Wilco

BMI @ Lollapalooza 2007: Bound Stems

2007-07-17T18:38:00-05:00

Is a bound stem a reference to flowers or what? Sure: or it’s a word which has lost its place in the language—the ruth in ruthless, the gruntle which becomes disgruntled. A bound stem depends on its prefixes and suffixes to thrive.

Chicago’s Bound Stems is Dan Fleury (guitar), Bobby Gallivan (vocals, guitar), Janie Porche (vocals, guitar, sampler, violin, etc.), Dan Radzicki (bass, keys, vocals) and Evan Sult (drums, tapes). Fleury, Radz, and Bobby were friends from high school basketball on; Evan arrived from Seattle and Harvey Danger in September 2002. They started writing songs all the time, then playing out, then writing some more, and by the time Janie had completed the transition from friend to roommate to band member, The Logic of Building the Body Plan EP had been released by Flameshovel Records and they were deep into the construction of Appreciation Night, Bound Stems’ debut full-length, also on Flameshovel.

Appreciation Night was two years in the making; the songs themselves cover a dozen decades. Chicago is the album’s host city, where the Civil War blends with the roar of the elevated train and the songs’ edges are embroidered with the found sounds of airport patter and clattering turnstiles, parties, private conversations, snow crunch and drifting histories. Produced by Tim Sandusky and Evan at Chicago’s Studio Ballistico, Appreciation Night is a large and complex album in which each song could as easily be a story as a chapter. Mathy, too: opener “Andover” hides tricky time signatures under a warm patchwork blanket of vocal melody, and “This Is Grand” rolls sevens hard against sixes. There’s history rock (“Walter Waters Addresses the Bonus Army”), lit. rock (“Rented a Tent”), and social studies pop (“Wake Up, Ma & Pa Are Gone”), and each song contains moments of fierce, earnest success, where all of Bound Stems' sonic experiments converge and fall into crashing, exultant hooks. Appreciation Night is a record of a band’s optimismism: fascination with life, a diet of interesting objects, the narrative thread.

Recording began to blend with playing farther and farther from home, as Bound Stems followed a sizable storm of surprised and favorable press around the East Coast and Midwest. Jon Pareles wrote them up in the New York Times (“Bound Stems finds plenty of room in a zone that borders Wilco, Animal Collective, Tortoise and the Fiery Furnaces”), as has Spin magazine, Entertainment Weekly (“a woozy triumph”), Alternative Press magazine (“experimental yet strangely accessible,” 4 out of 5 stars), the Chicago Reader (“emotionally super-saturated, achieving post-rock's complexity without its aridity or pretension”), and a starburst of blogs by people who’ve heard Bound Stems online and caught their shows. Their live shows glow with pleasure, swinging from the tight curls of “Crimes and Follies” to the roaring cheer of “Excellent News, Colonel” to the baroque-ass pop of “Western Biographic.” Instruments appear and disappear behind ivy vines while Bobby sweats out his lyrics and stomps alongside Janie’s harmonies, Fleury’s Camaro of a guitar, Radz’s melodic bass leads, and Evan’s distracted smile. It’s a pleasure to see.

Now that Appreciation Night is complete, the members of Bound Stems have disengaged their real jobs (high school history teacher, comic book art director, lab tech, hi-tech techs) in favor of their heretofore fake job as a touring band. It’s an act of faith consistent with the characters on the record, the architecture of the songs, and the implied narrative arc. It’s time to spread the good word. Get excited about counting again.

Appreciation Night will be in stores Sept. 19th on Flameshovel.

Wax on Radio

2007-07-17T18:02:00-05:00

To the lucky few who caught the first live shows of new Chicago-based quartet Wax on Radio, those performances may be remembered as the launch of a strikingly original new voice in rock music. At club dates in the Windy City and in New York, the customary buzz of cocktail chatter and the click of Blackberrys fell to a hush as jaded concert-goers stopped and craned their necks to see just who was making the riveting, emotionally-captivating music that was pouring forth from the stage. Wax on Radio brings a fresh, well-developed sound to rock music at a time when the genre seems to have reached a creative plateau. Familiar, successful formulas like emo, nu metal, hardcore are being played out all over the charts but there is an undeniable restlessness among fans and a sense that rock is overdue for a blast of fresh air. Enter Wax on Radio, which mixes catchy songwriting, intelligently evocative lyrics and an engaging style. The lyrics plunge in to big themes that resonate with listeners – missed opportunity, preserving your individuality, lifting your life out of stagnation and living it with passion. The music is sonically spacious and beautifully composed, in the vein of Pink Floyd or Yes, but Wax On Radio is also being compared to Coheed & Cambria, Mars Volta, Bright Eyes, Radiohead, Muse, Jane’s Addiction and latter day King Crimson. Wax on Radio performs the trick of sounding both progressive and nostalgic.

Wax on Radio was born in 2004 when singer Mikey Russell, bassist Harrison Taylor, guitarist Bob Buckstaff and drummer Sammy Del Real hooked up in the tiny suburban Chicago music scene and immediately hit it off. The four band members were all living in and around the towns of Schaumburg and Lake Forest when Mikey put out word he was looking to start a new band. The foursome, who had never before met, came together through the recommendations of mutual friends. But on their first meeting they quickly realized they had much in common. Chicago has an illustrious music history, being home to the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Kanye West and others, and that tradition can cast a huge shadow over new acts. But the members of Wax on Radio found their common ground further back in time and farther afield. Mikey and Bob collect old vinyl records and share an affection for rock radio’s golden age, the 1960’s and 70’s. Mikey thinks nothing of spending an afternoon tracking down now rare copies of Led Zeppelin or Prince, and in fact, does not own a cd player, only a turntable. Sammy is a versatile stickman who developed his chops touring the world playing Latin percussion with his dad, who is a pianist. He developed an appreciation of a diversity of styles, and it gives his drumming an added spice. Harrison, a former DePaul University student, is a student of classic rock and the great rock bassists like Jaco Pastorius and it shows in his nimble, flowing style. The quartet first jammed in the garage of Mikey’s mother’s house and Harrison and Mikey immediately began sharing songwriting duties.

According to Mikey, who is probably the most literate high school dropout in rock, his inspiration comes from everything from movies to great books, including the film ‘American Beauty’ and novels by Russian writer Dostoevsky and the existential philosopher Camus --particularly Camus’ ‘The Stranger’ and ‘Notes from the Underground.’ “I’m drawn to stories of people who get up and recapture their own lives,” Mikey explains. The band chose its name, as Mikey says, “as a way of paying homage to the great era of vinyl. It’s our statement on the music we like and the way we like to write songs.”

Wax on Radio’s debut album, Exposition, is an ambitious and successful blend of the band’s talents. Mikey’s keening voice is arrestingly heartfelt, and gives songs like ‘Today I Became a Realist’ and ‘The General of Medicine City’ a persuasive power. Bob Buckstaff’s guitar and Harrison Taylor’s bass propel the music forward at a fast pace, making nimble jumps into unpredictable tempo changes and stops and starts that keep the listener rapt.

Mikey’s lyrics have an existential edge to them, and touch on all sorts of moods, from dark to ecstatic, all delivered in searing poetry: “The sad face of dreamers waking to the life that passed them by,” he sings in ‘Today I Became A Realist.’ “They march in place straight to their graves.” He continues: “Sail on quick, fly past the world, find me a love.” The songs ‘Remembering,’ ‘Dawn Architects’ and ‘The Devil’ are three of the band’s best, blending sharply incisive lyrics with great hooks and masterful guitar work. Listeners to Exposition will be surprised that so much sound comes out of such young artists – Sammy is 18, Harrison 19, Bob is 22 and Mikey is the elder statesman at 23. There is a brightly lit road ahead for this young band. It is music that transcends easy labels.

‘Pick of the Month’ Showcase Kicks Off 2007 With Four Must-Know Acts

2007-01-16T22:30:00-05:00

The freshest acts of the New Year gathered recently as part of BMI's kick-off to its "Pick of the Month" showcase. The Los Angeles Writer/Publisher team was on hand to celebrate the first edition of 2007, which featured the music of must-know acts Peter Walker, Minipop, We Are Lions and Sidestory. The all-ages concert took place Tuesday, Jan. 9 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.

Pictured after the show are BMI's Myles Lewis, Tracie Verlinde and Joe Maggini, performer Peter Walker and drummer Chris Reynolds

Singer/songwriter Peter Walker follows on the success of his Landed album with a nice alternative pop rocker in Young Gravity. A mish-mash of Pete Yorn's melodies, Eel's vocals and Sean Lennon's sensibility, Young Gravity (Dangerbird Records) is a great pop album riff with hooks and catchy lyrics. For his new batch of tunes, Walker hit the studio with Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy) and Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart) to record a collection of songs that have a real lived-in charm and exquisite songcraft. His throaty vocals add an element of honesty to themes of love and despair. While his material has much lyrical depth, he packages them up in great pop-rock arrangements. Fans of Neil Young, the Jayhawks and Wilco should keep Walker on their radar.

BMI's Joe Maggini and Tracie Verlinde, We Are Lions members Reza, Q, Matt and Atom, and BMI's Myles Lewis

An easy comparison for the co-ed San Francisco five-piece called Minipop would be to Texas siblings Eisley. With their lush textures and graceful harmonies, the two bands share more than a passing sonic resemblance. Their five-song EP, The Precious, shows that while Minipop can sound as sweet and endearing as sprites, they are also not afraid of a mighty racket. With an evocative songstress like Tricia Kanne and a melody described best as "marshmallows on morphine," it is only a matter of time before this band's brilliance is discovered. They are very poppy; their sound is anything but mini.

Atom Whitman, Matt Matawaran, Reza Rasoli and Matt Quarnstrom (a.k.a. "Q") formed We Are Lions sometime around 2001, but they got their official name upon watching the 2004 "epic" film Troy. The pop-rock quartet recently released their debut record Eight Arms Made This on the new indie upstart At One Records. Their influences range from U2 and the Smiths, to current favorites like French Kicks and Brand New. But make no mistake, their sound is all their own, and is, in their own words, "Not quite emo, not quite post-punk, not synth-pop."

Los Angeles-based Sidestory began as a few scattered writing sessions on the campus of UCLA in January 2006. Only a year later, the band has excellently crafted their unique sound - think Keane meets Maroon 5 - and live performances into a fiery act that has attracted the interest of both major and indie labels alike. The rock outfit is on the fast track so check out the tunes "Better Than" and "So Much More."

Lollapalooza: Chicago

2006-08-04T15:00:00-05:00

Tickets are officially on sale for the music event of the summer, Lollapalooza 2006, August 4-6 in Grant Park. Among the 120-plus artists are Lolla veterans Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chicago sons Kanye West, Wilco and Common, Manu Chao (in a rare U.S. appearance), Death Cab for Cutie, the Raconteurs, Queens of the Stone Age, The Shins, Iron & Wine, Matisyahu, and many more. With a vibrating mixture of hipster pop, meaty garage, and Midwest cool topped with a frosting of hometown hip-hop, Lollapalooza claims a multi-flavored lineup worthy of true music seekers.

Ray Charles and ‘Company’ Top List of BMI Grammy Winners

2005-02-13T19:00:01-05:00

Legendary soul singer Ray Charles, whose posthumously-released album of duets Genius Loves Company earned him five trophies at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, leads the list of BMI winners, announced last night (2/13) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Charles' Album of the Year win marked the first time the top album prize has gone to a deceased artist since John Lennon received it in 1982.


Kanye West	Ray Charles

Charles, whose Grammy haul now totals 17, also took home the coveted Record of the Year title as well as Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Here We Go Again," featuring pianist/singer Norah Jones. She won three awards herself, two for her duet with Charles and one for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Sunrise" from her sophomore release Feels Like Home.


Norah Jones	John Adams	Loretta Lynn

Genius engineer Al Schmitt won four Grammys, including one for Best Engineered Album (non-classical); the album's producer, Don Mizell, also took home a statuette.


Maroon5	Tim McGraw

Ten-time nominee Kanye West took home three awards, including Best Rap Song for his hit "Jesus Walks" (co-written with Miri Ben-Ari) from his multiplatinum release The College Dropout, which earned the Best Rap Album title. His Best R&B Song win, also a songwriter award, was shared with BMI co-writer Harold Lilly for the smash "You Don't Know My Name."


Blind Boys of Alabama	Brian Wilson

Pop-rockers Maroon5 took home the prestigious Best New Artist Grammy, a surprise to even the band's own members. When lead singer, Adam Levine, accepted the award, he commented: "Kanye West, I want to thank you so much for being unbelievable."


Miri Ben-Ari	Al Schmitt	Harold Lilly

BMI artists once again dominated the Latin category, winning five of the six awards, including Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album (Street Signs) by multicultural, hip-hop outfit Ozomatli and Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album by Tejano-norte�o fusion band Intocable. Cuban bassist Israel "Cachao" L�pez's �Ahora S�! was named Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra won for Best Salsa/Merengue Album. The Best Tejano Album win went to BMI composers David Lee Garza, Joel Guzman and Sunny Sauceda.

Ozomatli

BMI jazz artists also had a strong showing, winning Grammys in four out of six fields, with the Best Jazz Instrumental Album statuette going to McCoy Tyner, Gary Bartz, Terence Blanchard and Christian McBride for Illuminations. Herbie Hancock picked up his ninth career Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Charlie Haden's release Land of the Sun was named Best Latin Jazz Album and Bill Frisell's Unspeakable earned the Best Contemporary Jazz Album title.

Winning two Grammys each were classical composer John Adams and BMI Icon Loretta Lynn. This is legendary country singer's second Grammy; she won in 1971 for her collaboration with Conway Twitty. Her album, Van Lear Rose, earned her the Best Country Album trophy, which she accepted with the album's producer Jack White of the White Stripes. The pair also won Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for the track "Portland Oregon."

Newcomers Los Lonely Boys opened the Grammy show with their #1 breakthrough smash "Heaven," which earned the Tex-Mex brothers the trophy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Hip-hop party band the Black Eyed Peas picked up a Grammy for "Let's Get It Started," named Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group, while crunk rapper Lil Jon received a Grammy nod for his collaboration on the Usher hit "Yeah!".

Other BMI winners included Basement Jaxx [PRS] (Best Electronic/Dance Album), Tim McGraw (Best Male Country Vocal Performance), The Blind Boys Of Alabama (Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album), Brave Combo (Best Polka Album), and BMI Icon Brian Wilson, who also earned his very first Grammy. The Beach Boys leader was also honored on February 11 as the Person of the Year at the annual MusiCares dinner, which cited him as "one of the most important songwriters and recording artists of our time."

BMI's 2005 Grammy Award Winners:

Ray Charles
Record Of The Year
"Here We Go Again"
Album Of The Year
Genius Loves Company
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
"Here We Go Again"
Best Pop Vocal Album
Genius Loves Company
Best Gospel Performance
"Heaven Help Us All"

Al Schmitt
Record Of The Year
"Here We Go Again"
Album Of The Year
Genius Loves Company
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Genius Loves Company
Best Surround Sound Album
Genius Loves Company

Norah Jones
Record Of The Year
"Here We Go Again"
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
"Sunrise"
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
"Here We Go Again"

Kanye West
Best R&B Song
"You Don't Know My Name"
Best Rap Song
"Jesus Walks"
Best Rap Album
College Dropout

John Adams
Best Classical Album
Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls

Loretta Lynn
Best Country Album
Van Lear Rose
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Portland Oregon"

Maroon5
Best New Artist

Don Mizell
Album Of The Year
Genius Loves Company

Los Lonely Boys
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
"Heaven"

Britney Spears
Best Dance Recording
"Toxic"

Basement Jaxx (PRS)
Best Electronic/Dance Album
Kish Kash

Mot�rhead (PRS)
Best Metal Performance
"Whiplash"

Brian Wilson
Best Rock Instrumental Performance
"Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"

Wilco
Best Alternative Music Album
A Ghost Is Born

Harold Lilly
Best R&B Song
"You Don't Know My Name"

The Black Eyed Peas
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
"Let's Get It Started"

Lil Jon
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"Yeah!"

Miri Ben Ari
Best Rap Song
"Jesus Walks"

Tim McGraw
Best Male Country Vocal Performance
"Live Like You Were Dying"

Dixie Chicks
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
"Top Of The World"

Jack White
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
"Portland Oregon"

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Earl Scruggs
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Randy Scruggs
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Jerry Douglas
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Tim Nichols
Best Country Song
"Live Like You Were Dying"

Will Ackerman
Best New Age Album
Returning

Bill Frisell
Best Contemporary Jazz Album
Unspeakable

Herbie Hancock
Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
"Speak Like A Child"

McCoy Tyner
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Gary Bartz
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Terence Blanchard
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Christian McBride
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Charlie Haden
Best Latin Jazz Album
Land Of The Sun

Steven Curtis Chapman
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album
All Things New

The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album
There Will Be A Light

Ozomatli
Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album
Street Signs

Israel L�pez "Cachao"
Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album
�Ahora S�!

Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Best Salsa/Merengue Album
Across 110th Street

Intocable
Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album
Intimamente

David Lee Garza
Best Tejano Album
Polkas, Gritos y Acorde�nes

Joel Guzman
Best Tejano Album
Polkas, Gritos y Acorde�nes

Sunny Sauceda
Best Tejano Album
Polkas, Gritos y Acorde�nes

Etta James
Best Traditional Blues Album
Blues To The Bone

Keb' Mo'
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Keep It Simple

Bill Miller
Best Native American Music Album
Cedar Dream Songs

Toots & The Maytals
Best Reggae Album
True Love

Brave Combo
Best Polka Album
Let's Kiss: 25th Anniversary Album

Paquito D'Rivera
Best Instrumental Composition
"Merengue"

Slide Hampton (SACEM)
Best Instrumental Arrangement
"Past Present & Future"

Ray Cooper (PRS)
Best Long Form Music Video
Concert For George

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Best Classical Crossover Album
LAGQ's Guitar Heroes

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners:
Eddy Arnold
Art Blakey
The Carter Family
Jerry Lee Lewis
Pinetop Perkins
The Staple Singers

BMI Names Rock Boat Song Contest Winners

2004-09-22T18:00:00-05:00

BMI songwriter Wes Hutchinson has been named the grand prize winner of the BMI-sponsored Rock Boat Song Contest. The top prize includes an opening acoustic spot on the bill aboard the Rock Boat Washed Ashore Concert Cruise 2004, a four-day rock n' roll sea cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. Wes also wins cabin accommodations and airfare for two to Miami, Florida (departure city). Other winners include 1st runner-up David Roland and 2nd runner-up Michael Flynn.


Wes Hutchinson	David Roland	Michael Flynn

Wes Hutchinson, who is currently working on his record while living in New York City, effortlessly blends influences ranging from early Elton John to Bill Withers, from Crowded House to The Who to Pearl Jam, to create songs that are saturated with melody, intellectually honest lyrics, and music that moves with meaningful undercurrents of rock and pop.

	Listen: "Sheltering Sky" by Wes Hutchinson
	Listen: "Gina" by David Roland
	Listen: "Everything Is Exactly What It Seems" by Michael Flynn

David Roland currently calls Atlanta home, but you can hear the time he spent in New York and Miami in his music, in the anxiety drifting in and around the lyrics. Drawn to songwriting at the age of 14, he currently has a catalog of 127 songs. His latest effort,The Hum of Anxiety, features 12 tracks that echo early Bowie, Nick Cave, Scott Walker and George Harrison.

A South Carolina native, Michael Flynn's influences include Wilco, Eliott Smith, and Tom Waits. His self-released album No Disassemble features emotionally-charged songs of melodic and lyrical pop that go straight to the heart and make it burst with pent-up feelings. Michael was also named the second place winner of the 2001 BMI Foundation-sponsored John Lennon Scholarships.

The Rock Boat Concert Cruise sets sail Columbus Day weekend (October 7 - 11) and will feature BMI artists Sister Hazel, Cowboy Mouth, Gavin DeGraw, Michael Tolcher, Shawn Mullins, Ingram Hill, The Clarks, Dexter Freebish, Will Hoge, David Ryan Harris, Peter Searcy, Chuck Carrier, Evenout and others.

Jay Farrar

2002-11-13T17:00:00-05:00

ThirdShiftGrottoSlack is the far-out title of Jay Farrar's second and most recent solo release. It's not exactly a name that rolls effortlessly off the tongue. But there is plenty of logic, as well as fetching music, behind this quirky moniker.

"Third shift is sort of a reference to the fact that we recorded the songs from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.," Farrar said prior to the five-song EP's release last August. "Grotto: It was always dark and the studio was kind of a cave. It was quiet and calm at that hour. And the slack key is the reference to alternate tunings that we used."

The tracks on ThirdShiftGrottoSlack were actually recorded during the sessions that produced Farrar's first solo album, 2001's Sebastopol. Instead of creating an epic album, Farrar decided to save some of the numbers for the subsequent EP.

Fans of Farrar's previous work with the alternative country bands Uncle Tupelo (which he co-founded with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in 1987) and Son Volt will most likely find plenty to celebrate with his solo work. Many of the songs from the Sebastopol sessions rock in a rootsy kind of way, but atmospheric organ swells have replaced pedal-steel pickings and the alterative tunings bring a new character to his melodic songs.

The Belleville, IL. native's two solo discs allowed him to stretch his artistic legs with different musicians, including Gillian Welch, The Flaming Lips keyboardist Steve Drozd and others. A new father, Farrar also wanted to spend more time at home, which the solo projects allowed him to do.

Son Volt isn't dead. It's just taking a nap, according to Farrar. He's hinted recently that some of the new songs he's writing seem more suited to Son Volt, which is more or less a solo vehicle for Farrar, considering he is the band's songwriter and vocalist. But Farrar says there were significant differences between recording his solo material and the songs he had done previously with Son Volt.

"It was just a revolving door of musicians coming in and out," Farrar says of the Sebastopol sessions. "And they weren't really there at the same time. It was more of a building block process, which was different than some of the previous recordings I made with Son Volt, where the band was all there trying to get everything down live."