Rock Torch

Matt Lipkins of The Shadowboxers recommends Magnus Tingsek

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Matt Lipkins and Magnus Tingsek

Matt Lipkins (l) and Magnus Tingsek (r)

Matt Lipkins’s artist recommendation: “Back in 2009, my bandmates and I were writing some of our first songs together. We hadn’t formed any sort of identity yet; we knew we liked what each other brought to the table and that we had common tastes, but we didn’t know how to bring those tastes together into something that still fit on “the table.” Alas, we had three writers writing three very different types of songs. Dig? Scott brought in some very large scale, classical, emotional pop sensibilities in line with Elton or Billy Joel. I was trying to write a sequel to Maroon 5’s Songs About Jane and Adam was still finding his voice, discovering old folk and moving away from the Jason Mraz-y stuff he did in high school. One night I introduced D’angelo’s Voodoo to the other guys and our feelings about it were pretty mutual: it’s the baddest shit ever. It had huge pocket, it was raw, the vocal harmonies were like nothing we’d heard before, and it was sexy. Great, so we knew that we wanted to incorporate some of this into our new songs. But it still left us scratching our heads, thinking, “well, how do we incorporate all of the other stuff that we love into our music?”

Later that summer, my cousin sent me a few tracks from a Swedish artist by the name of Magnus Tingsek (or Tingsek for short) and I then realized I had to change my vision for what I thought The Shadowboxers music could sound like…cause this guy had nailed it already. I must have listened to those six songs (off of his 2006 album World Of Its Own) every day for two months and every listen was more exciting than the last. I don’t really know where to begin about his stuff, so I’ll just brain vomit and hope that it comes out somewhat legibly.

For me, when listening to music for the first time, I need to be excited by hearing something new. Something needs to stimulate my ear in a way that it hasn’t before. Sometimes it’s a melody or a new sound, sometimes it’s a voice (see: Michael Kiwanuka or The Tallest Man on Earth), sometimes it’s musicianship, and often it’s harmonies or chords that I wasn’t expecting to hear next to one another. When listening to Tingsek for the first time, all of these things were present simultaneously. Track 1 off the album, for example, is Good Way of Life. Right as i’m getting used to the bright guitar meeting the drum beat, a flute motif is introduced and now we’ve got two melodies playing between a rhythm pocket that’s somehow funky even though the emphasis is on the 1 and the and of 3. WHAT? Somehow, all of these traditional instruments are played/recorded in ways that sound so light and refreshing (due to the stellar musicianship, I’m convinced) that vintage sounds somehow shine in ways i’ve never heard before. It sounds like the album was recorded in your uncle’s basement…but he’s way hipper than you. And you can’t beat his harmonies; they’re on par with D’angelo! They’re loose, sometimes indistinguishable, but always wonderful. Sorry to sound like a music critic, but it seemed like the best way to describe WHY his sound is so affecting.

And this is how most songs of his play out; the guy somehow manages to combine very organic, smart, and warm instrumentation with these out-of-bounds vocals that hit so hard because they sound like they’re taken from an entirely separate genre of music. The melodies are unexpected and take you on a journey (which is really what music should do, right?). Does he make “soulful pop”? “Poppy soul”? I don’t know, I don’t care, it’s Tingsek.”

New to Magnus Tingsek? Matt suggests you start here: “Start with his 2009 album Restless Soul. Good vs. Bad is an amazing track.

Matt LipkinsAbout our guest author, Matt Lipkins: Matt Lipkins is a vocalist and keys player for The Shadowboxers, a young group from Atlanta that landed a rare opportunity in 2012: an invitation to be the opener AND backing band for The Indigo Girls. One listen to the group and you can see why Matt and company were a perfect fit for the task. The Shadowboxers pride themselves on old school recording techniques and beautiful three-part harmonies, making them the perfect act to warm up the Indigo crowd and bolster their own musical arrangements on stage. The collaboration went so well that the boys lent some of those fantastic vocals to the new Indigo Girls record, Beauty Queen Sister. But enough about The Indigos. The Shadowboxers have an album of their own called Red Room which was produced by veteran Brady Blade (Dave Matthews, Citizen Cope, Emmylou Harris, yeah, pretty awesome resume…). The band also played on a fantastic set on Daytrotter that brings to mind the best Hall and Oates stuff. Be sure to check The Shadowboxer’s tour page and site to find out when they may bring their greatness your way.

Chan Poling of The Suburbs recommends David Bowie (and a bunch of other artists)

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Chan Poling and David Bowie

Chan Poling (l) and David Bowie (r)

Chan Poling’s artist recommendation: “Hey folks, Chan Poling here. You may know me from my bands The Suburbs and/or The New Standards and as a composer of songs for the theater and what have you. I’m pleased and honored to be among the artists asked to post here on Rock Torch.

Now, if I’m not mistaken (and I often am) my purpose here is to talk about and recommend an artist or band that I admire and who has influenced me. A band so great I am compelled to share their merits and delights. A sharing of musical passions, a “passing of the torch” as it were. Hence the name of this site: Rock Torch!

We used to play this game more earnestly in high school, when all that mattered was “who you dug.” If your friends didn’t get absolutely high listening to John McLaughlin hit those high bendy notes during Birds of Fire, then they…just…didn’t…get…it. Gee whiz, I still love that record. But that’s not the record I’m going to pass on for my Dear Readers (see? I can cheat, neatly. I wonder how many more awesome records I “can’t” recommend before the end of this thing…).

This is too hard.

Fact is, I think a lot of us “rock” musicians have been influenced by so much: jazz artists, world musics of other cultures (the way Mahavishnu Orchestra channeled Indian music), theater composers (would Bowie be Bowie without Kurt Weill?) and a million other sources. Just think of Nirvana’s dark modal sound and The Doors and Eastern music and you get what I mean.

So, I stretch a little here and thread together an essay on influences at large. People, if I were to pass on a torch of musical influences that torch would be burning bright with the fuel I picked up from a life listening to everything from Miles Davis, to Mozart, Stockhausen, Aaron Copeland to The Beatles, Stones, Joni Mitchell, Bowie, Roxy Music, Iggy, Weirdos, Screamers, Television, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols, to The Strokes, Atmosphere and MGMT!! The list is too long.”

But wait…there is one single artist and album that he holds above all others…: “So, being an honest Midwesterner, I must return to my task. What ONE ARTIST/ALBUM would I recommend?

Listen to David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It has the theater, the jazz, the rock, the attitude, the voice, and f***ing Mick Ronson.”

Chan PolingAbout our guest author, Chan Poling: Chan is the leader of The Suburbs, a group that has to rank up there with The Replacements for the comeback act of the year award. Similar to The Replacements, The Suburbs had their start in Minneapolis, but their sound was closer to New Wave than the speedy thrash of the early Mats records. They released their first album in 1978 on Twin/Tone and later had a solid hit with Love Is the Law, earning them marquee opening slots for Iggy Pop and the B52′s. Several albums followed, but the band broke up in 1987, setting up Chan’s solo career in which he released two solo records and scored compositions for a slew of television, film and theater. Poling also formed the group The New Standards with John Munson of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare in 2005 and released an album of covers with the group. Chan was sure to play Suburbs tunes in The New Standards show, very much keeping alive the legacy of the band that DJ Jim McGuinn called the ‘Midwestern Psychedelic Furs.’ In 2013, The Suburbs reformed, had a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for recording and released the spectacular comeback album, Si Sauvage. Give a listen to the record below and you’ll certainly agree with Jon Hunt of letoile who calls it “…just straight-up entertaining and full-stop great.” The horn packed Turn the Radio On and You’ve Got to Love Her are two of our faves, as is Dumb Ass Kids, a tune that finds Chan and the group looking back on their history with biting humor and awe. As Poling told Vita.mn, “It’s about me talking to our younger selves. We had more than one conversation about how lucky we are to be alive still after the way we used to live.” The band is already prepping a followup record and is playing select tour dates for some very lucky audiences.

* Bonus fact: Chan also played keys on some of the tracks from The Replacements Let It Be album.

Kelsey Wilson of Wild Child recommends Holiday Mountain

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Kelsey Wilson of Wild Child and Holiday Mountain

Kelsey Wilson of Wild Child (r) and Holiday Mountain

Kelsey Wilson’s recommendation: “The only music I listen to most of the time is music that was made at least thirty years ago. Nothing moves me more than the high priestess of soul, Nina Simone, or some good old-fashioned Stevie or Aretha. I grew up dancing in my living room to Curtis Mayfield, The Meters, and Sly and the Family Stone, and even now, funk, reggae and soul are still what wakes me up in the morning (literally – Sly’s, If You Want Me To Stay is my alarm clock).

That being said, within the last couple of weeks, I was introduced to a band from here in Austin called Holiday Mountain. Their album, Become Who You Are is the best thing I’ve heard in AGES. It’s the perfect combination of funk, reggae, soul, and a little something you’ve never heard before, that makes it impossible for you, or at least for me, not to wiggle around like an idiot.

The vocals are so perfect, kind of goofy, and listening to them you can’t help but smile and remember that music should always be made from love. You realize that the lyrics don’t really matter if the melody, rhythm or something else about the song makes you happy and makes you feel something when you hear it. Their lyrics are incredibly unique and uplifting, almost chant-like at times. Every once in a while the vocalist will just make silly noises that are so perfect it gives you chills.

I think as a musician, the most infectious thing you can do on stage is just smile and actually enjoy what you’re doing. People can hear it in your voice. That’s something I’m constantly reminding myself to do when I’m playing, and I’ve almost never seen any band do this more naturally or effortlessly than Holiday Mountain. Seeing them play reminds me to write and play and sing with passion, have FUN doing it (even if it doesn’t look cool), and remember that if you love making it, someone will probably love hearing it for that reason alone.”

Kelsey WilsonAbout our guest author, Kelsey Wilson: Yes, we jumped on the Wild Child bandwagon when we heard that the mighty Ben Kweller was slated to produce their sophomore album, The Runaround, but honestly, we should have been on top of this one sooner. Kelsey and Alexander Beggins are the co-leads of the band and they simply killed it with their debut album, Pillow Talk and the press responded appropriately. “By far one of the best albums to be released this year,” exclaimed KUT, Austin’s premiere radio station, a sentiment that was repeated by IndieShuffle and The Austin Statesman. If that praise doesn’t sway you, know that they also just cleaned up at the 2013 Austin Music Awards where they took home the awards for Best Indie Band and Best Folk Band. Simple arrangements, flawless harmonies and songs of heartbreak filled the first effort, but imagine injecting a fuller sound and Ben Kweller into the mix? Damn…the possibilities are endless. Be sure to keep up with the latest band news and tour dates at the Wild Child official band site

Young Hines recommends Willie Nelson

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Young Hines and Willie Nelson

Young Hines’ recommendation: As music trivia has turned into an exponentially challenging game, I think it’s fair to recognize annually that there are new developing young minds amongst us and we should somehow refrain from the obligatory condescending knee jerk reaction of “oh my god I can’t believe you haven’t heard (insert artist or band)” when someone doesn’t remember a title or artist that you consider the bedrock of all that is music. With so many know it alls, one would begin to think it’s futile to even attempt sharing one’s experiences anymore let alone musical suggestions to generations plugged into the mainframe at the hip with the personality mean mode and median equivalent to Wikipedia for better or worse. That being said if you happen to be sitting alone as to not challenge publicly your own credentials, I would like to reintroduce you to Willie Nelson. If I could sit and play my Epiphone Casino with any human on the planet in a 12 bar blues jam, it would be Willie Nelson…in E.

I’m gonna tell you what I remember being told about the making of the Red Headed Stranger album. Not what I looked up and fact checked, (though I hope they’re similar), just the story that left an impression on me years ago no matter the degree of truthfulness. Burned into my memory is a story of a songwriter not from, but in Nashville with scattered songs amongst the stars like Patsy Cline singing his song Crazy. I heard he yearned to be the artist on the screen but the people that decided such things did not find him suitable. About the same time he’s realizing his musical fate in Nashville, his fucking house burned down. This event juxtaposed with doubt, he packed up his truck and moved to Texas. Once he got there and after some scratchin’, he was offered a record deal with some money up front to fund recording. It’s my understanding that instead of going into preproduction and tracking, he headed north to Colorado with his wife to go snow skiing with the money.

After the vacation he had to head back to Texas because the record was supposed to be done soon and he hadn’t even begun. I can see angel Willie and devil Willie on his shoulders struggling with the decision of spending the last few hundred (or thousand) bucks on another sack or getting back to a studio to get this record tracked on a budget….or both!!! Though I could relate to the former, I’m glad he chose the latter(s). Somewhere in the mountains at night, just before reaching Denver on the drive home he was talking to his wife about the impending deadline and how he found himself a little short on ideas and material. His wife said something to him that would steer the course of Willie’s album . She said “why don’t you write a record about that western gunslinging’ bedtime story you always tell the kids, you know the Red Headed Stranger?” With that sounding like a fabulous idea to Willie, they began banging out the lyrics together as the bright lights of Denver that sparkled like diamonds got closer. By the time they got back to Texas the next morning the songs were written and ready to go. Willie called on his sister and some others that would work on a budget and tracked the whole album in two days. The record company initially rejected it but somehow the record found life and it is now one of the best records I have ever heard. My point here is I think it’s good to remember that admirable people also benefit from bending or flat out breaking the rules. Yes it’s wise not to impede on others liberties to satisfy yourself, but there is also no need to cooperatively emasculate oneself. Willie’s Robin Hood story is one that doesn’t bore me.

New to Willie Nelson? Young suggests you start here: Beyond my ramblings, why should you listen to Red Headed Stranger? Let’s start with the sound. It’s the best Willie Nelson’s voice ever sounded on a medium. I’m sure he sounds this good all the time, it’s just that they captured it here. Beyond the vocals, everything else sounds warm too. The piano, the classical guitar played by Willie throughout, and don’t forget the bass harmonica! I’ve never seen any photos from this session and I don’t think I want to. Best left to my imagination. Now let’s talk about content delivered. It’s a story woven together mostly through the use of originals and a few well placed songs Willie didn’t write. My favorite line of the record comes in the song Hands on the Wheel, “I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars and I’ve nearly gone up in smoke…”. The record as a whole is a story of betrayal and redemption. Go buy the vinyl. I suggest going on Craigslist and find yourself and old 50’s turntable with tubes like a Califone or something. Once you get your hands on it take it somewhere and have them bring it up on a Variac and test the tubes all the while delaying your first real listen to Red Headed Stranger. Once everything is in order, turn out the lights and roast one while you get baptized in audio in the year of ’01 where the stories are over and a lesson’s begun.”

Young HinesAbout our guest author, Young Hines: It shouldn’t surprise that Young savors Willie Nelson’s rags to riches story because Young himself has been part of a bit of a fair tale himself. His backstory is one where he was in a Beatles cover band (listen a few seconds of the clip from Rainy Day below and you can hear John Lennon singing through Hines from his cloud in the sky) when Brendan Benson (member of The Raconteurs with Jack White and a super-solid solo artist in his own right) heard his house painter playing Hines’ demo. In a flash. Brendan signed Young to his new record company, Readymade Records and the rest is history. Brendan released his debut with the label, Give Me My Change, a ’60s-pop-meets-’90s-Teenage Fanclub-era collection that will feel right at home in any mix targeted at those who relish great harmonies and catchy choruses. Hines is now on tour, so be sure to check his Facebook Page for tour dates and more info.

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