Category: Field Recordings of the Future

How the World Sounds

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True Gentleman

Matthew's Spanish figurines
Matthew’s Spanish figurines

A good crowd is a mixed blessing. It becomes harder to hear each other and we don’t do crank so, out of necessity, we’ve developed a way to lower the din. We get really quiet in the middle of a song and the crowd follows along. A tuba player from the Eastman was there and he struck up a conversation about improvisation with the low end of our ensemble. Martin Edic was there celebrating his birthday. Tom Burke was there smiling. Jeff Spevak, the local music critic, was there so we should have been putting on our best musical face but we were getting kinda out, so much so that Jack, the bass clarinetist, suggested we do a waltz to start the second set.

Gap Mangione was there last week and I tried to start something a little more straight forward but we are not very good at that. We wound up doing some crazy stuff. Oscar was there tonight in new chair and he was a delight to play to. I thanked him for coming and like a true gentleman he thanked us for playing.

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We Are Being Played

Pete and Shelley in Stoney Creek
Pete and Shelley in Stoney Creek

Jaffe tunes the 9 foot grand piano at the Little Theater and we were chatting with him last night. He told us he’s been playing keyboards in a band with Frank who lives on the same street as Bob Martin and my parents. Jaffe told us this isn’t a coincidence. “We are being played.”

This afternoon I was on 590 coming back from my parents’ place and I was listening to a really cool accordion song on WRUR’s Italian radio show. I was wondering if Jaffe plays accordion and thinking he probably does. I look to the right and who’s in the car next to me? Jaffe with a big smile.

Our friends Pete and Shelley are probably maple syruping up in the Adrironacks. There was an article in the paper about the maple syrup process and it made me think of them. Next thing you know Pete’s “Arouse The Thunder” came up in iTunes.

Listen to Arouse The Thunder by Pete LaBonne

Lyrics and chord changes can be found in the sixth entry down on this page.

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No R&R 4 R&R

Hook Face at Monty's Crown
Hook Face at Monty’s Crown

Rock and roll is dying. The process is so slow it only looks like “never.” Decay has been part of the art form for ages. Monty’s Crown on Monroe Avenue is an ideal host for the long funeral, darts, long bar, a dozen beers on tap, a back room with a PA for the band and a pool table stage left. Green shamrocks with the word “Blue” on them were carefully arranged by a beer rep in the front window. All this with two bands on the bill for a three dollar cover. That price hasn’t budged in thirty years.

Dave Anderson was there, Chris from the Squires, Joe Tunis from Carbon, Chris Schepp and Ted Williams of course. Hook Face and Nod were brilliant. Long live rock ‘n roll.

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Trap Yourself

Lake Ontario in sun and snow
Lake Ontario in sun and snow

Phil Hoffman, as Alexa Scott-Flaherty a fellow LAByrinth Theater Company member referred to him, was not only an incredible actor he was a superb teacher. Alexa took notes when she worked with him at the company and she read from them last night as she introduced “Jack Goes Boating,” Seymour’s 2010 directorial debut at the Little Theater’s ongoing Philip Seymour Hoffman Film Tribute Series. As an artist, Phil’s advice was to trap yourself. Our tendency is to move toward a safe zone but we have to fight that and go toward risk, in effect trapping yourself. He reminded fellow actors that they were responsible to history, to a long line of those who came before you and those who will follow.

Hoffman was way out on the edge in “Jack Goes Boating” and he brought the small cast along with him. This was a moving tribute and inspiration.

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Slow Club

Big Sycamore on ski trail
Big Sycamore on ski trail

My favorite scenes in “Blue Velvet” are the ones that take place in the “Slow Club,” the nightclub where Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy performs multiple versions of the Bobby Vinton song. Angelo Badalamenti makes a cameo appearance as the pianist. Margaret Explosion is always getting compared to Lynch music. “The music is slow, sinuous and spooky. It is David Lynch soundtrack material. I could dig being in the house band at the Slow Club.

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Beauty Parlor

Beech trees in Winter in woods near Durand Eastman Park
Beech trees in Winter in woods near Durand Eastman Park

I usually chop my hair with scissors by pulling it out and cutting it all at about the same length and then I ask Peggi to help with the rear. It takes all of five minutes. But today I decided to tag along with Peggi when she went to Chi Wah’s on Monroe Avenue.

Our friend Jeff and Mary Kaye’s daughter, Maddie, works there now and we signed up for her. We chatted with Chi Wah and of course the only thing you can think of when you talk to her is the role she played in “China Doll” and Rochester bust. I haven’t really looked in the mirror yet but I think Maddie did a good job. I’ll know when I get out of the shower tomorrow morning.

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Fellini Is Not Dead

Is it Culver Ridge Parking Lot or Ridge Culver Parking Lot?
Is it Culver Ridge Parking Lot or Ridge Culver Parking Lot?

We were at the Dyden Theater for “Blue Velvet” when we saw the previews for “The Great Beauty.” We had not seen that since it came out and this ages like a fine wine. We’ve spent a lot of time in movie houses in the last few weeks. I wore my long underwear for last night’s showing of “The Great Beauty and almost nodded off. I was plenty engaged, the movie was so dreamy and Tony Sevillo does such a great job of getting into his character that I found myself as detached and then introspective as Jep Gambardella. This is a beautiful movie to look at and listen to. ESG’s brilliant “Moody” is even in there. Director Paolo Sorrentino reminds us Fellini is not dead.

We watched Hitchcock’s “Rope” over the weekend. By the time we get to the end our Hitchcock binge it will be time to go around again. “Liv and Ingmar: Painfully Connected” was perhaps a perfect winter movie. I finally like Leonardo DiCaprio in a movie. “The Wolf of Wall Street” was an all out romp. And I was happy that “Inside Llewyn Davis” was so dark. I was afraid to see the damn thing not because of the David Van Ronk revival but because of all the nostalgic, reverent singer/songwriter myth making going on.

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Detachment

People on frozen water nearshore of Lake Ontario in Rochester
People on frozen water nearshore of Lake Ontario in Rochester

I forgot how many great songs there are on “Transformer.” “Classic Albums; Lou Reed – Transformer,” 2001 was shown at the auditorium in the MAG tonight. The coolest thing about this documentary is how cool Lou Reed is. That and Lou Reed playing accoustic guitar versions of the songs on Transformer. Then after that there’s Herbie Flowers playing his stand up bass line from “Walk On The Wild Side” and his tuba part in “Goodnight Ladies.”

Lake Shore Record Exchange, who presented the movie, topped it off with a screening of the BBC’s “Lou Reed Remembered.” My favorite section in this movie was the interview with Lou where he talks about the beauty and power in delivering songs with detachment.

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Unique As Hell

Nod at Skylark in Rochester, New York December 2013
Nod at Skylark in Rochester, New York December 2013

It is still possible to round up enough energy to leave the house at ten thirty or quarter to eleven at night. Nod does not play that often these days and they were splitting a bill with The Fox Sisters at Skylark Lounge. It was a bit like the old days there. We met Rick Cona and his girlfriend at the door. Rick was the original guitarist in the Chesterfield Kings and we had just seen Greg Prevost at Spevak’s Xmas party.

This week’s New York Times Magazine had an article about Rochester’s Lydia Lunch in the Magazine section and they quoted Greg talking about Lydia as a customer of the House of Guitars where he worked before she left town. The two surviving founders of the Bug Jar were there and Mark Bradley was playing sax with the Fox Sisters. We played pinball between sets and had a good time. Nod sounded great. The trio is incredibly rhythmic and unique as hell and that’s why we love them. Fox Sisters looked and sounded like the Dap Kings without Sharon Jones.

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End Of The World As We Know It

"When We Were Young" "Contemplation" by Margaret Explosion. Recorded live at the Little Theatre on 11.20.13. Peggi Fournier - sax, Ken Frank - bass, Bob Martin - guitar, Jack Schaefer - bass clarinet, Paul Dodd - drums.
“When We Were Young” “Contemplation” by Margaret Explosion. Recorded live at the Little Theatre on 11.20.13. Peggi Fournier – sax, Ken Frank – bass, Bob Martin – guitar, Jack Schaefer – bass clarinet, Paul Dodd – drums.
Listen to When We Were Young by Margaret Explosion

Who knows what tomorrow may bring. As far as we know tonight is our last night at Café. Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year and no schedule has been announced for next year.

Bill Coppard owned the Little Theater when we first started playing in the café and for over ten years we have felt very lucky to do what do in this magical space. Minimal amplification for guitar and sax, acoustic bass, bass clarinet, drums and occasional grand piano. No pre-planned sets of music, no songs in fact until we play them for the first and last time. A low wire trapeze act bolstered by the belief that it is never as good as the first time.

“When We Were Young” was recorded two weeks ago at the Café. Peggi says the cover may be an early “selfie”. As usual the song is a free download. We have almost 200 of them on our site. We hope you can stop by the Café tonight. We’d love to see you.

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Off The Corner

Two kids in downtown Indianapolis early seventies
Two kids in downtown Indianapolis early seventies

I took this photo in Indianapolis sometime in the very early seventies, about the time Miles’ “On The Corner” was released. I was so into that lp. A couple of weeks ago we got into a groove that reminded me of that period. I saw a chance to use this photo on the cover of the single and I took it. Margaret Explosion has two more Wednesday night gigs and then the next Wednesday will be Christmas so we will be off for a while.

Listen to Off The Corner by Margaret Explosion
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Don’t Take Away My Cattle Prod

Ken Frank is at the top of his game. He plays in six bands and writes all of Hook Face’s material. They had their debut performance last night at Monty’s Krown, headlining a bill with another of Ken’s bands, The Crabapples. Hook Face was lean and mean. Driving bass and drums with enough air to hear Jack Schaefer’s sensational guitar parts and Matt Sabo’s vocals. We had heard their demos and some rough mixes of new songs and were thrill to hear them blow that stuff away with their live performance.

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Ch Ch Changes

Fire hydrant in front of Diane and Bill's house
Fire hydrant in front of Diane and Bill’s house

I’m glad I snapped this shot the other day because today because these tall brown weed-like flowers collapsed under the weight of the wet snow. They look like the invasive species variety that now grow in the wetlands around here but these were planted by a gardener.

Everything is changing. Ticks bearing Lyme Disease are now in our area and their season is longer on both ends. Not all these changes are unwelcome. We heard realtor, Mark Siwiec, on the radio today talking about how our recent warm winters have bumped the start of the high season up by almost a month. A hundred years ago upstate New Yorkers were not able to have fresh pineapple for breakfast. But I’m still pulling for a cold winter with piles of fresh snow.

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I Am Tam Tam

Ossia performing Ligeti's "Ten Pieces for Wind Quartet" ay Kilbourn Hall in Rochester, New York
Ossia performing Ligeti’s “Ten Pieces for Wind Quartet” ay Kilbourn Hall in Rochester, New York

We feel as though we have adventurous musical tastes but we are probably just as stuck in our ways as the next guy. I know we are lucky to have the Eastman School of Music in our community and their student run program of modern music, called Ossia, is sensational. Tonight’s performance included five wildly different compositions all expertly performed. And just look at how young these students are. They are seen here performing Gyorgy Ligeti’s “Ten Pieces for Wind Quartet,” my favorite piece of the evening. Peggi’s favorite piece was sung by an operatic, solo soprano.

The most radical piece was Stockhausen’s “Mikrophonie I,” in which two people played a tam tam. Two people played microphones, one on each side of the tam tam, and two people, off stage, ran the filters for the microphones.

They struck and scratched the tam tam with an assortment of things you might find in your kitchen or storage closet and the ever moving, hand-held mics were panned hard left and right. The filtered sound was amplified and sent to the giant speakers that are above the two double door exits. The wide stereo experience was like something off of Led Zeppelin II.

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Black Thursday

Water silhouettes on Hoffman Road in Rochester, New York
Water silhouettes on Hoffman Road in Rochester, New York

The night before Thanksgiving is usually a good night to play out. People are in town visiting relatives and air is festive but then some people leave town. Margaret Explosion guitar player, Bob Martin, is in Chicago visiting his son and bass clarinetist, Jack Schaefer, is picking his son up at the train station so we may be doing this one as a trio. Not the first time. Somebody say, “bowed bass solo.”

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Look Out Below

The cold snap changed the color of our giant pumpkin from rusty yellow to a deep orange. I figured we better get it out of our doorway before it thaws so we rolled it into our wheelbarrow and took it across the street to ask our neighbors if we could roll it down the hill behind their house so the deer could have it. Other years we’ve rolled our pumpkins down the hill behind our house but we have a road down there and if they manage to get through the trees they zoom across the road and wind up in the creek. This year’s pumpkin was big enough to take out a car so we rang Rick’s bell. The crazy thing is that when we let it fly it scared the hell out of the three deer that were down there and they hightailed it out of sight.

Rick and Monica asked us if we’d like to come over for dinner and we took them up on that. Eric and Amy were staying with them. Both Eric and Amy are art school veterans so we started the evening looking at my paintings and talking art. I’m thinking of buying one of Eric’s Kodak paintings.

Dinner conversation switched to music as we discussed matters such as whether The Stooges or The Ramones made a bigger impact on music. Eric has a piece in the new Mojo about his upcoming reunion of the Len Bright Combo but he is defiantly moving forward. The Mojo interview contains this killer quote. “It might even sound modern now but in the ‘80s it probably sounded horrible to people because in those days every snare drum hit was an event in itself.” And Amy is at the top of her game. She is a brilliant songwriter. I am a huge fan and am looking forward to her book.

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Dreamin’

Marquee at Skylark Lounge in Rochester, New York
Marquee at Skylark Lounge in Rochester, New York

Nod stole the night at the Lou Reed tribute with their cover of “Run, Run, Run.” The trio, with Hugh Edwards on bass replacing Tim Poland for the night, tore it up.

Margaret Explosion rehearsed, via email, the last minute addition of “The Day John Kennedy Died,” the ACC version not Lou’s. We banged out a three song set, “Dreamin’,” “JFK” and “What Goes On,” and then backed D&C music critic, Jeff Spevak, on his version of “The Gift.” Hoping to get some good press for that.

We saw today as our last chance to get the leaves out of our backyard before the snow flew. Our neighbor has a leaf mulcher and plenty of space to pile up a mound of mulch so we raked the piles onto a tarp and hauled the tarp up to the road so he could do his thing with them. The payback comes once the leaves have decomposed when we bring our wheelbarrow down to his place for a load of rich black top soil.

Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby are back in town but this gig is a private one, tonight at Artisan Works. It’s a wedding reception of sorts for someone we don’t know so we’ll miss it.

I’m looking forward to the dark winter months. Time to get get caught up with all my silly projects.

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Crazy About Elvis

Tom Petty is a rock ‘n roll romantic. Free Fallin’ is my favorite of his songs and I’m knocked out by this brilliant new version by Angel Corpus Christi. Angel’s big label record was produced by Craig Leon and featured Herb Albert and the Wrecking Crew’s Hal Blaine. This record sounds even better.

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Internal Clock

Margaret Explosion performing in RCTV Studios for series entitled "Pythod Remix"
Margaret Explosion performing in RCTV Studios for series entitled “Pythod Remix”

A few weeks back Margaret Explosion recorded a session at Rochester’s Community Access TV station for an upcoming series entitled “Pythod Remix.” The Pythod was Rochester’s premier jazz club in the late fifties and early sixties and the MC for this RCTV series is Jose DeCosta from “Exodus To Jazz.”

Pete LaBonne was in town for the gig and Jack Schaefer is back in the band on bass clarinet so we couldn’t all fit on the sound stage. Pete volunteered to set his piano up off stage. The director asked how long the songs were that we were going to perform and we told him we don’t do songs, we improvise. This caused some confusion so we asked him, “How long do you want us to play?” He said he was trying to put together fifteen minute segments so we offered to do two seven minute songs in that period and damn if we didn’t do that four times in a row.

They set mics up all over the stage and took a number of the instruments live and who knows what their mix will be like. We set our little Zoom up in front of the band and grabbed this live stereo mix. Here’s the song we opened with:

Listen to Margaret Explosion – “Passage” from upcoming RCTV Pythod Remix Series.

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Rocket Number Nine

"Art" car in my father's doctor's parking lot in Rochester, New York
“Art” car in my father’s doctor’s parking lot in Rochester, New York

In all of New York state there is only one pair of plates with “ART” on them and it is fitting that they would be on a Caddy. Art and money are entwined like never before. Warhol brilliantly blew the lid off this thing a long time ago. Which brings us to Lady Gaga’s new release, “Artpop,” with cover art by Jeff Koons.

There is a direct line from Warhol’s banana art on the Velvet Underground’s first lp to this. This a natural progression but did you ever imagine Lady Gaga covering Sun Ra (or at least getting close enough to the song to split writing credits with him)? Sun Ra will make more money with this song than he made his entire career.

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