Foodclothingshelter Does Halifax

On the Saturday of the Halifax Pop Explosion small groups of sharply dressed kids in their late teens and early twenties pile in to Taz Records. The sound of fingers sorting through stacks upon stacks of new and used vinyl is slowly ingrained in the patrons’ ears.
The Pop Explosion is Halifax’s most popular festival. The festival has run annually since 1993. It includes over 100 acts, small panels with music industry experts, and a related film festival called the Halifax Film Explosion.
This afternoon, Foodclothingshelter Music, a Fredericton based musical collective, have organized an in-store performance at Taz. The showcase features three up-and-coming acoustic artists on their roster: David R. Elliott, Owen Steel, and Babette Hayward.
Luke Macdonald, founder of Foodclothingshelter, works as the group’s manager, promoter and booking agent. He started the collective as a means of getting involved with music from behind the scenes.
“We’re essentially a group of friends who all have a great passion for music – and art in general,” he says. He thought the Pop Explosion would be an ideal time to expose Foodclothingshelter to Halifax.
“During the Pop Explosion there’s so many people in town interested in new music, so if we can get our name out there now that’d be great.”
Owen Steel has been involved with Foodclothingshelter since it was simply a dream thrown around by childhood friends. He organized the Taz showcase.
Steel describes his music as “a folk-roots sound.” Though he usually plays with a percussion player, today he’s backed up by Doug MacNearny on banjo. As a musician Steel is resourceful – able to adopt any number of instruments in his songs, so long as they compliment his understated approach to song-writing, rather than spoil it.
Usually Steel is fairly confident, but today he’s feeling anxious.
“I find smaller shows nerve-wracking,” he says. “It’s so intimate and the littlest mistakes really show up. In a way it’s good, because it keeps you on your game.”
Steel’s live sets have a feel-good pomp to them. Accentuated by his grisly voice, he taps his toes through a number of songs about nature, and the thrill of the open road.
“[When it comes to writing lyrics] I have a hard time being serious. I like writing about animals,” he says. “I find my best lyrical moments are when you sit down and don’t think but they just come out – it’s simple yet profound.”
Still, Steel feels like Foodclothingshelter is a great way for artists to interact and challenge each other to improve.
“I’d like to start focusing more on lyrics,” he says. “Watching David R., his lyrics are amazing and I’d really like to focus on the song-writing elements.”
David R. Elliott grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick, and the Taz showcase is his first show since moving to Halifax in May. He’s excited about playing for a new crowd.
“This is why I moved here,” he says. “There’s actually an audience that I expect to be somewhat receptive to what I’m trying to do.”
Lyrically, Elliott tries to channel the same working-class spirit mastered by mid-80’s Bruce Springsteen.
“I mostly just feel comfortable around working-class people,” he says. “Everyone wants to be thought of as somewhat intellectual and that often seems pretentious to me. I just want to tell stories about people I work with.”
Elliott describes his sound as “90’s countrypolitan and Springsteen.” He strums his guitar heavily, and sings with a surly, gravelly voice. Dressed in work boots and ripped jeans, he looks like he’s here on a coffee break from a nine-to-five at a construction site.
Though Steel and Elliott both have a certain romanticism to their songs, their rough voices don’t convey that tender sincerity like Babette Hayward.
Hayward is a nineteen year-old Saint John native, who is currently trying out life in Halifax. Though she picked up a guitar a few years ago, she only started playing shows last January.
She started working with Foodclothingshelter this summer, though she books shows through Jeff Liberty, her Saint John-based booking agent.
“Jeff’s been great for getting me on bigger bills like Evolve,” she says. “But Foodclothingshelter is more of an artistic community where I can interact with other artists.”
Unlike the two previous acts, Hayward’s lyrics are less obvious.
“I don’t like writing about things so blatantly,” she says. “I prefer to be somewhat metaphorical and leave interpretation up to the listener.”
Hayward’s voice has a shy and genuine quality that leaves audience members noticeably impressed. She moves comfortably between a soft whisper and soaring crescendo. Her stage demeanour is notably modest, and it makes her set more impressionable.
After the show, customers go back to browsing the racks. The shop gradually empties, and the din of records being shifted through returns.
James Donnelly, a newly hired manager, helped stage the benefit.
“Owen called me and I said ‘come on down’,” he says. “We do this whenever possible – if any local artists want to do an in-store we’re always accommodating.”
The open atmosphere is beneficial to Halifax’s scene. By promoting a venue where artists can come in and do intimate showcases Taz offers something different.
“Lots is going on at bars this weekend,” Donnelly says. “But little in the way of quiet, close-knit acoustic shows.”
The performers thought the show went well, and they were happy to see some unfamiliar faces in the crowd. It’s just the next logical step for Foodclothingshelter.
“We’re potentially looking to make it a record label,” Macdonald says. “But it’s just a support system of friends working together.”
While they receive mounting attention and praise, Foodclothingshelter is keeping a level head.
“We’re just a collective of friends who share the same ideals and beliefs when it comes to expressing art or our passions,” Macdonald says. “We’re less focused on monetary gain, and more concerned with creating genuine and real art.”
From the artist’s perspective, Elliott has reasonable hopes for his career.
“I want to have a sustainable career in music. I want to live modestly off the music I make,” he says. “I want music to be the job I get up and go to work for.”
For Elliott, and the other members of Foodclothingshelter, artistic creation is the ultimate goal.
“I’d like one day to own a little house, and a family, and afford that based on the work I’ve done in music.”

Beck Undertakes “Velvet Underground & Nico” Cover Project

Beck, with the help of some friends, has undertaken the task of covering every song off the Velvet Underground’s ridiculously revered debut, the Velvet Underground & Nico. He calls it his Record Club project, and he posted the first track, “Sunday Morning” a couple weeks ago, and added “I Am Waiting for the Man” last weekend.

<object width=”400″ height=”300″><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always” /><param name=”movie” value=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5330930&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=0&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=ffffff&amp;fullscreen=1” /><embed src=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5330930&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=0&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=ffffff&amp;fullscreen=1” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”400″ height=”300″></embed></object><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/5330930″>Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico ‘Waiting for My Man’</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/videotheque”>Beck Hansen</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

So I’d guess “Femme Fatale” will be posted later this week.

Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Neko Case’s latest Middle Cyclone this week. I know it came out months ago, but even though I was fairly interested in Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, her previous effort, I didn’t feel terribly compelled to delve too deeply. I ran through the single, “People Got A Lot of Nerve” a few times, in part I’m sure to the somewhat misleading chorus “I’m a man man man, man man man eater / so why are you surprise-prise-prised when I eat ya?”

It might have been the videos of Case with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at Bonnarroo, or it could have just been how bad-ass that song title is, but the other day I decided to re-try “This Tornado Loves You,” the opening track. It’s hard to explain the feeling you get when first hearing a song without relying on cliched and vague expressions like “blown away” or “instantly fell in love”, but Case had me from the first lyric on this listen.

my love, i am the speed of sound
i left them motherless, fatherless
their souls dangling inside-out from their mouths
but it’s never enough

“This Tornado Loves You” is literally written from the perspective of a tornado, which, granted, seems pretty gimmicky and lame, but you can’t really front when the lyricism is this good. Middle Cyclone’s lyrics are actually based almost entirely on themes of nature and animals. Growing up, Case’s favorite place was outside, where she felt a much stronger connection to animals than other kids. Songs like “I’m An Animal,” “Magpie to the Morning” and “Polar Nettles” are similarly based on Case’s experience and reaction to the outdoors.

Case has been haunted by remarks she made in interviews after Fox Confessor where she said she didn’t like writing love songs. In subsequent interviews she admits that she has certainly written songs about love, but not traditional love songs. This seems kind of naive to me. While it’s admirable of Case to write only about her passions, it’s foolish to think you can write a love song about a tornado without people (every person, probably, who doesn’t regularly read interviews with Neko Case) taking the lyrics for metaphor. And while the listener’s failure to properly interpret the lyrics doesn’t really lessen Middle Cyclone’s worth, even some of the strongest songs end up missing the mark lyrically.

The most important part of any Case album, of course, is her voice. There’s nothing unfamiliar on Cyclone in this reguard. She is still singing strongly, with a sultry twang, and while most of my favorite female voices (Regina Spektor, Julie Doiron, St. Vincent) would fall under the umbrella of ‘cute’, Case’s voice is something more forceful than that – it’s beautiful. She sings with ferocity, but a country ferocity, not Karen O ferocity. By which I mean she kind of asserts her voice on the track, overtaking it. An intro could do anything on this record, but the song never starts until Case’s arresting voice does.

This, of course, is my roundabout way of saying that this album is great. I’ve listened to it probably ten times in the last couple days, simply because it’s been so conjoined with my head. This is absolutely the best Case material I’ve heard, and makes me wish I had considered checking her tour schedule before I made all my summer concert arrangements.

Check “This Tornado Loves You” out here:
This Tornado Loves You

And the video for “People Got A Lotta Nerve”:

Road to Sappy: TIMBER TIMBRE

Well, I’m having trouble staying focused on this blog lately. It’s one part my two full-time jobs, and one part sudden inspiration for my creative writing efforts. So, to keep things interesting for me I’m going to start posting regularly about bands playing Sappyfest.

The lineup was announced last week, and can be found here.

The first band I’m going to talk about is TIMBER TIMBRE from Toronto. TIMBER TIMBRE is actually just the pseudonym for folky blues singer Taylor Kirk. His minimalistic, rootsy approach to folk music gives his songs a very haunting presence. Full of soulful harmonies, and slow-marching rhythm, I was particularly struck when I came across the video posted below, performing by campfire at 2007’s Track and Field festival. Honestly, if you are at all feeling reservations about ‘another folk singer’, take a look at the performance below, and you’ll see what kind of intimate presence Kirk is capable of.

MYSPACE

Destroyer in Sackville?

So rumor has it that Destroyer is booked in Sackville on August 2nd, the last day of Sappyfest. This would probably be the show of the summer in New Brunswick. It’s already been posted on Pitchfork, here, (click “More) and while the rest of the lineup is unannounced, I’ve heard other rumors.

The most prominent is Ladyhawk. Julie Doiron seems like a safe bet, and I’m also told Eric’s Trip might be back again, which, let’s face it, would be incredible. The Sappyfest lineup will be posted here when it’s announced, but until then I’ll be in anguish, wondering why nothing’s been announced with only two months to go!

Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

The new Phoneix album recently leaked in high quality, and it sounds great. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is set for release at the end of May, but first single ‘1901′ has  been floating around since February. While ‘1901′ is a great track, it doesn’t encapsulate the rest of the album’s feel as much as second single ‘Lisztomania’. ‘Lisztomania’ more accurately portrays the soft edge that subtly blankets Wolfgang, mixing its unassuming pop sound with some other-worldly bliss.

Phoenix are one of the bands you can expect to hear/see/read most about this summer. After a stellar SNL appearance a few weeks ago, and the buzz around their first two singles, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is set to drop to an already ecstatic public. I’ve got the video for ‘1901′ and a link for ‘Lisztomania’ to download below.

Phoenix – Lisztomania
(download removed)
Phoenix on myspace

One for the Team: Garden

One for the Team are an indie band with a heavy emphasis on melodies and catchy, but understated songs. “Garden” is a track off their new EP Build A Garden, and it is a fantastic song. The whole song is focused on two distinct parts, divided by two lines worth of lyrics. The first half of the songs is slow, quiet build up, based around the line “I know what to say when you’re around.” The band adds more layers as the song goes on, with yelpy, yet fitting harmonies, and a frantic guitar line which quietly moves to the front of the mix, pushing the song from its slow opening to the pulsing refrain: “if I give you a yard, will you build a garden?” With such few lyrics it’s clear that One for the Team are letting the mood of their songs do the talking, rather than spelling out the contents directly. By songs end it’s clear that “Garden” is a song whose emotions reach deeper than the two lines of lyrics.

One for the Team – Garden

Darlings

While NYC upstarts Darlings fit comfortably in the endless parade of new bands with seemingly arbitrary one word names (i.e. Woods, Crocodiles, Girls), they have one up on most of their contemporaries: Darlings is an apt descriptor of this band’s endearing garage-pop sound. They fit in with the currently over-saturated trend towards lo-fi recordings. But rather than coat their instrumentation in indistinguishable vocals, and squeaky guitar squeals, they toe the line between senseless distortion and polished recordings.

L Magazine probably said it best in their 8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear in 2009 list, when they write “the recording is far from polished, but it’s got this perfect level of fidelity that keeps things clear enough but also seems to say, ‘We could have made this sound better, but we didn’t feel like it, you fucking square.’”

You can hear five tracks on Myspace, and I think you’ll find a variety of earnest songs, whose upbeat pleasantness is an ode to 60’s pop mixed with a satisfying amount of dirty guitars and snappy melodies. On tracks like “Teenage Girl” they hit perilously poppy peaks before slashing them apart with rough shouts and unpolished instrumentation. Their unfinished debut LP should see the light of day sometime this year.

Darlings – Teenage  Girl
http://myspace.com/darlingsokay

Adam Mowery

Adam Mowery has been on top of the Saint John scene for a long time. His lo-fi acoustics accentuated by the earnest charisma of his voice make his solo performances equally energetic and intimate. Last week Mowery played a half-hour set in Backstreet Records to be recorded for a live EP due out sometime this summer. Local culture blog Serfcity captured the performance on video and posted a few tracks on Youtube. These videos sufficiently convey the sincerity and honesty that comes guaranteed with Mowery’s live shows.

As a personal sidenote, “Dear Mother” is probably my favorite song to come from Saint John.

If Yer Going to the City:

Dear Mother:

[NEW] Cool Kids – Popcorn

Here is the link to the second song off the new Cool Kids mixtape Gone Fishin’.

Produced by Don Cannon, Gone Fishin’ is the precursor to the Kids’ first album, set to drop sometime this summer. “Popcorn” and “Champions,” the first two tracks, both have great beats, and I’m really psyched for the rest of the mixtape to drop for free tomorrow, May 4th!

Keep your eyes on blog.coolxkids.com for  Gone Fishin’.