If you don't feel like reading the story, but are curious to hear the song, please scroll WAY down to the end of this entry, and there will be a link for you.

The Who & Why & What

Some very dear friends were going to move away.  This wasn't the kind of move where the prospect of never seeing them for the rest of my life was a possibility (although in the midst of a pandemic now, who knows), but this move was far enough away that visits would be few and far between.  So, as one does, I was considering a gift.  Here's the problem... gift giving is hard for me, more so in a situation where distance is involved.  Food/drink gifts, while delicious, don't last very long.  I don't have the wherewithal to come up with practical household gifts, and besides, they were already settled in a home, they were just going to a different home and ostensibly bringing their stuff with them.  Not being able to turn my brain off at night is a nearly quotidian issue for me, and many nights the question of what kind of gift to give was the source of my insomnia.  What could I - a generally useless and insignificant being - possibly give someone without it being hackneyed or trite?  Hey, I write songs.  How about a bespoke song?  That's unique and that's sincere, which means the proper sentiment gets across no matter how awful it ends up being.  Ok, problem solved, now to work...

 

The Where

I knew the destination of the move.  That being the case, I did more reading about the location than I'd like to admit, looking for extra details that I might be able to shoehorn into a song.  Relevant lyrics from the song:

Say hello to the Badlands
Prairie dogs and Minuteman
Needles in the Black Hills
Porcupines with their quills

Say hello to the Big Bird

I'm not going to spell the place out to you, I'm going to depend on your profound knowledge of geography and history - or conversely, your Google skills - to tell you The Where.

 

The How

Brainstorming sessions. Writing text.  Editing text into lyrics.  

Deciding on a mood.  Well, it's somewhat melancholy, but hey, they're not dying - at least not any faster than the rest of us are - and we very well might cross paths again.  Ok then, minor key for the verse, then have a pre-chorus that modulates from minor to major, then major key in the chorus in order to give that optimistic and hopeful feeling.  Settled.  Pick the chords.  No, not that one.  Yes, that one.  Ok.  Chords.... find a melody.  Agonize over the piano at finding a melody.  Have a look at those lyrics.  Oh, that's not good enough, and that won't work with the melody.  Edit the lyrics again.  Gently massage the lyrics and the melody until they are able to combine.

Back to the lyrics.  How do I say "I love you and I will miss you" without explicitly saying those words?  We're writing songs here, need to be artistic and just a tiny bit oblique.  Ok, well, the general purpose of the song is as a goodbye present, how about making that the theme?  Enter my interest in etymology.  (If you think that word should contain an "n", well, that really bugs me.)  The word "Goodbye" literally means "God be with you"... over the centuries English has shortened that four word farewell into one seven letter word.  Ok now I have my chorus hook.

Goodbye means God be with you
God be with you as you go
Goodbye is temporary
Just until the next hello

 

The When

There is more than one When.

The first... well, there was a moving day.  I wanted to have the song finished, recorded, and gifted by moving day.  I finished the song probably a week before the departure, as far as the final first draft.... then spent time messing around with the arrangement or the lyrics, not liking the edits, revising back to the original idea, pruning here and there again... yeah, it's a process.  By no means am I an engineer, but I recorded the song at home the way I do all of my demos... I even threw on some vocal harmonies.  I bounced it to mp3, and emailed it to my friends on the day they left.  Mission accomplished.

The other When.

I was putting songs together to take to Patrick Himes at Reel Love Recording Company in February 2019, in preparation for tracking on my second solo album.  "Goodbye", well, I didn't hate it.  It kept growing on me.  I thought it had potential given the right instrumentation and production.  I brought it with me, along with a bunch of other songs on pre-production day.  It survived the initial cut down... and as tracking started on a few songs and an album began to take shape, I ended up thinking that this one absolutely HAD to be on it.

There were obstacles.  I wrote this song on piano, but I do not have the piano chops to do it justice.  Patrick plays piano - because Patrick plays everything - but he had done that previously on "Convalesce" (from Defacing the Moon), was already playing acoustic guitar and pump organ on this one, and I wanted the chance to work with another talented musician who I admire.  I decided to ask Nathan Peters.  You might know him from such bands as Vinyl Dies,  Lioness, TV Queens, and the legendary Captain Of Industry. Nathan so kindly said yes, and between the chord chart and my very very low quality home recording, was able to figure out what the song needed from the piano part.

Ah, the bass part.  Well, I wrote the song on piano, and was unable to come up with an accompanying bass part that I thought was good enough.  I reached out to Eric Cassidy for ideas.  He had a great idea, and was kind enough to record a video of himself playing the idea slowly enough that I could learn it.  One problem, it involved a quick note change that required holding a chord shape for the change... this type of thing is baby easy for guitarists - and for bass players that are much more talented than me - but I don't often play chords, and when I do, I certainly don't slide around from chord to chord.  Great idea, how to execute cleanly?  It turns out that I couldn't execute it cleanly.  Every time I would play it, I'd either mess up the chord shape on the slide, or make too much fret noise, or not have all of the notes held well enough so that one of them wouldn't sound muddy.  Here's where the studio magic comes in... I played the root note of the chords, then we used overdubs for the harmony notes.  I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm just not good enough to do it another way, it is what it is.  We got the sound we needed to get.

The vocals.  Take after take after take.  When flat, try again.  When sharp, try again.  My verse harmonies worked out ok.  Patrick had a fantastic idea for an additional harmony in the verse that I hadn't considered... after he sang it for me a few times so I could get it, I went and recorded that as well.  What we have now are really nice harmonies in the verse with three parts, and all of the parts are me.

(I feel I should mention and thank community drummer Brian Hoeflich here, but make clear that there was no obstacle whatsoever as far as his part is concerned.  He did - as per usual - excellent work.)

 

The Summary

"Goodbye" is track 3 on Anxious Inventions & Fictions.  (If you have the Deluxe Version on CD, it is track 11.)  I am proud of it.  I said what I needed to say, which is the main point of writing songs.  The recording sounds clean, and makes me seem like a much more talented musician than I actually am.  Sure, I didn't actually HAVE to professionally record this song... but I thought the song was good enough to deserve it, and the folks I gifted it to deserve to hear it at its full potential instead of only the horrible version I did at home.

 

Click here to listen to "Goodbye" on the platform of your choice.

Those of you who live in the Dayton area and follow local music are probably already familiar with Doctor Art Jipson, but for readers who are not, I offer a brief introduction.  Doctor Jipson is a professor at the University of Dayton with expertise in sociology and criminal justice.  Yeah, heavy stuff.  When he is not shaping young minds in the classroom, he is shaping them via music, as he is DJ on a WUDR program called Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative.  I think it's fair to say that there isn't anyone who cheers louder for independent musicians from Dayton and around Ohio than Dr. J.   

Recently, Dr. J has been playing "I Am a Number" on his show.  Now, I didn't release or advertise that particular song as a "single".  All of Anxious Inventions & Fictions is FCC friendly, so all of it could conceivably receive radio play, and while I encourage the folks at college and indie radio who receive the album to play whatever they want, most often folks don't get past the "singles".  Dr. J plays the music he likes, the music that moves him, and I am thoroughly pleased that he likes "I Am a Number" enough to give it airplay.  That being the case, as a gift to him - and also to all of you out there - here's the story of that song.  I hope you enjoy the story, and I hope you like the song as much as Dr. J does.  (Thank you, Dr. J.)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

 

Ten dollar book filled with twenty cent words
Juxtaposed only to make it absurd
Carelessly tripping your way around diction
Turning your stories from fact into fiction

I had the above lyrics sitting around for several years.  Despite what they sound like given today's climate, they are not about any political figures.  Those lyrics were originally about a certain social media platform with the word "book" in its name, and about how people would share things that are verifiably false or absolute nonsense.  Note that again, I wrote these words long before it became common knowledge that social media is weaponized as a propaganda tool by all sorts of nefarious actors.  It took awhile before I was able to compose any music to fit the lyrics.  When I finally did, I had to simplify the lyrics a bit to make them fit the song, make them easier to sing (a nod to Greg Owens for the idea to turn "tripping" into "trip"), and create some extra alliteration ("stories" became "tale").

I composed the music on piano, like I often do.  The main riff consists of individual notes F, A, and C, followed by a G major chord and two F major chords.  Right from the beginning, I knew I wanted this to be a guitar rock song, and I knew I wanted it to sound like Knoxville's own Superdrag.  John Davis - formerly of Superdrag and currently the man behind The Lees Of Memory - is a strong influence on my songwriting.  You don't always hear it, but on Anxious Inventions & Fictions, that influence is clear on "I Am a Number" and "Promise".  In order to get to the sound I wanted, I recruited Tim Pritchard (who you might know from bands such as The Boxcar Suite and Shrug) to play guitar, since he loves the work of John Davis as much, if not more, than I do.  I told Tim that I wanted it to sound like a Superdrag song, and he knew what to do.  When there were questions about a tonal approach for some of the guitar parts, I asked him to imagine what Brandon Fisher would do, and away we went.

Also, community drummer Brian Hoeflich deserves a special shout-out here.  I asked him to do his best Don Coffey Jr. impression, and he did that.  However, I made an arrangement change at the last moment, in the studio... a couple of deviations from how I had done the demo.  I tried to explain it verbally, but the most effective way to show Brian what I was looking for was to sit at the piano and play/sing the entire song for him.  We went to the piano, he brought a piece of paper, and he charted the entire song as I played it and sang.

I had one music writer tell me that this song reminded him of Hüsker Dü.  Now, I have only listened to three or four Hüsker Dü songs, and although I know how respected Bob Mould is (I see you Joe Anderl), I have only listened to a couple of his solo albums.  I haven't listened to nearly enough of that band to be influenced by them directly... but I have 5 Superdrag albums, and have seen them 3 times... so, any Hüsker Dü influence one might hear in my music comes filtered through John Davis.

I had been playing this one out at Showcase Thursdays and other open mic events on piano before eventually getting in the studio with it.  Strangely enough, even though bass is my main instrument, I didn't write the bass line for the song until the day before tracking it.  Listen closely during the chorus, and you might notice that the bass notes follow the vocal melody, and not necessarily exactly what the guitars are playing. 

As they say, if you can't figure out what the product is on a given tool or website, then YOU are the product.  When it comes to social media, we are the product.  That's something worth keeping in mind.  Obviously, I use social media, I mean, you probably arrived at this blog post via a link from one of the sites where I maintain a presence. These tools have their uses, and I'm not trying to say that they are all evil all of the time.  What I am trying to say is best expressed in the song lyrics:

How great is your stake in me?
This is all marketing data for sale
How much will you lie to me?
This is all marketing, targeted offering
I am a number 

 

Anxious Inventions & Fictions is officially being released this Saturday, September 12th, so yes, I am shouting it from the rooftops everywhere because I would really love for you to at least listen to it, maybe even purchase it.  (This is where you can purchase it.) Have you noticed the beautiful cover art for the album?  If not, well, here it is again:

Megan Fiely is the artist responsible for this painting that is hanging on the wall of my home, and also gracing the cover of Anxious Inventions & Fictions, both in the digital realm and in hard copy.  How about getting to know this artist better?  Interview questions after the picture:

 

 

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set. 

I am an abstract artist who works with bold texture and color, simultaneously exploring the celestial and the microscopic. 

 

 

2.  When did you first start painting? 

Visual communication, in one form or another, has always been my thing. My parents are both artists so I'm lucky to have absorbed art like a native language. I've taken a lot of different creative paths like music, clay, and quilting (!), but the painter you'd currently recognize as Megan Fiely started happening about 7 years ago. I have older paintings, but I was just fumbling around and imitating other artists, which is very important. I now feel secure evolving my own distinct style. 

 

 

3.  You are best known as a visual artist, but you are also a musician, and maybe folks who are familiar with your paintings don't know that.  What instruments do you play, and when did you start making music? 

I play the piano and sing at home, and have a guitar for fun too. I started doing all that stuff as a kid: first piano lessons in elementary school and then of course a Fender Stratocaster at 12 or 13, followed by a sanded down but rather nice repainted bass with a fairy painted on it. I had the typical 90s power chord cover band who played for 3 of our friends in the garage. Then in my 20s I dated a musician and one night his bass player didn't show up (again). I got out of the bathtub to go fill in and accidentally became a bassist for several years. Eventually I folded in one of those newer Hammond keyboards that has a built in tube, put it through a Marshall and played bass lines with my left hand on a Korg. I also always contributed back up vocals, and have a good ear for harmonies. 

Honestly though, I'm better with a paintbrush. I like leaving the music to all my talented friends and painting album covers for them when I get a chance. And on that note, thanks for including me in the Anxious Inventions & Fictions project Mike! 

 

4.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money? 

Pretty sure it was Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins. Or maybe No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom. 

 

5.  Tell me about the last concert you saw. 

The last official concert while not bartending at Yellow Cab was all the way back in summer 2019 when The Breeders played at Levitt Pavillion. (Mike adds: I wrote about that show in a previous blog entry.)  That was a lot of fun because almost everyone I knew was in the audience. I remember rocking out in the audience with you, Mike! Kim and Kelly are cool but Josephine's my babe because tall, bassist, British. 

 

6.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences, and why?  This can include any kind of art... poets, painters, sculptors, songwriters, etc. 

Van Gogh is everyone's favorite, including mine. He was more than just a painter though: Van Gogh was a part of the earth, and maybe some kind of human conduit for nature's beauty. My art doesn't look like his, but I think all artists are attempting to tap that same vein. 

Also Chagall, Klimt, O'Keefe. Again, my work doesn't look like theirs but I appreciate the spirit of their work, and of course all the color. I like when a figurative piece tells a story. 

 

 

7.  I imagine that artists like yourself face a similar challenge to musicians in that (1) art is generally devalued by the public just like music is and (2) there may be people willing to buy your art, but it can be difficult to find them.  How do you deal with those two challenges?

STAY IN THE STUDIO. I had to stop looking for gratification though sales or popularity. I'm a very sensitive and anxious person with big opinions, so I tend to find myself in difficult situations when I'm being too public. I'm happier just living simply and focusing on the actual craft of painting. It seems like putting my energy into the art itself, rather than sales, results in just as many sales anyway. I feel valued and recognized by friends like you, Mike, and I'm seriously not bs-ing you that it's enough. Plus you had me paint your album cover so.... things do tend to work out. 

It's important to consider your audience as well. Do I really want to sell my art to rich people or corporations as part of some interior design project? Sure, but you best believe I'm gouging them! I'd seriously rather sell 10 small paintings to my friends at $60 a pop than make one big sale and never see the painting again. I am so fortunate to have a lot of creative and supportive friends and to live in a city that values the arts. I want to encourage regular people to collect and commission original art, rather than seeing it as out of reach because of the art snobs. Understanding this allows me to opt out of the things I don't want to do. 

 

8.  How do you know when a painting is done? 

Finishing is the easy part, since by that point I've worked out all the technical aspects of the composition, balance, and texture. Perfecting the color happens close to the end. It's the mystical, meditative part of the journey. Once the colors are singing and dancing around the canvas, I know I'm very close to finished and I do some final technical adjustments. I'll dry brush metallics in places that need just a little more dimension, for example. Then I'll set it somewhere in my house for a few days and just cohabitate with the painting, and adjust anything that strikes me as distracting or otherwise bothersome. Then I sign it on the side of the canvas and it's done.

 

 

***

Big thanks to Megan for the lovely painting on my wall, being willing to do this interview, and being a genuinely kind and lovely human.  Also, look at the colors jump off the screen in those samples of her work!  You can browse what she has available for sale at her online store.  You can also find her on Instagram.

If you are familiar with my musical tastes, you know that there is a very special place in my heart for Fountains Of Wayne.  I listen to them and I think "this is what pop music is supposed to sound like"... plenty of hooks, vocal harmonies, solid songwriting.  A bonus with them is many of their lyrics are clearly meant to be a little humorous.  Back in the day, I don't think I associated Columbus, Ohio's rock band Go Robot Go with Fountains Of Wayne, but I really should have.  I listen to a GRG song, and I think to myself "this is what pop music is supposed to sound like"... there are plenty of hooks, solid songwriting, and plenty of light lyrics.  Let's talk about this band for a moment.

Something unique about Go Robot Go is their use of the vocoder.  On many of their songs, the vocal harmonies are sung through the vocoder.  The opening song to their album Convertible, called "see you on the radio", is a great example... Neal Havener's lead vocals are clean, and the harmony vocals sound robotic.  Sometimes they would change it up and put the vocoder up front in the song.  Have a listen to "shy (ee ii)" from the same album, and notice that the distorted vocals are there right at the beginning.  Of course, the frequent use of a vocoder might seem like a gimmick if the band members weren't actually talented musicians and songwriters... but they are, so while the vocoder is heavily used, I never found it to be distracting.

Some two decades ago, GRG was gigging around the state fairly often, and they played a lot of shows in Dayton.  I can think of at least three different Dayton venues at the time where I certainly saw them play, and if I think hard enough, I might come up with some more.  

The last album of theirs that I am familiar with is Wait 3 Days... Then Attack!   The cover looks something like this.

 

 

You might be thinking that the video game looks like it belongs in an arcade, and you'd be right.... they have a song on the album appropriately entitled "At The Arcade".   (The high score spells YOU.)  As an aside, it looks like there is some Arabic text on the video game, and I never noticed that before.  I wonder if Neal and the boys would be willing to tell us what that means.

Sadly, I kind of lost touch with this band in the early 2000s.  They released an album in 2007 called LIVE at the Zig Zag.  I am pretty sure that's a self-referential allusion to "marmalade 99".  There is also an album from 2014 called Good Vibes in Fashion Swimwear, and that one has a song about a certain intelligent cartoon lady in an orange sweater called "Ode to Velma in C Major".

I miss this band.  I've taken the opportunity recently to dip back into their catalog, and I am falling in love with them all over again.

 

 

Grab some beer, grab some snacks, and discover Go Robot, Go... warning though, these songs will get stuck in your head.

An interview with a musician in back-to-back weeks!  What's with this craziness?  Glad you asked.  The song that TINO and I collaborated on is available tomorrow, Tuesday 14th July, on all streaming services. I figured this would be a good time for all of us to get to know him better.  First, and you might have already guessed this, but "TINO" is a nickname and stage name.  His "government name" is Valentino Halton.  (I need to remind myself of this, as I misprinted his last name as "Hamilton" in the liner notes for the compact disc version of Anxious Inventions & Fictions.  He's chill though, so he has forgiven me.)

TINO recently released an EP called Past Due.  It's solid, you should definitely check it out.  You'll probably enjoy the groove on the track "95 Tribe", which is about the baseball club in TINO's hometown of Cleveland.  (He's a Dayton fella now, but is originally from Cleveland.)  I happen to personally enjoy this track very much, partially because of the excellent groove and lyrics, but also because I remember the World Series that year quite fondly, it being my senior year in high school, and my favorite team being involved.  My favorite team is the National League club, by the way.  Just to remind everyone, the World Series lasted six games that year.  In Game Six, there was only one run scored.  This was it.   Do you remember how that game ended?  I do, but let's refresh everyone's memory.  This is the last out.  TINO managed not to mention Carlos Baerga in "95 Tribe", but it's ok.  My personal favorite from the EP is "Gov't", which also has a fantastic groove.  

Strangely enough, all of the previous interview subjects in this series are women, so I'm breaking new ground with this one.  Interview with this gifted gentleman after the photo.

 

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre.

I’m a high energy performer who is at home over uptempo production. My music ranges from deeply personal to ubiquitous in theme. There’s something for everyone, but not in a generic and vague way. 

 

2.  I remember meeting you because first, I saw you perform with Sidekick Complex, and second, I would see you at the indie rock shows, and that's my genre.  Then I checked out a couple of your solo sets.  At some point if/when we can all go to shows again, I imagine there are folks who go to the rock shows who also enjoy hip hop, but don't know much about that music community in our town.  Maybe it works the other way as well.  How do you think we can cross-promote so the music community has fewer silos?

I think it’s as easy as “Hey, I like your music. Want to play this show with me?” That’s how I got my first shows and I construct a lot of bills I put together in a similar fashion. I try to attract fans that enjoy a wide spectrum of music and not just one genre so variety is welcome. 

 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money?

Mobb Deep, Infamy. I bought it to score a movie I made in high school 

 

4.  What is your creative process like?

For me it always starts with a beat. I hear something, fall in love, and I start writing. It could be production someone sends me, a song I heard on the radio, or even a moment during another artists live performance. I don’t use everything I write. 50% of what I do will never see the light of day or I’m not good enough yet to flush the idea out. 

 

5.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences?

Michael Jackson for his showmanship, Prince for his musicianship, Lauryn Hill for her spirit, Amy Winehouse for her ability to channel her pain, Kanye/OutKast for re-popularizing music that wasn’t gangster rap, and Drake for his ability to sum up a lot of these qualities in one hip hop artist. 

 

6.  If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

I would hope a focus would be placed back on full bodies of work instead of collections of singles. I miss the cohesive journey music used to be about. 

 

7,  How do you intend to keep growing as an artist?

As long as I’m willing to admit there is still room for improvement in my art and I don’t get content with where I’m at I don’t believe I can stop growing as an artist. 

 

8,  I know you've done a ton of studio work over the last couple of years.  If you don't want to give too much away here, that's fine, but what can we expect from TINO in the near future?

The pandemic has afforded me the opportunity to tweak and refine my next work as well as slate some releases before it. I will say my next full length will be the best version of my work to date.

***

Personally, I strongly believe in the album as an art form, and am disappointed at the general listening habits of folks today.  I agree with TINO on this 100%.  Having TINO in the studio for "Anecdote" was a very educational experience for me, as he has a skill set that I do not have, and I was able to learn from his preparation and his approach.  The man is serious about his craft, and it shows in his results.  I linked to his website above, but you can also find TINO on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Please check out "Anecdote" tomorrow on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Deezer, or wherever you stream music, and also please check out TINO's work on these platforms.

 

This is what Merriam-Webster says about the word  anecdote:  "a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident"

Let me tell you a short narrative of a biographical incident that is not amusing in any way.

A few years ago my wife and I were coming home from a brief trip to New York.  We ended up flying into Detroit, then renting a car to drive home.  As we were headed South on I-75, we were stopped by the Michigan State Police.  I was not in violation of any traffic laws.  You should know where this is going.  This armed person yelled and screamed at us, succeeded in intimidating my wife by saying we would be charged with "a felony" (which was complete nonsense), and was generally abusive.  I ended up handcuffed, illegally searched, and screamed at even when I complied with instructions.  After sitting for awhile in his vehicle, and upon him discovering that I am not, in fact, a criminal, he tried to get me to say that I understood why he had to stop me and cuff me and search me.  I didn't want any such discussion on his recording, so I remained silent.  Once he ran out of reasons to detain us any longer, he let us go.  No apology.  I asked Misty to get the entire interaction on video from the moment the lights and sirens went on, but she didn't do so.  I thought that armed person was going to shoot me and then excuse it with lies... I was armed, I was on drugs, I tried to take his taser, he feared for his life, I threatened him... as they do, they kill and lie about why they kill.  I tried to explain to Misty afterward that if he shoots me, it's her word against his, and nobody will believe her, so she needs to have these interactions on video to have a basis for a lawsuit.  At any rate, I am convinced that if she wasn't also in the car, I wouldn't be here today.

The above interaction completely ruined my day.  It made me angry, but of course, when you're dealing with an armed racist, you can't afford to be angry.  All of the adrenaline pours into your blood because you are in a true "fight or flight" situation, but either one of those options results in your execution.  Later, you get the shakes. I'm a songwriter, and that's how I process emotions and such, so the skeleton of what would eventually become "Anecdote" started that very day, still on I-75, still driving toward home.  It took awhile for me to edit and distill all of the above paragraph into a package that would fit neatly into a song, but it didn't feel complete.

Then I heard an interview that TINO did with Gem City Podcast.  I think it was this episode. He told one of his personal experiences with "driving while black", and I thought to myself that his story and his skill set would be the perfect addition to this song.  I reached out.  He agreed to come rap on my song.  

What we have now is a cross-genre collaboration called "Anecdote".  We both tell short narratives of a specific biographical incident.

You'll be able to hear this song soon.

February 17th, 2019.  That was the first day of tracking for my second solo full-length album.  A quick aside... it's awfully strange to call it a "solo" album, as I certainly couldn't have gotten it done without a great deal of help.  Patrick Himes, the engineer/producer.  Brian Hoeflich, professional drummer extraordinaire.  The other guitarists, vocalists, pianists, violinists, etc who are on the album: Eli Alban, Dustin Booher, Blair Breitreiter, Thad Brittain, Chris Corn, Ken Hall, Kent Montgomery, David Payne, Nathan Peters, Tim Pritchard, TINO, Tod Weidner, Heather York.  That's an awful lot of help for a "solo" album.

(I digress again.  This doesn't count the folks who helped out on songs that didn't make the album, but that I still plan on releasing.  I'll be thanking them all by name in the future, you can take it to the proverbial bank.)

Where was I?  Oh yes.  February 17th,2019.  Notice how in that first paragraph, I wrote the words "gotten it done"?  Yes, February 5, 2020 was the last mixing session.  The album is tracked.  The album is mixed.  A release date is in the future.  It is without a doubt my best work to date.  Wanna know what it's called?

 

Anxious Inventions & Fictions

 

That's a lyric from one of the songs.  Would you like to hear it on vinyl?  I would surely LOVE to press it to vinyl.

It turns out that you, yes you, can help to get this album pressed to vinyl.  I am launching a Kickstarter campaign to offset the expense of pressing vinyl.  It essentially functions as a pre-order... if you are interested in hearing my new album on vinyl, by all means, select a campaign reward that includes your very own copy of Anxious Inventions & Fictions.  There are a few different rewards that include the physical record.  For one of the rewards, I'll list your name in the liner notes expressing my deep gratitude for all the world to see.  I have five disposable cameras (remember those?) full of exclusive behind-the-scenes photos of the recording process... I haven't even seen these photos... those are possible rewards as well.

What if you don't have a turntable, but still want to help?  Well, one of the rewards is for a digital download of the album.  What if you just want to wait until the album is on Spotify or Pandora or Apple Music or YouTube?  Well, if you would like to support the effort of getting the album pressed to vinyl for other folks out of the kindness of your heart, there is a donation level for that.  Every little bit helps, you know.

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing crowdfunding platform.  If we reach the funding goal, then I'll be able to get Anxious Inventions & Fictions pressed to vinyl.  If we do not reach the funding goal, nobody will be charged for any of the pre-orders, and the album will not be pressed to vinyl.  

If you didn't already click on the link above to go to the Kickstarter campaign, why not click it here to visit my pre-launch page?  The campaign goes live on Wednesday, March 25.  Please share with all of your music-loving friends.  Let's press some records!!!

 

So, if you post this kind of a list after everyone else has already posted theirs, folks might actually pay attention to it?  Yes?  No?  At any rate, here are my favorites, in narrative order (not so much in order of which I like more or less):

 

Shrug - Easy is the New Hard 

Shrug are stalwarts of the Dayton music scene, having been around for 25 years.  This is their first album to be released on vinyl, and as if that’s not enough, it’s a double.  Some of the songs on the track list that showed up in their sets 15 years ago (“New Amsterdam” and “Bender” being the oldest if memory serves) coexist beautifully with new music that didn’t get played live until the album release show (“Powder” and “Follow the Captain”).  The result is probably the best, most eclectic work of their tenure, and certainly my favorite since 2002’s self-titled release. 

• Favorite Songs: “Powder”, “New Amsterdam”, “Follow the Captain”, “Blue Blanket” 

 

 

Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won’t Hold 

About the same time that Shrug was getting going here in Dayton, this band started up in Olympia, Washington.  This is their 9th album, and it heads off in a different sonic direction from everything else in their catalog. This new direction cost them the powerful services of drummer Janet Weiss, as she departed the band just before they went on tour to support the album.  There is synth here, extra slick production, and pop sensibility, but it still sounds like a Sleater-Kinney album. That’s enough for me. 

• Favorite Songs: “Reach Out”, “Bad Dance” 

 

Big Wreck - ... but for the sun 

Here’s a third band that formed in 1994.  Ian Thornley’s voice is the closest I have ever heard to Chris Cornell’s, and it’s still as powerful now as it was when I first discovered this band.  If you enjoyed Soundgarden in the past, I think you would like Big Wreck as well. This new effort is a big, loud, swaggering rock and roll record. You want guitar solos?  There are plenty of them here. You want riffage? There is plenty of that here. You like shouting along whilst driving? These songs are perfect for that.   

• Favorite Songs: “In My Head”, “Give Us a Smile”,  “Alibi”  

 

Guided By Voices - Sweating the Plague 

How about a band that was already more than ten years old in 1994?  Indie rock royals Guided By Voices released three albums this year, because of course they did.  This is the last of the three. I have had a hard time keeping up on all of Bob Pollard’s music over the years, and would only consider myself somewhat well-versed on the albums that came out between 1994 and 2004.  With that caveat in mind, this album isn’t what I was expecting. I heard tempo changes, a brief Boston-esque lead guitar harmony, a song that starts a capella, all paired up with the usual amount of fantastic hooks. 

• Favorite Songs: “Street Party”,  “Your Cricket Is Rather Unique”, “Immortals” 

 

Elbow - Giants of All Sizes 

Apologies to Oasis, but Elbow are now my favo(u)rite Manchester band.  This is their 8th studio album. Lyrically, it’s darker than what we normally get from them, but personal tragedies and these modern times will have that effect.  Guy Garvey’s pristine voice, the band’s orchestral use of dynamics, and at least one song with massive audience sing-along potential on the hook… those things are still here.  Also, Pete Turner continues to bring interesting choices to the bottom end, along with solid grooves from which most of the other instruments hang. 

• Favorite Songs: “Empires”, “White Noise White Heat”, “Weightless” 

 

Idlewild - Interview Music 

Let’s stay on the island of Great Britain for a moment, but head up north to Scotland.  I have five of this band’s first six albums on CD (I don’t have the first one). There was a time when I would listen to something from Idlewild just about every day.  Somewhere around 2008, I completely lost track of them. It wasn’t them, it was me. I’ve missed a couple of their albums, and nearly missed this one, only having discovered that it came out in 2019 in December.  Other than the vocals (not the high ones), this doesn’t sound like the Idlewild I remember… there are plenty of atmospheric additions here, strings and reverb-drenched guitar and piano, and it’s all quite lovely. I need to spend more time with this album, but I know that I’ll like it more with each listen. 

• Favorite Songs: “Dream Variations”, “I Almost Didn’t Notice”, “Forever New” 

 

The Cranberries - In the End 

A short hop West across the Irish Sea brings us to the home of The Cranberries.  This mention is kind of like a career achievement mention, as the band decided not to continue after frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan died in January 2018.  This is their final album, released this year. The vocals come from demos instead of normal studio takes, but if I hadn’t read that online, I wouldn’t have known.  Some of the music would easily fit in among the songs on their first two albums. I feel like most folks probably don’t know this band beyond their hit singles, and that’s too bad, there is some songwriting brilliance in their career, and this is a satisfying final statement. 

• Favorite Songs:  “Lost”, “Wake Me When It’s Over”, “Illusion”, “In the End” 

 

Charly Bliss - Young Enough 

Back much farther West across the Atlantic, Brooklyn’s Charly Bliss dropped their second full-length album this year.  Full disclosure, I really wanted to like this album because I have met the members of this band, and they were pleasant and engaging young folks.  I like them as people.  (They also put on a very energetic live show.) My first couple of listens to this album, well, I wasn’t enthused… lots of synth, some drum machine sounds, the guitars and rock had taken a back seat to sugary pop.  Then I paid attention to the lyrics, listened closer to the songwriting, and focused on the harmonic choices. These songs are painfully confessional and personal, and I wonder how Eva manages to sing them on tour night after night without bursting into tears.  Further, this band’s gift for arrangement and hooks persists behind the pop sheen… and these songs sound excellent live, right alongside their older guitar-heavy work. Go get this album. 

• Favorite Songs: “Capacity”, “Camera”, “Young Enough”, “Chatroom” 

 

John Dubuc’s Guilty Pleasures - Where Have I Been All Your Life? 

Don’t let John Dubuc’s “aw shucks”, self-effacing demeanor fool you.  He is one of the best songwriters in Dayton. His lyrics oscillate between witty and silly, pointless and profound. He doesn’t feel the need to be constrained by the idea of genre, as there are sounds borrowed from reggae and country and fifties rock and power pop and folk.  Several songs from this album will absolutely get stuck in your head.  You have been warned.

• Favorite Songs: “It Ain’t That Far”, “Crazy Days”, “By the Ocean”, “Peace Love and Hamburger Helper” 

 

Me & Mountains - Dream Sequence Volume One 

This a very brief EP, so I feel like my comments here have to also be very brief.  I love everything this band does, their sound is right up my alley, and I want them to give me more music ASAP. 

• Favorite Song: “Demolish Me” 

 

Amber Hargett - Paper Trail 

Amber is lovely and genuine and sweet, comes armed with a powerful voice and a knack for songwriting, and once told a story that will ensure I never look at a submarine hatch the same way again.  Oh, and her album is great. 

• Favorite Song: "Church Mouse", but that isn't on this albums, so let's go with “Broke”, “Carolina Blue”, “Stay” 

 

In order to give you a peek behind the curtain at my songwriting process, I'd like to tell you about my second attempt at the 5 in 5 Song Challenge.  I have written about this challenge in a previous blog entry, so this time, I'll skip explaining the big idea and get straight to the songs.

Day 1, 14th October 2019.  Prompt was to use at least five of these ten words: creek, orange, cider, make, gather, cotton, oak, spinning, poured, without.  Amplifier bonus (which I don't recall being part of the challenge the last time I participated) was to use the chord progression Dbm, Fm, Eb7.

I'm proud of what I managed to write for this one.  I started with the chord progression, as I figured that would be the hardest part.  It was.  If you're not a musician, let me tell you that those three chords are kind of creepy and ominous sounding when used in sequence.  I structured my verses for the song around them, and managed to use all ten (!) of the words, which I believe is a first for me.  Here's the thing... using those specific words, but making it seem natural and not forced... that was tough.  All told, there is one part here that I will re-write.  I didn't like the melody I used in the bridge, so will go back to work on that.  Other than that, I think the rest of the song will stay as-is, and I'll be adding it to my live repertoire next month.  

 

Day 2, 15th October 2019.  Prompt was to use the following idea as a starting point:  It has to come to an end, before it can begin.  What is it?  (If that sounds to you like something Seneca might have said, well, you're not the only person who thought so.)  Amplifier bonus was to use a minor 4 chord.

For this one, I did not write fresh lyrics.  Rather, I used lyrics from my collaborator, Ruth.  She had lyrics that needed music, and when I saw the prompt, I remembered these specific ones, as I thought they fit.  Lyrics in hand, I wrote the music, which I found to be rather easy this time.  I mostly write in minor keys, and if you write in a minor key, your 4 chord is automatically minor.  Easy as pie.  From reading some of the comments in the group, I might be the only person who understood the amplifier this way, as a few folks asked for clarification, and the clarification was to take a major 4 chord and change it to minor... but that's not what the prompt said.  Maybe the default assumption is that people only write in major keys?  

 

Day 3, 16th October 2019.  Prompt was to use "Harvest Moon" as a song title.  Ick.  Amplifier bonus is to write in a key you're not comfortable in.  

Well, I'm not really comfortable in any key that requires me to use more than just the white keys on a piano.  I'm not a competent pianist by any means, so I feel all warm and fuzzy writing in A minor.  For this one, I wrote the song on bass instead of piano... and I wrote the verses in G minor, but the chorus in B flat major.  I leaned toward snarky and humorous for the lyrical content.  I think this song is the best one I wrote all week, and I plan to record it next year and get it ready to release in time for fall.  I'll be playing it in public starting next month.

 

Day 4, 17th October 2019.  Prompt was to use at least five of ten given words.  Now, I don't have the complete word list (oops), but here are the ones that I used: older, settle, calling, pocket, strong, resist.   That's six.   Amplifier bonus was to use this chord progression: F, G, Cmaj7, Am.

That chord progression basically told me to write the song in A minor, which as I mentioned above, is my warm & fuzzy key.  Ok.  I wasn't too thrilled with the list of words, but no matter, I got to work.  I used the fantastic closer from the album The Blinding White Of Nothing At All, "All You Really Want Is Love", as inspiration.  The main songwriter, John Davis, is a strong influence on my songwriting.  Now, the song in question (please listen to it) sounds like it was written in a major key, and I wasn't about to do that, but I did write the B part of the song to have a slight major key feel.  I wrote it in second person.  I also followed a similar structure. A B A B outro.  

I wanted to write a song that I love as much as I love most everything on that record, and I fell short of that goal.  However, I like what I came up with enough to add it to my live setlist starting next month.  It needs some light editing, but there is potential here.  I also feel that this is a good song for We Met In Paris, so I sent it over to Ruth.

 

Day 5, 18th October 2019.  Prompt was to use the following idea as a starting point:  she is strong as an old fallen tree, but hollow inside.  Amplifier bonus was to change key during the song.

This time, let's start with my overall goal.  I wanted to write a Guided By Voices style song.  I did that just a little bit on one of the songs from the last time I did this challenge, and after editing, it ended up being called "Huns of Doubt", and you will be able to get your hands on it soon.  This time though, I didn't want to use any non-sequitur chords or a crazy time signature.

Beyond GBV, I think of the Wright Brothers and aviation when I think of Dayton.  Transportation terms popped into my head.  I thought about calling it "Propeller", but that's the name of an early GBV album, so no, can't do that.  I thought about the airplane imagery in some of their songs and album artwork... then I decided to call the song "Submarine".  Boats are called "she" by sailors, right?  Submarines are strong, and hollow inside.  Ok, title achieved.  For the lyrics, I used terminology related to submarines as a metaphor for a break up.

Musically, well, doing a key change is not new to me.  For Prompt 2 during this challenge, I wrote the verses in minor and the chorus in major.  If you remember "Harvest Moon", I used relative minor/major keys.  For this one though, I did something I've never done before... I just moved the entire thing a whole step up.  I tried to be clever doing this... I have some harmony vocals in it, and one of the harmony vocal lines, I keep it droning on the same note, before AND after the key change.  I think there is some potential here, and I might go to the studio with it next year sometime.

 

***

Summary.  Five days, five songs.  Three songs added to my live rotation, just as soon as I learn them well enough to play them from memory.  All of the songs will need to undergo a little bit of editing, but I don't foresee a major re-write on any of them.  I felt more comfortable doing this challenge than the previous one.  It would seem that all of the songwriting work I have been doing is paying off... I'm getting better at my craft.  That said, there is always always always room for improvement, and I'll probably jump on future challenges like this in an effort to do just that.

If you would like to hear these songs, I encourage you to sign up for my mailing list on the homepage of this website.  At some point, I'll be sending them as gifts to the folks who are subscribed.

On the heels of the Breeders show came Dayton Music Fest.  This is an annual music event mostly featuring bands from the Dayton orbit, but also including some touring artists.  Nathan Peters put together a great lineup of talent representing different genres.  I saw lots of great music, including a group I wrote about last week, and I don't want this post to be several thousand words, so I won't tell you about everything I saw.  How about three things?  That's a nice, easily digestible number, yes?

Let's start with The Mulchmen.

This is a surf-rock band, and their pieces don't have lyrics.  (I find that I can't bring myself to call them "songs" if there isn't any singing.)  Many years ago, I heard their music on the radio on a local music show, but never got a chance to see them play.  Their drummer, a very beloved and respected musician in Dayton, passed away... this is over twenty years ago.  When I learned that Nick Kizirnis would have The Mulchmen make their glorious return on the Dayton Music Fest bill, well, I was all in.  Lots of other folks were all in as well, this was the biggest crowd I observed at Yellow Cab on the evening.

That's Jim MacPherson filling in on drums in the picture there.  If you can't see it from the bass drum, you might recognize him from another Dayton band.

Ok, moving on.  How about some fake news?

 

Specifically Seth Gilliam and the Fake News.  This was only my second time catching one of their sets, and I didn't even catch the whole set.  (This is a hazard of Dayton Music Fest... there is so much good music spread across multiple venues, so there is no way to see all of it.)  Their songs are well-executed and played with enthusiasm.  If you want a sample, they have a music video, but it's a little frightening.

On to my personal favorite part of the weekend... the return of Captain of Industry.

 

This is one of my favorite music groups of all time.  It's just a bonus that they're from here.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might remember me writing about them in the first Ohio Spotlight post.

For this show, they brought some additional firepower.  Joseph Remnant came all the way from the West Coast to play some rhythm guitar and sing some harmonies.  (Those of us who have followed this band for awhile remember when he served as the bass player for a bit.)  You can't see him, but Tim Krug is way in the back there on your left (stage right) beside the drummer, making additional keyboard noises.  We got a six-piece Captain Of Industry.  You can only see one of Kevin Oldfield's arms, but I assure you that both of them worked just fine, and he brought his typical Johnny Greenwood-esque fireworks.  You also can't see John Lakes holding it down in the back, but we could all hear him nail those interesting drum parts and sweet sweet harmony vocals. 

They played songs across their entire discography, and although their set was cut short because they took the stage late, everything they played was spot-on.  It's like they never left.  
 

Dayton Music Fest.  Two days of music for only 20 dollars.  Hard to find a better deal than that.

MOIRA is Aaron Hardy, Alicia Grodecki, and Patrick Hague, if you list them alphabetically by first name.  These are three musicians whose relative youth belies their experience.  Punk, metal, pop, extensive touring... these are the things you'll find as you look into their past.  All of that experience combines to produce art that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Inventive rhythms from Patrick behind the drum kit, including the occasional drum pad being triggered.  Thick synth and sturdy bass lines from Aaron, on the audience's right.  More synth, Rhodes, and vocals that oscillate between delicate and strong from Alicia, over there on the left.  Songs that are carefully constructed and given time and space to develop, to breathe, to surround you.  

MOIRA is one of my favorite artists around these parts right now, and the only thing I would ask of them is to get us more records.  Please.

Their first EP, Asleep/Repeat/Awake, came out in 2015.  They have a brand new release that just came out a couple of weeks ago.

You can catch them playing shows around Dayton, and also around the Midwest.  If you haven't gotten a chance to see them yet, and wonder what they are like live, well, I recommend their excellent performance at the Paste Magazine studios in New York.  Watch it here.

 

It occurs to me that this blog post would certainly fit in my Ohio Spotlight category, as well as under the Concert Review category.

Levitt Pavilion is a open air concert space in the heart of downtown Dayton.  Think of it like a very small amphitheater... there is a stage, a small area in the front with concrete, and a large grassy lawn that extends outward and upward from those first two areas. This space has 50 free concerts each year, in an effort to build community through art. Their schedule of artists is diverse, with all sorts of genres represented.  I am fairly certain that the most recent show this past Saturday was the highest attended they have had, as thousands of people packed the lawn and even overflow areas in the back.

The Breeders are the reason for the crowd. They were introduced to the crowd as "platinum recording artist, The Breeders".  This is a rock band with albums that have received high critical acclaim.  One of the albums contained a single whose video was in heavy rotation on MTV, back when MTV still played music videos.  The Breeders went on the road with Nirvana for multiple tours, and have played all over the world.  They are from Dayton, Ohio.  One could consider this a homecoming show.

This was my first experience seeing The Breeders live.  Back when you could catch them in the friendly confines of Canal Street Tavern, I wasn't into local music yet and was too young to be going to shows.

You can check the show setlist here, but I'll mention a few songs that were personal highlights for me.

The Breeders opened the show with "Saints", which is my favorite song from their second full-length album, The Last Splash.  The second song was "Wait in the Car" from the 2018 album All Nerve.  After briefly basking in the raucous applause, Kim Deal acknowledged that the band is from Dayton, and then mentioned that there are some other bands from this town... and then they fired off their GBV cover, "Shocker in Gloomtown".

Daylight turned into twilight, and twilight gave way to dark.  During this time, The Breeders played all of "the hits", and many other songs from across their catalog.  They gleefully engaged in banter with the audience, which contained many of their friends and family members.  Kelley said "I was born right over there", before looking around to get her bearings, and then pointing in the direction of Miami Valley Hospital.  Both the Deal sisters and Jimmy Mac name checked several Dayton suburbs and neighborhoods before closing the main set with a song that was specifically for Tipp City.

Personally for me, a bass player, the evening ended the only way it could... with Kim Deal playing bass on a song she wrote while with Pixies.  The set closer was "Gigantic".  When I was first learning to play my instrument, I spent a lot of time with Pixies albums, trying to learn Kim's beautifully simple bass lines.

 

After the final song, the band said their goodbyes, and again expressed their thanks at such a large turnout.  Kelley made her way to the front of the stage, shaking hands and giving high fives to the folks in the front ranks, many of whom seemed to be friends.  Jim encouraged the crowd to further support local music by heading a few blocks East to attend the first night of Dayton Music Fest (where he would be playing the following night during the triumphant return of The Mulchmen).  The band surely received "a big big love" from the community.  I was thinking that this was exactly what someone had in mind when making Levitt Pavilion a reality.

 

Loud as a jet engine being fired up, while also dropping incredibly catchy earworms.  That was Mondolux.

I saw them many times... at Canal Street Tavern, at El Diablo (anyone remember that spot), in a tiny room upstairs at Southgate House.  They were my first live experience with punk-adjacent music.  I say "punk-adjacent" because the songs were generally hooky rock and roll with all kinds of pop sensibilities... just played really really loud and usually rather fast.  Also, recently, I was watching a video of The Clash playing live, and recognized many of the musician stances and mannerisms as something I had seen at Mondolux shows... these guys must have loved The Clash.

Alas, this band is no more... and you can't find a great deal of their music online.  Here is one of my favorite of their songs, called "Memphis Lung".  What's not to like here?  This one has a nifty little swagger to it, a fantastic groove, and Eric Purtle's charisma comes across just fine in this recording... but that's nothing compared to what it was like to see them do this live.

Here's a video taken from one of their live shows.

 

 

This song is "TJ Swann", and is on their last album.  A pop song.  Catchy, with the volume cranked.  That was Mondolux.

Welcome to a very special edition of the Ohio Spotlight.  November 9th is Local Music Day in Dayton.  This idea comes from Daryl (Derl) Robbins, who you might know from such bands as the widely-praised Motel Beds,  and corporate lackeys Company Man. 

Why is Local Music Day special?  Here's Derl's explanation from the event's official website:

What it is 

Think of it like record store day but instead of you buying that one Eagles record again, you’ll be buying exclusive releases from local artists made especially for this event. You need this. 

There will also be bands. Stay tuned.

 

That sounds good to me.   I am pleased to be able to participate in this event, alongside several other local artists.

Would you like to know what releases will be exclusively available beginning on November 9th?  Well, click right here for the list.

if you live within an easy drive of Dayton, why not head down to Yellow Cab (on 4th Street downtown) for Local Music Day?  You'll be able to discover some great music, all made by hard-working local musicians.  As you can see on the page describing the releases, some are available on compact disc, some on cassette, and some on vinyl.  Sure, I would love it if you would pick up the split album that contains some of my songs,but even if that doesn't interest you, this will be a nice community event... and surely you will find something to enjoy.  Personally, I am looking forward to getting my hands on that Me & Mountains disc.  I already have the Human Cannonball album on compact disc, but hey, it is being issued on vinyl for the first time, so if you don't have it yet, or happen to collect vinyl, that's something you should definitely buy.

 

I am nearly 100% certain that I first heard this band in 1997, driving home to Xenia from my call center job in Kettering.  On Sunday nights, one of the local radio stations had a local music program.  I recently wrote about another local band I first heard on this program.  Today, I write about Shrug.  One of the songs in rotation just about every week on the program was "Diary".  I didn't know it at the time, but that's the lead track to Shrug's second album, Everything Blowing Up Roses.

I found out that Shrug was going to play at show at Canal Street Tavern.  I liked what I had heard from them on the radio, so I went to see them play.  This was my first experience with live local music.  I don't remember all that much from the show... I can't tell you who else was on the bill.  I don't remember how much it cost, though if I were to guess, I'd say five dollars.  I don't even remember which songs they played... maybe I heard "Diary" that night, maybe I didn't.  What I do remember was meeting the three members of the band... Tod Weidner, Dan Stahl, Adam Edwards.  They were nice to me.  I wandered into a music venue alone, without knowing anyone, feeling slightly out of place, and was well received.  Between that and enjoying the music, I decided to see Shrug again.  And again.  And again.  Eventually, as is the case in a tight-knit music community when you see the same face a few times, the guys in the band remembered my name.

Fast forward to now.  On 6th July, Shrug will release their sixth studio album, Easy is the New Hard. This is the first time they are releasing music on vinyl, and this one will be a double album in that medium.  If you want to pre-order it, you could do that here.

Like the sticker says, Shrug has been a band since 1994.  There aren't many rock bands in these parts who have been around that long.  They have had their lineup changes, their instrumentation changes (at one point they didn't harm any electric guitars on stage), and of course we are all much older... but they still play like they mean it, and they're still nice to everyone.

Personally speaking, this band has had two major influences on my life in general.  First, I have been introduced to a great deal of music through Shrug shows that I otherwise might not have listened to.  They used to do a fantastic cover of "Dancing Barefoot" (please bring that one back), and that's how I discovered Patti Smith.  They would cover a few Elvis Costello songs, and this moved me to check out a few of his albums.  Their blistering version of "The Seeker" made me pick up The Who's greatest hits album.  Second, I might not have ever gotten around to recording my own music were it not for Shrug.  I clearly remember Tod saying this brief phrase at some point about folks who are timid about sharing their music: "if it sounds good, it is good".  I threw away so many songs over the years, but sometimes I would write something, and think to myself "that sounds pretty good"...  eventually, I gathered the courage to share my art with others.

Of course, since I consider the gentlemen in Shrug to be friends, it's hard for me to be objective about their music.  That said, sometimes they make artistic decisions that I don't necessarily like.  A few that come to mind are the Wilco-ization of "Age Nowhere" (does anyone else remember the original version of that song?), the disappearance of any of their original songs written before 2000 from their live shows, and the fact that I don't own a recording of "Cling", "Media Blackout", "Frozen Gasoline", or "Cosmonaut".  It's ok.  I still love them just the way they are.

Do you like your music to feature intelligent, carefully chosen lyrics?  How about a serious approach to songcraft?  What is your feeling about a sing-along chorus that gets stuck in your head?  If you like these things, go find Shrug's music.  You won't be disappointed. 

The song is called "You".  That's the first  I heard of Real Lulu, late at night, driving home, listening to the radio.  Catchy, and those were some really high notes sung there at the end.  Eventually, I got the album on CD... this one:

 

 

We Love Nick, released in 1996, which was before I had started going to local shows.  When I did get around to attending local shows, I made sure to go see Real Lulu as often as I could.  In these days, Jim Macpherson was the drummer accompanying Kattie Dougherty and Sharon Gavlick.  (You might know him better from his other band.)  There weren't very many bands in the area fronted by a woman, let alone two... this made Real Lulu unique among their contemporaries... and really, it's too bad that's notable. The songs are hooky and punchy.  My favorite of their songs to hear at the shows was always "Bobcat", probably because of the bass part.  I also really love "Let Me", which ended up on a movie soundtrack.

Alas, Real Lulu are no more.  I am fairly certain they released another album, but I don't have a hard copy of it, and couldn't find it after a cursory search on Spotify.  Perhaps there may be a reunion some day.  In the mean time, do try to find this album and give it a listen... also, check out Kattie's current project, Somersault.

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the first Ohio Spotlight post, where I will briefly talk about Ohio musicians.  You might think this is an excuse to mention John Legend in the hopes that he would write with me someday… and while I would certainly be amenable to that idea (please), my motivation is somewhat more altruistic.  Simply, I want to mention artists that I currently enjoy or have enjoyed in the past, and would like all of you out there in the land of the Internet to discover them as well. 

We start with Captain Of Industry.  As I am not a reliable Dayton music historian, I can’t tell you what year they began, though if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say 2002.  They released three excellent albums, Captain of Industry (!), The Great Divide - my personal favorite of the three - and The Bronze. There is also an EP out there full of what seem very much like B-sides, which is odd and different, and then some of those songs ended up on The Bronze.  (One of those songs that didn’t end up anywhere else is “Plastique Bones”, which is way too catchy for its own good, and is one of my favorite songs in their catalog.) 

 

This group of talented musicians wore their influences on their sleeve.  Brainiac, clearly. Radiohead, most definitely. There are plenty of quirky, odd, experimental songs here… but I can’t listen to their hooks or harmonies without also thinking that these fellas all spent plenty of time listening to the Beatles and Beach Boys. 

There was some national touring done, and I will always be curious how they were received by audiences who were strangers to their sound.  I would like to think the quality of their songs and energy of their live show won people over. As a bass player, one thing I try to take with me from their albums and their shows is Ian Sperry’s patient approach… he never overplays.  Several of the moments in their songs that I find most interesting are when the bass is resting… when Ian stops playing. For a good example of this, check out “Quiet Zone”... apologies to the rest of the band, but the bass MAKES that song. 

Alas, Captain Of Industry are no more.  Life, uh, gets in the way. There are the very occasional one-off reunion shows, and there are the albums.  I let someone borrow my copy of The Great Divide and never got it back, but hey, I have the other two around here still, and can listen to those songs via streaming these days. 

Nathan Peters sings “no one really cares what town you come from”, and I humbly state my disagreement here.  If these guys weren’t from Dayton, I strongly doubt they would have developed a similar sound without the combination of gray Midwest winter, rust-belt city despair, and rich local music heritage.  Friends y’all, they’re from Dayton, Ohio. Find them online and give them a listen.