Category Archives: Pop and Rock

Peter Stampfel pushes banjos to the limit

Posted on June 19, 2014 | 1 comment
Peter Stampfel torturing a banjo and assaulting our ears at the Gerdes Folk City 50th Reunion in 2010. (Photo 2010, Steven P. Marsh)

Peter Stampfel on banjo at the Gerdes Folk City 50th Reunion in 2010. (Photo 2010, Steven P. Marsh)

The granddaddy of freak folk is still going strong with his latest album, ‘Better Than Expected’

Peter Stampfel defines freak folk.

It’s a category that didn’t even exist when Stampfel, now 75, was starting out as a young musician, releasing his first album, “The Holy Modal Rounders,” in 1964.

The genre developed to describe the work of current musicians such as Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Akron/Family, and the like. But Stampfel was there first, and has provided inspiration and collaboration all along.

The  Holy Modal Rounders cofounder is an acquired taste, for some, with his cracked vocals, inimitable fiddling and banjo playing, and genre-busting choice of material.

His is a restless mind, and his art challenges the conventionality at every turn.

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Posted in Blues, Country, Folk, Music, Pop and Rock, Recordings, Review

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Jonathan Demme proves his love for The Feelies

Posted on June 4, 2014 | Leave a comment
Jonathan Demme introduces The Feelies at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y., after a screening of "Something Wild" on Jun 1, 2014. (Photos © 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Jonathan Demme introduces The Feelies at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y., after a screening of “Something Wild” on Jun 1, 2014. (Photos © 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

The promo line on the front page of The Journal News on Thursday  said it: “Jonathan Demme Loves The Feelies.”

On Sunday night at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y., Demme proved it.

“I guess I don’t get to the venues as much as I used to, because maybe I hit the sack a little earlier than I used to,” Demme told me when I interviewed him for lohud.com/The Journal News. “But definitely… I’d go anywhere to see The Feelies. I’d stay up late to see The Feelies.”

The Feelies onstage at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y., on Sunday, June 1, 2014.

The Feelies onstage at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y., on Sunday, June 1, 2014.

At the Burns Film Center, Demme had his dreams fulfilled without having to stay up too terribly late. The movie ran from about 7 p.m. to just before 9. It took Continue reading →

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Posted in Music, Pop and Rock, Review, Uncategorized

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Sharon Van Etten asks: Are We There?

Posted on May 29, 2014 | Leave a comment
Sharon Van Etten (Photo by Dusdin Condren)

Sharon Van Etten (Photo by Dusdin Condren)

On her new album, “Are We There,” Sharon Van Etten asks a question — though her designer left off the question mark — whose answer depends very much on who you’re asking.

I’ve been having a debate with someone about Sharon that demonstrates that there’s no clear answer to the question.

My debate partner thinks Sharon, whose first album, 2009’s Because I Was in Love,  was a fairly stripped-down, singer-songwriter affair, has exhibited an increasing tendency to lean too heavily on studio tricks and production techniques, burying her voice, obscuring her lyrics, and seriously undercutting the impact of her songs. And her first impression of the new album is that it continues in that vein.

I had similar reservations at first, but now, after listening to Are We There a dozen times, I think that Sharon may have f0und her sweet spot.

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Posted in Music, Pop and Rock, Singer-Songwriter

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Exclusive Interview: The Feelies’ Glenn Mercer and director Jonathan Demme talk about ‘Something Wild’

Posted on May 28, 2014 | 1 comment
The Feelies in Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild."

The Feelies in Jonathan Demme’s “Something Wild.”

Glenn Mercer of The Feelies and director Jonathan Demme did me the honor of talking to me about the special bond between the band and the filmmaker ahead of Sunday’s special screening of Demme’s cult classic movie “Something Wild,” which features The Feelies as a high school reunion band. Please tap or click here to READ THE INTERVIEW on lohud.com.

Here’s how it’s promoted on the front page of the Thursday edition of  The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y.:

Demme

 

Jonathan Demme (Photo by Bob Vergara)

Jonathan Demme (Photo by Bob Vergara)

The movie is being screened at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday as part of “Something Wild: The Films of Jonathan Demme,” a festival honoring the Rockland County-based director at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y.

The Sunday show is going to be extra special, though, because The Feelies,  a band that’s a special favorite of Demme’s, will be playing a set after the movie. It should be a wild evening.

Tickets for the special Sunday show are  $30 for nonmembers, and are available online here.  More information and directions to the Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Rd., Pleasantville, tap or click here.

 

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Posted in Movies, Music, Pop and Rock

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It must be the apocalypse: The Wrens (2 of them, anyway) are doing a show!

Posted on May 28, 2014 | Leave a comment
The Wrens at The Bell House. (Photos © 2009, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

The Wrens at The Bell House. (Photos © 2009, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

It’s been more than 10 years since The Wrens released the great “Meadowlands” album — which seems only right given the band’s tagline:”Keeping Folks Waiting Since 1989.”

But Charles “Pedal Boy” Bissell is deep into production on the followup album, and promises it’s nearly finished.

Kevin Whelan and Charles Bissell of The Wrens at The Bell House. (Photos © 2009, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Kevin Whelan and Charles Bissell of The Wrens at The Bell House. (Photos © 2009, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

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Posted in Benefit, Music, Pop and Rock

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Tammy Faye Starlite’s ‘Broken English’ speaks volumes

Posted on May 22, 2014 | Leave a comment
Tammy Faye Starlite channels Marianne Faithfull at Joe's Pub. (Photo © 2014 Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Tammy Faye Starlite channels Marianne Faithfull at Joe’s Pub on May 13, 2014. (Photo © 2014 Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Who is Tammy Faye Starlite, really?

I’m  sure I don’t know — aside from the fact that she’s also known as Tammy Lang.

While I’ve seen her out and about and out of character in public, I’ve never really interacted her when she’s not playing a role.

She’s a talented singer — and a very good judge of musical talent, based on the people she gets to play in her various bands, especially drummers, who’ve included Pete Thomas, Ron Metz, and Dennis Diken  — who seems to have chosen a very challenging career path. Continue reading →

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Posted in Music, Pop and Rock, Recordings, Review

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The Feelies perform on the silver screen and live in Westchester County

Posted on May 22, 2014 | Leave a comment
The Feeles perform as The Willies in Jonathan Demme's 1986 movie "Something Wild."

The Feelies perform as The Willies in Jonathan Demme’s 1986 movie “Something Wild.”

Music and film fans will get a rare opportunity to see some time travel at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y., on Sunday, June 1, when The Feelies take the stage.

The band is booked at the celebrated film center as part of “Something Wild: The Films of Jonathan Demme,” a festival that runs through June 11 to celebrate the director (and longtime Feelies fan) of “Something Wild,” “Stop Making Sense,” “Storefront Hitchcock,” “Rachel Getting Married,” “Philadelphia,” and many, many more.

The Feelies are taking the stage after a screening of Demme’s dark 1986 romcom (did that conflation even exist back then?) “Something Wild.” The truly wacky movie about two good-hearted, but not exactly honest, people (Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels) searching for truth and love, features The Feelies (playing The Willies in the movie), along with a superbly curated soundtrack of pop songs from the era. Continue reading →

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Posted in Movies, Music, News, Pop and Rock, World Music

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Tim Fite’s been hacked

Posted on May 1, 2014 | 1 comment
Time Fite (Photo © 2009 Steven P. Marsh)

Time Fite (Photo © 2009 Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

 

Tim Fite's Phoney Store at the Beam Center in Brooklyn. (Photo © 2014 Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Tim Fite’s Phoney Store at the Beam Center in Brooklyn. (Photo © 2014 Steven P. Marsh)

Tim Fite‘s a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and social commentator who’s proved his humor and fluency in a number of styles, from pop, to country, to rap.

He got onto my radar back in 2008 or so when he started performing in the persona of a well-groomed, seersucker-suit-wearing, bumpkin-ish country singer. His shows in the late ’00s usually featured backup videos layered with multiple versions of himself on various harmony vocals and instruments, sometimes including a backpacker guitar.

Tim Fite with two Phoneys, the product of his latest project. (Kickstarter)

Tim Fite with two Phoneys, the product of his latest project. (Kickstarter)

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Posted in Art, Music, News, Pop and Rock

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The Feelies rock The Bell House; Next up: New England

Posted on May 1, 2014 | Leave a comment
The Feelies at The Bell House, Gowanus, Brooklyn, on April 25, 2014. (Photos © 2014 Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

The Feelies at The Bell House, Gowanus, Brooklyn, on April 25, 2014. (Photos © 2014 Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

The Feelies may have lost their home base when Maxwell’s went out in style with a Hoboken block party last year. But they haven’t lost their soul, as they proved Friday night.

They took the stage of The Bell House in Brooklyn on Friday night and played two red-hot sets.

The Bell House is thee  closest thing to a home club the Passaic County, N.J., quintet has these days. Former Maxwell’s co-owner and booker, Todd Abramson has been booking bands at the first-class Gowanus music venue for some time now.

Guitarist Bill Million and bassist Brenda Sauter.

Guitarist Bill Million and bassist Brenda Sauter.

(Click through to the jump for more photos and info about The Feelies’ upcoming shows.) Continue reading →

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Posted in Music, Pop and Rock, Review

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Don’t miss your last chance to hear Eisa Davis’ work in progress (for now)

Posted on April 25, 2014 | 1 comment
Eisa Davis in the spotlight at Jack in Brooklyn on April 23, 2014.. (Photos © 2014, Steven P. Marsh)

Eisa Davis in the spotlight at Jack in Brooklyn on April 23, 2014.. (Photos © 2014, Steven P. Marsh)

The magnificent Eisa Davis, who you’ve probably seen somewhere on TV if you didn’t meet her, like I did, through “Passing Strange,” is not just a singer and actress, but an accomplished playwright as well.

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Posted in Concerts, Music, Off-Broadway, Pop and Rock, Theater, Uncategorized

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