• There was a lecture on Friday night with filmmaker Jeff Krulik (Heavy Metal Parking Lot) and author Mark Opsasnick (Capitol Rock). The lecture was called “The History of Rock and Roll in Prince George’s County, Maryland—Nightclubs and Teenclubs, Bands and Concerts, 1950s-1970s”, and Steve Kiviat interviewed Krulik and Opsasnick [Washington CityPaper].
Sunday 15 April
• Preview/interview: David Malitz talks to Lambchop [Washington Post]. At IOTA.
• Preview/interview: Nancy Dunham talks to the All-American Rejects [Washington Examiner]. At the 9:30 Club.
• DC’s used record stores are catching a break this week [Washington CityPaper]. While record stores with some used inventory, used book stores, and vintage and antique shops do have to obtain a secondhand business license—as opposed to the less restrictive general business license—they’ll have more than seven days to do it. And regulators at DCRA are taking a close look at the secondhand business license’s more onerous requirements.
• DC writer Marc Masters and NC writer Grayson Currin have written another edition of their column The Out Door [Pitchfork]. In this edition of our monthly experimental music column, “The Out Door,” we discuss the storied career of Swans and Rhys Chatham-collaborator Jonathan Kane of the band February, look at the inventive, underrated legacy of San Francisco band rRope and provide you with an alternative Record Store Day shopping list. But first we explore recent diverse experiments in spoken word.
• Listen: Novalima stopped by NPR’s DC office for a Tiny Desk Concert.
• For Sale: King Giant guitarist Todd Ingram is selling the Flying V he played in the band’s “Appomatox” video. It’s got classic 57 pickups and an ebony fret board and was purchased specifically for the video. Check the link for how to contact TI if you’re interested in this piece of DC metal history.
• Metallomusikum continues her countdown to Maryland DeathFest with a profile of Bloody Phoenix.
• Trisha Yearwood will be following in Lisa Loeb’s footsteps with a cooking show on the Food Network [Washington Examiner]. “For me, cooking is very connected to my family and friends,” said Yearwood. “Every recipe on the show carries wonderful memories with my loved ones. … I really see this as a tribute to my mom [Gwen Yearwood] who passed away last year.”
Shameless plug: In addition to rounding up the day’s local music news and press, we also give away concert tickets! We’re running a contest now to give away tickets to Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds at the Hamilton next Thursday, 4/19– a great chance to check out a new band and a new venue! Toss your name in the hat here.
Yes, that was me at the Ozric Tentacles show last night at the State Theatre. They’re a psychedelic prog-rock band from England (who apparently live in California now….?) who are named after an imaginary breakfast cereal (other possibilities were Malcolm Segments, Desmond Whisps, and Gordon Lumps). I hadn’t seen them since 1995 when I reviewed their show for the Washington Post (you can read that review here). This time, they didn’t have anyone playing flute, and that was disappointing– the show was still good, but there’s only so much psychedelic keyboard/guitar noodling one can listen to before it all starts to sound like a stoner rave, and those flute melodies certainly used to add something. They played for about 2 1/2 hours, and there was a decent crowd– although not enough for them to open the balcony. I did take a photograph of the new balcony extension with my phone’s camera, and you can see that here.
On my way out, one of the State’s staff came up to me and said, “You have good taste in music!” I was a little confused by why he approached me specifically, but I guess most people don’t go to shows at the State Theatre in a full business suit.
• The Metallomusikum blog is doing a Countdown to Maryland DeathFest, with previews of every band performing. It’s a great primer (we’re a little late to catch on to it, but you can read the archives here). Recent bands: grindcore Nasum, thrashers Artillery, and noise/punk legends Unsane. There’s also an interview with Negru of Negura Bunget.
• Live video: Cathy Ponton King is joined by Jimmy Thackery for “I’m Just a Woman” at her CD Release Show at the State Theatre last Friday, 4/6.
Live Reviews
• Tons of press on the chickfactor anniversary shows this weekend at Artisphere: the Washington Post (Mark Jenkins) and Washington CityPaper. We’re betting that more press will surface in the next few days.
Last night, I went to the U Street Music Hall for the first time, for what I believe was their first metal show: old-school thrashers Onslaught (on their first US tour) and ex-Venom M:Pire of Evil, who played a ton of Venom songs including, of course, “Black Metal”. On Friday and Saturday nights, I was at Artisphere for the Chickfactor 20th anniversary shows (along with everybody else in DC). Best set: Stevie Jackson backed by Honeybunch. Most disappointing: the Lilys‘ set was just Kurt Heasley solo– not that the songs still aren’t good, but they were missing a lot without the sound of a full band. All around great weekend, with surprise sets by the Pines and Magnetic Fields guest vocalist LD Beghtol.
Articles
• The District is busting record stores and vintage shops [Washington CityPaper], citing the need for a secondhand business license. Being regulated as a pawn shop (instead of a general business) means that the business would have to undergo the onorous process of recording every purchase of secondhand goods and file it with MPD’s pawn unit– the idea, of course, being to safeguard against re-selling stolen goods.
• The Howard Theatre is reopening today, and lots of people are writing about it: Washington Post (with a nice photo gallery) and Washingtonian.
• DC writer Marcus K Dowling is quitting writing about DC musicians [2two.tumblr.com]. The internet has ruined so much of what drew me to music and so many musicians I appreciate to the point where writing about both it and them makes me feel impotent. It’s as though I’ve been made into well meaning window dressing in the local scene, a passionate critic whose ideas are thought to be substantive, but not to the point of having any heft or consequence.
If you’re wondering why the name Marcus K Dowling sounds familiar, you can read his about.me page or check out his sites moombahton and DC Mumbo Sauce. We’re unclear about the future of those sites in light of Dowling’s retirement.
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds are performing at the new Penn Quarter venue The Hamilton on Thursday, April 19th, and ShowlistDC is giving away not one but TWO pairs of tickets! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite kind of bird, and I’ll pick two winners at random (using random.org) on Friday, 13 April at midnight Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry). If you just can’t wait until then (or if this contest is closed by the time you read this), tickets are available via eventfarm.com for $17.50 (with, apparently, no service fees!!!).
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds is a nine-piece soul collective from Brooklyn that’s fronted by powerhouse singer Arleigh Kincheloe and her brother, harmonica-player Jackson Kincheloe. The band also features drummer Bram Kincheloe (Arleigh and Jackson’s cousin), guitarist Sasha Brown, bassist Aidan Carroll, baritone saxophonist Johnny Butler (who’s also recorded with Fugazi’s Joe Lally and with Beyonce), trombonist Ryan Snow (of the experimental band Pull), alto saxophonist JJ Byars, and trumpeter Phil Rodriguez (who has recorded with Hercules and Love Affair and Eleanor Friedberger).
If you couldn’t tell from that list of instruments, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds is heavy on the horns– which gives their music a lot of energy. They just released their second album at the end of February, entitled Pound of Dirt, so we’re guessing the show will be heavy on their new material. You can check out the video for their song “Make It Rain” or a live performance of the album’s title song “Dirt“. It should be a great show, so bring your dancing shoes!
The contest has closed and the winners have been notified. Thanks to all who entered! If you still want to go to the show, tickets are available via eventfarm.com.
The big event this weekend is the chickfactor 20th anniversary show at Artisphere in Rosslyn. The shows are tonight and tomorrow night, and full information, including tickets, can be found here. Lots of press to round up on this event!
• The Washington CityPaper has a huge article on the zine chickfactor.
• Interview: Stephen M Deusner talks to Frankie Rose [Express], who’s performing tonight.
• Interview: David Malitz talks to Black Tambourine, who performs tomorrow night.
• Overview: The Vinyl District also recommends the show.
• Listen local: Jonathan L Fischer writes an excellent piece on whether being local makes something good (or worth listening to) [Washington CityPaper]. All the same, as someone who values a Washington whose cultural life is both distinct and worldly, I’m nervous about this sort of genre-agnostic focus on what area code artists happen to live in. Those who advocate for eating local make an environmental pitch that has to do with carbon footprints. Proponents of shopping local make an economic argument that has to do with the influence and labor practices of large corporations and the diversity of shopping opportunities. But in consuming culture, I’ve never felt “local” to be an inherent plus. Not exactly. What matters, or ought to matter, is whether something is interesting, forward-thinking, vibrant—and mostly importantly, good.
• Venue news: The Hamilton is no longer open 24 hours a day, reports DC.Eater.com. The Penn Quarter venue/restaurant will remain open until 1 AM on weekedays and 2 AM on weekends, with the bar open an hour later each day.
•: On musical instruments: Roland Flamini on the comparison between a Stradivarius and an instrument made by a modern violin makers [Washington Times]. When is a fiddle a violin? One day late last year, 17 experienced violinists gathered in a hotel room in Indianapolis to tackle the question. Each one in turn was blindfolded and played a few bars of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto on six violins — two made by Antonio Stradivari, one by Bartolomeo Guarneri del Gesu and three by modern violin makers. The challenge was to distinguish the three old master violins. According to the results of the experiment published in the January issue of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, only three of the 17 guessed right.
• The Washington CityPaper has a huge article on the zine chickfactor. CF’s 20th anniversary shows (featuring the return of Black Tambourine) are this weekend at Artisphere in Rosslyn.
• Watch: Locals Borracho have released their first video. It’s for the song “Concentric Circles” from their debut album Splitting Sky (which I reviewed back in December for the Washington Post).
• A brief guide to Windian Records, whose showcase is Friday/Saturday at Montserrat House [Express].
