I've been sleeping on The Washover Fans for a long time now, ignoring their charming emails and their catchy posters (usually just huge font renditions of their name which work because these guys have excellent taste in fonts), and missing all their shows in Seattle. Well, that shit stops NOW. Their new album, Live at Empty Sea (drops tomorrow!), is absolutely stunning, all the more so for being a live album that sounds like it was made in an expensive studio. This isn't easy to pull off, in fact most live albums are hampered both by performances noticeably rougher than a polished studio take w/edits, and sub-par sound and mixing. It's not easy to make a live album, believe me, I know. Huge kudos goes here to Empty Sea Studios, where the live recording was made. We've been writing about them a lot recently, but clearly with good reason.

On Live at Empty Sea Studios, The Washover Fans revel in the simple beauty of acoustic harmonies. Their voices mesh effortlessly, and their instruments are tight accompanists to the songs (with some particularly delicious mandolin and steel guitar lines), which have quite catchy melodies. It's folk music done right; nothing fancy, but "tous qu'il faut" as the French say (which means "everything you'd need"). The songs are deceptively simple odes to love and love lost, nothing necessarily new here, but this is a large cut above the many singer-songwriter CDs I've been listening to recently. Really, this kind of folk music comes down to the lyrics and the deftness of the music, and here's where The Washover Fans really stick out. Their words are subtle, thoughtful, and bring new light to old ideas. They're bringing a much needed creativity to folk music, and when they drop covers on the new album (like Patti Griffin's "Rain", or "These Days" from Jackson Browne), they're chosen with care and given a sweet, sorrowful sound.


The Washover Fans: The Next One



So, March 24 is their CD Release Party at Columbia City Theater. We've raved about this venue plenty of times on the Hearth Music blog, so suffice it to say that we've loved every show we've seen at that Theater.

Also appearing with The Washover Fans will be The Loom, an excellent buzz-worthy indie-roots band based out of New York. They first came to our attention via Crossbill Records, a Davis, CA-based record label led by Michael Leahy, an amazing tastemaker whose work has been a continual inspiration to us. Labelmates for the Loom include Matt Bauer and Dana Falconberry.

The Loom's new album, Teeth, is a great bit of chamber-folk, showcasing the larger arrangements of the band, and their dark vision of backwoods Americana. There are some very special moments on their album, like the heart-breaking trumpet line that leads the opening track "With Legs", or the haunting, eerie orchestration of my favorite cut on the album, "For the hooves that gallop, and the heels that march" They're exactly the kind of band you want to see live; it would be fun to see how all the musicians in the band interact and their ambitious group arrangements are gonna be a feat of choreography to pull off.
 

The Loom: With Legs

 

NOTE: Check out The Loom's Daytrotter Session and support one of our favorite online music sources!


 

  
FESTIVAL DU BOIS

A French-Canadian Festival for the Northwest

March 3-4

Maillardville, Coquitlam, British Columbia

ROAD TRIP! Hearth Music is heading up to Coquitlam, BC, to the tiny community of Maillardville, just outside Vancouver. It's one of our favorite festivals, partly because of our French-Canadian heritage, but mainly for the warm, cozy community vibe and world-class artists this festival attracts. Maillardville has been home to a lively community of French-Canadians for about a hundred years now. They first began arriving around the turn of the century to work the lumber mills of the Fraser River, and further immigrations led to a thriving community in the heart of the Greater Vancouver area. Now this community has diminished a bit, but for Festival du Bois, families come out in force. French is the main language spoken and the tents of the festival echo with accordions, fiddles, guitars, old voyageur songs, and the wonderful smells of French-Canadian home cooking. Women and men gather in the tent kitchens to cook tourtière (Acadian meat pie), poutine, tarte à sucre (sugar pie), and to spread maple syrup over ice for a delicious taffy.

Here are some things we're looking forward to at Festival du Bois:

Quinn & Qristina Bachand: British Columbia has long been a hotbed of young fiddlers, from the Duhks' Tania Elizabeth to any of the fiddlers coming up through the ranks of the Paperboys (Shona Le Mottée, Shannon Saunders, Kendel Carson), and youngsters Quinn & Qristina Bachand are proving once again how vibrant BC's fiddle scene really is. Quinn plays guitar with a youthful fury and a very mature sense of rhythm and accuracy. He's recently been featured as famed fiddler Ashley MacIsaac's guitarist. Qristina draws from a broad base of Celtic fiddle traditions, notably the rhythms of Cape Breton and the lyricism of Ireland. Together these two siblings have been carving out powerful tunes together.

Bon Débarass: Festival du Bois is known for bringing many of the best young Québécois bands out to the West Coast. We've made plenty of friends this way, and this year we're looking forward to the trio Bon Débarras (Good Riddance). Multi-instrumentalists, they remix the rhythms of traditional French-Canadian music with a more cosmopolitan approach. A romping Québécois tune suddenly gives way to a cafe musette, and a Cajun song finds it way back to its ancestral roots. They'll be good fun!

Dejah Leger: OK, so yes this is a bit self-referential since Dejah works for HearthPR, but dang the work she's doing on French-Canadian Crankies ("tournilles" en français) is wonderful. Crankies are hand-sewn/hand-illustrated rolls of fabric or paper that tell a story through shadows as they are unrolled. Much like an old-fashioned movie. Dejah will play and tell the story of each Crankie as it unfurls. She was inspired by the recent visit to Seattle of Anna & Elizabeth, two traditional artists from Virginia. They used the Crankies to tell the stories of old Appalachian ballads, and now Dejah is using the Crankies for French-Canadian ballads. It's so wonderful to be able to see handmade artwork unfold while listening to the music being made at the same time. Dejah will also be playing music from her album, Hand-Sewn Lullabies, an all acoustic set of sleepy time songs.
 

Jocelyn Pettit: We've written about Jocelyn's fiddle playing before, and how astounding it is that someone so young can have such a mature talent. Here's what we said: "Originally inspired by Cape Breton fiddling (the most rhythmic and powerful form of Celtic fiddling), Jocelyn Pettit has branched far from these roots to embrace not only other Celtic styles (Irish, Scottish), but to write her own compositions... Unlike many fiddlers her age, she controls the tempo of every tune, able to draw emotion out of a slow, grumbling aire and control the high-wire fiddling required of a Scots dance reel. To have made such a daring debut at 15, we will expect many more great tunes from this young woman in the future." And she's only gotten better since then!

Juan Sebastian Larobina: I know little about this artist, but his story is utterly intriguing. Here's the press blurb: Mexican in his heart, Argentinean in his soul and Gaspésien by adoption, Juan Sebastian Larobina’s music brilliantly melds all three traditions to create flamboyant fresh roots music he calls “Latino-Gaspésien.” From Latin rhythms to foot percussion, this accomplished musician sails leisurely between cumbia and jigs, reels and salsa, a La Bolduc song to tango and funk." I can't think of two places more opposed than Mexico and the Gaspé Peninsula. Gaspé is the rocky coastline along the NE of the province of Québec, home to a rugged bunch of Acadian and Québécois settlers. I'm totally intrigued to hear how Juan Sebastian melds these disparate influences.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FESTIVAL DU BOIS:

Schedule

Artists

The folk music world has always been known for its collection of eccentric personalities, but few folk musicians are more deranged than Peter Stampfel and Baby Gramps. Stampfel's known, of course, as one of the Holy Modal Rounders, a seminal psychedelic folk duo that somehow managed to turn the most mundane of American folk songs into otherworldly trips of the mind. Baby Gramps is a beloved folk music figure in the Northwest and beyond, renowned not only for his huge knowledge of old vaudeville and hokum blues songs, but also for his long, rambling versions of these same songs and his ability to naturally work throat singing into the idiom. Plus his scrotum song has to be heard (and seen) to be believed. Individually, both Stampfel and Gramps have spotty outputs. They're truly best live, and this doesn't always translate to great albums for listening. They're always creative and fascinating, of course, but some of their albums seem a bit too helter-skelter. But somehow bringing these two scatter-brain geniuses together has enabled them to balance each other out, and their 2010 duet album, Outertainment, is a wonderfully insane romp through the trash-strewn back alleys of Americana. It works great, with Gramps gravelly voice switching off with Stampfel's nearly indescribable vocals, and their always-on-the-edge picking somehow teeters along the edge of total collapse without ever falling, kinda like a drunken kung fu master.

Together, Gramps & Stampfel revel in a dumpster-diving collection of the gross and bizarre. "Bar Bar" is a merry little ditty about getting drunk at bars and starting fights, then barfing everywhere, and "The Puppy Song" is a great folk number about the rather disgusting things puppies get up to, and how cute it is. These are the songs they've written, but they've also sourced songs from pretty interesting places. The truly wonderful vaudeville delight "Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga" came to Stampfel from "Leave it to Beaver," evidently. Other songs come to them from Grandpa Jones, a killer sea chanty comes from Laurence Welk, surprisingly, and they've even got an evil cover of "Heigh Ho" from Disney's Snow White. Yow! There's even a crazy version of the all-time classic "Surfin' Bird."

Stampfel and Gramps' duet album is a like a cabinet of curiosities. It's just chock full of strange discoveries and bizarre little oddities. But with characters this interesting, you just can't look away (or stop listening in this case). It's a helluva lot of fun to poke around the dusty cupboards of these guys' brains. This is definitely fractured folk music of the highest order!

Peter Stampfel & Baby Gramps: The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga


Peter Stampfel & Baby Gramps: Buzzard on the Gut Wagon

 

Levi Fuller's a musical explorer. Sounds cliche, I know, but I do tend to think of him with a pith helmet and machete, wacking his way through an underbrush of lame MySpace pages and Web 1.0 sites to pull forth little gems of cultural brilliance. He's a songwriter and performer himself, but through his series of regularly released compilation albums, Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly, he's been promoting many other artists from the Pacific Northwest. The Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly has been going strong for quite a while now (the newest one is volume 26), and it's been a work of passion for Levi that's let him bring forth some fascinating bands that most people likely hadn't heard of. I pride myself in being relatively familiar with many NW bands, especially folk and roots bands, but I'd only heard of 5 of the 19 artists on the current compilation. And that's more than on previous compilations!

For the newest Ball of Wax compilation, Levi put the word out that he was looking for covers of songs from the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music. The idea with most Ball of Wax releases is to compile songs/music submitted or recruited by artists, print and press the album, then put together a live concert with some of the artists where the album is given away for the show's ticket price. It's a great way to build community and to bring a bunch of artists and musicians together. And that's exactly what's happening with the new Ball of Wax. Working with us here at Hearth Music and Greg Vandy at American Standard Time (and KEXP's The Roadhouse), there's gonna be a whole evening Tribute to Harry Smith at Columbia City Theater (TONIGHT: Friday November 25).

The artists on the new Ball of Wax run a wide gamut of styles, though most hew to a rough-edged indie-folk sound. And like the original generation that picked up on Harry Smith's quasi-mystic, borderline-insane Anthology, these artists are here to celebrate the twisted sounds and thoughts at the heart of the "Old, Weird America." Seattle busking sensation Ben Fisher nails the matter-of-fact broadside sensationalism of "Frankie and Albert," and sounds like an 19th century sheet music folio seller hawking the latest sensationalist ballad of sex and murder in a young America. Seattle alt-country oufit Amateur Radio Operator go after "Oh Death, Where is Thy Sting" and bring a creepy 16 Horsepower vibe with the song. Montana artists Nate Biehl and Caroline Keys (Caroline's with indie-folk outfit Stellarondo) do a nicely downtrodden cover of the classic "John Johanna." I've been a fan of all these artists, but the best part of the album are the new discoveries. Chicago based indie band The Way It Is have a great version of the Carter Family classic "Engine 143," and I'm totally in love with the world-weary, cracked vision that Seattle songwriter Jeremy Burk brings to one of my favorite old gospel blues "Shine on Me." There's lots more on this compilation, so I'll let you discover the rest for yourself. Head on over to Bandcamp and have a listen, and be sure to keep in touch with Levi Fuller's Ball of Wax! After all, he's done all the hard work of finding these bands, now it's up to you to check 'em out!
 

Ben Fisher: Frankie and Albert


Jeremy Burk: Shine On Me


Amateur Radio Operator: Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting

Halloween is traditionally the kind of holiday just made for club shows. A great time to dress up in crazy outfits and go out dancing and drinking. So no surprise that plenty of that will be happening this weekend. Instead of the usual shenanigans, why not check out this fascinating show on Thursday, October 27 at Columbia City Theater that brings together a host of local roots musicians and songwriters inspired by the immortal novel/film "The Shining." 
 

Thursday, October 27
The Bushwick Book Club Presents
Original Music Inspired by Stephen King's The Shining

Columbia City Theater
Show at 8pm, Tickets $10

Facebook Event

The Bushwick Book Club Seattle has been producing shows inspired by  books for a little while now and have built a great following. If you've read the book (or seen the movie... we like movies too!), it's such a great idea to gather together to experience songs written about the work. It's kind of like a songwriting challenge, with very accessible results. The idea comes from a monthly book club/songwriters event in Brooklyn, but local Seattleite Geoff Larsen started a Northwest branch just a year ago. They've already covered material as diverse as Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, and Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. You can hear some of the results on Bushwick Book Club's Bandcamp page.

I can't wait to hear what the artists have come up with for The Shining. The movie is iconic, of course, mainly for Jack Nicholson's electrifying performance as a father steadily going insane in a deserted mountaintop hotel. I'm a huge fan of The Shining, and I've been to Timberline Lodge outside Portland, where much of the movie exteriors were shot. I'd say that The Shining is the Godfather of horror movies; a perfect creation.

The book was written by Stephen King, and it's easily one of his best. The movie stays pretty close to King's novel (with the exception of some freaky topiary lions that come to life in the book), so if you've haven't read the book, you're probably fine. But read it anyway. It's the perfect thing to read on Halloween!

Here's a sample track from a previous Bushwick Book Club event that paired songwriters with The Time Traveler's Wife. Local singer Vince Martinez nails the task at hand. He's written a song that's loosely inspired by the book, but clearly touches on larger themes. Also, in this case, his song is probably better than the book, from all accounts (I haven't read it, sorry). And for future Bushwick Book Club meetings, I'm putting my vote in for George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones (which I'm reading now and can't put down).
 


Also, for our folkie friends, Northwest songwriter Wes Weddell has written an excellent ode to a bagpipe, inspired by Shel Silverstein's poem "The Bagpipe Who Didn't Say No." Wes does a great job of bringing Silverstein's rye humor and slightly sad, wistful themes to the song. Masterfully done.

Friday, November 25

A Tribute to Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music

featuring Kevin Murphy of the Moondoggies, Kevin Barrans & Friends, Ben Fisher, RedDog, Folichon Cajun Band, Pacific NW Sacred Harp Singers, Norman Baker, Virgin of the Birds, Jeremy Burk, Sokai Stilhed, Colin J Nelson, and special animation by Drew Christie

Free Harry Smith Compilation CD with Entry (courtesy of Ball of Wax)

Columbia City Theater
4916 Rainier Ave S.
Tickets $10 adv/$15 door
Show at 9pm

The gnomish genius and Bellingham native Harry Smith was renowned for his psychedelic paintings, mad knowledge of the most arcane corners of human lore, and frightening intensity. But mostly he's known for his seminal "Anthology of American Folk Music." Originally released as three volumes of LPs, the music on the "mixtapes" was a loving ode to the weird, dark recesses of American roots music. Culled from his collection of 78rpm records, the Anthology introduced America to lost artists like Dock Boggs, Charlie Poole, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie Johnson, and entire genres of Americana, like Cajun music or Sacred Harp singing. The influence of Harry Smith's Anthology is still felt today, and on November 25, Seattle's Columbia City Theater will host multiple generations of Northwest artists who've been inspired by the Anthology.

Levi Fuller's Ball of Wax is co-presenting this show along with American Standard Time and Hearth Music. Levi's kind of like a modern Harry Smith, minus Smith's bizarre habits and strange hygiene. For years he's been compiling albums of Northwest musicians, digging deep into our local scene to move beyond the usual list of "accepted" bands in town. His musical tastes roam all over the map, and we've been working together to develop a lineup that can do some kind of justice to the mystical eclecticism of Smith's masterpiece. For this show, Levi's put together a compilation of Northwest artists covering songs from Smith's Anthology. This CD comes free with entry to the show!

We're very proud to present Kevin Murphy of the Moondoggies, one of the best roots music songwriters around and an artist who really gets the heart and soul of Smith's old-timey music collection. Kevin Barrans of the Maldives will be joining us as well, a NW banjo player and Sacred Harp singer who will also bring along the Pacific NW Sacred Harp Singers. If you've never experience live sacred harp singing, it's a hair-raising experience, full of harmonies eerie enough to echo back from the depths of a sin-ridden hell. Seattle's favorite old-time stringband RedDog will contribute some songs, featuring Doug Yule of the Velvet Underground on voice and fiddle, Folichon Cajun Band will plumb the depths of Smith's Cajun collection, and Levi's got a whole host of surprising guests from the indie roots scene, like Virgin of the Birds, Ben Fisher, Sokai Stilhed and more.

As a very special treat, Seattle animator and mad genius Drew Christie will premier a new animation based on John Cohen's (New Lost City Ramblers) meeting with Harry Smith. You can check out Christie's previous film on Cohen here:

 

American Standard Time Presents John Cohen from colony on Vimeo.

Plus check out Drew Christie's official video for The Moondoggies' 'Empress of the North'

 

Empress of the North (official video for the Moondoggies) from Drew Christie on Vimeo.