Night of the Silvermen at The Stone Fox

“Night of the Silvermen,” a free event taking place at the Stone Fox March 12, 2014, featured the Jack Silverman Ordeal (with Viktor Krauss on bass, Tyson Rogers on keys, and Robert Crawford of drums), with electric violinist Tracy Silverman opening. The Stone Fox was located at 712 51st Avenue N. Nashville, TN 37209.

The event was featured as a Critics' Pick by the Nashville Scene: 

"By day, Jack Silverman is the Scene’s mild-mannered managing editor, assigning coverage here, repairing a split infinitive there. But when darkness falls, he takes up his ES-335 and unites with a rotating cast of badass local players — tonight he’ll feature Alison Krauss’ brother/Lyle Lovett’s longtime low-notesman Viktor Krauss on bass — bringing us space odysseys, hot crime jazz, and other instrumental selections that might make you question the funkiness of the proverbial mosquito’s tweeter. Starting the evening off is virtuoso violinist Tracy Silverman (no relation — we knew you were going to ask), a stylistic chameleon whose six-string electric fiddle and looping pedal lend themselves to Hendrixian theatrics as easily as the pieces composed for him by minimalist maestros like Terry Riley and John Adams. One question remains: Can a cozy West End eatery contain the cosmic power unleashed when Tracy sits in with The Ordeal, morphing them into … The Silvermen?" — Stephen Trageser

Tracy Silverman

The Jack Silverman Ordeal

Photos and video by Chris DeLine and Make it POP! Creations.

Mando Blues 4 Year Anniversary Celebration at Soulshine Pizza

The Mando Blues 4 Year Anniversary Celebration took place March 8, 2014 at Soulshine Pizza Factory. The event featured two stages including performances from Charles “Wigg” Walker, Kim Logan, Night Owl, John D’Amato, Amanda Broadway, The Jake Leg Stompers, Blackfoot Gypsies, IBC Finalist Matt Tedder, Skinny Buddha, Corey Mac, Etta Britt and Amy Hart. There was also a crawfish boil, with music from noon to midnight with no cover charge.

Mando Blues was a radio show showcasing the Blues with live guest performances, interviews and deep cuts from every period & sub-genre of the Blues. Recorded at the Omega Lab, a one-of-a-kind 5.1 surround sound studio built on a hill in the woods of Pasquo, TN (West Nashville).

The event was featured as a Critics' Pick by the Nashville Scene:

"For four years, Whit Hubner’s Mando Blues Show has been rollin’ and rockin’ on the airwaves of Radio Free Nashville. Recorded at Omega Lab, a full-service recording studio in an army tent tucked away in the wilds of western Davidson County, the show treats the blues as a thriving free-range critter rather than a sawdust-stuffed bit of musical taxidermy. This special birthday celebration brings the gutbucket out the woods and plops it down right at the gateway to Music Row. The festivities will feature 16 bands on two stages for a daylong jumpin’ juke of hittin’, gittin’ and 12-bar blues." —Randy Fox

Photos by Chris DeLine. Video by Make it POP! Creations.

Mode Fresh, Uberphonics, Great Barrier Reefs at The Rutledge

Mode Fresh, Uberphonics & the Great Barrier Reefs performed Thursday, March 6, 2014 at The Rutledge (410 Fourth Avenue South, Nashville 37201). Cover was $5, doors were at 7:30pm.

Mode Fresh

Uberphonics

Great Barrier Reefs

Photos by Chris DeLine.

A Surf State of Mind: An Interview with *repeat repeat

Within the spectrum of rock music, surf isn’t all that different from ska: the originals are the ones who did it best, and few who presently indulge in the genres tend to contribute little beyond imitation. “It was my musical mentor and our producer Gregory Lattimer (of Now Records) that really started to get me into this simple, catchy, cool rock sound,” explains *repeat repeat frontman Jared Corder, speaking to the band’s self-described “surf” branding. “[One] that was a throwback to that era without being a direct copy of the 60’s sound.” Within the group’s still-developing stable of tracks, “surf” might better represent a feeling more than an indicator of style though. And *repeat repeat are no surf-rock imitators.

Of the songs that have been released in advance of the band’s debut album, Bad Latitude, “History” comes closest to the advertised sound, flirting heavily with the “urban surf adventure in rockcandyland” idea teased on the group’s Facebook page. More so, however, it introduces a trend that is also heard through “12345678” and “Love That Never Ages,” painting *repeat repeat as a group pre-occupied not with beach-pop, but with making carefully considered reverb-heavy rock songs. “We’re not going for a lo-fi sound, we’re going for pop,” Jared told No Country for New Nashville last spring. It just so happens that the marketing of those pop songs thoughtfully leans on a singular noteworthy influence, used to help strengthen their position within Nashville’s ever-busy rock scene.

“Bands are brands,” said vocalist Kristyn Corder last year in an interview with the Tennessean, speaking about artist development as a necessity for musicians looking for a roster spot with the increasingly popular East Nashville Underground. The quarterly festival — which Kristyn and Jared co-founded — has showcased dozens of local rock acts since 2010. It has also provided the duo with insight into what works and what doesn’t among the ranks of the local DIY scene, reinforcing the importance for self-definition within the context of their own band’s creation.

“We wanted something catchy and simple,” says Jared, explaining the origins of the name *repeat repeat. “I had this idea of reading directions on the back of a shampoo bottle or something where you would see an asterisk, then at the bottom of the page would say *repeat, repeat.” “It’s important to make good music, but these days you have to grab people’s attention with strong visual elements as well.”

While the trio came together in Nashville, their sound would seem a perfect compromise; Jared calls it “a culmination of our personal tastes and influences.” Kristyn’s Southern California roots have left her influenced by “beachy, harmony-driven 60′s rock,” drummer Andy Herrin’s musical history leans a little heavier (having backed-up St. Louis modern rock acts Cavo and Revolution One), and Jared fits directly in between, having played with indie rock-leaning local acts Oh No No and Frances & the Foundation. Out of that collective background comes tracks like “Chemical Reaction,” balancing hard-driving rhythms with the group’s softer influences.

Perhaps the surf label is only used out of convenience, but local bloggers have taken notice, covering the “familiar”-sounding “surf-influenced pop music” of “Dick Dale’s snot-nosed grandkids.” “I think there is an element of surf-rock that isn’t directly related to the actual sport. Surf rock has a 60′s cool feel to it,” continues Jared. “For me it conjures up the mod-Warhol-esque period too.” Here the genre-stamp would seem to be less an indicator of sound though, and more a jumping-off point; a foundation; maybe even a state of mind.

Simply because the group is conscious of what goes into a band beyond the actual creation of songs doesn’t mean their music is as formulaic as “surf,” rinse, repeat, however. “The music came before the branding,” adds Kristyn. “That gave us a jumping-off point and a clear direction for where to take the music.” And in the end, it’s the music — and allowing their music to grow — that the group cares about most. As Jared explains, “We’re not a Beach Boys cover band or something like that, so obviously we’re not limiting ourselves to a surf sound. These songs have been a labor of love for the past two years, [but] we are already writing new material, and letting our sound evolve accordingly.”

Extended Q&A

Is there any significance to the stylization of the group’s name? What does “repeat repeat” mean to you?

Jared Corder: Well, we wanted something catchy and simple. We had thrown around a handful of different names but nothing stuck. I had this idea of reading directions on the back of a shampoo bottle or something where you would see an asterisk, then at the bottom of the page would say *repeat, repeat. And in the early inception of the name, we were going to include the asterisk and the comma in the name, but then we figured that might be too much punctuation for someone to follow.

I’m curious about the group’s decision to lean heavily on the surf tag. In speaking to No Country, the following description was put out there, “We are a surf-rock band, and try to create that vibe. We want to throwback to that surf sound from the Dick Dale era, but with a very distorted, rock feel.” “History,” “Chemical Reaction” and “12345678” definitely exist with surf elements, but what do you think makes the band specifically “surf”? What draws you to that style of rock?

Kristyn Corder: I was raised in Texas, but my family is from Southern California. I was raised on beachy, harmony-driven 60’s rock like the Byrds, the Turtles, [and] the Everly Brothers. My parents would teach me the harmonies in the songs, so I’ve always preferred that era of music over any other.

Jared Corder: Obviously we live nowhere near an ocean, but I think there is an element of surf-rock that isn’t directly related to the actual sport. Surf rock has a 60’s cool feel to it. For me it conjures up the mod-warhol-esque period too. I wasn’t raised on that music , but it was my musical mentor and our producer Gregory Lattimer that really started to get me into this simple, catchy, cool rock sound that was a throwback to that era, without being a direct copy of the 60’s sound.

Will those three aforementioned tracks be included on your new album? What is your favorite song from the forthcoming Bad Latitude?

Jared Corder: Yes, all three singles will be on the album. It is ten tracks total. My favorite song on the album is called “Love That Never Ages,” it’s a love song about the longevity of a good relationship. Growing old with your person. It’s basically two chords, and has this low-end rolling floor tom beat that drives the whole song.

Kristyn Corder: “Chemical Reaction” is my favorite. But I really love the chorus to the song “Melody” (laughs), it’s one of the first songs we wrote together and recorded as a band.

There’s a consciousness of branding that I feel comes with the “surf” description; do you feel that helps to separate your band from others in Nashville?

Kristyn Corder: The music came before the branding. We had written a few songs and made the choice based on how they were turning out to keep a surf vibe. That gave us a jumping-off point and a clear direction for where to take the music.

Jared Corder: It’s important to make good music, but these days you have to grab people’s attention with strong visual elements as well in the digital age. We’re not a Beach Boys cover band or something like that, so obviously we’re not limiting ourselves to a surf sound. That’s why our stuff has a retro vibe, but isn’t strictly people in board shorts and surfboards. We want people to hear a modern take on a vintage sound. We also are heavily influenced by the New York 60’s mod scene, and we try to incorporate that intrigue into our sound as well. Bringing the two coasts together has been an adventure.

On Facebook there was a note that Dick Dale (or his wife) reached out to you to open for the legend when he played Mercy Lounge last year. What was that show like and did you come away from the experience feeling inspired?

Kristyn Corder: We couldn’t think of a better first show in Nashville. We had been on the road a bit but hadn’t played our hometown at that point. Dick Dale and his wife Lana are awesome. This was the perfect show for us and we felt honored.

Jared Corder: It certainly was a testament to the power of good music. Here Dick was, in his 70s, and playing harder and louder than most bands in town. The guy rocked. He’s a living legend, and it was a moment in my musical career that I will never forget.

Jared’s played with Oh No No and Frances & the Foundation, and Andy’s played with St. Louis-based groups Cavo and Revolution One, but what is Kristyn’s musician background? Do you feel *repeat repeat is a culmination of your personal musical tastes or did one individual member guide the group’s musical direction?

Kristyn Corder: I have a performance background, but more on the acting side. Jared and I have been married for two years, and when he was starting the band he and Andy were auditioning female singers. I had been at the auditions and new all the girl parts just from hearing all the songs over and over again. Jared was demo-ing some songs with Gregory, and they called me in to just sing on the demos to have an idea of what the female voice would sound like on the recording. It was at that point that Gregory said “I think you’ve found your singer”…

Jared Corder: It is a culmination of our personal tastes and influences, but I write the skeleton of a song, then present it to the band. Typically from there it goes through a few rewrites with the band, then we demo it and send it to our producer. From there he’ll tweak some stuff and send it back with notes. When we make it into the studio, sometimes the song is fully produced and ready to just hit record, and sometimes we end of fully editing the song all together live in the studio. We try not to set one standard for the creative process, we just want good songs to happen and not feel formulaic.

What would you like listeners to take away from your album when they hear it?

Jared Corder: These songs have been a labor of love for the past two years. The songs will most likely convey a simple-love story in each hook. I wrote most of the songs while engaged and newly married to Kristyn, and I think the sound will reflect that. We are already writing new material, and letting our sound evolve accordingly as we mature as a band and experience all new emotions as time passes by. I think Bad Latitude is a perfect introduction to us as a band.

Sounds of the Wild Frontier: An Interview with Jesse Lafser

“It happened to me for a dark and frightening couple of years,” writes Jesse Lafser, sharing a story of creative drought in a new piece she calls “Muses and Canyons.” “But I have come to trust the stillness – almost as much as I love the canyon winds. Because the longer the land lays fallow, the greater the harvest that follows.”

While 2012’s Land in Sight served as what the St. Louis-born singer calls her “first real release,” the album also marked a shift in artistic tides, transitioning away from a period of personal introspection, it helped Jesse steer her focus outward. “I definitely use songwriting as an escape, and often times an escape from myself. There is so much freedom in putting yourself in another’s shoes to explore new perspectives and vantage points. You get to be an actor in your own movie.”

This sort of empathetic positioning helps Jesse’s music communicate as “folk,” despite the tag serving only as a convenient stand-in to describe her blend of rock and roots music. Beyond her songs however, Jesse also gravitates toward the social-centricity rampant in the heyday of The People’s Music, championing causes the likes of “Poverty is Real” and the Human Rights Campaign. Particularly in the last year this message has started to reach more people, as Jesse’s music has received coverage and recognition from media outlets ranging from CMT to the BBC.

Adding to the singer’s warmth is the familiarity of her visual aesthetic, which leaves her looking the part of one of her genre’s patriarchs. Dawning loosely coiffed hair and denims at her recent Station Inn gig, her look reflects the casual beauty of a young Bob Dylan. (Others have commented on the resemblance, as well.) “Dylan has been a main influence of mine through the years,” she explains. “He is a leader and a pioneer in many ways – a few trademarks of a true artist.”

Inspiration is never predictable and for Jesse the road to her new album began behind the wheel as she ventured west, discovering a new landscape while reconciling her past with her future. “There is a certain space to them,” she says of her new songs. “A certain sound of the wild frontier.” Set to be released later this year, this as-yet-untitled album is set to capture the essence of exploration, “Those times out there when it was just me and the desert and the mountains and the road… it meant so much to me. It’s really a large part of the whole inspiration behind the new record.”

And as Jesse assembles her new collection of stories, once again looking both outward and in, she continues to seek a balance within her music that allows for reflection while encouraging her to remain grounded in the present. “[The] new material I’ve been working on feels truer to me than anything I’ve written in the past,” she says. “The songs on Land in Sight are a little less gritty than these new ones and so, in that way, it is at times difficult to play the older stuff – only because it feels slightly less representative of the current side of me.”

“Ebbs and flows,” continues “Muses and Canyons.” “Ebbs and flows.”

Extended Q&A

You’ve repeatedly suggested Bob Dylan is a significant influence, you recently performed at the Mercy Lounge Dylan tribute, and your appearance has even been commented on as Dylan-esque (during your WWHR 91.7 Folk Harvest interview). So much of why Dylan’s work remains relevant and continues to connect with people, I feel, is because of the nearly-universal themes that his early songs covered. What era of Dylan speaks to you most, which songs of his continue to inspire you, and are there traits of his, just as a person, that you tend to gravitate toward?

Jesse Lafser: Bob Dylan has been a main influence of mine through the years; I tend to gravitate towards smart, eloquent songs and he is definitely a master when it comes to lyrical prowess. He is also an artist in every sense of the word – I love how his sound is constantly evolving, he’s always trying something new and exploring new territory. He is a leader and a pioneer in many ways – a few trademarks of a true artist. That said, I find myself influenced by all eras of his songwriting in one way or another. For a while his early folk stuff was very important to me, but currently I’m entrenched in the more bluesy rock material found in Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited, and others. There will always be those certain songs of his, however, that stick with me through time – some of those would include “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” “Most of the Time,” “Not Dark Yet,” “It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,” “The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar,” “Farewell,” man I really could go on… Those are the kind of songs that right when they come on it just hits you right in the center, in the chest, and almost knock you out. I’m a fan, can you tell?

Do you still identify with the music from Land in Sight — or is it still comfortable to play — despite being in a different headspace now?

Jesse Lafser: Land in Sight will always feel like my first real release, which means a great deal. It’s what put me on the map and I am proud of that record. That said, I do think the new material I’ve been working on feels truer to me than anything I’ve written in the past. I get excited to play these songs and share them with people – there is a certain space to them, a certain sound of the wild frontier. The songs on Land in Sight are a little less gritty than these new ones and so in that way it is at times difficult to play the older stuff – only because it feels slightly less representative of the current side of me.

In previous interviews you’ve mentioned how you approach songwriting from both an autobiographical angle, but also from the perspective of a storyteller, putting yourself in other people’s shoes. Has that exercise helped you find some escape – using your imagination to distance yourself from yourself?

Jesse Lafser: I definitely use songwriting as an escape, and often times an escape from myself. There is so much freedom in putting yourself in another’s shoes to explore new perspectives and vantage points. You get to be an actor in your own movie. There are stories everywhere and there are no limitations. This works well for me because I am in a different state of mind every single day and my songs can express that.

Years ago you said that you didn’t take to songwriting as a “craft,” in that you constantly revise and re-write… instead you went with what you could bang out in half an hour, and if it didn’t work, you moved on. Have you changed your approach and outlook to that process since?

Jesse Lafser: I’ve never approached songwriting as a means to “bang out” work – but I will say that the process is different every time. I can’t predict when or how it’s going to happen. Sometimes I will be driving in my car and a song will fall into my head and I have to pull over just to get it down on paper – the muse is not often polite or timely. I do find that for me, most of my best songs have come out in a very short period of time – around 30 minutes to an hour. Other songs I have come back to again and again, adding parts here and there until it feels right. The song always decides how it will reveal itself to me.

Could you tell me about your involvement with Lilith Fair 2010, how you became introduced to that process, and any friendships and relationships that were born from what was eventually a failed opportunity?

Jesse Lafser: I entered the Lilith Fair competition on a popular website for musicians, Ourstage. A lot of my friends and songwriting peers were also entered, which was fun. I was honored to get as far as I did in the competition and it was a shame they ended up canceling the Nashville show – no one ever found out exactly why that happened.

You successfully funded your last album using Pledge Music. What led you to wanting to crowdsource the release, what struggles did you have with the process, and what have you done to develop a group of fans that has become so supportive of you?

Jesse Lafser: I really enjoyed the Pledge Music campaign to help support the release of Land in Sight. It’s difficult to ask your fans for funding, but everyone seemed really excited about the process. I put together a backyard house party in the summer of 2012 where I got to share the stage with some great local artists and people were able to donate to the record if they wished. It was an incredible night. I also hosted a listening party once the record was mastered at my home. I think both of those things really brought a sense of community around the music and those summer nights exist as some of my fondest of memories.

What sort of themes are developing in your new songs?

Jesse Lafser: A lot of the new material has come from my travels out west this past year – I think the landscape I spent hours upon hours driving through and exploring is weaving its way inside these songs. Those times out there when it was just me and the desert and the mountains and the road… it meant so much to me. It’s really a large part of the whole inspiration behind the new record.

Do you know have an estimated release date for the new album? Is it still as-yet-untitled? What’s been your favorite song to come out of the writing process to this point?

Jesse Lafser: There is no clear release date yet, but I am hoping to release these songs around summer or early fall this year. The song I am currently most excited about releasing is titled “Mountain Air,” which is coincidentally a Sherwin-Williams paint color in my home. I think that song really captures the essence of the sound I am after right now. I’ve copied two pieces I wrote that are along these lines below…

~~~~~

“Desert Highway”

Desert Highway

Racing through my mind

Like some long lost valentine

The only one to see me cry

the road it winds

the engine whines

Your beauty does more than pass me by

A most welcome stranger in the night

Replay as many times as you like

Reflecting all I am on the real side

You light my pretenses on fire

I will keep you like my favorite secret to hide

You drive me wild

As I drive through your wild

a world unknown

of unturned stones

And wizened winds a blow

Old as time

Old as the first written rhyme

The Desert is my first and final line

~~~~~

“Muses and Canyons”

It’s 5:00 on Sunday morning; the muses are awake. More importantly, they are bursting through the front door in an elated drunken clamor.

They are looking for me.

“Don’t they know I haven’t slept in days?” I scoff. They have no manners and I tell them this often.

But they rule me, and like any unobtainable beauty, they ruin me.

Inspiration – when it is here, it is the whipping winds whispering around every bend of the canyon in our souls. And when she is not here, we are dead and dry as the forgotten bones in the desert sun, surrounded only by dust, with no promise of rain.

We, or maybe I should speak only for me, spend our days trying to find this thread of gold in a mountain of red rusty rock. We take this, we take that; we drink this, we drink too much of that. We need to recreate it. The creative surge, the rush of instant thought, the torrent of raw emotion, the stroke of genius.

Some say the fairies visit them while they are hard at work. “Show up for your job and they will come”, they say. Others find these elfin imps, these sirens of the sea, to come and go as they see fit-completely untamable, unable to be scheduled, much less confined to (God-forbid) any constrains of times. Their ways are not our ways and the sooner we accept this, the better.

There are stretches of this life when they will evaporate, vanish, stubbornly refuse to come to us. It happened to me for a dark and frightening couple of years. It will happen again. But I have come to trust the stillness-almost as much as I love the canyon winds. Because the longer the land lays fallow, the greater the harvest that follows. Ebbs and flows, ebbs and flows.

After all, this canyon was once a sea.

The Cotton Blossom Band & Debbie Bond at the Performing Artist Co-op

What: A dual CD release party featuring the Cotton Blossom Band & Debbie Bond and the Trudats
Where: The Performing Artist Co-op at Five Points, 107 North 11th St., Nashville, Tennessee 37206
When: Saturday, February 1, 2014

The Cotton Blossom Band

Debbie Bond and the Trudats

Photos by Brad Hardisty. Videos by Make it POP! Creations.