AMERICAN MOSAIC + MISTER GROOVYS WEBSITES

Greetings friends, all is well here in my little corner of the Driftless as fall is now upon us. From preparing for KPVL's fall membership soiree to working on Michelle Lynn's forthcoming book of lyrics from her first five albums, I've been busy with many creative endeavors. I'm writing here today to share with you a pair websites I've recently created.

The first site is for Mister Groovys, a used music, games and movies store in downtown Decorah. The store is another excellent example of the type of cultural and entertainment amenities that small town Decorah, Iowa can support. The store's proprietor, John Shriver, is a true music-lover and a strong supporter of the local music and arts community.

The website is simply a customized template built over a Blogger site--just like the one you're looking at now. Although I did cover some new ground for myself in being able to successfully code the javascript page slider that is integrated into the template. Check it out:
http://www.MisterGroovys.com

The second site I created is for the American Mosaic radio show. The show is produced by Robert Wolf's literary non-profit Free River Press. The show started at 89.1 KPVL last year and is now syndicated on several other stations throughout the country via the Pacifica Radio Network. Mr. Wolf admittedly began producing the show in order to create another vehicle through which to showcase Free River Press books. However, the project has taken on a life of its own through the high quality of its content, the hard work of several Luther College interns, and a strong response from listeners and community radio stations.

The website is built on Wordpress and utilizes a "premium" (paid) template called Spiegel Magazine. The template is created by German developer Michael Oeser--who I must admit provides excellent tech support (and speaks fluent English)! Check it out here:
http://www.AmericanMosaic.org

GENERAL B & THE WIZ

General B and The Wiz is a gritty blues rock band led by Luther College seniors Seth Duin and Quincy Voris. I hesitate to use the phrase "gritty blues rock" here, because their sound is so much more compelling than your stereotypical fat-white-boy-on-a-slide-guitar dive bar act or the ubiquitous gang of nappy-haired garage rock wannabes. While their sound is indeed evocative of bands like The Black Keys, Cream, The White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, and The Doors; it's their flawless execution and songwriting prowess that jumps out and rattles your cage like a good rock band should.

As evidenced in the video below of the band performing at my Driftless Music Showcase back in June, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Quincy Voris possesses a surprisingly mean falsetto and a smooth, commanding wail. The timbre of Voris' voice--along with a vulnerable, yet confident demeanor and a small, yet forceful stature--brings to mind comparisons to Mr. Jack Black. In fact, Voris and Duin started out together as a duo that covered a lot of Tenacious D songs. While the band is fun, I don't want to pigeon hole Voris--a native of Alaska--as a "yuk-yuk man" here, because his lyrics and vocal style also carry the credibility of someone like Mr. Jack White. Lastly, I think a portion of the band's originality also stems from the fact that Voris is huge fan of fellow Alaskan-reared band Portugal. The Man; a rock group with a wholly original Psychedelic / Indie / Glam / Art sound that signed to Atlantic last year and has only recently started to receive mainstream attention.

Lead guitarist Seth Duin is a nimble-fingered man trained by true jazz cat; and he certainly has the guitar chops to show for it. He is also a voice student and does provide contrasting vocal harmonies throughout the band's debut self-titled release (listen via the bandcamp player below). A self-professed fan of Beethoven and Bach, Duin is also the current student station manager of Luther College radio station KWLC and is well versed in both classical and contemporary rock music. This virtuosity is key to General B and Wiz's sound, which incorporates both interweaving blues riffs and flourishing lead licks. Of course, having a consistently killer guitar tone never hurts either.

FOLLOW-UP ON MUSIC CRITICISM

HELLO THERE, for a while now I've been meaning to follow up on a bit of the feedback I received about my last post "LOCAL MUSIC CRITICISM 101." Despite a fair amount of long-winded (and potentially unnecessary) lecturing on what a good writer should or shouldn't do; the point I wanted to get across was that good album reviews are grounded in things like credibility, context, consistency, and an honest stab at "objectivity". In other words: do your homework and go get the story, and consider the views of your audience while you artfully communicate your unique opinion.
I probably clouded that point a bit by trying to professorially address both local and major-label album reviews. It was indeed, as I described in the piece, a "sustained lack of consistency and objective approach" in the Second Supper's local record reviews that compelled me to write the piece. Although what I really meant by "objective approach" (do your homework on the local scene) wasn't objectively obvious in the following paragraph:

"In short, a good music review is written in an objective style. Generally speaking, it is focused purely on the music or artist itself and is written for a defined audience. In other words, there is usually no reason for the writer to explicitly state his / her own personal tastes, expectations, or projections. It is of course possible for one to make a valid point using such statements, but in most cases doing so is unnecessary and simply lazy or sloppy writing. In fact, the writer should never have to use the first person and rarely the word "I"."

 Geez, reading that again just now makes me feel like flag-sucking snob. Thankfully the editor of the Second Supper himself, the honorable Mr. Adam Bissen, politely pointed out the hoity-toity element of my reasoning in an portion of an e-mail exchange that I've pasted below--in good faith and without proper journalistic permission:

"In my opinion, you can't be objective about art, and it's foolish to even try. I respect those reviewers who focus exclusively on how an album sounds, but I prefer reviews when an author talks about how a record makes him feel. Lester Bangs was the king of this sort of record reviewing, and I don't think anyone else has ever done it better. I also find it interesting that you extol Pitchfork Media and Brooklyn Vegan as the high-water mark of "objective" CD reviews, because when I read those sites I was mostly struck by how personal their writing was....In my mind, as long as you state your biases, that's the only kind of fair music writing you can do."

Touche, good sir! So yes, what I failed to accurately articulate in my last blog post is the variable that makes a writer like Antiquiet's Johnny Firecloud more insightful than your average review on All Music Guide, despite his personalized subjective snark: doing your homework and getting the real story. (Johnny's scathing review of Limp Bizkit's new CD and the resulting polite rebuttal / conversation with Wes Borland could be considered "Exhibit A" here.)

Stating your biases while also expressing your personal opinions is entirely fair and indeed unavoidable. I gag at foolishly implying otherwise. However, it is also fair to do some research and provide proper context--whether your reviewing releases from experienced local acts like Porcupine, T.U.G.G., and Michelle Lynn, or up-and-comers like Elliot Arms.

As an interesting diversion, I'd also like to mention that getting the story, or--more accurately--getting the story first hand, may also prove to be the defining difference between the legendary Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and his apparent modern-day successor, Mr. Matt Taibbi. Despite his obvious writing talents (who can forget the "vampire squid" metaphor?), Taibbi is currently in a bit of hot water resulting from using a fair amount of un-sourced material in his profile piece on Michele Bachmann in the new Rolling Stone. Check out THIS LINK for the full story, but G.R. Anderson--the former City Pages reporter and current U of M journalism professor, whom Taibbi did not credit in his piece--told the following to City Pages about the two Rolling Stone writers:

"The differences between Taibbi and Dr. Thompson is that Thompson went to get a story--he went places--he didn't write it from fucking Jann Wenner's fucking couch. You couldn't find Thompson for months, because he was working on a story. Clearly, this Bachmann piece shows the difference quite clearly, between Taibbi and Hunter S. Thompson--which is vast. The longer Taibbi chases it with rhetoric and no reporting, he's going to lose."

So there it is. I believe this brief foray into being a media critic (or meta-critic, so to say) needs to end. Much thanks to Mr. Bissen for indulging me in this tangent and to Mr. Crider for being classy and not publicly rebutting my words. Both men are certainly assets to the local music community. Kudos as well to Second Supper, who continues to provide an outstanding community digest, despite the current state of print media in modern America--its writers get paid too little to take crap from a snooty blogger like me.

Furthermore, the fact that most of the other feedback I got on my music criticism piece was from people praising my "Greendale" review, tells me that I should take some of my own advice and devote more energy in general to writing and / or producing content about what's going on here right now....Or at least posting some content on here a little more regularly than I have been as of late. And big thanks as well to Kate in Michigan for the kick-in-the-butt email I received earlier today: "I did notice it's been a while since [your last] post was published. Will you still be updating in the future? I'm not in your area, but I always love learning about new, independent artists and I'm looking forward to reading more!"

 Yes much is in the works! Stay tuned for more, fellow drifters!

LOCAL MUSIC CRITICISM 101 (ELLIOT ARMS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE)

Reviewing albums is not as simple as one may think. All art is ultimately relative to the individual. And of course everyone has their own opinions--especially about music. Communicating your unique insights while tactfully addressing the prior musical knowledge or tastes you perceive your readers to have can be a delicate balancing act.

In short, a good music review is written in an objective style. Generally speaking, it is focused purely on the music or artist itself and is written for a defined audience. In other words, there is usually no reason for the writer to explicitly state his / her own personal tastes, expectations, or projections. It is of course possible for one to make a valid point using such statements, but in most cases doing so is unnecessary and simply lazy or sloppy writing. In fact, the writer should never have to use the first person and rarely the word "I".

As far as writing for an audience goes, one should always do their homework and consider how a given piece of music is perceived / likely to be perceived by their audience. A few general examples of what NOT to do would include:

• Writing about a release from a veteran, yet very obscure band without any background information, as if most people already know who they are. 
• Writing about the new Radiohead album like it's their debut release; providing a detailed overview of their career, as if your readers aren't already familiar with their work.
• Writing an intensely negative review about the new Radiohead album with no mercy or balance, as if most people will uniformly share your opinion. 
• Writing an intensely positive review about a critical flop (or over-hyping a promising, but unproven up-and-coming act) without providing reasonable justification.

I can say from experience that this process is also not made easier by a weekly deadline (or a maximum word count). Some albums simply take longer to absorb and fully appreciate. Deadlines can sometimes conflict with thoughtful criticism. Additionally, the pressure and eventual monotony of the weekly grind can eventually wear a music journalist down. The joy of creatively sharing one's passion & knowledge can sometimes be reduced to the jaded exercise of completing a predictable formulaic template (exhibit one: the satirical Radiohead review MAD LIB on Antiquiet). How many "comeback" album reviews must one write? How many times must one confront another "sophomore slump" album from last summer's indie darlings? How often should one attempt to put a positive spin on music that's popular, yet seemingly uninspired or blatantly commercialized? Continually seeking out inspiration that keeps the fire burning is crucial to any endeavor.

Most importantly, the task of writing a solid album review is much more difficult when the music you're writing about is made not by major label artists in far away cities, but rather by local musicians in your own community. In this case, praise must be warranted or earned. Tell a story that's relatable and enlightening. My rule of thumb is to stay positive without kissing anyone's ass. On the other hand, criticism should be constructive. Negative reviews can and do sting. Furthermore, it's quite possible that one day the band you decide to rip on (or members of that band) might become very good. And if you are seeking press access (and/or a free copy of their album) and they've heard what you've said, they might just tell you to go fuck yourself.

BEASTLY NEIGHBOR

The Brilliant Beast (the caterwauling of Italy's favorite prancing folksters) are scheduled to play a pair of rockin' gigs this month.

The first will take place Thursday, February 17th at the Palace Stage at Wild Tymes in downtown Saint Paul. Co-conspirators Keith Bohnen and Kasey McKee will each perform their own sets that night. The second show is with the Pine Box Preachers on Friday, February 25 at the Saint Paul Eagles Club. Both shows are 18+.

It has been fun to hear the band gel and grow with bassist Mark Kartarik (third from right in the photo). Mark took over low-end duties when I moved to Iowa nearly a year ago. He is phenomenally talented and also plays with Eric in Imaginary Jack, so he was a natural replacement. The band performed one of their newest songs, "I Wanna be Your Next Door Neighbor", at the Driftless Music showcase back in October. Its one of the first tracks that was written with Mark in the band and hints at a slightly harder direction for the band. Listen for yourself in the video below.

THE IMAGINARY MUSIC SHOWCASE

Twin Cities based DIY semi-acoustic folk-punk band Imaginary Jack begins their new Imaginary Music Showcase at Acadia Cafe February 4th. The showcase will take place on the first Friday of every month and feature the best undiscovered local artists from the Twin Cities and surrounding ares. Imaginary Jack claims to be "working hard to bring you music you don't have to just Tolerate." February 4th's line-up consists of Bitterroot Fires, Imaginary Jack, Nice Purse, and Ruben.

I was able to capture a couple videos of the band's performance at the October 15th Driftless Music Showcase at Acadia Cafe. As mentioned in the video of "Means for the Day," it was Joe's 25th birthday. The band was in prime form, despite the unusual organ / electric piano Dana played. Check out the videos below.

Lastly, I recently featured Imaginary Jack in an episode the Driftless Music Radio Podcast; playing recordings from their new EP. Check out improved recordings of tracks like Sober Susan below.

DAMSEL FLY

Damsel Fly is an amazingly talented, all-female, teenage folk quartet from Decorah, IA. Their heart-swelling, four-part harmonies induce chills, warm feelings, and collective healing in all who are fortunate enough to experience them. The group's lethal combo of youth & sheer talent is less perplexing when one considers that they are the daughters of a few of Decorah's more progressive and musically-oriented families. The band consists of Kasi Misseldine on mandolin, Rose Reed-Maxfield on cello and bass, Ingrid Rotto on guitar, and Ida Rotto on banjo.

While Damsel Fly largely performs music written by others, their selections are always in good taste and their arrangements are incredibly unique. Many of their covers are of traditional folk songs or familiar classics from acts like the Beatles or Simon & Garfunkle. I had the pleasure of doing sound for the young women at last month's KDEC Open Stage Night at T-Bock's in Decorah and was able to record a video of their last song, which I have posted below. Best wishes to Damsel Fly and their bright musical future. Word on the street is that they are looking for performance opportunities within the greater Driftless Region. Booking inquiries can be sent to: decorahevents@gmail.com.

IDA JO GOES DRIFTLESS!

Madison, WI based fiddle-front folk trio Ida Jo & The Show made the trek over to Minneapolis  on September 17th to perform at the Driftless Music Showcase at Acadia. In addition to Ida's warm singing voice, I was impressed by the group's versatility and improvisational skills.

Feeling inspired and wanting to capture some of the good vibes, I happened to turn on my camera just as Ida started playing the regional classic "Driftless" by Greg Brown (Red House Records).  It was a pleasant surprise to say the least! And while Acadia doesn't allow cover songs (because they choose not to pay ASCAP / BMI public performance fees),  there's nothing wrong with covering an ode to the Driftless by a fellow independent musician that not everyone in the room would necessarily recognize. I'm sure Mr. Brown would approve at least. At any rate, be sure to check out Ida's lovely violin solo in the video of this serendipitous cover song below.

MOUSE POCKET

Mouse Pocket is a jazzy pop rock quintet from La Crosse, WI. The band is led by dueling front-men Alex Toast (on guitar & vocals) and Dan Collins (keyboard & vocals). Their music sounds like a jazzy blend of Dave Matthews and Ben Folds. I shot the video below during the band's RecessionFest performance at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds on September 24th. They will be performing again at Acadia Cafe for a Driftless Music Showcase on December 17th.

I should also mention that Toast is a tightly wound ball of positive energy; balancing a ladder on one hand and running amongst the crowd during RecessionFest. Click here to listen to my lively chat with him on the Driftless Music Radio Podcast about the band's roots and his own personal Medical Marijuana Advocacy.

RYAN FLANNERY & THE NIGHTOWLS TO PLAY (IN) LACROSSE

On September 17th, Ryan Flannery & The Nightowls played the Driftless Music Showcase for the 2nd time this year at Acadia Cafe. After their June performance, I wrote in a post that the trio's "jazzy sound is led by vocalist/pianist Ryan Flannery's soulful falsetto; fused within jangly surf-blues guitar, creative aquatic-like arrangements, and energetic piano-rock freak-outs, their music evokes the lounge version of Incubus, the earnestness of Ben Folds' more serious material, and the chaotic instrumental interludes of The Bad Plus."

Well don't miss your chance to hear the band's unique sound here in the Driftless when they'll be performing at the Root Note in La Crosse, WI on Friday November 19th. Preview their improvisational splendor by viewing the video below from their last Acadia show.

THOSE BAD, BAD PASSENGERS

Michelle and her backing band, The Bad Passengers, have developed excellent chemistry over the past 6 months or so. They performed a pair of full band shows with Rearview Mirror in September. Below are videos of the trio performing compelling renditions of Feedback and Old Soul Syndrome.

Due to the blessing of fatherhood, Drummer Matt Olson is now only performing with with Michelle at select La Crosse-area gigs. Although Ptacek still regularly shares the stage with Michelle; trading in his electric bass for an acoustic one. Michelle just dropped her fourth album, Sundial Tree, and has been playing CD release shows all over the area. I'll be chatting with Michelle about her new album on an upcoming episode of the Driftless Music Radio Podcast, in advance of her performance at the Irish Shanti in Gunder, IA on November 27th.

RVM 2010

"Nostalgia: it's delicate, yet potent," is a phrase Don Draper once uttered in an episode of Mad Men. September's Rearview Mirror reunion shows balanced this dynamic elegantly--serving up the songs old-school fans pine for, while also allowing the band to have some fun as well. The crowd at JB's in La Crosse on September 3rd was very enthusiastic and it made for some good chemistry. Check out the beginning of the Dead Air video below for some of the reminiscent banter lead singer Adam Ptacek provided throughout the night. The band played with an impressive amount of passion and abandon--visually losing themselves within the music at times.

The show on September 25th at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds in Decorah, IA for Per Capita Entertainment's "Recession Fest 2010" was a little bit different environment--but a success nonetheless. The event was plagued by poor weather and a lack of coalition-building, grassroots-style promotion, but sure enough--come 9:30pm on Saturday night--Rearview Mirror had the most respectable and enthusiastic crowd of the weekend packed close to the stage. They gave one hell of a performance despite the frosty nighttime temperatures. I'm sure they felt less than stellar the next morning, but they certainly could rest easy knowing they left it all on the stage. Check out a partial video (sorry) of Blown Out's Hold Your Eyes below.

So, good job guys. You still got it. Here's to the next RVM reunion show--in 2011?!?!