Monday, September 25

Author: Erin Sugs

SONG OF THE DAY: Fraser Ross- “Sweet Kisses / Silver Flowers”
Music, Song of the Week(end)

SONG OF THE DAY: Fraser Ross- “Sweet Kisses / Silver Flowers”

https://youtu.be/rV5xeXEZER4 Last Saturday I explored the second annual LitCrawl in Wellington, New Zealand. LitCrawl is a celebration of art, literature, and spoken word, and hosts performances and readings in some of the city's most hidden and most beloved venues. At around 9 pm I found myself in Alistair's Music Shop at an event simplistically called 'Writing Tunes & Playing Poetry'. The shop was small, and because my friends and I were the last to arrive we were ushered into a corner at the front of the room next to where the artists would perform, the only space left in the shop. As I sat cross legged, trying to make myself small amongst the acoustic guitars hanging above my head and the audience staring awkwardly at me, the first artist appeared from a little back room at the fr...
An Interview with Jack Douglas
Interview, Music

An Interview with Jack Douglas

Jack walked into the study room where I was waiting for him holding a chicken parmesan sandwich loaded with marinara sauce and sprinkled with cheese. He sat in the chair next to me, put his feet up on the table, and took a bite into his sandwich. At first he took the time to chew between his thoughts, but he seemed to forget about the sandwich as we kept talking, and by the end of our interview it was only half eaten. During our interview I noticed his voice sounded deeper than normal, and he took his time to think out each response, speaking slowly and thoughtfully. Jack’s parents involved him with music when he was very young, signing him up for piano lessons when he was five years old. He went on to take lessons in guitar and violin, but chose to stick with guitar for the remainder of ...
An Interview with James Farrell
Interview, Music

An Interview with James Farrell

I saw James walking to Worner through the windows on the first floor. He was coming to meet me for an interview I had asked him about a few days prior. He looked down when he walked with his hands in the pockets of his brightly colored shorts. He was wearing a faded red sweatshirt with a colorful hat that had a stitched weed leaf on it. He slid into the chair across from me at exactly 4:30, when we had agreed to meet. As I explained to him the purpose of my interview and my intentions with the article, he seemed a little uncertain. After we started speaking more openly, however, this vanished and he answered my questions honestly and enthusiastically. James’s musicianship started in high school when he played bass in a band. He says this was fun for a while, but working with other people ...
An Interview with Eliza Densmore
Interview, Music

An Interview with Eliza Densmore

I walked to Eliza’s house in an aggressive down pour of soft snow. One of her roommates let me in, and as I adjusted to the warmth the smell of something delicious being cooked trickled into the room and soon engulfed the entire house. We sat down in her living room, me on a wooden table and her on an oversized beanbag chair in the center of room. I asked if she could play me some songs and she pulled out her guitar, placing it on her lap. She played three originals. She looked comfortable singing to me in her loose jeans and wool socks, like an impromptu solo performance for an audience of one was no big deal to her. The first thing I noticed was that she moved her toes a lot when she sang. After the first song she said she preferred to stand and walked to the center of the room. She sto...
An Interview with Bo Malcolm
Interview, Music

An Interview with Bo Malcolm

I interviewed Bo in his room. It was small, incredibly neat, with more books than decorations. He sat across from me at his desk chair while I sat on the bed. He asked me if he should play some of his songs and pulled his guitar out from under the bed. “How can you interview me without knowing the music, right?” I said of course, and he proceeded to play me two songs. When he plays he looks down, out into nothing, or at the window, but never at me. He has a look of deep concentration with hints of ease in it. Something is going on in his head, but I have no idea what it is. He smiles to himself occasionally as he’s playing, but I’m not sure if he notices he’s doing it. Most of the time his eyes are wide and open, concentrating, expressing. Bo’s parents bought him a guitar when he was yo...
An Interview with Austin Langsdorf
Interview, Music

An Interview with Austin Langsdorf

I know Austin pretty well, so when he told me he wouldn’t let me interview him unless I bought him a banana I reluctantly handed him my gold card. He came back a few moments later with no banana, reporting that none were ripe enough to meet his satisfaction. He slid into the seat across from me, folded his hands over one another, and looked me straight in the eye. Austin started playing piano when he was five, was singing before that, and learned guitar when he was twelve because he thought it was cool. He started writing his own songs on a camping trip when he was fifteen. If you watch Austin play it’s easy to notice his impressive musicianship. He plays by ear, having never taken a real formal lesson until this year, and lets the music flow through him in a way you can see by the expre...
An Interview with Shane Lory
Interview, Music, Reviews

An Interview with Shane Lory

I was waiting for Shane downstairs in Worner when I felt my phone vibrate. It was a text from Shane, saying that he was waiting upstairs for me in the ballpit. I walked upstairs and found him neck deep in an inflatable kiddie pool full of colorful plastic balls, reclined and relaxed. I took off my shoes and climbed in next to him. Shane’s musical career started at an early age, experimenting with the recorder, the clarinet, and choir by the time he was in fifth grade. He decided he did not like any of these that much, but when his granddad gave him a guitar in sixth grade he found something he wanted to stick with. While teaching himself how to play the guitar, Shane also began writing his own songs and lyrics. Shane described his creative process to me, and although I had trouble followi...
SONG OF THE DAY: Bon Iver and James Blake-“Fall Creek Boys Choir”
Music, Reviews, Song of the Week(end)

SONG OF THE DAY: Bon Iver and James Blake-“Fall Creek Boys Choir”

This song has been around for a few years now, yet every time I listen to it I find something else that I love. It is a beautiful song. James Blake and Bon Iver are two of my favorite artists, and this song remains my favorite of both their work. When I first heard that they had made a song together I was ecstatic. I think the reason this song works so well is because they complement each other. Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) provides what James Blake usually doesn't- a softer, rawer, sound with the help of his heart-gripping vocals. Blake provides what Bon Iver usually doesn't- an increasingly complex (and always impressive) multilayered instrumental background that marks all of Blake's songs, and that works harmoniously with Vernon's vocals. Focus your attention on the small details- it's easy...
An Interview with Ken Arimura
Interview, Music

An Interview with Ken Arimura

When I walked into Ken’s apartment on Friday afternoon he was in the middle of cooking himself lunch and the smell of sizzling olive oil and fresh pesto filled the room. I took a seat on the couch and when he was finished cooking he sat on the floor cross-legged, a bowl of salad in one hand and eggs in the other. He looked up at me nervously as we began talking. Ken started playing drums when he was in sixth grade and picked up the guitar a couple years later. He currently plays guitar for the all junior band Touch It, although drums are his favorite to play. “Ever since I was a kid I would take out metal bowls from the kitchen and use chopsticks to play with them. I decided to have a jam one day with two of my good friends and after that I figured this is what I want to do.” When Ken c...
SONG OF THE DAY: Typhoon- “Young Fathers”
Music, Song of the Week(end)

SONG OF THE DAY: Typhoon- “Young Fathers”

As much as I hate the term "indie rock," I think Typhoon fits into the label perfectly. Typhoon is a band from Oregon made of about eleven members. Their music is marked by complicated orchestration that results in epic arrangements heard throughout their songs. White Lighter, their most recent album, is filled with grand songs containing percussion, violin, hand claps, whistles and a xylophone here and there. "Young Fathers" is a mix of adventurous instruments and sounds under (and sometimes over) Kyle Morton's smooth voice. The females in the group sing some of the most interesting parts of the track, and their sound is unexpected when first heard. Overall a catchy, solid sounding song that I think most people would enjoy.
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