Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Arzate and his bandmates blend folk, soul, country, blues, rock and gospel into a sound he’s termed “Sonoran soul.” The album is produced by Ryan Alfred, who also serves as bandleader for The Kind Souls.
Now, in anticipation of the Arzate’s release show on Saturday at Flycatcher, the Weekly asked Arzate to discuss the album, song by song.
Tags: Carlos Arzate , Sweet Ghosts , kind souls , got me wrong , record , release , song by song , tucson , music , new album
Thursday, October 8, 2015
You know it's October when all of the sudden your weekend schedule becomes so jam packed with options that it's darn near impossible to decide what event to attend. Friday already has Tucson Meet Yourself and Bernie Sanders' rally at Reid Park, among many other events, so excuse me for adding to the tough decision you're already trying to make with your social event calendar, but you should know that Gina Chavez is doing a special performance at UA that night too.
Chavez is an entrancing and cerebral cantante who's traveling around promoting the recent release of her three-song Tiny Desk Concert at NPR. Her brand of alt-cumbia has been recognized by the Austin Music Awards for Musician of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year (“Siete-D”), Best Latin Band and the Esme Barrera Award for Music Activism and Education. She also won the 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest (JLSC) Grand Prize. Oh yeah and she also set up a fund for girls in gang-addled El Salvador to attend college, so, you know, she's a badass on many fronts.
You can see the bilingual and multi-instrumental Chavez and her banda of musicians assembled from Grupo Fantasma and more as a part of UA's Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. She will be performing on Friday, Oct. 9 from 5 to 6:30 p.m at the Gallagher Theater (1303 E. University Blvd.). For more information on other UA Hispanic Heritage Month events, check out the Daily WIldcat's round-up.
Tags: gina chavez , tucson , live , music , concert , gallagher theatre , ua , hispanic heritage month , cumbia , activism , Video
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Captivated by those very questions, a research team at the UA set out to study the phenomenon of “ear worms,” seeking to understand just what happens in the brain when a certain bit of music just shows up.
The scientists—ethnomusicologist and local NPR host Dan Kruse, associate professor of speech, language and hearing sciences Andrew Lotto and associate professor of music theory Donald Traut—will present their research at a public forum Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. at the Playground (278 E. Congress St.).
The research is sponsored by the UA’s Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry and the public presentation is part of the center’s fall Show & Tell series.
“When we say ear worm, we mean any occasion when music is repeating in the mind involuntarily,” Kruse says. “You’re not consciously singing the song to yourself, it’s just there, in the absence of any music from the outside. The music is just going on its own.”
The project began when Kruse – who has a master’s in ethnomusicology from the UA—heard a piece on NPR about British researcher Victoria Williamson and a 2011 project studying how ear worms start.
Kruse sought out colleagues and caught the attention of Lotto and Traut, each of whom brought their own expertise to the project.
Tags: Ear Worms , Confluence Center , Dan Kruse , UA , research , music , tucson
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Ricky Martin.
Some people remember him from his Menudo days, some learned who he was overnight because of his (let's just admit it it) electrifying performance at the 1999 Grammys, and some discovered him through hearing their friends and loved ones brutalize "Livin' La Vida Loca" when it came on radio.
I used to watch him on TV, with my Nana, on an anglo novela called "General Hospital," where he played Miguel, a character whose reason for being is explained on the GH Wiki as "going on a tour."
Taking his boy band days into consideration, Martin has been a performing, touring musician for about 30 years and last night his One World Tour stopped at AVA Amphitheater.
His concert was full of energy, and he kept his fans dancing all night, opening the show with one of his newer singles, "Mr. Put It Down." But the crowd went crazy when he went into his back catalog, singing classic songs like "Vuelve," "Livin’ La Vida Loca," and "Tú Recuerdo."
During the show, Martin announced that one of his newest songs, "Disparo al Corazón," from his album "A Quien Quiere Escuchar," has nominated for a Latin Grammy.
His next stop will be in Phoenix on Sept. 26. at Comerica Theater. Tickets are still on sale, for those of you who missed last night's show (or those of you who want a double-dose of Mr. Martin).
Tags: ricky martin , ava amphitheater , concerts , live music , a steaming hot bowl of menudo , Video , Slideshow
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Admittedly, I was a huge Arcade Fire fan after hearing their breakthrough album, Funeral, and seeing their exuberant, festival-stealing performance at first Coachella in 2005. Since then, my enthusiasm waned a bit after seeing them too many times and listening to their subsequent mediocre albums, Neon Bible and The Suburbs. Their very good 2013 album, Reflektor, actually got me a little fired up about them again, so I went into this movie hoping for a reaffirming glimpse of the band as it stands today. This pseudo documentary, which mashes together concert footage snippets with impressionistic shots of the band and overdubs of bandleader Win Butler waxing philosophic, is a total mess. It makes me kind of want to hate the band. The performances (we never see an entire song) sound god awful for the most part, and nobody in the band, especially Butler, has anything interesting to say during the non-musical bits. Director Kahlil Joseph basically shot a ton of footage during the band’s big tour, filmed them in the studio and other various locales, and slapped all of this crap together with no semblance of order or purpose. The result is tedious, and makes the band look like a bunch of pretentious fucks that like themselves a little too much. Mind you, I’ve seen these guys live many times, and while Butler can come off a bit pompous at times, he’s a fun and even gracious live presence, as is the band. This film betrays them in every way possible. (The version of the film I saw contained a postscript with a couple of the band members, including Butler, doing a more traditional interview about the album and film. The bonus footage is MUCH better than the movie itself).
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Steep Canyon Rangers will be at the Rialto Theatre at 7 p.m. this Saturday. You know the deal: We have tickets, you want tickets. Throw your name in the running and we'll contact the winner on Friday. Good luck!
GRAMMY® Award-winning Steep Canyon Rangers unveil their highly anticipated ninth studio album, RADIO, a project that further illustrates the band’s dynamic songwriting, instrumental virtuosity and high-energy performance. Members Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo), Charles R. Humphrey III (bass), Mike Guggino (mandolin), Nicky Sanders (fiddle) and Mike Ashworth (box kit) are also known for collaborations with actor/comedian and respected banjo player Steve Martin and esteemed singer-songwriter Edie Brickell. The Steep Canyon Rangers’ RADIO was produced by fourteen-time GRAMMY® winner, Jerry Douglas (John Oates, Alison Krauss, Del McCoury Band) and recorded at Asheville, NC’s Echo Mountain Recording Studio. The album’s twelve all-original bluegrass/ Americana tracks were written by Sharp, Humphrey, Platt and Guggino in varying degrees, including a few co-writes with fellow musicians such as Phil Barker of the Carolina bluegrass band Town Mountain. RADIOfollows Steep Canyon Rangers’ 2013 release, Tell the Ones I Love, which Bluegrass Today praised as “…a great mixture of today’s bluegrass styles, excellent harmonies, and a few surprises…an excellent album…”
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
“I can see it because there is a very timeless element to both of our sounds,” Day says, before countering: “But after people watch me perform, they don’t tell me I sound like Lana Del Rey.”Day is promoting the summer release of her debut album, Kicker, on a tour that will bring her through Tucson on Friday, Sept. 18. The show at 191 Toole (191 E. Toole Ave.) starts at 8 p.m. and it is an all ages event. Tickets are $12, which can be found online in advance via Ticketfly.
You can also check out her trippy video for the song "Hypnotic," which seems to mimic some Jodorowsky imagery but with tons of sex so you know it's still pop music.
Tags: zella day , pinetop , pop , lana del rey , tucson , 191 toole , live , music , concert , kicker , hypnotic , Video
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Algae & Tentacles is a band born of the contradictions between noise and quiet.
Singer-guitarist John Melillo started the band about five years ago in New York, but the project coalesced when he settled in Tucson in 2011. With different drummers, sometimes solo or sometimes adding additional guitarists, Algae & Tentacles has explored the two halves of Melillo’s musical aesthetic, always making the most of the inherent tension in styles.
“We started out playing more crazy performance stuff, but it always had this bedroom component to it. I was mixing between loud, noisy nutso stuff and quiet, home-recorded stuff. I’ve always bounced back and forth between those things,” Melillo says. “I like combining these styles, noise and folk, and have them play against each other. Both sound fresher, they sound new to the ear if you set up one context and then slap the listener with a different context.”
That musical mission is at the forefront of “Algae & Tentacles,” the band’s first full-length release, out this week on California’s Lightning Records. Though Melillo has recorded and put out small cassette tape releases on his own over the years, this more formal debut spans the history of the band as well as its musical breadth.
“Some of the songs are pretty old material, things I’ve been playing since the beginning of Algae & Tentacles. And some are Tucson artifacts for sure, created here in this space,” he says. “But there’s always going to be this constant bit of Melillo weirdness that will run through all the songs that I couldn’t quite escape.”
Melillo says songs like “Magellan” and “Cuddle Up” that come from the Tucson era of his life sound “have something that tries to expand spatially in a different way. They’re more stretched out.” And a New York song, like the relatively poppy “Little Body,” has “something very basement-y and claustrophobic, in a good way, about it.”
“It’s nice to have this sense of a layered effect of all the different types of songs I’ve written over the years,” he says. “It’s about the different parts of my life and it’s about the different spaces I’m in and feelings that happen because of that.”
Recorded in two phases, at the HangArt about two years with drummer Hannah Ensor, and last fall at Melillo’s home, the album has a feel of continual motion, the songs cast against each other to emphasize their contrasts.
“Other people have very specific projects, they say ‘This is going to be the shoegaze project’ and then they’re onto something different. I do want to try to combine the contradictory impulses,” Melillo says.” Sometimes it seems schizophrenic, but I also feel like it’s necessary to have those styles push against each other and meld into each other. I want to avoid having a single sound, or avoid having the boredom that happens with that.”
Tags: Algae & Tentacles , Lightning Records , Exploded View , lightning records , album release , new , music , tucson , local
Monday, September 14, 2015
Making its North American premiere, this French documentary highlights some of the musicians that make Tucson the audibly unique place it is. Featuring Tom Walbank, Gabriel Sullivan, Brian Lopez and Mariachi Luz de Luna all performing together live in France at the Festival les Escales, you'll have to wait to see that moment until director Guillaume Dero's "love letter" to the Old Pueblo's music scene screens on Friday, Oct. 9. However, we do have the intro to the film on hand for you to check out, which features Howe Gelb stripped down, playing on his Tucson porch.
For more information on this year's Tucson Festival of Films, which will take place at the Temple of Music & Art, you can visit the event's website. We'll have more film fest specifics as it draws nearer, as well, but until then, here's Howe Gelb doing what he does:
Tags: howe gelb , tucson festival of films , sounds of tucson , guillaume dero , documentary , local , music , brian lopez , tom walbank , gabriel sullivan , mariachi luz de luna , Video
Thursday, September 3, 2015
There's nothing quite like staring a rapidly approaching three-day weekend right in the face. The opportunities are endless. Maybe you'll go out of town or go camping somewhere nearby. Maybe you're planning to spend all weekend at HoCo Fest (or at least Saturday night to see Brian Smith and the Gentlemen Afterdark reunite and make Tucson music history). Well, not to add to the tough fun-based decisions you're waffling between right now, but consider checking out the Vinyl Swapmeet at The Flycatcher (340 E. Sixth St.) too.
On Sunday, September 6, a handful of local record purveyors will bring crates of vinyl and tapes to the Fourth Avenue venue and set up shop. Included in the day's line-up are Wooden Tooth Records, Baby Gas Mask Records, Toxic Ranch Records, Old Paint and more. DJs Butta Fly and 5,6,7 WAX will be spinning and attendees can indulge in hot dog and drink specials as well.
Sunday's event runs from 2 until 6 p.m., but if you plan on digging for some rarities, you might want to head in early. Plus, then you'll have enough time to run down to Club Congress and check out Mexican Institute of Sound and Sergio Mendoza's Mexrissey too. That's called a music bang bang, and it's definitely worth doing.
Tags: vinyl , records , tucson , cassette , sale , swapmeet , flycatcher , events , labor day , hot dogs
