(Originally appeared in NUVO Newsweekly Year-end Wrap Up)
Here’s the question I get more than any other about bands and music: What do they sound like? And when I write about musicians and their music, I relay influences I hear without making it seem like a singer or a band is only that.
It’s also my job to figure out what might make them unique; why we should care about them. For 2011, what resonated was the wide swath of sound encompassed by roots music in Indianapolis, whether we call it Americana, alt-country, folk or simply American rock and roll.
I leaned on some of my favorite moments of the year. New music and concerts that resonated by pushing ahead while respecting what came before. That’s when roots-rock music is, at its best.
Best New Local Band: The Dead Hearts
Brandon Perry and his buddies put together a group of Indiana guys playing crunchy Midwest and Memphis rock and roll. They made the Q95 Next Big Thing contest, and have a look and sound that harkens back to power pop crossed with Fogerty. This is unapologetic, Petty rock.
Best Local Album: Tim Grimm – Wilderness Songs and Bad Man Ballads
Part compilation album, part new material, Grimm’s new album invites you in with his warm, conversational, roughly gorgeous voice. He keeps you listening because the songs richly describe the details of the characters who live there.
Lucky to See Them Here: Civil Wars at the Earth House
Huge. That is what they are. The success they have had this year, both critical and commercial, was on display on a sweaty July night when the duo poured beautiful harmonies into the old church. They played late in the year at a larger venue (the Egyptian Room), but this is the show that the fans will talk about in reverential terms in 10 years. It was a magical and memorable night of music for the soul.
Two Unexpectedly Great Live Shows: REO Speedwagon at Rib America and Huey Lewis at Clowes Hall
The Champaign, Ill., boys of REO turned Rib America into a sing-along that was propelled by a surprising classic rock energy from Kevin Cronin and his band. They pulled out some old stuff (“Son of a Poor Man”) that felt good, and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Hi Infidelity album with multiple cuts from that smash. Great sound, great energy and one of the nicest surprises from an old rock band this year. Lewis, on the other hand, has partially reinvented his band as a Stax/Memphis soul and rock group. Mixing his hits with the soulful sound of the South, Lewis thrilled a Clowes Hall crowd, looked good and proved how you can maintain your integrity as a performer 20 years after your most recent hit song.
Guitar Player Taking it National: Thom Daugherty
Fresh from the breakup of The Elms, Daugherty has done some production work and caught on as a sideman/guitarist with the uber-hot The Band Perry. As the DVD/album “The Last Band on Earth” shows, the guitarist and his crunchy chords were a large part of the legacy of The Elms. He has taken that start and vaulted himself to a place that takes him on a cross-country trek, meeting some of his heroes and allowing him to play for more people than The Elms ever did.
Last Time Around For Two Legends: George Jones at the Murat, and Glen Campbell at the Palladium
Campbell is wrapping up his career with a tour and battling Alzheimer’s disease, while George is simply an old guy who has lived nine lives. Both revisited their hits for audiences that sensed they were watching history.
Maybe Not The Last Time: Bob Seger at Conseco Fieldhouse
His show in May was a greatest hits extravaganza, but how could it not be, with his ubiquitous radio status? He forgot the words to “Turn the Page” and laughed it off. That’s because the other two and a half hours were filled with the rock and roll soundtrack of the lives of any rock fan between the ages of 35 and 60. Seger tours without a flashy stage set up – no big screens, no lasers, no fire bombs. He just brings the band and rock and rolls like it’s 1980. God bless Bob Seger. He’s back out on the road and putting a new album together.
album reviews/previews
Indiana Music: Mahern and friends create some new punk-pop noise
Not a supergroup as much as a teaming of Bloomington’s flagbearers of intelligent post-punk pop music, Paul Mahern, David England and Scott Kellogg, along with drummer Alex Jarvis, have come together to form *ask. The band has released a two-song single+ just ahead of a New Year’s Eve gig at Radio Radio with four other bands, including Toxic Reasons.
Like Kellogg’s most recent effort, Silver in Their Veins (also produced by Mahern), the music on the single-plus-b-side favors the same “The Edge-style guitar razors and echo”. Mahern’s clean, minimalistic production polishes the eclectic, guitar-based pop, while letting the oddness shine. “Painted Hole” is the A-side, and builds a base upon a repeated and echoing guitar riff, before the song jumps into a melencholy power chord hook, with some pop sweetness in the chorus. Think a U2 b-side from the Joshua Tree album, with some Achtung Baby! glam.
With this release, it feels like *ask is a band that, if they desire, could produce some studio gems.
Mahern, also revered as the former frontman for Indianapolis’ legendary punk band The Zero Boys, is the compass of the band – the line that connects the dots. He previously teamed up with England on the latter’s 2009 excellent pop/rock album Little Death. Mahern produced, engineered, mixed, and added harmony vocals and percussion to that album. The two also worked together on England’s first solo record Almost True.
The second cut here, “Best Friends,” turns to a chunky punk buzz, adding a Clash attitude to the song’s sound. The cut swirls guitars around the vocals, and digs deeper into the U2 resemblence, with a flash of the Unforgettable Fire. That influence is the piece of the puzzle that grabs the listener’s ear, allowing the uniqueness of the band to follow.
Hear the music.
Gentlemen Hall: Midwest electro-pop from some Boston boys
Upon bestowing the “Best New Band” award in 2010 to Gentleman Hall, the Boston Phoenix wrote that “These songs sizzle and pop with resuscitated beats, bass lines and laser-booty synths that argue the last 20 years should be stricken from the record.”
The band that came back to Indianapolis for the WZPL Jingle Jam with Matt Nathenson and Christina Perri on December 3 at the Egyptian Room, is touring behind their new record When We All Disappear, and effectively mixing retro grooves with pop radio friendly production. Sort of like OK Go, without all the stunt videos.
Meeting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, the gang of synth-pop rockers has crafted tunes that recall the ’80s – maybe a little Controversy-era Prince-and thump with an electronic backbeat that melds club-happy bottom end with a familiar grooves. Nuevo Duran Duran? Cars for the newbies? Some hidden Hall and Oates influence from their last big record (Big Bam Boom)? All of that.
I wanted to know more about the band, so I talked with singer/guitarist Gavin McDevitt, who had flute player Seth Hachen (from Indiana, by the way) at his side, helping with the answers.
ROB: There’s distinct ’80s flavor to what you do. Talk about where your sound comes from.
Gavin: We were never as big into the ’80s musically as we are into the ’80s as far as gear and instrumentation. A lot of our sound comes from a vintage analog synthesizer called the Juno 106 which was most prevalent in the 80s. But we try to keep as modern of an approach as possible!
ROB: Any influences from your city that you hear in your music. I hear the Cars…
G: We are a Boston band with deep roots in the Midwest. We believe all the great music being made in Boston creates strong vibrations and energy that go directly into our music. The current Boston music scene is amazing. We feel like this scene is something similar to the Seattle grunge scene in the ’90s. Bands are very supportive of each other, but are writing very unique music that is very now.
ROB: What has been the track of your career? Openers? Clubs? Writing more than playing? What has worked for you?
G: We definitely weigh all as equal. As many irons in the fire as possible, man! Although we do really believe a band will be remembered 100 years from now for one thing… The song. We write a lot. LOT.
ROB: You’ve played with some long-active bands and at some larger venues. Any moments that have seemed like a nice turning point for your progress?
G: It seems like in today’s day and age, it’s simply all about making real fans one at a time. The momentum has been building but there has been no “break,” if that makes sense. A lot of exposure may have given you a big record deal in the past, but today we just try to make fans and not be forgotten.
ROB: Ever been to Indianapolis?
G: Indianapolis is one of our fondest memories as a band. We opened for Muse at the Verizon Center. This was probably the most fans we’ve made at one show. Sold out of CDs and T’s. And Muse put on one of the best shows we’ve seen in a long time.
ROB: Anyone in the band have Midwest roots?
G: We wear our [Midwestern influence] with pride. Two of us are from Cleveland, one from Minneapolis, one (Seth) is a South Bender, not too far from you.
ROB: Anything I missed that you want to add? Shameless plugs or smart-ass remarks?
G: Big shout out to Boston’s beloved model @LoVeSeXnGIA. She is a taste maker in the city and we are lucky to be shooting our music video for the single “Gravity Will Break Our Bones” with her in a key role.
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REVIEW: The Elms "The Last Band on Earth" album/DVD
The Elms, their final production – a live DVD and companion soundtrack – proves that the Indiana rockers went out while they still cared.
What comes through the speakers in The Last Band on Earth is triumphant American rock-and-roll energy tinged with a layer of final show melancholy.
Recorded live at their July 30, 2010 finale at Radio Radio in Indianapolis, the 110-minute, 20-song concert film and 30-track downloadable soundtrack showcases the band’s earnest delivery and amped-up guitar rock punch.
Thom Daugherty’s guitar plays a starring role on this set, a majestic sound that’s dirty and elegantly unruly. The guitarist’s energy pushes singer Owen Thomas to a good place, a jubilant, emotional delivery anchored by Daugherty’s raucousness.
During the four hour final performance, The Elms revisited cuts from their entire catalog, pumping out music echoing Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen, with Daugherty showing some AC/DC and Aerosmith influence, too. This release melds those influences into a pretty damn good package.
The best songs, “Unless God Appears First” and “This is How the World Will End,” cast an anthemic spell, unhurried and heartfelt, blending gospel and American rock and roll. “The World” borders on epic with a call-and-response duel between Thomas and Daugherty near the end.
Thomas’ voice is far from a growl, his soaring vocals punctuated by healthy and genuine shouts of excitement and emotional yelps.
His brother, Chris, on drums, delivers Aronoff-like slams and crashes, and gives the band a thunderous rock presence.
The group never reaches the lyrical depth of Springsteen, but they draw on The Boss’ gospel and his ability to let the music tense and release. The Elms never completely lost the spiritual feel of their early days as a Christian band in Seymour, In., and songs like “Bring a Little Love to My Door” and ”Come on Down to the Water” embody those ideals.
Tunes like “She’s Cold” and “Strut” show off the band’s other side, more bluesy and groovy. Daugherty, who handled the final audio mix, leaves beautiful space for Nathan Bennett’s solid bass playing.
“Thunderhead” and “The Way I Will” highlight the Bryan Adams influence. Like the 80’s rocker, The Elms wield twin guitars, loud drums and lyrics simple and memorable enough to sing along to; this is a mighty good recipe for success in a sweaty club.
The music is warmly captured by engineer Mike Petrow, and the final night’s work is injected with a ’70s heartland rock sound. The band’s true success lies with their better-than-a-bar band Middle American feel.
Shot with handheld cameras, the DVD puts the viewer on stage. Edited by Owen Thomas’ multimedia company Absorb, the jittering views give the show a strange energy and a voyeuristic feel, bursting with intricate close shots.
The DVD and soundtrack captures The Elms as they reach for something meaningful, doing their thing one last time.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLOoGaG_8dA]
The Elms set to release DVD restrospective
Fans of The Elms, the now-defunct band nuevo-heartland rock band that rose from a good little group out of Seymour to a crunchy, passionate guitar rock and roll gang, will be pleased to know that a new DVD about to be released.
After seeing some new posts about final mixing and video editing for The Last Band On Earth, the DVD retrospective project they’re working on, I talked to singer Owen Thomas about the piece that should serve as both a memento for fans and and an opportunity to wrap their run as a band into a self-produced, worthwhile package.
The details include a generous amount of music and even some documentary stuff. They are getting ready to start making announcements about the project through Twitter and other social media outlets. When I caught up with Thomas, he was able to give some of the scoop early.
“Details will go live at TheElms.net about all this stuff on about November 1,’ Thomas said. “We’re finalizing things now, in the final mix & edit stages of the film. The DVD will be out on Black Friday (November 25). People can follow The Elms on Twitter for the latest.”
ROB: How many songs will the DVD contain?
Owen Thomas: The DVD will contain 20 songs from The Elms’ final performance. It’ll be about 120 minutes long, with a couple never-before-released tracks, and about 12 songs that have never been offered live.
RN: DVD and CD/audio or a DVD only?
OT: There will be a deluxe package which contains the DVD and 30 high-quality downloadable tracks from the final show, plus a commemorative movie poster.
RN: How has the project been to work on? Highlights? Lowlights?
OT: We’ve all been super busy traveling and doing work with other artists. So, some time opened up over the summer and we dove into working on the film. We’ve been working on this from the road as we travel, too. (Elms’ guitarist) Thom (Daugherty) is actually sending me mixes from Minneapolis right now. It’s been an extraordinary amount of work. I mean, it’s a feature-length film. It’s been as much, or more work, than any record I’ve ever made. But I’m extremely proud of it.
RN: When is it going to be available and where?
OT: The film will be exclusively available at TheElms.net, possibly iTunes soon. We’ve got people talking to Netflix about possibilities.
RN: Artwork? Being worked on?
OT: We’re doing it all ourselves. Artwork, editing, mixing, everything. My creative house, Absorb, is doing the heavy visual lifting. Thom is mixing the audio. It sounds really fantastic. The film is going to be really wild, really cool. We’re calling it a “documentary concert film”. It’s raw, really visceral.
Hear The Elms – Sneak Preview
http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F26257302&height=84&show_artwork=false&color=3b5998&width=398She’s Cold (Sneak Pique) by Thom Daugherty
Indiana Music: Weakenders release debut EP
Three Indiana musicians have teamed with a Nashville native to form The Weakenders, releasing an Americana rock album that sounds like they have been together for years.
Recorded over the course of two weekends in Nashville and Indianapolis (the three most rocking tunes were done at the Static Shack), these are their first songs released as a band, and serve as a greasy, Faces-like introduction to The Weakenders.
“We tracked six songs as a four-piece and loved it; everyone got their shit together and we committed full time to the band,” says guitarist/singer Eli Chastain.
Chastain, Joshua Sales and Joel Lauver all hail from Indiana. Blair White is Nashville born and raised. It took a move to Nashville to get them together
“Joel and Josh toured in a band in 2004 called The Honesty. I ended up in a band with Joel in 2007 (Trenches),” said Chastain. “Lauver moved to Nashville and hooked up with Blair for a new band (Spero) that I ended up joining as well. We did some one-off recordings and came up with the name The Weakenders.”
Chastain’s pedigree includes a father who has been a longtime guitar tech for former Mellencamp guitarist Larry Crane; White’s father is a Dove-winning songwriter with 13 number one songs.
“We embraced vintage approaches including analog tape and limited the use of digital nonsense and excessive punching, overdubbing and repairs,” Chastain says. “We wanted to see where we stood and how to continue to find the sound we hear in our head; this album served its purpose, and we’re thankful (listeners) have it.”
A full length record is expected in December 2011.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou2ZLLCfxmg]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1E5Rh82L_w&feature=related]