On Godspeed winning the Polaris Prize

On September 23^rd, the 8^th annual Polaris Prize was announced. This year, the prize went to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a seminal experimental music band from Montreal, for their album Allelujah! Don't Bend Ascend. Normally, I'd be celebrating this win, being a landmark and a validation of experimental music, a style and approach to music near and dear to my heart. But, my emotions are a bit mixed on this. Let me explain why.

Part of it is the feel of hipsterism to this year's pick. GY!BE have been doing their style of music for more than 15 years, mostly on their own imprint, Constellation Records. Constellation, due to their association with Godspeed, has been a remarkable label dedicated to the strange and artsy end of the musical spectrum. From those meagre beginnings, now Constellation's releases seem to enjoy popularity with almost every release put out. And good on them for it. But, where is the love for this kind of music coming out on other labels, even other Canadian labels?

Let me give you an example. One of the big names on Constellation is Colin Stetson, an avant-garde saxophonist who also dabbles in post punk and electronics (He was also up for the Polaris Prize this year). His music is dense, difficult and noisy. Without Constellation behind him, it's doubtful he would be as big of a name in campus radio as he is now. Nor would he be embraced by the same crowd that likes Metric, The Shins and Said the Whale. But, how much of this is on Stetson himself and how much is it on the label he's on?

Hot labels aren't new in music. Matador, Sub Pop, Merge, Kill Rock Stars, K, all have enjoyed a buzz that have helped their bands. Montreal also currently sports Arbutus Records. Everything they release seems to catch fire, regardless of quality (though most releases on Arbutus are of a high quality). Same with Constellation. Regardless of whatever strange thing they put out, it seems to get picked up by the hipster crowd. The most recent releases like this have been the aforementioned Colin Stetson, Jerusalem in My Heart (a bizarre mix of Middle Eastern folk, indy rock and electronics, with song titles in Arabic text-speak), Esmerine (a similar mix of world beat and post punk) and Sarah Neufeld (violinist from Arcade Fire, a drony mix of neo-classical and orchestral pop). Would these band, standing on their own, garner the same attention if they weren't on Constellation? Is their popularity due to their talent, or does it have more to do with who they are associated with?

On the avant-garde jazz scene in Canada, there are easily a dozen artists I can think of that deserve just as much attention as Colin Stetson. Jesse Zubot, Jean Martin, Peggy Lee, Simon Fisk, Gordon Grdina and more are doing things very similar to what Stetson is doing, but without the backing of Constellation, the Said the Whale fans of the world ignore them. And it's not like that Canadian college radio is not getting their music. Our station has many releases from these artists. But because the hip label Constellation isn't on the cover, they seem to be ignored.

Even bands similar to Godspeed suffer from this. Hamilton's SIANspheric has been doing droning post punk like Godspeed since before Godspeed existed, but they seem to be a footnote in Canadian music history, even though they often do the genre better. Ditto for the even older Nihilist Spasm Band, which even the most hardcore of experimental music fans in Canada might be hard-pressed to recall their songs, even though they continue to record and tour today.

The second aspect that bugs me about this selection is that it feels like tokenism. Godspeed's latest album isn't their best, nor is it particularly interesting. Their best work were their first couple of albums, F# A# Infinity and Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada. Godspeed have also been doing the same sound for 15 years, with not much variation in what they do. There's very little that's groundbreaking about Allelujah! Don't Bend Ascend. They're pretty much the same band they were in 1998, with the same expansive, twenty minute drones that they're known for.

This award feels like those Grammy award ceremonies where the awards go out to bands as a concession for their previous works. Remember when Santana took home all those awards for his album of collaborations with modern pop stars, that was several dozen steps behind his groundbreaking work in the 70s? Or Herbie Hancock's award for best album in the 2000s, long after his most celebrated work in the 70s. Or the awful Ray Charles album that won after his death? This feels like, “Hey Godspeed! We loved your past work but we didn't feel like acknowledging it til now. Here, have an award for this sub-par album that isn't as great as your old work, but makes us feel better for giving it to you.” Of course, there was no Polaris Prize back in 1998, but the point remains.

Ideally, this award should go to someone that was young enough to enjoy the cash reward and prestige that goes with the award. Godspeed already have a hipster empire. How about METZ, Purity Ring or Whitehorse, all of whom put out stellar albums this year. I'm happy for Godspeed's win, but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Indie Band Round Up #3

Some new Canadian bands for you to check out!

Punch Drunk Cabaret

Every summer, the city of Kamloops puts on Music in the Park, a two month long nightly open air free concert series. The line up is pretty eclectic and family friendly, being open to the public and avidly attended by senior's groups. Needless to say, a band like Punch Drunk Cabaret seemed like an odd choice for Music in the Park, but they played nonetheless in August.

PDC are a tattooed, heavy-drinkin' country and rockabilly band from Alberta. They also play “steampunk swing”, whatever that is! Their sound on CD is more rootsy and country tinged than their live shows, which are more on the rockabilly and punk side of things. They were a great band and I took a video of one of their songs when I saw them back in August

http://www.punchdrunkcabaret.com/

Light Fires

Light Fires are a new electro-pop band from Toronto. A duo, this band has the cool, deteacted feel of an 80s band combined with a more modern sultry vocal approach. Their de3but album Face just came out in July.

http://light-fires.com/

A Tribe Called Red

Not exactly a new band, but a band who definitely came into their own this year. I first heard A Tribe Called Red back in the spring, after listening to their latest album, called Nation II Nation. Their sound was like nothing I had heard before. At the base is traditional First Nations pow wow music, drumming, chanting and droning rhythms. The trio of DJs behind this band add in club music and electronics, creating a sound that's truly unique. Very few bands are mixing this kind of indigenous style of music with electronics, and even fewer are doing it in Canada. A Tribe Called Red recently did the summer festival circuit, including Salmon Arm, and, by all accounts, have been putting on excellent shows.

http://atribecalledred.com/

On campus radio and hipsters

When I travel down to Vancouver from Kamloops, which is more often these days, thanks to a very special woman I've come to adore, the drive back from the coast is always an interesting one. I get thinking about how different the musical environment is in Vancouver as compared to Kamloops. And I get thinking how it affects my job in radio. I'm often struck by the enthusiasm that comes back into me as I drive back, how I've rediscovered my love for the career I've chose.

And, there's often an undercurrent of pessimism too, but not because I'm coming back to Kamloops from the “Big City”. Rather the opposite. I love Kamloops and the feel of the small city. I like Vancouver's hustle and energy, but it would overwhelm me if I lived there. I can take it in small doses, but a city the size of Kamloops is really where I want to be.

The best thing about music in Vancouver is, that if I want something, I can usually find it. Plus, just looking for what I want leads me to more finds that I didn't even know I wanted. More times than not, I've walked into a store not knowing what I'd find and walk out with 20 disks that I know I'd love. And the people there know their music. In Kamloops, I might be able to find a person or two that knows and is passionate about The Pixies, but in Vancouver, I can talk to the clerk about Bibio and he knows their work, listened to it and can tell me what they have in stock. That same clerk can often talk about The Ketamines, Merzbow and Dave Edmunds in the same conversation. That's a person after my own heart. But, that type of personality has the darker and more cynical edge of the hipster to it. Someone who knows everything and is eager to let you know that they know everything. Or they like what you're buying, but they have that album in a better condition, or on a more obscure imprint. That sort of thing.

This happens when I listen to campus radio in Vancouver too. Often, the presenters are informed, a bit rough around the edges and eager to share what they know, not due to the hipster urge (though that does exist in campus radio, big time), but for the betterment of their local scene. Some of the programming is good, some bad, but it's all trying to achieve the same thing. Then, when I look at my own work in radio, I get that strange push-pull. One, a desire to keep doing what I'm doing, pushing programming in new directions and teaching those who want to learn radio how to do what I do. And two, the sneaking suspicion that I'm not doing enough to push myself.

Let me explain a bit. I run an experimental music show. I think I do a pretty good job of it. Experimental music isn't a genre of music, but an approach to music. To make it challenging, to make music outside of the norm of what is considered music. Music that's atonal, arhythmic, noisy, abrasive, difficult. But, comparing my show to something that runs in Vancouver makes me wonder if I'm pushing my own show enough, pushing myself enough to really make the show something that's unique. I have a feeling if, somehow, I packed up my own show and put it on the air in Vancouver, I don't think it would fly because it doesn't push the envelope enough. I try to introduce my audience to things they wouldn't normally be exposed to, and push the idea of music as something that should be challenging. But sometimes I wonder if that's enough.

But then I think, well, why should I compare it to what's going on in Vancouver? There might be a half dozen people doing what I do in Vancouver (and maybe pushing the idea a bit farther than I am), but I'm the only one doing it here. And, let's face it, Kamloops isn't Vancouver. What flies here wouldn't necessarily fly there and vice-versa, and that can be a good thing. I might not be pushing the envelope to what they do in Vancouver, but it's plenty for here. Kamloops is nowhere near as urbane as Vancouver. Often, our station is playing stuff here that, to me, sounds pretty tame, but for a Kamloops audience, it sounds pretty revolutionary. But, any type of radio that exposes your listener to something new is a good thing.

I remember a friend of mine asking me once, back when I was doing my English degree, “You ever feel like you're faking it and everyone can tell?” It's a question that's stuck with me for some reason. It's the curse of the intelligent, of the aware, constantly second guessing ourselves. How do I know what I know and how do I know it? The constant verification of “Do I really know what I know?” and looking it up to make sure it's right. The second guessing to make sure you're good enough. That's where the expression “True wisdom comes from knowing you don't know anything” comes from. It's not about being better, or being perfect, but living with yourself, with your own abilities. Pushing yourself to be better, not to be in competition with others, but pushing yourself to be better.Am I being too philosophical? Who knows. I know that Vancouver tends to get a mix of feelings from coming back from there, and it drives me to try harder and be better, which is always good in my book.

Salmon Arm Roots and Blues 2013 Redux

Probably the thing I look forward to most in the summer, at least musically, is the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival. It's one of the best summer music festivals in BC, probably the best outside of Vancouver, and every festival is great in it's own way. Plus, it's a great opportunity to put on my floppy beach hat, roast under the sun for a whole day and watch live music.

Well, there wasn't much roasting this year. It was cloudy and cool most of the day. There was a storm brewing, but it never seemed to materialize despite a couple of rumble of thunder. By the time the main stage shows came around, the wind was whipping every thing around, and finally managed to ground the kites that had been flying over the festival grounds all day.

I usually only go on one day, making it a day trip. I got to the grounds around 11:30 and, after getting a program, I headed back to the blues stage to catch the last three songs from Hamilton's Steve Strongman. He was playing an acoustic set and showed off his very deft fingers with some quality finger picking. He also performed in a full suit, which always amazes me that musicians can perform in costume without dissolving into a pool of sweat. I heard he played an electric set later with Mighty Mo Rodgers that even had Rodgers' eyes wide with his playing.

I popped over to the Shade Stage to see the Balconies. I was a bit disappointed with their sound. Previous albums from them showed a competent and fun indy rock band, but they had sinced morphed into a radio-ready guitar rock band. The band were decked out in the usual hard rock fair. We had the guy playing guitar in the cowboy hat. And the female lead singer with the eagle feather in her hair and the too tight clothes. By the third song, she was whipping her hair around in a circle. They seemed to have become "Just Another Rock Band." Not my thing...

So, I packed up and went to the Barn Stage to see The Belle Game. They were more my style, a bit on the new wave side of indy rock. They had a full band up there with a synth deck and reverb on the vocals. They sounded a lot like Metric. They also did a pretty cool version of "Beast of Burden". Here's a live video I took.



I talked some shop with Richard Sevigny at the Voice of the Shuswap table (they just got on the air this year and are doing well, by all reports), then got some lunch. My next stop was back at the Blues Stage for Sakura S'Aida, who was in the middle of a very soulful blues set. I caught the rest of her set, which was very good, then went back to the Shade Stage for what was one of my highlights of the day.

Every festival, it seems, I find a diamond in the rough, a performer that I normally wouldn't have thought I'd enjoy, or one that puts in an amazing set. Last year, it was Hazmat Modine. The festival before that was The Kropotkins. This year it was Malcolm Holcombe. He's a blues/country/folk singer from the mountains of North Carolina. I was reading my program when Holcombe unassumingly sat down on stage and started playing, without even a tune up. The audience, including me, were unprepared for this, and slowly started coming back over the next couple of songs. Holcombe was just a voice and a guitar, unaccompanied by anyone. His music was stark, unassuming and honest, just a man and his guitar. His voice suggested someone who had drank heavily his whole life. His lyrics were raw and brutal. He twitched and swung his head around like someone coming out of detox. His stories in-between his songs (banter wasn't something he did a lot, he spoke with his music) were disjointed and had more than a few cuss words. He minced no words. He had some odd chord changes and picking, and he beat out the rhythm to this music with the heel of his hand on his beat-up guitar. I watched this man in rapture for 45 minutes straight, only sitting up in awe after he was finished.



I headed back to the Barn Stage to see Selah Sue, a folk pop singer in the style of Norah Jones, but with a reggae vibe to her work. Like Holcombe, it was just her voice and an acoustic guitar. Her set was very popular to the hipster types. Lots of beards and henna tattoos in the crowd!

I walked around the grounds til the main stage started up at 6 PM and caught a few of the local performers on the busking stages. I didn't catch the names of the acts, but I saw a full band with two singers, a mandolin and a guy playing a guitar and a bass drum at the same time, then a solo singer, then a duo, the last of which were very good and funny. After a quick dinner, it was time for the main stage.

The night kicked off with Bright Lights Social Hour from Austin, TX. They reminded me of Kings of Leon in sound and looked. They had a heavy blues guitar sound and all the members of the band sported the hippie look of long hair and beards. They added some Rush style electronics into the mix, sounding a bit more proggy than the Kings of Leon would, maybe more like the Black Angels. They did say something odd though, that they didn't have festivals like this back where they're from. I guess South By Southwest is something different?

The second act was one of the acts I had hoped to see this weekend. When I go the festival, I usually go without knowing who is going to play, preferring to graze the music rather than seeing what I know and like. Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside are a great band from Portland, OR. They sound like a 60s garage/soul band with a modern indy rock filter. They were raw, they were a bit foul for a family crowd and immensely entertaining. By the end, they had me thinking they could stand beside the 70s era Elvis Costello and the Attractions with little problem fitting in. From me, that's high praise. I took a quick look in the merch tent and found none of their albums. I'll be ordering their latest as soon as I can scrape together some money.

My last act of the night was Daniel Lanois, who hit the stage just as the sun set behind the mountains. After seeing a couple of songs, which were very nice roots rock with some reverb and noodling, I felt I had seen enough. Usually, by the time the sun sets, the bugs come out in droves, and the patrons start into the pot. No bugs this year thanks to the wind, but the smoke was beginning to give me a headache. I could tick off seeing another musical legend on my imaginary bucket list of music.

Thanks Salmon Arm, I'll be back next year!

Forgotten Music #17: The Gleaming Spires - "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?"

I cam across Revenge of the Nerds while surfing the TV channels tonight. I am a child of the 80s and I loved this movie while going through high school, both as a cult movie and as an ultimate nerd revenge fantasy. Having endured my share of bullying and humiliation from the more popular kids in high school, the idea of getting revenge on those people resonated with me, as did the ending speech of the movie, about how there are more of us being put down than those on top putting us down.

There's also a nice group of 80s tunes running through the movie. Outside of the overt Devo references in the movie, most seen in the Lambda's musical number, with Lewis and Gilbert dressed up in yellow Tyvek radiation suits like the early incarnations of Devo, there's lots of great 80s tunes in the soundtrack. If you look closely too, Lewis and Gilbert have a Devo poster up in their first room at college. Then there's one that comes with a bit of a delay to it, The Gleaming Spires.

The Gleaming Spires were formed as a side project of the great new wave band Sparks. Formed first as a duo of Leslie Bohem and David Kendrick, they performed as Bates Motel, before recruiting two other members of Sparks, Jim Goodwin and Bob Haag. The Spires were short lived, only putting out three albums over their 5 year existence. Their best known song "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" appeared on their debut album, Songs of the Spires, in 1981. It's also featured in the Lambda/Mu party scenes in Revenge of the Nerds.

So, where's the Devo connection. Well, after Alan Myers left Devo, the band recruited Spires member David Kendrick in the late 80s to replace him. Kendrick spent three albums with the band, ending in 1991's Smooth Noodle Maps, after which Devo broke up for 20 years. Kendrick was replaced with Josh Freese for Devo's comeback, Something for Everybody.

Covers Courageous #6: 1000 Homo DJs - Supernaut

In the most popular era of industrial music, the late 80s, it was the style to form side projects and super groups. All too often, collaborators would come together and form other groups for one off projects, or outlets for what they couldn't do with their main groups, due to pressure from record labels or the dynamics within their own groups. cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy was famous for this forming groups like Hilt, Download, Doubting Thomas and the Tear Garden. Bill Leeb had Intermix, Conjure One and Delerium. And Al Jorgenson of Ministry had 1000 Homo DJs, along with PTP, Pailhead, Acid Horse and Lard.

1000 Homo DJs just put out one EP, Supernaut, in 1990 on the powerhouse Wax Trax Records. The band was Jorgenson along with other Ministry cohorts like Bill Reiflin and Paul Barker. The album was recorded under pseudonyms, so it's difficult to tell who was playing on the album. The album had four songs and the best on the album was their cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut"

The original version appeared on Black Sabbath's 1972 album Vol. 4. The song was typical of Sabbath's style of metal at the time: loud, sludgy, drugged out psychedelic metal:




Jorgenson's version was much more bombastic and aggressive. Using samples to introduce the song turned it into a potent statement on counter culture. Jorgenson's own daliances with drugs only enhanced the other-worldly feel of the song. The 1000 Homo DJs version is industrial metal swagger, brutal, rhythmic and confrontrational.


The song got a lot of attention after appearing on the 1994 Nativity in Black compilation, featuring covers of Black Sabbath songs, featuring a nice selection of the days alt-metal bands paying tribute to Black Sabbath. Since then, the song has often been credited to Ministry themselves, adding some confusion to the mix.

One of industrial's enduring mysteries was a rumoured version of the song featuring Trent Reznor on vocals instead of Jorgenson. The rumour was that Reznor's label, TVT, had heard about the collaboration and refused to let Reznor's version be released, forcing a re-recording of the song. This was one of the many reasons Reznor broke his contract with TVT Records and went on to form Nothing Records, in order to have more creative control over his musical career. The Reznor version languished for years, only heard on obscure bootlegs, before being formally released in the massive Black Box box set put out by Wax Trax in 1994.


PS if any enterprising fan of this blog would like to get me a copy of Black Box as a gift, I would appreciate much! It's a highly sought after collector's item now!

RIP Alan Myers

Alan Myers wasn't the first drummer that DEVO had, but he's the one most associated with the band. Myers joined the band in 1976 as the third drummer for the band, and went on to record and served with them for five albums, from 1978's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO! to 1984's Shout. He left the band after Shout, citing that he felt creatively uninspired. He continued to created music, with Babooska, a band founded by his girlfriend, then later with his own band Skyline Electric. He worked full time as an electrician in Los Angeles since leaving DEVO. He passed away on June 24 at the age of 58 from complications from brain cancer.

Myers was called "The Human Metronome" due to his precision at drumming. His drumming always struck me as pitch perfect. Some songs he did almost sounds like a drum machine, not a human being. He was a drumming robot. Check out the perfect timing on his early recording of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction":


Later in DEVO's career, the band went more electronic and they began experimenting with electronic percussion. Myers' work on "That's Good" was especially inspired during this time.


One of my favourite bits from Alan Myers was from the disastrous 3DEVO tour, in which a backstage tech messed up the click track the band was using, thinking it was out of sync. This messed up the bands performance so much they had to stop, but Alan kept right on drumming like the pro he was.


In my opinion, DEVO wouldn't have been as successful as they were without Alan behind the drum kit. RIP Alan Myers.