The show in Lexington wasn't quite what we thought it would be, but it was still really cool. We found out last minute that The Stick Figures weren't playing, but another Cinci band called The Atriums were. While we were loading in I saw a dude named Steve loading his gear in and he used to be roommates with Derek Keijner and Mark Lukey. It turns out that he is in this new band The Atriums and so is an old friend of mine named Billy who I hadn't seen in a long time. I knew both those dudes from completely different circles so its always fun to have your worlds collide like that.
Anyway, the show was at Molly Malone's and it was in the second floor of this bar which was cool. There ended up being a ton of people there towards the end and we played a really solid set that everyone seemed to really like. Derek and Meesh ended up coming as they just happened to be on their way to Cinci when I texted him to say that I was playing a show with Steve. The Atriums had a really great set and it is always nice to see old friends doing well. I have a feeling that Chemic and The Atriums will be doing more stuff together in the future.
On the flip side, I felt absolutely aweful all day long. I was trying to ignore it because I thought I just might have been feeling a little hung over from the night before, but by show time last night I was coughing up my lungs and had a fever and felt absolutely terrible. I was hoping that I wasn't getting pneumonia or anything but by the time we left the show, I was pretty sure that I was full-fledged sick. We decided to drive to Louisville instead of hanging around in Cincinnati and while we were on I-71 I realized that I had left my house key on the keychain that I left in Bloomington in order that Bryant can drive my car back to Louisville to meet up with the boys on tour. Of course, this was about 2AM when I realized this so I had to try to get a hold of Shane or Jon to let me in the house, but I was pretty sure that neither of them were actually staying at the house...plus my phone was about to die. So, with the last gasping breath of my phone battery, I got Jon's number and called him a couple times from Will's phone. He finally called me back and we drove over to his fiance Jordan's apartment to get the house key and get some sleep at the house. We finally settled in around 3 and I chugged cold medicine in order to ward off the evil spirits.
This morning I headed out a little early to the LEO (Louisville Eccentric Observer) which is located downtown, and I met up with Mat Herron to do a podcast about Bro. Stephen and the show tonight. It was a good time and Mat was super gracious and even bought me a nice coffee! Mat is the music editor at the LEO and runs his own blog there called Bluegrass Catastrophe. The podcast should be up today and when it goes live I will link it right here.
Tonight is the awesome awesome show with Brooks Ritter at Sunergos Coffee and it starts at 6ish. Bro. Stephen is first, then h&w, then Brooks. I'm really excited! I'm hoping that we'll get to play disc golf again today or do some fun stuff. It's nice to know that we are sleeping in the same place for 2 nights in a row. Of course, I am home for good after tonight and I will start looking into booking a few tours this summer for Chemic and Bro. Stephen! Look out!! I will leave you now with more squirrel pictures...
Our drive to Muncie got very interesting/weird/sad the closer we got to town. We saw a bunch of smoke from a distance on Highway 35 and we pulled up to find a farmhouse burning down. That was really sad and surreal because there were so many fire trucks just trying to put it out, but they really couldn't do anything. Parts of the roof just kept caving in and shooting out giant fireballs. I think that was in Economy, IN.
We also passed 6 cop cars doing a K-9 raid on an abandoned building that had the word "GIRLS" in tiles on the green roof. It obviously used to be a strip club or something, but the scene hinted that the sordid leanings of the building didn't leave with the business. We were on the east side of the river in Muncie and it looks like the economy has not been friendly to this area. It's tough to see such devastating effects of factories closing down. It looked like 1970s Flint, MI.
Anyway, Ball State is on Spring Break right now so Muncie is a ghost town. We weren't quite sure what we were walking into, but it ended up being one of the coolest shows. We first pulled up to Village Green Records and Dan led us over to Doc's to load-in and get everything set up. We then went back to Muncie and had a little acoustic show with Sgt. Schepper, Zach Melton, Bro. Stephen, and husband&wife. That was a lot of fun and there were a good number of folks just blissing out to friends hanging out and playing music on the couch. Village Green is a really cool store and they have awesome shows there all the time, which is suprising because its so small.
We then headed to Doc's and found out that we were going to do an hour long interview and then play an hour long set which is much longer than our normal set. Plus, the interview and performance were going to be broadcast on the major classic rock station in Muncie called 95.3 The Max! We weren't sure what they were expecting from us, but the interview was really fun and we played really well. Kyle from Rodeo filled in on 4 or 5 songs that I didn't know in order to fill out the hour. I'm glad he was there. The folks at Doc's were SO nice. We have run into the greatest folks ever on this tour. It's been really refreshing. They gave us unlimited free drinks and pizza and just treated us like we were old friends. There were some friends from around the way who showed up and Jesse Beals (the old drummer for Rodeo) showed up randomly. It was good to see him and talk about Louisville with his girlfriend. We then went back to the McCombs (old friends of the boys) and they have the most incredible house ever here in Muncie. It's like a summer cabin that is their home and they got it for ridiculously cheap. They've been super nice and they made us waffles this morning and we're getting ready to go to lunch before we head down to Cincinnati to play at Molly Malone's w/ The Stick Figures and The Apprentice. Should be a good show. We've had nothing but great shows. This can't last forever. Or maybe it can!
P.S. The McCombs have a pet squirrel named Wilson that we got to play with. It was awesome! He's a cute little fella that they nursed as a baby and are getting ready to release it in the wild in a few weeks. Will and I played with him today. Here's a picture!
So, to pick up where I left off, I did not bring my A-game to disc golf in Indi. It was a sweet course that was very similar to the course at Iroquois park in Louisville. I didn't do the greatest, but I did finish strong. Andy whipped all of us anyway. After that we met up with Mike and Ryan Dill and some other folks outside of a Starbucks and chatted while Will passed around his little pot of Yerba Matte. I'm told it's pronounced Sherba Matte. I think that's deceiving.
We headed up to Ft. Wayne after that, and headed to the Tiger Room which was a cool room in the Calhoun Street Tavern. I have to say that the staff at this establishment were some of the nicest people of all time! They gave each band member 4 drink tickets and the out of town bands got free food too! I got a massive roast beef sandwich on a fresh soft, handmade bun. It was delicious. Bro. Stephen opened up the show and had a nice reception. I think almost everyone was singing on "The Front Room" at the end of the set which is always kind of terrifying, but exciting. After BS, husband&wife took the stage and totally tore it down. I can't help but sing along as loud as possible to these songs because this new record is really incredible. It's been so much fun playing with one of my favorite bands ever. After us was Everybody from Bloomington again and they rocked out again, and then Metavari took the stage. Ty from Metavari was the sweetest dude ever. During their set, Kyle from Darkroom came by and hung out for a little bit. He's a pretty sweet dude. We talked about how disappointing Bill Mallonee's career arch has been.
After the show we went over to Ty and Emily's and had a dance party til 4 in the morning. Except that there was the time change and it was 5 in the morning. We cashed out and woke up to 3 trays of cinnamon rolls and coffee. We then jumped on the expressway and I took the wheel to get us to Columbus. We were playing at a place called Andyman's Treehouse and it was just as awesome as it sounds. The place was totally out of the way and was one of those awesome hole-in-the-walls where you totally feel like an insider as soon as you walk in. In the room where we played there is a gigantic tree growing out of the floor and through the roof. I really wish I had a camera because the room would be perfect for some awesome pictures. We played with a band called Kyle and The Sowashes and they rocked hard. It was awesome.
We went back to Seth's and crashed pretty hard after drink copius amounts of Mtn Dew (when did the change the spelling?) and eating pizza. We are now catching up on emails and FailBlog and Youtube videos. Fat Man on Youtube is one of the most depressing things I've ever seen. Leaving for Muncie soon and hanging out with Zach Melton so it should be a good time. See you in Louisville on Wednesday!
So, I got into Bloomington Thursday night around 7 and went straight to Mike's house where him and Frank were working on Frank's new record. They are almost done with his record and it sounds SO good. They just have to finish the vocals and a few odds and ends and it'll be good to go. You need to keep an eye out for it. For real. He has some tunes up here.
After grabbing some Taco Bell with the fellas, we headed back to Mike's where Tim, Will, and Bryant all came over for husband&wife practice. We started around 10:30 and after Bryant showed me some of his choice licks (that sounds a little sordid...haha), we got going and I learned the bass to 8 of the husband&wife songs. I was able to learn "Support Yourself", "I Got Fat", "Haven't Got A Friend", "England Lives", "Comp Jam", "You Remain Unloved", "Don't Change" and one more that I can't seem to remember! I was really excited that I was able to pick up on the songs so fast and practice went fairly well. We decided that a morning practice was in order so we pulled the plug around 1:30am and decided to meet back up at 11.
After a solid morning practice, the dudes all headed off to work and I wrote some emails and what-not and then met up with Frant to see Watchmen. I have to say that I have been a fan of the book for quite a long time thanks to Keith and have been so excited that it was finally given the treatment. I was really nervous that it would suck, especially when I found out that the ending was changed...That being said, I loved it! Every negative thing that people have been saying to me (i.e. blue phallics, graphic violence, etc) are from people who haven't read the book so I'm not taking any stock in it because I thought it was really well done. I was impressed. I can't wait to own it on BetaMax.
After the movie I came back to Mike's and ate some amazing pasta that Jessica had made. It had mushrooms and spinach and other delicious stuff all crammed into it and covered in cheese. It was SO good. I ate 3 little plates full (this was a decision I later regretted). Anyway, we packed up the van and drove to a house party in Indianapolis with 4 other bands, but I was excited to see Bronze Float and Everybody. Those 2 bands did not disappoint and the house was packed with about 50 kids all rockin PBR tall-boys. My good buddy Davy ended up coming and we got to hang for awhile which was really fantastic. Tara, if you're reading this, thanks for letting him come hang. There are a few people in this life that make me joyful whenever I see them. Davy and Tara are absolutely 2 of those people. I was kind of bummed Tara couldn't come...
Anyway, after the show and 3 tall-boys we headed back to the house of a dude named Andy that the guys knew. It was pretty late when we got back (2am?) and we went to bed and then when we woke up Andy made us this delicious green pepper, onion, tomato and cheese baked omellette pizza. Just marinate on that for a second...................yep. It was that good. Now, it looks like we're going to go play disc golf in the hood. Andy said they found a dead body there a little while back. Will is going to use a frisbee by choice. He's going to get his ass kicked.
In addition to the beautiful video for Damien Jurado above (which shared best cinematography award for 2008 on Antville), Matt Daniels has done great videos for Throw Me The Statue and Birdmonster, among others. You might know Daniels better as the dude behind Thinklab. Then again, you might not. If that’s the case, you should. Which is why we’ve taken the chance to chat with him.
What is Thinklab and when did it begin? It was down to Thinklab.com and Drunktank.com, so I registered both. After college, I spent a couple of years working for a web design company in Seattle. In ‘97, I took the summer off to travel and ride my skateboard. This is when I started doing freelance design and animation projects as Thinklab. Before long, I was living in San Diego working with folks I’d grown up reading about in skate magazines… Todd Swank, blk/mrkt, Jose Gomez. As the projects grew, I’d share them with my friends back home in Seattle.
A producer in Los Angeles found our work and we started getting projects for Universal Records and New Line Cinema. Feeling homesick, I moved back to Seattle and started an art gallery in our office next door to the Moore Theater. Shooting stills and making video art for the gallery lead to the video and photography projects I do now…
How did you get involved in film (both video and still)? Is it something you wanted to do all along and pursued, or was it something you just fell into? It was more like falling, but in slow motion (shot on a Phantom camera). No, I was around cameras growing up, but spent my free time skateboarding, drawing and playing around with computers. It was years before I finally owned a still camera, and in 2001 my producer friend in Los Angeles talked me into applying for a photography workshop in Havana, Cuba. It was there, after meeting dozens of incredible photographers, that I realized I was hooked for life.
How did you successfully turn something that you loved doing (making videos, taking photos) into a legitimate career? Is it legitimate? It still feels dirty. Nearly all of the Thinklab projects, the art gallery, and ad agency work I’ve done has been marketing for other people’s art. It’s tough learning to do it for yourself, but ultimately, if you’re doing what you love you’ll find a way to keep doing it.
Recently, you’ve done some music videos for Throw Me The Statue and you did one for Damien Jurado as well (which are both amazing), and there seems to be a strong narrative involved in each of them. Was that something the bands had decided ahead of time, or did you come up with the storylines? Both artists came to me and were pretty open for whatever. I approach the music videos more like short films, and so narrative is key. For TMTS, I sent a friend of mine, Rob Dalton, a bunch of ideas. He (got really high and) wrote the script pretty much as it was shot.
Damien Jurado wanted a video about the death of his brother, Drake, and he had a vision of a final shot of a burning bed. We took this and ran with it. Mike (the D.P.) and I decided it should be set in an old pioneer town, which allowed us a more evocative palette. We shot the video from the perspective of each character, so we had a lot of narrative possibilities to play with in post. A week into editing it all came together, and the story revealed itself — I love the exploration, seeking the throughline, searching for that juxtaposition of elements that makes for an entertaining story.
In a lot of your work, especially the photos, it seems that there’s a strong emphasis put on the contrast in the piece as a way of (forgive the pun) shedding light on or creating intrigue about the individual or contents of the piece. Is that a tool you like to use for creating identity or layers within the photos/videos, or is it something simpler? That’s deep. I try to keep the stills simple. I look for juxtapositions between the subject and the background. I try to shoot a lot and it’s usually interesting light that I’m most drawn to.
Another commonality I found in some of your work is the capturing of things floating in the air, whether it be a bird in flight, a puddle splash or a dog mid-jump. Do you like the idea of stopping one of nature’s laws, or are you more interested in the way things look when they’re weightless? If you’re going to freeze time (with a camera), why not do it at an interesting moment? I definitely like the look of weightlessness, but it’s more about seeing things in a place where you’re not used to seeing them.
Back to the music videos, you’ve done the videos with Damien Jurado and Throw Me The Statue — and even Birdmonster I think. Are there any bands right now that you would really like to do a video with or any bands that you think you would aesthetically fit well with? I tend to be into darker songs and stories at the moment. Maybe it’s a northwest winter thing. I recently wrote a script for an animated music video for a track called Martha Ann by David Karsten Daniels. It’s kind of an Atheist Anthem song. I’ve also been talking about a feature length collaboration with Damien, so that’s keeping me busy, but some other aesthetic matches might involve: Mogwai, The Books, The National, Bob Dylan, Noah and the Whale, Modest Mouse or Will Oldham.
Who are your biggest influences when it comes to filmmaking? Photography? Stanley Kubrick found great stories and photographed them to perfection. PT Anderson has written and directed some amazing films. Spike Jones and Michel Gondry consistently surprise me. I think they might be the same person.
For photography, I would say I’m probably most influenced by the steady stream of amazing work on Flickr. Yossi Michaeli takes incredible fashion photos. Marco Grob takes stunningly simple portraits. My old buddy, Benjamin Krain is one of the best photojournalists around and James Natchway is insane. If you haven’t seen the documentary War Photographer, you should check it out.
I’m assuming you get to travel a bit for work, what’s the best city that you’ve gotten to visit so far? The worst? Tokyo was amazing for it’s food, technology, and size. Havanna was both the best and the worst city I’ve been to. They have some of the best music, culture, and dancing on the planet, but be careful you don’t get stung by jellyfish, arrested and then pickpocketed. Most of this happened to me.
Being that the year just ended and all, what are either the Top 10 movies you’ve seen in the past year or so, or your Top 10 movies ever? Here are my favorites for 2008 10. American Teen 9. Son of Rambow 8. Pineapple Express 7. Surfwise 6. Slumdog Millionaire 5. Snow Angels 4. Let The Right One In 3. Milk 2. The Diving Belle and the Butterfly 1. Ballast
I’m dying to see: Synecdoche New York, The Wrestler, Che and Happy Go Lucky .
There is no doubt in my mind that Zachary Melton is an incredibly cool dude. A whole lot of folks know him as the bass-playing, awe-inducing singer from the now-defunct seminal post-punk band Away With Vega, and more and more people are getting to know him as the brainchild and front-man for one of the fastest growing regional bands, Rodeo Ruby Love based out of Marion, Indiana. They are a indie-pop perfection and might just be my favorite live band around. I don't know of any band that induces such satisfying sing-alongs. Singing along is my favorite. Zach Melton is one of my favorites (part of this is also due to the fact that he shares my love for East Coast Hip Hop).
Ten Favorites by Zachary Melton
1. "What?" - Mount Eerie (Lost Wisdom) I often struggle with enjoying entire Phil Elverum albums, but he hit the nail on the head with this one. I chose this song because it is probably the most heart-felt out of all of the songs on this record. It is so chill and soft, with my favorite line, "your love swells and pounds me."
2. "Starry Stairs" - Okkervil River (The Stand Ins) Will Sheff sings in a lovely low voice on this song that separates it from their regular sound. Almost in the vein of Elvis Presley, his voice shakes and soothes on this soft ballad. This album has some great upbeat songs and some not so great slower songs, but this one stands above the rest.
3. "Mathematics" - Mos Def (Black on Both Sides) In 1999, rap was being taken over by Eminem and DMX. But behind the scenes was Mighty Mos Def telling people how it really is. This song is not just a socially-just anthem, but an intelligent look at racist America. No one flows like Mos Def. And no one makes me hate being white more than he.
4. I'm Going Away - Elizabeth Cotten (Shake Sugaree) Imagine an old black lady sitting on her porch, strumming a guitar and singing in dry, shaky voice some of the most beautiful folk/blues you've ever heard.
5. Nobody's Nixon - Cass McCombs (Not the Way EP) It is difficult to choose a favorite song from this EP. They each of have qualities about them that makes them difficult to get out of my head. Nobody's Nixon has a driving groove that none of the other songs have. Cass McCombs has a way of making meaningful lyrics out of total nonsense. For some reason, I always enjoy the line, "I ain't your doggy woggy either."
6. "Say Something, Say Anything" - Pine Hill Haints (Ghost Dance) I recently got this album, and after a few listens, this song stuck out the most. I like this album because the songs are upbeat and catchy. But this one has an eerie element to it that makes it more mysterious, I think, because of its chord progression and its melody. It is placed perfectly on this record.
7. "Rich Girl" - Hall & Oates (Best of Hall & Oates) I admit that I love Hall & Oates. It took me a while to connect to Rich Girl, but nobody can sing like these dudes. Nobody knows pop music like Hall & Oates. And you'd like to think they are sissies. But listen to Rich Girl. They are calling out the bitches.
8. "Melody 4" - Tera Melos (self-titled) I first heard this band on their split with By the End of Tonight, and I needed more. I finally got a hold of their self-titled album. I was a little disappointed with their first three songs (Melodies 1-3) because the split was so chaotic and those songs had been pretty tame. But finally with Melody 4, the chaotic mess of instrumental thrash rock came through for me. No words. Pure testosterone. There are so many great hooks in this song. Definitely my favorite on the album.
9. "Nikki" - The Dream (Lovehate) Yes, The Dream is an R&B/pop singer. But it has been a long time since I have connected to anyone in that genre. (The last may have been Blackstreet or Mary J. Blige's "What's the 411?"). A little cheesy perhaps, but I have heard very few albums in this genre work so well. Each song compliments another to create a feeling of a "concept album." Nikki is a slow jam about moving past your ex-lover. You might be sorry, but I've moved on. Now I'm making love to Nikki.
10. "Video" - Ben Folds Five (unreleased) This was originally a song from the band before Ben Folds Five whose name I forget. But I think they re-vamped it to sound like the piano rock we all know and love. I don't think Ben Folds wrote this one. Judging by the lyrics, I'd say it was Darren Jesse. Regardless, the flow of the song is unbelievably addictive. The chorus makes you want to go back and here that melody again. And again and again.
If you ever checked this blog with even a passing regularity or even just popped in more than once, I am sure that it is apparent to you that the frequency of posting has taken a sharp decline. It is my policy to not apologize for such things, but I thought I would let you know that I know that you know. Plus, I thought I would offer up a one-time explanation for this.
The long and short of it is that I have made a lifestyle resolution (read: not just for the new year) to be extremely good at 1 or 2 things. Unfortunately for this blog, it is not one of them. I will occasionally be remarking on a good movie or book or record that I'm digging, and I will still periodically be posting Mix Tape Ten spots from the folks who have been kind enough to send them to me. I still have a ton to wade through. So for now, that is what it is, and it is good.
My name is Scott. I'm a dude who likes music and movies and writing and hot dogs. If that sounds like something that interests you, then take off your shoes and stay awhile, but watch out for the spot on the carpet where I spilled red pop.
p.s. If you belong to a party that wishes for me to take down a picture or link, then feel free to email me and I'll graciously discuss it with you.
