This column is a technology-to-the rescue piece. It is
enormously expensive to keep a band on the road these days. That’s partly due
to the high costs of food, lodging, and transportation, but another culprit is
bad technology: downloads and file sharing. Independently made CDs can
alleviate the first problem; artists pocket 100% of the revenue rather than the
10 percent they get from sites such as Napster or Apple Music. But there’s
little they can do about informal file sharing. An increasing number of
musicians have come to view their music as de facto giveaways. For many,
concerts, TV and film scores, and merchandise (t-shirts, posters, etc.) are
more of a revenue stream than recording sales.
Good technology can help keep road costs down. Looping,
sampling, delays, drum machines, and the use of specialty pedals allow the
ambidextrous and extraordinarily nimble to become virtual (in numerous ways!)
bands. (We used to call them “one-man bands,” but Ingrid Michaelson changed that.)
Joseph Arthur has been around long enough to have
numerous TV and film credits. Although he’s best known as a solo rock and
roller, he has also appeared in Fistful of Mercy (with Ben Harper and George
Harrison’s son, Dhani) and with REM’s Peter Buck. Lately he has used high tech
to solo his particular brand of neo-psychedelia. Check out his Paste Studio
one-man band performance. His best recent song–one also recorded with Peter
Buck–is “Pale Fire.” It’s a real attention-grabber that stokes its namesake
flames. You’ll see him really working the pedals on this one. “Seek and Find”
uses looped sounds and vocal delays to create a more meditative feel; “Make ItTrue” is a sweet song with bluesy electric guitar–You’re one in a
million/You save me/I’ll save you– in which the percussion is a combination
of drum tracks and thumps on his guitar. If you’d prefer vocals with more grit,
listen to “Mayor of the Lower East Side.” 
That 1 Guy is as billed. He is Mike Silverman, who is
based in Las Vegas but has been a perennial favorite at the Edinburgh Fringe in
Scotland. He trained as a double bass player and for a time immersed himself in
progressive jazz ensembles before hitting the trail with his “Magic Pipe.” It’s
over 7-feet tall and looks like vacuum cleaner handles joined by maniacal
plumbing. It has strings, is filled with electronics, and can be plucked,
bowed, or banged. Silverman plays it on his 4th album, Poseidon’s
Deep Water Adventure Friends. Odd title? Not for a guy who counts Frank
Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and Rush among his influences. Silverman also plays
musical saw and a “Magic Boot,” which is wired to evoke percussive sounds, and he
uses scratches and all manner of electronica. His music is a contortionist’s blend
of jazz, funk, experimental rock, and lord knows what else. Check out his
performance at Paste Studio in Atlanta. The song titles don’t matter; this is
music as an immersive experience. And, no, I’ve no idea how he keeps all this
stuff in his head. You can also see him do a song called “Whale Race” on stage in
case you wonder if he can do this music outside of a studio.
All of this leads me to a local guy, Matt Lorenz whose
stage name is The Suitcase Junket. I’ve been watching Matt for a few
years now. He is truly an heir to the old one-man band performers that were
once a staple of the vaudeville stage. He has a beat-up guitar that he claims
he actually found in a trash hopper and has fashioned other found objects into
accompanying instruments: an old cheese box filled with shaken tableware,
circular saw blades for cymbals, an actual suitcase serving as a bass drum, and
pretty much anything that could make a sound. His voice has been described as
Tom Waits mixed with… well, you name it. Matt’s show used to be mostly a weird
novelty act, but the man has music in his soul and each album has become
progressively more sophisticated without sacrificing any of his quirkiness. (He’s
been known to slide a tutu over his ripped jeans!) Mean Dog, Tramboline
is his latest and it embodies his artistic evolution. He works out with an
electric guitar on “Heart of a Dog,” with a bass groove evocative of Eric
Clapton’s classic cover of “Spoonful.” He bangs it with a drum stick, wails on
vox, and his whistling evokes Tuvan throat singing. He’s more subdued on
“Dandelion Crown,” a guitar and foot-powered folk-influenced selection, and
hazards something approaching slick pop on “High Beams.” But it doesn’t matter
into which genre Lorenz wades, his energy and musicianship shine. Plus, the
dude has one of the greatest handlebar mustaches in the biz.
Rob Weir
No comments:
Post a Comment