Medleyville

AM finds his groove on second album

Even though New Orleans is an undisputed music mecca, singer/songwriter AM felt as though he needed to leave the Big Easy to advance his career.

"I knew songwriting was my best asset and that there were plenty of avenues in Los Angeles to investigate musically," he says. "I also knew that New York was definitely not a place I wanted to struggle in. I thought about Nashville, but that was still the South, and I wanted a radical change."

After a visit to Los Angeles, he had found what he was looking for.

"I couldn't believe how temperate it was," AM recalls. "I remember thinking to myself that this place would be an easy place to struggle. If you couldn't pay the electric bill, things would still be OK.

"Ultimately, this was good for me and my relationship with the South. I'm really itching to live down there again."

AM is scheduled to roll through New Orleans in late December as part of his tour supporting Soul Variations, his recently released second album.

"There are very little overdubs, and the record has a lot of space," he says. "I did the whole thing on 2-inch tape, so the analog nature of the recording gives it a much deeper and richer feel.

Compared to Troubled Times, his 2006 debut, AM says Soul Variations "has a lot more groove to it. I've been listening to a lot of jazz, R&B and Brazilian music over the last couple of years."

He adds, "I also produced this album myself. Troubled Times was done in almost the opposite way. It was co-produced by me and Jamie Myerson, and he and I played almost every instrument on the album, with the exception of the bass. . . . [and] with the exception of two songs, all of the drums on Troubled Times were programmed. I told myself a long time ago that every record I make I am going to take a different approach, so taking a live band into the studio seemed like the best way to approach Soul Variations."

AM has found success with placing his songs in films and TV shows, among them HBO's Big Love.

"I really believe that if you're an up-and-coming artist, you've got to get your music out there anyway you can," he says. "The music market is extremely crowded these days, and people are moving through music and bands at a much more rapid pace.

"Also, I'm not independently wealthy, and I don't have a record company picking up my tabs. I'm a self-made songwriter and musician, and film and TV has given me the opportunity to reach people that I may not have had otherwise."

-- By Chris M. Junior

AM on tour with Bob Schneider (schedule subject to change):

* Nov. 29: Cain's Ballroom -- Tulsa, Okla.

* Nov. 30: Bottleneck -- Lawrence, Kan.

* Dec. 1: The Waiting Room -- Omaha, Neb.

* Dec. 2: Varsity -- Minneapolis

* Dec. 3: Shank Hall -- Milwaukee

* Dec. 4, 5: Schuba's -- Chicago

* Dec. 6: Blueberry Hill -- St. Louis

* Dec. 7: Music Mill -- Indianapolis

* Dec. 8: Club Cafe -- Pittsburgh

* Dec. 10: World Cafe Live -- Philadelphia

* Dec. 11: Ram's Head -- Annapolis, Md.

* Dec. 12: Knitting Factory -- New York

* Dec. 13, 14: Jammin' Java -- Vienna, Va.

* Dec. 15: Gravity Lounge -- Charlottesville, Va.

* Dec. 16: Grey Eagle -- Asheville, N.C.

* Dec. 17: Smith's Olde Bar -- Atlanta

* Dec. 18: Exit/In -- Nashville, Tenn.

* Dec. 19: Workplay -- Birmingham, Ala.

* Dec. 21: One Eyed Jacks -- New Orleans

Posted by Medleyville at 08:59 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Maxwell's -- Hoboken, N.J.
Nov. 15, 2007

Kevin Russell

Max Johnston

Keith Langford

Claude Bernard

Jimmy Smith

Photos by Chris M. Junior

Posted by Medleyville at 10:37 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Dark, atmospheric and monotonous

If nothing else, the debut disc from Lucinda Black Bear boasts what has to be one of the most accurate titles in indie rock history. Which is to say that, yes, 'Capo My Heart' and Other Bear Songs (Eastern Spurs) not only contains cuts that touch on taming said wild beasts, but also embodies the pretentiousness that its name suggests.

The record finds singer and producer Christian Gibbs, erstwhile purveyor of melancholic twang (under the name C. Gibbs), leading instrumentalists from his hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y., through 11 tracks' worth of dark, atmospheric folk-rock that is drenched in cello and violin. His backing musicians create rich soundscapes steeped in gloom, and Gibbs emotes just as impressively, stretching out comfortably to hit high notes, particularly on the dreamy "You Got It Blue."

Unfortunately, the downcast lyrics and consistently slow tempos result in a monotonous listen before long. "Give me God, give me death/The eye, the heart that's hollow," Gibbs sings on "Winterland," a fine summation of the bleak feeling that envelops the album. If the seriousness is overdone, at least that song can be listened to with a straight face; elsewhere, contrasted with such an ultra-depressing soundtrack, lines such as "I fought the bear with my bare hands" come off as silly, fit for a children's album.

The only moments that pass for variety are the two forgettable instrumentals near the disc's end: "Waking Song," which essentially is a minute-and-a-half of rumbling noise; and "Hibernation Song (Blue it Got You)," which features persistently wailing strings and clocks in at a please-kill-me length of 4:36.

And with that, the record closes with a thud, and without an explanation of Gibbs' apparent fascination with bears. Here's hoping Lucinda Black Bear does not attempt to expound on it on a future recording, and instead that if the versatile Gibbs continues to forge his identity, that his next release is an entirely different animal.

-- By George Henn

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The Thrills return with Teenager

When it came time to record their third album, The Thrills felt a change of scenery was a good idea.

The Irish quintet recorded its first two albums in southern California, with song titles and sounds that were Golden State-connected, and singer Conor Deasy says he was "very aware of the notion of the band getting typecast."

"I knew that we would go on to make different types of records," he says. "When you're young and everything's happening so quickly, you don't really stop to think about things. And sure enough, [our California association] got whipped into a tabloid romp and became the story of the band. And it is a part of the band's story, but it's certainly not the whole story."

The scene for Teenager, released Oct. 23 in the United States via Capitol Music Group, was Canada -- specifically, Vancouver's Warehouse, a recording facility owned by Bryan Adams.

"I liked the fact that none of us knew anything about the studio," says Deasy, "and we had never really been to Vancouver -- we had played one gig there. We didn't know anyone there, and I felt like we needed a fresh start for this record."

Teenager reunited The Thrills with Tony Hoffer, who produced the band's first album, 2003's So Much for the City.

"When we turned up in Vancouver," Deasy says, "the studio was a very big room, and as a result, it was great if you were going for that big-room, '80s-snare, rock sound. But it meant that for Tony to get a little more intimacy and a little more subtlety to the sound, it meant that he had to build a small room within the big room.

"So I'm glad Tony was up for that. It was probably a bit of a challenge initially, but then once we got settled in, it was a great experience."

With a title such as Teenager, Deasy says it was important for the album itself not to feel "like an exercise in pure nostalgia."

"That was one of the reasons I wanted it to sound fresh and youthful-sounding. I didn't want old session-y musicians playing on the record, or strings," he says. "If it got too syrupy and was pulling at the heartstrings too hard, it might have been too sentimental."

-- By Chris M. Junior

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