The Days of Lore

Janet Weiss talks Quasi mojo

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | interviewZ, musiX, pdX | No Comments

The first time I threw on Quasi’s new record American Gong, I thought I was listening to a different band. Not that it doesn’t sound like Quasi, there’s just a certain—if I may borrow a quote from drummer Janet Weiss—”joie de vivre” to the new record.

Quasi is an interesting band in that it’s almost always felt like the side project to the members’ numerous other projects—multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Sam Coomes‘ Elliot Smith collaboration Heatmiser, Sleater-Kinney, and now the Jicks. Not the case here. American Gong might be the strongest, most definitive Quasi record in the band’s 16-year existence, jam-packed with guitars pushed well into the red and drumming that defies … well, everything. It’s also the band’s first record with longtime bassist (and Jick) Joanna Bolme, whose fuzzed-out basslines are solid enough to walk on. If you need more convincing, listen to the entire album here.

American Gong—Quasi’s first on Kill Rock Stars—is out now. And that’s only the beginning. The band is touring Japan, the U.S. and Europe as well as hitting all the totally hot festivals, including SXSW and Sasquatch. A quick glance at the ol’ Quasi planner looks something like this: 2010 = booked solid.

Janet Weiss took some time to talk to The Days of Lore about their new digs at KRS, the beauty of mistakes, and the band’s love of fuzz-bass.

TDoL: This is your first record on Kill Rock Stars … how did that come about?
Janet Weiss: I sent [rough mixes] out to people I knew, Sam sent them out to a couple people he knew. Kill Rock Stars were just really enthusiastic about it, and said they loved the record. Of course, I worked with them for years with Sleater-Kinney. You know, they’re here in Portland now, it was just so obvious and natural. And I love working with a label where the two people in charge are women—strong, decisive, intelligent women.

I interviewed Kathy [Foster] from The Thermals and she said the same thing.
Yeah, I mean that’s important. I come from that background of strong women, and I want to pass along that it’s important to make choices that enable that to continue. You know, try to take bands on tour where there are women performing and try to show people that it doesn’t have to be all guys onstage all the time. You have to let girls see other girls up onstage or they might not have the courage to do it. If some girl wants to go into the business and sees there’s a girl running that label, it’s really inspiring I think. And it’s very important to actively be a part of that.

I’ve been listening to the new album, and it is loud.
[laughs] I guess so, yeah … I suppose it’s only as loud as you turn it up.

It just sounds like it was recorded with the intention of blowing things out …
Yeah, I’d say we were going for a very live, sort of ballsy sound. We wanted to somehow capture what it feels like to be at a live show or be in the room with all of the molecules banging around.

It almost reminds me of the production on The Woods …
Yeah, Dave Fridmann did mix a few of those songs … I think we would love to make a whole record with him. We admire his … just his joie de vivre [laughing]. I think he’s really unafraid to push the sound and make things unusual and strange.

How long did it take to record?
We recorded it in about 10 days. We were ready when we went in; we didn’t have to do very many takes of songs, and the takes that we did do just got better and better as we went along. I feel like a lot of the music I love and that I listen to—music of the ’60s and ’70s—it was all recorded like that. They just went into a studio on tour and made a record, kept the mistakes and moved on. It’s amazing how many mistakes you hear on old records. You don’t hear that anymore—it’s sad. Mistakes can be so gratifying when you’re listening.

Absolutely. That reminds me of a post on Carrie’s [Browstein] blog not too long ago.
I don’t think I read that one … but it’s scary to think of a world where all of our mistakes are being erased when so much of creativity is about that.

Yeah, the human aspect gets wiped out …
It’s our self-loathing … we want to correct everything all the time.

Did you go into the studio with a set group of songs ready?
We knew we had too many songs. We weren’t positive which songs were going to go on the record—we knew what the heavy hitters were, and kinda let the other songs show themselves. So there are a couple extras, there’s a cover. Then there’s the song “The Jig is Up”—[laughing] Joanna and I went out to get burritos and Sam recorded that while we were gone for like a half-hour. He just pulled an acoustic guitar off the wall and recorded that with a few mics. That’s actually one of my favorite songs off the record.

That one’s great. I really like “Black Dogs & Bubbles.”
Oh cool. That’s maybe one of the oldest songs out of the batch. That one’s been around for a little while. I think we just kind of kept it simple on that one. It sort of speaks for itself … you sort of get that Neil Young-y type of vibe at the beginning. We always wanted to make sure that middle part was shocking.

The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” came to mind when I heard it …
Yeah, I think I’ve heard that from one other person. That’s great, I’m glad you like that one. It constitutes part of the moody center of the album … as I like to call it, “the moody middle.” It’s funny, because I’m usually pretty involved in the sequencing of most records I’ve played on. This one was pretty easy for some reason; it just sort of made sense. The first song was really obvious and that’s always a big help. On the last Jicks record we didn’t really have a for-certain first song and it made sequencing tough. We got it in the end, but it took a lot more time.

Obviously you’re making a record, but are you ever like, “Do people even listen to full albums anymore?” Does that cross your mind?
It maybe crosses my mind a little more now. I think I’ve always been guilty of top-loading, wanting to put my favorite three songs first. On [American Gong] I feel like the last song is the heart of the record. Kind of like the old days when you’d listen to vinyl—like “When the Levee Breaks,” the last song on Zeppelin IV—the last song wasn’t the single or maybe wasn’t even the catchiest, but it represented the heart of the record. It was what they wanted to leave you with. I don’t really know how people … like do they buy three songs, four songs, one song? I don’t understand that so much, so I just do what I know, which is sequence it as a record and try to put a couple strong, catchy songs up at the top.

Besides being loud, the hooks are definitely still there …
Sam started this project Pink Mountain with some friends in San Francisco … I feel like he got a lot of his weirdo side out with that band, and kind of allowed Quasi—at least the structures of the songs—to be a little more pop-oriented. Although we all are very anti-establishment, and anti-conservative, anti-corporate—we don’t want it to sound like easy listening, we don’t want it to be boring—we want it to represent something free and something that’s not passive. I think to make those pop structures palatable to him as a songwriter we had to turn up the volume a little.

Is there much improvisation involved in the writing?
This was definitely our most collaborative record as far as the writing. Sam came to practice with less structured songs, and just parts that needed to be arranged and organized. And he really let me have a hand in that more, which is something that I did in Sleater-Kinney a lot, and something that I love to do. He’s not used to writing like that; he’s used to writing a song from start to finish. I think Joanna made up so many great basslines that I think define a lot of the songs. I end up humming her basslines more than the vocals or the drums and guitar.

Yeah, there are a couple of basslines that are super fuzzed-out that really stood out.
Well, Sam loves fuzz-bass. [laughing] That is one true statement about Sam Coomes: He loves the fuzz-bass. We’d be working on songs and we’d be like “What does this one need?” and Joanna and I would just laugh and look at each other, “Fuzz-bass!” We know he’s going to say it. That’s the answer for everything. Luckily we like it, too.

You’re about to head out on the road. I take it you like touring …
I’m really into touring, I love touring. Especially these shorter ones, anything under three weeks is totally doable. I mean I like coming home, but I really, really like going out. And I love playing. There’s nothing like playing live, nothing quite like it at all. Gotta keep your chops up.

“Repulsion” - Quasi

“Black Dogs & Bubbles” - Quasi

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Tags: American Gong, Janet Weiss, Joanna Bolme, Kill Rock Stars, Portland music, Quasi, Sam Coomes, Sleater-Kinney, the Jicks

The Thermals: O Canada!

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 | musiX, pdX | 2 Comments

The Thermals released a new song today in honor (or should I say, honour) of the winter Olympic games being held in Vancouver. “Canada” is available for download at iTunes, or you can cop yourself a free listen right here.

The song is true Thermals—catchy, raucous, fun, and it’s nice to finally hear drummer Westin Glass on a recording. Is it just me, or do the “Whoa whooooa whoas” throughout the song sound ready-made for a Pepsi commercial? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Tags: "Canada", The Thermals

MoHips go Daytrotting

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

Last year The Mother Hips quietly released Pacific Dust, a record that continues the band’s knack for seamlessly blending country, ’60s pop and pure rock ‘n’ roll. Goddamn right it made the TDoL Best Of Twenty-Oh-Nine list.

The Hips are on tour and recently made a stop at Daytrotter to record some raw and rambunctious versions of a few tunes off Pacific Dust and Kiss the Crystal Flake as well as a cover of Gene Clark’s “Kansas City Southern.” You can download all four songs here.

The band will hit SXSW in March before returning to Portland on April 16 at the Doug Fir. And yes … you’re goddamn right TDoL will be there.

Tags: Daytrotter, Kiss the Crystal Flake, Pacific Dust, The Mother Hips

There are many hiatus

Monday, January 25th, 2010 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Talk about a hiatus.

TDoL—the blog that never sleeps (except Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 a.m. to 6:15 a.m.)—has been away for a couple of weeks, traveling, learning to put chains on tires, and being just plain naughty. But mostly I’ve spent the time away recharging the batteries and contemplating the plural of hiatus. Hiatus? Hiatuses? Hiati?

Of course, there’s been a soundtrack to all of this fun: Surfer Blood (April 3 at the Doug Fir!), The Goodnight Loving, and more recently the new Spoon and Yeasayer records. And, of course, you’ll be reading about these bands right here (look for my interview with Milwaukee country five-piece The Goodnight Loving in the coming weeks) in addition to all of the usual nonsense.

Until then, here’s a song that’s near and dear to my heart, a song that needs no introduction, a song that sums up the past two weeks at The Days of Lore …

… I guess that would qualify as an introduction.

“Holiday Road” - Lindsey Buckingham

Tags: "Holiday Road", Lindsey Buckingham, Spoon, Surfer Blood, The Goodnight Loving, Yeasayer

Best of 2009: TDoL and the Furious 15

Sunday, December 20th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | 11 Comments

Seems like it was only yesterday that I was cobbling together the TDoL best of 2008. Yes, time flies when you’re old and surly. And, yes, I know year-end lists are everywhere, cliché, overdone and a dime a dozen—but I do love them so.

These lists are difficult to make, too. I mean who has time to really absorb a full record when you’re being bombarded with hundreds of albums and mp3s? It was chore to make a list that exorcised both my discerning (wax-clogged) ear and my (beer-besotted) gut—the “I can see what this artist is trying to do here” versus the “this fucking rules and I’m going to sing it at the top of my lungs in my car/boxers” if you will. I prefer the latter—less thinking involved.

The following is a semi-in-depth look at what I liked about music in 2009 … in list form. It’s a magical place where good and evil coexist, where big, dumb rock mingles with smarty-pants indie, a place where it’s Christmas year-round. But before we get down to it, I’d like to present to you the following pre-list list.

Thing(s) to do after reading the TDoL Best of 2009:
1. Leave your own list in the comments.
2. Harshly ridicule and mock my list, also in the comments.
3. Praise my list for its fine taste and heterogeneousness.
4. Tweet/tell your friends to read it and do the same.
5. Explain to me what the hell heterogeneousness means.
6. Click on the album cover to purchase.
7. Note there is no Animal Collective on this list …
8. … or Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
9. But there is a KISS on my list.
10. Thank you for reading.

15. Pacific Dust - The Mother Hips (Camera Records)

After years of wrestling with major label politics and personal demons—all of which led to members taking a two-year hiatus—The Mother Hips came back to release one of their best albums in 2007’s Kiss the Crystal Flake. Pacific Dust feels like its sister record, the Hips again playing to their strengths—gorgeous Bee Gees-inspired harmonies, pop hooks, country licks and the occasional Sabbathian riff. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Mother Hips are criminally underrated.

“Young Charles Ives” - The Mother Hips

14. Crack the Skye - Mastodon (Reprise)

I’m still trying to figure out how Mastodon became so popular among non-metalheads … though they aren’t your typical metal band. With Crack the Skye Mastodon has created a sweeping monster of a record that piles riffs on top of mind-bending prog passages. It’s as beautiful as it is brutal, sort of like Tool. And I guess if hipsters are listening to Mastodon, it means less time spent doting on Merriweather Post Pavilion and It’s Blitz … which is never a bad thing.

“Divinations” - Mastodon

13. Amorum Tali - Purple Rhinestone Eagle (Eolian Records)

Led by lanky guitar-whiz Andrea Genevieve, Purple Rhinestone Eagle strings together mighty riffs that crackle over the rib-rattling rhythm section of Morgan Ray Denning and Ashley Spungin. Amorum Tali (Talons of Love) stands firmly at the intersection between San Francisco flower power and Birmingham doom, especially on “Walk With the Wizard.” Add the fact that the lyrics often touch on deeper social and political issues and you have an incredibly potent rock machine.

“Walk With the Wizard” - Purple Rhinestone Eagle

12. Now We Can See - The Thermals (Kill Rock Stars)

The Thermals’ Kill Rock Stars debut doesn’t quite match the barbed nastiness of 2006’s The Body, the Blood, the Machine—it’s still intense, however, as guitarist/vocalist Hutch Harris reflects on his time on Earth after offing himself in the very first song. Now We Can See is a polished piece of wicked pop punk—songs are more refined, hooks sharper. And it took only, what, three releases for bassist Kathy Foster to finally lay down some backing vocals? Now we can hear!

“I Let It Go” - The Thermals

11. Popular Mechanics - Surrogate (Tooth & Nail)

Surrogate hails from Chico, Calif., touring only occasionally and putting out some incredible pop records on a label that puts out some incredibly god-awful records. Multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Chris Keene has come into his own after playing hired gun in his previous band Number One Gun, writing smart, earnest, well-produced indie rock that should make fans of Nada Surf take notice. Keene’s influences are all over the map, but it only takes one spin to make Popular Mechanics feel like home.

“Whiskey (Vomiting Words)” - Surrogate

10. Wilco (The Album) - Wilco (Nonesuch)

Well, hand it to Jeff Tweedy and Co. for coming up with their most experimental album title in 2009. So the music within doesn’t come anywhere near the eclecticism of masterstroke Yankee Hotel Foxtrot —it’s simply another tried-and-true batch of songs that further cements Tweedy as one of the great tunesmiths of his generation. And musical wunderkinds Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline again show magnificent restraint. I just like that Wilco continues to simply do what comes natural.

“Country Disappeared” - Wilco

9. Power Move - Screaming Females (Don Giovanni)

Screaming Females got a lot of play at TDoL this year, usually in my car as I was being transformed into a screaming male. The aptly-titled Power Move is a fuzzed-out, riff-laden rock ‘n’ roll that shrewdly pulls from each of the last four decades. The highlight, of course, is Marissa Paternoster, the band’s 5-foot-2 guitar goddess who cranks out noodly solos over an air-tight rhythm section. Album opener “Bell” shows that, as is the case with most shredders, it’s usually the riffs that really scream.

“Bell” - Screaming Females

8. Breaks In the Sun - WEINLAND (Badman Recording Co.)

What strikes me most about Portland’s WEINLAND, is the Jekyll and Hyde they pull with their recordings and live shows. Although Breaks In the Sun comes from less of a dark place than 2008’s La Lamentor, there’s still a calmness and beauty to it. Adam Shearer’s hushed vocals are the centerpiece, floating through emotionally-charged country folk songs brimming with pop hooks. Live WEINLAND transforms into a gritty bar band that would probably buy you a beer. It’s rather impressive.

“Autumn Blood” - WEINLAND

7. Love and Curses - Reigning Sound (In The Red)

It’s unfortunate that Greg Cartwright is known only by weirdos who still like to spend hours scouring dusty bins for records by dead people. Love and Curses is the North Carolina quartet’s first record of new material since 2004, and big guitars and swirly organ still rule here. Cartwright’s voice is a little more ragged this time around, but he sure knows how to convey tenderness and despair whether he’s representing the everyman or a jilted lover. Yes, everyone should listen to more dead people.

“The Bells” - Reigning Sound

6. Sonic Boom - KISS (KISS Records)

Chaim Witz and Stanley Eisen made good on their promise to deliver a klassik KISS album, and the former’s songs are the best of the bunch … don’t tell him I said that. Sonic Boom is one kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll party loaded with sexual innuendo, cheesy lyrics (I’m talking Easy Cheese between two slices of Velveeta sprinkled with Cheetos), riffs, cowbells, ripping guitar solos, walking basslines and anthemic choruses. Attn. hipsters: Wouldn’t it be totally ironic if you played this at your next party?

“Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)” - KISS

5. S/T - The Yule Logs (self-released)

A holiday album on a year-end list? Take away the snow, Santa and menorahs and you’re left with some damn catchy songs with Brit pop jangle and Beach Boys harmonies. The hardest working band in snow business plows through classics as well as a few equal-opportunity originals like “Hanukkah Mambo!” and “Christmastime Is Here (Again!).” And I’ve been listening to it non-stop since August … which means either I’m weird, or it’s just that good. Probably a little of both.

“Christmastime Is Here (Again!)” - The Yule Logs

4. Seconhand Runner - Bodhi (self-released)

Bodhi’s influences are as clear as day—Bowie, The Stooges, Gary Numan—yet they manage to end up sounding like nobody but Bodhi. “Kids Are So Nice” is a fine slice from MTV’s early days when new wave, Nina Blackwood (and videos) ruled. Brian Carr’s voice is the glue that holds the myriad influences in place, even when the band decides to throw a new wave country song into the mix (”Bystander”). Went from 0 to No. 4 on my year-end in less than three weeks.

“Kids Are So Nice” - Bodhi

3. S/T - Harper Simon (Tulsi/Vagrant)

“Shooting Star” grabbed me before I even knew who Harper Simon’s pops was. Simon’s debut is a love letter to Nashville. He recorded there, recruited producer Bob Johnston (Nashville Skyline) as well as noteworthy Nashville musicians including pedal steel player Lloyd Green (Sweetheart of the Rodeo). Not surprisingly, he ended up with a beautiful, warm country record. Simon can’t help but sometimes sound like his father Paul—not a bad thing unless, of course, we’re talking about Graceland.

“Shooting Star” - Harper Simon

2. S/T - The Pains of Being Bure at Heart (Slumberland)

Boy-girl harmonies, jangly guitars and hooks up the wazoo (which is less painful than it sounds) reign throughout the New York quartet’s debut. As guitarist/vocalist Kip Berman explained to TDoL earlier this year: “I feel that pop is so wonderfully broad a style of music that you could never ever get bored or fully exhaust it—it’s infinite.” With all the press that TPoBPaH received in 2009, it’s nice to know that they aren’t interested in resting on their laurels. Hell, they might actually be in this for the long haul.

“Young Adult Friction” - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

1. And Girls Club - The Strange Boys (In The Red)

In The Red put out some incredible records this year from King Khan and BBQ Show, Reigning Sound and Thee Oh Sees, but nothing grabbed me as immediately as the debut from Austin, Texas’ The Strange Boys. The combination of chops, songs and enigmatic confidence made these young(ish) boys sound well beyond their years. The band doesn’t go for lo-fi or silly garage-rock aesthetics, instead churning out no-nonsense, R&B-fueled rock ‘n’ roll that falls somewhere between Meet the Beatles! and Bob Dylan’s Newport Folk Festival performance. Guitarist/vocalist Ryan Sambol coyly unleashes his general disaffection through nasally vocals, while jangly guitars and a booming rhythm section crank out the soundtrack for a misfits sock hop. Effortless and fun. Come to think of it, the only thing lo-fi about The Strange Boys might be the album’s cover. But who really looks at those anymore?

“This Girl Taught Me a Dance” - The Strange Boys

The Best of the Rest of the Best …

Bitte Orca - Dirty Projectors

Paint the Fence Invisible - Drug Rug

To Be Still - Alela Diane

Rose City - Viva Voce

Survival Strategies in a Modern World - Liechtenstein

Tags: Alela Diane, Amorum Tali, And Girls Club, Best of 2009, Bitte Orca, Bodhi, Breaks In the Sun, Crack the Skye, Dirty Projectors, Drug Rug, Harper Simon, KISS, Liechtenstein, Love and Curses, Mastodon, Now We Can See, Pacific Dust, Paint the Fence Invisible, Popular Mechanics, Power Move, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Reigning Sound, Rose City, Screaming Females, Secondhand Runner, Sonic Boom, Surrogate, Survival Strategies In a Modern World, The Mother Hips, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Strange Boys, The Thermals, The Yule Logs, To Be Still, Viva Voce, WEINLAND, Wilco, Wilco (The Album), year-end list

Delicious musical contaminants

Monday, November 30th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Neo-psychedelic garage rock has been done to death. It’s sorta lost its oomph, lost its lovin’ feeling … lost in translation, lost in space. Portland’s Bodhi—which I’m hoping is named after Patrick Swayze’s character in Point Break—is an exception. Sure, all the elements are there: Swirling synth, reverbed guitars and unhinged vocals, but the four-piece pieces it together into their own damaged rock ‘n’ roll narrative.

Bodhi quietly released its debut full-length Secondhand Runner, an album recorded here and there in Portland—here being Revolver Studios in southeast Portland, there being the band’s living room. Fortunately the slick production doesn’t undermine the album’s rickety garage appeal—in fact, it makes it even more compelling. Not to mention the band manages to make a country song in “Bystander” feel right at home with the new wave disco of “The Kids Are So Nice” and the pure garage punk of “Honkin ‘44.” What holds it all together are Brian Carr’s vocals, which float and flail in a register somewhere between that of Iggy Pop and David Byrne.

It looks as though the members of Bodhi are finding the drizzly climes of Portland to their liking after relocating here from New York in 2006 … and I must say it’s nice having them here to contaminate the folk and electro-pop gene pool.

Bodhi will perform at the East End, Dec. 12 with Austin’s Woven Bones and locals The Whines.

“Bystander” - Bodhi

Tags: Bodhi, Brian Carr, Portland music, Secondhand Runner

Bird is the word

Thursday, November 26th, 2009 | pdX | No Comments

I’m about to embark on a journey—one like never before. This is my fist year in charge of cooking the Thanksgiving turkey, and I’m staring at a 12-pound bird, wondering what exactly I’m going to do with it. Guess I’ll start here with the giblets.

I’m actually more nervous about the gravy. No one did it better than grandma, because back in the olden days you could get away with loading it with salt and extra drippings … which is why it tasted so good. Of course, it’s not so good for my giblets.

On that note … I’d like to give thanks to all the people in my life. And to you … happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading. I’ll let The Trashmen take us out.

“Surfin’ Bird” - The Trashmen

Tags: "Surfin' Bird", Thanksgiving, The Trashmen