28th Day

Barbara Manning: From me to you

Monday, December 1st, 2008 | musiX | 1 Comment

I always thought you were supposed to get starstruck on that first encounter with someone you admire. Barbara Manning made it difficult. She was sweet and approachable. She liked my band. This was the woman who played with New Zealand indie rock royalty including The Clean’s David Kilgour and Graeme Downes of The Verlaines, had Calexico as her backing band, recorded a string of albums for Matador Records. Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore even called her one of San Francisco’s best songwriters. Despite all that, I ended up befriending her rather than fawning over her.

I met Barbara a few years ago through some mutual friends. All I could think of was The San Francisco Seals‘ cover of The Verlaines’ “Joed Out,” which appeared on 1993’s No Alternative with bands like Pavement, Beastie Boys and Nirvana. That was my first introduction to her music.

Name-drops aside, Barbara Manning simply writes amazing pop songs. Any critical acclaim—from her early years as vocalist and bassist for Chico indie band 28th Day, through her solo albums and rock bands like S.F. Seals, World of Pooh and The Go-Luckys!—is deserved. She’s never had tremendous range, but her voice is pure, strong and comforting. Sometimes it sounds like she’s singing to you in conversation, her voice floats and her words slip into these sort of poetic stanzas.

Barbara Manning’s name isn’t all over magazines these days. And sometimes I don’t think she’s appreciated enough in her hometown of Chico. But those who are in the know know better. She’s still writing songs, and has loads of notebooks filled with lyrics and probably more than a few tapes with hummed melodies that may or may not see the light of day. But I have a feeling there’s something on the horizon …

Aside from performing solo Barbara Manning is fronting two bands—pop-punks The Sleaze Tax and twang-janglers Champion, the latter of which recorded a cover of Portastatic’s “Through With People” set to be released on Merge Records in January to honor the label’s 20th anniversary, along with Apples In Stereo, Okkervil River, Death Cab For Cutie and Times New Viking. She regained control of her back catalog and recently launched a new Web site. Barbara also rejoined Calexico during the group’s sold-out September 28 performance at the Fillmore to perform her song “Better By Bounds.”

I’ve known Barbara Manning for almost four years now. We ended up becoming good friends. I played in a band with her. Wrote a song with her. We worked together. Finally, I get to fawn over her.

“Better By Bounds” - Barbara Manning (Champion)

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Rock in the sticks

Thursday, November 6th, 2008 | musiX | No Comments

I used to live in Chico, Calif. Yes, that Chico, Calif. The Chico, Calif., where parents send their kids for cheap education and where the kids spend their parents’ money on cheap drink specials. It’s an interesting place.

A fair share of notable bands have come out of Chico. Portland’s own Kelly Bauman fronted noise-pop outfit Deathstar in the ’90s. There’s Barbara Manning and 28th Day. Vomit Launch (which featured Tape Op’s Larry Crane on drums and Exiled Records‘ Lindsey Thrasher on the guitar). The Mother Hips. The Downsiders. And there are still some rockers and rollers there who keep it real like The Shankers, The Secret Stolen, Aubrey Debauchery and The Makai.

“Up the hill,” as Chicoans like to say, is the town of Paradise, a small bedroom community whose main street is lined with antique shops, where retirees go to escape the bustle of the Bay Area and L.A. Needless to say there’s not much going on there, although I think the town is getting a Wal-Mart soon.

About a year ago I heard about The Kevin Reid Project, five teenagers barely out of high school who were recording some spiffy pop songs in the pine-needled speck of Paradise. It started quietly in 2006 as the solo project of the band’s namesake guitarist, who soon recruited his brother Jacob and a few friends. Over the last couple of years The Kevin Reid Project has recorded about a dozen songs, played shows in Paradise and Chico and have taken more than a few hiatus (hiatuses? hiatii?).

The band just recorded a couple of new songs, which should find their way to a new EP soon, including an eerie little number called “Death”—clocking in at 1:21, no lyrics—easily my favorite. The production alone gets me on “Leave Me Alone” (recorded more than a year ago) … oh, and the hand claps. I promise you this: You might find yourself singing the song at inopportune times throughout the day. Trust me. You don’t want to scream “leave me alone” to the person handing you your coffee in the morning.

“Death” -The Kevin Reid Project

“Leave Me Alone” - The Kevin Reid Project

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