, did not disappoint.

Related: Saturday's the night for Spirit Night; Spirit Night Q&A Pt. one and two

Powerful Stuff: Michael J. Iafrate talks about his life and music

Michael J. Iafrate spends his time wrestling with the big questions, so it’s only fitting that he kicked out a new five-song EP in less than a day. With influences ranging from Noam Chomsky to Catholic Anarchy to social, environmental and economic justice, we caught up with the “theo-folk” rocker to ask some questions about “The Priesthood,” Christian Burial, and how punk rock and Christianity might co-exist.


WVRockscene: Were you ever able to snag R.E.M.’s “Tour Film” on DVD?
Michael J. Iafrate: Haha, no. I have the thing on VHS here somewhere. I remember seeing it on DVD in stores years ago, but haven’t tracked down a copy yet. Its a great film. The footage of “These Days” and “I Believe” is so good.

rockscene: So how did the recording go? Must’ve been productive for you to kick out an EP in your spare time, less than 24 hours?
Iafrate: We recorded the thing in about four hours and Dave mixed and mastered it that evening. It was up by 3 a.m. the next morning. We started recording sessions for the upcoming M Iafrate & The Priesthood record (Christian Burial) last week and I mentioned to Dave then that I had an idea for an acoustic EP that we could record quickly while we were working on the full length. After we finished drums tracks the other day, I recorded these five songs live. The only overdubs are the harmonica and piano tracks. The Christian Burial record has been a long time coming so I thought it would be nice to get a short recording out to tide people over. Two of the tracks on the EP will appear as full band versions on Christian Burial. Dallas Campbell, who plays bass in the Priesthood, contributed the “deer guts” photography for the record.

rockscene: How smoothly has it gone recording with Dave Klug? Get to have any fun or has it been just straight business? What is Lagunitas Maximus and would you recommend it?
Iafrate: Dave and I have been friends for years and we have been playing music and recording together for a long time. He’s obviously super professional in what he does, but we’re friends so of course we have fun.

The Laguntas Maximus you refer to is but one example of that. It’s one of the really good beers we were enjoying while recording. Other “fun” included Dave introducing me to some great Pittsburgh restaurants, the movie The Road, and that show Tosh-something-or-other. I tried to get him to stay up and watch Anti-Christ with me but he bailed after twenty minutes. I don’t actually blame him.

rockscene: No Matter How Deep the Darkness, He Descends Deeper Still is named after (apparently) a book by Anthony Coniaris, about Jesus going into Hell, have you read that and why did you call the EP by the same name?
Iafrate: I have not read the book, no, but you are right that that is where the title comes from. I’m working on a doctorate in theology through a school in Toronto and while I was living there I worked at a theological book store. At one point we were selling Coniaris’ book and the title just grabbed me. I jotted it down and have had it in mind as an album or EP title ever since. And the title sort of suggested what kinds of songs might be on such a record. At one point I thought I might call the upcoming full length by that name, but decided against it and saved it for later.

“Later” is actually now, though, to my surprise. And right now that title called for these five songs to kind of flesh out various aspects of what that title means. I like the title of the record a lot, but I have mixed feelings about its meaning. The notion that Jesus shares in human suffering, and that humans share in Jesus’ suffering, is a long-held idea in Christianity. But the title kind of comes off like “Hey, you think you’re suffering? Jesus had it worse!” And I don’t think that’s necessarily historically true, nor does it necessarily generate the kind of solidarity-in-suffering that Christianity should generate. Maybe it does, I don’t know. Anyway, they are good, interesting words and they provoke thought and evoke some true feelings.

rockscene: These covers you do on the EP, they must be longtime favorites of yours, right?
Iafrate: They’re not necessarily “favorites” but they are songs I liked enough to want to cover and that I thought should come out of me at this point in time. The Priesthood used to cover “I Am The Bread Of Life” as a full band when we first started playing with this lineup.

“Take My Will” is a Jandek song that struck me a long time ago. I like the disconnect between the verses and the chorus. And it is one of those Jandek songs that actually has a discernable melody that I could stick a real chord progression behind and turn it into a more “traditional” song. Fans of Jandek know what I’m talking about. The Jayhawks song is just a really gorgeous and true song I really like right now.

rockscene: It’s so great to see someone whose faith not only motivates their music but also their actions in the world and being a force for justice and populist and/or progressive causes, from economic to environmental. Contrasting this with the more fascistic, reactionary types, to what extent does your faith and devotion to real social justice influence you, musically, personally and of course spiritually? How might you be able to have punk and spiritual ethos coexist?
Iafrate: These are tough questions and I’m not confident I’ve worked out answers to them for myself. I’ve always been a “religious” person but what that has meant for me has undergone pretty radical changes over the years. I’ve become increasingly critical of the religious cultures that I have grown up in and continue to be connected to. At the same time, the “spiritual” dimension of life is central enough for me that I’ve made a vocational investment to the academic study of theology. One reason why religious themes and images make their way into my music is simply the old saying “Write what you know.” I spend so much time reading and thinking and writing about the stuff, it’s just bound to come out in my songs.

But in addition to that, I think all people are “religious” in the sense that we all tend to wrestle to some degree with questions of ultimate value and of the passions that motivate how we live in this world. So my “faith,” or whatever you want to call that intentional wrestling, hopefully influences everything in my life, including my music. At the same time, I would emphatically deny that what I do is “Christian” or “religious” or “spiritual” music. The issues are more complicated than that kind of categorization will allow.

As far as the relationship between punk and spirituality goes, I’ve never personally felt the need to force the values or impulses of the two to get along or coexist. Punk in its various forms has always engaged spirituality, whether positively or negatively. Even when they’ve expressed a rejection of religion, I have always liked to think that most punks actually care about spirituality to such a degree that they feel the need to reject many dominant, middle and upper-class, and indeed fascistic forms of religion. For me, the radical impulse of early Christianity and the radical impulse of punk rock have some interesting similarities. I’m actually exploring some of these connections now in my academic work as well, especially through a group of theologian-musicians called the Rock and Theology project.

rockscene: Back to the music; when can we expect Christian Burial to be out?
Iafrate: We’re going to keep working hard on it through the spring and along the way we’ll come up with an interesting way to release it. We have some buddies playing here and there as guest musicians on it, so late summer might be pushing it. The fall would probably be a better prediction.


Related: Magic Town helps MAYSP this 9/11 (Iafrate Q&A)

John Lancaster remembers 1318 4th Avenue

As an addendum to Justin Johnson’s 1318 4th Avenue - An Aural History series, we wanted to bring John Lancaster on to get his take on the venue that Johnson has been writing about over the past few months. Not only did Justin rank Lancaster’s band Chum in his top five shows, he noted how much Lancaster would have wanted to see Godflesh in December 1996, Justin’s third-ranked show in his Top 10.


Below are some of Lancaster’s thoughts and memories of 1318 4th Avenue…

WVRockscene: What are some of your favorite memories at Gumby’s or Drop Shop? First show, either attending or playing?
Lancaster: Between the two places there are way too many memories to list, so I’ll go with the first gig that I played at Gumby’s. It was quite an experience. The band I was in was called Soul Circus at the time (went on to be renamed Guru Lovechild another show or two later). It was our first show and it was the first time I had ever sang in front of anyone, so needless to say I was quite the bundle of nerves that day.

During set up/soundcheck I met the legendary John Kerwood and needless to say his antics provided a necessary distraction from those nerves. At one point his girlfriend at the time had taken his keys from him for some reason and he was chasing her around the bar like a madman yelling “Keeeys! My keeeeys! Give...me...my...keeeeys!” Haha; a pretty tame Kerwood moment relatively speaking, but an interesting introduction to the man nonetheless. Anybody that knew John knew that the guy was quite a character but he did so much for live music in this town back then. He is missed for sure.

---
rockscene: This show that Justin lists 11.20.96; you had just released your debut, Dead to the World, and Justin says you were at the top of your game; where was the band at at this point in time?
Lancaster: Wow, Justin has a hell of a memory. I couldn’t really say where we were based on that date but I believe this is right before the tour we went on that went South -- both geographically and figuratively! Haha. If that’s the case then I think we were really excited to finally be getting out on a tour since it had been nearly six months of auditions, rehearsals and occasional local shows since the record had been released.



---
rockscene: How much turmoil befell Chum in the sense of the drummer situation and then the broken down van on the tour of the South? As much critical acclaim you may have had, how much of it was tough sledding?
Lancaster: I’d say a majority of our run was tough sledding from the drummer situation on. We lost Chuck right after we recorded Dead to the World and before that point we had really reached a comfortable groove with one another creatively. Everyone played an important role in how our sound came together so once he was gone, I think we tried too hard to keep that same momentum going that we had with Chuck which in hindsight was never going to happen. No disrespect whatsoever to the drummers that followed him, they were all incredible musicians. Chuck’s style had just become an important element to Chum’s sound and I don’t think we were able to look beyond that.

So that caused problems creatively, and then there were always problems in trying to promote ourselves in a pre-internet age with no money. Our label at the time helped to get our name out somewhat in the beginning but pretty much left it in our court in terms of going on the road, finding/arranging tours, etc. It was a constant struggle and in short, it eventually it brought things to a close for us.

---
rockscene: Back to this venue, Justin says that in the mid-late 90’s he would put Huntington as a college town up against all others. How cool was it during this time period and would you agree with that?
Lancaster: I agree one hundred percent and I have said the same thing. It just seemed like an exciting time not only to play music but to go out and see great music on random nights throughout the week.

---
rockscene: You’ve seen bars at this location come and go; what’s the difference between now and then when it comes to how venue owners operate and/or book bands, and the state of the Huntington scene now versus then in the general sense?
Lancaster: I think all you need to do, as I did recently, is look at the Drop Shop Facebook page and check out one of the old random monthly schedules that have been posted. The months were filled with shows from all genres whether it be locals or nationals. There really was something for everyone.

---
rockscene: Justin mentions you being stranded down South not being able to see Godflesh in December ‘96, you being their biggest fan, was that something you were trying to get to?
Lancaster: No, I knew ahead of time I wasn’t going to be in town to see it, but it still pained me a great deal! There were also couple of shows we played on that tour where Godflesh had just played the same venue a night or two before, too, so that wasn’t too helpful. The expression “insult to injury” came to mind quite a bit!

---
rockscene: So many people have such fond memories of Huntington in this time period, whether they loved the bands or the atmosphere at a specific venue or what. You still being involved with the scene as a solo rocker, how neat is it for you to be able to look back and say ‘I was a part of that,’ or hear people say how much your music meant to them; that they might still have these Chum cassettes laying around and they still rock them out?
Lancaster: I’m very glad to have been a part of it. As I said before it was an exciting time that I will never forget and I’m sure anyone else that took part in it won’t forget it either. There are still some people that ask me about those days and Chum specifically, and for anyone to still remember us in any kind of positive light is beyond flattering.

mp3: “Greetings (From The Inner Self)“ by Chum


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Related: CD Review -- John Lancaster Phantom Moon; For John Lancaster, the Fire Has Just Begun (Huntington Herald-Dispatch)

See also: Chum downloads on Exploding Eardrums

photo: Laura Gregory

Catching up with Tucker Riggleman

The Demon Beat (Jordan Hudkins, Adam Meisterhans, Tucker Riggleman) backstage at the Ottobar in Baltimore 2.20.


In advance of their show Thursday night at Shamrock’s Irish Pub in Huntington, we caught up with Demon Beat bassist Tucker Riggleman for Huntington Pulse, a print magazine out of Huntington whose sales benefit homeless charities. Riggleman gives the scoop on what’s been up with the band and what he’s looking forward to in 2011...

WVRockscene: How did the NYE show at the V Club go?
Riggleman: That show was pretty incredible. We rarely get to play with The Fox Hunt anymore, which is a shame because those guys are some of our best friends, so it was awesome to see them play again. The turnout was really crazy. We were all pretty stoked on it, and we were really excited about releasing our new album to such a receptive crowd.

Rockscene: What’s been the response to 1956? Friends, fans and reviews?
Riggleman: Personally, I’ll admit I was a little skeptical about the response, just because it’s so different from our previous albums in so many ways; the way it was recorded, the pacing, the sounds, the concept, all were done differently than before. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the response. Speaking from a record label standpoint, this has been the first time really that magazines and blogs have contacted me about wanting to review the album, which is a welcome change. Folks have been very flattering so far with their reviews, and I think people understand where we were coming from with the album, and more importantly understanding that this doesn’t mean we’ve “changed” our genre or direction necessarily, but that we are simply evolving as a band and wanted to try something new.

---
rockscene: 1956 isn’t so much of a departure from some previous Demon Beat material but compared to a lot of the brit or more pop-oriented type rock sound it is more bluesy and ambitious as a record. How would you characterize the band’s progression from Heavy Nasty through 1956 and into 2011?
Riggleman: As far as the progression from HEAVYNASTY, I’d say the most obvious change is that we’re all better musicians, and more importantly that we have learned how to write and play together more effectively as a band.

We also listen to a lot of different stuff these days. We’ve gone through soul phases and punk rock phases and everything in between, and I think the fact that we all three listen to different things and talk about music constantly has helped us experiment with new sounds and ideas to really find our own “sound” if you will.

We’re very proud of 1956 and what we were able to accomplish with that album. The next full-length is already nearing completion, and I think it will be our most representative album to date. We’re very excited for people to hear it.

---
rockscene: You played SXSW last year; did you not get booked for 2011?
Riggleman: We were never on the “official” SXSW. Most bands are not on the official festival, but the unofficial shows are much greater in number and more times than not they are the best shows. Last year we had two shows booked and ended up playing every day, and this year we already have two more shows booked and plan to play as much as possible. I’m also excited because last year we only did two shows on the way to Texas and this year we’ve got a weeklong tour taking us down there to break up the drive. We’re getting to play a lot of new cities like Charleston (SC), Houston (TX), Shreveport (LA).

---
rockscene: You have the Big Bullet Records festival out in Shepherdstown in a few months, right? How cool is that going to be and what made you want to do that?
Riggleman: Yeah man, that little festival is going to be so much fun. It’s going to center around our new free compilation, TERMINAL BALLISTICS Vol. 2, and is basically an excuse for me to get all of my friends bands to come down and play to a bunch of people and have a great time. We always talk about family with BBR, and this will basically be our version of a family reunion. It just might be a bit more drunk than normal reunions.

But yeah, it takes place April 21-23 in Shepherdstown, WV. The first and last nights will take place at The Blue Moon Saloon, and the second night will feature the bulk of the festival’s artists performing at this old church in town that hosts shows. It’s a really killer space and there have been some amazing shows there. We are really excited to be headlining the second night, which will also be the release show for our new split cassette with our friends The Shackeltons which will be out on Antler Tapes, an awesome little cassette label out of Pennsylvania.



---
rockscene: What is the scoop for 2011 for you guys? Obviously you and Adam do Prison Book Club, and there’s a Jude Universer release right? New Demon Beat CD? Excited about any touring or appearances? Playing with Mike Watt, obviously; what was the band’s response to hearing that?
Riggleman: By this summer we will have put out two full-lengths and a split cassette in six months. The cassette comes out in April during the BBR Fest, and our new full-length will be out tentatively in July. We did the basic tracking for that album during our November tour, and the initial mixes are almost finished. Adam will be finishing the mixes in NYC with Chris Abell who worked on Shit, We’re 23, and then we'll be getting it mastered again by Justin Francis in Nashville. Mark my words, this WILL come out on vinyl, even if I have to go a month without eating to pay for it. The new album isn’t a concept piece like 1956 or anything, rather it’s more of a traditional album if you will. We’re very excited about the songs and the sounds that we were able to get. Jordan’s drums sound pretty epic on it.

As for the Mike Watt show, we are ridiculously honored to have the opportunity to play with someone so influential. It’s like having the pretty girl ask you to go to the dance.

---
rockscene: Looking forward to playing Shamrock’s with Arcane Rifles Thursday night?
Riggleman: I just want to point out how much we love J Marinelli. I played a solo show with him down here in Charles Town, WV a couple years ago and have the privilege of hanging out with him for the night and picking his brain about music. The guy is like a living punk rock encyclopedia, and he’s one of the nicest, most genuine dudes ever. We are really excited to do a run of shows with his new band, because of course they sound badass too. If you haven’t yet, people need to go buy J’s new record on vinyl. It’s amazing, and he’s one of the most important musicians to come out of West Virginia in my opinion.

---
rockscene: You’ve played Huntington a bunch; whether it’s the V Club or Shamrock’s how have you been received?
Riggleman: We absolutely love Huntington and everyone there. It continually blows my mind to see the turnouts at our shows and the enthusiasm that people bring. In November we played a Tuesday show there which I expected nobody to really be at since it was a weekday and all, and the turnout was still pretty awesome. It’s so great to have places like Huntington, especially it being in our home state and all. Nothing but love.

---
rockscene: What are the goals and/or expectations of the band? Success is such a relative term and is of course fickle in the music industry; how do you feel about the band after being together for roughly five years?
Riggleman: I feel really great about what we’ve accomplished, and I think as far as “expectations” go, that we just want to keep writing and playing together and touring and meeting people and making friends. That’s really what it’s about. We don’t owe anything to anyone really, we’ve done the work and put in our time and that’s always a good feeling. To know that you've really earned what you’ve got out of it. We just want to stay true to ourselves and keep writing and recording and touring. So long as we keep doing that and having fun and aren't completely broke, I’d say we'll keep going.


The Demon Beat plays Shamrock's Thursday night with Lexington's Arcane Rifles and Universes.

photo: Chris Moore

Related (2010) -- CD Review: 1956; Side project sends Demon Beat, Fox Hunt members to Prison (Charleston Gazette); One Big Bullet after another: Q&A w/Tucker Riggleman; Rising stars: Retro rock trio makes stop at Huntington’s V Club (Huntington Herald-Dispatch)

Jimbo Valentine unveils Soul of the Phoenix @ the V Club tonite

Jimbo Valentine stands in front of his Hank III mural outside the V Club. Valentine, known for his flyers and photos and art, takes his ambient/doom electronic music project Soul of the Phoenix out live for the first time tonite as part of This Ain't No Disco at the V Club

Reposted from The Huntington Herald-Dispatch


Nobody has been more instrumental in promoting Huntington-area rock shows over the past four years than James Alden Valentine III.

The 32-year old Fairmont native and Huntington resident has, through his Amalgam Unlimited screenprinting and design outfit, been making flyers and designing art for Huntington shows over the past few years, specifically for the V Club.

Whether it’s a big mural of Unknown Hinson on the side of the V Club, art for Hank III or Karma To Burn, band photos he’s snapped at the V, CD art he designs, or flyers, Valentine’s edgy work has been an important part of the Huntington scene.

Now, Valentine will unveil his long-running electronic musical side project, Soul of the Phoenix, live for the first time at the V Club Thursday night. Welcomed and brought out by his friend Brett Fuller (aka DJ Franklin F---in’ Furnace) for the “This Ain’t No Disco” series at the V, whether you call him a musician or not, you, like his many friends, can call Valentine by his normal name: Jimbo.

“Both playing guitar and singing are terms that be can used loosely,” Valentine said over the phone, laughing hard at his own expense, describing the logistics of his first live show.

“Oh man, yeah I’m pretty nervous,” Valentine said of getting up on stage for the first time. “I’ve been stressing out pretty hard. I’ve never planned on playing this live, so now I’m trying to figure it out. I haven’t had as much time as I would’ve liked, but I’m excited about it at the same time.”

Valentine has been busy sorting and arranging the material he’ll play live, taking what he does at home with guitar, synth, drum machine and some samples, and playing it off his laptop, mixing in some live guitar and vocals.

“I’m going to incorporate some new stuff, which is called “Meditations.” It’s a little more ambient. Almost like a little movie soundtrack, with some movie samples sprinkled in.”



Valentine has already released six Soul of the Phoenix CDs online, and has enough unreleased material for a few more releases, he said, whether it’s “Meditations” or his other solo side project, This Drum Machine Kills Fascists.

Valentine, pointing out he’s “not a musician,” said he actually comes from a long line of musicians.

“I grew up in a family that played music,” Valentine said. “My grandfather is a great old school country steel guitar player, my cousin is a country singer, my mom played piano when I was growing up. I always wanted to make music, but just never got into doing it when I was younger.”

While the music may be different (this isn’t your grandparent’s mix of ambient and doom) Valentine faces the same challenge more traditional performers have always faced: keeping people’s attention on stage.

“I’m going to work in a couple of more upbeat tracks at the end, if everyone’s still awake,” Valentine said laughing.

“I just don’t want to bore everyone to death. But that’s where the second guessing comes in; ‘Oh this is going to drag everyone down, they’re going to be nodding off, or whatever.’”

Valentine said he wouldn’t be bringing his solo act out live if not for the support of Fuller.

“Oh it’s really cool,” Valentine said of “This Ain’t No Disco.” “Every week or so there’s been different bands, different styles, and he’ll cater his set to whoever’s playing. But it makes it comfortable for me. He cornered me and asked me ‘Hey man, would you want to do this stuff live?’ I’ve been wanting to but haven’t attempted to put it together. So if it would’ve been anything else I wouldn’t have been as comfortable with it. I’m excited to do it, I’m excited to do it at the V Club, those people are like family to me, so I’m excited.”

Regardless of whether or not casual show goers like his music, or if it’s a “disaster” of a show, Valentine knows he’s made a lot of great friends at the V Club in particular and around Huntington in general.

“I’ve actually made a lot of great friends down here. There are certainly some bad things about Huntington and people that complain about it all the time, but there are great people here who are so supportive of me, especially since I started doing the murals and the art, people come up to me and are like ‘Hey, I seen you at the V Club!’ That’s the diamond in the rough down here for me, is the people and my friends.”


IF YOU GO:
Soul of the Phoenix, Franklin F---in’ Furnace
Where: The V Club, 741 6th Avenue, Huntington (304) 781-0680
When: Thursday, February 17, 10 p.m.
Cost: $3
Online: www.vclublive.com


--- To see Valentine’s artwork and hear his music, visit www.amalgamunlimited.tumblr.com/

Related: Jimbo Valentine Focus on the Flyers feature

Soul of the Phoenix @ the V Club 2.17
"Skyhook"


"I Hear Hell Is Nice This Time of Year/Obsess Compulse"


Video: Chuk Fowlord

One Man's Island

It is often said that everyone has a story to tell.

Some are better than others, and the others, well, they were probably better left untold.

I learned this lesson firsthand as a community reporter for The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, West Virginia, some 15 years ago.

I was a 19-year-old obituary clerk when I was approached by an editor with the offer of becoming a reporter covering community news for Western Lawrence County, Ohio.

It was early 1996, and I agreed to the offer, but also felt that the newspaper was sorely lacking in its coverage of what I deemed to be a then-viable local music scene.

Knowing that I had nothing to lose, I expressed this opinion to the editor who, much to my surprise, agreed and gave me the opportunity to serve as The Herald-Dispatch's first music columnist.

It was a big break, especially for someone that young and inexperienced, and not one that I took lightly.

I clearly understood the responsibility that came with this designation and put my heart and soul into that music column for the one year that I had the privilege to write it.

I did not, however, view my other journalistic duties at the newspaper in the same light.

Soon after I began investigating and writing stories about the particular region of which I was assigned, I felt an immediate disconnect.

It was a disconnect from the subject matter, a disconnect from the legwork involved and, most importantly, a disconnect from what I was actually writing.

It was a means to an end, though, because this insipid assignment afforded me the chance to write about something that I, on the other hand, felt very passionately about - music and, particularly, that which was originating from my hometown.

So, it was a bittersweet moment when I was let go by The Herald-Dispatch in February 1997, due to "newsroom budget cuts."

I'll never know if that was the truth and, frankly, don't care, but what I did know was that I would no longer be covering a music scene that very much deserved the exposure.

The decision was just, because I was jaded, going through the motions; writing stories about communities that I, personally, would not have spent five seconds reading, much less the five minutes it would have actually taken to read them.

What I can tell you is that I never lost my passion for the music column.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "what's the point to all of this?"

The point is while I was telling stories that I sensed readers needed to know, I was also telling ones that didn't need to be unearthed, that didn't matter.

That was a defining moment in my life.

In that instant I decided that I would never again squander my time, or the attention spans of those whom were gracious enough to read my ramblings, composing stories that should not have been, in my opinion, disseminated in the first place.

I would never fancy myself a professional writer, but it is an outlet for me (as it likely is for many of you) and, thankfully, it is something I can always fall back on when inspiration strikes me.

What most inspires me? You guessed it, music.

It's the subject I'm most passionate about.

That passion, however, is of no use unless you have a story to tell, one that is worth reading.

I believe there is a story worth telling - the story of Huntington's 1318 4th Avenue, specifically the years 1989-1998, and for longest time I thought I was the only person whom felt this way.

That changed recently with the announcement that two individuals, Chuk Fowlord and Dave Mistich, commenced to film a documentary about the Huntington music scene.

Fowlord and Mistich's documentary is set to chronicle the years 1989-2010, and encapsulate the music that was created and rose to prominence in Huntington during that time.

I, on the other hand, have finally decided to make good on a promise unfulfilled: to, at long last, write the book I've always said I would one day produce.

A book about the days (and nights) when Gumby's and Drop Shop were the preeminent live music venues in an otherwise small, sleepy town of 50,000 residents.

My ambition, much like that of Fowlord and Mistich, is grand, and will take no shortage of time, research and dedication to see it realized.

That I understand, quite clearly.

A project of this magnitude can only be accomplished with the participation and input of those whom lived and created it.

What I have been able to discern in recent months as I began the research process is that the information essential to the retelling of this story will not be easy to come by.

An undertaking of this nature, it never will be, but I won't be deterred.

I will see this through.

It's the least I can do to repay those individuals whom did more for Huntington, culturally, than they could have possibly dreamed.

I'm committed to this endeavor, but are you?

Sasha Colette Can't "Leave It Alone"

“Heaven’s doors are closed to those with bloody hands,” sings Sasha Colette in “Ballad of Nicole Penix Vanzant” about an unsolved 2009 murder in Eastern Kentucky. Colette brings her band, The Magnolias, to The Empty Glass Friday.

Reposted from The Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sasha Colette’s story reads like it’s right out of Hollywood: small town Eastern Kentucky girl raised on church music and some hard times is brought through them with her free spirit and faith in herself to make music and fans after leaving home.

Colette has gone from piano lessons at age 6 to guitar at age 12 to a 16-year old waitress looking to record some demos. Now 22, she has, along with her band The Magnolias and multi-instrumentalist Bud Carroll, just released her third CD, “Leave It Alone.”

She’ll bring her version of Americana and folk to The Empty Glass Friday.

Fresh off the release of the new eight-song CD, Colette talked over the phone about her self-described “poetic life.” For the past six months or so, Colette, born and raised in Olive Hill, Ky., has lived just up Route 60 in Morehead, Ky.

“I have a home now,” she said of her living situation. This is noteworthy because for a few months last summer, Colette found herself living as a “professional camper” before making the move.

“There are people here who play music,” Colette said. “The original core of the Magnolias are all based out of Morehead. We’re spending a lot of time together now as a band. I enjoy being where my friends are, where my people are.”

Morehead is home to Morehead State University, a school that factors heavily into musical path Colette and the Magnolias have found themselves on. It was a music program there that helped Colette find her soulful voice as a formative 16-year-old.

“I took lessons for about a year from a lady on campus, and she worked with this black gospel ensemble. It was mostly African Americans -- well, there were two white girls -- and I was the youngest. They just had that soul,” she said emphatically, trailing off in awe. “They gave me some soul, for sure. They taught me how to sling it out there.”

Colette’s soulful voice is on display on the new CD, which also features Carroll’s contributions on guitar and in the studio.

“I don’t want to call him a rock star, but he’s a rock star,” Colette said laughing.

“With Bud, I’d play through a song and he encouraged me to do it my way and not try to step in and take over. Most musicians would take the reigns and stamp it with whatever they’ve got, but he was encouraging enough for me to say ‘I did that myself.’”

Last year, Colette did a collaboration of another sort. She teamed with reporter and writer Fred Brown Jr. on “Ballad of Nicole Penix Vanzant,” a swaying country song about the still unsolved 2009 murder of the 27-year-old Frenchburg, Ky., woman. (Frenchburg is about 25 miles from Morehead.)

“I’ve worked with him before on some songs,” Colette said of Brown. “He gave me the Nicole Penix Vanzant song and told me to see what I could do with it. I put some music to it, and we figured we could do it for this Fuse the Muse project here in town, where a local art center had a program to bring two mediums together, whatever they may be.”

The song was put to a video and has since been viewed by thousands of people on YouTube as well as featured in local and national press outlets. Colette says the song is as much a search for justice as an exercise in creativity.



“The video has been super well received,” she said, slowing down, speaking carefully. “But it’s strange being involved in something like this because what you’re saying for TV interviews or wherever, talking about this, it’s not just for fun, you know? It’s enjoyable [playing the song] but it has a serious, responsible part to it as well.

“I got to meet Nicole’s mom, at the show, when we premiered the video. And that really sealed the deal right there. I was so happy that I was involved in a project that I would want to happen if I were to have had the fate that Nicole came to.

“If that happened to me, and my mom was left like Nicole’s mom was left? She had no closure. All she knows is, it’s really unfair. It’s unfair and it’s just heart wrenching. Nobody deserves to be left like that.”

Whether the ballad brings about justice or not, it’s just another case of Colette doing what she loves to do.

“I’m just taking pen to page as best I can because it’s what I enjoy.”

WANT TO GO?
Sasha Colette and the Magnolias
WHEN: 10 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Empty Glass, 410 Elizabeth St.
COST: $5
INFO: www.reverbnation.com/sashacolette or 304-345-3914