Rock Torch

Speedy Ortiz Takeover: Darl Ferm recommends The Lassie Foundation

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Darl Ferm of Speedy Ortiz (l) and The Lassie Foundation (r)

Darl Ferm of Speedy Ortiz (l) and The Lassie Foundation (r)

Darl Ferm’s artist recommendation: “Between 2004 and 2008, I was in the formative years of high school at a time when illegal downloading had become incredibly easy (it kind of always has been). The singer from my old band, Day Sleeper, had the mental stamina to search for obscure bands that only grew in popularity through music pirating, so I got a lot of recommendations from him.

The Lassie Foundation was one of those bands (their fan base growing from 10 to probably 100 at most). It’s easy to call the band a combination of My Bloody Valentine and The Beach Boys, and that’s exactly what it is. I think it’s genius to take 2 very different walls of sound and combine them into a very unique shoegaze experience. Additionally, I’m a big fan of shoegaze, and The Lassie Foundation’s Pacifico record is one of the few albums I enjoy listening to the entire way through.

LF is a band that feels good to like. Their lyrics are goofy in an awful way, but it doesn’t really matter because their music feels very upbeat. It’s also fun to like a band that no one knows of, to the point where you’ll never meet anyone who has even heard the name before. But maybe that’s just me.

While a lot of great shoegaze bands, such as Swirlies, will take the abstract elements of the genre, LF saturates their music in simple and perfectly-played pop, leaving you wishing you thought of it first.”

Darl FermAbout our guest author, Darl Ferm: Darl is the bass player for Speedy Ortiz, the alternative band from North Hampton, MA that is winning big praise from local media as well as The AV Club and Pitchfork. Darl actually met the Speedy Ortiz band members when they opened for his previous band, Day Sleeper at Wesleyan, where he went to school as a film major. As far as influences go, he recently mentioned Helium, Polvo, Unwound and Nirvana. And, despite the recent critical praise for the band, Ferm still likes being close to the audience. How can you not love a guy who recently said, “…the higher up on stage you are, the less connection you’re probably going to have with the audience.” Be sure to pick up the band’s debut album, Major Arcana and check the check the Speedy Ortiz Facebook info page for the latest tour info.

Speedy Ortiz Takeover: Sadie Dupuis recommends Francine

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Sadie Dupois of Speedy Ortiz and the band Francine

Sadie Dupois of Speedy Ortiz (l) and the band Francine (r)

Sadie Dupuis’ artist recommendation: “Just after starting college, I was wooed via mixtape into my first real relationship, a long-distance joint that would result in lots more mixes, lots of shared favorite bands, and a lot of sadness when, after five years, that relationship came to an end. Like divvying up a record collection post-divorce, there was some confusion as to how to go on enjoying these “shared bands” after the split. Could I still listen to that music, even though it brought up difficult memories of someone I was moving on from? Could I claim ownership over songs shown to me by someone no longer in my life?

One of the songs on that first mix was Silver Plated 606 by Francine, an indie-rock-pop-whatever Boston band on Q Division records. I can’t remember how much of my interest in Francine was egged on by my ex, who was as intoxicated as I was by their witty, weird, unstoppably pop songwriting. But pretty soon we were trying to figure out how to rip off “The Scobe,” as we affectionately referred to frontman Clayton Scoble (ex-Poundcake, ex-Aimee Mann) as if he were our buddy. (If you’re reading this, Clayton, apologies for the secret nickname. It seemed fraternal to us.)

It was like there was some kind of secret formula Scoble employed, a formula that involved mixed meters, scalar melodies, vocals that jumped from a slack, flippant, near-spoken low register to gorgeous, airy, sustained falsetto harmonies. Those were Francine’s hallmarks. And yet each song was totally distinct, and despite consistent adherence to those techniques, their albums showed marked sonic evolutions from release-to-release. Debut Forty On A Fall Day is, excepting some nearly-medieval deviations, straight-ahead goofy rock, with the title track outlining a fantasied date with Kim Deal; middle child 28 Plastic Blue Versions Of Endings Without You is a word-rich (and wordily titled), pensive, and gorgeous break-up album; their most recent and effort, 2006’s Airshow, incorporates Notwist-esque electronics, attentive, daring production from drummer Steve Scully, and increasingly engaging yet complicated songwriting.

Across each release, though, Scoble’s labyrinthine lyrics reward close reading. As the lines are parsed out strangely over measures, the meanings become skewed, obscured. You’d never know that Airshow’s stunner Penn Station boasts first-verse lyrics “What do you get when you call out loud? You only get what you circuit bend out of skin, home-sick and kind of homely.” You have to listen to these songs a million and half times to get their total genius, to really examine the intricacy packed into these 3-minute pop songs. Having listened to these songs exactly a million and a half times, I feel like I’ve lived in them. I feel the ownership I dreaded abandoning post-break up. I’ve ripped off the Scobe so much that I probably oughta buy him a pizza or twelve. And hey, I guess my ex can have a couple slices too. Thanks for introducing me to a band I’ve found so totally inspirational.”

MP3: Fake Firelplace Things by Francine

MP3: Oxygenated by Francine

Not familiar with Francine? Sadie suggests you start here: “28 Plastic Blue Versions of Endings Without You was the first Francine album I dug, and it paved the way for me to get into the releases that followed and preceded it. It’s sentimental–it’s a break up album, of course it’s sentimental–but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it covers a lot of ground over the course of thirteen beautifully constructed songs.”

Sadie DupuisAbout our guest author, Sadie Dupuis: The list of the coolest women in alternative rock just got a little longer, friends. Yes, Sadie Dupuis, the lead singer and guitarist for the North Hampton, MA band Speedy Ortiz (the band name references a character from the Love and Rockets comic, in case you were wondering) can be added to your rad lady list of Kim Gordon, Liz Phair and Kim Deal. She’s got the voice that darts along with the band’s bouncing guitar melodies. She’s got the biting lyrics that are sharpened from her immersion in creative writing, which she teaches at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. And, she has a well schooled band that prefers to play basement shows to clubs (bassist Darl Ferm recently noted in an interview, “…the higher up on stage you are, the less connection you’re probably going to have with the audience…”). The band’s debut album, Major Arcana received an A- rating from the AV Club and was slapped with a ‘best new music’ label from Pitchfork. Speedy Ortiz’s fan base continues to grow and their live shows are getting downright raucous. Be sure to check the Speedy Ortiz Facebook info page for the latest tour info and get out to see this group that is taking the alternative world by storm.

Drew Schultz recommends The Funk Brothers

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Drew Schultz (l), Uriel Jones, Eddie Willis and Bob Babbitt of the Funk Brothers (r)

Drew Schultz’s artist recommendation: “If there’s one band that’s had the most influence on my life so far, it’s got to be The Funk Brothers. Although they’ve had some exposure because of the documentary film about them called Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, I believe that they’re still the largely-unsung heroes of R&B and Soul music. The Funk Brothers were the studio recording band that played the instruments on nearly every hit that Motown Records recorded during its Detroit era of 1959-1972. Regardless of the songwriters, singers, producers, or even sometimes record labels, The Funk Brothers are a common thread through countless hits by artists including the Four Tops, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Contours, Mary Wells, Junior Walker & The All Stars, The Isley Brothers, The Spinners, Jackie Wilson, The Dramatics, John Lee Hooker, and countless others. I could fill up this entire piece just by listing artists who they recorded for. The actual song titles could probably fill a library.

Although the name originally referred to a core group of the Motown session players, today The Funk Brothers name has evolved to include the jaw-dropping roster of musicians that made up the regular rhythm section in the Hitsville studios in Detroit. They really packed that studio too. Once you start listening closely to many of these iconic hits, you can hear that they recorded with two drummers, two hand percussionists, three guitarists, two keyboard players, and bass guitar, all BEFORE adding horns, strings, and singers. They made each instrument fit in like a puzzle piece. For example, check out the guitar work on some of these hits and you’ll see that while Eddie Willis might be chanking up high on his axe, Robert White is strumming a rhythm line, and Joe Messina is playing a single-note line lower on the instrument that weaves in and out of the other patterns. Each player had a role, and they rarely deviated from that role. Because of this, The Funk Brothers had this interlocking percussive sound that is way more nuanced than most folks realize.”

Not familiar with The Funk Brothers? Drew suggests you start here: “If I could recommend one specific album to find that will get you into The Funk Brothers, I’d say you’ve got to find the deluxe edition of the Standing In the Shadows of Motown soundtrack. Hear some of the live performances from The Funk Brothers’ triumphant reunion. Check out Bob Babbit’s slick eighth note triplet bass walkdown in (Love Is Like A) Heatwave. Hear drummers Uriel Jones and Richard “Pistol” Allen meld together seamlessly as they both play kit on I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Listen to the mind blowingly intricate bass line that James Jamerson played on the Four Tops hit song Bernadette. Hear the crowd go wild as the announcer goes down the list of members from the “greatest hit machine in music history;” bassists James Jamerson and Bob Babbit, drummers Benny Benjamin, Uriel Jones, and Richard “Pistol” Allen, percussionists Eddie “Bongo” Brown and Jack Ashford, guitarists Robert White, Joe Messina, and Eddie Willis, keyboardists Joe Hunter, Earl Van Dyke, and Johnny Griffith. All of this is only on the first disc!

The second disc of this deluxe CD set might be solely responsible for teaching me how to write and arrange soul music. The bonus content consists of remixes of the original instrumental tracks that The Funk Brothers recorded for Motown. During the songs, instruments will fade in and out of the mix so you can hear how this immense cast of players made their parts fit together in the overall picture. You can hear how the three guitars didn’t get in the way, how the two drummers made things lock in, and how each ostinato rhythm section pattern becomes a hook all by itself. I’ve been trying to emulate that feel and that spirit ever since I started writing. Whenever I’ve felt down or needed music to pick up my spirits, I reach for Motown music. Having dug into Standing In The Shadows, I now know that I’m really reaching for The Funk Brothers.”

Drew SchultzAbout our guest author, Drew Schultz: The nickname “Kid Motown” couldn’t be more appropriate for percussionist Drew Schultz. Drew began playing the drums at the age of 13 and specifically keyed into the Motown sound for inspiration. He studied music at NYU and began performing in his teens with his idols, The Four Tops, and later with The Temptations, The Dramatics, Aretha Franklin and Martha Reeves. Earlier this year, Schultz released an album of 16 originals called Back to Class which features performances from The Four Tops, Dennis Coffey, James Jamerson Jr. and Melvin Davis. Now, Schulz is back with a new single that features Eddie Willis of the original Funk Brothers (see the great video for Take It Slow featuring Eddie below). Beyond the album and single being chock full of soul greatness, there’s another reason to check out these tunes: 50% of the profits will go to benefit the music programs at the Detroit Public Schools. Please support this fantastic cause and buy the music that will reward you with smiles for days to come.

Be sure to check:
* The Back To School YouTube Channel
* Buy the Back to Class CD
* More coverage of the Back to School Project on the Blue Bird Reviews website (thanks so much for introducing us to Drew, Bluebird!)

Chris Porterfield of Field Report recommends The Weather Station

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Chris Porterfield of Field Report and Tamara Lindeman of The Weather Station

Chris Porterfield of Field Report and Tamara Lindeman of The Weather Station

Chris Porterfield’s artist recommendation: “There is a band out of Toronto called The Weather Station. It’s singer and songwriter Tamara Lindeman’s project. Lindeman is a brilliant songwriter, and her performance on this record has beauty and air and panache and grace and humanity and detachment and warmth, all at the same time. Her voice is aerial and effortless, but you get the sense that it got there from a lifetime of effort, both on her craft and living through the struggle of being alive.

Her clawhammer banjo playing or her open-tuned acoustic guitar are often the rhythmic foundation of a song, embellished by a
conscientious band of listeners playing pedal steel, fiddle, bass and drums. Other arrangements showcase her sensitive fluid playing, toying with tempo as a master interpreter of her own songbook, like Willie Nelson.”

Not familiar with The Weather Station? Chris suggests you start here: “The second Weather Station record, All Of It Was Mine, came out in 2011 and is absolutely stunning. I’ve been coming back to it since the day I first heard it. Listeners have compared her voice to a young Joni Mitchell, and I can hear it. But there was a naiveté to a lot of early Joni songs that is simply absent in The Weather Station. Lindeman’s narrators are extremely aware, and her ability to use words thoughtfully and beautifully and sparingly makes listening to All of It Was Mine a true revelation every single time.”

Chris PorterfieldAbout our guest author, Chris Porterfield: In 2003, Chris Porterfield was playing steel string guitar and collaborating a guy named Justin Vernon in a band called DeYarmond Edison in Eau Claire, WI. The story goes that he moved to Milwaukee to be with the love of his life (and eventual wife) while the rest of the band moved to Raleigh for a change of scenery. Chris simultaneously put music behind him and watched Vernon morph into the frontman of Bon Iver. You’d think the story would have a Pete Bestian ending, but you’d be wrong. Music kept nagging at Porterfield as he began to write and go to open mic nights. He put together a band (which he called Field Report), enlisted Beau Sorenson (Death Cab for Cutie) to engineer and used Vernon’s studio to record the self titled Field Report album that has won praise from Uncut, Paste and Q Magazine. Porterfield’s songs suck the listener in, submerging them down into dark details that are expertly counterbalanced by arrangements that flick at hope and spot-on vocals. Field Report’s story continues to curve to the positive as they recently secured an opening spot for the ever-great Emmylou Harris and WXPN in Pennsylvania calls their record “the best debut of the year.” Be sure to follow Field report, check their tour dates and more at the official Field Report website.

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